Excavation in Northern Iran Recovers Early Islamic Artifacts
During an archeological excavation process that is currently being carried out in a century-long congregational mosque in Rasht, the capital of the Gilan province in northern Iran, historical artifacts have been discovered.
Saturday, the Deputy Provincial Tourism Chief Vali Jahani announced that “the excavations within the historic Saphi Mosque of Rasht had led to the discovery of items with historical values which appear to have been discovered below Islamic era tombs.
“A glass scent-bottle, a pottery handmade bowl, and other glassware are the objects. And the placement of these objects in the lower layers of Islamic-era tombs shows the importance of this historical area,” the official said, CHTN reported.
Excavations at Iranian mosque unearth new evidence on life in early Islamic era
Earlier this month, several ancient glazed tiles were unearthed beneath the mosque while a team of restorers was digging into its mihrab.
Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that points out the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying.
Referring to a restoration project, which initially led to such discoveries in the mosque, the official explained “The restoration project has been temporarily suspended to leave the ground for archaeological surveys.”
“Given that the discovered objects will be very useful in the dating of the city of Rasht, so fragments of these works will be sent to advanced laboratories in the country to obtain the absolute antiquity of the objects, and dating will be conducted via the thermoluminescent approach.”
“According to the present evidence, these historical objects discovered from the Safi Mosque belong to the Ilkanind and Timurid periods,” he concluded.
In the month of Farvardin (Mach 20 – April 19) a trench measuring 1.5 m by 1.5 m was carved in the mosque’s shabestan (an underground space that can be usually found in the traditional architecture of mosques in ancient Iran), which resulted in recognizing some additional sections.
Safi Mosque, also known as Sefid and Shahidiyeh Mosque, which is widely considered as the oldest standing monuments in Rasht, was reportedly established before Shah Ismail, the Safavid monarch, assumed power (in 1501).
A Fossilised Skull Has Revealed When The Last ‘Siberian Unicorn’ Lived on Earth
The unicorn first emerged nearly 2.5 million years ago but is believed to have disappeared 350,000 years ago.
However, researchers from Tomsk State University in Siberia, Russia, now believe that Elasmotherium Sibiricum may have been around till as recently as 29,000 years ago.
“Most likely, it was a very large male of very large individual age. The dimensions of this rhino are the biggest of those described in the literature, and the proportions are typical,” said Andrey Shpanski, a paleontologist at Tomsk State University.
A 1903 reconstruction of the Siberian Elasmotherium by W. Kobelt gave the animal a thick coat of shaggy hair.
The researchers are still trying to find out how the unicorn survived longer than other species that became extinct hundreds of thousands of years earlier.
According to early descriptions, the Siberian unicorn stood at roughly 2 metres (6.6 feet) tall, was 4.5 metres (14.7 feet) long, and weighed about 4 tonnes.
That’s closer to woolly mammoth-sized than horse-sized. Despite its very impressive stature, the unicorn probably was a grazer that ate mostly grass.
So, if you want a correct image in your head, think of a fuzzy rhinoceros with one long, slender horn protruding from its face instead of a short, stubby one like today’s rhinos.
The skull, which was remarkably well-preserved, was found in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan. Researchers from Tomsk State University were able to date it to around 29,000 years ago via radiocarbon dating techniques.
Skeleton of the rhino at the Stavropol Museum
Based on the size and condition of the skull, it was likely a very old male, they suggest, but how it actually died remains unknown.
The question on researchers’ minds is how this unicorn lasted so much longer than those that died out hundreds of thousands of years earlier.
“Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refúgium, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range,” said one of the team, Andrey Shpanski.
“There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas.”
The team hopes that the find will help them better understand how environmental factors played a role in the creature’s extinction, since it seems like some may have lasted a lot longer than previously thought by migrating across great distances.
Knowing how the species survived for so long, and potentially what wiped it out in the end, could allow us to make more informed choices about the future of our own species, as we find ourselves in a rather perilous situation.
Archaeologists Find 13,500-Year-Old Bird Figurine in China
The oldest known statuette found in China is an ancient bird recovered from a refuse heap that sheds new light on how our ancestors created 3D art and a new study finds.
Lingjing bird carving: (A) photographs of the six aspects of the carvings; (B) 3D renderings of the carving obtained by CT scan. Scale bars – 2 mm.
Researchers uncovered the miniature carving at the Lingjing site in china, where previous excavations revealed 11 layers each of different ages, from 120,000 years ago to the Bronze Age ..
The item was found in a refuse heap leftover from well diggers who removed most of the fifth layer in 1958.
The location possesses a spring, which “may have attracted prehistoric populations at different times,” said study co-author Francesco d’Errico, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux in France.
The figurine depicts a songbird on a rectangular pedestal. The artist deliberately added weight to the sculpture by oversizing the tail to prevent the bird from falling forward, d’Errico said. “The artist knew that making a sculpture is a matter of finding the right balance.”
Francesco D’Errico and Luc DoyonA small bird carving is the oldest piece of East Asian three-dimensional art ever discovered.
The sculpture is made of bone that likely came from the limb of an adult medium-size mammal such as a deer, boar, gazelle, or wolf and was burned before carving.
At only 1.9 centimeters (about .75 inches) long and 1.25 centimeters high, the statuette “is so small that it is possible similar carvings were not recognized in previous excavations in which the sediment was not systematically sieved,” d’Errico said.
Other artifacts uncovered from the refuse heap include ceramic potsherds, stone blades, and a pendant made from ostrich eggshell.
Radiocarbon dating of unearthed burned animal remains from the fifth layer, including a bone fragment with gouging marks also seen on the statuette, suggested the artifact is about 13,500 years old, meaning it originated during the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age when the first human art appeared.
Until now, the oldest known Chinese figurine was a jade songbird about 5,000 years old found near Beijing. This new discovery pushes back the origins of animal sculpture in East Asia by roughly 8,500 years.
Markings on the figurine suggest it was carried around for some time in a leather bag, the researchers said. “Was it a toy? A gaming piece? A religious effigy? Is it art for art’s sake? Something deeper? It’s fascinating to speculate,” said Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia, who did not take part in this research.
Until recently, the earliest human art was found in Europe. However, increasingly scientists have discovered similarly old artwork elsewhere in the world, such as roughly 44,000-year-old cave paintings found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Until now, the carving of small figurines was the only artistic practice left that might have potentially originated in Europe, with examples including statuettes carved from mammoth ivory found in Germany dating up to roughly 40,000 years old.
These new findings suggest that prehistoric humans living in China might have independently developed the concept of three-dimensionally representing the world around them — for instance, the bird figurine has a number of features not seen in other Paleolithic sculptures, such as how it was carved from burnt bone, and how it depicts a bird on a pedestal, the researchers noted.
“Before this discovery, we thought that 3D representations were a recent phenomenon in East Asia,” d’Errico said. “This diminutive carving supports the hypothesis that the production of 3D representations does not have a single origin.”
“No doubt, with researchers focusing their attention on East Asia and Southeast Asia at this time, we will see more figurines — of animals or people or other items from life or myths — being recovered over the next few years,” said Michelle Langley, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia, who did not participate in this study.
A 500-year-old temple submerged in the Indian state of Odisha’s Mahanadi river resurfaces.
An old temple was found in Mahanadi in Odisha, experts who lead a documentation project for heritage sites throughout the river valley.
Approximately 500 years old, the 60-foot temple was recently held during a workout in the framework of the project, according to Anil Dhir, project coordinator of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in Odisha.
It was found in the middle of the river near Baideswar in Cuttack’s Padmavati region, he said on Sunday.
An archaeological survey team from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage that visited the village in Nayagarh district, said the top of the Gopinath Dev temple was visible due to the reduction in the water-level of the river.
The temple dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century, considering the construction style of the Mastaka and the materials used for the construction, Dhir said, adding that INTACH would approach the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take steps for relocating and restoring the temple.
We will soon write to the ASI requesting it to take steps to relocate the temple to a suitable site. They have the required technology to do it. The state government should also take up the matter with the ASI, he said.
Stating that INTACH has so far located as many as 65 ancient temples in the Mahanadi river during its documentation project, Dhir said many of the temples in the Hirakud reservoir too can be dismantled and reconstructed.
INTACH’s project assistant Deepak Kumar Nayak, who with the help of a local heritage enthusiast Rabindra Rana located the temple, said he was aware of its existence.
The temple was dedicated to Gopinath Dev, he said. The region used to be known as “Satapatana” in the early days. However, with the river changing its course due to catastrophic floodings, the entire village was submerged, Nayak said.
In the mid 19th century, the deities of the vulnerable temple were shifted and installed in a safer and higher place, which is presently the Gopinath Dev temple of Padmavati village, he said.
Dhir said INTACH Odisha had launched its project on the documentation of the heritage of the Mahanadi valley early last year.
A systemic survey of all the tangible and intangible heritage of the entire length of the Mahanadi, from the source to the sea, covering a distance of nearly 1,700 km, is in its final stage of completion, he said.
A multi-volume report of the nearly 800 monuments that have been documented will be released next year, he added.
Amiya Bhusan Tripathy, the state convener of INTACH, said this will be the first of its type study on any river in India and is the pilot project of the trust.
A comprehensive survey of the heritage, on either bank, has been undertaken in the nine districts through which the Mahanadi flows, he said.
Dhir, who had earlier led the Old Jagannath Sadak and the Prachi valley documentation projects, said the richness and diversity of the Mahanadi valley have not been studied properly to date.
He lamented that many of the ancient monuments have been destroyed, or are in a state of advanced decay.
When the Fukang meteorite came soaring through the Earth’s atmosphere and crashed on the ground, it showed little sign of beauty. Then they opened it.
Undoubtedly the world’s most amazing meteorite landed was found in China in 2000. It crashed into a mountain range near Fukang, China, which is where it earned its name.
When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside. But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight.
Cosmic wonder: Marvin Killgore of the Arizona Meteorite Laboratory lets the sunshine through a polished slice of the Fukang rock
Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron.
The rare meteorite weighed about the same as a hatchback when it was discovered in 2000, in the Gobi Desert in China’s Xinjiang Province.
It has since been divided into slices which give the effect of stained glass when the sun shines through them.
An anonymous collector holds the largest portion, which weighs 925lb. in 2008, this piece was expected to fetch $2million (£1.26million) at auction at Bonham’s in New York – but it remained unsold.
It is so valuable that even tiny chunks sell in the region of £20-30 per gram.
Arizona’s Southwest Meteorite Laboratory, which holds about 70lb of the rock, says the remarkable find will turn out to be ‘one of the greatest meteorite discoveries of the 21st century’.
It says the Fukang specimen outshines all other known examples of the pallasite class, which makes up just one percent of all meteorites. However, it is not the biggest – in 2005 space rock hunter Steve Arnold dug up a 1,400lb sample in Kansas.
Valuable: The main mass of the Fukang meteorite, which failed to sell after being valued at $2million. The intact space rock weighed as much as a small car
The Arizona lab’s experts say pallasites, whose make-up of half nickel-iron, half olivine gives them their mosaic-like appearance, are ‘thought to be relics of forming planets’.
They are believed to originate from deep inside intact meteors created during the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and very few specimens are thought to have survived their descent through Earth’s atmosphere.
February 2005 saw the Chinese space rock transported all the way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, in Tucson, Arizona.
The U.S. lab claims their polished slice of the original meteorite is the world’s biggest pallasite cross-section, measuring 36in by 19in.
4.5 billion years in the making: Golden olivine meets silvery nickel-iron to create a stunningly beautiful mosaic effect.
Researchers Map Great Wall of China’s Northern Line
Tuesday, an Israeli archeology specialist said that the northern line of China’s Great Wall was not designed to stop invading armies but rather to track civilian movements.
The observations of scientists who first traced the 740 kilometers (460-mile), Northern Line, for the first time, their findings challenged previous assumptions.
Gideon Shelach-Lavi, of Hebrew University, who oversaw the two-year report, said, “Before analysis, most people thought the wall was to stop Genghis Khan ‘s army.
But the Northern Line, lying mostly in Mongolia, winds through valleys, is relatively low in height and close to paths, pointing to non-military functions.
“Our conclusion is that it was more about monitoring or blocking the movement of people and livestock, maybe to tax them,” Shelach-Lavi said.
Aerial view of part of the Northern Line.
He suggested people may have been seeking warmer southern pastures during a medieval cold spell.
Construction of the Great Wall, which is split into sections that in total stretch for thousands of kilometers, first began in the third century BC and continued for centuries.
Wall and structural remains.
The Northern Line, also known as “Genghis Khan’s Wall” in reference to the legendary Mongolian conqueror, was built between the 11th and 13th centuries with pounded earth and dotted with 72 structures in small clusters.
Shelach-Lavi and his team of Israeli, Mongolian and American researchers used drones, high-resolution satellite images and traditional archaeological tools to map out the wall and find artefacts that helped pin down dates.
According to Shelach-Lavi, whose findings from the ongoing study were published in the journal Antiquity, the Northern Line has been largely overlooked by contemporary scientists.
2700-year-old weed found in an Asian grave is still totally smokeable.
Cannabis is as ancient as the dinosaurs. It’s been used by different ethnicities around the world for thousands of years, playing different roles in different cultures. In Czechoslovakia, a hemp rope dating back to 26,900 BC was discovered a decade ago and was associated with the economic activities of the people at that place in that time. Naturally, the cultivation process has changed massively in the years that have passed. One of the greatest problems facing modern cannabis cultivation is working out how the waste that is produced can be managed sustainably. To learn more about how this issue could be overcome it might be worth contacting a service provider like GAIACA.
European farmers grew cannabis Sativa for rope, canvas, and clothing. On the other hand, farmers in central Asia and Siberia grew cannabis ruderalis as cattle fodder.
Ancient India and China used cannabis indica for medical purposes, and whilst they didn’t have the same systems in place as we do now for tracking the stuff (such as how people use Metrc for compliance in oregon, to name one example) it was still quite abundant. But did ancient cultures use it recreationally? Researchers couldn’t be sure. However, a recent discovery in northern Asia has proven that indeed the oldies were getting stoned on cannabis, too. It could be a possibility. We already know that many societies use cannabis for purposes other than to smoke. So, it is a possibility that it was used recreationally. Some research teams were able to find sativa cannabis seeds, ropes, canvas, and other items to prove the use of cannabis as practical materials, so it’s safe to say that the answer lies within this discovery.
Weird Asia News; Yanghai Tomb
The 2,700 Year Old Weed Stash Found in Yanghai Tombs
Researchers recently discovered a weed stash in the Yanghai tombs in northern China. A 2,700-year-old grave of a light-haired Caucasian male, probably in his forties, contained the preserved THC-rich ground bud. Researchers believe that the man must have been a Shaman from the ancient Gushi culture of the Turpan Basin.
Together with the cannabis were other paraphernalia that suggests his shamanic role. Trade tools and religious artifacts were often buried with the dead in ancient cultures. These cultures believed that the dead would carry their treasures with them into the afterlife.
The dry climatic conditions and alkaline soil play a key role in preserving these. For instance, the weed stash still appeared green, though it had lost the skunk-like cannabis odor and taste.
Studying the Weed Stash
An international team of researchers has studied the 789g of cannabis cache and found that it contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component found in cannabis that differentiates it from hemp. So this was likely recreational cannabis. Researchers have mainly excavated hemp-derived, CBD-dominant cannabis that could be used medicinally.
Were these ancients getting high on weed? According to the lead researcher Ethan Russo, this ancient bud is very similar to what is grown today around the world. It’s similar to what many people grow for their own personal use, from seeds in their homes. You can click here to research into seeds and the deals you can get on them. In the words of Russo: “We know from both the chemical analysis and genetics that it could produce THC (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase, the main psychoactive chemical in the plant).”
The international team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany studied the weed stash to determine its contents. They first thought that the ground up substance was coriander. Genetic testing revealed otherwise.
Understanding Cannabinoids
Cannabis contains over 100 identified cannabinoids, though tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most abundant.
The two compounds have the exact same number of molecules: 21 carbon atoms, 2 oxygen atoms, and 30 hydrogen atoms. But the difference between the two comes from the difference in molecule arrangement.
Moreover, both compounds are similar to endocannabinoids produced in mammalian bodies. Consequently, cannabis’s cannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system in a similar fashion. But the unique arrangement of atoms in THC allows it to bind the CB1 receptor and cause the mind-altering effects commonly associated with cannabis.
CBD on the other hand does not bind to this receptor and cannot cause the typical cannabis high. In fact, some studies have shown that CBD can inhibit the mind-altering effect caused by THC.
Putting the Tomb (and its Weed Stash) on Exhibit
In this particular tomb, the cannabis obtained was purely female. This sheds light on the reason for cultivating cannabis in the first place; these people wanted a harvest that was high in THC content.
Given the amount of cannabis found in this one grave, it appears that psychoactive cannabis must have played a key role in the life and culture of the Shaman community.
The Turpan Museum in China holds the weed stash. Researchers hope for future excavations to dig up the remains.
Village Where Jesus’ Disciples May Have Lived Flooded by Rising Sea of Galilee
Rain, the life-giver, falling from the sky; so precious that God combines His Word with His bounty. Israelis prefer to be happy when it rains. “I’m not made of sugar, I’m not going to melt,” the local macho men explaining why they scorn umbrellas. Neither, happily, will the ruins at el-Araj, the putative hometown of Jesus’ disciples on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, which waxed fat on the heavy rains this winter, swelled and, it turns out, flooded the site.
El-Araj’s site, also known as Beit Habek, is located near the sea of Galilee, which is often referenced in the New Testament. It is believed that this was a Jewish village called Bethsaida.
In the First Temple era, it was known as Zer and it was a strategic city in the time of King David. It was originally a non-Hebrew city-state that later became part of Israel when it was renamed Bethsaida.
The identification of Bethsaida is important because it was the birthplace of three of Jesus’ Apostles – Peter, Andrew, and Phillip. In the New Testament, it is here that Jesus performed the miracle of the five loaves and fishes . It is interesting to note that Jesus also cursed the town of Bethsaida because its inhabitants refused to repent.
Prof. Moti Aviam and his colleagues from the local Kinneret College have been working at the site for several years and are very familiar with the area. For the last 10 years ‘el-Araj has been located a few hundred meters from the northernmost point of the lake, where the Jordan River spills into it,’ according to Haaretz. While it is sometimes flooded, it is mostly dry by April and May.
However, this year is the first time in many years that the Sea of Galilee has risen, much to the relief of the Israelis who are very concerned about water scarcity because of climate change.
Prof. Aviam decided to visit el-Araj before he and some American collaborators returned to work on the site. He found that it is now badly flooded and lies under a shallow lagoon, so the planned excavations cannot go ahead. He is quoted in The Christian Post as saying that “I don’t remember a thing like this in the last 30 years.”
The site is currently under water.
The professor conducted a quick survey of the site and saw that some of the higher points at el-Araj are still standing above the waters with their ruins. However, the ruins of a Byzantine church are now under the water. According to Haaretz because of the flooding ‘Instead of archaeologists happily seeking new finds, it’s populated by catfish’.
The church at el-Araj dates to some 500 years after the birth of Jesus and was built during the Byzantine period when it became an important pilgrimage center.
The archaeologist is quoted by Haaretz as saying that “At the moment, the water is 80 centimeters [2 feet, 7 inches] above the mosaic of the Byzantine church.” This church still has many of its original features and even mosaic tiles. Thankfully, Aviam told The Christian Post that “We conserved the mosaic floor of the church and the water standing on it won’t harm it.”
The Byzantine church is currently under more than two feet of water.
Prof. Aviam and his American colleague Steven Notley believe that the ruin is the Church of the Apostles. Local tradition has it that it was built over the family home of the Apostles Peter and Andrew. The archaeologists believe this because of the church’s design and also its location on the Sea of Galilee. They believe that the existing ruins fit the description written about the church in the 8th century AD by a German bishop.
However, a team led by Prof. Rami Avar believes that the true site of Bethsaida is et-Tell, located further north and near the Golan Heights. They have uncovered a city gate that they claim indicates it was the location of the Old Testament city of Zer.
Dr. Avar and his colleagues unearthed coins of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony and fishing equipment such as weights from the Roman Empire. These they believe lend credence to their claim that the et-Tell site is Bethsaida, the birthplace of three Apostles and where Jesus performed a miracle.
Aerial view of the Church of the Apostles, which is said to have been built over the house of Jesus’ disciples Peter and Andrew.
In comparison, Prof. Aviam believes that one good thing came out of the flooding. He is quoted by Haaretz as stating that “In my opinion, the flooding now strengthens our theory that el-Araj was the site of Bethsaida.” The inundation of the historic site shows that it was near the lake, especially during the Roman period, when the disciples were born.
Bethsaida was a fishing village and one would expect to find it flooded occasionally. This is not the case with the location at et-Tell, which is on a rocky height and away from the waters of the Sea of Galilee .
However, Prof. Arav, who maintains that et-Tell was Bethsaida, argues that the evidence from the period shows that in the Roman era the Biblical village was far away from the lake. This was in line with what geologists have uncovered and show it could not have been flooded. Arav argues that the fact that el-Araj is now under a lagoon shows that it is not the city where Jesus performed one of his most famous miracles.
While the controversy will no doubt continue, Prof. Aviam hopes to resume work as soon as possible. However, he expects the excavation to be deferred until 2021.
Visiting el-Araj for the first time following the rains, after being shut up at home for weeks because of the coronavirus, archaeologist Prof. Moti Aviam had quite the shock.
