Neolithic Burial Complex Excavated in Germany

MAGDEBURG, GERMANY—According to a press release from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, archaeologists conducting excavations on and around a small hill in eastern Germany known as the Eulenberg have discovered a burial complex that Neolithic people used for generations. They found that between 4100 and 3600 B.C., when people belonging to what scholars call the Baalberg Culture lived in the area, two large wooden burial chambers measuring 65 and 100 feet long were constructed within 700 feet of each other. Some 1,000 years later, members of the Globular Amphora Culture (3300–2800 B.C.) constructed a processional route that connected the two tombs, alongside which they buried pairs of young cattle. Later, people dug a palisaded ditch along the processional route and seem to have deliberately avoided destroying the cattle burials. Nearby burial mounds dating to the period of the Corded Ware Culture (2800–2050 B.C.) suggest the landscape was considered important for at least 2,000 years. To read more about the people living in Germany during this period, go to “The Neolithic Toolkit.” 

Ming Dynasty Tomb Found in China's Xinfu District

XI'AN, CHINA—According to a report in The Miami Herald, archaeologists from the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology have uncovered a 400-year-old stone tomb dated to the Ming Dynasty in the Xinfu District, located some 300 miles southwest of the capital, Beijing. The incredibly well-preserved grave spans more than 80 feet and includes two burial chambers and niches sealed with a stone tomb gate, as well as a set of carved ornamental double doors that feature dragons. Its passageway is inscribed with text that reads, “Epitaph of the Prince of Ming Ru Hou'an.” The main chamber holds two intricately decorated wooden coffins painted with gold diamonds and other colorful floral and bird patterns. The niches contain several porcelain vases and jars containing grain, oil, and liquids. In the smaller back chamber, archaeologists found fine wooden furniture, including tables, chairs, and altars in various state of ruin; candlesticks and lampstands; tin cups and pots; and writing tools such as inkstones and Chinese calligraphy implements. Over 60 additional tombs have been excavated as part of explorations before nearby highway construction commences. To read more about the archaeology of the Ming Dynasty, go to “China’s River of Gold.” 

Millennium-Old Moravian Ice Skate Unearthed

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC—According to a report from Radio Prague International, a medieval ice skate made from animal bone has been uncovered in the central Moravian city of Přerov. The object was unearthed in the basement of a house on the city’s Upper Square by archaeologists from the Comenius Museum and has been dated to the second half of the tenth century or the first half of the eleventh century A.D. based on accompanying ceramics. The skate was most likely crafted from the shin bone of a horse. It has a curved tip at the front end with a hole drilled into it and another hole drilled in the back. A strap threaded through the holes would have been used to attach the skate to a shoe or a wooden sledge. According to archaeologist Zdeněk Schenk, the skate was used for transportation, not leisure activities. “Rather than skating, they would shuffle along the frozen surface with the help of a stick or two,” he says. “They would also attach the blades to sledges to carry a load of goods across the frozen water.” To read about the saga of a mysterious skeleton dating to the same period, go to “The Man in Prague Castle.”

2,000-Year-Old Rock Art Discovered in Central Brazil

TOCANTINS, BRAZIL—Newsweek reports that researchers from Brazil’s National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) identified rcok engravings that may date as far back as 2,000 years at 16 archaeological sites in Jalapão, the eastern region of the state of Tocantins. There is evidence for human occupation in the area that dates to some 12,000 years ago. At some of the sites, which are close to each other along the same rock face, they also found a smaller number of paintings in red pigments. The artworks depict human footprints, tracks of animals such as wild pigs and deer, and figures resembling celestial bodies. "In addition to the relationship of proximity, what connects these sites is the recurrence of the symbols represented, demonstrating that the creators of the rock records, especially the engravings, shared the same belief system," said IPHAN archaeologist Rômulo Macedo. The techniques used to make the paintings, as well as the subjects represented, suggest that the paintings are likely older than the engravings and may have been created by a different culture, he added. To read about ancient forestry practices in southern Brazil, go to "Ancient Foresters."

Underwater Roman Site in Slovenia Explored

PORTOROZ, SLOVENIA—Divernet reports that underwater archaeologists have recovered part of an ancient sail, timber stakes, and pieces of two ship masts at Fizine, a submerged Roman site off Slovenia's Adriatic coast. One of the mast fragments, which is made of fir and measures about three feet long, contains an oak pulley. Researchers also found more than 3,000 Roman pottery fragments, including sigillata that was mass-produced in the first century A.D., as well as pieces of imported amphoras, cooking wares, and fine tablewares dating to the Late Antique period. According to the researchers, the site's sheltered location along the coast, and the wooden structures documented there, indicate that it likely served as a Roman harbor. To read about evidence of a Roman harbor uncovered in a Venetian waterway, go to "A Trip to Venice."

Medieval Settlement Unearthed in Southern France

CAYRAC, FRANCE—According to a report in the Miami Herald, evidence of a settlement dating to the eleventh and twelfth centuries A.D. has been discovered near the village of Cayrac in southern France. The remnants of the village, including five buildings, 29 silos, and an oven, were uncovered by archaeologists from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research. Several of the buildings contained hearths and silos, while a number of silos were found in the space between buildings. One of the buildings appears to have been a semi-buried cellar. The silos could hold between 100 and 950 gallons. A priory is known to have been present in the area in the late tenth century A.D., and the new findings suggest that the priory was associated with a town that developed in the subsequent centuries. In a separate excavation, two shallow pits and a well that were likely part of an earlier settlement were unearthed. The well was lined with limestone bricks, and the pits contained ceramics dating to the first and second centuries A.D. To read about wall paintings discovered in a Roman city in southern France, go to “France’s Roman Heritage.”

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."