Category Archives: EUROPE

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Timbers of Fifteenth-Century Newport Ship Analyzed

Timbers of Fifteenth-Century Newport Ship Analyzed

Tree-ring analysis has been able to date a medieval ship found in a Welsh riverbank within a few months. The wreck of a 15th Century ship was found in the mud of Newport’s River Usk in 2002 and experts believe it is as significant a find as the Mary Rose.

Now researchers have found timbers from the hull of the former wine-trading vessel were made from oak trees that were felled in the winter of 1457-58.

“It helps us refine when the ship was built,” said ship curator Toby Jones.

It is another major development for the Newport ship conservation project who have been working for more than 20 years to conserve and ultimately rebuild the vessel, which is a century older than the Mary Rose.

Earlier this year, the team working on the £8m project finished the conservation process of the 2,500 pieces of wood uncovered in the banks of the River Usk by workers building Newport’s Riverfront Theatre. Experts believe the 30m (98ft), 400 tonne, medium-sized boat was having a refit in Newport in 1468 or 1469 following a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula to Bristol when its moorings broke.

After collapsing into an inlet of the River Usk, its 25-tonne hull was found more than 550 years later preserved in a wet, muddy riverbank.

Timbers of Fifteenth-Century Newport Ship Analyzed
The Newport ship was uncovered in 2002 when constructing a new theatre on the banks of the River Usk.

Archaeologists are planning the world’s largest attempt to put an archaeological ship back together which historians have called the the world’s largest 3D puzzle.

TV historian Dan Snow has said the Newport ship was “one of the most interesting and important shipwrecks found in British waters in a generation” and was of “global significance and interest”.

In another breakthrough, experts now know when the ship was built using oxygen isotope dendrochronology – an advanced study of tree-ring data – to determine an estimated date when it was built.

“We do know it came into Newport in 1468 or 1469 but we now know the ship was in existence for not quite a decade,” added Dr Jones.

This is how historians think the Newport ship may have looked as it docked in south Wales in the 15th Century.

“It allows us to really focus on that 1457-58 period for historical research but it shows this type of analysis has real potential to refine various parts of the construction sequence of the Newport ship.”

Research by University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Swansea University suggests the vessel was constructed soon after the oak trees were chopped down in the winter of 1457-58.

The research, published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, also suggested the vessel had a working life of about 10 years before coming to Newport for repairs in the late 1460s.

The ship would have been moored on the River Usk in Newport in about 1468

Previous research has shown that the ship timbers originated from forests in the Basque Country in northern Spain and that the ship was likely built along the Basque coast.

Tudor king Henry VIII’s flagship naval vessel the Mary Rose is perhaps the most famous 16th Century ship on display while the Vasa in Sweden is the 17th Century equivalent.

Now historians say the Newport ship could become the only 15th Century maritime exhibit on show anywhere in the world when it is restored. Historians have undertaken painstaking 20-year conservation work including drying out, freeze drying treating the oak timbers before beginning to focus on rebuilding.

Researchers used pioneering oxygen isotope dendrochronology to help date the timbers of the Newport ship

Archaeologists had thought the ship may been 10 years older than the new analysis proves – and the research may possibly help experts rebuild the vessel.

“It allows us to focus our resources on that specific season,” said Dr Jones.

“We can cut out anything from early 1450s now so narrow it down to a smaller window we can be more effective in our research to identify the ship.

“We can start to do this analysis on many of the timbers and if it gets really precise, we can start to determine the construction sequence and what timbers were harvested when and when they were added to the ship – so we can put dates on every timber.”

The 2,500 planks from the Newport ship were held in wax for four years as part of the restoration process

Dr Jones said the pioneering dating of the Newport ship was “stunning” because of what the wood has been through.

“The Newport ship has been through a lot,” he said. “More than 500 years underground, gone through cleaning, conservation, soaked in wax and freeze-dried – and yet these isotope signatures are still in the timbers.

“I wouldn’t have thought that was possible but this analysis has proved that information is still locked away in those tree rings.

“It’s great for us, it’s great for the Newport ship but also means we can do it on other vessels and timber structures that previously didn’t date with traditional ring dendrochronology can now potentially be dated with oxygen isotope or stable isotope dendrochronology.

A third of the Newport ship – coloured in brown in this image – remains

“It’s really exciting, not just for ships and ship archaeology but for anything made of wood that’s old.”

Experts used oxygen isotope dendrochronology to estimate when the timbers were harvested which has been called a “revolutionary” development in dating wood, like the advent of DNA technology in criminology.

“This process is only five to 10 years old and allows us to find answers today that we couldn’t get before,” said Prof Nigel Nayling, University of Wales Trinity St David’s chair of archaeology.

“It’s a complex process that takes a long time, days and days of work, and a lot of resource but it is a game-changer for archaeologists, it’s a significant innovation.”

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

Missing Pieces Of The Magnificent Golden Tree Of Lucignano Discovered

Missing Pieces Of The Magnificent Golden Tree Of Lucignano Discovered

One does not need to be an art expert to recognize the value of the magnificent Golden Tree of Lucignano. Created by goldsmith Gabriello d’Antonio, the Golden Tree is a masterpiece of Italian goldsmithing.

Golden Tree of Lucignano.

The Golden Tree is a grandiose reliquary 2.70 m high and almost one meter wide. Made of gilded copper, silver, and enamel, it features branches decorated with coral, crystals, and miniatures on parchment. 

The work on the beautiful reliquary started in 1350 and was completed in 1471. The artist who conceived and began the work is unknown, but it is documented that it was the Sienese goldsmith Gabriello d’Antonio who completed it.

Sadly, several of the artwork’s pieces were stolen in 1914, and the Golden Tree remained incomplete.

The good news is the missing parts have been discovered in a cave in the Arezzo region in Tuscany, which allowed experts to restore what many considered Italy’s most beautiful artwork.

The unique Golden Tree represents the mystical Lignum Vitae written in the 1260s by Franciscan theologian Saint Bonaventure.

The Golden Tree was long Lucignano’s greatest treasure, and according to ancient tradition, the inhabitants of Lucignano exchanged wedding vows in front of it.

In 1914, thieves stole the Golden Tree, broke it into pieces, and hid the objects secretly. The goal was naturally to sell the valuable artifacts that would generate a tremendous illegal income. Fortunately, several missing things were recovered some years later, but not all.  Earlier this year, the Carabinieri Art Squad received a tip, and more missing parts of the Golden Tree could re-emerge. However, the crucifix is still missing.

“It is not only an extraordinary fruit of Italian goldsmith art, the Golden Tree of Lucignano is much more: it is one of those works whose existence is intertwined intimately and profoundly with the life and feelings of the community that it preserves, helping to define its very identity traits.

This is also why the Tuscany Region has decided to finance the restoration work of this masterpiece, which, entrusted to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, an authentic Tuscan and national excellence, will further enhance its precious uniqueness,” Eugenio Giani, President of the Tuscany Region said in a press statement.

The Royal Superintendence of Florence has entrusted the restoration work to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. It is a demanding and delicate project that requires careful studies of historical photographic documentation to identify the original position of all the gold pieces.

Dr. Andrea Di Pasquale, Director General of Education, Research and Cultural Institutes of the Ministry of Culture, has hopes that parts that have not yet been recovered will be found soon.

How long the restoration will take is uncertain, but the goal is to return the Golden Tree to Lucignano at the end of next spring.

Today, the reliquary is also known by the name of the Tree of Love, as it is a symbol of a good omen for lovers.

BELGIUM, EUROPE, WORLD

Oldest Known Spearthrowers Found At 31,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site Of Maisières-Canal

Oldest Known Spearthrowers Found At 31,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site Of Maisières-Canal

The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. This is the finding of a new study conducted at TraceoLab at the University of Liège.

The material found at the archaeological site of Maisières-Canal permits establishing the use of this hunting technique 10,000 years earlier than the oldest currently known preserved spearthrowers.

This discovery, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is prompting archaeologists to reconsider the age of this important technological innovation.

Oldest Known Spearthrowers Found At 31,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site Of Maisières-Canal
Examples of experimental thrusting spears and javelins armed with replicas of the archaeological flint points.

The spearthrower is a weapon designed for throwing darts, which are large projectiles resembling arrows that generally measure over two meters long. Spearthrowers can propel darts over a distance of up to 80 meters.

The invention of long-range hunting weapons has had significant consequences for human evolution, as it changed hunting practices and the dynamics between humans and their prey, as well as the diet and social organization of prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups.

The date of invention and spread of these weapons has therefore long been the subject of lively debate within the scientific community.

“Until now, the early weapons have been infamously hard to detect at archaeological sites because they were made of organic components that preserve rarely,” explains Justin Coppe, researcher at TraceoLab.

“Stone points that armed ancient projectiles and that are much more frequently encountered at archaeological excavations have been difficult to connect to particular weapons reliably.”

Most recently published claims for early use of spearthrowers and bows in Europe and Africa have relied exclusively on projectile point size to link them to these weapon systems.

However, ethnographic reviews and experimental testing have cast serious doubt on this line of reasoning by showing that arrow, dart, and spear tips can be highly variable in size, with overlapping ranges.

The innovative approach developed by the archaeologists at TraceoLab combines ballistic analysis and fracture mechanics to gain a better understanding of the traces preserved on the flint points.

“We carried out a large-scale experiment in which we fired replicas of paleolithic projectiles using different weapons such as spears, bows and spearthrowers,” explains Noora Taipale, FNRS research fellow at TraceoLab.

A combination of impact traces on an archaeological artifact that could be identified as a spearthrower dart thanks to the experiments.

“By carefully examining the fractures on these stone points, we were able to understand how each weapon affected the fracturing of the points when they impacted the target.”

Each weapon left distinct marks on the stone points, enabling archaeologists to match these marks to archaeological finds. In a way, it’s like identifying a gun from the marks the barrel leaves on a bullet, a practice known in forensic science.

The excellent match between the experimental spearthrower sample and the Maisières-Canal projectiles confirmed that the hunters occupying the site used these weapons.

This finding encourages archaeologists to apply the method further to find out how ancient long-range weaponry really is. Future work at TraceoLab will focus on adjusting the analytical approach to other archaeological contexts to help reach this goal.

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

Skeleton with 4 prosthetic metal fingers unearthed from centuries-old grave in Germany

Skeleton with 4 prosthetic metal fingers unearthed from centuries-old grave in Germany

The prosthetic hand replaced four missing fingers on the skeleton’s left hand, with only the thumb still attached.

Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed a skeleton with a metal prosthetic hand still attached to its left arm, replacing fingers that had likely been amputated.

An analysis revealed the prosthetic contraption was once covered in leather and strapped to the individual’s arm with bandages.

The skeleton, discovered in the southern town of Freising, belonged to a man aged 30 to 50 who died between the years 1450 and 1620, government officials announced in a translated statement on Oct. 27.

“The hollow prosthetic on the left hand replaced four fingers,” Walter Irlinger, deputy of the general conservator at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, said in the statement. “The index, middle, ring and little fingers are individually molded out of sheet metal and are immobile.”

Marks on the remaining left hand bones suggest the fingers were amputated while the man was alive, but it remains unclear why surgeons had to perform the procedure. A thumb bone found cemented to the corroded metal prosthetic indicates the patient kept his thumb.

Skeleton with 4 prosthetic metal fingers unearthed from centuries-old grave in Germany
Archaeologists cleaned the hand sporting the prosthetic, pictured here before restoration work began.

Archaeologists removed the hand wearing the prosthetic from the skeleton for restoration work and analysis. Scans revealed it was a simple metal contraption with scraps of fabric and leather stuck to the finger replicas, showing the outside of the prosthetic hand was at least partially covered, according to the statement.

Remains of a gauze-like material inside the hollow fingers indicate the prosthetic device may have been padded to protect the hand stump from the metal.

The fingers were slightly curved and lay parallel to each other to imitate the natural resting position of a hand, Irlinger said. 

The discovery suggests medicine at this time was concerned with the wellbeing of amputees and found solutions to make life easier for them, officials said in the statement.

The skeleton dates to a period marked by military conflicts that may have led to a high number of injuries and amputations, which likely heightened the demand for prosthetics in and around Freising.

The skeleton was found during pipe laying work in the southern German town of Freising.

The prosthetic hand is not the first of its kind to be unearthed. Archaeologists have described around 50 similar medical devices found across Central Europe and dating from the late Middle Ages (1300 to 1500) to the early modern period (1500 to 1800).

Unlike the stiff contraption discovered in Freising, some of these prosthetic limbs had sophisticated, movable parts, the statement said.

One of the oldest prosthetics on record is a 3,000-year-old wooden toe discovered on an ancient Egyptian mummy. 

EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

A skeleton of a Viking child uncovered during Dublin archaeological dig

A skeleton of a Viking child uncovered during Dublin archaeological dig

A child’s skeleton dating to the Viking age has been discovered in Ireland. The unearthing of the 9th or 10th century AD skeleton of an almost complete child is a significant one, but it is also mysterious. What makes this finding interesting is that the infant might have suffered a violent death. Archaeologists may have discovered a murder victim over 1000 years ago.

The Viking-era child’s skeleton was uncovered during construction work near Dublin Castle.

In the Irish capital, Dublin, a mysterious child’s skeleton was unearthed. During construction work near Dublin Castle in the heart of the city, it was discovered. The remains were found at the location where the River Poddle entered Dubh Linn, or the ‘black pool,’ during historic times.

This black tidal pool was where the River Poddle entered the River Liffey and is now covered over by Dublin Castle . “The name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, from dub meaning ‘black, dark’, and lind ‘pool’, referring to the blackish tidal pool,” reports Dublin Live .

The site at Dubh Linn was where the original Viking settlement or Longphort at Dublin was established approximately 840 AD.

A Child Tossed into the River

The child’s skeleton was found largely intact and probably dates to the 9th or 10th century AD. It appears that the body had once lain in mud in the bottom of what was once the River Poodle and as a result, it was preserved. RTE reports that ‘After it was excavated it was discovered to be that of a child aged between 10 and 12 years of age – most likely a boy’.

A skeleton of a Viking child uncovered during Dublin archaeological dig
The skeleton was discovered to be that of a child aged between 10 and 12 years of age – most likely a boy.

An iron buckle was found, and this could indicate that the child had been wrapped in a shroud. The shoulders of the skeleton were found hunched towards each other.

It appears that the child had been thrown into the River Poddle. This was most unusual because a proper burial would have been considered most important at this time by the Vikings and the native Gaelic Irish.

Alan Hayden from the UCD, who led the excavation, stated that “the fact that it was not given a proper burial and was dumped in this manner could suggest an act of violence,” reports Head Topics .

Is the Child’s Skeleton a Murder Victim or Casualty of War?

It is possible that the child was either murdered or may have been the victim of warfare. Dublin was attacked and seized at least once by the Irish in the 9th century AD and was also the scene of conflict between rival Viking factions.

The Vikings were to rule Dublin for almost three centuries and turned it into a powerful kingdom.

According to RTE, ‘Experts are set to carry out more tests to determine the date of death, gender, and the ethnic origin of the person’. This could help them to understand more about the death of the child.

It should be noted that there is no conclusive evidence yet that the child was murdered. Proving that the child died violently may take some time and could be a complex process.

New Insights into Viking Dublin

During the excavations, archaeologists established that the settlement was much bigger than once thought. According to RTE, the digs have found that the original settlement was ‘double the extent previously established.’

They also established that the Vikings erected earthen backs along the river with gaps that allowed their longboats to be hauled inland.

A large, wooden Viking fort probably once stood in this area. Archaeologists also found that the area around Dubh Linn was occupied even after another Viking settlement was founded about a mile away at Woodquay.

A large, wooden Viking fort probably once stood in this area.

Excavations are continuing at the site and future finds may provide new evidence about the mysterious skeleton.

This find comes at a time when a new genetic atlas based on the DNA of modern Ireland shows that the Vikings intermingled with the native Irish. Indeed, many Irish people have genetic signatures similar to the inhabitants of modern Norway.

EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

An incredible 1,000-year-old Viking burial site found in Norway belonged to ‘Iron Age elite’

An incredible 1,000-year-old Viking burial site found in Norway belonged to ‘Iron Age elite’

A hidden surprise was uncovered by archaeological excavation in Trondheim, Norway – the unmistakable traces of a boat submerged under Torvet, the market square of the city.

An incredible 1,000-year-old Viking burial site found in Norway belonged to ‘Iron Age elite’
A digital reconstruction of what the Viking ship under the ground may look like

In the last available moments, before archaeologists decided to finish their exploration, the discovery came only in the nick of time, so that the market square could be filled in and re-paved for use as the market and meeting place of the city.

The wood had long since rotted away, and it was disturbed by posts being planted in the ground, but the form of a feature in the soil was too normal to be natural – the shape of a boat about 4 metres (13 feet) in length, oriented in a location roughly north-south. There was no real boat to be found.

Careful digging confirmed the find. The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage (NIKU) archaeologists found lumps of rust and nails that indicated yes, the feature was indeed a boat.

It’s believed that Trondheim was founded by Viking king Olav Tryggvason in the year 997, but archaeological evidence suggests that people have been living there for thousands of years.

While none of the boat’s wood remains, preserved lumps of rust and nails indicate a boat was buried at the site between the 7th and 10th centuries AD

There are large gaps in Trondheim’s history, though, because of a great fire that ravaged the predominantly wooden city in 1681.

The city has been undergoing major excavation work over the past few years to try and find out some of its history. In September of last year, NIKU archaeologists uncovered an 11th century church under Peter Egges plass, where Olav Haraldsson, former Viking king and patron saint of Norway, was first enshrined as a saint.

They also found a graveyard containing hundreds of graves, and a well-preserved bronze crucifix.

The boat dig is from even earlier, probably dating back to around the 7th-10th century, if a piece of spoon and broken key found in the excavation belong to the burial.

Other items found in the boat were a small piece of sheet bronze, objects that were probably personal effects, and two long bones, also oriented north-south.

These bones are quite dilapidated, so DNA tests will need to be conducted to confirm that they are human.

The location of the burial away from the harbour and fjord dates the burial back to the late Iron Age or early Viking Age, when the Scandinavian Viking started exploring the northern hemisphere by sea.

“It is likely a boat that has been dug down into the ground and been used as a coffin for the dead. There has also probably been a burial mound over the boat and grave,” said NIKU early boat expert Knut Paasche.

He added that the boat was very similar to Åfjord boats, often seen in burials along the Trondelag coast. This, however, is the first time one has been found within the city of Trondheim.

“This type of boat is relatively flat in the bottom midship. The boat can also be flat-bottomed as it is intended to go into shallow waters on the river Nidelven,” he said.

More research will be required to confirm that the find is, indeed, a burial, but its presence further confirms the existence of a settlement older than Olaf Tryggvason’s Trondheim.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Rare cross-shaped reliquary unearthed from medieval knight’s home in Poland

Rare cross-shaped reliquary unearthed from medieval knight’s home in Poland

While surveying the remnants of a medieval knight’s residence in Poland, archaeologists unearthed a plethora of artifacts, including a cross-shaped reliquary.

Rare cross-shaped reliquary unearthed from medieval knight's home in Poland
The cross-shaped medallion, known as an enkolpion, is a symbol of the Christian faith.

Archaeologists originally discovered the knight’s manor in June on the outskirts of Widów, a village in southern Poland.

An initial survey of the site revealed the remnants of a wooden tower that was destroyed but once sat on top of a hill sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries, according to Science in Poland, a news site that is a collaboration between reporters and the Polish government.

Further investigation of the archaeological site revealed the cross-shaped medallion, which is known as an enkolpion (also spelled encolpion and engolpion), which translates to “on the breast” in ancient Greek.

Made of copper alloy, the religious piece was an important symbol worn by Christians on their chests during medieval times and often contained quotations or illustrations from the Christian Bible, according to Science in Poland.

While researchers aren’t sure of the knight’s identity, they do know that enkolpia were part of the vestments, or garments and articles worn by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic bishops, according to Science in Poland.

In addition to the cross, archaeologists found other military-related items, such as three iron stirrups, part of a horseshoe, crossbow arrows, remnants of cordage, or ropes.

They also unearthed a number of artifacts, some made of clay and some made of iron, that were part of the former residence, including a stove, door fixtures, a padlock and key, nails, hooks, and staples. Several silver coins and the remains of a belt were also found.

The former residence is part of a larger settlement that also contains the remains of a wooden church and a cemetery.

Archaeologists have been exploring the site since the mid-19th century, but much of the outpost has been “destroyed by agricultural activity,” according to Science in Poland.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Unique 3,000-Year-Old Logboat Found In River Tay – On Display In Perth Again

Unique 3,000-Year-Old Logboat Found In River Tay – On Display In Perth Again

The story of the unique Late Bronze Age logboat started many years ago. It has taken scientists and other experts many years to recover, restore, and put the fascinating 9m (or 30 ft) long logboat on display. The logboat was previously on display in Perth for ten years but had to be moved as part of a year of work to repair and stabilize it.

Unique 3,000-Year-Old Logboat Found In River Tay – On Display In Perth Again
The Carpow logboat.

The boat was officially discovered in 2001 by metal detectorists exploring the mudflats at Carpow during a summer of exceptionally low river levels. In 2006, the logboat was recovered from River Tay near Perth, Scotland.

Carved from a single 400-year-old oak tree trunk, the boat survived due to the peaty soil composition of the Perth and Tay Estuary area. An initial sample taken for radiocarbon dating returned a date of circa 1000 BC, some 3,000 years ago. The logboat is considered to be one of the oldest and best-preserved of its kind in Scotland.

The Carpow Logboat spent six years undergoing stabilization and drying at the National Museums Scotland collection center in Edinburgh.

“To conserve the boat for the long-term, the collective decision was taken to partially impregnate it with PEG (polyethylene glycol) to replace water and give the structure integrity, and then freeze dry it, to shorten that process a little. But at that time, the only freeze drier large enough to take it as a single piece was in Tokyo, Japan – sadly, not a practical proposition.

Instead, the boat was cut into three pieces, each put into its own tank and submersed in a solution of PEG for impregnation, a three-year process.

The logboat was previously on display at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery for ten years.

This was followed by several months of freeze-drying for each section, in the National Museum of Scotland freeze-dryer. This process removed a whopping 588 kg of water.

Differential distorting of the boat sections (where different bits of the boat warp at different rates) occurred when the boat was cut, releasing lots of pent-up tension in the wood and leading to twisting and cracking as it dried.

The conservation team innovatively devised a method of correcting this that used flexible heating mats and an adjustable aluminium former (a piece of adjustable aluminium that applies pressure to the boat as it is heated so as to bend it back into shape). This allowed the team to mould the boat back close to its original shape,” Dig It Scotland reports.

The boat’s conservation work has been long and demanding.

“Although it’s large and heavy, it’s also very fragile, making the conservation work rather complex.

The wood naturally wants to relax and flatten out, so we’ve had to gently warm it up, making it more pliable and allowing us to reshape it.

The small details I’ve noticed are incredible; footrests for the pilot, for example, which really made me think about the people who used it,” Charles Stable, artifact conservator at National Museums Scotland told the BBC.

The 3,000-year-old logboat is returning back to its home in Perth after specialist conservation work.

The logboat was restored over the course of a year at the National Museums Scotland collection centre in Edinburgh.

“Experts said the boat could have been used for a range of purposes, from a cargo craft, fishing vessel, a platform from which to make offerings in the middle of the river, or as a ferry for up to 14 people.

Specialist electric blankets were used as part of the treatment to warm up the wood before gently bending the fragile structure back to its original shape.

When the museum opens next year, visitors will be able to view the Bronze Age treasures of Perth as well as the Stone of Destiny, which returns to Perthshire for the first time in more than 700 years,” the BBC reports.

Carpow is one of the best preserved prehistoric log boats from Britain, the second oldest boat known from Scotland.