A couple find £5,000,000 in one of biggest ever treasure hoards
In an area in Somerset, in the West of England, a pair of metal detectorists found their existence when they uncovered a hoard of ancient coins worth about 6 million dollars. The historical discovery, which has been deemed to be one of the greatest hidden treasures in the UK, is to be revealed in the British Museum.
These coins could be worth up to £5,000,000 after being dug up in a field in north east Somerset
The 2,571 Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins were unearthed by Adam Staples ‘ and Lisa Grace Treasure hunters when they searched farmland with their trusty metal detectors.
The couples have described the hoard as “stunning” and “absolutely mind-blowing” in an interview with Treasure Hunting Magazine.
Adam Staples and partner Lisa Grace unearthed the ‘once in a lifetime’ find of almost 2,600 ancient coins that date back 1,000 years. Their discovery came on a farm in the northeast of Somerset.
They reported their find to the authorities as required by UK law, and the coins were soon sent to the British Museum for evaluation.
The British Museum has been assessing the find for the past seven months and is due to reveal more information about the coins to the public on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the institution confirmed to the Daily Mail that the “large hoard” was handed over as possible treasure and that it appears to be “an important discovery.”
Under the UK’s 1996 Treasure Act, if a find is officially declared treasure, it must first be offered for sale to a museum at a price set by the British Museum’s Treasure Valuation Committee. If no museum can raise the money to acquire the coins, they can then be offered for sale at auction.
The owner of the land where the coins were found is entitled to half of the proceeds. The metal detectorists are keeping the exact location of their discovery under wraps, although the trove is called the Chew Valley Hoard after an area in North Somerset.
William the Conqueror (left) and Harold II coins. Photo by Pippa Pearce. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum.
A coin expert at the London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb has valued the coins at around £5 million ($6 million).
They include mint-condition silver King Harold II pennies, coins from the reign of William the Conqueror, which could be worth as much as £5,000 ($6,000) each, as well as pieces minted by previously unknown moneyers.
The King Harold II coins are particularly rare due to his short reign. The last Anglo-Saxon king was on the throne for just nine months before he died during the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The expert said that the hoard may prove too pricey for museums, which might have to launch an appeal for sponsors to raise funds to acquire them.
The coins would have belonged to a wealthy person who probably buried them for safekeeping at some point after the Norman Invasion of 1066 and probably before 1072.
The biggest collection of buried treasure ever discovered in the UK was the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, but this latest find could worth $1 million more, and have as great or even more historic value.
The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History
The swastika is a sign of the massacres of millions of people and the destructiveness of one of the most despised men on Earth. But it’s not Adolf Hitler who used the symbol first. It was actually utilized by many cultures and continents as a powerful symbol thousands of years before him.
The Swastika has been an important symbol for many thousands of years to the Hindus and Buddhists of India and other Asian countries, but the symbol is still visible in abundance – on temples, buses, taxis, and covers of books.
It was used in Ancient Greece as well and can be found in the ancient city of Troy that existed four thousand years ago.
A swastika is a symbol found in many cultures, with different meanings, drawn in different styles.
The ancient Druids and the Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many artefacts that have been discovered. It was used by Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the swastika as one of their symbols.
For example, the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order that became a purely religious Catholic order, used it. But why is this symbol so important and why did Adolf Hitler decide to use it?
The word “swastika” is a Sanskrit word (“svastika”) meaning “It is,” well being,” “good existence,” and “good luck.” However, it is also known by different names in different countries—like “wan” in China, “manji” in Japan, “fylfot” in England, “Hakenkreuz” in Germany and “tetraskelion” or “tetragammadion” in Greece.
Mosaic swastika in excavated Byzantine church in Shavei Tzion (Israel).
A Sanskrit scholar P.R. Sarkar in 1979 said that the deeper meaning of the word is “permanent victory.”
The earliest swastika ever found was uncovered in Mezine, Ukraine, carved on an ivory figurine, which dates an incredible 12,000 years, and one of the earliest cultures that are known to have used the swastika was a Neolithic culture in Southern Europe, in the area that is now Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, known as the Vinca Culture, which dates back around 8,000 years.
In Buddhism, the swastika is a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, abundance, and eternity. It is directly related to Buddha and can be found carved on statues on the soles of his feet and on his heart. It is said that it contains Buddha’s mind.
Wooden Buddha statue with gamadian (swastika).
On the walls of the Christian catacombs in Rome, the symbol of the swastika appears next to the words “zotiko zotiko,” which means “life of life.” It can also be found on the window openings of the mysterious Lalibela Rock churches of Ethiopia, and in various other churches around the world.
In Nordic Myths, Odin is represented passing through space as a whirling disk or swastika looking down through all worlds. In North America, the swastika was used by the Navajos.
In Ancient Greece, Pythagoras used the swastika under the name “tetraktys,” and it was a symbol linking heaven and Earth, with the right arm pointing to heaven and the left arm pointing to Earth.
The swastika, the Phoenician sun symbol, on the Phoenician Craig-Narget stone in Scotland, and on the robe of a Phoenician high priestess.
It was used by the Phoenicians as a symbol of the sun and it was a sacred symbol used by the priestesses.
How and why did so many diverse countries and cultures, across many eras, use the same symbol and apparently with the same meaning? It is ironic, and unfortunate, that a symbol of life and eternity that was considered sacred for thousands of years has become a symbol of hatred.
Over 67 million-year-old tree fossil found in Shimla district in India
A tree fossil estimated to be over 67 million years old has been found near Kharapathar in the district, an expert said on Thursday. The fossilised tree belongs to the Mesozoic era, Hari Chauhan, curator of State Museum and a fossil expert who visited the spot, said. The Mesozoic era is the age of dinosaurs, and lasted about 180 million years, from about 250 to 65 million years ago.
Rohru’s Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Chandulal Tahsildar said he found the fossils during a site visit to the area in connection with complaints of illegal filling. He said frequent landslides that the area experienced recently could have brought the fossils to the surface.
“It was during my visit to the place on March 30 that I chanced upon these fossils that obviously seemed to look very old,” he said, adding that the tree stumps were nearly 11×8 feet and elliptical.
Himachal Pradesh: A tree fossil found in Kharapathar, Shimla district. According to Harish Chauhan, Curator State Museum the fossil belongs to the Mesozoic geological era.
Chauhan, who visited the site, said the discovery could either be tree fossils or geological formations.
“It’s a very important discovery either way,” he said, adding that such fossils, while not uncommon in the Shiwalik ranges, were rare in Himalayan ranges. Similar fossils have been found in Spiti.
“If it’s a tree fossil, it’s very important from the point of view of paleontological studies. And if it’s a geological formation, then it’s a crucial discovery in the field of geological studies,” he said, adding a team of geologists and forest officials would join him in thoroughly searching the area.
Meanwhile, the latest discovery will be protected.
About Fossils :
A fossil is the remains or trace of an ancient living thing. Fossils of animals, plants, or protists occur in sedimentary rock. In a typical fossil, the body form is retained, but the original molecules that made up the body have been replaced by some inorganic materials, such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or silica (SiO2). The fossil feels like, and is, made of rock. It has been mineralised or petrified(literally, turned into rock).
A fossil may also be an imprint or impression of a living thing remaining in the fossilised mud of a long-gone age. Some organisms fossilise well, others do not.
The most common fossils are those left behind by organisms that produce hard materials. The hard, calcitic shells of molluscs (such as clams and snails) and of now-rare brachiopods (also known as lampshells) are examples. These sea-dwelling shellfish have produced many fossiliferous (that is, fossil-bearing) chalky layers of limestone in the earth.
Soft-bodied organisms can fossilise in special circumstances: the Ediacaran biota is a good example. The best-known fossils for the general public are those of the giant, prehistoric dinosaurs. The fossilized bones and fossilized tracks of these huge, ancient reptiles can be seen in many museums of natural history and earth science.
The study of fossils by geologists and biologists is known as palaeontology. If the study puts living things in their ecological context it is called paleobiology.
Mesozoic Era :
The Mesozoic Era is the age of the dinosaurs and lasted almost 180 million years from approximately 250 to 65 million years ago. This era includes 3 well known periods called the Triassic, Jurassic, and cretaceous periods.
A mass extinction marked the beginning and end of the Mesozoic Era. The event that caused the transition from the Paleozoic era to the Mesozoic era was the greatest extinction this earth has seen. This extinction wiped out about 95% of all marine life and 70% of land life. This allowed the dinosaurs to step in and settle into their role as the lords of the earth. The era ended with “The Great Extinction” which marked the end of the dinosaurs as the Cenozoic era began.
Tectonics :
At the beginning of the Mesozoic era, the continents as we know them were joined together as the massive mother continent, Pangaea. It was during the age of the dinosaurs that Pangaea was transformed into the modern continents.
Pangaea became two great continents known as Laurasia and Gondwana and the Atlantic Ocean began to grow. Laurasia eventually split into the continents of North America and Eurasia. Gondwana became the modern continents of South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, and the Indian subcontinent, which, after the Mesozoic era, collided with Eurasia forming the Himalayas.
Environment :
The environment was unusually warm and polar ice caps did not yet exist. This played a large part in the evolution and is a key factor behind the flourishing of the dinosaurs.
During the Triassic period, the climate was generally dry, which changed near the Jurassic period as oceans began to rise due to mounting layers of magma covering the seafloor. As a result, flooding overtook many parts of the exposed land.
This allowed the climate to change with increased humidity and it continued that way even into the Cretaceous period. However, the climate began to cool during the Cretaceous although temperatures may have risen again near the end of the Mesozoic.
BBC News reports that a large villa complex with its own bathhouse has been discovered at a construction site in northern England. Keith Emerick of Historic England said the house, which has a circular central room flanked by additional rooms, is the first of its kind to be found in Britain.
Keepmoat Homes, which was hoping to develop a new housing estate in the Eastfield area of the North Yorkshire region, found the ruins of the settlement.
But the importance of the find may well have caused a headache for bosses of the firm, with Historic England saying it’s ‘easily the most important discovery of its kind.
The site will be reburied under a public space in the new housing development
Historians believe they’ve identified a whole complex of buildings. It includes a tower-shaped structure, which is thought to have had rooms and a bathhouse leading from it.
They are continuing to study the site, but so far it’s thought it would have been built by a wealthy landowner and could have become a religious building, a ‘stately home cum – gentleman’s club’, or even a combination of both.
Keith Emerick, inspector of ancient monuments at Historic England, said: ‘One of the descriptions we had was that it is something like a religious building that is almost like a gentleman’s club, there’s a bathhouse as well. So it’s a really interesting hybrid building at the moment.’
He added:
These archaeological remains are a fantastic find and are far more than we ever dreamed of discovering at this site. They are already giving us better knowledge and understanding of Roman Britain.
We are grateful to Keepmoat Homes for their sensitive and professional approach to helping ensure the future conservation of this important historical site.
Emerick told The Guardian: ‘It’s not like a jigsaw, where each new discovery adds to the picture, each new discovery actually gives a twist to the kaleidoscope and changes the picture entirely. This is a really exciting discovery and definitely of national importance.’
The complex of buildings includes a circular room and a bathhouse
Not only is it a first for Britain, but it could also be a first for the whole of the former Roman Empire.
Emerick added: ‘I would say this is one of the most important Roman discoveries in the past decade, actually. Easily.’
Keepmoat Homes have changed the initial plans and will not build on top of the site, but will still build in the area.
Historic England hopes the remains will be accessible to the public in future.
In the UK found children’s shoes which is 600 years old
A child’s shoe discovered during an excavation in Devon maybe hundreds of years old. When archaeologists discovered the ancient footwear during a dig in Newton Abbot, they were shocked.
The leather shoe, which has been well-preserved in the site’s clay soil, maybe from the 1400s.
The team involved in the dig have voiced their excitement at finding such an everyday object intact after centuries in the ground.
Archaeologists carrying out a dig in the heart of Newton Abbot in Devon have unearthed an ancient leather shoe which could date back to the 1400s
‘It’s this day-to-day stuff which is exciting,’ said Simon Sworn, of Cotswold Archaeology and the site’s senior archaeological project officer.
‘The job is not all about kings under car parks,’ he added.
Along with the shoe, a number of other artifacts have been unearthed at the site.
Other historic treasures include an iron spur from a child’s boot, three wooden barrel bases, and a 27 inch (70 cm) diameter Dartmoor granite millstone, used to grind wheat into flour.
‘We will keep going down until we hit natural geology – or water at the site makes it unsafe,’ added Mr. Sworn.
The team is hoping to uncover more household artifacts dating back to the 13th century when Newton Abbot was a hastily built new town of its day.
Other historic treasures include an iron spur from a child’s boot, three wooden barrel bases and a 27 inch (70 cm) diameter Dartmoor granite millstone, used to grind wheat into flour (pictured)
Mr. Sworn explained: ‘As the name suggests, Newton Abbot was essentially founded as a medieval new town but there is some evidence for 6th/7th-century activity in the immediate vicinity of the site so we may find earlier remains lurking below the medieval burgage plots.’
He added: ‘We’ve been learning a lot about how the town developed and how it came to be the place we live in – and who the people were who made Newton Abbot what it is today.’
A number of well-preserved wooden barrels were found in waterlogged the clay soil (pictured)
Conditions at the site (pictured) have enabled artifacts to be so well preserved due to a lack of oxygen in the soil
Conditions at the site have enabled artifacts to be so well preserved due to a lack of oxygen in the soil.
The waterlogged conditions have enabled organic materials such as leather and wood, which would have rotted long ago, to last for centuries.
‘I’ve never worked on a site where so much local interest has been shown,’ added Mr Sworn.
He added: ‘A lot of perceptive questions have been asked – and we’ve been happy to answer them.
‘Over the next few weeks, we will gradually peel away the medieval layers and go deeper.’
Ancient Mayan pyramid destroyed in Belize by the construction company
A construction company in Belize destroyed one of the oldest and most famous Mayan pyramids while digging for crushed rock for a road they were constructing.
Authorities reported that the company was carrying out the work with bulldozers and backhoes, chipping away at the pyramid’s sides until there was barely anything left.
The Belize Institute of Archaeology’s director, Jaime Awe, said the building had been discovered the previous week. The ceremonial center at the Nohmul complex is thought to be at least 2,300 years old, and it is considered the most significant historical site in northern Belize, near the Mexican border.
The pyramid, which stood 65 feet tall, was built around 250 B.C. with hand-cut limestone bricks. The pyramid probably contained living quarters as well as tombs for local residents.
The limestone from which the pyramid is made is prized by local contractors for building and repairing.
“It’s a feeling of Incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity … they were using this for road fill,” Awe told AP. “It’s like being punched in the stomach, it’s just so horrendous.”
Nohmul is located in the middle of a privately owned sugar cane field and its structures lacked the tell-tale signs of a restored cultural site – like the evenly trimmed stone borders at the sides.
Yet, Awe said this could not possibly have been an explanation for how the workers had managed not to take note of what they were doing.
The pyramid is 100 feet (30 meters) tall, while the land around it is flat, so making that kind of mistake is difficult to imagine.
“These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It’s just bloody laziness”, Awe continued. “Just to realize that the ancient Maya acquired all this building material to erect these buildings, using nothing more than stone tools and quarried the stone, and carried this material on their heads, using tump lines,” he said.
“To think that today we have modern equipment, that you can go and excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard that and completely destroyed this building.
Why can’t these people just go and quarry somewhere that has no cultural significance? It’s mind-boggling.”
An investigation is underway by Belizean police, with criminal charges looking like a possibility. Although the Nohmul complex is situated on private land, the law says that any ruins or monuments of pre-Hispanic origin are exempt from it and are under government protection.
A community organization calling itself the Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action has condemned the demolition of the site as “an obscene example of disrespect for the environment and history.”
Hundreds of Mayan ruins remain in Belize, which is largely covered with jungles and counts around 350,000 people among its population. Although this is not the first case that such lack of regard was employed in Belize, Nohmul is among the largest pyramids ruined by such activities.
Archeologists in the area are outraged and hope to salvage artifacts from the rubble.
Many scientists spoke out against what happened. Arlen Chase, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, told AP that “Archaeologists are disturbed when such things occur, but there is only a very limited infrastructure in Belize that can be applied to cultural heritage management.”
The ’70s and 80’s saw much exploration take place around the Nohmul area, but it is important to understand that more knowledge could still be gained, as scientists say.
And such instances of lazy negligence and destruction of Mayan cultural heritage aren’t limited only to Belize. The remnants of the great Mayan nation are under threat in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras as well.
Francisco Estrada-Belli, a professor of anthropology at Tulane University, said “I don’t think I am exaggerating if I say that every day a Maya mound is being destroyed for construction in one of the countries where the Maya lived.”
The sunken Roman city now lies beneath the waves off of Italy
The sunken city of the Caesars, which has been lost beneath the waves off Italy’s west coast for 1,700 years, has been revealed in stunning new photographs taken by divers who were given permission to explore the region. According to historians, Baiae was ancient Rome’s Las Vegas for the super-rich, with sprawling mansions and a reputation for luxury and wickedness.
Baiae was the Las Vegas for the super-rich of ancient Rome, covered in sprawling mansions and synonymous with luxury and wickedness, historians claim. The 1st Century city has been revealed in stunning new photographs taken by divers who were allowed to explore the area
However, when volcanic activity forced the coastline to retreat 400 meters inland, driving the entire city underwater into what is now the Gulf of Naples in modern-day Italy, most of it was lost to the sea. The site has since been re-discovered, 1,700 years after disappearing beneath the waves on the west coast of Italy. Divers were allowed to explore the site recently and snapped photos of the treasures that can still be found in the underwater city.
Antonio Busiello, who lives in Naples, photographed the site and found that roads, walls, mosaics, and even statues had survived the ravages of time.
Incredibly, parts of the city are still in-tact 1,700 years later. Pictured above, a diver shows off a tiled floor that was discovered in a search of the city
The 45-year-old said: ‘The beautiful mosaics and the villas and temples that have reemerged or still underwater show the opulence and wealth of this area.
‘It was considered one of the most important Roman cities for centuries. Pliny the Younger used to live here and from here, across the gulf, he witnessed and described the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.’
He added: ‘Diving here is like a dive into history, looking at ancient Roman ruins underwater is something hard to describe, a beautiful experience indeed.’
Among the sights now visible are the Pisoni and Protiro villas, where intricate white mosaics as well as residential rooms can be seen
In its heyday, Baiae was frequented by famous Romans including Julius Caesar, Nero, Pompey the Great, Marius, and Hadrian – who died there. Among the sights now visible are the Pisoni and Protiro villas, where intricate white mosaics, as well as residential rooms, can be seen.
There’s also the Nymphaeum of Punta Epitaffio, where divers swim among the statues of Ulysses and his helmsman Baius, for whom Baiae was named. A documentary released earlier this year, titled Rome’s Sunken Secrets, followed a series of dives led by underwater archaeologist Dr. Barbara Davidde and involving historians and scientists from across the world. They revealed vast villas, priceless statues, and breathtaking mosaics, as well as heated spas, cobbled streets, and even a nymphaeum – a grotto of pleasure – in the city that lies 150 miles south of Rome and 50 north of Pompeii.
Walls of estates in the ancient city sit just below the water’s surface off the coast of western Italy. Divers can now explore the region
One significant find was a section of lead water pipe just a few inches in diameter inscribed ‘L Pisonis’. This pinpoints the exact location where one of the greatest scandals in Roman history unfolded. As classics professor Kevin Dicus explains, ‘L Pisoni’s was the mark of the Piso family. The villa it was attached to was almost certainly the property of Gaius Calpurnius Piso, who was a close friend of Emperor Nero.
‘Ancient texts tell us that Piso plotted to murder the emperor at his holiday villa in Baiae so he could become emperor instead, but he had a change of heart at the last minute. When Nero learned about the plan, he ordered Piso to commit suicide.
The sunken city of the Caesars, lost for 1,700 years beneath waves off of Italy’s west coast, has been revealed in stunning new photographs taken by divers who were allowed to explore the area. Baiae was the Las Vegas for the super-rich of the 1st Century’s ancient Rome, covered in sprawling mansions and synonymous with luxury and wickedness, historians claim.
But as time passed, much of it was lost to the sea as volcanic activity caused the coastline to retreat 400metres inland, forcing the entire city underwater into what is now the Gulf of Naples in modern-day Italy. The site has since been re-discovered, 1,700 years after disappearing beneath the waves on the west coast of Italy. Divers were allowed to explore the site recently and snapped photos of the treasures that can still be found in the underwater city.
Antonio Busiello, who lives in Naples, photographed the site and found that roads, walls, mosaics, and even statues had survived the ravages of time. The 45-year-old said: ‘The beautiful mosaics and the villas and temples that have reemerged or still underwater show the opulence and wealth of this area.
‘It was considered one of the most important Roman cities for centuries. Pliny the Younger used to live here and from here, across the gulf, he witnessed and described the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.’
He added: ‘Diving here is like a dive into history, looking at ancient Roman ruins underwater is something hard to describe, a beautiful experience indeed.’ In its heyday, Baiae was frequented by famous Romans including Julius Caesar, Nero, Pompey the Great, Marius, and Hadrian – who died there.
Among the sights now visible are the Pisoni and Protiro villas, where intricate white mosaics, as well as residential rooms, can be seen. There’s also the Nymphaeum of Punta Epitaffio, where divers swim among the statues of Ulysses and his helmsman Baius, for whom Baiae was named. A documentary released earlier this year, titled Rome’s Sunken Secrets, followed a series of dives led by underwater archaeologist Dr. Barbara Davidde and involving historians and scientists from across the world.
They revealed vast villas, priceless statues, and breathtaking mosaics, as well as heated spas, cobbled streets, and even a nymphaeum – a grotto of pleasure – in the city that lies 150 miles south of Rome and 50 north of Pompeii. One significant find was a section of lead water pipe just a few inches in diameter inscribed ‘L Pisonis’. This pinpoints the exact location where one of the greatest scandals in Roman history unfolded.
As classics professor Kevin Dicus explains, ‘L Pisoni’s was the mark of the Piso family. The villa it was attached to was almost certainly the property of Gaius Calpurnius Piso, who was a close friend of Emperor Nero.
‘Ancient texts tell us that Piso plotted to murder the emperor at his holiday villa in Baiae so he could become emperor instead, but he had a change of heart at the last minute. When Nero learned about the plan, he ordered Piso to commit suicide.
‘So we now know where the assassination attempt would have taken place. For the archaeologists, it was like finding the Holy Grail.’
Piso’s villa had its own jetty and two huge bath complexes, but that was nothing compared to the opulence at another estate the team discovered. Slowly revealed over many dives was a mansion so luxurious archaeologists believe it was the Imperial Villa specially built for Emperor Claudius.
‘So we now know where the assassination attempt would have taken place. For the archaeologists, it was like finding the Holy Grail.’ Piso’s villa had its own jetty and two huge bath complexes, but that was nothing compared to the opulence at another estate the team discovered.
Slowly revealed over many dives was a mansion so luxurious archaeologists believe it was the Imperial Villa specially built for Emperor Claudius.
Monumental Neolithic Tomb Discovered in Saudi Arabia
According to a statement released by Taylor & Francis, the remains of a dog and 11 people have been found in a monumental tomb near the archaeological site of Al-Ula, which is located in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The discovery came from one of the projects in the large-scale archaeological surveys and excavations of the region commissioned by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).
The researchers found the dog’s bones in a burial site that is one of the earliest monumental tombs identified in the Arabian Peninsula, roughly contemporary with such tombs already dated further north in the Levant.
This burial site in a badlands area of AlUla in north-west Saudi Arabia is currently rare for Neolithic-Chalcolithic Arabia in being built above-ground and meant to be visually prominent.
Evidence shows the earliest use of the tomb was circa 4300 BCE and received burials for at least 600 years during the Neolithic-Chalcolithic era – an indication that the inhabitants may have had a shared memory of people, places, and the connection between them.
“What we are finding will revolutionize how we view periods like the Neolithic in the Middle East. To have that kind of memory, that people may have known for hundreds of years where their kin was buried – that’s unheard of in this period in this region,” said Melissa Kennedy, assistant director of the Aerial Archaeology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (AAKSAU) – AlUla project.
“AlUla is at a point where we’re going to begin to realize how important it was to the development of mankind across the Middle East,” said the AAKSAU director, Hugh Thomas.
This is the earliest evidence of a domesticated dog in the Arabian Peninsula by a margin of circa 1,000 years.
The findings are published in the Journal of Field Archaeology.
The project team, with Saudi and international members, focused its efforts on two above-ground burial sites dating to the 5th and 4th millennia BCE and located 130 kilometers apart, one in volcanic uplands and the other in arid badlands. The sites were above ground, which is unique for that period of Arabian history, and were positioned for maximum visibility.
The research team detected the sites by using satellite imagery and then by aerial photography from a helicopter. Ground fieldwork began in late 2018.
It was in the volcanic uplands site that 26 fragments of a single dog’s bones were found, alongside bones from 11 humans – six adults, an adolescent, and four children.
The dog’s bones showed signs of arthritis, which suggests the animal lived with the humans into its middle or old age. After assembling the bones, the team then had to determine that they were from a dog and not from a similar animal such as a desert wolf.
The team’s zooarchaeologist, Laura Strolin, was able to show it was indeed a dog by analyzing one bone in particular, from the animal’s left front leg. The breadth of this bone was 21.0 mm, which is in the range of other ancient Middle Eastern dogs. In comparison, the wolves of that time and place had a breadth of 24.7 to 26 mm for the same bone.
The dog’s bones were dated between circa 4200 and 4000 BCE.
Rock art found in the region indicates that the Neolithic inhabitants used dogs when hunting ibex, and other animals.
The fieldwork uncovered other noteworthy artifacts, including a leaf-shaped mother-of-pearl pendant at the volcanic uplands site and a carnelian bead found at the arid badlands site.
The researchers expect more findings in the future as a result of the massive survey from the air and on the ground, and multiple targeted excavations in the AlUla region undertaken by the AAKSAU and other teams, which are operating under the auspices of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). The AAKSAU team is led by researchers from the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia.
The researchers note that AlUla is a largely unexplored area located in a part of the world that has a fertile archaeological heritage of recognized global value.
“This article from RCU’s work at AlUla establishes benchmarks. There is much more to come as we reveal the depth and breadth of the area’s archaeological heritage,” said Rebecca Foote, Director of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research for RCU.
