AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Why the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would rewrite history

Why the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would rewrite history

Why the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would rewrite history
The south wall of the temple of Hathor at Dendera. Cleopatra and her son Caesarian are depicted on the left side.

It couldn’t have been a case of better timing. Egyptologists celebrating the centenary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, now have a promising new archaeological discovery that appears to have been made in Egypt.

Excavators have discovered a tunnel under the Taposiris Magna temple, west of the ancient city of Alexandria, which they have suggested could lead to the tomb of Queen Cleopatra.

Evidence that this is really the case remains to be seen, but such a discovery would be a major find, with the potential to rewrite what we know about Egypt’s most famous queen.

According to the ancient Greek writer Plutarch – who wrote a biography of Cleopatra’s husband, the Roman general Mark Antony, and is responsible for the lengthiest and most detailed account of the last days of Cleopatra’s reign – both Antony and Cleopatra were buried inside Cleopatra’s mausoleum.

Bust of Cleopatra’s husband, Roman General Mark Antony, at the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid.

According to Plutarch, on the day that Augustus and his Roman forces invaded Egypt and captured Alexandria, Antony fell on his sword, died in Cleopatra’s arms, and was then interred in the mausoleum. Two weeks later, Cleopatra went to the mausoleum to make offerings and pour libations, and took her own life in a way that is still unknown (a popular misconception is that she was bitten by an asp). She too was then interred in the mausoleum.

In the days that followed, Antony’s son Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Cleopatra’s son Ptolemy XV Caesar (also known as Caesarion, “Little Caesar”), were both murdered by Roman forces, and the two young men may likewise have been interred there.

If the mausoleum of Cleopatra has not already vanished beneath the waves of the Mediterranean along with most of the Hellenistic city of Alexandria, and is one day found, it would be an almost unprecedented archaeological discovery.

A discovery that could rewrite history

While the tombs of many famous historical rulers are still standing – the mausoleum of Augustus, Antony, and Cleopatra’s mortal enemy, in Rome, is one example – their contents have often been looted and lost centuries ago.

The Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome.

One notable exception is the tomb of Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, uncovered at Vergina in the late 1970s.

The tomb was found intact, and this has enabled decades of scientific investigation into its contents, advancing our knowledge of members of the Macedonian royal family and their court. The same would be true if Cleopatra’s tomb were discovered, and found to be intact.

The number of new information Egyptologists, classicists, ancient historians, and archaeologists could glean from its contents would be immense. For the most part, our knowledge of Cleopatra and her reign comes from ancient Greek and Roman literary sources, written after her death and inherently hostile to the Egyptian queen.

We do not have much evidence revealing the Egyptian perspective on Cleopatra, but what we do have, such as honorific reliefs on the temples that she built and votives dedicated by her subjects, gives us a very different view of her.

The ethics of unearthing Cleopatra’s remains

To date, no other Ptolemaic ruler’s tomb has been found. They were reportedly all situated in the palace quarter of Alexandria and are believed to be under the sea with the rest of that part of the city.

The architecture and material contents of the tomb alone would keep historians busy for decades, and provide unprecedented amounts of information about the Ptolemaic royal cult and the fusion of Macedonian and Egyptian culture. But if Cleopatra’s remains were there too, they could tell us a great deal more, including the cause of her death, her physical appearance, and even answer the thorny question of her race.

The mummy of an ancient Egyptian woman decorated with gold and enamel in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

But should we be hoping to find Cleopatra’s remains, and analyze them? From Tutankhamun to the ordinary ancient Egyptians whose mummies have been excavated over the centuries, there has been a long history of mismanagement and mistreatment.

While the days when mummies were unwrapped as a form of entertainment at Victorian dinner parties have thankfully passed, concerns are increasingly being raised by those who work in heritage about the appropriate treatment of our ancestors.

While the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb would be priceless for Egyptologists and other scholars, is it fair to deny the queen the opportunity for peace and privacy in death that she did not receive in life?

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Rare Archaeological Discoveries In The Sacred Animal Necropolis In Saqqara

Rare Archaeological Discoveries In The Sacred Animal Necropolis In Saqqara

Egypt is a land of great interest to anyone interested in archaeology and ancient history, but at present times the Coronavirus outbreak doesn’t allow us to admire the treasures of the land of the Pharaohs.

However, we can still use online resources to learn more about archaeological findings in Egypt.

On their official website, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has told the public about some intriguing archaeological discoveries.

Rare Archaeological Discoveries In The Sacred Animal Necropolis In Saqqara

In the sacred animal necropolis in Saqqara, archaeologists have brought to light a beautifully decorated tomb of Wahti and the cachette of the sacred mummified birds and animals. Some of these animal mummies are very rare.

The latest discovery was at the bottom of an 11-meter-deep shaft where scientists uncovered five sealed stone coffins/sarcophagi, four niches in a room containing wooden coffins, and Late Period human burials were uncovered.

A massive anthropoid wooden coffin with hieroglyphs written in yellow pigment was discovered in one niche.

“We found several other artifacts around the coffin,” the ministry said.

“They included 365 faience Ushabti figurines, some of which bear hieroglyphs texts; a small wooden obelisk about 40 cm tall, all four of its sides bearing painted scenes depicting the deities Isis and Nephthys, and the deity Horus; wooden statues of the god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris; and three pottery canopic jars in which the viscera removed during mummification was kept, in addition to many other artifacts.”

Ushabti were servants who worked for their owners in the afterlife.

According to archaeological expert Abdel-Rahman Rihan, the discovery should be dated to the late Pharaonic kingdom following the third transitional era and prior to the Ptolemaic Era, dating back to 332 B.C.

“Egyptian archaeologists do not all agree on the beginning of the late era. However, they do agree that it was around the late 25th Dynasty and before or during the 26th Dynasty,” Arab News reports.

Credit: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

The 25th Dynasty rulers were from Sudan, particularly Sudan’s northern area of Nabta, which was the capital of the kingdom of Kush in ancient times. The region is about 300 km from the capital Khartoum.

“The discovery is certainly very important as it coincides with the expected inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is at the top of the Egyptian state’s priorities after the coronavirus pandemic is over,” Rihan said.

The ministry was using technology to introduce its archaeological discoveries to the world, and these would be “awaiting visitors” after the pandemic ended, he said.

WORLD

Ancient Mongolian Nests Show Dinosaurs Protected Their Eggs

Ancient Mongolian Nests Show Dinosaurs Protected Their Eggs

Ancient Mongolian Nests Show Dinosaurs Protected Their Eggs

An exquisitely preserved dinosaur nesting site discovered in the Gobi Desert shows that some of these prehistoric animals nested in groups and, like birds, protected their eggs.

“Dinosaurs are often portrayed as solitary creatures that nested on their own, buried their eggs and then just went away,” says François Therrien, a palaeontologist at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology near Calgary, Canada.

He co-authored a study published this month in Geology describing the find. “But here we show that some dinosaurs were much more gregarious. They came together and established a colony that they likely protected,” Therrien says.

The find includes the fossils of 15 nests and more than 50 eggs that are roughly 80 million years old. It provides the clearest evidence to date that complex reproductive behaviours, such as group nesting, evolved before modern birds split off from the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Certain modern birds and crocodiles build nests and lay eggs in a communal area during their breeding seasons. Many palaeontologists think that this ‘colonial nesting’ first arose in dinosaurs, as a way to counter nest predators. But the evidence for this hasn’t been solid, says Amy Balanoff, a palaeontologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Since the 1980s, palaeontologists have unearthed fossilized eggs or nests that are clustered together. But the surrounding rock often represents several thousand years or more, making it difficult for researchers to tell whether the eggs were laid at the same time, or just in the same place years apart, says Darla Zelenitsky, a palaeontologist at Calgary University in Canada and a study co-author.

A THIN RED LINE

The recently-described nest site is different. Located in southeast Mongolia, the 286-square-metre formation contains vivid layers of orange and grey.

Between these bands runs a thin streak of bright red rock that connects 15 clutches of relatively undisturbed eggs. Some of the spherical eggs, about 10–15 centimetres in diameter, had hatched and were partially filled with the red rock.

Several egg clutches, like this one, were found in the area.

Flooding from a nearby river, which blanketed the nesting site under a thin veneer of sediment, probably created that bright red line, says Therrien. “Because everything is relatively undisturbed, it likely wasn’t a massive flood,” he says.

But the streak connects all of the eggs, suggesting the dinosaurs laid them in a single breeding season. “Geologically, I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better site,” says Zelenitsky.

“It’s a compelling story,” says Balanoff, adding that the researchers back it up with a strong analysis.

Zelenitsky and her colleagues were also able to identify the type of dinosaurs that were probably responsible. The eggs’ exterior and interior textures, as well as shell thickness, points to a kind of non-avian theropod, a large group that includes dinosaurs such as velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus.

The researchers also estimated that just over half of the nests had at least one successful hatch, on account of the number of fragmented eggs.

This relatively high rate mirrors the hatching success of modern birds and crocodiles that guard their nests, rather than those that abandon or only occasionally check their nests.

EUROPE, SWEDEN, WORLD

Mysterious shipwreck found near Sweden full of household items dates back to 14th century

Mysterious shipwreck found near Sweden full of household items dates back to 14th century

New details have emerged surrounding the mysterious wreckage of two medieval ships found off the coast of Sweden last spring. Researchers have finally determined their age and distant origins.

Mysterious shipwreck found near Sweden full of household items dates back to 14th century
One of the mysterious medieval ships found in Sweden.

The merchant ships were spotted near the construction of a railway tunnel in Varberg, about 120 miles north of Copenhagen, according to a Nov. 16 press release from Arkeologirna, an archaeological consultancy.

According to archaeologists, the ships were known as cogs, a common medieval ship type.

According to the Estonian Mere Museum website, cogs were “large, with a spacious hold, and most often fitted with a mast and a large square sail”.

The remains of the ships were found about 30 feet apart in what archaeologists say is a highly unusual occurrence. One of the wrecks consists of a nearly intact port side, making it the best preserved cog wreck ever found in Sweden.

Months after archaeologists first discovered it, wood samples from the wreck were finally analyzed and the results answered unanswered questions.

The larger ship, known as Varbergskoggen 1, was built with timber dating back to 1346, archaeologists said. The wood was sourced hundreds of kilometers away in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

The smaller ship, known as Varbergskoggen 2, was built between 1355 and 1357 using trees from northern Poland, meaning that while the ships share a final resting place, they were sourced from different countries.

The researchers are not yet sure why or how the pair of ships sank.

According to the Maritime Injury Center, bad weather, collisions, flooding and the shifting of improperly stored cargo are some of the top reasons for ships sinking.

Soil samples could eventually reveal the types of food and other cargo stowed on board, archaeologists said, which could provide further answers about the ships’ final voyages.

A variety of household items found in the wreck, including leather shoes, wooden spoons and engraved barrels, could also help researchers further unravel the mystery of the sunken ships.

At least several other ancient shipwrecks have been discovered off the coast of Sweden in recent years.

A 500-year-old ship full of soldiers and Danish nobles was found off the coast of southern Sweden in 2021, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

And in October, archaeologists announced that another Swedish shipwreck had been rediscovered by divers, according to previous McClatchy News reports. Wood samples led researchers to conclude the wreck was the Äpplet, a 17th-century warship commissioned by a Swedish king.

Google Translate was used to translate Arkeologirna’s press release.

Warship wreck – sunk by the Navy over 300 years ago – rediscovered in Sweden

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ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

Discovery of a rare lead sling bullet bearing a magic inscription for victory

Discovery of a rare lead sling bullet bearing a magic inscription for victory

During excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority in Yavne, a rare lead sling bullet was discovered – possibly belonging to a Greek soldier, bearing a magic inscription for victory.

Ancient Bullet With ‘Victory’ Inscription Uncovered in Israel
Ancient Bullet With ‘Victory’ Inscription Uncovered in Israel

On the sling bullet was the Greek inscription “Victory of Heracles and Hauronas”.

“The inscriptions were part of psychological warfare, the main purpose of which was to terrorize the opponent, and in addition, to unite the warriors and raise their spirits,” says Prof. Yulia Ustinova of Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

Was the projectile used for warfare against the Hasmoneans?

New research has revealed a lead sling bullet from the Hellenistic period, a rare of its kind in Israel, with an inscription in Greek intended to ensure victory in battle.

The 2,200-year-old sling bullet, which bears the inscription – “Victory of Heracles and Hauronas,” was uncovered in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Yavne as part of the Israel Lands Authority’s initiative to expand the city, in cooperation with the Yavne Municipality. The length of the sling bullet is 4.4 cm, and it was intended to be used in an early sling.

“The pair of gods Hauron and Heracles were considered the divine patrons of Yavne during the Hellenistic period,” says Prof. Yulia Ustinova from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, who deciphered the inscription.

“The inscription on a sling bullet is the first archaeological evidence of the two guardians of Yavne, discovered inside Yavne itself. Until today, the pair was only known from an inscription on the Greek island of Delos.”

As a couple, the gods Heracles and Hauron were a perfect team of victory-givers. “The announcement of the future victory of Heracles and Hauron was not a call addressed to the deity, but a threat directed towards the adversaries,” says Prof. Ustinova. “Lead sling bullets are known in the ancient world beginning in the 5th century BCE, but in Israel, few individual sling bullets were found with inscriptions.

The inscriptions convey a message of unifying the warriors to raise their spirits, scare the enemy, or a call intended to energize the sling bullet itself magically. These inscriptions were part of psychological warfare, the main

Purpose of which is to terrorize the opponent, and in addition, to unite the warriors and raise their spirits.”

It seems that we will not be able to know for sure if the sling bullet belonged to a Greek soldier,” said Pablo Betzer and Dr. Daniel Varga, the directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “but it may be related to the conflict between the Greeks and the Hasmoneans.

In the 2nd century BCE, pagan Yavne – an ally of the Seleucids (the Greeks who ruled Eretz-Israel), were subject to attacks by the Hasmonean armies.

The Hasmoneans sought to subjugate the other nations and create a homogeneous and ‘pure state’ from a religious-ritualistic point of view. The tiny lead sling bullets, announcing the imminent victory of the gods of pagan Yavne, are tangible evidence of a fierce battle in Yavne at that time.

“One can only imagine what that warrior who held the sling bullet 2,200 years ago thought and felt as he held on to the hope of divine salvation,” says Eli Escusido, Director-General of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The Yavne excavation is a ‘mega’ excavation – one of the largest conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, has yielded fascinating discoveries that testify to a rich and varied history of 7,000 years, and we eagerly await future findings.”

ASIA, JAPAN, WORLD

Archeologists unearth largest rare wooden “Haniwa” Statue in Japan

Archeologists unearth largest rare wooden “Haniwa” Statue in Japan

Archeologists unearth largest rare wooden “Haniwa” Statue in Japan
Remaining parts of a 3.5-meter-tall wooden haniwa statue unearthed from the Minegazuka Kofun in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture

The remains of a 3.5-meter-tall wooden “haniwa” statue have been discovered at one of the “kofun” ancient burial mounds that comprise the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Japan, according to a local education board on Thursday.

The statue is thought to be one of the largest wooden haniwa found in Japan, with parts measuring 75 centimeters wide and around 8 cm thick.

Haniwa are large hollow funerary objects. Massive amounts of haniwa, many of which were nearly life-sized, were carefully placed on top of colossal, mounded tombs known as kofun (“old tomb” in Japanese). During the Kofun Period (c. 250 to 600 C.E.), haniwa evolved in a variety of ways, including their shape, placement on mounded tombs, and, presumably, their specific function or ritual use.

The haniwa was discovered during an excavation of a moat surrounding the 96-meter-long Minegazuka Kofun, which is thought to have been built at the end of the fifth century, according to the city of Habikino’s education board.

The Minegazuka Kofun ancient burial mound in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture.

The statue is an Iwami-style haniwa, which “has only been found at 15 kofun tumuli in Japan so far,” according to an official of the education board.

“The haniwa is a very rare artifact as it is made of kōyamaki (Japanese umbrella pine), which was a type of wood favored by people in power at the time,” the official said.

According to the Habikino education board, the haniwa is the tallest ever discovered, surpassing the 2.6-meter-tall Iwami-style specimen excavated from the Ohakayama Kofun in the city of Tenri in neighboring Nara Prefecture.

Studies of kofun indicate that a powerful state had emerged by around 250 C.E. in Japan. This state is identified by various names (such as the Yamato polity) and was generally centered in what is now Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka prefectures.

Many monumental tombs (kofun) were built in the shape of a keyhole, or zenp ken fun (“front squared, rear rounded tomb”). The square section is the front, while the round section is the back and houses the deceased’s body (or bodies). Keyhole-shaped tombs were adopted as a kind of signature style of this state.

Nara prefecture is home to the majority of the earliest surviving keyhole-shaped colossal tombs from the third century.

One of these is Sakurai’s famous Hashihaka kofun, which measures approximately 280 meters in length and 30 meters in height. In comparison, the Khufu pyramid in Giza measures approximately 230m in length and 146m in height.

The earliest haniwa, from c. 250 C.E. to around the 450s, were simple forms and most were cylindrical.  While the positioning of the haniwa varied from tomb to tomb, they were frequently lined up along the outermost perimeter of the tomb surface, seemingly to delineate boundaries.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

11,000 year-old carving of man holding his penis is the oldest narrative from the ancient world

11,000 year-old carving of man holding his penis is the oldest narrative from the ancient world

11,000 year-old carving of man holding his penis is the oldest narrative from the ancient world
A man depicted holding his penis in Sayburç excavations.

Research conducted in Göbeklitepe, which was considered “the place where history began,” has revealed the oldest narrative art in history. With a man holding his penis and flanking by leopards, the relief dates back to approximately 11,000 years ago, the study says.

Found in Sayburç, Şanlıurfa, archeologists also said that carvings on built-in benches were within a Neolithic (or New Stone Age) building.

It is approximately 2.5 to 3 feet (0.7 to 0.9 meters) tall and 12 feet (3.7 meters) long. Also, he is holding a snake or a rattle with his other hand, according to LiveScience.

The findings were published in Antiquity on December 8.

Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, is the birthplace of many ancient civilizations.

Between 12,000 and 9,000 years ago, southeastern Anatolia’s nomadic hunter-gatherers underwent a dramatic change in lifestyle as they progressively transitioned to sedentary living and eventually took up farming.

Göbeklitepe during the excavations.

Excavations started in 2021

As reported by Science, Eylem Özdoğan, an archaeologist at Istanbul University and the study’s author, and her team started to carve the site in 2021.

They quickly discovered the remains of a town from the ninth millennium B.C.E., including a circular structure resembling those at Göbeklitepe. Only a portion of the building could be uncovered because the remainder was covered by new dwellings. However, on the edge of a stone bench within that exposed area, they discovered carvings of typical Neolithic subjects.

“It seems to reflect the struggle between two creatures,” Özdoğan says. In the other scene, two leopards flank a person depicted facing forward, and clutching an erect penis—in what Özdoğan calls “an indifferent stance” in the face of danger.

The artwork was intended to portray masculinity, according to Jens Notroff, a Neolithic archaeologist at the German Archaeological Institute who was not involved in this study.

The contrast between showing virility and vitality—the phallus presentation—on the one hand, and imminent danger—snarling predators with bared teeth—on the other is particularly remarkable here, he told Live Science.

Notroff said that this discovery could aid in the better understanding of Neolithic iconography in Turkey by archaeologists. He noted that while the Neolithic hunter would have quickly understood the message, “unfortunately, we still lack a comprehension of the actual tale.”

Digging more about Göbeklitepe

Göbeklitepe or Göbekli Tepe is the oldest known group of cult structures in the world, located near Örencik village of Haliliye district, 18 km northeast of Şanlıurfa city center in Turkey.

The site was discovered in 1963 during a survey carried out in partnership with the Universities of Istanbul and Chicago and was identified as the “V52 Neolithic Settlement”.

The real value of the area began to emerge with the excavations started after 1994. After these studies, it was understood that Göbeklitepe was a cult center dating back 12,000 years.

Study abstract:

A wall relief, comprising five figures carved on a bench in a communal building dating to the ninth millennium BC, was found in south-eastern Turkey in 2021.

It constitutes the earliest known depiction of a narrative ‘scene’ and reflects the complex relationship between humans, the natural world, and the animal life that surrounded them during the transition to a sedentary lifestyle.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Neolithic Grinding Stone Found in Scotland

Neolithic Grinding Stone Found in Scotland

A place where people with an axe to grind gathered 4,500 years ago has been uncovered by archaeologists and volunteers.

Neolithic Grinding Stone Found in Scotland
A site where Neolithic toolmakers sharpened stone axes has been uncovered near Balfron
The site represents Scotland’s largest concentration of Neolithic axe grind points

An area of abrasive sandstone close to Balfron, near Stirling, has been found to have been used like a giant whetstone by Neolithic toolmakers to polish stone axes.

Over the summer, 33 U-shaped grooves called polissoirs were recorded.

The location represents Scotland’s largest concentration of Neolithic axe grind points, and one of only two known Scottish polissoir sites.

Experts believe people may have travelled for miles to smooth or sharpen axes at the sites.

Scotland’s Rock Art Project volunteer Nick Parish and Stirling Council archaeologist Dr Murray Cook were among those who stripped turf from the sandstone and recorded the polissoirs at Balfron.

The finds have been listed among archaeological highlights from this year by the Dig It! project, external.

All In One Magazine