Category Archives: EUROPE

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Magnificent 2 Meters Tall Marble Apollo Statue And Other Artifacts Found In San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy

Magnificent 2 Meters Tall Marble Apollo Statue And Other Artifacts Found In San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy

 Archaeologists excavating at Bagno Grande in San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy, have all reasons to celebrate. The 2023 excavation campaign that lasted three months resulted in many new and exceptional discoveries.

Located 110 km southeast of Florence and 70 km southeast of Siena, Bagno Grande, San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany is of great historical and archaeological importance.

Magnificent 2 Meters Tall Marble Apollo Statue And Other Artifacts Found In San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy
A broken marble statue of Apollo was discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni.

Famous for its numerous springs of sulfurous waters spread throughout its territory, the San Casciano dei Bagni village has long attracted visitors from all over Europe.

As previously reported on Ancient Pages, archaeologists have been excavating at the site for a long time, and their work has been rewarding. Among the many finds, one can mention an extraordinary Etruscan and Roman treasure trove unearthed last year. Equally interesting are two dozen amazingly well-preserved bronze statues discovered in the thermal baths of San Casciano dei Bagni.

Thanks to the mud that protected them, the two dozen figurines and other bronze objects were found in perfect conservation, bearing delicate facial features, inscriptions, and rippled tunics. Alongside the figures were 5,000 coins in gold, silver, and bronze.

These are only a few fabulous archaeological finds at the site. The Italian archaeology team has now encountered an Etruscan structure beneath the temple with the large sacred Roman.

Experts are now studying several ancient inscriptions.

The thermal water that flows in the heart of the temple, with over 25 liters of hot water per second, is increasingly confirmed as the ritual and cultic engine of the sanctuary. Scientists are now also occupied with documenting the ancient inscriptions on the bronze statues.

The information will explain how the Etruscans and Romans used the temple and sacred basin. One of the most intriguing unearthed inscriptions is bilingual Etruscan-Latin.

One of many ancient objects found in San Casciano dei Bagni.

It is a rare example of bilingual inscriptions ever found, currently examined by Adriano Maggiani and Gian Luca Gregori. Etruria has around thirty bilingual inscriptions, but most are funerary inscriptions. In this case, the monumental donation has a public character and mentions the sacred and hot source in Etruscan and Latin.

This is an extraordinary document that confirms the coexistence of different people at the sanctuary still at the beginning of the 1st century AD, with the need for divinity to be understood by all.

One of the most surprising discoveries occurred when archaeologists excavating inside the temple stumbled upon broken parts of a marvelous marble statue of a beardless, young Apollo with lizards.

Archaeologists found the Apollo statue inside the temple.

The statue was broken when the sanctuary was closed at the beginning of the 5th century AD. In fact, this is when the entire place of worship was ritually closed, probably as a result of the widespread Christianization of the territory.

The statue had been deliberately broken.

While the votive deposit was protected with the deposition of the large travertine columns that decorated the temple portico, the cult statue of Apollo was broken and fragmented.

The pieces were almost scattered and then covered by the embankments of the site’s abandonment. In parallel with what we still know and observe today – the “contestation of the statue” coincides with a moment of profound transformation and significant political and social questions.

Many examples of Apollo cults have been linked to thermal waters since archaic times. Apollo appears in San Casciano dei Bagni starting from 100 B.C. if we think of the dancing bronze statue with a bow placed in the oldest basin and exhibited in the Quirinale Palace.

Credit: Unione dei Comuni Valdichiana Senese

The deity’s name occurs on at least two travertine altars from the Bagno Grande. Therefore, the marble statue adds a piece of the presence of the god but in a sanctuary which, at least from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D., was centered on the role of Apollo.

The archaeological excavation of the site covered approximately 400 m2, reaching a depth from the ground level in some points of over four meters.

Future digs will undoubtedly result in more exciting archaeological discoveries, shedding even more light on this fascinating ancient site.

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany

Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany

Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany
The building floor plans formerly belonged to rectangular cult buildings made of clay framework. In front of them was a small portico made of two columns.

Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed the foundations of two temples and a shallow, circular ditch at a former Roman camp.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of two Roman temples and a sacrificial pit in Germany.

The building remnants, located at the site of a former Roman camp known as Haltern in northwestern Germany, are the first known instances of temples found at a Roman military site, according to a translated statement.

During excavations, archaeologists unearthed the clay frameworks of the rectangular buildings.

The last time researchers explored the site was in 1928, but the findings were since reburied to help preserve the existing structures.

The twin temples were once part of a larger building complex that measured roughly 21,500 square feet (2,000 square meters).

Archaeologists initially thought one of the buildings was used as a meeting house, or “schola,” for military officials and later as a workshop, based on some of the tools found strewn about the site. They’re currently not sure of the second building’s purpose.

In the excavation area of the former military camp, the foundations of the temples can still be seen as faint soil discoloration.

“[The constructions] were based on the typical large podium temples made of stone that could be found in numerous Roman cities at the time of Emperor Augustus,” Bettina Tremmel, an archaeologist with the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) in Germany, said in the statement.

Augustus, the great-nephew and adopted heir of Julius Caesar, ruled as the empire’s first emperor from 31 B.C. to A.D. 14.

Between the two structures, researchers found a shallow, circular sacrificial pit—a surprising find, considering “the construction of a grave within a settlement was forbidden under Roman law,” according to the statement.

No human remains have been found at the site thus far.

“In our current state of research, the two small temples and the niche building with the burning pit are a unique building group within a Roman camp,” Michael Rind, director of archaeology at LWL, said in the statement.

“Previous archaeologists have already puzzled over the function of these buildings.”

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

Massive Ancient Mosaic Floor Discovered in Turkey

Massive Ancient Mosaic Floor Discovered in Turkey

Archaeological excavations in the Incesu district of the Kayseri province in Central Anatolia, Turkey have turned up the largest floor mosaic in the Cappadocia region. 

Detail of the floor mosaic excavated in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023.

Measuring a whopping 600 square meters or more than 6,400 square feet, the tiled floor was uncovered in the Örenşehir neighborhood, within a villa that is estimated to date back to the 4th century.

The research, ongoing for three years now, has been carried out by the Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, with the backing of the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality. 

According to the university’s Can Erpek, who directed the excavation, the villa has roots in the Roman and Byzantine eras and was used long after the Turks arrived in Anatolia.

It encompassed a vast area and about 33 rooms, with “highly valuable” floor mosaics indicating the structure was a “high-level residence.” 

“In the Central Anatolia Region, which includes the Cappadocia region, we do not see such a large residence with floor mosaics,” Erpek said in a statement, adding, “We have not yet fully reached the boundaries of this residence.” 

The excavation site in the Incesu district of Kayseri in Central Anatolia.

In a statement, Şükrü Dursun, Kayseri’s provincial director of culture and tourism, further highlighted findings such as a Latin inscription in an area believed to be a reception hall, Greek engravings, and other geometric mosaics.  

In particular, Erpek pointed out the discovery of the name “Hyacinthos” in the inscriptions, which the archaeologists believe belongs to an administrator and the villa’s one-time resident. 

Kayseri rose from the foundations of an ancient city known as Mazaca, a key stop along trade routes between the Greek colony of Sinope to Euphrates. In the fourth century, the province formed part of the thriving cultural landscape of Anatolia, which prospered under Roman rule.

Kayseri also served as a hub of Christianity during that time, housing a major monastic complex, built by Saint Basil the Great, which has not survived. 

See more images of the mosaic below. 

An aerial view of the excavation site in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023.
Detail of the floor mosaic excavated in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023.
An aerial view of the excavation site in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023
An aerial view of the excavation site in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023.
Massive Ancient Mosaic Floor Discovered in Turkey
Detail of the floor mosaic excavated in the Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkey, on November 10, 2023.
ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Enormous 18th-Century Ice House Re-Discovered Under London Street

Enormous 18th-Century Ice House Re-Discovered Under London Street

Enormous 18th-Century Ice House Re-Discovered Under London Street
Archaeologists from MOLA record the interior of the Regents Crescent ice house (c) MOLA

Archaeologist in London have re-discovered a subterranean ice house near Regents Park. Dating back to the 1780’s, the egg-shaped cavern was used to store ice, which was imported from as far away as Norway.

Made from bricks, the structure would have been one of the largests of its kind at the time, according to the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA).

The egg-shaped chambers measures 25 feet (7.5 meters) wide and 31 feet (9.5 meters) deep.

Archaeologist with MOLA found the ice house, also known as an ice well, along with its entrance chambers and vaulted ante-chamber, during preparation for the development of the Regent’s Crescent residential project.

MOLA said the ice houses is in remarkable condition, given that building directly above it were destroyed during the London Blitz of the 2nd World War, and that a subway line runs about 32 feet (10 meters) underneath, as the Guardian report.

A MOLA archaeologist brushes off the exterior of the ice house.

It is hard to believe that a structure as large as this could have gone missing, but the entrance was buried during clean-up operations after the Blitz.

“There was always an understanding that there was an ice house here somewhere, but we were not sure where,” David Sorapure, the head of Built Heritage at MOLA, told the Guardian.

“Even after we found where the entrance was, we were not quite sure how big it was, or how you got in.”

MOLA is working at the site on behalf of Great Marlborough Estates, which is currently redeveloping Regent’s Crescent, which once boasted elaborate stucco terraces designed by architect John Nash, who also designed Buckingham Palace.

The ice well was built underneath the terrace in the 1780s by Samuel Dash, who had ties to the brewing industry. By the 1820s, ice-merchants and confectioner William Leftwich was using the Ice Houses to store and supply ice for wealthy Londoners, according to MOLA.

Schematic of the ice house.

While modern refrigeration had yet to be invented, that did not deter Englanders from wanting easy access to ice.

It was not possible back then to create ice artificially, so it had to be gathered from local waterways and stored in subterranean ice houses, of which there were thousands in London alone (though much smaller than the newly discovered ice house).

As the Guardian reports, workers at the ice house would descend into the chambers to collect pieces of ice when needed. The ice would have been delivered to customers, including restaurants and potentially doctors and dentists, via a horse-drawn cart.

While we may take access to ice for granted today, the frozen stuff was in high demand in Leftwich’s day. According to a MOLA press release:

Leftwich was one of first peoples to recognise the potential for profit in imported ice: in 1822, following a very mild winter, he chartered a vessel to make the 2000 km round trip from Great Yarmouth to Norway to collect 300 tonnes of ice harvested from crystal-clear frozen lake, an example of “the extraordinary the length gone to at this time to serve up luxury fashionable frozen treats and furnish food trader and retailers with ice” (as put by David Sorapure, our Head of Built Heritage).

The venture was not without risks: previous import had been lost at sea, or melted whilst baffled custom officials dithered over how to tax such novel cargo.

The newly re-discovered ice houses has now been designated a Scheduled Monument by Historic England. Restoration work is planned for the structures, along with the construction of a viewing corridor to allow public access.

Norwegian ice cutters handle blocks of ice harvested from frozen lakes, circa 1900.
EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

1300-year-old baby footprints found in excavations at the ancient city of Assos in western Turkey

1300-year-old baby footprints found in excavations at the ancient city of Assos in western Turkey

1300 years ago, a baby stepped on baked bricks prepared to make a bread-baking oven. The baby was probably just starting to walk and had only taken two steps when an older one took hold of him.

The footprints of a 1300-year-old baby unearthed during the excavations of the Ancient City of Assos bring this moment to mind.

During the excavations of the Ancient City of Assos, located in the Behramkale Village of the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale, 1650-year-old earthen grills and various types of kitchen utensils were found last month.

Uncovering the 1300-year-old baby’s footprint in the past few days will allow more data to be collected about the city.

1300-year-old baby footprints found in excavations at the ancient city of Assos in western Turkey
A 1300-year-old baby footprint was unearthed in the ancient city of Assos.

Assos excavation head, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Archeology Department Lecturer Prof. Dr. Nurettin Arslan conveyed the following information to the AA correspondent.

“There are embellishments on the terracotta bricks used on the floor of the hearth. But apart from these decorations, there are traces left by a child, who we estimate to be 1-1,5 years old, by taking 2 steps. Besides that, there is a trace of a dog or a cat.”

“We interpreted the find as the toddler’s stepping on the slightly dried bricks while the bricks were being produced, and then being picked up and lifted.”

“The history of this structure dates from the 7th century. So, we see the footprints of a baby on a brick from 1300 years ago. If the child had walked on all of them, it would have caused marks or deterioration on the other bricks. Because his first footprint is very deep.

Afterward, we see that the traces are more superficial as if they were suddenly removed and did not continue. We can see from his steps that he is just a toddler.

Because the steps between 2 feet are 5 centimeters We see him walking with very small steps.”

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

2,800-year-old ivory ornament unearthed in Hattusa archeological site in Türkiye

2,800-year-old ivory ornament unearthed in Hattusa archeological site in Türkiye

2,800-year-old ivory ornament unearthed in Hattusa archeological site in Türkiye

A 2,800-year-old ivory ornament has been discovered by archaeologists in northern Türkiye at the excavation site of Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites, one of the most ancient Anatolian civilizations

The archaeological excavations in the present-day Bogazkale district of Corum province started in 1906 and have been led by Andreas Schachner on behalf of the German Archaeological Institute since 2006.

In the 117th year of the excavations, a piece of art that can provide insight into Iron Age art was unearthed on the northwest-facing slope of the Great Fortress area of the ancient city.

The piece, nearly 30 centimeters (1 foot) in length and 10 cm in width, features a sphinx, a lion, and two trees of life etched on an ivory surface.

Speaking to Anadolu, excavation chief Schachner said the artifact was found in the Iron Age layer of the Hattusa dig site, which contains traces of many civilizations.

“Most likely, in its own period, it was added as a decoration to a wooden box or a piece of furniture made of wood.

The work is broken on its right and left sides, but the upper and lower sides are intact. So, it can be inferred that it was actually longer,” Schachner said.

“This work is a unique piece for Bogazkoy. For the first time, we are facing a work adorned with such an intense and beautifully crafted scene.

Extensive excavations have been carried out in Bogazkoy for the Iron Age, but a work with such detail has not been encountered before,” he said.

The artifact shines a light on artistic relationships in Bogazkoy in this era, extending towards southeastern Anatolia, as well in the southwestern direction, and Greece, according to Schachner. 

EUROPE, SERBIA, WORLD

‘Magical’ Roman wind chime with a phallus, believed to ward off the evil eye, unearthed in Serbia

‘Magical’ Roman wind chime with phallus, believed to ward off evil eye, unearthed in Serbia

The “tintinnabulum” wind chime was found In debris from a large home in the ruins of the civilian city at the vast Viminacium archaeological site in the east of Serbia.

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman wind chime called a tintinnabulum — featuring a prominent phallus — at an archaeological site in eastern Serbia.

Such objects, which were hung near the doorways of houses and shops, were believed to serve as magical protection for the premises. This one was discovered on the porch of a large home on a main street in Viminacium, an ancient Roman city,  the extensive ruins of which now lie near the Serbian town of Kostolac, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Belgrade.

“The building was destroyed in a fire, during which the porch collapsed and fell to the ground,” Ilija Danković, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade, told the Serbian-language website Sve o arheologiji.

'Magical' Roman wind chime with phallus, believed to ward off evil eye, unearthed in Serbia
Tintinnabulums usually featured phalluses, which were a symbol of good luck for the Romans. This tintinnabulum of a phallus with wings and legs was found in Prague.

Tintinnabulums were designed to catch the wind, supposedly so their noise and unusual appearance would frighten off evil spirits and ward off the curse of the evil eye, which was greatly feared in antiquity.

Viminacium was the civil and military capital of Rome’s Upper Moesia province from the first to fifth centuries until it was sacked by the Huns under Attila in 441. The city was rebuilt under the Byzantine emperor Justinian, but it was finally destroyed by invading Slavs in about 535.

Magical phallus

Like many tintinnabulums, this one featured a portrayal of an outsized phallus with wings and legs. They were supposed to frighten off evil spirits with their unusual appearance and the noise they made in the wind.

This is the second tintinnabulum found in the ruins, Danković told Live Science. The first is now in a private collection in Austria; nothing is known about its discovery, he said.

However, the newly discovered tintinnabulum was discovered in its full archaeological context. “As soon as we started uncovering it, we knew immediately what we had discovered,” he said.

Archaeologists say the discovery of the tintinnabulum at Viminacium shows the social elites of the provincial city shared the same beliefs as people in the heart of the empire in Rome and had money to spend on imported objects.

The latest tintinnabulum from Viminacium is made of bronze, but it is being kept surrounded by soil until it can be properly restored. As a result, its exact configuration isn’t known. But it is centered on a “fascinum” — a portrayal of a magical phallus — with two legs, wings and a tail, he said.

“Judging by what can be seen … it had four bells and the chain from which it hung,” Danković said, adding that there also seemed to be other elements to the design not seen on other tintinnabulums.

Roman beliefs

Viminacium was the military and civil capital of the Roman province of Upper Moesia from the first until the fifth centuries, when it was destroyed by invading Slavs. It is now one of the most important Roman sites in Europe.

The symbol of a phallus wasn’t always erotic or obscene for the ancient Romans, Danković said. “It was a bringer of good fortune and happiness, and an efficient weapon to combat the evil eye,” he said. “For this reason, phalluses can be seen everywhere in the Roman world, from wine cups to the amulets worn by children.”

He added that the symbol was often publicly displayed to summon prosperity and deter thieves. The discovery of the tintinnabulum is evidence that Viminacium was “in every sense a part of the Roman world,” Danković said.

Not only did its people share many Roman beliefs, he said, but it’s likely that the tintinnabulum was imported from elsewhere in the empire, showing that there were social elites at Viminacium who were willing to pay a significant amount of money for such an object.

At its height, Viminacium was home to up to 40,000 people, including legions of the Roman Army. This model at the site shows how it looked after the third century A.D., with an amphitheater, temples, public baths, and other buildings.

Ken Dark, an archaeologist and historian at King’s College London who wasn’t involved in the discovery, said the Viminacium tintinnabulum was a type of “apotropaic” amulet that was designed to ward off evil influences and give protection to people or their property.

Such amulets “were common in the Roman world, and these sometimes took forms that would seem very strange—or even comical—to us today,” he told Live Science in an email.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

Roman-Era Female Statue Dated Back To 1,800 Years Ago Unearthed In Anemurium, Türkiye

Roman-Era Female Statue Dated Back To 1,800 Years Ago Unearthed In Anemurium, Türkiye

Among many extraordinary finds reported from the archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Anemurium located in the province of Mersin in southern Türkiye, is a Roman-era female statue probably dated back to 1,800 years ago.

Roman-Era Female Statue Dated Back To 1,800 Years Ago Unearthed In Anemurium, Türkiye

This ancient statue is believed to represent an important person according to the archaeology team led by Professor Mehmet Tekocak from one of the Konya Selçuk University, one of the largest universities in Türkiye.

The statue is believed to have collapsed and remained underground due to a strong earthquake that occurred 1,500 years ago in the ancient city of Anemurium.

Describing the statue, the archaeologists say that the dressed female statue from the Roman era has a completely well-preserved intact body.

It is reported that the statue, which is decorated with two different clothes, a chiton at the bottom and a himation on top, represents a goddess, empress or philanthropic woman belonging to an aristocratic or important family who lived there 1,800 years ago.

Both the excavation works and restorations continue on a wide area in the ancient city, located in the southern province of Mersin, throughout the year, and there are new very interesting discoveries in the ruins of Anemurium, the city which had once a strategic position and importance, especially during the Roman Empire and Byzantine Period.

During this period, Anemurium, the main settlement of the Anamur Plain, became a prestigious market and administrative center for the mentioned plain and also a trade center due to its proximity to Cyprus.

Ruins of Opera House in Anemurium.

It took all day long for the teams to remove the statue. Finally, since a crane could not approach the area, the statue was removed, with the help of a small work machine with great care by an expert team from the Antalya Restoration and Conservation Regional Laboratory Directorate, and taken under protection for scientific studies, cleaning, conservation and restoration works.

“The ancient city of Anemurium is located in the Anamur district of Mersin, approximately 10 kilometers away from the city center, where findings are mainly from the 2nd century to the 6th century A.D. It is like a time capsule.

The moment you enter here, you are going back 1,800 years ago. We clearly know that the city existed 2,500 years ago.

It is also said that it goes back to the Hittites, but we have no information about this yet,” Tekocak said.

“This is an area right next to the Harbor Bath. We first started excavations in this structure to determine the characteristics and functions of the spaces of the Harbor Bath.

Later, we started excavations here to understand whether there was a relationship with the bath in this area right next to it, and we came across very interesting ruins and finds,” explained Professor Tekocak, adding that the exact place of this discovery is the lower city with many public building.

Ruins of the ancient city of Anemurium.

“We think that this place may be a ‘nymphaeum,’ that is, a fountain monument in ancient times. And we uncovered a very beautiful female statue decorating this fountain monument,” as cited by Hurriyet Daily News.

For now, the researchers do not know who is depicted in the statue. “Its head, arms, and feet are still missing. We later found one of her arms.

The work continues, and I hope we will find the other missing parts. It may be the portrait of someone, and if so, we will see the silhouette, picture or statue of someone who lived here 1,800 years ago for the first time.”