All posts by Archaeology World Team

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

Well-preserved fossils could be a consequence of past global climate change

Well-preserved fossils could be consequence of past global climate change

Well-preserved fossils could be consequence of past global climate change
A fossil of a crustacean claw exoskeleton from the Posidonia Shale in Germany.

Climate change can affect life on Earth. According to new research, it can also affect the dead. A study of exceptionally preserved fossils led by a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin has found that rising global temperatures and a rapidly changing climate 183 million years ago may have created fossilization conditions in the world’s oceans that helped preserve the soft and delicate bodies of deceased marine animals.

The fossils include squid-like vampyropods with ink sacs, ornate crustacean claws, and fish with intact gills and eye tissue.

Despite being from different locations and marine environments, the fossils were all preserved in a similar manner. Geochemical analysis revealed that the conditions needed to preserve such captivating fossils could be connected to Earth’s climate.

“When I started the research, I had no idea if they would preserve the same way or a different way,” said lead author Sinjini Sinha, a graduate student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “I was curious what led to the exceptional preservation.”

The research was published in Scientific Reports.

Going from dead organism to eternal fossil is a complex, chemical process that involves the formation of minerals within biological tissues. The authors examined different parts of fossil specimens under a scanning electron microscope equipped with a tool to detect chemical elements present in the minerals.

Lead author Sinjini Sinha, a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, examines images of fossil specimens in the scanning electron microscope lab. Sinha used the microscope to examine exceptionally preserved fossils and learn more about the fossilization process.

The fossils came from the Posidonia Shale in southern Germany, Strawberry Bank in southern England, and Ya Ha Tinda in Alberta, Canada. And in all of them, one element dominated: phosphorus.

“We expected there to be some similarities, but finding that they were so similar was a bit surprising,” said co-author Rowan Martindale, an associate professor at the Jackson School.

Phosphorus is common in bones, so finding it in fossilized fish skeletons wasn’t unusual. But when it appeared in tissues that don’t usually contain phosphorus, such as crustacean exoskeletons and vampyropod soft tissues, it signalled that the environment was the source of the phosphorus minerals.

Phosphorus, however, usually isn’t available in high concentrations within marine sediments, said co-author Drew Muscente, an assistant professor at Cornell College and former Jackson School postdoctoral researcher.

“Phosphorus is an element that you don’t expect to see in sedimentary rocks,” he said. “It generally doesn’t get buried in large amounts except in unusual circumstances.”

Lead author Sinjini Sinha holds a fossilized ink sac of a vampyropod, a squid-like animal. The black portion is the ink sac. The white portion is the tissue surrounding the sac. The fossil is from the Strawberry Bank fossil deposit in the United Kingdom.

The researchers think a period of extreme and rapid climate change caused by an influx of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions during the Early Jurassic could be just that circumstance, with the rising temperatures causing increased rainfall that stripped large amounts of phosphorus-rich sediment from rocks on land into the world’s oceans.

Climate change today is also reducing oxygen in the oceans but it will be millions of years before anyone can say whether there is a boost in exceptional fossils, Martindale said.

The fossil fish Leptolepis from the Strawberry Bank fossil deposit in the United Kingdom.

Javier Luque, a research associate at Harvard University who was not part of the study, said that the study is important because it suggests that past climate change could have helped enable fossilization in a variety of environments.

“Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways of this work is that global events in the past could have set the stage for the exceptional preservation seen in fossil-rich marine deposits around the world regardless of their location, lithologies, environments, and depositional setting,” he said.

The study was also co-authored by researchers at the University of Missouri, the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, and the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

London’s largest Roman mosaic in 50 years discovered by archaeologists

London’s largest Roman mosaic in 50 years discovered by archaeologists

In the shadow of the iconic Shard in London, archaeologists have come across an echo of the city’s ancient past. Right there in the heart of the city, they’ve unearthed a striking Roman mosaic that dates back to the late second or early third century.

London's largest Roman mosaic in 50 years discovered by archaeologists
Archaeologists work to uncover the newly-unearthed mosaic in central London.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime find in London,” raved Antonietta Lerz, the Museum of London Archeology (MOLA) site supervisor.

MOLA archaeologists uncovered the mosaic while excavating a new housing and retail development at the Liberty of Southwark site near the London Bridge. As they sifted through the dirt, something suddenly caught their attention.

“When the first flashes of colour started to emerge through the soil everyone on site was very excited,” Lerz explained.

The archaeologists eventually uncovered a Roman mosaic made of two panels that stretches for more than 26 feet. The larger panel includes lotus flowers, a “Solomon’s knot” pattern, and intertwining strands called guilloche. The smaller panel is simpler but includes some of the same designs with red and black tiles. Historians have seen similar mosaics elsewhere.

The panel is nearly 2,000 years old and includes intricate geometric patterns.

David Neal, a Roman mosaic expert, believes that the larger panel was made by the Acanthus group, who developed a unique style in London. And, intriguingly, the smaller panel bears a striking resemblance to one found in Trier, Germany. That may mean that London artisans took their craft abroad.

Both mosaics probably made up a triclinium, a sort of formal dining room where upper-class ancient Romans would have lounged on couches, chatted, and admired the beautiful floor.

The triclinium itself likely made up one part of a mansio, a type of inn for Romans officials travelling on state business where they could rest, stable their horses, and get a bite to eat. Archaeologists suspect that it was part of a bigger complex, but they’re still examining the grounds.

Indeed, the mosaics weren’t the only discoveries that the MOLA archaeologists made. They also found evidence of a large building nearby, which may have been a wealthy Roman’s private house. There, they uncovered an intricate bronze brooch, a bone hairpin, and a sewing needle.

“These finds are associated with high-status women who were following the latest fashions and the latest hairstyles,” Lerz explained, noting that they lived during the “heydey of Roman London.”

“The buildings on this site were of very high status. The people living here were living the good life.”

The smaller mosaic bears a strong resemblance to one found in Trier, Germany.

Roman London, or Londinium, was first settled in 47 C.E. It expanded rapidly throughout the first century and reached its peak during the second century. At the time, Londinium boasted a population of around 45,000 to 60,000.

The largest city in Roman Britannia, it had a forum, a basilica, bathhouses, temples, and other features found in bustling Roman hubs. The mosaics found near The Shard are a striking throwback to that time.

“The Liberty of Southwark site has a rich history, but we never expected a find on this scale or significance,” explained Henrietta Nowne, a Senior Development Manager at regeneration specialist U+I, which is working with Transport for London to develop the Liberty of Southwark site.

“We are committed to celebrating the heritage of all of our regeneration sites, so it’s brilliant that we’ve been able to unearth a beautiful and culturally-important specimen in central London that will be now preserved so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come.”

Moving forward, Lerz and her team aim to preserve and display the stunning mosaics.

“Long term, we would hope to have these on public display and we are in consultation with Southwark Council to find an appropriate building to put them in, where they can be enjoyed by everyone,” she explained.

For now, the excavation of the Roman mosaics continues — just a three-minute walk from London’s gleaming Shard.

DENMARK, EUROPE, WORLD

Mysterious Alien Sealand skull found in Olstykke: Remains Of An Extraterrestrial

Mysterious Alien Sealand skull found in Olstykke: Remains Of An Extraterrestrial

The Mysterious alien Sealand skull is one of the most controversial skulls ever excavated and has generated fascinating results leading to believe that this could be the ultimate evidence of Alien beings inhabiting Earth in the distant past.

Mysterious Alien Sealand skull found in Olstykke: Remains Of An Extraterrestrial

Numerous strange and unanswered things have been discovered on Earth in recent decades. It’s difficult to differ authenticated and reliable objects from hoaxes, but discoveries like Sealand Skull are proof that there are things out there that cannot be explained precisely.

It is believed that a mysterious skull belonged to an Alien that visited Earth hundreds of years ago, others say that it may have belonged to an unknown species that roamed parts of modern-day Denmark in the distant past.

However, few think of it as just another elaborate hoax.

Tests conducted on the skull revealed fascinating results suggesting that the alien-like skull is perhaps one of the few unaccountable skulls ever found on Earth.

Facts about the mysterious Alien Sealand Skull

The enigmatic alien-like skull was discovered in 2007 in Olstykke, Denmark by workers while they were replacing sewer pipes.

Interestingly, only the skull was recovered, the skeletal remains of the body belonging to the skull have never been excavated. It is believed that skeleton of the mystery being was buried at some different location.

The skull was first examined in 2010 at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Denmark prior to 2010 not a single researcher wanted to examine the skull.

Tests conducted in 2010 revealed that the skull is one of the most mysterious craniums ever tested since experts were unable to determine what species it belonged to.

Researchers stated: “Although it resembles a mammal, certain characteristics make it impossible to fit into the Linnaean Taxonomy.”

At first, researchers suggested that the skull may have belonged to a horse, but further tests revealed the enigmatic skull belongs to an unknown species on Earth.

As no one could throw much light on the strange skull, the cranium was later sent to the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen.
Carbon dating revealed that this mysterious being lived between 1200 and 1280 BC.

With the hope of finding more about the skull, researchers excavated the area where the skull was found. Among other things, they discovered animal bones, stone axes, and other artefacts that originated in the Neolithic period as per the researchers.

Some researchers proposed a theory that due to the large eye sockets and the smooth surface, it is very likely that this being was adapted to colder weather. The relative eye size indicated that it was a nocturnal creature with giant eyes.

Strangely, the eyes sockets of the Sealand skull seem to extend further to the sides whereas in a human skull eyes are more centred.

The nostril of the Sealand skull is very small, and the chin is very narrow

If the species of this mysterious skull does not fall into the category of a known species on earth, then who does it belong to?

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Archaeologists stunned by ancient ‘death mask’ found in Mexican temple

Archaeologists stunned by ancient ‘death mask’ found in Mexican temple

Palenque is set amid lush forest and dense foliage in a slice of southern Mexico. It is not the largest Mayan city by any stretch, but it has been described as one of the most stunning. Its architecture and the accompanying carvings and sculptures are some of the finest surviving pieces of Mayan history, in a region where the civilisation once thrived.

Compared to other Maya settlements in Mexico, Palenque was technically advanced.

A sophisticated aqua-duct system provided its inhabitants with abundant spring water — just one of the many perks of living there.

In the seventh century AD, the city was ruled by the powerful king, Pacal the Great.

He had one of the longest reigns of any Maya monarch, taking the throne in 615 at the age of just 12, and ruled until his death aged 80.

Archaeologists stunned by ancient 'death mask' found in Mexican temple
Archaeology: Researchers were stunned on finding the ancient ‘death mask’
Maya: The Maya were an ancient civilisation that resided in Mexico

While in power he oversaw the construction of some of Palenque’s jaw-dropping sacred sites like the huge Central Palace.

Perhaps most importantly, he commissioned the construction of the now-iconic Temple of the Inscriptions.

The temple and the work archaeologists have carried out in and around it was explored during the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary, ‘Sacred sites: Maya’.

In the mid-20th century, researchers discovered a relic that would give a “new insight” into what the Maya believed about the afterlife, according to the documentary’s narrator.

Palenque: While not the largest, Palenque is one of the best-preserved Maya cities

Excavating the temple floor, they uncovered a passage to a chamber deep within the pyramid.

It contained a sarcophagus covered by a stone lid — inside, lay the remains of an elite Mayan wearing a Jade “death mask”.

Hieroglyphs on the sarcophagus soon confirmed that the remains belonged to King Pacal, much to the surprise of the researchers.

This is because it meant that the temple housed the tomb of the great king himself. The narrator noted that while it is a place of burial, it is also “intended as a place of resurrection.”

Ancient history: Perfectly preserved carvings adorn many of the city’s walls and buildings
Pacal the Great: One of the Maya’s great kings left behind his intricately designed death mask

On the sarcophagus lid, the images illustrate a central Mayan belief that the Universe is made up of three levels: the Earth, the underworld and the heavens. Leaving this world, Pascal emerges from the underworld and is reborn into eternal life in the heavens in the engravings.

The narrator said: “This is the essence of Mayan religion.”

Later on, in 2018, archaeologists made yet another groundbreaking discovery at the site when they came across an ancient stucco mask unlike any other, thought to have been cast from Pacal’s face.

Unlike other artefacts found, however, it showed the king in old age, his wrinkles and other facial details clearly visible.

The 20-centimetre (7.8 inch) mask was found by a team with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) during an investigation of the temple’s ancient drainage system.

Diego Prieto, director of the institute, said: “Palenque continues to astonish us with everything it has to offer archaeological, anthropological, and historical research.”

Ancient tomb: Pacal’s tomb was found deep inside a chamber within the temple

Ceramic figures were also found alongside the mask, as well as decorated bones and the remains of several animals.

Experts believe these were most likely offerings made for the completion of the building’s reconstruction. Palenque eventually perished in the eight century AD, and became consumed by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees.

ASIA, JAPAN, WORLD

Japan’s 1,000-year-old ‘killing stone’ said to contain an ancient demon cracked open

Japan’s 1,000-year-old ‘killing stone’ said to contain an ancient demon cracked open

According to the legend, the 1000-year-old killing stone trapped the spirit of a malevolent being. Now, due to rainwater, the rock has split open, sending believers into a state of frenzy.

The legend warns anyone who comes in contact with the stone will die. This volcanic rock, which is officially called Sessho-Seki, is rumoured to contain the mythical Tamomo-No-Mae, also known as the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Tamomo-No-Mae was an ancient demon from Japanese mythology that took the form of a beautiful woman.

The creature was storied to be a part of a plot to kill Emperor Toba, ruler of Japan from 1107 to 1123.

The volcanic rock is actually a popular tourist attraction, located in the mountainous northern region of Tochigi, near Tokyo.

The region is famous for its sulphurous hot springs.

Japan's 1,000-year-old 'killing stone' said to contain an ancient demon cracked open
Japan’s 1,000-year-old ‘killing stone’ said to contain an ancient demon cracked open

According to folklore, this killing stone earned its named by spewing poisonous gas at people.

However, since the rock cracked open, visitors have been fearful of approaching the site.

Some users online have even expressed fears the evil spirit has been unleashed once again.

Lily0727K, a user on Twitter, shared an image of the split rock, writing: “I came alone to Sesshoseki, where the legend of the nine-tailed fox remains.

The nine-tailed fox from Japanese mythology

“It was supposed to be, but the rock was split in half and the rope was also detached.

“If it’s a manga, it’s a pattern that the seal is broken and it’s possessed by the nine-tailed fox, and I feel like I’ve seen something that shouldn’t be seen.

“I’m getting really scared.”

According to local reports, the rock had actually begun cracking a couple of years ago. Most likely, rainwater seeped into the rock, degrading it over the years until it finally split open.

The rock was split open by rainwater

Local officials are now figuring out what to do with the rock’s remains and are looking into whether they could attempt to restore it. Others have commented on the split rock, saying: “Here I thought 2022 couldn’t get worse.

“Now a furious Japanese spirit is freed from its ‘killing stone’.”

But another joked: “My guess is the demon is going to look around at 2022 and want to go back into the rock for another millennium.”

The Japanese newspaper quoted a tourism official as saying he would like to see the Sessho-Seki restored to its original form.

Hopefully, the rumoured demon within the stone would be restored to its rocky prison as well. The killing stone was registered as a local historical site in 1957 and was also mentioned in Matsuo Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

The site has inspired a Noh play, a novel and an anime film.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Roman mosaic and villa complex found in Rutland farmer’s field

Roman mosaic and villa complex found in Rutland farmer’s field

The team from the University of Leicester during the excavations of the Rutland villa’s mosaic floor.

It was a family ramble through fields during lockdown last year that led to an “oh wow moment”: the discovery of a Roman villa complex containing a rare mosaic depicting Homer’s The Iliad, now thought to be one of the most remarkable and significant finds of its kind in Britain.

Roman mosaic and villa complex found in Rutland farmer's field
The mosaic depicts scenes from Homer’s The Iliad, about the epic fight between Achilles and the Trojan hero, Hector.

The mosaic – the first example found in the UK displaying scenes from the Greek epic poem, and only one of a handful from across Europe – was found beneath a farmer’s field in Rutland.

It is now protected by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.

Battles from the Trojan war were illustrated in only a handful of mosaics that have been found.

The site was discovered by Jim Irvine, son of the landowner, Brian Naylor, during the 2020 lockdown, and has been investigated by archaeologists from the University of Leicester in partnership with Historic England and Rutland county council.

Their investigation revealed the mosaic lies within an elaborate villa complex encompassing a host of other structures and buildings.

It is likely to have been occupied by a wealthy individual from the late Roman period, sometime between the 3rd and 4th century AD.

“A ramble through the fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery,” Irvine said. “Finding some unusual pottery among the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work.

“Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk. This really was the ‘oh wow’ moment, and the beginning of the story.”

Human remains have been found at the site.

The remains of the mosaic measure 11m by almost 7m and form the floor of what is thought to be a large dining or entertaining area.

Though mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings across the Roman empire and often featured famous figures from history and mythology, there are only a handful of depictions of Achilles’ battle with Hector at the conclusion of the Trojan war.

The villa is surrounded by what appear to be aisled barns, circular structures and a possible bathhouse.

Human remains were also found in the rubble covering the mosaic, which was likely interred after the building was no longer occupied.

John Thomas, deputy director of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the excavations, called it “the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century”.

“It gives us fresh perspectives on the attitudes of people at the time, their links to classical literature,” he said. “This [the villa’s owner] is someone with a knowledge of the classics, who had the money to commission a piece of such detail, and it’s the very first depiction of these stories that we’ve ever found in Britain.”

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, added that discoveries like this were “so important in helping us piece together our shared history”.

An aerial view of the archaeological site, photographed by drone.
SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

How Old Is the Rock Art at La Lindosa?

How Old Is the Rock Art at La Lindosa?

More than 12,000 years ago, South America was teeming with an astonishing array of ice age beasts — giant ground sloths the size of a car, elephantine herbivores and a deerlike animal with an elongated snout.

These extinct giants are among many animals immortalized in an 8-mile-long (13-kilometer-long) frieze of rock paintings at Serranía de la Lindosa in the Colombian Amazon rainforest — art created by some of the earliest humans to live in the region, according to a new study.
“(The paintings) have the whole diversity of Amazonia.

Turtles and fishes to jaguars, monkeys and porcupines,” said study author Jose Iriarte, a professor in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

Iriate calls the frieze, which likely would have been painted over centuries, if not millennia, “the last journey,” as he said it represents the arrival of humans in South America — the last region to be colonized by Homo sapiens as they spread around the world from Africa, their place of origin. These pioneers from the north would have faced unknown animals in an unfamiliar landscape.

“They encountered these large-bodied mammals and they likely painted them. And while we don’t have the last word, these paintings are very naturalistic and we’re able to see morphological features of the animals,” he said.

But the discovery of what scientists term “extinct megafauna” among the dazzlingly detailed paintings is controversial and contested.

Other archaeologists say the exceptional preservation of the paintings suggest a much more recent origin and that there are other plausible candidates for the creatures depicted. For example, the giant ground sloth identified by Iriarte and his colleagues could in fact be a capybara — a giant rodent common today across the region.

The giant sloth painting at La Lindosa.

Final word?

While Iriarte concedes the new study is not the final word in this debate, he is confident that they have found evidence of early human encounters with some of the vanished giants of the past.

The team identified five such animals in the paper: a giant ground sloth with massive claws, a gomphothere (an elephant-like creature with a domed head, flared ears and a trunk), an extinct lineage of a horse with a thick neck, a camelid like a camel or a llama, and a three-toed ungulate, or hoofed mammal, with a trunk.

He said they are well known for fossilized skeletons, enabling palaeontologists to reconstruct what they must have looked like. Iriarte and his colleagues were then able to identify their defining features in the paintings.

While the red pigments used to make the rock art have not yet been directly dated, Iriarte said that ocher fragments found in layers of sediment during excavations of the ground beneath the painted vertical rock face dated to 12,600 years ago.

The camelid painting at the La Lindosa rock painting site in Colombia.

The hope is to directly date the red pigment used to paint the miles of rock, but dating rock art and cave paintings are notoriously tricky. Ocher, an inorganic mineral pigment that contains no carbon, can’t be dated using radiocarbon dating techniques.

The archaeologists are hoping the ancient artists mixed the ocher with some kind of binding agent that will allow them to get an accurate date. The results of this investigation are expected possibly later this year.

Further study of the paintings could shed light on why these giant animals went extinct. Iriarte said no bones of the extinct creatures were found during archaeological digs in the immediate area — suggesting perhaps they weren’t a source of food for the people who created the art.

The research was published in the journal Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society B on Monday.

ASIA, CHILE, WORLD

7,000-Year-Old Evidence of Geese Domestication Found in China

7,000-Year-Old Evidence of Geese Domestication Found in China

A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Japan and China has found evidence of goose domestication in China approximately 7,000 years ago.

Modern Chinese domestic geese (Anser cygnoides domesticus).

In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of goose bones found at Tianluoshan—a dig site in east China.

Over the past several years, scientists have debated the timeline of the domestication of birds—most have suggested that chickens, which are believed to have once been a type of junglefowl, were the first to be domesticated, though there is still much debate about when it first occurred.

Estimates have ranged from five to ten thousand years ago. In this new effort, the researchers have found evidence of the domestication of wild geese, as far back as 7,000 years ago.

The team found goose bones at the Tianluoshan site and used radiocarbon dating to find out how old they are.

They have also studied the bones in other ways to learn more about their characteristics, such as the age of the birds at death.

The bones were found at what had once been a settlement of stone-age people who were both hunter/gatherers and farmers—they grew rice to supplement their foraging efforts.

The researchers found 232 goose bones at the site, four of which were from goslings ranging from 8 to 16 weeks old.

They suggest this shows the birds were hatched near the site because it is believed that wild geese did not live in that area at the time the birds were alive.

They also found evidence suggesting that the birds had been locally bred based on chemicals in their bones that likely came from a local water source. And all of the adults were approximately the same size, which indicates captive breeding.

7,000-Year-Old Evidence of Geese Domestication Found in China
Goose bones were found at Tianluoshan, China.

The researchers suggest that the evidence they found provides strong evidence for the domestication of geese in China nearly 7,000 years ago.

A finding that could mean that geese were the first birds to be domesticated.