All posts by Archaeology World Team

NEW ZEALAND, WORLD

330,000 Year Old Man made wall Found in New Zealand

330,000 Year Old Man made wall Found in New Zealand

In 1996, the alternative historian Barry Brailsford drew the world’s attention to the Kaimanawa wall in New Zealand. The curious structure lies in the Kaimanawa State Forest, south of Lake Taupo on North Island. A tremendous amount of controversy erupted surrounding the wall after Brailsford and David Childress claimed that the wall is man-made and pre-dates Maori colonization of New Zealand by about 1200 years. Such information, if true, would have rewritten the history of New Zealand. Additionally, there would have been complex and far-reaching political and financial implications for the local Maori tribes.

The Kaimanawa wall is a strange outcropping of rocks on North Island, New Zealand.

Did Mysterious People Build the Kaimanawa Wall?

Brailsford is a native resident and history lecturer of Christchurch, New Zealand. David Hatcher Childress is an author on lost civilizations around the world and a regular commentator on Ancient Aliens. The two men worked together to study the Kaimanawa wall in 1996. To the investigators, the workmanship reminded them of similar megalithic structures found in the Pacific and South America.

The stones consist of ignimbrite, a type of rock that results when pyroclastic pumice solidifies after a volcanic blast. The structure seems to bear the hallmarks of a deliberate construction with neat rows of stacked blocks. Precision joints and surfaces appear carved or sculpted. The most heated area of contention about the wall is its age. If someone built the formation around 2000 years ago, then a mysterious group of people must have settled in New Zealand before the first Maori. According to Brailsford, the structure proves the claim of the Waitaha of South Island that their people reached New Zealand before the Maori.

Some people believe the Kaimanawa wall is a 2000-year-old man-made structure that predates the Maori.

Current Knowledge About Maori Settlement

The theory of pre-Maori civilization in New Zealand conflicts with the current understanding of the first settlements of the islands. Based on archaeological evidence, the first wave of Maori arrived sometime between 1250 and 1300 from Eastern Polynesia. Subsequently, other waves of Maori followed. The oldest official archaeological site and perhaps the very first settlement in the islands are located at the Wairao Bar on South Island. Scientists recorded about 2000 artefacts and 44 human skeletons and found that many of them originated directly from Eastern Polynesia.

Maori oral tradition indicates that their oldest ancestors who first arrived in New Zealand were the Waitaha (not to be confused with the Nation of Waitaha which will be explained later). The story indicates that subsequent Polynesian groups to arrive assimilated the Waitaha. Today, Waitaha descendants live on South Island.

To date, there is no official evidence of an earlier civilization, however, there are numerous unsubstantiated claims of sites and artefacts that pre-date the Maori. The first European to arrive was Abel Tasman in 1642. Because these islands are so remote, New Zealand was one of the last places that humans colonized – about 600-900 years after eastern Polynesians settled Hawai’i.

Three Theories About the Kaimanawa Outcropping

There are three general ideas about the wall, two of which have already been discussed. They are summarized here.

The first theory proposes that the wall was constructed 2000 years ago or earlier by a prior civilization that people only speculate about. Depending on the group making the claim, the identity of the first settlers may have been European Celts, fair-skinned Asians, or a pre-Maori group of Polynesians, perhaps the Waitahas.

A second suggestion is that the stones do not even date back a century and are nothing more than the remains of a disused sawmill.

The final proposal is that hot pumice from a pyroclastic eruption created the outcropping around 330,000 years ago. Based on this theory, the cracks formed during the cooling process of the ignimbrite. This resulted in blocks that are quite common to the area and that, n fact, are not megalithic human creations.

Much of the world heard about the wall only with the media frenzy that began in 1996. The magazine New Zealand Listener published an article, “Megalith Mystery: Are giant stones in the Kaimanawa Forest Park evidence of an ancient New Zealand culture?” The article provided Brailsford and his ideas with a huge amount of publicity. On the other hand, local tribes in the region had been aware of the rocky structure for a long time. As far as they were concerned, outcropping was a natural formation that weathering processes had shaped over the centuries.

Can a Rat Solve the Mystery?

Another discovery alludes to a group that arrived much earlier than once thought. Richard Holdaway dated the bones of a Kiore rat at 2000 years old. Indigenous mammals did not exist in New Zealand. Therefore, the rat found its way to the remote lands only with the assistance of human mariners. Interestingly, the DNA of the rats show a close link to those of the Society and the Cook Islands. Thus, experts generally believe that the Polynesians who came from that region of Eastern Polynesia to settle New Zealand transported the rats with them. If there were rats in New Zealand 2000 years ago, humans must have already found their way there. However, as with the stone wall, there is some controversy about Holdaway’s dating results which some scientists question. (Howe 2003).

Politics and the Kaimanawa Wall

In order to understand some of the political, social, and economic repercussions of the claims regarding the age of the Kaimanawa outcropping, a little backstory is necessary. In 1840 the British Crown and Maori chiefs signed an agreement called the Treaty of Waitangi. This document outlined the stipulations and arrangements for the future political and social relationship between the two parties. However, when the Maori realized that the Crown had not adhered to certain points of the agreement, the Waitangi Tribunal emerged in 1975 as an inquisitional board to hear grievances against the Crown.

One of the purposes of the board was to make recommendations to the government regarding the validity of the claims. Another organization reviewed the recommendations and made determinations about settlements (compensations) which could come in various forms: money, land, or usage rights, for instance. The basis of the treaty and any entitlements stem from the premise that the Maori have indigenous claims to the land.

As a result of the treaty and compensations, a number of oppositional groups surfaced. Geoffrey Clark explains one aspect of the political/social quagmire:

“Within Maoridom, there were schisms between groups and subgroups involving membership and affiliation, and uncertainty over the rights of urban Maori to access resources through the Waitangi Tribunal. Most of all, if Maori were enshrined as the indigenous people of the land then the non-Maori majority might be considered ‘non-indigenous, a term that carries the negative environmental connotations of being foreign, exotic and invasive to the land” (Clark).

Divisions Between Tribes

The very presence of the wall became a nightmare for both the New Zealand Government and local Maori tribes. The existence of pre-Maori settlers could, in theory, undermine the Maori status as “indigenous” and their claims against the Crown. In turn, this could complicate settlement compensations to which the Maori had previously been entitled. After the two-week media frenzy following Brailsford’s announcement that the wall proves the existence of a pre-Maori megalith culture, the heated reaction of the Maori resulted in a government ban to the site. This stopped all investigations, but not before an official geologist had a chance to assess the structure.

A Geologist’s Research

The New Zealand Department of Conservation hired Dr Peter Wood from the Institute of Geothermal and Nuclear Sciences in Wairakei to have a look at the wall to provide them with an objective opinion. Subsequently, Wood concluded that the rock formation was somewhere in the region of 330,000 years old and consisted of Rangitaiki Ignimbrite. What Brailsford had accepted as man-made cuts were a system of fractures that were a naturally occurring result of a cooling process of ignimbrite sheeting.

The following is an excerpted quote from Dr Woods’ report about the Kaimanawa wall, as taken from a forum post on AboveTopSecret.

“The regular block shapes are produced by natural fractures in the rock. These fractures (joints) were initially produced when the hot ignimbrite cooled. . . . Near vertical and horizontal joints are common in welded ignimbrites of this type. The forces of erosion, gravity, earthquakes and tree growth (roots) probably have all contributed to the movement and displacement of the blocks over time.

The apparent regularity and ‘artificial’ aspect of the jointing are spurious. Most of the joints are not cuboidal. The eye is deceived mainly by one prominent horizontal joint which can be traced almost continuously along the outcrop into an area (recently excavated) where it is but one of an interlocking series of irregular joints.”

Further Scholarly Opinion

Perry Fletcher, a Taupo historian from the New Zealand Archaeological Association, and Paul Adds, a Victoria University professor, were among the harshest critics of the supporters of the pre-Maori civilization. In Fletcher’s case, he had been aware of the existence of the wall for decades. However, he never gave it a second thought. On the other hand, Adds firmly believed that those who were in favour of a “white people settled New Zealand first” theory were adhering to racist ideas. Additionally, he believed that such ideas ignored evidence that indigenous people are quite creative and resourceful.

The New Zealand Archaeological Association refused to comment about the Kaimanawa wall in the press. The reason they provided was that they did not feel it was an archaeological matter at all.

Later Years

The controversy is ongoing to this day, and there are many sides to this story. The matter has only grown more politically complex. Since Brailsford and Childress first investigated the wall, both historians have written books and given pay-for seminars. In the late 1980s, Brailsford was instrumental in the formation of an additional tribe. They called it the Nation of Waitaha (an offshoot of the already-existing Waitaha, the first group of Maori arrivals). The Nation also has non-Maori individuals among its members.

“The Nation of Waitaha claimed to be the first people in New Zealand and culturally distinct from later Maori arrivals, especially Ngai Tahu, which was portrayed as a warrior culture more concerned with securing economic assets from the Crown than with matters spiritual or environmental” (Clark). To some, the creation of factions and claims of indigeneity boil down to the financial settlements obtainable through the Tribunal.

Is This the Smoking Gun?

Unfortunately, the financial and political issues surrounding the Kaimanawa wall have muddied the uncertain and inconclusive reality of the outcropping. The most credible non-biased study suggests that it is merely one of the many amazing geological formations in New Zealand, like the Moeraki boulders or the hexagonal basalt columns. However, this certainly does not preclude the possibility of a pre-Maori settlement. This only means that the smoking gun might not be the Kaimanawa wall in Taupo.

ASIA, SAUDI ARABIA, WORLD

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia excavate ‘forgotten kingdoms’

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia excavate ‘forgotten kingdoms’

Amid the arid desert and mountains of Al Ula in northwest Saudi Arabia, archaeologists are working to excavate the remnants of the ancient and long-forgotten kingdoms of Dadan and Lihyan.

Spanning roughly 900 years until 100 CE, the ancient Saudi kingdoms controlled vital trade routes, but little is known about them.

Al Ula, a flagship tourist destination since it opened in 2019, is known chiefly for the majestic tombs of Madain Saleh, a 2,000-year-old city carved into rocks by the Nabateans, the pre-Islamic Arab people who also built Petra in neighbouring Jordan.

A team of French and Saudi archaeologists is now focused on excavating five nearby sites related to the Dadanite and Lihyanite civilisations, important regional powers that flourished 2,000 years ago.

“It’s a project that really tries to unlock the mysteries of (these) civilisations,” said Abdulrahman Al-Sohaibani, who is co-directing the Dadan archaeological mission.

A French archaeologist and his co-workers carefully clean the pottery to examine the findings known to be from Dadan and Lihyan civilisation.

Dadan is mentioned in the Old Testament and the Lihyanite kingdom was one of the largest of its time, stretching from Medina in the south to Aqaba in the north in modern-day Jordan, according to the Royal Commission for the project.

Spanning roughly 900 years until 100 CE, the kingdoms controlled vital trade routes but very little is known about them. The team is hoping to learn more about their worship rituals, social life and economy.

Previous excavations had been limited to the main sanctuary area, said Jerome Rohmer, a researcher with the French National Center for Scientific Research.

“We would just like have a comprehensive overview of the chronology of the site, the layout of the site, its material culture, its economy,” Rohmer added.

READ ALSO: THOUSANDS OF HUMAN AND ANIMAL BONES HOARDED BY HYENAS IN LAVA TUBE SYSTEM, SAUDI ARABIA

“It’s a comprehensive project where we’re basically trying to answer all of these questions.”

In Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy and society, Al-Ula has gained prominence. The kingdom is banking on tourism as it tries to open up to the world and diversify its economy away from oil.

Al-Ula’s development is part of a move to preserve pre-Islamic heritage sites in order to attract non-Muslim tourists and strengthen national identity.

AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, WORLD

Fossil of an early hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago found in South Africa

Fossil of early hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago found in South Africa

The fossil remains of an early hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago have been discovered in a cave in South Africa by a team of international and South African researchers.

The team announced the discovery of a partial skull and teeth of a Homo Naledi child who died when it was approximately four to six years old.

The remains were found in a remote part of the cave that suggests the body had been placed there on purpose, in what could be a kind of grave, Professor Guy Berger of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who led the team said in an announcement Thursday.

Fossil of early hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago found in South Africa
The fossil remains of an early hominid child have been discovered in a cave in South Africa by a team of international and South African researchers

The placement “adds mystery as to how these many remains came to be in these remote, dark spaces of the Rising Star Cave system,” he added.

Homo Naledi is a species of archaic human found in the Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg. Homo Naledi dates to the Middle Pleistocene era 335,000–236,000 years ago.

The initial discovery, first publicly announced in 2015, comprises 1,550 specimens, representing 737 different elements, and at least 15 different individuals.

“Homo Naledi remains one of the most enigmatic ancient human relatives ever discovered,” said Berger. “It is clearly a primitive species, existing at a time when previously we thought only modern humans were in Africa.”

He added that “its very presence at that time and in this place complexifies our understanding of who did what first concerning the invention of complex stone tool cultures and even ritual practices.”

The new discovery is described in two papers in the journal, PaleoAnthropology.

ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

2,000-Year-Old Amethyst Seal Found in Israel

2,000-Year-Old Amethyst Seal Found in Israel

An amethyst gemstone seal from the Second Temple period has a unique engraving: a bird and a branch with five fruits, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

The 2,000-year-old seal was discovered in the bedrock foundations of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel.

The tiny artefact has a hole for the attachment of a metal wire enabling it to be worn as a ring.

2,000-Year-Old Amethyst Seal Found in Israel
The 2,000-year-old amethyst seal was found in Jerusalem, Israel.

It was examined by IAA archaeologist Dr Eli Shukron, Professor Shua Amorai-Stark from Kaye Academic College of Education, Dr Malka Hershkovitz from Jewish Institute of Religion, and their colleagues.

“Seals were used to sign documents and could also be fashionable items serving as jewellery,” the researchers said.

The amethyst seal is approximately 1 cm (0.4 inches) long and 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) wide.

It is engraved with a dove next to a thick, long, and fruit-bearing branch.

“The plant engraved on the stone may be the well-known persimmon plant mentioned in the Bible, Talmud, and historical sources,” the scientists said.

“The Biblical persimmon, which is not related to today’s orange persimmon fruit, is known from Biblical and historical sources.”

During the Second Temple period, the plant was used as one of the more expensive ingredients for producing the Temple incense, perfume, medicines, and ointments.

“This is an important find because it may be the first time a seal has been discovered with an engraving of the precious and famous plant, which until now we could only read about in historical descriptions,” Dr Shukron said.

“This impressive seal provides a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who lived in the days of the Second Temple.”

EUROPE, SWITZERLAND, WORLD

2,000-Year-Old Battle Site Uncovered in Switzerland

2,000-Year-Old Battle Site Uncovered in Switzerland

The finds – including a dagger, well-preserved slingshot stones, coins, nails and part of a shield – are assumed to have been left on the battlefield after a clash between Romans and a local tribe at around 15BC.

2,000-Year-Old Battle Site Uncovered in Switzerland
A dagger is one of the hundreds of objects uncovered on the ancient battlefield.

Lucas Schmid, who volunteers for the local archaeological association, uncovered the remains using a metal detector at a remote southeast corner of Switzerland, near the Crap-Ses gorge between the towns of Tiefencastel and Cunter.

Other artefacts had previously been unearthed at the location, but the site was considered to have been picked clean by previous sweeps.

Schmid proved this was not the case after discovering a 2,000-year-old Roman dagger. 

This alerted an archaeology team from the University of Basel who has found several hundred other objects during an ongoing search of the 35,000 square metre site in September. These artefacts have now been made public.

How the battle unfolded

It is assumed that a battle took place between Roman forces and a local Raetian tribe near Cunter in what is now canton Graubünden. 

“It looks like the locals were holed up and were shot at by the Romans with slingshot and catapults,” Peter Schwarz, professor of Provincial Roman Archaeology at the University of Basel, told Swiss public broadcaster, SRFExternal link.

Schwarz believes that as many as 1,500 soldiers took part in the battle, making it a fairly minor skirmish compared to other Roman battlegrounds in Europe.

The coins and type of shoe nails found offer firm evidence of the time period of the battle. But the team is hoping to narrow down the date even further and hypothesize that it could be linked to a known decree from Roman Emperor Augustus to bring the area under Roman control in 15BC.

“This is the first time that remnants from a Roman battle site have been found in Switzerland,” Schwarz told SWI swissinfo.ch. “It seems that the Romans attacked their enemy on one side of the valley and them drove them over a river to the other side, before attacking again.”

Dig to continue next year

Excavations will continue in the region next year, organised by the University of Basel along with the cantonal and federal authorities. So far no grave sites have been discovered and it is not known how many people died in the battle.

READ ALSO: UNDERWATER STONEHENGE THAT PREDATES THE PYRAMIDS CONFIRMED IN SWITZERLAND

Raetian tribes occupied the eastern Alps at the time of the battle, including parts of modern-day Austria and Italy. The Romans conquered the region and named the area Raetia under Augustus.

The Swiss portion of Raetia eventually became the modern-day canton Graubünden.

Archaeological evidence of the Roman occupation of Switzerland is regularly unearthed. One of the most spectacular finds was a collection of mosaics in the western town of Orbe.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

A mummy discovered in a vast burial ground of Egypt’s pharaohs could change how ancient history is understood

A mummy discovered in a vast burial ground of Egypt’s pharaohs could change how ancient history is understood

A new analysis of an ancient Egyptian mummy suggests that advanced mummification techniques were used 1,000 years earlier than previously believed, rewriting the understood history of ancient Egyptian funerary practices.

A mummy discovered in a vast burial ground of Egypt's pharaohs could change how ancient history is understood
Mohamed Mujahid (L), head of the Egyptian mission which discovered the tomb of the ancient Egyptian nobleman Khuwy inspects the tomb’s walls inside at the Saqqara necropolis on April 13, 2019.

The discovery centres around a mummy, known as Khuwy, believed to have been a high-ranking nobleman. He was excavated at the necropolis, a vast ancient burial ground of Egyptian pharaohs and royals near Cairo, in 2019.

Scientists now believe that Khuwy is much older than previously thought, dating back to Egypt’s Old Kingdom, which would make him one of the oldest Egyptian mummies ever to be discovered, The Observer reported.

The Old Kingdom spanned 2,700 to 2,200 B.C.E and was known as the “Age of the Pyramid Builders.”

Khuwy was embalmed using advanced techniques thought to have been developed much later. His skin was preserved using expensive resins made from tree sap, and his body was impregnated with resins and bound with high-quality linen dressings.

The new analysis suggests that ancient Egyptians living around 4,000 years ago were carrying out sophisticated burials.

“This would completely turn our understanding of the evolution of mummification on its head,” Professor Salima Ikram, head of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, told The Observer.

“If this is indeed an Old Kingdom mummy, all books about mummification and the history of the Old Kingdom will need to be revised.”

Workers excavate a burial site at Saqqara, January 17, 2021.

“Until now, we had thought that Old Kingdom mummification was relatively simple, with basic desiccation – not always successful – no removal of the brain, and only occasional removal of the internal organs,” Ikram told The Observer. Ikram was surprised by the amount of resin used to preserve the mummy, which is not often recorded in mummies from the Old Kingdom.

She added that typically more attention was paid to the exterior appearance of the deceased than the interior.

“This mummy is awash with resins and textiles and gives a completely different impression of mummification. In fact, it is more like mummies found 1,000 years later,” she said.

Ikram told The National that the resin used would have been imported from the Near East, most likely Lebanon, demonstrating that trade with neighbouring empires around that time was more extensive than previously thought.

The discovery has been documented in National Geographic’s new series, Lost Treasures of Egypt, which starts airing on 7 November. Tom Cook, who produced the series for Windfall Films, told The Observer that Ikram initially could not believe that Khuwy dated back to the Old Kingdom because of the advanced mummification techniques.

“They knew the pottery in the tomb was the Old Kingdom but [Ikram] didn’t think that the mummy was from [that period] because it was preserved too well,” Cook told the outlet.

“But over the course of the investigation, she started to come round [to the idea].”

Khuwy’s ornate tomb featured hieroglyphics that suggested the burial took place during the Fifth Dynasty period, spanning the early 25th to mid-24th century B.C.E, The Smithsonian said.

Archaeologists also found pottery and jars used to store body parts during the mummification process that dated back to that time.

Ikram’s team will conduct more tests to confirm that the remains do belong to Khuwy.

She told The National that one possibility was that another person could have been mummified and buried centuries later in a re-purposing of the tomb.

“I remain hesitant until we can conduct carbon-14 dating,” Ikram told the outlet, adding that it would likely take six to eight months.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

New Horrifying Secrets of Peru’s Ancient Civilizations Unearthed in The Andes

New Horrifying Secrets of Peru’s Ancient Civilizations Unearthed in The Andes

The foothills of the Andes mountains are revealing their bloody secrets: the ancient skeletons of sacrificed children. Archaeologists have unearthed 29 human bodies entombed approximately 1,000 years ago at Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá, an archaeological site in the Lambayeque region of northwestern Peru.

New Horrifying Secrets of Peru's Ancient Civilizations Unearthed in The Andes
An overhead view of the excavation site.

Four of the skeletons – belonging to two children, a teenager and one adult – date to the Wari culture.

These four skeletons represent the region’s first known examples of human offerings from the Wari civilization, Edgar Bracamonte Lévano, the excavation’s director and research archaeologist with the Royal Tombs of Sipán museum, told Live Science in an email.

In addition to human remains, the excavation uncovered skeletons from eight guinea pigs, as well as several alpacas and llamas, all of which were likely sacrificed. They also uncovered pots, bottles, and a knife with a half-moon-shaped blade.

Bracamonte Lévano recognized the tombs as Wari because they were surrounded by three distinctive, D-shaped enclosures typical of the culture’s religious spaces.

The human offerings may have been “part of a possible ritual carried out at the time of starting the construction of these Wari-style religious spaces,” he said.

In addition to the four human offerings, the archaeological team uncovered a fifth individual who had undergone secondary burial. “That is to say, he was buried elsewhere and [then] reburied inside the D-shaped enclosure,” Bracamonte Lévano said.

A human skeleton unearthed at Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá

The Wari civilization flourished along the mountains and coasts of modern-day Peru from around AD 500 to 1000.

Wari people were known for their finely woven textiles and sculpted pottery, as well as their roads and terraced agriculture, according to the World History Encyclopedia. These roads would later be incorporated into parts of the Inca Empire.

While the exact structure of Wari society remains open to debate, archaeologists have found evidence suggesting that religion was deeply intertwined with politics and that women were included at the highest levels of governance, as Live Science previously reported.

The other 25 skeletons found buried – though not sacrificed – at the site belonged to the Mochica, or Moche, culture. This civilization thrived in what is now Lambayeque from around AD 100 to 700, and would later be supplanted by the Wari.

READ ALSO: RED PAINT ON THE 1,000-YEAR-OLD GOLD MASK FROM PERU CONTAINS HUMAN BLOOD PROTEINS

Unlike Wari art, which tends toward abstract shapes and patterns, Moche art is famous for its more literal, naturalistic style. That makes artefacts from the two cultures easily distinguishable, Bracamonte Lévano said. 

Among the most significant Moche discoveries in recent years is the Lady of Cao mummy, a tattooed noblewoman whose forensic reconstruction was the subject of a 2017 National Geographic documentary.

The Lord of Sipán, another famous Moche mummy discovered in 1987, resides in the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum under Bracamonte Lévano’s watchful eye. 

EUROPE, GREECE, WORLD

Bronze Age Swords Unearthed in Greece

Bronze Age swords and sets of bounties Unearthed in Greece

The first period of this year’s excavation in the Trapeza plateau, eight kilometres southwest of Aegio, was completed, bringing to light, among other things, valuable sets of gifts and bronze swords. The place is identified with Rypes, a city that flourished in early historical times and participated in colonization, founding Croton in great Greece.

Excavation in the prehistoric settlement

The excavation focused on the research of the Mycenaean necropolis, which develops on the southwestern slope of the plateau and is located on the ancient road that led to the citadel of historical times. 

The tombs are chambered, carved into the soft sandy subsoil. Their use was long-lasting and intensive, already during the first palace period of the Mycenaean world, in parallel with the prosperity of the great centres of Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. 

Significant reuse of the tombs dates back to the 12th century BC, when the tombs were reopened and repeatedly while being a place of burial customs and complex ritual practices until the end of the Bronze Age, during the 11th century BC.

The excavation at the necropolis yielded valuable sets of gifts consisting of vases, a number of seal stones and all kinds of beads and voices from various materials – glass, faience, gold, corneol, mountain crystal – composing necklaces and ornate jewellery in the shape of jewels, in trade relations with the eastern Aegean and Cyprus.

The chamber of tomb 8, in the shape of a rectangle, which was investigated this year, presented a complex stratigraphy. In the first layer of tombs of the 12th c. BC, three burials were investigated by country, decorated with pseudo-mouthed amphorae. 

The bones of the older tombs had been removed and placed with respect and great care in two superimposed piles at the back of the chamber in contact with the walls of the tomb. At the top of these excavations, three written clay alabasters and an amphora date these first burials to the early palace period (14th century BC).

Among the bones and offerings that accompanied these ancient burials, glass beads and cornaline, a clay horse figurine, was placed an exceptionally preserved bronze sword. 

Bronze Age Swords Unearthed in Greece
The big sword between the bones of the recovery

At the base of the pile of bones, two more intact bronze swords were also found, which also save part of their wooden handles. The three swords belong to different types, Sandars D and E, and date back to the heyday of the Mycenaean palace period. 

The presence of these weapons, as well as the long spears of the same chronological period found during the excavation in neighbouring tombs in the necropolis of the Bank, is particularly important. It is distinguished from the other necropolises of Achaia by emphasizing the direct dependence of the local community on the powerful palace centres. 

The weapons are products of the palace workshops, perhaps of Mycenae, thus in line with the Epic and the mythological tradition handed down to us. 

According to it, Achaia belonged to the kingdom of Agamemnon and the conqueror of Mycenae gathered in neighbouring Aigio the most valuable men in order to discuss how the campaign against the Priam state should be carried out.

The location of the Mycenaean settlement of Trapeza is still not clear enough. 

Probably, during the early cycle of use of the necropolis, the settlement was located on a hill, about 100 meters south of the Bank. 

This year, in parallel with the research in the Mycenaean necropolis, the excavation of part of the settlement, revealed part of a building, perhaps a mansion. It is a wide rectangular room with a hearth in the centre and typical pottery that dates back to the 17th century. e.g.

READ ALSO: ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER “UNIQUE” CEREMONIAL BRONZE AGE SWORD IN DENMARK

The systematic excavation at Trapeza Aigio, ancient Pollutants, is led by Dr. Andreas G. Vordos, archaeologist of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia. 

Elisabetta Borgna, Professor of Aegean Archeology at the University of Udine, participates in the interdisciplinary research program of the Mycenaean necropolis and the prehistoric settlement with a group of students from the Universities of Udine, Trieste and Venice, as well as postgraduate students.

The main sponsor of the excavation at the Bank of Egialia, ancient Pollutants, is the AG Foundation. Leventis. The excavation work is also supported by Olympia Odos SA.