2,000-year-old Roman road discovered in England, archaeologists believe
Hidden Roman road dating back 2,000 years uncovered in Worcestershire
A potentially 2,000-year-old Roman road was uncovered in Worcestershire, England a few weeks ago during routine waterworks, Metro reported on Tuesday.
The stretch of road that was uncovered is 10 meters long and 2.9 meters wide.
Although the exact dating of the road is unclear, it was constructed with large stones that were a typical design used by the Romans, and similar roads have only been discovered in Rome and Pompeii.
The exact location of the road has not been publicized, but Metro reported that it was found in a field near a river where a Roman-era villa complex was found four years ago.
What kind of testing is being done on the road?
Further investigation is underway to try and discover the exact origin of the road and when it dates back to.
The reverse side of the 1,850-year-old bronze Roman coin. It depicts Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.
Archaeologist Aidan Smyth told Metro that all the evidence seems to point to the road being Roman, but that investigators are keeping their minds open.
“If it turns out to be medieval then it could still be considered to be nationally significant as nothing similar has been found in Britain to date,” he said.
“If it is a first-century Roman feature, it is the only one of its kind to be found in Britain to date. There’s not really anything like this medieval either.”
Aidan Smyth
Part of the road was dug up and sent to be tested by optically stimulated luminescence testing which will tell researchers when the sediments were last exposed to sunlight.
The area where the road was found is believed to be near what was the Roman city of Vertis, and the area has produced a lot of Roman archaeology over the years.
Historic! 1.8 million years old human tooth discovered in Georgia.
Georgia became the site of new historical development as archaeologists found a 1.8 million years old human tooth.
The discovery was made near the Orozmani village located close to Dmanisi. Interestingly, Dmanisi is also the location where archaeologists had previously discovered human skulls belonging to the same era as the tooth.
The skulls, however, were found during the 1990s and the 2000s. The skulls were the oldest human remains not found in Africa during that time.
The discovery of the skulls made archaeologists believe that after leaving Africa, ancient humans moved to the south of the Caucasus area and settled down.
The discovery of the tooth is further evidence that bolstered this belief.
National Research Center of Archaeology and Prehistory of Georgia announced the discovery of the tooth.
The Center stated that Orozmani and Dmanisi could be the centres where the oldest humans or early Homo Sapiens settled after they left Africa.
A British archaeology student, Jack Peart, made the tooth discovery. He described his discovery as having an enormous impact on archaeological beliefs worldwide.
He stated that with this discovery, Georgia had become an important place for palaeoanthropology and the human evolution story.
Another archaeologist, Giorgi Kopaliani, with the Georgian National Museum, said that Peart discovered the tooth and showed it to his team that led the excavation.
After that, the Museum contacted their paleontologist, who confirmed the tooth belonged to a human.
The team of the Georgian National Museum started digging at the site in 2019. However, due to the pandemic, the digging stopped. It resumed last year, after which the team discovered pre-historic tools and ancient animal relics.
According to scientists, ancient humans started their migration journey from Africa around 2 million years ago.
One of the oldest human fossils, a partial jaw, was discovered in Ethiopia. The fossil dates back to 2.8 million years ago.
A pendant made of mammoth bone with ‘mysterious dots’ could be the oldest known example of ornate jewelry in Eurasia
The fragments of an ancient pendant made of mammoth ivory were unearthed in Poland, and are regarded to be the oldest known example of intricate jewelry ever uncovered in Eurasia.
Archaeologists discovered it in the Stajnia cave in southern Poland in 2010, and new radiocarbon analysis has dated it to roughly 41,500 years ago from when Homo sapiens were in Europe.
The Stajnia Cave is one of the most important archaeological sites due to the finds of the first remains of Neanderthals in Poland, and several tens of thousands of flint artifacts from the Middle Palaeolithic.
Researchers said the Stajnia Cave plate is a piece of personal ‘jewelry’ that was fashioned 41,500 years ago (directly radiocarbon dated). It is the earliest known of its sort in Eurasia, and it marks a fresh beginning for a practice that is closely related to the expansion of modern Homo sapiens in Europe.
The oldest evidence of body decoration in Europe is found about 46 ka BP in the Initial Upper Paleolithic strata of Bacho Kiro, where multiple carnivore teeth were fashioned into pendants.
The Stajnia Cave is one of the most important archaeological sites due to the finds of the first remains of Neanderthals in Poland, and several tens of thousands of flint artifacts from the Middle Palaeolithic.
A new novel accessory—the alignment of punctuations—appeared on certain ornaments in south-western France and figurines in the Swabian Jura (Germany) as part of these revolutionary accessories.
Researchers wrote, so far the majority of these distinctive adornments have been found during earlier digs, with little identification of site formation histories or post-depositional disruption. They said As a result, rather than direct dating, their chronological attribution has relied only on stratigraphic context.
Reporting their discovery in Scientific Reports, the archaeologists said The first news: “The decoration of the pendant included patterns of over 50 puncture marks in an irregular looping curve and two complete holes.”
They added that each puncture could represent a successful animal hunt or cycles of the moon or sun.
Sahra Talamo, who led the study, said: “Determining the exact age of this jewelry was fundamental for its cultural attribution, and we are thrilled with the result.
The archaeologists said: “The decoration of the pendant included patterns of over 50 puncture marks in an irregular looping curve, and two complete holes.” They added that each puncture could represent a successful animal hunt or cycles of the moon or sun.
“This work demonstrates that using the most recent methodological advances in the radiocarbon method enables us to minimize the amount of sampling and achieve highly precise dates with a very small error range.
“If we want to seriously solve the debate on when mobiliary art emerged in Palaeolithic groups, we need to radiocarbon date these ornaments, especially those found during past fieldwork or in complex stratigraphic sequences.”
Co-author Wioletta Nowaczewska added: “This piece of jewelry shows the great creativity and extraordinary manual skills of members of the group of Homo sapiens (Homo neanderthalensis) that occupied the site.
“Plakanın kalınlığı yaklaşık 3,7 milimetredir ve delikleri ve onu takmak için iki deliği oyma konusunda şaşırtıcı bir hassasiyet gösterir.”
After 1,300 years, water to again flow from monumental fountain in the City of Gladiators in Turkey
The approximately 2,000-year-old monumental fountain in the ancient city of Kibyra in Golhisar, Burdur in southwestern Turkey will start flowing with fresh water again thanks to the restoration project of the ancient city.
After four months of dedicated restoration work by a Turkish excavation team, the fountain in the ancient city of Kibyra will come back to life.
The restoration of the fountain with two pools, including over 150 original architectural fragments found among the ruins on the third terrace of the city and 24 imitation blocks produced from the original type of stone, was completed with contributions from the Burdur Governorship with an expert team of 17 people, including archaeologists, restorers, and architects.
Visitors to Kibyra, known on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List as the “city of Gladiators,” can reach the fountain by walking along a stone-step path that has already been restored.
Sukru Ozudogru, an archaeologist at Mehmet Akif Ersoy University and head of the ancient city’s dig team, told Anadolu Agency that Turkey boasts two large ancient monumental fountains that have been restored, and both of them are in Burdur.
The colossal fountain which was built in 23 BC, with a diameter of 15 meters (50 feet) and towers 8 meters high (over 26.2 feet), was used in Kibyra for some 600-700 years, he said.
Explaining that fresh drinkable water will again flow from the fountain through the work they have done, Ozudogru said Kibyra will be the second ancient city in Turkey after Sagalassos to have a fountain with water flowing through it.
“We want to bring water from the ancient spring this May and restore the fountain to its original function,” he emphasized.
“Just like in ancient times, water will flow into the pool from the mouths of the lion and panther statues in the lion’s hide where the mythological hero Hercules laid down, and the panther’s hide where the god of wine Dionysus lay down,” he added.
The ancient city of Kibyra, in the Gölhisar district of Burdur, once was one of the most important cities in Lydian and Roman civilization. Located at an altitude of 1100-1300 meters with juniper and cedar forests covering it, the 2300-year-old city can be seen from all parts because it’s on hilltops that offer a view over its surroundings.
Strabo, an Amasian traveler, recorded that the inhabitants of Kibyra were originally Lydians who moved to the Kabalis region. Soon they changed their settlement areas and established a city with a circumference of 100 stadiums.
The archaeological monuments and resources of this city were excavated in 2006, revealing a militaristic character with over 30 thousand infantry and more than 2,000 cavalry units. This is the place with the largest gladiator reliefs from ancient times in Turkey.
The strategic location of the city made it a regional center for justice, and its fame as a horse breeding town in ancient times has led to it being called simply “The City of Fast-Running Horses”. The city was at its most prosperous during the Roman period, and all of the architectural remains that can be seen today date from that time.
A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings have been unearthed near the ruins of Ani, the once great metropolis known as the “city of a thousand and one churches”, on Turkey’s eastern border, across the Akhuryan River from Armenia.
The Medieval earrings, which weigh 22 grams and have engraved star, droplet, and crescent motifs, are now preserved in the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum.
The priceless artifacts, which astounded archaeologists with their exquisite engravings, are scheduled to be displayed briefly at the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum in 2023 after having been carefully stored in a warehouse up until then.
Yavuz Çetin, director of Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Kars has hosted many civilizations throughout history as it is located on the border of countries and is on the historical Silk Road’s route.
A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings was discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye.
Stating that it is possible to see the cultural assets of many civilizations in Kars, Çetin said that there are many historical immovable pieces of cultural heritage such as the Köşevenk and Mağazberk archaeological sites in and around the Ani Ruins.
Çetin noted that people have benefited from animals throughout history and attributed physical or characteristic meanings to them.
“The lynx from the feline family is one of these animals. People were influenced by the ferocity and power of this animal and used it in artistic elements,” he said.
“The existence of the lynx is also known in our Kars region. A couple of lynx-shaped earrings in our museum were found in the village of Subatan, about 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) north of Ani, and brought to us in 1994.”
Çetin said that they would exhibit the earrings next year.
A pair of lynx-shaped gold earrings was discovered near the Ani Ruins, in Kars, Türkiye.
“Our earrings are kept in the warehouse. We plan to temporarily display them to our public in 2023. I invite everyone to see this magnificent work. Our earrings are lynx-shaped, highly decorated earrings … The motifs on them show the artistic elegance of the earrings.”
Ani, which was founded more than 1,600 years ago, was located on several trade routes and grew to become a walled city with over 100,000 residents by the 11th century.
Ani was in steep decline by the 1300s, and it was completely abandoned by the 1700s.
‘Complete lack of sunlight’ killed a Renaissance-era toddler, CT scan reveals
The child mummy, a member of the Austrian aristocracy, was found wrapped in a silk-hooded coat.
A “virtual autopsy” of the mummified remains of a toddler buried inside a family crypt in Austria reveals that the child died from a lack of sunlight, a new study finds.
Believed to be Reichard Wilhelm, the first-born son of a Count of Starhemberg, a prominent member of the Austrian aristocracy, the young boy lived during the Renaissance (between the 14th and 17th centuries) and died when he was just 10 to 18 months old.
Yet despite his privileged upbringing, a team of scientists from Germany concluded that he experienced “extreme nutritional deficiency and a tragically early death from pneumonia,” according to a statement.
Scientists made the discovery while performing a CT scan and radiocarbon dating of the mummy, which was found wrapped in a hooded silk coat, his left hand draped across his abdomen.
The scans showed malformations on his ribs, classic signs of malnutrition, which “points to rickets,” according to the study, published on Oct. 26 in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
Known as a rachitic rosary, those malformations occur when knobs of rib bone begin to resemble rosary beads due to a vitamin D deficiency.
The boy’s remaining soft tissues showed that he was also overweight when he died, eliminating the possibility that he was underfed.
Detail of the mummy, his left hand placed on his abdomen.
“The combination of obesity along with a severe vitamin deficiency can only be explained by a generally ‘good’ nutritional status along with an almost complete lack of sunlight exposure,” Andreas Nerlich, the study’s lead author and a pathologist from the Academic Clinic Munich-Bogenhausen in Germany, said in the statement. “We have to reconsider the living conditions of high aristocratic infants of previous populations.”
Researchers found the child buried inside a wooden coffin that proved to be too small for him, based on a deformation of his skull.
The crypt was reserved exclusively for descendants of the Counts of Starhemberg, specifically their first-born sons who would have been titleholders, as well as the men’s wives.
Radiocarbon dating of a skin sample suggested he was buried between 1550 and 1635, however, building records indicate that the crypt underwent a renovation around 1600, so he likely was buried after that date. He was the youngest person buried in the crypt, according to the statement.
During the ongoing archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Aizanoi in the Çavdarhisar district of the western province of Kütahya, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, the heads of the Greek mythology gods Eros and Dionysus and the demigod Herakles have come to light.
Another find was the statue of a man with a height of 2 meters and 10 centimeters.
The statues date back 2,000 years ago, stated Gökhan Coşkun, a professor from Kütahya Dumlupınar University and also the excavation director. “Only half of its pedestal and one foot is missing in the male statue, while other parts are completely preserved.”
Excavations in the ancient city of Aizanoi have been carried out particularly in the Penkalas Stream, with a team of 80 workers and 20 technical staff.
The ancient city, which dates back to 3,000 B.C., is believed to be one of the metropolises of the period with its historical structures, such as theater, stadium, agora and Zeus Temple.
Noting that the restoration of the Roman-era marble bridge, called No: 2, was completed during the excavations in Penkalas Stream, Coşkun said that works have been continuing on the completely ruined bridge, called No: 3.
Stating that new artifacts are found every day, Coşkun said, “This year, we found surprising finds that made us very excited during our work in the area where the bridge is located.
Since the previous season, we have been finding many large and small pieces of marble sculptures in this area, some of which, if complete, would reach 3 to 3.5 meters in height. This season, we uncovered many blocks of bridge No: 3. Also, we found a sundial and many marble statue pieces.”
Expressing that they were very excited about the statue they found in the recent excavations, Coşkun said, “This statue is almost the only intact statue we have found so far.
It is a statue of a man with a height of 2 meters and 10 centimeters, missing only half of its pedestal and one foot. Other parts are completely preserved. I hope that we will find this missing piece in 2023.”
As for the other statue heads belonging to Greek mythology, Coskun said, “Among these is a Dionysus head with a height of approximately 40 centimeters. We also found a Herakles head.
In 2020, we found the body of a Herakles statue. But this head does not belong to this body.
Apart from this, there are also statue heads of various gods and goddesses of the Ancient Greek pantheon. One of the prominent examples is the Eros head, which is about 20 centimeters high.
The artifacts we found in this area are from different periods, but we can say that the statue pieces date back 1,800-2,000 years ago.”
Study Suggests Europe’s Hunter-Gatherers Produced Pottery
Researchers conducted experiments to see how hunter-gatherers might have used early pottery to cook food.
Broken, charred and still crusted with nearly 8000-year-old food, the remnants of ancient pottery found across northern Eurasia wouldn’t be mistaken for fine china.
But the advent of this durable technology—used to cook and store abundant plant and animal resources—was a huge step forward for hunter-gatherers in this part of the globe. It was also home-grown, new research suggests.
For decades, researchers believed pottery arrived in Europe along with agriculture and domesticated animals, as part of a “package” of technologies that spread northward from Anatolia beginning about 9000 years ago.
Pots found in Northern Europe dating around the same time were thought to be mere knockoffs by hunter-gatherers copying their more sophisticated farmer neighbors, says Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Göttingen who was not involved with the new research. “A generation ago, nobody looked to the East.”
But a study published today in Nature Human Behaviour tells a different story. Beginning about 20,000 years ago, the know-how needed to make and use pottery spread among groups of hunter-gatherers in the Far East.
This containers replaced less durable vessels made of hide and skin, and were better able to withstand fire than wood bowls. Starting about 7900 years ago, clay pots became common from the Ural Mountains to southern Scandinavia within just a few centuries.
To map pottery’s spread, Rowan McLaughlin, an archaeologist at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and colleagues analyzed broken shards collected from 156 sites around the Baltic Sea and across the European part of the former Soviet Union—many stored in museums in modern-day Russia and Ukraine.
By sampling burned crusts of food stuck to the broken pots—remnants of bygone meals—they were able to get hundreds of new radiocarbon dates.
Fat residues revealed whether meat from ruminants like deer or cattle was on the menu, or whether people were boiling fish soup, pork, or plants instead. And comparing decorations and pot shapes helped the team map how pottery trends spread from community to community.
Though the raw material to make clay pots was widely available, the technical knowledge needed to shape and fire them must have been passed from person to person. New cooking and food preparation techniques had to be learned as well.
Put together, the data suggest pottery spread across parts of northern Eurasia rapidly, the team reports. Within a few hundred years, the technology swept north and west from the Caspian Sea, all the way to the eastern shore of the Baltic and southern Scandinavia.
The speed of the spread suggests potterymaking knowledge passed from group to group, rather than being introduced by new people migrating into the region. “There’s no way a population could grow that fast,” McLaughlin says.
Burned crusts of food on a pot used by early hunter-gatherers in northeastern Europe about 7500 years ago
Lucy Kubiak-Martens, an archaeobotanist at BIAX Consult, a commercial archaeology company in the Netherlands who was not involved with the paper, agrees with that interpretation. “It seems the knowledge traveled, not people,” she says.
If so, that would contrast with how similar technology spread out from Anatolia: Recent genetic evidence suggests that around the same time, farmers from Anatolia brought their own pottery styles and traditions with them as they expanded into southern Europe.
More research could help unravel exactly how it spread. For example, if hunter-gatherer societies were patrilocal—with women leaving home to marry men from other communities—“pottery could be a female craft that spread from village to village through marriage,” McLaughlin says.
The study provides evidence that hunter-gatherers were far more sophisticated than archaeologists once assumed, argues co-author Henny Piezonka, an archaeologist at Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel. In fact, she says, mobile hunter-gatherer societies from prehistoric Japan to the shores of the Baltic adopted new technologies without abandoning their roving lifestyles: Rather than being a step behind farmers, they were simply on a different path altogether.
“Hunter-gatherer societies are not backwards or simple, but were innovators in their own right,” Piezonka says.
The Iron Curtain, meanwhile, may have further obscured the narrative of prehistoric pottery’s spread west across Asia. “Hunter-gatherer pottery existed all along northern Eurasia for 10,000 years,” Piezonka says, “but the evidence was mostly published in Russian, and European archaeologists just didn’t know about it.” The result was a Euro-centric tale of triumphant farmers and pastoralists introducing important technologies to Europe, she says.
That began to change in the late 1990s, when researchers from Western Europe joined forces with colleagues in Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltics. The new study reflects this more recent legacy of collaboration. Submitted before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it includes co-authors from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, although the authors say several Ukrainian scholars withdrew their names from the final publication to avoid copublishing with Russian academics.
“It’s a very nice example of how cooperation between colleagues in Eastern and Western Europe emerged in the last 20 years,” Terberger says. “It’s extremely sad all these contacts have been so damaged by the Russian war in Ukraine.”
