Rare Roman sarcophagus damaged in Israel

Construction work in southern Israel has damaged a rare Roman sarcophagus found at the site.

The 1,800-year-old stone coffin, which the IAA describes as one of the most important and beautiful ever discovered in the country, is sculpted on all sides, weighs two tons and is 2.5 meters (8 feet) long. A life-sized figure of a person is carved on the lid.

The sarcophagus was recovered in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon during an overnight operation between Tuesday and Wednesday. IAA inspectors noticed the finely decorated coffin was severely damaged when building contractors improperly removed it from the ground.

[Full story]

Story: Rosella Lorenzi, Discovery News | Photo: Yoli Shwartz/IAA

Ancient Egyptians bred birds of prey

A new study has found that ancient Egyptians bred birds of prey for use as offerings to the gods.

Lead author Salima Ikram said: “The idea of birds of prey being bred to the extent of being kept and force-fed is new. Until now, the sheer number of raptor mummies had been a mystery – did they catch or trap them and kill them, raid nests, or find them dead? Our results explain why they had so many: we now think it was because of active breeding.”

Mummified animals from ancient Egypt are commonly found. Earlier this year, researchers said a catacomb containing eight million mummified puppies and dogs was found next to the temple of Anubis, the dog-like god of death, in North Saqqara in Egypt.

[Full story]

Story: Harry Osborne, International Business Times | Photo: Carina Beyer

Leukemia found in Neolithic skeleton

An examination of a 7,000-year-old skeleton of a woman has revealed that she died from leukemia.

Together with her colleagues, the researcher found indications of leukemia on the skeleton of a woman, who was between 30 and 40 years of age at the time of death. “We examined several bones of the skeleton with our high-resolution computed tomography system, and we found an unusual loosening of the interior bone tissue – the cancellous bone – in the upper right humerus and the sternum,” adds Scherf.

In adults, the ends of the humeri and the sternum, as well as the vertebrae, ribs, skull, pelvis and the ends of the femurs contain hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells. In these locations, leukemia – colloquially known as blood cancer – can occur.

[Full story]

Story: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

English Civil War mass grave found

Construction work in Durham, England, has led to the discovery of a mass grave containing between 17-28 Scottish soldiers who were taken prisoner after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650.

The Battle of Dunbar was one of the most brutal, bloody and short battles of the 17th Century civil wars. In less than an hour the English Parliamentarian army, under the command of Oliver Cromwell, defeated the Scottish Covenanting army who supported the claims of Charles II to the Scottish throne.

Although the exact figures are not known, it is thought that around 1,700 Scottish soldiers died of malnutrition, disease and cold after being marched over 100 miles from the South East of Scotland to Durham, in North East England, where they were imprisoned in Durham Cathedral and Castle, by then disused for several years.

[Full story]

Story: Durham University | Photo: Durham University

3D-printer used to make replica of Iron Age instrument

A researcher has recreated a replica of an Iron Age instrument using a 3D-printer.

Billy Ó Foghlú, from ANU College of Asia-Pacific, has found evidence that the artefact may have been a mouthpiece from an iron-age horn and not a spearbutt as previously thought.

When Mr Ó Foghlú used the replica artefact as a mouthpiece, the ancient Irish horn had a richer, more velvety tone.

“Suddenly the instrument came to life,” said PhD student Mr Ó Foghlú.

[Full story]

Story: Australian National University | Photo: Australian National University

Neolithic pit oven recreated and tested

Archaeologists working at Prastio Mesorotsos in Cyprus have recreated a Neolithic pit oven.

A 9,000-year-old barbecue pit was recently discovered at Prastio Mesorotsos, a site in the Diarizos Valley outside of Paphos, which has been almost continuously occupied from the Neolithic era to the present. It took three years of excavations before archaeologists from the University of Edinburgh got to the bottom of the stone-lined, ash-covered pit, and only last summer could they say with some certainty that they were looking at an ancient oven. But the pit was so big — about 8 feet (2.5 meters) across and 3 feet (1 meter) deep — that Andrew McCarthy, director of the expedition, wasn’t sure if cooking in it would actually work.

[Full story]

Story: Megan Gannon, Live Science | Photo: Andrew McCarthy

Missing military tanker found off Hawaiian coast

Divers have located the remains of a U.S. Naval tanker that served both in WWII as well as the Korean war, sinking off the coast of Hawaii in 1957 after striking a reef.

It lay undisturbed, and unseen to human eyes in 80 feet of water for almost 60 years, until August 3rd.

“I turn around, and this giant, looming structure, so eerie,” described Melissa Price, a maritime archaeologist and one of three people to make the discovery.

“I had to stare at it for a little bit, then I started freaking out under water, screaming and motioning,” said Rebecca Weible, a UH Manoa Marine Biology student.

[Full story]

Story: Chris Tanaka, Hawaii News Now | Photo: Hawaii News Now

2,500-year-old reused tomb found in Luxor

The tomb of the 26th dynasty rule of Upper Egypt has been found inside the tomb of the ruler of Thebes in the 25th dynasty.

“Padibastet could be buried in a shaft inside the court or in a main burial chamber of Karabasken tomb,” the head of the mission Elena Pischikova suggested. She asserted that further cleaning of the tomb’s different sections and the continuation of the archaeological survey would definitely reveal more secrets of the tomb.

“It is a very important discovery,” the Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online. He explained that the discovery has shed more light on the architecture and design of tombs of top governmental officials during the Saite period, especially the 26th dynasty.

[Full story]

Story: Nevine El-Aref, Ahram Online | Photo: Ahram Online

Roman mosaic undergoes conversation

A Roman mosaic from the 4th century A.D. has undergone conversation work at the ancient city of August Traiana in Bulgaria.

The Dionysus’s Procession mosaic has been shown to the media and the public at a special ceremony in the Stara Zagora Regional Museum of History, four years after its discovery in Augusta Traiana back in 2011 because of its really complex and time-consuming restoration, reports the website of the Stara Zagora District Governor.

The mosaic does not show ancient god Dionysus himself but, rather, part of his entourage including some of the participants in his Bacchanalia: Silenus, who, according to Ancient Greek mythology, was a tutor and companion of Dionysus, leading two dancing women, or “bacchantes” (i.e. followers of Bacchus (Dionysus)).

[Full story]

Story: Ivan Dikov, Archaeology in Bulgaria | Photo: Stara Zagora District Governor’s Office

Philistines introduced sycamore, cumin and opium into Israel

New findings have revealed that the Philistines had a major impact on the floral biodiversity of Israel.

Recent studies have shown that alien species have had a substantial impact not only in recent times but also in antiquity. This is exemplified in a study published in the August 25th issue of Scientific Reports by a team led by archaeologists from Bar-Ilan University’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology (Suembikya (Sue) Frumin, Prof. Ehud Weiss and Prof. Aren Maeir) and the Hebrew University (Dr. Liora Kolska Horwitz), describing the bio-archaeological remains of the Philistine culture during the Iron Age (12th century to 7th century BCE). The team compiled a database of plant remains extracted from Bronze and Iron Ages sites in the southern Levant, both Philistine and non-Philistine. By analyzing this database, the researchers concluded that the Philistines brought to Israel not just themselves but also their plants.

[Full story]

Story: Bar-Ilan University | Photo: M. Frumin

Siberian idol dates back 11,000 years

A wooden statue discovered in a peat bog in Siberia has been dated back 11,000 years.

He predicted that as a result of the latest tests, the Idol ‘will get a huge recognition in the world and will show that the centre of cultural development in Eurasia was not only the Middle East but also in the Urals’.

Russian experts have described the findings as ‘sensational’. They show that the Idol – covered in an ‘encrypted code’ which academics say maybe a coded message from ancient man – is the oldest of its kind in the world.

During the research it was discovered the Idol had eight faces, one more than previously understood. Only one is three dimensional. The wooden masterpiece was originally dug from the Urals’ peat bog in 1890. The bog has preserved it ‘like a time capsule’.

[Full story]

Story: Anna Liesowska, The Siberian Times | Photo: The Siberian Times

Bronze Age village found underwater off Greek coast

Underwater archaeologists training off the coast of Athens, Greece, have discovered the remains of a Bronze Age village.

Of the discovery, Professor Julien Beck of the University of Geneva said, “The importance of our discovery is partly due to the large size of the establishment: at least 1.2 hectares (Ed. Note: 2.9 acres) were preserved,” He added that the discovery is important also because of the quantity and quality of the artifacts that were collected there. The Bronze Age sunken village dates back to before 2,000 years B.C.

The team of underwater archaeologists discovered stone defensive structures that are of a “massive nature, unknown in Greece until now,” said Beck.

[Full story]

Story: Martin Barillas, Spero News | Photo: Spero News

Egyptian mummy shows signs of heart disease

Analysis of the 3,500-year-old mummified remains of an Egyptian “Cheif of Stables” has revealed signs of heart disease.

Detailing the findings at the conference, Bianucci reported that Nebiri was middle aged — 45 to 60 years old — when he died and that he was affected by a severe periodontal disease with massive abscesses, as revealed by Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) and three dimensional skull reconstruction.

The scans showed there was a partial attempt at excerebration (removal of the brain), but a considerable amount of dehydrated brain tissue is still preserved. Linen is packed in the inner skull, eyes, nose, ears, mouth and even fill the cheeks.

[Full story]

Story: Rosella Lorenzi, Discovery News | Photo: Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie/Raffaella Bianucci

Breached cannon found at Revolutionary War site

A breached cannon from the Battle of Red Bank (fought on Octover 22, 1777) has been found in Philadelphia.

“Everyone was surprised when the ground-penetrating radar picked up a large anomaly about two feet down,” said Jennifer Janofsky, curator of the Red Bank Battlefield Park and Whitall House, and Giordano Fellow in Public History at Rowan University.

“Maybe the force of the explosion rocketed it into the earth,” she said. “Or maybe it was buried along with other artillery pieces before the Americans retreated.”

[Full story]

Story: Edward Colimore, Philly.com | Photo: JMA

Neanderthal sleeping area and hearths found in Spanish cave

A sleeping area and more than 10,000 Neanderthal artifacts have been found in a cave in Catalonia.

The existence of Neanderthals sleeping areas is a singularity in the world archaeological record. This type of record is only similar at some archaeological sites belongs to the Homo sapiens populations. This behaviour has been also recognized through the ethnological and ethnographical studies focused on the actual hunter-gatherer groups in different parts of the world. We would point out that the sleeping areas have been also identified before in the level N of the Abric Romaní site (dated around 50 000 years ago) and published in the Current Anthropology revue in 2011.

[Full story]

Story: IPHES | Photo: IPHES

Remains of 1,500-year-old newborn found in Siberia

The partially mummified remains of an infant who died 1,500 years ago has been found in Siberia.

The tragic infant’s remains were unearthed in excavations near Kurai village in Kosh-Agach district of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia. The baby’s remains were sealed in a tightly closed stone coffin, creating an isolated air chamber for over 1,500 years.

Unintentionally, this led to the child’s remains being mummified. The tiny human remains swathed in leather were found between two other burial mounds, presumably those of the parents.

[Full story]

Story: The Siberian Times | Photo: Gorno-Altaisk State University

Neanderthal spear points found in Spanish cave

More than 20 spear points dating back 50,000 years have been found in Spain’s Teixoneres Cave.

Several of these points show diagnostic fractures typical of impacts over hard surfaces, probably over the prey bones. This discovery makes Teixoneres Cave an authentic hunting station and the Catalonian archaeological site, and probably one of the Iberian Peninsula, with the highest number of these weapons. In concomitance of the presentation of these finds an agreement has been signed between IPHES and the Moià Municipality with the objective of promoting research, teaching and outreach in the field of the Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.

[Full story]

Story: IPHES News | Photo: IPHES News

Cave lion bones may be evidence of Stone Age sacrifice

A large quantity of ancient cave lion bones found in the Ural Mountains may be evidence of Stone Age sacrifice.

The find was made in Imanai cave, in the Russian republic of Bashkiria, and it is causing excitement among Russian archeologists. In the excavation of a small area deep inside the cave, scientists discovered some 500 bones of giant cave lions – a unique discovery anywhere in the world.

They also found a cave bear skull pierced with an ancient spear. Weapons were also found – but no signs that pre-historic people lived in the cave.

[Full story]

Story: Anna Liesowska, The Siberian Times | Photo: Pavel Kosintsev

Mycenaean palace complex excavated at Laconia

Excavations at Laconia in Greece have led to the discovery of a Mycenaean palace complex which dates back to the 14-15th centuries B.C.

The fire that destroyed the complex is also believed to have preserved a sanctuary, which has yielded valuable evidence such as clay and ivory idols, decorative objects and 21 bronze swords.

A second building found on the site contains fragments of murals, suggesting that the palace’s more prominent structures were richly decorated, the Culture Ministry said in its briefing on ongoing excavations.

[Full story]

Story: Ekathimerini | Photo: Ekathimerini

18th-century shipwreck found in Maryland river

The wreckage of an 18th century vessel has been found in the Nanticoke River in Maryland.

The crew notified SHA’s archaeologists who found that an intact keel, frames and other ship timbers had been lifted from the river and placed on the construction barge. The team transferred the shipwreck to the Maryland Archaeology Conservation Laboratory in Calvert County for stabilization and temporary storage.

Treenails (wooden pegs) held the ship together which showed other attributes of early building including few iron fasteners. Although the shipwreck is in pieces after being raised from the 30 ft. deep water, the timber is in good condition with saw marks and curious carved symbols still visible in the wood.

[Full story]

Story: SHA | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

3-D map of Lincoln’s Presidential Cottage created

Researchers employing the use of lasers have created a 3-D map of Abraham Lincoln’s presidential cottage found in Washington, D.C.

“It’s a step up from a panoramic photo, because a panoramic photo has a certain amount of distortion and it’s always from a fixed point,” Stull said. “With a panoramic photo, you can’t say you’ll go to another point and look around. With a 3D image, you can move it around view it from any angle you want, and there’s no distortions. Because all it does is creates this digital visual model of the space.”

[Full story]

Story: SUNY Cortland | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Drought reveals WWII plane wreckage and human remains

Receding water levels have revealed a WWII-era Soviet plane that crashed into a lake in central Poland. The remains of the crew were found inside and have already been recovered.

“For now we have managed to find the instrument panel, the engine, a wheel and a well-preserved radio station,” commented Zdzislaw Leszczynski, director of the Museum of the River Vistula in Wyszogród, which is carrying out the excavation together with the SAKWA association.

“Locals say the plane was shelled by German artillery and it plummeted [into the water],” he added.

“The plane was so battered that it’s impossible to determine which model it is for the time being.”

[Full story]

Story: Radio Poland | Photo: Glowimages

Remains of Cholera victims found in Dublin

The remains of people who died during the Great Cholera Epidemic of 1832 have been found during construction in Dublin.

She said records from the 1870s showed the railway yard of the Midlands Great Western Railway at Broadstone was being extended. The company got permission to acquire 3 acres of land near their existing premises and when they were digging, to build foundations for a new boundary wall, railway sidings and an engine shed, they came across the burial ground.

The remains were removed and reinterred in a nearby patch of ground, a walled area.

“I think that is what we are looking at,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

[Full story]

Story: Fiona Gartland, The Irish Times | Photo: The Irish Times

Desecrated Mars figurine found in Bulgaria

A desecrated figurine depicting the god Mars has been found in the Early Byzantine city of Missionis in Bulgaria.

The Mars figurine had its head, arms, and legs removed as part of an anti-pagan ritual, according to the Bulgarian archaeologists.

“This is a way in which the owner of this figurine demonstrated that they had renounced the old pagan gods, and had adopted Christianity,” explains archaeologist Angel Konakliev from the Targovishte Regional Museum of History, as cited by BTA.

[Full story]

Story: Ivan Dikov, Archaeology in Bulgaria | Photo: BTW

Tuskegee Airman’s plane wreckage found in Lake Huron

The wreckage of a P-39 fighter plan flown by one of the Tuskegee Airmen has been found at the bottom of Lake Huron.

“I literally underwater got tears in my eyes,” said Jay Haigler, a member from Washington, D.C., describing his reaction to seeing the remnants of the plane resting on the lake bottom.

The aircraft was piloted by 2nd Lt. Frank Moody, a 22-year-old from Los Angeles whose body washed ashore in Port Huron a few months after the April 11, 1944, crash.

The wreckage, which includes the engine, tail, wings, a radio and other parts, was discovered a year ago by a father-and-son dive team, but hadn’t been archaeologically documented until last week’s outing.

[Full story]

Story: Mike Householder, AP | Photo: Stephanie Gandulla, AP

Aztec skull rack found in Mexico

A massive skull rack built between 1485-1502 has been unearthed at Templo Mayor in Mexico City.

Racks known as “tzompantli” were where the Aztecs displayed the severed heads of sacrifice victims on wooden poles pushed through the sides of the skull. The poles were suspended horizontally on vertical posts.

Eduardo Matos, an archaeologist at the National Institute of Anthropology and History, suggested the skull rack in Mexico City “was a show of might” by the Aztecs. Friends and even enemies were invited into the city, precisely to be cowed by the grisly display of heads in various stages of decomposition.

[Full story]

Story: The Guardian | Photo: Henry Romero, Reuters

4th-century pit houses found in Japan

Archaeologists working in Japan’s Nara Prefecture have unearthed the 4th-century remains of pit houses and ditches.

“The site occupies a prominent area,” said Fumiaki Imao, a senior researcher at the institute, adding that the structures may have been used for rituals under the direct control of the early Yamato imperial court.

The site is adjacent to the famous Akitsu ruins, which yielded evidence of many large and unique structures dating from early fourth century during the Kofun Period.

According to the researchers, the two sites were possibly constructed in an integrated manner. If so, they would constitute one of the largest settlements known from that era.

[Full story]

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

11th-century Warrior’s tomb found in Poland

A wooden chamber tomb containing the remains of an elite warrior who lived in the 11th-century A.D. has been found in southwestern Poland.

A large tomb, in the form of recessed in-ground wooden structure, has been discovered by archaeologists during excavations near Opatowska Gate in Sandomierz. This is the first such find in the Sandomierz region.

“In the vicinity of the grave we found fragments of broken pottery and traces of burning fire – probably remnants of funeral rites” – believes Dr. Marek Florek from the Institute of Archaeology of the Maria Curie-Sk?odowska University in Lublin and Sandomierz Delegation of the Regional Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce, who participated in the excavations.

[Full story]

Story: Science & Scholarship in Poland | Photo: Monika Bajka

1.84-million-year-old human hand bone found in Tanzania

A 1.84-million-year-old modern human hand bone has been discovered in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge.

Scientists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a hand bone to resemble that of a modern human, and they suggest it belonged to an unknown human relative that would have been much taller and larger than any of its contemporaries.

This new finding reveals clues about when modern humanlike hands first began appearing in the fossil record, and suggests that ancient human relatives may have been larger than previously thought, researchers say in a new study.

[Full story]

Story: Charles Q. Choi, LiveScience | Photo: Jason Heaton

Remains of Spanish Flu victims found next to Pennsylvania highway

Remains found in an embankment next to a Pennsylvania highway may belong to people killed by the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918.

Kevin Mock, an archaeologist with PennDOT, told Reuters on Friday he could see leg bones and part of a jaw bone protruding from the embankment. He said there were no coffins.

His research found the connection of the meadow to the Spanish flu pandemic.

Most victims, Mock said, were buried without coffins. He thought it unlikely there could still be active H1N1 flu pathogens – the strain that caused the 1918 pandemic – in the bones or soil given the passage of time and the usual practice of sprinkling lye over buried without coffins.

[Full story]

Story: David Dekok, Reuters | Photo: David Dekok, Reuters

Drones used to find Medieval Irish sites

Aerial surveys performed by drone aircraft are being used to help locate new dig sites in Ireland.

“We have collected an unprecedented amount of digital data,” Finan said. “The 3D landscape data allows us to see minute changes in the topography that can be defined as structures and human occupation. The digital data collected with the geophysics is then wrapped around that 3D data to give us an amazing understanding of what is there without sinking a spade.”

Finan says managing this data has been a challenge. The amount of data collected in aerial survey fills hard drives quickly, and dealing with archiving and storage is a major pre-occupation for the team.

[Full story]

Story: Jeanette Grider, Saint Louis University | Photo: Saint Louis University

Iron Age burials found in Dorset

Three Iron Age skeletons have been found underneath an 18th-century cottage in Dorset.

Archaeologists carrying out a watching brief on routine drainage and sewage works at an 18th century Dorset cottage have been forced to halt digging after the crouched skeletons of three young people from the Bronze or Iron Age were discovered in a trench.

Radiocarbon dating suggests the bodies were buried between 800 and 600 BC at Long Bredy, a village between Dorchester and Bridport where the National Trust has been carrying out maintenance. Deep layers of soil in the region mean archaeologists often only discover archaeology by accident.

[Full story]

Story: Ben Miller, Culture24 | Story: Martin Papworth

Subterranean river found underneath Mexican pyramid

A subterranean river has been found 20 metres beneath El Castillo, the main Maya pyramid at Chichén Itzá.

Geophysics expert Rene Chavez said on Thursday that the underground river chamber is naturally covered by rock. Such underground rivers often connect the open cenotes, or sinkhole lakes, that dot Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.

The discovery was made using a kind electrical resistance survey, not by excavating. Chavez said one corner of the pyramid rested on the underground chamber, so it was in danger of collapsing.

[Full story]

Story: AP | Story: David Pedre, Getty Images

50,000-year-old human remains found in Siberian

50,000-year-old skull and bone fragments have been uncovered in Siberia’s Altai mountains.

Fragments of an early human skull and rib were found in Pleistocene era layers in Strashnaya Cave, it was announced today by Professor Andrey Krivoshapkin, head of Archeology and Ethnography at Novosibirsk State University. These are expected to be ‘no younger than 50,000 years’ old, he said.

Another find, dating to at least 35,000 years ago, was a tiny fragment of finger bone – a nail phalange.

‘We struck really lucky this year,’ he said. ‘During works at Pleistocene levels of Strashnaya Cave we found new anthropological material. In levels dating to 35,000 to 40,000 years ago, we found a fragment of a human nail phalanx.

[Full story]

Story: Siberian Times | Story: Andrey Krivoshapkin

Evidence of Roman glassmaking found in Egypt

A survey conducted at Tell Mutubis in Egypt has unearthed evidence of Roman glassmaking.

“Several glass shards, mortar and plaster pieces, limestone tiles in addition to glass pots, potsherd, and eroded coins were discovered in the site. These finds indicate that furnaces to manufacture glass existed in this area,” head of the mission Dr. Penny Wilson was quoted in the statement.

The detailed breakdown and the specialized studies, which were conducted on the pots and coins discovered at the site, confirm that it dates back to ancient Egypt’s late Roman era, Wilson said.

[Full story]

Story: Rany Mostaga, Cairo Post | Story: Ministry of Antiquities

3.4-million-year-old butchered animal bones found in Ethiopia

Marks found on 3.4-million-year-old bones discovered in Ethiopia may be evidence of ancient butchering by stone tools.

“Our analysis clearly shows that the marks on these bones are not characteristic of trampling,” says Jessica Thompson, an assistant professor of anthropology at Emory University and lead author of the study. “The best match we have for the marks, using currently available data, would still be butchery with stone tools.”

The 12 marks on the two specimens – a long bone from a creature the size of a medium antelope and a rib bone from an animal closer in size to a buffalo – most closely resemble a combination of purposeful cutting and percussion marks, Thompson says. “When these bones were hit, they were hit with enormous force and multiple times.”

[Full story]

Story: Emory University | Story: Zeresenay Alemseged

5,500-year-old sun-worship temple excavated in Denmark

Archaeologists are excavating what they believe may be a temple complex dedicated to sun worship on the Danish island of Bornholm.

The study site – Vasagard – puzzles archaeologists to this day. It was probably the site of a sun worship temple, surrounded by palisades. This is evidenced by the entrance to the complex, located in the direction of the sunrise during the solstice or equinox. During this season of excavations, archaeologists have discovered several ditches, in which, in their opinion, bodies of the deceased were placed to be decomposed. Then the bones were transferred to proper burial chambers.

“In the ditches we find large amounts of pottery, animal bones and damaged stone sun discs. The function of the latter has not been fully explained yet” – told PAP Janusz Janowski, head of the Polish expedition.

[Full story]

Story: Science and Scholarship in Poland | Story: Marta Bura

Chinese cave graffiti details periods of drought

Graffiti found on the walls of a cave in central China describe the effects of drought in the area during the period spanning from 1520 to 1920.

The inscriptions were found on the walls of Dayu Cave in the Qinling Mountains of central China, and describe the impacts of seven drought events between 1520 and 1920. The climate in the area around the cave is dominated by the summer monsoon, in which about 70% of the year’s rain falls during a few months, so when the monsoon is late or early, too short or too long, it has a major impact on the region’s ecosystem.

“In addition to the obvious impact of droughts, they have also been linked to the downfall of cultures – when people don’t have enough water, hardship is inevitable and conflict arises,” said Dr Sebastian Breitenbach of Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences, one of the paper’s co-authors. “In the past decade, records found in caves and lakes have shown a possible link between climate change and the demise of several Chinese dynasties during the last 1800 years, such as the Tang, Yuan and Ming Dynasties.”

[Full story]

Story: University of Cambridge | Story: University of Cambridge