EUROPE, SWEDEN, WORLD

The stunning 3D face of ‘jawless’ Stone Age man whose head was found on a SPIKE revealed

The stunning 3D face of ‘jawless’ Stone Age man whose head was found on a SPIKE revealed

It is likely that the world never understands why the head of the man from Stone Age is on a stake and tossed into an underwater grave, but now it will see his face. 

The technology of 3D face reconstruction was used by a forensic artist to put together the features on an 8,000-year-old jawless skull to depict one individual with a pointy nose, a broad stir, and a long beard. The facial muscles and skin were formed using different factors such as the man’s weight, height, and ethnicity.

The skull was one of at least 12, including an infant, found in what was once a prehistoric lake in Sweden and experts believe the group may have been murdered during an ancient ritual.

In a note, Nilsson said to DailyMail.com: ‘ I rebuilt the face with a forensic reconstruction technique based on the expected depth of tissue of several anatomic landmarks of the skull alongside the rebuilding of the facial muscles. ‘

‘There are also reliable techniques to reconstruct specific parts of the face: the nose, the eyes and the mouth, from information and traces on the skull.’

The original findings, from researchers at Stockholm University and Sweden’s Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHF) in 2018, is the first evidence that Stone Age hunter-gatherers displayed heads on wooden spikes.

‘Here, we have an example of a very complex ritual, which is very structured,’ lead researcher Dr Fredrik Hallgren, from CHF, told Daily Mail.

‘Even though we can’t decipher the meaning of the ritual, we can still appreciate the complexity of it, of these prehistoric hunter-gatherers.’

Why this man, and the others, met such a horrific death may stay a mystery, but Oscar Nilsson, a Sweden-based forensic artist, has shown us what the ancient victim looked like.

The jawless skull (pictured) was one of at least 12, including an infant, found in what was once a prehistoric lake in Sweden and experts believe the group may have been murdered during an ancient ritual.

‘The Stone Age, and the Mesolithic period, is absolutely a favorite period for me. However these individuals from the Mesolithic genetically are so alike us today, the culture, the way they saw their world yet are so different from our understanding, beliefs, and values. So alike, but so distant,’ explained Nilsson. 

‘Moreover, the finding from Motala is so special: the skulls of 10 individuals were placed on wooden poles, just above the ancient lakes´surface.

‘Furthermore, they all had several healed traumas from violence. Stone Age was violent, but this is something else, one can almost suspect that the violence was ritual. Unusually frequent anyway.’ 

Also, his DNA was so well preserved that it was possible to get information on the colors of hair, eyes, and skin. Nilsson took a computer tomography scan of the skull and printed a 3D replica in vinyl plastic, Daily Mail reported.

Because the jaw was missing from the skull, he had to take a measurement of where it once was in order to reconstruct it. Although there is no evidence of what the man wore, Nilsson made choices on the wardrobe and haircut based on items found in the grave.

Archaeologists uncovered remains from a range of animals including brown bears, wild boars, red deer, moose, and roe deer.  The man’s hair was reconstructed to be short with a longer portion pulled back in a small ponytail.

Meanwhile, the white chalk decorating the man’s chest is a piece of artistic license, based on the fact that many Indigenous groups today use chalk for body paint, Nilsson said. 

‘It’s a reminder we cannot understand their aesthetic taste, just observe it.’ We have no reason to believe these people were less interested in their looks, and to express their individuality than we are today.’

Researchers uncovered the man’s skull, along with the 12 others, in 2018. Seven of the adults likely died in agony and had suffered serious trauma to their head before they died, which researchers suggest were the result of non-lethal, violent blows.

The finding is the first evidence that Stone Age hunter-gatherers displayed heads on wooden spikes. The gruesome discovery challenges our understanding of European Stone Age culture and how these early humans handled their dead, experts said

These may have been the result of interpersonal violence, forced abduction, warfare, and aids of socially-sanctioned violence between group members. The bodies were placed atop a densely packed layer of large stones in what would have been an elaborate underwater burial between 7,500 and 8,500 years ago.

Only one of the bodies still had a jawbone when it was buried, which experts suggest were removed as part of the burial ritual.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

16th-Century Cemetery in Poland Yields Children’s Remains

Mass 16th-century grave reveals grim remains of over 100 children with coins in their mouths

In Southeast Poland the bodies of more than 100 children were found, some with coins in their mouths. It verified the local legends of the child’s graveyard.

Archeologists revealed a total of 115 bodies following the discovery of human bones by construction workers during work on the S19 road in Jeżowe, Nizko in Podkarpackie province.

As reported, the National Roads and Motorways Directorate-General said: ‘ Around 70 – 80% of all burial sites, based on archeological discoveries to date, are infants.

The remains were uncovered by archaeologists after construction workers discovered human bones during roadworks.

When archaeologists looked more closely at the bodies they were amazed to find some of them had coins placed in their mouths.

Katarzyna Oleszek, an archaeologist working at the site, said: “It’s certainly a sign of their beliefs. The coins are called obols of the dead or Charon’s obol. It is an old, pre-Christian tradition. But it’s been cultivated for a long time, even as late as the nineteenth century, it was practiced by Pope Pius IX.”

Charon’s obol is a term for a coin placed in the mouth of a dead person before burial. The tradition goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. The coin was a payment or bribe for Charon, the ferryman who conveyed souls across the river that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.

The bodies found in Jeżowe do not date that far back, however. The coins found were minted in the time of Sigismund III Vasa, who was the king of Poland from 1587 to 1632. Also found were coins known as boratynki, which date from the reign of John II Casimir from 1648 to 1668.

The find confirms archaeologists’ theories and the speculations of locals that children were buried in a cemetery in an area known as the Church Mountains.

Apart from the coins, no other items were found in the graves. There were no buttons, nails, or coffin handles, which Oleszek says suggests that the community that buried them was very poor.

The area is now forested and there are no grave markers. Only a small chapel offers any sign of the former church.

Oleszek said: “The arrangement of the skeletons, the state of their preservation, shows that the discovery is a Catholic church cemetery, which was certainly taken care of. No grave is damaged by another. The inhabitants knew exactly where they had graves and took care of them.”

Oleszek said, “We know from sources that during a visit of the bishops of Kraków here in Jeżowe 1604 there was already a large parish church, with a garden, a rectory, a school, and a cemetery. It probably existed already since 1590.”

The bodies were found in sandy ground and were arranged on an east-west axis, all with heads to the west on their backs with the hands at their sides. The graves are most likely those from the children’s section of the graveyard.

One grave contains the bodies of four children. They lay in close formation but not on top of each other. All their heads are resting to one side in the same direction. The fourth child, on the edge of the group, is much younger than the others. 

“The arrangement of the skeletons, the state of their preservation, shows that the discovery is a Catholic church cemetery, which was certainly taken care of. No grave is damaged by another. The inhabitants knew exactly where they had graves and took care of them,” said Oleszek.

The bodies will be exhumed and after being studied by anthropologists they will be passed to the local parish church and buried again in the local cemetery.

Most of the bodies were buried in individual graves and the original order and layout of the graves will be preserved. The group of four children will again be buried together. 

The bodies were discovered during work on a section of the S19 motorway, which is part of the Via Carpatia project that will link the Baltic states with south-eastern Europe.

In Poland, the route runs through Podlasie, Mazovia, Lublin, and Podkarpacie and is set to be over 700 km long.

ENGLAND, IRELAND, WORLD

17th-Century Artifacts Found at Soldiers’ Barracks in Ireland

17th-Century Artifacts Found at Soldiers’ Barracks in Ireland

Unearthing at the Athlone Garda Station on Barrack Street offered an insight into the life of a soldier from the 17th century 17th-century soldier in the town.

The archaeological findings suggest that the soldiers’ rowdy ways included drinking, smoking, and gambling on blood sports at the barracks site.

The first soldiers were stationed in Athlone during the foundation of Custume Barracks, formerly Victoria Barracks, around 1690.

This week, outgoing Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, announced several interesting finds unearthed during monitored excavation works by Angela Wallace, of Atlantic Archaeology, as part of the Athlone Garda Station redevelopment.

Several artifacts were discovered recently, amidst a perfectly-preserved cobbled area and courtyard surface.

A number of artifacts dating back to the 17th century have been discovered at a building site in Westmeath.

The OPW said the items uncovered “ranged from coins to musket balls, to a thimble and a hair comb, and fragments of clay pipes and glassware, as well as military buttons, uniform buckles, and interesting animal bones.”

These objects “suggest the soldiers had time away from the stresses of battle and controlling the colonies to indulge in drinking, smoking and gambling on blood sports.”

Zoo-archaeologist Siobhan Duffy identified a lower leg-bone from a male chicken which had the characteristic spur sawn off at approximately mid-way along its length.

“This procedure would have been carried out during the bird’s life, to facilitate the attachment of an artificial spur for the purposes of cockfighting,” Ms. Duffy explained.

At that time, cockfighting was a potentially lucrative enterprise, regarded as a sport worthy of the powerful elite.

The OPW said the discovery of many clay pipe fragments, dating between 1640 and 1670, along with fragments of fine 17th-century glassware, reinforced the theory that elite-status activities had been happening on Athlone the site.

Further evidence of this was seen in the excavation of a fine-toothed bone comb and clay curler, as many soldiers during the time wore their hair closely shaven, to avoid lice infestations, while more senior officers wore grand wigs.

The OPW has emphasized the significance of the Athlone finds.

“To date, there has been no other extensive excavation carried out on a military barracks in Ireland that has produced such a wide range of artifacts and ecofacts informing us of the social and domestic activities of soldiers during this period,” it stated this week.

EUROPE, ROMANIA, WORLD

Alaskan volcano eruption linked to fall of Roman Republic: Study

Alaskan volcano eruption linked to fall of Roman Republic: Study

The proof of an unprecedented period of extreme cold in ancient Rome has come to light through a multinational team of scientists and historians: an unlikely cause of the mass explosion of the Alaska Okmok volcano on the opposite side of the world.

Written sources identify a period of exceptionally cold weather, crop failures, drought, plague and anarchy in the Mediterranean region around the time of Julius Caesar’s death (44 BCE)—impacts that eventually led to the downfall of the Roman Republic and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

Historians have long suspected a volcano to be the cause, but have been unable to pinpoint where or when such an eruption had occurred, or how severe it was.

Cicero’s death in 42 B.C.E. marks the end of the Roman Republic. Did a volcano hasten its fall?

In a new study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a research team led by Joe McConnell, Ph.D. of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev. uses an analysis of tephra (volcanic ash) found in Arctic ice cores to link the period of unexplained extreme climate in the Mediterranean with the caldera-forming eruption of Alaska’s Okmok volcano in 43 BCE.

“To find evidence that a volcano on the other side of the earth erupted and effectively contributed to the demise of the Romans and the Egyptians and the rise of the Roman Empire is fascinating,” McConnell said. “It certainly shows how interconnected the world was even 2,000 years ago.”

Alaska’s Umnak Island in the Aleutians showing the huge, 10-km wide caldera (upper right) largely created by the 43 BCE Okmok II eruption at the dawn of the Roman Empire.

The discovery was initially made last year in DRI’s Ice Core Laboratory, when McConnell and Swiss researcher Michael Sigl, Ph.D. from the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern happened upon an unusually well-preserved layer of tephra in an ice core sample and decided to investigate.

New measurements were made on ice cores from Greenland and Russia, some of which were drilled in the 1990s and archived in the U.S., Denmark, and Germany.

Using these and earlier measurements, they were able to clearly delineate two distinct eruptions – a powerful but short-lived, relatively localized event in early 45 BCE, and a much larger and more widespread event in early 43 BCE with volcanic fallout that lasted more than two years in all the ice core records.

The researchers then conducted a geochemical analysis of the tephra samples from the second eruption found in the ice, matching the tiny shards with those of the Okmok II eruption in Alaska – one of the largest eruptions of the past 2,500 years.

“The tephra match doesn’t get any better,” said tephra specialist Gill Plunkett, Ph.D. from Queen’s University Belfast. “We compared the chemical fingerprint of the tephra found in the ice with tephra from volcanoes thought to have erupted about that time and it was very clear that the source of the 43 BCE fallout in the ice was the Okmok II eruption.”

Detailed records of past explosive volcanic eruptions are archived in the Greenland ice sheet and accessed through deep-drilling operations.

Working with colleagues from the U.K., Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Alaska, and Yale University in Connecticut, the team of historians and scientists gathered supporting evidence from around the globe, including tree-ring-based climate records from Scandinavia, Austria, and California are the White Mountains and climate records from a speleothem (cave formations) from Shihua Cave in northeast China.

They then used Earth system modeling to develop a more complete understanding of the timing and magnitude of volcanism during this period and its effects on climate and history.

According to their findings, the two years following the Okmok II eruption were some of the coldest in the Northern Hemisphere in the past 2,500 years, and the decade that followed was the fourth coldest. Climate models suggest that seasonally averaged temperatures may have been as much as 7oC (13oF) below normal during the summer and autumn that followed the 43 BCE eruption of Okmok, with summer precipitation of 50 to 120 percent above normal throughout Southern Europe, and autumn precipitation reaching as high as 400 percent of normal.

“In the Mediterranean region, these wet and extremely cold conditions during the agriculturally important spring through autumn seasons probably reduced crop yields and compounded supply problems during the ongoing political upheavals of the period,” said classical archaeologist Andrew Wilson, D.Phil. of the University of Oxford. “These findings lend credibility to reports of cold, famine, food shortage, and disease described by ancient sources.”

“Particularly striking was the severity of the Nile flood failure at the time of the Okmok eruption, and the famine and disease that was reported in Egyptian sources,” added Yale University historian Joe Manning, Ph.D.  “The climate effects were a severe shock to an already stressed society at a pivotal moment in history.”

Timeline showing European summer temperatures and volcanic sulphur and ash levels in relation to the Okmok II Eruption and significant historic events of the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom from 59 to 20 BCE.

Volcanic activity also helps to explain certain unusual atmospheric phenomena that were described by ancient Mediterranean sources around the time of Caesar’s assassination and interpreted as signs or omens – things like solar halos, the sun darkening in the sky, or three suns appearing in the sky (a phenomenon now known as a parahelia, or ‘sun dog’). However, many of these observations took place prior to the eruption of Okmok II in 43 BCE, and are likely related to a smaller eruption of Mt. Etna in 44 BCE.

Although the study authors acknowledge that many different factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Kingdom, they believe that the climate effects of the Okmok II eruption played an undeniably large role – and that their discovery helps to fill a knowledge gap about this period of history that has long puzzled archaeologists and ancient historians.

“People have been speculating about this for many years, so it’s exciting to be able to provide some answers,” McConnell said.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

The First Temple At Gobekli Tepe: Denisovan & Anunnaki Ancient Aliens Origins

The First Temple At Gobekli Tepe: Denisovan & Anunnaki Ancient Aliens Origins

Gobekli Tepe is the oldest known ancient site at the age of 12,000 and is undoubtedly the first known Temple in the world. At least 7,000 years before the Sumerian Empire, its presence raises questions as to how the history of civilization and the early days of the modern man can be traced.

Excavation at the site suggests that the findings present a challenge to both mainstream and alternative historical accounts such as the Ancient Astronaut Theory. The result is an enigma that points to the possibility that the Gobekli Tepe site as the World’s first temple was built either by the Native inhabitants, the Denisovans, or the Anunnaki Ancient Aliens.

The Gobekli Tepe Temple Complex Site

Located in Turkey, Gobekli Tepe is made up of a vast Stone Temple Complex. However, unlike Sumerian or Ancient Egyptian Temple Complexes, there is no writing from which the purpose of the Complex can be understood. Instead, we have a Stone alignment and a series of symbolic inscriptions that suggest the existence of an Astronomy based Religion.

The Gobleki Tepe Site’s alignment to the Cygnus constellation and as a means of marking the Precession of the Equinoxes in Ancient times has been proposed by Andrew Collins and Graham Hancock.

In addition, the Temple inscriptions bear a close resemblance to the symbols that would be used later in Sumerian, Indus Valley, Egyptian and Mesoamerican Temples. It would, therefore, appear that Gobleki Tepe is possibly the site at which the Astronomical Religions of the Ancient world began.

Gobleki Tepe is also credited with being the source of the agricultural knowledge that was later transmitted to these later Ancient Civilizations.

Whilst the Astronomical alignments and Religious symbols at Gobleki Tepe are fairly clear, the identity of the Architects remains a mystery.

The Unknown Architects Of Gobekli Tepe

Without a doubt, the Architects of Gobleki Tepe were of superior intelligence and culture. According to Andrew Collins and Graham Hancock, the Architects were possibly the Denisovans, a now extinct Giant Humanoid hybrid species of superior size and intelligence.

In this view, the builders of Gobleki Tepe may have been the survivors of the great deluge, who established Gobleki Tepe in order to preserve and transmit pre-flood knowledge and culture.

Sitchin’s Ancient Astronaut Theory would also suggest that Gobekli Tepe was a site that was established by the Anunnaki Ancient Aliens after the flood as a means of preserving the pre-flood knowledge.

It has also been argued that the site is the work of local Native Tribes who built the site in Ancient times together with the NAZCA lines using stone tools.

The identity of the Architects of Gobleki Tepe remains an enigma, and it is from its influence on later cultures that perhaps we may obtain some idea as to who is responsible for erecting the Temple Complex.

The Influence Of Gobekli Tepe

Gobleki Tepe’s influence is most evident in the later Civilizations of Sumeria, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesoamerica.

In particular, the symbols and astronomical alignments were first seen at Gobleki Tepe are apparent in these same later Civilizations, forming the foundation of these Civilizations by introducing concepts like Time, Temple Construction, and Religious worship of the Gods.

It would seem the Gobleki Tepe provided a kind of ancient template upon which later Civilizations were built. The references to the Ancient Gods of Sumer, Egypt, India, and Mesoamerica may in-fact be references to the Denovisan founders of the Gobleki Tepe complex who spread the knowledge of Civilization to these regions.

As such, the Ancient Gods in these various regions may in-fact be Giant Hybrid Denovisans rather than Ancient Astronauts as suggested by Zechariah Sitchin. Its therefore possible that the Ancient Gods may not have descended from the Heavens, but were regarded as having done so by the peoples they initiated into the arts of Civilization.

The earliest depictions of the Architects of Gobleki Tepe may possibly be of the Serpent figures of the Ubaid Culture which may be seen as portrayals of Denivosan Giants rather than Alien beings.

Gobleki Tepe culture may have therefore spread and established itself in the Ubaid Region first, then onto Sumer, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Mesoamerica.

Conclusion

The Giant skeletons that have been unearthed throughout the world and remain unexplained by mainstream Archaeology may belong to the Architects of Gobleki Tepe. A Race of Denovisan Hybrid Giants who initiated all subsequent Cultures into Civilization.

In this sense, Gobekli Tepe may be regarded as some kind of learning center or school for the initiation of early mankind into Civilization after the great deluge. Excavation of the Gobekli Tepe site still continues, and perhaps more revelations will provide clarity as to its purpose, origins, Architects, and influence on later Civilizations.

Nevertheless, at this point, what has been discovered so far brings into question both mainstream history and alternative arguments like Sitchin’s Ancient Astronaut Theory especially if the Denovisan hypothesis is considered.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Hoard of 5,000 Anglo Saxon Coins Worth Over $1.5 M Discovered by Amateur Metal Detectorists

Hoard of 5,000 Anglo Saxon Coins Worth Over $1.5 M Discovered by Amateur Metal Detectorists

A cache of more than Anglo Saxon 5000 coins, including a rare penny, have been discovered, and the find in Buckinghamshire near Lenborough is considered to be the largest haul of coins in modern times.

A hoard of more than Anglo Saxon 5,000 coins have been unearthed (pictured), including what may be a unique coin. The 5,248 coins were found by Paul Coleman on December 21 last year

It includes a uniquely-stamped coin which may be the results of a mix-up at the mint, more than 1,000 years ago. No valuation has officially been placed on the coins, which have formerly been declared as treasure trove, but some experts believe they could be worth more than £1 million.

The 5,248 coins were found by metal detector enthusiast Paul Coleman on December 21 last year. He almost decided not to dig the site when his metal detector beeped, believing he had come across a hidden manhole cover. However, his persistence was rewarded when he found the silver pennies, which were buried in two sets, possibly up to 15 years apart, based upon the dates imprinted on them.

He told a treasure trove inquest in Beaconsfield: ‘I wasn’t going to go [hunting for treasure] but I was talked into it.

Small cross-type penny with a portrait of King Ethelred (not from the newly-discovered hoard)

We looked at the aerial photos and chose a field because there were strange markings. We decided to leave the field because there was nothing in it. When the detector started beeping, it felt like the size of a manhole cover and that’s also what caused me to nearly not dig it up. Anything of that size is normally a manhole cover or a squashed bucket.’

Mr. Coleman, who is 60 and retired, believes it was fate that caused him to wander over to where the hoard was buried. He chose a different route because choosing his Deus detector was receiving interference from one belonging to another member of the Weekend Wanderers metal detecting club.

He first found 985 coins dating from the reign of Ethelred the Unready in the 990s and a further 4,263 that were minted during the reign of his successor, Canute. The coins were taken to the museum in Aylesbury before then being sent to the British Museum for further analysis. 

Brett Thorn, keeper of archaeology at the Buckinghamshire County Museum, told the treasure inquest: ‘Normally hoards are fairly small – 10 to 20 coins, something of that order. 

‘The largest came in the 1840s, containing 7,000 plus silver objects, and one was recorded in the late 90s. This find is the only modern one which is comparable to those.’ 

He believes the coins were buried on the way to a mint in Buckingham five miles (8km) away in order to be melted down and re-cast. New coins were minted every few years, with the holders of old coins having to pay a tax if they tried using them.

The discovery, which was made near Lenborough (marked on this map with a red marker) in Buckinghamshire is said to be the biggest hoard of coins in modern times
The 5,248 coins were found by Paul Coleman on December 21 last year. He almost decided not to dig the site when his metal detector beeped, believing he had come across a hidden manhole cover. He is pictured left with some of the Saxon coins in a clear container, which are pictured in-situ, right

Alternatively, Mr. Thorn said the money could have been the savings of a single-family over the course of 20 years. Despite the age gap between some of the coins, he told the inquest: ‘There’s no doubt they were deposited at the same time.’

He said that one of the coins – an Agnus Dei coin containing a lamb and flag – is possibly unique.

‘It’s a mis-struck coin. The lamb should have on the reverse a dove of peace. This doesn’t; it has a short cross. Someone has made a mistake but it is still good silver. They still sent it out. It makes the coin a rare mistake among a group of unique coins.

Such coins were issued towards the end of Ethelred’s reign and were a plea to God to protect them from the Vikings. Just 30 Agnus Dei coins had ever been discovered and 25 of those were in Scandinavia. There have also been just 30 Saxon coins discovered in the area over the course of 150 years because most of them were taken back with the Vikings.

He first found 985 coins dating from the reign of Ethelred the Unready in the 990s and a further 4,263 that were minted during the reign of his successor, Canute. Here, the coins are shown in situ

Recalling the moment the hoard was brought into the museum, Mr. Thorn said: ‘It was just phenomenal. There was an email about a hoard of 5,000 coins. I thought it was a typo – you don’t get hoards of that scale, ever. I assumed it meant to say 50; even 500 would be exceptionally exciting.

‘It was a massive amount and I couldn’t believe the condition they were in. The ones I looked at initially were in excellent condition. The first thing we did was phone the British Museum and we drove them down to London that day.

‘Word had spread around the department this was coming in and when we arrived everyone was going “is that the hoard?” They were as excited about it as we were. This is a massively significant find, which is why we were really pleased the British Museum said they were happy to let us have it.

‘It’s the most sensible place for it – in Buckinghamshire, where it was found.’ The museum will need to raise a percentage of the coins’ total value in order to put them on display, with an official valuation expected tin the New Year.

Mr. Thorn said analysis of the coins showed they had been minted in 40 different locations around the country. Some of the coins were inscribed with the name Coleman, prompting their finder to say: ‘I joked that the hoard had my name on it – I didn’t realize it literally did.

Mr. Coleman, who lives in Southampton, Hampshire said: ‘The whole thing has been surreal the whole time.’ He has been pursuing his hobby for 50 years and said: ‘I’ve found Roman coins, medieval coins and quite a few medieval broaches, the stuff that keeps you interested.

‘The biggest thrill is when you find the personal things like a brooch that an individual has worn – if only you could read the story that went with it. It’s like holding a bit of history.”

Peter Welch, who runs the Weekend Wanderers club, told the Buckinghamshire coroner: ‘This won’t be repeated. I have never had anything like this in 25 years of running the club.’ Coroner Richard Hulett ruled that the hoard should be counted as treasure after hearing the coins were made of more than 10 percent silver – the minimum level needed to satisfy modern treasure laws.

A lead ‘basket’ which contained the coins – which fell apart during the excavation – was also ruled as treasure after fragments of it were preserved.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Ancient Roman jewelry found beneath the British department store

Ancient Roman jewelry found beneath the British department store

A 2,000-year-old story of terror and devastation has been brought to light during renovation work at an English department store, revealing one of the finest collections of Roman jewelry as well as human remains of people who were slaughtered at the site.

The jewelry had been undisturbed since 61 A.D. in Colchester, some 50 miles northeast of London. It was found in a wooden box and bags under a department store in the town’s high street.

A cache of blingy gold and silver jewelry hidden by a wealthy Roman woman nearly two millennia ago was unearthed recently during a department store site excavation in the historic British town of Colchester.

The treasure, which has been dated to the year 61AD, provides examples of what the best-dressed women of the day were wearing.

Among the items were three gold armlets, a silver armlet, silver chain necklace, two silver bracelets, four gold rings, and two sets of gold earrings. Also found was a bag of Roman coins and a small jewelry box.

Experts from the Colchester Archaeological Trust surmised that the wealthy Roman woman hastily buried her valuables on the floor of her home due to a feared invasion by native Britons.

The military campaign, which ultimately failed to wrest control from the Romans, was to be known as the Boudican Revolt.

Physical evidence, including scorched food items and broken human bones, tells a harrowing story of a home that was burnt to the ground during the violent rebellion.

The treasure, which the Colchester Archaeological Trust is calling the finest discovery of Roman jewelry in British history, would have been lost forever had it not been for excavation work related to the $48 million expansion of the upscale Colchester department store, Williams & Griffin.

The store offers everything from furniture to fashion (Yes, they sell fine jewelry) and is located about 65 miles northeast of London.

“We have been working on the site for six months, and this remarkable Roman jewelry collection was discovered on the third to last day of our dig,” Colchester Archaeological Trust director Philip Crummy told the East Anglian Daily Times.

According to NBC News, the department store’s owner, Fenwick Ltd., is planning to donate the Roman hoard (now called the “Fenwick Treasure”) to the local Colchester Castle Museum. Colchester has the distinction of being the oldest town in Britain.

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

A mysterious bag containing 54 severed human hands found in Russia

A mysterious bag containing 54 severed human hands found in Russia

Russian police launched an investigation after a mysterious bag of 54 severed human hands was discovered at a popular fishing place near the Siberian city of Khabarovsk, the Siberian Times reports.

In Siberia, a fisherman made a gruesome discovery walking along a riverbank last week: A bag containing 27 pairs of human hands, severed at the wrist.

But according to the Russian government, it’s not the work of a hand-obsessed killer, but a forensics laboratory, which – erk – was improperly disposing of its biowaste.

According to The Siberian Times, the fisherman initially spotted just one hand peeking out of the snow as he walked by the Amur River in the southeastern Russian city of Khabarovsk.

That discovery led the fisherman to the nearby bag, which also contained medical bandages and plastic shoe coverings commonly used in clean facilities such as laboratories and hospitals.

Initially, the provenance of the 54 hands was unknown, but the Investigative Committee of The Russian Federation acted swiftly and determined their origin was a Khabarovsk-based forensics laboratory.

“The biological objects (hands) found are not of a criminal origin, but were disposed of in a manner not provided for by law,” the Committee wrote in a post on Telegram Messenger in Russian.

A macabre bag containing 27 pairs of human hands found in a bag on Amur River island. Mystery over who the hands belonged to, when they were chopped off, and why.

It’s not known why the laboratory severed the hands in the first place. Sometimes hands and feet are the only parts of the deceased recovered, although the sheer quantity in the bag makes that explanation seem unlikely.

The removal may have also been for identification purposes, a practice that is not unheard of. Controversially, back in 1989, a UK coroner severed the hands of 25 disaster victims to record fingerprints before deterioration could set in. But those were extreme circumstances, and the decision attracted significant ire.

Besides, fingerprints can definitely be taken and stored without requiring the hand to be severed from the body.

Russian authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident to find out all of the circumstances surrounding the incident. They’ve only been able to obtain just one set of prints from the hands, but the lab itself will likely yield more information.

“Based on the audit results, a legal assessment will be made of the actions of officials of the forensic medical institution in the city of Khabarovsk responsible for the disposal of these biological objects,” the Investigative Committee wrote.

All In One Magazine