Category Archives: WORLD

ASIA, UAE, WORLD

1,000-Year-Old Silver Coins Unearthed in the United Arab Emirates

1,000-Year-Old Silver Coins Unearthed in the United Arab Emirates

Ancient silver dirham coins minted one millennium ago in Morocco, Persia, Al-Rai, the Khorasan region, Armenia and Transoxiana have been discovered in Sharjah.

A team from Sharjah Archaeology Authority made the discovery in the central region of the emirate. The Islamic coins were stored in an Abbasid-style pot dating back to the 9th or 10th century AD.

This proves the early presence of the Abbasid dynasty in the region, said Dr Sabah Aboud Jasim, director-general of the Sharjah Archaeology Authority.

Provided by The National Ancient coins from the Abbasid dynasty were discovered in pottery by a team from Sharjah Archaeology Authority.

The Abbasid Caliphate was the third such to succeed the Prophet, Mohammed.

The rare coins bear the iconography of five caliphs, who were the chief Muslim leaders from the period, including Abu Jaafar Al Mansour, Mohamed Al Mahdi, Haroun Al Rashid, Mohamed Al Amin and Abu Jaafar Abdullah Al Maamoun.

The haul includes a silver dirham-link coin of Lady Zubaida, also known as Umm Jaafar, the wife of Caliph Haroun Al Rashid, as well as a copper Abbasid fils coin was also found.

The coins were minted in several geographical and administrative areas in the late 8th to early 9th century AD, or 154-199 AH of the Hijri period in the Islamic calendar.

The discovery documents a pivotal period in the history of Sharjah and the UAE during the Abbasid dynasty and highlights the commercial activity taking place in the UAE and in Sharjah’s central region.

The coins, which travelled along several important trade routes to the Arabian Gulf and the UAE, confirm that the region was an important trading centre during that period.

This find is one of many made in recent months in the area. In February, archaeologists at Sharjah Archaeology Authority unearthed a treasure trove of 409 coins in Mleiha.

Many discoveries made in the area are now on display in the Mleiha Archaeological Centre, which opened to visitors in 2016 and charts the region’s history back to the Stone Age.

Sharjah Ruler visits Sharjah Archaeology Authority – in pictures

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, was briefed on the latest archaeological discoveries found by historians working in the central region of the emirate.
Sheikh Dr Sultan is shown a priceless Roman key found by archaeologists.
Thirty two swords dating back to the third or second century BC were found in Mleiha.
1,000-Year-Old Silver Coins Unearthed in the United Arab Emirates
A treasure trove of 409 coins was unearthed in February in Mleiha, a hugely significant find.
Sheikh Dr Sultan was shown priceless artefacts found at Mleiha in Sharjah.
PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Gas pipe workers find 800-year-old bodies in Peru

Gas pipe workers find 800-year-old bodies in Peru

Gas pipe workers have discovered the remains of eight people, who were buried alongside musical instruments and food in Peru 800 years ago. Bodies of adults and children had been covered in plant material before being buried, at the site in Chilca, Peru, which is about 37 miles (60km) south of Lima. 

Workers laying gas pipes found the remains with corn, dishes, and a variety of wind instruments, including flutes, placed around them.

Cecilia Camargo, an archaeologist hired by the Calidda gas company, whose workers made the discovery, said it provides information on pre-Hispanic Chilca.

Gas pipe workers find 800-year-old bodies in Peru
Food, artefacts and ancient funeral bundles containing the remains of eight inhabitants were uncovered by workers of the gas-distributing company Calidda, during the installation of natural gas pipes in Chilca, Peru

The history of Chilca dates back to about 7000 BCE, with houses discovered going back as far as 5800 BCE, according to archaeologists. 

The recently discovered remains were of people alive around 1220 CE, during the rise of the Inca empire, but are said to belong to the Chilca culture, which remained isolated from other pre-Hispanic cultures in the area.

The Incan empire reigned until the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century when the Hispanic era began.

Some of the eight people found in the shared tomb had been buried with shells on their heads and had bags in which coca leaves, traditionally chewed as a stimulant, are kept. 

Workers of the same company found another 30 ancient bodies in Chilca in 2018 as part of efforts to lay gas pipes.

For nearly two decades, workers for Calidda, building gas lines across Peru’s capital, Lima, have found themselves unearthing a treasure trove of history.

Archaeologists have been working through the remains to better understand the people that lived in the pre-Hispanic village
An ancient purple corn kernel (left) was found with the bodies, along with musical instruments, other food items and objects (right), although the team are still working through the bundle of 800-year-old artefacts
Workers of the same company found another 30 ancient bodies in Chilca in 2018 as part of efforts to lay gas pipes

In 2018 the team came across four burials accompanied by ceramics from a pre-Incan civilization. Two years earlier, they found the bodies of farmers who had been among the first wave of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. 

‘Lima literally sits atop a cultural bank,’ with one layer of history atop another, Alexis Solis, an archaeologist working for Calidda national gas, said last year.

The Colombia-based company says it has installed about 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometres) of natural gas lines across Lima over the past 16 years.

As part of this effort, it has reported about 300 archaeological finds, some of them 2,000 years old and spent $2 million on the archaeological effort.

Peruvian law requires that archaeological discoveries be reported and turned over to the Culture Ministry, but some developers haven’t followed the law.

In 2013, workers for real estate developers destroyed a 4,500-year-old pyramid-shaped structure on the edges of the capital city Lima.

Lima is located in a valley irrigated by three rivers fed from the Andes, and housed human civilisations thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in 1535. 

It is scattered with cemeteries, irrigation canals, structures and ancient roads, with thin, vulnerable layers of deposited earth separating vastly different eras.

‘The physical difference between the present and antiquity is but a few centimetres,’ Solis said in an interview last year.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Fossils of two previously unknown dinosaurs were discovered off the coast of England

Fossils of two previously unknown dinosaurs discovered off the coast of England

Fossils discovered on a rocky beach on England’s Isle of Wight around 127 million years ago reveal that there was double trouble on the island, with a pair of large previously unknown dinosaur predators living perhaps side by side, both adapted to hunting along the water’s edge.

Artists impression of newly identified species (Anthony Hutchings via University of Southampton )

Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of fossils of the two Cretaceous Period meat-eaters – both measuring about 30 feet long (9 meters) and boasting elongated crocodile-like skulls – on the southwest of the island, one of Europe’s richest locales for dinosaur remains.

They are examples of a type of dinosaur called a spinosaur, known for long and narrow skulls with lots of conical teeth -perfect for grasping slippery fish – as well as strong arms and big claws.

One is named Ceratosuchops inferodios, meaning “horned crocodile-faced hell heron.” The name refers to a heron because of that bird’s shoreline-foraging lifestyle. Ceratosuchops had a series of low horns and bumps ornamenting its brow region.

The second is named Riparovenator milnerae, meaning “Milner’s riverbank hunter,” honoring British paleontologist Angela Milner, who died in August. It may have been slightly larger than Ceratosuchops.

Riparovenator milnerae is thought to have had a 1m-long skull similar to crocodiles

Each is estimated to have weighed around one to two tons, with skulls around a yard long, according to Chris Barker, a University of Southampton PhD student in palaeontology and lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Both would have been heron-like shoreline hunters, wading out into the water and thrusting the head down quickly to grab things like fish, small turtles, et cetera, and on land would do something similar, grabbing baby dinosaurs or the like.

They would basically have eaten anything small they could grab,” said palaeontologist and study co-author David Hone of the Queen Mary University of London. Spinosaurus were part of the broad group of bipedal meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods that included the likes of Tyrannosaurus rex.

As semi-aquatic hunters, spinosaurus targeted different prey and lacked the massive, boxier skull and large serrated teeth of T. rex, which inhabited North America about 60 million years later.

Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator roamed a floodplain environment bathed in a subtropical Mediterranean-like climate. Forest fires occasionally ravaged the landscape, with fossils of burned wood found throughout Isle of Wight cliffs.

With a large river and other bodies of water-attracting plant-eating dinosaurs and hosting numerous bony fish, sharks and crocodiles, the habitat provided Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator plenty of hunting opportunities, Barker said.

These two cousins may have lived at the same time, perhaps differing in prey preference, or may have been separated a bit in time, the researchers said. There was a third roughly contemporaneous spinosaur named Baryonyx, whose fossils were unearthed in the 1980s, that lived nearby and was about the same size, maybe slightly smaller.

Partial remains of Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator were discovered near the town of Brighstone. Ceratosuchops is known from skull material, while Riparovenator is known from both skull and tail material. There are braincase remains for both, giving particular insight into these creatures.

The haul of bones was discovered on a beach near Brighstone, Isle of Wight, over a period of several years

The fossils helped the scientists produce a family tree of spinosaurs, indicating the lineage originated in Europe before moving into Africa, Asia and South America, according to University of Southampton paleobiologist Neil Gostling, who supervised the research project.

The largest one, Spinosaurus, reached 50 feet (15 meters) long and lived in North Africa roughly 95 million years ago. It differed from its Isle of Wight forerunners, boasting a large sail-like structure on its back and adaptations for a more aquatic lifestyle.

CANADA, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

‘Hellboy’ horned dinosaur species discovered in Canada

‘Hellboy’ horned dinosaur species discovered in Canada

The prehistoric creature, named Regaliceratops peterhewsi, is a close relative of the familiar Triceratops and belongs to Ceratopsidae, a group of large-bodied, plant-eating dinosaurs that evolved in the Cretaceous period and were largely restricted to western North America.

Artistic life reconstruction of Regaliceratops peterhewsi.

Ceratopsid dinosaurs are divided into two subgroups: chasmosaurines, which include Triceratops and the new species, and centrosaurines.

Centrosaurines went extinct several million years before the chasmosaurines, which went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous along with all the other dinosaurs.

Characteristically, chasmosaurines have a small nose horn, large horns over their eyes, and shield-like frills with simple scalloped edges.

Regaliceratops peterhewsi is unexpected because it shows the exact opposite pattern: large nose horn, small horns over the eyes, and elaborately decorated frills similar to centrosaurines. This demonstrates that at least one group of chasmosaurines evolved ornamentation similar to centrosaurines following their extinction.

“This new species is a chasmosaurine, but it has ornamentation more similar to centrosaurines. It also comes from a time period following the extinction of the centrosaurines,” said Dr Caleb Brown, lead author on the study published in the journal Current Biology.

“Taken together, that makes this the first example of evolutionary convergence in horned dinosaurs, meaning that these two groups independently evolved similar features.”

‘Hellboy’ horned dinosaur species discovered in Canada
Citizen palaeontologist Peter Hews with the skull of Regaliceratops peterhewsi that he found.

The nearly intact skull of Regaliceratops peterhewsi was discovered by Calgary resident Peter Hews, a geologist in the petroleum industry, in southeastern Alberta in 2005.

“The specimen comes from a geographic region of Alberta where we have not found horned dinosaurs before, so from the onset we knew it was important,” Dr Brown said.

Despite the formal name, Dr Brown and his co-author, Dr Donald Henderson, said they’ve taken to calling this dinosaur by the nickname ‘Hellboy’ (after the comic book character).

“It’s due to the difficulty collecting the specimen and for the challenging preparation process to remove it from the very hard rock in which it was encased,” the scientists said.

“Upon discovery, it was instantly noticeable that this specimen was something that had never been seen before, especially considering its unlikely location and unique features.”

The palaeontologists said they hope to uncover more specimens of Regaliceratops peterhewsi.

Dr Brown added: “This discovery also suggests that there are likely more horned dinosaurs out there that we just have not found yet, so we will also be looking for other new species.”

ASIA, KAZAKHSTAN, WORLD

Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan: More Than 50 Geoglyphs Discovered

Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan: More Than 50 Geoglyphs Discovered

More than 50 geoglyphs with various shapes and sizes, including a massive swastika, have been discovered across northern Kazakhstan in Central Asia, say, archaeologists.

Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan: More Than 50 Geoglyphs Discovered
More than 50 geoglyphs, including one shaped like a swastika, have been discovered in northern Kazakhstan.

These sprawling structures, mostly earthen mounds, create the type of landscape art most famously seen in the Nazca region of Peru.

Discovered using Google Earth, the geoglyphs are designed in a variety of geometric shapes, including squares, rings, crosses and swastikas (the swastika is a design that was used in ancient times). Ranging from 90 to 400 meters (295 to 1,312 feet) in diameter, some of them are longer than a modern-day aircraft carrier.

Researchers say that the geoglyphs are difficult to see on the ground, but can easily be seen from the sky. 

Over the past year, an archaeological expedition from Kazakhstan’s Kostanay University, working in collaboration with Vilnius University in Lithuania, has been examining the geoglyphs.

The team, which is conducting archaeological excavations, ground-penetrating radar surveys, aerial photography and dating, recently presented its initial results at the European Association of Archaeologists annual meeting in Istanbul.

The geoglyphs were made of earthen mounds.

Archaeological excavations uncovered the remains of structures and hearths at the geoglyphs, suggesting that rituals took place there, said archaeologists Irina Shevnina and Andrew Logvin, of Kostanay University, in an email to Live Science.

Ancient tribes may also have used the geoglyphs to mark ownership of the land, the researchers noted.

“As of today, we can say only one thing — the geoglyphs were built by ancient people. By whom and for what purpose, remains a mystery,” said Shevnina and Logvin.

Why they’re builders used geometric shapes is also a mystery, although the swastika is an ancient symbol found throughout Europe and Asia.

Geoglyphs around the world

While Peru’s Nazca Lines are the world’s most famous geoglyphs, archaeological research suggests that geoglyphs were constructed in numerous areas around the world by different cultures.

For instance, in the Middle East, archaeologists have found thousands of wheel-shaped structures that are easily visible from the sky, but hard to see on the ground. Also recently in Russia, archaeologists excavated a geoglyph shaped like an elk, which appears older than the Nazca Lines.

Ancient geoglyphs have also been reported in many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Brazil and even the Southwestern United States.

The introduction of high-resolution Google Earth imagery over the last decade has helped both professional archaeologists and amateurs detect and study these enigmatic structures.

ASIA, EUROPE, SERBIA, WORLD

10-foot-tall Bronze Age geoglyph of a bull found in Siberia Is A First

10-foot-tall Bronze Age geoglyph of bull found in Siberia Is A First

A geoglyph of a bull discovered in Siberia dates back more than 4,000 years, making it twice as old as the famed Nazca lines of Peru and millennia older than Uffington’s chalk-lined White Horse.

Geoglyphs, which often have spiritual or religious meaning, are large designs made in the ground that can typically only be seen from the air.  The bull, which measures 10 feet tall by 13 feet long, is formed from carefully arranged pebbles and sandstone.

It was part of a larger Early Bronze Age burial site uncovered near Khondergey, a village in southwest Tuva close to Russia’s border with Mongolia.

Archaeologists in Siberia have discovered a bull geoglyph they believe is more than 4,000 years old—a millennia older than Uffington’s White Horse and twice as old as the famed Nazca lines of Peru
The bull, which measures 10 feet tall by 13 feet long, is formed from carefully arranged pebbles and sandstone.

This is the first animal geoglyph found in this part of Central Asia, according to archaeologists at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of the History of Material Culture, who participated in the discovery.

‘The bull motif is very typical for the Central Asia cultures of the Early Bronze Era,’ Marina Kilunovskaya, head of Tuva Archaeological Expedition, told The Siberian Times. ‘Later in the Scythian era, bulls were replaced by deers.’ 

Kilunovskaya said petroglyphs, or rock carvings, of bulls, have been discovered in Tuva and the surrounding regions before but this is the first animal geoglyph.

‘We didn’t previously find such stone compositions.’ she told the Times.

Only the back half of the bovine remains—its front was destroyed by road construction in the 1940s. Members of the expedition hope the bull’s rear will be better preserved.

10-foot-tall Bronze Age geoglyph of bull found in Siberia Is A First
A graphic indicating what the bull would have looked like when it was made. Its front end was unknowingly destroyed during road construction in the 1940s

Geoglyphs have been discovered in diverse corners of the world: In addition to the Nazca Lines in Peru and Uffington’s White Horse in England, the Blythe Intaglios are a group of gigantic figures carved into the ground in the Colorado Desert near Blythe, California, that have been radiocarbon-dated to between 900 and 1200 BC.

The Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, England, is a 180-foot tall nude male figure with a prominent erection and large club. The phallic figure’s outline was made by digging two-foot deep trenches into the ground and filling it with crushed chalk. 

Dates for when it was carved have ranged from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, but using optically stimulated luminescence,  scientists have placed it much further back, somewhere between  700 1110 AD.

The oldest known geoglyph is also in Russia, though some 1,100 miles away from the Tuva bull: An enormous moose only clearly visible from the sky in Chelyabinsk dates to about 6,000 years ago.

The moose, sometimes labelled an elk, was incised on the Zyuratkul Mountains. It stretches for about 902 feet and depicts an animal with four legs, antlers, and a long muzzle.

Only discovered in 2011 using satellite imaging, the moose is also the largest-known figurative geoglyph, as opposed to an abstract or geometric design.

Stone tools uncovered by archaeologists at the site show indicate were made to fit the hands of children, who partook in the glyph’s creation.

The Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, England, is a 180-foot tall nude male figure with a prominent erection and large Club.

‘But it was not a kind of slave labour of children,’ Stanislav Grigoryev, a senior researcher from the Chelyabinsk History and Archaeology Institute, told The Siberian Times. ‘They were involved to share common values, to join something important to all the people.’

In 2014, dozens of 50 geoglyphs of various shapes and sizes, including a massive swastika, were discovered across northern Kazakhstan.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

1,800-year-old rock tombs found in Turkey’s ancient city Blaundus

1,800-year-old rock tombs found in Turkey’s ancient city Blaundus

In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighbourhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, a total of 400 rock-cut graves dating from around 1,800 years ago and adorned with various motifs were discovered.

Excavations continue in the ancient city of Blaundus, situated on a peninsula surrounded by deep valleys, under the presidency of professor Birol Can of Uşak University’s Archaeology Department. While archaeological digs have revealed many Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine artefacts in the ancient city to date, this year’s work was focused on the areas of the necropolis.

These excavations unveiled 400 rock tombs featuring multiple rooms, the walls of which were decorated with special motifs of vine branches, bunches of grapes and flowers.

An outside view from the rock tombs in the ancient city of Blaundus, Uşak, western Turkey, Sept. 29, 2021.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), the excavation head Can said that Blaundos was established on a safeguarded hill. “There is only one entrance to the city from the north, and the city is surrounded by a valley reaching a depth of 70 meters (300 feet) in some points. We determined rock-cut tombs in our recent works conducted in the steep sides of the valley.

From the analysis of materials and bones, we found in this area, we understand that these rock tombs were intensely used after the A.D. second century. We can say that they were used as family graves.”

Can’s team believes that there are also a large number of graves underground in the ancient city. Noting that there are different types of rooms inside the rock tombs, Can be continued: “There are arched sarcophagi carved into the bedrock in front of the walls of each room.

Apart from these, places that are thought to be used for funeral ceremonies were also found inside the rock tombs. The main door of the tombs was closed with a marble door and reopened during burial or ceremony times in the past.”

An aerial view from the rock tombs in the ancient city of Blaundus, Uşak, western Turkey, Sept. 29, 2021.

Emphasizing that their priority is the preservation of the tombs, Can said that they also prepare projects for the promotion and opening of these structures.

Stating that there will be a walking path starting from the city entrance and going around these tombs, Can said: “Within this project, plans have been made to illuminate the area of the tombs. We are planning to make the entire necropolis visitable in the future.”

The ancient city of Blaundus was established by Roman Commander Blaundus as Alexander the Great was off to a campaign in Anatolia.

Following Alexander the Great, the city was ruled by Romans and Byzantines. It was the seat of the bishopric in these periods.

Blaundus was built on the top of a hill overlooking Grand Ulubey Canyon, which has strategic importance for the Lydia-Phrygia border.

Although the city was founded in the Hellenistic era, due to earthquakes that caused widespread damage, the city was rebuilt and fashioned into one of the more significant Roman-era urban centres in the region.

There are many public and religious buildings, such as temples, a theatre, a stadium, a gymnasium and a basilica.

The structure of an 8-kilometer (5-mile) aqueduct also remains that served to bring fresh water to the city.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

1,800-Year-Old Offering to the Gods Discovered Beneath Pyramid of Teotihuacan

1,800-Year-Old Offering to the Gods Discovered Beneath Pyramid of Teotihuacan

Several bouquets of offering flowers have been discovered 59 feet below the temple of the god Quetzalcóatl – a pyramid that still stands in the Mexican ruined city of Teotihuacan. 

Quetzalcóatl, or ‘Plumed Serpent’ was an important god during ancient Mesoamerica, a historical region that included central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica.

This deity was said to have given maize to humanity and was responsible for the creation of mankind, which may be why offering flowers were uncovered under the god’s temple.

Sergio Gómez, an archaeologist at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said the stems are in good condition and still tied with the original cotton-made cords.

‘In total there are four bouquets of flowers in very good condition, they are still tied with ropes, probably cotton,’ Gómez told Mexican news outlet La Jornada.

‘This is a very important find because it speaks of the rituals that were carried out in this place.’

Gómez says it is too early to determine what kind they are – but he hopes to solve that mystery soon.

‘Although we do not know the exact date of when they were deposited, because we just took them out this week, they must be very old and correspond to the first phases of Teotihuacan, between 1,800 and 2,000 years ago,’ Gómez explained.

1,800-Year-Old Offering to the Gods Discovered Beneath Pyramid of Teotihuacan
The stems are in good condition and still tied with the original cotton-made cords
1,800-Year-Old Offering to the Gods Discovered Beneath Pyramid of Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan, with its huge pyramids of the sun and moon, is made up of a labyrinth of palaces, temples, homes, workshops, markets and avenues. The city is thought to have been built in 100BC and existed until the 8th century

‘We have found complete objects that were placed in this shot; the ceramics are also from the Zacuali and Miccaotli phases, from the beginning of our era, between years zero and 200 after Christ.’

Gómez has been working in the ruined city for nearly 12 years, sifting through ancient soil, rocks and pyramids looking for clues about those who once called the area home.

Some 30 miles (50km) north of Mexico City, Teotihuacan, with its huge pyramids of the sun and moon, is made up of a labyrinth of palaces, temples, homes, workshops, markets and avenues.

The city is thought to have been built in 100BC and existed until the 8th century. Archaeologists consider it one of the most influential in pre-Hispanic North America, with a population of 200,000 at its peak.

However, only 5 per cent of Teotihuacan has been excavated despite more than 100 years of exploration. During excavations, Gómez as recovered more than 100,000 artifacts within the ancient city and specifically under the three pyramids that are still standing.

However, the offering flowers are the first intact botanical materials every to be found at the site.

‘It is very relevant because it will give us indications of the flora that was used for ritual purposes,’ Gómez said.

In 2011, archaeologist uncovered other offerings at the base of the pyramid, including animal remains, three human figurines and a haunting, green mask that was used in rituals 2,000 years ago
The mask was carved from a single jade stone and is the only one of its kind to be discovered in thee ancient city

‘In this same context, while sifting the earth, several kilos of charcoal were found as a result of a ritual ceremony that included the burning of seeds and fruits.’

In 2011, archaeologists uncovered other offerings at the base of the pyramid, including animal remains three human figurines and a haunting, green mask that was used in rituals 2,000 years ago.

Perez Cortez, an investigator with the Zacatecas INAH Center, said in a statement when the mask was discovered: ‘We know [the offerings were] deposited as part of a dedication ceremony.’

The mask was carved from a single jade stone and is the only one of its kind to be discovered in the ancient city.