Latest news with #OxfordJournalofArchaeology
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
New Study Reveals Chilling Secret of Iron Age War Cemetery
A new study published by archaeologists at Bournemouth University (published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology) has revealed surprising information about bodies found at a 'war cemetery' at the Iron Age site of Maiden Castle in Dorset, one of the U.K.'s most famous archaeological the burials were initially discovered in 1936, archaeologists believed that they died from a single battle. But after renewed analyses using radiocarbon dating, researchers found that rather than perishing in one mass-casualty event, the individuals had been killed due to violent clashes throughout many generations, from late first century B.C. until late first century A.D. 'The find of dozens of human skeletons displaying lethal weapon injuries was never in doubt, however, by undertaking a systematic programme of radiocarbon dating we have been able to establish that these individuals died over a period of decades, rather than a single terrible event,' said Martin Smith, Associate Professor in Forensic and Biological Anthropology at Bournemouth, who analyzed the believe the cause of the deaths could have stemmed from an era of dynastic turmoil or localized tension, resulting in executions. Whatever the cause, the new discovery upends decades of assumptions on behalf of researchers. 'Since the 1930s, the story of Britons fighting Romans at one of the largest hillforts in the country has become a fixture in historical literature,' Miles Russell, the dig's director, explained. 'With the Second World War fast approaching, no one was really prepared to question the results. The tale of innocent men and women of the local Durotriges tribe being slaughtered by Rome is powerful and poignant. It features in countless articles, books, and TV documentaries. It has become a defining moment in British history, marking the sudden and violent end of the Iron Age.'The trouble is it doesn't appear to have actually happened,' Russell added. 'Unfortunately, the archaeological evidence now points to it being untrue. This was a case of Britons killing Britons, the dead being buried in a long-abandoned fortification. The Roman army committed many atrocities, but this does not appear to be one of them.' Researchers are now scrambling to recontextualize the site, with much of what they assumed about the cemetery at Maiden Castle proving erroneous. "The intermingling of differing cultural burial practices contemporaneously shows that simplistic approaches to interpreting archaeological cemeteries must now be questioned,' said Bournemouth archaeological scientist Paul Cheetham. 'Here we have either a number of distinct cultures living and dying together, or that an individual's burial right was determined by complex social rules and/or hierarchical divisions within this Iron Age society."In addition to the renewed context surrounding the bodies already found, the team is now asking themselves what other undiscovered secrets might lie around the grounds of Maiden Castle. 'Whilst Wheeler's excavation was excellent in itself, he was only able to investigate a fraction of the site,' Cheetham said. 'It is likely that a larger number of burials still remains undiscovered around the immense ramparts."New Study Reveals Chilling Secret of Iron Age War Cemetery first appeared on Men's Journal on May 29, 2025
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a 7,500-Year-Old Antler. Turns Out It's a Sacred Weapon.
A haul of Stone Age artifacts included a highly ornamental deer antler that had been turned into an ax handle. The discovery is extremely rare, according to experts, and likely served multiple uses. After use as an ax handle—and later harpoon—it was sacrificed in a ritual site. You could (and would) do a lot with a deer antler back in the day. By 'back in the day,' we mean around 5500 B.C., of course—the period in which a recently discovered antler was used in a variety of ways. Archaeologists discovered the antler within a Stone Age settlement, noting both its ornamental carvings and its use first as the handle for a battle ax, and later as a harpoon. In a new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, lead author Lars Larsson (an archaeology professor at Sweden's Lund University) and Fredrik Molin (archaeologist at Sweden's National Historical Museum) highlighted the 'richly decorated antler piece, likely part of an antler ax' as the most intriguing find among a vast inventory of Stone Age tools. According to the study of the antler, when a Stone Age craftsman originally discovered it, they first ground down and smoothed the p bjectbefore carving shallow ornamentation. Later, that first layer of ornamental carvings was removed and replaced by a second, deeper motif filled with diagonal lines. The triangular shapes and patterns appeared at the time, Larsson wrote, as pointed tips on rods akin to spears. 'They catch the eye as they are clearly different from other motifs,' Larsson said. 'The motifs certainly attract one's eye.' The grooves of the design were filled in with a dark, tar-like substance. Larsson wrote that it was interesting how, for some reason, the original motif was ground away to make room for the new pattern, which was likely carved by several people. Parts of the decoration showed narrow diagonal bands with hatching in the form of oblique lines—a well-known motif in the Mesolithic era. 'It is clear, though, that this ornamentation was carried out with a thin cutting edge,' Larsson wrote. 'The degrees of precision shown, manners of execution, and motif selection in the later set of decorations suggest that more than one person carried it out.' Discovered in the Stone Age settlement of Strandvagen in Motala—known as a central hub for hunter-fisher-gatherer groups between 5800 and 5000 B.C.—the piece was among a tool stash of more than 1,400 artifacts. Many were left on a rock platform off the settlement's shoreline in a waterway leading to the Baltic Sea. The antler, dated to around 5500 B.C., was discovered among human skeletal parts and richly decorated objects, including 20 pieces of human skull, engraved animal bones, and stone ax blades. Usage of an antler from a red deer wasn't common in Sweden, but when they were used, they typically served as the handle of an ax. While Larsson wrote that he can't be certain the ax offered a practical function, it was likely (at least) an important symbolic or ritual piece. Still, signs point to the antler's use in battle. The breakage patterns on the antler remain consistent with a battle ax. When the antler splintered during use as an ax handle, it wasn't lost forever. 'Subsequently, the ax was broken and transformed into another tool, probably a harpoon, which eventually also became fragmented,' Larsson wrote. After the antler served its time as a harpoon—and when the owners couldn't find another use for the object—it was sacrificed in a ritual zone and preserved in the water and rocky soil, giving archaeologists a glimpse into Swedish Stone Age life 7,500 years later. 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?
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
Ancient Greeks and Romans perfumed their statues, study says
The ancient Greeks and Romans often doused their statues in perfume, a recent study found. Published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, the study adds to evidence that statues were more than slabs of white marble to those living in ancient times. The study's Danish author, classical archaeologist Cecilie Brons, analyzed ancient texts and artwork, collecting evidence that in ancient Greece and Rome, it was common to anoint a sculpture with perfumes and oils.
Observer
17-03-2025
- Science
- Observer
Ancient sculptures were scented, Danish study shows
Science has already proven that sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome were often painted in warm colours and now a Danish study has revealed that some were also perfumed. 'A white marble statue was not intended to be perceived as a statue in stone. It was supposed to resemble a real god or goddess,' the author of the study, Cecilie Brons, said to the Danish scientific website Videnskab on Friday. The archaeologist and curator at the Copenhagen museum Glyptotek made the discovery after immersing herself in the works of Roman writers such as Cicero and inscriptions on ancient Greek temples. 'Perfume and perfumed oils are often mentioned as part of the 'decoration' that was applied to religious cult statues in antiquity,' she said. Cicero for example spoke of a ritual treatment of a statue of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, the forest and animals in Greek mythology, in the Sicilian city of Segesta which was anointed with ointment and fragrant oils. In Delos, in Greece, inscriptions in temples reveal that some statues were maintained by rubbing them with rose-scented perfume. Admiring a statue during antiquity was 'not just a visual experience, but also an olfactory one,' Brons concluded in her study, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology. Previous research has found traces of pigments from long-faded paint on ancient Greek and Roman statues, showing that works long assumed to be white were in fact highly colourful. The Greeks created numerous statues that reflect their cultural identity, religious beliefs and artistic achievements. These sculptures often depicted gods, heroes and significant historical figures, serving both as religious offerings and civic symbols. Public spaces like agoras featured these statues, enhancing community engagement and pride. Notable examples include grand figures in temples, such as Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon, which showcased advancements in artistic techniques and the idealisation of beauty. Additionally, statues commemorated victories and important individuals, connecting the past with the present and underscoring the significance of art in ancient Greek society. — AFP
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Just Found the Oldest 3D Map in the World
Experts just found a 3D map that was carved into quartz sandstone likely 13,000 years ago. Located within the famed Segognole 3 rock shelter, researchers believe the map shows the local landscape of the Paris Basin. It's also thought to highlight natural water flows and geomorphic features, as the direction of water flow was of critical importance for the Paleolithic people. Researchers from the University of Adelaide recently announced the discovery of a 13,000-year-old 3D map, now thought to be the oldest 3D map in the world. The team discovered this remarkable artifact carved into a block of quartz sandstone in the Segognole 3 rock shelter—a site that has long been known for artistic engravings in a Late Paleolithic style. The map depicts what is now known as France's Paris Basin and the surrounding landscape, with the particulars revealed in a study published by the Oxford Journal of Archaeology. It was found, according to the authors, alongside a 'female sexual configuration associated with a horse engraving, stylistically attributed to the Upper Palaeolithic,' both of which were discovered in the 1980s. 'What we've described is not a map as we understand it today—with distances, directions, and travel times,' Anthony Milnes, co-author of the study, said in a statement, 'but rather a three-dimensional miniature depicting the functioning of a landscape, with runoff from highlands into streams and rivers, the convergence of valleys, and the downstream formation of lakes and swamps.' 'For Paleolithic peoples,' Milnes continued, 'the direction of water flows and the recognition of landscape features were likely more important than modern concepts like distance and time.' The new find bests the previous oldest-3D-map record-holder—a Bronze Age engraving on a portable slab, which showed a local river network with the surrounding landscape and was likely used for navigation—by about 10,000 years. The study authors wrote of the newly-discovered map that a network of channels engraved onto the shelter floor form a 'functioning representation of watercourses. The carved motifs and their relationship with natural features in the sandstone of the shelter can be compared with major geomorphological features in the surrounding landscape.' 'Our study demonstrates that human modifications to the hydraulic behavior in and around the shelter extended to modeling natural water flows in the landscape in the region around the rock shelter,' Milnes said. 'These are exceptional findings and clearly show the mental capacity, imagination, and engineering capability of our distant ancestors.' Medard Thiry, who lead the project, noted that the creators of the map opened fractures in the stone to direct water through the site. He concluded that several fine-scale morphological features in the sandstone could not have formed naturally, showing that Paleolithic humans sculpted the stone to define specific flow paths for rainwater—something that hadn't been recognized previously by archaeologists at the site. The ancient landscape map was certainly about water, but in a way, we still may not fully grasp the true fullness of its meaning. 'The fittings probably have a much deeper, mythical meaning, related to water,' Thiry said. 'The two hydraulic installations—that of the sexual figuration and that of the miniature landscape—are two to three meters [6.5 to 10 feet] from each other and are sure to relay a profound meaning of conception of life and nature, which will never be accessible to us.' 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?
