Ancient Genomes from Eastern Arabia Analyzed

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND—According to a statement released by the University of Birmingham, an international team of researchers attempted to analyze DNA samples taken from the remains of 25 people who lived in what is now Bahrain between 300 B.C. and A.D. 600. Only four of the samples were sequenced to higher coverage due to poor preservation of the ancient remains in the region’s harsh climate. The study determined that three of these four individuals carried the G6PD Mediterranean mutation, which provides protection from malaria. Many people who lived in the region may therefore have had some natural resistance to the disease, the researchers explained. “According to our estimates, the G6PD Mediterranean mutation rose in frequency around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago—coinciding with the onset of agriculture in the region, which would have created ideal conditions for the proliferation of malaria,” said research team leader Rui Martiniano of Liverpool John Moores University. The study also suggests that these four individuals were related to groups from Anatolia, the Levant, the Caucasus, and Iran. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Cell Genomics. To read about a Dilmunite sanctuary in ancient Bahrain, go to "Archaeology Island: Economic Might."

Piece of 17th-Century Armor Identified in Maryland

ST. MARY’S CITY, MARYLAND—Live Science reports that X-rays of a piece of metal unearthed at the colonial fort at Historic St. Mary’s City confirm that it once formed part of a suit of armor. The tasset, a slightly concave slab of metal, would have hung from a breastplate to protect the wearer’s thighs during battle. Travis Parno of Historic St. Mary’s City said that the X-rays made it possible to see the individual bands of steel making up the tasset, which was decorated with rivets. Parno and his colleagues suggest that the armor was likely brought to the site by the first European colonists in the mid-1600s. But because the armor piece was found in a cellar thought to have been used for storage, and later as a trash receptacle, the colonists may have discarded it because it was too heavy and impractical in Maryland’s hot, humid environment. “You keep your breastplate, though, because that’s protecting your core,” Parno explained. To read about the fort's discovery, go to "Maryland's First Fort."

Excavation in England Extends Known Border of Saxon City

LONDON, ENGLAND—According to a Euronews report, Lundenwic, the Saxon trading post that grew from the Roman city of Londinium, was larger than previously thought. An excavation conducted at the National Gallery in London uncovered evidence of a hearth dated to the seventh or eighth century, postholes, stake holes, pits, and ditches at what would have been the western end of the Saxon settlement. Researchers led by archaeologist Stephen White of Archaeology South-East also found surviving segments of city walls constructed in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries at the site. To read about tolls at Anglo-Saxon trading settlements such as Lundenwic, go to "Ancient Tax Time: The Kings' Dues."

13th-Century Inscription Discovered in Southern India

TAMIL NADU, INDIA—According to a report in The New Indian Express, an inscription dated to the thirteenth century has been uncovered near the southern tip of India by researchers from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. The text reveals that Kulasekarapandian, a king of the Pandya Dynasty who ruled between A.D. 1190 and 1216, built a temple on the banks of the Thamirabarani River. The researchers suggest that the structure may have been demolished by later Chola rulers, or damaged during floods, and its stones reused to build the dam where the inscription was discovered. To read about a structure in unearthed in Tamil Nadu that researchers think may be a Chola palace, go to "Tamil Royal Palace."

Medieval Abbey Cemetery Excavated in Northern Ireland

CARRICKFERGUS, COUNTY ANTRIM—BBC News reports that the remains of more than 140 people were found in an area where a medieval abbey is thought to have been located during an investigation conducted ahead of a construction project. Woodburn Abbey was built in 1326 by the Premonstratensians, a Roman Catholic religious order, and dissolved in 1542 when the community moved away. The abbey building was then partially demolished in 1558 and eventually lost. The abbey cemetery is thought to have been situated alongside the main structure, explained Chris Long of Gahan and Long Archaeological Services. Most of the remains uncovered in the cemetery are thought to have belonged to men, but the bones of some women and infants were also recovered. The bones, thought to date to the fourteenth or fifteenth century, will be radiocarbon dated and examined by an osteoarchaeologist for additional information about their age, sex, and health status. “The vast majority [of remains] are buried in the Christian tradition of east-west orientation, but some later burials have been deposited north-south,” Long added. “This may reflect the burial of executed criminals from nearby Gallows Green, who would have been denied a full Christian burial,” he suggested. The bones will be reinterred at another location after the analysis has been completed. For more on archaeology in Northern Ireland, go to "Finding the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits."

Possible Bronze Age Cosmetic From Iran Analyzed

PADUA, ITALY—A small stone vial holding a bright red pigment may be an early example of lipstick, according to a Live Science report. The vial was discovered in southeastern Iran after several Bronze Age cemeteries near the city of Jiroft were flooded by the Halil River in 2001. Massimo Vidale of the University of Padua and his colleagues analyzed the artifact, which has been held at the Jiroft Archaeological Museum. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the dark, powdery substance in the vial is about 4,000 years old, Vidale said. “The container, made of a fine chloritic green rock, replicates the shape of a marsh cane segment—people, at the time, cut canes in segments to be used as cheap containers [for] everyday use,” he explained. “But in this case, the holder is made of an elegant and valuable stone,” he added. Analysis of the vial’s contents revealed that the mixture was mostly crushed hematite, which would have produced a vibrant red color. Manganite, braunite, and quartz were also identified. Vegetal fibers in the mix may have been added to scent the pigments. The concoction is thought to have been used as a lip color, similar to one depicted in an image of a young woman holding an applicator, mirror, and cylindrical vial in Egypt’s Turin Papyrus 55001, which has been dated to the twelfth century B.C., Vidale concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read about a wealthy Roman woman buried in Germany with her jewelry and makeup kit, go to "Beauty Endures."

Head of Small Roman Figurine Found in England

SMALLHYTHE, ENGLAND—According to a BBC News report, the two-inch head of a figurine of the Roman god Mercury was uncovered at the site of a previously unrecorded Roman settlement at the site of a medieval shipyard in southeastern England. The settlement, situated by the River Rother, has been dated to between the first and third centuries A.D. Made of pipeclay, such figurines are thought to have been used in private religious practice and placed in children’s graves. No body has been recovered for this figurine, which may have been broken intentionally during a ritual. “The head is clearly visible as Mercury, with his winged headdress,” said Nathalie Cohen of the National Trust. To read about excavations of a Roman sanctuary in the Netherlands with altars dedicated to Mercury and other gods, go to "Romans Go Dutch."