Was Stonehenge Used As a Solar Calendar?

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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The stones of the monument would have arranged the days of the week and the seasons

An archaeologist has recently suggested that Stonehenge may have served as a solar calendar, with each stone serving as a day and possible portions of the circle of stones serving as weeks.

An accurate solar calendar, which has 365.25 days on average, is crucial for ensuring that the seasons don't change abruptly (for example, by having winter in June). A leap day is added to the Gregorian calendar every four years to accommodate the quarter of a day. This calendar is still widely used today.

The 5,000-year-old structure's usage and purpose have baffled archaeologists, who have put forth a variety of theories. Some of these theories include the possibility that Stonehenge served as a burial site, a site for religious rituals, or a calendar.

Scholars have long recognized a Neolithic calendar in the colossal Stonehenge structure as proof of primitive time reckoning. The precise workings of such a calendar, however, are still unknown, as Professor of Archaeology at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom and study author Timothy Darvill published a paper on March 1 in the journal Antiquity.

Using the calendar correctly

Darvill examined the numerology (the study of the meaning of numbers) of the stones themselves to ascertain how the Stonehenge calendar functioned. According to Darvill, Stonehenge formerly featured 30 massive "sarsen" stones that were connected at the top by 30 stone lintels, although some of these stones are now missing or have fallen over. The thirty stones would have stood for thirty days. Darvill noted that if you increase this by a year, you get 360 days.

10 stones were placed inside this Sarsen circle in groups of two, resulting in five pairs of stones that may have signified five additional days, providing a total of 365 days, according to Darvill.

This diagram shows how the Stonehenge calendar may have worked. (Image credit: Image courtesy Timothy Darvill)

Four additional "station stones," as archaeologists refer to them, are situated outside the sarsen circle. These four stones might have suggested that every four years, a day should be added to the calendar, creating a solar year of 365.25 days.

Darvill saw the sarsens and remarked that two of the stones in the circle, referred to by archaeologists as S11 and S21, are thinner than the other stones and also have a bigger space between them and the following stone than the other stones. These variations imply that Stonehenge's builders may have considered every tenth day to be significant, maybe denoting a fictitious "week," according to Darvill. According to Darvill, "the months are each divided into three weeks of 10 days."

Stonehenge was constructed to coincide with the winter and summer solstices, as has long been known by scholars; according to Darvill, this alignment would have made it easier for people to keep the right calendar. Individuals could see if the alignments happened when they were intended to in order to make sure they were keeping track of time correctly.

making of a calendar

Stonehenge was built sometime between 3000 and 2000 B.C. and modified over the years. According to Darvill, the parts of Stonehenge that appear to be a calendar were built between around 2620 and 2480 B.C. According to this chronology, Stonehenge was not initially constructed as a solar calendar.

People may have been more interested in the moon phases when Stonehenge was initially built, and over time, they may have been more interested in the solar calendar, according to Darvill. It is difficult to say why this transformation occurred since writing had not yet become widely used in Britain. Religions may have evolved to place a greater emphasis on the sun and its movements.

Darvill is unsure about the origins and purposes of this solar calendar. During the time Stonehenge was built, solar calendars were being developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt, he continued. The concept of the solar calendar might have made its way to Britain via long-distance trading routes, suggested Darvill. According to Darvill, it's also plausible that individuals in Britain created the solar calendar without being aware of comparable advancements in the Middle East.

The research was recently released, and it is unknown how other academics would react to it.

Lost Excavation Photos Reveal 8,000-Year-Old Mummified Remains From Europe

Eight thousand-year-old remains recovered from the Sado Valley in Portugal in 1960 and 1962 have given merit to a fresh approach to analyzing old remains, as new techniques revealed they may represent Europe’s oldest mummies. The approach enabled researchers to reconstruct the positions of 13 individuals found at the site, revealing clues that two of the bodies may have been prepared – or “cured” – before burial.

The hunter-gatherer burial site findings were published in the European Journal of Archaeology. The study combined archaeothanatology – an approach that looks at the spatial distribution of bones through the lens of how the human body decomposes – with modern human decomposition experiments to reassess the remains found in the Sado Valley back in the 60s.

The researchers were able to effectively travel back in time to revisit the remains at their time of discovery as new photos from the initial excavation emerged. The treasure trove of photos meant the researchers could revisit the original findings with new interpretative techniques and reconstruct the spatial arrangement of almost all of the individuals’ remains.

They could then work backwards to establish the funerary practices that would’ve enabled their final resting places by considering the way the human body falls apart as decomposition takes hold.

An illustration showing how ancient people in Portugal may have mummified human remains. Peyroteo-Stjerna et al/European Journal of Archaeology

Their interpretations revealed that the cadavers had been buried before some of the weaker joints had begun to decompose. In fact, they seemed to have maintained their anatomical integrity overall surprisingly well, many laying in flexed positions with their feet pushed towards the buttocks.

Squashed positions like these point towards “clumping”, the hypercontraction of the body during decomposition. Some were so tightly packed that the researchers suspect tight wrapping or binding may have been used to keep the bodies compact.

Evidence of mummification came with two of the most hyperflexed remains whose bones stayed so in place that they’re believed to be indicative of some kind of pre-burial treatment. Areas like the feet are among the first to fall apart, even in filled graves, but this was not the case for the two specimens.

“Decomposition of the body in situ would normally generate activity such as bloating followed by the creation of significant empty spaces … as soft tissue disappears,” wrote the study authors. “In filled primary burials, disarticulated bones, such as [fingers], have often moved into such empty spaces.”

That the bones held their positions so well, they say, indicates that the bodies didn’t go into the ground as fresh cadavers but instead in a desiccated state, such as that created by mummification. Practices such as wrapping and curing bodies are both viable explanations for the two individual’s burial findings.

Modern experiments were able to investigate how the human body flexes when decomposing in various positions and stages of guided mummification. (Further imagery can be seen under the "Analysis" section of the study though viewer discretion is advised). Image credit: Peyroteo-Stjerna et al 2022, European Journal of Archaeology. CC BY 4.0

Using modern-day cadavers, the researchers were able to witness how wrapping and desiccation could enable the hyperflexed positions of the bodies as shrinking of soft tissues allows for greater flexion. They carried out guided natural mummification with cadavers both above ground and in soil to see how this affected the final spatial positioning.

Pre-burial treatment through this type of mummification may have enabled Mesolithic humans to preserve and transport their dead as it made for significantly lighter remains compared to a fresh cadaver. “Moving the dead would have been a costly endeavour,” the authors said, “mummification before transport would have made the journey easier.”

Mummification may also have had important cultural implications for Mesolithic humans’ understanding of death, especially considering that the process often requires days – or months – worth of tending to the dead’s many exudates. A good mummy needs to be warm, ventilated, dry, and – ideally – have some of the gassier, bacterial-heavy organs scooped out (but not always).

That mummification hasn’t been associated with the Mesolithic before could be the result of not having all the interpretative tools available when analyzing burial sites, say the researchers, as well as simply not expecting to find it. It’s their suggestion that mummification could well have been far more widely used even at this early stage, and across Europe, than previously expected, but more research is needed.

“Being a single case, it is difficult to say whether it represents an exceptional or a more common practice” the authors concluded.

“It would also be valuable to revisit the analysis of other potential [mummies]... with the same combination of archaeothanatological analysis and knowledge gained from experimental taphonomy.”

Source: .iflscience

The 'Burton Agnes Chalk Drum': ‘Most Important Prehistoric Discovery in a Century’ Revealed by British Museum

5,000-year-old chalk drum decorated with motifs was discovered in Yorkshire alongside burial of three children

The Burton Agnes chalk drum, chalk ball and bone pin 3005-2890BC. Photograph: British Museum

A 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture discovered in east Yorkshire, due to be displayed at the British Museum, has been described as the most important piece of prehistoric art to be found in Britain in the last century.

The object, which archaeologists have named the “Burton Agnes drum”, is a chalk sculpture which had been decorated with motifs similar to the artistic style at the same time as Stonehenge was built. The drum was discovered alongside the burial of three children.

The drum is hailed to be such an important discovery due to its similarity to a group of objects already in the British Museum’s collection.

The Folkton drums, three barrel-shaped cylinders made of chalk, were found in North Yorkshire buried alongside the remains of a child, and have been part of the British Museum’s collection since 1889. They are, according to the British Museum, some of the “most famous and enigmatic ancient objects ever unearthed in Britain”.

Relatively little is known about the Folkton drums and their context but this new drum, which was found about 15 miles away, sheds new light on them. The exact age of the Folkton drums was never known, with a consensus guess that they were made around 2500 – 2000BC. However, due to new technology and the finding of the new drum, the Folkton drums can be identified as being nearly 500 years older than previously thought.

This new discovery, only the fourth example of its kind known to have survived, is nearly identical to the Folkton drums and can also be described as a chalk drum.

Despite the use of the term ‘drum’, they are not thought to have had a musical function. Instead, they are works of sculptural art, and have been interpreted to be intended as talismans to protect the deceased children they accompanied.

The Burton Agnes drum is due to be displayed to the public for the first time on Thursday, alongside all three Folkton drums, as part of the World of Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum.

Neil Wilkin, curator of The World of Stonehenge at the British Museum, said the discovery was “truly remarkable”.

“The Folkton drums have long remained a mystery to experts for well over a century, but this new example finally begins to give us some answers. To my mind, the Burton Agnes drum is even more intricately carved and reflects connections between communities in Yorkshire, Stonehenge, Orkney and Ireland,” he said.

“The discovery of the Burton Agnes grave is highly moving. The emotions the new drum expresses are powerful and timeless, they transcend the time of Stonehenge and reflect a moment of tragedy and despair that remains undimmed after 5,000 years,” he added. “We are honoured that the British Museum will be the first place the public will be able to see this important object, and that they will see it alongside 430 other ancient items telling the spectacular story of Stonehenge and the vibrant world in which it was built.”

Mark Allen, the director of Allen Archaeology, said that it has been a “real privilege” to have been involved in its discovery, and took the opportunity to thank the “landowners for their enthusiasm and interest in the project from the outset.”

“When we heard about the find from the team on site and saw the photos of the drum that were messaged over to us, it was clear we were looking at something extraordinary,” he said. “Although the photos did not do it justice, and we were all stunned to see it up close when it came off site.”

Alice Beasley, who first uncovered the drum as an archeologist for Allen Archeology, said discovering it was a “thrilling and humbling” experience. “Seeing the love and effort put into burying the individuals over 5,000 years ago was truly moving,” she said.

The World of Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum, on display until mid-July, is the UK’s first major exhibition on Stonehenge. Nearly two-thirds of the objects on display will be loaned from 35 lenders across several different countries, including Germany, Denmark and Italy.

 This article was amended on 11 February 2022 to clarify that it is archaeologists who have named the object the “Burton Agnes drum”.

Source: theguardian

Metal Detectorist finds Medieval Gold Brooch with Supernatural Inscriptions

The brooch contains religious and magical inscriptions in Latin and Hebrew.

This gold brooch dates back around 800 years and has a series of Latin and Hebrew inscriptions engraved on it (Image credit: Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum)

A metal detectorist has discovered a medieval gold brooch with a series of Latin and Hebrew inscriptions. The artifact, found in Wiltshire in the U.K., may have mixed religion and magic in an attempt to give its user protection against illness or supernatural events. 

The Latin inscriptions translate to "Hail Mary full of grace the lord/ is with thee/ blessed art thou amongst women/ and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen." The Hebrew initials for "AGLA" are also inscribed on the brooch and represent Hebrew words that mean "Thou art mighty forever, O Lord." 

The gold brooch dates to sometime between A.D. 1150 and 1400 and may have been used in an attempt to prevent fever, according to a brief report on the brooch published online by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and written by Sophie Hawke, a finds liaison officer for PAS. In England and Wales, metal detectorists report their discoveries to the PAS, a government-sponsored organization that publishes reports and images of the finds on its website and sometimes in scholarly journals.

What was it used for? 

Live Science talked with a number of scholars with expertise in medieval history and magic to get their thoughts on what the brooch might have been used for. 

The Hebrew initials that represent the phrase "Thou art mighty forever, O Lord" may be important to the brooch's purpose, some of the scholars said. This phrase "figures prominently in medieval magic," Richard Kieckhefer, a professor of religious studies at Northwestern University, told Live Science in an email. 

He noted that the other prayers engraved on the brooch were common religious prayers at the time. "What I would want to emphasize is that this sort of combination of 'religion' and 'magic' is not unusual," Kieckhefer said, noting that the mixture of religious and magical meanings would have given the brooch special powers in the eyes of the person who created it. 

The Hebrew initials for "AGLA" were "very commonly used in magic, from high ritual magic to protective amulets and charms," Frank Klaassen, a history professor at the University of Saskatchewan, told Live Science in an email. "It is one of many divine names or words of power common in medieval traditions." 

But why would someone wear such a brooch?

"Wearing Bible quotes like this was sometimes done as a way of protecting a person against misfortune," such as fire, sudden death or supernatural forces such as demons, Catherine Rider, a professor of medieval history at the University of Exeter in the U.K., wrote in an email. "It's hard to be sure that it's magical — it's perhaps more in a grey area between what we'd see as magic and religion."

Given the brooch's small size and mention of the Virgin Mary, the person wearing it may have been a woman. With its "small, though elegant, size, I would guess it was used on a woman's garments of some light fabric," Karen Jolly, a history professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told Live Science in an email. "This woman was of sufficient means to have the object or have been given it. Whether she was literate or not, she would know what it said and what it meant," Jolly said, adding that perhaps the brooch served a protective purpose related to pregnancy and childbirth. 

The brooch, with its tiny engraved inscriptions, was well crafted. "My main reaction to the brooch is that it was made by somebody who was highly skilled, and that its first owner, at least, was a pious person who recorded on it both devotion to the Virgin and a charm to protect them against various threats," Anne Lawrence-Mathers, a history professor at the University of Reading in the U.K., wrote in an email. 

The brooch is now going through the Treasure Act, as required by British law. It's a process by which a determination is made as to what will happen to the artifact. It may end up being placed in a local museum depending on a number of factors. For instance, one possible outcome is that the metal detectorist may be given a monetary reward and the artifact may be handed over to the government, which could place it in a museum. 

Originally published on Live Science.

Mesolithic Skeleton known as 'Cheddar Man' shares the same DNA with English Teacher of History!

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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Separated by 10,000 years but linked by DNA! A 9,000-year-old skeleton's DNA was tested, and it was concluded that a living relative was teaching history about a half mile away, tracing back nearly 300 generations!

In the rolling hills of Somerset, England, beneath the shadow of the Cheddar Gorge cliffs, a millennia-old secret lay waiting. It was here, in 1903, that Gough's Cave revealed its most enigmatic resident, the Cheddar Man. This ancient skeleton, believed to be around 10,000 years old, offers a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, the earliest known population of Britain after the last Ice Age. But Cheddar Man was more than just a set of bones; he was a storyteller, and his tale would reshape our understanding of prehistoric Britain and the intricate tapestry of human evolution.

As archaeologists and anthropologists probed the skeleton, the initial insights they derived were profound. The man, who died in his twenties, belonged to a time when the landscapes of Britain were wild and untamed, and the inhabitants had to adapt swiftly to a post-glacial environment. But as insightful as these revelations were, it was the advent of ancient DNA research that would turn the Cheddar Man's story from an intriguing narrative into a groundbreaking scientific discovery.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) research has been likened to a time machine. With just a few fragments of bone or tooth, scientists can now venture back thousands of years, unraveling the genetic secrets of long-dead organisms. This revolutionary field emerged in the latter half of the 20th century, evolving rapidly with technological advancements in sequencing and bioinformatics. By the dawn of the 21st century, DNA research was poised to redraw the map of human prehistory, challenging long-held assumptions and revealing hitherto unknown migrations, interactions, and adaptations.

The Cheddar Man, with his pristine preservation, was an ideal candidate for this kind of investigation. And when his DNA was finally sequenced, the results were nothing short of astonishing. The portrait of ancient Britons began to shift. Instead of the pale-skinned, blue-eyed hunter-gatherers long imagined by scholars and artists, Cheddar Man's genetics painted a picture of dark skin with blue eyes, a combination that surprised many. This revelation not only transformed our understanding of Mesolithic Britons but also underscored the fluidity of human genetics and the profound influence of migration, interbreeding, and adaptation over millennia.

Yet, the Cheddar Man is but one chapter in the larger story of aDNA research. From the frozen tundras of Siberia to the sun-baked plains of Africa, ancient skeletons have been whispering their secrets to those who would listen. They tell tales of forgotten civilizations, lost migrations, ancient plagues, and the complex web of interactions that have shaped humanity's journey.

Four years before, when Adrian Targett, a retired history teacher from Somerset, walked into his local news agent's office, he was startled to see a familiar face staring up at him. That face, appearing on the front page of several newspapers, belonged to a distant relative of his—around 10,000 years distant, actually—known as Cheddar Man.

Four years before, when Adrian Targett, a retired history teacher from Somerset, walked into his local news agent's office, he was startled to see a familiar face staring up at him.

Ancient DNA from Cheddar Man, a Mesolithic skeleton discovered in 1903 at Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, has helped Museum scientists paint a portrait of one of the oldest modern humans in Britain. This discovery is consistent with a number of other Mesolithic human remains discovered throughout Europe. Cheddar Man is the oldest complete skeleton to be discovered in the UK and has long been hailed as the first modern Briton, who lived around 7,150 BC. His remains are kept by London's Natural History Museum in the Human Evolution gallery.

The Cheddar Man earned his name not because of his fondness for cheese, which likely wasn't cultivated until around 3,000 years later, but because he was found in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, England (which is, incidentally, where cheddar cheese originates).

Some 25 years ago, in an amazing piece of DNA detective work, using genetic material taken from the cavity of one of Cheddar Man’s molar teeth, scientists were able to identify Mr. Targett, 62, as a direct descendant.

Analysis of his nuclear DNA indicates that he was a typical member of the Western European hunter-gatherer population at the time, with lactose intolerance, probably with light-colored eyes (most likely green but possibly blue or hazel), dark brown or black hair, and dark or dark-to-black skin, although an intermediate skin color cannot be ruled out. There are a handful of genetic variants linked to reduced pigmentation, including some that are very widespread in European populations today. However, Cheddar Man had “ancestral” versions of all these genes, strongly suggesting he would have had a “dark to black” skin tone.

Now Cheddar Man is back in the headlines because a new study of his DNA, using cutting-edge technology, has enabled researchers to create a forensic reconstruction of his facial features, skin and eye coloring, and hair texture. And the biggest surprise is the finding that this ancient Brit had ‘dark to black’ skin and bright blue eyes. (A previous reconstruction, before detailed genetic sequencing tests were available, assumed a white face, brown eyes and a ‘cartoon’ caveman appearance.)

No one had thought to tell Mr. Targett any of this or invite him to the unveiling of the new reconstruction of his ancestor at the Natural History Museum on Monday.

‘I do feel a bit more multicultural now,’ he laughs. ‘And I can definitely see that there is a family resemblance. That nose is similar to mine. And we have both got those blue eyes.’

The initial scientific analysis in 1997, carried out for a TV series on archaeological findings in Somerset, revealed Mr. Targett’s family line had persisted in the Cheddar Gorge area for around nine millennia, their genes being passed from mother to daughter through what is known as mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from the egg.

To put it simply, Adrian Targett and Cheddar Man have a common maternal ancestor.

It is only Cheddar Man’s skin color that marks the difference across this vast space of time. It was previously assumed that human skin tones lightened some 40,000 years ago as populations migrated north out of the harsh African sunlight, where darker skin had a protective function.

At less sunny latitudes, lighter skin would have conferred an evolutionary advantage because it absorbs more sunlight, which is required to produce vitamin D, a nutrient vital for preventing disabling illnesses such as the bone disease rickets. Later, when farming crops began to replace hunter-gatherer lifestyles and communities ate less meat, offal, and oily fish—aa dietary source of vitamin D—ppaler skins would have conferred an even greater advantage and accelerated the spread of relevant genes.

Earlier research suggested Cheddar Man looked like the impression, right, but now scientists are convinced he was dark skinned and had blue eyes and dark hair 

However, Cheddar Man’s complexion chimes with more recent research suggesting genes linked to lighter skin only began to spread about 8,500 years ago, according to population geneticists at Harvard University. They report that over a period of 3,000 years, dark-skinned hunter-gatherers such as Mr. Targett’s ancestors interbred with early farmers who migrated from the Middle East and who carried two genes for light skin (known as SLC24A5 and SLC45A2).

It is no surprise that Cheddar Gorge remains Britain’s prime site for Palaeolithic human remains. Cheddar Man was buried alone in a chamber near a cave mouth. But it’s not just Adrian Targett who has links with him. Indeed, for many modern Britons, Cheddar Man’s true face offers a uniquely close DNA encounter with their past. Modern Britons draw about 10 percent of their genetic ancestry from the West European hunter-gatherer population from which Cheddar Man sprang.

As we delve deeper into this narrative, it becomes evident that our past is far more intricate than textbooks might suggest. The Mesolithic skeletons and the vast array of ancient remains studied through the lens of genetics have unveiled a world where cultures blended, societies clashed, and humans constantly evolved in response to a changing world. The legacy of the Cheddar Man and others like him serves as a potent reminder: our history is written not just in books and artifacts but in the very fabric of our being—our DNA.

Germany: Medieval Plank Causeway Discovered under central Berlin street

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find in January 2022 during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer Straße, they came across a medieval plank embankment. It is the earliest fortification of Stralauer Straße from the medieval founding period of Berlin in the 13th century. Initial wood samples revealed a felling date of around 1238 (tree ring analysis).

The embankment was made of oak, pine and birch trunks. The elaborate wooden fortification of the road here near the Spree enabled safe passage from the Mühlendamm towards the Stralauer Tor over the very wet ground near the river. The stub embankment is extraordinarily well preserved, thanks to a thick layer of peat that covered the timbers airtight for over 700 years.

The reason for the archaeological work in preparation for construction is the laying of electricity and gas lines as part of the street reconstruction around Molkenmarkt in Berlin-Mitte, which is being carried out by the Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility and Climate Protection (SenUMVK).

The wooden structure consisting of three layers - slightly offset from the alignment of Stralauer Straße - has so far been detected over a length of at least 50 m. The width of the embankment is approx. 6 m. The top layer is made up of barked logs lying close together across the direction of travel.

They rest on three parallel rows of beams in the longitudinal direction of the embankment: at the edges and in the middle of the road cross-section. The substructure consists of thick, roughly worked logs. The two lower layers were already hidden invisibly under fill sand in the Middle Ages. Missing parts of the uppermost layer were filled in with field stones.

The archaeological investigations aim to precisely investigate the construction and extent of the road and to narrow down its age. All phases of the construction are being documented with modern technology. Due to the laying of the new electricity and gas lines, most of the medieval substance will be destroyed.

England: A loaded German pistol of WW2 was found in Prisoners of War Camp near Oswestry's Mile End!

An exciting historical discovery has been made at the site of a new road layout in Oswestry.

Archaeologists excavated the site of the new dual roundabout at Mile End have found evidence of a Prisoner of War (POW) camp which used to house around 2,000 German prisoners during and after the Second World War.

The finds, which include a loaded German pistol and a lead toy camel, have shed light on the “comfortable” conditions at the camp and offer glimpses into the day-to-day lives of its inmates.

The team from Wessex Archaeology, working on behalf of Shropshire Council and WSP, uncovered a variety of structural evidence, which revealed a spacious camp made up of scattered barracks on a vast sports field surrounded by agricultural land.

Dating of the associated artefacts and documentary evidence suggests that the camp was in use between 1940 until 1948 – several years after the cessation of hostilities in 1945.

John Winfer, project manager at Wessex Archaeology who oversaw excavations, said: “The study of these remains helps us to understand what life would have been like for those imprisoned in and overseeing the camp, both during the war and in the immediate aftermath. What we have revealed is surprising evidence of some (relatively speaking) comfortable conditions for the inmates.

A spent .303 cartridge reveals that a rifle was discharged at some point in the camp’s life. The presence of a loaded German pistol – thought to be a Sauer 38H pistol, a German Second World War pistol commonly issued within the Wehrmacht – found close to one of the buildings adds further intrigue.

Artefacts have also offered more personal insights into the lives and stories of those living at the camp. A lead alloy toy camel and a make-up tin reveal a glimpse of domestic life, while containers recovered such as Brylcreem and San Izal disinfectant evidence self-care and cleanliness in the camp.

One item in particular – an aluminium metal identification tag from a German soldier – has excited archaeologists, who hope to use its serial number to trace the individual and their story.

The Very First Alphabet Scripts of Eastern Mediterranean and Europe: Phoenician - Euboean - Etruscan

A script is any particular system of writing or the written means of human communication. It is also a kind of early human technology, a basic form of communication that began simply as lists of goods and evolved into a more sophisticated means of conveying thoughts and feelings, and this, in time, became the script in which the literature of the culture was set down.

The Phoenician alphabet

The Phoenician alphabet is an alphabet (more specifically, an abjad) known in modern times from the Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions found across the Mediterranean region.

The Phoenician alphabet is also called the Early Linear script (in a Semitic context, not connected to Minoan writing systems) because it is an early development of the pictographic Proto- or Old Canaanite script into a linear, alphabetic script, also marking the transfer from a multi-directional writing system, where a variety of writing directions occurred, to a regulated horizontal, right-to-left script. Its immediate predecessor, the Proto-Canaanite, Old Canaanite or early West Semitic alphabet, used in the final stages of the Late Bronze Age, first in Canaan and then in the Syro-Hittite kingdoms, is the oldest fully matured alphabet, thought to be derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Phoenician proper" consists of 22 consonant letters only, leaving vowel sounds implicit—in other words, it is an abjad—although certain late varieties use matres lectionis for some vowels. As the letters were originally incised with a stylus, they are mostly angular and straight, although cursive versions steadily gained popularity, culminating in the Neo-Punic alphabet of Roman-era North Africa. Phoenician was usually written right to left, though some texts alternate directions (boustrophedon).

Beginning in the 9th century BC, adaptations of the Phoenician alphabet thrived, including Greek, Old Italic, and Anatolian scripts. The alphabet's attractive innovation was its phonetic nature, in which one sound was represented by one symbol, which meant only a few dozen symbols to learn. The other scripts of the time, cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, employed many complex characters and required long professional training to achieve proficiency, which restricted literacy to a small elite.

Another reason for its success was the maritime trading culture of Phoenician merchants, which spread the alphabet into parts of North Africa and Southern Europe. Phoenician inscriptions have been found in archaeological sites at a number of former Phoenician cities and colonies around the Mediterranean, such as Byblos (in present-day Lebanon) and Carthage in North Africa. Later finds indicate earlier use in Egypt.

The alphabet had long-term effects on the social structures of the civilizations that came into contact with it. Its simplicity not only allowed its easy adaptation to multiple languages, but it also allowed the common people to learn how to write. This upset the long-standing status of literacy as an exclusive achievement of royal and religious elites—scribes who used their monopoly on information to control the common population.

The Euboean alphabet

The Euboean alphabet was a western variant of the early Greek alphabet, used between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. It was used in the island of Euboea (notably the cities of Eretria and Chalkis) and in related colonies in southern Italy, notably in Cumae and in Pithikoussai. It was through this variant that the Greek alphabet was transmitted to Italy, giving rise to the Old Italic alphabets, including Etruscan, and ultimately the Latin alphabet. Some of the distinctive features of Latin as compared to the standard Greek script are already present in the Euboean model. In Greece, this and other local variants were replaced by the standard Greek alphabet, which is based on eastern Ionic Greek variants from the 4th century BC.

Euboean alphabet tended to use certain variant forms of the standard letters, several of which also foreshadowed the forms adopted by the Italic scripts. Γ was written like a (rounded or pointed) Latin C. Δ was written with the left edge vertical and the other two sides oblique, like a pointed Latin D. Λ was often written more like a Latin L, with a rightward hook at the bottom. Π was often written with a rounded top, approaching the shape of Latin P (but without the curve touching the vertical stem in the middle). Ρ, in turn, often had a downward tail, resembling Latin R.

The Marsiliana abecedarium (ca. 700 BC) shows an archaic variant of the Etruscan alphabet practically identical to the Western Greek alphabet, except for the presence of a Ξ or Samek.

Apart from the omission of samek (Ξ) and the addition of ΥΧΦΨ, the alphabet is identical to the Phoenician alphabet.

The Etruscan alphabet

The Etruscan alphabet was the alphabet used by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization of central and northern Italy, to write their language from about 700 BC to sometime around 100 AD.

The Etruscan alphabet derives from the Euboean alphabet used in the Greek colonies in southern Italy, which belonged to the "western" ("red") type, the so-called Western Greek alphabet. Several Old Italic scripts, including the Latin alphabet, derived from it (or simultaneously with it).

The Etruscan alphabet originated as an adaptation of the Euboean alphabet used by the Euboean Greeks in their first colonies in Italy, the island of Pithekoussai, and the city of Cumae in Campania. In the alphabets of the West, X had the sound value [ks], and Ψ stood for [kʰ]; in Etruscan, X = [s], Ψ = [kʰ] or [kχ] (Rix 202–209).

The earliest known Etruscan abecedarium is inscribed on the frame of a wax tablet in ivory, measuring 8.8×5 cm, found at Marsiliana (near Grosseto, Tuscany). It dates from about 700 BC and lists 26 letters corresponding to contemporary forms of the Greek alphabet, including digamma, san, and qoppa, but not omega, which had still not been added at the time.

The shapes of the Archaic Etruscan and Neo-Etruscan letters had a few variants, used in different places and/or in different epochs. Notably, opposite letters were used for /s/ and /ʃ/, depending on the locality. Shown above are the glyphs from the Unicode Old Italic block, whose appearance will depend on the font used by the browser. These are oriented as they would be in lines written from left to right. Also shown are SVG images of variants shown as they would be written right to left, as in most of the actual inscriptions.

Lord's Byron Graffiti in The Temple of Sounio in Greece

Lord Byron was a British Romantic poet and satirist whose poetry and personality captured the imagination of Europe. Although made famous by the autobiographical poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–18)—and his many love affairs—he is perhaps better known today for the satiric realism of Don Juan (1819–24).

The reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi

He travelled extensively across Europe, especially in Italy, where he lived for seven years in the cities of Venice, Ravenna, and Pisa. During his stay in Italy he frequently visited his friend and fellow poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Later in life Byron joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire and died leading a campaign during that war, for which Greeks revere him as a folk hero. He died in 1824 at the age of 36 from a fever contracted after the First and Second Siege of Missolonghi.

It is also known that Lord Byron had inscribed his name on the columns of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion.

The inscribed name possibly dates from his first visit to Greece, on his Grand Tour of Europe before he acquired fame. Byron spent several months in 1810–11 in Athens, including two documented visits to Sounion. There is, however, no direct evidence that the inscription was made by Byron himself. Byron mentions Sounion in his poem Isles of Greece:

"Place me on Sunium's marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep..."

While graffiti is unacceptable on any public monument , Byron did pay for weapons for the Greek Revolution and would eventually "die for Greece".

At the end of the Sounio Peninsula at the southernmost point of Attica, lies the Temple of Poseidon within a fort that protects the coast of Attica. Made entirely of white marble, it was erected in the middle of the 5th century BC and built to honour Poseidon, god of the sea.

'Greklandsstenarna': What are The Greece Runestones of Vikings?

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BY DIMOSTHENIS VASILOUDIS

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The Vikings, seafaring Norse warriors known for their exploration, trade, and conquests, have left an indelible mark on world history. While their expeditions to the British Isles, North America, and other parts of Europe are well documented, there's a lesser-known but equally fascinating aspect of Viking history: their interaction with the Byzantine Empire, modern-day Greece. The physical testament to this connection can be found in the form of Greklandsstenarna, or the Greek Runestones.

What are the Greklandsstenarna?

Greklandsstenarna, translated as "Greek or Greece Runestones," are a collection of about 30 runestones—stones with runic inscriptions—that describe the travels and experiences of Viking individuals within the Byzantine Empire. These stones stand as proof of the far-reaching travels of the Vikings, who ventured as far south as the Mediterranean and the heart of what was once the Roman Empire.

They were made during the Viking Age until about 1100 and were engraved in the Old Norse language with Scandinavian runes. Most were inscribed in memory of members of the Varangian Guard who never returned home, but a few inscriptions mention men who returned with wealth, and a boulder in Ed was engraved on the orders of a former officer of the Guard.

Since the first discoveries by Johannes Bureus in the late 16th century, these runestones have been frequently identified by scholars, with many stones discovered during a national search for historic monuments in the late 17th century. Several stones were documented by Richard Dybeck in the 19th century. The latest stone to be found was in Nolinge, near Stockholm, in 1952.

Origins and Inscriptions

Most of these Greek Runestones are found in Sweden, primarily in Uppland (18 runestones) and Södermanland (7 runestones), and they date from the 9th to the 11th centuries. The inscriptions often commemorate the travels or deaths of individuals in Greece," a term the Vikings broadly used to refer to the Byzantine Empire.

The inscriptions vary in length and detail. Some are short and to the point, indicating an individual's travel or death in the Byzantine lands, while others provide elaborate tales of adventure, battle, or service to the Byzantine emperors. These stories highlight the role some Vikings played as members of the Varangian Guard, an elite unit of the Byzantine Army composed mainly of Norsemen.

On these runestones, the word Grikkland ("Greece") appears in three inscriptions, the word Grikk(j)ar ("Greeks") appears in 25 inscriptions, two stones refer to men as grikkfari ("travelers to Greece), and one stone refers to Grikkhafnir ("Greek harbors"). Among other runestones which refer to expeditions abroad, the only groups which are comparable in number are the so-called "England runestones" that mention expeditions to England and the 26 Ingvar runestones that refer to a Viking expedition to the Middle East.

A map of the main routes eastwards.

Vikings in the Byzantine Empire

But why were Vikings in Byzantium in the first place? There are several reasons:

• Trade: The Vikings were avid traders, and their quest for riches often took them down the river systems of Eastern Europe and into the Byzantine heartlands. Byzantium was wealthy, and its markets teemed with goods that were rare in the Norse world.

• Adventure: The Vikings' legendary wanderlust drove them to explore vast stretches of the known world, and the exotic lands of the Byzantines would have been a powerful draw.

• Employment: As mentioned earlier, many Norsemen found employment in the Varangian Guard. This elite unit served as the personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperor. They were renowned for their loyalty and prowess in battle.

Varangian Guardsmen, an illumination from the 11th-century chronicle of John Skylitzes.

The Cultural Exchange

The relationship between the Vikings and the Byzantines wasn't merely transactional. These runestones suggest a deeper cultural exchange. Viking artifacts have been found in Byzantine territories, and Byzantine artifacts in Viking graves. This mutual exchange of goods, ideas, and culture enriched both civilizations.

For instance, certain designs in Viking art from this period are believed to have been influenced by Byzantine aesthetics. Similarly, the Norse sagas occasionally reference the Byzantines, indicating a familiarity with this southern civilization.

The Greklandsstenarna serve as stone sentinels that whisper tales of a time when Norse longships sailed not just the stormy North Sea but also the warm waters of the Mediterranean. They remind us of the vast interconnectedness of the medieval world, shattering the misconception that civilizations of that time were isolated entities. In understanding the Greek Runestones, we gain a deeper appreciation for the Vikings' true scope of exploration and the intricate web of relationships they weaved with the world around them.

Unique Runic Inscriptions on Bone and Wood discovered in Oslo

In Viking News by SkjaldenJanuary 6, 2022

Just before Yule, the archaeologists Solveig Thorkildsen and Ingeborg Hornkjøl from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), found a rune bone and a rune stick a few days apart during the excavations in the Medieval Park in Oslo, Norway.

Solveig Thorkildsen found the rune bone. A large rib with an inscription on both sides. The rune bone is probably from a large domestic animal such as a horse or a cow. But the bone has to undergo several examinations before this can be established.

Photo: Jani Causevic, NIKU

The rune stick was found by Ingeborg Hornkjøl. It lay in a deep ditch filled with water. According to Ingeborg, she picked it up because she thought it looked special.

“I thought, it can not be true, it can not be true, it is not true. But it was true! She explained to a journalist from NIKU.no.”

This rune stick has an inscription on three sides, written in both Old Norse and Latin.

Photo: Jani Causevic, NIKU

According to Kristel Zilmer who is a professor of the Norwegian Language, and Runology at the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo. “These are two interesting discoveries that will expand our knowledge of the runic and written language that was used in medieval cities. The runic inscriptions that have been preserved are often short texts, which have some common statements and expressions that recur in several inscriptions.”

According to Kristel Zilmer, it is very difficult to read the inscriptions when they have been damaged. The runic characters can either be difficult to decipher, or they can seem to be linguistically meaningless. But we can extract a good deal of information from the inscriptions on the objects in the context of where they were found.

Old objects have often been damaged through time, and this rune stick has been damaged, and some of the runes have probably been lost. But, nevertheless, Kristel has managed to interpret several of the words.

Photo: Jani Causevic, NIKU

On the broadside, there are two words in Latin that read as follows: manus and domine or domini. Manus means “hand” and dominus “lord, god”, and these words can be found in a well-known Latin prayer “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum”, which means, “in your hands, Lord, I give up my spirit”. These are the words of Jesus from when he was on the cross -Zilmer.

On the short side, there could be a continuation of the prayer. It is difficult to determine without a microscope, but it can still be read in several ways. It may say “it is true”. If that is the case, then this prayer is similar to an inscription in the Urnes Stave Church: “Hold the Holy Lord’s hand over Brynjolvs spirit. That’s true”.

The female name Bryngjerd is also mentioned, and perhaps this rune stick is about Bryngjerd having surrendered herself into the hands of God. Zilmer elaborates, many of the runic inscriptions from the Middle Ages contain simple religious quotes that expressed key messages in a Christian society.

According to Kristel Zilmer, the runes “basmarþærbæin” carved into the bone can have two different interpretations. It can be a name or a nickname of a person, or it can be a description of the bone itself. The last four runes “bæin” show at least that the word (Norwegian: bein”) which means bone in English was carved into it.

Kristel Zilmer believes that these finds in Oslo can teach us more about the medieval citizens of Oslo. Karen Langsholt Holmqvist, who is also from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, comments that we know a lot about how the people in the Middle Ages thought, felt, and were interested in, thanks to the old sagas. The sagas were written in monasteries by people who were far more literate than the average person. The runes, on the other hand, were carved by a wider section of the population.

Zilmer explains that the inscriptions are from the Middle Ages. This can, for instance, be seen in the way the runic inscriptions have been carved. Now the question is whether or not this archaeological discovery can give us an exact dating of the objects.

It is possible that they date back to the same period as the figure that was discovered a few weeks earlier. This figure had a hairline that placed it in the 13th century. The figure was originally a handle on a knife, but unfortunately, the blade is missing.

Metal Detectorists Uncover 1,400-Years-old Largest Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Gold Coins in England

BY Michael Wing

A hoard of 131 gold coins and a number of other gold objects dating back 1,400 years ago stand to be the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold coins ever found in England.

In A.D. 600, England, still ununited, was divided into several smaller Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. One of the most important of these was East Angles (modern-day Norfolk and Suffolk), which in later centuries would prove to yield a great number of treasures from antiquity.

These treasures include the famed Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon ship burial grounds discovered in Suffolk in 1938—and now, the more recent said stash of gold coins, which was found in a field in West Norfolk between the years 1990 and 2020—starting with just a single gold coin found before the introduction of the Treasures Act (in 1996), meaning it was not considered part of a group.

The majority of the objects in the hoard, though, were found between 2014 and 2020 by a single metal detectorist who wished to remain anonymous. The landowner also requested anonymity. The finder reported the stash to authorities in accord with the Treasures Act, which dictates that any two or more coins containing at least 10% precious metal must be turned in. Should the Crown wish to acquire the items, the finder is to be compensated per market value.

Intriguingly, 10 of the 131 coins were found by a former policeman who, instead of reporting the discovery, tried to sell the coins, passing them off as single finds from a number of different sites. His marketing efforts were uncovered, however, and he was found guilty in 2017, sentenced to 16 months in prison, and dismissed from the police, the British Museum stated. Two of the coins, he did sell, however, which disappeared into the antiquities trade.

The said hoard, buried after A.D. 600, are mostly Frankish tremisses, which were not yet produced in East Anglia by that date; also included were nine gold solidi (a larger coin from the Byzantine Empire worth three tremisses); four other gold objects were also among the treasures: a gold bracteate (a type of stamped pendant), a small gold bar, and two other gold pieces believed to be parts of larger items of jewelry, the museum added.

The region of East Angles was one of the most bountiful in terms of archaeological yields through metal detecting. Previously, the largest hoard of coins from this period was a purse containing 101 coins found at Crondall in Hampshire in 1828, which had been disturbed before the discovery and may have contained even more coins. This find, buried around A.D. 640, contained a mixture of Anglo-Saxon, Frankish, and Frisian coins, along with a single coin of the Byzantine Empire minted in Constantinople.

Far and away the most famous discovery from this period, though, is the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk, which dates somewhere between 610 and 640. The site housed 37 gold coins, three blank gold discs of the same size, two small gold ingots, and several other gold items.

Ancient DNA study reveals large scale migrations into Bronze Age Britain

A major new study of ancient DNA has traced the movement of people into southern Britain during the Bronze Age. In the largest such analysis published to date, scientists examined the DNA of nearly 800 ancient individuals. Publication in Nature on December 22, 2021.

One of the DNA samples used in the study came from the human remains excavated in Wervershoof-Zwaagdijk by Professor Modderman in 1961.

Sustained contacts

The new study, led by the University of York, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Vienna, with input from Leiden researchers, shows that people moving into southern Britain around 1300‒800 BC were responsible for around half the genetic ancestry of subsequent populations.

The combined DNA and archaeological evidence suggests that, rather than a violent invasion or a single migratory event, the genetic structure of the population changed through sustained contacts between mainland Britain and Europe over several centuries, such as the movement of traders, intermarriage, and small scale movements of family groups.
The study finds evidence that the new migrants became thoroughly mixed in to the Southern British population in the period 1000‒875 BC.

33 individuals

In this study the results are reported of the analysis of 33 individuals from the Netherlands. The sampling of the Dutch Individuals is part of a research project by Prof. em. Harry Fokkens of the Leiden Faculty of Archaeology, and drs. Eveline Altena of the Leiden University Medical Centre in cooperation with a number of Dutch researchers. Most of the samples were provided by the National Museum of Antiquities (dr. Luc Amkreutz) and the Provincial depot of Noord-Holland (mr. Jean Roefstra). 

Extensive networks

One of the interesting results came from a Middle Bronze Age grave recently excavated at Westwoud-Binnenwijzend by a combined developer-led project of ARCHOLbv (Leiden, drs. Adrie Tol) and ADC (Amersfoort, dr. Wouter Roessingh). This female individual had a genetic signature that suggested possible provenance in Western France. Additional isotope research by dr. Lisette Kootker (VU University Amsterdam) also reported in the study, confirmed this hypothesis. 

“This indicates that migrants or social partners from France also reached Bronze Age West-Frisa. It is an clear indication of the extensive social and economic networks that existed in the Bronze Age” professor Fokkens stated. 

The Dutch contribution to this study was initiated by the Leiden University Bakels Fund (Harry Fokkens, Eveline Altena and Barbara Veselka). The isotope study was co-funded by the Province of Noord-Holland and by the Farmers of the Coast project led by prof. Harry Fokkens and prof. Corrie Bakels of the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University (NWO project 360-60-100).

World's Oldest Family Tree Pieced Together from 5,700-year-old Cotswolds Tomb

DNA taken from the bones and teeth of 35 individuals found in tombs in the Cotswolds showed that 27 of them were close biological relatives that had lived in Neolithic times.

By Rachel Russell, news reporter

An image showing what the tombs may have looked like. Pic: Cotswold District Council

The world's oldest family tree has been discovered after DNA analysis from a 5,700-year-old tomb in the Cotswolds.

Archaeologists made the landmark discovery into how prehistoric families were structured after a group of 35 people, believed to have lived 3700-3600BC, were found entombed in a cairn near the village of Hazleton.

An international team made of archaeologists from Newcastle University and geneticists from the University of the Basque Country, University of Vienna and Harvard University, found that most of the people buried there were from five generations of a single extended family.

Lead archaeologist of the study, Chris Fowler of Newcastle University, said "one extraordinary finding" in the tombs was that two separated chambers were used to place remains from one of two branches of the same family, including step-children.

Dr Fowler said: "This study gives us an unprecedented insight into kinship in a Neolithic community."

The tombs could hold five generations of one single extended family. Pic: Newcastle University

Inigo Olalde of the University of the Basque Country and Ikerbasque, the lead geneticist for the study, added: "The excellent DNA preservation at the tomb and the use of the latest technologies in ancient DNA recovery and analysis allowed us to uncover the oldest family tree ever reconstructed and analyse it to understand something profound about the social structure of these ancient groups."

The team found that most of the people buried in the tomb were descended from four women who had all had children with the same man.

Men were known to be generally buried with their father and brothers, so this suggested that later generations who were buried at the tomb were connected to the first generation entirely through male relatives.

The team also found no evidence that another eight people in the tomb were biological relatives of those in the family tree, which could suggest individuals could still be buried in the tomb without biological relatedness too.

Spain: Researchers Believe they Found Fabled Temple of Hercules Gaditanus

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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A significant pilgrimage place in antiquity was the fabled temple of Hercules Gaditanus, also known as Melqart in Phoenician times. The temple, which dates at least to the ninth century BC, is said to have seen the likes of historical personalities like Julius Caesar and the Carthaginian conqueror Hannibal walk by.

Finding the temple, which has been sought after for ages by historians and archaeologists, has become something of a holy grail for them despite the fact that its location is still unknown thousands of years later.

Aerial view of the temple’s possible location.

Now there is a possible answer to this great mystery. Ricardo Belizón, a Ph.D. student at Seville University in southern Spain, has come up with a new hypothesis, which is backed by scientists from his university and the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH). Thanks to free software and digital terrain modeling, Belizón has identified traces of a monumental building in the Cao de Sancti Petri, a shallow channel in the Bay of Cádiz between the towns of Chiclana de Frontera and San Fernando, in the southern region of Andalusia.

Hypothetical view that the archaeologist García y Bellido made of the Hercules temple, in 1968, based on the one in Jerusalem.

The temple of Hercules Gaditanus is mentioned in classical Greek and Latin literature as the place where Julius Caesar wept bitterly before a representation of Alexander the Great and where the Carthaginian conqueror Hannibal went to offer thanks for the success of his military campaign a century and a half earlier. All these references mention “a changing environment, in contact with the sea, subject to the changing tides, in a temple where there must have been port structures and a seafaring environment,” says Milagros Alzaga, head of the Center for Underwater Archaeology (CAS), who also participated in the research.

A 3D model showing the Boqueron point in San Fernando (Cádiz) and the rectangular structure of the possible temple of Hercules Gaditanus now submerged under the Caño of Sancti Petri

The proposal made presently by Seville University and the IAPH is within a radius considered to be the most evident, following decades of academic dispute and several temple location recommendations. The location is a sizable swampy canal that is dominated by an islet and the Sancti Petri fortress that towers above it. The region has produced significant archaeological artifacts for more than two centuries, some of which are now on display in the Museum of Cadiz. They include enormous marble and bronze sculptures of Roman emperors and different statuettes from the Phoenician era. All of these findings contributed to defining the precise position of the Hercules Gaditanus temple as being located between the islet's slopes and the Boquerón point, an area of fine sand and rocky intertidal zone.

Who is Hercules in Greek and Roman mythology?

Hercules is one of the most renowned figures in ancient mythology, known for his superhuman strength and his twelve labors. However, there's an important distinction to make when discussing this legendary hero: the difference between his Greek and Roman portrayals.

In Greek mythology, the hero is known as Heracles (meaning "Glory of Hera"). Born to Zeus, the king of the gods, and Alcmene, a mortal woman, Heracles' life was marked by both glory and suffering, much of it orchestrated by Hera, Zeus's jealous wife. Outraged by Zeus's infidelity and the birth of Heracles, Hera sought to make the hero's life as difficult as possible.

One of the most famous episodes from Heracles' life is the Twelve Labors, a series of near-impossible tasks he was forced to perform as penance for killing his own wife and children during a fit of madness, another tragedy instigated by Hera. These labors ranged from slaying the Nemean Lion and capturing the Golden Hind to cleaning the Augean stables in a single day and capturing the three-headed dog, Cerberus, from the Underworld.

Over time, Heracles became a symbol of strength, courage, and endurance. His adventures intertwine with other famous Greek myths, and his legacy was solidified when he was granted immortality and became a god, joining the Olympians after his mortal death.

The Romans were heavily influenced by Greek culture and mythology, often adopting and adapting Greek deities and stories. In Roman lore, Heracles was transformed into Hercules, and while the core elements of his story remained largely unchanged, certain aspects of his character and tales were adapted to fit the Roman worldview.

Hercules was worshipped as both a god and a hero in Rome. He was especially revered as a protector of humanity, a role that saw him incorporated into various aspects of Roman daily life. For instance, the Hercules Cult was notably popular in Rome, with Hercules being honored for his strength, bravery, and protective qualities.

One significant Roman addition to Hercules's story was his relationship with the goddess Roma, a personification of the city of Rome. By aligning Hercules with Roma, the Romans reinforced their city's greatness and divine protection.

Archaeologists Found a Truly Bizarre Burial in an Isolated Medieval Graveyard

A three-week archaeological dig in the English Channel took a bizarre, inexplicable turn, after researchers chanced upon a carefully cut grave hidden in the soil – the contents of which were definitely not human.

The discovery, made on the small island of Chapelle Dom Hue off the coast of Guernsey in September 2017, revealed the ancient remains of a medieval porpoise buried in the earth, and archaeologists were at a loss to explain the story behind this mysterious animal tomb.

"It's very peculiar, I don't know what to make of it," archaeologist Philip de Jersey from Oxford University in the UK told The Guardian at the time.

"Why go to the trouble of burying a porpoise in what looks like a grave?"

The mystery is all the greater due to the way the animal was buried, which doesn't suggest the dead porpoise was simply disposed of underground.

Instead, it looks like it's been laid to rest, with the body aligned east to west per Christian tradition, and the careful digging of the grave itself suggests it was intended as a solemn resting place.

For that reason, de Jersey expected to find the remains of a medieval monk in the tomb, as the island is thought to have been a religious retreat for monks seeking refuge.

But after noticing changes in the soil, which indicated the likely existence of a grave underneath, the researchers uncovered the skull of a juvenile porpoise, which they think has been entombed alongside the graves of other monks since some time in the 14th century.

It's possible that the porpoise was killed for food, since these mammals were eaten in medieval times.

But if that's the case, the researchers say it would have made a lot more sense for people to have disposed of the remains in the sea – located just 10 meters (32 ft) from the site, and the small island is surrounded by water on all sides.

"If we were in a church and we found something like this, based on the shape, we would think it was a grave cut," de Jersey told the Guernsey Press.

"That is what puzzles me. If they had eaten it or killed it for the blubber, why take the trouble to bury it?"

One possibility is that the animal may have been killed for food and carefully stored until it was needed, but the preserved remains were never used, de Jersey thinks.

"It may have been packed in salt and then for some reason they didn't come back to it," he told The Guardian.

After their discovery, the porpoise bones were removed from their resting place, and handed over to be studied by a marine expert.

For his part, de Jersey says it's the strangest find in his 35-year career as a scientist, and a true riddle for the ages.

"The dolphin has a strong significance in Christianity but I've not come across anything like this before," he said.

"It's the slightly wacky kind of thing that you might get in the Iron Age but not in medieval times."

In a follow up in late 2018, de Jersey told the BBC he now believed it was most likely the animal had indeed been stored for food purposes, but that we would probably never reach a definitive answer, since so little is left of Chapelle Dom Hue.

"I suspect we won't find out," he said.

A version of this article was originally published in March 2018.

Venus of Hohle Fels: The Earliest Known Depiction of a Human Being in Prehistoric Art

The Venus of Hohle Fels (also known as the Venus of Schelklingen; in German variously Venus vom Hohlen Fels, vom Hohle Fels; Venus von Schelklingen) is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine made of mammoth ivory that was unearthed in 2008 in Hohle Fels, a cave near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, at the very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, which is associated with the earliest presence of Cro-Magnon in Europe.

The figure is the oldest undisputed example of a depiction of a human being. In terms of figurative art only the lion-headed, zoomorphic Löwenmensch figurine is older. The Venus figurine is housed at the Prehistoric Museum of Blaubeuren (Urgeschichtliches Museum Blaubeuren).

Hohle Fels Cave, entrance. Photo: E. Sobkowiak.

The Swabian Alb region of Germany has a number of caves that have yielded many mammoth-ivory artifacts of the Upper Paleolithic period. Approximately 25 items have been discovered to date. These include the Löwenmensch figurine of Hohlenstein-Stadel dated to 40,000 years ago and an ivory flute found at Geißenklösterle, dated to 42,000 years ago. This mountainous region is located in Baden-Württemberg and is bounded by the Danube in the southeast, the upper Neckar in the northwest, and in the southwest it rises to the higher mountains of the Black Forest.

This concentration of evidence of full behavioral modernity, including figurative art and instrumental music among humans in the period of 40 to 30 thousand years ago, is unique worldwide and its discoverer, archaeologist Nicholas Conard, speculates that the bearers of the Aurignacian culture in the Swabian Alb may be credited with the invention, not just of figurative art and music, but possibly, the earliest religious practices as well. Within a distance of 70 cm to the Venus figurine, Conard's team also found a flute made from a vulture bone. Additional artifacts excavated from the same cave layer included flint-knapping debris, worked bone, and carved ivory as well as remains of tarpans, reindeer, cave bears, woolly mammoths, and Alpine Ibexes.

Interpretation

The discoverer, anthropologist Nicholas Conard, said: "This [figure] is about sex, reproduction... [it is] an extremely powerful depiction of the essence of being female".

Anthropologists from Victoria University of Wellington have suggested that such figurines were not depictions of beauty, but represented "hope for survival and longevity, within well-nourished and reproductively successful communities", reflecting the conventional interpretation of these types of figurines as representing a fertility goddess.

Saint Nicholas of Myra: The Real Story Behind Santa Claus

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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As the holiday season approaches, images of a jolly old man with a white beard and a red suit are ubiquitous in many parts of the world. Santa Claus, as he's known today, has become a symbol of merriment, generosity, and the holiday spirit. Yet few realize that this beloved figure finds its roots in the life of a real person: Saint Nicholas of Myra. This article delves into the true story of Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop whose life and legends paved the way for our modern Santa Claus.

The Historical Nicholas

Saint Nicholas of Myra, sometimes known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop from Myra, a port city in Asia Minor (present-day Demre, Turkey), who lived during the Roman Empire (15 March 270–6 December 343). He also goes by the name Nicholas the Wonderworker because of the numerous miracles credited to his intercession. In many European cities and nations, Saint Nicholas is revered as the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, penitent thieves, prostitutes, kids, brewers, pawnbrokers, singles, and students. As was typical for early Christian saints, his fame grew among the religious, and through Sinterklaas, his fabled practice of presenting gifts in secret gave rise to the modern Santa Claus ("Saint Nick") figure.

In Greece, Saint Nicholas is best known as the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, ships, islands and all cities with harbors.

Saint Nicholas is one of the most revered saints in all of Christianity. On December 6, both East and West observe a day of remembrance. Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican Christians all honor and remember him. He comforted every man in need and was a passionate critic of those who preyed on the weak and underprivileged. He exerted control over everyone who was to blame for the evil of the people with his exceptional bravery. The absolutely destitute Saint gave to the destitute girls, guarded the crops of the destitute farmers, and helped the sailors. He also participated in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), when Christian doctrine was primarily formulated by denouncing the Arius faction and articulating the true and unadulterated faith of the Church. He allegedly smacked Arios during the Council, which led to his imprisonment by Emperor Constantine the Great.

The slap of Agios Nikolaos on Arios.

Tales of Generosity

Several stories surrounding Nicholas’ benevolence have survived over the centuries. One of the most famous legends tells of a poor man with three daughters who had no dowry, putting them at risk of a life of servitude or worse. On three separate occasions, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold into their home, ensuring each daughter had a dowry. Some versions claim he threw the gold through an open window, while others say he dropped it down a chimney, where it landed in stockings left to dry by the fire. Sound familiar?

Another account speaks of Nicholas saving three innocent men from execution. He boldly intervened, grabbing the executioner's sword and ensuring their release based on new evidence.

Yet another story tells of a time when Myra faced a severe famine. A ship filled with grain docked at the port, and Nicholas approached the sailors, asking them to spare a portion of their cargo for the starving citizens and assuring them that God would recompense their generosity. When they finally unloaded the grain in Constantinople, their cargo had not diminished at all.

He was a representative embodiment of the ancient Greek tradition. The humanitarian ideals of Hellenism, in combination with Christian ethics, met in the holy face of Nicholas and became a religious practice. His democratic tactics and his collegial methods in his actions were articulated through the experience of the long-standing Greek tradition, which was saved and improved by Christian teaching and practice.

Sinterklaas arriving in a Dutch town.

Evolution of the Legend

Saint Nicholas was a true exponent of the Greek-Orthodox Christian ideal, who "traveled" the world and was identified with the German god Odin, the Dutch Sinter Klaas, the Scandinavian Nisse, the English "Father Christmas", the "Nice Old Father" of the Chinese, Père Noël of the French and Santa Claus of the Americans, while on his "return back” to his place of origin he was identified with Agios Vasilis (greek: Άγιος Βασίλης, Basil the Elder)!

The "nice old father" of the Chinese.

In Greece, Saint Nicholas is best known as the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, ships, islands, and all cities with harbors, just as Myra was. The feast day of St. Nicholas is on December 6th, the day when the beloved bishop is reported to have died (in the year 342 A.D.). The proximity of this date to Christmas is perhaps one reason why he has become so closely associated with it. Saint Basil of Caesarea, who lived from A.D. 329–379, shares a very similar story to that of St. Nicholas. A contemporary of Nicholas, Saint Basil was the bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, also in modern-day Turkey. Much like St. Benedict in the West, St. Basil established wide-ranging guidelines for monastic life. He died on January 1, 379, and Greeks all over the world honor Saint Basil (“Agios Vasilis”) on that day. Gifts are exchanged on that day, rather than on Dec. 6th or 25th, to remember St. Basil’s ingenious method of giving back to the people.

Father Christmas English Style.

The story of Agios Nikolaos traveled around and was rooted throughout Europe. The name Saint Nikolaus was transferred to Europe, where the Christians received the Greek beliefs of Agios Nikolaos. Russian and Bulgarian folk songs say that it helps those who are in danger at sea. To the German people, St. Nicholas was identified with the pre-Christian pagan deity of Odin, who visited children with his eight-footed horse, and because it was hungry, they had to have their boots full of straw near the chimney or fireplace. With the Christianization of the Germans, the myth of Odin leaves and Saint Nicholas comes, who pretends to ride a white horse and is considered the protector of sailors. But the boots, the hanging socks in the fireplace, the decorated fir tree—all their pre-Christian-pagan customs remain. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Moscow and agriculture in Russia and the patron saint of the Navy in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where, despite a Protestant ban on the recognition of saints, he survived under the name ‘Sinter Klaas’, who is commemorated on December 6th, depicted with a priestly uniform and an episcopal staff to distribute gifts to children. European settlers, mainly Dutch, carried the myth with them to the New World.

Santa Claus with pagan symbols as continuation of the God Odin’s pattern.

The sequel was written in New York in the early 19th century, when Americans began looking for ways to create nostalgic traditions and turned to St. Nicholas, who is commemorated a few days before Christmas. In 1821, the first lithographed book in America, "The Friend of Children", contained a story about Santa Claus and is estimated to be the first to want the Saint to visit children on Christmas Eve. The poem "The night before Christmas" or "A visit from St. Nicholas ", as it became known at the beginning, contributed to this belief.

A norwegian Nisse.

Korvatunturi in Lapland, which was established as the village of Santa Claus in 1927, was first used by the Finns for tourism in the early 1980s. The rest was taken over by the newspapers that reproduced the legend, while Coca-Cola, with its well-known advertisement, put the final touch: the image of Santa Claus with the red uniform and the white beard was finally made by the American company. It was an advertisement for the popular drink in 1931. So, while Coca-Cola uses the image of Santa Claus to increase its consumption during the winter, after seventy years of cooperation," it is found that the Santa Claus image also spread thanks to advertising.

Today's Santa Claus, with his toy workshop and worldwide Christmas Eve deliveries, might seem like a far cry from a fourth-century bishop from Myra. But at the heart of both stories lies a spirit of generosity, love, and the magic of the holiday season. By understanding Saint Nicholas of Myra, we find a richer depth to the festive traditions and are reminded of the core values that make the season truly special.

Neolithic Site of Monte d'Accoddi: Is this European Megalithic Altar the Oldest Pyramid in the World?

Monte d'Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

We think immediately about the most similar known examples: the Mesopotamian ziqqurat or the first step pyramid of Djoser in Egypt. But is it possible that these monumental types, thousands of miles away, have common ancestry?

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. The original structure was built by the Ozieri culture or earlier c. 4,000–3,650 BC and has a base of 27 m by 27 m and probably reached a height of 5.5 m. It culminated in a platform of about 12.5 m by 7.2 m, accessible via a ramp. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

The dolmen and a carved boulder in the foreground

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d'Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe, providing insight into the development of ritual in prehistoric society, and earning it a designation as "the most singular cultic monument in the early Western Mediterranean".

The carved boulder

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

Based on the evidence of architecture, ritual deposits and diagnostic pottery, G. and M. Webster argued, in 2017 & 2019, for the monument's status as a product of a migration event (probably exilic) initiated from Mesopotamia, during the first half of the 4th millennium B.C. This view is now considered obsolete and scholars are focusing on a different interpretation of local evolution.

The menhir (standing stone)

Surrounding area

The surroundings of the Monte d'Accoddi have been excavated in the 1960s, and have provided the signs of a considerable sacred center. Near the south-eastern corner of the monument there is a dolmen, and across the ramp stands a considerable menhir, one of several standing stones which was formerly found in the vicinity. The foundations of several small structures (possibly residential) were excavated, and several mysterious carved stones. The most impressive of these is a large boulder carved into the shape of an egg and then cut through on a subtle curving three-dimensional line.

One of the altars

Mysterious Papyrus found inside a Hidden "Crypt" in Agia Sophia: What do they say?

The reason for identifying this special find was the observation of a Muslim believer who went to Hagia Sophia to pray (UNESCO condemned Turkey’s court decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque).

The Muslim saw that a stone about 10 cm long and 30 cm wide had come off a wall and notified the authorities.

Surprised, the police could not believe their eyes when they rushed to the spot, discovering five parchments with Hebrew writing (as they first estimated) hidden in a bag.

The first estimates for the parchments found in a crypt in Hagia Sophia were made by art historian Selçuk Eracun.

"The parchments are not written in Hebrew as originally written," Selçuk Eracun told CNN Turk, adding that "one is written in Romanian and one in runic writing."

"Some parchments contain wishes. The person who wrote the parchment in Romanian wishes good luck to his family. He also writes about his dream of living in America. "There are also the names of the children of his family," he said.

He continued: "The other parchment contains writing similar to the runic alphabet used in Scandinavia."

"As we can see, the parchments are not very old. Those who go to Hagia Sophia to pray, write wishes and leave them. It's a tradition," said the art historian.

"It is not uncommon to find parchments in crypts on the walls, as marble often falls," he concluded.