ARMENIA, ASIA, WORLD

The world’s oldest sword? 5,000-year-old Anatolian weapon discovered in Armenian Monastery of Venice

The world’s oldest sword? 5,000-year-old Anatolian weapon discovered in Armenian Monastery of Venice

In a monastery on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, in Lagoon Town, a 5000-year old Anatolian sword was found.

Vittoria Dall’Armellina, a Ph.D. student at the Ca ‘ Foscari University in Venice, accidentally found a small sword among a number of medieval items in a display cabinet.

The sword she saw was not like a medieval weapon, according to Dall’Armellina, but instead a much older sword, similar to those she had already met in her studies.

An Anatolian sword resurfaces after millennia.

The sword did, in fact, look very similar to those found in the Royal Palace of Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia), dating back to five thousand years ago and considered to be the oldest swords in the world. The name of Arslantepe is derived from the lion (“Arslan” in Turkish) statues excavated at the location.

Arslantepe – an important Hittite settlement during all ages of the Hittite period and later became a major site as a Neo-Hittite city-state – was even inhabited much earlier since the Chalcolithic Age. The area was also a residential area for the Romans until the 5th to 6th centuries A.D. and used as a necropolis by the Byzantines until the 11th century.

As to the latest discovery of the Anatolian sword, the same type of sword – coming from the Sivas region – was also found inside the Tokat Museum (Turkey). Indeed, this weapon shows quite a few similarities with the San Lazzaro one.

After confirming that the sword had never been recorded in the catalog of Near East antique objects belonging to the Saint Lazarus Island museum and having received the approval of her Ph.D. supervisor Elena Rova, professor of Archeology at the Department of Humanities, Dall’Armellina carried forward with the investigation to assess whether her intuition was correct and in doing so, she managed to shed light on many puzzling aspects of the discovery.

Father Serafino and Ph.D. student Vittoria Dall’Armellina, in a monastery on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in the Lagoon City.

The scientific analysis confirmed her suspects: the sword doesn’t just resemble the most ancient weapons in the world, but it was also forged around the same time, around the year 3000 b.C.

An Anatolian weapon casually reappears in Venice, resurfacing from the darkness that engulfed it for millennia.

How did it come to the monastery and what could have been its ties with the Armenian monks?

Who did it belong to and which far away lands had he explored?

Who wielded the weapon? Or was somebody buried with it?

Ansa.it reports that “the research was carried out by consulting Father Serafino Jamourlian, of the Mekhitarist Monastery of San Lazzaro, who was able to partly solve the question by consulting the archives of the museum.

The sword arrived from Trabzon to Venice, donated by an art merchant and collector, Yervant Khorasandjian, in the mid-1800s, according to an envelope. It was found with other objects in an area called Kavak. Ghevond Alishan, a famous poet, and writer who was friends with John Ruskin, a monk with the congregation and a researcher, died in Venice in 1901. It is thought, therefore, that this episode dates back to the last decades of the 19th century.”

The sword is made of a type of copper and tin frequently used before the Bronze age, according to the analysis on the metal’s composition has been carried out in collaboration with Professor Ivana Angelini and (Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Studio e Conservazione dei Beni Archeologici, Architettonici e Storico-Artistici) Ciba at the University of Padua.

The Saint Lazarus Island sword shows the strong resemblance to the twin swords of Arslantepe, retrieved in a well-documented context, and has allowed the experts to determine that the sword dates back to around the end of 4th and the beginning of the 3rd-century BC.

Saint Lazarus Island and the Mekhitarist Monastery where the sword was discovered.

This type of sword was common in a relatively small region in Eastern Anatolia, between the high course of the Euphrat and the South shore of the Black Sea. The sword, contrary to some of the Arslantepe specimens, is not decorated: there are no visible inscriptions, embellishments or distinctive features. Due to the less than optimal conservation conditions, it was not possible to detect any traces of usage.

Consequently, the sword could have been a real offensive weapon that was actually used in combat, a ceremonial sword or part of some grave goods. A likely hypothesis is that it was part of a burial -casually retrieved by some local townsfolk – whose grave goods were then scattered, as it often happened until a few years ago.

Indeed, the sword was forged during a period of time in which Anatolian and Caucasian burials began to be adorned with a rich array of grave goods, with weapons and jewels, a sign of the emergence of a new warrior elite. The sword’s real story is still unknown; the researchers hope to shed some light on the artifact’s distant past.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Modern technology reveals old secrets about the great, white Maya road

Modern technology reveals old secrets about the great, white Maya road

Would one of the greatest cities of the ancient Mayan world, the mighty Queen of Cobá, create the longest Mayan road to invade a smaller, isolated neighbor and gain a foothold against the emerging Chichén Itzá empire?

Traci Ardren, a sociology professor at the University of Miami, has been fascinated by the problem for some time now. Now, she and fellow scholars may be a step closer to an answer, after conducting the first lidar study of the 100-kilometer stone highway that connected the ancient cities of Cobá and Yaxuná on the Yucatan Peninsula 13

Once used mainly by meteorologists to study clouds, lidar—short for “light detection and ranging”—technology is revolutionizing archaeology by enabling archaeologists to detect, measure, and map structures are hidden beneath dense vegetation that, in some cases, have grown for centuries, engulfing entire cities.

This lidar map of downtown Yaxuna reveals many ancient houses, platforms, palaces, and pyramids that are hidden by vegetation.

Often deployed from low-flying aircraft, lidar instruments fire rapid pulses of laser light at a surface and then measure the amount of time it takes for each pulse to bounce back. The differences in the times and wavelengths of the bounce are then used to create digital 3-D maps of hidden surface structures.

The lidar study, which Ardren and fellow researchers with the Proyecto de Interaccion del Centro de Yucatan (PIPCY) conducted in 2014 and 2017 of Sacbe 1—or White Road 1, as the white plaster-coated thoroughfare was called—may shed light on the intentions of Lady K’awiil Ajaw, the warrior queen who Ardren believes commissioned its construction at the turn of the 7th century.

In an analysis of the lidar study, recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the researchers identified more than 8,000 tree-shrouded structures of varying sizes along the sacbe—with enough total volume to fill approximately 2,900 Olympic swimming pools.

The study also confirmed that the road, which measures about 26 feet across, is not a straight line, as has been assumed since Carnegie Institute of Washington archaeologists mapped its entire length in the 1930s, with little more than a measuring tape and a compass.

Rather, the elevated road veered to incorporate preexisting towns and cities between Cobá, which known for its carved monuments depicting bellicose rulers standing over bound captives, controlled the eastern Yucatan, and Yaxuná—a smaller, older, city in the middle of the peninsula. Yet, the isolated Yaxuná (pronounced Ya-shoo-na) still managed to build a pyramid nearly three times bigger and centuries before Chichén Itzá’s more famous Castillo, about 15 miles away.

A drawing of a carving found on a stone monument in Cobá depicts the warrior queen who may have built the great, white road to expand her domain.

“The lidar really allowed us to understand the road in much greater detail. It helped us identify many new towns and cities along the road—new to us, but preexisting the road,” Ardren said. “We also now know the road is not straight, which suggests that it was built to incorporate these preexisting settlements, and that has interesting geopolitical implications. This road was not just connecting Cobá and Yaxuná; it connected thousands of people who lived in the intermediary region.”

It was partly Yaxuná’s proximity to Chichén Itzá, Mexico’s most famous Maya ruin which flourished after Yaxuná and Cobá waned, that led Ardren and other PIPCY researchers to theorize that K’awiil Ajaw built the road to invade Yaxuná and gain a foothold in the middle of the peninsula. Coba’s ruler for several decades beginning in 640 A.D., she is depicted in stone carvings trampling over her bound captives.

“I personally think the rise of Chichén Itzá and its allies motivated the road,” Ardren said. “It was built just before 700, at the end of the Classic Period, when Cobá is making a big push to expand. It’s trying to hold on to its power, so with the rise of Chichén Itzá, it needed a stronghold in the center of the peninsula.

The road is one of the last-gasp efforts of Cobá to maintain its power. And we believe it may have been one of the accomplishments of K’awiil Ajaw, who is documented as having conducted wars of territorial expansion.”

To test their theory, Ardren, an expert on gender in ancient Maya society who edited the 2002 book “Ancient Maya Women,” and fellow PIPCY scholars received funding from the National Science Foundation to excavate ancient household clusters along the great white road.

Their goal is to determine the degree of similarities between the household goods in Cobá and Yaxuná before and after the road was built. The thinking, Ardren said, is that after the road linking the two cities, the goods found in Yaxuná would show increasing similarities to Cobá’s.

So far, the researchers have excavated household clusters on the edge of both Cobá and Yaxuná, and they plan to begin the third dig this summer, at a spot informed by the lidar study. It sits between the two ancient Maya cities, on the great, white road that Ardren says would have glowed brightly even in the dark of night.

As she noted, the road was as much an engineering marvel as the monumental pyramids the Maya erected across southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize, and western Honduras.

Although built over undulating terrain, the road was flat, with the uneven ground filled in with huge limestone boulders, and the surface coated with bright, white plaster. Essentially the same formula the Romans used for concrete in the third century B.C., the plaster was made by burning limestone and adding lime and water to the mixture.

“It would have been a beacon through the dense green of cornfields and fruit trees,” Ardren said. “All the jungle we see today wasn’t there in the past because the Maya cleared these areas. They needed wood to build their homes. And now that we know the area was densely occupied, we know they needed a lot of wood. Because they also needed it to burn limestone”—and build the longest road in the Maya world 13 centuries ago.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

Set of 5000-year-old board game pieces discovered in Turkey

Set of 5000-year-old board game pieces discovered in Turkey

Within the scope of Ilısu Dam rescue excavations, the missing pieces of a historical play set, which was found in 2012 in the southeastern province of Siirt’s Başur Mound, have been unearthed.

Rescue excavations have been completed in Başur Mound, which is shown as one of the most important archaeological works of the last 10 years by Artnews, a visual arts magazine published in the U.S.

Missing pieces of the ancient game set found

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the head of excavations and Ege University Faculty of Letters Department of Archeology lecturer, Haluk Sağlamtimur, said that the excavations started in 2007 within the scope of Ilısu Dam and the hydroelectric plant (HES) project reached important data on Mesopotamian history.

Stating that during the excavations in 2012, they found play set pieces that were thought to have been played in a cemetery 5,000 years ago and they identified it as the world’s oldest figurative game set, Sağlamtimur said that they were delighted to find the missing stones of the game in recent excavations.

“A few parts of the game were missing, we unearthed them in the recent excavations, and we completed the set.

This game set is very important, it is the earliest game set that can be dated in a wide region covering Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

These are dated between 3,100 and 2,900 B.C. This is probably a grave gift. This game set does not seem to be played too much; there is no wear on it. It is important in this respect. We found the missing figures in the last excavations and we are really happy,” he said.

Stating that the game set was defined as “the ancestor of chess” and similar games were also found in Egypt, Sağlamtimur explained, “Unfortunately, we could not find the board of this game set.

It was probably inside the grave, but it decayed. If we found its board, we could understand how to play it. Games like this continue, they have similar ones in even in Egypt.

The game set consists of colored stones, something must be related to the color in the game.

The two main animal figures that gave the game its name are pigs and dogs. So, we named this game as ‘pigs and dogs’ because the games that were found later were named as such.

When we consider the shapes and numbers of the stones, we estimate that the game is based on number four. For now, these are the earliest game stones in the world in figurative terms and are exhibited at the Batman Museum. Anyone can see this game set.”

Ege University rector Necdet Budak also stated that these finds are very important for the history of archeology and congratulated Sağlamtimur and his team for their successful work.

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

Gold Coin Cache Discovered during renovation work at Jambukeswarar Temple in India

Gold Coin Cache Discovered during renovation work at Jambukeswarar Temple in India

A pot full of gold coins found in Tamilnadu’s Jambukeswarara Temple

In Thiruvanaikovil, Tamil Nadu, the Jambukeswarar temple struck gold when 505 gold coins in the sealed vessel were discovered during digging.

The coins, according to officials, were in a sealed jar, which the workers found in the Akhilandeshwari shrine.

When the officials of the temple opened, 505 gold coins were found. To order to grasp their era and history, the coins will still be studied by the archeologists. The pot has been located almost 7 feet tall, according to sources.

The pot was found by workers engaged in renovation work near the Akhilandeswari shrine in the temple complex. The temple is believed to have been constructed in the early Chola period, almost 1800 years ago.

A numismatist from the city who possesses two similar coins said those found in the temple were minted by the East India Company in the late 16th century.

On Wednesday, during clean-up work at the Arulmigu Akilandeswari Samedha Jambukeswarar temple, a closed vessel was found on an empty plot near Thayar Sanathi.

It contained 505 ancient gold coins weighing 1.716 kg. There were 504 similar coins weighing more than 3 gm and a large one weighing over 10 gm.

Following the discovery, all the coins have been kept in the government treasury in the district.

Tamil Nadu: 505 gold coins weighing 1.716 kg found in a vessel during digging at Jambukeswarar Temple in Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruchirappalli district yesterday. Coins were later handed over to the police

A Manoaharan, numismatist and former Railways employee from Tiruchy, told TNIE the coins date back to 1691 and minted by the East India Company.

He said, “The coin was called Pagoda’ (‘Varagan’ in Tamil). In the period, East India Company minted two types of coins, namely the single-deity Pagoda (Oru Swamy Pagoda) and triple-deity Pagoda (Moonu Swamy Pagoda). Though other coins were there for use, the Pagoda coins were specially minted for gifting purposes.”  

Single-deity Pagoda would have Tirupati Balaji on one side and granules (rough surface) on the flip side. Triple-deity Pagoda would have Tirupati Balaji along with  Sridevi and Bhoodevi and granules on the other side.

He added the coins found in Jambukeswarar temple must have been hidden by people back in the 16th century.  He said the single 10-gm coin could be from the Arcot Nawab.

He said these coins are extremely rare and their value would be five times the current gold price for each coin.

He requested the government to preserve the coins by keeping them in a museum considering their history.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

298 Million Year Old Forest Found Beneath Coal Mine in China

298 Million Year Old Forest Found Beneath Coal Mine in China

A tropical forest 300 millions of years old, has been preserved in ash when a volcano exploded in the north of China today.

The reconstruction of this fossilized forest is presented through a new study by Hermann Pfefferkorn, a paleobotanist from the University of Pennsylvania, which lending insight into the ecology and climate of its time.

Pfefferkorn, a professor in Penn’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science, collaborated on the work with three Chinese colleagues: Jun Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yi Zhang of Shenyang Normal University and Zhuo Feng of Yunnan University.

Their paper was published this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study site, located near Wuda, China, is unique as it gives a snapshot of a moment in time. Because volcanic ash covered a large expanse of forest in the course of only a few days, the plants were preserved as they fell, in many cases in the exact locations where they grew.

“It’s marvelously preserved,” Pfefferkorn said. “We can stand there and find a branch with the leaves attached, and then we find the next branch and the next branch and the next branch. And then we find the stump from the same tree. That’s really exciting.”

The researchers also found some smaller trees with leaves, branches, trunk, and cones intact, preserved in their entirety.

Due to nearby coal-mining activities unearthing large tracts of rock, the size of the researchers’ study plots is also unusual. They were able to examine a total of 1,000 m2 of the ash layer in three different sites located near one another, an area considered large enough to meaningfully characterize the local paleoecology.

The fact that the coal beds exist is a legacy of the ancient forests, which were peat-depositing tropical forests. The peat beds, pressurized over time, transformed into the coal deposits.

The scientists were able to date the ash layer to approximately 298 million years ago. That falls at the beginning of a geologic period called the Permian, during which Earth’s continental plates were still moving toward each other to form the supercontinent Pangea. North America and Europe were fused together, and China existed as two smaller continents. All overlapped the equator and thus had tropical climates.

At that time, Earth’s climate was comparable to what it is today, making it of interest to researchers like Pfefferkorn who look at ancient climate patterns to help understand contemporary climate variations.

In each of the three study sites, Pfefferkorn and collaborators counted and mapped the fossilized plants they encountered. In all, they identified six groups of trees. Tree ferns formed a lower canopy while much taller trees — Sigillaria and Cordaites — soared to 80 feet above the ground. The researchers also found nearly complete specimens of a group of trees called Noeggerathiales. These extinct spore-bearing trees, relatives of ferns, had been identified from sites in North America and Europe but appeared to be much more common in these Asian sites.

They also observed that the three sites were somewhat different from one another in plant composition. In one site, for example, Noeggerathiales were fairly uncommon, while they made up the dominant plant type in another site. The researchers worked with painter Ren Yugao to depict accurate reconstructions of all three sites.

“This is now the baseline,” Pfefferkorn said. “Any other finds, which are normally much less complete, have to be evaluated based on what we determined here.”

The findings are indeed “firsts” on many counts.

“This is the first such forest reconstruction in Asia for any time interval, it’s the first of a peat forest for this time interval and it’s the first with Noeggerathiales as a dominant group,” Pfefferkorn said.

Because the site captures just one moment in Earth’s history, Pfefferkorn noted that it alone cannot explain how climate changes affected life on Earth. But it helps provide valuable context.

“It’s like Pompeii: Pompeii gives us deep insight into Roman culture, but it doesn’t say anything about Roman history in and of itself,” Pfefferkorn said. “But on the other hand, it elucidates the time before and the time after. This finding is similar. It’s a time capsule and therefore it allows us now to interpret what happened before or after much better.”

The study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Science, the National Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the University of Pennsylvania.

BRAZIL, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

By gum! Scientists find new 110-million-year-old treasure

By gum! Scientists find new 110-million-year-old treasure

During the analysis, scientists from the University of Portsmouth, examining fossilized leaves of the Welwitschiophyllum plant found in the Crato Formation in Brazil, have discovered a remarkable new treasure- the first fossil plant gum on record- ‘Welwitschiophyllum.’

Researchers have noticed that thin amber-colored bands locked inside some of the fossilized leaves. The beautiful, amber-like material has been discovered in 110 million-year-old fossilized leaves.

Unlike amber, which is made from fossilized plant resin, this newly discovered material is made from fossilized plant gum.

The fossilized leaves belonging to the Welwitschiophyllum plant.

A wide variety of vascular plants produce fluid exudates e.g., resins and gums, with each group differing in chemical definitions.

Due to similarity in physical appearance, distinguishing exudates based on chemistry is vital; for example, gums and resins are visually similar, resulting in these terms being used interchangeably.

The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of Portsmouth, the University of Vienna (with amber expert Dr. Leyla Seyfullah), and the British Library (with FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) specialist Dr. Paul Garside).

University of Portsmouth Ph.D. student Emily Roberts said, “This discovery overturns the basic assumption that plant gums cannot be preserved in the fossil record. It has opened our eyes to the fact that other plant chemicals may also be preserved—we can no longer make assumptions.

When we first tested the gum, I was astonished that we were confirming something that was thought to be impossible—it just goes to show that fossil plants can surprise us.”

According to the study, the Welwitschiophyllum plant is considered to be related to one of the oldest and most enigmatic plants in existence.

Remarkably, a considered relative of this plant is still growing today, Welwitschia is the sole survivor of this lineage and is now found only in the Namib Desert in Namibia and Southern Angola.

The fossil gum in a thin section of the fossilized leaf.

Co-author Professor David Martill, of the School of the Environmental Geography and Geosciences at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Emily has not only discovered something ground-breaking about plant gum but perhaps, even more, astonishing her findings confirm that the Welwitschia plant found in Africa today produces a gum similar to a plant growing 110 million years ago in Brazil.

Welwitschia is one of life’s survivors, thriving in one of the harshest environments on earth for over 120 million years.

This discovery is fascinating, especially when put into the context of these two continents of Africa and South America, being one during the Cretaceous period.”

Scientists suggest there is still much to be learned and that future work should focus on how this preserved gum has survived 110 million years.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

A stunning 14th-century medieval chapel is uncovered in County Durham, England

A stunning 14th-century medieval chapel is uncovered in County Durham, England

Archaeologists have really found considered one of medieval Britain’s most vital architectural works of arts– the long-lost church of north England’s only medieval leaders– the Prince-Bishops of Durham.

The team spent five months carefully unearthing the foundations of the chapel — including part of the floor, the buttresses along the sides of the chapel and walls that measured 4.9 feet (1.5 m) thick by 39 feet (12 m) wide and 131 feet (40 m) long

The precise space of the large 40- meter lengthy baronial church was unidentified for tons of years. Now archaeologists from Durham College in addition to a neighborhood historic activity have really found the church’s long-lost stays.

A lot, they’ve really found ultra-fine stonework from the church wall surfaces, a fragile rock rising from the ceiling, items of rock columns, beautiful discolored glass in addition to the church’s distinct black plaster flooring.

Experts believe that the grand scale and decorations of the chapel would have served as a statement to the status of the bishop-prince — who held the power to raise armies, mint coinage and even rule in place of the king, Edward I. Pictured, archaeologists John Castling (left) and Jamie Armstrong (right) with an intricately carved ceiling boss from the chapel

Pictured, researchers found the base stone for a buttress cracked in two — damage possibly caused during the demolition of the chapel Beneath the stone, what is thought to be a charge hole for gunpowder can be seen

The locates have really allowed them to recreate an image of what the fantastic church will surely have resembled within the later middle ages The archaeologists have really likewise uncovered part of the enamel in addition to copper sacred dish utilized to carry the communion bread all through options held there by the Prince-Bishops within the 14th century.

They’ve really likewise found an image of a stooping monk– regarded as north-east England’s hottest medieval non-secular chief, St Cuthbert (whose vital temple continues to be in Durham Cathedral). It is without doubt one of the extraordinarily couple of medieval photographs of him ever earlier than found.

Larger than the Royal Chapel at Westminster (St Stephen’s in parliament) in addition to virtually as massive as St George’s Chapel, Windsor, it was developed by the Bishop in addition to Earl Palatine of Durham as part of his main out-of- group baronial citadel within the late 13th century.

So efficient was its contractor, Prince-Bishop Bek, that considered one of his distinguished authorities flaunted that there have been 2 majesties in England– the King in addition to the prince-bishop.

However in the end, three in addition to a fifty % centuries in a while, the fantastic baronial church, at Auckland Fortress, County Durham, was deliberately ruined with massive quantities of gunpowder by yet another megalomaniac– a callous anti-royalist that hungered for outright energy, detested the well-known church in addition to despised all diocesans.

Part of Auckland Castle, the remains of the long lost place of worship — Bek’s Chapel — were uncovered with the help of staff and students from Durham University. Pictured, the location of the dig site at Auckland Castle, before excavations took place

The ultra-intolerant extremist was Sir Arthur Hesilrige, an aged legislator military chief that was one of many arch-republicans that, in 1649, approved King Charles I’s fatality warrant.

The church in addition to the citadel it developed part of had really remained in pro-royalist arms– in addition to had really been confiscated by parliament in addition to marketed to Hesilrige, the simplest republican politician in north-east England, known as, of a scriptural dangerous man, the “Nimrod of the North” by his challengers.

As an extreme Puritan, he despised the Church of England– in addition to maltreated its clergy, on one celebration kicking out a vicar in addition to his family from their home within the middle of the night, tossing their private belongings proper into the neighborhood graveyard.

Certainly, considered one of Civil Struggle England’s main left-wing democrats, John Lilburne, chief of the ultra-egalitarian Levellers, charged him of“traitorously subverting the elemental liberties of England and exercising an arbitrary and tyrannical authority over and above the regulation”

Hesilrige’s conduct– together with his procurement in addition to the purposeful injury of the church– is politically vital in English background since, along with comparable habits by varied different main Cromwellians, it aided fatally problem the rationale of republicanism in addition to therefore aided in its failure in addition to the restore of the monarchy.

Stained glass from the long-lost baronial church. This piece reveals a pelican pecking her very personal bust– a typical Christian signal standing for Christ’s self-sacrifice. (Durham College utilized with authorization of the Auckland Venture). The exploration of the church is of appreciable worth by way of the background of north England

“For hundreds of years it has been one of many nice misplaced buildings of medieval England,” said one of many essential archaeologists related to the excavation, John Castling, archaeology in addition to social background supervisor on the Auckland Venture, which has the citadel.

“Our excavation of this big chapel has shed extra mild on the immense energy and wealth of the Prince-Bishops of Durham – and has helped bolster Auckland Fortress’s fame as a fortress of nice significance within the historical past of England.”

A number of the brand-new explorations will definitely be positioned on present and inform at Auckland Fortress from the very early the following month.

The church was uncovered making use of superior distant noticing gadgets– consisting of ground-penetrating radar in addition to magnetometers– in addition to was moneyed by way of the custom of the late Mick Aston, the favored TELEVISION excavator in addition to the speaker of the Channel four historic assortment, TimeTeam

Referring to the excavation of the church, Durham College excavator, Chris Gerrard said: “That is archaeology at its best.”

“Professionals, volunteers, and Durham College students working collectively as a staff, to piece collectively clues from paperwork and previous illustrations, used the very newest survey methods to resolve the thriller of the whereabouts of this big misplaced construction,” he included.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Rare Ancient Leopard Painting Discovered On Sarcophagus In Aswan, Egypt

Rare Ancient Leopard Painting Discovered On Sarcophagus In Aswan, Egypt

The first photos from a necropolis discovered a year ago in Egypt, including that of a colourful mask of the Leopard, drawn on a wooden deck of a sarcophagus, a form of “guarding” of the dead, was published by archaeologists with the Egyptian-Italian Mission in West Aswan, EIMAWA.

The discovery of the ancient leopard painting thrilled archaeologists.

The project, led by the Milan State University’s Egyptologist Patrizia Piacentini, uncovered the necropolis five metres under the desert sand in Aswan, and in a few weeks will go back to work there.

The archaeological area extends for more than 25,000 square metres on the western bank of the Nile River, near the Mausoleum of Aga Khan III, and it hosts more than 300 tombs, some dug into the hillside and some underground.

Rare ancient painting of a leopard that guarded the deceased on the journey the afterlife.

This necropolis is where the residents of Aswan were buried between the 7th century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D.

One of the tombs, number AGH026, already made news last year when a large room was found with about 30 bodies buried between the 2nd century B.C.

The bodies were accompanied by many objects, including stuccoed body covers painted with gold, a funerary bed, parts of sarcophagi, a stretcher for the mummies, and lots of pottery vessels.

This is where the team found the painted leopard, a symbol of strength that was placed by the head of the deceased person to offer protection during the journey to the afterlife.

Piacentini told ANSA that although the leopard is a frequent symbol in Egypt, “it is very rare to find it painted”.

“The wooden support from the 2nd century B.C. was very fragile. The sand had slipped into the fibres, so we decided to detach the stucco to save the design. It was a very delicate operation that had us holding our breath, we had tears in our eyes,” she said.

The pieces will be recomposed by the expert hands of Ilaria Perticucci and Rita Reale, who, following an initial “virtual” restoration, will soon begin the actual one in the laboratories in Aswan.

“It’s an exceptional find, much like what we found in the room next to it: pine nuts dating back to the 1st century A.D., a rarity given that the plant was imported,” Piacentini said.

“The use of these seeds was known in Alexandria for the preparation of sauces and dishes,” she said.

“They were certainly a luxury good, and show once again how the tomb belonged to important people,” she said.

New information for piecing together their identities could come as soon as the upcoming spring mission, in which the multidisciplinary team of historians, paleopathologists, archaeobotanists, chemists, computer scientists, and restorers will work to uncover the diets, illnesses, and causes of death of the people buried in the necropolis. (ANSAmed).

All In One Magazine