A cache of 14th-Century Coins Discovered in the Czech Republic
Kladruby Abbey
PLZEŇ, CZECH REPUBLIC—Radio Prague International reports that hundreds of fourteenth-century coins were discovered in the western Czech Republic, near the Kladruby Monastery, by a couple out for a walk.
“As they were walking through the forest, they spotted a few coins, two made of gold and one of silver, lying on the ground,” explained archaeologist Milan Metlička of the Museum of West Bohemia.
The West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň confirmed hundreds of 14th century silver and gold coins have been found. The cache, discovered in a forest near the Kladruby Monastery in Tachov area, is believed to be one of the largest uncovered troves of gold coins on Czech Republic territory.
The chance discovery occurred already in March, during the coronavirus lockdown, but it was not until this Monday that the museum announced the find to the public.
The coins were stumbled upon by a young couple who went on a walk through the forest near the West Bohemian town of Stříbro.
Milan Metlička is an archaeologist from the Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň:
“As they were walking through the forest, they spotted a few coins, two made of gold and one of silver, lying on the ground. They were probably dug up by some forest animals, most likely by wild pigs.
“There was a large stone protruding from the ground. When they pulled it out, they saw a large amount of gold and silver coins underneath and they immediately called us to announce the discovery.”
Among the coins are gold ducats bearing the image of the Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Albrecht of Austria, and Rupert of the Palatinate as well as ducats from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck.
“It also contains 343 silver groschen mostly minted in Bohemia during the reign of Charles IV and several groshen bearing the image of John of Bohemia, the Duke of Luxembourg.
“The discovery of the silver groshen is not that unusual. But such a large trove of gold coins is really unique. No such discovery was made in the country in the past 50 years.”
Archaeologists believe the coins were buried in the ground in the late 1370s. While the reason why someone hid the treasure is likely to remain unknown, it was most likely linked to the nearby Monastery in Kladruby.
“The monastery was located on a strategic medieval trade route between Prague and Nürnberg. And since the discovery was made not far from there and close to the royal town of Stříbro, it is very likely that it is somehow connected to it.”
Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň,
According to Mr. Metlička, it is hard to express the value of the find in terms of money, but the nominal value of the gold coins, which weigh over 325 grams, is at least CZK 420,000.
“With the silver coins, it is more complicated, because they also contain copper, which reduced their value. However, the historic value of the silver coins could be around CZK 180,000 and the value of the gold coins could range between CZK three and four million.”
The coins are expected to go on display in the Museum of West Bohemia in Plzeň at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year after they have been restored and catalogued.
Buried temple in Turkey Built During 12,000 B.C almost 7,500 years older than Egyptian Pyramids
The 12,000-year-old site in south-east Turkey is being considered for Unesco World Heritage listing
Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey has been billed as the oldest temple in the world at about 12,000 years of age. It is many millennia older than Stonehenge or Egypt’s great pyramids, built in the pre-pottery Neolithic period before writing or the wheel. But should Göbekli Tepe, which became a Unesco World Heritage Site, also be regarded as the world’s oldest piece of architecture?
Archaeologists are fascinated by Göbekli Tepe, an artificial mound spread across eight hectares at the top end of the Fertile Crescent near the present-day city of Sanliurfa. It features a series of circular sunken structures that had been occupied for a thousand years before they were back-filled and abandoned.
Construction techniques vary but in the most elaborate there is a ring of T-shaped monolithic columns with a pair of larger, carved T-columns at the center up to five meters tall.
These not only supported a roof (for at least some of their life) but also represented abstracted human figures that were part of a belief system that is not yet understood. They are sculptural as well as structural, with animal figures in relief.
A column with a carving of a dog—the first domesticated animal
The largest circle is 17m by 25m but geotechnical surveys suggest there are bigger structures waiting to be unearthed. The earliest limestone monoliths were quarried locally but stones were later transported long distances.
The communal effort involved in this endeavour must have involved hundreds of people at a period when most social groups had no more than 25 members.
Göbekli Tepe was built by hunter-gatherers, apparently, before the Agricultural Revolution when fully permanent settlements came into being with plant cultivation and animal herding.
Rather than architecture being the product of organised societies, as has long been thought, there is new thinking that, in fact, it may have been the organisation needed to build on such a scale that helped usher in agriculture and settled society.
Archaeological definitions of architecture tend to be broader than those of design professionals; it includes structures that create artificial space with, say, mud bricks, smoothed floors and right-angles.
Architects tend to separate building—a simple vernacular shelter assembled out of utility—from architecture, in which conscious design that goes beyond the utilitarian comes into play.
Moritz Kinzel, an archaeologist and architect based at Copenhagen University who is working on the site, says: “Building becomes architecture not just because it is monumental but because of technical solutions and perceptions of space—it has a mindset.” Göbekli Tepe also goes beyond the human scale. He reminds us, however, that the domestic and the ritual cannot be separated to the degree they are today, and that older houses with ritual components have been discovered at sites in Jordan and the southern Levant.
Göbekli Tepe was built by hunter-gatherers, apparently before the Agricultural Revolution
Kinzel argues that the design experimentation found at Göbekli Tepe should encourage us to avoid chicken-and-egg arguments about the primacy of architecture or agriculture. Instead, the site illustrates a cusp period, with architecture emerging alongside more complex organizations that produced surpluses and gradually shifted from gathering wild crops to farming.
Some of the earliest domesticated wheat was found in the area and the Göbekli Tepe stones feature depictions of dogs—the first animal to be domesticated by humans.
It was a trial and error period, an age of architectural and societal experiment at the beginnings of the Agricultural Revolution rather than one preceding the other.
“Permanent buildings do not necessarily reflect permanent settlements,” Kinzel says, suggesting seasonal use at Göbekli Tepe.
The construction process of the monumental structures may have triggered [people] staying longer, forcing them to invent new ways of dealing with arising new challenges.”
Current thinking is that Göbekli Tepe may not have been solely a cult center but had other social and economic functions such as feasting, exchanging goods and finding partners, and other activities that promoted a common social identity. The architecture may mark the beginnings of class society and patriarchy.
Noting the functional as well as the aesthetic purpose of Göbekli Tepe’s T-columns, an architectural researcher who works with Kinzel, Dietmar Kurapkat from the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg, Germany, has written: “It is no exaggeration to label these… buildings with the term architecture.”
Evidence of a 12,000 year old civilization – almost 7,000 years older than Mesopotamia’s fertile crescent – is unearthed in the Turkish countryside, known as Göbekli Tepe. It took archaeologists 13 years to uncover only 5% of the buried city.
Intact 3,000-Year-Old Horse Harness Unearthed in Scotland
A metal detectorist has discovered a rare hoard of Bronze Age artifacts, which experts describe as “nationally significant”, in the Scottish Borders. Mariusz Stepien was searching a field near Peebles with friends when he found a bronze object buried half a meter (1ft 8in) underground. Archaeologists called to the site near Peebles also excavated decorated straps, buckles, rings, ornaments, and chariot wheel axle caps.
Evidence of a decorative ‘rattle pendant’ from the harness was also discovered – the first one to be found in Scotland and only the third in the UK.
The hoard has been moved from the site in a large block of soil and taken to the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh. Experts, who described the objects as ‘nationally significant’, have dated them to the Bronze Age, which began around 2,000 BC and lasted for nearly 1,500 years.
Objects which are believed to be decorative and functional pieces of a Bronze Age harness
The period marks a time when bronze gradually replaced stone as the main material for making tools. Communities in Late Bronze Age Scotland (1000-800 BC) often buried hoards of metalwork.
‘This is a nationally significant find – so few Bronze Age hoards have been excavated in Scotland,’ said Emily Freeman, head of the Treasure Trove Unit (TTU) overseeing the recovery and assessment of the find.
It was an amazing opportunity for us to not only recover bronze artifacts but organic material as well. There is still a lot of work to be done to assess the artifacts and understand why they were deposited.’
The Crown Office, which runs the TTU, told MailOnline it can’t provide a more specific location of the discoveries than ‘near Peebles’ because of the ‘security and privacy concerns of the landowner’.
The collection was promptly reported to TTU and excavated by archaeologists from National Museums Scotland. The metal objects are believed to be decorative and functional pieces of a Bronze Age horse harness, while the sword is still in its scabbard and encrusted within the chunk of rock.
The complete horse harness – preserved by the soil – and the sword have been dated as being from 1000 to 900 BC. These are rare objects, some of which are unique in Scotland,’ said National Museums Scotland. They have affinities with objects across Europe and were likely deposited by a well-connected community.
‘The organic preservation in the hoard is remarkable and includes leather and wood that is three thousand years old.
This allows archaeologists to see how the horse harness was assembled – this has never been seen before in Britain. The hoard was uncovered by Mariusz Stepien, 44, who was searching a field near Peebles with friends on June 21 this year when he found a bronze object buried about a foot and a half underground.
The team also found decorated straps, buckles, rings, ornaments and chariot wheel axle caps
The group camped in the field and built a shelter to protect them find from the elements while archaeologists spent 22 days investigating.
‘I thought I’ve never seen anything like this before and felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I’ve just discovered a big part of Scottish history,’ said Stepien.
‘I was over the moon, actually shaking with happiness.
‘We wanted to be a part of the excavation from the beginning to the end.
‘I will never forget those 22 days spent in the field. Every day there were new objects coming out which changed the context of the find, every day we learned something new.
‘I’m so pleased that the earth revealed to me something that was hidden for more than 3,000 years. I still can’t believe it happened.’
As he was getting strong signals from the earth around the initial object, Stepien contacted the TTU to report his find. Scotland’s TTU is ‘the first port of call’ for new discoveries and carries out investigations and object assessments of new objects.
All ancient objects newly discovered in Scotland need to be reported to the TTU, as they belong to the Crown, whether or not they’re precious metal. We could not have achieved this without the responsible actions of the finder or the support of the landowners,’ said Freeman.
‘The finder was quick to action when they realized that they had found an in-situ hoard, which resulted in the TTU and National Museums Scotland being on-site within days of discovery.’
The Centre of the town Spišské Vlachy in the Spiš region was settled in the 4th century. Archaeologists discovered proof that people lived in the town soon after The Migration Period.
The most precious finding is a coin from the 4th century.
A coin depicting the emperor Constantius II, who ruled between 337 and 361, is among the oldest findings, Spiš Korzár reported.
Archaeological research was ongoing from October 2019 to March 2020 in the extension of the Assumption of Mary church in Spišské Vlachy. Locals know the extension as the Old Town Hall. The research was linked with the renovation of the monument.
“We tried two probes,” said the head of the archaeological research at the Museum of Spiš Territory in Spišská Nová Ves, Mária Hudáková, as quoted by Spiš Korzár.
“The first uncovered object is from the Roman era. The coin was found here. The second revealed findings connected with the construction and reconstruction of the objects.”
These included older entrances to the object, remains of the wooden floor from the second half of the 18th century and a heating device for the object, Hudáková added.
Tiny kitchen ceramics were found as well. Coins of Polish and Hungarian mintage show that space could have been used as a pub.
Trade between Spiš and Rome
The Roman coin is significant for the town. Archaeologist Matúš Hudák said there are not so many coins in the objects, which is why it is of great historical value.
The coin could have also been placed in the town hall as a building sacrifice, a practice that used to be done to protect the building.
People used to process iron here in the 4th century, said Hudák. Spiš was quite rich for this material. Iron slag was found here. The object was originally constructed from wood.
The discovery of the coin also documents trade with Rome.
“It is interesting that coins made it from the west to Spiš,” Hudák noted, as quoted by Spiš Korzár. “How could they do trade at such distances and use coins as currency?”
Open for the public
Probes also uncovered layers from the Middle Ages and modern history.
“We see floors and plastering from this era,” said an archaeologist, as quoted by Spiš Korzár. “The original layer where people walked is right at the bottom. The original level of terrain was about half a metre lower than it is today.”
The terrain rose as a result of a huge fire at the end of the 19th century when this building was damaged and walling was used as a cave-in. Later, the building was used as a fire station, the archaeologist said.
There is an oven with a sweeping opening in the corner of the probe. It was used for heating. “We assume there was some kind of pub. There is also wall graffiti, pictures of gallows, and a sword. These are probably the remains of guests. There is also an entrance to the cellar where beer and wine were kept.”
Town Mayor Ľubomír Fifik noted that they would like to share these discoveries with the public. Uncovered layers of the archaeological discoveries will be visible for visitors of the town together with some of the small ceramic findings.
Yarm Viking helmet ‘first’ to be unearthed in Britain
According to new research, a Viking helmet discovered at Teesside is the first ever to be found in Britain. In the 1950s, in Chapel Yard, Yarm, a corroded helmet was unearthed by workmen digging trenches for new sewerage pipes.
The ‘Viking helmet’, as it is known locally, has been on loan to Preston Park Museum from Yarm Town Council for a number of decades. A research project, led by Dr. Chris Caple, has now discovered that the helmet is the first ever found in Britain.
It is also only the second nearly complete Viking helmet found in the world. The unusual artifact has never previously been researched and the age of the helmet had caused much debate.
In recent years, Dr. Caple, Emeritus Reader at Durham University, and his colleagues have discovered new information about the damaged helmet.
They used evidence from recent archaeological discoveries as well as analysis of the metal and corrosion to identifying that it is an Anglo-Scandinavian helmet made in the 10 century in northern England.
Dr. Caple said it was a “challenging project” as the thin iron sheet is now very susceptible to corrosion and has to be kept in very dry conditions.
He said: “Our analysis showed that it was initially preserved in waterlogged conditions, only later becoming damaged and starting to corrode. Fortunately, it was discovered before it corroded away completely.
“Although there are half a dozen early medieval helmets from Britain, the Sutton Hoo, and Coppergate helmets being the most famous, this is the first Anglo-Scandinavian (Viking) helmet from Britain.
“Whilst the Saxon helmets were often highly decorated and were worn by warrior leaders, as many symbols of authority as helmets, by the 10 century we can now envisage that most professional warriors had helmets like the Yarm Helmet.
The helmet is made of iron bands and plates riveted together, with a simple knop at the top
“They were simply manufactured, well designed to protect the wearer (rivets flush with the surface so they did not catch bladed weapons) but no longer decorated.
“Together with a mail hauberk (shirt of chain mail), a helmet was essential personal protective equipment for a warrior. We see almost all the combatants in the 11 century Bayeux Tapestry wearing helmets and hauberks.”
Dr. Caple said that the only other near-complete Viking helmet is from Gjermundbu in Norway.
He said: “They do not normally survive because by the 10th century both Anglo-Scandinavian and Saxons were Christian and no longer buried objects in graves.
“This helmet, like the Coppergate helmet appears to have been hidden in a pit.”
Alan Gallafant, Chairman of Yarm Town Council, said: “Yarm Town Council are delighted that the provenance of this important historic helmet has been confirmed, thanks to the work carried out by Dr. Chris Caple and Durham University.
“Yarm Town Council welcomes the launch of this exciting development on Yarm’s history.”
The Yarm Helmet has been on permanent display at Preston Park Museum since 2012, where its condition is closely monitored and it continues to be one of the star objects on display.
The helmet has been on loan to Preston Park Museum from Yarm Town Council
Councillor Jim Beall, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure, and Culture, added: “It’s very exciting to have confirmation that the Yarm Helmet on display at Preston Park Museum is a very rare example of a Viking helmet and the first to be found in Britain.
“The museum is open to the public once again and it is great to welcome visitors to see this fascinating piece of history.”
30,000-Year-Old Bosnian Pyramids Built With Man-Made Cement
New reports that independent analysis from five separate Institutes of materials confirms that the Bosnian Pyramids contain high quality man-made concrete construction material eliminating all skeptical claims about the authenticity of the Bosnian Pyramids.
The controversial site of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun has a team of over 200 interdisciplinary scientists from all over the world doing scientific analysis on not only the nature and age of the building materials, but also determining how the energy of the pyramid was used by the ancient scientists for applications beneficial to humanity ranging from geothermal transportation, climatology, and advancements in human physiology and health.
Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, the biggest stone structure in the shape of the pyramid on the Planet with a height of 220 meters, Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Results released by the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy of chemical and diffractometry laboratory analysis done on sandstone and conglomerate blocks taken from the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun show that the samples are an inert material with a binding, similar to that found in ancient Roman concrete. These results were confirmed by analysis of the samples done at the University of Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In a separate independent test, Professor Joseph Davidovits, renowned French Scientist, member of the International Association of Egyptologists, and author confirms this claim. “I performed electron microscopic analysis of the sample and I propose the geopolymer chemistry that was used to make this is ancient concrete,” wrote Prof Davidovits.
He further adds that the sample is composed of “a calcium/potassium-based geopolymer cement and that although he cannot date the sample, he can discern that it is not modern concrete, but more like the technique used by the Egyptians 3,500 years ago.” In his book, The Pyramids: An Enigma Solved, Davidovits presents the current knowledge of pyramid construction that is supported by scientific, historical, and linguistic studies which prove that the Egyptian pyramids were constructed using agglomerated stone (limestone cast like concrete).
The research on pyramid technology has long suspected that pyramid energy involves science and machinery far more advanced than what we currently have today. Christopher Dunn, author of The Giza Power Plant, published in 1996 explains that the pyramids were ancient energy machines, currently a popular theory among researchers. The pyramids of Bosnia have the same elements described in the Giza pyramids that define the structure of an ancient power generator system.
After visiting Bosnia in 2011, Chris Dunn stated, “While I was in Visoko, experts from various disciplines showed excitement on the result of their studies of the so-called pyramid hill. Hopefully, in due course, clear signs of ancient precision engineering will eventually be discovered.”Now in 2013, the Bosnian archaeological site is further excavated and new scientific evidence has emerged proving that ancient precision engineering was indeed used to build the Bosnian Pyramids.
Bosnian Pyramid of the Moon, with its the height of 190 meters second biggest stone structure in the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids. Together with the Sun and Dragon pyramids form a perfect equilateral triangle. All pyramids have been covered by soil and vegetation similar to pyramids in Central America and China.
Since it was discovered in 2005 by Dr. Sam Semir Osmanagich Ph.D., director of Center for Anthropology and Archaeology at the American University in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Bosnian Pyramid complex has been stonewalled by mainstream archaeologists until recently scientific evidence which makes it impossible to deny the authenticity of this history-changing discovery.
“The team of interdisciplinary scientists conducting studies on the cosmic energy enigma at the archaeological site in Bosnia are on a relentless pursuit to uncover the wisdom from the ancient culture that left this behind,” states Dr. Sam Osmanagich. “There are facts about a physical phenomenon that can be scientifically verified, yet there remain many unanswered questions unexplainable using our current recorded history.”
Facts that have been verified by scientific analytic testing include:
· The Sun pyramid stands over 722 feet (220 m) high one third taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza
· Radiocarbon dating shows the pyramid to be at least 24,800 years old
· Material Analysis shows that the structure is from man-made concrete
· There is an 8.000 kg ceramic block under the pyramid in the underground labyrinth
· An energy beam, electromagnetic in nature with a radius of 4.5 meters and a frequency of 28 kHz, has been detected and measured coming from the top of the Sun pyramid
· An ultrasound beam with a radius of 10 meters and frequency of 28-33 kHz has been measured on the top of the pyramid, as well
· The pyramids are aligned with the earth’s cardinal points and oriented to stellar North
“Although tens of thousands of pyramids have been discovered across the planet, none have the construction quality and date back as far as the ones in Bosnia,” states Osmanagich. “Bosnia is the original pyramid, the oldest and largest ever constructed. It has an exact zero degree North orientation and is potentially the key to releasing information about ancient technology that can free the world of its dependence on fossil fuel along with offering the possibility of finding astounding medical breakthroughs in the scientific community.”
Textile treasure trove shows Importance of fashion to Ancient Britons
Notable archeological evidence from the site of a prehistoric settlement in the eastern part of England, suggests that Bronze Age Britons had a liking for high-end fashion. Excavations, 30 miles north-west of Cambridge, have unearthed the earliest examples of superfine textiles ever found in Britain. They are also among the most finely-made Bronze Age fabrics ever discovered in Europe as a whole – and are of huge international significance.
Detail of preserved Bronze Age textile made from plant fibres
Up to now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found more than 100 fragments of textile unspun processed fibre and textile yarn at the site. Some of the yarn is of superfine quality – with some threads being just 100 microns (1/10 of a millimetre) in diameter, while some of the fabrics themselves are so finely woven that they have 28 threads per centimetre, fine even by modern standards. It’s likely that some of the fragments of textile are from items of clothing.
Originally, some of the textiles must have been of very substantial size – because they had been folded, in some cases in up to 10 layers. If made to be worn, these folded fabrics may well have been large garments, potentially, capes, cloaks – or even large drapes, perhaps similar to those known from elsewhere in the ancient (and sometimes modern) worlds – the ancient Greek chiton, the Roman toga and the Indian sari. A drape folded into 10 layers for temporary storage would have served as a substantial garment – potentially up to 3 metres square (i.e. 9 square metre).
Most of the superfine fabrics from the site – Must Farm near Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire – were made of linen. When the village was flourishing around 3,000 years ago, textile manufacture seems to have been a key craft practiced there. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of flax seeds have so far been found on the site (some of which had been stored in containers). Flax is the crop that produces the fibres used in linen production.
Amber bead and others found in situ
What’s more, the presence on the site of unspun processed fibre, yarn, and finished textiles all strongly suggests that the village was involved not only in using textiles but also in manufacturing them. Timber fragments with delicate carpentry, found during the Historic-England-funded excavation may well be the remains of looms. Indeed fired clay loom weights have been unearthed there.
The archaeologists have also discovered that Bronze Age Britons also had a penchant for a different type of fabric – made of processed nettle stems (from a locally available non-stinging subspecies of nettle – today known as fen nettles). Unlike flax, nettles grew wild and therefore did not need to be cultivated. What’s more, well-made nettle textile was often particularly fine and silky.
But nettles may well have had additional benefits – at least in the eyes of the users of the fabrics.
In traditional ancient folklore, nettles of various types were often regarded as having magical powers. They were seen as being able to protect both humans and animals from sorcery and witchcraft. What’s more, garments made of nettles were therefore sometimes seen as protecting their wearers from evil. Indeed one of Europe’s most famous folktales – the Wild Swans (written by Hans Christian Andersen, but thought to be based on traditional folk stories) – reveals how shirts, made of nettle yarn, enabled their wearers to break a witch’s spell.
So far no evidence of any extensive patterns or coloured dyes have been found on any of the linen and nettle yarn textile fragments – although the edge of one piece of fabric (perhaps part of a shawl or cape) seems to have been decorated with fringes, rows of knots, and strips featuring different styles of weave. Certainly, dying the linen would have presented substantial technical difficulties – but bleaching it would have been much less challenging. It is therefore very likely that the naturally light brown linen was bleached to achieve a creamy white or possibly even dazzlingly pure white appearance. Basic bleaching of the fabric might well have been achieved with the use of a mixture of urine and milk or by simply laying out the fabrics on wet grass on a succession of sunny days. The village appears to have been very prosperous, yet tragically short-lived.
As well as making (and presumably using) ultra-fine fabrics, at least some of the inhabitants wore exotic jewellery made of blue, black, yellow and green glass manufactured in the eastern Mediterranean region – probably in what is now the Syria or Turkey.
They lived in large well-built houses and had a wide range of tools and other possessions. So far, around 50 bronze axes, sickles, spears, swords, razors, hammers, tweezers, and awls have been found along with some 60 wooden buckets, platters, and troughs as well as around 60 well preserved ceramic bowls, mugs and storage jars. Dug-out canoes and two wooden wheels have also been unearthed.
But the archaeological evidence suggests that this thriving and prosperous settlement was probably attacked, burnt, and destroyed by its enemies less than a year after it was built.
In the five houses excavated so far, the population seems to have fled or been captured or killed, leaving all their possessions behind – meals half eaten, salted or dried meat still hanging in the rafters, garments neatly folded on or around well-made wooden furniture.
“It’s a bit like discovering the Marie Celeste. Everything is exactly as it was left. Only the inhabitants are missing,” said the director of the excavation, Mark Knight of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit.
“This site is providing the modern world with an image of daily life in the British Bronze Age that was until now beyond our dreams. It is only the very specific and unusual circumstances of the destruction of the settlement that has, paradoxically, allowed so much of it to be preserved intact,” he said.
Because the village had been set alight, large numbers of wooden, textile and other artefacts were charred – and because the houses were built on wooden stilts in a river (flanked by marchland), everything ultimately ended up underwater, where it was subsequently covered with silt and mud.
This rare combination of charring and waterlogging and natural burial under sediment has been responsible for the extraordinarily high levels of preservation.
Most of the artefacts have been found inside the settlement’s houses. So far, five of these large 6-8 metre diameter structures have been found at the site. Again, because of charring and subsequent waterlogging, around half of all the wall, roof and other timbers from these buildings have been preserved.
The excavation is being directed by archaeologist Mark Knight of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, with textile research being carried out by a textile specialist, Dr Susanna Harris of the University of Glasgow. Because of its national and international importance, the entire project is being funded to the tune of £1.4 million by Historic England and the owner of the site, one of the UK’s major brick-making companies – Forterra.
The finds include the largest group of prehistoric textiles ever discovered in Britain – and the largest collection of complete bronze, wooden and ceramic artefacts ever found in a British Bronze Age settlement.
Serbian Roman Artifact Vanishes 24 Hours After Discovery
A just recently excavated ancient Serbian Roman artifact, a stone piece covered with etched Latin text, has actually been taken just 24 hours after it was found. The unusual Roman artifact was found on July 10, 2020, throughout roadway building works resulting in the Vinča landfill site.
Side of the stolen Serbian Roman artifact showing the Roman inscription.
According to a report on Archaeology News Network among the roadway, employees notified the National Museum in Belgrade about the amazing finding, nevertheless, when a museum archaeologist got to the site the next early morning the Serbian Roman artifact had actually disappeared without a trace.
Serbian Roman Artifact and The Lost Life Of A Roman Authorities
The museum archaeologists understood the Serbian Roman artifact belonged to a marble monolith dating to the second-century which one side on the artifact portrayed 2 feet using shoes that belonged to a previous sculpture.
The opposite, nevertheless, was engraved with 15 lines of Latin text explaining in information the life and times of a high-ranking Roman military authority who, according to the National Museum in Belgrade, “led various military detachments against the Dacians and served in three legions.”
The majority of the contemporary state of Serbia belonged to the Roman Empire for about 600 years, from the first century BC up until the arrival of the Slavs in the Balkans throughout the sixth-century.
This ancient monolith might have been a substantial addition to the recognized ancient history of Serbia since it likewise supplied brand-new proof about a war in the location of Singidunum or ancient Belgrade.
Stolen Artifact an Example of Daring, Swift Archaeological Theft
Prior to the stone piece inexplicably vanished the museum personnel had actually notified the landfill management group that due to its size and weight the stone was going to be raised by a crane and thoroughly moved to the National Museum in Belgrade.
A museum representative stated in a news release that historical items found in the area of the Republic of Serbia “belong to the Republic of Serbia by law.” And they likewise stated the “epigraphic monument” had actually been formally taped which an administrative treatment had actually been actioned to recover and restore it.
And this implies that the event is being dealt with as a case of “aggravated theft” and criminal charges have actually been raised versus the unidentified lawbreaker( s).
How in the world, in 2020, can such a logistically complex outdoor criminal activity happen and be successful? I imply it’s not like the artifact was a golden ring or a silver bracelet that a solo lawbreaker might simply conceal in their pocket.
To have actually moved such a large stone, a whole group of males with heavy building devices would have been needed. And this is more than likely precisely what occurred: a criminal gang more than likely settled the best individuals at the site, handled to get the things into a truck, and after that rapidly vanished to offer the stone to the greatest bidder on the dark side.
However as bad as this all noises, it worsens, since this kind of daytime break-in is prevalent in Serbia.
Side of the stolen Serbian Roman artifact showing the sandal-covered feet in the upper right.
Serbia: An Area With Excessive Unguarded Treasure
A 2016 paper ” Historical Break-ins of Antiques in Serbia” released by a group of researchers from the Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia, specifies that the area of Serbia is a target for historical crooks since it has actually been house to lots of particular cultures throughout the past: “from European prehistory, Roman civilization, Byzantine and Serbian Medieval art up to the present day.”
What this implies is that Serbia has countless “unguarded” historical sites and middle ages abbeys representing the nation’s “material, cultural and spiritual past.” And with the majority of sites being mainly unguarded, it is not unexpected that criminal gangs tear the landscape apart in Serbia.
However, contributing to the large weight of untouched sites is the issue of simply how important even the tiniest Serbian artifacts can be.
An example of an unlawful historical excavation in Serbia was the discovery of the “Golden Avar Belt Buckle,” which was found with a metal detector at a depth of about 2 meters in the town of Divoš, near Sremska Mitrovica (Sirmium). This single palm-sized things was approximated to be worth “around one million euros.”
Thankfully when it comes to the taken belt buckle,” МUP RS “, the Serbian department for combating the mob, detained the primary criminal and his accomplices, who were all charged with a 3 year suspended sentence for contravening the unlawful trade act, which restricts unapproved historical excavations. Ideally, the just recently taken stone Roman artifact and those who took it will quickly be discovered.
