The History Blog

Time 2020-09-28 05:03:05

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Archaeologists have discovered the oldest and most complete Roman body armour at the site of the  Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in Kalkriese, Germany. Before this find, the earliest known examples of Roman lorica segmentata iron plate sections tied together were found in Corbridge, UK, and date to the 2nd century. Those were fragments. The Kalkriese armor is a complete set, and includes an extremely rare iron collar used to shackle prisoners.More than 7,000 objects have been found at the Kalkriese battlefield site, from weapons to coins to items of everyday use. In the summer of 2018, a metal detector scan of the side wall of an excavation trench retuned 10 strong signals, indications of a large quantity of metal inside the bank. To ensure whatever was in there wasn t exposed to the air and rapid oxidization, archaeologists removed the entire soil block containing the mystery metallics.The first step was to scan the block to see what was inside and map out its excavation. The block was too big for regular X-ray machines, so  they transported the crate to the Münster Osnabrück International Airport where the customs office has a freight-sized X-ray machine. All they could see was nails of the wooden crate and a large black hole in the shape of the soil block.In 2019, it was sent to the Fraunhofer Institute in Fürth which has the world s largest CT scanner a circular platform more than 11 feet in diameter that rotates while the X-ray apparatus moves up and down more than big enough for the crate to fit and powerful enough to see inside the dense soil block. The scan revealed the remains of a cuirass the section of a lorica segmentata where the breastplate and back plate are buckled together. The plates of the armour were pushed together like an accordion by the weight of the soil pressing on down them for 2,000 years.Here s a nifty digital animation by the Fraunhofer Institute generated from the CT scan data that reveals the armour inside the soil block.Armed with the detailed scans, restorers were able to begin excavation of the soil block. They found that despite Kalkriese s highly acidic sandy soil, the armour is relatively well-preserved. There is extensive corrosion of the mental, but the set is uniquely complete with hinges, buckles, bronze bosses and even extremely rare surviving pieces of the leather ties. The plates from the shoulder and chest have been recovered and restored. The belly plates are still in the soil block. There are no arm plates in this early design.Iron plate armour was introduced by Augustus as an improvement on chain mail. It was relatively light (around 17 pounds) and because the plates were tied together with leather cords, they were much more flexible than chain mail. so it was the latest and greatest technology in 9 A.D. when Publius Quinctilius Varus blundered into a German ambush that obliterated three full Roman legions plus their auxiliaries.The legionary who wore this armour apparently survived the battle because around his neck/shoulder area was a shrew s fiddle, also known as a neck violin. This was an iron collar connected to two handcuffs that locked a prisoner s hands in front of his neck. The Romans used them to shackle prisoners destined for slavery. This time the tables were turned, and the soldier died in shackles.The restoration is ongoing and is expected to take another two years. Once it s complete, the armour will go on display in an exhibition at the Kalkriese Museum and Park. Posted in Ancient | 4 Comments A facial reconstruction of the mummy of a young child has revealed that his mummy portrait was remarkably realistic. Mummy portraits, a funerary tradition specific to Greco-Roman Egypt, were painted on wood boards and placed over the face of a linen-wrapped mummified body. There are about 1,000 known mummy portraits extant today, most of them discovered in the Fayoum area of Lower Egypt, but less than 100 of them are still attached to their original mummy.Because of the realism and individualized features of the portraits, they are believed to be representations of the faces of the deceased, but few studies have been done on matched portraits and mummies, and in the ones that have created facial reconstructions from the embalmed remains, the results have varied. Most of the portraits were (pardon the pun) dead ringers for the mummy; a few seemingly bore no resemblance.The most recent study is the first to compare a child mummy to its portrait. The subject in question has been part of the collection of the  Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst (SMAEK) München since 1912 when it was donated to the Royal Bavarian Collection of Antiquities by renown archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie. Petrie had unearthed it himself the year before during an excavation at Hawara, the entrance point to the Fayoum oasis.The mummy is 30 inches long and artfully wrapped with criss-crossed linen bandages adorned with gilded plaster buttons. The portrait depicts a young child about three or four years old with large brown eyes and brown hair. X-rays identified the child as male. The hair is curly with two braids woven from center to ears just above the hairline.Researchers CT-scanned the mummy and reconstructed the skull from the scans. They then used the scan data and 3D software to reconstruct the eyes, skin, nose and soft tissue. The reconstruction artist was not allowed to see the portrait or even get anything information about it so as not to influence the rendering.The facial reconstruction shows a child with typical infantile facial features very similar to those of the portrait. On the biometrical level, the proportions between the dimension of the forehead to the eye line, the distance to the lower nasal aperture and the mouth opening were exactly the same between portrait and reconstruction. However, differences existed between the width of the nasal bridge and the size of the mouth opening with both being more slender and narrow in the portrait than the virtual reconstruction. […]There are, however, certain distinct differences between portrait and face: on a subjective level, the portrait appears slightly older on a biometric level, the width of the nose and the mouth are smaller in the portrait than in the face, which might explain the perceived difference in age.Flinders Petrie thought the portraits were made ante-mortem because they had all been cut down to fit the mummy and because he found one that hadn t yet been attached to a mummy. Some current scholars have also proposed that the portraits were made from life. While that makes sense for adults, it seems unlikely that so young a child would have a death portrait ready to go just in case. There is evidence of pneumonia in his lungs, so its seems he was stricken by a sudden fatal illness.The study has been published in the journal PLUS One. It s a good read and has excellent supplementary materials, including four videos of different stages of the reconstruction process. Posted in Ancient, Multimedia | No Comments The richly furnished grave of a Germanic prince buried with 11 animals and six women has been discovered near the village of Brücken-Hackpfüffel in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It dates to between 480 and 530 A.D. and was the central tomb of a large burial mound, now eroded.The remains of the illustrious personage buried in the central grave have not been found yet. A soil block containing metal pieces believed to have been part of a cauldron was removed for excavation in laboratory conditions. The cinerary remains of the tumulus owner may have been buried inside of it. It must have been of major importance, because the six women were buried around the cauldron in a radial alignment like the rays of the sun. It is not yet known if they were deliberately killed or sacrificed themselves to accompany the deceased into death. The animals cattle, horses, dogs were buried after the central occupant was interred and the mound built, likely offerings to honor the deceased.The burial mound is part of a Migration Period cemetery that was discovered by chance during construction of a chicken breeding facility. Almost 60 graves have been discovered. Grave goods excavated so far include the figurine of a Germanic deity, a glass bowl with swirl decoration in pristine condition, a glass spindle whorl, silver gilt fibulae, an iron sword and shield boss and a gold coin minted during the reign of Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno dating to around 480. The glass objects bear the signature manufacturing technique of Gallo-Roman workshops on the Rhine.The fibulae were of a type produced by the Lombards, Alemanni and the Thuringii. The most elaborate of the fibulae still includes a fragment of textile that was captured and preserved by corrosion of the metal. Analysis of the fragment may narrow down its provenance. If it from a light cloak, it s likely Lombard as their territories were more southerly.By a stroke of archaeological good luck, the cemetery was in a depression on the landscape. Over the years, layers of soil built up over it, so even though the site has seen centuries of agricultural use, the graves were never damaged. They weren t even any hints of their presence on the surface, so they ve been preserved from the depredations of looters.Excavations in situ and in the laboratory are ongoing. The precise location of the cemetery is being kept under wraps for security purposes. Posted in Ancient | 1 Comment The remains of a dog buried 8,400 years ago have been discovered in the Stone Age settlement at Ljungaviken, Sölvesborg. Objects found with it are believed to be grave goods, suggesting the dog was a beloved companion and colleague. It is one of the oldest dog finds ever made in Sweden, and the only one found in the middle of a Neolithic settlement.The bones have been examined by an animal osteologist, but he was unable to identify its breed as there is no modern dog directly comparable. The closest he could get was to say that it was like a powerful greyhound. We hope to be able to lift the whole dog up in preparations, ie with soil and everything, and continue the investigations at Blekinge Museum s object magazine. says project manager Carl Persson at Blekinge museum. A find like this makes you feel even closer to the people who lived here, he continues. A buried dog somehow shows how similar we are over the millennia the same feelings of loss and loss. When the settlement was inhabited (around 6,700-5,700 B.C.), the site was beachfront property on a small island or peninsula. The site was probably used only part of the year, in the summer and autumn, prime seasons for fishing and seal hunting. Paleobotanical finds indicate wild plants like melons and raspberries were foraged for food. Rising sea levels flooded the beach, covering the settlement with layers of wet sand and preserving it in good condition for thousands of years.Archaeological surveys in 2015 discovered evidence of 56 different structures hearths, postholes, pits from the Stone Age and later materials from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The dog was buried among the Stone Age remains. Posted in Ancient | 3 Comments Archaeologists have discovered a Gallo-Roman wine vat from the 2nd century near the village of Vaugourdon in Touraine, central France. A team from France s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) found the vat during an excavation of the site of a future fishery when they unearthed a deep rectangular pit built of roof bricks and lime mortar making it water-tight.The Loire river valley is one of France s top wine producing regions, with a history of viticulture that goes back to the Roman era. If the presence of grape juice is confirmed from presence of tannins in residues on the brick, this vat will be the earliest direct archaeological evidence of wine production in Touraine.Winemaking in Roman Gaul, especially in this period, was predominantly based in the Mediterranean south of the country, and most evidence points to it creeping north to areas such as the Loire much later in the Roman period; as late as the 3rd century AD.The famous saint, Martin of Tours, is a patron of vintners, vine-growers and winemakers and his wine-related hagiography is firmly linked to the area. He is credited with encouraging the spread of viticulture throughout the Touraine region, introducing Chenin Blanc and supposedly his donkey discovered pruning by nibbling the foliage of a monastery’s vineyard (though there is an Ancient Greek myth where Aristaeus discovers this by watching a goat do the same thing).But St Martin lived in the 4th century AD so this new site is as much as two centuries older.The discovery of one winemaking site does not prove that viticulture was a large, flourishing industry in the Loire during this period of course but it does (potentially) show that limited viticulture was a reality and much more widespread in early Roman Gaul than former evidence suggested.INRAP archaeologists have also discovered the foundations of a large villa near the vat. Fragments of marble and a well-preserved hypocaust system indicate this was a luxurious, expensive home. Its possible dates range from the 1st through the 3rd century A.D., so it may or may not be connected to wine production, but it likely belonged to a wealthy farmer, possibly absentee, who employed and housed numerous people on the estate year-round. Posted in Ancient | No Comments A few years ago, Lennart Larsson was plowing a field on his farm in Hellerö, near Loftahammar, southeastern Sweden, when his tractor collided into a stone. It was large six and a half feet long, more than three feet wide and flat, so Larsson figured he d set it aside as it might prove useful in the future. He move it to the edge of the field and there it remained until days ago. He was building a new staircase for an outbuilding and thought that large flat stone was just the thing for the job. When he raised it with an excavator, for the first time he noticed there were runes carved on the underside.The Larssons contacted experts at the Västervik Museum who viewed the piece and confirmed it was a rare runestone. Runologist Magnus Källström then examined and translated the carving. The runes read: Gärdar erected this stone for Sigdjärv, his father, husband of Ögärd. In the center of the stone is a cross, which coupled with the inscription indicates this was a funerary stone, a memorial monument placed on the family s property a few kilometers from the village burial ground. Around the text is a zoomorphic figure biting its own tail. The rounded style of the animal carving suggests a date of the first half of the 11th century.The stone is believed to have fallen where it was originally placed. It is in very good condition, despite centuries of active agricultural use of the land above and around it. This stone is of national significance, and is a particularly important find for the region as the inscription names three individuals from different generations of a prominent family who lived at the site during the Late Iron Age. Previous finds of silver coins and a silver armband made in Gotland in the 11th century are evidence of the family s wealth. The female name Ögärd has never been seen before, making it of notable interest for linguistic research.The stone will now be cleaned and conserved. Authorities hope to put it on display in its original location in Hellerö, but it has a crack that threatens its stability which must be secured first. The county administrative board will then decide on its ultimate disposition based on the advice of conservators. Posted in Medieval | 4 Comments Archaeologists have discovered an Anglo-Saxon cemetery from as early as the 6th century at Oulton, near Lowestoft on the English North Sea coast of East Suffolk. The remains of 208 individuals were unearthed at the site of a future housing development. The rare phenomenon of  sand silhouettes dark impressions of skeletons left in the soil was found in the inhumation graves.Andrew Peachey of Archaeological Solutions Ltd, who carried out the excavations, said: Our archaeologists painstakingly excavated the delicate remains of 17 cremations and 191 inhumation burials. Due to the highly acidic soil the skeletons had mostly vanished and were luckily preserved as fragile shapes and shadows in the sand. These shadows also revealed traces of the wooden coffins that some of the individuals were buried in. Unusually, many graves also included fragments of pottery and in some cases complete decorated pots. Weapons were rare, with a sword in one grave, iron spear heads in three others, and at least one shield – the metal fittings of the shield remained in place around the silhouette of the dissolved wooden boards. Many of the artefacts were so fragile they had to be block lifted for micro-excavation in the labs at Norfolk Museum Service for analysis and conservation – they were even able to recover pieces of textiles and leather. The cemetery appears to have been used by a local farming community. The graves include adult male and female, child and infant burials from several generations. Evidence of the transition from paganism to Christianity is seen in the grave goods. For example pottery is found in several of the older pre-Christian graves, while a later cruciform brooch was unearthed in the grave of an adult woman. The archaeological materials and remains have been recovered and the site fully documented. Construction will go forward as planned. The finds will be studied further in laboratory conditions. Posted in Ancient | 1 Comment A researcher has discovered the first Shakespeare play to reach Spain in the library of the Royal Scots College of Salamanca. Universitat de Barcelona Philology and Communication professor John Stone was researching 18th century philosophy at the  Royal Scots College of Salamanca when he came across a previously unknown volume of 11 English plays printed in the 1630s. It is untitled and has no markings on the cover or endpages that might identify its owner or publisher. The first play in the book is a 1634 edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen, a tragicomedy that is believed to be William Shakespeare s final play, written in collaboration with King s Men playwright John Fletcher.All of the plays are London editions published between 1630 and 1635. Stone believes the volume belonged to a student at the Royal Scots College, or was perhaps brought to the college at the request of its rector Hugh Semple who owned numerous published plays in his library.Collections of English books in Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries were rare, and English plays were exceptional. In fact, the Spanish union catalogue of pre-1900 imprints (Catálogo colectivo del patrimonio bibliográfico español) does not list any copy of an English play printed before 1720. The only volume that could compete with Stone s finding as the first work by Shakespeare in Spain is a volume first found in the Royal English College of Saint Alban in Valladolid, which is now in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. However, several scholars date the arrival of this copy in Valladolid, Spain, between 1641 and 1651. Therefore, if the work found by Stone arrived in Spain before 1640, it would clearly be the first Shakespearean work to have circulated in this country.Apart from the volume containing The Two Noble Kinsmen, Stone found in Salamanca another volume of English plays from the same period. If we put these volumes together, there is a total of nineteen plays that would have reached the first historical premises of the Royal Scots College, in Madrid, before 1654. By the 1630s English plays were increasingly associated with elite culture, and Rector Semple, due to his political ambitions, wanted to stay in touch with the cultural life of London , notes Stone to provide the finding with some context.The two volumes of English plays first arrived in Spain in Madrid, not Salamanca. In 1767, they moved to the Irish College in Alcalá de Henares, and in 1770 moved again to the Royal Scots College in Valladolid. In 1985, they moved to the Salamanca library where they were placed in the philosophy section. That s where Jones found them entirely by accident while he was looking for Spanish reviews of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Posted in Modern(ish) | No Comments The body of an Ice Age cave bear has been discovered in exceptional condition on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island in Siberia. It was discovered by reindeer herders in the melting permafrost. They were just in time, because the exposed carcass would have decomposed rapidly after losing its frozen home. Instead, it is impeccably preserved, complete with all of its internal organs, soft tissues, fur, gums, teeth, even its nose. A frozen cub has been found before, and skeletal remains of adults, but this is the first intact adult cave bear ever discovered.The remains have been recovered and will be studied by by scientists at the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk, which is home to the Mammoth Museum Laboratory, the world s premier institution dedicated to the study of mammoth and other Ice Age fauna.The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is a prehistoric species or subspecies that lived in Eurasia in the Middle and Late Pleistocene period and became extinct about 15,000 years ago.Preliminary analysis suggests the bear to be between 22,000 and 39,500 years old. It is necessary to carry out radiocarbon analysis to determine the precise age of the bear, said senior researcher Maxim Cheprasov from the Mammoth Museum laboratory in Yakutsk. The finder transferred the right to research to the scientists of NEFU, he said. […]A scientific programme for its comprehensive study will be prepared. We will have to study the carcass of a bear using all modern scientific research methods molecular genetic, cellular, microbiological and others.Researchers from around the globe will be invited to participate in the study of this unique survivor from the Ice Age. Posted in Ancient | 4 Comments Last year, the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt s death, the Rijksmuseum launched a major project to conserve The Night Watch, crafting a state-of-the-art analysis and treatment program to learn everything possible about Rembrandt s largest and most famous masterpiece how it was made, with what materials, how best to repair and maintain it going forward. They built a custom glass enclosure so visitors could see the museum s most famous masterpiece during the operation.Operation Night Watch was still in the study phase when the museum was closed in March. Analysis resumed on May 13th with new safety protocols for the team working in the glass enclosure. The restoration process, initially scheduled to begin in the fall of 2020, has been pushed back to early next year.Meanwhile, the Rijksmuseum has posted regular updates on the study since it began last summer. There are fascinating articles on the discoveries thus far, including the pigments Rembrandt used and the chemical composition of the painting mapped using Reflectance Imaging Spectroscopy. (Spoilers: Rembrandt painted over feathers that used to be on the helmets of the watchmen in the background and he used arsenic in the gold embroidery of Willem van Ruytenburch s yellow doublet. Other Dutch artists used arsenic in still lives. He was the first to introduce it to portraiture.) There are also some nifty videos. Here s a timelapse of how they moved the colossal work to its temporary location:Most recently, the team created the most detailed photograph of The Night Watch ever taken. They have digitized it so everyone in the world can examine Rembrandt s brushstrokes down to the tiniest crack.The Rijksmuseum s imaging team made this photograph of The Night Watch from a total of 528 exposures. The 24 rows of 22 pictures were stitched together digitally with the aid of neural networks. The final image is made up of 44.8 gigapixels (44,804,687,500 pixels), and the distance between each pixel is 20 micrometres (0.02 mm). This enables the scientists to study the painting in detail remotely. The image will also be used to accurately track any future ageing processes taking place in the painting.Dive as deep you like into The Night Watch here.  Posted in Museums, Renaissance | 6 Comments

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