“Arcade” of ancient mancala game boards found in Kenya
Veronica Waweru, an archaeologist from Yale University, has discovered an “arcade” of rock-cut mancala game boards in Kenya’s highlands.
During a trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in central Kenya, Yale’s Veronica Waweru noticed rows of shallow pits drilled into rock where she believes ancient people played a version of the game Mancala, a two-player, strategy-based board game still played across the world today.
Mancala, meaning “to move”, is a turn-based strategy game where the objective is to capture more gaming pieces than the opponent.
Early variations of the game have been found in Aksumite settlements throughout parts of Eastern Africa from the 8th century AD, in addition to sites from Ancient Egypt and the Roman Period.
According to the Savannah African Art Museum, the earliest example of a mancala board dates to between 5870 ± 240 BC, which was found at the Neolithic site of ʿAin Ghazal in Jordan.
The recent discovery was made following a tip-off about tourists removing prehistoric hand axes from a site within a private wildlife conservancy.
Upon investigating further, Waweru discovered an “arcade” of ancient mancala game boards carved directly into a rock ledge.
Determining the age of the game boards proves challenging since they are carved into rocks that are 400 million years old and lack any organic material suitable for dating.
Waweru said: “It’s a valley full of these game boards like an ancient arcade. Given the erosion of some of the boards, I believe that people were playing games there a very long time ago.”
Waweru also notes that the site contains 19 burial cairns built by herding communities that inhabited the region 5,000 years ago.
Moreover, there are indications of knife sharpening on the rock surface around the game boards, implying that these individuals likely engaged in feasting and butchery activities onsite.
Waweru and her research team have applied for funding to further study the site, which is located along the equator in Kenya’s central highlands.
Ancient Egyptian Woman Diagnosed With Rheumatoid Arthritis
A joint Italian-Polish archaeological mission uncovered during their work at the Sheikh Mohammed site in Aswan the skeletal remains of a young woman who suffered rheumatoid arthritis.
Ancient Egyptian woman’s skeleton unearthed in Aswan. Photos courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The mission is part of the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project (AKAP).
A study on the skeleton published in the International Journal of Paleopathology showed the woman whose skeleton has been discovered suffered one of the earliest cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis in ancient Egypt.
Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, underscored the importance of the discovery, which, he said, indicated the only instance of diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt on record and one of the oldest cases globally.
Waziri noted that further scientific studies will be conducted on the discovered skeleton, which provides incontrovertible scientific proof that Ancient Egyptians were aware of the existence of cases of rheumatoid arthritis.
“Although a clinical definition of the disease emerged only in the seventeenth century, the recent archaeological evidence suggests that cases of rheumatoid arthritis antedate the seventeenth century,” he pointed out.
Abdel-Monem Said, General Director of Aswan Antiquities, reported that studies on the discovered skeleton have shown that rheumatoid arthritis had affected joints on both sides of the body, from hands and feet to shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles. Said added that though the mission has scrutinized written and visual evidence for a clear indication of similar cases, it could not find any record of rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt.
In their published study, the co-directors of the mission, Maria Carmela Gatto of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Antonio Corsi of the University of Bologna, said only 50-60 percent of the skeleton of the woman described in the study was recovered, adding that the examination of the fragmented skeleton showed that multiple joints were affected on both sides of the body, beginning with the hands and feet and moving on to the shoulders, elbow, wrists, and ankles.
The two scientists explained that erosive lesions with smooth edges were found outside the joint surface. These lesions, they explained, would have led to “aches, stiffness, and swelling, all of which would have affected the joints’ ability to carry out daily activities.”
Furthermore, the co-directors of the mission explained in their study that with time, the person’s suffering would have intensified, raising the likelihood of developing other conditions such as heart disease, thus compromising the individual’s life expectancy and quality of life.
On the other hand, paleopathologists Madeleine Mant of the University of Toronto in Ontario and Mindy Pitre of St. Lawrence University in New York, who contributed to the study, said rheumatoid arthritis, which is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis occurring in 0.5–1 percent of the global adult population, typically emerges between the ages of 30 and 50.
They explained that this chronic inflammatory autoimmune condition affects the lining of joints and various body parts, including the skin, eyes, mouth, heart, and lungs.
Given its autoimmune nature, the body’s immune system targets its tissues, resulting in inflammation of the joints as well as pain, disability, and eventual early death, Mant and Pitre noted, adding that while the exact cause of the condition is unknown, factors such as biological sex, smoking, family history, genetics, and exposure to certain bacteria and viruses increase one’s risk of developing the condition.
In addition, the two scientists pointed out that although there are multiple treatment options today, few, if any, would have been available during the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt (c.1800–1500 BCE),
“A clear consensus has yet to be reached on the origin and antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis,” they said in a statement, highlighting that some researchers believe there is enough archaeological and historical evidence to suggest its existence in Afro-Eurasia before the 17th century while others have argued that such evidence remains controversial, suggesting instead that the condition originated in the Americas.
“This new case from Aswan provides strong evidence in support of the former hypothesis,” Mant and Pitre asserted, adding that even though skeletal remains from ancient Egypt had indicated in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries the presence of some of the earliest cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the cases were dismissed on the grounds of imprecise diagnostic criteria.
Since then, examples of possible cases have been described from prehistorical and historical contexts in North America, Europe, and Asia, several of which remain contentious, according to both scientists.
Similarly, Mant and Pitre asserted that scholars have also examined written and pictorial evidence for signs of the condition. They noted that although a lack of textual mention of rheumatoid arthritis in ancient Egypt suggested that the condition in its present form did not exist at the time in Egypt, the recent discovery from Aswan provides clear evidence for the presence of the condition in ancient Egypt.
The AKAP project, which began in 2005, aims to study the health conditions of ancient Egyptians, especially those belonging to the lower strata of society and residing on the outskirts of the ancient Egyptian state, such as in the far south.
The project focuses on archaeological surveys and documentation of prehistoric areas; it is affiliated with the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures – Polish Academy of Sciences.
In 2016, the mission discovered the earliest case of vitamin C deficiency in the skeleton of a young child found in a village dated to the Predynastic period (3800–3500 BCE). A study of this case was also published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.
A Fresno junk store in California sold a photo of Billy the Kid for less than $2 — it’s worth $5 million
A photograph of the American cowboy, Billy the Kid, is being put up for sale and is expected to fetch more than $5 million. The photograph is one of only two believed to still be in existence and was bought by the seller at a junk shop in California 9 years ago.
Randy Guijarro was hunting for treasures at a Fresno, CA, junk shop in 2010—but he hardly expected to find a real treasure.
Guijarro came across an old photograph inside a cardboard box. It seemed to be from the 19th century, so he figured it was a cool collector’s item. He paid $2 for the image and went on his way.
But after a long authentication process, Kagin’s, a San Francisco-based Americana company, has verified that the image is one of the only two photographs ever taken of Henry McCarty, better known as the infamous Western outlaw Billy the Kid. The best part? The photograph actually depicts him playing croquet.
A rare coin dealer in California has concluded that a grainy image of legendary gunman Billy the Kid playing croquet is the real thing and could be worth as much as $5 million.
What?! The infamous shoot-out cowboy gangster playing the super-genteel lawn sport? Say it isn’t so!
The photograph was apparently taken in the summer of 1878 after a wedding—just the time period when croquet was one of America’s most popular pastimes.
The photo, which was confirmed to have been taken in Chaves County, NM, shows a group of 15 or so figures, purportedly Billy the Kid and the Regulators (his gang), among others.
The photo is estimated to have been taken a mere month after the notorious Lincoln County War.
McCarty’s life was brief, but he left an indelible mark on American history. Billy the Kid was a known thief and murderer, who was killed in a gunfight at 21 years old.
He went relatively unknown for most of that time until New Mexico governor Lew Wallace put a price on his head, and he violently escaped prison.
Billy the Kid meets his end at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. This violent scene is the finale of G Waldo Browne’s ‘Dandy Rock, the Man from Texas’.
When the photo was first brought to Kagin’s, experts were understandably skeptical. David McCarthy, who worked on authenticating the photo, said, “An original Billy the Kid photo is the holy grail of Western Americana.”
He described the painstaking, year-long process behind authentication:
We had to be certain that we could answer and verify where, when, how and why this photograph was taken.
Simple resemblance is not enough in a case like this – a team of experts had to be assembled to address each and every detail in the photo to ensure that nothing was out of place.
The only other known confirmed tintype photograph of Billy the Kid was taken in 1880 and was sold for a whopping $2.3 million in 2011.
Collectors estimate that this new, shockingly rare photograph could sell for as little as $2 million and as much as $5 million. Not a bad haul for a junk shop find!
Archaeologists discover 800-year-old ‘treasure tunnels’ built-in Israel by the Knights Templar Christian warriors
The secrets of the Knights Templar have been unearthed by archaeologists in Israel.
A set of ‘lost’ tunnels leading to a treasure tower were discovered, which the legendary warrior monks would have used to transport their gold around 800 years ago.
Remnants of the soldiers’ extravagant headquarters were also uncovered in the ancient city of Acre, on the coast of Israel.
Researchers found a new network of secret tunnels buried underneath the Israeli city of Acre.
Years of excavations have unearthed historical relics left by the Knights Templar order, which was disbanded by Pope Clement V in 1312 following conflicts between France’s King Philip IV and the crusading monks.
As part of a new documentary series by National Geographic called Lost Cities, archaeologist and show host Albert Lin and his team utilize light detection and ranging technology known as LiDAR.
This innovative tool allows researchers to detect hidden artifacts underneath the Earth’s surface through aerial scanning to produce accurate 3D maps.
According to IFL Science, Lin’s team scanned an area in the port of Acre, where the Knights Templar’s fortress headquarters stood some 800 years ago. The LiDAR survey found a sprawling network of tunnels, and what appears to be a guardhouse, buried underneath today’s modern city of Acre.
Researchers believe these tunnels may have connected the Knights Templar’s fortress with the city’s port, allowing the Templars to carry treasure safely to their treasure tower.
“These warrior monks are the stuff of legend, and so is their gold,” Lin said in the documentary. “During the Crusades, the Knights Templar battle for God, gold, and glory. Somewhere in the modern city of Acre lies their command center, and possibly their treasure.”
The city of Acre was once controlled by the Knights Templar for about 100 years after they lost their headquarters in Jerusalem to the Muslim ruler Saladin in 1187. Following the recent discovery, researchers suspect that the Templars’ gold could still be buried somewhere in these underground tunnels.
The Knights Templar monks were trained as skilled fighters with the objective of protecting and advancing Christianity through the means of warfare. The order also successfully raised a tremendous amount of funds to fuel the Crusades.
Uncovering the lost treasure belonging to a religious order of soldier monks from the time of the Third Crusade is an appealing prospect, no doubt.
But researchers have not found any evidence to confirm the existence of gold belonging to the Knights Templar in the city of Acre. Thus, plans to excavate the newly discovered tunnels have yet to be made.
Acre was controlled by the Knights Templar for about 100 years during the 12th century.
Following the fall of Jerusalem into the hands of Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, Pope Gregory VIII called upon Europe’s three Christian monarchs — the rulers of France, Germany, and England — to conduct another crusade to take back the Holy Land.
The first major battle of the campaign was at Acre, located on Jerusalem’s coast. Although the Third Crusade was unsuccessful, it did result in a treaty deal granting safe passage for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.
LiDAR technology has been proven to significantly improve methods of scouting hidden artifacts without the need for archaeologists to conduct excavations.
A separate team of researchers in Cambodia recently uncovered a lost city of the Khmer Empire using LiDAR technology.
The ancient site was located deep in the mountainous Cambodian jungles where landmines still covered the fields, making it impossible for archaeologists to have conducted examinations of the site physically.
With LiDAR-driven discoveries popping up around the world, we’re sure to uncover more hidden treasures buried underneath the Earth’s surface—even though those treasures might not all be made of gold.
This pottery shard has 5,000-year-old charred food on it.
People have been burning their porridge for at least 5,000 years, remains of a charred cooking pot unearthed in Germany confirms. And just like today, cleaning the pot was more hassle than it was worth.
Archaeologists discovered the meal mishap after examining a trash heap of mixed pottery shards at Oldenburg LA 7, a Neolithic settlement that researchers consider one of the oldest villages in Germany, according to a study published Jan. 19 in the journal PLOS One.
“As soon as we looked inside the person’s cooking pot it was obvious that something went wrong,” study lead author and archaeobotanist Lucy Kubiak-Martens, a cooperation partner with BIAX Consult, a company that specializes in archaeobotany and paleobotany in the Netherlands, told Live Science.
Chemical analyses of the residues still caked onto the ceramic shards revealed “food crusts” containing traces of different ancient cereal grains, including emmer wheat and barley.
Researchers also found remnants of white goosefoot, a wild plant known for its starchy seeds, according to a statement from Kiel University in Germany.
“One pottery shard that once was part of a plain, thick-walled pot contained the remains of white goosefoot seeds, which are related to quinoa and rich in protein,” Kubiak-Martens said.
“There was also emmer, which when sprouted, has a sweet flavor. It looked like someone had mixed cereal grains with the protein-rich seeds and cooked it with water. It wasn’t incidental, it was a choice.”
While there is evidence that people ground wild oats, likely for flour, 32,000 years ago in Italy, the newly described broken pot may represent the world’s first recorded (and failed) attempt at cooking porridge. It is impossible to say if the person broke the pot rather than be bothered with cleaning it, or if the pot broke naturally long after the cooking mishap.
A microscopic image of the internal microstructure of the food crust showing emmer grain particles.
A separate pottery shard contained animal fat residue — most likely milk — that had seeped into the clay. However, it didn’t appear that the cook in question had mixed any grains into the liquid, so the milk was unlikely part of the porridge.
“The sprouted grains also tell us when they harvested them, which would have been when they sprouted sometime in the late summer,” Kubiak-Martens said. “Back then they couldn’t put grains on a shelf and store them for later use like we do today. They had to use what they harvested immediately.”
While previous analyses of soil samples have shown evidence of cooking with similar ancient grains and seeds during this time period, this study marks the first time that researchers have found burnt food residue on a ceramic vessel in Neolithic Germany and offers a glimpse of this person’s diet, according to the statement.
“[This cooking incident] not only shows us the last step in someone’s daily routine of preparing meals but also the last cooking event using this pot,” she said. “This is much more than just a charred grain. We are seeing how people prepared their daily meals thousands of years ago.”
Ancient treasures found in massive tomb of wealthy family in China
Archaeologists exploring a small village in China announced recently that they discovered three tombs filled with ancient treasures, including gold ornaments, a jade sword and ivory lacquerware.
The tombs are actually a “high-level family cemetery” from the Wei and Jin dynasties, a period of time from 220 A.D. to 589 A.D., experts said.
These are the first such tombs found in the Shunzhuang Village, in China’s Eastern Mengjin district, according to anews release about the discovery.
The tombs are large, and one was determined to be the second-largest tomb from this time period found in the area, second only to the imperial mausoleum in Luoyang, a nearby city. That tomb has multiple chambers and passages, while the other two tombs are smaller in size.
The architecture of the tombs is still being studied by archaeologists.
The excavated tomb.
The three tombs have been robbed “many times,” according to the news release, but still contained treasures including gold ornaments, pottery, coins and more.
There were over 200 artifacts found overall, according to the news release, including ivory lacquerware that had never been seen before.
Those items are believed to be high-end crafts or practical items, and are “symbols of status” showing the wealth and power of the family in the tomb.
Archaeologists also found bone earrings, which are “relatively rare,” with phoenix and bird patterns, and jade objects including a sword and belt hook. Those jade items are believed to be family heirlooms.
One of the pieces of ivory lacquerware
Using the dates of these artifacts and others found in the tombs, archaeologists were able to determine when in the dynasty the tombs were built. The largest tomb was likely built first.
Research in the area will continue, according to the news release. There was no information found about the tomb owners or those buried there, so archaeologists said they will try to determine who might have owned the cemetery and unveil “more historical mysteries.”
2,000-year-old ‘celestial calendar’ discovered in ancient Chinese tomb
Wooden slips marked with Chinese characters that relate to the traditional Tiangan Dizhi astronomical calendar.
Archaeologists in China have unearthed a mysterious set of rectangular wooden pieces linked to an ancient astronomical calendar. The artifacts were discovered inside an exceptionally well-preserved 2,000-year-old tomb in the southwest of the country.
Each of the 23 wooden slips is about an inch (2.5 centimeters) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) long and displays a Chinese character related to the Tiangan Dizhi, or “Ten Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches” — a traditional Chinese astronomical calendar established during the Shang dynasty, which ruled from about 1600 B.C. to about 1045 B.C.
Archaeologists think one of the slips may have represented whatever was the current year and that the other 22 slips could have been used to specify any particular year in the ancient calendar, according to a translation of a story on the China News website, an agency run by the Chinese government.
A well-preserved tomb, dated to about 2200 years ago, unearthed in the Wulong district of China’s Chongqing municipality.
Circular perforations at the edges of each slip suggest they were once tied together.
However, it’s not yet clear how the set of calendrical wooden slips would have functioned, an expert told Live Science.
This is the first time such objects have been found in an ancient tomb, although the practice of writing characters on strips of wood or bamboo was common in China before the invention of paper.
Golden age
The wooden slips and many other artifacts were discovered earlier this year in a tomb in the Wulong district, about 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) southwest of Beijing, archaeologists from the Chongqing municipal government told the Global Times — which is also run by the Chinese government.
The tomb contains a written list of all the burial items, which also states that it was built in 193 B.C. That places the tomb during the time of the Western Han dynasty, which ruled much of China from 206 B.C. to A.D. 9; it was followed by the Eastern Han dynasty, which ruled until A.D. 220, and together they are considered a “golden age” when many Chinese traditions were established.
Archaeologists and university students working at an archaeological site in the Wulong district.
Archaeologist Wang Meng said the tomb was the best-preserved wooden-chamber tomb ever found in China’s southwest.
Project leader Huang Wei told the Global Times that the tomb also contained more than 600 cultural artifacts, including lacquerware bowls, boxes, jars and plates. It also held bamboo utensils and musical pipes, spears and cooking tripods made from copper, wooden figurines, as well as pottery and bronze objects.
As well as the mysterious wooden slips, more than 600 cultural artifacts were found inside the tomb and indicate that a high-status person had been buried there.
The hundreds of artifacts buried in the tomb include ornate objects of pottery, copper, bronze, wood, bamboo, and lacquerware, such as this plate.
Archaeologists said the tomb was undisturbed and most of the artifacts are undamaged, although they needed cleaning after so long underground.
Calendar mystery
Astronomer Ed Krupp, the director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and author of “Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations” (Dover, 2003), who was not involved in the Wulong discovery, told Live Science that while the Tiangan Dizhi calendar is mainstream — it is used in Chinese astrology, for example — the wooden slips found in the Wulong tomb were unusual.
Archaeologists say the newly discovered tomb in Wulong district Is the best preserved from this period in the southwest of China.
As well as recovering the artifacts buried in the ancient tomb, archaeologists have carefully mapped and photographed its interior.
“The wooden slips with calendric notations are significant as the first and only known example of that kind of inscription on that kind of object,” he said in an email.
But it doesn’t appear that the set of wooden slips could have functioned as a calendar; instead, it seems they could have been used to reference any year of the 60-year calendrical cycle, he said.
“If so, they are not ‘books,’ but objects used to highlight a particular year,” he said. He noted the similarity to a practice followed at a Taoist temple in the Chinese city of Suzhou, where each year in the cycle is represented by a statue that is specially marked when it becomes current.
Krupp said that the finds from the Wulong tomb showed that a person of high status had been buried there. “The artifacts interred with the deceased are numerous and very, very fine,” he said. “This is rich, expensive material.”
The PSNI say it is a “unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland”
Ancient human remains which date back more than 2,000 years have been recovered by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The discovery was made after archaeologists were alerted to human bones on Bellaghy peatland in County Londonderry in October 2023.
It is thought the remains could be those of a teenage boy.
The PSNI said it is a “unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland”.
It explained that the remains had been carbon dated to “as old as 2,000-2,500 years”.
Det Insp Nikki Deehan said excavations “first uncovered a tibia and fibula and a humerus, ulna, and radius bone relating to the lower left leg and right arm respectively”.
“Further investigation revealed more bones belonging to the same individual,” the officer added.
The human remains were found at peatland in Bellaghy in October 2023
“About five metres south of the surface remains, the bones of a lower left arm and a left femur, were located protruding from the ground.
“Further examination of the area between the main body and the surface remains located additional finger bones, fingernails, part of the left femur and the breastbone.
“A post mortem was carried out by a certified forensic anthropologist and determined that the individual was possibly a male aged between 13 and 17 years old at the time of death.”
The remains have been carbon dated to more than 2,000 years ago
The senior officer said this is an “extraordinary find on a global scale” due to the body having both bone and skin still intact”.
‘Well preserved’
Initially police believed the remains could have been more recent as the condition of the bones was so good.
Det Insp Deehan said that “little is known so far about the individual’s cause of death” but that, “unlike some other ‘bog bodies’, the individual’s skeleton was well preserved and also had the presence of partial skin, fingernails of the left hand, toenails and possibly a kidney”.
The head of the body is missing – it is not clear if it was removed before or after death.
“The well-preserved nature of the body meant radiocarbon dating could be used to ascertain the time of death,” Det Insp Deehan added.
“The radiocarbon dates have placed the time of death between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago.
“This is the first time radiocarbon dating has been used on a bog body in Northern Ireland and the only one to still exist, making this a truly unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland. The radiocarbon dating was conducted at the 14Chrono Centre, which is part of Queen’s University Belfast.
The well-preserved nature of the body meant radiocarbon dating could be used to ascertain the time of death
Dr Alastair Ruffell from the university said it conducted two phases of high-resolution, ground-penetrating radar survey at the site.
“The remains were discovered at approximately one metre below the current land surface which matches the radiocarbon estimates,” he added.
“In addition, they were amongst a cluster of fossil tree remains suggesting that the body may have died or been buried in a copse or stand of trees, or washed in.”
Dr Alastair Ruffell says the discovery is truly fascinating and one that is important to study
“This is not only significant because it’s Iron Age, but also because of the landscape situation”, Dr Ruffell said.
“We are in a series of boglands north of Lough Neagh which are very interesting from where they occur because of how the glaciers moved through here and how humans then arrived.”
Dr Ruffell also said the location of the find may also have been of huge interest to one of the island of Ireland’s greatest ever poets and playwrights who lived not too far from the discovery.
“We are in Heaney country, after all,” he said.
Dr Ruffell said the Seamus Heaney had a real fascination with boglands, writing extensively on the topic and also working in turf cutting for a time.
“He would’ve just been amazed that a few miles up the road from his home that actual remains which he was so fascinated about were coming out of the ground,” he said.
A kidney was among the remains recovered
John Joe O’Boyle, chief executive of Forest Service in NI, said the ancient bog body was discovered on land owned by the Department of Agriculture and it was now working with National Museums NI to transfer it to them so that they can continue with further examination and preservation of the remains.
“I hope, in due course, the find will help us all understand better something of our very early history,” he added.
“It certainly adds an important chapter to the historical and cultural significance of this hinterland and archaeological discoveries of bog bodies across Europe.”
This excavation is one of many investigations carried out by the dedicated Body Recovery Team within the PSNI.
The team has previously assisted in recovering and examining human remains, including recovering those of missing persons up to almost three decades after the individuals went missing.
