8,000-year-old village unearthed in Bulgaria

A neolithic village dating back 8,000 years has been found in southwestern Bulgaria.

Bulgarian archaeologists say that they have found 60 houses from a Neolithic settlement, estimated to date back 8000 years, that were seven to eight metres high and that had streets between them.

The find was made near the village of Mursalevo, about 67km from Bulgarian capital Sofia, in the Kyustendil region in south-western Bulgaria by archaeologists working along the route of the Struma motorway being built to link Sofia to the Greek border.

According to archaeologists, the people who developed the settlement had a high level of culture, considering that it would have required strong social organisation to pre-plan the settlement.

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Story: The Sofia Globe | Photo: The Sofia Globe

Ancient water tank found at Vindolanda

An ancient water tank has been uncovered during recent excavations at the Roman fort of Vindolanda.

“The excavators concentrated on the water tank feature and the roads surrounding it,” says Andrew Birley, the Director of Excavations at the former auxiliary facilities.

“They managed to complete the task of excavating the tank down to its flagged floor, removing the rubbish, fill and facing stones which had been pitched into the tank after its abandonment.

“These would have carried the large flag stones which were to eventually cover the feature entirely.

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Story: Kristina Killgrove, Forbes | Photo: Vindolana Trust

Evidence of torture found on Precolumbian skulls

Evidence of violence and torture have been found on three Precolumbian skulls.

Becker’s osteological analysis of the skulls found they were from one male and two female adults. All of them had moderate cranial vault modification, the ancient practice of binding the head when skull bones are forming in childhood to create a flattened, sloping, or cone-shaped head. And all of them “were exposed to violent practices at or around the time of death,” including, Becker notes, “some combination of chop marks, cut marks, bone scrapes, and depressed skull fractures.” Each individual head tells a gruesome story.

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Story: Kristina Killgrove, Forbes| Photo: Sara K. Becker

Egyptian temple found in quarry

The remains of a 3,300-year-old temple have been found in the Gebel El Silsila quarry in Egypt.

Remains of a lost 3,300-year-old temple, most likely founded by the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose II, have been unearthed in the Gebel al Silisilah; ancient Egypt’s largest sandstone quarry located to the north of Aswan.

The temple, previously described as a “destroyed Ramesside temple,” was discovered during excavation work being carried out by a team from Sweden’s Lund University and headed by Dr. Maria Nilsson and Dr. John Ward.

“We were successful in locating the temple based on the rudimentary map published by Borchardt and a basic unpublished plan drawing by Lacovara,” Nilsson told The Cairo Post Sunday.

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Story: The Cairo Post | Photo: The Gebel el Silsila Survey Project 2015

Carnivores snacked on Neanderthals

An examination of Neanderthal fossils have revealed that the ancient people were sometimes victims of large carnivores.

The authors base their conclusion on a methodological study of 140 current forensic case reports from all around the world whose patients and victims presented traumatisms caused by carnivores such as lions, tigers, bears and leopards, among others. “We have compared the forensic reports with the Neanderthal fossil record. Current traumatology is similar to that one found in Pleistocene hominids. Same pattern is observed and therefore we infer that Neanderthals were also attacked by large carnivores”, says Edgard Camarós. In this sense, a particular example is discussed as a proof of concept in the paper, the case of the remains of a neanderthal child found in Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain), with marks of a large carnivore on the skull.”This remarks the importance that predation has on human evolution, and the strong pressure that existed between neanderthals and large carnivores during Prehistory”, adds Edgard Camarós.

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Story: IPHES | Photo: IPHES

200-year-old artifacts found at Fort Edmonton

European artifacts dating back to 1810 have been found at the location of Fort Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.

Glass beads, a ring and a clay pipe unearthed during construction of the new Walterdale Bridge tell a new story about Edmonton’s earliest days.

The items dating from 1810 were discovered last year on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River, across from where Fort Edmonton used to be.

Archeologists say the discovery marks the first time artifacts of that vintage have been found outside the original fort. They also provide clues about how the fort grew into what is now the city of Edmonton.

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Story: CBC News | Photo: CBC News

1,500-year-old pollen found in Japan

A tiny about of pollen from 1,500-year-old basil plants has been found at the Makimuku ruins in Japan.

The basil, the oldest found in Japan, dates back more than 1,500 years and originated in the tropics of Southeast Asia, archaeologists announced May 13.

It was found in the Makimuku ruins which date back to the early third and fourth centuries.

“Basil of Southeast Asian origin could have been brought here as dried medicinal herbs through exchanges with the Chinese,” said Masaaki Kanehara, a professor of archaeology at Nara University of Education.

The ruins, a national historic site, are believed to have once been home to the ancient kingdom of Yamataikoku that was ruled by Himiko.

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Story: Kazuto Tsukamoto, Asahi Shimbun | Photo: Masaaki Kanehara

Brick wall found in Iran’s Burnt City

 

A brick wall standing more than 5 feet tall has been unearthed at the Bronze Age Burnt City in Iran.

Archaeologists have unearthed the tallest wall ever found near the ancient site of Burnt City in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The brick wall, which was discovered at Taleb Khan Mound, is 160 centimeters tall and dates back to the Burnt City’s fourth stage of civilization.

The sixth phase of archaeological excavations in the area also yielded a clay piece which depicts the leg of a cow and had been part of a figurine created by inhabitants of the area.

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Story: PressTV | Photo: PressTV

Leprosy found in 1,500-year-old skeleton

A new study carried out on 1,500-year-old remains found in eastern England have confirmed that the main suffered from leprosy.

The bones of the man, probably in his 20s, show changes consistent with leprosy, such as narrowing of the toe bones and damage to the joints, suggesting a very early British case. Modern scientific techniques applied by the researchers have now confirmed the man did suffer from the disease and that he may have come from southern Scandinavia.

Archaeologist Dr Sonia Zakrzewski, of the University of Southampton, explains DNA testing was necessary to get a clear diagnosis: “Not all cases of leprosy can be identified by changes to the skeleton. Some may leave no trace on the bones; others will affect bones in a similar way to other diseases. In these cases the only way to be sure is to use DNA fingerprinting, or other chemical markers characteristic of the leprosy bacillus.”

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Story: University of Southampton | Photo: University of Southampton

17th-century Spanish wreck found off Panama coast

Archaeologists searching for ships belonging to Captain Henry Morgan have discovered the wreck of the Encarnación, a 17th-century Spanish ship.

In 1681, the Spanish merchant ship Encarnación sank during a storm near the mouth of the Chagres River on the Caribbean side of Panama. Built in Veracruz, Mexico, the cargo vessel was part of the Tierra Firme fleet, the economic lifeline of 17th-century Spain.

Though it sank in less than 40 feet of water, the Encarnación somehow escaped major looting and is surprisingly well-preserved, with the bottom half of its hull intact thanks to burial in the seafloor.

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Story: Jane J. Lee, National Geographic News | Photo: Jonathan Kingston, National Geographic Creative

MH370 search located unknown shipwreck

An underwater vehicle being used to search for the wreckage of the still-missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 has stumbled across a previously unknown shipwreck.

“There were characteristics of the contact that made it unlikely to be MH370, but there were also aspects that generated interest, multiple small bright reflections in a relatively small area of otherwise featureless seabed,” he said.

Another search boat, owned by the Dutch company Fugro hired to conduct the search, was diverted to investigate. Images taken by an automated underwater vehicle and analysed this week reveal several man made objects including an anchor, and a box-shaped object about six metres long. Black rocks scattered across the seabed are thought to be coal.

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Story: Nicky Phillips, SMH | Photo: ATSB

Remains of Saxon child found at Hereford Cathedral

The remains of a Saxon child between the ages of 10-12 have been unearthed at Hereford Cathedral in England.

“The child seems to have been a very poorly young person but was buried with dignity.”

The excavations also revealed a possible Saxon Palace built near the cathedral between 850 and 950AD.

After the cathedral was plundered and destroyed by fire in 1055, it was rebuilt and the land nearby was used as Hereford’s burial ground between the 11th and 19th Centuries.

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Story: BBC News | Photo: Headland Archaeology

Townfolk lived longer in Romain Britain

An analysis of more than 300 remains from Roman Britain suggests that those who lived in towns lived longer than those who did not.

“The assumption is always that if you’re living in the countryside it’s healthier,” says Rebecca Redfern of the Museum of London, who headed the investigation. “But we found that urban dwellers were more likely to reach old age than their rural counterparts.”

Redfern and her colleagues examined bones from 344 individuals buried between 1 and 500 AD at 19 sites in what is now Dorset in southern England. Of the skeletons, 150 came from nine rural cemeteries, and the remainder from urban cemeteries in modern-day Dorchester, set up as Durnovaria by the Romans in the first century AD.

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Story: Andy Coghlan, NewScientist | Photo: J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles/Corbis

12,300-year-old pendants found in Alaska

Researchers working in Alaska have uncovered a pair of 12,300-year-old pendants that may be some of the first examples of artwork in North America.

“We think it might be a pendant, an ornament, maybe worn near the face,” Potter said.

And what might they mean?

“Art serves as a way to fix social boundaries,” Potter said. “‘This is our group, not yours.’ These could be a way to communicate. They could be the first evidence we have for social boundary maintenance (in high-latitude North America).”

Potter also wonders if the pendants are signs of women at the Mead site. The ice-age sites scattered throughout Interior Alaska are often hilltops or cliffsides used by hunters, presumably men.

[Full story]

Story: Ned Rozell, Alaska Science Forum | Photo: Ben Potter

Red blood cells recovered from Ötzi the Iceman

5,300-year-old red blood cells have been recovered from the body of Ötzi the Iceman.

The Iceman as he has come to be known, (also known as Ötzi) has been the object of intense scrutiny ever since being found embedded in an Alpine glacier back in 1991—he is believed to have died approximately 5,300 years ago. Attempts to find examples of actual red blood cells within his body have failed in the past, but in this new effort, the researchers used a new technique—a nano-sized probe they moved very slowly over parts of the mummified body that had been wounded, leading to open cuts. Because it moves, the probe allows for capturing 3D imagery—it revealed the clear doughnut shape of red blood cells. To confirm that the images they were seeing represented real red blood cells, the team shone a laser on the same material and read the wavelengths that were reflected back—that revealed that the molecular makeup of the material matched that of red blood cells—a finding that marks the oldest known preserved instance of a red blood cell.

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Story: Bob Yirka, Phys.org | Photo: Journal of the Royal Society Interface, DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0174

Spain’s Red Lady was buried with flowers

Pollen found in the 18,700-year-old tomb of Spain’s Red Lady suggest that she was buried with flowers.

The burial of the so-called Red Lady, dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic, was discovered in El Mirón cave (Cantabria) in 2010. The Journal of Archaeological Science has devoted a special edition to all the studies conducted at this unique burial site, because there are hardly any Palaeolithic tombs like this one which is intact and which has not been contaminated. One study is the research led by the UPV/EHU’s Ikerbasque lecturer Mª José Iriarte, who analysed the remains of fossilised pollen dating back more than 16,000 years ago and which appeared on the tomb. “They put whole flowers on the tomb, but it has not been possible to say whether the aim of placing plants was to do with a ritual offering for the dead person, or whether it was for a simpler purpose like, for example, to ward off the bad smells associated with the burial,” explained Iriarte.

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Story: UPV/EHU | Photo: UPV/EHU

Ancient stone circle found in southern England

A 112-foot diameter stone circle has been found in southwestern England.

Situated 525 metres (1,722ft) above sea level, the ancient site is the first stone circle to be found on Dartmoor for more than a century.

The circle is the second largest on the moor and archaeologists believe it was probably part of a “sacred arc” of circles around the north-eastern edge.

Its discovery adds weight to the theory that there was some kind of planning and liaison between the communities living on Dartmoor in the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.

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Story: The Guardian | Photo: Dartmoor National Park

19th-century schooner uncovered in Toronto

Parts of a 19th-century schooner have been uncovered during construction at Toronto’s waterfront.

It the ship’s day, everything south of Front St. would have been underwater, with several wharves jutting into the lake, the largest of which was the Queen’s Wharf, a major commercial hub built in 1833.

“We suspect this ship was scuttled deliberately to provide a scaffold for the workers building the wharf,” said David Robertson, senior archeologist at Archeological Services Inc.

The archeological dig began in early March with the intent of documenting the wharves built there in the early 1800s, Robertson said. On Monday, they discovered the wooden skeleton of the schooner.

[Full story]

Story: Alyshah Hasham, Toronto Star | Photo: Bernard Weil, Toronto Star

Lost cloister found in Iceland

Ultrasound technology has been used to detect the remains of a large building which may be a lost cloister which was home to Augustinian monks from 1168 to 1550.

“I think we’ve just hit the jackpot, because I think we’ve discovered the remains of Þykkvabæjarklaustur. It came as a complete surprise, you can say that much. The remains are not on the site it was assumed the cloisters stood,” archaeology professor Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir told Stöð 2 television.

Þykkvabæjarklaustur, east of Mýrdalur, was a monastery of Augustine monks and its location has been lost to archaeologists until now. This week, ten Icelandic and British archaeologists have been searching for the remains with high tech instruments. The remains of an unusually big building were discovered under the ground yesterday, measuring around 40 x 45 meters.

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Story: Alëx Elliott, Iceland Review Online | Photo: Geir Ólafsson

700-year-old tomb belonging to a doctor excavated in China

A high-profile Confucian doctor’s tomb has been excavated by archaeologists in China.

Confucian doctors were a special group proficient in both Confucianism and medicine, which allowed them a high status during that period.

Wu was appointed to a post in charge of local medical services and education, similar to today’s head of a medical school, the inscription on the gravestone said.

A story was recorded in the gravestone that he once cut flesh from his own arm to feed his ailing mother to show filial piety.

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Story: English.news.cn | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Replica of Lighthouse of Alexandria to be built in Egypt

A replica of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is set to be built near the original location on the island of Paros.

The Lighthouse, also known as the Pharos, was badly damaged due to a series of earthquakes hit Alexandria and the Mediterranean area between the 3rd and 12th centuries, Greco-Roman archaeology professor Fathy Khourshid told The Cairo Post Tuesday.

“A severe earthquake in 1303 caused a huge destruction of the monument before the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay in 1480 reused the monument’s ruins to construct a fortress (currently standing and bearing his name) on the original location of the Pharos northwest of Alexandria,” according to Khourshid.

Built by the Greek architect Sostratus of Cnidus for the purpose of guiding sailors into the harbor, the tower was completed and inaugurated during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285 B.C.-246B.C.), said Khourshid.

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Story: Rany Mostafa, The Cairo Post | Photo: The Cairo Post

Utah utilities crew unearths ancient pit house

A utility crew working in Salt Lake City, Utah have unearthed an ancient pit house while replacing a gas line.

Researchers have found spear points and animal bones, including rabbit, deer and possibly elk, said Lance McNees, of EcoLogic Environmental Consultants, which contracts with Questar.

“We knew we really had something here,” he said. “We decided to excavate the site, and right now we are gathering a lot of data.”

That information will take months to analyze, including carbon-14 dating that can pin down the age of the artifacts. But judging from the spear points found in the pit house, McNees and other archaeologists on the team believe they are 500 to 1,500 years old.

[Full story]

Story: Christopher Smart, The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo: Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune

Fortress gate found near Suez Canal

Limestone blocks marking the site of eastern gate to New Kingdom Tharu Fortress have been found on the east bank of the Suez Canal.

Dr. Mamdouh El Damaty announced the discovery of the remains of the eastern gate of Tharw fortres in Sinai which served as the Egyptian army headquarters in the New Kingdom.

The discovery was made by the Egyptian team working at Tell Habwa in the east bank of the Suez Canal.

The discovery also include mid brick royal warehouse belong to “Ramses II and Thotmoses III” and 26th Dynasty cemetery most of the graves are mud brick and group tombs of contains human remains showing battles injuries.

[Full story]

Story: Luxor Times | Photo: Luxor Times

Neolithic fishing spear found during tunnel construction

A neolithic fishing spear, complete with center bone point, was found during construction of a tunnel in Denmark.

“It was found obliquely embedded in the seafloor and must have been lost during fishing at some point in the Neolithic,” Line Marie Olesen, archaeologist at the Museum Lolland-Falster, told Discovery News.

“The finding is remarkable as it shows both lateral prongs in doubtless association with a central bone point,” she added.

The association between lateral prongs and bone point has long been presumed, but until now was never documented.

[Full story]

Story: Rosella Lorenzi, Discovery News | Photo: Museum Lolland-Falster

13th century rune stick found in Denmark

A rune stick dating back to the 13th century has been found in Denmark.

“The stick itself had the consistency of cold butter before it was conserved, and some little devil of a root has gouged its way along the inscription on one side, which is a bit upsetting,” said Imer.

All the same, the researchers have been able to make out the words “good health” and “Tomme his servant”. According to the archaeologists the latter refers to the round stick’s owner as a servant of God. The words are in Latin.

[Full story]

Story: Michael Thykier, Science Nordic | Photo: Science Nordic

First shots of Battle of Waterloo found

Researchers believe they have found musket balls that were among some of the first shots fired during the Battle of Waterloo.

Through a combination of Geo-physical survey work by the Ghent University’s Department of Soil Management, metal detecting and a series of test trenches, the Waterloo Uncovered team has started to explore the area of a former wood that dominated the French army’s approach to the Hougoumont farm buildings which were defended by regiments including the Coldstream Guards. A number of spent musket balls fired by both British and French troops have been found at the Southern extremity of this wood; these are thought to be some of the first shots fired in the Battle.

[Full story]

Story: University of Glasgow | Photo: University of Glasgow

Iron Age burial unearthed in England

The remains of an Iron Age man buried on his shield has been found at a cemetery in Yorkshire, England.

“We are continuing to investigate the site and will work hand in hand with David Wilson Homes to preserve these historical discoveries so that they can be used to shed some light on the history of the area for generations to come.”

Several of the square barrows contain personal possessions, including jewellery, and a sword has also been discovered.

So far the findings have been associated with the Arras culture of the middle to late Iron Age in Eastern Yorkshire.

[Full story]

Story: Pocklington Post | Photo: Pocklington Post

Stone tools found in United Arab Emirates

Ancient stone axes, scrapers and awls, thought to be hundreds of thousands of years old, have been found in Sharjah, UAE.

“We have sent several items, including axes and scrapers, to Germany for further analysis, said Dr Jassim. “The discovery of these tools will add valuable information to our records about the Stone Age in the emirate, and the early history of human groups and their predecessors in this region.”

Awls were used to puncture the leather of animal hides, while scrapers were used to clean the leather by scraping away the meat and fur.

[Full story]

Story: Thaer Zriqat, The National | Photo: Wam

Old Kingdom statue base found in Egypt

The base of an Old Kingdom statue, carved with the name of King Sahure, has been found at El-Kab in Egypt.

Dr. Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Egyptian Antiquities department, said “The discovered limestone statue base measures 21.7cm height and it is probably a part of a 70cm statue.”

The minister emphasised the importance of the discovery as there are only 2 statues of King “Sahure” one of them on display at the Metropolitan Museum in USA and the other one at the Egyptian museum in Tahrir.

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Story: Luxor Times | Photo: Luxor Times

Prehistoric rock art found in Indonesia

400 prehistoric rock art images have been found in Indonesia’s Maluku province.

“We do not know the age yet. It needs in-depth research. However, according to the number of motive images, we can conclude that the culture at the time was well developed,” Husni said.

So far there are three rock painting sites that have been studied by the archaeology office, namely in Wamkana (South Buru district), Sawai (Central Maluku district), and the Ohoidertaun (Kei islands).

An archaeologist from Ambons archaeology office, Wuri Handoko, said the rock paintings found at the three sites are most likely related to each other, and could explain the human migration pattern in Maluku.

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Story: Antara News | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Liquid mercury found beneath Teotihuacan pyramid

Large quantities have been found in a chamber beneath the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan.

“It’s something that completely surprised us,” Gomez said at the entrance to the tunnel below Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Mexico City.

Some archeologists believe the toxic element could herald what would be the first ruler’s tomb ever found in Teotihuacan, a contemporary of several ancient Maya cities, but so shrouded in mystery that its inhabitants still have no name.

[Full story]

Story: David Alire Garcia, Reuters | Photo: Reuters