Witches and hookers and saints, oh my!

An archaeological team excavating the Tuscan port town of Piombino hoping to find the remains of its patron saint has instead uncovered the skeletal remains of two 13th century women of questionable repute. Approximately 25-30 years old at time of death, they were both buried in the bare earth, without a coffin or even a shroud, very much against custom.

One of women had seven curved, one-and-a-half-inch-long nails placed in her mouth after death and 13 more nails jammed into the ground all around her body. Archaeologists speculate that the ones around her body were used to nail the body to the ground in some kind of exorcism ritual to prevent her using witchcraft to rise from the dead.

The other woman was buried with a leather pouch holding 17 bone dice. Games of chance were against civil and ecclesiastic law during the Middle Ages, and although the laws were constantly flouted, a women associated with dice was a woman associated with immorality. Also, 17 was and remains an extremely unlucky number in Italy. (The story I’ve heard about why it’s unlucky is that the Roman number for 17, XVII, is an anagram of “vixi” which is Latin for “I have lived” which is just like saying you’re dead and is therefore an ill omen. No idea if that’s true.)

L’Aquila University archaeologist Alfonso Forgione, the dig leader, notes that these burials are unique in his experience. Not only are they strangely bare and contain those odd accouterments, but they are also in consecrated ground. There’s a chapel on the grounds purportedly marking the burial spot of Saint Cerbonius, the sixth century A.D. bishop and patron saint of Piombino. The team was looking for the saint’s burial and for the remains of a medieval cathedral that was once dedicated to him when they found the ladies. If the women were social outcasts, one of them demonic, the other degenerate, neither of them worthy of a decent burial, how come they got to go to their eternal rest in a cathedral cemetery next to a saint?

Forgione speculates that they may have had the advantage of powerful friends and families surviving them who arranged for them to have at least a chance at heaven by ensuring their bodies were placed in consecrated ground.

The excavation will continue through the end of the month. They have already found 350 burials in four eight-by-ten meter (26 by 33 feet) sites on each side of the chapel, and there are strong indications that the cemetery goes on for another 65 feet inland and another 33 feet or so towards the sea. Such a large, well-populated cemetery indicates that little Piombino, the only known Etruscan port city, remained a thriving town through the Middle Ages.

Archaeologists are working against the clock, though. The cliff side is eroding faster than they can dig. There are bones visibly jutting out, to the delight of many a tourist taking a romantic walk on the beach, but they can’t be removed for fear that the entire promontory will crumble like a Jenga game.

Archaeologists excavating an area where a bridge is scheduled to be built between modern-day Ostia and Fiumicino, the town just outside Rome where Leonardo da Vinci airport is found, have discovered the remains of an ancient Roman ship. The 11-meter (36-foot) section is from one of the sides of the ship. So far neither the stern, bow nor hull have been recovered, but since we’re talking about ancient wood, the team is working very deliberately to ensure its preservation.

Anna Maria Moretti, archaeological superintendent for Rome and Ostia Antica, said “the find is a novelty because at that depth, about four metres below the topsoil, we have never found a ship, only layers (of buildings) and one single structure”. [...]

She also said there were “remains of ropes and cables” in the ship.

“Restoring the vessel will be an extremely delicate operation,” Moretti went on. “We’re keeping it constantly covered in water so that the wood doesn’t dry out.

“The wreck must be treated with highly sophisticated preservation techniques,” Moretti said.

I hope they have a giant freezer available somewhere, because the polyethylene glycol dousing system that preserved the likes of the Mary Rose and the Vasa is way too expensive with oil prices the way they are.

According to site director Paola Germoni, the discovery of the ship at this location indicates that the ancient coast line was 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) further inland than it is today. Silting gradually filled the port and the mouth of the Tiber shifted, pushing back the shoreline so that the ancient city of Ostia, now called Ostia Antica, is miles away from the modern beach town of Ostia.

You can see how the river and shoreline moved in this post about Portus, the artificial harbour first constructed next to Ostia’s smaller natural harbor by the emperor Claudius.
Roman ships were found before in this same area when the airport was being built. The small fleet and the artifacts found with them are now on display in Fiumicino’s Museum of the Roman Ships.

The body of a young woman felled by a blow from a Roman sword was discovered near Faversham, Kent. Archaeologists were excavating the area to prepare for future roadworks when they came across the hastily-buried remains.

The girl appears to have been between 16 and 20 years of age when she died, kneeling, stabbed in the back of the head by a Roman sword. Some pottery fragments of Iron Age grave goods buried along with her date the grave to 50 A.D., just seven years after the Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D. In all likelihood she was one of its local victims.

“She was lying face down and her body was twisted with one arm underneath her body. One of her feet was even left outside the grave,” [Dr. Paul Wilkinson, director of the excavation] said.

The burial site was just outside the Roman town, with cemeteries close by. [...]

Another indication of her origin, according to Dr Wilkinson, is the orientation of the body.

Romans buried their bodies lying east-west, whereas this body was buried north-south, as was the custom for pagan graves.

In keeping with controversial new Ministry of Justice guidelines instituted in 2008, the skeletal remains of this girl will be reburied on site once the archaeological team have finished their examination. The Ministry of Justice grants licenses for archaeological excavation of human remains. Before 2008, licenses were granted that allowed researchers to retain, study, curate and display ancient excavated remains as appropriate. Only more recent graves were required to be reburied promptly.

In 2008, they changed the standard so that now licenses are granted solely on the condition that all human remains excavated at digs in England and Wales are reburied within two years, no matter what the age of the remains. Archaeologists are protesting the new guidelines vociferously, pointing out that human remains continue to be studied for decades, even centuries, as new scientific techniques are developed that can provide us new information about our ancestors’ lives and deaths.

The ruling was supposed to be an “interim measure,” part of a reassessment of the relevant act (the Burial Act of 1857), but now three years after its implementation, there are a large number of extremely important ancient remains that will have to be forcibly re-interred, like the 51 decapitated Viking warriors found in July 2008 in a mass grave near Weymouth, Dorset.

The SS Gairsoppa, a British cargo steamship that was enlisted by the UK Ministry of War Transport to do its cargo runs, was sunk by a German U-boat torpedo on February 17, 1941, in the North Atlantic about 300 miles west of Ireland. It had been loaded in Calcutta with an immense load of commodities — 2,600 tons of pig iron, 1,765 tons of tea, 220 tons of silver ingots — headed for Liverpool. A merchant vessel built in 1919 for the British India Steam Navigation company, the Gairsoppa was unable to withstand the attack. That one torpedo blasted a hole in the hull and took down the foremast, severing all the radio cables and leaving the ship unable to communicate a distress call. The ship sank in just 20 minutes, taking its valuable cargo with it

                                                  The 85-member crew sadly did not survive. Many of them made it to the lifeboats even under German machine gun fire, but then two of the three lifeboats capsized in the rough waters. The final lifeboat made it to the Cornwall shore 13 days later, but it too capsized while drifting along the coast and only one survivor was fished out: Second Officer R.H. Ayres, who received many awards for his bravery in trying to save his fellow passengers. (He lived a long life and passed away in 1992.)

In 1989, the British government attempted a salvage operation to recover the precious metals that sank on the Gairsoppa. The company who won the salvage contract also happened to be the only company that made a bid. It was unable to find the wreck.
                                                    The government tried again last year and this time the winning bidder was Odyssey Marine Exploration, a US treasure hunting firm that is known for big finds (and big legal entanglements). It’s quite the sweet contract. Odyssey gets to keep 80% of the net value of all the silver bullion found. That’s net, so obviously their expenses get paid first. At today’s prices, the silver could be worth as much as $210 million, which would make this haul the largest precious metal hoard ever found at sea.
                                                       Using data from the previous failed expedition plus extensive new research on where the wreck might be located, Odyssey was able to pinpoint the proper search area. They were then able to locate a likely wreck using a deep-tow low frequency sonar system. A remotely operated vehicle relayed video and photographic confirmation that this not just a likely wreck but the actual wreck of the SS Gairsoppa sitting upright nearly 4,700 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic.

                                              Although the robot was unable to locate those tons of silver or something bearing the ship name, all the facts fit. The ship is the proper length, width and height; the torpedo damage matches the description in the German U-boat logs; stacks of tea chests were found, the proper number of cargo holds and derricks, the proper ship layout, even the same hull colors.

Odyssey is now putting together the necessary tools and equipment for a salvage operation 4,700 meters under the sea. The Gairsoppa did them a huge favor by landing on its feet, so all the cargo holds are open and accessible. The salvage crew will use them to unload the silver just like any stevedore would topside. Operations will begin next Spring in more propitious weather conditions.
                                                        

Almost intact young Therapod fossil found in Bavaria

Paleontologists in Kelheim, Bavaria, have discovered the fossil of a young dinosaur that is 98% intact, including some remains of skin and hair. This makes young Otto, as the fellow has been dubbed, the most intact dinosaur skeleton ever found in Europe. The exact species has yet to be identified, but it belongs to the theropod suborder, a group of mainly flesh eaters whose most famous member is Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The fossil, named Otto by the paleontological team, is approximately 135 million years old. It was discovered between one and two years ago on a riverbank but the find was not announced until last Sunday to ensure the excavators would not be interfered with. The find site is still being kept secret, as is the name of the landowner who is now the proud papa of a bouncing baby theropod.

Oliver Rauhut, curator of the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich, says it’s “probably the most significant new theropod fossil archosaurs from German soil since the discoveries of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx.”

Though the 72-centimeter juvenile dinosaur is preserved in stone, a number of anatomical details remain. “The best-preserved Tyrannosaurus we have are about 80 percent preserved, and that is already terrific,” said Rauhut, comparing the two theropods, which are among the rarest dinosaur fossils.

Most of the fossils in this group exist in only fragments, said Dan Ravasz, spokesman for the upcoming mineral exhibition, The Munich Show, a trade fair dedicated to minerals, germs, jewellery and fossils that runs for four days starting on Oct. 27.

The experts aren’t certain just how old the dinosaur was when it died, though they estimate that a freshly hatched Tyrannosaurus would have been about the same size. They were able to determine that the specimen is young by measuring the size of its skull, body proportions and the bone surface. Learning more about young dinosaurs is important for scientists to understand more about their evolutionary process.

The German government has declared Otto a German cultural asset. That designation lowers its market value considerably by ensuring that it cannot leave the country. It will be on display for the full four days of The Munich Show, but after that its fate is uncertain. It appears that a permanent loan is being set up between the owner and the government so that Otto can go on display in a German museum.

2,600-year-old Celtic tomb found in Germany

A 2,600-year-old Celtic tomb has been found by archaeologists excavating the ancient hill fort at Heuneburg, Germany. The 13-by-16-foot burial chamber is in an excellent state of preservation and still contains a treasury of gold and amber jewelry.

The jewelry allowed archaeologists to pinpoint a precise date, the first time they’ve been able to do so with early Celtic remains. It also strongly suggests that the tomb belonged to a noblewoman of the fort’s early period of Celtic habitation, the 7th century B.C. Further analysis of the burial chamber will be needed to confirm the date and owner.

This should be a lot easier for scientists since the entire tomb has been lifted out of the ground in one solid block of earth by two cranes, loaded on a specialized flatbed truck and transported tout entier to the lab of the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Stuttgart.

The Heuneburg hill fort site is one of the oldest settlements north of the Alps, and a major source of information about Iron Age Celtic culture at a time when wealth and population were increasing rapidly in a few population centers.

The Celtic citadel was first enclosed with a wood and earth wall in 700 B.C., a standard Celtic building technique. By 600 B.C., however, they had built a mudbrick wall over a limestone foundation almost 20 feet high. The mudbricks were painted in limestone plaster and must have been a very visible landmark in the area for the 70 years they lasted. There are no other similar such walls known in any Celtic settlements in central Europe of the time.

Stone Age children finger painted on cave walls

Archaeologists studying the 13,000-year-old cave art in the Cave of a Hundred Mammoths in Rouffignac, France, have discovered that some of the designs were painted by children. One particular area of the cave is replete with finger painted lines in a variety of geometric shapes called finger fluting that were made by children. Researchers have identified the marks of four children between two and seven and four adults working in this chamber.

“It suggests it was a special place for children. Adults were there, but the vast majority of artwork is by children,” said Jess Cooney, a PhD student at [Cambridge University]‘s archaeology department.

“It’s speculation, but I think in this particular chamber children were encouraged to make more art than adults. It could have been a playroom where the children gathered or a room for practice where they were encouraged to make these marks in order that they could grow into artists and make the beautiful paintings and engravings we find throughout the cave, and throughout France and Spain. Or it could have been a room used for a ritual for particular children, perhaps an initiation of sorts.”

Most of the art in the cave is finger fluting. The animal figures it is most famous for are actual a small minority of the paintings. Artists, adult and child alike, would run their fingers over a soft red clay and then draw swirls and triangles on the cave wall. The size of the lines indicates the size of the fingers doing the painting. Designs high on the wall and on the ceiling indicate that the small children were being held up by adults, and the juxtaposition of different hands suggest a small adult, possibly an older brother, painting alongside a seven-year-old girl, and an adult guiding the fingers of a two-year-old.

The most prolific artist throughout the entire cave complex is a five-year-old girl. The range of the paintings done by children indicates that the Stone Age dwellers of Rouffignac placed few restrictions on their children’s movements. The were painting the walls even in the darkest, most distant caves.

Some of the children’s art goes beyond swirls and lines. There are finger fluted animals and what look like outlines of faces, but most notably there are hut shapes called tectiforms which are symbols native to one area of France. Those tectiforms are the first known example of Stone Age children creating symbolic figures.

Rare, maybe royal, Egyptian coffin found in Torquay

Rare, maybe royal, Egyptian coffin found in Torquay

University of Bristol Egyptologist Aidan Dodson was working on an ambitiously tedious project to catalogue every Egyptian sarcophagus in English and Welsh provincial museums when he discovered that a coffin on display in Torquay Museum was of exceptional quality, extremely rare and far older than the museum had realized. Dodson puts the age of the coffin to somewhere between the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaohs Ahmose I and the early reign of Thutmose III, ie, somewhere between 1525 and 1470 B.C. The museum estimated it dated to 700 B.C.

The child’s sarcophagus, just under 4 feet in length, was cut from a single block of cedar wood then covered in plaster-impregnated linen. The linen was painted white and the face red (indicating that the mummy within was male). The eyes are inlaid volcanic glass and limestone mounted in bronze. The design is so rare there is only one other similar example in the UK. Not even the British Museum has a coffin like this one, notes Torquay Museum curator Barry Chandler, bursting with glee.

It was the quality of the inlaid eyes, the depth of detail in the realistically modelled knees that first caught Dr. Dodson’s eye. That kind of ornamentation was reserved for extremely high ranking personages like royalty or government ministers. For it to be found on a child’s coffin underscores how important the family must have been.

Unfortunately we don’t know who that family was because the names of the child and his parents have been scratched out. The mummy inside is a thousand years younger than the coffin, so the names were probably erased when the new occupant was installed. The 2,500-year-old mummified boy within, wrapped in linen and a beaded net with figures of deities attached to it to protect the organs of the boy for the afterlife, was given a CT scan at Torbay Hospital in 2006. They found that the boy was three or four years old when he died, but could not determine the cause of death. We don’t know his name either, but the museum has dubbed him Psamtek.

The coffin and Psamtek were donated to the museum in 1956 by Lady Winaretta Leeds, scion of the Singer sewing machine dynasty and committed amateur Egyptologist. She traveled extensively in the Middle East, and is thought to have acquired the coffin in the 1920s. The child’s coffin and mummy were in storage for decades until they became the stars of the newly refurbished museum in 2007. Psamtek in particular drew crowds because he is the only human mummy currently on display in the UK. Now his coffin can finally compete.

Fort Geldria:

Fort Geldria , located in Pulicat, Tamil Nadu, was the seat of the Dutch Republic's first settlement in India, and the capital of Dutch Coromandel. It was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1613 and became the local governmental centre in 1616. It was named for Geldria, the native province of Wemmer van Berchem, the General Director of the company. Regularly protected by a garrison of 80 to 90 men, Fort Geldria was the only fortification in the Indian empire; all other positions of the Dutch Company were trading posts.