What's Hiding Under the Sahara Sands?

It is the largest and most famous desert on Earth. Only Antarctica is bigger, but we do not think of an ice-covered continent as a desert in the typical sense. Most people associate a desert with the scorching sun, lack of rain, and sand, lots of sand. Only sand all around. In terms of size, Sahara covers the territory that equals half of Russia or the entire Brazil.

Do you know that rich deposits of gas and oil are discovered there? The Sahara Desert has sand dunes as high as 160-180 meters. They are higher than a building of 70 stories. It is the Sahara Desert.

But what is behind the arid sandy landscape? Why sand? Why so much sand? Where did it come to begin with? Has the Sahara always been like it? Imagine, that not long ago, relatively recently, these vast territories were booming with life. But then something went wrong…

This is how prehistoric infants were fed

With milk, of course, as in every era since the dawn of mankind. But now for the first time, since prehistoric times, mothers were not content with just their own milk to feed their babies, but also used the milk of ruminants such as goats or cows.

The discovery was made by biomolecular archaeologist Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol, who, with her team, examined the remains of three ancient vessels dating from between 1200 and 450 B.C.

These small vases had been found in children's graves in two regions of Germany and until now were considered by archaeologists to be simple grave goods, corresponding to our familiar baby bottles or better the breast pumps, as they were known since ancient times in Greece.

However, after Julie Dunne analyzed the remains left inside the vases, although of course in vanishingly small quantities, she was able to prove with certainty that the milk in the vases came from animals. This led her to the obvious conclusion that both the milk and the utensils had been used to wean the babies.

The fact is that archaeological knowledge about infant feeding in those distant times is very limited, either because it is taken for granted that it was essentially breast milk, or because no further research has been done to date. And this despite the fact that in Greece numerous breast pumps have been found in children's graves and in tombs, mainly of newborns, but also of infants.

Many of these small vases, which can be found in several museums around the country, have animal shapes, such as small pigs or dogs, they were painted with bright colors to appeal to children, and they often had a ball inside them, so they could also be used as rattles.

"We left out the ancient children. So we do not have direct evidence of the kind of food they ate, but we also do not have evidence of how they got it" the researcher says. And indeed, there are few remains from prehistoric children's graves that can be studied to determine the type of food.

But this research has other important parameters beyond detecting animal milk remains and discerning the use of these vessels. For it shows the transition of human societies from prehistoric hunter-gatherer life to pastoral life, which led to improved nutrition from animal milk and gave mothers time and energy to raise more children. An event that in turn led to a huge population explosion.

"We can assume that these vessels are the connection between the ancient world to contemporary urban development and our way of life," says Julie Dunne.

For her, this research was more than just a scientific study, as she says she felt a genuine sense of love and connection to the people who used these prehistoric baby bottles to feed their children.

The excavation at Iklaina will reveal how we ended up in today's Western civilizations

How were the complex political structures created that allowed the emergence of the first Western states, namely the Mycenaean ones?

Michael Kosmopoulos, director of the Archaeological Society's excavations at Iklaina, Messinia, attempted to answer this question during the online lecture "Excavation at Iklaina. New Insights into the Mycenaean Kingdom of Pylos" organized on 2022.

"We live in a world where the institution of the state permeates every aspect of our lives, but it was not always so. The transition from a world without states to one in which the state is the dominant political institution is one of the most fascinating chapters in human history. In Western civilization, this chapter is written in Mycenaean Greece, and the excavations at Iklaina shed new light on the mechanisms that led to its creation. These mechanisms are complex, but we find that the driving force behind the creation of the first states was, unfortunately, war and the violent incorporation of territory by powerful rulers", says Michael Kosmopoulos, professor of Greek archaeology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in the United States.

The first excavations at Iklaina - lasting only a few days - were carried out in 1954 by Spyridon Marinatos, who discovered parts of a monumental building he described as a palace, a street and cyclopean walls. Since then, the site remained unexplored until the 1990s, when Professor Georgios Korres, who included the site in Marinatos' list of ancient excavations in need of further research, suggested to M. Kosmopoulos that it be pursued. As a result, the Iklaina Archaeological Programme was established (http://www.iklaina.org/), courtesy of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messinia and under the auspices of the Archaeological Society.

The excavations at Iklaina revealed an important capital of the Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos, which flourished in the Late Bronze Age (1600 - 1100 BC). In addition to the impressive finds, including the remains of two monumental buildings, the relationship of Iklaina to the Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos, which resulted from the incorporation of territories by the ruler of Ano Eglianos, also known as the "Palace of Nestor", makes the site particularly important. "The historical course of Iklaina shows a continuous flourishing until the incorporation by force by the ruler of the Palace of Nestor. During the four centuries that Iklaina lived, relations between the two cities varied and changed according to economic and political circumstances.", adds the professor.

Before the annexation by the ruler of Ano Eglianos, Iklaina seems to have been an independent capital of a hegemon or state. The monumental buildings date from this phase of the settlement, which was forcibly destroyed in the Late Helladic IIIB Period, that is, between 1300 and 1200 B.C., when the ruler of Ano Eglianos incorporated it into his kingdom. "We can trace its historical path from a simple village at the end of the Middle Bronze Age to a powerful capital at the Mycenaean period. That is, from about 1550 to 1300/1250 BC, Iklaina gradually evolved from the capital of a hegemony to the capital of a state," explains the professor. On the question of whether similar "transitions" took place in other known Mycenaean sites, M. Kosmopoulos notes: "It is difficult to draw general conclusions about other Mycenaean sites because, unfortunately, very few settlements have been systematically excavated. One of the demands of Mycenaean archaeology is the excavation of non-palatial sites in order to compare their historical course with that of the major palatial centers.".

The excavations at Iklaina revealed two monumental buildings: a magnificent two- or three-story building complex with three wings built around a courtyard - one wing built on a cyclopean structure - and a monumental building to the east of the first, also built with such stones and posts. Between them was a paved square and an open-air sanctuary, while around them there is the settlement with houses and workshops. In the 3D rendering published on the research project's website (https://iklaina.wordpress.com/2021/11/25/computer-reconstruction-of-the-iklaina-site/), both the buildings and the fresco representations are impressive, based on the fragments found on site. The professor explains why these architectural remains cannot be described as palatial: "From an architectural point of view, I would not call this site a palace center, since this term is associated with a specific architectural type and is used for the great centers at the end of the Mycenaean period, when Iklaina was inhabited by the ruler of Nestor's palace and its monumental buildings were destroyed. Iklaina has unique architectural features that, while showing that it was a powerful capital for most of its history, make it difficult to classify it as a palatial center."

In the summer of 2010, news of the discovery of a Linear B clay tablet at Iklaina with product lists on one side and men's names on the other, dating from before the destruction of Late Helladic IIIB, got known in the whole world as the "oldest Linear B clay tablet in Europe''. However, the value of the find lies not only in its age, but also in the fact that it was discovered. "A unique sign was found in Iklaina, dated to between 1400 and 1300 BC. Although I have heard in the media that it is called the oldest Linear B sign in Europe, I do not think this is true because there are very likely other signs from the same period. And, quite honestly, it doesn't even matter if it is the oldest or not.

What is important is that it reveals the existence of a state bureaucracy 100-150 years before the signs of Nestor's Palace, that is, we have evidence that a state bureaucracy was created earlier than we previously thought", stresses M. Kosmopoulos, professor and holder of the Endowed Chair of Greek Studies at the University of Missouri-St.Louis. It should be noted that this Chair is one of the first Chairs of Greek Studies in the United States, whose mission is to promote research, teaching and public education on Hellenism and, especially, on the impact of Greek culture on modern society. "The study of the past is not an academic and theoretical issue, detached from today's reality, but a matter of vital importance for the future. It is a valuable tool that allows us, on the one hand, to understand certain general principles that govern human behavior and the processes that govern the development of human societies, and, on the other hand, to understand what is happening in our world today so that we can make good decisions for the future. Issues such as the formation, development, and destruction of states or the impact of violence and war on people continue to affect our lives today. If we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them", he comments on the importance of archeology and, more broadly, history for our lives.

In addition to continuing the excavation work, Mr. Kosmopoulos has begun the restoration, protection and highlighting of the archeological site, with the ultimate goal of opening it to the public. The excavations at Iklaina are funded by the University of Missouri-St.Louis, the Institute of Aegean Prehistory, the National Geographic Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Science Foundation of the USA.

Excavation in Cyprus reveals industrial plant dating back to 2350 BC

In the village of Pyrgos in Cyprus, the Greek population in 2350 BC to 1850 BC had a very important industrial building of about 4000 m², where not only copper, but also olive oil, perfume, medicines, textiles, paints and wine were processed.

There was found the oldest silk in the world, older than China's, but also the first perfumery workshop in the world, laboratory of pharmaceutical preparation, evidence of processing metals with olive oil (burning oil for high temperature) which was unique in the world 1500 years before the Phoenicians and they also dyed with purple.

​The area of Pyrgos is one of the most important centers of prehistory of Hellenism in Cyprus, for which the modernization and deepening of studies with innovative excavation systems and archaeometric research can provide important information about the history and development of prehistoric agricultural technologies that defined and shaped the main features of the island, and cultural identity.

Knowledge of their cultural heritage led the prehistoric people of Greece to develop systems for preserving the memory of their technological heritage, through the use of pictorial symbols and the development of original systems for transmitting historical memory. Evidence of this system is the famous "Vase of the Pyrgos" found in a tomb in Pyrgos by Pavlos Florenzos, director of the Cypriot Antiquities Authority, which uses the method of symbolism to represent the entire process of wine making.

The comparison between this pictorial evidence and the information gathered through the analysis of the content of the elements and the archeological sediment, paints a realistic picture of the environment and agricultural resources of the time, about the different systems used to benefit from the agricultural and mineral resources of the island.

In Pyrgos we have evidence of the agricultural revolution, modified from the beginning of the Bronze Age through the organization and transformation of prehistoric society of the Greeks, which was based on the relationships and balance between technology and the organization of social life which are important to the needs, resources, economic exchange and the differentiation of social and labor classes.

From the beginning of the archeological investigations of Pyrgos / Mavrorachis, it was recognized as one of the most important for the metallurgical investigations of 2000 BC in Cyprus, but also in the Mediterranean and around the world.

The strategic location of the ancient settlement between the copper deposits and the sea, at the confluence with certain rivers, was ideal for metallurgical activities and trade in the 2nd millennium BC. However, after eight years of systematic excavations, we now know that the settlement had a very important industrial building of about 4000 square meters, where not only copper, but also olive oil, perfumes, medicines, textiles, paints and wine were processed. The oldest silk in the world was found there, as well as the first perfumery workshop in the world. Evidence was found linking the processing of metals with olive oil, which is unique in the world.

This is the oldest silk found in the Mediterranean. A very small piece, 4,000 years old, brought to light by Italian researchers and it did not come from China, but from a village in Cyprus, Pyrgos.

These silk traces, found in a terracotta jar, can only be seen under a microscope, but the diagnosis of Professor Giuseppe Scala of the University of Florence is clear - they are silk fibers from the cocoon of the Lepidoptera tortrix viridens, which lived in the Aegean islands. So, it was not imported from China, where it started to be made after years, as we know, but only from the cocoon of the Bombyxmori butterfly. The silk of the Pyrgos was definitely made on the spot by people who did not know the technique of the Chinese, but learned it themselves by exploiting the cocoons.

12 Most Incredible Abandoned Objects And Places That Really Exist

Buildings and objects, much like people, have a story to tell. Unfortunately, buildings and objects can’t speak, so they rely on the people in and around them to tell their stories for them. That can’t be done when they’ve been forgotten, and there’s nobody around to speak for them anymore. That’s a little sad, but that’s also where we step in. We’re familiar with some of the most interesting, beautiful, and eerie abandoned places in the world, and we’re telling their stories in this video!

A Flat Tire Leads Them To a Discovery That Can Change History

There are new and weird things being discovered every day, so we have put a few of them together for you and your lucky eyeballs to enjoy.

From a second moon we never knew we had, to a lake that appeared out of nowhere, here are 20 Most Amazing Discoveries That Shocked The World.

Creepy Discoveries Found in Ancient Egypt that No One Was Supposed to See

Ancient Egypt no longer exists, but the evidence of its existence is ever-present in our memories. Archeologists are always unearthing hidden and terrifying artifacts that no one is supposed to see. I guess that's why they were buried anyway. In this video, we'll see those discoveries we never would have thought about. These are terrifying discoveries.

Neanderthals Debunked - Scientists Uncover the Truth About Neanderthals

In this video, we're debunking some of the myths about Neanderthals. Were they really dumb cavemen who couldn't compete with us? Or were they actually smart and capable of complex behaviour?

According to scientists, the answer is a little bit of both. Watch the video to find out more!

The Great Library of Nineveh with Irving Finkel

Join Irving Finkel as he raises the curtain on the ancient library of Assyria, pride and joy of Ashurbanipal, king of the world in the 7th century BC.

Glossing over the complexities and intricacies of cuneiform writing, Irving will inspect some of the calligraphic masterpieces in the Museum collection that were once housed in that library.

He'll survey the range of documents that reveal court life and what people got up to, and consider the significance of the whole, in terms of the libraries of the world, at home or exiled.

The myth of Pandora’s box

Pandora was the first mortal woman, breathed into being by Hephaestus, god of fire. The gods gave her gifts of language, craftsmanship and emotion. From Zeus she received two gifts: the trait of curiosity and a heavy box screwed tightly shut -- never to be opened. But what treasure could never be seen by human eyes, and why was it in her care? In the following video Iseult Gillespie explores the mystery of Pandora’s box!

Looking for hidden beauty in the 3-in-1 Meidum Pyramid

The Meidum Pyramid is mostly known for its present unsightly appearance. The distinction of being the only pyramid never claimed by a pharaoh adds to the negative reputation. Despite the great toll time has taken upon the monument, it remains filled with wonderful clues to understanding Old Kingdom Egypt.

The pyramid was essentially constructed three times, each creating a new pyramid reflecting a greater desire to project power and perfection. The present odd appearance of the Meidum Pyramid reveals the hidden smaller pyramids within it.

Other secret spaces inside the pyramid weren't discovered until the 21st century, and their presence is an enormous clue about the priorities and motivations for pyramid design.

Scientists Discover Two ancient Mysterious Neanderthal Populations

Neanderthals are our ancestors but with different ethnicities and pigmentation, like modern-day humans. This is something interesting and piques more of our interest with the discoveries made by scientists about Neanderthals and their population.

Today we will discuss the unknown journey of Neanderthals and how they were different from us!

The Odyssey Explained In 25 Minutes

The Odyssey - Homer’s Odyssey is regarded as one of the greatest stories of all time, having played a pivotal role in both Greek Mythology and Western civilisation for the last 2,500 years.

Having constructed the Trojan Horse, Odysseus had ensured victory against all odds and proved his reputation as the most cunning of the Greeks. But throughout it all, Odysseus only longed for one thing, to finally return to his homeland of Ithaca where he could be reunited with his wife and son. However, while his family awaited his return, Odysseus’ journey home would take 10 long years, during which he and his crew would have to face the most terrifying creatures known to man. A journey so epic, its tale would be told for thousands of years. This is his story!

The Earth 100,000 Years Ago

What was our planet like 100,000 years ago? What animals were there? What was the climate like? And which human species were around? Watch the video to find out!

The rise and fall of the Inca Empire

It was the western hemisphere's largest empire ever, with a population of nearly 10 million subjects. Yet within 100 years of its rise in the fifteenth century, the Inca Empire would be no more. What happened? Gordon McEwan details the rise and fall of the Inca Empire.

Alexander the Great - Quotes by History's Greatest Military Commander

Alexander the Great was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. A member of the Argead dynasty, he was born in Pella—a city in Ancient Greece—in 356 BC. He succeeded his father King Philip II to the throne at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and Northeastern Africa.

Scientist found How Ancient Egyptians Moved Pyramid Stones

Since some of the stones which were used to build the pyramid were so huge weighing 2.5 tons which is almost the weight of an adult female elephant. People are now asking “how did Ancient Egyptians moved the massive pyramid stones from the desert to the construction site?” without the use of mechanical assistance which were not available back then. Not even camels or 100 men could move the stones.

After massive researched by archaeologist they discovered a wall painting in the tomb of Djehutihotep which can give us some understanding of how probably the ancient Egyptians were able to move the massive pyramid stones.

So this video will try to explain how the Ancient Egyptians probably move the massive pyramid stones.