Roman-Era Wine Shop Excavated in Southern Greece

WATERLOO, ONTARIO—According to a Live Science report, traces of a 1,600-year-old wine shop have been uncovered in southern Greece at the site of the ancient city of Sikyon by a team led by Scott Gallimore of Wilfrid Laurier University and Martin Wells of Austin College. The structure is thought to have been abandoned after an earthquake or building collapse, due to the broken vessels made of bronze, glass, and ceramic; 60 bronze coins; and marble tabletops found scattered on the floor. The shop had been located in a neighborhood of workshops containing kilns and presses for grapes or olives. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any direct evidence of the types of wine that may have been sold,” Gallimore said. “We have some evidence of grape pips (Vitis Vinifera), but we aren’t able to say anything more specific than that right now.” Most of the coins found on the floor, Gallimore added, date to the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II, who ruled from A.D. 337 to 361. The latest coin was minted sometime between 355 and 361. The coins were all probably held in a ceramic vessel or bag that fell to the floor when the shop was destroyed, he concluded. To read about small home vineyards in ancient Pompeii, go to "The Archaeology of Gardens: Food and Wine Gardens."

Scientists Look for Origins of Syphilis-Like Diseases

BASEL, SWITZERLAND—Concave lesions caused by Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes the diseases of syphilis, bejel, and yaws, has been found in 2,000-year-old human remains unearthed at Jabuticabeira II, an archaeological site on Brazil’s southern coastline, according to a statement released by the University of Basel. Verena Schünemann and her colleagues at the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, the University of Vienna, and the University of Sao Paulo analyzed genetic material obtained from these bone samples and determined that the pathogen was most closely related to the modern subspecies of Treponema pallidum that causes the symptoms of bejel, which is spread by skin contact. The study also suggests that Treponema pallidum first evolved to infect humans some 12,000 years ago, and may have been brought to the Americas by migrants from Asia, Schünemann said. However, the strain of bacteria identified in the study is not an ancestor of the strain that causes modern venereal syphilis, and does not shed light on the origins of Europe’s fifteenth-century epidemic of venereal disease. “As we have not found any sexually transmitted syphilis in South America, the theory that Columbus brought syphilis to Europe seems to appear more improbable,” Schünemann concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature. To read about a case of syphilis identified in medieval remains in Europe, go to "World Roundup: Austria."

Peru’s High-Altitude Hunter-Gatherers Ate Mostly Plants

LARAMIE, WYOMING—The Guardian reports that analysis of the levels of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone samples taken from the remains of 24 people who had been interred in the Wilamaya Patjxa and Soro Mik’aya Patjxa burial sites in the Andes Mountains between 9,000 and 6,500 years ago suggests that they consumed a diet based upon wild potatoes and other root vegetables. “Our analysis shows that the diets were composed of 80 percent plant matter and 20 percent meat,” said research team member Randy Haas of the University of Wyoming. Jennifer Chen of Penn State University added that burnt plant remains have also been found at the sites, and wear and tear on the teeth of some of the people in the study shows that they consumed many tubers. The researchers determined that the meat that was eaten likely came from large mammals, such as deer or llamas, based on a comparison of the levels of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the human bones with those of local animals. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about another discovery from the site, go to "Lady Killer."

Iron Age Bog Body Found in Northern Ireland

COUNTY LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND—BBC News reports that well-preserved human remains recovered from Bellaghy peatland last fall have been carbon dated to between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. Detective Inspector Nikki Deehan of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the remains consist of leg and arm bones, finger bones, fingernails, toenails, the breastbone, skin, and a possible kidney. “A post mortem was carried out by a certified forensic anthropologist and determined that the individual was possibly a male aged between 13 and 17 years old at the time of death,” she added. The individual’s head is missing, however, and it is not clear if it was removed before or after death. Fossilized tree remains found near the body indicate that it had been buried in an area that was wooded at the time. To read about remains recovered from Ireland's Cashel Bog, go to "Oldest Bog Body," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2013.

Face of Man Crucified in Roman Britain Recreated

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Forensic artist Joe Mullins of George Mason University has reconstructed the face of a man likely crucified by the Romans, according to a BBC News report. The man’s remains, including a nail through his heel, were discovered in 2017 at a Roman settlement site in the East of England. The site has been dated to the third and fourth centuries A.D. “This man had such a particularly awful end that it feels as though by seeing his face you can give more respect to him,” commented bone specialist Corinne Duhig of Cambridge University. She noted that there were signs of other injuries on the bones, and evidence of an infection or inflammation, perhaps from an illness or from time being bound and shackled. “He was tortured yet given over to his population to have an absolutely normal burial,” she said. Wear and tear on the bones indicate the man had been a manual laborer, while isotopic and DNA analysis of the remains indicate that he may have had brown hair, brown eyes, and probably lived in the area throughout his life, she added. To read about a man buried in Roman Britain with iron fetters around his ankles, go to "Identifying the Unidentified."

Remains from Mexico’s Palace of Cortés Reevaluated

CUERNAVACA, MEXICO—Live Science reports that a skeleton discovered in 1971 at the entrance to the palace of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in south-central Mexico has been reexamined by Pablo Neptalí Monterroso Rivas and Isabel Bertha Garza Gómez of Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH). The Tlahuica, an Aztec people, occupied this area of Mexico as early as A.D. 1150, and built a city named Cuauhnáhuac. Cortés destroyed the city in 1521 and built his palace in 1535 on the ruins of the Aztec tax collection house. When these bones were first analyzed, the researchers concluded that they likely belonged to the Spanish monk Juan Leyva, since historic records showed that he had been buried near a gate at the palace. The new study suggests that the shape of the skull and pelvis indicate that the remains actually belonged to a woman between the ages of 30 and 40 at the time of her death. The crouched position of the burial, and some flattening at the back of the skull, perhaps from the practice of cranial modification, indicate that she may have been Tlahuica. Monterroso Rivas and Gómez think the woman was buried between 1500 and 1521, perhaps as part of a ritual event. They also identified the bones of an infant and a child among the remains. Additional testing of the bones may reveal if the individuals were related. To read about excavations of the Aztec capital, go to "Under Mexico City."

The Process of Roman Winemaking Investigated

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—According to a report in The Charlotte Observer, Dimitri Van Limbergen of Ghent University and Paulina Komar of the University of Warsaw compared Roman dolia, a type of large, earthenware jar used to make, ferment, and store wine, with qvevri, a similar sort of vessel used in Georgia, where wine making dates back some 8,000 years. The process of making wine in Georgia in antiquity was documented in more detail than in Rome, however, and qvevri are still used in Georgia to produce the beverage. The study found that mineral content in the clay of the dolia contributed to the flavor of the finished wine. It was also determined that the egg shape of the vessel created internal convection currents that stirred up the dead yeasts, grape skins, and other solids in the grape juice mixture to produce a more homogenous final product. Depending upon whether or not the grape skins had been left in the mix, or filtered out with strainers, the finished wine could have come in a range of colors, such as white, reddish-yellow, blood red, and black. Burying the dolia, as they have been found at Pompeii and Villa Regina in Boscoreale, would have created a constant temperature for the fermentation process over a period of months. Limbergen and Komar concluded that finished Roman wine was likely spicy and smelled like toast, apples, roasted walnuts, and curry. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read more about the production of ancient wine and spirits, go to "Alcohol Through the Ages."

Legionary’s Arm Guard Reconstructed from Brass Fragments

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND—According to an ArtNet News report, more than 100 fragments of a brass arm guard unearthed in 1906 at Trimontium, a fort on the Roman Empire’s northern frontier, have been reassembled by researchers from National Museums Scotland. Team member Fraser Hunter said that the armor would have offered protection from the shoulder to the hand of the legionary who wore it, but it would have also served as a status symbol. “Brass was expensive and would have gleamed like gold on his sword arm,” Hunter explained. The design of the piece of armor is thought to have been inspired by gear worn by gladiators. To read about artifacts recently discovered at the Roman frontier camp of Novae in northern Bulgaria, go to "Legionary Personal Effects."   To see a video about the process of conserving the arm guard, click below.  

Estonia Repatriates Recovered Artifacts to Ukraine

TALLINN, ESTONIA—ERR News reports that Estonia will repatriate to Ukraine artifacts recovered by customs officers during a routine check at the border with Russia in 2018. “The material is quite diverse, containing parts of several treasures from different regions,” said archaeologist Nele Kangert of Estonia’s National Heritage Board. “This suggests we are dealing with a black-market network,” she explained. Toomas Huik, commander of the Luhamaa border point, said that the officers first spotted a piece of yellowish metal wrapped in paper in the cab of a truck that had been carrying meat. A search of the vehicle revealed a total of 274 ancient gold and silver items, including jewelry, coins, a chalice, and horse headgear. Analysis of the artifacts identified one of the coins as a golden stater of King Lysimachus, who became ruler of Thrace after the death of Alexander the Great. Pieces of 2,300-year-old Scythian gold jewelry were also identified. Further investigation and consultation with archaeologists from Ukraine showed that many of the objects originated in eastern and southern Ukraine, although it is not yet clear if all of the objects were stolen from small museums or had been looted from the ground. To read about gold artifacts recovered from an ancient burial chamber in Bulgaria, go to "Thracian Treasure Chest."

Roman Triumphal Arch Unearthed in Serbia

KOSTOLAC, SERBIA—The square foundation footprints of a triumphal arch have been discovered in Serbia on the main street in Viminacium, the ancient capital of the Roman province of Moesia, according to a Reuters report. The excavation team also uncovered a pillar, beams, and a fragment of a marble slab engraved with the letters CAES/ANTO, which suggest that the arch was dedicated to the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, or Caracalla, who reigned from A.D. 198 to 217. “This is the first such triumphal arch in this area…It can be dated to the first decades of the third century A.D.,” commented archaeologist Miomir Korać. The fortified city of Viminacium featured a hippodrome, a forum, a palace, temples, an amphitheater, aqueducts, baths, and workshops, and was home to about 45,000 people between the first and sixth centuries A.D. Korać hopes that more pieces of the triumphal arch will be found. To read about a flat-bottomed ship found in a strip mine near Viminacium, go to "Roman River Cruiser."  

Freshwater Crab Remains Found in Pits at Palenque

CHIAPAS, MEXICO—Newsweek reports that the fragile remains of more than 1,300 freshwater crabs have been found in two deposits at the palace complex at Palenque, a Maya city in southeastern Mexico. Crabs, which were considered to be symbolic of regeneration, may have been chosen for a ritual to commemorate milestones in the construction of the palace between A.D. 500 and 700, according to Carlos Varela Scherrer and his colleagues at Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology. “For the ancient Maya, it was important to hold ritual banquets where food was shared between the participants and the deities,” Scherrer explained. The food and other objects were then burned, placed in pits in the floor, and covered with dirt. A stucco head thought to represent a ruler of Palenque, a ceramic vessel depicting a Maya deity, and a pipe in the shape of a river prawn were also recovered from these pits. “The recovery of crabs in Palenque opens new interpretations about the use of fauna and its cuisine,” Scherrer concluded. To read about another discovery at Palenque, go to "Inside a Painted Tomb."