All posts by Archeology worldwide team

7,000-Year-Old Forest and Footprints Uncovered in the Atlantis of Britain

June 1, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

7,000-Year-Old Forest and Footprints Uncovered in the Atlantis of Britain

Ancient footprints as well as prehistoric tree stumps and logs have become visible along a 200-meter stretch of a coastline at Low Hauxley near Amble, Northumberland, in what is believed to be Doggerland, the Atlantis of Britain.

The Daily Mail reports that the forest existed in the late Mesolithic period. It began to form around 5,300 BC, and it was covered by the ocean three centuries later.

The studies proved that at the time, when the ancient forest existed, the sea level was much lower. It was a period when Britain had recently separated from the land of what is currently Denmark.

The forest consisted mostly of hazel, alder, and oak trees. Researchers believe the forest was part of Doggerland, an ancient stretch of a land, which connected the UK and Europe.

Doggerland: Stone Age Atlantis of Britain

Located in the North Sea, Doggerland is believed to have once measured approximately 100,000 square miles (258998 square kilometers). However, the end of the Ice Age saw a great rise in the sea level and an increase in storms and flooding in the region, causing Doggerland to gradually shrink.

Doggerland, sometimes called the Stone Age Atlantis of Britain or the prehistoric Garden of Eden, is an area archaeologists have been waiting to rediscover.

Finally, modern technology has reached a level in which their dreams may become a reality. Doggerland is thought to have been first inhabited around 10,000 BC, and innovative technology is expected to aid a new study in glimpsing what life was like for the prehistoric humans living in the region before the catastrophic floods covered the territory sometime between 8000 – 6000 BC.

The area, which would have been home to a range of animals, as well as the hunter gatherers which stalked them, became flooded due to glacial melt, with some high-lying regions such as ‘Dogger Island’ (pictured right, highlighted red) serving as clues to the regions ancient past.

Sunken Land Reveals its Secrets

The latest research was made by a group of archeologists and volunteers led by a team from Archaeological Research Services Ltd , which previously performed some other projects related to the Northumberland.

The works were possible due to the lower level of water. The major excavations involved a total of 700 people and uncovered part of an Iron Age site dating from around 300 BC near the Druidge Bay.

**Clive Waddington, project director of Archaeological Research Services Ltd at the prehistoric archaeological dig at Low Hauxley near Amble, Northumberland**

Ancient Footprints

Waddington maintains that his team also discovered the evidence of humans living nearby. They found footprints of adults and children. Due to the results of the analysis of the footprints, it is believed that they wore leather shoes. Animal footprints of wild boar, brown bears and red deer also had been found.

Fossilized Forests

The remains of the forest of Doggerland do not belong to the oldest known forest. The oldest fossilized forest was discovered by a team from the Binghamton University in the town of Gilboa in upstate New York.

The Gilboa area has been known as a tree fossil location since the late 19 th century. However, the first researchers arrived there in the 1920s. The most recent research started in 2004, when Linda VanAller Hernick, paleontology collection manager, and Frank Mannolini, paleontology collection technician, uncovered more intact specimens.

According to the article published in 2012 by William Stein, associate professor of biological sciences at Binghamton, the fossils discovered in this area are between 370 to 380 million years old.

AFRICA, ASIA, EGYPT, WORLD

Ancient Mummified Lion Cubs Discovered in Egyptian Tomb

May 27, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

Ancient Mummified Lion Cubs Discovered in Egyptian Tomb

Egyptian authorities have announced the rare discovery of mummified lion cubs, big cats, cobras and crocodiles near Saqqara necropolis which date back around 2,600 years.

The cache of ancient mummified animals includes dozens of mummified cats and birds, an enormous mummified beetle reported to be “three to four times” the normal size and 75 wooden and bronze cat statues.

The mummified large cats were found close to the remains of an adult mummified lion discovered beneath the Saqqara necropolis in 2004 and while two have been identified as lion cubs three more require further analysis to determine their species.

A Guardian report quotes an excited Mostafa Waziry, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities, saying that if these three animals are identified as cheetahs, leopards, lioness’ or panthers, it will be “one of its kind” in ancient Egypt.

**Mummified cat found in Egyptian tomb**

Animal Blood Sacrifices

Dr Salima Ikram is an Egyptologist and mummy expert at the American University in Cairo and she said the animal mummies date to the Ptolemaic period that ended in 30 BC.

At that time in ancient Egypt worshippers either held mummified animals as actual deities, or they mummified creatures in order to offer them to their gods. This, according to Dr Ikram would have more potency as it was a “blood sacrifice” compared to the perceived magical energies associated with stone or wooden images.

In April this year I wrote an Ancient Origins news article about a similar discovery when archaeologists uncovered dozens of mummified cats and mice among a stash of around 50 animals laid to rest in an ancient tomb about 390km (242 miles) south of Cairo near the Egyptian town of Sohag.

This tomb was built for a man named ‘Tutu’ and his wife who lived in the early Ptolemaic period, which ended with the Roman conquest in 30 BC and like the new discoveries greatly added to Egyptologists understanding of animal worship and mummification rites.

**Part of the stash of mummified cats, birds and mice found in the tomb in Sohag.**

Evolution of The Cat Goddess

The tomb in Sohag contained a range of mummified animals and birds including more than 50 mummified mice and cats and even a mummified falcon which informed all creatures great and small were scarified and worshiped.

Following the ritual path and evolution of the cat goddess, according to G. D. Hornblower’s 1943 book The Divine Cat and the Snake in Egypt “ Mafdet’ was the first cat-headed deity worshiped during the First Dynasty (2920–2770 BC).

Regarded as protector of the Pharaoh’s chambers against snakes, scorpions and all things evil, Mafdet was often also depicted with a head of a leopard.

The later cat deity Bastet was worshiped from at least the Second Dynasty (2890 BC) onwards and was depicted with a lion’s ( Panthera leo’s ) head and a wall painting in the Fifth Dynasty’s burial ground at Saqqara shows a small cat with a collar suggesting to archaeologists that African wildcats were tamed kept in the pharaonic quarters by the 26th century BC.

And reflecting real world occurrences, as time unfolded in ancient Egypt, the once wild cat goddess herself became tamer and was worshiped as ‘Bast’.

The Mummified Cats Might Lure Tourists

Egyptian officials hope that their recent announcement will help to boost the country’s image abroad and ultimately that these ancient mummified lion cubs and cats will encourage tourists to continue visiting Egypt as the country aims to bring back its 14 million visitors a year who came to the country in 2010, before the 2011 revolution which overthrew former autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

An almost final nail in the coffin of Egypt’s flagging tourist industry occurred after Metrojet flight 7K9268 was brought down close to the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh in 2015, but things are turning around, fast.

According to a report in Alborsaanews, last year Egypt saw a surge in arrivals with 11.3 million people visiting Egypt and this was in part inspired and caused by the UK lifting its ban on flights to Sharm el Sheikh that had been in place since 2015.

“It’s wonderful promotion for Egypt,” says Khaled El-Enany, Egypt’s antiquities minister, who told The Guardian that be believes these new mummies will spark curiosity among potential visitors to the country in the run-up to the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum close to the Saqqara necropolis.

COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Ancient Amazon Cliff Art Shows Humans Meeting Giant Ice Age Creatures

May 27, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

Ancient Amazon Cliff Art Shows Humans Meeting Giant Ice Age Creatures

This huge collection of ancient cliff art paints a dramatic picture of early humans and giant beasts in the Amazon. Early inhabitants worshipped and hunted elephant-like mastodons and giant horses – alongside other Ice Age animals – back when the lush rainforest was a parched savannah.

At least that’s according to the extraordinary paintings, made with red ochre by long-dead artists.

They are believed to be between 11,800 and 12,600 years old and took at least hundreds of years to create. Experts are staggered at the scale of the find, one of the largest of its kind in South America.

Located in the Serranía La Lindosa region of Colombia, the discovery has been dubbed “The Sistine Chapel of the Ancients”. However instead of a beautiful man-made structure this canvas is all Mother Nature’s handiwork.

The cliff face paintings number in the tens of thousands and were spotted across a trio of rock shelters. Cerro Azul is the biggest, stretching nearly 3 miles. There are around 8 miles’ worth of historic artworks in total. The quality is said to be highly realistic for the time.

Human figures are depicted with colossal creatures. How big were they? Mark Robinson, speaking via a statement from the University of Exeter, refers to “giant herbivores, some which were the size of a small car.”

This “megafauna” gave Robinson and co a possible insight into the ancient artistic exhibit. Examples of extinct wildlife, such as super-sized sloths and mastodons, offered major clues concerning dates. As Business Insider writes, “by about 11,600 BC, humans had likely killed many of the mastodons off.”

Other features daubed include trees, hand prints and “geometric shapes”. A tree wasn’t just a tree to humankind in the dying years of this Ice Age.

Quoted by The Guardian, team leader Prof José Iriarte (University of Exeter) says plants had souls, and that they communicated with people “in cooperative or hostile ways”.

The group, funded by the ERC (European Research Council) and made up of experts from Britain/Colombia, also noted the surroundings.

Artists took their lunch to work with them it seems, before leaving litter on site. Delicacies like frog, armadillo and piranha were consumed, according to the University’s statement.

It sounds like the painters needed their strength. Some art is so high up it required drones to take a gander. Images of towers made from wood are displayed.

Reportedly the artists clambered onto these before jumping down. All that work was worth it in the end. Quoted by the statement, Prof Iriarte says the art was “a powerful part of culture and a way for people to connect socially.”

The team began investigating the area in 2017. It was no easy task. For starters the journey there was punishing. Once they completed a 2 hour drive from the town of San José del Guaviare, they had a 4 hour trek to look forward to.

And access was only permitted after the signing of a peace treaty in 2016 between the Colombian government and FARC (the People’s Army). A civil war raged there for half a century.
Even then additional permissions had to be sought to avoid danger.

While the cliff paintings were known about since April this year, the find was kept under the radar till now. A TV crew from Channel 4 joined the group throughout the process. Exciting details are about to be revealed to the public as part of a new series, ‘Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon’.

Presented by archaeologist Ella Al-Shamahi, it really was a matter of life and death. As reported by The Guardian, at one point the party had to sneak past a highly venomous bushmaster snake in the dark.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Untouched Mayan “Jaguar God” Ritual Cave Found Full of Precious Relics

May 27, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

Untouched Mayan “Jaguar God” Ritual Cave Found Full of Precious Relics

A sealed and untouched Mayan “ritual” cave has been discovered in a truly momentous find. Sometimes you start out looking for something and, in the process, you find something else.

That’s what happened to a group of archaeologists who were looking for a sacred well underneath the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, according to National Geographic.

While they were searching for the well, they found a collection of over 150 ritual objects that were hidden away for a millennium. The objects were hidden in a system of caves known as Balamku, ‘the Jaguar God.’ The discovery of the cave system was announced in Mexico City last March, by the National Institute of Archaeology and History.

Interestingly, it’s not the first time that anyone has found the cave system. It was first rediscovered in 1966 by local farmers. At the time, and archaeologist named Victor Segovia Pinto went in and took a look around, even going as far as writing a report that noted that there were a large number of artifacts the caves, but rather than being an excavation, Pinto had the farmers seal the entrance again, and any records related to the discovery disappeared.

It remained unknown and undisturbed until 2018, when it was rediscovered again. This time the Balamku was found by an explorer from National Geographic, along with his team.

They were part of the Great Maya Aquifer Project, and were trying to find the water table beneath the Mayan city.

**Untouched for 1,000 years, over 150 ritual artifacts were found in the cave at Balamku.**

While he was creeping his way through a series of small tunnels, the explorer, Guillermo De Anda, suddenly came upon a sizable cache of vases, incense burners, and many other objects that had been left as offerings by the ancient people of Chichen Itza. Even more of a surprise, the collection was in a remarkable state of preservation, despite being surrounded by stalagmites.

Since De Anda found that first cache, seven chambers holding ritual offerings have been discovered in the caves. The chambers are deep under the city, and can presently only be accessed by traveling through a long series of tunnels, many of which are so narrow and low that researchers have to go through on their stomachs.

Despite the difficulty of getting to the chambers, the first archaeologist to visit the caves back in the ‘60s also clearly made the trip. His original report was finally found not very long ago by an archaeologist from University of California.

That report noted that there were more than 150 objects in the cave, many of them bearing images of the Toltec rain god and other sacred symbols.

A similar cave was found not far away, back in 1959. It also held sacred objects, but less than half as many as at this site. That find was also more accessible. De Anda thinks that’s important.

He remarked that while quantity isn’t more important than information, he found it telling that such a huge repository of artifacts was located in a place that was so hard to get to.

De Anda’s rediscovery of the find means that Modern archaeologists who specialize in Mayan culture may be able to learn some new things about the level of contact and interaction between different Mesoamerican cultures of the time, and other information about the history of the Mayan people prior to the city’s fall.

None of that answers the question, however, of why Pinto decided to reseal the caves back in the ‘60s, rather than study them.

Historians do know that among the Mayan people, a ritual cave was considered entrances to the underworld, and were thus considered extremely sacred, even to the extent that they played a role in social organization and site planning, according to Mayan archaeology expert Holley Moyes.

The technology available to scientists has improved dramatically since the middle of the last century, which means that they may be able to get a lot more useful information by using methods like 3-D mapping.

That information could help answer questions about not only the sorts of rituals that went on in the caves, but also about the city above them.

According to De Anda, it’s not currently known why Chichen Itza declined and fell, but Balamku should be able to help answer that question with its collection of artifacts and organic matter. It’s been speculated that the area was devastated by severe droughts. Some researchers further believe that the extreme weather cycles in the area were exacerbated by deforestation further south.

BULGARIA, EUROPE, WORLD

World’s 1st horseback riders swept across Europe roughly 5,000 years ago

May 27, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

World’s 1st horseback riders swept across Europe roughly 5,000 years ago

The world’s first horseback riders swept across the steppe roughly 5,000 years ago, a new skeletal analysis of tombs across Europe and Asia reveals.

**A Yamnaya grave of a male horse rider found in Malomirovo, Bulgaria. He died between the ages of 65 and 75.**

Archaeologists accidentally discovered the world’s earliest horseback riders while studying skeletons found beneath 5,000-year-old burial mounds in Europe and Asia, a new study finds.

The ancient riders were part of the so-called Yamnaya culture, groups of semi-nomadic people who swept across Europe and western Asia, bringing the precursor to the Indo-European language family with them.

The findings strengthen the hypothesis that the horse played an integral part in the expansion of this group, and therefore, in the spread of the Indo-European language.

The new analysis came from 217 human skeletons from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, a geographical area that runs roughly from Bulgaria to Kazakhstan. For decades, researchers have debated when horses were domesticated.

In Kazakhstan, 5,000-year-old horse skeletons show wear on their teeth that could have been from bridles, while others have found possible fenced enclosures.

In the same time period, horse milk peptides have been detected in the dental plaque of people from Russia. Importantly, the geographical explosion of the Yamnaya culture — which expanded across 3,000 miles (4,500 kilometers) over a mere century or two — suggests horses may have assisted as transportation animals.

**A map of the Yamnaya and Afanasievo distribution in Eurasia about 5,000 years ago.**

So archaeologist Martin Trautmann of the University of Helsinki in Finland and his colleagues collected data on six diagnostic skeletal traits that have been collectively called “horsemanship syndrome.” Since bone is a living tissue, it responds to stresses placed on it.

Consistent horseback riding can cause trauma and spine degeneration, but it can also result in more subtle changes to the leg and hip bones as the human body adapts to regular riding.

In the skeletons from 39 sites across Eastern Europe, Trautmann and colleagues found that two dozen had at least half of the traits of horsemanship syndrome.

They are most confident, however, about the identification of five Yamnaya culture individuals hailing from what is now Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary as likely equestrians.

“Our findings provide a strong argument that horseback riding was already a common activity for some Yamnaya individuals as early as 3000 [B.C.],” they wrote in their paper.

**The Yamnaya people didn’t ride Przewalski’s horses, but these hoofed animals are likely close to what ancient horses looked like in terms of appearance, color and size.**

An archaeologist at the University of Vienna, told Live Science in an email that she is “excited about their research.” However, Bühler, who has studied horsemanship syndrome but was not involved in this work, was concerned about the researchers’ ability to measure changes to the hip sockets given the poor state of conservation of many of the bones. “Because two major traits are missing, I feel that caution is required in interpreting the evidence,” she said.

Most of the skeletons were in such poor condition that horsemanship couldn’t be analyzed. Taking that into account, however, “we guess that more than 30% of male adult Yamnaya individuals were riding frequently,” Trautmann in an email.

**The remains of a horse rider found in Malomirovo, Bulgaria. He had a Yamnaya-style burial, and radiocarbon dating puts him in the 30th century B.C.**

A biomolecular archaeologist at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, who was not involved in this study, in an email that the researchers’ findings about the Yamnaya are interesting but “not surprising considering their vast Early Bronze Age expansions.” Expanding so quickly and spreading their genes over such a vast area would have been difficult without horses.

Although skeletons with horsemanship syndrome are rarely found, their identification by archaeologists gives us new information about what it was like to live on the eastern steppe five millennia ago.

“For now,” Trautmann said, “it seems riding was mostly a male activity, probably connected to herding, and training probably started early.”

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

2,500-Year-Old Scythian Warrior Grave Found In Siberian Valley Of The Kings

May 26, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

2,500-Year-Old Scythian Warrior Grave Found In Siberian Valley Of The Kings

The 2,500-year-old tomb of a Scythian warrior has been found in the ‘Siberian Valley of the Kings’ in Russia.

Buried with his weapon and golden ornaments, the warrior discovered by archaeologists from Jagiellonian University in Krakow was found in an untouched grave in an area known for both its rich burial sites and notorious grave-robbing.

The so-called ‘Siberian Valley of the Kings’, named after its Egyptian counterpart, is located in the Asian part of the Russian Federation.

It earned its name due to the numerous giant kurgan tombs, often full of treasures thought to belong to royalty.

**The warrior discovered by archaeologists from Jagiellonian University in Kraków was found in an untouched grave in an area known for both its rich burial sites and notorious grave-robbing.**

The archaeological site of Chinge-Tey where Poles uncovered the new treasures is operated together with the State Hermitage Museum in Sankt Petersburg and Korean Seoul University, reports the Science in Poland website (Nauka w Polsce).

Dr. Lukasz Oleszczak, the Polish expedition’s head, told PAP: “For our research, we chose an inconspicuous, almost invisible kurgan with a diameter of about 25 m.

“We hoped that it remained unnoticed by the robbers.”

Of the two tombs they found only one was robbed, while the other was untouched.

**The so-called Siberian Valley of the Kings, named after its Egyptian counterpart, is located in the Asian part of the Russian Federation**

He added: “Inside was a young warrior’s skeleton with full equipment. Their area around his head was decorated with a pectoral made of gold sheet, a glass bead, a gold spiral for adorning the braid.”

Archaeologists also found the Scythian buried with a sharpening stone and his weapon – a bronze battle-axe with a stylized eagle’s head, arrows, an iron knife, and fragments of a bow – presenting an array of items a warrior roaming the Siberian wilderness would need.

Dr. Oleszczak said: “Other well-preserved items were made of organic materials. Among them there is a leather quiver, arrow spars, the axe’s shaft and a belt.”

The findings date back to the 7th or 6th century BC. Scythians were nomad people from Central Asia, who expanded into Eastern Europe through their love of combat and war.

Their achievements were described by the Greek historian Herodotus.

The Scythians buried their dead in kurgans, some resembling hills visible from afar.

The grave found this year was surrounded by a shallow trench. Inside archaeologists uncovered several dozen fragments of ceramic vessels and animal bones, mainly of cows, horses, goats or sheep.

Most probably they are traces of religious ceremonies and rituals, such as funeral wakes.

The Polish archaeologists will continue their work in Chinge-Tey, as there is still one grave they found, but were unable to fully examine.

ASIA, EUROPE, GEORGIA, WORLD

2500-Year-Old Persian Palace Discovered In Eastern Georgia

May 26, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

2500-Year-Old Persian Palace Discovered In Eastern Georgia

An international archaeological expedition of Georgian National Museum has been working on the Alazani Valley, in the village of Jugaani, Signagi Municipality. Archaeological excavations revealed the palace remains dating to about the 5th-4th centuries BC.

The archaeological division of the Georgian National Museum, as a result of geophysical exploration on about one hectare, found remains on the Alazani Valley that had been presumably burned.

Archaeological excavation revealed a complex planning structure – the central six-column hall of the palace.

The 1.5 metres thick walls are built of mud brick. Wooden columns of the hall stood on limestone, bell-shaped bases.

There have also revealed square podiums built of mud bricks, where a throne or altar may have stood.

The bell-shaped bases, as well as the architectural elements discovered on the same site – presumably part of the decor of the column capitals – suggests that the building is from the Achaemenid era and dates back to the 5th-4th centuries BC.

It is known that the bell-shaped bases were developed at the beginning of the 5th century BC in the centres of the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids – in Sousa and Persepolis and the lotus ornament is also typical of Achaemenid art.

A domed structure, located about two kilometres from the newly discovered building, also dates to the 5th century BC. This structure was excavated in 1994-1995 and is on display at the Georgian National Museum at Signagi.

The remains of the newly discovered palace lie some forty centimetres from the surface of the ground and have been heavily damaged by ploughing.

The bell-shaped bases seem to have been damaged by fire and only at the bottom of some bases remain.

The head of the Georgian-German International Archaeological Expedition from the German side is Dr. Kai Kanyut (from the University of Munich Ludwig Maximilian) and Iulon Gagoshidze from the Georgian side (scientific consultant of Georgian National Museum).

The expedition involved a team of German geophysicists led by Jorg Fassbinder; Students from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Munich University students participated in the excavation.

EUROPE, ROMAN, WORLD

7,000-Year-Old Underwater Road Discovered In Adriatic Sea Off Korcula Island

May 26, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

7,000-Year-Old Underwater Road Discovered In Adriatic Sea Off Korcula Island

Visitors to the beautiful island of Korcula, the supposed birthplace of Marco Polo in Croatia, can admire wonderful dense pine forests, beautiful buildings, small squares, and marvelous monuments in the medieval Old town.

As the sixth-largest Adriatic island, Korcula is a popular tourist attraction, but the island has more to offer than modern sightseeing tours. The island of Korcula has a rich history going as far back as the Stone Age.

A local legend tells Prince Antenor of Troy founded the main settlement of Korcula. Archaeologists have previously found evidence of ancient Greek settlements on the island, and Korcula was also once part of the Roman Empire.

Now, underwater archaeologists have made an incredible find making the history of Korcula even more exciting.

Scientists from the Univerity of Zadar announced on Facebook they made a surprising discovery while conducting underwater archaeological research on the submerged Neolithic site of Soline on the island of Korcula.

The research is the result of the collaboration of several institutions and companies.

In addition to the leader Mata Parica from the University of Zadar, the group consisted of Domagoj Perkić (Museums of Dubrovnik), Ivan Šuta and Vedran Katavić (Museum of the City of Kaštela), Katarina Batur (University of Zadar), Marta Kalebota ( City Museum of Korčula), Eduard Visković (Kantharos), with the assistance of Dalibor Ćosović from the diving center Lumbard Blue.

At the same time, on the other side of the island of Korcula, archaeologists from the University of Zadar are conducting land research near Gradina Bay near Vela Luka. It was Igor Borzić, the head of the research, who noticed the strange structures in the sea of the bay.

The archaeological team diving at the Soline site inspected the central part of Gradina Bay.

To everyone’s delight, the existence of a settlement almost identical to the one at Soline was determined at a depth of 4 to 5 meters. Neolithic artifacts such as flint blades, stone axes, and fragments of millstones were found at the site.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Iron Age ‘Mystery’ Murder Victim Found During Roadworks In England

May 26, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

Iron Age ‘Mystery’ Murder Victim Found During Roadworks In England

An Iron Age skeleton with his hands bound has been discovered by HS2 project archaeologists, who believe he may be a murder victim.

The remains of the 2,000-year-old adult male were found face down at Wellwick Farm near Wendover in Buckinghamshire.

Project archaeologist Dr. Rachel Wood described the death as “a mystery” and hopes further analysis will shed light on the “potentially gruesome” find.

A Stonehenge-style wooden formation and Roman burial have also been discovered. They are among a number of finds ranging from the Neolithic Age to the Medieval period unearthed ahead of construction work for the 225mph (362 km/h) rail line.

**A ceremonial timber circle at Wellwick Farm**

Dr Wood, who works for Fusion JV, said: “Discovering a site showing human activity spanning 4,000 years came as a bit of a surprise to us.”

A large Neolithic circular monument of wooden posts 65m (213 ft) in diameter and aligned with the winter solstice, “similar to Stonehenge”, was uncovered.

The site also has evidence of domestic occupation during the Bronze to Iron Ages (3000BC to AD43), including a roundhouse and animal pits.

During the Roman era it was used for burials and a “high-status” skeleton buried in an “expensive” lead coffin was unearthed.

**Several archaeological discoveries have been made at Wellwick Farm, Wendover**

Dr. Wood said the fascinating thing about the site was its “persistent use over centuries for the burial of specific, high-status people”. The only exception was the Iron Age skeleton.

Dr. Wood said: “The death of the Wellwick Farm man remains a mystery to us, but there aren’t many ways you end up in a bottom of a ditch, face down, with your hands bound.

We hope our osteologists will be able to shed more light on this potentially gruesome death.”

The HS2 high-speed rail link will connect London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

It is the biggest infrastructure project in Europe but has been delayed and faced concerns over the exact route and spiraling costs. Its official price tag in 2022 was £56bn but the latest figure was reported to be rising to £106bn.

EUROPE, GERMANY, WORLD

Viking Ring Found in Polish Stronghold is Actually Rare Christian Artifact

May 25, 2023 Archeology worldwide team Leave a comment

Viking Ring Found in Polish Stronghold is Actually Rare Christian Artifact

What was thought to be a Viking ring has turned out to be something else entirely. Even highly-trained professionals sometimes see what they expect to see, instead of what’s actually there, at least for a little while.

That’s what the Science in Poland website reported in November, when talking about an unusual historical find. The find in question was a medieval ring that dates from the ninth or tenth century.

The ring was originally found in 2003 by Mirosław and Małgorzata Andrałojć together with archaeologist Mariusz Tuszyński, who at the time was head of research work in Grzybowo.

It was found using a metal detector, and was located in a stronghold in Grzybowo, Poland, near a spot where archaeologists had already found a sizable quantity of medieval coins.

When it was first discovered, the team thought it was of Viking make, because it was covered with a tight, dense, weave depicting animals.

Archaeologist Miroslaw Andralojc said that the design first led them to believe it was a Scandinavian object, but after doing a more complete analysis, they realized that the design was more consistent with similar objects from the Carolingians of Western Europe.

He speculated that it may have been made in the Eastern Alps, where Christianity was already well-established by the eighth century. Hence the surprise that occured when they realized they most likely had a Christian artifact on their hands instead of pagan Viking one.

The ring was made of lead brass, which the wealthy of the era valued because it had more of a true golden color than metals like bronze, which means that the ring probably belonged to a person of high status. It was also interesting for its shape; the ring’s interior wasn’t truly round.

Instead, it was shaped in a way that it conformed better to the shape of a human finger and would be less likely to slide off by accident. In order to put it on or take it off, it would have to be rotated 45 degrees one direction or the other, which was the only way it would move freely on or off.

The exterior design of the jewelry showed overlapping images of birds, and a crown wound with flowers. The floral winding was in the shape of a medallion, which, in turn, shows the figure of an animal lying down. A similar design had previously been found on a Carolingian brooch held by the British Museum.

Andralojc stated that his team believes the design to show the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, surrounded by peacocks. This would be Christian symbolism, since peacocks were considered a symbol of resurrection. Researchers have also seen similar styles of decorative weave on decorative candlesticks at an Abbey in Upper Austria.

The discovery of the “Viking” Christina ring does raise real questions about how it got where it was found. The stronghold existed from the 920s until the middle of the eleventh century, which does encompass the period during which the ring was made, but how did it end up so far from home?

As yet, the researchers have no clear theory about whether the ring was loot, a gift, or proof that the owner belonged to a Christian community.

The Carolingian dynasty or empire was a group of rulers who eventually became the kings of the Franks around 750 AD and ruled for about 150 years. The most generally well-known member of this dynasty was Charlemagne.

They dynasty is thought to have been founded by Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, early in the seventh century, and during its peak, leaders of this dynasty ruled over much of Central and Western Europe, Before coming into its full power,, the early members of the dynasty held the mayoralty of the palace of Austrasia, which covered what is now the Northeastern part of France, Belgium, and central Germany.

Charlemagne became King of the Franks in 768, and was anointed Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 AD. Making Charlemagne Emperor was a win-win for both the dynasty and the Catholic Church, the Church legitimized the Empire’s rule, and the Empire offered help to the Church in terms of military support.