ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Hidden Drawing Beneath Leonardo Da Vinci’s Painting Virgin Of The Rocks And Unknown Handprints Discovered

Hidden Drawing Beneath Leonardo Da Vinci’s Painting Virgin Of The Rocks And Unknown Handprints Discovered

Scientists at the London National Gallery have utilized state-of-the-art methods to uncover a hidden drawing beneath Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks.

Leonardo da Vinci, Virgin of the Rocks, c. 1483, oil on wood.
The original Infant Christ and winged angel, mapped by scanning for zinc using MA-XRF

This reveals that after the original design was drawn up, the great artist and his assistants chose to take the biblical -themed painting in a completely different direction, to say the least.

First, know that there are two versions of The Virgin of the Rocks, one hanging in the Louvre and one in the National Gallery of London.

It’s thought that da Vinci first created the Louvre version by himself for a commission, but then sold it privately. Sometime later, he (and possibly his assistants) created a second copy, based on the first, in order to fulfill the original commission. That’s the version hanging in the National Gallery.

(By the way, to see why da Vinci might have set this typical Christian scene in such an unorthodox location, read this BBC essay. It provides further confirmation of how far ahead of his time he was, scientifically speaking.)

Using infrared techniques, National Gallery researchers discovered the draft of a different drawing beneath the visible paint in 2005. To see if there was more to it, another team re-scanned the painting using cutting-edge macro x-ray fluorescence techniques more recently.

Thanks to the presence of zinc in the original drawing material, it revealed much more detail from the original composition.

Hidden Drawing Beneath Leonardo Da Vinci’s Painting Virgin Of The Rocks And Unknown Handprints Discovered
Image: Left: Detail derived from mathematical processing of the hyperspectral imaging data, revealing the drawing for the angel and baby of the first composition under the landscape at the right side of the painting. Right: Tracing of the underdrawing lines in the hyperspectral image to give a clearer image of the angel and baby.

The first draft was significantly different from the final painting, with the figures positioned higher and looking in different directions.

The angel at right is looking down on the baby Christ and holding him more tightly, while the Virgin is looking toward the angel and Christ, rather than at the John the Baptist baby figure at left.

It’s not clear why da Vinci abandoned the original, arguably more dynamic composition. In any case, the under-drawing shows typical da Vinci “elaborations and adjustments” used when he transitioned from drawing to painting, according to curators.

“For instance, the angle of the Infant Christ’s head was changed so that he was seen in profile, while some parts of the angel’s curly hair have been removed,” the gallery wrote in a press release.

The research will form the basis of a new National Gallery exhibition entitled Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece kicking off on November 9th, 2019.

Visitors will see how the painting might have looked in the original chapel setting while exploring the new drawings and seeing how experts uncovered them.

We might never know what the great man was thinking, but we will get to enjoy what is essentially a completely new Leonardo da Vinci work.

A tracing of the lines relating to the underdrawing for the first composition, amalgamating the information from all the different technical images (superimposed over the visible painting).
A tracing of the lines relating to the underdrawing for the first composition, amalgamating the information from all the different technical images (superimposed over the visible painting).
ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Possible 18th-Century Sailor’s Skeleton Unearthed near buried porpoise in Guernsey-

Possible 18th-Century Sailor’s Skeleton Unearthed near buried porpoise in Guernsey

However, after closer inspections of his buttons, particularly the archeologists have pointed out that he will actually be a marine sailor from the Royal British Navy and that they think he died about 1760, the remains found in Chapelle Dom Hue at first it was thought to be those of a monk living in nearby Lihou.

Possible 18th-Century Sailor’s Skeleton Unearthed near buried porpoise in Guernsey
The poor condition of the skeleton is likely to be because of spending time in the sea and Guernsey’s acidic soil

Archeologist Dr. Phil de Jersey said that after a fascinating dig in 2017 and a further one in 2018 – which resulted in the find of a whole skeleton minus the hands, from the initial discovery of a tiny toe bone – it was good to finally find out more about the sailor’s story.

‘This is a young man probably in his teens or early 20s,’ he said.

‘He’s quite short, around 5ft 2in., and radio-carbon dating shows him to have died around 1760.

‘The buttons themselves gave us the best information from him, leather buttons that we could use for dating and we even found a button specialist to look at them.

‘They said it fits in with the date and the idea that he was a sailor from the Royal British Navy. It even looks like the design on them is an attempt at the Union Jack flag.

‘We had thought he might be a monk, but the dates are all wrong.’

Hypotheses have been made on how he died, including drowning after falling overboard from his ship and washing up on the west coast, where locals buried him where he was found.

The age of the remains was determined through radiocarbon dating and examining buttons found on its chest

He is missing his hands and there is a suggestion this could be down to them being the uncovered part of his body that fish would have eaten first, whereas the large hole in the skull could be the result of the remains being battered by the elements as they were washed up.

However, Dr de Jersey said the acidity of the soil in the islands could be another factor in the state of the remains, which have severely eroded.

He did, however, add that he still hoped to find out even more about the sailor.

‘We would look at re-burying him up at St Saviour’s,’ he said.

‘But it would be nice to keep him a bit longer and possibly get more information from his teeth, which can reveal more geographical data and more about his diet.

Phil de Jersey said analysis of the skeleton’s teeth could reveal his diet and possible place of origin

‘People are fascinating to dig up, as weird as it sounds, and that is because it is more personal than pottery or flint. These are real people, people that are lost to history that you can bring back to life.

‘We would love to find out even more about him.’

Also unearthed near the body was the remains of a porpoise believed to have been buried in the 15th century. This is what led to the find of the skeleton after a human toe bone was spotted exposed on a cliff edge about 10 meters away.

WORLD

800 Ancient Stones with Hebrew Writing in Puerto Rico Authenticated!

800 Ancient Stones with Hebrew Writing in Puerto Rico Authenticated!

The mysterious origins of a collection of mysterious statuettes from Puerto Rico, long ago believed to have been made by Jews from the “10 Lost Tribes” exiled from the land of Israel in ancient times, are now closer to being understood thanks to Israeli technology.

The objects were flown to Israel for analysis at the Use-Wear Analysis Laboratory of the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archeology, which specializes in revealing how various objects were made, what tools were used to make them, and the era of the techniques and tools used. Lab Director Iris Groman-Yaroslavsky confirmed that the objects were carved in the 16th century, and she discovered evidence that some of the objects were coated in gold and red paint.

“This is definitely one of the strangest and most fascinating stories I’ve been involved in,” Groman-Yaroslavsky said. “To date, we have not found any similar carved stone art objects from this region of America, and many researchers assumed that they must be fake. However, the microscopic tests we performed show beyond any doubt that the stones were carved around 600 years ago.”

The story of these objects, known as the Library of Agüeybaná, sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie.

In the 19th century, a Puerto Rican monk by the name of José María Nazario presented a collection of some 800 carved stone statuettes. Some had a human form, while others appeared to be artistic or ritual items. Many were engraved with a previously unknown form of writing.

One of the statuettes in the mysterious Puerto Rican collection. Photo courtesy of University of Haifa

No similar statuettes or art objects have ever been found from this region of America, and the markings bore no resemblance to the writing systems developed by the Aztecs or Mayans.

Nazario claimed that an old woman had invited him to her mountain hut and told him of a treasure her family had been guarding for centuries. He said that she gave him detailed instructions to find the treasure.

Nazario followed her instructions and headed deep into the mountains, eventually reaching a pit covered by a large stone, just as the woman had told him. When he removed the stone, he found hundreds of statuettes. He thought these were objects made by members of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel.

Evidence of traces of gold under the microscope
Evidence of traces of gold under the microscope

Over the years, different researchers raised various suggestions about the stones and the engravings they bear. Some suggested that while some of the stones are authentic, others were forged by local people in the 19th century when they saw the great interest the statuettes had created. Other scholars claimed that all the statuettes were forged by Nazario himself.

In 2001, a research student named Reniel Rodríguez Ramos saw the stones during a study trip and returned to investigate further after completing his doctorate in pre-Columbian cultures.

“I decided to study the stones from scratch – to come to a ‘clean slate’ without any assumptions about whether they are real or fake, and to let the findings talk,” explained Rodríguez, now a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. After a long search, Rodríguez came to Groman-Yaroslavsky. She confirmed that the stones were carved in antiquity.

“Under the microscope, we can see the erosion of the stones and the brown-gray patina that is typically found when items have been buried or exposed to the ravages of nature for extensive periods,” she said.

“The items are made from a mineral that was originally a greenish-black, but the erosion covers the engravings across the entire item, and there is no evidence of any modern manipulation that would have exposed the natural surface of the mineral,” she explains.

The analysis also revealed remnants of gold coating on some of the items. This reinforces the hypothesis that the items were used in ancient worship.

Remnants were also found of a red paint covering parts of the eyes and mouths in the figures, reflecting a complex process of design and finishing. Gold and ochre mines can be found in Puerto Rico, and there is extensive evidence regarding the use of these minerals in ritual contexts.

The association with ritual activity became even more apparent when the facial design details were examined. “The items were clearly struck with a solid object since we can see deliberate destruction around the nose and chin,” said the Israeli researcher.

Rodríguez is now continuing his quest by bringing the collection to an expert in the ancient writing systems of pre-Columbian America.

EUROPE, SCOTLAND, WORLD

Mysterious 5,000-Year-Old Rock-Cut Tomb On Dark Enchanted Island Of Hoy, Scotland

Mysterious 5,000-Year-Old Rock-Cut Tomb On Dark Enchanted Island Of Hoy, Scotland

 An ancient and huge piece of red sandstone which called “Dwarfie Stane”. This 5,000-year-old block is surrounded by mystery, which has not been solved until today. There is no record who, in what manner and for what purpose or purposes, made this great job.

The curious stone lies in a steep-sided and remote valley between Quoys and Rackwick on the island of Hoy, in Orkney, Scotland and is believed to be Britain’s only example of a rock-cut tomb.

Between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, probably estimated 3,000 BC, it was thought to have been built. Similar tombs found in the Mediterranean region are the basis for this assessment.

What is so special with this gigantic slab? The “Dwarfie Stane” was once hollowed out by someone who had at his disposal rather simple tools, patience and enormous muscle power of his body.

The stone slab is about 8.5 meters (28 ft) long, by 4 meters (13 ft) wide and up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) high. An opening, a 1 meter (3.3 ft) square was cut out into the middle of the stone’s west face and leads into the inner chamber.

Inside the tomb is a passage 2.2 meters (7.2 ft) long and two rock-cut cells similar to bed-places and measuring 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) by 1 meter (3.3 ft). Both the passage and the side cells are 1 meter (3.3 ft) high.

Interestingly, both “bed-places”, which seem to be too short for anyone of normal stature, are responsible for diverse folk tales and legends about dwarfs and these old stories surround the site.

Both cells (bed-places) have curving walls, the southern one is somewhat larger and has a small ledge at the back end.

There was a time when visitors to the “Dwarfie Stane” used to leave offerings at the site. Why? Was the chamber built for a hermit, a monk perhaps, who lived there alone?

It is said that a large sandstone block lying outside the opening was initially used to seal the opening; the mysterious tomb was still sealed in the 16th century.

There is no record of any archaeological excavation being carried out on the mysterious stone slab, nor do we know what, if anything, was found inside.

However, there is a trace after a hole (later filled with concrete), probably an attempt to break into the stone ‘s interior via the roof.

According to an ancient Orcadian legend, the Dwarfie Stane was said to be the work of a giant and his wife. A third giant, who wanted to make himself the master of the island of Hoy, imprisoned the gargantuan couple inside the stone. But his evil plans failed because the imprisoned giant managed to find his way out through the roof of the chamber.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

There’s a Valley of Whales in the Middle of Egypt’s Desert and its Millions of Years old

There’s a Valley of Whales in the Middle of Egypt’s Desert and its Millions of Years old

This is one of the driest areas in the world, with only a few centimeters of rain a year, but the bodies of whales are emerging from the shifting sands of the Egyptian Sahara Desert. The fossilized remains are helping to reveal how much of Egypt was once covered by a vast ancient ocean around 50 million years ago.

It is known as Wadi al-Hitan, or Valley of the whales. This area contains the fossilized bones of an ancestor of modern whales that have fascinated tourists and paleontologists alike since they were first discovered in 1902.

It is now being set up like an open-air museum to show off the beasts that once swam over the area, 93 miles (150 km) southwest of Cairo. The Valley of the Whales in Egypt is home to some of the most remarkable paleontological sites on Earth due to its unusual history.

Wadi al-Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, boasts a fascinating collection of fossils of ancient sea creatures because the area was underwater 50 million years ago at the bottom of an ocean called the Tethys Sea, which occupied the space in between Africa and Asia

Around 50 million years ago the area was at the bottom of an ocean called the Tethys Sea, which occupied the space in between Africa and Asia before India joined with the continent, pushing up the Himalayas

The whale skeletons in the region offer a glimpse into the past, as the species of whale that once called this desert valley home is now extinct. The Archaeoceti – which means ‘ancient wales’ – found in Wadi al-Hitan are some of the earliest forms of whales to emerge.

Cetaceans evolved from a land-based creature with legs, which is why many species of whale and dolphin have a phantom hip bone where the legs once attached to the body.

The whale skeletons in the region offer a glimpse into the past, as the species of whale that once called this desert valley home, the Archaeoceti, is now extinct 
Tourists walk around the rocks in the natural reserve area of Wadi AL-Hitan and can see the whale fossils as they pass

Over millions of years of evolution, legs became redundant for the seafaring creatures, but some of the Archaeoceti skeletons found in Wadi al-Hitan still have their legs, complete with toes, intact.

This offers a glimpse into the evolutionary past of the whale to a time when it was still adapting to its ocean environment.

Despite whale fossils being discovered in the area over one hundred years ago, it was only made into a conservation area in the 80s, and it now acts as an open-air museum, such as the rich variety of its fossils.

Fossilized sharks, whales, and plants have allowed paleontologists to build a picture of the ancient ecology of the lost Tethys sea.

The geology of the area combines sandstone and limestone deposited by the ancient ocean with a desert landscape of sand dunes.

Over the years erosion from wind and sand has slowly revealed the fossilised skeletons trapped and preserved in the sandstone formations.

Two types of whale have been uncovered in Wadi al-Hitan, the basilosaurus, measuring up to 20 meters, and the smaller dorudon.

The Valley of the Whales is a UNESCO world heritage site.

ASIA, MYANMAR, WORLD

This 99-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tail Trapped in Amber Hints at Feather Evolution

This 99-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tail Trapped in Amber Hints at Feather Evolution

A feathered dinosaur’s tail has been found in Myanmar amber perfectly preserved. The one-of – a-kind breakthrough helps to put a new perspective on the evolution of a group that dominant in the world for more than 160 million years.

The examination of the specimen suggests the tail was chestnut brown on top and white on its underside. The tail is described in the journal Current Biology.

“This is the first time we’ve found dinosaur material preserved in amber,” co-author Ryan McKellar, of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada, told the BBC News website. The study’s first author, Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, discovered the remarkable fossil at an amber market in Myitkina, Myanmar.

The 99-million-year-old amber had already been polished for jewellery and the seller had thought it was plant material. On closer inspection, however, it turned out to be the tail of a feathered dinosaur about the size of a sparrow.

Lida Xing was able to establish where it had come from by tracking down the amber miner who had originally dug out the specimen. Dr. McKellar said examination of the tail’s anatomy showed it definitely belonged to a feathered dinosaur and not an ancient bird.

The dinosaur’s plumage is preserved in exquisite detail
The specimen sheds new light on feather evolution

“We can be sure of the source because the vertebrae are not fused into a rod or pygostyle as in modern birds and their closest relatives,” he explained.

“Instead, the tail is long and flexible, with keels of feathers running down each side.”

Dr. McKellar said there are signs the dinosaur still contained fluids when it was incorporated into the tree resin that eventually formed the amber. This indicates that it could even have become trapped in the sticky substance while it was still alive.

Co-author Prof Mike Benton, from the University of Bristol, added: “It’s amazing to see all the details of a dinosaur tail – the bones, flesh, skin, and feathers – and to imagine how this little fellow got his tail caught in the resin, and then presumably died because he could not wrestle free.”

Examination of the chemistry of the tail where it was exposed at the surface of the amber even shows up traces of ferrous iron, a relic of the blood that was once in the sample.

The findings also shed light on how feathers were arranged on these dinosaurs because 3D features are often lost due to the compression that occurs when corpses become fossils in sedimentary rocks.

The feathers lack the well-developed central shaft – a rachis – known from modern birds. Their structure suggests that the two finest tiers of branching in modern feathers, known as barbs and barbules, arose before the rachis formed.

This CT scan reveals how feathers were inserted along the tail

Kachin State, in north-eastern Myanmar, where the specimen was found, has been producing amber for 2,000 years. But because of the large number of insects preserved in the deposits, over the last 20 years it has become a focus for scientists who study ancient arthropods.

“The larger amber pieces often get broken up in the mining process. By the time we see them, they have often been turned into things like jewellery. We never know how much of the specimen has been missed,” said Dr. McKellar.

“If you had a complete specimen, for example, you could look at how feathers were arranged across the whole body. Or you could look at other soft tissue features that don’t usually get preserved.”

Other preserved parts of a feathered dinosaur might also reveal whether it was a flying or gliding animal.

“There have been other, anecdotal reports of similar specimens coming from the region. But if they disappear into private collections, then they’re lost to science,” Dr. McKellar explained.

Dr. Paul Barrett, from London’s Natural History Museum, called the specimen a “beautiful fossil”, describing it as a “really rare occurrence of vertebrate material in amber”.

He told BBC News: “Feathers have been recovered in amber before, so that aspect isn’t new, but what this new specimen shows is the 3D arrangement of feathers in a Mesozoic dinosaur/bird for the first time, as almost all of the other feathered dinosaur fossils and Mesozoic bird skeletons that we have been flattened and 2D only, which has obscured some important features of their anatomy.

“The new amber specimen confirms ideas from developmental biologists about the order in which some of the detailed features of modern feathers, such as barbs and barbules (the little hooks that hold the barbs together so that the feather can form a nice neat vane), would have appeared also.”

Earlier this year, scientists also described ancient bird wings that had been discovered in amber from the same area of Myanmar.

EUROPE, WORLD

7,000-year-old Neolithic well is the oldest wooden structure ever discovered

7,000-year-old Neolithic well is the oldest wooden structure ever discovered

Archeologists discovered a Neolithic well in Eastern Europe, which is believed to be the oldest structure in the world, 7,000 years old.

According to researchers who pinpointed its origin after analyzing the tree rings in the wood, which is the scientific method known as dendrochronology, the square well has been constructed with oak by farmers around 5256 B.C.

According to scholars in the Czech Republic, the age of the well makes it the oldest dendrochronological archeological wood building of the world.

“The well was only preserved because it had been underwater for centuries. Now we cannot let it dry out, or the well would be destroyed,” Karol Bayer of the University of Pardubice’s Department of Restoration said in a press release.

Researchers are developing a process to dry the wood and preserve it without deformation using sugar to reinforce the wood’s cellular structure.

“It is interesting that the corner posts were made of previously felled trunks, namely from the trunk which had been cut in the autumn or winter 5259 B.C. or the winter of early 5258 B.C.,” said Michal Rybníček of the Department of Wood Science at Mendel University.

Archaeologists have discovered a 7,000-year-old Neolithic well in eastern Europe, which they believe is the oldest wooden structure in the world. The well was built by farmers around 5256 B.C., researchers said.

Measuring 140 cm (56 inches) in height and with an 80 by 80 cm (32 by 32 inches) square base, the well was found last year during construction of the D35 motorway near Ostrov, Czech Republic. Researchers published their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Its design shines a light on technical skills that researchers didn’t think Neolithic people possessed.

“The design consists of grooved corner posts with inserted planks. This type of construction reveals advanced technical know-how and, till now, is the only known type from this region and time period,” the authors wrote.

According to experts, the well indicates that whoever built it was able to process the surface of felled trunks with utmost precision, given that they only had tools made of stone, bone, horn, or wood.

“The shape of the individual structural elements and tool marks preserved on their surface confirm sophisticated carpentry skills,” the authors wrote.

It is the third well from the early Neolithic period found in the Czech Republic in the past four years.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Detectorists unearth record-breaking haul of 69,347 Iron Age coins after a 30-year search

Detectorists unearth record-breaking haul of 69,347 Iron Age coins after a 30-year search

The discovery by Reg Mead (left) and Richard Miles could be worth £10m

The biggest coin hoards found in the British Isles are recorded by treasure hunters, after unearthing 69,347 Roman and Celtic coins that were buried three feet beneath a hedge in Jersey, Channel Isles.

Reg Mead and Richard Miles spent 30 years looking for the £ 10 million treasure in the field, after a woman described seeing what looked like silver buttons in the area.

Their find – made in 2012 – trumps the previous record-holding discovery of 54,951 Iron Age coins unearthed in Wiltshire in 1978.

Britain’s largest coin hoard of gold and silver pieces was found under a hedge on Jersey in the Channel Islands

Some of the silver and gold relics from the Guinness Record-setting discovery, dated to around 50BC, will go on display at La Hougue Bie Museum on the island.

‘We are not surprised at this achievement and are delighted that such an impressive archaeological item was discovered, examined and displayed in Jersey,’ said curator of archaeology at Jersey Heritage Olga Finch.

‘Once again, it puts our Island in the spotlight of international research of Iron Age coinage and demonstrates the world-class heritage that Jersey has to offer.’ 

Mr. Miles said he and Mr. Mead had been involved in the process the whole way through and described receiving the Guinness World Record certificates as ‘lovely’.

The coins were found to have been entombed in a mound of clay weighing three-quarters of a ton and measuring 55 x 31 x 8 inches.

Conservator for the Jersey Heritage Museum Neil Mahrer begins to carefully dig the silver and gold treasures out of the clay

They were declared a ‘treasure’ under the Treasure Act 1996, which means they officially belong to the Queen, although the finders are entitled to a reward. 

Mr. Mead has said that the least valuable coins in the hoard are likely to be worth £100 each, suggesting a valuation of several million pounds, without taking into account the precious jewellery also found in it.

However, there has been discussion over whether the price would come down because so many coins had been found, reducing their rarity.

The previous largest coin hoard from Wiltshire was discovered in 1978 at the former Roman town of Cunetio near to Mildenhall.

The largest hoard of coins ever found in the world was in Brussels in 1908 with 150,000 silver medieval pennies from the 13th Century uncovered. 

All In One Magazine