Estimating a Roman Town’s Population

SILCHESTER, ENGLAND—According to a statement released by the University of Colorado Boulder, the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum near the village of Silchester in southern England had a dramatically higher peak population than some researchers previously believed. Archaeologists Scott Ortman of the University of Colorado Boulder and John Hanson of the University of Oxford analyzed data from Calleva Atrebatum using previously established statistical relationships between Roman public and residential buildings, as well as streets and gates. They concluded the town once had 1,115 homes, and that the peak population was around 5,500. Previous estimates for Calleva Atrebatum were as low as 930 people, and resulted in the view that the town had an unsually low population density, and functioned more as an outpost where Roman officials responsible for managing Britons were stationed. Ortman and Hanson’s work suggests it was a densely occupied town akin to others of its size throughout the Roman Empire. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Britannia. To read in-depth about Roman Britain, go to “The Wall at the End of the Empire.” 

10 Ancient Shipwrecks Found in Greece's Kasos Strait

ATHENS, GREECE—According to a report by La Brújula Verde magazine, a multi-year underwater archaeological survey of the Aegean’s Kasos Strait completed in October 2023 has uncovered 10 submerged shipwrecks. During the four expeditions, which were led by the Hellenic National Research Foundation and Greece’s Ministry of Culture, researchers recovered finds dating from about 3000 B.C. to the medieval and Ottoman periods. As a result, archaeologists have recorded remnants of ancient ships and the goods they transported from Spain, Italy, Africa, and Asia Minor. Their discoveries include an Archaic-period anchor, Roman-era terra sigillata pottery made in Africa, drinking vessels, a Spanish amphora dating to between A.D. 150 and 170, and a ship likely from World War II. For the first time, the interdisciplinary research team also mapped the Kasos-Karpathos reef using side-scan sonar. To read about a first-century B.C. shipwreck that was discovered in 1900 off a Greek island, go to “Antikythera Man,” one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2016.

Study Investigates Earliest Human Activity on Curaçao

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA—According to a statement released by Simon Fraser University, dating of charcoal samples found on Curaçao indicates that humans began to settle the Caribbean island up to 850 years earlier than previously known. Researchers from Simon Fraser University and the National Archaeological Anthropological Memory Management Foundation in Curaçao excavated the samples at an Archaic-period rock shelter site called Saliña Sint Marie. Using accelerated mass spectrometry, they determined that humans occupied the site as far back as 5,735 to 5,600 years ago. Simon Fraser University archaeologist Christina Giovas explained that these dates also suggest that people began exploring the islands off the coast of Venezuela earlier than scholars had originally thought. “What this new information does is push the initial exploration in this region back to a time where other islands to the north of Curaçao are also being settled," she said. "This suggests that the movement of people from the continental mainland into those more northern islands might have entangled with some of the movement of the people into Curaçao." For more on the settlement of the Caribbean, go to "Around the World: Caribbean."

Genome Study Investigates Origins of India’s Modern Population

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—According to a Live Science report, Elise Kerdoncuff of the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues analyzed more than 2,700 genomes of modern Indians who live in 17 Indian states and represent speakers of the country’s major languages and tribal and caste groups. The study suggests that the population has three main ancestral groups, including Neolithic farmers from the area of Sarazm in what is now northwestern Tajikistan; pastoralists from the Eurasian steppe; and hunter-gatherers from South Asia. The study also determined that an influx of people to India from Africa some 50,000 years ago brought genetic variation to these three ancestral groups. A separate analysis of the genomes determined that like most non-Africans, Indians inherited between one and two percent of their DNA from Neanderthals and Denisovans. The researchers noted that almost 90 percent of all known Neanderthal genes found in modern humans today were detected in the genomes studied. It is not known if Neanderthals and Denisovans lived in the area, or if their genes were carried to India by modern humans after encounters with Neanderthals and Denisovans in Eurasia. To read more about the study of Denisovan DNA, go to "Denisovans at Altitude," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019.

Possible Parthian Religious Site Found in Iraqi Kurdistan

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—According to a statement released by Heidelberg University, a possible sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Persian water goddess Anahita has been found at Rabana-Merquly, the site of a Parthian Empire military fortress in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Michael Brown of Heidelberg University and his colleagues uncovered traces of the possible temple, including a fire altar, near a seasonal waterfall. Brown explained that Anahita was described in the Avesta, a Zoroastrian manuscript, as a beautiful woman who can assume the form of a flowing stream or waterfall. “The proximity to the waterfall is significant because the association of fire and water elements played an important role in pre-Islamic Persian religion,” Brown added. The researchers also uncovered two burial vessels radiocarbon dated to the first century B.C. at the site. Brown noted that visitors entering the sanctuary would have passed under a relief depicting a man who may have been the local Parthian vassal king. “Even if the cult site cannot be definitively attributed to the water goddess Anahita due to the lack of similar archaeological finds for direct comparison, the Rabana sanctuary still provides us with a fascinating glimpse into the regional sacral and geopolitical interconnections during the Parthian era,” he concluded. For more on Rabana-Merquly, go to "Royal Mountain Fortress."

Hittite Cuneiform Tablet Translated

TOKYO, JAPAN—According to a Live Science report, a well-preserved cuneiform tablet unearthed last year by Kimiyoshi Matsumura of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology at the site of Büklükale in central Turkey has been translated by Mark Weeden of University College London. The inscription, dated to the reign of the Hittite king Tudhaliya II some 3,300 years ago, includes texts written in both the Hittite and Hurrian languages. Previous research has indicated that the site was a major Hittite city, but the text, which appears to be a record of a ritual performed by a Hittite king, indicates that it may also have served as a royal residence. The Hittite inscription describes the outbreak of a war, while the inscription written in Hurrian, a language used by the Hittites for religious ceremonies, is a prayer to the storm god Teshub asking for divine advice and victory. “It indicates that, at the least, the Hittite king came to Büklükale … and performed the ritual,” Matsumura said. To read about 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets excavated at the Anatolian city of Kanesh, go to "Assyrian Women of Letters." 

Giant Tomb Uncovered at Etruscan Necropolis in Italy

BARBARANO ROMANO, ITALY—According to an ArtNet News report, a large rock-cut tomb was uncovered in the San Giuliano Rock Necropolis during an effort to clear plant overgrowth. Burials in the Etruscan necropolis, which is located in central Italy, date from the seventh century to the third century B.C. This giant structure was dug into a rock wall so that only one side is open. It is located next to the so-called Queen’s Tomb, the largest in the necropolis. The Queen’s Tomb dates to the fifth century B.C. and features side stairs leading to an upper terrace. Two doors lead into twin funeral chambers with benches within the Queen’s Tomb. To read about the burials of an Etruscan noble family unearthed at the necropolis of Vulci, go to "The Tomb of the Silver Hands."

Rural Medieval Moat and Bridge Found in England

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that an excavation in western England at the site of Cowfield Farm has uncovered a medieval moat and bridge. Traces of wood from the bridge have been dated to the mid-fifteenth century through dendrochronology. The structure is thought to have been built by prosperous free farmers who were tenants of Tewkesbury Abbey, which is located about two miles from the site. “A moat was partly for security, as there was no police force; so there was a practical aspect,” said Jon Hart of Cotswold Archaeology. “This one was definitely filled with water, with the Christian symbolism of purity and the lady of the house, whose fidelity had to be protected, surrounded by a symbolic virtuous belt of water,” he added. The researchers also uncovered a pilgrim badge showing the archangel Michael defeating a dragon; a copper-alloy clasp from a leather-bound book that likely belonged to a monk; a bucket-shaped pottery vessel; and a leather shoe. To read about archaeological investigations of medieval castle fortifications in Scotland, go to "Storming the Castle."

Possible Neolithic Body Piercings Unearthed in Anatolia

ANKARA, TURKEY—According to a Newsweek report, more than 100 objects recovered from graves of adults in southeastern Anatolia at the site of Boncuklu Tarla are thought to have been worn as body piercings. The 11,000-year-old ornaments, made in various sizes and shapes of limestone, obsidian, and river pebbles, were found near the ears and chins of human remains, said archaeologist Emma Baysal of Ankara University, and could have been worn as earrings and labrets, or lower lip piercings. Wear on the lower incisors is consistent with wear produced by labret-wearing in modern people, she explained. “We think these are the earliest examples yet recorded in their original context on the skeletons of the people who used them,” Baysal said. “We have earlier indirect evidence of labret use from other sites—but this is through wear on teeth and not directly from ornaments on skeletons.” The new evidence could lead to the reidentification of hundreds of artifacts recovered from Neolithic sites across western Asia and eastern Europe, Baysal concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read about piercing among the Maya in Central America, go to "From Head to Toe in the Ancient Maya World: Earrings."