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Archaeologists Discovered a 2,200-Year-Old Pyramid. They Can't Explain its Purpose—Yet.

Archaeologists Discovered a 2,200-Year-Old Pyramid. They Can't Explain its Purpose—Yet.

Yahoo26-03-2025

Archaeologists discovered a 2,200-year-old pyramid structure in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea that featured stones weighing hundreds of pounds each.
Early returns from excavations have already yielded artifacts aplenty, from historical documents to bronze vessels and ancient furniture.
Further investigation hopes to parse out the site's use, whether as a guard tower, a monument, or even a tax collector's fortress.
The mystery surrounding the discovery of a 2,200-year-old pyramid in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea comes with plenty of clues. Filled with Greek historical documents written on papyrus, bronze coins minted under Greek rulers, weapons aplenty, and even ancient furniture, eager archaeologists hope to rummage the plunder to understand just why this building existed.
Active during the time the Ptolemies and Seleucids ruled Israel, the site roughly 12 miles south of Masada and described as 'huge' by the Israel Antiquity Authority, has massive historical importance. 'What we have here is one of the richest and most intriguing archaeological excavations ever found in the Judean Desert,' the excavation directors said in a statement on behalf of the authority. 'This pyramidal structure we discovered is huge, and made of hand-hewn stones, each one weighing hundreds of kilograms.'
Already in the first week of excavation, volunteers working with the authority found written historical documents, bronze vessels, wooden tools, fabrics, and more, all preserved by the desert climate. 'This is a very promising site,' the team wrote, 'every moment new findings are discovered, and we are filled with anticipation.'
Part of a larger Judean Desert archaeological operation that began eight years ago to save potential finds from illicit excavation and theft, a dedicated Robbery Prevention Unit systematically surveyed the desert along 112 miles of cliffs, locating roughly 900 caves. The teams found thousands of rare items, including scrolls deliberately hidden. Locating a pyramid was an unexpected discovery.
'This excavation changes the site's historical record,' the three excavation leaders wrote. 'Contrary to previous hypotheses that attributed this structure to the First Temple period, it seems that it was built later—during the Hellenistic period—when the land of Israel was under Ptolemaic rule.'
The team doesn't know the purpose of the Greek-originated site, whether a guard tower protecting a commercial route that brought Dead Sea salt and bitumen to ports, or maybe even just a mountaintop monument. The team calls it an 'enthralling historical mystery' that the excavation is helping unravel.
Leading theories include that the building was a fortress to defend the road, but it also could have served to house tax collectors working as travelers passed them. The team believes it was later reused as a monumental tomb.
'At first, we thought the site could be just a tomb, but later, we noticed the shape of the original walls, and we understood that the structure was a building,' Eitan Klein, one of the three lead archaeologists on the excavation, told The Times of Israel. 'Eventually, we identified it as a tower or fortress dating back to the Hellenistic period, or 2,200 years ago.'
The Ptolemaic coins helped date the building. The team also found coins from the Seleucid kingdom, which led Israel after Ptolemaic rule, likely putting the building in use during the third and first half of the second centuries B.C.
The Seleucid-era coins, minted under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who Judah Maccabee defeated in 164 B.C., showed the longevity of the site, but Klein said there was no evidence hinting at why the building was vacated, although it collapsed at some point. Evidence shows that during Roman times the building was reused as a monumental grave, likely because of its picturesque location atop a hill. Looters largely emptied the grave portion of the site.
'The Judean Desert survey is one of the most important archaeological operations ever undertaken in the state of Israel's history,' Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a statement. 'The discoveries are exciting and even emotional, and their significance for archaeological and historical research is enormous.'
Research into what is written on the papyrus documents hasn't yet started, but Klein believes it could be part of tax documents. 'Finding written records from such a long time ago is very rare,' he said, 'and the dream of every archaeologist.'
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Chicago fire: Flaming saganaki sparks interest worldwide decades after its Greektown origin
Chicago fire: Flaming saganaki sparks interest worldwide decades after its Greektown origin

Chicago Tribune

time21 hours ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Chicago fire: Flaming saganaki sparks interest worldwide decades after its Greektown origin

Last winter, at Chicago's Greek Islands (200 S. Halsted St.), our Greektown dinner started with a bang — more accurately, a whoosh. A server carried a small black pan of blazing cheese to the table as startled diners burst into applause for what is the Windy City's notoriously combustible appetizer: flaming saganaki. In Chicago, the dish is a ritual. It's dramatic, it's delicious, and — let's be honest — it's also a little absurd in the best possible way. The word saganaki comes from sagani, a small, two-handled Greek pan. In Greece, the dish is straightforward: firm, dry cheeses such as kasseri, feta or halloumi are pan-fried until golden. No fire. No flair. Just cheese doing what cheese does best, served with crusty bread. In Chicago, we lightly coat the square or triangular cut of cheese in flour and fry it in a little olive oil until crisp and golden. Then we flip it once, warm it through, splash it with brandy (usually ouzo or Metaxa), light it up, and before setting it on the table, flamboyantly extinguish the flames with a lemon squeeze and a hearty shout of 'Opa!' That word — part cheer, part celebration, part call to 'let's dance!' — adds the perfect exclamation point. So, where did this fiery tradition begin? Depends on whom you ask. Chris Liakouras of the now-shuttered Parthenon restaurant claimed in a 1979 Tribune interview that he invented flaming saganaki in 1968. He described sitting at a table with three friends when the idea for a new menu item was born. 'Why don't you try flaming the cheese?' one of the ladies suggested. And just like that, an appetizer exploded into legend. But Petros Kogeones of Diana's, another Greektown fixture, had a different story. In 1991, he told the Tribune that he and his brother were flambéing cheese as far back as the early 1960s. According to Kogeones, they'd set up tables outside their family grocery, splash brandy on sizzling cheese, light it all on fire, and shout 'Opa!' Eventually, perhaps to stake his claim, Kogeones even renamed the restaurant Diana's Opa. Regardless of who struck the first match to brandy-doused cheese, one thing is clear: Flaming saganaki was a hit. And honestly, when we're traveling and we order saganaki, we're always a little disappointed when it doesn't arrive in a ball of fire. There is, however, increasingly little chance of being served saganaki sans flames, at least in the U.S.: Restaurants from Brooklyn to Malibu are figuring out that brandy and a match might be the not-so-secret ingredients to serving a lot of the crowd-pleasing saganaki. 'The flames were a smart marketing idea,' says Louie Alexakis, owner of the Avli restaurants in Chicago. 'In the 1950s and '60s, a lot of Greek restaurant workers in Chicago had fine dining backgrounds. They saw the wow factor of tableside flambé — things like crepes Suzette or bananas Foster. Flaming cheese was the next step.' Alexakis still flames saganaki at Avli, but also offers a more modern take: saganaki served with spiced fig chutney — still delicious, and less likely to set off the sprinklers. Not everyone is on board with this fiery New World opener to a traditional Greek dinner in Chicagoland. Ted Maglaris, founder of Mana in LaGrange (88 LaGrange Road), said, 'We chose not to flame our pan-fried saganaki but rather to honor the traditional Greek preparation, inspired by recipes from mothers in Greece, which is the inspiration for our restaurant's name, Mana. Flaming saganaki is a relatively recent tradition that began in Chicago, not in Greece. Our goal is to provide an authentic Greek experience, staying true to how saganaki is traditionally enjoyed in Greece.' Flashback: Memories of when Greektown was 'a mile long and 24 hours'With the current eagerness to sample 'authentic' preparations of Greek, Italian, Mexican and other traditional national foods, it's understandable that some restaurants might prefer to serve saganaki the way their mothers and grandmothers did, no matches or accelerants required. Other restaurants may be toning down the theatrics for safety reasons — turns out, flaming cheese and crowded dining rooms make for a risky combination. Somewhat surprisingly, flaming saganaki is now also catching on in Greece, especially in tourist-heavy restaurants, such as the Athens Yacht Club. Though such fiery presentations of cheese are not common in Greece, some travelers have come to expect saganaki to be flaming. And who can blame them? There's something undeniably fun about turning a simple cheese dish into a full-blown pyrotechnic display. Flaming saganaki isn't just food — it's dinner, entertainment, and a tiny adrenaline rush all in one.

Mary Manios, Warren, Ohio
Mary Manios, Warren, Ohio

Yahoo

time3 days ago

  • Yahoo

Mary Manios, Warren, Ohio

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A 1,500-Year-Old Map Helped Researchers Find a Lost Byzantine City
A 1,500-Year-Old Map Helped Researchers Find a Lost Byzantine City

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time4 days ago

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A 1,500-Year-Old Map Helped Researchers Find a Lost Byzantine City

Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Researchers recently found one of the many lost Holy Land cities in Jordan. The team used maps and field surveys to identify the site. Experts believe the lost city Tharais wasn't just an agricultural village—it may have also been a spiritual hub. The Madaba Mosaic Map is perhaps the most famous geographical masterpiece of the ancient Near East. Believed to have been built during Emperor Justinian's reign (527-565 A.D.), the tile art piece is the oldest surviving map of Jordan's Holy Lands. The map is located in Madaba, Jordan, and depicts a total of 157 sites—many of which have yet to be found. One of the many lost cities is a place called Tharais, which dates all the way back to the Byzantine Empire. And researchers might have just found it. Starting in 2021, a research team led by Musallam R. al-Rawahneh—an associate professor of archeology and ancient Near East studies at Mutah University—began looking for Tharais. The field project lasted until 2024, and the team recently published their findings in the journal Gephyra. Finding a lost city is no easy task, and researchers had to use several different methods to track down Tharais. Maps, including both the Madaba Mosaic and more contemporary maps, gave researchers a starting baseline. They then conducted a field survey near a modern city near the southeastern edge of the Dead Sea called El-'Iraq. There, researchers found remnants of mosaic floors, glassware, and various tools—all compelling evidence that that was where Tharais once thrived. Most notably, the team uncovered features resembling a Byzantine basilica—an oblong building with an open-air central room. Collaborative efforts with other institutions from Spain and France added further evidence to the scene when researchers discovered Greek and Latin funerary inscriptions. These inscriptions suggest the existence of a Christian community in the area, supporting the theologic identity of the site. A doorway consistent with architecture in Byzantine churches was also found, further affirming the site's supposed history. In short: all signs point toward religion. 'The prominence of Tharais on the Madaba Map and the discovery of a basilica church structure suggest that it served not only as an agricultural village but also as a sacred site and commercial rest stop,' al-Rawahneh said in a Türkiye Today report. And according to the team, the presence of religion didn't weaken the city's economy. The presence of olive oil presses, windmills, and grape crushing equipment suggests that Tharais was economically self-sustaining. Perhaps the most convincing indications of the site's true identity are the parallels between the structures found by the researchers and the Madaba Mosaic Map. The arrangement of gates, ruins, and even towers closely match the map's depiction of the lost city. As for the future of Tharais, the team says that they wish to preserve the area from El-'Iraq's rapid urbanization. 'Our aim is not just to uncover Tharais,' Al-Rawahneh explained in the report, 'but also to advocate for the protection of Jordan's rich cultural heritage.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?

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