Archaeology in the News

[JMcB]

Archaeologists Uncover Hidden Stash of Byzantine Gold Coins in Israel's Golan Heights



The discovery of the secret stash of Byzantine-era coins in a stone wall in the ancient city of Banias is a significant find for Israeli archaeologists. The coins, made of pure gold, date back to 635 C.E. and feature portraits of Emperors Phocas and Heraclius. Experts believe that these coins were hidden during the Muslim conquest of the area, towards the end of Heraclius' reign.


For the rest, see:

https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/10/08/ar...n-heights/

[JMcB]

In First, Archaeologists Extract DNA of Ancient Israelites

A rare First Temple-period family burial opens the door to genetic studies on the true origin of the ancient Israelites - and their links to modern Jewish populations



A
Archaeologists uncovering retaining walls, possibly built by the Israelites, at Kiryat YearimCredit: Ariel David

For the first time, ancient DNA has been recovered from the bodies of ancient Israelites living in the First Temple period, Haaretz has learned.

This achievement, a Holy Grail in the study of lost civilizations, was enabled following the discovery near Jerusalem of a rare family tomb dating to the Iron Age.

So far the collaboration of archaeologists and geneticists has been able to extract genetic material from two individuals, producing partial information, which is a tiny sample indeed. But it promises to pave the way for further research on longstanding questions about the origins of the ancient Israelites, their links to earlier populations living in the Levant, as well as to modern-day Jewish people.


For the rest, see:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2023...9b21fd0000

[Riverman]

Violence trends in the ancient Middle East between 12,000 and 400 BC

How did interpersonal violence develop in early human societies? Given that homicide records are only available for the more recent period, much of human history remains outside our purview. In this paper, we study violence trends in the very long run by exploiting a new dataset on cranial trauma and weapon-related wounds from skeletons excavated across the Middle East, spanning the pre-Classical period (around 12,000–400). The dataset includes more than 3,500 individuals. We find evidence that interpersonal violence peaked during the Chalcolithic period (around 4,500–3,300). It then steadily declined during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (around 3,300–1,500) and increased again between the Late Bronze and the Iron Age (1,500–400). By documenting variations in violence patterns across a vast temporal and geographical scale in an incredibly rich historical setting, we broaden perspectives on the early history of human conflict.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-0...elpais.com

[JMcB]

Exceptional discovery of a fully frescoed chamber tomb dating back to the Republican and Imperial Roman ages


Waterworks in Giugliano, a suburb of Campania (Naples), have uncovered an untouched chamber tomb full of frescoes ceilings, and walls in pristine condition.

The tomb was found on farmland during an archaeological survey in advance of updates to the city water supply system.


The room has the ceiling and walls frescoed with mythological scenes, Ichthyocentaurs (a pair of sea gods with the upper bodies of men) holding a clypeus on the front wall, festoons that go all around the funerary chamber, and figurative representations among which a three-headed dog stands out, hence the name of the mausoleum as the Tomb of Cerberus.

The striking painting that has given the tomb its monicker depicts the 12th and most dangerous of the Labors of Hercules: when he descended to Hades guided by Mercury to capture the three-headed monster dog Cerberus.



Photo: Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per l’Area Metropolitana di Napol



For the rest, see:

https://arkeonews.net/exceptional-discov...oman-ages/

[leonardo]

Neolithic Tools Hint at Unknown Rock Art in Saudi Arabia

https://www.archaeology.org/news/11791-2...-tools-art

[JonikW]

Some news from North Wales on the discovery of two Roman coin hoards, courtesy of Nation.Cymru:

"The two Roman coin hoards discovered by metal-detectorists in the Conwy Valley have been declared treasure by the Assistant Coroner for North Wales (East & Central), Kate Robertson. David Moss and Tom Taylor found the two hoards in Caerhun Community, Conwy, during the winter of 2018-2019.

"The larger hoard (Treasure Case 19.01) was found in a ceramic vessel which contained 2,733 coins, a mix of silver denarii minted between 32 BC and AD 235, as well as silver and copper-alloy radiates (also known as antoniniani) struck between AD 215 and 270.

"The copper-alloy coins appear to have been put loosely in the pot, but most of the silver coins were held in two leather bags, which were placed at the very top of the hoard.

"The smaller hoard (Treasure Case 19.03) comprises 37 silver denarii, ranging in date from 32 BC to AD 221, which were found scattered across a small area in the immediate vicinity of the larger hoard."

Interesting to speculate what may have been going on there in the chaos of the third century.

ADD: must admit I regret the short-lived nature of the Gallic Empire. I would have liked the passport. (Apologies for the aside but I couldn't resist the "what if?" of history...)

[JMcB]

Colourful beauty of Parthenon marbles revealed in scientific analysis
Innovative scanning techniques show painting of sculptures was potentially as intricate as their carving





Though the Parthenon marbles were admired for centuries for their stark white brilliance, it has long been known that the sculptures were originally brightly painted, before millennia of weathering, cannon bombardment, rough handling and overenthusiastic cleaning scoured them clean.

Evidence for the paintwork has been highly elusive, however, leading their former curator at the British Museum to confess that, after years of hunting in vain for traces of pigment, he had sometimes doubted they were painted at all.

A new examination of the sculptures held by the British Museum, using innovative scanning techniques, has revealed dramatic evidence of a “wealth of surviving paint”. What it suggests, according to the researchers, is that the painting of the marbles was “a more elaborate undertaking than was ever imagined” – potentially as intricate and subtle as their carving …


For the rest, see:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...c-analysis

[VladMC]

At the Western Edge of the Great Steppe - Igor Manzura

The North-West Black Sea region is a separate territory with specific combination of cultural traditions and relatively independent trajectory of culture-historical development from the later prehistory. The lecture characterizes culture-historical situation in the 5th and 4th millennia BC which are chronologically related to the Eneolithic and the beginning of the Bronze Age. The cultural development is shown as a permanent interaction of steppe and farming cultural traditions that resulted in specific character of cultural groups. Some episodes can be considered as unique for the steppe zone as a whole. For instance, the spread of communities of the Gumelniţa culture north of the Danube in the middle of the 5th millennium BCcan be regarded as the first attempt in European history to colonize steppe territories by farming communities. Similarly, the Usatovo culture in the 4th millennium BC exemplifies one of the most complexly organized societies in the steppe zone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8126pEjIqw

[leonardo]

The 1st Americans were not who we thought they were


For decades, we thought the first humans to arrive in the Americas came across the Bering Land Bridge 13,000 years ago. New evidence is changing that picture.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/...-they-were

[leonardo]

Study Reveals the Scope of Prehistoric Violence in the Middle East

Analysis of 3,500 skeletons from 14,000 to 2,400 years ago detects nuances in the history of violence. Sometimes it can be contained

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2023...ffeddc0000

[JMcB]

NEWS / 12 October 2023

AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time
Machine-learning technique reveals Greek words in CT scans of rolled-up papyrus.

Jo Marchant


Charred scrolls from Herculaneum can’t be opened easily, but X-ray scanning can reveal their contents.Credit: UK Photo


A 21-year-old computer-science student has won a global contest to read the first text inside a carbonized scroll from the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, which had been unreadable since a volcanic eruption in AD 79 — the same one that buried nearby Pompeii. The breakthrough could open up hundreds of texts from the only intact library to survive from Greco-Roman antiquity.

Luke Farritor, who is at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, developed a machine-learning algorithm that has detected Greek letters on several lines of the rolled-up papyrus, including πορϕυρας (porphyras), meaning ‘purple’. Farritor used subtle, small-scale differences in surface texture to train his neural network and highlight the ink.

“When I saw the first image, I was shocked,” says Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples in Italy and a member of the academic committee that reviewed Farritor’s findings. “It was such a dream,” she says. Now, “I can actually see something from the inside of a scroll.”

Hundreds of scrolls were buried by Mount Vesuvius in October AD 79, when the eruption left Herculaneum under 20 metres of volcanic ash. Early attempts to open the papyri created a mess of fragments, and scholars feared the remainder could never be unrolled or read. “These are such crazy objects. They’re all crumpled and crushed,” says Nicolardi.

The Vesuvius Challenge offers a series of awards, leading to a main prize of US$700,000 for reading four or more passages from a rolled-up scroll. On 12 October, the organizers announced that Farritor has won the ‘first letters’ prize of $40,000 for reading more than 10 characters in a 4-square-centimetre area of papyrus. Youssef Nader, a graduate student at the Free University of Berlin, is awarded $10,000 for coming second.


For the rest, see:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03212-1

[JMcB]

New Kingdom cemetery reveals ancient Egyptian secrets

Sunday 15 Oct 2023

A significant archaeological find disclosed today at Al-Ghoreifa site in Minya’s Tuna Al-Gabal, in Upper Egypt, revealed for the first time the New Kingdom cemetery of the 15th ancient Egyptian nome, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.




While cemeteries from the Old and Middle Kingdoms had been unearthed many years ago, this recent discovery promises to be a significant addition to the annals of archaeology.

The cemetery comprises an array of rock-hewn tombs filled with anthropoid limestone sarcophagi and intricately decorated wooden coffins adorned with religious depictions.

The discovery also included 25,000 statues depicting ancient Egyptian deities and ushabti figurines crafted from faience.

A collection of canopic jars and amulets were also unearthed, alongside mummy masks and an exceptionally well-preserved papyrus, spanning 13 to 15 feet in length and bearing text from the Book of the Dead. This papyrus will be transported to the Grand Egyptian Museum for public display.



For the rest of the article, see:

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent...-secr.aspx

[JonikW]

I've seen some amazing once-in-a-lifetime exhibitions at the British Museum in recent years including the Celts, Vikings and Stonehenge, but I'm very excited to see that their next blockbuster is on the Roman army. Can't wait:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/b...14052.html

[JonikW]

A previously unknown Iron Age ruler in Britain at the time of Caesar, discovered through a coin:

"Dating from around 50 BC and smaller than a human fingernail, the gold coin is stamped with the name Esunertos."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien...31774.html

[JMcB]

New Discovery Changes Story of King Hazael’s Attack on Biblical Gath

The Philistines of Gath were thought to be outliers in the Levant in building with Mesopotamia-style fired bricks. But what baked the bricks at Tell es-Safi wasn’t a kiln


Ancient GathCredit: Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, Bar-Ilan University


‘Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire ... thou shalt be no more remembered; for I the Lord have spoken it’” Ezekiel 21:37

Tales of divine wrath expressed in fire, or kings burning cities down, are not rare in the Bible. Indeed, evidence suggesting conflagration has been found at several sites, including in ancient Jerusalem, Gezer – and the Philistine city of Gath (aka Tell es-Safi).

However, techniques commonly used in archaeology are limited in their ability to distinguish mud bricks fired in kilns as opposed to mud bricks baked by enemies burning the city down, let alone fired bricks that subsequently experienced secondary heating by arson. Nor are the usual techniques helpful in studying mud bricks heated to low temperatures less than about 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees Fahrenheit), or in identifying the temperature they experienced.

Now a collaboration of Israeli archaeologists presents archaeomagnetism as a method not only to date ancient ruins but as a way to distinguish mud bricks fired in kilns as opposed to ones burned by mishap or in war.


For the rest, see:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2023...eb50e70000