9,500-Year-Old Baskets And 6,200-Year-Old Sandals Found In Spanish Cave
Scientists have discovered and analyzed the first direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer societies and early farmers in southern Europe (9,500 and 6,200 years ago), in the Cueva de los Murciélagos of Albuñol (Granada, Spain).
This site is one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of prehistoric times in the Iberian Peninsula due to the unique preservation of organic materials found there.
The work analyzes 76 objects made of organic materials (wood, reed and esparto) discovered during 19th century mining activities in the Granada cave.
The oldest Mesolithic baskets in southern Europe, 9,500 years old (left), and wooden mace and esparto sandals, dating back to the Neolithic 6,200 years ago (right).
The researchers studied the raw materials and technology and carried out carbon-14 dating, which revealed that the set dates to the early and middle Holocene period, between 9,500 and 6,200 years ago.
This is the first direct evidence of basketry made by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies in southern Europe and a unique set of other organic tools associated with early Neolithic farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden mace.
As researcher of the Prehistory Department of the University of Alcalá Francisco Martínez Sevilla explains, “the new dating of the esparto baskets from the Cueva de los Murciélagos of Albuñol opens a window of opportunity to understanding the last hunter-gatherer societies of the early Holocene.”
“The quality and technological complexity of the basketry makes us question the simplistic assumptions we have about human communities prior to the arrival of agriculture in southern Europe. This work and the project that is being developed places the Cueva de los Murciélagos as a unique site in Europe to study the organic materials of prehistoric populations.”
Cueva de los Murciélagos is located on the coast of Granada, to the south of the Sierra Nevada and 2 kilometers from the town of Albuñol. The cave opens on the right side of the Barranco de las Angosturas, at an altitude of 450 meters above sea level and about 7 kilometers from the current coastline. It is one of the most emblematic prehistoric archaeological sites of the Iberian Peninsula due to the rare preservation of organic materials, which until this study had only been attributed to the Neolithic.
The objects made of perishable materials were discovered by the mining activities of the 19th century and were documented and recovered by Manuel de Góngora y Martínez, later becoming part of the first collections of the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.
As detailed by María Herrero Otal, co-author of the work and researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, “The esparto grass objects from Cueva de los Murciélagos are the oldest and best-preserved set of plant fiber materials in southern Europe so far known.”
“The technological diversity and the treatment of the raw material documented demonstrates the ability of prehistoric communities to master this type of craftsmanship, at least since 9,500 years ago, in the Mesolithic period.
Only one type of technique related to hunter-gatherers has been identified, while the typological, technological and treatment range of esparto grass was extended during the Neolithic from 7,200 to 6,200 years before the present.”
Artistic recreation of the use of Mesolithic baskets by a group of hunter-gatherers in the Cueva de los Murciélagos de Albuñol. Credit: Drawing by Moisés Belilty Molinos, with scientific supervision of Francisco Martínez-Sevilla and Maria Herrero-Otal
The work is part of the project “De los museos al territorio: actualizando el estudio de la Cueva de los Murciélagos de Albuñol (Granada)” (MUTERMUR). The objective of this project is the holistic study of the site and its material record, applying the latest archaeometric techniques and generating quality scientific data.
The project also included the collaboration of the National Archaeological Museum, the Archaeological and Ethnological Museum of Granada, the City Council of Albuñol and the owners of the cave.
“The results of this work and the finding of the oldest basketry in southern Europe give more meaning, if possible, to the phrase written by Manuel de Góngora in his work Prehistoric Antiquities of Andalusia (1868): ‘the now forever famous Cueva de los Murciélagos’,” the authors say.
The study was conducted by a team of scientists led by researchers from the Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and published in the journal Science Advances.
Viking Age Horse Bridle Found Under The Ice 2,000 Meters Above Sea Level
Glacial archaeologists working in Norway have once again discovered fascinating ancient artifacts under the ice. Near a mountain pass, not far from Norway’s highest mountain, Galdhøpiggen, archaeologists have found traces of horse travel.
Galdhøpiggen is the tallest mountain in Norway.
A metal bit and parts of the leather straps that fasten around the horse’s head have emerged from under the ice.
“The bridle has a shape that suggests it could be from the Viking Age,” Espen Finstad, a glacial archaeologist at Innlandet County Municipality told Science In Norway.
Viking Age People And Horses Crossed The Tall Norwegian Mountain
Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe. The 2,469-metre-tall (8,100 ft) mountain is located in Lom Municipality, and the Jotunheimen Mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The view from the top is spectacular and Galdhøpiggen is today a popular tourist attraction, but one has to be careful and have good knowledge of climbing to get to the top.
Based on earlier excavations, scientists have been able to determine the traffic through a mountain pass on Lomseggen was at its peak during the Viking Age.
Snow and ice melting in the area have previously exposed hundreds of ancient artifacts in the region, revealing that Norwegians used this mountain pass for more than 1,200 years.
An ancient brindle offers evidence horses crossed the area.
However, as reported by Science in Norway, “the bridle that archaeologists have found this year suggests that it wasn’t just people who walked here.
Horses have also been part of the journey, almost 2,000 meters above sea level.
“We have never made such a discovery before. It essentially completes the picture that this is an ancient travel route,” Finstad says.
Carbon-14 Dating Will Reveal The Age Of The Bridle
The strap, or halter, which is attached to the bit, is especially exciting for the archaeologists.
It actually makes it possible to date the horse bridle.
Through carbon-14 dating, the archaeologists will find out if the find really is from the Viking Age.
The archaeologists also found part of an old horseshoe that had been lying under the ice.
Finstad estimates it will take a few months to get the final answer, but they are fairly certain that it originates from the Iron Age or the early Middle Ages.
Horse Manure And Horseshoes
The horse bridle is just one of the discoveries archaeologists have made on this year’s expedition.
We just made an incredibly discovery on the south side of the Lendbreen pass: An iron horse bit, with parts of the leather bridle preserved!❤️ It could well be from the Viking Age, when traffic through the pass was at its peak. But let's see what the radiocarbon date says. pic.twitter.com/cIRNXsZD9Y
They also found horse manure, textiles, horseshoes, leaf fodder, part of a horse snowshoe, a knife, and a variety of small wooden objects. Altogether, around 150 items.
Even though the mountain pass is like a gold mine for archaeologists, the finds are extremely rare in the grand scheme of things, Finnes points out.
The most special thing is that organic materials like wood, leather, textiles, and faeces have been preserved.
The ice has functioned as a freezer for hundreds of years. But now it’s melting.
“The fact that the ice is now melting due to man-made climate change is tragic. The paradox is that new and exciting knowledge about our common past is emerging,” Finnes says.
A remarkable ancient world is hidden beneath the ice, and now we are slowly learning more about it.
Alexander the Great’s Tomb: All the Claims in One of History’s Greatest Mysteries
For over 2,300 years, researchers and historians have been trying to locate Alexander the Great’s Tomb, which remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries even to this day.
There are several attestations that go back to the Roman era, as historians of the time recorded the visits made by Roman emperors to the great general’s tomb in Alexandria. It is natural for many to believe that the great Greek military genius and conqueror of Asia would wish to be buried in the city that bears his name.
Yet, for centuries now, theories abound about the location of Alexander the Great’s Tomb, with some verging on myth. Most recently, an Egyptian tourism official reported on supposed evidence suggesting that the discovery of the famed tomb might be in the Siwa Oasis in the Marai area. There was a shrine there devoted to the chief Egyptian God Amun, whom the Greeks called Ammon and equated with their god Zeus. It indeed was Alexander’s favourite place.
Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus, by Philoxenus of Eretria.
The first burial in Memphis
According to the historian Pausanias and the contemporary Panan Chronicle records for the 321-320 BC period, Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s generals, initially buried him in Memphis, Egypt. In the late 4th or early 3rd century BC during the early Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexander’s body was transferred from Memphis to Alexandria, where his sarcophagus was placed in the Serapeum complex, built by Pharaoh Nectanbo II.
Alexandria is considered by most to be the actual location of Alexander the Great’s Tomb.
Roman emperors visit the tomb in Alexandria
Several Roman emperors acknowledged the greatness of the Greek conqueror of Asia and professed their admiration for his feats, according to contemporary historians. Julius Caesar visited Alexander the Great’s Tomb in Alexandria in 48 BC, paying his respects. Later, Queen Cleopatra took gold from the tomb to finance her war against the Roman emperor Octavian.
Following Cleopatra’s death, Augustus visited Alexander’s burial place in Alexandria. He was said to have placed flowers on the tomb and a golden diadem upon the general’s head. Another historian of the Roman era wrote that Caligula visited the tomb of Alexander the Great and took his breastplate.
In 199 AD, Septimius Severus visited the tomb in Alexandria and ordered that it be sealed in order to stop ongoing looting. In 215 AD, items from Alexander’s tomb were relocated by Caracalla, who removed Alexander’s tunic, his ring, his belt and some other precious items and deposited them in the coffin.
A tsunami in 356 AD inundated the city after a series of earthquakes, resulting in rising sea levels. The waters of the Nile Delta caused Alexandria to slowly sink as much as twelve feet since Alexander’s time. In essence, the burial ground of Alexander must have sunk quite deep into the seabed by now, along with much of the ancient city, on top of which the modern city is located.
Alexander enters Babylon.
Egypt as the burial ground of Alexander the Great
While the common belief is that the tomb of Alexander the Great is in Alexandria, 140 separate, fruitless attempts to locate it have been recorded by the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities. These attempts have generated several theories as to the exact spot where Alexander lies—the oldest one being that the tomb is in the centre of the ancient city. Several scholars of the 19th century, such as Tasos Neroutsos, Heinrich Kiepert, and Ernst von Sieglin agreed with this theory.
In 1850, Ambroise Schilizzi announced the discovery of Alexander’s supposed mummy and tomb inside the Nabi Daniel Mosque in Alexandria. Yet, no permission to excavate was given, nor was it granted later.
Dedication of King Alexander to Athena Polias at Priene.
The Venetian theory
There is even a theory that places Alexander the Great’s tomb in Venice and, specifically, in the city’s St. Mark’s Cathedral. The theory is dismissed by several scholars as being far-fetched with many religious undertones. According to the particular supposition, when the Arabs took over Alexandria, they wanted to rid the city of anything pre-Islamic, so the burial place of Alexander—who had been worshipped as a god—would have to go.
Alexandria was also the last resting place of Mark, one of the four Christian Gospel writers, who is Venice’s patron saint. A variation of the Venice theory has Venetian merchants stealing Alexander’s remains believed to belong to Saint Mark the Evangelist and transferring them to the saint’s basilica in Venice.
Dr. Andrew Michael Chugg, who wrote the book The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great seems to adapt the theory based on a piece of the sarcophagus of the pharaoh Nectanbo II. Alexander’s original tomb in Memphis was built by Pharaoh Nectanbo II inside the Serapeum complex. The sculptures of Greek poets and philosophers suggest that Alexander the Great’s tomb was inside that complex.
Amazingly, a piece of masonry found in the foundations of Saint Mark’s in Venice matches the dimensions of Nectanbo II’s sarcophagus in the British Museum, indicating that Alexander’s tomb is inside Saint Mark’s tomb under the Basilica.
Since Alexander’s body disappeared in 392 AD, and the tomb of Saint Mark appeared at the same time, Chugg believes that the Venetian merchants stole the body, mistaking it for Saint Mark’s.
Indeed, stranger things have happened in history.
3D representation of the Kasta Hill tomb structure in Amphipolis.
Is Alexander the Great buried in Vergina?
In 1993, Greek archaeologist Triantafyllos Papazois developed the theory that it is not Philip II of Macedon who is buried in the royal tomb II at Vergina, Greece, but it is actually Alexander the Great while his son Alexander IV is buried in tomb III. Papazois further concluded that the breastplate, shield, helmet and sword found in tomb II belong to the armour of Alexander the Great.
However, the archaeologist’s theory has never been proven.
The mystery of the Amphipolis Tomb
In 2014, Greece and the rest of the world were shaken by the news of the discovery of the tomb of Alexander the Great in Amphipolis in northern Greece. The large Alexander-era tomb at Kasta hill in Amphipolis once again led to speculation about Alexander’s final resting place. Some have speculated that it was built for Alexander but not used due to Ptolemy I Soter having seized the funeral cortege and turning it away from its initial destination.
The findings on the site led to speculation that it was a memorial dedicated to Alexander’s close friend, Hephaestion. Andrew Chugg speculated that the tomb belongs to Alexander’s mother, Olympias, or Roxanne, his wife, with the former being the most likely.
Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela; 18th-century ivory relief.
Getting closer to Alexander the Great’s tomb
Greek archaeologist Calliope Limneos-Papakosta has made it her life’s mission to find the Holy Grail of researchers, Alexander the Great’s tomb. The Director of the Hellenic Research Institute of the Alexandrian Civilization, Limneos-Papakosta has been digging for over fifteen years at sites around the Shallalat Gardens, a public park in the heart of Alexandria.
The Greek archaeologist and her team have dug over ten meters (35 feet) under modern-day Alexandria to find the man the city is named after. Limneos-Paleokosta and her team have found the first roads built in the city, as well as the foundation of an enormous public building over 200 feet long; they believe this area is the ancient royal quarter.
The archaeologist and her team used an elaborate system of pumps to dry up the area so that they could continue to dig. Limneos-Papakosta’s persistence paid off, adding the much-needed optimism about her endeavour: Her team did uncover an early Hellenistic statue bearing hallmarks of Alexander the Great.
The marble statue most definitely depicts “Alexander the Great, the Spear Bearer.” It was created with the same technique as the great sculptor Lysippus—that is, with the head tilted downwards and to the side. The statue, which is now universally acknowledged to represent the great general, is now exhibited at the National Museum of Alexandria. Perhaps this is proof that we really are closer to the unravelling of the great mystery of the tomb of Alexander the Great than we have ever been before.
However, it is also possible that the great conqueror who believed he was the son of Zeus will continue to hide in the depths of history remaining forever immortal.
3,000-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablet Reveals Previously Unknown Language
Words from a “lost” language spoken more than 3,000 years ago have been discovered on an ancient clay tablet unearthed in Turkey.
Almost 30,000 clay tablets covered in cuneiform writing have been unearthed at Boğazköy-Hattuşa. Most of them are written in Hittite; this one at the British Museum records a peace treaty.
Archaeologists discovered the tablet earlier this year during excavations at Boğazköy-Hattuşa in north-central Turkey, the site of Hattusha, the Hittite capital from about 1600 B.C. until about 1200 B.C. and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Annual expeditions to the site led by Andreas Schachner, an archaeologist at the German Archaeological Institute, have unearthed thousands of clay tablets written in cuneiform — perhaps the most ancient written script, created by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago.
The tablets are “mainly found in clusters connected to half a dozen buildings,” sometimes described as archives or libraries, Schachner told Live Science. “But we find text all over the [site] that are moved around by erosion.”
Most of the tablets unearthed at Boğazköy-Hattuşa are written in the language of the Hittites, but a few include words from other languages — apparently because the Hittites were interested in foreign religious rituals.
The words in the previously unknown language appear to be from such a ritual, which was recorded on a single clay tablet along with writing in Hittite explaining what it was.
“The introduction is in Hittite,” Schachner said in an email. “It is clear that it is a ritual text.”
The words in the “lost” language were written in cuneiform script on a clay tablet found at Boğazköy-Hattuşa. They seem to be from a foreign religious ritual written down by Hittite scribes.
Lost language
The clay tablet was one of several sent to Germany to be analyzed, where it was studied by Daniel Schwemer, a professor and chair of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Würzburg.
From the Hittite introduction, he identified it as the language of Kalašma, a region on the north-western edge of the Hittite heartland near the modern Turkish city of Bolu.
The scholars don’t know what it says yet, and they’re not releasing any photographs of the tablet until it has been fully studied.
But they’ve determined that it belongs to the Anatolian group of the Indo-European family of languages, which the Hittite language also belonged to; other ancient languages in the region, including Akkadian, Hebrew and Aramaic, belong to the Semitic family of languages.
The ruins near the Turkish town of Boğazköy were discovered in the 19th century. They have since been revealed as the remains of Hattusha, the capital city of the Hittite Empire.
Schwemer said in a statement that “the Hittites were uniquely interested in recording rituals in foreign languages.” Extracts of rituals in other foreign languages have also been found in the tablets from Boğazköy-Hattuşa, including in the Indo-European languages Luwian and Palaic and a non-Indo-European language known as Hattic.
Such ritual texts were written by Hittite scribes and reflected various Anatolian, Syrian and Mesopotamian traditions and linguistic milieus.
“The rituals provide valuable glimpses into the little-known linguistic landscapes of Late Bronze Age Anatolia, where not just Hittite was spoken,” Schwemer said.
The Hittite Empire was a major power in the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, ruling most of Anatolia (modern Turkey) and what’s now Syria From about 1600 B.C. to about 1200 B.C.
Hittite Empire
For centuries, the Hittites, who ruled over most of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and Syria, were among the most powerful empires in the ancient world. In 1274 B.C., the Hittites fought the Battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians for control of Canaan — what’s now southern Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
The battle may be the earliest military action ever recorded. It seems to have been a defeat for the Hittites; although they kept control of the city of Kadesh, the Egyptians kept control of Canaan.
Hattusha became the Hittite capital in about 1600 B.C.; and more than 100 years of archaeological excavations at the site have revealed a vast ancient city there.
But it was abandoned in about 1200 B.C. during the cataclysmic “Late Bronze Age collapse” that suddenly ended or damaged many ancient states in the eastern Mediterranean; the collapse has been ascribed to invasions by migrants called the “Sea Peoples”, sudden climate changes, and disruptive new technologies like iron — but historians and archaeologists debate the causes.
Schachner said it wasn’t possible to foresee if any other writings in the “lost” language would be found, or if extracts from still other ancient languages would be found in the tablets from Boğazköy-Hattuşa.
Golf course workers dig up 4,000-year-old tree-trunk coffin with warrior skeleton holding axe
Archaeologists in England have analyzed a half-ton coffin dating to the early Bronze Age that was found under a golf course in Lincolnshire County.
York Archeological Trusts Ian Panter moves part of the tree coffin into its preservation bath.
One end of the tree coffin has a notch cut out, which scientists removed in order to determine the tree’s age using dendrochronology, but as it was a fast-growing species only carbon-14 dating would work.
The coffin, cut from a single oak tree and thought to be about 4,000 years old, contained human remains, a hafted axe, and a bed of plant material meant to cushion the body in its eternal slumber.
Maintenance workers discovered the burial in July 2019 while tending to a water hazard at the Tetney Golf Club in Grimsby. The coffin was under a gravel mound, a special situation that indicates a certain amount of community involvement in the burial.
As is standard for objects of historical significance found in England and Wales, the find was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which processes such reports and ensures that the objects are properly handed.
Objects made of old wood (think shipwrecks, coffins, and even ship burials) are prone to disintegration when they are removed from water or soil after millennia and exposed to sunlight and air. To prevent that from happening to the find, the excavated objects were immediately put in bags filled with groundwater, and the coffin was put in cold storage for a year.
Afterward, the coffin was moved to the York Archaeological Trust, where conservators have been working on it and the associated artifacts, including an axe.
Ian Panter works on the 4,000-year-old oak coffin.
“The man buried at Tetney lived in a very different world to ours, but like ours, it was a changing environment; rising sea levels and coastal flooding ultimately covered his grave and burial mound in a deep layer of silt that aided its preservation,” said Tim Allen, a Sheffield-based archaeologist for Historic England, in a York Archaeological Trust press release.
An interesting component of the work was the environmental analysis of the plant bedding.
Hugh Willmott, an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield who participated in the excavations, said on Twitter that moss, yew or juniper, hazelnuts, and leaf buds were found in the coffin.
The types of floral remains indicated that the burial likely took place toward the end of spring, some four millennia ago, when a few woolly mammoths still survived. Willmott said in an email to Gizmodo that the hazelnuts may have been a food offering, while the moss could have been a sort of bed for the deceased.
Not much is currently known about the human remains, though the archaeological team suspects it was an individual of some social importance.
Willmott said that initial attempts to extract DNA have been unsuccessful. Dating the coffin is still ongoing—the archaeologists need to do a combination of dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating, which they can cross-reference to find out the year the tree was felled, give or take a couple of years.
The long-shafted axe found in the coffin has a small head.
A shockingly well-preserved axe was found with the person; the handle looks like it could have been varnished yesterday. The axe head is a combination of stone and fossilized coral.
Based on the object’s shape and size—the axe head is less than 4 inches across—the team believes it was a symbol of authority rather than a practical tool. There are very few such axes known in Britain, perhaps only 12, according to the York Archaeological Trust, making this one of the most eye-catching elements of the discovery.
The wooden coffin joins some 65-odd objects like those found around England. Preservationists said in the same release that the axe should be fully preserved within the year, but the coffin will take at least two years to fully treat due to the object’s size.
This research comes on the heels of the University of Sheffield’s decision to close its archaeology department, as reported by the BBC in July, and the University of Worcester announcing the closure of its archaeology department, also reported by the BBC.
The Campaign to Save British Archaeology was launched in response to the closures. This trend is a troubling one. Had the Sheffield archaeological team not been close by when the Bronze Age coffin was unearthed, the cultural heritage could’ve quickly deteriorated.
Thanks to the quick thinking of the nearby archaeologists, the objects are being preserved and will be displayed at the Collection Museum in Lincolnshire.
Five 1,500-Year-Old Gold Foil Figures Unearthed in Norway
The pieces are tiny, about the size of a fingernail. They are flat and thin as paper, often square, and stamped with a motif. Usually, they depict a man and a woman in various types of clothing, jewellery, and hairstyles. They are from what we call the Merovingian period in Norway, which starts around 550 and goes into the Viking Age. A time of turbulent climates and turbulent power relations.
Tiny, as thin as paper, made of gold, and stamped with motifs of men and women in stylish costumes. The gold foil figures from the Norwegian Merovingian era (550-800) are still a mystery, but new discoveries from Hov outside Lillehammer may bring us a little closer to the answer to this puzzle.
In previous excavations, archaeologists have found 30 such gold foil figures here at Hov, connected to what the archaeologists believe was once a temple where people worshiped and made sacrifices to the gods. The archaeologists had talked about how they should not be disappointed if they did not find more gold foil figures this time.
But then something sparkled in the ground.
“It was incredibly exciting,” archaeologist Kathrine Stene says.
She is the project leader for the excavation, which has been ongoing along the road here all summer and into autumn, due to the upgrade of the E6 highway between Mjøsa Bridge and Lillehammer.
A religious offering?
Archaeologists have found five gold foil figures in the last couple of weeks. Three of them were found where the wall of the temple once stood. Two of them were found in separate post holes.
Finding a gold foil figure is spectacular and rare in itself. But the five gold foil figures that were found at Hov this time offer something extra: They were found and excavated where they were most likely originally placed. Knowing where something was once placed helps archaeologists understand more.
“It’s extra special that we can link the gold foil figures to the various parts of the building’s construction,” Stene says.
The many gold foil figures found here earlier were discovered in and around another post hole in the old temple, on the opposite side of the two that recently appeared.
It’s possible that some of the gold foil figures they found here earlier were also placed in the wall, but there’s uncertainty about exactly where they were once found. Now, with these three that we found under the actual structure of the wall, it’s clear that they were intentionally placed there before the wall’s construction,” Stene says.
One of the theories about what the gold foil figures were used for is that they may have served as a form of admission ticket to a temple like the one that once stood here at Hov.
But an admission ticket doesn’t lie under a wall.
“Modern excavation has provided more knowledge about this,” Stene says. “The gold foil figures in the post hole were not visible to people. Those we found in the wall would also not have been visible to others. So this doesn’t appear to be an admission ticket, but rather an offering or a religious act to protect the building.”
The five new gold foil figures. One of them appears to have been intentionally crumpled.
A small but prominent pagan temple
The temple at Hov was discovered by pure chance in 1993. County conservator Harald Jacobsen drove along the E6 and noticed the soil. He thought it looked like what archaeologists call cultural layers, meaning soil where traces of humans are found. A small investigation proved that he was right, and the finding of two gold foil figures indicated that this was no ordinary place.
Smaller excavations during the 2000s led to the discovery of 28 gold foil figures, and what is referred to as a temple, a house for pagan religious practices.
One of the reasons archaeologists believe this was a temple, besides the gold foil figures, is the absence of other finds that would be natural if people lived there, like cooking pots and whetstones.
A proper excavation of the area had to wait until this year, in connection with the E6 Roterud-Storhove road project. Throughout the autumn and winter, C14 dating will finally determine if it is true that the temple has stood here since around the year 600 – and right up to the 11th century.
“Based on what we have interpreted as post holes, it’s not unreasonable to think that a building has stood here that has looked the same for several hundred years. That’s not a problem, as long as you maintain the building by replacing the load-bearing posts as they rot,” Stene says.
With its 15–16 metres in length, the house is small. Residential homes of the time could easily be 20-30 metres long.
“Because it’s relatively small, we believe the structure served a solely ritualistic function,” says Stene. “It probably wasn’t where they had their feasts. Those were likely held in a larger hall, but maybe they had drinking ceremonies here. Maybe it was just the select circle in society, the elite, who were allowed to enter.”
The archaeologists also believe the building was fairly tall.
“It probably stood out in the landscape. If you came to Mjøsa by boat, it was probably clearly visible,” Stene says.
Aerial view captured by a drone of the excavation site. The temple was situated between the modern-day E6 highway and the county road.
Archaeologists are busy digging down to the temple.
Out looking for gold foil figures?
In Norway, findings of gold foil figures are rare. The 35 from the temple in Vingrom represent the largest collection we have found in this country.
In a similar temple in Uppåkra in Sweden, archaeologists found 100 gold foil figures.
On the Danish island of Bornholm, over 2,500 gold foil figures were found in a field.
Were there not so many gold foil figures in Norway at that time, or have we just not found them?
“There must be more of them here,” Stene believes.
But most archaeological excavations today are commissioned.
“We dig when new roads and buildings are going to be built, this limits what we can investigate. It’s about being lucky and getting the opportunity. A lot of coincidences are involved here. They are so small, but they shine when you find them. There are probably more out there,” she says. Archaeologists may have found a Viking house the length of almost two tennis courts
Gold foil figures in buildings
Ingunn Marit Røstad, archaeologist at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, is an expert on the Merovingian period in Norway and gold foil figures. She also believes there are more gold foil figures out there.
“Bornholm is very special, even in Denmark. There aren’t that many other find sites there,” Røstad points out.
There are also other regional differences: In Denmark, there are more individual figures, whereas in Norway and Sweden, it is mostly couples that are depicted.
“But more of these small pieces of gold keep appearing. Either through excavation or with metal detectors. So, more could pop up in various places in Norway as well,” she says.
Due to the continuous new finds, the number of gold foil figures must be regularly updated. The latest numbers Røstad has from 2019 indicate that a total of 3,243 gold foil figures have been found in Scandinavia – 2,708 of them on Bornholm.
Røstad also points out that what’s especially unique about the new gold foil figures from Hov is that they were found in the ground, where they lay. Archaeologists call it context – the place where something is found is part of the story.
“Of all the thousands of gold foil figures we have, only a few have been found on-site and excavated,” Røstad says. “So, it’s extremely valuable that we get good context for the finds from Hov.”
What stands out when gold foil figures are actually excavated – as opposed to just being randomly found in a field – is that archaeologists find them in association with buildings.
Pictures of the elite
Røstad does not place much stock in the theory that the gold foil figures were admission tickets to the temple. They do not have holes suggesting that they were sewn onto clothing, and apart from a few exceptions from Bornholm, they do not have fastenings suggesting they are jewellery. They are dated to the Merovingian period due to the style of clothing and jewellery depicted on the men and women.
“People assume that they’re showing the elite’s clothing during this period,” Røstad says. “A sort of idealised depiction of elite clothing, featuring the elaborate hairstyle that the women have with a distinctive knot. You also see beads, special types of brooches, drinking cups, and drinking horns, which date them to the Merovingian period.”
A common interpretation of the gold foil figures is that they have some sort of ritual significance. Many believe that the couple depicted is the god Frøy and the goddess Gerd. Perhaps the gold foil figures were part of a symbolic act when people celebrated weddings?
This is how the elite might have dressed during the Merovingian period in Norway, which is considered to be from 550 up to the Viking Age. This gold foil figure probably measures no more than 1 cm. (Photo: Museum of Cultural History / University of Oslo)
Of divine lineage?
Another interpretation deals with the idea that the most powerful families of this time claimed they could trace their lineage back to the gods, and that the gold foil figures in some way signaled that they were of divine lineage.
“This was used to legitimise ruling; you were a leading family because you were descended from the gods,” Røstad says. “Even though they’re tiny, the gold foil figures could have been very significant. Not as jewellery worn visibly to show status, but perhaps they were part of some kind of ritual placement at the high seat where the king or jarl sat.”
The first gold foil figures were found in 1725. In a text from 1791, they were referred to as ‘gullgubber’ (golden old men), and the name just stuck. Even though the vast majority of them actually depict both a man and a woman.
8-Year-Old Boy Finds Unusual Viking Age Artifact On Gotland Island, Sweden
Anyone, regardless of age, place, and nation, can always find something of archaeological value. You have to keep your eyes open; before you know it, you are looking at something hundreds or thousands of years old on the ground. Finding an ancient treasure or an artifact is a remarkable and unforgettable experience.
This is a Viking Age Bronze buckle young Bruno found on the beach.
An eight-year-old boy has made a remarkable discovery. While on vacation in Sweden with his family, Bruno Tillema was walking along a beach on Gotland Island. The youngster who had just been given a book about fossils was scanning the ground to see if he could see any, but fate wanted him to find something else instead.
Suddenly, Bruno noticed an object that had a dark brown color and triangular shape. It looked intricately carved and piqued his interest. Bruno picked up the object and kept walking until his mother asked him what he was holding in his hand.
“Walking the path, I just picked it up off the ground and thought, what is this? Maybe some weird part from a house? I went looking for fossils. Then mother came and asked what I had in my hand. So, I said, some strange metal thing,” Bruno said.
It turned out that this little “strange metal thing” was a genuine Viking Age artifact. Archaeologists have examined the object Bruno found, and scientists say it is a Bronze buckle dating back to A.D. 800 to 1100. The dress buckle is carved into the shape of an animal’s head and is intricately decorated.
Upon learning about this discovery, experts from Gotland’s museum conducted an archaeological investigation at the find site to find out if more objects were nearby. During the investigation, another suit buckle was found, this time a so-called ring buckle.
The family contacted the county administration, who quickly went out and looked at the find site.
“The family handled the find in an exemplary manner. They contacted us immediately so that we could quickly do an initial check on the spot,” says Therese Lindström, cultural environment manager at the County Administrative Board in Gotland County.
Bruno is proud of his discovery, as he should be.
According to Lindström, both buckles are made of bronze and belong to costumes from the late Iron Age or early Viking Age. Buckles designed as animal heads are usually associated with Gotland women’s graves, while ring buckles are found in both men’s and women’s graves, says Therese Lindström.
The grave itself has probably been disrupted on an earlier occasion. It is not uncommon for objects from damaged graves to resurface in connection with plowing the land.
Archaeologists found another buckle ( right image) when they examined the site. Andreas Tillema och Gotlands museum.
Both buckles are to be sent for preservation, and their ultimate fate will be determined by the National Antiquities Authority in Sweden, the County Administrative Board in Gotland County informed in a press release.
Bruno is proud of his discovery, and with good reason! The boy is happy he can tell people what he has found and is now even thinking of becoming an archaeologist when he grows up.
“I’m happy I can tell everyone what I found. It feels as if I have made something big and can now finally share it with all,” Bruno says.
Time will tell whether Bruno will one day become an archaeologist, but we do wish him luck and hope he will make many more exciting finds he can share with everyone across the globe.
A mass grave of children unearthed in ancient city
Archaeologists have unearthed a mass grave of children dating back to the fifth century in the ancient city of Savatra in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.
Excavation work has been ongoing for the past three years in the ancient city of Savatra, under the leadership of İlker Işık, the head of the Department of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Restoration at Selçuk University.
During surface surveys in 2020, a remarkable discovery was made — an inscription in the Greek alphabet bearing the word “Türkoğlu,” the descendant of a Turk in Turkish, marking the first occurrence of the term “Turk” in Anatolia.
This year’s excavation efforts led to the discovery of mosaic floors in a 400-square-meter area, presumably belonging to a church foundation.
As the excavation continued, a collective children’s burial site dating to the fifth century was revealed.
“We encountered two different burial typologies in terms of east-west orientation, consisting of chamber tombs and tile graves.
We identified a children’s cemetery, primarily consisting of non-adult individuals, ranging from fetuses to approximately 13-14 years of age. In total, we found 42 skeletons here,” Işık explained.
Highlighting the distinct burial techniques found, Işık added, “For example, we encountered instances of stacked burials, even finding five skulls in a single grave. Whether due to familial connections or the functional continuity of the burial sites, we observed these overlapping burials.
Various small artifacts, such as coins, rings, and earrings, were also discovered during the excavation.
Starting this year, excavation efforts are continuing in the area known as the narthex, situated at the rear of the church. Significant discoveries have already been made in this approximately 400-square-meter mosaic area.
“This is indeed a crucial find for Anatolia. The presence of such a splendid mosaic area in Konya not only underscores the richness and grandeur of the region but also serves as a significant testament to the city’s historical importance.
In light of this, we intend to persist in our excavation efforts this year, with a particular focus on the mosaic area, to unveil more of its hidden treasures,” Işık said.
