EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

1500-year-old gold treasure discovered by metal detectorist: “This is the gold find of the century in Norway”

1500-year-old gold treasure discovered by metal detectorist: “This is the gold find of the century in Norway”

A Norwegian man had barely unwrapped his new metal detector when he discovered what experts have described as the “gold find of the century.”

Erlend Bore, 51, told NBC News by telephone Thursday that he took up the hobby after his doctor advised him to get some exercise.

But he stumbled across the unique treasure trove which is more than 1,500 years old when he was using his new gadget on Rennesoey, a picturesque island to the north of the Norwegian city of Stavanger.

Bore, who lives in Sola, a small seaside resort near Stavanger, said that hours of detecting only yielded “trash like aluminum foil and a very small fem ore,” a more modern coin that is no longer in use.

1500-year-old gold treasure discovered by metal detectorist: “This is the gold find of the century in Norway”
Metal detectorist Erlend Bore on Sept. 7, 2023 with the gold treasure he discovered on the island of Rennesoey in Norway.

On the verge of going home, he said he tried a nearby hill and it took seconds for him to get a hit.

Initially, Bore said, he thought he’d found toy gold coins or chocolate money. But experts at the university’s archaeological museum later determined he had come across nine gold pendants, three gold rings and 10 gold pearls that someone might have worn as showy jewelry centuries ago, all lying barely 5 inches below the ground.

A reconstruction of a necklace with gold pendants that are part of a treasure found in southern Norway in August by Erlend Bore.

Not seen since before the Viking Age, the pendants were bracteates: thin, flat, single-sided gold discs that once formed an amulet.

The find weighs just 3.5 oz but has huge historical significance for the understanding of the period. There has been no similar find in Norway since the 19th century.

“There was a terrible period in the middle of the 6th century when both plague and climate deterioration came at once,” Håkon Reiersen, associate professor at the museum, told the Norwegian broadcaster NRK. He added that at the time, the region of Rogaland “had a large population, and many died.”

“From that period immediately after, we have almost no finds,” he said.

“So many people died, and some had to put down their most precious things in hopes of either getting better times or to hide their treasures,” he added.

Buried around 500 A.D. when Norway was ruled by rival kings and the Roman Empire had not long collapsed, the museum’s experts believe the intricate craftmanship shown in the gold suggests the jewelry was made in a nearby workshop controlled by political and religious elites that may have held sway over much of southern Norway.

Bore found nine pendants, three rings, and 10 gold pearls on a southern Norwegian island in what was described as the gold find of the century.

The motifs on the jewelry are unusual and have excited archaeologists. The 1,000 bracteates found in Scandinavia typically show the Norse god Odin healing the sick horse of his son, Balder — but the new pieces show just a horse, an image with important cultural symbolism in pre-Christian Norway.

“On these gold pendants the horse’s tongue hangs out, and its slumped posture and twisted legs show that it is injured,” Sigmund Oehrl, an archaeologist at the museum, said in a press release.

“Like the Christian symbol of the cross, which spread in the Roman Empire at exactly this time, the horse symbol represented illness and distress, but at the same time hope for healing and new life,” he said.

The museum plans to put the items on public display.

“I didn’t sleep much for several nights after the find, I was so high on adrenaline,” Bore said, adding that his more recent searches had yielded more normal results.

On a recent search he said he found “a sheep’s ear tag and the lid of a teapot.”

Under Norwegian law, Bore could be entitled to a finder’s fee of the gold’s minimum value plus 10%, which he would have to share equally with the landowner. But Bore said this has yet to be decided.

The plan is to exhibit the find at the Archaeological Museum in Stavanger, about 200 miles southwest of Norway’s capital, Oslo.

EUROPE, SPAIN, WORLD

Ancient Roman city was violently destroyed. Now, its huge plaza has been unearthed

Ancient Roman city was violently destroyed. Now, its huge plaza has been unearthed

The ruins of an enormous Roman plaza — which dates back around 2,000 years — were recently unearthed in Spain.

It is the oldest known public square ever found in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, which encompasses Spain, Portugal and part of France, according to a news release from the University of Zaragoza.

The excavation was made at La Cabañeta, an archaeological site along the banks of the Ebro River in northeastern Spain, researchers said.

Ancient Roman city was violently destroyed. Now, its huge plaza has been unearthed
A significant archaeological discovery has been made at the La Cabaneta site in Spain, where researchers have unearthed the remains of a massive Roman plaza dating back 2,000 years.

It contains the remains of a mysterious, ill-fated Roman city founded around 200 B.C. Less than a century later, the city with a name not yet known was violently destroyed during a civil war.

After nearly a decade-long hiatus, archaeologists resumed operations at the site in July. Their excavation was focused on the central area, where the ruins of a massive square were found.

The unearthed plaza was surrounded by a portico topped with meticulously crafted tiles, researchers said. A series of chambers, likely used for commercial activity, were also located.

The discovery is of great significance because of its architectural intricacy and large size. It will help scholars understand the diffusion of Roman-style architecture throughout the Iberian Peninsula, where the Roman Empire once had multiple provinces.

The city, which was organized in a grid, likely once served as a transportation hub for merchants ferrying goods up and down the river, Borja Díaz, co-director of the excavation, told El Pais.

But charred material indicates that around the year 70 B.C., the city met its ruin, Díaz told the outlet, adding that he hadn’t ruled out the possibility of encountering human remains.

The city’s destruction occurred during the Sertorian War, a bloody conflict in modern-day Spain associated with the First Roman Civil War, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.

Confrontations were characterized by “assaults and sieges of towns that habitually ended with them being burned to the ground or destroyed, and with severe punishments meted out to the populations,” according to the study.

Large Roman structures are regularly unearthed throughout the Mediterranean.

A Roman stadium-lake structure was located in Greece in 2022, and a massive Roman-era building with thermal baths was discovered in France earlier this year, according to reporting from McClatchy News.

PERU, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Archaeologists discover 1,000-year-old mummy in Peru

Archaeologists discover 1,000-year-old mummy in Peru

Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old mummy — believed to be of an adult individual — in Peru’s capital, Lima.

The mummy, which was discovered at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood, was found alongside two ceramic vessels and textiles.

The discovery becomes the latest in a string of ancient discoveries made in Peru this year.

A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

“I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site is still preserved,” said lead archaeologist Mirella Ganoza.

Ganoza noted the mummy had long hair and was found seated with bent legs. The remains of the ancient figure were also found with its jaw and long hair still preserved.

A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

The mummy is thought to date back to 1,000 A.D, belonging to the Yschsma culture, inhabitants of whom lived south of Lima.

“This discovery helps to complement the information we know about the Ychsma culture so far,” said Ganoza.

The discovery is the latest in string of century-old discoveries of mummies and pre-Hispanic remains made in Lima, including the discovery in June on a hilltop of a mummy found surrounded by cocoa leaves.

Archaeologists discover 1,000-year-old mummy in Peru
A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.

In March, a Peruvian man was arrested and charged for illegal possession of historical patrimony after he was found in a possession of a mummy believed to be 600 to 800 years old in his cooler delivery bag.

The Huaca Pucllana site is viewed as a Pandora’s Box and archaeologists anticipate that many more artifacts could be found.

A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighborhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, Sept. 6, 2023.
ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

DNA From 3,800-Year-Old Individuals Sheds New Light On Bronze Age Families

DNA From 3,800-Year-Old Individuals Sheds New Light On Bronze Age Families

The diversity of family systems in prehistoric societies has always fascinated scientists. A groundbreaking study by Mainz anthropologists and an international team of archaeologists now provides new insights into the origins and genetic structure of prehistoric family communities.

Researchers Jens Blöcher and Joachim Burger from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have analyzed the genomes of skeletons from an extended family from a Bronze Age necropolis in the Russian steppe.

The 3,800-year-old “Nepluyevsky” burial mound was excavated several years ago and is located on the geographical border between Europe and Asia. Using statistical genomics, this society’s family and marriage relationships have now been deciphered.

Location of the burial site in the southern Ural region (ill./©: Joachim Burger)

The study was carried out in cooperation with archaeologists from Ekaterinburg and Frankfurt a. M. and was partly financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Russian Science Foundation (RSCF).

The kurgan (burial mound) investigated was the grave of six brothers, their wives, children, and grandchildren. The presumably oldest brother had eight children with two wives, one of whom came from the Asian steppe regions in the east. The other brothers showed no signs of polygamy and probably lived monogamously with far fewer children.

Fascinating snapshot of a prehistoric family

“The burial site provides a fascinating snapshot of a prehistoric family,” explains Jens Blöcher, lead author of the study. “It is remarkable that the first-born brother apparently had a higher status and thus greater chances of reproduction.

The right of the male firstborn seems familiar to us, it is known from the Old Testament, for example, but also from the aristocracy in historical Europe.”

The genomic data reveal even more. Most women buried in the kurgan were immigrants. The sisters of the buried brothers, in turn, found new homes elsewhere. Joachim Burger, senior author of the study, explains: “Female marriage mobility is a common pattern that makes sense from an economic and evolutionary perspective.

While one sex stays local and ensures the continuity of the family line and property, the other marries in from the outside to prevent inbreeding.”

The genomic diversity of the prehistoric women was higher than that of the men

Accordingly, the Mainz population geneticists found that the genomic diversity of the prehistoric women was higher than that of the men.

The women who married into the family thus came from a larger area and were not related to each other. In their new homeland, they followed their husbands into the grave. From this, the authors conclude that in Nepluyevsky there was both “patrilineality”, i.e. the transmission of local traditions through the male line, and “patrilocality”, i.e. the place of residence of a family is the place of residence of the men.

“Archaeology shows that 3,800 years ago, the population in the southern Trans-Ural knew cattle breeding and metalworking and subsisted mainly on dairy and meat products,” comments Svetlana Sharapova, an archaeologist from Ekaterinburg and head of the excavation, adding, “the state of health of the family buried here must have been very poor.

The average life expectancy of the women was 28 years, that of the men 36 years.”

A skeleton from the Nepluyevsky site (photo/©: Svetlana Sharapova)

In the last generation, the use of the kurgan suddenly stopped and almost only infants and small children were found. Sharapova adds, “it is possible that the inhabitants were decimated by disease or that the remaining population went elsewhere in search of a better life.”

Multiple partners and many children for the putative firstborn son

“There is a global connection between different family systems and certain forms of life-style and economy,” says Blöcher. “Nevertheless, human societies are characterized by a high degree of flexibility.” He adds, “in Nepluyevsky, we find evidence of a pattern of inequality typical of pastoralists: multiple partners and many children for the putative firstborn son and no or monogamous relationships for most others.”

The authors find additional genomic evidence that populations genetically similar to Neplujevsky society lived throughout most of the Eurasian steppe belt. Burger comments: “It is quite possible that the local pattern we found is relevant to a much larger area.” Future studies will show to what extent the “Neplujevsky” model can be verified at other prehistoric sites in Eurasia.

ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

Four Rare And Incredibly Well-Preserved 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords Found In Judean Desert

Four Rare And Incredibly Well-Preserved 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords Found In Judean Desert

Archaeologists report having discovered four incredibly well-preserved Roman swords in the Judean Desert.

This very rare find was made in a small hidden cave located in an area of isolated and inaccessible cliffs north of ‘En Gedi, in the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Authority. Fifty years ago, a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription written in ancient Hebrew script, characteristic of the First Temple period, was found.

Archaeologists remove the swords from the rock crevice where they were hidden some 1,900 years ago in a cave in the Judean Desert. Credit:Emil Aladjem/IAA

Recently, Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, geologist Boaz Langford of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority photographer, visited the cave.

Photography: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

Their aim was to photograph the Paleo-Hebrew inscription written on the stalactite with multispectral photography that might be able to decipher additional parts of the inscription not visible to the naked eye. While on the upper level of the cave, Asaf Gayer spotted an extremely well-preserved, Roman pilum— a shafted weapon in a deep narrow crevice. He also found pieces of worked wood in an adjacent niche that turned out to be parts of the swords’ scabbards.

From right to left: Dr. Asaf Gayer, Oriya Amichay, Dr. Eitan Klein and Amir Ganor. Photography: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority

The researchers reported the discovery to the Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeological Survey Team, who are conducting a systematic scientific project in the Judean Desert caves. As part of this survey, initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Archaeological Office for the Military Administration of Judea and Samaria, hundreds of caves have been investigated over the past six years, and 24 archaeological excavations have been carried out in selected caves, with the aim of saving the archaeological remains from the hands of looters.

The Judean Desert Cave Survey team, together with Asaf Gayer and Boaz Langford returned to the cave and carried out a meticulous survey of all the crevices in the rock, during which they were astonished to find the four Roman swords in an almost inaccessible crevice on the upper level of the cave.

Experts say the four swords are 1,900-year-old and most likely from Bar Kochba revolt that lasted from 132 to 135 C.E. Also called the Second Jewish Revolt, it was a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in Judea led by rebel leader Simon Bar Kochba.

The most plausible scenario is that the swords were hidden in the cave sometime during the revolt, as it was dangerous for Jews to be found with Roman weapons.

“Finding a single sword is rare—so four? It’s a dream! We rubbed our eyes to believe it,” say the researchers.

The swords were exceptionally well preserved, and three were found with the iron blade inside the wooden scabbards. Leather strips and wooden and metal finds belonging to the weapons were also found in the crevice. The swords had well-fashioned handles made of wood or metal.

The length of the blades of the three swords was 60–65 cm, their dimensions identifying them as Roman spatha swords, and the fourth one was shorter with c. 45 cm long blade, identified as a ring-pommel sword.

Removing the swords from the cave. Photography: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

The swords were carefully removed from the crevice in the rock and transferred to the Israel Antiquities Authority climate-controlled laboratories for preservation and conservation.

The initial examination of the assemblage confirmed that these were standard swords employed by the Roman soldiers stationed in Judea in the Roman period.

“The hiding of the swords and the pilum in deep cracks in the isolated cave north of ‘En Gedi, hints that the weapons were taken as booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield and purposely hidden by the Judean rebels for reuse,” says Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project.

At work in the cave. Photography: Hagay Hamer, Israel Antiquities Authority

“Obviously, the rebels did not want to be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons. We are just beginning the research on the cave and the weapon cache discovered in it, aiming to try to find out who owned the swords, and where, when, and by whom they were manufactured. We will try to pinpoint the historical event that led to the caching of these weapons in the cave and determine whether it was at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE.”

Following the discovery of the swords, an archaeological excavation was undertaken in the cave by the Israel Antiquities Authority, directed by Eitan Klein, Oriya Amichay, Hagay Hamer, and Amir Ganor. The cave was excavated in its entirety, and artifacts dating to the Chalcolithic period (c. 6,000 years ago) and the Roman period (c. 2,000 years ago) were uncovered.

Conservators Ilan Naor and Lena Kupershmidt with the swords. Photography: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

At the entrance to the cave, a Bar-Kokhba bronze coin from the time of the Revolt was found, possibly pointing to the time when the cave served for concealing the weapons.

Four Rare And Incredibly Well-Preserved 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords Found In Judean Desert
Archaeologists Oriya Amichay and Hagay Hamer with one of the swords found in the cave. Photography: Amir Ganor, Israel Antiquities Authority
Photography: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority

The preliminary article on the swords is now published in the volume ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’ and will be launched this evening (6.9) in Jerusalem at an insightful event!

The book ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’ will be launched (6.9) in Jerusalem at an insightful event! In addition, the swords discussed above will be presented.

ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

Mysterious 2,800-Year-Old Channel Installation Discovered In The City Of David, Jerusalem

Mysterious 2,800-Year-Old Channel Installation Discovered In The City Of David, Jerusalem

Scientists are trying to solve an ancient Jerusalem mystery. What was the function of the Channel Installation discovered in the City of David National Park, dating to the days of Kings Joash and Amaziah?

Mysterious 2,800-Year-Old Channel Installation Discovered In The City Of David, Jerusalem

An ancient channel installation, the first of its kind ever discovered in Israel, was in use around 2,800 years ago – during the First Temple period. Investigators from the police forensic unit joined to solve the mystery, but so far – to no avail.

According to researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University, “The channels were likely used to soak some type of product. Their central location indicates that the product was connected to the Palace or Temple economy”.

The excavation findings will be open for public viewing during the 24th City of David Studies of Ancient Jerusalem conference to be held next week.

What was this obscure product that was important to the economy of the city, Temple or Palace during the times of the ancient Judean Kings? Unique and large-scale production installations carved out of the rock and dating to the 9th Century BCE were unearthed in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University in the City of David National Park, funded by the Elad Foundation.

The purpose of the installation is still unclear, but their uniqueness and location near the Temple and the Palace suggest that their products were integrated into the economy of these prominent institutions.

The excavation thus far has uncovered two installations about 10 meters apart, which may have composed one large installation. Such structures have not been found anywhere else in Israel, hence their uniqueness.

The excavators found the first installation at the northeastern end of the Givati Parking Lot excavation, which includes a series of at least nine channels that were smoothed. On top of the rock cliff that encloses the installation to the south can be found seven drain pipes, which carried liquid from the top of the cliff, which served as an activity area, to the channel installation.

Dr. Yiftah Shalev, a senior researcher at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: “We looked at the installation and realized that we had stumbled on something unique, but since we had never seen a structure like this in Israel, we didn’t know how to interpret it. Even its date was unclear.

We brought a number of experts to the site to see if there were any residues in the soil or rock that are not visible to the naked eye, and to help us understand what flowed or stood in the channels. We wanted to check whether there were any organic remains or traces of blood, so we even recruited the help of the police forensic unit and its research colleagues around the world, but so far – to no avail.”

“The mystery only grew deeper when we found the second installation to the south,” says Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Archeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Department.

“This installation consists of at least five channels that transport liquids.
“Despite some differences in the way the channels were hewn and designed, it is evident that the second installation is very similar to the first, “Gadot adds.

“This time, we also managed to date when the facility fell out of use – at the end of the 9th Century BCE, during the days of the biblical kings of Judah – Joash and Amaziah. We assume that the two installations, which, as mentioned, may have been used in unison, were constructed several decades earlier.”

According to Prof. Gadot, “This is an era when we know that Jerusalem covered an area that included the City of David and the Temple Mount, which served as the heart of Jerusalem. The central location of the channels near the city’s most prominent areas indicates that the product made using them was connected to the economy of the Temple or Palace. One should note that ritual activity includes bringing agricultural animal and plant produce to the Temple; Many times, Temple visitors would bring back products that carried the sanctity of the place.”

“Since the channels don’t lead to a large drainage basin and the direction of their flow varies, it is possible that the channels, at least in the northern installation, were used to soak products – and not to drain liquids,” adds Dr. Shalev.

“The production of linen, for example, requires soaking the flax for a long time to soften it. Another possibility is that the channels held dates that were left out to be heated by the sun to produce silan (date honey), like similarly shaped installations discovered in distant places such as Oman, Bahrain and Iran.” Dr. Shalev notes that “in the near future, we will take additional soil samples from the installations, and try – once again – to identify components that can help us solve the mystery: what was the product that was important for the economy of the city, Temple or Palace?”.

According to Eli Escusido, director of the Antiquities Authority, “the ancient channel installations we have before us are fascinating and stimulate the imagination. The excavations in the City of David, which cover vast areas compared to densely populated Jerusalem, are revealing to us more and more fascinating details from the time of the Judahite kings, of which there are relatively few finds in the Old City due to modern disturbances.

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

Extremely Well Preserved 2,000-Year-Old Child Shoe Discovered In Salt Mine

Extremely Well Preserved 2,000-Year-Old Child Shoe Discovered In Salt Mine

Scientists conducting mining archaeological investigations have discovered an extremely well-preserved 2,000-year-old child shoe in a salt mine!

The special find was made by the German Mining Museum Bochum, Leibniz Research Museum for Georesources.

Excavations were carried out under the direction of the head of the research area, Prof. Dr. Thomas Stöllner. The Dürrnberg near Salzburg, Austria, is known for its rock salt mining, which already took place in the Iron Age.

Extremely Well Preserved 2,000-Year-Old Child Shoe Discovered In Salt Mine
A 2,000-year-old show found in a salt mine.

Due to the preservation effect of the salt, organic remains are in particularly good condition in contrast to other excavations, where such finds are in short supply. During this year’s campaign in the Georgenberg tunnel, a children’s shoe made of leather came to light. It roughly corresponds to today’s shoe Euro size 30 (7.25 inches – 18.4 cm).

“For decades now, our research activities on the Dürrnberg have repeatedly provided us with valuable finds in order to scientifically develop the earliest mining activities.

The condition of the shoe that was found is outstanding,” says the head of the research area, Prof. Dr. Thomas Stoellner, in a press statement.

“Organic materials usually decompose over time. Finds such as this children’s shoe, but also textile remains or excrement, such as those found on the Dürrnberg, offer an extremely rare insight into the life of the Iron Age miners. They provide valuable information for our scientific work.”

The research work on prehistoric salt production at Dürrnberg near Hallein in Austria is part of a long-term research project.

The research work on prehistoric salt production at Dürrnberg near Hallein in Austria is part of a long-term research project. Credit: German Mining Museum Bochum

In the immediate vicinity of the find, the archaeologists discovered further organic remains: a fragment of a wooden shovel in the shape of half a shovel blade and the remains of fur with a lacing. Possibly, these belonged to a fur hood.

Excavations will continue over the next few years. The aim is to open up the entire extent and thus obtain the most comprehensive information possible about the work of the Iron Age miners and their way of life.

In addition, scientists will attempt to determine the size of Dürrnberg’s mining halls.

These types of mining archaeological excavations and research methods provide important insights into areas of life that cannot yet be documented and researched from other sources.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Rare 3,000-Year-Old Weavings Discovered In Alaska

Rare 3,000-Year-Old Weavings Discovered In Alaska

During excavations of an ancestral sod house on the shore of Karluk Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska, archaeologists uncovered rare fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old.

The fragments, which appear to be pieces of mats, are the oldest well-documented examples of Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq weaving.

Rare 3,000-Year-Old Weavings Discovered In Alaska
Weaving is a long-practiced Alutiiq art. Image credit: Patrick Saltonstall, Alutiiq Museum

“We were excavating a sod house beside Karluk Lake as part of a broader study to understand how Alutiiq people used Kodiak’sinterior,” said Saltonstall. “When we reached the floor, we discovered that the house had burned and collapsed.

The walls of the structure, which were lined with wood, fell into the building and covered a portion of the floor. This sealed the floor quickly and limited burning. As we removed the remains of the walls, we were surprised and excited to find fragments of charred weaving.

It looks like the house had grass mats on the floor. The pieces covered about a two-meter area at the back of the house, perhaps in an area for sleeping,” Alutiiq Museum Curator of Archaeology Patrick Saltonstall explained in a press release.

Weaving is a long-practiced Alutiiq art, but one that is difficult to document archaeologically as fiber artifacts are fragile and rarely preserved.

The Alutiiq Museum’s extensive archaeological collections contain grass and spruce root baskets that are as much as 600 years old but nothing older.

Detail of ca. 3,000-year-old grass matting from ancestral Alutiiq house by Karluk Lake. Image credit: Patrick Saltonstall, Alutiiq Museum

The house that produced the weavings was radiocarbon-dated to about 3,000 years old. The style of the structure and artifacts found in association support this determination.

“It is likely that our ancestors worked with plant fibers for millennia, from the time they arrived on Kodiak 7500 years ago,” said April Laktonen Counceller, the museum’s executive director.

“It makes sense. Plants are abundant and easily harvested, and they are excellent materials for making containers, mats, and other useful items. It’s just very hard to document this practice. This wonderful find extends our knowledge of Alutiiq weaving back an additional 2400 years.”

Close inspection of the woven fragments shows that their makerslaid down long parallel strands of grass (the warp) and then secured them with perpendicular rows of twining (the weft)spaced about an inch apart.

This technique created an open weave, also found in historic examples of Alutiiq grass matting. Small fragments of more complicated braiding may represent the finished edge of a mat.

The field crew carefully lifted the fragile woven fragments off the floor of the sod house and placed them in a specially made box for transport back to Kodiak and the Alutiiq Museum’slaboratory.

The sod house after excavation. The structure is oval and about 4 x 6 meters across. Modern sticks mark the locations of holes left by posts that once held up the structure roof. Image credit: Patrick Saltonstall, Alutiiq Museum

Here, they will be preserved, documented, and made available for study as a loan from Koniag—the regional Alaska Native Corporation for Kodiak Alutiiq people and the sponsor of the research. The corporation owns the land on which the excavation took and has been generously supporting archaeological studies in the region.

“Discoveries like these highlight our Alutiiq people’s innovation and resilience,” said Koniag President Shauna Hegna.“Koniag is humbled to partner with the Alutiiq Museum on critical projects like this.”

All In One Magazine