Archaeology
Medieval artefacts found in Poland from possible knights court
Archaeologists have found a collection of Medieval artefacts dated from the 11th and 12th century AD in Daromin, a village in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland.
Excavations were carried out by the Nadwiślańska Grupa Poszukiwawcza “Szansa” Association, in which archaeologists found a clasp and two denarii from the Roman period, and a rich collection of artefacts from the early Middle Ages.
Dr Marek Florek, from the Institute of Archaeology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, said: “Apart from fragments of pottery, there are: coins, including a denarii of Bolesław the Bold, silver, lead and copper alloy ornaments, lead and bronze crosses, everyday objects such as knives and flintlocks, lead and iron weights coated with bronze, militaria and elements of equestrian gear”.
Several of the items, such as the crosses, rings made of copper wire, silver ornaments and an appliqué depicting a rider, were imported from the historic region of Carpathian Rutheni or the Baltic.
Excavations also uncovered a small bronze representation of a horse and a lead mace, likely decorative symbols of military power. The bronze horse is of the Lutomiersk type which were worn by the knightly elites of the early Piast state.
Dr. Florek suggests that the finds, especially those of an elite nature, indicate that a knight’s court could have been located in the vicinity of Daromin in the 11th-12th century AD.
This interpretation is supported by the discovery of barrel-shaped and polyhedral bronze-coated iron weights.
“From the accounts of Ibrahim ibn Jakub, a Jewish merchant from Spain, who reached the Polish lands in the 1060s, we know that Mieszko I was supposed to collect taxes in the form of weights and used them to pay salaries of his men. Therefore, if there was a knight’s court in Daromin in the 11th-12th centuries, their presence, as well as elements of armament and elite items, should not be surprising,” added Florek.
The artefacts are currently being stored in the Sandomierz branch of the Provincial Monument Protection Office in Kielce for further study, after which they will be transferred to the Castle Museum in Sandomierz for display.
Header Image Credit : Dr Marek Florek
A new study published in the journal Antiquity has revealed hundreds of previously unrecorded monuments at Baltinglass in County Wicklow, Ireland.
The Baltinglass area (known as ‘Ireland’s Hillfort Capital’) has a high density of Early Neolithic and Late Bronze Age monuments, however, very little evidence has been recorded that dates from the Middle Neolithic period.
According to Dr James O’Driscoll from the University of Aberdeen, the ancient landscape around Baltinglass was incredibly important to the Early Neolithic people, however, the lack of Middle Neolithic evidence suggests that this importance was lost until the Late Bronze Age.
Using advanced LiDAR technology, archaeologists have created detailed three-dimensional models, revealing hundreds of ancient sites that that been destroyed by thousands of years of ploughing.
Image Credit : Antiquity
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), is a method of remote sensing using light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. The differences in the laser return times and wavelengths can be used to compile a 3-D digital map of the landscape.
The most significant discovery from the survey is a cluster of five cursus monuments, the largest example found in both Britain and Ireland. The purpose of such monuments are speculative, but some theories propose that they were used in rituals connected with ancestor veneration, that they follow astronomical alignments, or that they served as buffer zones between ceremonial and occupation landscapes.
Image Credit : Antiquity
According to the study authors: “These five cursus monuments are clearly aligned with burial monuments in the landscape, as well as the rising and setting sun during major solar events such as the solstice.”
“This may have symbolised the ascent of the dead into the heavens and their perceived rebirth, with the cursus physically setting out the final route of the dead, where they left the land of the living and joined the ancestors beyond the visible horizon,” said Dr O’Driscoll.
Header Image Credit : Antiquity
Sources : Antiquity | Exploring the Baltinglass cursus complex: routes for the dead? – James O’Driscoll. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.39
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologist from NIKU are using a revolutionary new GPR robot to explore a Viking Age site in Norway’s Sandefjord municipality.
The robot has been developed as part of a collaboration between AutoAgri, Guideline Geo/MÅLÅ, and NIKU, and uses the I-Series autonomous implement carrier model fitted with the latest high-resolution, multi-channel ground-penetrating radar system.
GPR is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying archaeological features and patterning beneath the subsurface.
Initial testing of the robot was conducted in Trøndelag Vinnan in Stjørdal municipality, which according to the researchers has demonstrated increased efficiency and provides accurate mapping solutions.
Image Credit : Erich Nau, NIKU
The new robot system has an antenna that produces a much higher resolution than traditional georadar systems, which for the first time can be interpreted in real time.
According to Erich Nau from NIKU, previous systems had to be driven around archaeological sites, however, the new GPR robot only needs a short hour to map the driving route, then the robot does the rest on its own.
The robot is being used as part of a new study of a Viking Age trading post at Heimdalsjordet near the Gokstadhaugen ship burial in Sandefjord.
The non-intrusive approach will provide a detailed picture of the subsurface that previous surveys could have missed, such as traces of longhouses, land plots, roads, wharves and burials.
“This collaboration gives us a unique opportunity to explore and understand our historical landscape with new and advanced technology. We look forward to uncovering new discoveries that can give us valuable insight into our rich cultural heritage,” says Petra Schneidhofer, archaeologist in Vestfold county municipality.
Header Image Credit : Jani Causevic, NIKU
Sources : NIKU
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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