Category Archives: EUROPE

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Archaeologists unearth third-century’ human mountains’

Archaeologists unearth third-century’ human mountains’

It was discovered near Rome when archaeologists found the remains of a man who was considered a giant when he died in the third century A.D.

It’s an unbelievably rare find – because today gigantism affects three in a million people worldwide. The condition begins in childhood when a malfunctioning pituitary gland causes abnormal growth.

Two partial skeletons, one from Poland and another from Egypt, had previously been identified as “probable” cases of gigantism, but the Roman specimen is thought to be the first clear case from the ancient past, study leader Simona Minozzi, a paleopathologist at Italy’s University of Pisa said.

The figure stood at about 6ft 8 inches, classed as a giant in third century A.D when the average height for a man was 5ft 5 inches.

The unusual skeleton was found in 1991 during an excavation at a necropolis in Fidenae (map), a territory indirectly managed by Rome.

At the time, the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome, which led the project, noted that the man’s tomb was abnormally long. It was only during a later anthropological examination, though, that the bones too were found to be unusual. Shortly thereafter, they were sent to Minozzi’s group for further analysis.

The researchers found a ‘human mountain’
The figure has gigantism according to the study

To find out if the skeleton had gigantism, the team examined the bones and found evidence of skull damage consistent with a pituitary tumor, which disrupts the pituitary gland, causing it to overproduce human growth hormone.

Other findings — such as disproportionately long limbs and evidence that the bones were still growing even in early adulthood — support the gigantism diagnosis, according to the study, published on October 2 2012 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

His early demise — likely between the age of 16 and 20 — might also point to gigantism, which is associated with cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems, said Minozzi, who emphasized that the cause of death remains unknown.

A statue of Maximinus Thrax

Charlotte Roberts, an archaeologist at Durham University, said she was “certainly convinced with the diagnosis” of gigantism in 2012, but that she’d like to know more.

She said: “You can’t just study the disease, you have to look at the wider impact of how people functioned in society, and whether they were treated any differently.”

She added that one thing researchers do know is that the second century A.D. emperor Maximinus Thrax was described in the literature as a “human mountain.”

Archaeologists have found other remains that could have been giants

Minozzi noted, though, that imperial Roman high society “developed a pronounced taste for entertainers with evident physical malformations, such as hunchbacks and dwarfs — so we can assume that even a giant generated enough interest and curiosity”.

Roberts also highlighted how the find has been useful in learning about gigantism.

She said: “Normally a doctor will be looking at a patient with a disease over short term span.

“We’ve been able to look at skeletons from archaeological sites that are thousands of years old. You can start to look at trends of how diseases have changed in frequency over time.”

EUROPE, PORTUGAL, WORLD

Neolithic “Woodhenge” Discovered in Portugal

Neolithic “Woodhenge” Discovered in Portugal

The 4,500-year-old ring of large ‘ shafts ‘ has been uncovered by archaeologists in the great Durrington Walls and the famous site at Woodhenge, just a few kilometers from Stonehenge, in southern Britain.

The newly-discovered circle is over 2 km in diameter and has been carbon-dated to 2500 BC.

The archaeologists identified up to 20 shafts — which are up to 10 m across and at least 5 m deep — but estimate there may have been more than 30 originally.

The 2-km-wide ring of shafts around the great henge at Durrington Walls and the famous site at Woodhenge.

“The size of the shafts and circuit surrounding Durrington Walls is without precedent within the UK,” said Professor Vince Gaffney, a researcher in the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences at the University of Bradford.

“It demonstrates the significance of Durrington Walls Henge, the complexity of the monumental structures within the Stonehenge landscape, and the capacity and desire of Neolithic communities to record their cosmological belief systems in ways, and at a scale, that we had never previously anticipated.”

The scientists think the ring of shafts marks a boundary around the massive henge at Durrington. The features, along with an internal post line, could have guided people towards the religious sites and warned others not to cross the boundary.

“It was extraordinary such a major find had been made so close to Stonehenge,” Professor Gaffney said.

“It is amazing that our seamless survey of the Stonehenge landscape, which apply the latest technology and extends over kilometers of the countryside, has revealed major new features including these huge shafts,” said Professor Wolfgang Neubauer, an archaeologist in the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and the Virtual Archaeology/VIAS-Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna.

“They are not only clearly visible in the geophysical data sets, but the survey also provides the opportunity to place these features within a wider context comprising the many monuments associated with Stonehenge including the super-henge at Durrington Walls, just 3 km north-east from the iconic stone circle.”

“The Stonehenge landscape stands apart, not only as one of the most important archaeological landscapes in the world but also amongst the best studied,” said Dr. Eamonn Baldwin, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham.

“To make such a major discovery within such an area is remarkable, and a testament to how archaeologists have begun to integrate technology with traditional research methods including excavation and aerial photographic survey.”

“After centuries of study of the Stonehenge landscape, the discovery of such an incredible new monument is testament to the value of interdisciplinary research,” said Professor Henry Chapman, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham.

“Our understanding of this outstanding place has been transformed in recent years, and the identification of such a significant and extensive new site highlights that there is always something more to discover.”

“We’re tremendously excited at the prospect of applying ancient sedimentary DNA technology to these mysterious structures to discover their purpose in ancient Britain,” said Professor Robin Allaby, a researcher at the University of Warwick.

BELGIUM, EUROPE, WORLD

70 million – year – old Underground village And Magnificent Eben-ezer tower In Belgium

Mysterious 70-Million-Year-Old Underground Village And Magnificent Tower Of Eben-Ezer In Belgium

The Tower of Eben-Ezer is a 33-meter high tower built single-handedly out of flint by a man who worked on it for over ten years to display his artistic, paleontological, and theological discoveries.

The magnificent tower of Eben-Ezer in Belgium.

Who built it?

Some of these mysterious subterranean worlds are famous and examined by archaeologists. Others are virtually unheard of and can never be investigated because they were destroyed.

One intriguing place is the fascinating underground village of Thébah in Belgium. It is said to be 70- million-year-old!

The skull of a Mosasaurus discovered by Garcet

The discovery of the underground village took place when Robert Garcet (1912 –2001) decided to build a fantastic tower in the village of Eben-Emael, in the province of Henegouwen, Belgium.

Robert Garcet (1912-2001), who was born in Mons, Belgium. When he was 18 he moved to this area north of Liège, where he worked as a labourer in the local quarry. He was very interested in geology, nature, the history of mankind and the Bible, wrote a lot of books, and developed his own vision of the creation of man.

He was also a pacifist, and in 1947 began to draw up plans to construct a big tower as a symbol of peace. He started construction in 1953 and, with the occasional help of friends, completed it 15 years later.

Biblical symbols from the Book of Revelation are visible on top of the tower.

What does it represent?

It’s difficult to say. Apparently, all aspects of the tower have a deep meaning. Its dimensions are in proportion to the Heavenly Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible in the Revelation of John. It gets its name from the Biblical account of the place Samuel erected a stone to symbolize peace. It has seven floors reflecting the sacred number of seven.

On the corners at the top of the tower, four sculptures are displayed representing characters of the book of Revelation: bull, lion, eagle and angel.

What’s it like inside?

The inside is as extraordinary as the outside. It’s full of artwork, sculptures and murals, as well as displays of geological discoveries, artefacts and fossils. Part of it is also devoted to a Museum of Flint, which gives you a tour of the history and use of flint over the ages.

You certainly won’t be bored at the Tower of Eben-Ezer. There’s an abundance of things to see, admire, wonder at, and ponder over. Sometimes you’ll be amazed; at other times you’ll just get totally mystified.

A wealth of information is available during your tour of the tower. This includes a bulky A4 binder with pages and pages of descriptions and details of everything you can see and the explanations behind all the displays and symbology. In addition, in many of the rooms computers are set up that you can click and navigate through multiple screens of information.

However, all the information is in Dutch or French. And there’s so much information that even with a good understanding of Dutch I simply couldn’t take it all in. Actually I would have needed hours to go through it all, said Robert Garcet.

The Tower of Eben-Ezer was featured in Channel 4’s 1998 series “Journeys into the Outside”, in which Jarvis Cocker (British musician and artist, famous for fronting the band Pulp) travels the globe in search of large-scale visionary environments.

The relevant clip starts at 11:07 and lasts for nearly 8 minutes.

What is interesting is that it includes an interview with Robert Garcet three years before his death, during which he calls Jarvis Cocker an imbecile! It’s also clear that Cocker himself struggles to understand what the tower is all about, and can’t quite get to grips with Garcet’s beliefs.

The following are pictures from a video documentary and book by Markus May, called Die Steine der Apokalypse, Robert Garcet und die Legende vom Feuerstein. What you can see in those pictures are small portions that remained after the flint company destroyed the village. 
EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

World’s Oldest Toy Car – Could This 5,000-Year-Old Discovery Be The Earliest Evidence Of The Wheel?

World’s Oldest Toy Car – Could This 5,000-Year-Old Discovery Be The Earliest Evidence Of The Wheel?

Many gearheads grew up playing with toy cars. Loyalties to Hot Wheels or Matchbox were as divisive as those between Ford and Chevy are today.

But kids have been fascinated by wheels since long before these companies—or even the car itself—existed.

An archeological dig in Turkey has revealed that our fascination with toy wheels goes back at least 5,000 years, reports the International Business Times.

A toy chariot dating back 5,000 years – which archaeologists believe may be the world’s oldest ‘toy car’ – has been discovered in Turkey. 

The little chair on wheels, made from earthenware, was found during an excavation of the ancient city of Sogmatar, in the south-east of the country.

Sogmatar is believed to have been the home of Moses when he had run away from the Pharaoh. 

A toy chariot dating back 5,000 years – which archaeologists believe may be the world’s oldest ‘toy car’ – has been discovered in Turkey
The little chair on wheels, made from earthenware, was found during an excavation of the ancient city of Sogmatar, in the south-east of the country
The digs have uncovered a number of tombs, including the ones the toys were found, which had provided a fascinating insight into how ancient civilizations lived

Digs in the city have uncovered a number of tombs, including the child’s grave the mini-chariot was found, which have provided a fascinating insight into how ancient civilizations lived. 

In total, 45 tombs have been opened, including three that have remained untouched since the Roman era. 

A 4,000-year-old baby’s rattle dug up in the city of Kultepe in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri in 2014 was at that time hailed as the world’s oldest toy. 

Sogmatar Excavation Head and Sanliurfa Museum Manager Celal Uludag said that Sogmatar was one of the most important excavations in the area.

He added: ‘The excavation in this area continues with the permission of the ministry. In the necropolis part, in a tomb room, we found a toy carriage which belongs to the Bronze Age and believed to have been made for the children of kings or the leaders.

‘This finding is very important for us as shows the aesthetic and cultural understanding of the period. 

‘The item will be exhibited in the biggest museum complex of Turkey, the Sanliurfa Archaeology Museum. We believe that we are going to find even more important things in the excavation.’ 

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton With Intact Ligaments Found in Siberian Lake

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton With Intact Ligaments Found in Siberian Lake

The Siberian landscape is known to be a rich resource for prehistoric fossils and just recently a group of reindeer shepherds made a stunning discovery: the well-preserved skeleton of a woolly mammoth.

The carcass was so intact, in fact, that it still had some of its pelt and ligaments attached to it. Researchers are hopeful that they may even find bits of its brain still in its skull.

According to the Associated Press, local reindeer herders stumbled upon the specimen in the shallow end of the Pechevalavato Lake located in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region on June 22, 2020. The remains included a skull, several ribs, the lower jaw, and a foot fragment with sinews still intact.

Scientists have yet to analyze the fossils, but they believe them to be at least 10,000 years old.

Locals quickly alerted researchers, who have since been working together with residents to uncover the rest of the remains likely submerged under the lake’s surface. But it’s also likely that the endeavor will take a considerable amount of time to complete.

Researchers are optimistic, however, as Dmitry Frolov, director of the Arctic Research Center told The Siberian Times, “The whole skeleton is there.”

He added that judging by the size of the fossils, this mammoth was likely young, but only further analysis will reveal just how old it really was.

Woolly mammoths roamed our planet during the Pleistocene era, which lasted somewhere between 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago. According to scientists, mammoth populations spread across the globe, but most of their fossils in recent years have been uncovered in Siberia and Mexico.

Woolly mammoths in Russia are believed to have largely disappeared about 15,000 years ago, while another population on St. Paul Island is believed to have vanished only 4,300 years ago.

The bones of what is believed to be a teenage woolly mammoth with soft tissues intact found on the Yamal peninsula.

According to Yevgeniya Khozyainova, a researcher from the Shemanovsky Institute in Salekhard, finding the complete skeleton of a mammoth is quite rare.

However, several other well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been uncovered in the permafrost of northern Siberia recently as a heatwave which has been ripping through the territory over the summer thaws the thick ice. Archaeologists believe this phenomenon will only continue to reveal more prehistoric specimens.

A similar discovery was made on the other side of the world in May 2020, when the remains of 60 individual mammoths were retrieved from a construction site right outside of Mexico City, Mexico. Some 15,000 years ago that site had been the location of an ancient lake known as Xaltocan, where giant mammoths and other beasts of the time would have congregated.

The skull of the mammoth found in Pechevalavato Lake.

Experts suspect that the mammoths in the ancient lake in Mexico died after they became trapped in the surrounding mud and it’s likely that early human hunters capitalized on their misfortune. It took six months for a team of researchers to dig out the remains and work on the site continues today.

The frozen tundra of the Siberian permafrost, however, has been famously known to produce unbelievably well-preserved specimens from prehistoric times. For instance, scientists were even able to analyze the DNA of a 28,000-year-old woolly mammoth specimen that was found incredibly well-preserved in the permafrost in 2011. The analysis showed that the DNA was still alive and active.

Researchers hope to find more of the skeleton.

“Until now many studies have focused on analyzing fossil DNA and not whether they still function,” said study author Kei Miyamoto from the Department of Genetic Engineering at Kindai University. “This suggests that, despite the years that have passed, cell activity can still happen and parts of it can be recreated.”

That 2011 study has led to highly-publicized discussions about possibly cloning the woolly mammoth back to life from these active DNA strains. However, further studies on this continue.

Until then, we’ll just have to settle for the shock and awe of uncovering these prehistoric creatures little by little.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Evidence of Medieval Battle Discovered in Polish Forest

Evidence of Medieval Battle Discovered in Polish Forest

In a forest in Sanok, hundreds of arrowheads and crossbow bolts from a major battle with King Casimir the Great in the 14th century were found.

Archaeologists unearthed the huge find during an investigation to find out why the area was being plagued by illegal treasure hunters.

Biała Góra archeologists say they believe that they now locate Casimir’s Great campaign battleground in Red Ruthenia (formerly part of southeastern Poland and Ukraine).

Archeologists who were wondering why so many illegal treasure hunters flocked to a peak in Słonne Mountains and part of Sanok’s Wójtostwo district, decided to investigate

The hundreds of arrowheads and crossbow bolts come from the 14th century.

Already well-known for being the site of a medieval settlement, the last time it had been officially researched was 50 years ago.

Dr. Piotr Kotowicz from the Sanok Historical Museum told PAP: “We decided to use the same research method and invited the Galicia Historical and Exploratory Association’s representatives to work with us.

“The results of the research exceeded our wildest expectations. During several seasons, in the area around the fortified settlement, we found more than 200 arrowheads and bolts.”

It is still unclear who fought whom and why, but the archaeologists believe that the objects may be a sign of a 14th century battle between Polish and Ruthenian forces.

According to chronicles, in 1340 Casimir the Great with an army of 20,000 conquered several fortified settlements in the area. Kotowicz is convinced, that the latest findings in Sanok can be linked to that particular military campaign.

Shortly afterward, between 1340 and 1344, Red Ruthenia was incorporated into Poland permanently after the death of duke Bolesław – Jerzy II.

Dr. Kotowicz said: “It seems that the caves and bolts we discovered are a testimony of fights between Ruthenians and Poles.

“The analysis of the caves’ spread shows that most of them were concentrated in the stronghold’s area and right next to it.

“We also searched the area around it for ‘response’ to the attack. However, we did not find too many caves with weapons.

“This means that the defenders were dominated by the invaders and their response to the attack was minimal.”

The fortified settlement on Biała Góra was rather small, surrounded by one line of fortifications and dry moat. According to the recent findings, it was heavily damaged during the battle. The arrowheads and bolts weren’t the only surprises that awaited Dr. Kotowicz’s team.

In the area around the fortified settlement the archaeologists found more than 200 arrowheads and bolts.
In the area around the fortified settlement the archaeologists found more than 200 arrowheads and bolts.

A nearby patch of flattened land hid numerous artifacts of older origins – even from the 9th or 10th centuries. Among them is the first Arabic coin from the Middle Ages, dirham, found in Sanok.

Dr. Kotowicz believes that these are the remains of an industrial settlement, as evidenced by numerous cinders – iron ore was probably melted there.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Bizarre French inspiration of Stonehenge as slab origins confirmed

Bizarre French inspiration of Stonehenge as slab origins confirmed

Some experts believe that the ancient monument was used as a cemetery for more than 500 years, and some suggest that it may be of spiritual importance, due to the encompassing horseshoe arrangement being aligned to the sunset of the winter solstice and the opposing sunrise of the summer solstice.

Up until now, all that archaeologists knew with reasonable certainty was that the stones had been brought in around 2500BC from the Marlborough Downs by the great temple’s Neolithic builders.

Now though, scientists from the University of Brighton have traced the stones to a very specific two square mile part of that range of hills — a patch of woodland just south of the village of Lockeridge, Wiltshire.

But, they may have taken inspiration from overseas.

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests an ancient culture that emerged from what is now the Brittany region of northwest France may have begun building these structures and monuments some 7,000 years ago.

Archaeologists believe Stonehenge builders took inspiration from France

Study author Bettina Schulz Paulsson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden said that the megalith building probably began in France and spread from there via sea routes around Europe over the next 1,000 years or so.

For more than a decade, Dr. Paulson created a “megalith evolution” using radiocarbon dating of more than 2,000 historic sites across Europe.

She wrote: “The results presented here, based on analysis of 2,410 radiocarbon dates and highly precise chronologies for megalithic sites and related contexts, suggest maritime mobility and intercultural exchange.

“We argue for the transfer of the megalithic concept over sea routes emanating from northwest France, and for advanced maritime technology and seafaring in the megalithic Age.”

These structures were originally thought to have their roots in Northern Europe, but Dr. Paulsson has long suspected they originated elsewhere since she excavated her first megalithic site approximately 20 years ago, in Portugal.

She added: “Everyone told me ‘you’re crazy, it can’t be done, but I decided to do it anyway.”

Michael Parker Pearson, an archaeologist, and Stonehenge specialist at University College London said: “This demonstrates absolutely that Brittany is the origin of the European megalithic phenomenon.”

One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon. It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain.

Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Scottish Farmer Discovers 5,000-Year-Old Lost City

Scottish Farmer Discovers 5,000-Year-Old Lost City

Scotland is full of vivid, complex history, as is the case for other European compatriots. And no, it’s not all the violent headlines that Braveheart sees — though there is a great deal of war in the country’s rearview mirror.

Nonetheless, not so long ago, a farmer discovered something amazing about ancient Scotland buried in the sand dunes of one of the northernmost islands of the country The kicker? He found this amazing discovery behind something unbelievably ordinary…

Around 1850 a Scottish farmer passed through the sand dunes of the western shore of the island of Orkney. There he pushed a rock aside and discovered something that had been hidden for thousands of years.

At first, he saw what looked like a simple hole, but when he peered inside, he couldn’t believe his eyes: it was a passageway that appeared to be a part of an entire labyrinth of rooms and corridors. An entire ancient city was hidden behind an ordinary slab of stone that whole time!

The settlement, it turned out, was the remains of Skara Brae, a neolithic city. Researchers believed that the ancient settlement might’ve been over 5,000 years old, making it more ancient than even the Egyptian pyramids.

Luckily, because the city had been covered by the sand dunes, it remained preserved for centuries until the farmer found it, untouched by other humans and hidden from the wear and tear of the passage of time.

Researchers believed that this was one of the oldest permanent settlements in Great Britain.

Each house had been sunk into middens, mounds of waste used to stabilize the structure and insulate those insides from Scotland’s brutal climate.

Though only eight houses now remain, it is believed the settlement was once much larger.

Researchers estimated this ancient lost city could have been home to between 50 and 100 people.

All of the houses were connected using a tunnel system, but those tunnels could be closed off and separated with large, sliding stone doors.

Early citizens would then be able to travel throughout the city, but close off their homes for privacy when they needed to.

Each hut contained multiple bedding areas; in most of the huts, researchers discovered, one of the bedding areas was typically larger than the others. These rooms were presumably reserved for the heads of the house—kind of like ancient master bedrooms.

The houses also contained a waterproof storage bin. Researchers believed this could’ve been an indication that these early people stored fresh fish in the huts. If that was the case, fish was likely their main source of food.

There are still questions to be answered about this hidden city and its people. Nevertheless, there is so much we can learn from ancient cities like this.

For many years, archaeologists thought that every important Egyptian discovery was already found. But that all changed recently.