2,200-Year-Old Chu State Tomb Excavated in China

HUAINAN, CHINA—China Daily reports that a tomb built by the Chu vassal state at the end of the Warring States Period (475–221 B.C.) has been excavated at the Wuwangdun site in eastern China. Looting has severely damaged the tomb, prompting this rescue excavation. The site features a cemetery surrounded by a moat. The largest tomb, made up of eight chambers arranged in the shape of a cross around a central chamber, had been topped with an earthen mound. Each of the eight chambers was covered with four layers of planks inscribed in ink and bamboo mats. So far, 78 of these bamboo mats have been removed and stabilized. “This is currently the largest-scale ancient bamboo mat extraction project conducted worldwide,” said Zhang Zhiguo of the National Center for Archaeology. The inscriptions on the layers of planks described the function of each chamber, added archaeologist Gong Xicheng of the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Lacquer objects, bronze ritual artifacts, utensils, wooden figurines, and musical instruments were found in these chambers. Smaller tombs, chariot pits, and sacrificial deposits have also been uncovered in the cemetery. To read about a burial in China's Henan province that researchers believe belonged to the Luhun Rong, a people that were eliminated during the Warring States Period, go to "Tomb from a Lost Tribe."

Australia’s Ice Age Tools Analyzed

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA—According to a Live Science report, David Zeanah of California State University, Sacramento, representatives of the Thalanyji people, and their colleagues have analyzed more than 4,400 cutting and grinding tools recovered from open-air sites on Barrow Island, which is located off the coast of northwestern Australia. Between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, when sea levels were lower, the island would have been a high plateau connected to what is now Australia by a coastal plain. Zeanah said that most of the tools found in caves on Barrow Island were made from limestone, which was readily available in the area. The tools recovered from open-air sites, however, were made mostly of rocks that match sources on what is now mainland Australia. “The open sites provide clear links to the mainland geologies, and that infers that people were using the coastal plain that’s underwater now,” Zeanah said. As for the number of limestone tools recovered in caves, Zeanah thinks that limestone tools left at open-air sites may not have survived the millennia of exposure to the elements. Then, as sea levels rose and Barrow Island was separated from the mainland, people who settled in the caves would have had to rely on the local limestone to make tools, he explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Quaternary Science Reviews. To read about stone tools found at an Aboriginal site that is now underwater in the Dampier Archipelago, go to "Around the World: Australia."

Possible Signs of Border Violence Found in Scottish Churchyard

SWINTON, SCOTLAND—Chronicle Live reports that human bone fragments have been discovered in disturbed soil in the area of Swinton Parish Church, which is located in Scotland near the Anglo-Scottish border, by researchers from the Border Reivers Archaeology Unit. The bones are thought to represent two adults and three children who suffered multiple injuries around the time of their deaths. Blade wounds thought to have been made with an ax or sword were found on three of the leg bones. One of these bones and another thigh bone bear teeth marks from a large dog or wolf, indicating that they had been left unburied for a time, perhaps after a battle or massacre. Wolves were also known to have dug up graves in order to eat human remains during the sixteenth century, however. Swinton Parish Church is thought to have been used as a refuge during the border raids of the Anglo-Scottish wars from the fourteenth century through the sixteenth century, and raids conducted from the late thirteenth century to the seventeenth century by both English and Scottish border reivers. Traces of a possible defensive earthwork have also been identified in the churchyard. To read about the fortifications of a crucial bastion during the Wars of Scottish Independence, go to "Storming the Castle."

German Museum Returns Wine Jug to Greece

HANOVER, GERMANY—The National Herald reports that the August Kestner Museum has repatriated a seventh-century B.C. oenochoe, or wine jug, to Greece. Traces of decoration are still visible on the neck of the jug. The museum received the oenochoe as a gift in 1986, along with a letter stating that the artifact had been found at one end of the Corinth Canal in an excavation conducted in 1943, during the Nazi occupation of Greece. The letter also includes a description of the trench in which the jug was found and its position in it. “The August Kestner Museum joins the group of international museums that have in recent years made great efforts to investigate provenance issues of artifacts in their collections,” said Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. To read more about Greek drinking vessels, go to "Alcohol Through the Ages: Socializing at the Symposium."

Clovis Points May Have Had Multiple Uses

KENT, OHIO—A new study suggests that Clovis spear points may have been used for butchering as well as hunting big game, according to a Phys.org report. Clovis points and tools, dated to between 13,500 and 12,800 years ago, were first identified at a site near Clovis, New Mexico. A team of researchers led by Metin I. Eren of Kent State University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History asked five modern hunters to use large, hand-held stone flakes and replica Clovis points mounted on wooden handles to process a full-grown bison. The hunters were able to butcher the animal in three hours and 10 minutes, and reported that the Clovis points worked more efficiently than the stone flakes. In fact, four of the hunters cut themselves using the hand-held stone flakes, while no injuries occurred using the Clovis points affixed to handles. The hunters did note, however, that the Clovis points had to be sharpened often and that they broke more easily than the hand-held flakes. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. For more on Clovis points, go to "Destination: The Americas."

Ancient Graves Uncovered in Southern Portugal

FARO, PORTUGAL—Portugal Resident reports that three burials dated to the fifth or sixth century A.D. have been unearthed in southern Portugal, at the site of the ancient Roman city of Ossónoba. The tombs, which held the remains of a man, a young woman, and baby who was no more than six months of age at the time of death, had been sealed with limestone slabs taken from older monumental buildings. It is not clear if the individuals were related to each other, but analysis of DNA samples and isotopic analysis of the bones may offer more information about who these people were, what they ate, and where they lived, said archaeologist Francisco Correio of ERA Arqueologia. The burials appear to have been looted in the past, added biological anthropologist Cláudia Maio. She expects that small bracelets, necklaces, and rings were taken. The researchers also recovered Roman artifacts in the area, including ceramics, bone dice, nails, pins, a spoon, possible evidence of a dye factory, and coins minted during the reign of Constantine the Great, between A.D. 306 and 337. To read about one of the largest known Roman towns in northern Portugal, go to "Off the Grid: Tongobriga, Portugal."

Traces of an Ancient City Discovered on a Pacific Island

NUKU’ALOFA, KINGDOM OF TONGA—ABC News Australia reports that traces of an ancient city in the form of some 10,000 mounds have been identified on the Pacific Island of Tongatapu through high-tech mapping with aerial scanners and archaeological fieldwork. “Earth structures were being constructed in Tongatapu around A.D. 300. This is 700 years earlier than previously thought,” said Phillip Parton of The Australian National University. As the settlement spread and grew, he explained, people would have interacted in new ways and done different kinds of work to support the larger population. The city’s influence eventually spread across the southwest Pacific Ocean between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries, until it collapsed with the arrival of Europeans and unknown diseases. “This is just the beginning in terms of early Pacific settlements. There’s likely still much to be discovered,” Parton concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. To read about another discovery from the island nation, go to "World Roundup: Tonga."

Shoe Buckle Found on Scotland's Culloden Battlefield

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND—An excavation of the Culloden battlefield has recovered musket balls, grapeshot, and a shoe buckle that may have belonged to a Scottish Jacobite clan chief, according to a report in The National. The defeat of the Jacobite army by British forces at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, resulted in the collapse of the Jacobite uprising. Archaeologists from the National Trust Scotland think the copper alloy buckle may have belonged to Donald Cameron of Lochiel, the Jacobite chief of Clan Cameron, who was wounded during the battle. Archaeologist Derek Alexander believes that the flattened grapeshot hit the shoe buckle, since the two artifacts were found in the same hole just 65 to 100 feet from the position of the British army’s front line. Known as The Gentle Lochiel, Donald Cameron is known to have been leading the 400 Camerons close to the front line when he was wounded with grapeshot in both ankles. “This description shows us that Lochiel was hit in the ankles charging forward and if he had been wearing shoes with buckles, it is possible that these would have been hit and partly absorbed the impact,” Alexander said. Cameron survived the battle and escaped to France with the grandson of the deposed king, Charles Edward Stuart, or Bonnie Prince Charlie. To read about the defeated Scottish survivors of the 1650 Battle of Dunbar, go to "After the Battle."

Roman Road Uncovered in Southern France

NÎMES, FRANCE—The Miami Herald reports that researchers from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) uncovered a 2,000-year-old stone roadway under the modern Beaucaire Road during an investigation ahead of a construction project in southern France. Ruts and signs of replaced stones were found in the road, which measures about 50 feet wide. The pavement is thought to have been a crossroad of the Via Domitia, the main Roman access route to the city of Nîmes. Tombs containing human remains and well-preserved pottery and glass in the forms of vases, lamps, and bowls were found between the two roads. Cremated human remains were also discovered in glass or ceramic vessels. For more on Roman France, go to "Gaul's University Town."