Archaeologist hails ‘extraordinary’ Viking village find in Dublin
Researcher excavations have modified our understanding of the oldest Viking settlement in Dublin with a black pool or Dubh Linn which was considered to be much larger than originally expected.
The excavation alongside Dublin Castle has also revealed the oldest police cells in the city and a grave of punishment.
The excavation is taking place on Ship St near where the remains of one of Dublin’s oldest churches – St Michael le Pole that was founded in the 6th century – are known to be.
The dig is taking place beside Dublin Castle
Archaeologist Alan Hayden from University College Dublin said the work has uncovered the cells from a police station on Chancery Lane built-in 1830, and beside it are walls from a medieval farm.
There are 12th Century quarries that provided the stone to build Dublin Castle and its walls.
The most important discovery yet is that Dubh Linn – the pool on the River Poddle where the Vikings first settled – was much bigger than originally thought.
At present, a garden inside Dublin Castle marks what was thought to make up most of the original Dubh Linn.
However, this excavation has established it was nearly 400 meters wider extending to the present dig site and where St Michael le Pole church stood.
Mr. Hayden says this solves two questions that have puzzled historians – why St Michael’s Church referred to ‘le pole’ or the pool and how reports that the Vikings had up to 200 ships on the Dubh Linn.
Evidence of the settlement in the 12th Century
Niamh Donlon of the One Le Pole Square project says a development planned for the site will consist of a two-story convention center below six floors of office space.
It will incorporate the history of the site in its name.
The remains of the original St Michael le Pol church will be visible below a screen in a new public square and a tile from the church will be used in a new spa area.
A map of the site in the 14th Century
Tom Wilson, the senior civil engineer with builders JJ Rhattigan, said the archaeological dig was already factored into the development and has not caused delays.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hayden says there was one unusual find – a burial of a man found outside the church cemetery with his hand and feet cut off. He said this was a medieval punishment for insulting a lord or king.
19th-Century Railway Turntable Unearthed in England
Birmingham’s former HS2 station was dug by archaeologists who uncovered what could be the ‘world’s oldest railway roundhouse’.
The find was made on the site of the original Curzon Street station, which opened in the 1830s
On-site of the original station Curzon Road, which served from the 1830s to the 1960s, the red house was designed on Robert Stephenson’s plan.
One of the buildings destroyed between 1860 and 1870 is thought to have provided for the expansion of the station. Historians say it was first operational as early as November 12 1837, meaning it predated a similar building in Derby by almost two years.
This 19th-century illustration of the Curzon Street railway station shows the roundhouse building – not uncovered by HS2 archaeologists – right in the centre
The turntable was used to turn around engines so locomotives could return back down the line
Among the surviving remains of the Curzon Street roundhouse is evidence of the base of the central turntable, the exterior wall and the 3ft deep radial inspection pits which surrounded the turntable.
Final archaeological excavations on the city centre site are about to take place, ahead of work to build the new HS2 Curzon Street terminus.
The terminus is at the centre of a 141-hectare regeneration project in the city. Jon Millward, historic environment adviser at HS2 Ltd, said: ‘HS2 is offering us the opportunity to unearth thousands of years of British history along the route.
‘The discovery of what could be the world’s oldest railway roundhouse on the site of the new HS2 station in Birmingham City Centre is extraordinary and fitting as we build the next generation of Britain’s railways.’
Built to a design by Robert Stephenson, the London and Birmingham Railway building was operational as early as 12 November 1837.
This makes it what is thought to be the world’s oldest railway roundhouse, predating the current titleholder in Derby by almost two years. The site was visited last month by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hailed the decision to go ahead with HS2 as ‘fantastic’ for the whole country.
The original railway linking London with Birmingham’s former Curzon Street station, built between 1834 and 1838, saw journey times of almost five hours. It takes up to two hours to get from Birmingham to London now – depending on the station you leave from – and the government says HS2 will cut that to under an hour.
This isn’t the first major discovery found as a result of stations and tracks being dug up for the new high-speed rail network.
Last year a team of 70 archaeologists spent a year excavating a 19th-century Victorian burial ground in Park Street, Birmingham where a station on the high-speed route is set to be built.
Forensic combing of the burial ground also found a treasure trove of historical artefacts including figurines, coins, toys and necklaces inside the coffins.
Along with the thousands of skeletons, these items will now be examined and informed by historical documents, such as parish records and wills, to develop detailed biographies of the individuals. At the London end of the line, a ‘once in a generation dig’ in 2018 unearthed everything from the body of a bare-knuckle fighter to neolithic tools.
Researchers dug up a graveyard next to London Euston station where Bill ‘The Terror’ Richmond, a fighter who also earned the favour of King George IV, was buried. Neolithic tools, medieval pottery and Victorian time capsules were discovered in the early stages of the dig which organisers say was a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to explore British history.
A hunter-gatherer site on the outskirts of London, a Roman British town near Aylesbury and a World War II bombing decoy in Lichfield are among the historic sites which fall along the route of the new high-speed line.
HS2 trains will have a top speed of 225mph, but only on relatively straight stretches of the track – around 60 per cent of the line from London to Birmingham. The first HS2 trains, between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham, could be running by 2029.
A Government-commissioned review led by former HS2 Ltd chairman Doug Oakervee leaked earlier this week stated that the project’s bill could reach £106billion. But HS2 was only allocated £56billion in 2015.
Greek Farmer Accidentally Discovers 3,400-Year-Old Minoan Tomb Hidden Under Olive Grove
Sometime between 1400 and 1200 B.C., two Minoan men were laid to rest in an underground enclosure carved out of the soft limestone native to southeast Crete.
Both were entombed within larnakes—intricately embossed clay coffins popular in Bronze Age Minoan society—and surrounded by colorful funerary vases that hinted at their owners’ high status. Eventually, the burial site was sealed with stone masonry and forgotten, leaving the deceased undisturbed for roughly 3,400 years.
When a farmer was parking his truck under some olive trees on his property when the ground beneath him started to give way. After the farmer moved his vehicle to a safer location, he saw that a four-foot-wide hole had opened up in the ground. When he peered inside, he realized this was no ordinary hole.
The hole in the ground led to a Minoan Bronze Age tomb.
The farmer called in archaeologists from the local heritage ministry to investigate, and they began excavating what turned out to be an ancient Minoan tomb, carved into the soft limestone, which had been lying hidden for millennia.
Two adult Minoan men had been placed in highly-embossed clay coffins called “larnakes” which were common in Bronze Age Minoan culture. These, in turn, were surrounded by funerary vases which suggest that the men were of high status.
The ancient chamber tomb was entirely intact and undamaged by looters.
The tomb was about 13 feet in length and eight feet deep, divided into three chambers that would have been accessed via a vertical tunnel that was sealed with clay after the tomb’s occupants were laid to rest.
One larnax was found in the northernmost chamber, with a number of funerary vessels scattered around it.
The chamber at the southern end of the tomb held the other larnax coffin, along with 14 amphorae and a bowl. The tomb was estimated to be about 3,400 years old and was preserved in near-perfect conditions, making it a valuable find.
The skeletal remains were found inside two larnakes (singular: “larnax”) – a type of small closed coffin used in the Minoan and Greek Bronze Age.
Kristina Killgrove, a bioarchaeologist, wrote for Forbes that the ornamentation on the artifacts found in the tomb suggests that its inhabitants were men of wealth.
The fanciest tombs from the same period, however, had massive domed walls in a “beehive” style, which this tomb doesn’t, so they probably weren’t among the wealthiest.
The find dates from the Late Minoan Period, sometimes called the Late Palace Period.
In the earlier part of that era, the Minoan civilization was very rich, with impressive ceramics and art, but by the later part of the period, there is an apparent decline in wealth and prestige, according to Killgrove.
It’s believed that civilization was weakened by a combination of natural disasters, including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake, and the eruption of a nearby volcano. This made it easier for foreigners to come in and destroy the palaces.
The ornate pottery vessels found inside the tomb were all in good condition.
Locals don’t anticipate the discovery of any more tombs of this type, but the area is known to be the home of a number of antiquities, and a great deal of them have been found by coincidence, as with this find.
The Deputy Mayor of Local Communities, Agrarian, and Tourism of Ierapetra pointed out that the tomb had never been found by thieves, and went on to say that it would probably have remained undiscovered forever, except for the broken irrigation pipe that was responsible for the softened and eroded soil in the farmer’s olive grove.
Minoan fresco is commonly known as the ‘Prince of the Lilies.’
He went on to say how pleased they were with having the tomb to further enrich their understanding of their ancient culture and history, and that the tomb was proof for those historians who didn’t think that there had been Minoans in that part of Crete.
Previously, it had been thought that the Minoans only settled in the lowlands and plains of the island, not in the mountains that surround Ierapetra, although there was an excavation in 2012 that uncovered a Minoan mansion in the same area.
Killgrove will be analyzing the skeletons, to see what further information can be gleaned from them. She said, “As a bioarchaeologist, I routinely pore over the skeletons of ancient populations so that I can learn about their health, diet, and lifestyles.” It’s also hoped that analysis can contribute more information to the research on Minoan and Mycenaean origins.
Rabbit hole leads to incredible 700-year-old Knights Templar cave complex
An outstanding discovery was made when a 700-year-old Knights Templar cave was found beneath a farmer’s field in Shropshire, England, in a complex known as the Caynton Caves network.
The Knights Templar was a major catholic order which was popular during the Crusades and their name comes from Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The Knights Templar were first created in 1129 according to the order of the Pope, and it was their first duty to help religious pilgrims who visited the Holy Land and Jerusalem.
The photographer Michael Scott, from Birmingham, saw a video of the 700-year-old Knights Templar cave in Shropshire and decided to visit the Caynton Caves network to witness them for himself.
Some of Scott’s photographs of the cave have been published, including those in The Mirror, and these show an exotic candlelit labyrinth which Fox News note looks extremely similar to scenes straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Templars at Pope Francis’ weekly audience in Rome on November 26, 2014. A secret cave used by the Knights Templar 700 years ago has been found in Shropshire.
Michael Scott explained that as you walk through the farmer’s field in Shropshire, you would have no idea that there was a Knights Templar cave directly beneath it if you didn’t know it existed in the first place, which would have made it the perfect meeting place in the past.
“I traipsed over a field to find it, but if you didn’t know it was there you would just walk right past it. I had to crouch down and once I was in it was completely silent.”
The inside of the cave
The untouched caves, in Shropshire, apparently date back 700 years when they were used by the Knights Templar
The Knights Templar cave was carved out of sandstone, and the Caynton Caves network is found in woodland by Shifnal, and the entrances to the caves are so small they could almost be mistaken for rabbit holes.
Some of the chambers of the caves are also so narrow that visitors have to get on their hands and knees to move around inside of them.
The history of the Knights Templar is such that once the Holy Land was lost, the influence that the Knights Templar once held waned, although they remained extremely wealthy.
In 1307, King Philip IV of France decided that he wanted to expunge the debts that he owed to the order and plotted to bring about the end of the Knights Templar.
He did this by accusing members of many false things like heresy and had them locked up or burned at the stake. In 1312, Pope Clement V made the decision to permanently disband the Knights Templar.
The Caynton Caves network in Shropshire where the Knights Templar cave is also has a darker history, and it is alleged that there were once ceremonies involving Black Magic here, the Birmingham Mail reported.
The Shropshire Star note that at one point the caves were filled with graffiti, rubbish and other debris and because of this, the owners of the caves sealed off the entrance in 2012.
The Knights Templar cave, along with the entire Caynton Caves network, is said to be extremely popular with Pagans and Druids and is also frequently visited during times like Halloween and the Winter and Summer Solstices.
There is much history to be found in this part of Shropshire, and the Knights Templar cave isn’t the only place in this area that is linked to the Templar.
For instance, the Norman temple inside Ludlow Castle may have also been used by the Knights Templar.
There is also Penkridge Hall in Leebotwood, where Lydley Preceptory once stood. This was used by the Templars in 1158 and shut down in 1308 at the end of their order.
Half-Eaten Cookie Found Inside 16th Century Tudor Manuscript
One timid schoolboy is believed to be leafing through the book which seems to be a chocolate chip cookie about 50 years ago. The manuscript — which dates back almost 500 years — was given to the university by a grammar school in 1970.
The 1529 volume from the complete works of St Augustine is stored inside the university’s rare books archive, where no food, drink or even pens are allowed.
Emily Dourish, the deputy keeper of rare books and early manuscripts, discovered the biscuit.
She explained to The BBC: “It was probably a schoolboy looking at the book over 50 years ago who then accidentally dropped a biscuit and it was forgotten about.”
“When we received the book, somebody will have had a brief look at it, then stored it away. Nobody has properly looked at it since.”
“I was stunned. When we gave it to our conservationist, his jaw dropped.”
Restorers were able to remove the decaying “dry and crumbly” biccie — but it has left a greasy stain on a handwritten page.
The university’s special collections library tweeted: “For future reference, we have an acid-free paper to mark your place. Please don’t use baked goods.”
Bones hidden in church revealed to be remains of one of England’s earliest saints
First scientific tests on bones in a Kent Church for decades prove they are really are relics of one of the earliest English saints, Eanswythe, patron saint of Folkestone.
Apart from one bone fragment and a single tooth sent for radiocarbon to Queen’s University Belfast, the remains stayed in the church during the work
She was a Kentish royal Anglo-Saxon princess who is said to have founded one of the earliest English monastic communities as a teenager but died in her teens or early 20s.
If the findings of further studies are authenticated, hers are the earliest identified remains of an English saint, and the only remains identified of a member of the powerful Anglo Saxon royal family.
Eanswythe cannot have been born any later than 641 AD since her father king Eadbald died in late 640. She is believed to have died by 663. The radiocarbon dating results, which would indicate the latest date of her death, give a high probability that the bones date from between 649 and 673 AD.
“My hands were literally shaking when I opened the email with the results,” says Andrew Richardson, the archaeologist who led the Finding Eanswythe project. “The dates could have been inconclusive, or blown the project completely out of the water, but instead they are the best we could possibly have hoped for.”
Workmen found the relics in 1885, hidden inside a wall near the altar
The diocese of Canterbury gave special permission for the work on the bones, which were examined by archaeologists in the 1980s but not tested.
Apart from one bone fragment and a single tooth sent for radiocarbon to Queen’s University Belfast, they stayed in the church during the work, with the archaeologists and scientists sleeping in the church to guard them.
Most of the team including Richardson come from Folkestone and had known the story of the teenage saint since childhood, apart from US-born conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown who is still working on fragments including minute scraps which may be the gold thread from precious fabric once covering the bones.
The relics had disappeared for centuries before workmen found them in 1885, hidden inside a wall near the altar, presumably to save them from the iconoclasm of the Reformation, which destroyed most of the oldest monuments.
They were still in a curious battered oval lead container, one of a handful of known Anglo Saxon examples made from recycled panels cut down from a high status decorated Roman coffin. They have remained where they were reinterred in 1885, in a niche behind an alabaster and brass fronted door, part of an elaborate Victorian redecoration of the church.
Archaeologists and scientists slept in the church to guard the relics
Eanswythe’s grandfather Ethelbert was the first English king to convert to Christianity, under the mission to Kent of Saint Augustine: his tomb and others of the royal family were destroyed with Augustine’s church in Canterbury.
She is said to have founded a monastic settlement, near the present medieval church of St Mary and St Eanswythe which stands on the cliff above the sea high above the old town of Folkestone.
Early accounts of her life say her body was moved when some monastic buildings tumbled over the cliff into the sea and moved again when the new church was built.
In a 13th century life, she was credited with some admirably practical miracles, illustrated in Victorian stained glass in the church, including diverting a stream to flow uphill to supply her monastery, and ordering a flock of birds to spare their crops.
The Anglo Saxon history of the area will be celebrated in events at the nearby town museum during British Science Week from 6-15 March. The Finding Eanswythe project is fundraising for further tests, which the team hopes will include extracting DNA which should reveal more about her diet, background, and appearance.
Exquisite 2,000-year-old sapphire ring thought to have belonged to Roman Emperor Caligula
The Roman emperor Caligula, who had been governing for four years from AD 37 until his assassination, was said to own an exquisite 2,000-year-old ring of Sapphire.
Mysterious beautiful face engraved on a 2,000-year-old sapphire ring of the Roman emperor. The 2,000-year-old ring is believed to be from the Roman emperor Caligula.
The sky blue hololith, made from a single piece of the precious stone, is believed to have been owned by Caligula. The face engraved into the bezel is thought to be his fourth and last wife Caesonia, who was said to be so beautiful Caligula paraded her naked in front of his friends.
The reason for Caligula’s assassination could stem from the extravagance of spending, especially on precious stones, which depleted the Roman treasury.
There are even rumors that Caligula also incestuous relationships with sisters in the royal family and adultery with the wives of allies.
Worth mentioning, this ancient sapphire ring has a woman’s face engraved on it. According to the Daily Mail, this woman is Caesonia, Caligula’s fourth wife.
Caesonia possesses the beauty of tilting the water, tilting the city. Emperor Caligula even once naked his wife and march in front of friends for people to admire. However, “beautiful fate”, Caesonia was killed shortly after Emperor Caligula was assassinated.
The sapphire ring is said to have attracted attention during an exhibition of more than 100 gems held by jewelry company Wartski next week in London, England. Its value is about USD 7,000 – USD 750,000.
The auction became a major concern for gem collectors around the world. People from Japan even lined up outside Wartski’s premises days before the exhibition was first approved.
Mysterious beautiful face engraved on a 2,000-year-old sapphire ring of the Roman emperor. Close-up of the beautiful face engraved on the “Caligula ring”.
The “Caligula Ring” is in the Earl Marlund Gems “Marlborough Gems” from 1637 to 1762. This is a collection of 800 gems carved by George Spencer, the 4th earl of Marlborough, into the late 18th century, early 19th century.
They were sold in 1875 by John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Earl of Marlborough, to fund the repair of the Blenheim Palace.
“This ring is one of the precious pieces of the” Marlborough Gems “collection. It is made entirely of sapphire. Very few of these rings still exist and I bet this is the best one of you. find.
We believe it belongs to Emperor Caligula and the face that appears on the ring is his fourth wife, Caesonia, “said Kieran McCarthy, director of Wartski.
Experts amazed after ‘incredibly rare’ Roman artifact found in Lincolnshire field
Over recent years, metal detectorists have made a wonderful collection of historical discoveries. In the UK a detector has discovered in a plowed field a very rare and beautiful Roman Brooch. It is only the second of its kind to have even been found in the country.
The search was carried out on a field in Lincolnshire, East England, near the village of Leasingham.
Jason Price, 48, is a former member of the British military. He was participating in an event called ‘Detecting for Veterans’ according to the Sleaford Standard. This was a charity event, to raise funds for veterans and took place in the summer of 2019.
On the last day of the event, Mr. Price found the Roman brooch. “It was the last field of the weekend and it was heavily plowed – so I didn’t hold out much hope of finding anything”. Suddenly his detector starting buzzing and the excitement of a potential find mounted.
Mr. Price found the Roman brooch on the last day of the event. The Daily Mail quotes him as saying that, “It was the last field of the weekend and it was heavily plowed – so I didn’t hold out much hope of finding anything”. Suddenly his detector starting buzzing and the excitement of a potential find mounted.
The Roman brooch was discovered by a metal detectorist in a plowed field.
He started to dig carefully and some 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the earth he found something he thought was only a piece of junk. Mr. Price told the Sleaford Standard that “At first I thought it was a piece of litter, but as I cleaned it off, my jaw dropped open. There it was – a horse brooch. I was shaking”.
The Roman brooch is 2 inches (5 centimeters) long and in near perfect condition.
The veteran knew he had found something remarkable. In the past, he has unearthed several items including some coins. As required by law, Mr. Price notified the relevant authorities about his find.
The Daily Mail quotes Lisa Brundle, who oversees such finds for the local Lincolnshire County Council, as saying “This brooch is an exciting and rare discovery”. There is only one other known to have been found in Britain and it is currently held at the world-famous British Museum.
A preliminary analysis of the brooch indicated that it was made of a copper alloy and probably dated to 200-400 AD when Britain was a province of the Roman Empire. The Roman brooch is in remarkably good condition and it still has its original pin attached.
It is approximately 2 inches (5 centimeters) long and weighs about 0.80 of an ounce (23 grams). It depicts the horse in great detail and even shows it with a saddle. Originally the horse would have had a gold finish and many of its details would have been enameled with bright colors.
Various views of the Roman brooch.
The brooch is considered to be somewhat more detailed than the one found in the British Museum. It is also decorated somewhat differently. Ms. Bundle told The Times that the Roman brooch “is in a league of its own”. The artifact has been called the ‘Leasingham Horse’ after the location where it was found.
Such a brooch was probably worn by a Romano-Britain of some social standing as it would have been quite valuable. This item would have been most likely pinned to a robe. Ms. Bundle told The Daily Mail that “It would have been a spectacular sight on someone’s robe”.
This item would have been something of a status symbol. The gender of those who would have worn the item is not known, but the horse design may mean that it was worn by a male.
How the item came to be buried in the field is something of a mystery. It may have been lost or deliberately buried during one of the many raids by barbarians on Roman Britain. Mr. Price is not going to cash in on his amazing discovery.
According to The Daily Mail, “the brooch has been sent out on a permanent loan by Mr. Price to the Collection Museum in Lincolnshire”. The item will undoubtedly become a very popular attraction with local people and visitors alike.
