2,000-yr-old Item Found Buried with Woman Looks Like a Smartphone
A tomb recently excavated in Siberia revealed what at first appeared to be an ancient iPhone on the 2,100-yr-old remains of a woman dubbed ‘Natasha’ by researchers. Found alongside her skeleton, to the amazement and excitement of all, was an item that looked suspiciously like an iPhone.
It’s not, of course — it’s a belt buckle — but the object bears a striking and astonishing similarity to a iPhone. It’s black, and shaped rather like a check book (remember those?) and has beautiful, precious stones laid into its surface. And it was no doubt just as important to the woman who wore it as our smartphones are to us .
It was a fashionable ancient belt buckle made of gemstone jet with inlaid decorations of turquoise, carnelian and mother-of-pearl.
The find was part of a larger excavation, dubbed the “Russian Atlantis.” Skeletons and objects like ‘Natasha’s’ belt buckle date back more than 2,000 years, archaeologists say.
The Siberian Times reported recently that the site was made accessible to archaeologists and other researchers when a massive reservoir was drained during the summer, so researchers could get a look at the relics resting there. The belt buckle is just one of many interesting — and ancient — items found at this “Russian Atlantis.”
The buckle’s precious stones include mother of pearl and turquoise, and even part of an ancient Chinese coin has been carved into it. According to Dr. Pavel Leus, one of the archaeologists on the dig, “Natasha’s burial with a Hunnu-era ‘iPhone’ remains one of the most interesting (items) at this site.” He added, “Hers was the only belt decorated with Chinese Wizhu coins, which helped us to date it.”
Other ancient graves rest close to ‘Natasha,’ including one whom the archaeologists have dubbed ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ The items with which she was buried indicate that she was a designer who worked in leather.
A third set of remains belonged to a woman who was a weaver, researchers confirmed; she had a wooden spindle, inside a sewing kit placed with her.
It’s these kinds of objects, rather like ‘Natasha’s’ so called ‘iPhone,’ that give researchers the clues they need to date the remains accurately.
The site is usually under more than 55 feet of water, according to the Siberian Times. Scientists, historians and archaeologists know they must beat the clock because the reservoir will indeed fill with water again, sooner or later.
They are working feverishly to recover and excavate these rare and historic artifacts before that happens.Elsewhere at the ‘Atlantis’ site another excavation is taking place, called Terezin, containing 32 graves.
Dr. Marina Kilunovskaya, of the St. Petersburg Institute of Material Culture, acknowledged how rich the site is in an interview with the Siberian Times.
“We are incredibly lucky to have found these burials of rich Hun nomads that were not disturbed by (ancient) grave robbers.” The burial sites date as far back as the Bronze Age, during the reign of Genghis Khan.
Chinese Boy Obsessed with Science Discovers 66-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Eggs While Playing
A boy in southern China has become a local celebrity after stumbling upon a nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs while playing outdoors this week.
The young discoverer, Zhang Yangzhe, came across the fascinating find while looking for something to crack walnuts open with on the embankment of Dongjiang River in Heyuan, Guangdong province on 2022.
The 10-year-old, who reportedly loves science, first saw a “strange stone” in the soil but later speculated that it could be a dinosaur egg upon closer inspection.
Having seen one before, Zhang noticed that the “stone” had circles on its surface, prompting him to call his mother to take a look at it as well.
Shortly, experts confirmed that the “stone,” indeed, was a dinosaur egg, later excavating 10 more in the surrounding area.
The eggs, which measure about 3.5 inches (8.89 centimeters) in length, date back to the late Cretaceous period, approximately 66 million years ago.
Speaking to Beijing Youth Daily, Zhang’s mother, Li Xiaofang, shared that her son actually loves science, especially topics on dinosaurs.
And, as a matter of fact, the third-grader has already read many books on the subject.
“I have learned this knowledge from books and from the cultural corridor at school,” Zhang said, according to the Heyuan Radio and Television Station.
“I have seen them [dinosaur eggs] in museums. Different dinosaur eggs have different shapes.”
Zhang’s discovery, however, may not come as a surprise for most locals, as Heyuan happens to be China’s “home of dinosaurs.”
Since 1996, over 17,000 dinosaur eggs have reportedly been dug out in the city, which erected its very own dinosaur museum to preserve them.
Ancient Warrior unearthed marching to the Afterlife with dagger drawn
Fighter from almost 3,000 year ago was ready to impale his enemies, expecting battles after death, with a ‘mirror’ on his eye.
Not all the treasures in his grave appeared ready for battle – the warrior also had some fetching white metal spiral earrings, made possibly from tin or silver.
The extraordinary find of this Bronze Age warrior – ready for combat on his journey to the next life between 2,700 and 2,900 years ago – is intriguing archeologists in Omsk city.
Unusual features are the dagger ready for use in one hand, a knife in the other, and a metallic eye patch, or badge, seen as either a mirror illuminating his route to another world, or those who gave him evil glances.
Nearby he had an axe and also some arrow heads.
Not all the treasures in his grave appeared ready for battle – the warrior also had some fetching white metal spiral earrings, made possibly from tin or silver.
The remains were found during the restoration of an historical building under Muzeinaya Street in Omsk.
The well-preserved skeleton with his arms crossed lay in the trench of a heating pipe made in the Soviet era, according to the regional government’s website.
Albert Polovodov, a specialist from the regional culture ministry, said: ‘In the right hand he held a dagger, the blade pointing forwards or upwards, as if he was going to use it as a stabbing weapon.
‘In other hand was a knife, blade down, as he was going to cut, dissect, cut ligaments and so on. Clearly, it is imitation of combat use of these weapon.’
It was as if he ‘was very carefully prepared for the road to another world, assuming that obstacles may exist in his way’,
It indicated that perhaps during his life ‘he had to fight – perhaps in battles for territories’.
Maxim Grachev, director of Omsk Museum of Archeology and Ethnography, said five burials had been found, but the four others were destroyed.
‘The ideal state of the grave was a pleasant surprise for us,’ he said.
‘We found a large number of well-preserved items: weapons, jewellery, and other items made of bronze.’
The warrior hailed from the transition period from the Bronze to the Iron age.
Other burial remains are likely to lie under the buildings on this site, but are not accessible, he said.
Scientists just found velociraptor’s feathered Chinese cousin
A new species of feathered dinosaur has been discovered in China that is the largest ever found with wings on its arms.
The Zhenyuanlong, as it has been dubbed, is covered in feathers and looks just like a bird of today, complete with three layers of quill features.
This new creature is one of the closest cousins of the well-known velociraptor and is thought to have lived around 125 million years ago.
The Liaoning Province of China, where the Zhenyuanlong was found, is famous for the thousands of feathered dinosaurs that have been found there, and this latest discovery adds even more diversity to the area’s fauna.
Just like other specimens, the fossil of the Zhenyuanlong is a perfectly preserved example of dinosaur life from the Early Cretaceous period.
The etymology of the Zhenyuanlong’s name comes from a combination of the word “long”, which means dragon in Chinese, and “Zhenyuan”, the surname of the man who secured the specimen for study.
Like other creatures discovered in the region the dinosaur “has broad wings on its arms comprised of multiple sets of pennaceous feathers and large pennaceous feathers on the tail”, according to a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports.
Paleontologists note that unlike its close relatives, the raptor “appears to lack vaned feathers on the hindlimb”.
But it is not these factors that make this dinosaur especially unique. The researchers explain the Zhenyuanlong is “an aberrant and rare animal compared to the vast majority of other Liaoning dromaeosaurids, due to its large body size and proportionally tiny forearms”.
The dino’s relatives are, for the most part, the size of a domestic house cat. The Zhenyuanlong is bigger and has short forearms with large, complex wings.
Another interesting observation about the Zhenyuanlong is that despite the presence of these wings, they do not necessarily seem to be optimised for flight.
The researchers have their suspicions as to why a short-armed creature like the Zhenyuanlong might have evolved with wings, even if it did not fly.
“It may be that such large wings comprised of multiple layers of feathers were useful for display purposes, and possibly even evolved for this reason and not for flight, and this is one reason why they may have been retained in paravians that did not fly,” the researchers claimed.
Ancient mummy ‘with 1,100 year old Adidas boots’ died after she was struck on the head
Intriguing new details have emerged about a medieval mummy known for her ‘Adidas’ boots – which she wore more than a millennia ago. The body of the woman was discovered a year ago this week in the Altai mountains region of Mongolia.
And her body and possessions remained so remarkably preserved that experts are still uncovering some of the secrets they keep. Now, scientists have discovered that the mummy suffered a significant blow to the head before her death.
The Mongolian woman – aged between 30 and 40 – hit headlines in 2022 thanks to her modern-looking footwear, which some likened to a pair of trainers. In the intervening 12 months, scientists have been working to find out more about the mysterious Mongolian mummy.
Scientists believe the body of a woman (pictured) found in April last year, died up to 1,100 years ago from a blow to the head
And her trademark felt boots – boasting red and black stripes – have been carefully cleaned, with new pictures revealed today by The Siberian Times. Experts from the Centre of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia now believe the woman died up to 1,100 years ago after suffering a serious head wound.
Initial examinations found that ‘it was quite possible that the traces of a blow to the mummy’s facial bones were the cause of her death.
They are still seeking to verify the exact age of the burial, but they estimate it took place in the tenth century – more recently than originally thought. About the boots, Galbadrakh Enkhbat, director of the Centre, said: ‘With these stripes, when the find was made public, they were dubbed similar to Adidas shoes.
New pictures of the leather boots – which feature red and black stripes and metal buckle work (pictured) – have been released
‘In this sense, they are an interesting object of study for ethnographers, especially so when the style is very modern.’
And one local fashion expert. quoted by Siberian Times, said: ‘Overall they look quite kinky but stylish – I wouldn’t mind wearing them now in a cold climate.
‘Those high-quality stitches, the bright red and black stripes, the length – I would buy them now in no time.’
The high altitude and cold climate helped to preserve both the woman’s body and her belongings.
And a coating of Shilajit – a thick, sticky tar-like substance with a colour ranging from white to dark brown – that covered her body aided this process. Some skin and hair can be seen on her remains, which were wrapped in felt. The woman was buried alongside a number of her possessions – including a handbag and four changes of clothes.
Experts from the Centre of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia (pictured) have worked for the past 12 months to restore the times they found buried
This included a handbag, four changes of clothes, the ‘Adidas’ boots, and numerous practical and everyday objects (pictured)
The items of clothing found, like this jacket (pictured), were decorated with fine embroidery patterns
A comb and a mirror from her beauty kit were also found, along with a knife. Her horse and a saddle with metal stirrups in such good condition that it could be used today were buried as well. But despite her seemingly lavish possessions archaeologists believe she was an ‘ordinary woman of her time, rather than an aristocrat or royal.
The Mongolian woman (pictured) is believed to have been aged between 30 and 40 when she died. Some skin and hair can be seen on her remains, which were wrapped in felt.
Despite her, seemingly lavish possessions (pictured) archaeologists believe she was an ‘ordinary’ woman of her time, rather than an aristocrat or royal
Experts believe she may have been a seamstress, due to a variety of sewing equipment that was found inside her bag (pictured), as well as the embroidery on her clothing
‘Judging by what was found inside the burial, we guess that she was from ordinary social strata,’ added Mr Enkhbat.
‘Various sewing utensils were found with her.
The preserved remains of a horse (pictured) were uncovered at the burial site
A saddle with metal stirrups (pictured) in such good condition that it could be used today was found alongside it
‘This is only our guess, but we think she could have been a seamstress.’
‘Inside (her bag) was the sewing kit and since the embroidery was on both the bag and the shoes, we can be certain that the embroidery was done by locals.’
The grave was unearthed at an altitude of 9,200ft (2,803 metres) and the woman is believed to be of Turkik origin. It appears to be the first complete Turkic burial in Central Asia. At the time of the discovery, commenters on Twitter and Facebook made a number of tongue-in-cheek claims that a woman must be a time traveller.
One Twitter user jokingly quipped: ‘Must be a time traveller. I knew we would dig one up sooner or later, another added: ‘Huh? Time-travelling Mummy? Corpse interfered with?.’
Meanwhile, Facebook users said: ‘Loooooool he’s wearing a pair of gazelles’, and ‘Well I must admit, I’ve got a few pair but I ain’t had them that long.’
SEE ALSO: ANCIENT WARES WITH CLOTTED CREAM CLARIFIED BUTTER FOUND IN MONGOLIA
A host of possessions were found in the grave, offering a unique insight into life in medieval Mongolia. These included a saddle, bridle, clay vase, wooden bowl, trough, iron kettle, the remains of an entire horse, and ancient clothing.
The discovery also appears to be the first complete Turkic burial in Central Asia and the remains were found at an altitude of 9,200 feet. An elaborately embroidered bag is pictured
There were also pillows, a sheep’s head and a felt travel bag in which were placed the whole back of a sheep, goat bones and a small leather bag designed to carry a cup. Archaeologists from the city museum in Khovd were alerted to the burial site by local herdsmen.
The Altai Mountains – where the burial was discovered – unite Siberia, in Russia, and Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan.
Ancient Siberian grave holds ‘warrior woman’ and huge weapons stash
Archaeologists in Siberia have unearthed a 2,500-year-old grave holding the remains of four people from the ancient Tagar culture — including two warriors, a male and female — and a stash of their metal weaponry.
The experts from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have yet to determine a clear cause of death. They’re currently theorizing that illness may have sealed the fate of these Scythian warriors, while the uncovered artifacts are just as intriguing.
From bronze daggers, knives, and several axes to bronze mirrors and a comb made from an animal horn — the excavation has proven invaluable.
As is often the case with discoveries such as this, the dig site in southern Khakassia, Siberia was found out of sheer luck. Preparatory construction work on a new railroad exposed the grave which now promises to shed new light on a civilization long gone.
The older woman was buried at the couple’s feet, with chunks of the infant’s skull scattered across the grave.
The Tagar culture is very much historical, and not to be confused with the Targaryens from Game of Thrones. Part of the Scythian civilization — which was comprised of nomadic warriors inhabiting the southern region of modern-day Siberia — the Tagars often buried their dead with personal items.
However, burials were typically done using miniature versions of real-life objects. The Tagar culture was confident things could be taken to the afterlife, and thus commonly buried its dead with smaller versions of real possessions they thought they would need. The items found in this grave set it apart.
The Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography team found that both the weapons and personal items were full-sized. For Yuri Vitalievich Teterin who spearheaded the excavation, the fact that they found anything at all has been the most shocking.
Though weapons within a Tagarian woman’s grave are common, they’re typically long-range weapons — unlike the daggers and axes found here.
It’s generally believed by experts like Teterin that grave robbers have looted most known Tagarian graves.
The Tagar culture lasted from around 800 B.C. to 300 B.C., with populations spread across the Minusinsk Basin — a landscape combining steppe, forest-steppe, and foothills.
Analysis of the remains of the male and female warrior couple showed that they likely died in their 30s or 40s. Placed on their backs, each person had large ceramic vessels next to them.
While the man had two bronze daggers and two axes by his side, the woman had one of each.
Last year’s survey work showed that nine out of 10 newfound archaeological sites are directly in the railroad’s development zones.
Once again, a slight variation on typical Tagar burials met the experts. Tagarian women being buried with weapons has been a common encounter, but not of this sort.
In the past, they were typically long-range weapons like arrowheads — whereas these are meant for combat in close quarters.
“The remains of a newborn baby, no more than a month old, were also found in the burial, but fragments of its skeleton were scattered throughout the grave, possibly as a result of the activity of rodents,” said Olga Batanina, an anthropologist at the Paleodata laboratory of natural scientific methods in archaeology.
As for the older woman, she was buried on her right side with knees bent by the couple’s feet. While forthcoming DNA analysis should confirm whether or not these people were related, researchers estimate that the elder individual was around 60 years old.
The site was found in southern Khakassia, Siberia, at the foot of Mount Aar-tag.
The fortuitous discovery is certainly cause for celebration at the Russian Academy of Sciences, though it isn’t the only one.
Survey work in preparation of the railroad project last year revealed that there are at least 10 archaeological sites nearby, with nine directly in the way of development zones.
Archaeologists Find Evidence for 40,000-year-old Modern Culture in China
No sapiens bones were found at Xiamabei, but archaeologists found a pigment-processing industry and miniaturized stone tools far in advance of their broad adoption in prehistoric China
Nihewan Basin, site of early modern human activity in China
Archaic humans began reaching Eurasia at least 2 million years ago, but the timeline of anatomically modern types spreading out of Africa is not known. In any case, by 40,000 years ago modern humans had reached northern Asia, replacing the archaic populations.
Some modern remains from that time have been found, albeit few, but what their cultural adaptations were like was a mystery. Now an international team of archaeologists reports in Nature on indirect but compelling evidence for Homo sapiens’ presence at Xiamabei, a site in northern China by the Huliu River that dates to at least 40,000 years ago.Moreover, it seems they developed a unique stone technology culture that would only emerge broadly more than 10,000 years later.
The evidence found at Xiamabei includes the earliest discovery of ocher processing in the region – as distinct from ocher use, which has been found even among Neanderthals.
Another aspect is finely wrought stone bladelets of a type not found in China before, some of which bear traces of hafting, write Fa-Gang Wang of China’s Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Prof. Michael Petraglia of Germany’s Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and colleagues.
Supporting evidence is the separate discovery of modern human remains dating to about 40,000 years ago at nearby Tianyuan Cave and Zhoukoudian Cave. Also a modern skullcap was unearthed at Salkhit and dated to about 34,000 years ago. These discoveries support the theory that the Xiamabei manufacturers were sapiens.
Theoretically, since no bones have been found in the context of Xiamabei, the finds could be associated with other hominin types such as late Denisovans, or even their cousins the Neanderthals, the team admits.
Field work in the Nihewan Basin, northern China
Excavation of 40,000 year old surface at Xiamabei, showing distribution of stone tools and bone fragments
Modern Humans Began to Evolve, and Quickly Split Into Three Groups Early Homo Sapiens Found in Ethiopia Is Older Than Had Been Thought One Tooth Proves Sapiens Didn’t Just Stroll in and Replace the Neanderthals
But given the unique qualities of the finds in the context of China, and the fact that modern human remains from the same period were discovered in the area, the most parsimonious explanation is that the Xiamabei occupants were Homo sapiens, the authors conclude.
“As soon as I saw the archaeological collections, I knew immediately that this was a significant site,” says Petraglia on how he got involved. He didn’t participate in the excavation, which was in 2013, but is part of the international team analyzing the artifacts.
Spoor of sapiens
Homo sapiens, it seems, had been roaming beyond Africa shortly after our evolution began perhaps 300,000 years ago. Recent discoveries in Israel and Greece indicate that by 200,000 years, early modern humans were out of Africa and about.
Genetic analyses show these early modern humans evidently met and made merry with other human species beyond Africa. But the early modern exiters went extinct, and the Neanderthals and Denisovans and heaven knows who else continued to rule the Eurasian roost – until some point in time.
The exit that succeeded, in the sense that sapiens broke through to Eurasia and survived, was only about 50,000 years ago, give or take quite a few thousand years. Some surmise that sapiens had evolved to another level, which gave it crucial advantages compared with its equally big-brained cousin species.
In the current paper, the team points to three lines of evidence indicating innovations that may have helped sapiens expand, and suggests these are “spoor” of modern sapiens in Xiamabei 40,000 years ago: the micro-blades and their hafting (at least in some cases), the ocher processing, and a finely fashioned tool made of bone.
Pioneers of miniaturization
The stone tool assemblage at this site is generally small, the professor explains. The team found 382 micro-blades, made of local chert and quartz. Almost all measured less than 4 centimeters, or 1 and a half inches; over half were smaller than 2 centimeters: In Petraglia’s view, the inhabitants were intending to create exactly that – small, blade-like pieces.
Blade-like stone tools from Xiamabei
Seven of the blades show signs of hafting, probably into wood handles or possibly bone. It is even possible that they were affixing these wee blades into a handle to create a sort of prehistoric serrated implement. “These people really seem to be tooling up their industries and doing some very sophisticated things in order to process meat or plants or kill game much more efficiently,” he says.
And they were way ahead of their time. The types of stone tools in China before Xiamabei and even contemporary with it are core and flake, meaning simple, amorphous industries, Petraglia says. Microlithic technology – tiny stone blades – would only become the predominant technology in eastern Asia 29,000 years ago.
“There is no stone tool assemblage like it at the time, approximately 40,000 years ago,” Petraglia says. “Its appearance, therefore, is innovative. We have nothing like this technology beforehand, and there is no precedent. … The hafting evidence is also novel [for that time and place], and no earlier assemblage has shown the same.”
Possibly, the manufacture of microlithics at Xiamabei was a precedent to the broader phenomenon over 10,000 years later. “That said, we do not have a connection between Xiamabei to later microlithic sites. So, it seems that we have a wave of advance of people using innovative technologies at 40,000 years ago, only to disappear and be replaced by another population using microlithics at 29,000 years ago,” he suggests.
What were these fine tools, so ahead of their time, used for? The use-wear analysis of non-hafted pieces runs the gamut from cutting, boring and even use as wedges, the authors contend. Use-wear analysis of the hafted pieces indicates several purposes, including to scrape hides, to scrape and bore into hard matter, probably wood, to whittle wood, and likely use in the course of processing and/or consuming animals.
Which animals? Pollen analysis indicates that Xiamabei was a piney steppe at the time. That environmental characterization fits with the evidence for the occupants’ meals. They ate copiously of the deer – as did all human species, it seems; venison is widely appreciated to this day. The Xiamabei people also doted on roast horse and zokor, that being a relatively large subterranean rodent somewhat like our friend the mole rat. Zokors were probably easy to hunt.
A zokor having lunch
The degree to which animal bones were burned suggests the occupants may have been burning bones for fuel. Apropos of the bones, the archaeologists also found a bone tool – just one, but believe it shows evidence of advanced technique.
Also, ocher residue was found on 10 of the tools. In two cases, the ocher was on the tool’s active edge, suggesting ocher in the glue, or its use in hide processing. But the intriguing aspect isn’t the use made of ocher – it’s the processing.
The earliest paint factory in China
Ocher use has been a hallmark of the Homo line predating our species, it seems. Especially red ocher. The friable colorful stone may have been used by Homo erectus in Kenya 285,000 years ago. There is somewhat more confident identification of its use at an early Neanderthal site in the Netherlands a quarter-million to 200,000 years ago.
But a prehistoric ocher processing facility is another level. The archaeologists believe that at Xiamabei, the occupants were hauling various kinds of ocher to the cave, and grinding and pounding them to produce paints.
What they did with those paints is anybody’s guess – decorate their environs, their bodies, their clothes, their utensils and weapons – but the amount they produced was enough to impregnate the floor where they worked, the team writes.
A, B: Artifacts on red-stained floor C: Ocher modified by grinding D: Ocher fragment from crushing E: Stained slab
Piece of ochre from Xiamabei.
The archaeologists identified one piece of iron-rich ocher that had been repeatedly abraded to produce a bright dark red ocher powder; one small piece of a different kind of ocher seemingly generated by the crushing of a big piece; and an elongated limestone slab stained with ocher. “A workshop for the production and use of mineral pigments at Xiamabei constitutes a second new cultural element in comparison with earlier and contemporary sites,” the team explains.
“The preservation of this floor [where the ocher facility was found] is literally unprecedented – it’s Pompeii-like, if you will. So we can say a lot about hominin activities. We actually saw an activity area of ocher processing, which is unprecedented for China,” Petraglia explains.
While the habitation floor was infused with different shades of ocher, red predominated. That is in keeping with precedent from other areas, times and sites: hunter-gatherers the world wide use red ocher to daub their selves, garb and adornments, Petraglia points out.
So the bottom line is that others used ocher and small tools, but the pigment-processing industry and the small tools of this sort were firsts of their kind in the region, he underlines.
We repeat that the identification of the species-at-large at Xiamabei is inferred. Tianyuan Cave is just 150 kilometers, or 93 miles, away and housed Homo sapiens specimens showing genetic evidence of cross-breeding with Neanderthals.
Did the people who lived at Xiamabei 40,000 years ago survive? Which means, do they have descendants – or is this another lineage that went extinct? We don’t know, but separate work showed that the lineage of their neighbors at Tianyuan 40,000 years ago may have survived in some Asian and Native American populations – chiefly in South America.
How much light does this shed on modern human development? The archaeological record argues against the notion of linear, continuous cultural innovation, or of a fully formed set of adaptations that enabled early humans to expand out of Africa and conquer the world. It fits with a pattern of mosaic innovations.
Spectacular Ancient tomb treasures from the Republic of Georgia kingdom of Colchis
This exhibition is the first showing in Britain of spectacular tomb treasures from the Republic of Georgia, known in ancient classical times as Colchis and familiar to every schoolchild as the land to which the Greek hero Jason led the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece.
Recent archaeological excavations have thrown much new light on the rich culture of this region, including their lavish gold-adorned burials and ritual practices in which the local wine played a central role. These finds offer a unique insight into a fascinating and little-known ancient culture on the periphery of the classical world.
The magnificent gold and silver jewellery, sculpture and funerary items displayed here derive from tombs and sanctuaries of the 5th to the 1st centuries BC at the site of Vani.
EPSON DSC picture
Most of the more than 140 treasures have never been seen outside Georgia before this exhibition tour. They offer both a spectacular array of exquisite works of art and a valuable window onto the interaction of indigenous Georgian and classical Greek culture in antiquity.
Land of the Golden Fleece
The region known to the ancient Greeks as Colchis now lies within modern Georgia. This placed it to the east of the ancient Greek world, north of the Assyrian and Persian empires and south of the nomadic Scythians.
This region is protected on the north by the Caucasus Mountains and formed a natural trade route, which ran from the eastern edge of the Black Sea to Central Asia, as far as India.
It was rich in natural resources, especially metals, and was known to the Greek world as an area ‘rich in gold’. According to legend, this was the place to which Jason set out with his Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece.
Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the 8th century BC the Greeks had begun establishing colonies along the shores of the Black Sea, and several trading posts (known as emporia) thrived on Colchian shores.
While the Achaemenid Persians do not appear to have been actively present in Colchis, the Greek historian Herodotos (Histories III, §97, 3-4) records that the Colchians paid a tribute of one hundred men and one hundred women to the Persian empire every four years, presumably as slaves.
By the 6th century BC, the various regions of Colchis united formally into one kingdom made up of a network of culturally and politically connected cities.
Vani
Vani is one of the best-known sites in Colchis. It is located on a hilltop in the fertile region between the Sulori and Rioni Rivers.
The Vani archaeological site is a multi-layer archaeological site in western Georgia, located on a hill at the town of Vani in the Imereti region. It is the best-studied site in the hinterland of an ancient region, known to the Classical world as Colchis, and has been inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.
The ancient name of the city is still unknown, but archaeological evidence shows that there was already a small settlement here by the 8th century BC. From the 6th to the end of the 4th century BC, Vani’s size and wealth increased dramatically.
During this period, the city became the political and administrative center of the area, managing the cultivation of grapevines and the harvesting of wheat in the surrounding hills and plains. By about 250 BC, it appears that Vani had been transformed into a sanctuary city with its inhabitants moving outside the city walls.
The unstable political environment of the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st centuries BC) affected Colchis a great deal. Fortifications at Vani, including defensive walls and towers, indicate an increased threat of attack.
The city came to a violent end around 50 BC when it was destroyed by two successive invasions within a few years, the first probably by the Bosporans from the northwest under their leader Pharnaces, and the second by Mithridates VII from Pontus (southwest of Colchis).
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 Georgian National Museum, as 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 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 from 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 a 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.
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.
The skeletal remains of the 2,500-year-old Scythian warrior was found buried with a bronze battle axe, arrows, an iron knife and fragments of a bow .
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 of 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.”
The so-called ‘Siberian Valley of the Kings’, named after its Egyptian counterpart, is located in the Asian part of the Russian Federation
Of the two tombs they found only one was robbed, while the other was untouched.
He added: “Inside was a young warrior’s skeleton with full equipment. There 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, fragments of an bow – presenting an array of items a warrior roaming the Siberian wilderness would need.
Of the two tombs they found only one was robbed, while the other was untouchedOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
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 new treasures were discovered at the archaeological site of Chinge-Tey
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.
