Pinned
Mass Grave of Roman Soldiers Discovered in Austria
The renovation of a football pitch in Austria’s capital has led to the discovery of a Roman mass grave housing the remains of more than a hundred soldiers who died in combat.
The construction company working on the sports field in the district of Simmering in Vienna found a large number of human remains at the site in late October, according to the Vienna Department of Urban Archaeology, part of the Wien Museum.
The remains of at least 129 individuals were uncovered during excavations by archaeologists and anthropologists from the museum and archaeological excavation company Novetus, the museum said in a press release Wednesday.
However, the total number of individuals is estimated to be more than 150, as the earlier construction works had displaced a large number of dislocated bones in the 16-foot-long pit.
The skeletal finds suggest “a hasty covering of the dead with earth,” as the individuals were not buried in an orderly fashion, but with their limbs intertwined with each other’s and with many lying on their stomachs or sides, the museum said.
‘Catastrophic’ military operation
After the skeletons were cleaned up and examined, researchers found that they were all male, and most were more than 1.7 meters tall (more than 5 feet 7 inches) and between the ages of 20 and 30 when they died.
Their dental health was generally good, with few signs of infection, but every individual analyzed bore injuries sustained at or near their time of death.
The variety of wounds, which were mainly found in the skull, pelvis and torso, and made by weapons including spears, daggers, swords and iron bolts, suggests they were sustained during battle rather than the result of execution – the punishment for military cowardice, the museum said.
“As the remains are purely male, it can be ruled out that the site of discovery was not connected with a military hospital or similar or that an epidemic was the cause of death. The injuries to the bones are clearly the result of combat,” it added.
The bones were dated to approximately 80 to 230 AD.
The men were probably robbed of their weapons, since only a small number of objects were found alongside them, according to the release.
Archaeologists uncovered two iron spearheads, one of which was found lodged in a hip bone.
Numerous hobnails were discovered near the feet of one individual. These nails would have studded the underside of leather Roman military shoes, the museum said.
An X-ray of the scabbard of a rusted and corroded iron dagger revealed typical Roman decorations of inlays of silver wire. This was dated to between the mid-1st century and early 2nd century AD.
There were also several pieces of scale armor, which became customary around 100 AD, the museum said. However, they were unusual in having more square-shaped features than round, it added.
A cheek piece from a Roman helmet was found to be from a type that became customary from the middle of the 1st century.
“We are blown away by this find. It is a genuine game-changer,” Kristina Adler-Wölfl, head of the Vienna Department of Urban Archaeology, said Friday, adding that this is “a once-in-a-lifetime discovery” for the museum’s archaeologists.
“There is archaeological evidence of Roman battlefields in Europe, but none from the 1st/2nd century CE with fully preserved skeletons,” she said.
Around 100 AD, ritualized cremation burials were common in the Roman-governed parts of Europe, with whole-body burials “an absolute exception,” according to the museum. “Finds of Roman skeletons from this period are therefore extremely rare,” it said.
“The undignified nature of the burial site along with the deadly wounds found on each individual suggests a catastrophic military confrontation, possibly followed by a hasty retreat,” Adler-Wölfl added.
Battle at the dawn of urban Vienna
Historical records show that in the late 1st century, during the reign of the emperor Domitian, costly battles took place on the Roman Empire’s northern Danube border between the Romans and Germanic tribes.
“This is the first time we have material evidence of the Germanic wars” fought by Domitian between 86 and 96 AD, Adler-Wölfl said. “Before the find, we knew about these conflicts only through some written sources.”
“Our preliminary investigation suggests with near certainty that the mass grave is the result of such a Roman-Germanic battle, one that likely took place in or around 92 CE,” she added.
The destruction of an entire legion is included in reports of disastrous defeats, which later led to the extension of the fortification line known as the Danube Limes under the emperor Trajan, according to the museum.
The Roman expansion of the town of Vindobona, which later became Vienna, “from a small military site to a full-scale legionary fortress occurred in that context,” said Adler-Wölfl.
“This would place the mass grave in immediate conjunction with the beginning of urban life in present-day Vienna,” she added.
The initial investigation by the team in Vienna will form part of a larger international research project, the museum said. This will include DNA analysis, to shed light on the lives of the soldiers and their living conditions.
Archaeologists Uncover Two Life-Size Statues Carved Into the Wall of a Tomb in Pompeii
The figures appear to represent a married couple. Experts think the woman, who is holding laurel leaves, may have been a priestess.
Two nearly life-size statues have been discovered inside a cemetery in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city destroyed by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E. Experts think the figures are a funerary relief depicting a couple once buried at the site.
The statues adorn the wall of a tomb found in a necropolis near Porta Sarno, one of Pompeii’s city gates, according to a statement from Pompeii Archaeological Park. The cemetery is filled with cremation burials. Carved into the tomb’s wall are several niches that once held funerary urns, as well as a carved relief depicting a woman and man standing side by side.
As researchers write in the park’s digital magazine, the sculptures were likely carved during Rome’s Late Republican period (between the second and first century B.C.E.). Tombs of this kind are rare in southern Italy.
The researchers theorize that the funerary sculptures represent a married couple, though they say they can’t be certain. “This could be her husband, but it could also be her son,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the archaeological park, tells the Guardian’s Angela Giuffrida. “There was no inscription, so we don’t know.”
The male figure wears a simple toga, while the woman wears a large cloak over a tunic and many accessories. Her carved jewelry includes amphora-shaped earrings, a wedding ring, bracelets and a necklace with a lunula pendant (in the shape of a crescent moon). As the researchers write, Roman girls wore lunula amulets until marriage to protect themselves from evil.
In her right hand, the female figure holds laurel leaves, which Roman priestesses and priests once used to purify spaces. In her left hand, she holds a cylindrical container that may represent a scroll.
“She really looks like a very important woman in the local elite,” Zuchtriegel tells the Guardian. “There is also this idea that she could have been a priestess of Ceres, holding these plants and what appears to be a papyrus roll.”
Ceres is the Roman goddess of agriculture, fertility and motherhood. In Roman religion, she was symbolically connected to the moon, as its phases were thought to correspond with harvests, which could explain the female statue’s lunula pendant, per the journal.
“Since women in Roman society were commonly relegated to the domestic sphere and to the tasks of the Roman matron, being a priestess was the highest social rank to which a woman could aspire,” write the researchers.
As leaders of religious cults, priestesses “would have overseen rituals in temples and taken part in processions dedicated to Ceres,” Sophie Hay, a British archaeologist working at Pompeii, tells the Telegraph’s Nick Squires. “She was the goddess of agriculture and cereals but she was also associated with fertility and new life. She was widely revered.”
The funerary reliefs’ age and quality alone make them rare finds. However, the fact that the female figure may represent a priestess holding religious objects makes the discovery exceptional, as the researchers write. The statue also offers valuable insight into the religious practices of Pompeii’s ancient residents, providing new evidence that Ceres “has a clear place in the officially sanctioned religion in Pompeii, with a dedicated priestess.”
Later this month, the funerary reliefs will be displayed in an exhibition at the archaeological park called “Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii.” Visitors will be able to observe as experts clean and conserve the sculpted figures.
By Sonja Anderson.
#Archaeologists Uncover Two Life-Size Statues Carved Into the Wall of a Tomb in Pompeii#Pompeii#Porta Sarno#republican period#ancient tombs#ancient graves#grave goods#ancient statues#ancient sculptures#ancient artifacts#archeology#history#history news#ancient history#ancient culture#ancient civilizations#roman history#roman empire#roman art#ancient art
"Delicious"
"Delicious" by artist Janet Howell at the Largo Public Library in Largo, Florida.
📸 flickr
Child Finds 3,800-Year-Old Scarab Amulet in Israel
Experts identified the find as a Canaanite seal or scarab.
She could have picked up any old stone from the thousands in the ruins of Tel Azeka, an ancient town in Israel. Instead, 3-year-old Ziv Nitzan pulled out a 3,800-year-old treasure from the Middle Bronze age.
“When she rubbed it and removed the sand from it, we saw something was different about it,” Ziv’s sister Omer Nitzan said in a Facebook post released Tuesday by Israel’s Antiquities Authority. “I called my parents to come see the beautiful stone, and we realized we had discovered an archaeological find.”
Experts later identified it as a Canaanite seal or scarab.
“Scarabs were used in this period as seals and as amulets. They were found in graves, in public buildings and in private homes. Sometimes they bear symbols and messages, that reflect religious beliefs or status,” Daphna Ben-Tor, an Egyptologist, said in the Facebook post.
Originating in ancient Egypt, scarabs were commonly used as seals and as amulets and were designed in the shape of a dung beetles. “This beetle, considered sacred in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, was a symbol of new life, because of the dung ball it created and then laid its eggs into it, from which new life would hatch,” the Facebook post said.
Often they carried messages, reflecting religious beliefs.
Ziv's find is one of a number of artifacts found across Israel indicating ancient Egyptian presence in the country.
She picked it up at the base of a key archaeological site in central Israel. Situated 25 miles west of Jerusalem, the village of Tel Azekah is referenced in the Bible as the site of the infamous battle between David and Goliath.
Omer Nitzan said that after her sister found the scarab on a family outing last month, they immediately called their parents who “realized we had discovered an archaeological find.” The family then reported it to Israel’s Antiquities Authority.
The discovery “connects us to a grand story, that of the ancient civilizations that lived in this land thousands of years ago,” Israeli Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu was quoted as saying in the Facebook post.
“The scarab Ziv found also reminds us that in the Land of Israel, even children can be a part of discovering history,” Eliyahu said.
Eli Escusido, director of the antiquities authority, also praised the family for its discovery and said the seal will be displayed in a special exhibition, which will also include other Egyptian finds across the country.
By Mithil Aggarwal.
Rare 1,000-Year-Old Sword Scabbard Discovered in Poland
A detectorist from the Iława Search Group has unearthed a rare medieval sword scabbard during a survey in a forest near the Polish town of Iława.
The discovery was made by Michał Młotek, who reported the find to the Elbląg branch of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments.
“This is a unique and extremely rare find. Even more remarkable, it’s completely intact and beautifully decorated,” said Młotek.
According to a press statement issued by PAP, the object is a lower fitting of a sword scabbard that likely belonged to a warrior from the Baltic tribes of Prussia. Experts estimate that it dates from around 1,000-years-ago, a period when the region was part of Old Prussia.
Old Prussia first appeared in written sources during the 9th century AD, though it became more commonly used from the 11th century onward.
Unlike surrounding kingdoms and tribes, they were not a unified tribe under a single ruler or set of laws—instead, they were a loose confederation of around ten clans, each named according to its geographic location.
Młotek, a historian and expert in local heritage, explained that the fitting not only served a practical function for reinforcing the sword scabbard, but also served as a symbol of high status and power.
Another aspect that makes the fitting highly significant are the decorative elements in a Germanic design, indicating that it belonged to an elite weapon that emphasised the owner’s tribal role, social standing, or group affiliations within other clans.
Młotek said that he will strive to ensure that the scabbard fitting joins the collections of the Museum in Ostróda. “It would be the fifth scabbard from the early Middle Ages in our collection,” said Łukasz Szczepański, an archaeologist from the Ostróda Museum.
By Mark Milligan.
Archaeologists Find Headless 1,700-Year-Old Hercules Statue in Italy
Archaeologists excavating a private property in Florence, Italy, discovered a 20-inch statue of Hercules missing its head, though not altogether headless. Despite no cranium on the Greek hero, the statue included details from Hercules’ mythic 12 labors, including the skin of the Nemean lion and the severed head of the Cretan bull.
Archaeologists from Valdelsa Fiorentina and the University of Florence discovered the statue in the town of Montaione in the province of Florence and has been dubbed the Hercules of Valdelsa.
“It’s a discovery that excites us and reminds us how archaeology constantly surprises us with new objects and insights,” Antonella Ranaldi, superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Florence, said in a statement provided by Cornell University.
The professional archaeologists got an assist from archaeology majors from Cornell, including senior Alexander Cooper-Bohler.
“Thankfully, I noticed the strange shape of the statue’s abdomen before my pick could cleave it in half,” Cooper-Bohler said. “I spent the rest of the day carefully removing the dirt from around the statue with dental tools. It is the first statue found in over a decade of excavations at the site and made the weeks of digging in the hot Tuscan summer worth it!”
The statue was dated to between the middle and late Imperial age from the third to fourth centuries, A.D., according to a translated report from Italian media, making it a roughly 1,700 find. The diminutive statue depicts a nude Hercules leaning to his right on his club, adorned with the trophies from his labors. According to Greek mythology, the Oracle of Delphi advised Hercules to travel to Tiryns to serve his cousin, King Eurystheus of Mycenae, for 12 years, for which he would be rewarded with immortality.
In addition to the two beasts included on the statue, other labors included retrieving a golden apple from the edge of the world, capturing the multi-headed dog Cerberus, cleaning the stables of King Augeas, and more. Hercules was often depicted with the Nemean lion skin in statues and art, along with a variety of his unique weapons, but experts said finding art showing him capturing the bull is rare.
“The statuette is nearly complete, made of three fitting pieces,” Ranaldi said, “and the bull at Hercules’ feet is an unusual and fascinating detail.”
“Uncovering this statue reminded me of one of the things that drew me to archaeology in the first place,” said Cooper-Bohler, “which is the thrill of discovery and the excitement of never knowing what you’ll find.”
#Archaeologists Find Headless 1700-Year-Old Hercules Statue in Italy#florence italy#Montaione#Hercules of Valdelsa#marble#marble statue#marble sculpture#ancient artifacts#archeology#history#history news#ancient history#ancient culture#ancient civilizations#roman history#roman empire#roman art#ancient art
Byzantine Gold AU Solidus Emperor Marcian Constantinople, 450 to 457 AD
Marcian (born 396, Thrace—died early 457, Constantinople) was the Eastern Roman emperor from 450 to 457, the last ruler of the dynasty begun by the emperor Theodosius I. His relatively peaceful reign, which was later viewed as a golden age in the Eastern Roman Empire, provided a marked contrast to the violence that was destroying the Western Empire.
Very Rare Roman Gold Coin Found in UK
A Roman coin that is believed to be the first of its kind found in the UK has sold for nearly £5,000.
Ron Walters, 76, from Kingswinford, West Midlands, found the coin with his metal detector in Wall Heath near Dudley last year.
Mark Hannam, from Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge, said the coin was bought by a collector from Scotland for £4,700 on Friday.
"Even though it's been in the soil for over 1,900 years, he's very pleased to add it to his collection," said Mr Hannam.
The coin, which dates to AD69, is thought to be the only one of its kind to be found in the British Isles.
It portrays the emperor Aulus Vitellius, who ruled for just eight months during a period of civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors".
"To find a coin from AD69 is incredibly rare," said Mr Hannam. "Most coins we find in this country are from the third and fourth centuries, and we are talking about a time when the gold was at its purest level."
The farmer on whose land the coin was unearthed will keep half the proceeds from the sale and Mr Walters, as the finder, will get the rest.
"It's not just the money," he said before the sale. "It's the historic value.
"It's a once in a lifetime find."
The coin went for considerably less than the only other similar artefact to go under the hammer, which was sold last year in Switzerland for around £50,000.
But Mr Walters told BBC Radio WM he was happy with the sale.
"Anything's a bonus," he said. "Normally the things that you find, you put in your collection because they're not worth selling on."
He is planning to put the proceeds towards some repairs to his motorhome - and to continue with his metal-detecting hobby.
"It's surprising what comes up – not just coins, it can be anything.
"Belt buckles, buttons - they've all got a story to tell."
By Charlotte Benton & Gavin Kermack.
#Very Rare Roman Gold Coin Found in UK#Wall Heath#Roman Emperor Aulus Vitellius#gold#gold coin#roman gold coin#metal detecting#collectable coins#ancient coins#ancient artifacts#archeology#history#history news#ancient history#ancient culture#ancient civilizations#roman history#roman empire#roman emperor
Archaeologists Discover Massive ’Mosaic House’ in Turkey
Excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Pergamon, located in Izmir, Türkiye, have uncovered the remains of a large “Mosaic House” complex, along with ancient tombs, kitchenware, weaponry, and jewelry.
The site, part of the Bergama Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape, showcases the rich history of Anatolia spanning prehistoric, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Beyliks, and Ottoman periods.
A female archaeologist shows a small artifact found in the “Mosaic House” from the Roman period in the ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Professor Yusuf Sezgin, the lead of excavations and head of the Department of Archaeology at Manisa Celal Bayar University, revealed that excavation work began in September 2024 as part of the “Legacy for the Future Project” initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
A roof tile with the inscription “Basilike” discovered at the excavation site of the “Mosaic House,” a Roman-era structure in ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Royal connection
During the excavation of the Mosaic House, a remarkable discovery was made: a roof tile with the inscription “Basilike,” meaning “royal” in ancient Greek.
This finding suggests that the building was likely used by royalty during the Hellenistic period.
Professor Sezgin explained, “The inscription on the tile indicates that the structure was likely part of the royal family’s private residences, as such seals were commonly used in royal buildings at Pergamon.”
A complex called the “Mosaic House” from the Roman period is being uncovered in the ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Key features of Mosaic House
The Mosaic House is a “peristyle house,” characterized by a central stone courtyard and a pool, indicative of a grand residential complex. The mosaic floors, dating back to the second and third centuries A.D., are the standout feature of the house. These intricate mosaics, with geometric and botanical motifs, signal the importance of the building and its usage during the Roman period.
The complex was likely also used during the Christian period, as evidenced by the nearby Red Court, which was converted into a church. Evidence suggests that the house was abandoned after a major fire during the seventh-century Arab invasions.
A complex called the “Mosaic House” from the Roman period is being uncovered in the ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Royal tile, iconic inscriptions
Further excavation has revealed a royal seal on a roof tile, bearing the Greek word “Basilike,” a term used in Pergamon’s royal structures.
Professor Sezgin emphasized, “Ths is the first complete roof tile with such an inscription, which had been found in fragments before.”
A complex called the “Mosaic House” from the Roman period is being uncovered in the ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Grave in pool: Child’s emotional memorial
Another striking discovery was made in the pool of the Mosaic House, where a grave marker had been repurposed as part of the pool’s structure.
The inscription on the stone reads, “The sweetest child in the world,” accompanied by a depiction of a child hunting rabbits with a dog. Professor Sezgin noted, “This emotional gravestone offers a poignant glimpse into the social life of the time, revealing personal stories beyond the usual historical narratives.”
A complex called the “Mosaic House” from the Roman period is being uncovered in the ancient city of Pergamon, Izmir, Türkiye.
Byzantine burial, artifacts discovered
In addition to these findings, archaeologists have uncovered numerous everyday items, such as kitchenware, weapons, jewelry, and coins from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Professor Sezgin explained that these artifacts will be displayed at the Bergama Museum.
Furthermore, a Byzantine cemetery has been identified, providing insight into the lives of the last Bergama residents before the arrival of the Turks.
By Koray Erdogan.
Man Discovers Rare Viking Arm Ring in Sweden
Archaeologists say the iron armlet could also have been buried deliberately in a sacrificial bog.
Last fall, a Swedish man spotted something in a marsh on Oland, Sweden’s second-largest island. At first, he thought the circular object—found lying on the ground near a construction pit—might be a tool. But it turned out to be a Viking Age iron arm bracelet that could be more than 1,000 years old.
After the anonymous man discovered the artifact, he contacted a local archaeologist, who advised him to bring it to the government of Kalmar, the southeastern county where Oland is located. He did so earlier this month. Experts analyzed the ring, comparing it to similar objects from the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.
The C-shaped artifact is decorated ornately. Rows of raised dots grace its length, and its ends are shaped into animal heads, according to a statement posted on Facebook. “From the ornamentation, we were able to date it to the Swedish Viking Age, somewhere between 800 and 1050 C.E.,” Karl-Oskar Erlandsson, an archaeologist at the Kalmar County Administrative Board, tells the Viking Herald’s Jonathan Bennett.
The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian warriors who violently colonized coastal Europe between the 9th and 11th centuries. Viking men and women of all classes wore jewelry, including necklaces, brooches and arm rings (also known as armlets). Powerful men commonly gave armlets to their followers to both secure loyalty and demonstrate wealth. According to the statement, most surviving Viking armlets are crafted out of silver or bronze.
“What is unusual is that this one is made of iron,” Erlandsson tells radio station P4 Kalmar, per a translation by Sweden Herald. Of the more than 1,000 arm rings in the Swedish History Museum’s collection, only three are made of iron.
This doesn’t mean that iron jewelry was uncommon during the Viking Age. Iron accessories may just be more difficult to find today, as the metal is particularly susceptible to corrosion. When it’s exposed to water and oxygen, iron rusts and degrades. Luckily, the soils and sediments of wetlands lack oxygen. The newly discovered ring’s marsh burial may therefore have helped preserve it through the centuries, per the statement.
Swedish laws may also account for the lack of rediscovered iron Viking jewelry. Unlike with artifacts made of silver or gold, Swedes are under “no obligation to contact authorities when [they] find an object made of iron,” Erlandsson tells the Viking Herald.
The island of Oland has a long anthropological history. Hunter-gatherers first settled there more than 6,000 years ago. The area is home to at least 15 Iron Age ring forts—circular, fortified settlements built up from the fourth century onward. Several Viking graves have been found on Oland.
As for how the iron armlet got into the marsh, Erlandsson tells P4 Kalmar that it probably wasn’t part of a grave, as the Vikings wouldn’t have buried someone in a wetland. The marsh also rules out a Viking settlement as a source.
“It could be a sacrificial bog, that they have sacrificed to the gods or higher powers,” Erlandsson says. “So then there may be more objects in this wetland.”
If the armlet’s finder chooses to donate the artifact to the county, it will be preserved and further studied, according to the statement. Hoping the marsh is hiding more Viking objects, experts will soon search the area with metal detectors.
By Sonja Anderson.
3,200-Year-Old Egyptian Tomb of Ramesses III’s Military Commander Uncovered
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a 3,200-year-old tomb thought to be that of a senior military commander during the time of Pharaoh Ramesses III. The tomb was discovered at the Tell el-Maschuta site, also referred to as Tell el-Maskhuta, in the Ismailia governorate. The discovery illuminates the strategic significance of the area in protecting Egypt’s eastern borders during the New Kingdom period.
Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Supreme Council of Antiquities Secretary General, underlined the significance of the discovery, noting that the Tell el-Maschuta area was a key military outpost. Existing fortifications and garrisons in the region suggest that it played a crucial role in defending Egypt against external threats.
The tomb, constructed using mud bricks, features a main burial chamber and three other surrounding rooms whose walls are covered with white mortar. Inside, archaeologists discovered a collection of artifacts that indicate the deceased was a high-ranking military official. The most significant items discovered were a gold ring with the cartouche of Ramesses III, bronze arrowheads, and a small ivory box. The artifacts suggest the individual was the pharaoh’s military leader.
One of the most fascinating finds was a set of inscribed pottery vessels with the name of Pharaoh Horemheb, who reigned from around 1323 to 1295 BCE. A former military leader before becoming a pharaoh, Horemheb ruled over a hundred years prior to Ramesses III. The fact that his name appears on the pottery indicates that the tomb could have been reused over time.
Further evidence of the reuse of the tomb came to light through the human remains recovered inside. A skeleton covered in cartonnage—material made up of linen and plaster—refers to the fact that the burial had been altered in later periods. In addition to skeletal remains, archaeologists also recovered alabaster vessels, semi-precious stones, and amulets depicting the gods Taweret and Bes, as well as the Eye of Udjat, a protective symbol in Egyptian mythology.
Beyond the military commander’s tomb, archaeologists also uncovered a series of collective and individual burials dating to the Greco-Roman and Late Periods. These burials contained skeletal remains and funerary artifacts that highlight the region’s rich cultural history as a crossroads between civilizations. Professor Qutb Fawzi Qutb, director of the Lower Egypt and Sinai Antiquities Department, noted that the combination of Egyptian and Greco-Roman elements in the tombs provides valuable insights into the region’s diverse historical influences.
In addition to the tomb of the military commander, archaeologists also unearthed a series of collective and individual burials that dated to both the Greco-Roman and the Late Period. The burials contained skeletal remains and artifacts revealing the region’s rich cultural history as a crossroads between civilizations.
Ramesses III, who ruled from about 1184 to 1153 BCE during Egypt’s 20th Dynasty, is often regarded as the last great pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His reign was marked by military conflicts, most notably his conflicts with the Sea Peoples, a group of seafaring raiders that threatened the stability of Mediterranean civilizations. In the most pivotal battle, the Battle of the Delta in 1175 BCE, the Egyptian navy outmaneuvered the invaders with tactical superiority on the waterways of the Nile.
The recently discovered tomb brings intriguing speculations about the occupant’s role in these wars of antiquity. If this individual buried within was a military commander under Ramesses III, he may have played a crucial role in defending Egypt.
The Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry stated it would go ahead with more excavations and studies on the site in the hopes that further studies will reveal additional information on Egypt’s military and cultural history.
By Dario Radley.
#3200-Year-Old Egyptian Tomb of Ramesses III’s Military Commander Uncovered#Tell el-Maschuta#Tell el-Maskhuta#Pharaoh Ramesses III#ancient graves#ancient tombs#funeral goods#grave goods#ancient artifacts#archeology#history#history news#ancient history#ancient culture#ancient civilizations#ancient egypt#egyptian history
Dozens of Amphorae Recovered From Ancient Byzantine Shipwreck in Greece
Excavations of an ancient Byzantine shipwreck off the coast of Fournoi near Samos, Greece are bringing new finds onto the surface.
The wreck has been systematically excavated since 2021 and has been selected for intensive investigation due to the extremely interesting cargo it carries.
The amphorae found recently in the sand near the wreck, along with the wooden skeleton of the ship itself, were in remarkably good condition. Experts believe that the ship’s wooden framing survived throughout the centuries because it was crushed under the rest of the ship and oxygen couldn’t reach it, stalling the process of decay.
So far eight different amphora types have been recorded, originating from Crimea, Sinope of the Pontus region in the Black Sea, as well as from the Aegean islands and the Phocaean region of Asia Minor.
Pottery recovered at the ancient Byzantine shipwreck
The Ministry of Culture said that 170 group dives were carried out during the latest excavations. Archaeologists worked throughout the period to clear sand and debris from the wreck to provide access for experts to conduct studies of the site.
The scattering of the finds on the seabed seems to indicate a partial loss of cargo before the ship sank.
The recovered pottery was particularly enlightening, in terms of the more precise chronological inclusion of the wreck, which can now be safely dated between 480 and 520 AD, probably during the years of Emperor Anastasios I (491 – 518 AD), said a press release by the Greek Ministry of Culture.
Byzantine Emperor Anastasios I is known for his fiscal and monetary reforms, which strengthened the Empire’s coffers and enabled the expansionist policy of the emperors of the 6th century.
In parallel with the excavation of the wreck, findings from three more wrecks at the Fournoi archipelago were recovered, which are intended to be exhibited at the local archeological museum. Among these finds are a giant archaic anchor obelisk and amphorae from shipwrecks of the 6th to 8th centuries AD.
Countless ancient shipwrecks off Greece
There are many ancient shipwrecks across the Greek seas, and archaeologists have found countless historic treasures in these sunken archaeological sites.
In March 2024, the Ministry of Culture announced that scientists have discovered several shipwrecks and other important ancient finds in the underwater, near Greece’s island of Kasos.
These date back indicatively from prehistory (3000 BC), the Classical period (460 BC), the Hellenistic (100 BC to 100 AD), and the Roman years (200 BC – 300 AD) to the medieval and Ottoman periods.
Four stunning ancient shipwrecks filled with artifacts from antiquity and the Roman and Byzantine eras off central Greece can now be explored by amateur divers.
“We plan to highlight our marine cultural heritage,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said.
“We have responded to this great challenge by opening to the public a total of four underwater archaeological sites in the prefecture of Magnesia, which will allow Greece to join the world map of diving tourism.”
By Tasos Kokkinidis.