Upper Section of Ramesses II Statue Discovered in Egypt
CAIRO, EGYPT—A large section from the upper part of a colossal statue of Ramesses II, who ruled from 1279 to 1213 B.C. during the 19th Dynasty, has been uncovered by a joint Egyptian-American archaeological team working near the city of Minya in Upper Egypt, according to a Reuters report. Egyptian archaeologist Bassem Jihad said that the carved piece of limestone, which measures about 12.5 feet tall, shows Ramesses wearing a double crown and a headdress topped with a royal cobra. A text written in hieroglyphics on the upper area of the back of the statue glorifies the king, he added. The lower section of the statue was discovered by German archaeologist Gunther Roeder in 1930. Originally, the entire statue would have stood more than 20 feet tall. Mustafa Waziri of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the researchers will create a model of what the statue would have looked like in antiquity. To read about mummified animal heads unearthed around the temple of Ramesses II in Abydos, go to "Ram Heads for Ramesses."
1,200-Year-Old Lord’s Tomb Unearthed in Panama
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA—CBS News reports that a 1,200-year-old tomb of the Coclé culture containing the remains of an elite lord, as many as 31 sacrificial victims, and gold artifacts has been discovered in Panama’s El Caño Archaeological Park. The gold objects include bracelets, two belts made with gold beads, crocodile-shaped earrings, earrings made of gold-covered sperm whale teeth, and circular gold plates. A set of bone flutes, two bells, skirts made with dog teeth, and earrings shaped like a man and a woman were also recovered. Archaeologist Julia Mayo of the El Caño Foundation said that the lord, who was about 30 years old at the time of his death, was buried face down on top of the body of a woman, which is typical of this type of Coclé culture burial. The excavation of the tomb will continue, she concluded. To read about early evidence for shamanistic practices in Central America dating as far back as 4,800 years ago, go to "World Roundup: Panama."
Evidence for Early Tobacco Use Found in Guatemala
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT—According to a Live Science report, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos of Yale University and his colleagues have detected nicotine in residue samples taken from pottery unearthed near the remains of sweat baths at Cotzumalhuapa, a city located in what is now Guatemala that was occupied between A.D. 650 and 950. The substance was found in three tall, narrow vessels typically thought to have been used to hold liquids. Tobacco may have therefore been consumed as a liquid infusion, or liquid may have been drunk from the vessels as tobacco was snorted or smoked. “We knew that tobacco was a very important substance employed for a variety of ritual and therapeutic purposes in ancient Mesoamerica and across the New World,” Chinchilla Mazariegos said. Physical evidence of tobacco use is rare, however, because it is rarely preserved in the archaeological record, he explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read about the tobacco smoking habits of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, go to "A Tale of Two Pipes."
Fresco Depicting Phrixus and Helle Discovered in Pompeii
NAPLES, ITALY—According to a report in The Guardian, images of Phrixus and Helle, characters in Greek mythology, have been found at the House of Leda in Pompeii, an ancient Roman city destroyed in A.D. 79 by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. A depiction of the myth of Leda and the Swan was uncovered near the entrance to this house in 2018. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii Archaeological Park, said that depictions of Phrixus and Helle have been found throughout Pompeii. “They are two refugees at sea, a brother and sister, forced to flee because their stepmother wants rid of them and she does so with deception and corruption,” Zuchtriegel explained. The siblings were rescued by a flying ram with golden fleece sent by their birth mother, but Helle fell off the ram into the waters of the Hellespont, and drowned, he added. The fresco shows Helle with her face obscured by waves, reaching out to Phrixus on the back of the ram. To read about new insights into the process of ancient Roman house painting, go to "Painting by Roman Numerals."
Well-Preserved Anglo-Saxon Building Uncovered
NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a well-preserved Anglo-Saxon building has been uncovered in northeastern England. The building features large posts, a surviving floor, and a hearth. Loom weights, used while weaving, were also found alongside an oven. The structure is thought to have been part of an Anglo-Saxon center in the seventh century A.D. “It would have been a meeting place where people made things, including cloth, and came to exchange goods,” said community archaeologist Jane Harrison. Previous investigations of the site uncovered Viking-era artifacts, including lead gaming pieces. To read about recent excavations of an important Anglo-Saxon royal center in Suffolk, go to "Update: Royal Rendlesham."
Hazelnut Shells Offer New Clues to Past Environmental Conditions
OXFORD, ENGLAND—According to a statement released by Frontiers, Amy Styring of the University of Oxford and her colleagues analyzed carbon in hazelnut shells recovered from archaeological sites in southern Sweden ranging in age from the Mesolithic period through the Iron Age. The proportions of isotopes of carbon in the shells vary by the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment, which is affected by the amount of available sunlight and water. Because there has been plenty of water in Sweden, the amount of sunlight would have had a greater influence on the ratio of carbon isotopes in the hazelnut trees, the researchers explained. Trees with higher carbon isotope values therefore likely had less competition for sunlight from other trees, as determined by a study of living hazelnut trees growing in various light levels. Styring and her colleagues then compared the ratios of carbon isotopes in the shells from living hazelnut trees with the shells recovered from archaeological sites. The study suggests that the environment shifted from heavily forested to more open and pasture-like over time. “Our study has opened up new potential for directly tying environmental changes to people’s foraging activities and reconstructing the microhabitats that they exploited,” Styring said. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. For another example of the use of environmental data in investigating ancient land use, go to "Letter from the Faroes: Lost History of the Sheep Islands."
Copper Age Necropolis Discovered in Italy
SAN GIORGIO BIGARELLO, ITALY—A 5,000-year-old necropolis containing 22 tombs has been discovered in northern Italy, according to a Live Science report. The cemetery is situated on a dry, sandy hill, which helped to preserve the human remains, explained Simone Sestito of the Italian Ministry of Culture. Flint daggers, arrowheads, and blades have been recovered from the tombs, in addition to the bones. “Some of the tombs also had burial goods like necklaces made with soapstone beads,” Sestito said. Many of the individuals were interred with their heads to the northwest, on their left sides, with their legs bent to their chests. “The positioning of the bodies suggests that there might have been some correlation with another Copper Age culture from northern Italy known as the Remedello,” who buried their dead in a similar manner, Sestito explained. DNA analysis of samples taken from the bones could offer insight into the group’s identity, he concluded. To read about the clothing worn by the Copper Age man who died in the Italian Alps 5,300 years ago, go to "Ötzi's Sartorial Splendor."
Neolithic Child’s Burial Excavated in India
CHENNAI, INDIA—According to a report in The New Indian Express, a burial of a child estimated to have been between the ages of nine and 11 at the time of death has been unearthed at the site of a small settlement in southeastern India by a team of researchers led by Jinu Koshy of the University of Madras. The child was buried with pottery that has been dated to the Neolithic period, between about 5000 and 1500 B.C. Radiocarbon dating will be conducted to obtain a more precise age for the burial. To read about a 2,300-year-old terracotta sarcophagus found near Chennai, go to "Double Vision."
Medieval Toy Unearthed in Poland
TORUŃ, POLAND—Knewz.com reports that an 800-year-old horse figurine was found during an excavation conducted as part of the construction of a new fire station in Toruń, a medieval town on the Vistula River in north-central Poland. The small clay horse was glazed and has a hole in its underside. Researchers think a stick may have fit into the hole so that playing children could pretend to make the horse gallop or use it as a puppet. The excavation also uncovered traces of a medieval tower, pottery fragments, a buckle, a knife sheath made of bone, and an amber ring. To read about pig figurines found at a Bronze Age hillfort in Poland that researchers believe may have been toys, go to "Piggy Playthings."
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