All posts by Archeology worldwide team

EUROPE, NETHERLANDS, WORLD

40,000-Year-Old Chamber Of Secrets Discovered At Gorham’s Cave Complex

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40,000-Year-Old Chamber Of Secrets Discovered At Gorham’s Cave Complex

A cave chamber sealed off by sand for some 40,000 years has been discovered in Vanguard Cave in Gibraltar — a finding that could reveal more about the Neanderthals who lived in the area around that time. 

“Given that the sand sealing the chamber was [40,000] years old, and that the chamber was, therefore, older, it must have been Neanderthals,” who lived in Eurasia from about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago and were likely using the cave,  Clive Finlayson, director of the Gibraltar National Museum.

While Finlayson’s team was studying the cave last month, they discovered the hollow area.

After climbing through it, they found it is 43 feet (13 meters) in length, with stalactites hanging like eerie icicles from the chamber ceiling.

Along the surface of the cave chamber, the researchers found the remains of lynx, hyenas and griffon vultures, as well as a large whelk, a type of sea snail that was likely carried into the chamber by a Neanderthal, the archaeologists, said in a statement. 

The researchers are eager to see what they will find once they start excavating.

One possibility is that the team will discover Neanderthal burials, Finlayson said.

“We found the milk tooth of a 4-year-old Neanderthal close to the chamber four years ago,” he said.

The tooth “was associated with hyenas, and we suspect the hyenas brought the child [who was likely dead] into the cave.” 

Researchers have discovered plenty of evidence of Neanderthals’ presence in the cave system, called the Gorham’s Cave Complex, including a carving that may have been early Neanderthal artwork.

In addition, findings have suggested that, at this cave system, our closest extinct relatives butchered seals, plucked feathers off birds of prey to wear as ornaments and used tools, previously reported.

Scientists have speculated that this cave system may have been one of the last places Neanderthals lived before they went extinct around 40,000 years ago. 

ASIA, ISRAEL, WORLD

Hoard of 2,150-year-old silver coins found in Modiin, Israel

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Hoard of 2,150-year-old silver coins found in Modiin, Israel


Archeologists in Modiin reached a rare silver cache in an ancient wall gap. During a rescue excavation in central Israel, the garden of silver coins dated from the Hasmonean period(126 BCE) was shown.

“Perhaps the cache belonged to a Jew who hides his money in the expectation of coming back to recover it, but he was disappointed and never came back,” says the Modiin excavation managing director Abraham Tendler.

Aerial photograph of a Hasmonean estate house excavated in Modiin

Shekelles and half-shekels (tetradrachm and didrachm) minted at Tyre City, bearing images of the king, Antiochus VII and his brother Demetrius II are the rare silver caches of the late Hasmonean period.

The treasure was placed in a rock crevice, opposite a wall of an impressive farmyard which was uncovered during the excavation.

The cache of silver coins were found in a rock crevice.

“The cache, which consists of 16 coins, contains one or two coins from every year between 135–126 BCE, and a total of nine consecutive years are represented. It seems that some thought went into collecting the coins, and it is possible that the person who buried the cache was a coin collector.

He acted in just the same way as stamp and coin collectors manage collections today”.  Dr. Donald Tzvi Ariel, the head of the Coin Depart-ment at the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a press statement from the IIA.

Or maybe: “The cache that we found is compelling evidence that one of the members of the estate who had saved his income for months needed to leave the house for some unknown reason.

He buried his money in the hope of coming back and collecting it, but was apparently unfortunate and never returned. It is exciting to think that the coin hoard was waiting here 2,140 years until we exposed it” Tendler said.

He added, “The findings from our excavation show that a Jewish fami-ly established an agricultural estate on this hill during the Hasmonean period. The family members planted olive trees and vineyards on the neighboring hills and grew grain in valleys.

An industrial area that includes an olive press and storehouses where the olive oil was kept is currently being uncovered next to the estate. Dozens of rock-hewn winepresses that reflect the importance of viti-culture and the wine industry in the area were exposed in the culti-vation plots next to the estate.

The estate house was built of massive walls in order to provide security from the attacks of marauding bandits.”

Numerous bronze coins minted by the Hasmonean kings were also discovered in the excavation.

They bear the names of the kings such as Yehohanan, Judah, Jonathan or Mattathias and his title: High Priest and Head of the Council of the Jews.

The finds indicate that the estate continued to operate throughout the Early Roman period.The Jewish inhabitants of the estate meticulously adhered to the laws of ritual purity and impurity: they installed ritual baths ( miqwe’ot) in their settlement and used vessels made of chalk, which according to Jewish law cannot become ritually unclean.

Evidence was discovered at the site suggesting that the residents of the estate also participated in the first revolt against the Romans that broke out in 66 CE: the coins that were exposed from this period are stamped with the date ‘Year Two’ of the revolt and the slogan ‘Free-dom of Zion’.

The estate continued to operate even after the destruction of the Tem-ple in 70 CE. “It seems that local residents did not give up hope of gaining their independence from Rome, and they were well-prepared to fight the enemy during the Bar Kokhba uprising”, said Tendler and continued.

The unique finds revealed in the excavation will be preserved in an archaeological park in the heart of the new neighborhood slated for construction in Modi‘in-Maccabim-Re‘ut.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER ANCIENT OCHRE MINE THAT UNLOCKS THE LIVES OF EARLY AMERICANS

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Archaeologists Discover Ancient Ochre Mine That Unlocks The Lives Of Early AMERICANS

The underwater caves along Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula contain within them a sprawling labyrinth of archaeological relics perhaps unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Preserved in a vast network of flooded caverns, these inundated cenotes hold a treasure trove of Maya secrets – but as a new discovery shows, you can also find ancient artefacts dating back to much more distant episodes of prehistory.

In a new study, researchers report the finding of what could be the oldest known mine in the Americas (alongside other claims to the title), uncovering the remains of a subterranean ochre mine dating back to 12,000 years ago.

“The underwater caves are like a time capsule,” says expert diver and micropalaeontologist Ed Reinhardt from McMaster University in Canada.

“There is clear evidence of ochre mining which would have taken place thousands of years ago.”

In dives during 2022, Reinhardt and fellow researchers explored caves along the eastern coastline of Quintana Roo. Caves in this region have long been known to contain the skeletal remains of ancient peoples who inhabited the caverns thousands of years ago, back when lower sea levels meant the caves were dry and accessible.

As to why ancient individuals would enter these deep and dangerous labyrinthine passages has remained unclear, but now we appear to have an explanation.

“The cave’s landscape has been noticeably altered, which leads us to believe that prehistoric humans extracted tonnes of ochre from it, maybe having to light fire pits to illuminate the space,” says diver and archaeologist Fred Devos from the Research Centre of the Quintana Roo Aquifer System (CINDAQ) in Mexico.

Inside the caves, the team found a range of evidence of prehistoric mining activities, including digging tools, ochre extraction beds, navigational markers, and ancient fireplaces.

The researchers suggest mining evidence in three submerged cave systems spans about 2,000 years of operation – from 12,000 to 10,000 years ago.

The sites, called La Mina, Camilo Mina, and Monkey Dust, may be the oldest known examples of ochre mining in the Americas, but the team thinks cave exploration and ochre mining in the region may date back even further, based on other skeletal evidence dated to 12,800 years ago.

For some reason, the miners in this site stopped their ochre extraction about 10,000 years ago. As to why, the researchers are unsure, as the cave would still have been accessible at that point.

It’s possible, they say, that the miners moved on to other deposits in other caves – and with 2,000 kilometres of known cave systems to explore in the region, we might find more evidence of this ancient mining in the future.

What is certain is that it must have taken unimaginable bravery to delve for hundreds of metres into these jagged caves, with only a lit torch to shine a path in the buried darkness.

That they ventured into the dark like this in such conditions tells us something about how important the ochre pigment must have been in ancient Palaeoindian rituals and customs, that they were willing to risk their lives for their prize.

“Imagine a flickering light, in the middle of deep darkness,” says team member James Chatters from Applied Paleoscience in Washington State, “that at once illuminates the red-stained hands of the miners as they strike the ground with hammers made out of stalagmites, while it lights the way for those who carry the ochre through the tunnels until they reach sunlight and the forest floor.”

CHILE, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Oldest Human Footprint in Americas May Be This 15,600-Year-Old Mark in Chile

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Oldest Human Footprint in Americas May Be This 15,600-Year-Old Mark in Chile

This illustration shows how the ancient footprint may have been made about 15,600 years ago in what is now Chile.


The earliest human footprint on record in the Americas wasn’t found in Canada, the United States or even Mexico; it was found much farther south, in Chile, and it dates to an astonishing 15,600 years ago, a new study finds.

The finding sheds light on when humans first reached the Americas, likely by traveling across the Bering Strait land bridge in the midst of the last ice age.

This 10.2-inch-long (26 centimeters) print might even be evidence of pre-Clovis people in South America, the group that came before the Clovis, which are known for their distinctive spearheads, the researchers said.

The find suggests that pre-Clovis people were in northern Patagonia (a region of South America) for some time, as the footprint is older than archaeological evidence from Chile’s Monte Verde, a site about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south containing artifacts that are at least 14,500 years old.

Vertebrate paleontologist Leonora Salvadores discovered the footprint in December 2021, when she was an undergraduate student at the Austral University of Chile.

At the time, Salvadores and her fellow students were investigating a well-known archaeological site known as Pilauco, which is about 500 miles (820 km) south of Santiago, Chile.

This footprint is about 15,600 years old.

However, it took years for study lead researcher and paleontologist Karen Moreno and study lead investigator and geologist Mario Pino, both at the Austral University of Chile, to verify that the print was human, radiocarbon date it (they tested six different organic remnants found at that layer to be sure) and determine how it was made by a barefoot adult.

Part of these tests involved walking through similar sediment to see what kinds of tracks got left behind. These experiments revealed that the ancient human likely weighed about 155 lbs. (70 kilograms) and that the soil was quite wet and sticky when the print was made.

It appears that a clump of this sticky dirt clung to the person’s toes and then fell into the print when the foot was lifted, as the image below suggests.

This sequence shows how the footprint may have been made.

The footprint is classified as a type called Hominipes modernus, a footprint usually made by Homo sapiens, the researchers said. (Just like species, trace fossils, such as footprints, receive scientific names.) Previous excavations at the site revealed other late Pleistocene fossils, including the bones of elephant relatives, llama relatives and ancient horses, as well as rocks that humans may have used as tools, the researchers said.

The study “adds to a growing body of fossil and archaeological evidence suggesting that humans dispersed throughout the Americas earlier than many people have previously thought,” said Kevin Hatala, an assistant professor of biology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was not involved with the study.

This find comes a mere year after the discovery of the oldest known human footprints in North America, which date to 13,000 years ago, Hatala noted.

It would be nice to have more data from the Chile site — “more footprints, more artifacts, more skeletal material and so on,” Hatala told  in an email.

“But unfortunately, the fossil and archaeological records are never as generous as we’d like! With just a single human footprint to work with, the authors extracted as much information as they could. When we look at this evidence in the context of other data, it makes a strong case for the antiquity of [the] human presence in Patagonia.”

The footprint is now preserved in a glass box and is housed at the recently established Pleistocene Museum in the city of Osorno, Chile. 

BOLIVIA, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

‘Mind Blowing’ Discovery Reveals Ancient Settlements Hidden in the Amazon

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‘Mind Blowing’ Discovery Reveals Ancient Settlements Hidden in the Amazon

In a groundbreaking study released last week, archaeologists have revealed an amazing discovery in the Amazon. As reported by Nature, a team of researchers has found the remains of ancient settlements in the river basin, a place that was thought to have been untouched by man until the arrival of Europeans.

This discovery turns centuries of history on its head, revealing a civilization that existed in a place where most felt it was impossible. The archaeologists who made the discovery say there are still many questions that need answering but describe the complexity and scope of the settlements as “mind-blowing.”

Densely Populated Urban Centers

Historians and archaeologists have known that man has occupied the Amazon Basin for at least 10,000 years. But until now, it was widely believed that the humans that lived along the planet’s mightiest river did so only in small tribes.

The discovery detailed in the report indicates that the ancient settlements that have been identified were surprisingly large in size and were densely populated urban environments. In other words, cities that were home to a lot of people.

 The structures that made up these cities are covered in mud and foliage and sit in the southwest corner of the river basin. Conventional wisdom amongst historians had long held that the thin soil found in the Amazon wasn’t rich enough to support the large-scale agriculture needed to support a large civilization. And while rumors and myth persisted of ancient cities located in the jungle, there was little evidence to support those stories.

The research team behind the current report used lidar—high-tech equipment that uses laser to penetrate the rainforest canopy—to scan the unusual mounds back in 2022. It has taken until now to review all of the data and identify the identify the structures that are hidden underneath. What the found surprised and shocked them in terms of sophistication and size.

The Casarabe Civilization

The initial research began following the discover of remenants of the Casarabe people in the area. This mysterious tribe existed in the southwest Amazon basin around 1500 years ago, although not a lot is known about them.

While exploring the mounts, archaologists came across a stone wall, grave platforms, and other indications of a permanent settlement. It was based on those findings that they decided to use lidar to see what they could find.

After sweeping the area with the lidar technology installed on a helicopter, the scans were reviewed and the scope of the Casarabe civilization began to be made clear.

The researchers were able to idnetify 26 urban areas—including 11 that they weren’t expecting to find. Those ancient settlements include 22-meter (72 feet) tall earthen pyramids and extensive elevated road system that connected the cities.

To put the size of the find in perspective, two of the individual settlements covered an area larger than 100 hectares or roughly three times the size of the vatican.

Several of the urban centers had six-meter tall walls surrounding them and it is belived that the Casarabe lived in neighborhoods that sat in the shadow of the pyramids.

Abandoned Settlements

According to the study, the Casarabe came to prominance around 500 AD and occupied the cities for 900 years. After that, the ancient settlements were abandoned for some unknown reason and the civilizaiton disappeared. What became of them remains a mystery.

By the time Europeans arrived in the region in the 16th century, the jungle had reclaimed the ancient cities. To anyone passing by, the mounds just appeared to be islands in the river, with no indication of what lay underneath.

If it weren’t for the use of lidar—something that has been used extensively by other archaeolgical expeditions—the cities probably would never have been found.

This discovery also gives some credance to the legends of Amazon cities of gold that tempted Spanish conquistadors for decades. To other tribes living in the river basin, this large civilization must have appeared to be unbelievably advanced and wealthy.

It could also give credance to the idea that such civilizations could have exited elsewhere in the region, hinting at other major discoveries yet to be found.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Lidar is an incredible technology and everytime a discovery like this one is made, I can’t help but wonder what else is out there, waiting to be found. I also can’t wait to find out.

AFRICA, WORLD

The 2-billion-year-old nuclear reactors in Africa baffle researchers!

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The 2-billion-year-old nuclear reactors in Africa baffle researchers!

Reactions similar to those inside the power plants in modern era arose spontaneously around 2 billion years ago in the Oklo region of Gabon, Africa.

n 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi and a team of workers built what they thought was the first nuclear reactor in a Chicago racket ball court. Unfortunately, nature had beaten them to the punch — by eons.

Truth be told, self-sustaining nuclear power reactor was invented in Africa, 2 billion years ago! It’s a 100-kilowatt nuclear plant that produced pulses of power every three hours for a period of about 150,000 years.

The discovery of the prehistoric Oklo nuclear plant


On AUGUST , 1972, a French nuclear fuel reprocessing plant discovered that 200 kg of uranium from a uranium mine in the Oklo region of Gabon Republic had been refined. Fearing that someone (or a secret organization) would build a nuclear bomb, the French Atomic Energy Commission immediately opened an investigation.

Finally, researchers and scientists from all over the world, after conducting detailed investigation, came to the conclusion that, six large nuclear reactors as old as 2 billion years old are located near Gabon’s uranium mine, and has been active for at least 150,000 years!

The advanced process self-sustaining fission

The ancient nuclear reactors use surface water and groundwater to modulate and reflect sequenced fission neutrons, its operation is much more advanced than that of modern nuclear reactors. Moreover, scientists found geological evidence that uranium in lens-shaped veins of uranium ore had undergone self-sustaining fission chain reactions, generating intense heat.

In this process, subatomic neutrons released by radioactive decay of uranium atoms induce decay of other uranium atoms, leading to a cascade of nuclear fission and substantial release of energy as heat. This is what modern nuclear reactors use to produce power.

The puzzle, however, is why the Oklo reactors didn’t plunge straight into a runaway chain reaction, leading to meltdown of the veins or even to an explosion. In nuclear plants the reaction is kept under control by using ‘moderators’.

These are substances that either slow down the chain reaction by absorbing some of the fission neutrons or encourage it by adjusting the neutron energies.

It needs the pure natural water

Former head of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and Nobel laureate Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg points out: For uranium to continue to “burn”, all conditions must be completely free of bias.

The water involved in the nuclear reaction must be very pure, a few parts per million of pollutants will create a “toxic” reaction that causes the reactor to stop working. Nowhere in the world is there such pure natural water.

In August 2022, two rock samples recovered during drilling campaigns in Oklo were donated to the Vienna Natural History Museum. The donation (and ceremony) was made possible with funding from nuclear fuel company Orano and France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The French Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna supported the effort.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which helped monitor radioactivity levels and handling of those samples, the two samples emit a radiation of about 40 microsieverts per hour “if you stand 5 centimetres away from them, which roughly compares to the amount of cosmic radiation a passenger would receive on an eight-hour flight from Vienna to New York.”

The incredible hypotheses

The Oklo nuclear reactor in Gabon has been operating for 1500,00 years. How to produce water of such high purity has become another unsolved mystery. The rationality of the structural design of prehistoric nuclear reactors is absolutely baffling to experts.

Some scientists and theorists believe that the reactor is extremely advanced, suggesting that highly intelligent beings existed 2 billion years ago. While another hypothesis is that it was constructed by prehistoric human civilization (like described in the Silurian Hypothesis by NASA scientists) using techniques that were lost to subsequent humans.

However, most of the mainstream researchers believe that Oklo is the world’s only identified naturally occurring reactor which was created by accident. As scientists Norman Schwers and John A. Miller from Sandia National Laboratories explain in a 2021 paper, the concept of a naturally occurring reactor was originally documented in 1956 using reactor theory or the infinite multiplication constants.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Archaeologists Just Discovered the Bones, Weapons, and Headdresses of Four Real-Life Amazon Warriors in Russia

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Archaeologists Just Discovered the Bones, Weapons, and Headdresses of Four Real-Life Amazon Warriors in Russia

The burial site of the “Amazon” women in Voronezh.

An archaeological dig in the Eastern region of Voronezh, Russia, has unearthed an incredible discovery: a group of ancient burial pits with four women entombed with spears, headdresses, and other objects pointing to the existence of real-life Amazon warriors.

The women were likely nomadic Scythian warriors who populated the steppes of southern Russia and formed a matriarchal society that has inspired everything from from Xena: Warrior Princess to Gal Godot’s Wonder Woman.

Valerii Guliaev, who led the expedition, shared the group’s findings in December at the Institute of Archaeology at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A rendering of the headdress discovered in the Amazon tomb.

Although fragments of similar ceremonial headdresses have been found before, the one found in Voronezh is in superb condition and is the first to be located in this precise location near the Don River. It was discovered on the head of one of the women.

The bodies were found in a group of burial mounds that scientists noted had been, at some point, ravaged by robbers.

In the first mound, the skeletal remains of two women—one was aged between 20 and 25, while the other was between 12 and 13—were surrounded by more than 30 iron arrowheads, pieces of a horse harness, iron hooks, knives, and animal bones likely belonging to a horse.

In addition, molded clay vessels and an incense burner dating to the second half of the 4th century BC were found scattered around various levels of the pit.

In another plot, two untouched skeletons were discovered inside wooden graves cushioned by grass, where scientists found a roughly 50-year-old woman wearing a heavily engraved gold-stamped headpiece (known as a kalaf) adorned with floral ornaments and pendants.

A figure buried in the “pose of a rider

A final woman, aged between 30 and 35, was found in “the pose of a rider,” as if she were mounted on a horse, according to the archaeologists.

The woman also had a large bronze mirror, two spears, and wore a glass bead bracelet—one perhaps not dissimilar from the indestructible “Bracelets of Submission” worn by Wonder Woman as cautionary reminders that women should never submit to the charms of men.

Top, a detail of the headdress; below, other objects found in the tomb
The burial site of the Amazon women in Voronezh.
The burial site of the Amazon women in Voronezh

EUROPE, GREECE, WORLD

THE THEOPETRA CAVE AND THE OLDEST HUMAN CONSTRUCTION IN THE WORLD

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The Theopetra Cave and the Oldest Human Construction in the World


The Theopetra Cave is an archaeological site situated in Meteora, in the central Greek region of Thessaly. As a result of the archaeological excavations that have taken place over the years, it has been revealed that the Theopetra cave was inhabited by human beings as early as 130,000 years ago.

In addition, evidence of human habitation in the Theopetra Cave can be dated without interruption from the Middle Palaeolithic to the end of the Neolithic period.

This is significant, as it allows archaeologists to have a better understanding of the prehistoric period in Greece.

Excavations at the Theopetra cave began in 1987 under the direction of N. Kyparissi-Apostolika.

The Theopetra Cave is located on the north-eastern slope of a limestone hill, some 100 m (330 feet above the valley), overlooking the remote village of Theopetra, and the river Lethaios, a tributary of the Pineios River, flows nearby.

According to geologists, the limestone hill was formed between 137 and 65 million years ago, corresponding to the Upper Cretaceous period. Based on archaeological evidence, human beings have only begun to occupy the cave during the Middle Palaeolithic period, i.e. around 130,000 years ago.

The cave is located on the slopes of a limestone hill overlooking Theopetra village.

The cave itself has been described as roughly quadrilateral in shape with narrow niches on its edge and covers an area of around 500 sq meters (5380 sq ft). The Theopetra Cave has a wide aperture, which enables the light to penetrate easily into the interior of the cave.

The archaeological excavation of the Theopetra Cave began in 1987 and continued up until 2022. This project was directed by Dr Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika, who served as the head of the Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology and Speleography when the excavations were being carried out.

It may be mentioned that when the archaeological work was first conducted, the Theopetra Cave was being used by local shepherds as a temporary shelter in which they would keep their flocks.

It may be added that the Theopetra Cave was the first cave in Thessaly to have been archaeologically excavated, and also the only one in Greece to have a continuous sequence of deposits from the Middle Palaeolithic to the end of the Neolithic period.

This is significant, as it has allowed archaeologists to gain a better understanding of the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic way of life in mainland Greece.

Several interesting discoveries have been made through the archaeological study of the Theopetra Cave. One of these, for instance, pertains to the climate in the area when the cave was being occupied.

By conducting micro-morphological analysis on the sediment samples collected from each archaeological layer, archaeologists were able to determine that there had been hot and cold spells during the cave’s occupation. As a result of these changes in the climate, the cave’s population also fluctuated accordingly.

Another fascinating find from the Theopetra Cave is the remains of a stone wall that once partially closed off the entrance of the cave. These remains were discovered in 2022 and using a relatively new method of dating known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, scientists were able to date this wall to around 23000 years old.

The age of this wall, which coincides with the last glacial age, has led researchers to suggest that the wall had been built by the inhabitants of the cave to protect them from the cold outside. It has been claimed that this is the oldest known man-made structure in Greece, and possibly even in the world.

A year before this incredible discovery was made, it was announced that a trial of at least three hominid footprints that were imprinted onto the cave’s soft earthen floor had been uncovered.

Based on the shape and size of the footprints, it has been speculated that they were made by several Neanderthal children, aged between two and four years old, who had lived in the cave during the Middle Palaeolithic period.

In 2022, the Theopetra Cave was officially opened to the public, though it was closed temporarily a year later, as the remains of the stone wall were discovered that year.

Although the archaeological site was later re-opened, it was closed once again in 2022 and remains so due to safety reasons, i.e. the risk of landslides occurring.

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

A “Fast Food” Shop Is Uncovered In Pompeii, Depicting Some Of The Dishes They Would Eat

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A “Fast Food” Shop Is Uncovered In Pompeii, Depicting Some Of The Dishes They Would Eat

The ancient world was much more lively and colorful than many of us give it credit for. Some discoveries also show just how similar we were to the people who lived thousands of years ago… from our love of snacks to our love of colorful and eye-catching art.

Archaeologists have made a stunning discovery in Pompeii: they uncovered a hot food and drinks shop that’s decorated with gorgeous and detailed frescoes. The shop, known as a thermopolium in Latin, served the equivalent of street food to Romans. And what I wouldn’t give for a bite and a drink.

Researchers discovered the shop in the Regio V site in the Pompeii archaeological park. You’ll remember Pompeii from history class, dear Pandas. It’s the city with a population of around 13,000 people that Mount Vesuvius covered in volcanic ash in the year 79 AD.

Bored Panda reached out to the team at the Pompeii Archaeological Park to learn more about the newest finds, what we know about Pompeian cuisine, and how the thermopolium remained in such great condition over the years. Read on for their educational insights, dear Pandas!

Archaeologists uncovered an ancient snack bar in the Regio V site in Pompeii

“From the preliminary analysis of the remains found during the emptying of the containers incorporated into the counter structure, we know of the presence of a slaughtered fragment of pork bone, a fragment of duck bone, and a herringbone,” the archaeological officer from the Park told Bored Panda.

The explained that we can draw information about the eating habits in the Vesuvian city mainly from the Latin writers Apicius, Columella, and Pliny who lived between the first century BC and the first century AD.

Some of the staples included pork and fish; but so far, a lot about the dishes served in the thermopolium is still guesswork. “We know that in the Pompeian cuisine, as in general on the Roman tables, pork was particularly appreciated which could be cooked fresh or preserved through smoking or salting procedures.

The consumption of fish was also particularly widespread. At the current state of research, we are not yet able to define exactly which dishes were served at the thermopolium: the work in progress on the containers could, however, reveal pleasant surprises and news in the near future.”

The bar is decorated with gorgeous frescoes of animals, some of which were served by the vendor (not the dog, obviously)

The archaeological officer explained to Bored Panda that Pompeii represents “an exceptional case of conservation” for the very same reasons that brought about its doom. “The violent eruptive phenomenon caused, in just 19 hours of activity, the death and burial of the entire city, originating, at the same time, a singular phenomenon of conservation of the buildings and the objects they contain.

In the early stages of the Plinian event [i.e. Vesuvian eruption], the eruptive materials, the pumice, falling on the city invaded and filled every free space; subsequently, the pyroclastic flow of cinerite sealed, like a large plug, the whole of Pompeii.”

All things considered, the frescoes are in wonderful condition

They continued: “Therefore, a condition of total absence of light, air, and humidity has been created under this cap which has significantly contributed to the conservation not only of the wall structures and furnishings, but above all of the surfaces characterized by the presence of decorative elements.

The pictorial films, in fact, are particularly damaged precisely by light, air, and humidity; the lack of these three elements, over the course of about two thousand years, has allowed us to discover the original colors of the paintings that emerged during the excavation of the thermopolium.”

The vendor would put their jars of food into the holes in the bar

However, there’s some sad news. The officer revealed that the excavation investigations in Regio V that brought us the delightful thermopolium environment and the frescoed counter will end in august of 2022. “No other [excavation] campaigns are planned, at least so far. excavation in this Regio V, which from 2022 to  has reserved us many surprises.

However, it would be nice to be able to continue the excavations in the environments that develop around the thermopolium, partly already brought to light, in such a way as to be able to reconstruct this corner of insula 3.” So, we’re not losing hope just yet, but we can’t deny that we can’t wait to see what future excavations will bring to light.

Researchers made other recent discoveries in the Regio V site as well

They also discovered human bones

“This is an extraordinary find. It’s the first time we are excavating an entire thermopolium,” Massimo Ossana, the director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, told the media.

I personally spent a good 5 minutes looking at the frescoes in detail because they’re absolutely gorgeous. Especially the hen one. The details and colors there are stunning. I never knew an uncooked chicken could make me feel so happy.

Frescoes are usually painted on freshly applied plaster using water-based pigments. As the paint dries, it sets together with the plaster and becomes a permanent part of the surroundings.

Archaeologists found traces of food in the thermopolium’s terracotta jars, including beef, pork, fish, and snails. Vendors would lower the jars into the shop’s counter that had circular holes to hold them. Meanwhile, the front of the counter was decorated with colorful frescoes (they really do catch the eye, don’t they?), some of which included animals that you’d find in the snacks.

What’s more, researchers discovered wine flasks, amphorae, jars for making soups and cooking stews, and a patera—a decorated bronze drinking bowl. You could get pretty much everything that you’d want here.

What did you think of the thermopolium, dear Readers? Would you love to wet your taste buds with whatever the ancient Romans were offering to buy at the time? Which of the frescoes did you enjoy looking at the most? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section!

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

MAGICAL NEW 4,500 YEAR OLD FINDS ADD TO ‘OLDEST TOY COLLECTION IN THE WORLD’

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Magical New 4,500 Year Old Finds Add To ‘Oldest Toy Collection In The WORLD’

An ancient doll and a mythical animal were buried with a child from the Okunev culture in the Bronze Age.

The toy animal head is made from antler or horn.

The rare discoveries of the pre-historic toys were made at the Itkol II burial ground in the Republic of Khakassia, southern Siberia. 

The doll had ‘carefully worked out facial features’ and was made of soapstone – a soft rock made mostly of talc, said archeologist Dr Andrey Polyakov, from the Institute of History of Material Culture in St Petersburg. 

The head of the doll is around 5 centimetres tall.

The doll had ‘carefully worked out facial features’ and was made of soapstone.

The toy animal head is made from antler or horn. 

Experts are as yet unsure what animal it depicts but it is perhaps mythical. 

In both cases the bodies of the toys were made from organic material and did not preserve. 

The finds were made in the grave of a ‘common child’ – not an elite burial, said Dr Polyakov.

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A figurine of a pagan god pulled out of a Siberian river by an angler was likely a child’s toy or rattle to ward off evil spirits.

The Okunev culture is seen as having links to Native Americans – and this is not the first time their toys have been found. 

Indeed, the latest finds add to an intriguing collection. 

A figurine of a pagan god pulled out of a Siberian river by an angler was likely a child’s toy or rattle to ward off evil spirits. 

It has almond-shaped eyes, a large mouth with full lips,  and a ferocious facial expression. 

On the back is ‘plaited hair with wave like lines. Below the plait there are lines looking like fish scales.’ 

Fisherman Nikolay Tarasov made ‘the catch of a lifetime’, said museum staff.

Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans, birds, elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant.

Meanwhile a collection of ghoulish figurines discovered with a baby’s remains in a birch-bark cradle two years ago have been hailed as the oldest rattles ever found. 

Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans, birds, elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant.

Each was up eight centimetres long.

This discovery was made on the northwest short of Lake Itkul.