EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

Archaeologists in Spain Seek Grave of 16th-Century Irish Hero

Archaeologists in Spain Seek Grave of 16th-Century Irish Hero

VALLADOLID, SPAIN—The Archaeology org reports that a team of researchers led by archaeologist Óscar Burón have uncovered human remains at what may be the burial place of Red Hugh O’Donnell.

Statue of Red Hugh O’Donnell

An Irish nobleman who led a rebellion against the government in Ireland and died in Spain in 1602, after attempting to persuade Spanish king Philip III to send additional troops to Ireland to continue the fight against the English.

A tweet from the city’s tourism and culture department read: “A part of the skull, a femur, and some more remains appear in what appears to be the access to the Chapel of the Marvels.”

On day five of the dig in Valladolid’s Constitution Street on Friday, the archaeologists recovered human remains.

The city’s culture councillor Ana Redondo posted a shamrock emoji and the words “estamos cerca” – “we are close”.

The archaeologists involved are also searching for the remains of Christopher Columbus, who in 1492 became the first European to discover the Americas.

He was buried in the same place as O’Donnell. However, Columbus’s remains were allegedly removed and reburied in the cathedral of Seville and later in the Dominican Republic.

In search of Red Hugh O’Donnell, the Irish William Wallace who ended his days in Valladolid.

Speaking on Friday, which was the 514th anniversary of the funeral of Columbus in Valladolid, chief archaeologist Óscar Burón said he believed that both O’Donnell and Columbus are “buried right under our feet and now we are concerned with checking whether the research we have undertaken is correct”.

He described O’Donnell as an “Irish prince and the hero of the resistance against the English”.

O’Donnell and his father-in-law Hugh Mor O’Neill, who between them controlled large parts of the north of Ireland, started the Nine Years War to drive the English out of Ireland.

Battle of Kinsale

It began promisingly and the Irish won a number of significant victories, but eventually ended in defeat following the siege and then the Battle of Kinsale in late 1601 and early 1602.

A combined force of Spanish and Irish troops was defeated by the English in one of the worst military setbacks in Irish history, after which Red Hugh fled to Spain.

Though Philip III never did provide the soldiers requested by Red Hugh, he did give him the equivalent of a royal funeral as described in the Annals of the Four Masters.

“His body was conveyed to the king’s palace at Valladolid in a four-wheeled hearse, surrounded by countless numbers of the king’s state officers, council, and guards, with luminous torches and bright flambeaux of beautiful wax-light burning on each side of him.”

He was buried within the Chapel of Marvels in the grounds of the Franciscan convent in Valladolid. The convent disappeared in 1836 and with it O’Donnell’s remains.

In a statement, Valladolid city council’s cultural department said finding the remains of O’ Donnell would be a “spur to the dissemination of this city abroad and also, of course, within Spain.

“The burial in Valladolid of these two characters of such relevance to the world as is the case of Columbus and to relations between Spain and Ireland against their common enemy: England, demonstrate the importance of Spain and specifically of Valladolid for centuries.”

On Thursday the team of archaeologists located other human bones, but not those of O’Donnell.

They hope that his remains will be easy to identify as he lost the big toes on both feet from frostbite after he escaped from prison in Dublin in December 1591. He fled into the Wicklow mountains in the depth of winter. His companion Art O’Neill froze to death in the escape.

EUROPE, SWITZERLAND, WORLD

Farmer discovers a huge hoard of more than 4,000 ancient Roman coins in Switzerland

Farmer discovers a huge hoard of more than 4,000 ancient Roman coins in Switzerland

One of the largest treasures of that type found in Switzerland was a hoard with over 4,000 bronze and silver coins dating back to ancient Rome, unearthed in the orchard by a fruit and vegetable farmer.

Some of the Roman coins found in Ueken, Aargau canton, which experts say were buried 1,700 years ago.

Several months ago, a Swiss farmer found the old coins in Ueken, a town in northwest Switzerland. He mistakenly planted them when his cherry trees were examined.

He then contacted local archaeological experts, who confirmed the presence of a collection of more than 4,000 bronze and silver Roman coins.

Large troves of Roman coins are often found in Britain. In 2009, a collection of nearly 60,000 rust-worn coins, known as the Frome Hoard, was found in a field in Somerset in 2009.

This Swiss collection is also one of the largest ever found outside of the UK, which makes it very special.

The discovery also coincides with a renewed global interest in Rome and Roman history, prompted by the discovery of an intact tomb at the archaeological site of Pompeii in October.

Archaeologists explain that the reason why Roman coins are typically found buried in large quantities maybe because they were offered as a ritual gift to the Roman gods.

This was the case for the Frome Hoard, but although the majority of the Swiss coins have been excavated, no definite answers for their original purpose have yet been hypothesized.

Archaeologists have determined that their owner systematically buried them between 270 and 294 AD, and never came back to recover them.

The coins were taken out of circulation shortly after they were issued, but the archaeologists estimate that they have been worth between one to two years’ wages at the time. The coins, made of bronze and silver components, have been remarkably well-preserved in the soil.

Near-mint: bronze coins dating back to Roman times

“The owner must have deliberately chosen these coins in order to hoard them,” Swiss coin expert Hugo Doppler explained to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. “Their silver content would have guaranteed certain value conservation in a time of economic uncertainty.”

Swiss archaeologist Georg Matter was thrilled by the discovery.

“As an archaeologist, one hardly experiences something like this more than once in one’s career,” he told Spiegel Online.

As exciting as the discovery is, though, the Swiss farmer who first discovered the coins won’t be able to keep his find.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

The amazing unfinished & abandoned 1,000-ton Egyptian Obelisk

The amazing unfinished & abandoned 1,000-ton Egyptian Obelisk

The greatest famous Egyptian obelisk is the “unfinished obelisk” that is found exactly where it was once semi-carved from the solid bedrock.

The block was intended as an obelisk with a height of 120 ft / 36 mt.  It is estimated that a block of granite this size would easily weigh more than a 1000 tons, some geologists have suggested a figure in the region of 1100 tons – 1150 tons.

This obelisk has, however, never been completed because during the process to remove the block of stone from its mother bedrock, a huge crack appeared that made the stone unusable.

The stone had no residual value apart from its planned use, to the stonemasons of that day, and this resulted in the stone being totally abandoned (perhaps under the reign of Queen Hatshepsut-18th Dynasty). Now take a minute to think of how many man-hours were wasted in getting the unfinished obelisk to the state at which it was abandoned.

It is dumbfounding to think that the main tools used to shape this excessively huge granite block were not chisels as most people would assume.

The above photo shows you the immensity of the unfinished obelisk.

The early Egyptian stonemasons used small hand-sized balls of the mineral Dolerite to pound against the surfaces of the roughly hewn obelisks until all the superfluous knobs and excrescences were flattened. Dolerite is one of the few substances on Planet Earth that is harder than granite, most other rocks would simply crumble if they were repeatedly banged against granite.

It has always puzzled me why the Egyptians chose to carve building blocks & statues from Granite when there were much softer and easier stones to work with? …and if you are thinking that it might be because the granite was locally sourced, stop! …the granite blocks used in & on the great pyramid of Giza were transported approx.

500 miles from quarry to the building site, Aswan to Cairo, so this would suggest that distance wasn’t a factor and that the stonemasons chose to work with granite, possibly for its durability or maybe simply because of its colour?

When planning the creation of an obelisk the quarry men would look for a suitable length of bedrock that had no visible flaws or cracks. Then they would make a series of small holes with probably copper tools in a line at regular intervals, similar to a row of hyphens (- – – – – -). Next they would hammer sun-dried wooden wedges into these holes.

These wooden wedges were then repeatedly soaked with water and would gradually expand over time, and yes, believe it or not, the power generated by wet wood expanding is strong enough to break a granite block free from a granite bedrock, a process which I find absolutely amazing.

How did our early ancestors discover such a method? It is interesting to note that the same technique for separating a block of stone from its mother bedrock appears to have been used by many cultures across the ancient world. Nobody ever devised a better method or technique.

Even today modern-day quarries use a very similar method involving making a line of holes in the rock, and instead of ramming wet wooden wedges into the holes which takes quite a long time to achieve the desired effect of splitting the rock face, modern quarrymen simply hammer metal wedges into the holes which achieves the same result, except much quicker. In larger quarries whole rock faces are loosened by putting sticks of dynamite into a sequence of drilled holes, which are then detonated by a remote-controlled device.

When the block of rock was finally freed from the bedrock and seen to be in one sturdy piece, the surfaces of the obelisks were leveled by repeatedly pounding them with hand-sized Dolerite stones as described above.

Finally the scribes and hieroglyphic artists would decorate all four faces with the religious beliefs and monarchial achievements of the day. There is no denying that Egypt was one of the most powerful empires ever to exist in human history and its monumental architectural achievements are testimony to that fact, but every old dog has its day and eventually has to give way to a younger stronger puppy, and the mighty civilization of ancient Egypt was not immune to the laws that govern the universe we live in, it too was eventually conquered by foreign visitors/armies.

Everybody knows that tourists can’t resist a souvenir of their travels, and unfortunately most conquerors are just big egotistic tourists at heart. The conquering nation usually takes a memento from the conquered nation to commemorate the victory, something to show the folks back home.

Over the centuries many nations have conquered Egypt, and many nations have been guilty of plundering souvenirs from the sands of this mesmerizing country, but some nations have taken utter liberties.

In various cities around the world, Istanbul, Rome, London, Paris & New York, you can find what at first sight appear to be replica Egyptian obelisks, but upon closer inspection, you will see that these obelisks are not replicas, they are actually authentic Egyptian obelisks, re-erected many miles from their original installation points in Egypt.

So far, only 28 giant Egyptian obelisks have ever been discovered, both erect & fallen. Of these 28 monolithic statements of ancient Egyptian achievement & ability, only 8 remain in Egypt.

ASIA, MONGOLIA, WORLD

Ancient mummy ‘with 1,100-year-old Adidas boots’ died after she was struck on the head

Ancient mummy ‘with 1,100-year-old Adidas boots’ died after she was struck on the head

Fascinating new details have emerged concerning a medieval mummy known for her Adidas boots which she wore over a thousand years ago.   The woman’s body was discovered in the Altai mountain region of Mongolia a year ago.

Yet her body yet her belongings have been so beautifully protected that experts are still uncovering some of the secrets they keep. Now, scientists have discovered that the mummy suffered a significant blow to the head before her death. 

The Mongolian woman – aged between 30 and 40 – hit headlines, thanks to her modern-looking footwear, which some likened to a pair of trainers. 

Scientists believe the body of a woman (pictured) found in April last year, died up to 1,100 years ago from a blow to the head

In the intervening 12 months, scientists have been working to find out more about the mysterious Mongolian mummy. And her trademark felt boots – boasting red and black stripes – have been carefully cleaned, with new pictures revealed by The Siberian Times.

Experts from the Centre of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia now believe the woman died up to 1,100 years ago after suffering a serious head wound.

Initial examinations found that ‘it was quite possible that the traces of a blow to the mummy’s facial bones were the cause of her death’.They are still seeking to verify the exact age of the burial, but they estimate it took place in the tenth century – more recently than originally thought. 

Her trademark felt boots – which were compared to Adidas trainers (pictured) – have been carefully cleaned and restored

About the boots, Galbadrakh Enkhbat, director of the Centre, said: ‘With these stripes, when the find was made public, they were dubbed similar to Adidas shoes.

‘In this sense, they are an interesting object of study for ethnographers, especially so when the style is very modern.’ 

And one local fashion expert. quoted by Siberian Times, said: ‘Overall they look quite kinky but stylish – I wouldn’t mind wearing them now in a cold climate.

‘Those high-quality stitches, the bright red and black stripes, the length – I would buy them now in no time.’  The high altitude and cold climate helped to preserve both the woman’s body and her belongings. And a coating of Shilajit – a thick, sticky tar-like substance with a colour ranging from white to dark brown – that covered her body aided this process. 

Some skin and hair can be seen on her remains, which were wrapped in felt. The woman was buried alongside a number of her possessions – including a handbag and four changes of clothes.

This included a handbag, four changes of clothes, the ‘Adidas’ boots, and numerous practical and everyday objects (pictured)

A comb and a mirror from her beauty kit were also found, along with a knife. Her horse and a saddle with metal stirrups in such good condition that it could be used today were buried as well.  But despite her seemingly lavish possessions archaeologists believe she was an ‘ordinary’ women of her time, rather than an aristocrat or royal.

The Mongolian woman (pictured) is believed to have been aged between 30 and 40 when she died. Some skin and hair can be seen on her remains, which were wrapped in felt.
The Mongolian woman (pictured) is believed to have been aged between 30 and 40 when she died. Some skin and hair can be seen on her remains, which were wrapped in felt.
Despite her, seemingly lavish possessions (pictured) archaeologists believe she was an ‘ordinary’ women of her time, rather than an aristocrat or royal
Experts believe she may have been a seamstress, due to a variety of sewing equipment which was found inside her bag (pictured), as well as the embroidery on her clothing

‘Judging by what was found inside the burial, we guess that she was from an ordinary social stratum,’ added Mr. Enkhbat.

‘Various sewing utensils were found with her.

The preserved remains of a horse (pictured) were uncovered at the burial site
A saddle with metal stirrups (pictured) in such good condition that it could be used today was found alongside it

‘This is only our guess, but we think she could have been a seamstress.’ 

‘Inside (her bag) was the sewing kit and since the embroidery was on both the bag and the shoes, we can be certain that the embroidery was done by locals.’  The grave was unearthed at an altitude of 9,200ft (2,803 meters) and the woman is believed to be of Turkik origin. 

It appears to be the first complete Turkic burial in Central Asia.  At the time of the discovery, commenters on Twitter and Facebook made a number of tongue-in-cheek claims that woman must be a time traveller.

One Twitter user jokingly quipped: ‘Must be a time traveler. I knew we would dig one up sooner or later’, another added: ‘Huh? Time-travelling Mummy? Corpse interfered with?.’

Meanwhile, Facebook users said: ‘Loooooool he’s wearing a pair of gazelles’, and ‘Well I must admit, I’ve got a few pair but I ain’t had them that long.’  

A host of possessions were found in the grave, offering a unique insight into life in medievMongolia. These included a saddle, bridle, clay vase, wooden bowl, trough, iron kettle, the remains of an entire horse, and ancient clothing.

There were also pillows, a sheep’s head, and felt travel bag in which were placed the whole back of a sheep, goat bones, and small leather bag designed to carry a cup.  Archaeologists from the city museum in Khovd were alerted to the burial site by local herdsmen. The Altai Mountains – where the burial was discovered – unite Siberia, in Russia, and Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan. 

EUROPE, ITALY, ROMANIA, WORLD

The skeleton of this women was buried with a treasure of jewels

The skeleton of this women was buried with a treasure of jewels

Before Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, in the year 79, according to most historians, Herculaneum had a population of about 5,000.

Because the entire town has not yet been excavated, that is a rough guess based on the size of the area where it sits and the size of the amphitheater. Excavations turned up practically nobodies until 1982 when the waterfront area was excavated.

Far from all the skeletons found in the city were found in the boathouses, shown in this photo. Others were found along the beach which would have been in the foreground.

Apparently the residents did what I would have done. If the volcano is erupting inland, I would run for the ocean and attempt to flee by boat.

There is no way of telling how many people successfully did this, but we can determine how many people did not make it. We didn’t get to tour the boathouses but from internet searches, it appears that many of the skeletons are still there (note in the first photo that some of the boathouses have tarps over their entrance).

One of the skeletons found on the beach included one that has been dubbed The Ring Lady. As can be seen in this photo, she had an emerald and a ruby ring on her fingers when she collapsed on the beach.

A female skeleton of one of the inhabitants of Herculaneum, still wearing two rings on the left index finger, was found buried during an archaeological excavation.

In addition, she had a purse that contained two gold bracelets with serpentine heads that met as well as two gold earrings that probably held pearls. These were likely her prized possessions that she was attempting to take with her.

Here is a close-up of the rings. Examination of her body shows that she was a tall 45-year-old woman in good health with good teeth but a bit of gum disease. She was likely knocked down by the pyroclastic blast and died immediately.

Another skeleton found on the beach was of a Roman soldier who collapsed, his fists clutching the sand. Every bone in his body except his inner ear was broken suggesting that he too was hit forcefully by the surge and knocked to the ground.

He was about 37 years old, wore a sword and bone-handled dagger by his side, and had a bag of carpenter’s tool on his back. Soldiers often worked in that trade. Fifteen silver coins and three gold coins were found near him, likely originally held in a cloth moneybag.

Anthropologist Sara Bisel examined the body and found that he had probably been a warrior for quite some time.

He was missing three front teeth (missing six teeth in total), had a mark on this thighbone where a prior wound had healed and had thick well-developed thighbones likely from frequent bareback horse riding as was common among soldiers of the era.

Roman soldier skeletons are a very rare find since the Romans usually cremated their dead.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Skeletons of over 60 mammoths found under-construction site of future Mexico airport

Skeletons of over 60 mammoths found under-construction site of future Mexico airport

In the future airport of the city, a team of archeologists working near Mexico City has discovered the remains of more than 60 mammoths.

The bone fragments found at the proposed construction site of the Felipe Angeles International Airport date back some 15,000 years, said the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Both discoveries reveal how appealing the area — once a shallow lake — was for the mammoths.

Thursday, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said there was no immediate evidence that the 60 mammoths newly discovered at the old Santa Lucia military airbase had been butchered by humans.

The remains were uncovered close to the spot where the airport’s future control tower is to be built. INAH excavators have been working at the site – some 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) north of the capital – since April last year, seeking animal remains from the Pleistocene era.

Durante los trabajos para construir el nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional “General Felipe Ángeles”, en Santa Lucía, Estado de México, trabajadores han encontrado restos de 60 mamuts, informó el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH).

The team reported in December that it had found the bones of a far smaller number of animals at the old Santa Lucia Air Base, a military airport being converted for civilian use.

The area was formerly submerged under the Xaltocan Lake, part of the Mexican Basin, and a focal point of the country’s pre-Colombian civilization. Traps for the hunting of mammoths, thought to have been dug soon after the lake dried up, were found at the site last year.

Almost all of the giant skeletons are thought to belong to the Colombian mammoth species.

Other types of fauna, including bison, camels, and horses were also found, as well as bones of humans buried in the pre-Hispanic era and various artifacts.

“The main challenge is that the richness of fauna and relics is greater than we had considered,” Pedro Francisco Sánchez Nava, INAH’s national anthropology coordinator told Mexico’s Excelsiornewspaper.

INAH says the discoveries are not intended to put a brake on the building of the airport, and that they had little impact on the building work.

“It would be a lie to say that we have not had an influence on the work being carried out, but we are working in coordination with those responsible,” said Sanchez Nava. “We are able to continue at our own pace without having too much influence on the times of the work.”

ASIA, WORLD

Spectacular Ancient tomb treasures from the Republic of Georgia  kingdom of Colchis

Spectacular Ancient tomb treasures from the Republic of Georgia  kingdom of Colchis

This exhibition is the first showing in Britain of spectacular tomb treasures from the Republic of Georgia, known in ancient classical times as Colchis and familiar to every schoolchild as the land to which the Greek hero Jason led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece.

Recent archaeological excavations have thrown much new light on the rich culture of this region, including their lavish gold-adorned burials and ritual practices in which the local wine played a central role. These finds offer a unique insight into a fascinating and little-known ancient culture on the periphery of the classical world.

The magnificent gold and silver jewellery, sculpture and funerary items displayed here derive from tombs and sanctuaries of the 5th to the 1st centuries BC at the site of Vani.

Most of the more than 140 treasures have never been seen outside Georgia before this exhibition tour. They offer both a spectacular array of exquisite works of art and a valuable window onto the interaction of indigenous Georgian and classical Greek culture in antiquity.

Land of the Golden Fleece

The region known to the ancient Greeks as Colchis now lies within modern Georgia. This placed it to the east of the ancient Greek world, north of the Assyrian and Persian empires and south of the nomadic Scythians.

This region is protected on the north by the Caucasus Mountains and formed a natural trade route, which ran from the eastern edge of the Black Sea to Central Asia, as far as India.

It was rich in natural resources, especially metals, and was known to the Greek world as an area ‘rich in gold’. According to legend, this was the place to which Jason set out with his Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece.

Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the 8th century BC the Greeks had begun establishing colonies along the shores of the Black Sea, and several trading posts (known as emporia) thrived on Colchian shores.

While the Achaemenid Persians do not appear to have been actively present in Colchis, the Greek historian Herodotos (Histories III, §97, 3-4) records that the Colchians paid a tribute of one hundred men and one hundred women to the Persian empire every four years, presumably as slaves.

By the 6th century BC, the various regions of Colchis united formally into one kingdom made up of a network of culturally and politically connected cities.

Vani

Vani is one of the best-known sites in Colchis. It is located on a hilltop in the fertile region between the Sulori and Rioni Rivers.

The Vani archaeological site is a multi-layer archaeological site in western Georgia, located on a hill at the town of Vani in the Imereti region. It is the best-studied site in the hinterland of an ancient region, known to the Classical world as Colchis, and has been inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.

The ancient name of the city is still unknown, but archaeological evidence shows that there was already a small settlement here by the 8th century BC. From the 6th to the end of the 4th century BC, Vani’s size and wealth increased dramatically.

During this period, the city became the political and administrative center of the area, managing the cultivation of grapevines and the harvesting of wheat in the surrounding hills and plains. By about 250 BC, it appears that Vani had been transformed into a sanctuary city with its inhabitants moving outside the city walls.

The unstable political environment of the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st centuries BC) affected Colchis a great deal. Fortifications at Vani, including defensive walls and towers, indicate an increased threat of attack.

The city came to a violent end around 50 BC when it was destroyed by two successive invasions within a few years, the first probably by the Bosporans from the northwest under their leader Pharnaces, and the second by Mithridates VII from Pontus (southwest of Colchis).

ASIA, PAKISTAN, WORLD

Chinese built a dam to submerge engraved heritage rocks of Buddhism in Gilgit Baltistan

A resident of the area, Araib Ali Baig, wrote, “The art of rock carving is present in all regions of Gilgit Baltistan, mainly in the districts of Diamir, Hunza and Nagar and Baltistan”. “Speaking specifically of Baltistan, these engravings can be seen on former settlements and popular old routes along the Indus and Shyok”.

This is how China is ruining Buddhist treasure in Pakistan Occupied Ladakh

Since the Chinese company develops Diamer-Bhasha, a dam in Pakistan’s Gilgit – Baltistan region occupied Ladakh, most of the Buddhist relics in an around some of the ancient villages would be submerged.

The dam has come as an end to the rich Buddhist culture and treasure that was dominant before the 14th and 15th centuries when forced conversion by Muslim invaders from Central Asia started in the region.

However it is interesting to know that even the local Muslim population is criticizing the construction of the dam and destruction of Buddhist heritage.

Ancient Buddhist rock inscriptions in Gilgit Baltistan

The local population says that the Buddhist relics found in most of the villages in a form on engraved symbols on rocks, Gautam Buddha’s statues made of rocks among many other artifacts. These could help in making the region of the occupied areas as self-dependent by promoting tourism.

The controversy erupted in Gilgit Baltistan soon after the Pakistan government on 13 May signed Rs 442 billion contract with a Chinese company for the construction of the dam that would submerge about 50 villages uprooting a large chunk of the population.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is located on the Indus River in northern Pakistan between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan.

Many Muslim residents of the area have on the social media joined the debate against the destruction of the rich heritage that the dam would cause in the area.

One of them remarked that “the wealth of Indic history spanning over millennia will soon be submerged under waters of the dam in Gilgit Baltistan”.

A resident of the area, Araib Ali Baig, wrote, “The art of rock carving is present in all regions of Gilgit Baltistan, mainly in the districts of Diamir, Hunza and Nagar and Baltistan”. “Speaking specifically of Baltistan, these engravings can be seen on former settlements and popular old routes along the Indus and Shyok”.

The project will destroy a number of petroglyphs that are the talking rocks of the region. Unplanned development activities, commercial painting practices, chalk on the walls, hatred of local people for these pre-Islamic sculptures, and apathy from government departments have also led to the rapid disappearance of these historic rock art, said a comment.

Baig commented, “Inscriptions which were destroyed during the conversion of the local population to Islam in the 14th and 15th centuries AD. Even today, these inscriptions are easy to find in the villages located mainly on the east bank of the Indus, but they are in a state of disrepair”.

“Yes these sculptures belong to Buddhism. They can attract millions of tourists across the globe. Irrespective of religion we should preserve this ancient heritage”, commented another resident of POJK.

An archaeologist of the area, Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani has classified these rock engravings into four categories. The oldest category includes rock carvings dating from at least two millennia BC and even dating back to the fifth or sixth millennium BC.

Such engraved rocks are of great heritage importance and the Buddhist spiritual and temporal leader Dalai Lama during a recent visit to Leh had called for preserving these ancient rocks scattered along the Indus River and other places in the Ladakh union territory (UT).

Dalai Lama made the appeal when he came to know that the ancient rocks with inscriptions of the Kushan period and the Bronze Age were decaying due to negligence.

Such rocks are scattered throughout Ladakh but the largest cluster of rocks carrying inscriptions and images of animals, hunting scenes, human giants, masks, and various other themes is in the Murgi-Tokpo Village that was properly preserving these.

All In One Magazine