Category Archives: WORLD

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

A new Viking site could rewrite the story of the ‘Great Heathen Army’

A new Viking site could rewrite the story of the ‘Great Heathen Army’

Ongoing excavations at the English parish of Foremark could finally uncover where the thousands of Vikings that made up the Great Army spent the winter of 873-874 CE.
Ongoing excavations at the English parish of Foremark could finally uncover where the thousands of Vikings that made up the Great Army spent the winter of 873-874 CE.

Some 40 years ago, archaeologists excavating the grounds of the English village of Repton stumbled upon a gruesome discovery: a mass grave containing the bodies of more than 250 men, women, and children, many bearing the scars of battle on their bones.

The find lined up with English historical records describing Repton as the location where the “Great Heathen Army” of Vikings hunkered down for the winter of 873-874 CE. It seemed the invaders who had once terrorized the country’s medieval Anglo-Saxon residents had finally been found.

There was just one problem. The only candidate for a fortified winter encampment at Repton was an earthwork enclosure spanning just a handful of acres—far too little to accommodate the thousands of militant Vikings believed to have comprised the Great Army.

Now, a team of researchers from the University of Bristol might have uncovered the solution to Repton’s clown car conundrum: a long-lost partner camp in the nearby village of Foremark, which boasts acreage aplenty. Excavations at Foremark are ongoing, but if the findings pan out, they could help resolve a long-standing debate in Viking history.

“Based on what others had dug up at Repton before, some people [suggested] the Great Army wasn’t as big as everyone thought,” says Mary Beaudry, an archaeologist at Boston University who was not involved in the excavation. “But with this work at Foremark…it could have been much bigger than anyone thought. It opens up an entirely new picture.”

  • Archaeologist Cat Jarman handling newly uncovered artifacts at Foremark.


Formal excavations at Foremark, a sleepy hamlet just two miles east of Repton, have only recently begun in earnest. But long before the arrival of a team led by Cat Jarman, an archaeologist at the University of Bristol, a group of metal detectorists had unveiled hints of a Viking presence in Foremark.

One of these detectorists, Rob Davis, had already spent more than a decade amassing a trove of trinkets when he reached out to Jarman in November of 2017. Though his collection was by no means comprehensive, Jarman says, it already held what might be the “smoking gun” of a Great Army encampment: a handful of trademark lead gaming pieces—a common relic of Viking encampments strewn throughout Europe.

“In a way, these are the most important artifacts,” Jarman says. “They’re only associated with the Great Army. They’re not pretty or valuable, but they’re specific.”

Joining the gaming pieces were several Islamic dirham coins and trading weights—clear indicators of the Vikings’ global connections. These artifacts, in particular, Jarman says, should serve as reminders that the Vikings were more than the one-dimensional plunderers and pillagers of popular culture. In fact, there’s evidence that Vikings actually started out as merchants, and kept up some of these bartering practices even after taking up arms, trading in local and foreign markets alike.

“There was obviously a violent side to the Vikings,” says team member Mark Horton, an archaeologist at the University of Bristol. “But they were also bringing all sorts of things missing from Anglo-Saxon England at the time. They were the first medieval globalizing forces.”

In the years since Jarman and her colleagues have begun their own research at Foremark. The team hasn’t yet begun excavations at what they believe is the location of Foremark’s main camp, which is privately owned. But the researchers have already hit pay dirt in a neighboring plot of land—in the form of a large, valuable iron plowshare that dates back to the late 9th century. It’s not yet clear who the plowshare belonged to: It could have been hauled in by globe-trotting Scandinavians or abandoned by the unfortunate Anglo-Saxons whose homes they invaded. Either way, this particular find is “pretty amazing,” Horton says.

Many of the artifacts, including those in the metal detectorist’s collection, have yet to be dated more precisely than a ballpark century, however. As such, there’s not yet a guarantee of simultaneous occupation with Repton. But given Foremark’s proximity to Repton, Jarman and others are optimistic that the pieces of the overwintering puzzle could finally be falling into place.

“The findings at Foremark fit into our expectations,” says Doug Bolender, an anthropologist at the University of Massachusetts Boston who was not involved in the work. “In lots of ways, this could allow us to put aside a whole series of caveats and asterisks of the interpretation of the material at Repton…it’s exciting to have a potential site.”

In many ways, Foremark might have been an obvious candidate for a Viking take over. Situated comfortably on the River Trent, the site would have been ideal for everything from docking boats to growing crops. It also carried the appeal of open land: Though the team hasn’t yet determined the exact boundaries of the Foremark camp, the site could have covered as many as 90 acres, vastly outstripping the known enclosures at Repton.

That amount of space could have accommodated the thousands estimated to be in the Great Army—or more. “The whole thing is a massive Viking landscape,” Horton says. “The sheer scale of what we’re finding could indicate that we’re talking about tens of thousands [of people].”

A Viking gaming piece uncovered at Foremark. These tiny trinkets entertained bored Viking warriors at their winter encampments, and have been found all across Europe.

As excavations continue, Jarman is now toying with one last theory: that Foremark was so nice, the Vikings settled it twice.

Not long after leaving their station at Repton, the Great Army began to fragment. After a few final cataclysmic clashes with growing Anglo-Saxon forces, the remaining Vikings scattered. Over time, the two sworn enemies found peace and, eventually, began to integrate, braiding their disparate cultures together. Scandinavian words wove their way into English; Norse gods mingled into local lore.

Along the way, Jarman says, a few Viking veterans might have returned to a familiar haunt at an “old fortification”—perhaps, not by coincidence, the meaning of the root word for “Foremark.”

Even Foremark’s surroundings bear the echoes of encore. The names of nearby villages like Ingleby and Bretby contain similarities to old Norse words. And less than a mile away lies Heath Wood, the region’s only large-scale Viking cremation cemetery—an impractical investment for a single winter’s camp. “You don’t get those names, or a cemetery like that, unless you have a Scandinavian population putting down roots,” Jarman says.

“I think these Viking armies are the people who become the Scandinavian settlers,” she says. “They’ve been invisible in the archaeological record for a long time…but these armies eventually settled into the landscape. This might be how we find that missing link.”

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

New Discovery Finally Explains How The Egyptians Built Their Great Pyramids

Scientists Finally Discover Ancient Blueprints Showing How The Pyramids Were Built.

Built 4,500 years ago during Egypt’s Old Kingdom, the pyramids of Giza are more than elaborate tombs — they’re also one of the historians’ best sources of insight into how the ancient Egyptians lived since their walls are covered with illustrations of agricultural practices, city life, and religious ceremonies. But on one subject, they remain curiously silent. They offer no insight into how the pyramids were built.

It’s a mystery that has plagued historians for thousands of years, leading the wildest speculators into the murky territory of alien intervention and perplexing the rest. But the work of several archaeologists in the last few years has dramatically changed the landscape of Egyptian studies. After millennia of debate, the mystery might finally be over.

Researchers Discovered The Only First-Person Account Of The Great Pyramid’s Construction

A team of Egyptian and French scholars discovered a papyrus diary written by an official named Merer. What makes this discovery so compelling is that his diary is the world’s sole first-person description of how the Great Pyramid was built. Archaeologists found Merer’s papyrus in the Red Sea port of Wadi al-Jarf.

In his diary, Merer references working for “the noble Ankh-haf,” who was Pharaoh Khufu’s half-brother, and that he was in charge of about 40 men. These documents evidence that Ankh-haf was one of those in charge of the Great Pyramid’s construction.

The Pyramid’s Limestone Was Transported Via A System Of Canals

In Merer’s diary, he recounts how limestone quarried in Tura (about 12 miles south of Cairo) was transported by boat across the Nile River to Giza through specially built canals built by his team. One such vessel was unearthed at the bottom of the pyramids.

After traversing the river, the stone blocks were then deposited near the building site by workers using ropes. The blocks were further moved on tracks. The workers transported approximately 170,000 tons of limestone in this manner.

It’s believed a similar system was used to move granite from Aswan, which is located several hundred miles from Giza.

The Pyramid’s Stone Blocks Are Massively Heavy

Around 2550 B.C., Pharaoh Khufu started construction on the Great Pyramid at Giza. It is made up of approximately 2.3 million stone blocks. Each block is absolutely massive and weighs between 2.5 to 15 tons. When the Great Pyramid was built, it was reportedly 481 feet tall. Over time, the structure sunk a little into the desert and is now 455 feet tall.

The second pyramid was built about 30 years later by Khufu’s son, Pharaoh Khafre, who also constructed the Sphinx. Pharaoh Menkaure built the third, smallest, pyramid 30 years later, in approximately 2490 B.C. 

Egyptians Traveled Far To Mine Copper For The Tools To Cut The Stones For The Pyramids

The individuals who built the pyramids required strong tools to cut the stone for the pyramids. Workers mined copper across the Red Sea and transported it to the port of Wadi al-Jarf before it reached Giza. Pharaoh Khufu, also known as King Cheops, built the harbor about 111 miles from Suez – which is hundreds of miles from Giza. In addition to copper, the harbor was used to import other minerals for tool making.


Some Historians Believe The Pyramid Required 100,000 Workers

It’s impossible to agree upon an exact count of just how many people contributed to the building of the pyramids, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t educated hypotheses currently being postulated. According to Greek historian Herodotus, the pyramids were built by 100,000 workers, although many of today’s Egyptologists think the number is more likely between 20,000 and 30,000.

Famed Egyptologist, Zahi Hawass, believes around 36,000 ancient Egyptians built the pyramids based on their size, the size of the tombs, and the cemetery.

Other Historians Think Only 5,000 Workers Contributed To The Pyramid Building Process

Archeologist Mark Lehner of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago and Harvard Semitic Museum has postulated a vastly smaller number. He noted that Herodotus wrote that 100,000 men worked in three shifts to build the structures. It’s unclear whether each shift contained 100,000 men or 33,000 men worked in each of the three shifts.

Lehner’s team conducted an experiment and calculated how many men would be needed to deliver 340 stones each day and determined there were likely 1,200 in the quarry and 2,000 delivering the stones. Other men would also be needed to cut the stones and set them into place. He concluded the process would have required “5,000 men to actually do the building and the quarrying and the schlepping from the local quarry” to build the pyramid within a 20-40 year period.

The Pyramids’ Alignment Points To An Alien Conspiracy

Some people believe the ancient Egyptians had some otherworld help creating the pyramids. One theory that conspiracy theorists have latched on to is that the pyramids were built by aliens. Their proof? They point out that the pyramids at Giza align with the stars in the sky that form Orion’s belt. In addition, these people believe that the Giza pyramids are in extraordinary shape compared to pyramids that were constructed hundreds of years later.

However, they don’t take into consideration the fact that the pyramids of Giza have undergone intense preservation over the years so it makes sense that they are in better condition than those that haven’t been touched. 

Dutch Physicists Believed The Ancient Egyptians Used Wet Sand To Drag The Blocks Across The Desert

In 2014, researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter conducted an experiment. They transported heavy stone on a sledge across the sand. They proved it was significantly easier to move the sledge on damp sand versus dry sand. In fact, the action required just half the force. The reason? Wet sand sticks to itself and is more solid than dry sand. Plus, damp sand doesn’t bunch up in front of a sledge while it’s moving. In addition, the researchers noted that a painting from an 1800 B.C. tomb depicted a worker dumping water on the sand to help a sledge moving a heavy statue.

Another Theory: The Stones Were Turned Into 12-Sided Polygons & Rolled To The Site

Dr. Joseph West of Indiana State University developed his own theory about how the stone blocks were moved to the pyramid’s construction site. In 2014, he suggested that builders might have secured wooden beams to a stone block, turning it into a dodecagon (a 12-sided object), which would have enabled workers to more easily move them, as opposed to dragging them. He wrote:

A novel method is proposed for moving large (pyramid construction size) stone blocks. The method is inspired by a well known introductory physics homework problem and is implemented by tying 12 identical rods of appropriately chosen radius to the faces of the block. The rods form the corners and new faces that transform the square prism into a dodecagon which can then be moved more easily by rolling than by dragging.

The Pyramid Were Actually Constructed From Concrete

French theorist Joseph Davidovits was on the right path. His ideas led to the discovery of concrete blocks that were used on top of the pyramids. Professor Michel Barsoum from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University tested Davidovits’s theory and determined several things. The stones both inside and outside the pyramid appeared to be “reconstituted” limestone.

The stones contained a lot of water and were amorphous, which is extremely unusual for limestone. Moreover, silicon dioxide nanoscale spheres were present in one sample, indicating the blocks were not “natural” limestone.

Barsoum noted: 

It’s very improbable that the outer and inner casing stones that we examined were chiseled from a natural limestone block.

Perhaps The Pyramids Were Built Inside Out

When it comes to placing the large stone blocks in place on the pyramids, many believe the ancient Egyptians used large ramps. Thousands of people would have been required to set two million blocks to make the structures.

In 2013, engineer Peter James, whose company spent nearly two decades restoring the pyramids, disputed that claim. He called it “impossible” because the ramps would have had to be about one-quarter mile long. Otherwise, they would be too steep to move the limestone and granite materials. Instead, James theorized that the workers crafted the inner core of the pyramid with smaller blocks using a series of zigzagging ramps.

Then they constructed scaffolding to complete the outer core with larger blocks. James told the Daily Mail:

Looking at the pyramids from a builder’s point of view, and not an archaeologist’s, it’s clear that the current theories are nonsense. Just look at the numbers. Under the current theories, to lay 2 million blocks, the Egyptians would have to have laid a large block once every three minutes.

It would have been impossible to build the pyramids using ramps around the outside, too, because they would have ended up being larger, in some cases, than the pyramids themselves. Plus, what happened to the ramps once the pyramids were finished? I believe the Egyptians built the pyramids like a modern-day builder builds a house.

ICELAND, WORLD

American Indian Sailed to Europe With Vikings?

Did Native American travel with the Vikings and arrive in Iceland centuries before Columbus set sail?

Analyzing a type of DNA passed only from mother to child, scientists found more than 80 living Icelanders with a genetic variation similar to one found mostly in Native Americans.

This signature probably entered Icelandic bloodlines around A.D. 1000, when the first Viking-American Indian child was born, the study authors theorize.

Historical accounts and archaeological evidence show that Icelandic Vikings reached Greenland just before 1000 and quickly pushed on to what is now Canada. Icelanders even established a village in Newfoundland, though it lasted only a decade or so

But what is not known for certain is how a family of Icelanders came to have a genetic makeup which includes a surprising marker dating to 1000 A.D. — one which is found mostly in Native Americans.

In 2010, it was reported that the first Native Americans arrived on the continent of Europe sometime around the 11th century. The study, led by deCODE Genetics, a world-leading genome research lab in Iceland, discovered a unique gene that was present in only four distinct family lines.

The DNA lineage, which was named C1e, is mitochondrial, meaning that the genes were introduced by and passed down through a female.

Based on the evidence of the DNA, it has been suggested that a Native American, (voluntarily or involuntarily) accompanied the Vikings when they returned back to Iceland.

The woman survived the voyage across the sea, and subsequently had children in her new home. As of today, there are 80 Icelanders who have a distinct gene passed down by this woman.

Nevertheless, there is another explanation for the presence of the C1e in these 80 Icelanders. It is possible that the Native American genes appeared in Iceland after the discovery of the New World by Columbus.

It has been suggested that a Native American woman might have been brought back to mainland Europe by European explorers, who then found her way to Iceland.

Researchers believe that this scenario is unlikely, however, given the fact that Iceland was pretty isolated at that point of time.

Nevertheless, the only way to effectively eliminate this possibility is for scientists to find the remains of a pre-Columbian Icelander whose genes can be analyzed and shown to contain the C1e lineage.

  • The Skálholt Map made by the Icelandic teacher Sigurd Stefansson in the year 1570. Helleland (‘Stone Land’ = Baffin island), Markland (‘forest land’ = Labrador), Skrælinge Land (‘land of the foreigners’ = Labrador), Promontorium Vinlandiæ (the of Vinland = Newfoundland)

Another problem facing the researchers is that the C1e genes might not have come from Native Americans but from some other part of the world.

For instance, no living Native American group has the exact DNA lineage as the one found in the 80 Icelanders. However, it may be that the Native American people who carried that lineage eventually went extinct.

One suggestion, which was proposed early in the research, was that the genes came from Asia. This was eventually ruled out, as the researchers managed to work out that the C1e lineage had been present in Iceland as early as the 18th century. This was long before the appearance of Asian genes in Icelanders.

  • Did a Native American travel to Iceland and leave behind a telltale genetic marker? A man helms replica Viking vessels.

If the discovery does prove ultimately that the Vikings took a Native American woman back to Iceland, then history would indeed have to be rewritten.

Although encounters with the Native Americans, known as Skraelings (or foreigners), were recorded by the Viking sagas, there is no mention whatsoever about the Vikings bringing a Native American woman home to Iceland with them.

Furthermore, the available archaeological record does not show any presence of a Native American woman in Iceland.

The more digging is done into the history of the Vikings, the more our perceptions are changing as to how they lived, traveled, and traded.

Hopefully, more light will be shed on this mystery over time, and the goings-on of the historic world can be unequivocally established, giving us a clearer understanding of our ancient past

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

World’s Oldest Christian Letter Found On 3rd Century Egyptian Papyrus

Oldest Known Christian Autograph Originates From Roman Egypt

Credit: University of Basel

Egypt played a very significant role in the history of early Christianity.

A researcher has announced that she has found the earliest known Christian letter, that was written in Roman Egypt in the 3rd century AD.

The contents of this letter are challenging assumptions about the early followers of Jesus Christ and their world.

Dated from circa 230s AD, the document P.Bas. 2.43 sheds light into the lives of the first Christians of the Roman Empire during a time when they were actively persecuted by the state authorities, especially in the urban areas. 

Intriguingly enough, the letter P.Bas. 2.43 paints a picture of how the Christians had it relatively better in Roman Egypt.

To that end, many of these Christians preferred to reside in the Egyptian hinterlands – where they tended to have political leadership and were able to follow a syncretic mode of religion combining both Christianity and native paganism.  

As for the actual contents of the document P.Bas. 2.43, dating from circa 230s AD, the letter is addressed from a man named Arrianus to his brother Paulus.

Eschewing the typical Greco-Roman greeting formula, it reports the family matters, puts forth a query for the best fish sauce as a souvenir, and then ends with the expressed wish that his brother will prosper “in the Lord.”

In essence, the ancient author uses the abbreviated form of the Christian phrase, also known as the nomen sacrum, “I pray that you farewell ‘in the Lord’”, thereby representing the Christian beliefs of the writer.

Credit: University of Basel

Such a form of greeting matches with the New Testament manuscripts rather than the Greco-Roman greeting template expected from the Roman-Egyptian author.

Furthermore, the very name Paulus (of the letter’s intended recipient) was very rare during the era. And interestingly, it suggests how parents were already beginning to name their children after the famed apostle Paul by as early as 200 AD. 

As for the historicity of the letter P.Bas. 2.43, prosopographical research carried out by experts at the University of Basel revealed that the document is around four to five decades older than the other known Christian letters from around the world.

Moreover, the letter, having its origins in the village of Theadelphia in central Egypt, also alludes to the social background of the author and the recipient and how they were members of an educated, provincial elite, possibly being landowners and even public officials. 

And lastly, as for the Basel papyrus collection, the compilation boasts around 65 documents of various origins, ranging from Ptolemaic, Roman, to Eastern Roman (Byzantine).

Most of them are composed of documentary papyri that provide context to the social, cultural, and religious scope of the era via the records of the daily lives of the people who lived around two millennia ago.

ENGLAND, ROMANIA, WORLD

Enormous Roman arcade found in Essex was once part of a magnificent temple: the 400ft-long arched structure is the largest of its kind found in the UK

Roman arcade found in England, the oldest building in the country

Although arcades are not around much anymore, they were once a major part of a child’s weekend. Arcades allowed friends to hang out and play endless games for hours on end.

Arcades have been around since the ancient Romans. Just recently, British archaeologists discovered a Roman arcade under an apartment block in Colchester, Essex.

Experts believe that the ancient walkway included more than 28 archways that were topped by a grand gateway. They also believe that it was once at the heart of the busy Roman town.

The ruins of the grand 393-foot structure have been used to create a computer model of what the arcade could have looked like over 1,800 years ago.

It is believed that it is on the same scale as the grand arcades of Rome. Some of the sections measure 26 feet tall.

Builders at the site stumbled across the Roman ruins 62 years ago, but now the Colchester Archaeological Trust has finally excavated parts of the arcade. The One Castle House apartment block was recently built on top of the arcade.

One of the archaeologists at the site said that the elaborately arched building would have provided a wonderful frontage to the Temple of Claudius that was built in 54 AD. Today, that temple actually forms the base of the town’s Norman Castle.

The Temple of Claudius was actually the only Roman temple dedicated to an imperial cult in Britain. Claudius had come to Camulodunum, which was the Iron Age precursor of Colchester during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD.

Dr. Phillip Crummy, the Colchester Archaeological trust director, said that the discovery of the monumental arcade was originally made in 1954, but for some reason, it was left untouched. He added that it is the biggest Roman structure of its kind to be discovered in Britain.

The closest rival in terms of size is in Northern France. The two buildings also share some of the same architecture. A similar-looking arcade is actually being investigated in a small town known as Point-Sainte Maxence, which is about 25 miles north of Paris.

Crummy added that the original arcade and its grand columns are similar to the ones that visitors can see in Bath at the Roman Baths. He also said that it is quite an extraordinary find, which shows the history of Colchester.

Entrance to the Temple of Claudius, Rome.

The remains of the ancient building will go on display for the public in the summer. They will be put under three glass panels which will allow visitors to see and learn about Britain’s oldest building on record in the town.

Experts believe the ancient covered walkway is the largest of its kind in the UK and included 28 archways topped by a grand gateway. A rendering of what it may have looked like is shown above. The history-steeped settlement of Colchester dates back almost 2,000 years

Crummy and his team will also have an exhibition that will go on display. They will have computer graphics showing visitors what the arcade would have looked like centuries ago. A large photo will be projected on a wall behind the original ruins.

Crummy explained that he and his team have managed to work out the final dimensions of the columns found at One Castle House in Roman feet. He said that the calculations have allowed them to design a digital reconstruction that they will put on a projector. With this, they can show visitors what it was like to live in a Roman arcade over 1,000 years ago.

Emperor Claudius.

Historians are taking a particular interest in the arcade and Temple of Claudius. They think a large religious procession, also known as a Pompa, took place there. The pompa would have included chariots and horses and would have traveled from the temple to the town’s Roman circus before the start of the chariot races.

They also said that the temple precinct would have resembled the Forum in Rome, a busy place with people going to and from the temple. It would have been an area for people to socialize and shop at the market stalls. The people would have entered through the archways of the arcade.

The precinct of the area is thought to have been standing at the time of the Norman invasion of England and was only demolished when the castle was built. The settlement of Colchester dates back to almost 2,000 years.

The Roman military chiefs established a fortress there, shortly after conquering Britain in 43 AD.

ASIA, WORLD

Over 100kg of ancient coins discovered in Yen Bai

YEN BAI, VIETNAM—The Vietnam News Agency reports that more than 200 pounds of bronze coins were confiscated by police during a traffic stop in north-central Vietnam.

The oldest of the coins dates to 118 B.C., and is thought to have been minted during the reign of Emperor Wudi of China’s Han Dynasty.

Other coins in the collection date to between the seventh and thirteenth centuries A.D.

The police determined the motorcyclist in possession of the coins had purchased them from people who allegedly unearthed them in northern Vietnam.

For full Article Check out below link

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/over-100kg-of-ancient-coins-discovered-in-yen-bai/156763.vnp

CANADA, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Why an Unearthed, Ancient Clambake May Change Indigenous Fortunes in BC

One day between five and ten centuries ago, people living on what is now known as Keith Island finished eating a geoduck clam and placed its shell neatly alongside others.

The implications of that moment — brought to light this month by archeologists — loom large for Indigenous nations pursuing the right to harvest and sell geoduck clams on their territories in British Columbia. rest of the Article read at “thetyee.ca“

WORLD

‘Extinct’ Gaint Galapagos tortoise found after 100 years

‘Extinct’ Gaint Galapagos tortoise found after 100 years

After more than a millennium, a giant tortoise species from one of the Galapagos Islands, earlier thought extinct, has reappeared.

The missing animal, scientifically cataloged as Chelonoidis Phantasticus, or Fernandina Giant Tortoise, is an adult female and deemed to be over 100 years of age, according to Ecuador’s officials under whose jurisdiction the Galapagos Islands fall.

Large turtle at the shorelone
Large turtle at the shoreline.

The last sighting of a Fernandina Giant Tortoise was reported in 1906. The female now appeared on the island of Fernandina where the species is native — the third largest, youngest, and most volcanically active island within the Galapagos archipelago.

According to experts, one of the reasons why this tortoise has gone missing is the active volcano looming over the creature’s habitat. Another factor has been uncontrolled hunting by humans — both for tortoise meat and oil. In fact, over the past few centuries, hunting has decimated Galapagos Islands tortoises, reducing the population by roughly 85 percent.

Galápagos archipelago annotated with ranges of currently recognised species of Galápagos tortoise, islands with surviving species are shaded.
Galápagos archipelago annotated with ranges of currently recognized species of Galápagos tortoise, islands with surviving species is shaded.

Upon its discovery, the Fernandina Giant Tortoise was relocated to Santa Cruz Island, another of the Galapagos islands, where it underwent health checks at a local breeding center. It has been determined that the rare specimen is in good condition, though slightly undernourished.

While the discovery has been billed as the biggest in a century for the Galapagos, it still remains for the tortoise to undergo additional genetic examinations to confirm this is really the lost tortoise species. Hopes are raised that more members of the lost species will be soon retrieved.

A saddleback Galapagos tortoise blocks the trail on Pinzon in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Isn’t he handsome!
A saddleback Galapagos tortoise blocks the trail on Pinzon in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Isn’t he handsome!

The tortoise was stumbled upon during an expedition carried out on the island by the Galapagos National Directorate, a U.S. non-profit Galapagos Conservancy, and Animal Planet’s ‘Extinct or Alive.’ The discovery took place on Sunday, February 16th.

Danny Rueda, who leads the Galapagos National Park, said that the discovery “encourages us to strengthen our search plans to find other turtles, which will allow us to start a breeding program in captivity to recover this species,” according to USA Today.

Only one sighting of the Fernandina species has occurred in the past — the one from 1906. This is when a single male specimen was retrieved from the island by a large expedition carried by the California Academy of Sciences.

Walter Rothschild, cataloger of two Galápagos tortoise species
Walter Rothschild, a cataloger of two Galápagos tortoise species.

Since then spotting other Fernandina tortoises has been an elusive job. Experts have only been able to find clues of their presence. The first time was in 1964 when a survey of remote areas of the island revealed large tortoise feces and bite-marks left on cacti. Similar traces were reported as recently as 2013.

Which is why the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), classifies the Fernandina Island Tortoise as “Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct).” Perhaps until now.

If no male Fernandina Island Tortoise is found for breeding, or if no surviving male semen is extracted from the female adult found just now, the species technically remains extinct.

However, as CNN reports, “Experts believe she is not alone. The tracks and scent of other tortoises, believed to be of the same species, were also observed by the team.”

The Galapagos archipelago, which consists of 19 islands located about 620 miles from the mainland of Ecuador, is world-famous for its giant tortoise inhabitants. Only one other site in the world — the Indian Ocean’s Aldabra Atoll — is known to host giant tortoise species.

The Fernandina Giant Tortoise is one of 14 giant tortoise species native to the Galapagos, of which ten species survive today. While killing tortoises has been a habitual practice in the past, today all efforts on the islands are focused on preserving and restoring the remaining tortoise populations.

The Galapagos was pronounced a national park in 1959, and as of 1978, the islands are also a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. The islands hold further significance for having helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution, due to their authentic flora and fauna. According to the Galapagos Conservancy website, the historical tortoise populations on the islands “was between 200,000-300,000 tortoises, and the current population is 10-15 percent of that.”

Unique photo of a huge fully grown Galapagos Giant Tortoise in wildlife. Highlands, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Unique photo of a huge fully grown Galapagos Giant Tortoise in wildlife. Highlands, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

The long and slow processes of restoring those populations are reliant on methodologies such as “collecting eggs and/or hatchlings from natural nests and rearing the young in captivity, by-passing the years of highest mortality before releasing them back into the wild” writes the Galapagos Conservancy.

“As of the end of 2017, more than 7,000 juvenile tortoises returned to their island of origin — including Espanola, Isabela, Pinzon, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Santiago.”

We are yet to see how the story unfolds on Fernandina Island and whether our “possibly extinct” Fernandina tortoise friend will be repopulated there. On the other corner of the world, the Aldabra Atoll remains the world’s largest shelter of giant tortoises, with population counts there showing a figure of 152,000, according to UNESCO.