Latest news with #archaeologists
Washington Post
7 hours ago
- Science
- Washington Post
Shipwreck of Revolutionary War frigate resurfaces on Scottish beach
LONDON — Ferocious winter storms are not unusual on the remote island of Sanday, jutting off Scotland's northern coast. But when a storm buffeted a beach there last year, a long-buried surprise was revealed beneath the sand: A 30-foot-long wooden shipwreck. The mystery of the oak hull's provenance was revealed Wednesday by a team of archaeologists and historians: The wreck was probably HMS Hind, a British frigate that once fought in the American Revolutionary War and sank off the island over 230 years ago.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
They Were Supposed to Be Building a Highway. Instead, They Found a Town Full of Treasure.
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Archaeologists scouting a new motorway route in the Czech Republic stumbled upon a second century B.C. Celtic settlement. In one of the largest archaeological hauls ever from Bohemia, crews located hundreds of gold and silver coins and precious amber. The production of luxury ceramics at the site cements it as a key part of the famed Amber Road trade route. A Celtic settlement from the second century B.C. discovered in modern-day Czech Republic has yielded an impressive haul of opulence, from hundreds of gold and silver coins to precious amber and luxury ceramics (and even a production facility that was likely churning them out over 2,000 years ago). The find came as archaeologists conducted surveys ahead of construction of the D35 motorway, turning a routine construction requirement into what the team from the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Kralove dubbed 'one of the largest collections of artifacts ever found in Bohemia,' according to a translated statement. The precious coins and materials weren't simply strewn about. Crews discovered plenty of ancient buildings making up an entire settlement from the La Tene period, likely a Celtic community. 'The entire site is unparalleled in its scale and character in Bohemia,' the statement reads. 'The settlement was a supra-regional trade and production center connected to long-distance trade routes, as evidenced by the finds of amber, gold and silver coins, and evidence of the production of luxury ceramics.' The team found gold and silver Celtic coins, coin dies, fragments of ceramic vessels, dwelling foundations, production facilities, and at least one religious sanctuary. With 22,000 bags loaded with artifacts from the area, it is one of the largest ever collections discovered in Bohemia comprising both everyday objects and an 'extraordinarily rich collection of jewelry.' Tomas Mangel, a professor at the University of Hradec Kralove and the excavation co-leader, told Live Science there could be several hundred coin pieces and that the jewelry features 'pieces of bronze and iron brooches, fragments of armlets, metallic components of belts, glass beads, and armlets.' One thing the team hasn't yet found were any inscriptions to pinpoint which Celtic group settled the area, although Boii were known to live in the region. 'Bohemia is traditionally really connected with [the] Boii,' Mangel told Live Science. 'But the research [done recently] shows that we can only say that [the] Boii were settled somewhere in Central Europe.' The archaeologists said they were surprised by the unusually high density of finds in the topsoil. 'The information potential of the original surface of the settlement in the topsoil and subsoil horizons is completely beyond the standard,' they wrote. To their additional, and fortuitous, surprise, the site hadn't been looted. The lack of fortification at the 62-acre Iron Age site, which is located near Hradec Kralove in modern-day north-central Czech Republic, shows the settlement from the La Tene period was likely a key trading route and was active in the second century B.C. before the emergence of larger fortified settlements with central functions. The volume of fine pottery, coin production, and amber only furthers the belief Celtic settlement played a pivotal role along the Amber Road trade route, a connection of settlements from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea that enabled trade across all of Europe. With such a rich history, the museum plans a display in late 2025 to celebrate all things gold, silver, and amber. 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? Solve the daily Crossword
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Look: Inside Sharjah's red sand Faya desert that holds 210,000 years of history
Beneath the vast, rust-coloured dunes of Sharjah's Al Faya desert lies an untold history of human resilience that stretches back an astonishing 210,000 years. Last week, this expansive landscape earned its place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only Arab country to do so. The honour cements Al Faya's status not just as a regional marvel, but as a global testament to humanity's earliest struggles and triumphs in the face of an unforgiving climate. A desert that breathes history To stand in Al Faya is to walk in the footsteps of Palaeolithic hunters and Neolithic pastoralists who turned this arid expanse into a lifeline. The people first settled here because of water, and where there was water, there was life. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The terrain is a dramatic mosaic of red-coloured sands, jagged rock formations, and fossilized riverbeds, which at some point in time was all under an ocean. Al Faya has archaeological layers that include 18 distinct strata, which were uncovered over 30 years by teams of archaeologists who have come from far and wide, revealing how humans adapted to climatic shifts between extreme aridity and fleeting rainy epochs. What sets Al Faya apart is its continuity. Unlike fragmented sites elsewhere, this landscape preserves a near-unbroken record of human activity. Flint tools, animal bones, and the very stones tell of hunter-gatherers who tracked gazelles and crafted weapons from the area's fine-grained stone. Actual findings by archaeologists can be found in the nearby museum. Later, pastoralists dug wells and herded livestock through the same valleys, their ingenuity etched into the earth. Echoes in the sand Today, visitors at Al Faya can trace these stories through its geology. It is important to note that some areas are designated as core zones, in which entrance is restricted to private tours. If you find yourself aboard one of those tours, be sure to visit the fossilized rock. Once wet, you may see evidence of these very rocks which were once upon a time, millions of years ago, under the water. At dawn, when the Sun stains the dunes crimson, it's easy to imagine a Palaeolithic family crouched near a fire, shaping tools under the same sky.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Indigenous rangers join archaeologists in search of ancient underwater artefacts off WA coast
For years researchers have been trying to crack archaeology's 'last frontier' - the ancient artefacts sitting on the ocean floor. Now they've brought in local Indigenous rangers to help.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The 4,000-year-old mystery of a shepherd's arrow to the back
Grisly, 4,000-year-old forensic evidence found in a cave in the Pyrenees Mountains hints at a serious disagreement between members of the region's first shepherds. According to archaeologists at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (CERCA) and Spain's Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, a flint arrowhead embedded in a human rib bone at the prehistoric tomb indicates a case of foul play. But despite the severe injury, additional signs reveal the wound wasn't necessarily fatal– at least not immediately. Archaeologists uncovered the rib and its accompanying arrowhead at the Roc de les Orenetes archaeological site. Located 79 miles north of Barcelona at an altitude of over 5,900 feet, Roc de les Orenetes was first discovered in the late 1960s. Researchers have spent the last six years combing through the remarkable trove of ancient skeletal remains in the mountains of Catalan. So far, the project has yielded more than 6,000 bone fragments from over 60 individuals, primarily adult men. However, the grave site wasn't used by just one or two generations. Instead, local herders interred their deceased in the cave over two or three centuries. Previous bone analysis showed the Pyrenean community was well adapted to their environment, with strong skeletal structures, noticeable muscular insertions, and evidence of strenuous physical activity. Experts believe these signs are all indicative of a culture tied to grazing and high-altitude resource cultivation. But as CERCA explained, additional examinations of the bones also highlighted significant trauma, including cut marks from axes and daggers and intentional fractures. The nearby arrowheads further suggests evidence of altercations, but there is still a possibility that community members simply buried the items with the deceased during funereal rites. Their most recent find all-but-dispells the more optimistic funeral theory. According to the team, excavators have located a flint arrowhead identical to the others in Roc de les Orenetes, this time, embedded in a rib fragment. Although the entry angle shows that the victim was shot through the back, it appears they survived the assault— at least for a little bit. 'Considering the position and trajectory of the arrow, it could have killed the person at two moments: either at the moment of impact, due to bleeding or lung damage (for example, a pneumothorax), or shortly afterward, due to infection,' excavation director Carlos Tornero said in a statement. Tornero added that if the shot was clean and the victim managed to fight off any ensuing infections, it's possible they survived the encounter entirely. Given that the bone regenerated around the arrowhead, the latter outcome seems even more plausible. Tornero and colleagues plan to conduct more analyses of their find to potentially confirm the individual's cause of death, as well as learn more about the attack itself. 'Now we can study the force of the impact, the type of weapon used, and the position of the attacker and the victim,' added collaborator Miguel Ángel Moreno. Combined with ongoing excavations and lab work, archaeologists like Tornero and Moreno hope to better contextualize how the southern European communities in the third millennium BCE lived with one another. And as their new discovery graphically shows, how they sometimes fought. Solve the daily Crossword
