Small bronze figurines of women clad in armor and bearing weapons that date to the Viking Age have traditionally been seen as representations of Valkyries, the female warriors of Norse mythology who determined whether human combatants lived or died. Analysis of some of the 7,000 fragments of ceramic molds discovered at the site of Ribe in southwestern Denmark that were used to make these figurines, however, suggests that they actually depict human participants in ritual ceremonies. Using high-resolution laser scans of the ceramic fragments, researchers led by Pieterjan Deckers, an archaeologist now at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, fashioned 3-D models of the complete molds that were used to create the figurines in the first few decades of the ninth century A.D. In addition to the armed women, these include a man pulling his hair, a saddled stallion without a rider, and miniature wheels, swords, and shields.

The team observed that the figurines crafted at the Ribe workshop are very similar to images on tapestry fragments found in the Oseberg ship burial in Norway, which also dates to the early ninth century A.D. Given that the Oseberg tapestries are generally understood to depict a ceremonial procession, Deckers and his team surmise that the figurines represent people participating in a ritual in which gender norms were upended. Deckers points out that the armed women wear antiquated helmets and long dresses that would be impractical on the battlefield. “They carry their shields under their arms, or even with the shield inside out,” he says. “They seem to be subverting the warrior image, playing a role.” Likewise, he says, the man pulling his hair is engaged in what was, at the time, seen as a typically feminine gesture.

At the sprawling villa of Civita Giuliana just north of Pompeii, archaeologists unearthed a nearly intact four-wheeled chariot, the first of its kind to be found in the Roman world. The chariot, which could seat one or two people, was discovered in a portico adjoining a stable where researchers uncovered the remains of three horses in 2018. The chariot is extremely fragile, so archaeologists digitally documented it before dismantling it into 112 pieces, which they brought to a lab for further analysis and restoration. They also made plaster casts of impressions left by decayed organic material, including the chariot’s wooden steering shaft and ropes that linked mechanical elements of its ironclad wheels.

Researchers believe the chariot is a pilentum, a type of vehicle known only from ancient sources that mention it was used by high-status women and priestesses. Its wooden sides are painted red and black and bear traces of floral motifs. On the vehicle’s rear, circular reliefs made of bronze and other metals feature erotic images, including scenes of frolicking followers of the wine god, Bacchus, and of the god of love, Eros. “The decoration is clearly related to the world of love,” says archaeologist Luana Toniolo of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. “That’s why we initially thought the chariot could be connected with weddings. Now we think that it was probably used in some kind of countryside ritual.” For more, go to "Digging Deeper into Pompeii's Past."

A Maya ceremonial pyramid and courtyard complex at Tikal, in present-day Guatemala, was hidden by jungle until its recent discovery during a lidar survey. Researchers believe the complex may once have been a hub for connections between Tikal and the massive metropolis of Teotihuacan, more than 600 miles away, near Mexico City. Upon examining the lidar scans of the Tikal complex, archaeologists noticed that it closely resembles the structure known as la Ciudadela, or the Citadel, at Teotihuacan. Archaeologist Edwin Román Ramírez of the Foundation for Maya Cultural and Natural Heritage says that the complex at Tikal is even oriented similarly to the one at Teotihuacan.

The Maya renovated the Tikal complex’s structures periodically starting around A.D. 250, possibly as its relationship with Teotihuacan changed. Textual and iconographic sources suggest that in the year A.D. 378 Tikal was conquered by an outside ruler, likely from Teotihuacan, named Sihyaj K’ahk’, or Born from Fire. Román Ramírez has found evidence from earlier stages of the complex suggesting that people living there even before that conquest may have been from Teotihuacan, or were at least familiar with Teotihuacan culture. This includes central Mexican–style building techniques, green obsidian spearpoints associated with Teotihuacan warriors, and Teotihuacan-style incense burners. “This was a long-term relationship,” says Román Ramírez. “It may have started out as commercial or mutually beneficial and later became one of conquest.”