Archaeology
6,000-year-old settlement of Europe’s prehistoric megalithic builders
Archaeologists excavating in France have discovered a 6,000-year-old settlement belonging to some of Europe’s early builders of megalithic monuments.
During the Neolithic period, people in west-central France constructed barrows and dolmens, but where they lived has been a mystery for archaeologists for over a century.
During an aerial survey of the Le Peu enclosure, the researchers found evidence of an early settlement, the results of which have been published in the journal Antiquity.
The study has revealed a palisade encircling several timber buildings built during the fifth millennium BC, making the wooden structures the oldest examples in the region and the first residential site contemporary with the Neolithic monument makers.
Image Credit : Antiquity
Archaeologists have identified three residential dwellings, each around 13 metres long, clustered together near the top of a small hill that overlooks the Tusson megalithic cemetery.
An analysis of the palaeosols recovered from the site suggests that it was located on a promontory bordered by a marsh. These natural defences were further fortified by a ditch palisade wall, with two monumental structures that guarded the entrance to the enclosure.
“The site reveals the existence of unique monumental architectures, probably defensive. This demonstrates a rise in Neolithic social tensions,” said Dr Vincent Ard from the French National Centre for Scientific Research.
All the buildings at the site were destroyed by fire around 4,400 BC, suggesting that the defences at Le Peu were insufficient at protecting the inhabitants during a time of conflict. However, such destruction helped to preserve the site.
The researchers plan to continue investigating the site to shed light on the lives of people only known from their monuments to the dead. Already it shows how their residential sites had a monumental scale, never before seen in prehistoric Atlantic society.
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.169
Header Image Credit : Antiquity
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
In a press announcement by the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), archaeologists have discovered the tomb of Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou near Xianyang City, China.
Emperor Xiaomin (birth name: Yuwen Jue), was the founder of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China that lasted from AD 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China’s Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and was eventually overthrown by the Sui dynasty.
Rather than take the title of emperor, Xiaomin instead used the Zhou Dynasty title of “Heavenly Prince”, however, a power struggle occurred between Xiaomin and the his cousin, Yuwen Hu, who deposed Xiaomin and had him killed.
Archaeologists conducting excavations adjacent to the Airport Expressway in Xianyang City have uncovered the tomb of Emperor Xiaomin, designated Tomb M655.
Image Credit : CASS
Excavations have revealed a 147 long ditch, leading to a tomb oriented on a north to south axis. The tomb contains a single chamber at a depth of 10 metres, containing disturbed funerary offerings such as ceramic vessels and figurines depicting warriors, cavalry units, a camel, and indiscernible creatures.
The team also discovered an epitaph stone with an inscription loosely translated as: “Renshen in October of the second year of the tomb of Gongyu Wenjue, Duke of Lueyang, Zhou Dynasty” – referring to the birth name of Yuwen Jue.
According to the press announcement: “The archaeological discovery of Yuwen Jue’s tomb from the Northern Zhou Dynasty is of great significance. It is the second Northern Zhou emperor’s tomb that has been excavated after the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.”
Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
Header Image Credit : CASS
An analysis by researchers from the University of York has revealed Viking trade routes between northern Scandinavia and the edges of continental Europe.
The study focuses on trade connections from the town of Hedeby, an important trading settlement during the Viking Age near the southern end of the Jutland Peninsula in Germany.
Hedeby is first mentioned in the Frankish chronicles of Einhard (who was in the service of Charlemagne), but was probably founded around AD 770.
Hedeby’s prominence as a primary trading hub can be attributed to its strategic geographical positioning along the pivotal trade routes connecting the Frankish Empire and Scandinavia in the north-south direction, as well as the Baltic and the North Sea in the east-west direction.
The town was also a major centre of antler-working, with 288,000 antler finds recorded to date, most of which are waste material from the production of hair combs.
A ZooMS analysis of the collagen in the combs has revealed that 85-90% of the combs were made from reindeer antler during the 9th century AD. The combs or antlers were imported from northern Scandinavia, indicating new evidence for contact between Hedeby and the northern outlands in central and northern Scandinavia.
Dr Steven Ashby, from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, said: “The work at Hedeby is particularly interesting, as it tells us about connections between the mountains of upland or arctic Scandinavia and this large town at the gateway to continental Europe, and points to a window in the 9th Century when these northern links must have been particularly strong.”
The paper ‘In the footsteps of Ohthere: biomolecular analysis of early Viking Age hair combs from Hedeby (Haithabu)’ is published in Antiquity Journal.
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.118
Header Image Credit : Mariana Muñoz-Rodriguez
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