Category Archives: ASIA

ASIA, IRAQ, WORLD

3000-year-old Nimrud lens could rewrite the history of science

3000-year-old Nimrud lens could rewrite the history of science

The lens of Nimrud is a rock crystal object, 3000 years old, which Sir John Layard found in 1850 at the Assyrian Nimrud Palace in modern Iraq.

The Nimrud lens is kept at the British Museum.

Since its discovery over a century ago, scientists and archaeologists have been discussing how the lens has been used as part of a telescope by one famous Italian professor who believed that the ancient Assyrians knew so much about astronomy.

The Nimrud lens (also referred to as the Layard lens), dated between 750 and 710 BC, is made of natural rock crystal and is a slightly oval in form. It was roughly ground, perhaps on a lapidary wheel. It has a focal point about 11 centimeters from the flat side and a focal length of about 12 cm.  

This would make it equivalent to a 3× magnifying glass (combined with another lens, it could achieve much greater magnification). The surface of the lens has twelve cavities that were opened during grinding, which would have contained naptha or some other fluid trapped in the raw crystal. The lens is said to be able to focus sunlight although the focus is far from perfect.  

There has been much debate over the original use of the Nimrud lens.  Some speculate that it was used as a magnifying glass, or as a burning-glass to start fires by concentrating sunlight, while others have proposed that the lens was part of a telescope. 

However, if we are to believe the British Museum’s description, the Nimrud lens “would have been of little or no practical use”, and while they acknowledge that “this piece of rock crystal has been carefully ground and polished, and undoubtedly has optical properties”, they reach the unusual conclusion that the optical properties were “probably accidental”.  

I wonder if the British Museum also maintains that the hundreds of other carefully crafted and polished lenses found throughout the ancient world were also “accidental”?

The British Museum finished by saying that: “There is no evidence that the Assyrians used lenses, either for magnification or for making fire, and it is much more likely that this is a piece of inlay, perhaps for furniture.” However, many disagree with this claim.

Sir John Layard suggested that Assyrian craftsmen used the lens as a magnifying glass to make intricate and minuscule engravings, such as those that have been found on seals and on clay tablets using a wedge-shaped script. But experts on Assyrian archaeology are unconvinced. They say that the lens is of such low quality that it would have been a poor aid to vision.

An example of the minuscule text engraved on clay tablets

Another hypothesis is that the lens was used as a burning-glass to start a fire. Burning-glasses were known in the ancient world. Aristophanes refers to “the beautiful, transparent stone with which they light fires” in his play The Clouds (424 BC). Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) describes how glass balls filled with water could set clothes on fire when placed in line with the sun. However, there is no clear evidence to support the theory that this was the purpose for which the Nimrud lens was created.

Italian scientist Giovanni Pettinato of the University of Rome has proposed that the lens was used by the ancient Assyrians as part of a telescope.  According to conventional perspectives, the telescope was invented by Dutch spectacle maker, Hans Lippershey in 1608 AD, and Galileo was the first to point it to the sky and use it to study the cosmos. But even Galileo himself noted that the ‘ancients’ were aware of telescopes.

While lenses were around before the Nimrud lens, Pettinato believes this was one of the first to be used in a telescope.  The earliest lenses identified date back around 4,500 years ago to the 4 th and 5 th Dynasties of Ancient Egypt (e.g., the superb `Le Scribe Accroupi’ and `the Kai’ in the Louvre), where it appears they were used as schematic eye structures (iris/pupil inserts) associated with funerary statues.

Latter examples have been found in Knossos dated to around 3,500-years-old.  In total, there are several hundred reported lenses now on record from around the ancient world, so it appears that the ancients knew a lot more about lenses than some, like the British Museum, give them credit for. 

One of the reasons Pettinato believed that the Assyrians used the Nimrud lens as part of a telescope is that some of their knowledge about astronomy seems impossible to have acquired without a telescope. 

For example, the ancient Assyrians saw the planet Saturn as a god surrounded by a ring of serpents, which Pettinato suggests was their interpretation of Saturn’s rings as seen through a telescope.

However, other experts say that serpents occur frequently in Assyrian mythology, and note that there is no mention of a telescope in any of the many surviving Assyrian astronomical writings.

Whatever its purpose, as an ornament, as a magnifying lens, a burning glass, or part of a telescope, the Nimrud lens certainly appears to be more than an “accident”.  But exactly how it was used, we may never know.

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

Sacred Tibetan Mountain Is Huge Ancient Pyramid?

Mount Kailash in Tibet is actually an ancient manmade pyramid that is surrounded by smaller pyramids and is linked to pyramids in Giza and Teotihuacan.

Words do no justice to the untouched beauty of this far corner of the earth. A vastly mysterious and sacred place. Embraced and protected by miles of immovable mountains.

Monasteries built many hundreds sometimes thousands of years ago, stand in defiance of the elements, precariously placed among the clouds.

Many of these very ancient structures are said to have been built on the remnants of once even grander and very ancient buildings, structures many religions attribute to the gods. Among the seemingly endless mountain ranges, lay one mountain which is different, one which is special.

It is believed by most of Tibet, and even further afield, that the god Shiva lay buried within this sacred mountain. According to ancient beliefs, this enigmatic Tibetan mountain represents the axis of the world.

The stairway to heaven.

In many eastern countries, Mount Kailash is considered the holiest place on Earth. Some ancient sources even suggesting it is where one could find the mysterious city of the gods.

It is said, all who attempt to scale its sacred faces of Kailash, will either be met with failure and death.

It is indeed regarded within the climbing world as unascendable, a route has never been located and probably never will, few have been brave enough to even go near this place in the past century.

There may be some profound reasoning behind these ancient clusters of human beings, regarding this particular mountain over all others as sacred, and as the resting place of a god. There may however be ulterior motives at play when it comes to the discouragement of climbers in attempting the peak.

A team of Russian scientists, intrigued by the history, and a possible suppression of its true nature, have suggested after covert explorations, that the top of Mount Kailash is not a natural formation, it is actually the remnants of a giant man-made pyramid of great antiquity,

Just how old this pyramid could be, currently remains unclear.
What also remains unclear, as if the entire mountain is a man-made pyramid?

Disguised by the erosion of many millennia?

The Research teamed Claimed, quote, The stratum is horizontal with the layers of stone slightly varying in colour. The dividing lines show up clear and distinct, which gives the entire mountain the facade of having been built by giant hands, of huge blocks of reddish stone,”

A mysterious claim put forward in regards to the mountain concerns rapid aging when in the area. After spending 12 hours in the region, the length of nails and hair was equal to two weeks of normal growth in some cases.

Several mystics have said that the mountain has a secret entrance within it leading to the legendary kingdom of Shambala. Legend also states that when the ice on its peak finally melts, it will reveal, “THE EYE”.

Prof. Ernst Muldashev Ph.D., a doctor, and explorer, who travelled Tibet extensively, said later in his life: quote, “There are two underground countries, the Shambhala and Agartha, which are each part of the gene pool of humanity and civilization.

Information provided by the Thule Society shows there is a higher civilization, coming from the Himalayas and divided into two branches, the Shambhala and Agartha. The former being the center of power, protected by unknown forces and energy.

An understanding of what sort of pyramid Kailash could be, or indeed just how special it is, may take several years to establish.
I will, of course, keep you posted.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

900 year old ‘Grand Lady’ Skeleton Emerges from Watery Coffin

900 year old ‘Grand Lady’ Skeleton Emerges from Watery Coffin

In China at Tieguai Village Archeologists have discovered the remarkably well-preserved 900-year-old remains of a woman who was called “Grand Lady” and have found that a number of various and precious important objects have been found next to her skeleton.

The Grand Lady was buried with many interesting artifacts including this model of a wooden house

Perhaps the most profound of these grave goods was what looks like a model dollhouse that was filled with miniature furniture, Fox News reported.

A silver pendant was also retrieved from the Chinese tomb, displaying two dragons chasing after pearls. The name “Grand Lady” was found written on a banner on the upper side of the inner coffin, and the banner records that the woman, believed to be née Jian, once resided in Ankang Commandery.

Archaeologists who were involved with the research on this woman explained in their paper that she was still very much intact and that “the skeleton [of the Grand Lady] is essentially preserved, complete with fingernails and hair.”

Gold and silver hairpins were still on the Grand Lady’s head after 900 years and “there were silver bracelets on her arm and a string of bronze coins on her abdomen, 83 coins altogether.”

Archaeologists noted that “underneath her right hand were two zongzi [which are the remains of two sticky rice dumplings], and embroidered shoes were on her feet.”

900-Year-Old ‘Grand Lady’ Skeleton Emerges from Watery Coffin

Archaeologists also found that there were several paintings on the inner coffin that are believed to be of the Grand Lady, with each of these showing the woman wearing different attire and accessories.

The time during which she lived has been determined by the discovery of 200 bronze coins that were found buried with her, which were in circulation between 713 and 1100 CE.

Because of this, it is believed that the woman most likely died at some point after 1100 CE. This means that she would have been alive during the Song dynasty, which was a particularly good time in China for the arts, and when science and culture were at their peak.

Also found in the Grand Lady’s coffin were curious artifacts known as minqi, which are real-life objects that are created in miniature, much like the dollhouse that was discovered.

Besides the dollhouse, archaeologists also recovered 10 female figurines that were donning masks and performing different functions, including playing music on their instruments.

While another coffin was found close to the Grand Lady’s, which may have been a relative, this was found to have been severely looted, and very few artifacts were still left inside.

ASIA, INDONESIA, WORLD

A 28,000-year mysterious pyramid is discovered at the top of Mount Padang, in west java Indonesia

A 28,000-year mysterious pyramid is discovered at the top of Mount Padang, in west java Indonesia

Indonesian scientists have recently found an ancient pyramid- that is hidden in plain sight for thousands of years – buried inside a mountain in Indonesia.

Located atop Mount Padang in West Java, the structure is topped by an archaeological site that holds rows of ancient stone pillars.

Scientists become the first Europeans to discover Gunung (Mount) Padang in the early 20th century, they must have been awestruck by the sheer scale of their ancient stone surroundings.

Scientists claimed that a pyramid-like hill on top of Mount Padang in West Java isn’t natural – it as made by humans thousands of years ago.

According to scientists, there’s a series of channels and chambers belonging to a 10,000-year-old pyramid buried underneath Gunung Padang in West Java. They believe Gunung Padang’s layers of rocks were man-made and its slopes span at least 150,000 square meters of land.

The exploration proves that the structure does not cover just the top but also wraps around the slopes covering about 15 hectares area at least.

Scientists noted, “The structures are not only superficial but rooted into greater depth.”

Researchers Danny Hilman Natawidjaja told Live Science, “It’s a unique temple. It’s not like the surrounding topography, which is very much eroded. This looks very young. It looked artificial to us.”

Scientists used an array of techniques to peer underground including ground-penetrating radar surveys, X-ray tomography, 2D and 3D imaging, core drilling, and excavations — the researchers gradually uncovered several layers of a sizable structure. It spread over an area of around 15 hectares (150,000 square meters) and had been built up over millennia, with layers representing different periods.

At the very top were pillars of basalt rocks framing step terraces, with other arrangements of rock columns forming walls, paths, and spaces. They estimated this layer to be about 3,000 to 3,500 years old.

Scientists noted, “Underneath the surface, to a depth of about 10 feet (3 m), was the second layer of similar rock columns, thought to be 7,500 to 8,300 years old. And a third layer, extending 49 feet (15 m) below the surface, is more than 9,000 years old; it could even date to 28,000 years ago.”

ASIA, BANGLADESH, WORLD

Traces of Buddhist Monastery Discovered in Bangladesh

Traces of Buddhist Monastery Discovered in Bangladesh

‘This discovery is of vital importance to the archaeological history of Bangladesh’

Archeologists have unearthed an archaeological site dating back between the 9th century and mid-11th century in Gaurighona union under Keshabpur Upazila in Jessore

Recently the archaeological department of Khulna and Barisal discovered the ancient Buddhist monastery temple complex of Keshabpur Upazila in Jessore, a Gaurighona region. Experts suggest that the structure dates from the 9th to the mid-11th centuries.

The layout consists of two Buddhist temples and courtyards that are adjacent to a total of 18 rooms inside the complex where presumably the monks resided.  Afroza Khan Mita, regional director of the Archaeology Department (Khulna) Said.

She said it was the very first time a structure of this kind had been discovered in the south-western part of Bangladesh and even in the southern part of West Bengal India.

According to various experts from home and abroad, the structure contains some unique and exceptional features that are quite different from other Buddhist monasteries previously discovered in the eastern parts of the Indian Subcontinent.

The primary analysis of these archaeological and architectural features reveals that this ruin is different from other contemporary Buddhist monasteries in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal.

Researchers at the department and other experts are researching whether a similar Buddhist temple was previously discovered in other parts of South Asia.

Urmila Hasnat, a research assistant at the Department of Archaeology, said: “After excavating the site, we have found fragments of ornamented bricks, terracotta plaques, and clay pots. The fragments of terracotta bricks and plaques have engravings of lotus flowers and geometric shapes. 

“Apart from that, we have also found stucco made from lime and sand which also has various floral and geometric engravings.”

“A special type of clay pot has also been recovered here, which is only found in Buddhist monasteries from the 7th and 11th centuries.”

The renowned Indian archaeologist Dr. Arun Nag said: “This discovery in Jessore’s Keshabpur is of vital importance to the archaeological history of Bangladesh. It is the second Buddhist monastery to be discovered in South Bengal after the one in Bharat Bhayana.

The ancient architecture has some unique features that have not been seen anywhere in Bangladesh before. I think once the whole architecture is excavated, it will be a significant addition to Bangladesh’s archaeological history.”

On January 22, the excavation team of the Archaeology Department of Khulna and Barisal began digging at Dalijhara Dhibi of the Gaurighona union in Keshabpur Upazila. AKM Saifur Rahman, regional assistant director, has been leading the excavation, which is being supervised by Afroza Khan Mita.

Among other members of the excavation team are Research Assistant Urmila Hasnat, marksman Md Ripon Miah, former senior draftsman Jahandar Ali and former photographer Md Abdus Samad. 

The excavation is being carried out by skilled workers from Bogra’s Mahasthangarh. Excavation will continue throughout March, will be put on hold during the rainy season and resume soon after. 

Some features of the monastery

The monks’ chambers are separated from one another by a thick wall. In other monasteries, the walls separating the cells are relatively thinner.

There are no rooms in the southwest and northwest corners of this monastery. Instead, the area is covered by floors made from bricks. There is a wide courtyard or courtyard-like space opposite the porch at the entrance to the monk’s rooms. 

Assuming the symmetry and structure of the monastery, another temple existed to the southeast of the structure. However, locals built their houses and completely destroyed the upper structure of the temple

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

Excavation of Elite’s Tomb in China Reveals Sport of Donkey Polo

Excavation of Elite’s Tomb in China Reveals Sport of Donkey Polo

Legend tells the story of loyal horses, whereas it relegates their equine cousins, the donkeys, to the role of mere pack animals. But a new analysis of bones buried with a ninth-century Chinese noblewoman may help raise the status of the lowly ass: It may have served as her steed during polo matches in the royal court.

Cui Shi’s tomb with animal bones revealing evidence of the ancient Chinese nobles playing donkey polo. Inset: A skull of one of Cui Shi’s donkeys.

Sandra Olsen, an archeologist at the Kansas University of Lawrences, a museum of natural history who was not involved with the work said, “It’s about the time that donkeys get their proper recognition. She calls the new finding of their role in ancient sports “particularly exciting.”

The bricked-in tomb of a woman named Cui Shi, who, according to official records, died at 59 years of age on 6 October 878 C.E, a team of Chinese archaeologists from the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty, Xi’an, excavated in 2012.

Left: map of the region of China where the tomb was found in Xi’an. Right: The epitaph from the tomb, confirming it is Cui Shi’s.

Murals on her tomb walls of workers preparing a sumptuous feast suggest she was of high status. Although looters had ransacked the tomb, they left behind a bevy of animal bones, including those of at least three donkeys.

Donkeys would have been a common sight in Xi’an in the ninth century. The bustling Tang capital was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road trade route, and donkeys were frequently used as pack animals.

But humble beasts of burden aren’t usually buried alongside elite members of society, says study co-author Fiona Marshall, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis. “Donkeys … are not associated with high-status people,” Marshall says. “They were animals used by ordinary folk.”

A donkey skull was found inside the tomb of a ninth-century noblewoman from present-day Xi’an, China.

One hint to why they were in Cui’s tomb, she says, may lie in the identity of her husband, Bao Gao. Ancient texts reveal that the polo-obsessed Emperor Xizong promoted Bao to the rank of general because of his skills on the polo fields.

Polo was wildly popular during the Tang dynasty—for both women and men—but it was also dangerous; riders thrown from their horses were frequently injured or killed. If a woman like Cui wanted to join a game, then riding a donkey—slower, steadier, and lower to the ground—might have been a safer alternative.

Polo was a popular pastime for women and men in China’s Tang dynasty, as seen by this figure of a woman playing polo on a horse.

When the researchers, led by archaeologist Songmei Hu of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, analyzed the size of the donkey bones in Cui’s tomb, they found that they were too small to have been good pack animals.

Computerized tomography scans of the leg bones revealed patterns of stress similar to an animal that ran and turned frequently, rather than one that slowly trudged in a single direction. Taken together, the evidence suggests Cui played polo astride a donkey, the researchers report today in Antiquity. The noblewoman’s donkeys may have been ritually sacrificed when she died to allow Cui to continue to play in the afterlife.

“There’s no smoking gun … [but] there’s really no other explanation that makes sense,” Marshall says, adding that the finding suggests Tang dynasty donkeys were held in higher regard than believed.

William Taylor, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies human-animal relationships, agrees the donkeys in the tomb were not simple pack animals.

But although polo-playing is one plausible explanation, he says, the biomechanical stress patterns may also match other activities, such as pulling a cart or milling grain. Still, if the researchers are right, Olsen says, “it is doubly rewarding than another underdog in ancient history, women’s sports, is also [getting credit].”

ASIA, IRAQ, WORLD

Ancient rock carvings that escaped the wrath of ISIS discovered in Iraq

Ancient rock carvings that escaped the wrath of ISIS discovered in Iraq

After being attacked by ISIS, ancient carvings of an Assyrian king honoring the gods and surrounded by mythical beasts were safely uncovered in Iraq.

In 2014, ISIS captured Mosul city and archaeologists were forced to leave Faida’s archeological site, as the militant group was just 15 miles away. The ten rock reliefs were found in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and are believed to be the first of their kind discovered in 150 years.

In 2012, the site was surveyed by archeologists and it was not until late last year, with the self-proclaimed caliphate overthrown, that archaeologists were able to return and excavate the treasures left behind. 

Ancient carvings menaced by the advance of ISIS have finally been revealed after the terror group’s defeat, in the first discovery of its kind for more than 150 years
The ten rock reliefs depict Assyrian gods riding mythical creatures in procession with the king (pictured)

Ancient carvings menaced by the advance of ISIS have finally been revealed after the terror group’s defeat, in the first discovery of its kind for more than 150 years. Italian and Iraqi archaeologists uncovered the reliefs 12 miles (20km) south of the Kurdistani city of Duhok.  Expedition leader, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi of the University of Udine in Italy, said nothing like the carvings had been found since 1845. 

‘Assyrian rock reliefs are extremely rare,’ he said. 

‘There is no other Assyrian rock art complex that can be compared with this one, with the only exception being Khinis, in the north-eastern part of the region.’ ISIS, or Islamic State, was remorseless in destroying antiquities it felt were idolatrous, though it also looted artifacts to sell. At the height of its powers, its fighters were only 15 miles from the dig site.  But even now, with ISIS defeated, the rock carvings face fresh threats. 

‘The most serious threats are vandalism, illegal excavations and the activities of the nearby village that are literally besieging the site,’ said Professor Bonacossi. 

‘One of the reliefs was illegally excavated and thereby damaged in May 2019, and the owner of one farmstead has partly destroyed one of the reliefs in order to expand his cow stable.

‘The only way to protect the site is to fence it off and guarantee a constant security service controlling the area. 

‘The Duhok Governorate is committed to guaranteeing the protection of the reliefs.’ 

Archaeologists surveyed the site in 2012 and it was only late last year, with the self-proclaimed caliphate overthrown, that archaeologists were able to return and excavate the treasures left behind
The reliefs (pictured) once decorated the banks of the Faida irrigation canal, which was part of a vast network that brought water to the Assyrian capital, Nineveh. The canal was likely built during the reign of Sargon II
Among the deities depicted is Ashur, the main Assyrian god, his wife Mullissu, the moon god Sin and the sun-god Shamash. They are shown astride mythical beasts including dragons and horned lions (pictured)

The reliefs once decorated the banks of the Faida irrigation canal, which was part of a vast network that brought water to the Assyrian capital, Nineveh.   The canal was likely built during the reign of Sargon II, whose successor, Sennacherib, is believed to have incorporated it into the wider network.

Both kings are named in the Bible for their military exploits, with the former conquering the Kingdom of Israel. The figures on the panels are shown in profile, facing left, in the direction the water would have flowed.  Among the deities depicted is Ashur, the main Assyrian god, his wife Mullissu, the moon god Sin and the sun-god Shamash.  They are shown astride mythical beasts including dragons and horned lions. 

‘The reliefs tell us that the construction of this local irrigation system was celebrated by royal power through the carving of rock reliefs,’ said Professor Bonacossi. The excavation of impressive irrigation systems across the core region of the Assyrian empire changed the economic foundation of the regions involved.

‘It transformed them from extensive dry-farming regions into highly-productive irrigation agriculture areas. 

‘But it also profoundly modified the space and settlement patterns in the core of the Assyrian empire.’  

Professor Bonacossi believes the site could hold more secrets still. 

‘During the excavation of one relief, we found another which was not visible at the surface,’ he said. 

‘This means that probably many other reliefs are still to be found and that this rock art complex is larger than we expected. 

‘This explains why the Faida archaeological site is so important.’ 

Archaeologists surveyed the site in 2012 (pictured), following up on an earlier British excavation in 1973, but the project ground to a halt when ISIS captured the nearby city of Mosul in 2014

ASIA, JAPAN, WORLD

Ancient Persian Glassware Identified in Japan

A fragment of a glass bowl unearthed on Okinoshima island came from ancient Persia during the Sassanian dynasty

Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture — During the Sassanian dynasty (226-651), researchers confirmed that a fragment of a glass bowl discovered on Okinoshima Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site here, originated from ancient Persia.

The glass bowl fragment found on Okinoshima island.

Munakata Taisha shrine teamed up with experts and used X-ray imaging to analyze the artifact as well as small pebble-shaped “kirikodama” ornaments made of glass. They date to the late fifth century to the seventh century.

Okinoshima island, located off Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, is considered by the shrine to be so sacred that only males can visit and only if they engage in purification rituals before coming ashore.

The island has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts from ceremonies held there between the late fourth and ninth centuries that are believed to have been carried out during the time of the ancient Yamato kingdom.

To date, around 80,000 items unearthed are designated as national treasures.

The glass bowl fragment measures about 5.6 centimeters. It has a circular base and the surface of the bowl is scratched.

It bears the characteristics of cut glass produced during the Sassanian Empire that encompassed modern-day Iran and surrounding countries. Iraq has yielded similar examples of the glasswear.

Munakata Taisha shrine worked with a team headed by Izumi Nakai, professor emeritus of Tokyo University of Science who specializes in analytical chemistry, to examine the artifact and pebble-shaped ornaments.

As an expert in analyzing ancient glass products, Nakai subjected the materials to fluorescent X-ray analysis so as not to damage them.

The results showed that the ashes of plants were mixed with molten glass, a characteristic of Sassanian Persia glassware.

But the pebbles remain something of a mystery, as no similar examples have been found in Japan or elsewhere. However, it was assumed the ornaments were produced by reprocessing Sassanian Persia glassware.

Makiko Fukushima, the curator of Munakata Taisha Shinpokan museum, said: “We were able to gain very precious insight into where the unearthed items were created, the route used to bring them to Japan and the degree of influence of those involved in the ceremonies where such glassware was used.”