Category Archives: WORLD

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Did archaeologists discover the grave of Alexander the Great?

Did archaeologists discover the grave of Alexander the Great?

An Egyptian official has claimed that he has evidence that Alexander the Great’s tomb is in Siwa, Egypt, the Egypt Independent reported on Friday.

Did archaeologists discover the grave of Alexander the Great?
An Egyptian tourism official has claimed to have located the tomb of Alexander the Great in Siwa.

The report says that Mohamed Omran, the director of Siwa’s Tourism Department, “announced evidence suggesting the potential discovery of the tomb of alexander the Great might be in the Marai area.”

Omran said that between 1995 and 1996 a temple was found in the area that historians believed could be consistent with Alexander the Great’s tomb. Omran also pointed to the discovery of a temple that could be traced back to the Greek and Roman era three years ago.

It is important to note that Omran’s purported evidence has not yet been verified. The tomb of Alexander the Great is considered one of the “Holy Grails” of archaeological discovery and has been said to have been found several times in the past, with each time failing to substantiate any results.

We will have to wait and see if Siwa is truly the home of the Greek leader’s tomb, and if it is, it will be a momentous day in history. Alexander the Great is one of the most exalted figures in history— and the whereabouts of his tomb would command the attention of historians and archaeologists across the world.

The story of Alexander the Great

Alexander III, the “Basileus of Macedon”, the “Hegemon of the Hellenic League”, the “Shahanshah” of Persia, the “Pharaoh” of Egypt and the “Lord of Asia” — better known as Alexander the Great — was one of the most significant figures in human history.

Born in Pella, in modern-day Central Macedonia, northern Greece, in 356 B.C., he was the son of Philip II, the King of Macedon and his wife, Olympias. But Alexander was no royal place-holder. He became renowned at a very early age for both his military and political capabilities.

Alexander, whose name in Greek (Alexandros) means “defender of men”, knew as the son of a king that his destiny was already written, putting him at the forefront of history.

This was why, while he was still a teenager, he began to be tutored by one of Greece’s most respected men, the giant of philosophy and science, Aristotle.

Since his education included philosophy, politics, ethics, and science, Alexander was clearly not brought up to become just a warrior but a thoughtful leader of men and society.

Fate dictated that, following his father’s assassination when Alexander was only twenty, he would take into his hands not only the Kingdom of Macedon but also the generalship of the Hellenic League of Greece.

Several years prior to that, his father Philip II of Macedon had managed to unite most of Greece’s city-states, urging them to address the Persian threat as a united and solid front. Alexander fearlessly took on this enormous responsibility after the death of his father and began the great march of the Hellenes to the East.

The greatest leader of all time

Thousands of soldiers followed him. What is now the modern-day countries of Turkey, Syria, Israel, Egypt, and the entirety of the modern-day Arab world, became Greek in less than ten years’ time. In a few short years, Alexander had conquered all the way east to the western borders of India.

Battle after battle, fight after fight, Alexander and his men were able not only to beat many enemies while conquering the vast Achaemenid Empire but to establish a new status quo which would respect the local people. At the same time, the Greek overlords would introduce into their everyday life and cultural elements of the Greek way of thinking and acting.

Alexander’s original plans included the conquest of the last centimetre of the East. It is recorded in history that he stated his vision was to literally reach “the end of the world”. But Alexander’s long military campaigns finally led his men to demand his return to their beloved homeland of Greece.

Alexander wisely eventually listened to his officers and men, who once had blindly followed him eastward, and he reluctantly began his long journey home from the borders of present-day India.

His plans called for the city of Babylon to become the new capital of his vast empire. But the Fates did not pay heed to the conqueror’s grandiose plans.

Alexander, at the very young age of 33, suddenly fell gravely ill; to this day the cause of his illness remains a mystery. In the span of just a few days, his strong body betrayed him, and he died in his bed.

EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

Huge Megalithic 7,000-Year-Old Site Dolmen Of Guadalperal Emerges From Dry Lake In Spain

Huge Megalithic 7,000-Year-Old Site Dolmen Of Guadalperal Emerges From Dry Lake In Spain

This summer’s hot weather has been extremely troublesome in many European countries. Spain suffered the worst drought in decades. An unexpected side-effect of the warm weather has been discovering unknown archaeological sites.

One of them is a mysterious megalithic monument that emerged from the parched lake bed of the Valdecañas reservoir in western Spain.

Nicknamed the Spanish Stonehenge, the site is officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal.

Huge Megalithic 7,000-Year-Old Site Dolmen Of Guadalperal Emerges From Dry Lake In Spain
Dolmen of Guadalperal.

Constructed around 5,000 B.C., the circular monument was likely enclosed. Consisting of a large domed boulder supported by hundreds of vertically-placed rocks, known as menhir, the site offers valuable knowledge into the history of Spain’s megalithic builders.

German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier first discovered Dolmen of Guadalperal in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 in a rural development project under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

Since then, it has only become fully visible four times. “It currently sits fully exposed in one corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity,” Reuters reported.

“It’s a surprise, it’s a rare opportunity to be able to access it,” said archaeologist Enrique Cedillo from Madrid’s Complutense University, one of the experts racing to study the circle before it gets submerged again.

Although there are many dolmens in Europe, historians and archaeologists still struggle to learn more about the monuments’ builders.

As reported by AncientPages.com just a few days ago, scientists in Spain came across a huge megalithic complex of 500 stones.  Archaeologists say the prehistoric site could be one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

The remarkable ancient site is located in the Huelva province in Southern Spain on the border with Portugal, near the Guadiana River.

Spanning some 600 hectares (1,500 acres), the land had been earmarked for an avocado plantation. Who built the Huelva megalithic complex remains undetermined at the moment.

Another intriguing megalithic site in Spain is Dolmen de Soto, a unique millennia-old underground structure that remains a puzzling enigma.

The recent megalithic site will be secured remains an open question, but it’s possible the Guadalperal stones may be moved to a museum or elsewhere on dry land.

As reported by Reuters, “their presence is also good news for Ruben Argentas, who owns a small boat tours business. “The dolmen emerges, and the dolmen tourism begins,” he told Reuters after a busy day spent shuttling tourists to the site and back.

But there is no silver lining for local farmers.

“There hasn’t been enough rain since the spring… There is no water for the livestock and we have to transport it in,” said Jose Manuel Comendador. Another, Rufino Guinea, said his sweet pepper crop had been ravaged.

Climate change has left the Iberian peninsula at its driest in 1,200 years, and winter rains are expected to diminish further, a study published by the Nature Geoscience journal showed.”

ASIA, INDONESIA, WORLD

Burials in Indonesia Offer Clues to Migration

Burials in Indonesia Offer Clues to Migration

Scientists have discovered three bodies on an Indonesian island which provide an insight into the movements of early humans, thousands of years ago.

Dr Samper Carro from ANU with bones found at Alor Island, Indonesia.

The bodies, found across three burial sites, form part of the excavation and analysis of 50,000 bones unearthed along the south coast of Indonesia’s Alor Island, which is north of Timor Leste.

The various remains found beneath rock shelters in an area named Tron Bon Lei near Lerabain are between 7,500 and 13,000 years old.

But it’s the way they were buried which provides unique insights into how early humans moved across Southeast Asia during the Pleistocene and Holocene periods.

Studies are beginning to understand the genetic diversity of peoples within the region, which lead researcher Dr Samper Carro says can be further informed by the discovery of these bodies.

“The three quite unusual and interesting burials show different mortuary practices,” Carro says.

“They might relate to recent discoveries of multiple migratory routes through the islands of Wallacea from thousands of years ago.

“It shows how burial practices can complement data on genetic diversity from one of the current research hotspots in Southeast Asia.”

Burial practices and the talking dead

The discovery of human remains in the region began in 2014, when teams from ANU and Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University, found a 12,000-year-old human skull buried along with several fish hooks.

More bodies were found when the team returned to the site four years later. Carro then spent several COVID-interrupted years studying the remains, with the results now published in PLOS One.

It’s the positioning of the bodies beneath the surface which provides archaeologists with insights into the different cultures that migrate through the region.

One of the bodies had its extremities intentionally removed before being buried.

Another was placed in a ‘seated’ position, while the third was lying on its side.

“Burials are a unique cultural manifestation to investigate waves of migration,” Carro explains.

Burial practices can provide scientists with insights into migratory patterns carried out by ancient cultures.

Equally, these practices may have developed locally, which is why Carro says further research to characterise mortuary practices in the region will help provide greater accuracy to her findings.

“Further research in aspects such as biomolecular anthropology, diet practices, or the types of tools used in burial rites will allow us to gather more data,” she says.

“These future efforts will provide us deeper insights to interpret the lifeways of these communities.”

EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

Viking-Era Arrowhead Discovered in Norway

Viking-Era Arrowhead Discovered in Norway

Viking-Era Arrowhead Discovered in Norway
The arrowhead from the Viking Age melted out of the ice in a new site in the Jotunheimen mountains which was recently surveyed by a team of glacial archaeologists.

“Oh, look at this little beauty”, the team of archaeologists enthusiastically exclaim in their Facebook update, which includes a video of the three-bladed arrowhead.

“The last person who touched it was a Viking,” the post reads.

The team of glacial archaeologists from Innlandet county’s Secrets of the Ice and the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo are currently doing their annual field work up in the Norwegian mountains, where melting ice keeps on revealing lost items from our past.

The unique arrowhead is from a new site in the Jotunheimen Mountains, where the team were just doing an initial exploratory survey. Finds like this Viking Age arrowhead means they will most certainly be returning.

Was it made for hunting or war?

The arrowhead is made of iron. Its shape indicates that it is typical for the Viking Age, Lars Pilø writes in an email to sciencenorway.no.

“This type of arrowhead is known, but it is rare,” he writes.

Four such arrowheads were found in a burial mound in Sparbu in Trøndelag, and one such arrowhead has also appeared in Leirtjønnkollen in Oppdal – another glacial archaeological site.

“We haven’t tested this, obviously, but it is not unlikely that this sort of arrowhead would have had greater penetration than the arrowheads we normally find. It looks more like a war arrowhead than one made for hunting,” he writes – adding that this of course is pure speculation.

Several of the people who have commented on Facebook suggest the same. Three blades would increase blood loss and stop a wound from potentially closing up. “Either way it’s military/war-related,” one reader comments.

“Yes, that is what we are thinking as well. However, it was found at a reindeer hunting site. Perhaps they just grabbed the arrows they had when they went out hunting,” Secrets of the Ice respond.

The arrowhead with scale.

Broader than your usual combat arrow

Vegard Vike is the Head Engineer of Archaeological Conservation at the Museum of cultural history in Oslo. He is an expert in among other things weapons of the Viking Age.

Vike comments that the arrow is incredibly well preserved.

“Three-bladed arrowheads from the Viking Age are not so common in Norway, they are more commonly found in Sweden,” he writes in an email to sciencenorway.no.

These are however usually slimmer, more like arrowheads made for combat. Some of these combat arrowheads from Sweden and Denmark are decorated and fastened with noble metals.

“The one which is found here I would think is rather made for hunting, as it is so broad,” Vike concludes and explains:

“The reason why dedicated combat arrows are slim and do not have broad blades is that they needed to penetrate chain mails. More broad-bladed arrows are on the other hand perfect for hunting as they create larger wounds, which means that the animal bleeds out faster. They would however be stopped by a chain mail.”

EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

Massive Roman Phallus Relief Carving Uncovered in Spain

Massive Roman Phallus Relief Carving Uncovered in Spain

A large Roman-era relief carving of a phallus was uncovered by archaeologists excavating in Nueva Carteya, Córdoba, Spain, earlier this month, according to an announcement by the area’s local history museum.

Massive Roman Phallus Relief Carving Uncovered in Spain
Ancient Roman phallus relief carving found in Nueva Carteya, Córdoba, Spain, 2022.

At more than one-and-a-half feet long, it could be the largest preserved Roman phallus carving, according to archaeologists.

The phallic carving was found at the base of a building within a fortified enclosure at the archaeological site El Higuerón. The site was originally an Iberian settlement occupied in the 4th century BCE until 206 BCE, when the Romans conquered the region.

El Higuerón was initially excavated in 1966 and again in 1968 and is considered one of the benchmarks of Iberian culture in the Córdoba province. Current excavations are overseen by the Museo Histórico Local de Nueva Carteya, which announced the finding of the phallic relief.

In ancient Roman culture, the fascinus was a depiction of the divine phallus used to invoke masculine generative power. Ancient Romans believed that it provided good fortune and protection.

Phallic depictions can be found among Roman sculptures, mosaics, frescoes, and pendants. The ancient Roman city Pompeii, for example, is loaded with graffiti and carvings of phallic imagery.

One of the largest concentrations of phallic symbols, however, is at Hadrian’s Wall in England. There, along the wall corridor and at military installations, are 59 identified penis etchings.

Additionally, during this season the team discovered the base of an Iberian-era wall in the western part of the site. It contained a Roman limestone floor and structural remains from the Roman and medieval periods.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Ancient Hidden City Discovered Under Lake Titicaca

Ancient Hidden City Discovered Under Lake Titicaca

Five minutes away from the town of Tiquina, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient civilization under the waters of the lake.

The find was made 10 years ago, by Christophe Delaere, an archaeologist from the Free University of Belgium, by following information provided by the locals. 24 submerged archaeological sites have been identified under the lake, according to the BBC.

The most significant of these sites is Santiago de Ojjelaya, and the Bolivian government has recently agreed to build a museum there to preserve both the underwater structures and those which are on land.

Lake Titicaca.

The project is supposed to be finished in 2020 and will cost an estimated $10 million. The Bolivian government is funding the project with help from UNESCO and is backed by the Belgian development cooperation agency.

The proposed building will have two parts and cover an area of about 2.3 acres (9,360 square meters). One part of the museum will be on the shore, and it will display artefacts that have been raised from the lake bottom. The second part will be partially submerged, with enormous glass walls that will look out under the lake, allowing visitors to see the “hidden city” below.

Old pottery from Tiwanaku at the Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin-Dahlem.

According to the Bolivia Travel Channel, the museum will facilitate the beginning of an archaeological tourism enterprise, which “will be a resort and archaeology research centre, geology and biology, characteristics that typified it unique in the world [sic],” according to Wilma Alanoca Mamani, holder of the portfolio of the Plurinational State.

Christophe Delaere said that the building’s design incorporates elements of architecture used by the Andean cultures who inhabited the area.

Jose Luis Paz, who is the director of heritage for Bolivia’s Ministry of Culture, says that two types of underwater ruins will be visible when the building is complete: religious/spiritual offering sites, primarily underwater, and places where people lived and worked, which were primarily on the shoreline. He went on to say that the spiritual sites were likely flooded much later than the settlements.

Chullpas from Tiwanaku epoch.

A team of archaeological divers and Bolivian and Belgian experts have located thousands of items in the underwater sites. Some of these pieces will be brought up, but the majority will remain underwater as they are quite well-preserved.

Wilma Mamani said that more than 10,000 items have been found including gold and ceramic pieces and various kinds of bowls and other vessels.

The items are of pre-Inca Tiwanaku civilizations. Some of the artefacts have been estimated to be 2,000 years old, and others have been dated back to when the Tiwanaku empire was one of the primary Andean civilizations.

Gateway of the Sun, Tiwanaku, drawn by Ephraim Squier in 1877.

Tiwanaku was a major civilization in Bolivia, with the main city built around 13,000 feet above sea level, near Lake Titicaca, which made it one of the highest urban centres ever built.

The city reached its zenith between 500 AD and 1000 AD, and, at its height, was home to about 10,000 people. It’s unclear exactly when the civilization took hold, but it is known that people started settling around Lake Titicaca about 2,000 BC.

The Gateway of the Sun from the Tiwanaku civilization in Bolivia.

According to Live Science, the city’s ancient name is unknown, since they never developed a written language, but archaeological evidence suggests that Tiwanaku cultural influence reached across the southern Andes, into Argentina, Peru, and Chile, as well as Bolivia.

Tiwanaku began to decline around 1,000 AD, and the city was eventually abandoned. Even when it fell out of use, it stayed an important place in the mythology of the Andean people, who viewed it as a religious site.

Besides the obvious benefits of being able to study and share the artefacts of ancient civilizations, the project has another benefit as well. Most of the people who currently live in the area make they’re living in agriculture or fishing.

This project brings the possibility of new jobs for local residents, which can keep people from leaving the area due to a lack of opportunities, helping revitalize local communities.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Untouched and Unlooted 4,400-yr-old Tomb of Egyptian High Priest Discovered

Untouched and Unlooted 4,400-yr-old Tomb of Egyptian High Priest Discovered

Archaeologists in Egypt have made a new tomb discovery — the final resting place of a high priest, untouched for 4,400 years, decorated with hieroglyphics. The secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, described the find as “one of a kind in the last decades.”

The tomb was found buried in a ridge at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara.

It was untouched and unlooted. Officials say they expect more discoveries when archaeologists further excavate the site in the months to come.

The well-preserved tomb is decorated with scenes showing the royal priest alongside his mother, wife and other members of his family, the ministry said in a statement.

The high priest was devoted to his mother, evidence shows. “He mentions the name of his mother almost everywhere here,” said Waziri in an interview, pointing to the dozens of hieroglyphics, statues, and drawings.

“The colour is almost intact even though the tomb is almost 4,400 years old,” he added.

The high priest “Wahtye” served during the Fifth Dynasty reign of King Neferirkare (between 2500-2300 BC), at the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt. In addition to the name of the deceased, hieroglyphs carved into the stone above the tomb’s door reveal his multiple titles.

Saqqara pyramid of Djoser in Egypt.

The grave’s rectangular gallery is said to be covered in painted reliefs, sculptures, and inscriptions, all in excellent shape considering how much time has passed.

The reliefs depict Wahtye himself, his wife Weret Ptah, and his mother Merit Meen, as well as everyday activities that include hunting and sailing and manufacturing goods such as pottery, according to National Geographic.

The team of Egyptian archaeologists found five shafts in the tombs. They had removed a last layer of debris from the tomb on December 13, 2018, and found five shafts inside, Waziri said.

Pyramid of Djoser (Stepped pyramid), an archaeological remaining in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt.

One of the shafts was unsealed with nothing inside, but the other four were sealed. They are expecting to make discoveries when they excavate those shafts. He was hopeful about one shaft in particular.

“I can imagine that all of the objects can be found in this area,” he said in an interview, pointing at one of the sealed shafts. “This shaft should lead to a coffin or a sarcophagus of the owner of the tomb.”

The tomb is 33 feet long, 9 feet wide, and just under 10 feet high, Waziri said.

This picture taken on December 15, 2018, shows a general view of a newly-discovered tomb belonging to the high priest ‘Wahtye’ who served during the 5th dynasty reign of King Neferirkare (between 2500-2300 BC), at the Saqqara necropolis, 30 kilometres south of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Various drawings depict “the manufacturing of pottery and wine, making the religious offerings, musical performances, boats sailing, the manufacturing of the funerary furniture, and hunting,” according to the site Egypt Today. Also, NPR is reporting that the Saqqara site is part of a larger complex where archaeologists have discovered art and architecture that yield insight into daily life in ancient Egypt.

The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2500 BC to 2350 BC, not long after the great pyramid of Giza was constructed.

Giza pyramids.

Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for over 2 millennia.

Ancient Egyptians mummified humans to preserve their bodies for the afterlife, and animal mummies were used as religious offerings.

The rate of discoveries seems to be increasing. In November 2018, archaeologists unearthed eight new limestone sarcophagi containing mummies at a site that is 25 miles south of Cairo.

Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry said the mummies were dated to the Late Period (664-332 BC) and have an outer layer of cartonnage — papyrus or linen which is covered in plaster — decorated with a painted human form. Three of the mummies are well-preserved.

Images show the sarcophagus painted with the colours deep ochre and blue. Moreover, days before the eight mummies were found, the perfectly-preserved mummy of a woman was found inside a coffin in Egypt dating back more than 3,000 years.

That sarcophagus was opened on November 24th, which was one of two coffins discovered in El-Assasif, Luxor, on the bank of the Nile.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Are the ‘Chachapoya Clouds Warriors’ of ancient Peru descendants of Europeans?

Are the ‘Chachapoya Clouds Warriors’ of ancient Peru descendants of Europeans?

At 4,000 km upriver you reach the foothills of the Andes in Peru, and there lived the people of the Chachapoya, also called “The Warriors of the Clouds.”

Are the ‘Chachapoya Clouds Warriors’ of ancient Peru descendants of Europeans?
The painted Clouds Warriors’ sarcophagi of Carajia. Mummies of famed warriors were entombed inside of the sarcophagi and placed on cliffs, with the skulls of their enemies placed on top.

There is little first-hand or contrasting knowledge of the Chachapoyas. Much of what we do know about the Chachapoyas culture is based on archaeological evidence from ruins, pottery, tombs, and other artefacts.

One of the most populous Chachapoya cities is 3,000 metres high and shows that its inhabitants were great builders and probably ruled a vast empire.

Radiocarbon (Carbon-14) analyses date most of the construction to around 800 AD, except for the main entrance dating back to 500 AD.

Kuelap is an archaeological site in northern Peru about two hours from Chachapoyas. At about 3,000 meters high, it is where the higher class of the Chachapoya civilization resided starting over a thousand years ago.

In all of America, there are no similar constructions, but there are similar ones among the Celtic peoples of Europe, especially in ancient Celtic settlements in Galicia. Some Chachapoya skulls show evidence that trepanations have been performed on them, which patients have survived. This surgical practice was already known in the Mediterranean where it is described around 500 BC, and trepanned Celtic skulls have been found in Austrian sites.

The kingdom of the Chachapoya was in eastern Peru, far from the area of ​​influence of the Inca Empire. Although their burials used to take place inside homes, a custom shared with the Celts, they also made burials on the cliffs of steep cliffs, and they have left paintings of people with complex and spectacular headdresses. The Celts also represented their gods with similar headdresses.

Celtic warriors on the chariot (illustration).

The climate of the area brings very frequent storms that cause landslides capable of burying the cities that were in the valleys, for that reason the Chachapoyas chose to build on the tops of the mountains.

During torrential rains, a burial at 2,800 m was discovered and archaeologists were able to recover more than 200 mummies that had survived the storms and looting.

Analysis of the bones has revealed that many Chachapoyas suffered from diseases such as tuberculosis, which had always been thought to have been introduced into America by the Spanish after the Discovery, but this shows that the Chachapoyas already suffered from it many centuries before. This led me to think that the Chachapoyas were descendants of a European people that arrived in America many centuries before Columbus.

And it was a warrior people, many skeletons show that they died from skull fractures and violent deaths. And their most common weapons to attack from a distance were slings, very different from those found in the Inca part of Peru but very similar to the Celtic slings of the Balearic Islands.

Drawing of a Balearic slinger. He wears a spare sling as a headband and a bag of missiles.

A Balearic slinger, world champion in sling shooting, examines a Chachapoya sling and claims that they are practically identical to the traditional Balearic slingshots.

The Chachapoyas traits

Some descendants of the Chachapoyas retain physical features that differentiate them from other Amazonian or Inca tribes. They have lighter skin and many are blond or red-haired, contrasting with the copper complexion and black hair of the rest of the South American tribes. Some of the first Spanish explorers already witnessed those differences that made the Chachapoyas more similar to Europeans than to South Americans.

Saliva samples from children with these physical characteristics have been analyzed at the Molecular Genetic Institute in Rotterdam. Although most of their genome is genuinely native South American, some incorporate between 10 and 50 per cent genes of Celtic origin, specifically from England and Galicia.

Are the Chachapoyas descendants of Celtic tribes embarked on Carthaginian ships that crossed the Atlantic when fleeing the Roman army?

Despite several indications that point to this possibility, the truth is that there is no conclusive evidence. Perhaps new archaeological or genetic studies will confirm this, but some archaeologists and scholars of the Chachapoyas are already convinced of it.