YEN BAI, VIETNAM—The Vietnam News Agency reports that more than 200 pounds of bronze coins were confiscated by police during a traffic stop in north-central Vietnam.
The oldest of the coins dates to 118 B.C., and is thought to have been minted during the reign of Emperor Wudi of China’s Han Dynasty.
Other coins in the collection date to between the seventh and thirteenth centuries A.D.
The police determined the motorcyclist in possession of the coins had purchased them from people who allegedly unearthed them in northern Vietnam.
One day between five and ten centuries ago, people living on what is now known as Keith Island finished eating a geoduck clam and placed its shell neatly alongside others.
The implications of that moment — brought to light this month by archeologists — loom large for Indigenous nations pursuing the right to harvest and sell geoduck clams on their territories in British Columbia. rest of the Article read at “thetyee.ca“
‘Extinct’ Gaint Galapagos tortoise found after 100 years
After more than a millennium, a giant tortoise species from one of the Galapagos Islands, earlier thought extinct, has reappeared.
The missing animal, scientifically cataloged as Chelonoidis Phantasticus, or Fernandina Giant Tortoise, is an adult female and deemed to be over 100 years of age, according to Ecuador’s officials under whose jurisdiction the Galapagos Islands fall.
Large turtle at the shoreline.
The last sighting of a Fernandina Giant Tortoise was reported in 1906. The female now appeared on the island of Fernandina where the species is native — the third largest, youngest, and most volcanically active island within the Galapagos archipelago.
According to experts, one of the reasons why this tortoise has gone missing is the active volcano looming over the creature’s habitat. Another factor has been uncontrolled hunting by humans — both for tortoise meat and oil. In fact, over the past few centuries, hunting has decimated Galapagos Islands tortoises, reducing the population by roughly 85 percent.
Galápagos archipelago annotated with ranges of currently recognized species of Galápagos tortoise, islands with surviving species is shaded.
Upon its discovery, the Fernandina Giant Tortoise was relocated to Santa Cruz Island, another of the Galapagos islands, where it underwent health checks at a local breeding center. It has been determined that the rare specimen is in good condition, though slightly undernourished.
While the discovery has been billed as the biggest in a century for the Galapagos, it still remains for the tortoise to undergo additional genetic examinations to confirm this is really the lost tortoise species. Hopes are raised that more members of the lost species will be soon retrieved.
A saddleback Galapagos tortoise blocks the trail on Pinzon in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Isn’t he handsome!
The tortoise was stumbled upon during an expedition carried out on the island by the Galapagos National Directorate, a U.S. non-profit Galapagos Conservancy, and Animal Planet’s ‘Extinct or Alive.’ The discovery took place on Sunday, February 16th.
Danny Rueda, who leads the Galapagos National Park, said that the discovery “encourages us to strengthen our search plans to find other turtles, which will allow us to start a breeding program in captivity to recover this species,” according to USA Today.
Only one sighting of the Fernandina species has occurred in the past — the one from 1906. This is when a single male specimen was retrieved from the island by a large expedition carried by the California Academy of Sciences.
Walter Rothschild, a cataloger of two Galápagos tortoise species.
Since then spotting other Fernandina tortoises has been an elusive job. Experts have only been able to find clues of their presence. The first time was in 1964 when a survey of remote areas of the island revealed large tortoise feces and bite-marks left on cacti. Similar traces were reported as recently as 2013.
Which is why the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), classifies the Fernandina Island Tortoise as “Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct).” Perhaps until now.
If no male Fernandina Island Tortoise is found for breeding, or if no surviving male semen is extracted from the female adult found just now, the species technically remains extinct.
However, as CNN reports, “Experts believe she is not alone. The tracks and scent of other tortoises, believed to be of the same species, were also observed by the team.”
The Galapagos archipelago, which consists of 19 islands located about 620 miles from the mainland of Ecuador, is world-famous for its giant tortoise inhabitants. Only one other site in the world — the Indian Ocean’s Aldabra Atoll — is known to host giant tortoise species.
The Fernandina Giant Tortoise is one of 14 giant tortoise species native to the Galapagos, of which ten species survive today. While killing tortoises has been a habitual practice in the past, today all efforts on the islands are focused on preserving and restoring the remaining tortoise populations.
The Galapagos was pronounced a national park in 1959, and as of 1978, the islands are also a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. The islands hold further significance for having helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution, due to their authentic flora and fauna. According to the Galapagos Conservancy website, the historical tortoise populations on the islands “was between 200,000-300,000 tortoises, and the current population is 10-15 percent of that.”
Unique photo of a huge fully grown Galapagos Giant Tortoise in wildlife. Highlands, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
The long and slow processes of restoring those populations are reliant on methodologies such as “collecting eggs and/or hatchlings from natural nests and rearing the young in captivity, by-passing the years of highest mortality before releasing them back into the wild” writes the Galapagos Conservancy.
“As of the end of 2017, more than 7,000 juvenile tortoises returned to their island of origin — including Espanola, Isabela, Pinzon, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Santiago.”
We are yet to see how the story unfolds on Fernandina Island and whether our “possibly extinct” Fernandina tortoise friend will be repopulated there. On the other corner of the world, the Aldabra Atoll remains the world’s largest shelter of giant tortoises, with population counts there showing a figure of 152,000, according to UNESCO.
An archaeological dig in Scotland reveals the medieval building
Archaeologists working in the Scottish town of Dunfermline have uncovered the remains of a medieval building. Dig Dunfermline was a community project that included an archaeological team and 83 volunteers who spent several weeks examining an area where a museum and art gallery will be built next spring.
Thomas Rees of Rathmell Archaeology who started the six-week dig in late August described the top discoveries as follows
A Building
The test dig discovered a building in the southeast corner of the car park just to the north of the Abbey graveyard.
This year’s full dig revealed only three courses of the foundations of the structure and there was very little in the way of dating evidence.
However, archaeologists are confident that it is the remains of a medieval building – we’re just unsure what it was used for.
There will be more investigation in the block-paved car park area before the construction work on the new museum starts.
A Stove Tile
Perhaps one of the smallest finds from the site was a small fragment of pottery that has been identified as a stove tile that would have formed part of a smokeless stove.
North German in style this tile is probably from the 16th century and is a rare example of a prestigious, high quality and desirable household device.
Not only does this show the wealth of some of the homes in Dunfermline, but also the trading links across the North Sea into Germany and the Baltic States.
Leather Fragments
The remarkable discovery of fragments of preserved leather will provide great information as to how the early monastic community lived.
Discovered at the very base of the excavation within waterlogged sediment this material will allow for accurate dating of this earliest midden deposit and has changed the understanding of this area.
Such a boggy midden suggests a damper and more unpleasant environment to the east of the Abbey than was previously thought, showing the Abbey to have been sited on a rise when approached from the east.
Councillor Helen Law, Chair of the City of Dunfermline Area Committee said, “I think these are excellent and exciting discoveries that show what can be revealed when we excavate within an important burgh.
The dig was a real community effort that created a lot of interest in what was going on and I’m thrilled that so many local people have already been involved in helping make the new museum and art gallery a reality.”
Douglas Speirs, Archaeologist for Fife Council added, “It was so encouraging to see the project team commit sufficient resources to undertake such a thorough archaeological excavation.
Combining planning requirements with the public’s enormous appetite for local heritage has surpassed expectations and resulted in real, immediate and tangible benefits for the whole community.
“Due almost entirely to the hard work of the scores of volunteers we have shed more light on Dunfermline’s medieval past than any previous excavation.
The project is contributing a great deal to the history, identity and future economic potential of Dunfermline as a premier cultural destination and this dig is already being hailed as an exemplary approach in community archaeology!”
Along with the people who participated, another 500 people visited during the dig to find out about the project and nearly 100 children took part in specially organized events for young people.
Roman finds include this jug and human remains, including six skeletons
Roundhouses of the Iron Age, Roman burials and Saxon pottery were found in a “hugely important and hitherto unknown settlement”.
In Warboys, Cambridgeshire, the seven-month dig also revealed “a rare example ” of “early Saxon occupation mixed with the recent Roman remains.”
Archaeologist Stephen Macaulay said: “We almost never find actual physical evidence of this.” The settlement reverted to agricultural use after the 7th Century.
The earliest find a date to the middle to late Iron Age – including several roundhouses
And three crouched human burials
“What makes this site really significant is we have evidence of early Saxon occupation mingled with the latest Roman remains,” said Mr. Macaulay, deputy regional manager for Oxford Archaeology East.
Saxon pottery, beads, worked antler and metalworking residues were uncovered.
He added: “This a rare example of the Roman to Saxon transition in the east of England.”
A later Roman or early Saxon child was found buried with a bead necklace and bone-carved hairpin in the shape of an ax
The earliest finds include eight roundhouses, some of which date back to about 100BC, three crouched human burials and 2,500-year-old pottery remains.
The 10-acre (four-hectare) site provided evidence of Roman rural industry, including a 15ft (4.6m) corn dryer and kilns.
Archaeologists uncovered human cremations and six burials.
They also “seem to have stumbled upon a shrine” and discovered cattle skulls and a largely intact horse skeleton, which they believe could be votive offerings.
Archaeologists believe the Romans deliberately buried this horse as an offering to the god.
The site was excavated ahead of a housing development by Bellway Homes.
An initial evaluation in May last year revealed extensive Roman remains, but the Iron Age settlement was not revealed until the main excavation began later that year.
Mr. Macauley said the dig has uncovered “a hugely important and a hitherto unknown settlement”.
Lost Languages Discovered In One Of The World’s Oldest Libraries
Africa, Egypt, St Catherine’s Monastery.
Researchers discovered ancient texts hidden beneath years of writing in the manuscripts at St. Catherine’s Monastery.
St. Catherine’s Monastery, one of the world’s oldest continuously running libraries, lies at the foot of Mount Sinai, the mountain atop which God is said to have given Moses the Ten Commandments.
St. Catherine’s is home to some of the world’s oldest and most valuable books and manuscripts, and the monks that watch over them.
These texts are largely manuscripts and are filled with mostly Greek and Latin. However, recently scientists have uncovered new languages in the manuscripts — and some that haven’t been used since the Dark Ages.
The only catch — the languages can’t be seen with the naked eye.
When the texts were originally written, the monks only wrote in ancient languages. However, the parchment they were written on at the time was valuable, and often subject to reuse.
Texts deemed less important were scrubbed clean from the parchment, which was then reused for more important information, often written in other more universal or modern languages.
These texts with multiple layers of writing are known as palimpsests.
Cloister of St Catherine of Alexandria monastery, 14th century, Cittaducale, Lazio, Italy.
Now, using new technology, a team of researchers has developed a way to uncover the ancient writings in the palimpsests at St. Catherine’s and have discovered languages thought to be long lost.
One such language, Caucasian Albanian, hasn’t been used since the 8th century. Other languages include Christian Palestinian Aramaic, which is a mix of Syriac and Greek.
To uncover the hidden writings, the scientists photographed the manuscripts using different parts of the light spectrum and run the images through an electronic algorithm. This allowed them to see the first writing put down on the pages.
Michael Phelps, a researcher at the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library in California, calls this development the beginning of a “new golden age of discovery.”
“The age of discovery is not over,” he said. “In the 20th century, new manuscripts were discovered in caves.
In the 21st century, we will apply new techniques to manuscripts that have been under our noses. We will recover lost voices from our history.”
Phelps went on to praise the monastery for their record keeping and devotion to the preservation of history.
“I don’t know of any library in the world that parallels it,” he said. “The monastery is an institution from the Roman Empire that continues operating according to its original mission.”
However, he notes that though the monks deserve praise for recording history, they are also to blame for erasing the parchment that held it.
“At some point, the material the manuscript was on became more valuable than what was written on it,” Phelps said. “So it was deemed worthy of being recycled.”
Besides the discovery of the Caucasian Albanian language texts, the researchers also uncovered what is thought to be the first-known copy of the Bible written in Arabic, as well as the earliest examples of writings from the Greek philosopher Hippocrates.
The Ashtiname of Muhammad at the Saint Catherine’s Monastery.
Once again, Kom El-Dikka archaeological site in Alexandria has furnished an important discovery.
The find at Kom El-Dikka confirms the popularity of ornate design between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD in Roman Alexandria
An Egyptian-Polish Archaeological Mission unearthed on Thursday the remains of a large part of an ancient city dating from the 4th to the 7th century AD in the coastal city of Alexandria.
The country’s Antiquities Ministry said in a statement.
The mission also uncovered a collection of Roman mosaics covering the floor of a house inside the ancient city during its working in the area of Kom el-Dekka in Alexandria, it added.
“Overall, the design of the mosaic, additionally equipped with a transversal field in front decorated with astragals and rosettes, is typical for the triclinia – the most imposing of the dining rooms in a Roman house,” said Majcherek.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, pointed out that the area of Kom al-Dekka is witnessing a new scene of Roman mosaics multicolor, which confirms the spread of mosaic art in Alexandria in addition to the wealth of the inhabitants of these houses.
“The discovered city includes the remains of a small theater
A large imperial bathroom and a unique collection of 22 lecture halls, which are the remains of an ancient university,” said Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities.
He added the mosaic design found on the floor of one of the houses consists of six hexagon pictures featuring a lotus flower, surrounded by a typical circular frame.
The Polish Archaeological Mission has been operating at the site located in the heart of the Old City since 1960 in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, Waziri added.
Excavations in recent years have focused on the study of residential architecture, which is still unknown in Alexandria from the 1st century to the 3rd century AD, Waziri added.
He explained that the buildings of that period were often lavishly decorated.
Rusty Blade Found In An Attic Turns Out To Be A Priceless Samurai Sword From The 12th Century.
The kohoki blade pulled from the attic of the Kasuga Taisha shrine.
If you’ve ever thought that your attic was just full of old junk, you may want to think again.
A rusty blade pulled from an attic decades ago was just revealed to be one of the oldest Japanese samurai swords in existence.
The sword was found covered in rust, in the attic of the Kasuga Taisha shrine in Japan.
Though the discovery of the sword actually took place in 1939, it was only this year that the shrine’s officials realized what the blade actually was.
During a ceremony that takes place every 20 years, the officials sharpened the blades to honor the traditional ceremony of shrine building.
When the blade was cleaned, the sword was discovered to be from the 12th century, making it one of the oldest in existence.
The kohoki blade is believed to be from the 12th century.
The 32-inch sword, known as a kohoki, was likely an heirloom sword, made for a samurai and passed down through his family.
Experts believe it was crafted during the Heian Period (794-1185) and given to the shrine as a gift sometime between the Nanboku-Cho Period (1336-1392) and the Muromachi Period (1338-1573).
The blade has a characteristic curved shape, which helped experts date it, as ancient Japanese swords, found in ruins or other temples, were known to be straight.
As well as the blade itself, experts have been studying the handle and the exterior portions of the sword.
Though there is no craftsman signature, some experts believe that the blade could have been made by a famed swordsmith known as Yasutsuna, as blades are known to have been made by him carry some of the same patterns as the kohoki.
Along with the kohoki, 12 other blades were found in the Kasuga Taisa shrine’s attic, though none as ancient or valuable as the kohoki.
After it was cleaned and examined, the sword was placed on display at the Kasugataisha Museum at the Kasuga Taisha shrine, where it will stay through the end of March.
