This site is maintained by Francesca Tronchin.
Updated almost daily.
I totally caved in to pressure from academic peers and made one of these “hotter than this?” collages. I’m not proud of it, but the classical community needed it.
(by F. Tronchin)
Archaeologists have precious little information about the seagoing habits of the Minoan civilization, which erected the palace of Knossos on Crete — linked to the Greek myth of the Minotaur. Minoans far exceeded their neighbours in weaponry, literacy and art, and formed “part of the roots of what went on to become European civilization”, says Don Evely, an archaeologist at the British School at Athens, and curator of Knossos. Archaeologists are keen to understand what made the Minoans so successful and how they interacted with nearby cultures such as the Egyptians. Although researchers have studied scores of Roman ships, finding a much older Minoan wreck “would add 100% new knowledge”, says Shelley Wachsmann, an expert in ancient seafaring at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Researchers have already found one potential Minoan wreck site by the island of Pseira, off the northeast coast of Crete. In 2003, archaeologist Elpida Hatzidaki of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities discovered a large collection of underwater pottery dating to around 1800 BC.
But at this site and a few even older ones, no portion of the ship itself survives, and it is hard to determine whether the pottery came from a wreck, was simply thrown overboard, or washed into the sea from the nearby coast. Even those who believe the Pseira site does represent a Minoan wreck admit that the pottery itself — everyday ware of local origin — doesn’t reveal much new information. What archaeologists crave is an equivalent of Ulu Burun, a long-distance trading ship packed with valuable cargo that would reveal how different cultures interacted. “Ships were the way that people communicated and moved about the ancient world,” says Foley. “So if we can find these ancient wrecks, we get a much clearer view of the very dim past.”
(via Underwater archaeology: Hunt for the ancient mariner : Nature News & Comment)
Italy has returned to Libya the head of a 2,000 year-old statue that was smuggled out of the country in the 1960s.
Prime Minister Mario Monti gave the sculpted head of Domitilla Minor, the daughter of Roman emperor Vespasian, to Libyan authorities during his trip to Tripoli on Saturday.
The sculpture was taken from Libya’s northwestern city of Sabratha in the 1960s, and recently auctioned at Christie’s.
Visit the link for all ten.
1) A small 2,500-year old wooden statue in perfect conditions. The impressive find was made in the Sanctuary of Artemis in Vravrona during building works on the archaeological site’s drainage well. Other objects were found alongside the statuette, all of them dating from the 5th century BC.
2) A square jasper stamp, dark red in colour and bearing incisions in Minoan hieroglyphics, the oldest Minoan texts of Crete. The find, which the archaeologists Iris Tsachili and Eleni Papadopoulou say is very important, was made at the peak sanctuary of Mount Vrysinas in Rethymno, on the island of Crete.
3) The tombs of men buried alongside their animals, which came to light in the village of Mavropigi in Eordaia. The tombs contain 11 men and 16 animals (horses, dogs, oxen and a pig). The director of the office of Antiquities, Georgia Karamitrou-Mentesidi, says that the distinguishing feature of the necropolis is the large number of animals placed alongside the dead men.
4000-year-old cuneiform writings from Mesopotamia tell us little about the brewing techniques used at the time
Archaeological finds from cuneiform tablets and remnants of different vessels from over 4,000 years ago show that even around the dawn of civilisation, fermented cereal juice was highly enjoyed by Mesopotamia’s inhabitants. However, besides the two basic ingredients, barley and emmer (a species of wheat) the brew produced in the clay jars of the Sumerians is shrouded in mystery. Despite an abundance of finds and scribal traditions which point to an early love of fermented cereal beverages, reconstructing ancient brewing methods is very difficult, according to the historian of science and cuneiform writing scholar Peter Damerow of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. A scholarly paper by Damerow, who passed away at the end of November 2011 in Berlin, carefully examines the beer brewing technologies of the Sumerians. However, the author also expresses great doubts as to whether the popular brew in ancient times was even beer.
Although many of the more than 4,000 years old cuneiform texts contain records of deliveries of emmer, barley and malt to breweries, as well as documentation of the activities, there is hardly any information on the details of the production processes, and no recipes to follow. According to Damerow, the administrative texts were most likely written for an audience that was already familiar with the details of brewing. They were not intended for informing the modern-day reader about the processes.
Egyptian tomb holds singer Nehmes Bastet’s remains
Archaeologists working in Egypt have discovered the tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings.
The tomb was found by a team from the University of Basel in Switzerland who came across it by chance.
The woman, Nehmes Bastet, was a temple singer during Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty (approximately 945 - 712BC), according to an inscription in the tomb.
The coffin found in the tomb contains an intact mummy from almost 3,000 years ago.
Professor Susanne Bickel of the University of Basel told the BBC that the coffin was opened on Monday and she was able to see the “nicely wrapped” mummy of the woman who was buried in the tomb.
The opening of the coffin was carried out by Prof Bickel and her Basel colleague, field director Elina Paulin-Grothe, together with the Chief Inspector of Antiquities of Upper Egypt, Dr Mohammed el-Bialy and inspector Ali Reda.
Prof Bickel said that the upper edge of the tomb was found on the first day of Egypt’s revolution, on 25 January 2011. The opening was sealed with an iron cover and the discovery was kept quiet.
Last week, after the start of this year’s field season, the feature was identified as a tomb - and one of the very few tombs in the Valley of the Kings which have not been looted.
A research team has discovered what may be the oldest astrologer’s board, engraved with zodiac signs and used to determine a person’s horoscope.
Dating back more than 2,000 years, the board was discovered in Croatia, in a cave overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The surviving portion of the board consists of 30 ivory fragments engraved with signs of the zodiac. Researchers spent years digging them up and putting them back together. Inscribed in a Greco-Roman style, they include images of Cancer, Gemini and Pisces.
The board fragments were discovered next to a phallic-shaped stalagmite amid thousands of pieces of ancient Hellenistic (Greek style) drinking vessels.
An ancient astrologer, trying to determine a person’s horoscope, could have used the board to show the position of the planets, sun and moon at the time the person was born.
Finishing a 3D, 2,000 year-old Roman jigsaw puzzle: the Hallaton helmet unveiled
British Museum conservator Marilyn Hockey, and colleagues Fleur Shearman and Duygu Camurcuoglu undertook the micro-excavation, stabilisation and reconstruction of the hundreds of fragments – a task described as being like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. Thanks to this process we know the helmet was probably made between AD 25 and AD 50 and that it was crafted from sheet iron, covered with silver sheet and decorated in places with gold leaf.
