EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

Iron Age Bog Body Found in Northern Ireland

Iron Age Bog Body Found in Northern Ireland

The PSNI say it is a “unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland”

Ancient human remains which date back more than 2,000 years have been recovered by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The discovery was made after archaeologists were alerted to human bones on Bellaghy peatland in County Londonderry in October 2023.

It is thought the remains could be those of a teenage boy.

The PSNI said it is a “unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland”.

It explained that the remains had been carbon dated to “as old as 2,000-2,500 years”.

Det Insp Nikki Deehan said excavations “first uncovered a tibia and fibula and a humerus, ulna, and radius bone relating to the lower left leg and right arm respectively”.

“Further investigation revealed more bones belonging to the same individual,” the officer added.

The human remains were found at peatland in Bellaghy in October 2023

“About five metres south of the surface remains, the bones of a lower left arm and a left femur, were located protruding from the ground.

“Further examination of the area between the main body and the surface remains located additional finger bones, fingernails, part of the left femur and the breastbone.

“A post mortem was carried out by a certified forensic anthropologist and determined that the individual was possibly a male aged between 13 and 17 years old at the time of death.”

Iron Age Bog Body Found in Northern Ireland
The remains have been carbon dated to more than 2,000 years ago

The senior officer said this is an “extraordinary find on a global scale” due to the body having both bone and skin still intact”.

‘Well preserved’

Initially police believed the remains could have been more recent as the condition of the bones was so good.

Det Insp Deehan said that “little is known so far about the individual’s cause of death” but that, “unlike some other ‘bog bodies’, the individual’s skeleton was well preserved and also had the presence of partial skin, fingernails of the left hand, toenails and possibly a kidney”.

The head of the body is missing – it is not clear if it was removed before or after death.

“The well-preserved nature of the body meant radiocarbon dating could be used to ascertain the time of death,” Det Insp Deehan added.

“The radiocarbon dates have placed the time of death between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago.

“This is the first time radiocarbon dating has been used on a bog body in Northern Ireland and the only one to still exist, making this a truly unique archaeological discovery for Northern Ireland. The radiocarbon dating was conducted at the 14Chrono Centre, which is part of Queen’s University Belfast.

The well-preserved nature of the body meant radiocarbon dating could be used to ascertain the time of death

Dr Alastair Ruffell from the university said it conducted two phases of high-resolution, ground-penetrating radar survey at the site.

“The remains were discovered at approximately one metre below the current land surface which matches the radiocarbon estimates,” he added.

“In addition, they were amongst a cluster of fossil tree remains suggesting that the body may have died or been buried in a copse or stand of trees, or washed in.”

Dr Alastair Ruffell says the discovery is truly fascinating and one that is important to study

“This is not only significant because it’s Iron Age, but also because of the landscape situation”, Dr Ruffell said.

“We are in a series of boglands north of Lough Neagh which are very interesting from where they occur because of how the glaciers moved through here and how humans then arrived.”

Dr Ruffell also said the location of the find may also have been of huge interest to one of the island of Ireland’s greatest ever poets and playwrights who lived not too far from the discovery.

“We are in Heaney country, after all,” he said.

Dr Ruffell said the Seamus Heaney had a real fascination with boglands, writing extensively on the topic and also working in turf cutting for a time.

“He would’ve just been amazed that a few miles up the road from his home that actual remains which he was so fascinated about were coming out of the ground,” he said.

A kidney was among the remains recovered

John Joe O’Boyle, chief executive of Forest Service in NI, said the ancient bog body was discovered on land owned by the Department of Agriculture and it was now working with National Museums NI to transfer it to them so that they can continue with further examination and preservation of the remains.

“I hope, in due course, the find will help us all understand better something of our very early history,” he added.

“It certainly adds an important chapter to the historical and cultural significance of this hinterland and archaeological discoveries of bog bodies across Europe.”

This excavation is one of many investigations carried out by the dedicated Body Recovery Team within the PSNI.

The team has previously assisted in recovering and examining human remains, including recovering those of missing persons up to almost three decades after the individuals went missing.

ETHIOPIA, GREECE, WORLD

Roman-Era Wine Shop Excavated in Southern Greece

Roman-Era Wine Shop Excavated in Southern Greece

Roman-Era Wine Shop Excavated in Southern Greece
A view of the wine shop from the front.

Archaeologists in Greece have discovered a 1,600-year-old wine shop that was destroyed and abandoned after a “sudden event,” possibly an earthquake or building collapse, left broken vessels and 60 coins scattered on the floor, according to new research.

The shop operated at a time when the Roman Empire controlled the region. It was found in the ancient city of Sikyon (also spelled Sicyon), which is located on the northern coast of the Peloponnese in southern Greece.

Within the wine shop, archaeologists found the scattered coins, as well as the remains of marble tabletops and vessels made of bronze, glass and ceramic.

The wine shop was found on the northern end of a complex that had a series of workshops containing kilns and installations used to press grapes or olives, archaeologists noted in a paper they presented at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, which was held Jan. 4-7 in Chicago.

The Roman-era shop in Greece was destroyed in a sudden event.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any direct evidence of the types of wine that may have been sold. We have some evidence of grape pips (Vitis vinifera), but we aren’t able to say anything more specific than that right now,” said Scott Gallimore, an associate professor of archaeology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, who co-wrote the paper with Martin Wells, an associate professor of classics at Austin College in an email.

In addition to wine, other items, such as olive oil, may have been sold in the shop.

Most of the coins date to the reign of Constantius II, from 337 to 361, with the latest coin being minted sometime between 355 and 361, Gallimore told Live Science in an email.

The wine shop is on the northern end of a complex. It contains a number of workshops and appears to have been used to make pottery and process wine and perhaps olive oil
One of the coins discovered on the floor of the destroyed wine shop.
A slightly broken coin from the shop. The coins fell on the floor while the destructive event was happening.

Destructive event

The wine shop appears to have suffered a “sudden event” that resulted in its destruction and abandonment, Gallimore said. The 60 bronze coins found in the floor are from the shop’s final moments.

“The coins were all found on the floor of the [shop], scattered across the space,” Gallimore said. “This seems to indicate that they were being kept together as some type of group, whether in a ceramic vessel or some type of bag. When the [shop] was destroyed, that container appears to have fallen to the floor and scattered the coins.

“We’re not sure what type of event this was — possibly an earthquake, or possibly a roof collapse due to environmental conditions, like too much rainfall,” he added.

After the destruction people dumped in debris and sediment “but no effort was made to recover anything from within it.”

The complex that the shop is part of appears to have been abandoned in the early fifth century, possibly at the time of the event.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Hunting tools Dating Back 1900 Years Found inside a Cave in Querétaro, Mexico

Hunting tools Dating Back 1900 Years were found inside a Cave in Querétaro, Mexico

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found hunting weapons dating back approximately 1,900 years in a cave in the central state of Querétaro.

The Federal Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), recovered one of the few sets of pre-Hispanic hunting tools discovered in Mexico to date in a small gallery of the Cave of Treasure in Cadereyta de Montes, Querétaro. It consists of an atlatl (spear) and two wooden darts from the first century of our era.

According to a press announcement by INAH, the discovery was reported by members of the Association of Cavers of Querétaro.

The cave is situated 200 meters above the ravine floor, and once at its entrance, researchers ventured 200 meters through a narrow passage to reach the gallery.

Within this underground branch, with an average height of 80 centimeters, specialists observed an atlatl (51.5 centimeters long), two fragmented darts (66 and 79 centimeters), and a pair of culturally modified wooden sticks (135 and 172 centimeters), likely used as digging sticks and multifunctional tools.

The atlatl is a spear-throwing lever that significantly increases the range and velocity of thrown projectiles, making it possible to target prey at a greater distance than with bare-handed throwing.

The dryness of the environment in the Treasure Cave allowed for the preservation of the hunting instruments, the age of which was determined using radiocarbon dating techniques. This gave a possible age range of A.D. 7-132.

During the exploration, the INAH team did not find other pre-Hispanic archaeological elements in the cave to provide an interpretation of why they were present in that remote location.

However, the results of a sample analysis will be announced by the team on the 27th of January 2024.

The INAH archaeologists said the mystery of the latest discoveries will persist until new investigations are carried out in the areas surrounding the cave. This may enable experts to determine how and why these instruments were left there.

GUATEMALA, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

A Stunning Jade mask discovered in the tomb of the Maya King in Guatemala

A Stunning Jade mask discovered in the tomb of the Maya King in Guatemala

A Stunning Jade mask discovered in the tomb of the Maya King in Guatemala

Archaeologists excavating a looted pyramid tomb in the ruins of a Mayan city in Peten, northeast Guatemala, have discovered a mysterious interlocking jade mask believed to have belonged to a previously unknown Mayan king.

Chochkitam, a little-known archaeological site, is located near the Peten Basin, a subregion of the Maya Lowlands in northwest Guatemala.

The area is considered the heartland of the Maya Classic Period, which lasted from 200 to 900 AD.

The site was first reported in 1909, and ongoing studies have revealed three major monumental groups linked by a long central causeway.

In ancient times, the value of jade went far beyond its material value. Mayans considered it a protector of generations, living and dead. For this reason,  jade masks were generally used to symbolize deities or ancestors and were used to reflect the affluence and influence of the entombed individuals.

Archaeologists discovered that grave robbers had excavated a tunnel into a royal pyramid’s core following a LiDAR survey in 2021. Further inspection revealed that the intruders had overlooked a specific area within the pyramid’s inner chamber.

A human skull, and bones, some of them carved with hieroglyphs, a coffin-shaped stone box, ceramic artifacts, and funerary offerings including a pot, oyster shells, and multiple jade pieces that fit together to create a jade mask were found as a result of this oversight.

The name Itzam Kokaj Bahlam is spelled out in carvings and hieroglyphs on some of the bone fragments.

The researchers surmise that this name may belong to the buried Maya king who ruled Chochkitam approximately 350 AD.

The most fascinating feature of all is that a carving on one of the bones shows the ruler clutching the head of a Maya deity, precisely like the assembled jade mask.

All the artifacts and bones discovered in the Chochkitam tomb were brought to the Holmul Archaeological Project (HAP) lab for cleaning and field analysis.

It was there that archaeologists put together the single blocks of jade that they had unearthed, and they were able to reconstruct an entire jade mosaic mask.

Lead archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of Tulane University and his team discovered the burial using LIDAR mapping technology, according to an extensive article in National Geographic. The mask represents a manifestation of the Storm God worshiped by the Mayans.

EUROPE, SYRIA, WORLD

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era

Syria uncovered a large intact mosaic that dates back to the Roman era, in the central town of Rastan, describing it as the most important archaeological discovery since the conflict began 11 years ago.

The mosaic, which shows ancient Amazon warriors, 120 square meters (around 1,300sq ft), was found in an old building that was under excavation by Syria’s general directorate of antiquities and museums.

The property, which dates back to the 4th century, was purchased by Lebanese and Syrian businessmen from the neighboring country’s Nabu Museum and donated to the Syrian state. Each panel was filled with square-shaped, small, colorful stones about a half-inch on each side.

Dr. Humam Saad, Associate Director of Excavation and Archaeological Research at Syria’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, said the mosaic shows the Ancient Amazon warriors as portrayed in Roman mythology.

A detail of a large mosaic that dates back to the Roman era is seen in the town of Rastan, Syria.

In Ancient Greek and Roman mythology, the demigod hero Hercules killed Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, in one of his 12 labors. The mosaic also portrays Neptune, the Ancient Roman god of the sea, and 40 of his mistresses.

“What is in front of us is a discovery that is rare on a global scale,” Saad told The Associated Press, adding that the images are “rich in details,” and includes scenes from the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans.

“We can’t identify the type of the building, whether it’s a public bathhouse or something else, because we have not finished excavating yet,” Saad told the AP.

One side of the mosaic panel discovered in Rastan, Homs (AFP)

Sulaf Fawakherji, a famous actress in Syria and a member of the Nabu Museum’s board of trustees said she hopes they could purchase other buildings in Rastan, which she says is filled with heritage sites and artifacts waiting to be discovered.

“There are other buildings, and it’s clear that the mosaic extends far wider,” Fawkherji told the AP.

“Rastan historically is an important city, and it could possibly be very important heritage city for tourism.”

Over the past ten years of ongoing, violent conflict, Syrian heritage sites have been looted and destroyed.

The Islamic State group captured Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site with 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts, and partially destroyed a Roman theater.

After seizing it from armed opposition forces in 2016, Syria’s cash-strapped government has been slowly rebuilding Aleppo’s centuries-old bazaar. Before the Syrian government reclaimed the city in 2018, Rastan was a significant opposition stronghold and the scene of violent clashes.

EUROPE, IRELAND, WORLD

‘Lost’ 4,000-year-old wedge tomb rediscovered in Ireland

‘Lost’ 4,000-year-old wedge tomb rediscovered in Ireland

‘Lost’ 4,000-year-old wedge tomb rediscovered in Ireland

A “lost” 4,000-year-old wedge tomb has been rediscovered in County Kerry, in the peninsular southwest region of Ireland.

The megalithic tomb, known locally as Altóir na Gréine (the sun altar), was believed to have been destroyed in the 1840s, with its stones broken and carried away for use as building material.

Lady Georgiana Chatterton, an English aristocrat and traveler, sketched the monument when she visited the site in 1838. She described the site as a “curious piece of antiquity,” suggesting it was used for Sun sacrifices.

However, when the antiquarian Richard Hitchcock came to West Kerry to inspect the tomb in 1852 he found the monument no longer existed, “the stones which composed it having been broken and carried away for building purposes as if there were no others in the neighborhood”.

Although a 19th-century record of a burial tomb was found close to Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, the precise location of the monument has been lost. But now the tomb has been rediscovered, dating back about 4,000 years.

However, the 180-year-old mystery has now been solved by folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn.

The folklorist has not only found the prehistoric site, but he has also discovered some of the large stones, which had been believed to have been removed, still in situ.

Mr Mag Fhloinn had long been fascinated by Ms Chatterton’s sketch and Altóir na Gréine’s association with the sun in local folklore and he set about searching for the “lost” tomb on the slopes of Cruach Mhárthain.

The only known visual representation of the intact monument was captured in a sketch by Lady Chatterton in 1838

Local folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn first recognized stones on a hill’s crest as part of a recent archaeological mapping project, and he later compared this hill with the one Lady Chatterton drew.

Several large upright orthostats and a capstone were discovered during Fhloinn’s primary research, refuting local legends that the tomb was completely destroyed in the middle of the 19th century.

Archaeologist Caimin O’Brien, the National Monuments Service in Dublin, confirmed that the stones represented about a quarter of the original Bronze Age wedge tomb, dating between 2500 BC and 2000 BC. Wedge-tombs are the most numerous megalithic burial structures found on the Dingle Peninsula.

Folklorist Mag Fhloinn believes “the taboo” surrounding the destruction of such tombs is related to 19th-century beliefs “in bad luck or disaster associated with their demise”.

“They are usually positioned on high ground, but not the highest point. There’s often certain alignments associated with them. Quite often the opening tends to look towards the west, or the south, or the southwest,” said Mr Mag Fhloinn.

“Usually you will find cremated remains of people inside and they probably represent the burial place of a significant family or community group.

“But they could have been used for other things as well, ceremonies and rituals for example. They may have cosmological and astronomical significance in the case where they are facing the setting sun in the west and southwest.”

“For the first time in over 180 years archaeologists know where the tomb is situated and it will enhance our understanding of wedge-tomb distribution,” said Caimin O’Brien, an archaeologist with the National Monument Service.

The rediscovered tomb of Altóir na Gréine will also form part of a deep-mapping project being carried out on the peninsula by Sacred Heart University.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Well-Preserved 1,000-Year-Old Ulfberht Sword Found In The Wisla River, Poland

Well-Preserved 1,000-Year-Old Ulfberht Sword Found In The Wisla River, Poland

Ulfberht swords were famous for their strength, flexibility, and high-tech blades. Viking warriors highly prized these weapons, which were extraordinarily valuable because of their properties.

Well-Preserved 1,000-Year-Old Ulfberht Sword Found In The Wisla River, Poland
This well-preserved Ulfbrecht sword was found in the Wisla River in Poland.

“Ulfberht blades were made of crucible steel with relatively high carbon content, making them more robust and flexible than European swords during the Viking and Middle Ages.

Crucible steel could not be produced in Europe until the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Still, in India, such steel (known as wootz, has been manufactured since 300 BC and has spread to large parts of the Middle East during the 9th century. Vikings probably gained access to the material from Persia via the trade route across the Volga and the Caspian Sea.” 

Very few Ulfberht swords have been found so far. Only eight such swords are known to exist in Poland and 170 in the rest of Europe.

Earlier this month, Polish workers accidentally found a well-preserved 1,000-year-old Ulfberht in the Wisla River (Vistula River) in the city of Wroclawek. They were carrying out dredging work related to deepening the pool of the port of the Sport and Recreation Center in Włocławek when they suddenly made an unprecedented historical discovery.

The sword had an Ulfberht inscription.

One can imagine how surprised Sławomir Mularski, the owner of the company, was when he spotted ‘an oblong, metal object’ sticking out of the sediment.

Experts suggest the sword may have belonged to a Viking, but this has not been confirmed. Scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun have conducted an X-ray analysis of the weapon and dated it to before 950 A.D.  The sword also has an inscription of the word ‘Ulfberht.’

This historical period is highly important in Polish history. Poland did not exist prior to the 10th century A.D. when the formation of the House of Piast, the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland, took place.

Weapons of this kind are associated with Scandinavia and the Frankish Empire.

“This is an extremely valuable find. We know that these so-called Ulfberht swords were produced somewhere in Central Europe, but it’s not known exactly where.

They were manufactured using very specific methods using carbon steel and a very precise composition.

The amount of carbon steel that was used was strictly defined, making the sword very strong and flexible – its durability and combat value depended on this.

More importantly, after lying in silt for over 1,000 years, the sword has been preserved in excellent condition,” Sambor Gawinski from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian branch of the conservator’s office said.

Gawinski stressed he was not convinced this was a Viking sword. “Several theories have been posited, and so far, all variants are acceptable, but we need to wait for the results of more detailed research,” he said.

Polish archaeologist Robert Grochowski agrees it is much too early to say a Viking once owned this sword. These swords are often referred to as Viking swords, but they were technically created in territories in today’s Germany and traded widely throughout Europe. This could explain why the sword was found in Poland.

“I don’t know where the idea that the sword belonged to a Viking comes from. Without detailed research, this is completely unjustified. It is difficult to say anything more than the fact that it is an early medieval sword,” Grochowski told the Warsaw-based newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

2,800-Year-Old ‘Pharmaceutical production area’ discovered in ancient Thracian City

Archaeologists have unearthed a “pharmaceutical production area” supported by a water source during ongoing excavations in the Thracian Ancient City Heraion Teikhos,  in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.

Heraion Teichos ancient city on the İstanbul-Tekirdağ highway, situated on the banks of the Marmara Sea in Tekirdağ Province, is extremely important since it is the only Thracian city excavated in Türkiye.

In recent years, scientific data revealed by archaeological excavations prove that the city has been inhabited from third millennium B.C.E. to XIII century. Century A.D. The city lived its most brilliant periods from 5Th century B.C.. to 1st century A.D.

In 2021, a team of researchers from Istanbul Rumeli University unearthed a 2,800-year-old temple in Türkiye’s ancient Thracian city of Heraion Teikhos. Now, a water system has been identified leading to a space within the temple that researchers call an “ancient pharmaceutical production area.”

Professor Dr. Neşe Atik told Hurriyet Daily News, “Heraion Teikhos is a Thracian City, the first Thracian settlement in our country where excavations are still being carried out, and the only excavation site that yields Thracian finds.”

Atik stated that the aim of the excavations is to identify pharmaceutical production areas, the size of which is not yet known, and how the water was transported.

“Water systems in hilltop settlements were usually built with large water cisterns in ancient times.

The 2023 excavations at the Heraion Teikhos settlement yielded findings indicating that water was transported not from cisterns but from an area a few kilometers to the east of the excavation site, which is still wooded today. In addition to this, a new pharmaceutical was unearthed in the west of the settlement.

Terracotta pipes connecting the pools and stone channels also revealed that there was a pharmaceutical production area spread over the entire excavation area,” Atik said.

“The fact that the medicine ovens and the clean water system and pools required for medicine making were located close to each other in the same areas is scientifically important since it is the first time they have been identified archaeologically,” she concluded.

The Thracians were a group of tribes renowned for their rich culture and formidable warriors, that thrived in Southeast Europe from as early as 2000-1500 BC. They were a group of tribes who occupied the southeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

The Thracians are most famous for their magnificent metalwork, particularly in gold and silver, and for people like the fabled Spartacus, who was descended from them. Their culture, interwoven with Greek and later Roman influences, contributed significantly to the tapestry of classical antiquity, but it remains shrouded in mystery due to a lack of written records.

All In One Magazine