All posts by Archaeology World Team

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Polish Pyramids? Massive megalithic tombs discovered in Western Pomerania, Poland

Polish Pyramids? Massive megalithic tombs discovered in Western Pomerania, Poland

While it has been quite some time since such a study and restoration work was conducted, these new findings have shown that there are at least a dozen huge megalithic tombs in the area near Dolice, Western Pomerania, in Poland.

Polish Pyramids? Massive megalithic tombs discovered in Western Pomerania, Poland
The ‘Polish Pyramids’ were megalithic structures that were built in ancient Poland by digging out the ground and piling large boulders on top. It is believed that their construction would have taken the work of hundreds of labourers.

These longitudinal structures, which run parallel to the ground floor, were discovered by archaeologists from the University of Szczecin, and belief them to be the handiwork of the Funnelbeaker Culture who dwelt in the proximate area from circa 4300 BC– 2800 BC.

As for the ‘pyramid’ analogy, the overview plan of each tomb resembles an extended triangle. So while their heights stood at only around 3 m (or 10 ft) – which is a far cry from their Egyptian or Mayan counterparts, the ground-kissing tombs encompassed impressive lengths of about 150 m (492.1 ft), while demonstrating variable widths ranging from 6-15 m (20 to 50 ft).

When it comes to developing technology and tools, the Funnelbeaker culture is known for ‘merging’ the expertise of local neolithic and mesolithic people residing between the lower Elbe and middle Vistula rivers.

In fact, they are known for propelling the scope of agriculture and animal husbandry, which led to farming being the major source of food production in the contemporary period, as opposed to hunting and gathering. And as was the trend with every advanced culture of its time, the Funnelbeaker community invested heavily in burial methods and traditions.

Initially, these burial structures only comprised cairns made of wooden frames that were plunged into elongated barrows. But later on, these components evolved into specially constructed passage graves and dolmens.

Unsurprisingly, given the Funnelbeaker culture’s limited tools and constructional capacity (in relation to logistics), the extended triangular tombs were only reserved for the elite members of the community.

But unfortunately, when it comes to Poland, many of these megalithic tombs tend to be only preserved in forest areas. That is because, over time, various agricultural lands had invaded such megalithic grounds – an archaeological scope made even more precarious due to Poland’s status in medieval times as the farming heartland of Europe.

Ruins of one of the tombs discovered near Dolice – present state.

However this time around, the researchers have made use of advanced technological applications to identify these elongated triangular tombs, including digital terrain models or DTM (based on ALS or airborne laser scanning). As Dr Agnieszka Matuszewska, from the Department of Archaeology, University of Szczecin said –

The potential of this method is huge. First of all, it allowed to precisely locate previously known megalithic objects and, importantly, discover previously completely unknown tombs.

It is also possible to verify in the field all, even slightly preserved objects. As a result, we were able to identify them and document the degree of destruction.

This is particularly important considering the aspect of the protection and conservation of forest areas, in particular the protection of monuments with their own landscape forms.

Now it should be noted that other than the Dolice specimens, the archaeologists have also (previously) identified Polish megalithic tombs at Skronie Forest near Kołobrzeg and at a site near Płoszkowo.

Moreover, the most famous of these ‘Polish pyramids’ were discovered in Sarnów and Wietrzychowice, and their original shapes were even reconstructed following detailed archaeological research.

Lastly (and pretty intriguingly), the date of the constructions of these Dolice megalithic tombs sort-of coincides with the initial building-phase of the Stonehenge in Britain (in late 4th millennium BC) – a renowned structure that can be associated with its fair share of human burials.

And if we stretch the ambit a bit, the advent of 4th millennium BC also saw a ‘spurt’ of other ambitious projects for megalithic monuments all around Europe – possibly due to some tremendous socio-political change.

An example of a Funnel Beaker Culture Dolmen (single-chamber megalithic tomb) in Lancken-Granitz, Germany.
EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

She Was Buried With a Silver Crown. Was She the One Who Held Power?

She Was Buried With a Silver Crown. Was She the One Who Held Power?

According to a New York Times report, a 3,700-year-old tomb holding the remains of a man and a woman has been found in southeastern Spain at the El Argar site of La Almoloya. 

Their tomb was an ovoid jar beneath the floor of a grand hall in an expansive hilltop complex known as La Almoloya, in what is now Murcia, Spain. It’s one of many archaeological sites associated with the El Argar culture of the Early Bronze Age that controlled an area about the size of Belgium from 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

Judging by the 29 high-value objects in the tomb, described Thursday in the journal Antiquity, the couple appear to have been members of the Argaric upper class. And the woman may have been the more important of the two, raising questions for archaeologists about who wielded power among the Argarics and adding more evidence to a debate about the role of women in prehistoric Europe.

She died in her 20s, possibly of tuberculosis, and had been placed on her back with her legs bent toward the man. In life, she had a range of congenital anomalies such as a shortened, fused spine and a stunted left thumb.

On and around her were sublime silver emblems of wealth and power. Her hair had been fastened with silver spirals, and her silver earlobe plugs — one larger than the other — had silver spirals looped through them. A silver bracelet was near her elbow, and a silver ring was still on her finger. Silver embellished the diamond-shaped ceramic pot near her, and triple plates of silver embellished her oak-wood awl — a symbol of womanhood.

Her most fantastic silver artefact is an impeccably crafted diadem — a headband-like crown — that still rested on her head. Only six have been discovered in Argaric graves.

Left: The interior of the La Almoloya grave. The diadem-wearing woman is on the right; Right: Golden earlobe tunnel-plugs found in the tomb, among many other high-value items.

She would have shimmered in life. “Imagine the diadem with a disc going down to the tip of her nose,” said Cristina Rihuete Herrada, an archaeologist and professor of prehistory at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and one of the discoverers of the burial. “It’s shining. You could actually see yourself in the disc. Framing the eyes of that woman would be a very, very impressive thing to see. And the ability of somebody to be reflected — their face in another face — would have been something shocking.”

The sound of her would have been dramatic too: “Think about the noise — this clink clink clink, because it’s silver against silver in these very large earlobes,” Dr Rihuete Herrada said. “That would make for a remarkable person.”

The man, who was in his 30s when he died, had been interred with his own fineries, including flared gold plugs in his ears. The silver ring that had once been on his finger had fallen off and lay near his lower back. By his side was a copper dagger fitted with four silver rivets.

Like their contemporaries — such as the Minoans of Crete, the Wessex of Britain and the Unetice of Central Europe — the Argarics had the hallmarks of a state society, with a ruling bureaucracy, geopolitical boundaries, complex settlement systems and urban centres with monumental structures. They had divisions of labour and class distinctions that persisted after death, based on the wide disparity of grave goods discovered at archaeological sites.

And while most of these systems have long been considered deeply patriarchal, the double burial at La Almoloya and other Argaric graves are making archaeologists reconsider life in ancient Iberia. Was she the one wielding the power? Was she a symbol of power but held none of her own? Did they share power or wield it in different realms?

They were buried beneath the floor of a great hall, where long benches lined the walls, and a podium stood before a hearth meant for warmth and light, not cooking. The space was big enough to hold about 50 people. “There have been hundreds of El Argar buildings excavated, and this one is unique. It’s quite clearly a building specialized in politics,” Dr Rihuete Herrada said.

La Almoloya in 2015.

The couple had at least one child together — an infant discovered buried beneath a nearby building was a genetic match to both of them.

In the El Argar culture, girls were given grave goods at an earlier age than boys were, indicating they were considered women before boys were considered men. Diadems are exclusively found with women, and their graves hold a richer variety of valuable goods. Some male elite warriors were buried with swords.

As for the power structure the two occupied, Dr Rihuete Herrada suggests that perhaps they held potency in different realms. The swords could suggest “that enforcement of government decisions will be in the hands of men. Maybe women were political rulers, but not alone,” she said.

She suggests that perhaps the Argarics were similar to the matrilineal Haudenosaunee (known also as the Iroquois), with women holding political and decision-making power — including over matters of the chiefdom, war and justice — but men being in control of the military.

These intriguing ideas fit into an emerging body of research from various archaeological studies in Europe that are re-examining female power during the Bronze Age.

“The fact that most of the grave goods, including all of those made of silver, were associated with the female clearly points to an individual that was considered highly important,” said Karin Frei, a research professor in archaeometry at the National Museum of Denmark. “It makes sense to raise the question of whether a class-based state-society could be ruled by women.”

Dr Frei is the director of Tales of Bronze Age People, which uses methods such as biogeochemical and biomolecular analyses to study the remains from both elite and commoner burials in Denmark. “In several parts of Bronze Age Europe, females might have played a much bigger role in political and/or long-distance networks than previously thought,” she said.

Joanna Bruck, an expert in the Bronze Age of Britain and Ireland and head of the School of Archaeology at University College Dublin, says that the assumption that elite women of this era were “bartered brides,” exchanged as objects in networks of male power, is ripe for reconsideration.

The burial at La Almoloya “provides such clear evidence that women could hold special political power in the past,” Dr Bruck said. “I think we’ve got to be open to the possibility that they wielded power and agency. Of course, power is a really complex thing. You can have power in some contexts but not in others. We shouldn’t think of power being something that you have or don’t have.”

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Hundreds of Artifacts Returned to Mexico by Arizona Homeland Security

Hundreds of Artifacts Returned to Mexico by Arizona Homeland Security

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) returned 277 pre-Columbian artefacts to Mexican officials Tuesday during a repatriation ceremony in the Mexican Consulate in Nogales.

Hundreds of Artifacts Returned to Mexico by Arizona Homeland Security

The pieces were recovered after two separate investigations by HSI special agents assigned to Phoenix and Nogales, Arizona. Scott Brown, special agent in charge of HSI Phoenix, presented the relics to Mexican Consul General Ambassador Ricardo Santana and Jose Luis Perea, director of the Mexican Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) in Sonora, Mexico. The Mexican officials accepted the relics on behalf of the people of Mexico.

“The cultural significance of artefacts from regions around the world extends beyond any monetary value,” said SAC Brown. “The pieces, like those discovered, are fragments of history; and it is an honour to return them to their rightful home country. HSI fully supports the importance of antiquities and cultural property, and it is through these repatriations that new generations are able to experience a part of their nation’s story.”

HSI Arizona returns hundreds of pre-Columbian artifacts to Mexico

The HSI Phoenix case began Oct. 8, 2013, when special agents were contacted by a representative of the Chandler Historical Society regarding multiple suspected pre-Columbian Chinesco-Western pottery figures with origins as far back as 100 B.C., which were in the possession of the City of Chandler Museum.

HSI special agents promptly met with the museum’s director who turned over 10 Shaft Tomb artefacts for further review and investigation. Through archaeological expert analysis, the authenticity of these artefacts was confirmed as being more than 1,500 years old and originating from Mexico.

HSI Arizona returns hundreds of pre-Columbian artefacts to Mexico

HSI special agents met with the Mexican consulate general of Nogales, director of archaeology in Sonora, Mexico, chief archaeologist for the Cerro de Trincheras zone to view the artefacts, which were authenticated as historically significant artefacts originating from Mexico.

Results of this meeting confirmed the 10 ceramic figurines to be Shaft Tomb artefacts believed to accompany deceased individuals during the last rite of passage circa 100 B.C. to 500 A.D. from the geographic regions of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima, Mexico. The archaeological experts estimated the value of the artefacts between $26,100 and $45,700.

The HSI Nogales case began in October 2012, after HSI special agents were contacted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding numerous suspected Pre-Columbian artefacts that were declared by two Mexican citizens who presented themselves for entry into the United States from Mexico via the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

HSI Nogales took custody of 267 artefacts. The items detained included arrowheads, axe heads, hammerheads, spearheads, and small stone carvings. Archaeological expert analysis subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the artefacts as being between 1,000 and 5,000 years old and of significant cultural value.

In March 2013, HSI Hermosillo representatives contacted INAH in Sonora to arrange a meeting with HSI Nogales at the CBP Nogales administrative offices to conduct a thorough examination of the detained artefacts.

The three INAH research professor archaeologists viewed the artefacts and concluded that the 267 individual pieces were pre-Hispanic (aka pre-Columbian) cultural artefacts of Mexican origin from Northwest Mexico. INAH appraised the artefacts at over $124,000.

HSI concluded that all the seized pieces were imported into the United States contrary to law pursuant to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention of 1970 and the Cultural Property Implementation Act, and therefore were to be returned to their proper home of Mexico.

U.S. Consul General in Nogales Laura Biedebach underscored, “The United States government is committed to combating the theft and trafficking of cultural heritage and to preserving and protecting it where it is found. We will continue to cooperate across agencies and borders to ensure that our citizens can enjoy their cultural heritage. We have much work to do to preserve our history for the next generation, but we are in this together and proud to be your partners.”

“This repatriation comes at an opportune time, in the year of a very significant commemoration for Mexico, the 500th anniversary of the taking of Tenochtitlan, which was a heartrending encounter between the cultural universes of Western Europe and America, said INAH Director Jose Luis Perea. “This event allows us to deeply recognize the pre-Hispanic cultures of Mexico, as well as the resistance and presence of its contemporary indigenous peoples.”

HSI is the investigative arm for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and plays a leading role in criminal investigations that involve the illicit distribution of cultural property, as well as the illegal trafficking of artwork, specializing in recovering works that have been reported lost or stolen. HSI’s International Operations, through its 80 offices in 53 countries, works closely with foreign governments to conduct joint investigations.

Despite increasingly aggressive enforcement efforts to prevent the theft of cultural heritage and other antiquities, the illicit movement of such items across international borders continues to challenge global law enforcement efforts to reduce the trafficking of such property. Trafficking in antiquities is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar transnational criminal enterprise.

HSI is committed to pursuing a strategy to combat transnational organized crime related to the illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts by targeting high priority organizations and strengthening international law enforcement partnerships.

The public, government and private institutions often aid HSI in identifying, investigating and prosecuting illicitly trafficked cultural property. If you have information about the illicit trade of cultural property or art, call the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or report tips online.

BELGIUM, EUROPE, WORLD

Neanderthals disappeared from Europe thousands of years earlier than we thought

Neanderthals disappeared from Europe thousands of years earlier than we thought

CNN reports that Neanderthal remains previously dated to about 37,000 years ago are about 10,000 years older, based upon new dates obtained by an international team of researchers through a process called liquid chromatography separation.

It is exactly when Neanderthals, our nearest relatives, died in Europe, that he is fiercely debated. They are believed to have gone extinct around 40,000 years ago—not long after modern humans have migrated out of Africa.

However, previous analyses of remains discovered in Belgium’s Spy Cave had placed specimens as recent as around 37,000 years ago — which would have made the owners some of Europe’s latest surviving Neanderthals.

Experts reanalyzed the remains and found them to be older than previously understood.

But experts from Belgium, England and Germany suspected that the age of previously analyzed specimens could be unreliable due to contamination.

Using a process known as liquid chromatography separation, experts extracted a single amino acid from the Neanderthal remains. They used this to date and reanalyze the remains, which were now free from contaminants such as glue.

The experts said that contamination of the remains meant that they had been dated as “inaccurately young” by up to 10,000 years.

Experts then dated remains found at two other Belgian sites, Fonds-de-Forêt and Engis, and found the remains were a similar age to those found in Spy Cave.

“Dating all these Belgian specimens was very exciting as they played a major role in the understanding and the definition of Neanderthals,” Grégory Abrams, an archaeologist at Belgium’s Scladina Cave Archaeological Centre, said in a statement.

Based on these latest radiocarbon dates, experts estimate that Neanderthals disappeared from the region much earlier than previously estimated — 44,200 to 40,600 years ago.

“This new study gives us more clues about when Neanderthals got extinct in Europe,” lead author Thibaut Devièse, associate professor at Aix-Marseille Université, told CNN in an email.

“There was some controversy about the last appearance of Neanderthals in Western Europe and particularly for some individuals from Spy Cave,” he explained.

“Dating is crucial in archaeology, without a reliable framework of chronology we can’t really be confident in understanding the relationships between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens as we moved into Europe 45,000 years ago and they began to disappear,” Tom Higham, a professor at the University of Oxford, who directs the PalaeoChron research project, which ran the study, said in a statement.

“That’s why these methods are so exciting because they provide much more accurate and reliable dates,” Higham added.

Devièse said that more accurate dates for these Neanderthal specimens answered one important question — but also opened up new ones, such as how long did Neanderthals and early modern humans overlap?

“We now know more precisely when Neanderthals disappeared in Europe, but we now need to confirm with the same robust methods when anatomically modern humans arrived in order to elucidate for how long these two species cohabited,” he added.

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

An impressive re-creation of ancient Rome Life in 3D – Amazing Work

An impressive re-creation of ancient Rome Life in 3D & VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings

“Rome Reborn” currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius (Rome Reborn)

Ever wish you could step into a hot air balloon, travel back in time to 320 A.D., and soar over the streets of Ancient Rome? Well, that oddly specific fantasy is achievable in a new virtual reality experience called “Rome Reborn.”

An impressive re-creation of ancient Rome Life in 3D – Amazing Work
Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Porticus Divorum, Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Porticus Minucia Frumentaria and Theatrum Balbi, Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Aedes Herculis Musarum, Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Saepta Julia and porticus Meleagri, Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com

The ambitious undertaking, painstakingly built by a team of 50 academics and computer experts over a 22-year period, recreates 7,000 buildings and monuments scattered across a 5.5 square mile stretch of the famed Italian city. The project, according to Tom Kington of the Times, is being marketed as the largest digital reconstruction of Rome to date.

Director Bernard Frischer, a digital archaeologist at Indiana University, tells Agence France-Presse that “Rome Reborn” features multiple VR experiences: You can opt for a whirlwind flyover tour of the city or stop by a specific site, such as the Roman forum or the Basilica of Maxentius.

For now, the forum and basilica are the only two landmarks available for in-depth exploration, but tours of the Colosseum, the Pantheon and other top attractions are expected to debut this year or next.

The “Flight Over Ancient Rome” experience, currently available via VR headsets and computers, takes participants on a roughly two-hour highlights tour that includes stops at more than 35 points of interest, including the imperial fora and palace, the Circus Maximus, and the tombs of emperors Augustus and Hadrian.

Iseum Campense , Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com

All of these sites are seen from above, providing a unique aerial perspective the website touts as a chance to see “how the individual buildings and monuments fit into a larger pattern of urban organization.”

Comparatively, the two site visits place users in the driver’s seat, affording them the freedom to roam through reconstructed streets and halls while learning key facts via a helpful in-app tour guide.

The Basilica of Maxentius, a monumental civic building commissioned by the emperor Maxentius prior to his defeat at the hands of rival Constantine, is particularly impressive due to its vibrant interior and restored statue of the conquering emperor, who later oversaw the Roman Empire’s transition into a Christian state.

The Forum, a marketplace of sorts that served as the centre of the ancient city, also reveals impressive attention to detail: As archaeologist Paolo Liverani of the University of Florence explains to the Times’ Kington, researchers used studies on the flooring of the Forum—including an illustration found on the Arch of Constantine—to render the virtual model accurately.

Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com
Baths of Caracalla: Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com

VR experts even collaborated with historians to ensure that sunlight correctly bounced off of the Forum’s gold-gilded statues.

Frischer tells AFP that he and his colleagues chose to set their virtual world in 320 A.D. because they had the most information on that period, which allowed them to go into greater detail.

Additionally, he explains, the year represented a critical turning point for Rome, as it experienced a burst of architectural energy and saw its population cross the 1 million thresholds.

Credit: www.relivehistoryin3d.com

Just 10 years later, Constantine moved the imperial capital east to Constantinople, signalling the end of Rome’s position as the centre of the empire.

Today, little of the sumptuous world seen in “Rome Reborn” remains, a fact emphasized by the app’s “Time Warp” feature. By toggling between the structures’ past glory and present-day dilapidation, history lovers gain an even greater appreciation of just what was achieved during Rome’s glory days.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Drive-Thru History? McDonald’s Opens ‘Museum-Restaurant’ Above Ancient Roman Road

Drive-Thru History? McDonald’s Opens ‘Museum-Restaurant’ Above Ancient Roman Road

When construction on the restaurant began in 2014, the presence of the lane, which had been hidden for decades, was first discovered. The €300,000 restoration project was funded by McDonald’s Italia, and the result is thought to be the world’s first restaurant museum,’ with guests being able to see the ancient street while enjoying their burgers due to a transparent floor.

Drive-Thru History? McDonald’s Opens ‘Museum-Restaurant’ Above Ancient Roman Road
A closer look at the beautiful ancient Roman road.
The head of McDonald’s Italia, Mario Federico, outside the new location.

Historically, it is assumed that the 45-metre road in Frattochie, south of the city of the Italian capital, dates back to between the second and first century BC and is thought to have fallen out of use about three centuries later. It branches off the more famous Appian Way, which links Rome with the south of the country.

Ruts from wagon wheels are visible in the paving stones, which are made of local volcanic rock.

John Linton Chapman, The Appian Way, 1869.

Though McDonald’s financed the restoration, the project was managed by Rome’s Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape.

Archaeologists unearthed the skeletons of three adult males, thought to have been buried after the road had already fallen out of use.

Casts of these skeletons have been returned to the original graves while experts carry out further analysis on the original bones. Local mayor Carlo Colizza said the McDonald’s project was “a positive example” of the private and public sector helping each other.

“We were able to perfectly combine business activities with respect for and appreciation of the history and archaeology,” added Colizza.

In fact, construction projects in Italy are often delayed by the discovery of ancient ruins which then have to be properly excavated.

This has been one of the major factors in the repeated delays to Rome’s third Metro line; workers have unearthed plenty of Roman treasures including a Roman barracks so impressive that the city is considering turning it into a museum.

The road goes directly under the restaurant, with viewing spots both inside and outside / McDonald’s Italia
Buried for more than 1,700 years, Rome’s Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape managed the project / McDonald’s Italia.

Panels in English and Italian will give information about the history of the road and there will be a special children’s route for younger visitors to explore after their Happy Meal (or Appia Meal…). The site is also accessible, for free, without going to the McDonald’s branch.

The CEO of McDonald’s Italy said that the juxtaposition of antiquity and modernity in the McDonalds restaurant-museum was “virtuous”. 

“It is a place where you can look at the future, through the past,” he said.

McDonald’s in Italy

However, McDonald’s is more often seen as a threat to Italy’s cultural heritage than a possible help.

When its first restaurant opened up near the Spanish steps in Rome 30 years ago, there was a public outcry. Fashion brand Valentino, which has its Rome headquarters nearby, complained about the smells and noise from the restaurant, and the opening also sparked the now global Slow Food movement.

And though the chain seems to have thrived, the announcement of a new branch on Vatican-owned property, not far from St Peter’s Square, was met with fierce protest from cardinals and local residents.

Cardinal Elio Sgreccia labelled the decision to open the restaurant “controversial and perverse”, but it opened in December despite the complaints.

A one-of-a-kind McDonald’s has officially opened in the Eternal City where visitors can discover the magic of ancient Roman engineering while eating their lunch.

Elsewhere, Florence has taken the struggle to protect its culinary history particularly strongly.

In 2016, the Tuscan capital turned down a request for the golden arches to set up shop in the city’s central square, leading the fast-food chain to threaten legal action.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Viking ‘Drinking Hall’ Uncovered in Scotland

Viking ‘Drinking Hall’ Uncovered in Scotland

There was likely no shortage of ale and good cheer at a recently unearthed Viking drinking hall, discovered by archaeologists on the island of Rousay, Orkney, in northern Scotland. 

Viking 'Drinking Hall' Uncovered in Scotland
The site was explored for a number of years before the discovery

The hall wasn’t a short-lived establishment, either. Its doors seem to have been open from the 10th to the 12th centuries, likely serving high-status Vikings, the archaeologists said. 

Now, all that’s left of this once bustling alehouse are stones, a handful of artefacts — including a fragmented Norse bone comb, pottery and a bone spindle whorl — and very old trash heaps, known as middens. 

The Norse bone comb fragment from the excavation site

Archaeologists discovered the beer hall this summer, after learning that walls extending from below a known settlement were actually part of a large, 43-foot-long (13 m) Norse building.

These walls were about 3 feet (1 meter) wide and 18 feet (5.5 m) apart. Stone benches sat on the sides of the building, they noted. 

Stone walls and stone benches were found during the excavation

The drinking hall was found at an archaeological hotspot at Skaill Farmstead, a place that has likely been inhabited by people for more than 1,000 years.

That’s why a team of archaeologists from the University of the Highlands and Islands archaeology institute, Rousay locals and students have been digging there for years; they are often sifting through the middens to learn about old farming and fishing practices, as well as what sorts of foods were eaten by the people who lived there. 

“We have recovered millennia of middens, which will allow us an unparalleled opportunity to look at changing dietary traditions, farming and fishing practices from the Norse period up until the 19th century,” project co-director Ingrid Mainland, an archaeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said in a statement. 

Excavations at the drinking hall are ongoing, but it’s already showing similarities to other Norse halls found in Orkney, as well as other parts of Scotland.

Moreover, the farmstead is part of the Westness on Rousay, a coastal stretch on the island. Westness is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga as the home of Sigurd, a mighty chieftain, the archaeologists said.

Perhaps, Sigurd frequented the drinking hall, the archaeologists added.

“You never know, but perhaps Earl Sigurd himself sat on one of the stone benches inside the hall and drank a flagon of ale!” project co-director Dan Lee, an archaeologist at the University of the Highlands and Islands, said in the statement.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Man Discovers 65 Million-Year-Old Skeleton of Sea Mammal after His Dogs Sniff it Out

Man Discovers 65 Million-Year-Old Skeleton of Sea Mammal after His Dogs Sniff it Out

A dog walker was left stunned after his dogs accidentally discovered a 65 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton while walking on a beach. Jon Gopsill, 54, was walking his two dogs, Poppy and Sam on the coast of Stolford, Somerset when he stumbled across a bone that turned out to be part of a five-and-a-half foot-long fossil.

Man Discovers 65 Million-Year-Old Skeleton of Sea Mammal after His Dogs Sniff it Out
Jon Gopsill believes the skeleton is that of a prehistoric ichthyosaur

The skeleton – which Jon believes to be of a prehistoric ichthyosaur – was unearthed after a week of rough seas on the south coast.

The ichthyosaur was a prehistoric porpoise-like sea mammal that lived during the Jurassic period.

“I often go to the beach walking with my dogs and when the tide goes out we go out to the rocks because they like playing there,” said Jon, an amateur archaeologist.

“I have always been a bit of an amateur fossil hunter and I have found a good supply of ammonites, so I always keep my eyes open.

Jon Gopsill made the amazing discovery while walking his two dogs, Poppy and Sam

“We were at the beach when I saw this thing and thought ‘what’s that?’ so I went a bit closer and thought ‘wow’.

“I thought it was obviously a fossilised sea creature, possibly an ichthyosaur.

“It doesn’t have a head , I have looked around but I can’t find it.

“It has been there for at least 65 million years.

The dinosaur skeleton was found on the coast of Stolford, Somerset

“I realised straight [away] that it was amazing, museum-quality stuff. As soon as I saw it I knew I found something special.

“I was just blown away to see it there. It really is incredible that is has survived for such a long time and is now just there for everyone to see.”

Jon, a psychiatric nurse, has attempted to contact both Somerset Heritage and the Natural History Museum to report the find – but is still waiting for a response.

The 65 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton was found by Poppy and Sam

Miraculously, Jon went out on another walk and this time, his cockapoo Poppy brought him back a stone that turned out to be a fossil too.

He added: “I couldn’t believe it, it’s stunning- I’ve taught her what fossils are but I didn’t expect her to bring me one.

“My wife says it was just luck- I think having had the stormy weather recently has washed a lot of mud out so the rocks were a little bit more exposed.”