Category Archives: EUROPE

EUROPE, WORLD

The oldest evidence of human cannibalism as a funerary practice in Europe

The oldest evidence of human cannibalism as a funerary practice in Europe

The oldest evidence of human cannibalism as a funerary practice in Europe

According to a new study, cannibalism was a common funerary practice in northern Europe around 15,000 years ago, with people eating their dead not out of necessity but rather as part of their culture.

Gough’s Cave is a well-known paleolithic site in south-eastern England. Nestled in the Cheddar Gorge, the cave is perhaps best known for the discovery of 15,000 years old human skulls shaped into what are believed to have been cups and bones that had been gnawed by other humans.

A study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews suggests this was not an isolated incident. Their research focused on the Magdalenian period of the late Upper Paleolithic era. The Magdalenians lived some 11,000 to 17,000 years ago.

Experts at London’s National History Museum reviewed the literature to identify 59 Magdalenian sites that have human remains. Most were in France, with sites also in Germany, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. They were able to interpret the funerary behaviors at 25 of the sites.

The ritualistic manipulation of human remains and its frequent occurrence at sites across northern and western Europe suggested cannibalism was a burial practice – rather than to supplement diet – widespread in Magdalenian culture, researchers said.

‘Instead of burying their dead, these people were eating them,’ explains Dr. Silvia Bello, an expert on the evolution of human behaviour working at the Natural History Museum. ‘We interpret the evidence that cannibalism was practiced on multiple occasions across north-western Europe over a short period of time, as this practice was part of a diffuse funerary behaviour among Magdalenian groups.’

‘That in itself is interesting, because it is the oldest evidence of cannibalism as a funerary practice.’

This cannibalistic behaviour was seemingly fairly common amongst Magdalenian people of north-western Europe, but it didn’t last particularly long. There was a shift towards people burying their dead, a behaviour seen widely across south-central Europe and attributed to a second distinct culture, known as the Epigravettian.

Human remains from across north-western Europe indicate that cannibalism was a funerary practice.

This then raises the question of whether the eventual relative ubiquity of burial culture towards the end of the Palaeolithic was the result of Magdalenian people adopting primary burial as a funerary behaviour, or if their population was replaced.

Cannibalism as funerary behaviour

During the late Upper Palaeolithic, between around 23,000 and 14,000 years ago, there were two dominate cultures in western Europe, largely distinguished by the stone and bone tools the crafted.

The Epigravettian culture was mainly found living in south and eastern Europe, and buried their dead with graves goods in a way that we would perhaps consider more usual by modern standards. The Magdalenian culture from the north-west of Europe, however, were doing things differently. They were processing the bodies of their dead, removing the flesh from the corpse, eating it, and in some cases modifying the remaining bones to create new objects.

One of the main questions was whether or not this cannibalism was driven by necessity, when perhaps food was scarce or the winter long and so the people responsible were in survival mode, or whether it was a cultural behaviour.

Evidence from Gough’s Cave already suggests that the eating of the bodies there was of a more ritualistic form. This is because there is ample evidence that the people responsible were hunting and eating lots of other animals, such as deer and horses, while the careful preparation of some of the human remains like the skull cup and an engraved bone show that some was thought was being put into the cannibalism.

Dr. William Marsh is a researcher at the Natural History Museum who has been studying the human remains that have been found in Gough’s Cave for his Ph.D.

“To contextualize Gough’s Cave better, I reviewed of all the archaeological sites attributed to the Magdalenian and Epigravettian Upper Paleolithic culture,” explains William. He was able to find 59 sites across Europe from this time which had human remains, of which 13 showed evidence of cannibalism, 10 of burial and two that showed combined evidence of burial and cannibalism. What he realized was that the practice of eating the dead was fairly localized, being found at sites across western and central Europe and up into the U.K.

“The fact that we find cannibalism being practiced often on multiple occasions in over a short period of time, in a fairly localized area and solely by individuals attributed to the Magdalenian culture, means we believe this behavior was one that was performed widely by the Magdalenian, and was therefore a funerary behavior in itself,” says William.

In this context, the eating of the dead can be seen as different in practice, but perhaps not meaning, to cremations, burials or mummification.

Some of the human bones found at Gough’s Cave show evidence of having been worked, implying that the cannibalism had a ritualistic function.

Changing funerary practices

Building on this, William and Silvia were then able to look at whether any genetic analysis had been done on the human remains from these sites. This would enable the researchers to see if there were any links between who was practicing which funerary behaviors.

Remarkably, the genetic evidence seems to suggest that the two groups practicing different funerary behaviors were genetically distinct populations. All the sites from which evidence of cannibalism has been found show that the people were part of a genetic group known as “GoyetQ2,” while all of the more ordinary burials were of people who belonged to the “Villabruna” genetic group.

While both groups were living in Europe at the same time, individuals showing GoyetQ2 ancestry are associated with the region spanning the French-Spanish border, while Villabruna ancestry was carried by individuals who inhabited the Italian-Balkan region. This implies that when the practice of eating the dead ended and more conventional burials became common place in north-western Europe, it wasn’t through a spreading of ideas but rather Epigravettian people replacing the Magdalenian.

“At this time, during the terminal period of the Paleolithic, you actually see a turnover in both genetic ancestry and funerary behavior,” explains William. “The Magdalenian associated ancestry and funerary behavior is replaced by Epigravettian associated ancestry and funerary behavior, indicative of population replacement as Epigravettian groups migrated into north-western Europe.”

“We believe that rather than being an example of transcultural diffusion, the change in funerary behavior identified is an example of demic diffusion where essentially one population comes in and replaces the other population.”

Interestingly, this mirrors how researchers believe farming arrived in the U.K. some 6,000 years later.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Poland’s oldest copper axe discovered in the Lublin region

Poland’s oldest copper axe discovered in the Lublin region

Poland’s oldest copper axe discovered in the Lublin region

A copper axe from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC identified with the Trypillia culture was found in the Horodło municipality in the Hrubieszów district.

An axe discovered in the Hrubieszów district, identified with the Trypillia culture, is most likely the oldest find of a copper product in Poland informed the Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments.

The Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments has described the valuable relic as being 7.4 cm in length, with a wide fan-shaped blade 4.1 cm wide, and a rectangular convex head measuring 0.9 cm x 0.6 cm.

The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture was one of the most important in South-Eastern Europe. It originated as a result of interactions between different Neolithic groups in the Carpathian-Balkan region during the second half of the sixth millennium BCE.

The fact that the ax appeared in eastern Poland is surprising because the territorial scope of the Trypillian culture covered the areas of today’s Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and western Ukraine.

Photo: Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments

Analyzing the find in terms of its chronological and cultural affiliation, the archaeologist from the Zamość delegation of the Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments, Wiesław Koman, sought the assistance of Professor Elżbieta Kłosińska from the Institute of Archaeology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

The specialist ruled out that the presented axe belonged to Bronze Age cultures, as the artifact in no way corresponded to the known and already fairly well-recognized typologies of axes from that period.

“In addition, our ax was made in a quite simple ‘primitive’ casting method, in a flat-convex form, no longer used in the developed metallurgy of the Bronze Age.

Therefore, it was necessary to pay attention to the earlier Neolithic era. Unfortunately, in the inventories of Neolithic cultures from Poland there is no such equivalent,” the Lublin Conservator reported on social media.

The puzzle was solved by turning to archaeological finds from within Ukraine. “Wiesław Koman came across the publication of an identical find of a copper axe discovered in the village of Shcherbanivka in the Kyiv region, where the accompanying fragments of vascular pottery made it possible to attribute it to the Trypillia culture and date it to the late period of development of this culture, estimated at the 4th to 3rd millennium BC,” – reported the conservator.

Photo: Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments

The Lublin conservator says: “It is true that we have recorded finds of Trypillian culture pottery from Gródek, Hrubieszów commune, and the presence of this ax in nearby Matcz can be considered as confirmation of the settlement of people of this culture also in eastern Poland.”

The axe will soon be transferred to the collection of the Hrubieszów Museum, where it will undergo further research, reports the conservator.

EUROPE, GREECE, WORLD

The marble head of God Apollo unearthed in an excavation at Philippi, Greece

The marble head of God Apollo unearthed in an excavation at Philippi, Greece

The marble head of God Apollo unearthed in an excavation at Philippi, Greece

The excavation, carried out by a group of students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the archaeological site of Philippi Kavala, brought to light important findings. Among other things, they discovered a rare head of Apollo dating back to the 2nd or early 3rd century AD.

 The statue dates back to the 2nd or early 3rd century AD and it probably adorned an ancient fountain.

Natalia Poulos, Professor of Byzantine Archaeology, led the excavation, which included fifteen students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (11 undergraduates, 2 master’s, and 2 PhD candidates), Assistant Docent Anastasios Tantsis, and Professor Emeritus of Byzantine Archaeology Aristotle Mendzo.

Archaeologists say, this year the excavation continued east of the southern main road (decumanus) at the point where it meets the northern axis of the city (the so-called “Egnatia”). The continuation of the marble-paved road was revealed, on the surface of which a coin (bronze phyllis) of the emperor Leo VI (886-912) was found, which helps to determine the duration of the road’s use. At the point where the two streets converge, a widening (square) seems to have been formed, dominated by a richly decorated building.

Archaeologists say evidence from last year’s excavations leads them to assume it was a fountain.  The findings of this year’s research confirm this view and help them better understand its shape and function.

The research of 2022 brought to light part of the rich decoration of the fountain with the most impressive statue depicting Hercules as a boy with a young body.

The recent excavation (2023) revealed the head of another statue: it belongs to a figure of an ageneous man with a rich crown topped by a laurel leaf wreath. This beautiful head seems to belong to a statue of the god Apollo. Like the statue of Hercules, it dates from the 2nd or early 3rd century AD and probably adorned the fountain, which took its final form in the 8th to 9th centuries.

In classical Greek and Roman religion and mythology, Apollo is one of the Olympian gods. He is revered as a god of poetry, the Sun and light, healing and illness, music and dance, truth and prophecy, and archery, among other things.

Philip II, King of Macedon, founded the ancient city of Philippi in 356 BC on the site of the Thasian colony of Crenides near the Aegean Sea.

The archaeological site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 for its outstanding Roman architecture, urban layout as a smaller reflection of Rome itself, and significance in early Christianity.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

Human remains found at prison sewer site are 4,500 years old in East Yorkshire

Archaeologists investigating the site of a new sewer to serve a jail being built at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire, England, have discovered a burial monument containing human remains thought to be about 4,500 years old.

Parts of a Roman road and a burnt mound were also discovered during a £5m project to build a 5.2km (3.2 miles) sewer near Full Sutton.

The site of the previously unknown Roman road is close to Stamford Bridge, flanked by drainage ditches which suggested to experts that it ran northwards towards the settlement of ‘Derventio Brigantium’ – close to modern-day Malton.

The first site was a small circular burial monument discovered in the vicinity of Full Sutton. Yorkshire Water said the small, circular monument contained a buried individual who was placed in a pit in a foetal or “crouched” position.

The archaeological team said these prehistoric traditions are seen in similar monuments, or “round barrows”, found around the UK and they believe that the Full Sutton example could be approximately 4,500 years old.

Gavin Robinson, from Ecus Archaeology, which undertook the investigation, said: “It was disturbed by later ploughing, but, considering the ground conditions, the associated human remains were surprisingly well-preserved.

The Neolithic or Bronze Age well could provide “important clues” into the history of the local environment.

“The local sandy geology is usually too acidic for human remains to survive, however, the grave had been backfilled with a mixture of burnt stone and charcoal from the adjacent ‘burnt mound’ spread, which seems to have helped the bones survive.”

No artifacts were discovered in the grave, which was constructed close to the third find – called a burnt mound.

The monument is estimated to be either from a Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date and was covered by a dome-shaped mound of earth or stone. Remnants of the burnt mound included a small earth oven and a deep pit that appeared to have been a well. Part of the wooden lining of the well was preserved by waterlogging as well as the lower fills which archaeologists took soil samples from.

Yorkshire Water said this could provide “valuable and rare data” into what the site was used for and possible preserved remains of plants and insects.

Ecus Archaeology, working on the site for Yorkshire Water, said the three sites give a glimpse into the prehistoric and early historic past of the area.

CZECH REPUBLIC, EUROPE, WORLD

Thousand-year-old bone skate discovered in Czech Republic

Thousand-year-old bone skate discovered in Czech Republic

Thousand-year-old bone skate discovered in Czech Republic

Archaeologists from the central Moravian city of Přerov, Czech Republic have announced a unique discovery. While carrying out excavations in the center of the town, they found an ice skate made of animal bone dating back some 1,000 years.

In Přerov, a town on the River Bečva, specialists from the Comenius Museum have been conducting rescue excavations in the basement of a home on the Upper Square of the city.

The skate was made of animal bone, likely the metacarpal (shin bone) of a horse. Fragments of pottery found around the blade date it to the 10th or 11th century.

This find, offers a rare glimpse into the ingenuity and daily life of early medieval societies.

Archaeologist Zdeněk Schenk says it was most likely made of horse shin bone: “The object has a specific shape. On one side, it is curved into a tip which has a hole drilled in it and there is another hole at the back. They were used to thread a strap through, which was used to attach the skate to a shoe or to a wooden sledge.”

Unlike their modern counterparts used for recreation, these ancient blades served a more practical purpose, explains Schenk. “People back then wouldn’t have used them for leisure skating,” he clarifies. “Instead, they’d shuffle across frozen surfaces with the aid of sticks, or even attach them to sleds for transporting goods over ice.”

The bone blade is not the first such object found in Přerov. A similar find was made there in 2009 and more such blades have been unearthed over the years in the wider area of the city. Zdeněk Schenk says this is probably due to its location: “The Upper Square sits on a hill overlooking the Bečva River,” he explains. “In those times, settlements clustered along the river’s branches, making winter travel on the frozen water a necessity.”

Schenk emphasizes that Přerov isn’t alone in these discoveries. “Similar ‘ice skates’ made from cattle or horse bones have been found across Europe, particularly in Central and northwestern regions like Scandinavia.

Interestingly, many of these finds date to the 10th century and often appear in Viking settlements.”

The thousand-year-old skate discovered by archaeologists in Přerov will soon be shown to the public. The bone skate will go on display at the Comenius Museum in Přerov Castle.

EUROPE, SWEDEN, WORLD

Unique Gold Ring and Crystal Amulet among 30,000 Medieval Treasures Uncovered in Sweden

Unique Gold Ring and Crystal Amulet among 30,000 Medieval Treasures Uncovered in Sweden

Unique Gold Ring and Crystal Amulet among 30,000 Medieval Treasures Uncovered in Sweden

In the Swedish medieval city of Kalmar, archaeologists from the State Historical Museums unearthed the remains of over 30,000 objects during a two-year project. A gold ring and a crystal amulet with carved figures are two unique finds among the nearly 30,000 objects.

Archaeologists have excavated parts of around 50 medieval plots, a dozen streets, and sections of the old city wall. This project, offers a glimpse into everyday life spanning approximately 400 years, from 1250 to 1650.

Project director of Arkeologerna, lead archaeologist Magnus Stibéus said, “We’ve been able to lift the lid on the city’s medieval past and have had the opportunity to study how people lived, what they ate and drank, and how this changed over time.

Archaeology becomes like a peephole into medieval history, giving us more insight into how life was hundreds of years ago,”.

Remarkable discoveries include a rare glass alsengem and a gold ring that were found in refuse deposits.

The gold ring, adorned with a Christ motif, dates back to the 15th century and is believed to have been worn by a woman due to its petite size. they believe it was lost, given its near-perfect condition. Similar rings have been found in other regions, including Northern Finland, Östergötland, and Uppland.

The amulet fragment, in the image digitally completed to reconstruct its original appearance.

A second standout discovery: an alsengem, also known as a pilgrim’s amulet, with three carved figures. Alsengemmer are small crystal stones found in both religious and secular contexts.

Dating from the 13th to 14th century, it features three intricately carved figures.  The stones are named after the Danish island where they were first discovered. The small glass stone is broken, so it was likely thrown away around 400 years ago, officials said.

Among the finds were numerous cannonballs, musket balls, pistol bullets, swords, and other artifacts from the 1611 Kalmar War, in which the Danes attacked the city. An unusual rune stone was discovered among the ruins.

The excavations have provided a comprehensive view of medieval Kalmar, with remnants of buildings, cellars, streets, latrines, and other everyday items. Magnus Stibéus said: “It is very unusual for such large contiguous areas to be investigated in the middle of a city, and the result exceeds all expectations.”

The ability to simultaneously investigate such extensive parts of the medieval city makes the project unique.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

An extraordinary medieval belt loop found near Kamień Pomorski in Poland

An extraordinary medieval belt loop found near Kamień Pomorski in Poland

An extraordinary medieval belt loop found near Kamień Pomorski in Poland

A late medieval belt loop for hanging keys or a bag was found near the town of Kamień Pomorski in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. So far, only 15 artifacts of this type have been discovered in Europe.

The discovery was announced on social media by the Museum of the History of the Kamieńska Land. The director of the museum, archaeologist Grzegorz Kurka, described the find as “extraordinary“.

In German literature, artifacts of this type are called anthropomorphic Gürtelhaken, Figürliche Schlüsselhalter, and Schlüsserhaken. The 56 mm high loop is in very good condition.

The front panel has an anthropomorphic form. The figure’s head is schematically marked. Hands are on hips. Protruding from the hip, they form an arc with holes of 4 mm in diameter.

There are diagonal and horizontal cuts visible on the torso and hips – schematically creating a costume typical of the late Gothic era. Below the costume, there is a vertical hole 13 mm long, and directly below it a hole probably intended for hanging keys or a purse (hole 4 mm in diameter).

These hooks or clamps can be divided into two large groups: (loving) couples of men and women embracing (dancing?) and single men who look at the viewer and, in frequent cases, put their hands on their hips. 

Based on the circumstances of the find and studies of the clothing components, some of which are depicted in much greater detail, they are usually dated to the second half of the 15th century or the first half of the 16th century. In the specialist literature, Nuremberg is usually assumed to be the place of manufacture.

Based on better or completely preserved examples, we know that a screwable axle was attached through the sleeve-like opening running across the bottom of the figures, to which a mostly oval bracket was attached, as is still the case today with some key rings or key rings.

This also led to the interpretation that such hooks were worn (clipped on) to strong leather belts, but could also be removed at any time. Keys, pouches, or small bags made of fabric or leather could be attached to the hanger.

Copperplate engravings and woodcuts from the 15th and 16th centuries show that men and women carried all kinds of things on their belts, including knives, cutlery, and individual spoons.

EUROPE, ROMANIA, WORLD

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

The discovery of five “technologically sophisticated” canoes in Italy has revealed that  Neolithic people were navigating the Mediterranean more than 7,000 years ago. The canoes date from between 5700 BC and 5100 BC and are the oldest in the region.

In research published in the journal PLOS ONE, archaeologists describe the discovery, at the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) lakeshore village of La Marmotta, about 30 km northwest of central Rome.

The quality and complexity of these prehistoric vessels suggest that several significant advances in sailing occurred during the late Stone Age, paving the way for the spread of the ancient world’s most important civilizations.

The authors note that the spread of Neolithic culture through Europe was chiefly carried out along the shores of the Mediterranean.

“Many of the most important civilisations in Europe originated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea,” they write. “Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians plied that practically enclosed sea to move rapidly along its coasts and between its islands.”

The writers say Neolithic communities occupied the whole Mediterranean between 9,500 and 9,000 years ago. They reached the Atlantic coast of Portugal by about 5400 BCE.

“It is clear that the Mediterranean Sea must have often been used for travel, as boats allowed rapid movements of population, contacts and exchange of goods,” the authors say.

It’s well known that maritime trade links existed in the Mediterranean during the Neolithic, although until now it was unclear how adept these early mariners were at handling the waves.

Navigating through this uncertainty, the authors of a new study have analyzed five dug-out canoes that were discovered at a 7,000-year-old settlement that now lies at the bottom of an Italian lake.

Canoe Marmotta 1. On display in the Museo delle Civiltà in Rome.

In this study, Juan F. Gibaja and colleagues provide new insights into the history of seafaring technology through analysis of canoes at the Neolithic lakeshore village of La Marmotta, near Rome, Italy.

Excavation at this site has recovered five canoes built from hollowed-out trees (dugout canoes) dating between 5700 and 5100 BC. Analysis of these boats reveals that they are built from four different types of wood, unusual among similar sites, and that they include advanced construction techniques such as transverse reinforcements.

One canoe is also associated with three T-shaped wooden objects, each with a series of holes that were likely used to fasten ropes tied to sails or other nautical elements.

These features, along with previous reconstruction experiments, indicate these were seaworthy vessels, a conclusion supported by the presence at the site of stone tools linked to nearby islands.

“These canoes are exceptional examples of prehistoric boats whose construction required a detailed understanding of structural design and wood properties in addition to well-organized specialized labor,” the researchers said.

Recent nautical technologies and these canoes share similarities, bolstering the theory that the early Neolithic saw many significant advancements in sailing. The authors suggest there may be more boats preserved near La Marmotta, a potential avenue for future research.

“Direct dating of Neolithic canoes from La Marmotta reveals them to be the oldest in the Mediterranean, offering invaluable insights into Neolithic navigation,” the authors add.

The study was published online in the journal PLoS ONE.