Ancient Scythia's Amazon Warrior Women: A Forgotten History

Penthesilea was a legendary warrior who was the offspring of Ares, the Greek god of battle and violence, and Otrera, the first queen of the Amazons. She sided with King Priam in the Trojan War because of her renown for fighting prowess, but she eventually ran across a stronger opponent. In a fairly evenly matched battle, Achilles prevailed over her, according to Homeric legend.

A mosaic depicting an Amazon warrior armed with a labrys, engaged in combat with a hippeus. (Credit: Jacques MOSSOT/CC-by-3.0/Wikimedia Commons)

According to Adrienne Mayor, author of the book The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World, "As she's dying, he takes off her helmet and falls in love with her."

Penthesilea was referred to as a strong Amazon queen who led a band of formidable female warriors that were equally skilled and strong as males. They hunted well, were skilled with a bow, and engaged in horseback combat. The concept of fierce female fighters captivated the ancient Greeks, whether or not Penthesilea was an actual historical figure. Heroes like Hercules and Theseus battled Amazons as well; the latter even wed Hippolyta, another Amazon queen and Penthesilea's sister, and traveled to Athens with him. Vases and other Greek artifacts and crafts frequently include Amazons.

According to Mayor, "perhaps it was a way for the Greeks to imagine what it would be like to have a society ruled by women because they had a very male-dominated society."

But because the Amazons left no written records behind, many people doubted their existence—possibly because they held the sexist view that women couldn't have engaged in combat and hunting like men. According to Mayor, "for a very long time, historians and traditional tales believed that the mythology of the Amazon were just pure fables.

At least until a number of burials of female warriors were discovered in Central Asia starting in the 1970s, which may very likely relate to the mythical Amazonians.

Scythia

The Greeks thought the feisty, horse-obsessed ladies originated from far areas to the northeast of Greece; many scholars now think that region to have been Scythia, a huge region that approximately stretched from north of the Black Sea in the west to Mongolia in the east.

The nomadic steppe tribes that lived in Scythia from around the 8th century B.C. until the end of the 5th century A.D. presumably spoke a range of distinct languages, according to Mayor. As a result, the Scythians were not a single society.

Archaeologists had found many burials from this era in this vast area, but it wasn't until the 1970s that they started to find female Scythians buried alongside males with horses and weapons. Some of them had obvious combat wounds, and some ladies were even interred together; in one instance in western Russia, it appeared that three generations shared a single tomb.

"[Women] were buried with the same honors as men, and with the same battle scars," Mayor claims.

According to her, early Greek depictions of Amazons frequently represented them as looking more like Greek women. However, as time went on and the Greeks apparently came into contact with the nomadic tribes of Scythia, the pictures started to show Amazons who looked more like Scythians riding horses and wielding bows.

"They are dressed like the women we find in the graves," Mayor remarks.

Divergent Narratives

Others outside the Greeks also written about these women. Chinese, Egyptian, and Persian writings all made mention to amazons, albeit their descriptions varied slightly. The majority of what we know about the Scythians comes from the other cultures who were in their vicinity because they lacked a written language of their own. Despite the possibility that some of these stories contain some elements of fact, the majority speak more to the culture of the author than to the Scythian women themselves.

Greek mythology frequently had a male hero defeating an Amazon, for instance. They were only able to envision a zero sum game, according to Mayor. She continues, "The battles are always portrayed as very suspenseful." Of course you won't tell tales about foreign women beating your heroes in Greece.

Conflicts and trade with Amazons were mentioned in Persian, Chinese, and Egyptian texts, but the tales are a little more realistic, with more evenly matched clashes that finally led to alliances. To keep wandering tribes at bay, the Great Wall of China was erected. Although the name "Amazon" is not a Greek word and first appears in Greek narratives, some linguists think it may be related to the Persian word "Hamazon," which means "warrior."

Pedikhons, an Egyptian king, fought Serpot, an Amazon queen, for three days before they were both too fatigued to continue and decided to establish an alliance, according to pieces of Egyptian papyrus.

"It's very different from the ancient Greek society," Mayor claims.

These stories would endure for generations, and the name of the Amazon River was inspired by information that European colonial colonists learned about South American tribes that practiced equality.

Ignoring the Past

Some Greek versions were more credible than others; according to one myth, women would have one of their breasts amputated in order to throw spears and draw bowstrings. Even ancient Greek historians rejected the idea of one-breasted Amazons as absurd, according to Mayor, although certain Amazon statues and other representations still feature them.

The idea of an equitable society, or even one where women were in charge, captivated the Greeks because they were a civilization where men predominated. While Mayor notes that given the character of the Scythians, it's likely that some tribes had lost a lot of males in battle and may have been mostly female, at least temporarily, we haven't definitely uncovered proof that the Scythians were all-female or female-ruled.

Archaeologists initially preferred to disregard the Greek myths, seeing them as mere fiction. According to Mayor, "I believe male historians and classicists may have discounted any truth in the ancient Greek tales of Amazons due to sexism."

In a follow-up email, Mayor stated that some contemporary scholars "prefer to claim that Amazons were invented by Greeks to be defeated by male heroes, or that the Amazons were merely symbols of 'others' —'monstrous women who refuse to marry.'" This is despite prominent Greek historians and philosophers like Herodotus and Plato mentioning women in the Black Sea and Caucasus region living similarly to the mythical Amazons.

But according to Mayor, around 300 prehistoric warrior women from the Scythian era have been discovered in the last few years. More discoveries are probably on the way.

Despite the discovery of armed female archaeologists everywhere across the steppes, she says, "it is perplexing to me that some scholars still hold this dated opinion that Amazons were purely symbolic."

If the Scythians ever truly vanished, it is unclear why they did so. Nomadic horse culture persisted in some areas of the area under various identities; the Mongols are just one example.

"There were strong women among the steppe nomads during the time of Genghis Khan," Mayor claims.

Although the status of women in the local nomadic tribes may have changed when Islam expanded throughout much of what was formerly Scythia beginning in the 7th century, Mayor notes that remnants of equality may still be seen in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

Source: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-ea...

Scientists were "flabbergasted" to discover intricate dinosaur tracks covering a cliff in Alaska

In Alaska, a 20-story rock face known as "The Coliseum" is covered in numerous layers of dinosaur footprints, including a tyrannosaur.

The cliff face, known as "The Coliseum," in Denali National Park and Preserve. Its surface is covered in fossilized dinosaur tracks. (Image credit: Patrick Druckenmiller)

The wall of a 20-story cliff in Alaska is covered in the fossilized footprints of dozens of dinosaurs, giving the impression that the animals defied gravity to walk across its surface, but a geological process is actually to blame. This discovery has "flabbergasted" researchers who have been studying the area.

Currently, the rock face in Denali National Park and Preserve rises at a height of around 218 feet (66 meters). But in the late Cretaceous, some 70 million years ago, the rock was muddy muck that probably surrounding a watering hole on a huge floodplain. This explains the wide range of dinosaur footprints found on the cliff face, including those of young dinosaurs and adults of several big, plant-eating, duck-billed, and horned dinosaurs, as well as carnivores like raptors, nonavian flying reptiles, and at least one tyrannosaur.

The tracks were hauled up and deposited on their side as the ground bulged upward during a tectonic plate collision, similar to how the bonnet of a car folds under the force of a collision, long after the dinosaurs had left their mark in the region. According to the National Park Service, this tectonic activity was a component of the geological turbulence that gave rise to the 600-mile-long (966-kilometer) Alaska Range next to Denali National Park.

A 3D reconstruction of a suspected tyrannosaur footprint discovered at The Coliseum. (Image credit: Dustin Stewart)

Due to the variety of dinosaurs that probably interacted with one another near the water's edge, the location has been given the moniker "The Coliseum" by researchers. The journal Historical Biology released the team's analysis of the site on July 27, 2023. The word "coliseum" refers to a theater, stadium, or other sizable public area.

A seven-hour hike from the closest road separates the cliff from the remainder of a vast rocky outcrop. Due to the fact that most of the footprints had been filled in by other sediments, prior researchers who found a set of tracks at the base of the cliff missed the intricate patchwork of footprints that was looming above them. However, when their colleagues arrived at the location, they discovered the covert tracks.

According to research co-author Pat Druckenmiller, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and curator at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, "When we first went out there, we didn't see much either." However, in a particular setting, the imprints were much easier to see.

Dustin Stewart, a paleontologist at Paleo Solutions and a former student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was the study's primary author and said in a statement, "When the sun angles itself perfectly with those beds, they just blow up." Immediately, he continued, "all of us were just flabbergasted." "We were panicking."

The Coliseum is part of an even larger rocky outcrop. The cliffs were lifted into the air by a tectonic plate collision. (Image credit: Patrick Druckenmiller)

The scientists noticed that the imprints were remarkably precise upon closer examination. Druckenmiller declared, "They are lovely." "You can see the skin's texture and the toes' shape."

The traces that were laid beneath those on the rock's surface were also found by the researchers.

Stewart remarked, "It's not simply one level of rock with tunes on it. It is a chronological progression. There have been other dinosaur footprints discovered in Denali National Park, but "nothing of this magnitude," he continued.

Along with petrified vegetation, pollen, and crustaceans, the cliff also has bird tracks from wading. The findings, according to the researchers, will enable them to create a thorough picture of the environment 70 million years ago. According to Stewart, "all these little hints put together what the environment looked like overall."

Source: https://www.livescience.com/animals/dinosa...

Odin's first citation can be discovered in a Danish artifact

Scandinavian researchers claim to have found the earliest-known mention of the Norse god Odin on a portion of a gold disc that was discovered in western Denmark in 2020.

The inscription appears to refer to a Norse king whose face appears in the center of the pendant, and may indicate he claimed descent from the Norse god Odin. © Arnold Mikkelsen, National Museum of Denmark

At least 150 years earlier than the previous earliest reference, which was on a brooch discovered in southern Germany and dated to the second half of the 6th century, according to Lisbeth Imer, a runologist with the National Museum in Copenhagen, the inscription represented the first conclusive evidence of Odin being worshipped as early as the 5th century.

The disc was found in Denmark as part of a hoard that included enormous medallions the size of saucers and Roman coins fashioned into jewelry, as well as around a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of gold. The Vindelev Hoard was discovered in the village of Vindelev in central Jutland.

Experts believe the treasure was buried 1,500 years ago, either as an homage to the gods or to hide it from adversaries. "He is Odin's man," was written on a golden bracteate, a form of slender, ornate necklace, and was probably referring to an unidentified monarch or ruler.

The inscription ‘He is Odin’s man’ is seen in a round half circle over the head of a figure on a golden bracteate unearthed in Vindelev, Denmark in late 2020. Scientists have identified the oldest-known reference to the Norse god Odin on a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark. © Arnold Mikkelsen, The National Museum of Denmark

Imer remarked, "It's one of the best executed runic inscriptions I've ever seen." Early tribes in northern Europe employed runes as symbols for written communication.

One of the principal gods in Norse mythology, Odin was frequently linked to both poetry and battle.

According to the National Museum in Copenhagen, where the collection unearthed in 2020 is on exhibit, more than 1,000 bracteates have been discovered in northern Europe.

Because runic inscriptions are so uncommon, according to expert on ancient languages Krister Vasshus, "every runic inscription (is) vital to how we understand the past."

It is extraordinary in and of itself when an inscription this long occurs, Vasshus stated. It provides some rather intriguing details about ancient religion, which also reveals something about ancient society.

The Viking Age, generally seen as lasting from 793 to 1066, was a time when Norsemen known as Vikings engaged in extensive raiding, colonization, conquering, and trading across Europe. They made it to North America as well.

Each of the many gods that the Norsemen worshiped had unique traits, flaws, and attributes. Details about the gods' characteristics and behavior have been revealed based on sagas and some rune stones.

According to Imer, "That kind of mythology can take us further and have us reexamine all the other 200 bracteate inscriptions that we know."

Source: https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/oldest-refe...

The Americas' Oldest Bone Spear Point Is 13,900 Years Old, According to the Evidence

The Manis bone projectile point has been determined by a team of academics to be the oldest bone-based weapon discovered in the Americas, dating back 13,900 years, under the direction of a professor at Texas A&M University.

The team's reconstruction of the bone point. Credit: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University

The researchers examined bone pieces found within a mastodon rib bone that Carl Gustafson first discovered during an excavation at the Manis site in Washington state between 1977 and 1979.

Waters and his team identified each piece of bone using a CT scan and 3D modeling software to demonstrate that it was the point of a projectile manufactured from the bone of a Mastodon, an extinct relative of the elephant.

Dr. Michael Waters, renowned professor of anthropology and head of Texas A&M's Center for the Study of First Americans, explained, "We isolated the bone fragments, printed them out, and assembled them." This was the tip of a bone projectile point, as was made very obvious. The oldest bone projectile point found in the Americas and the earliest direct indication of mastodon hunting in the continent.

According to Waters, the Manis point, which dates to 13,900 years ago, is 900 years older than projectile points connected to the Clovis people, whose stone tools he has previously studied. Spear points made by the Clovis people, who lived between 13,050 and 12,750 years ago, have been discovered in Texas and other locations around the US.

The fact that Manis is the first and only bone tool older than Clovis is significant. Only stone tools have been discovered at the second pre-Clovis site, according to Waters. This demonstrates that the Native Americans produced and utilized bone weapons as well as maybe other bone implements.

According to him, the projectile from the hunter's missed shot became caught in the mastodon's rib and is the sole reason the Manis specimen was preserved.

According to Waters, "we demonstrate that the bone used to make the point appears to have originated from the leg bone of another mastodon and was purposefully shaped into a projectile point form." "The bone-pointed spear was hurled at the mastodon. It cut through the tissue and hide before coming into contact with the rib. The hunter tried to go between the ribs to damage the lung function, but he failed and hit the rib instead.

In an earlier investigation of the rib bone by Waters, which was published in 2011 in Science, the age of the bone was established by radiocarbon dating, and the mastodon ancestry of the bone fragments was established through genetic analysis.

"In our new study, we set out to isolate the bone fragments using CT images and 3D software," the researcher added. "We were able to produce 3D representations of each element that were printed at a scale of six. The specimen's appearance before it entered and fractured in the rib was then demonstrated by putting the parts back together.

A close-up angle shows the bone point embedded in the mastodon's rib. Credit: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University

Other than the fact that they were some of the earliest Indigenous people to visit the Americas, nothing is known about the people who utilized the Manis spear point. According to Waters, the Manis site and others are shedding light on archaeology.

He remarked, "It appears that the first immigrants to the Americas arrived by boat." "They went south along the coast of the North Pacific. They eventually made it over the Canadian ice sheets and arrived on the Pacific Northwest coast.

It's fascinating to notice that Paisley Caves in Oregon is 14,100 years old, whereas Coopers Ferry in Idaho is 16,000 years old. We also cover the 13,900-year-old Manis site here. The Northwestern region of the United States thus appears to include a concentration of ancient sites that date from 16,000 to 14,000 years ago and precede Clovis. These locations probably mark the earliest immigrants to the Americas at the conclusion of the last ice age, along with their descendants.

Source: https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/02/03/ev...

The ethereal poet who can make your life better

The poetry of Persian poet Hafiz, who lived in the 14th century, is not only gorgeous but also insightful. According to Daniel Ladinsky, Hafiz may teach us how to make the most of our life.

Shams-ud-din One of the most well-known Persian poets, Muhammad Hafiz (c. 1320–1389), is regarded by many people from various cultures as one of the seven literary wonders of the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ralph Waldo Emerson both concurred. “Hafiz has no anxieties”, as Emerson said, “the only man I want to see or be is one who sees too far and all at once”. Hafiz received the prestigious and well-known accolade from Emerson that “Hafiz is a poet for poets.”

Emerson and Goethe both translated Hafiz. And after a thorough examination of him, Geothe simply - yet surprisingly - said, “Hafiz has no peer.”

Nietzsche and Arthur Conan Doyle, whose marvelous character Sherlock Holmes quotes Hafiz, were among the notables who liked Hafiz's poetry. The Sufi poet was commended by Garcia Lorca. His verse moved Johannes Brahms so much that he incorporated some of them into his works. In addition, it is reported that Queen Victoria once turned to Hafiz for advice, as has long been the practice in the Middle East. In the Fal-e Hafiz, an age-old custom, readers open Hafiz's writings with a sincere desire from their soul for guidance and seek him for assistance when they are confronting a challenge or at a pivotal moment in their lives.

A ceramic tile – probably painted many years after his death – shows a likeness of the poet Hafiz (Credit: De Agostini/Getty Images)

Hafiz's versatility is really astounding and occasionally provocative:

I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath

moves through – listen to this music.

Next, this passage from another poetry:

Look at the smile on the Earth's lips this

morning, she laid again with me last night!

Hafiz is a unique master of "the utility of light" or "the sun." 'The utility of art' is another. His poetry bestows its goodness and capacity to reassure, animate, and excite those who are in need. If you're feeling cold in any way, art should be your lover; it should warm you from the inside out. Inner hunger and thirst can be satisfied through art. And after studying the poetry and lives of Rumi, Michelangelo, St. Francis, Kabir, Mira, and Hafiz, as well as many other famous poet-seers from both the East and the West, we came to understand that their work has a marvelous element in common.

They assisted us in developing a three-word description of art, which we later believed provided a reliable yardstick for the quality of any poems or writing we ever engaged in. In the same way that Emerson used Hafiz as a true barometer of himself in all of his contacts, we also make an effort to keep Hafiz in mind whenever we connect with another person, animal, or even plant. We strive to pour myself through the poetry of Hafiz and my pictures of him in the same way that water is put through a cloth to catch impurities.

In the moment

An important definition and objective of art, as well as a standard we hold myself to, are these three words, which Hafiz represents, and which we discovered through studying the lives and works of those greats we just mentioned: engage and offer.

An illustration from a 19th-Century collection of Hafiz’s poems shows the poet offering his work to a patron (Credit: Wikipedia)

The ability to grab and profit from another person's attention is arguably one of the most important qualities and values of art. Because when beauty achieves so, the observer, or audience, always reaps the rewards. As Hafiz puts it:

The mountain's face lifted me higher than

itself.

A song's wink aligned me with joy. And a

tune paradise hums I came to know.

The forest, letting me walk amongst its naked

limbs, had me on my knees again in silence

shouting – yes, yes my holy friend, let your

splendour devour me.

Being engaged by a genuine instructor like Hafiz is like having enduring ingredients cooked into your mind through thought, helping us live better lives. Making someone present is essential to capturing their attention. What a joy being in the now may be, especially if a jewel can be slipped into your pocket by some magician's brush stroke, writing, sculpture, instrument, or ballet step. After all, so many people live under the tyranny of some previous occurrence or worry about the future. In some of his poems, Hafiz clearly addresses the topic of how to claim the treasure that was predetermined to be ours at birth.

The "wine-tasting of the sky"

The motivation behind each and every line of Hafiz’s poems is to encourage you to light a candle in your heart, to support our enduring need to laugh, dance, and have fun, or, as the poet put it, "to lift the corners of your mouth." Hafiz is there to ease the burden that may be on us in an hour or a day. His love for us has stood the test of time and continues to uplift and inspire. He makes it easier for us to pardon those we haven't yet. And honor those who have not yet received it. And his superhuman fortitude and enlightenment will rub off on you so that you too will want to—and find that you can—never hurt anyone by sound or movement. It is claimed that Hafiz lost the ability to do anything cruel.

Hafiz addresses the issues that prevent us from leading more fulfilling lives in countless different ways. He longs to assist the highest elements of us in leading all the other aspects to a place where we can breathe better, kick back more, and say: "Ahhhh, this world isn't so bad, in fact, it is amazing!" with the use of special, endearing metaphors that he appears to be able to rain from the ground up.

Hafiz mentions:

If your knees have not buckled in ecstasy while standing

when a veil parts.

If a cherished tear of gratitude has not sung leaping from

your eye.

If anything your palm does touch cannot help reveal the

Beloved.

My words are full of golden secrets that are not too hard

to crack, and will remedy one hundred fears and ills.

So many of Hafiz's poems speak directly to the need to free the senses from restraint and to strengthen the will in order to better engage in "wine-tasting of the sky" and more gently hold — in thought or with our arms — the things we most cherish and know to be priceless nutrition. Our "emerald wings" are released by him.

Master's stories

Two tales about Hafiz demonstrate his wide variety and his remarkable capacity to never become monotonous. To always be giving and involved. Lead creatively in this way.

The tomb of the poet in the Iranian city of Shiraz is a popular tourist destination (Credit: Getty Images)

As for the first tale:

Once a young woman came to Hafiz and said,

"What is the sign of someone knowing God?"

And Hafiz became very quiet, and stood in silence

for nearly a minute... lovingly looking deep into the

young woman's eye, then softly spoke,

"My dear, they have dropped the knife. The person

who knows God has dropped the cruel knife most

so often use upon their tender self – and others."

The second narrative reflects a sensuality that Hafiz fully embraces and frequently employs as a stepping stone to heaven—as the body and its passions might be—and that is so fundamental to human dynamics. You say:

A rather serious – maybe too serious – university

student from another country came to Hafiz to

personally ask for his permission to translate some

of Hafiz's poems into a little book.

And he said to Hafiz, "What is the essential

quality in your poems that I need to incorporate in

my translations to make them abiding and authentic?"

And Hafiz smiled, and placed his arms on the man's

shoulders, then said, "Do you really want to know?"

And the young man said, "Of course."

"Well, well then," Hafiz began and continued,

"My poems lift the corners of the mouth – the soul's

mouth, the heart's mouth. And can effect any opening

that can make love."

The artist can occasionally share in that, as can any human being who is full of buoyant passion or is willing to die for some lofty cause or magnificent goals, just as the sun and earth provide wondrous life in their miraculous utility.

The intellect that respects everything and understands that all forms are a part of an ultimate Self can do the same. And from Hafiz's tremendous insight and compassion, a holy hand extends. He may be omnipresent in spirit, but he is there with a soft embrace. His poems' mosaic of illuminated consciousness help us become more self-aware, empowered, and free. He is a gold mine with his crazed assault of playful creativity. And those who adore his works can start a lovely romance.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/201701...

In the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon, a Nymphaeum was found

Recent investigations have revealed a massive monumental water sanctuary (Nymphaeum) above the reservoir in Perperikon's southern district. It is a Nymphaeum from the second to third centuries, according to Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, director of the archaeological complex's excavation, who spoke to media.

One of the earliest megalithic structures is Perperikon, an archaeological complex in the Eastern Rhodopes of Bulgaria, at a height of 470 meters close to the settlement of Kardzhali.

It was previously thought that the location simply had a water reservoir. Recent excavations have revealed the presence of a sanctuary with a lovely Roman wall and columns.

Water nymphs' havens were called nymphaeums. It was a magnificent semicircular Classical fountain house that was lavishly ornamented for public usage. It frequently had sculpture-filled niches. The nymphaeum was used as a church, a reservoir, and a gathering place for weddings.

One of Perperikon's most extensively researched regions, according to Professor Nikolay Ovcharov, has only ever been viewed as a reservoir with a volume of drinking water close to 500,000 liters and a depth of roughly 5 meters.

Archaeologists came to the conclusion that the water temple existed as a result of the recent finds made on the site during the ongoing restoration effort.

It turned out that this cistern had just three sides that were cut into the rocks, as opposed to the four sides of the cistern on the Acropolis. It had a lovely, very well-made square wall on the east side, which, as it turned out, was the facade of this facility. According to Prof. Ovcharov, we discovered pieces of cornices, pedestals for columns, column bases, and probably even statues during the excavations.

In his remarks, Ovcharov stressed the significance of urban nymphaeums, particularly during siege periods, and noted that analogous artifacts of glorifying and deification of water are uncommon in Bulgaria. He also noted that such examples exist in Asia Minor.

Due to a shortage of governmental funding, archaeological excavations in Perperikon have only been taking place for the past two years with the assistance of the Municipality of Kardzhali. The work will continue until mid-September 2023.

The ancient city of Perperikon, which is supposed to have been a sacred site, is situated on a rocky hill that is 470 meters high in the Eastern Rhodope mountains of southern Bulgaria, 15 kilometers northeast of the modern town of Kardzhali.

Perperikon dates back to the Chalcolithic era, over 8000 thousand years ago, but its heyday was in late Antiquity, when it rose to prominence as the capital of the Roman Empire's Thracian province.

Source: https://arkeonews.net/a-nymphaeum-was-disc...

On the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, reexamine the Himalayasaurus

The mysteries of an ancient monster are hidden on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, sometimes known as the "Roof of the World."

Himalayasaurus fossils and a restoration diagram /Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Chinese paleontologists first discovered ichthyosaur fossils on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau more than 50 years ago while conducting research missions there. However, the international paleontological community has continued to be dubious regarding the existence of this ichthyosaur, known as "Himalayasaurus," due to the fossils being scattered bones and inadequate preservation brought on by the restrictions of the time and environment.

After years of work, researchers announced in May of this year that they had once again discovered and verified Himalayasaurus fossils from the Triassic period (roughly 252 to 201 million years ago), building on the foundation established by the previous generation of scientists conducting fieldwork on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

These discoveries have major ramifications for understanding the ancient habitat of the Tethys Ocean and the environmental changes that occurred on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau over 200 million years ago, as well as for improving and enriching the evolutionary history of life based on Chinese fossil materials.

What type of animal is an ichthyosaur? The ichthyosaur was an ancient aquatic reptile that existed in the Mesozoic oceans, according to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau expedition team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its look is many million years older than that of dinosaurs. They evolved into enormous bodies that were over 10 meters in length after evolving in the waters more than 200 million years ago. Thus, ichthyosaurs are appropriately regarded as the masters of the Mesozoic oceans since they are the earliest large-bodied vertebrates known in the history of existence.

A file photo shows the fragments of ichthyosaur ribs discovered on the coast of an island near Vladivostok in Russia. /CFP

Meanwhile, a group of biology students discovered pieces of ichthyosaur ribs from 230 to 240 million years ago in 2022 on the coast of an island near Vladivostok, Russia.

"Ichthyosaur bones have now been found on Russian islands three times," The two ichthyosaur bone fragments have been sent to the museum, according to a representative of the Primorsky Krai Maritime Museum.

Extinct sea reptiles called ichthyosaurs looked like fish and dolphins. 2014 saw the initial finding of ichthyosaur remains on Russian islands. Another pair of ichthyosaur bones was discovered on the islands in 2020, and it was first estimated that they lived about 247 million years ago.

Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-08-18/Redi...

A 2300-year-old discovery of rare gold gifts made in the renowned Phoenician city of Carthage

A group of offerings were discovered by archaeologists digging in the Tophet sanctuary in Carthage, according to a news release from Tunisia's Ministry of Cultural Affairs. In addition to tombstones and many urns containing the bones of animals, children, and preterm infants, they also discovered five gold coins from the third century BC.

Carthage is a large archaeological site that was founded about 2,900 years ago by Phoenicians. It is situated on a hill that dominates the Gulf of Tunis and the nearby plain. Carthage, the center of Punic civilisation in Africa and the Roman province of Africa's capital, had a significant impact on antiquity as a powerful economic empire.

The Carthaginian Sanctuary Tophet had a "shrine area" for the sacrifices and a cemetery area for the burial of the dead.

Over 20,000 urns, each carrying the ashes of a child (mainly newborns but sometimes youngsters up to the age of four), were found when a French team of archaeologists explored the site in 1921. Although the practice of child sacrifice by the Carthaginians is unmistakably documented in ancient records, there are numerous additional hypotheses as to what may have actually happened.

Archaeologists excavating the sacred tophet site in Carthage, a place of child sacrifice, found gold coins left as offerings 2,300 years ago. Photo: Tunisia Ministry of Cultural Affairs/Facebook

According to the Tunisian source Shems FM, the rare gold coins are nearly an inch in diameter and feature a design featuring the face of Tanit, an ancient goddess of motherhood and fertility.

Rich worshipers left the money as offerings to the principal deities of the Tophet, the god Hammon and the goddess Tanit, according to Arabic RT.

Several urns found at the sacred site. Photo: Tunisia Ministry of Cultural Affairs/Facebook

Professor Syed Imad bin Jarbaniyah, Director of the Department of Programming, Cooperation, Publishing, and Training at the National Institute of Heritage, and expert in archaeological and historical research According to him, the recently unearthed gold coins "reflect the wealth of that historical period and confirm the cultural value of Carthage."

The Sanctuary of Tophet of Carthage, a holy area devoted to the gods Tanit and Baal Hammon, is regarded as one of the most significant Punic monuments at the location of Carthage and in the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea.

Source: https://arkeonews.net/rare-gold-gifts-2300...

'One-Eyed' Fossils Fuel the Cyclops Myth?

Ever ponder the origin of our scariest nightmares? It might have been the remains of enormous prehistoric beasts for the ancient Greeks.

On the Greek island of Crete, remains of a Deinotherium giganteum, which is loosely translated as "really huge terrible beast," including its tusk, many teeth, and bones, have been discovered. The enormous mammal, which measured 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall at the shoulder and possessed tusks that were 4.5 feet (1.3 meters) long, was a distant ancestor of modern elephants. One of the biggest mammals to ever walk the face of the planet, it was enormous.

According to Charalampos Fassoulas, a geologist at the University of Crete's Natural History Museum, "This is the first finding in Crete and the south Aegean in general." We discovered the animal's entire tusk for the first time in Greece. The sediment where we uncovered the fossils is 8 to 9 million years old, though we haven't yet dated them.

According to skulls of Deinotherium giganteum discovered at other locations, it had a much larger nasal aperture in the middle of the head and was more primitive and massive than an elephant of the present.

The big hole in the middle of the skull today signals a distinct trunk to paleontologists. Deinotheriumskulls may have served as the inspiration for the myths the ancient Greeks had about the terrifying one-eyed Cyclops.

A Discussion of the Natural World

According to Adrienne Mayor's book The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times, the Greeks and Romans exploited fossil evidence, such as the gigantic bones of long-extinct creatures, to both confirm and generate new tales.

"The idea that mythology explains the natural world is an old idea," said Thomas Strasser, an archaeologist at California State University, Sacramento who has extensively worked in Crete. The ancient Greeks were farmers, so they undoubtedly came across fossilized bones like these and attempted to explain them. However, you'll never be able to test the theory in a scientific way. It makes reasonable that people would imagine them as giants, monsters, sphinxes, and other such creatures given their lack of understanding of evolution, the scientist asserted.

In his epic account of Odysseus's struggles throughout his ten-year journey from Troy to his home country, Homer describes the traveler's encounter with the cyclops. He characterizes the Cyclops as a group of enormous, one-eyed, man-eating shepherds in The Odyssey. They occupied an island that Odysseus and a few of his soldiers occasionally visited in search of provisions. One of the Cyclops seized them, and he later ate a number of the guys. Only their intelligence and bravery prevented them from all becoming dinner. The monster was made inebriated by the captured travelers, who then managed to blind him and flee.

The Cyclops are said to be the sons of Gaia (earth) and Uranus (sky), according to a second tale. The three brothers evolved into the Olympian gods' blacksmiths, forging Poseidon's trident and Zeus' thunderbolts.

"Mayor makes a convincing case that the places where a lot of these myths originate occur in places where there are a lot of fossil beds," remarked Strasser. She also tells out that according to some tales, monsters spring from the ground during severe storms, which is something I had never considered but which makes sense given that the soil has disintegrated as a result of the storm and these bones have appeared.

A first century CE head of a Cyclops, part of the sculptures adorning the Roman Colosseum

Traveling the planet

Deinotheres, an extinct relative of the elephant, lived during the Miocene (23 to 5 million years ago) and Pliocene (five to 1.8 million years ago) eras in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

According to Fassoulas, the discovery of the remains on Crete suggests that the mammal traveled through more of Europe than was previously thought. Fassoulas oversaw the excavation and is in head of the museum's paleontology section.

He contends that during times when sea levels were lower, the creatures traveled from Turkey to Crete by swimming and island-hopping across the southern Aegean Sea. Today's elephants are among the several herbivores with remarkable swimming abilities.

According to him, the creatures likely traveled to Crete from Turkey via the islands of Rhodes and Karpathos.

Unlike modern elephants, the Deinotherium's tusks emerged from its lower jaw and curved downward and backward rather than upward and outward. The tusks' wear patterns indicate that they were likely used to remove bark from trees and perhaps to dig up plants.

"We know that this animal lived in a forest environment based on studies in northern and eastern Europe," Fassoulas added. In a habitat like this, the animal was "using his ground-faced tusk to dig, settle the branches and bushes, and in general to find his food."

Fassoulas is urging farmers to be on the lookout for further fossils, which were discovered as ground was being cleared for an olive crop.

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science...

Researchers find the oldest stilt settlement in Europe

Scientists have discovered what may be one of Europe's earliest sedentary towns beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the "Pearl of the Balkans," and they are working to understand why it hid behind a castle of protective spikes.

A diver scouring an archaeological site at the bottom of Lake Ohrid in Albania, the site of Europe's oldest stilt village.

Archaeologists think a town of stilt homes previously stood along a section of the lake's Albanian shore around 8,000 years ago, making it the oldest lakeside settlement in Europe to be found thus far.

The site was radiocarbon dated and is dated to between 6000 and 5800 BC.

"It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions," said Albert Hafner, an archaeology professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland.

It is the oldest in Europe, as far as we know, he told AFP.

The oldest of these villages, which date to around 5000 BC, were found in the Italian Alps, according to a specialist in European Neolithic lake houses.

Divers at work on the archaeological site at the bottom of Lake Ohrid in Albania.

Over the past four years, Hafner and his group of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists have been excavating at Lin on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, which spans the mountainous boundary between North Macedonia and Albania.

Between 200 and 500 people are thought to have lived in the town, which included homes built on stilts above the lake's surface or in locations that frequently experienced flooding due to rising waters.

Fortified with spikes

Furthermore, it is gradually exposing some amazing secrets.

Archaeologists have found evidence during a dive that suggests the settlement was fortified with tens of thousands of spiked boards used as defensive barricades.

They had to clear a forest in order to secure themselves in this way, according to Hafner.

Swiss archaeologist Albert Hafner examines ancient wood stumps taken from Lake Ohrid.

However, why did the peasants feel the need to construct such substantial defenses to protect themselves? The elusive question is still being researched by archaeologists.

Hafner referred to the discovery as "a real treasure trove for research" and estimated that over 100,000 spikes were driven into the lake's bottom off Lin.

One of the world's oldest lakes, Lake Ohrid has existed for more than a million years.

Archaeologists have been searching the lake's bottom with the help of qualified divers, frequently finding valuable oak and timber that has been preserved as fossils.

Similar to a Swiss watch

The team's ability to reconstruct the daily lives of the locals is made possible by the analysis of the tree rings, which also offers "valuable insights into the climatic and environmental conditions" of the time, according to Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.

Hafner observed, "Oak is like a Swiss watch, very accurate, like a calendar."

Anastasi, the leader of the Albanian study team, continued, "We are undertaking very rigorous investigation, going very slowly and very cautiously, in order to comprehend the structure of this archaic site without hurting it.

The site's dense foliage occasionally makes the labor agonizingly slow.

"It's important to understand why these people made this choice, as building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, and very difficult," said Anastasi.

Divers search amoung the reeds at an ancient village site on the Albanian shore of Lake Ohrid.

According to scientists, it is currently reasonable to believe that the village's primary food sources were domesticated cattle and crops.

Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor working at the site, said: "We found different seeds, plants, and the bones of wild and domesticated animals."

However, it will take another twenty years for the site to be thoroughly examined and investigated and for definitive findings to be made.

The crew has been able to piece together a picture of life along the shores of Lake Ohrid thousands of years ago because to the information that each excavation excursion provides, according to Anastasi, from the design of the homes to the organization of their society.

According to Hafner, "These are significant prehistoric sites that are of interest not only to the region but to the entirety of southwest Europe."

Source: https://phys.org/news/2023-08-archaeologis...

A family tragedy is revealed by the mystery of a 5,000-year-old mass grave in Poland

In Poland, archaeologists are looking into a mysterious mass burial that dates back 5000 years and may reveal information about a particularly bloody period in prehistoric Europe.

A huge family was brutally slain, according to ancient DNA, but the circumstances surrounding the 5,000-year-old cemetery have remained a mystery.

The bodies in the grave were placed neatly side by side and with gifts for their last journey. But all of the corpses bare marks on their skulls, that they were killed brutally. Credit. Reconstruction: Michal Podsiadlo (polish artist).

In the village of Koszyce in southern Poland, a mass grave was discovered. 15 women, children, and young men's skeletons were discovered; everyone had died from severe head injuries. However, their bodies were arranged tidily next to one another, with a profusion of gifts for their last journey.

The researchers uncovered extensive information on this Stone Age community and a catastrophic event that occurred about 5000 years ago using DNA analyses, radiocarbon dating, isotopic analyses, and archaeological data.

"We were able to map each of the familial links by examining ancient DNA from the skeletons. We can see that mothers are positioned side by side with their children and brothers. The dead were well known to those who buried them. We also see that the majority of the fathers in this large family are not buried with their children. According to a news release from evolutionary biologist Morten Allentoft of the University of Copenhagen, "Our hypothesis is that they weren't at the village when the massacre occurred and that they returned later and afterwards buried their families in a respectful manner.

According to archaeo-geneticist Hannes Schroeder of the University of Copenhagen, "We do not know who was responsible for this massacre." But the fact that it happened 5,000 years ago, as the late Neolithic Period was entering the Bronze Age, is thought-provoking. Migrations of Yamnaya cultures from the east were radically altering European cultures at this time. It is simple to think that these adjustments led to violent territorial conflicts.

Archaeologist Niels N. Johannsen of Aarhus University continues in response to the archaeological findings: "We know from other gravesite discoveries that violent conflicts played out among different cultural groupings at this time. They have never, however, been so thoroughly explained as they are here. Despite all the sorrow and violence, our research amply reveals how important family care and unity were to these people 5,000 years ago, both in life and in death.

Source: https://www.ancientpages.com/2019/05/14/my...

Count Dracula's letters assisted researchers in shedding new light on the legendary figure's health

Vlad III, often known as Vlad the Impaler, was a prince and military commander in the 15th century whose fearsome persona is supposed to have served as the model for Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

Life-size portrait from the Esterházy ancestral gallery of Forchtenstein Castle/Burgenland. source - Public Domain

His health is now being revealed in new ways thanks to a scientific analysis of his writings. According to researchers who have now published their findings in ACS' Analytical Chemistry, Vlad most likely suffered from respiratory and skin diseases, and it's even possible that he shed actual bloody tears.

Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia, the legendary figure's full name, resided in the southern part of Romania around the middle of the fourteenth century. Of course, there is no proof that Vlad III was a vampire, but his cruelty is what made him so dreaded.

His death toll has been estimated to be over 80,000, with many of them dying from impalement, giving him the nickname. He was also known as Vlad Draculea, which means "the son of the dragon," and which many people believe served as the model for the title character in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

Despite the fact that Vlad's rule was almost 500 years ago, several relics have survived, including several letters he wrote at various stages in his life.

Scientists can gain a unique insight of the life and times of people from the past because to the chemicals and proteins found on documents and other artifacts of the past.

As a result, Vincenzo Cunsolo and his associates decided to look into these letters for the first time in order to discover more about Vlad Draculea's health and living conditions.

In order to extract any proteins or tiny molecules from the paper without harming it, the researchers employed a specific plastic film known as EVA, or ethylene-vinyl acetate, to reveal the secrets of the letters.

Following mass spectrometric analysis of these samples, the researchers were able to characterize thousands of different peptides. The scientists concentrated on those that had the most advanced deamidation, a type of protein deterioration that happens as people age.

This letter written by Vlad the Impaler in 1475 contains proteins that suggest he suffered from respiratory problems and bloodied tears. Credit: Adapted from Analytical Chemistry, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01461

In comparison to fresher, less-degraded proteins that could have come from other persons handling the letters more recently, which were presumably the most recent proteins, they are most likely to be from Vlad.

A total of 16 proteins, including those involved in skin, respiration, and blood, were of human origin. The data the researchers gathered, according to them, while not thorough, point to the possibility that Vlad may have had respiratory problems or perhaps a disorder called hemolacria, which would have caused him to cry bloody tears—quite fitting for such a terrifying character.

Other proteins found by the study suggest that he might have been exposed to specific bacteria linked to the plague or even bothersome fruit flies. Overall, the researchers claim that their effort contributes to our understanding of certain significant historical texts and the authors who may have penned them.

Source: https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/08/17/co...

In Turkey's Assos, the largest Roman griffin weight was discovered

During excavations at the 2,200-year-old Roman fountain in northwest Turkey, near the historic site of Assos, a 2,300-year-old lead weight was found.

During excavations at the Roman-era nymphaeum to the east of the Agora in the Assos archaeological site, a lead weight dating back 2,300 years to the 3rd century B.C. and weighing 320 grams was discovered, Çanakkale, Türkiye, Aug. 15, 2023. (IHA Photo)

Initial findings indicate that the object is the greatest weight ever discovered. The griffin, a mythical animal of enormous cultural significance who was even included on the city's coinage, is shown in intricate detail on the weight. It's interesting to note that in certain depictions, the city's name is shortened to "ASS."

Professor Nurettin Arslan of the Faculty of Science and Letters at the Archaeology Department of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University is in charge of the ongoing excavations.

The excavations continue at the ancient site of Assos, Çanakkale, Türkiye, Aug. 15, 2023. (IHA Photo)

The Turkish team began excavations in 1981, following the U.S. team's brief explorations in 1881–1883; according to Arslan, this year marks the 42nd year of active excavations. The ongoing excavations in this area will start in 2022 with a primary goal of locating the historical remains of diverse constructions from various eras. The hostelry structures, called "ksenedochion" in Byzantine, "nymphaeum" in Roman, and "gymnasium" in Hellenistic times, are a few of the notable aspects being investigated.

The implementation phase for authorized restoration projects is about to begin, according to Arslan, the head archaeologist, who has provided a detailed vision for the future. The most important of these initiatives is the restoration of the old theater, which, if completed, is expected to develop into a thriving center for events like concerts and festivals, transforming Assos into an alluring tourist destination.

Professor Nurettin Arslan from the Faculty of Science and Letters at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University shows the artifacts found at the Assos ancient city, Çanakkale, Türkiye, Aug. 15, 2023. (IHA Photo)

We haven't finished digging here yet. Although it hasn't been thoroughly examined, the area between this fountain and the bedrock has proven to be an intriguing source of archaeological treasures. This region, which served as a storehouse in the third and fourth century A.D., has given us a lot of information. We revealed a number of amazing discoveries made in this area the previous year. Building on that momentum, this year's efforts have produced a wide range of artifacts. Among them are notable utilitarian objects like earthenware and containers that provide insight into late Roman Assos' daily life.

"Small terracotta sculptures that are thought to have been used in religious rituals further enhance the story. Tableware fragments and a large number of animal bones, mostly those of huge cattle, were also discovered. Our investigation has uncovered proof of the ingestion of pigs, goats, and sheep. While pigs seem to have been a mainstay, it is significant that other species were also there. We eagerly anticipate the in-depth analyses of expert scholars on this zoological collection for a more thorough understanding, he added.

The excavations continue at the ancient site of Assos, Çanakkale, Türkiye, Aug. 15, 2023. (IHA Photo)

The object in front of us, a lead weighing unit, has a special place in Assos's historical narrative. These weights, a physical reminder of a bygone period, had local significance for each city and were primarily used for trade and accurate measurement of goods. Similar examples have been found in Hellenistic graves, however those specimens were distinguished by lighter weights. But this particular lead weight is heavier than its predecessors, weighing in at about 320 grams. Its roots, which may be traced to the late Roman Assos in the second century B.C., provide a link to the city's earlier times. The archaeologist explained that this relic, which dates to a period when the Agora played a significant role, "serves as a monument to the careful processes of commerce and measuring that once thrived within Assos's busy marketplace.

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/largest-ro...

Interbreeding Between Early Humans? These Experts Created a Map to Explain It

Because of the connection between their groups caused by climate change at that time, Neanderthals and Denisovans probably had offspring in common.

A Neanderthal skull and rendering.

The most well-known species of prehistoric human, the neanderthal, sometimes resided in limestone caverns where their bones were well-preserved even after death. Because of this, archaeologists have discovered a far greater number of those bones than those of the Denisovan species, a less well-known but nevertheless significant group of early humans.

After all, a recent study has attempted to explain how the two interbred, and we already know that they did. The optimum circumstances, according to the paper, occurred when the glaciers retreated and warm weather made it possible for temperate woods to unite the species' two realms, which had previously stayed largely isolated.

Where Did the Primitive Humans Dwell?

"Denny," a 90,000-year-old fossil specimen with a Denisovan father and a Neanderthal mother, is the most well-known result of Neanderthal-Denisovan hybridization. Denny, an early human skeleton discovered in Siberia's Denisova Cave, and our own Homo sapiens DNA, both of which contain brief stretches of DNA from the other two early human species, are proof that interbreeding was common.

The Neanderthal and Denisovan ranges were calculated by a team of paleo-biologists and climate scientists from South Korea and Italy using anthropological evidence, genetic information, and supercomputer models of historical temperature conditions. The latter preferred to live in colder environments, such as boreal forests and tundra, whilst the former preferred warmer circumstances, such as temperate woodland and grasslands.

This indicates that their preferred habitats were geographically distinct, with Neanderthals often favoring southwest Eurasia and Denisovans the northeast, according to a statement from Jiaoyang Ruan, a postdoctoral researcher at the IBS Center for Climate Physics.

Events of Major Interbreeding

The team's models also demonstrated that the two ranges might occasionally overlap during milder interglacial eras when the northern hemisphere temporarily warmed. Temperate woodlands would spread east and enter Denisovan territory, providing a route for the species to cross paths and give birth to hybrid offspring.

The dates of expected interbreeding coincide with known interbreeding occurrences that occurred between 78,000 and 120,000 years ago. Additionally, the simulation suggested that earlier ones occurred at 210,000 and 320,000 years ago, albeit neither prediction has been supported by other evidence.

These times of mixing resulted from a change in the Earth's orbit from a circular to a more elliptical one, which intensified the northern hemisphere summers.

How We Know the Denisovans' Residences

Few Denisovan fossils have ever been found, and the scientists had a difficult time estimating the hominin's broad range.

Pasquale Raia, a professor of paleontology and paleoecology at the University of Naples, says in a statement, "We had to develop new statistical tools which could also account for known ancestral relationships amongst human species." "This gave us the first chance to make an educated guess about where Denisovans might have resided. We were shocked to discover that, in addition to regions in Russia and China, northern Europe would have also provided a good climate for them.

Source: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-scien...