1,000-year-old grave of Siberian warlord horseman who lost arm in battle revealed
Archaeologists in Siberia have unearthed an elaborate grave belonging to an 11 th century warlord horseman who lost his left arm in his final battle, according to a news release in the Siberian Times .
The ancient warrior towered nearly a foot over his peers and was buried with a bear fang on his face, a symbol of his great strength.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of the man they named Bogatyr (‘Great Warrior’) in an ancient burial mound near Omsk in south western Siberia. An analysis of the bones suggests that the warrior had been trained in combat since childhood.
He belonged to the tribes of the Ust-Ishim culture, which were the ancestors of modern indigenous Khanty and Mansi peoples. These people were known to have been small in stature at the time, so the fact that Bogatyr measured 180cm would have made him appear like a giant.
The features of Bogatyr’s grave and the fact that his lower arm and hand were buried with the rest of the corpse, but severed from it, suggests that this Siberian warrior died in battle.
“Our warrior was killed in the battle. His left arm was severed in battle and placed near the body, and his shoulder was broken. But he was buried according to ritual which means he was a respected person.
All the elements of the ritual give us an opportunity to discover historical and political conditions of the epoch the warrior lived in,” said archaeologist Mikhail Korusenko, who led the expedition.
The grave of the Siberian warlord. His left lower arm can be seen severed from the rest of his body. Credit: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences.
Bogatyr was buried with mirror and a bronze plate, which lay on his chest, 25 war arrows made from metal and bone that are still sharp, bronze tools, a bronze cauldron with the remains of food to nourish him in the afterlife, a horse’s bridle, suggesting he was a horseman, and remains of leather and fur, which may have formed part of his clothing or were the quiver decorations on his arrow.
The researchers believe that the mirror, which measured 10cm in diameter, may have been worn as an amulet and was placed on his chest as a tool to communicate with the gods.
The bronze mirror measuring 10cm in diameter, which was found on the warrior’s chest. Picture: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
Bogatyr was buried with a death mask, most of which had disintegrated. However, researchers were able to determine that the mask was originally comprised of fabric and included pockets over the eyes and mouth which contained metal fish figurines.
The fish were deliberately snapped in half, which may have been a ritualistic act that held some religious importance. Next to his nose was the massive fang of a bear, a sign of his strength and power, according to Mr. Korusenko.
The death mask, with number 4 marking the bear’s fang, and numbers 2 and 4 showing metal fish figurines with broken-off heads that were covering the warrior’s eye sockets. Picture: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
Mr. Korusenko said that the grave of the warrior is “a truly unique find which would allow us to fill pages about not only the cultural, but the military history of this part of the region, as we know very little about this particular period of time.”
Smallest Dinosaur Ever Discovered Found Perfectly Trapped in Amber
Jurassic Park eat your heart out. The smallest dinosaur on record has been found stuck in amber. When we think about dinosaurs, the creatures we picture are usually quite large, such as the Apatosaurus or the T-Rex. We know others are smaller, such as Velociraptors, but even those were around 180 pounds.
Some dinosaurs were a lot smaller than that, a fact which recently demonstrated when scientists recently reported finding the smallest dinosaur ever discovered, trapped in a chunk of amber, according to the BBC. The scientists published their findings in the journal Nature.
The fossil was found in northern Myanmar, in a piece of amber that is approximately 99 million years old. It is the skull of a dinosaur that resembled a bird, and its size suggests that the entire creature would only have been about as large as a bee hummingbird, the smallest bird currently living.
Even other small dinosaurs, such as the Microraptor, were still a couple of feet in size and could weigh between two and three pounds. This new find, however could have only weighed a couple of grams.
Its diminutive size may help researchers gain some insight about how small birds evolved from larger dinosaurs. According to Jingmai O’Connor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there are problems that are very particular to creatures of that size, including staying warm and how to fit all the necessary sensory organs into such a small head.
The tiny dinosaur caught in amber.
Most birds have a ring of bones that supports the eye. Usually the bones that make up that ring are square and pretty straightforward. This new find, which has been named Ocludentavis khaungeae, has a similar ring, but instead of being square, the bones are spoon-shaped.
The only animal currently known to share that type of characteristic are certain types of lizards. The bones of the eye would have been cone shaped, which means the little creatures would have had very good eyesight.
Artwork of the tiny bird dinosaur by HAN ZHIXIN
Owls also have the same sort of cone shape, but their eyes face forward, whereas the eyes of O khaungeae seem to have faced sideways. The tip of the cones would have been narrow, as well, restricting the amount of light that could enter the eye, which means that this was a creature that was active during the day. Finally, it appears that its eyes would have bulged outward in a way that no modern living creatures does.
Professor O’Connor called it the weirdest fossil she’s ever seen, but feels lucky to be able to study it. Unfortunately, since the fossil is only the skull, there is only limited information that can be gathered from it about who its body looked and functioned. Some features of the fossil resembled those of dinosaurs, others resemble those of birds.
At present, researchers don’t know if the collection of features they’re observing is an adaptation because of the creature’s small size, or it they are a product of its lifestyle.
The fossil’s jaw had a lot of teeth – more than 100 –, which strongly suggests that it was a predator, probably feeding on insects. Its eyes were placed on the sides of its head, however, meaning that it doesn’t have the sort of binocular vision that scientists associate with predator species of all types.
The specimen even still contains some of its soft tissue, preserved in the amber that surrounds it, which is common for specimens that are found in amber, since the resin surrounds and preserves the creatures at the moment of their death, protecting them from decay. In the case of such small animals, their bodies are so fragile that there aren’t many examples in the fossil record.
Dozens of Mummified Cats Found in 6,000-yr-old Egyptian Tombs
An Egyptian archaeological mission recently found dozens of cat mummies in seven Pharaonic Age tombs, some dating back over 6,000 years, at a site on the edge of the pyramid complex in Saqqara, south of Cairo.
It is the latest discovery in excavation work that began in April, according to antiquities minister Khaled el-Enany. The team also discovered a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles.
Three of the tombs were particularly used for cats. The felines held a special place in ancient Egypt and were mummified as religious offerings.
An Egyptian archaeologist cleans mummified cats during the demonstration of a new discovery made by an Egyptian archaeological mission through excavation work at an area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in Saqqara Necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on November 10, 2018.
Cats were valued for killing poisonous snakes and were believed to have protected the pharaohs since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt.
Skeletal remains of cats have been found among funerary goods dating back to the 12th Dynasty.
An Egyptian archaeologist cleans mummified cats during the demonstration of a new discovery made by an Egyptian archaeological mission through excavation work at an area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in Saqqara Necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on November 10, 2018.
One of the sarcophagi belonged to Khufu-Imhat, who was the overseer of the buildings in the royal palace.
Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said they had also uncovered the first mummies of scarabs to be found in this area.
Mummified cat
“The [mummified] scarab is something really unique. It is something really a bit rare,” Waziri said, according to The Guardian.
“A couple of days ago, when we discovered those coffins, they were sealed coffins with drawings of scarabs. I never heard about them before.”
The Gayer-Anderson cat, believed to be a representation of Bastet.
The relationship between Egyptians and cats is complex.
In a NPR interview, curator Antonietta Catanzariti said ancient Egyptians didn’t worship cats. “What they did is to observe their behavior,” she says.
People noticed that cats — especially big ones — were expert hunters. Also, cats were nurturing. “They’re protective against their cubs for lions, or kittens for cats, as well as they are aggressive when it’s necessary, kill if necessary,” said Catanzariti.
Mummified cat, Egypt, 2000-100 BCE.
The ancient Egyptians saw those characteristics as signs of divinity. They created gods and goddesses in their image. The Sackler show (which originated at the Brooklyn Museum) has 80 examples. Now, Egyptians had lots of animal gods and goddesses. “Crocodiles or snakes, dogs, bulls, mention it, you will have it,” laughs Catanzariti.
Egyptian mummies of animals in the British Museum.
But cats were the most important. The powerful cat goddess Sakhmet has the face of a lion and the body of a woman. She protected pharaohs in war. Once, according to the myth, her father the sun god sent her down to punish mortals for rebelling against him.
But her punishment was too harsh, so her father gave her a special drink. “She drinks and she transforms into a cat, which is more docile and peaceful, and humankind is saved,” Catanzariti says.
The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat, by John Reinhard Weguelin, 1886.
As for the cat goddess Bastet, she protected the home from evil spirits and disease, especially diseases associated with women and children.
Along with other Egyptian deities, Bastet played a role in the afterlife as a guide and helper to the dead although this was not one of her main duties.
3,500-Year-Old Mummified Bear Found in Siberian Permafrost
As the permafrost in Siberia melts, it has revealed a mummified brown bear that lived more than three millennia ago. Scientists are now planning to conduct an autopsy on the bear, with the hope of making a breakthrough in the study of ancient animals.
The bear’s remains were found by deer herders on Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island, about 5 miles from the Bolshoi Eterikan River. Maksim Cherpasov, a senior researcher at the Mammoth Laboratory Museum of Russia’s North-Eastern University, explained that the carcass was already fossilized because it was in the permafrost.
The body parts were extracted from the soil, prepared for transportation, and taken to a nearby settlement.
Studying the Carcass: Dissection and Analysis
“This find is absolutely unique: the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear,” said Maxim Cheprasov, laboratory chief at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia.
The scientists now have the opportunity to study its internal organs and examine the brain. The bear is 3,460 years old, which means it lived more than 1,400 years ago, before the fall of the Egyptian and Roman empires.
The researchers determined that the bear was female, measuring more than 5 feet tall and weighing more than 170 pounds, reports Reuters.
The researchers are keen to learn more about the bear’s exact age, how it died, and how it compares to modern animals. They also want to examine the bear’s histology and cells. So far, it appears that the bear died between the ages of 2 and 3 from a spinal injury.
South Korean cell researcher Hwang Woo-Suk is optimistic about the research prospects that the autopsy provides. “We have a very extraordinarily important chance to have an autopsy and to get a sample from the ancient brown bear,” he said.
“I am sure we can start culturing from that samples and hopefully, when we get the live cell, it will be one of historic achievements, breakthrough for ancient animal study.”
A Siberian brown bear.
The Changing Climate and Siberia’s Melting Permafrost
As the permafrost in Siberia melts, it has revealed well-preserved remains of animals that lived during the last ice age, such as woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, cave lions, and cave bears.
These animals lived in the region tens of thousands of years ago when the climate was much colder than it is today, reports Radio Free Europe .
The melting permafrost has also revealed other animals that lived in more recent times, including ancient horses, bison, and wolves. In 2015, a well-preserved body of a cave lion cub was discovered in the Siberian permafrost.
The cub was estimated to have been frozen for around 28,000 years, making it one of the best-preserved Ice Age animals ever found.
An Ice Age bear cub found on the Yakutia mainland (North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk)
In 2018, a well-preserved head of a steppe wolf, which is believed to be around 30,000 years old, was found in the Siberian permafrost. The head was remarkably preserved, with fur, teeth, and even the brain intact.
In 2019, a large, intact mammoth foot was discovered in the Siberian permafrost. The foot is believed to be around 50,000 years old and is one of the best-preserved mammoth fossils ever found.
In addition to these large animals, the permafrost has also preserved the remains of smaller creatures such as rodents, birds, and insects.
The discovery of these animals provides important insights into the ecosystems of the past and how they have changed over time. They also offer opportunities for scientists to study the genetic material and other biological information that has been preserved in the permafrost, which could help in understanding the evolution of these species and their interactions with their environment.
Mermaid Mummy at Japan Temple Exposed as Gruesome Man-Made Hoax
Medical tests performed on a mummified mermaid corpse on display at a temple in Japan have been exposed as a hoax, although it isn’t made of quite what was suspected.
The so-called “mermaid mummy” is actually a tiny mannequin, constructed out of a mixture of man-made organic and manufactured materials. Despite painstaking efforts to create a mermaid that resembled Japanese folklore, advanced technology ultimately proved too difficult to deceive.
Scientists from Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts used radioactive dating techniques, X-rays and CT scanning technology to study the mermaid mummy. The results from these tests enabled them to finally uncover the truth about the supposed mermaid which has been on display at the Enjuin temple in the city of Asakuchi, Japan’s Okayama Prefecture, for several decades.
“Based on our analysis and the history of mummy creation in Japan, we can only conclude that the mermaid mummy was probably man-made,” Takafumi Kato, a paleontologist working on the project, said in an interview with Vice World News . Scans of the mermaid mummy have confirmed his hypothesis.
Dating and scanning technology has revealed the mermaid mummy to be a hoax.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Mermaid Mummy
X-rays revealed no interior structure or bones, while the fake mermaid mannequin did incorporate a mix of fish parts, cotton and cloth. While the jaw and teeth of its monkey-like head were harvested from some type of fish, the lower body had incorporated some fish bones as well. Its arms, shoulders, neck and cheeks were covered with fish scales, yet its upper body features resembled those of a small monkey.
The 12-inch (30 cm) mermaid mummy was said to have been captured in Pacific waters in the 18th century. Nevertheless, radioactive dating tests revealed that it had actually been constructed in the 19th century.
The scientists have concluded that the fake mermaid mummy was actually created by artisans working during Japan’s Edo period , which lasted from 1603 to 1868.
Approximately a dozen alleged mermaid mummies have been found at different times and in different locations in Japan, and all are believed to date to this era. This period was plagued by epidemics of smallpox and measles, among other diseases. The mermaid mummies were possibly crafted as sacred idols and talismans to bring an end to terrible outbreaks.
This particular mermaid mummy was carefully preserved and protected at the Enjuin temple, where it was worshipped by priests and by many locals. It remains to be seen how things change now that the truth of its origins have finally been brought to light.
Radioactive dating techniques, X-rays and CT scanning technology have revealed that the “mermaid mummy” is actually a man-made mannequin.
The Not-So-True Story of the Enjuin Temple Mermaid
The study of the Enjuin temple mermaid was undertaken at the urging of Japanese cultural historian Hiroshi Kinoshita, who is affiliated with the Okayama Folklore Society. Before the study of the object was launched, Kinoshita admitted to the press that he didn’t believe in mermaids and had no illusions about what his study would discover.
Nevertheless, he still felt the study was important, as a way to learn more about how these mummified “mermaids” were actually manufactured.
According to Japanese legend , the mermaid had been captured in a fishing net cast in the sea off the coast of Kochi Prefecture on Japan’s Shikoku Island. The creature’s lower half was all fish, but it had a human-like head covered with thin, wispy hair and pointy teeth, along with the arms and hands of a tiny person.
Its face was permanently locked into what looks like an expression of terror, with its teeth bared and its long-fingered hands held up to the side of its face, framing its head as if to emphasize its fear.
This bizarre escapee from the land of ancient mythology had supposedly been caught sometime between the years 1736 and 1741. This was revealed in a letter dated to 1903, held along with the mummified remains at the Enjuin temple, allegedly from one of the people who’d owned the mermaid in the 19th century. Details about the mermaid’s demise and the process that led to its mummification were sketchy, but at the temple the creature was treated with reverence and respect.
“Japanese mermaids have a legend of immortality,” Hiroshi Kinoshita told The Sun . “It is said that if you eat the flesh of a mermaid, you will never die.” It is not known if anyone actually took a bite out of this particular mermaid while it was on display in Asakuchi. What is known is that temple priests prayed to the mermaid during the Covid-19 pandemic, asking for deliverance and protection.
A mermaid mummy similar to the Enjuin temple mermaid, with an upper monkey body and a fishtail, currently housed at the British Museum.
When Mermaids are Sacred, Who Needs the Truth?
Mermaids, which are known as Ningyo in Japanese, have long been a fixture in Japan’s mythological traditions. They were said to possess golden scales and fish teeth, but with a monkey’s mouth and a charming, flute-like voice.
While mermaids have long been worshipped in Japan, it is believed that they should remain in the sea and not be brought to land. It has been said that catching a mermaid will bring stormy weather, rough seas and other types of disasters. Should a dead mermaid wash ashore, that is supposed to be a harbinger of war.
Mermaids, known as ningyo in Japanese, are a fixture within Japanese mythology and are the reason for the popularity of mermaid mummies, such as the Enjuin temple mermaid.
One famous story from Japanese folklore, the tale of Yao-Bikuni, tells of how the daughter of a fisherman from Wakasha Province caught a mermaid and then fed the creature’s flesh to his daughter. This poor woman stopped aging, became a nun and spent the next 800 years of her life wandering the Earth before the spell was broken and she finally died.
In addition to the apparently man-made creation held at the Enjuin temple, there is another well-known mermaid mummy currently on display at a religious site in Japan. This mermaid is said to be 1,400 years old, and can be found encased behind a glass case at the Tenshou-Kyousha shrine in a cloud-covered forest near Japan’s Mount Fuji .
Considering the underwhelming findings of recent research, it’s doubtful that the shrine’s administrators will permit the same testing methods used on the Asakuchi mermaid mummy . Instead, they will likely strive to maintain the mystery surrounding their mermaid’s history for as long as possible.
46,000-yr-old “Icebird” Found Totally Intact with Feathers and Beak
A prehistoric “Icebird” has been found in Siberian permafrost in remarkably good shape. The freezing temperatures in parts of Russia, particularly Siberia, may be tough for most folks to cope with, especially during the long winter months.
But for scientists, the region can provide tremendous learning opportunities, because the permafrost often captures, and preserves, animal and bird specimens that the cold keeps largely unchanged from their original forms for.
That enables scientists and researchers to discover a great deal about these species, as they arrive in labs almost identical to the way they looked thousands of years ago.
In early December 2019, for example, the body of an 18,000 year-old puppy, either a dog or a wolf, was found in the permafrost near Yakutsk with it hair, teeth, tail and even its eyelashes intact.
It is undergoing tests now, and scientists predict it would reveal a great deal about how wolves evolved into the domestic dogs we know today.
The 18,000-yr-old permafrost puppy.
In 2010, a baby woolly mammoth was found on Russia’s Arctic coast that was approximately 39,000 years old. In spite of its age, it was so well preserved that researchers even found hair on large portions of its carcass.
Russia has again brought such a specimen to the doorstep of scientists, this time a 46,000 year old bird, so well preserved that the hunters who found it, deep in a mine shaft, thought it had been alive only 24 hours earlier.
It is complete with feathers and even a beak so researchers know it is an ancestor of the modern day horned lark. (They have dubbed it “icebird.”)
The 46,000-yr-old “Icebird” found in Siberia’s permafrost.
The team studying the bird told the media that it is the first example of a bird from the last Ice Age found in the area.
It was fossil hunters, who go out specifically to look for treasures like this, who found the bird down the mine tunnel, about seven metres below ground. They were scouting the area near the town of Belaya Gora, in northeastern Siberia.
“Icebird” was sent to the Swedish Museum of Natural History, where it is being studied by paleontologist Love Dalen. He told the dailymail.com, “This finding implies that the climactic changes that took place at the end of the last Ice Age led to (the) formation of new subspecies.”
The underside of Iceberg.
Sounding almost awestruck, Dalen added, “I was holding that little bird in my hand, and feeling like it could have died yesterday, but might actually have died tens of thousands of years ago.”
And because “icebird” was whole, with no indications of a fight, or struggle with a predator, Dalen said the bird did not expire in any violent way but rather passed away “easily”.
The fact that such a small and fragile specimen was near intact also suggests that dirt (and) mud must have been deposited gradually. Or at least that the bird’s carcass was preserved in a state very close to its time of passing.
In other words, it flew, it ended peacefully, and the permafrost took care of the rest, bringing the bird forward through time to present modern scientists to study and learn much about species in the last Ice Age.
Modern day North American Horned Lark.
Permafrost gives researchers many opportunities to delve into everything from specimens like this latest find, “icebird,” to mankind himself. Not long ago several bodies, some 2,500 years old, were found in Siberia, and they were so well preserved that even the tattoos on their skin were legible.
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’.
Goddess of Egypt, Bastet.
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.
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.
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.
Roman House With Phallic Amulets, Frescoes Found in Northern Israel
A house dating back around 1,900 years, which is decorated with frescoes showing scenes of nature, has been discovered at the archaeological site of Omrit in northern Israel. Phallic amulets were also found at the site.
The 1,900-year-old house containing scenes of nature is part of a much larger archaeological site called Omrit.
The house was constructed during the late first or early second century A.D., and was likely two stories tall, said Daniel Schowalter, a professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin.
“The floor [of the house] was plastered and its walls were covered in frescoes,” Schowalter told an audience in Toronto at the joint annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies in January.
Two ducks huddled together can be seen in this fresco, which was discovered in a 1,900-year-old house in Israel
The frescoes show images of trees, bushes, birds, fish and plants; one includes two ducks huddled together.
It’s not certain who owned the house in ancient times. “One would guess that it might have been commissioned by a Roman official who was stationed in the area, but it could also be the home a local elite who adopted some traditional Roman motifs in decoration,” Schowalter told Live Science in an email.
Only part of the house has been excavated so far. The excavated area “was probably a courtyard, since the doorway we have opens into the ‘house’ proper. In other words, you could be locked out in that area,” Schowalter said.
The house appears to have been demolished during the early third century, as archaeologists found a layer of fill on top of the remains of the house. On top of that layer, a new building that resembles a “stoa” (a covered walkway or portico) was constructed, Schowalter said.
Several phallus-shaped amulets were found in the layer of fill that covered the demolished house, Schowalter said. “That fill was probably put down in the early third century. So the amulets date to before that time, but since it is fill, we aren’t sure how long before.”
Amulets in the shape of peniseshave been found in many parts of the Roman Empire and may have been worn to help prevent misfortune.
The excavation is part of the Omrit Settlement Excavations Project, which is co-directed by Schowalter, along with Jennifer Gates-Foster, a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Michael Nelson, a professor at Queens College, City University of New York; Benjamin Rubin, an independent scholar; and Jason Schlude, a professor at the College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University.
