Category Archives: EUROPE

16th-Century Cemetery in Poland Yields Children’s Remains

Mass 16th-century grave reveals grim remains of over 100 children with coins in their mouths

In Southeast Poland the bodies of more than 100 children were found, some with coins in their mouths. It verified the local legends of the child’s graveyard.

Archeologists revealed a total of 115 bodies following the discovery of human bones by construction workers during work on the S19 road in Jeżowe, Nizko in Podkarpackie province.

As reported, the National Roads and Motorways Directorate-General said: ‘ Around 70 – 80% of all burial sites, based on archeological discoveries to date, are infants.

The remains were uncovered by archaeologists after construction workers discovered human bones during roadworks.

When archaeologists looked more closely at the bodies they were amazed to find some of them had coins placed in their mouths.

Katarzyna Oleszek, an archaeologist working at the site, said: “It’s certainly a sign of their beliefs. The coins are called obols of the dead or Charon’s obol. It is an old, pre-Christian tradition. But it’s been cultivated for a long time, even as late as the nineteenth century, it was practiced by Pope Pius IX.”

Charon’s obol is a term for a coin placed in the mouth of a dead person before burial. The tradition goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. The coin was a payment or bribe for Charon, the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.

The bodies found in Jeżowe do not date that far back, however. The coins found were minted in the time of Sigismund III Vasa, who was the king of Poland from 1587 to 1632. Also found were coins known as boratynki, which date from the reign of John II Casimir from 1648 to 1668.

The find confirms archaeologists’ theories and the speculations of locals that children were buried in a cemetery in an area known as the Church Mountains.

Apart from the coins, no other items were found in the graves. There were no buttons, nails, or coffin handles, which Oleszek says suggests that the community that buried them was very poor.

The area is now forested and there are no grave markers. Only a small chapel offers any sign of the former church.

Oleszek said: “The arrangement of the skeletons, the state of their preservation, shows that the discovery is a Catholic church cemetery, which was certainly taken care of. No grave is damaged by another. The inhabitants knew exactly where they had graves and took care of them.”

Oleszek said, “We know from sources that during a visit of the bishops of Kraków here in Jeżowe 1604 there was already a large parish church, with a garden, a rectory, a school, and a cemetery. It probably existed already since 1590.”

The bodies were found in sandy ground and were arranged on an east-west axis, all with heads to the west on their backs with the hands at their sides. The graves are most likely those from the children’s section of the graveyard.

One grave contains the bodies of four children. They lay in close formation but not on top of each other. All their heads are resting to one side in the same direction. The fourth child, on the edge of the group, is much younger than the others. 

“The arrangement of the skeletons, the state of their preservation, shows that the discovery is a Catholic church cemetery, which was certainly taken care of. No grave is damaged by another. The inhabitants knew exactly where they had graves and took care of them,” said Oleszek.

The bodies will be exhumed and after being studied by anthropologists they will be passed to the local parish church and buried again in the local cemetery.

Most of the bodies were buried in individual graves and the original order and layout of the graves will be preserved. The group of four children will again be buried together. 

The bodies were discovered during work on a section of the S19 motorway, which is part of the Via Carpatia project that will link the Baltic states with south-eastern Europe.

In Poland, the route runs through Podlasie, Mazovia, Lublin, and Podkarpacie and is set to be over 700 km long.

Alaskan volcano eruption linked to fall of Roman Republic: Study

Alaskan volcano eruption linked to fall of Roman Republic: Study

The proof of an unprecedented period of extreme cold in ancient Rome has come to light through a multinational team of scientists and historians: an unlikely cause of the mass explosion of the Alaska Okmok volcano on the opposite side of the world.

Written sources identify a period of exceptionally cold weather, crop failures, drought, plague and anarchy in the Mediterranean region around the time of Julius Caesar’s death (44 BCE)—impacts that eventually led to the downfall of the Roman Republic and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

Historians have long suspected a volcano to be the cause, but have been unable to pinpoint where or when such an eruption had occurred, or how severe it was.

Cicero’s death in 42 B.C.E. marks the end of the Roman Republic. Did a volcano hasten its fall?

In a new study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a research team led by Joe McConnell, Ph.D. of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev. uses an analysis of tephra (volcanic ash) found in Arctic ice cores to link the period of unexplained extreme climate in the Mediterranean with the caldera-forming eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano in 43 BCE.

“To find evidence that a volcano on the other side of the earth erupted and effectively contributed to the demise of the Romans and the Egyptians and the rise of the Roman Empire is fascinating,” McConnell said. “It certainly shows how interconnected the world was even 2,000 years ago.”

Alaska’s Umnak Island in the Aleutians showing the huge, 10-km wide caldera (upper right) largely created by the 43 BCE Okmok II eruption at the dawn of the Roman Empire.

The discovery was initially made last year in DRI’s Ice Core Laboratory, when McConnell and Swiss researcher Michael Sigl, Ph.D. from the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern happened upon an unusually well-preserved layer of tephra in an ice core sample and decided to investigate.

New measurements were made on ice cores from Greenland and Russia, some of which were drilled in the 1990s and archived in the U.S., Denmark, and Germany.

Using these and earlier measurements, they were able to clearly delineate two distinct eruptions – a powerful but short-lived, relatively localized event in early 45 BCE, and a much larger and more widespread event in early 43 BCE with volcanic fallout that lasted more than two years in all the ice core records.

The researchers then conducted a geochemical analysis of the tephra samples from the second eruption found in the ice, matching the tiny shards with those of the Okmok II eruption in Alaska – one of the largest eruptions of the past 2,500 years.

“The tephra match doesn’t get any better,” said tephra specialist Gill Plunkett, Ph.D. from Queen’s University Belfast. “We compared the chemical fingerprint of the tephra found in the ice with tephra from volcanoes thought to have erupted about that time and it was very clear that the source of the 43 BCE fallout in the ice was the Okmok II eruption.”

Detailed records of past explosive volcanic eruptions are archived in the Greenland ice sheet and accessed through deep-drilling operations.

Working with colleagues from the U.K., Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Alaska, and Yale University in Connecticut, the team of historians and scientists gathered supporting evidence from around the globe, including tree-ring-based climate records from Scandinavia, Austria, and California are the White Mountains and climate records from a speleothem (cave formations) from Shihua Cave in northeast China.

They then used Earth system modeling to develop a more complete understanding of the timing and magnitude of volcanism during this period and its effects on climate and history.

According to their findings, the two years following the Okmok II eruption were some of the coldest in the Northern Hemisphere in the past 2,500 years, and the decade that followed was the fourth coldest. Climate models suggest that seasonally averaged temperatures may have been as much as 7oC (13oF) below normal during the summer and autumn that followed the 43 BCE eruption of Okmok, with summer precipitation of 50 to 120 percent above normal throughout Southern Europe, and autumn precipitation reaching as high as 400 percent of normal.

“In the Mediterranean region, these wet and extremely cold conditions during the agriculturally important spring through autumn seasons probably reduced crop yields and compounded supply problems during the ongoing political upheavals of the period,” said classical archaeologist Andrew Wilson, D.Phil. of the University of Oxford. “These findings lend credibility to reports of cold, famine, food shortage, and disease described by ancient sources.”

“Particularly striking was the severity of the Nile flood failure at the time of the Okmok eruption, and the famine and disease that was reported in Egyptian sources,” added Yale University historian Joe Manning, Ph.D.  “The climate effects were a severe shock to an already stressed society at a pivotal moment in history.”

Timeline showing European summer temperatures and volcanic sulphur and ash levels in relation to the Okmok II Eruption and significant historic events of the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom from 59 to 20 BCE.

Volcanic activity also helps to explain certain unusual atmospheric phenomena that were described by ancient Mediterranean sources around the time of Caesar’s assassination and interpreted as signs or omens – things like solar halos, the sun darkening in the sky, or three suns appearing in the sky (a phenomenon now known as a parahelia, or ‘sun dog’). However, many of these observations took place prior to the eruption of Okmok II in 43 BCE, and are likely related to a smaller eruption of Mt. Etna in 44 BCE.

Although the study authors acknowledge that many different factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom, they believe that the climate effects of the Okmok II eruption played an undeniably large role – and that their discovery helps to fill a knowledge gap about this period of history that has long puzzled archaeologists and ancient historians.

“People have been speculating about this for many years, so it’s exciting to be able to provide some answers,” McConnell said.

The First Temple At Gobekli Tepe: Denisovan & Anunnaki Ancient Aliens Origins

The First Temple At Gobekli Tepe: Denisovan & Anunnaki Ancient Aliens Origins

Gobekli Tepe is the oldest known ancient site at the age of 12,000 and is undoubtedly the first known Temple in the world. At least 7,000 years before the Sumerian Empire, its presence raises questions as to how the history of civilization and the early days of the modern man can be traced.

Excavation at the site suggests that the findings present a challenge to both mainstream and alternative historical accounts such as the Ancient Astronaut Theory. The result is an enigma that points to the possibility that the Gobekli Tepe site as the World’s first temple was built either by the Native inhabitants, the Denisovans, or the Anunnaki Ancient Aliens.

The Gobekli Tepe Temple Complex Site

Located in Turkey, Gobekli Tepe is made up of a vast Stone Temple Complex. However, unlike Sumerian or Ancient Egyptian Temple Complexes, there is no writing from which the purpose of the Complex can be understood. Instead, we have a Stone alignment and a series of symbolic inscriptions that suggest the existence of an Astronomy based Religion.

The Gobleki Tepe Site’s alignment to the Cygnus constellation and as a means of marking the Precession of the Equinoxes in Ancient times has been proposed by Andrew Collins and Graham Hancock.

In addition, the Temple inscriptions bear a close resemblance to the symbols that would be used later in Sumerian, Indus Valley, Egyptian and Mesoamerican Temples. It would, therefore, appear that Gobleki Tepe is possibly the site at which the Astronomical Religions of the Ancient world began.

Gobleki Tepe is also credited with being the source of the agricultural knowledge that was later transmitted to these later Ancient Civilizations.

Whilst the Astronomical alignments and Religious symbols at Gobleki Tepe are fairly clear, the identity of the Architects remains a mystery.

The Unknown Architects Of Gobekli Tepe

Without a doubt, the Architects of Gobleki Tepe were of superior intelligence and culture. According to Andrew Collins and Graham Hancock, the Architects were possibly the Denisovans, a now extinct Giant Humanoid hybrid species of superior size and intelligence.

In this view, the builders of Gobleki Tepe may have been the survivors of the great deluge, who established Gobleki Tepe in order to preserve and transmit pre-flood knowledge and culture.

Sitchin’s Ancient Astronaut Theory would also suggest that Gobekli Tepe was a site that was established by the Anunnaki Ancient Aliens after the flood as a means of preserving the pre-flood knowledge.

It has also been argued that the site is the work of local Native Tribes who built the site in Ancient times together with the NAZCA lines using stone tools.

The identity of the Architects of Gobleki Tepe remains an enigma, and it is from its influence on later cultures that perhaps we may obtain some idea as to who is responsible for erecting the Temple Complex.

The Influence Of Gobekli Tepe

Gobleki Tepe’s influence is most evident in the later Civilizations of Sumeria, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesoamerica.

In particular, the symbols and astronomical alignments were first seen at Gobleki Tepe are apparent in these same later Civilizations, forming the foundation of these Civilizations by introducing concepts like Time, Temple Construction, and Religious worship of the Gods.

It would seem the Gobleki Tepe provided a kind of ancient template upon which later Civilizations were built. The references to the Ancient Gods of Sumer, Egypt, India, and Mesoamerica may in-fact be references to the Denovisan founders of the Gobleki Tepe complex who spread the knowledge of Civilization to these regions.

As such, the Ancient Gods in these various regions may in-fact be Giant Hybrid Denovisans rather than Ancient Astronauts as suggested by Zechariah Sitchin. Its therefore possible that the Ancient Gods may not have descended from the Heavens, but were regarded as having done so by the peoples they initiated into the arts of Civilization.

The earliest depictions of the Architects of Gobleki Tepe may possibly be of the Serpent figures of the Ubaid Culture which may be seen as portrayals of Denivosan Giants rather than Alien beings.

Gobleki Tepe culture may have therefore spread and established itself in the Ubaid Region first, then onto Sumer, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesoamerica.

Conclusion

The Giant skeletons that have been unearthed throughout the world and remain unexplained by mainstream Archaeology may belong to the Architects of Gobleki Tepe. A Race of Denovisan Hybrid Giants who initiated all subsequent Cultures into Civilization.

In this sense, Gobekli Tepe may be regarded as some kind of learning center or school for the initiation of early mankind into Civilization after the great deluge. Excavation of the Gobekli Tepe site still continues, and perhaps more revelations will provide clarity as to its purpose, origins, Architects, and influence on later Civilizations.

Nevertheless, at this point, what has been discovered so far brings into question both mainstream history and alternative arguments like Sitchin’s Ancient Astronaut Theory especially if the Denovisan hypothesis is considered.

Hoard of 5,000 Anglo Saxon Coins Worth Over $1.5 M Discovered by Amateur Metal Detectorists

Hoard of 5,000 Anglo Saxon Coins Worth Over $1.5 M Discovered by Amateur Metal Detectorists

A cache of more than Anglo Saxon 5000 coins, including a rare penny, have been discovered, and the find in Buckinghamshire near Lenborough is considered to be the largest haul of coins in modern times.

A hoard of more than Anglo Saxon 5,000 coins have been unearthed (pictured), including what may be a unique coin. The 5,248 coins were found by Paul Coleman on December 21 last year

It includes a uniquely-stamped coin which may be the results of a mix-up at the mint, more than 1,000 years ago. No valuation has officially been placed on the coins, which have formerly been declared as treasure trove, but some experts believe they could be worth more than £1 million.

The 5,248 coins were found by metal detector enthusiast Paul Coleman on December 21 last year. He almost decided not to dig the site when his metal detector beeped, believing he had come across a hidden manhole cover. However, his persistence was rewarded when he found the silver pennies, which were buried in two sets, possibly up to 15 years apart, based upon the dates imprinted on them.

He told a treasure trove inquest in Beaconsfield: ‘I wasn’t going to go [hunting for treasure] but I was talked into it.

Small cross-type penny with a portrait of King Ethelred (not from the newly-discovered hoard)

We looked at the aerial photos and chose a field because there were strange markings. We decided to leave the field because there was nothing in it. When the detector started beeping, it felt like the size of a manhole cover and that’s also what caused me to nearly not dig it up. Anything of that size is normally a manhole cover or a squashed bucket.’

Mr. Coleman, who is 60 and retired, believes it was fate that caused him to wander over to where the hoard was buried. He chose a different route because choosing his Deus detector was receiving interference from one belonging to another member of the Weekend Wanderers metal detecting club.

He first found 985 coins dating from the reign of Ethelred the Unready in the 990s and a further 4,263 that were minted during the reign of his successor, Canute. The coins were taken to the museum in Aylesbury before then being sent to the British Museum for further analysis. 

Brett Thorn, keeper of archaeology at the Buckinghamshire County Museum, told the treasure inquest: ‘Normally hoards are fairly small – 10 to 20 coins, something of that order. 

‘The largest came in the 1840s, containing 7,000 plus silver objects, and one was recorded in the late 90s. This find is the only modern one which is comparable to those.’ 

He believes the coins were buried on the way to a mint in Buckingham five miles (8km) away in order to be melted down and re-cast. New coins were minted every few years, with the holders of old coins having to pay a tax if they tried using them.

The discovery, which was made near Lenborough (marked on this map with a red marker) in Buckinghamshire is said to be the biggest hoard of coins in modern times
The 5,248 coins were found by Paul Coleman on December 21 last year. He almost decided not to dig the site when his metal detector beeped, believing he had come across a hidden manhole cover. He is pictured left with some of the Saxon coins in a clear container, which are pictured in-situ, right

Alternatively, Mr. Thorn said the money could have been the savings of a single-family over the course of 20 years. Despite the age gap between some of the coins, he told the inquest: ‘There’s no doubt they were deposited at the same time.’

He said that one of the coins – an Agnus Dei coin containing a lamb and flag – is possibly unique.

‘It’s a mis-struck coin. The lamb should have on the reverse a dove of peace. This doesn’t; it has a short cross. Someone has made a mistake but it is still good silver. They still sent it out. It makes the coin a rare mistake among a group of unique coins.

Such coins were issued towards the end of Ethelred’s reign and were a plea to God to protect them from the Vikings. Just 30 Agnus Dei coins had ever been discovered and 25 of those were in Scandinavia. There have also been just 30 Saxon coins discovered in the area over the course of 150 years because most of them were taken back with the Vikings.

He first found 985 coins dating from the reign of Ethelred the Unready in the 990s and a further 4,263 that were minted during the reign of his successor, Canute. Here, the coins are shown in situ

Recalling the moment the hoard was brought into the museum, Mr. Thorn said: ‘It was just phenomenal. There was an email about a hoard of 5,000 coins. I thought it was a typo – you don’t get hoards of that scale, ever. I assumed it meant to say 50; even 500 would be exceptionally exciting.

‘It was a massive amount and I couldn’t believe the condition they were in. The ones I looked at initially were in excellent condition. The first thing we did was phone the British Museum and we drove them down to London that day.

‘Word had spread around the department this was coming in and when we arrived everyone was going “is that the hoard?” They were as excited about it as we were. This is a massively significant find, which is why we were really pleased the British Museum said they were happy to let us have it.

‘It’s the most sensible place for it – in Buckinghamshire, where it was found.’ The museum will need to raise a percentage of the coins’ total value in order to put them on display, with an official valuation expected tin the New Year.

Mr. Thorn said analysis of the coins showed they had been minted in 40 different locations around the country. Some of the coins were inscribed with the name Coleman, prompting their finder to say: ‘I joked that the hoard had my name on it – I didn’t realize it literally did.

Mr. Coleman, who lives in Southampton, Hampshire said: ‘The whole thing has been surreal the whole time.’ He has been pursuing his hobby for 50 years and said: ‘I’ve found Roman coins, medieval coins and quite a few medieval broaches, the stuff that keeps you interested.

‘The biggest thrill is when you find the personal things like a brooch that an individual has worn – if only you could read the story that went with it. It’s like holding a bit of history.”

Peter Welch, who runs the Weekend Wanderers club, told the Buckinghamshire coroner: ‘This won’t be repeated. I have never had anything like this in 25 years of running the club.’ Coroner Richard Hulett ruled that the hoard should be counted as treasure after hearing the coins were made of more than 10 percent silver – the minimum level needed to satisfy modern treasure laws.

A lead ‘basket’ which contained the coins – which fell apart during the excavation – was also ruled as treasure after fragments of it were preserved.

Ancient Roman jewelry found beneath the British department store

Ancient Roman jewelry found beneath the British department store

A 2,000-year-old story of terror and devastation has been brought to light during renovation work at an English department store, revealing one of the finest collections of Roman jewelry as well as human remains of people who were slaughtered at the site.

The jewelry had been undisturbed since 61 A.D. in Colchester, some 50 miles northeast of London. It was found in a wooden box and bags under a department store in the town’s high street.

A cache of blingy gold and silver jewelry hidden by a wealthy Roman woman nearly two millennia ago was unearthed recently during a department store site excavation in the historic British town of Colchester.

The treasure, which has been dated to the year 61AD, provides examples of what the best-dressed women of the day were wearing.

Among the items were three gold armlets, a silver armlet, silver chain necklace, two silver bracelets, four gold rings, and two sets of gold earrings. Also found was a bag of Roman coins and a small jewelry box.

Experts from the Colchester Archaeological Trust surmised that the wealthy Roman woman hastily buried her valuables on the floor of her home due to a feared invasion by native Britons.

The military campaign, which ultimately failed to wrest control from the Romans, was to be known as the Boudican Revolt.

Physical evidence, including scorched food items and broken human bones, tells a harrowing story of a home that was burnt to the ground during the violent rebellion.

The treasure, which the Colchester Archaeological Trust is calling the finest discovery of Roman jewelry in British history, would have been lost forever had it not been for excavation work related to the $48 million expansion of the upscale Colchester department store, Williams & Griffin.

The store offers everything from furniture to fashion (Yes, they sell fine jewelry) and is located about 65 miles northeast of London.

“We have been working on the site for six months, and this remarkable Roman jewelry collection was discovered on the third to last day of our dig,” Colchester Archaeological Trust director Philip Crummy told the East Anglian Daily Times.

According to NBC News, the department store’s owner, Fenwick Ltd., is planning to donate the Roman hoard (now called the “Fenwick Treasure”) to the local Colchester Castle Museum. Colchester has the distinction of being the oldest town in Britain.

Nearly 40 Byzantine Shipwrecks Were Recently Unearthed in Turkey

Nearly 40 Byzantine Shipwrecks Were Recently Unearthed in Turkey

Over the past ten years, archeologists in Turkey have been chipping away at a treasure trove of Byzantine shipwrecks. As BBC reports, so far, they’ve uncovered 37 ships at a dig site in Istanbul. The site, Yenikapi, was once a port in bustling Constantinople, and the remnants of the ships found their date from the fifth to 11th century.

Archaeological excavations in Turkey that began in 2004 have yielded a unique historical treasure — 37 shipwrecks from the Byzantine Empire, eight of which are now described in a new report. [8 Byzantine Shipwreck Photos]

The shipwrecks were discovered at a site called Yenikapi, in Istanbul, in what was a port of the ancient city, then called Constantinople. The ships date back to the fifth to 11th centuries, and are in exceptionally good condition, archaeologists say.

“Never before has such a large number and types of well-preserved vessels been found at a single location,” said study author Cemal Pulak, of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.

The eight shipwrecks highlighted in the new report, which date from the seventh to 10th centuries, show that the shipbuilders at the time were using a more complex process than previously thought, according to the researchers. 

Each of the ships the researchers examined in the report incorporated elements characteristic of two shipbuilding methods. In one method, the shell of a ship was built first, and in the other, the ship’s skeleton was constructed first, and then the planks were attached.

Temporary sheds provide some shelter at the Yenikapı excavation site as the team documents timbers from 37 ships recovered from a lost Byzantine port

The researchers’ analysis showed that a transition from a shell-first to a skeleton-first approach was already well underway by the seventh century.

“It is through meticulous and time-consuming detective work that we slowly begin to understand how these ships were built, modified, overhauled, and used,” Pulak told BBC.

“By such means, we try to understand the minds of the shipbuilders and their design and conceptualization processes, in order to better comprehend the history of science and engineering.”

Of the eight ships that the researchers examined for the report, six were classified as “round ships,” which means that they were propelled primarily or entirely by sail.

The length of the round ships ranged from 26 to 48 feet (8 to 14.7 meters), and they were between 8 and 16 feet (2.5 and 5 m) wide.

The other two ships the researchers examined were galleys — long, oared ships, about 100 feet (30 m) long, and 13 feet (4 m) wide. Among all of the 37 shipwrecks discovered at Yenikapi, there were a total of six Byzantine galleys, “notably the first shipwrecks of this type discovered from the Byzantine period,” the researchers wrote in their report.

Previously, Byzantine galleys were known only from books and artwork dating to the time period, and such sources tend to be difficult to interpret. Therefore the well-preserved remains of these vessels at Yenikapi play a crucial role in archaeologists’ study of Byzantine ships, the researchers said.

The future reveals the past: A subway expansion project in Turkey unearths a lost port and the largest known collection of Byzantine shipwrecks.

Until recently, much of the information about Byzantine ships had come from the several medium-size seagoing ships that had been excavated in the Mediterranean, Pulak said.

“Yenikapi has yielded a wide array of small rowboats, fishing boats, utility vessels, and even naval ships, all directly from Constantinople itself, the capital of the Byzantine Empire,” he added.

A large museum in Istanbul is being planned to exhibit many of the wrecks, Pulak said. But it could take several years to restore the timbers of each ship’s hull, he said.

17th-century Dutch merchant ship off southern England have recovered a 30-foot-long wooden carving of a mustachioed warrior

17th-century Dutch merchant ship off southern England have recovered a 30-foot-long wooden carving of a mustachioed warrior

Archeologists greeted a carving of the face of a moustachio warrior as they lifted part of a huge shipwreck in the 17th century in the English Channel The head was carved into the 28 ft long section of the rudder of a Dutch trading ship that sunk nearly 400 years earlier in Poole, Dorset.

Its accidental discovery by a dredger led to six years of underwater investigations, which prompted experts to hail the find as the most significant since the Mary Rose. Divers found the sizable carving covering the stern and bow castle of the 130ft-long merchant vessel, which would have been one of the largest of its kind on the seas at the time.

It was decked out with opulent carvings of mermen whose eye sockets would have been decorated with precious stones. Other baroque-style carvings, similar to the one on the rudder, were also found on parts of the ship including the gunports.

The head was carved into the 28ft long rudder section of a Dutch trading ship that sunk off Poole, Dorset, nearly 400 years ago

Marine archaeologists from Bournemouth University have already recovered scores of artifacts from the vessel that is known as the Swash Channel Wreck after the area of sea where it sunk.

And after being given a grant of £500,000 from English Heritage, the team completed the recovery of the five-tonne wooden rudder that had become separated from the main hull.

Divers spent seven days digging the rudder from out of the sea bed and placing a large steel frame around it, similar to the operation that raised the Mary Rose in 1982.

Marine archaeologists from Bournemouth University have already recovered scores of artefacts from the vessel that is known as the Swash Channel Wreck after the area of sea where it sunk. The black squares indicate the gunport locations

It was then towed four miles into Poole Harbour where today it was hoisted onto the quayside by a crane in front of the excited team of archaeologists.

The baroque facial carving at the end of the rudder shows a military man wearing a classical helmet. It will be constantly sprayed with special chemicals for the next two years to help conserve it.

The rudder will then put on display at Poole Museum alongside other artifacts recovered from the wreckage. Dave Parham, a senior lecturer in marine archaeology at Bournemouth University, said: ‘Before now we had just seen the rudder underwater where you could only make out a few feet of it at a time.

The rudder is being temporarily stored at Poole docks, before being transported to York. It was towed four miles into Poole Harbour where today it was hoisted onto the quayside (pictured) by a crane in front of the excited team of archaeologists

‘So to see it in daylight in all its glory is really quite spectacular.

‘It is a very large and impressive item itself so you can imagine how spectacular this merchant vessel would have looked.

‘Its discovery is an extremely significant one and has given way to one of the largest shipwreck investigations within the UK.’

Another carving previously discovered at the wreck of the Dutch trading ship near Poole, Dorset

Unlike the Mary Rose, little is known of the Swash Channel Wreck, including its identity. Tests on the oak wood from it have dated the felling of the timber to 1628 and from forests on the Dutch/German border. Analysis of some of the recovered artifacts dates to the middle of the 17th century.

This has led the experts to believe the vessel was an armed Dutch trading ship that was either going to or returning from the Mediterranean or the Far East. It is thought it hit a sandbank in the approaches to Poole Harbour and water flooded its bilges. The ship is then believed to have rolled over and sunk in 22ft of water.

Mr. Parham said: ‘It would have been a very big vessel for its day and the whole vessel would have been a spectacular work of art.

It was a sign of prestige and wealth. It was making a statement, showing how great and wonderful the owners were. They would have been a large Dutch conglomerate, similar to the East India Company.

‘It would not have been a million miles from a 17th-century version of the Titanic, although the Titanic was ornate for the passengers and not for those on the outside.

‘We think it was a Dutch trading ship and would have taken high-quality European goods like tweed to the Far East and traded them for things like exotic spices.

It was either going out or coming back when it sank outside of Poole Harbour. We have received a grant to fund the recovery of all the material that is at risk of erosion.

So far the team has brought up artifacts including five baroque carvings, ceramic pieces, leather shoes, copper and pewter plates and cups, and a bronze compass divider. They have also recovered animal bones of sheep and cows that would have fed the crew.

Mr. Parham said: ‘Last month we spent seven days excavating beneath the rudder in order to put strops around it and lift it into a steel frame.

It was then moved four miles to the quayside in Poole and lifted out of the water. We have no idea who the male carving on the rudder might be. It is a mustachioed man with a classical helmet on so it is depicting a military man of some sort. About 40 percent of the port side of the wreck lies intact on the sea bed but it will be too costly an operation to recover that.

A rare Scythian Husband and wife pair burial from around 1,000 BC Such a beautiful Eternal Embrace

A rare Scythian Husband and wife pair burial from around 1,000 BC Such a beautiful, eternal embrace

An ancient man and woman have been found locked in a loving embrace for 3,000 years in a grave in Ukraine. Archaeologists believe the woman was willingly entombed alive in order to accompany her husband to the next world.

The extraordinary burial sees the couple clasped together since the Bronze Age. The pair, from the prehistoric Vysotskaya – or Wysocko – Culture were found near Petrykiv village, south of the city of Ternopil in western Ukraine.

Professor Mykola Bandrivsky – who conducted a study of ‘loving couple burials’ – said: “It is a unique burial, a man and a woman lying there, hugging each other tight.

“Both faces were gazing at each other, their foreheads were touching.

“The woman was lying on her back, with her right arm she was tenderly hugging the man, her wrist lying on his right shoulder.

“The legs of the woman were bent at the knees – lying on the top of the men’s stretched legs.

“Both the dead humans were clad in bronze decorations, and near the heads was placed some pottery items – a bowl, a jar and three bailers.”

This ancient culture was known for the “tenderness” of its burials, said Dr. Bandrivsky, Director of the Transcarpathian branch of the Rescue Archaeological Service of the Institute of Archeology of Ukraine.

Both the dead humans were clad in bronze decorations

But this example is very striking as autopsy experts say it would not be possible to place the woman’s body in such a loving position if she was already dead.

The experts say it is likely the woman chose to die and be buried with her husband and drank poison as she climbed into the grave and embraced her recently dead husband.

In other cases, burials from this culture have revealed “a man holding the hands of a woman, the lips of a man touching the forehead of a woman, or arms of both dead people hugging each other”.

The pair were from the prehistoric Vysotskaya – or Wysocko – Culture

Dr. Bandrovsky – who has carried out an analysis of such burials – said: “From our point of view, this woman did it voluntarily.

“Maybe, the woman did not want to live with some other man and get used to some new way of life.

“So she preferred to pass away with her husband.

“We suppose such a decision was dictated only by her own desire, and her attempt to stay with her beloved one.”

He added: “She may, for example, have drunk a chalice of poison to make joining her husband easy and painless.”

Marriage was well developed in the Vysotskaya Culture, with husbands and wives having clearly defined responsibilities, he said. A tenet of their beliefs was the idea that thew woman preferred to die with her man.

“People in the Late Bronze Age believed in the eternal life of the human soul.”

The renowned Ukrainian archeologist said: “It is interesting that in other parts of Europe dead men and women in couple burials were laid next to each other.

“But in the Vysotskaya culture, the couples in double graves were arranged in a way to demonstrate the tenderness and greatest sympathy towards each other.”