Archaeology
Daily life “frozen in time” at Roman villa after the Vesuvian eruption of AD 79
Archaeologists have made new discoveries during excavations of the Civita Giuliana, a large villa complex in the suburbs of Roman Pompeii.
Pompeii was a Roman city, located in the modern commune of Pompeii near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum, and many villas in the surrounding area were buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
The eruption spewed forth a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km, ejecting molten rock, pulverised pumice and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Civita Giuliana is located northwest of Pompeii in an agricultural suburb that produced oil and wine. The villa was first excavated during the early 20th century, where a team led by the Marquis Giovanni Imperiali, uncovered numerous residential rooms and parts of the complex used for food processing. In 2021, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a preserved Roman chariot and a domestic room used by slaves that served the villa inhabitants.
Image Credit : Pompeii Sites
Recent excavations at Civita Giuliana have been conducted to stabilise the site, due to an extensive network of tunnels made by grave robbers that undermined the land.
Archaeologists have unearthed a collection of crockery and ceramic bows placed upside down along the walls of a servants’ quarters, revealing a snapshot of daily life frozen in time following the Vesuvian eruption.
It is assumed that the crockery and ceramics were left in situ at the time of the final phase of the eruption, which serves as a datum for the stratigraphic investigation of the villa complex.
“These finds demonstrate the commitment and ability of the State to stem the scourge of clandestine excavations and the trade in archaeological goods and constitute an important response to the havoc perpetrated over the years by grave robbers,” said the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano. “Pompeii is the pride of Italy and it is our intention to further defend and promote a heritage that is unique worldwide”.
Header Image Credit : Pompeii Sites
395 pre-Columbian artefacts have been repatriated to Costa Rica thanks to a grant by the United States Embassy to the Cultural Agreements Fund.
Among the objects repatriated is a stone sphere from the Diquís culture, an extinct people that emerged in the Valley of the Rio Grande de Térraba and produced over 300 stone petrospheres (also know as Diquís Spheres).
Between AD 800 to 1500, the Diquís civilisation reached its apex and developed complex settlements on the small island of Isla del Caño and the Diquís Delta in Costa Rica.
Stone spheres of up to two metres in diameter were placed in alignments in public plazas, or along the approach to the dwellings of the ruling elite/chieftains.
Image Credit : National Museum of Costa Rica
Since 2005, the National Museum of Costa Rica has developed the project “Archaeological investigations in sites with stone spheres, Delta del Diquís” aimed at the study of the pre-Columbian occupation of the delta, focusing particularly on archaeological sites with the presence of stone spheres.
According to the National Museum of Costa Rica, the repatriated sphere measures 65 centimetres in diameter and is likely made from gabbro, a phaneritic (coarse-grained) mafic intrusive igneous rock.
Also repatriated are ceramics with representations of animals and humans, metates that were used for ceremonies or to prepare food, stone tools, polychrome vessels, and precious seals and stones worn by various pre-Columbian cultures.
Cynthia Telles, United States Ambassador to Costa Rica, said: “Our two nations share a common belief about the importance of preserving and celebrating our unique histories. We recognise the value of these pieces as more than just objects, because they are an integral part of the identity of the Costa Rican people.”
Header Image Credit : National Museum of Costa Rica
Sources : National Museum of Costa Rica
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have uncovered an Aegean bronze mirror during excavations at Hal Sultan Tekke, Cyprus.
Hal Sultan Tekke is a Late Bronze Age harbour city and cemetery on the south-eastern coast of Cyprus.
The cemetery covers an area of several hectares, in which subsequent excavations have uncovered tombs with associated pits and wells, but no architectural remains.
Archaeologists have recently excavated three tombs within an undisturbed chamber tomb where 264 complete objects have been recovered from Mycenaean, Minoan, Canaanite, Egyptian, and Levantine cultures.
The objects include everyday items such as jars, beads, bowls, vases, chalices, cups, in addition to funerary or votive offerings such as knives, daggers, a spear head, bracelets, rings and decorated discs.
The most notable discovery is a rare copper alloy mirror disc, which according to the researchers likely originates from the Aegean, in particular Crete.
The mirror has a diameter ranging between 11.2–11.4 cm, rendering it slightly broader and wider than in height. Neither the rivets nor the handle are preserved, which were likely crafted from perishable materials such as wood, ivory, or bone.
Apart from the mirror discovered at Hala Sultan Tekke, only one other riveted mirror is documented in Cyprus, discovered in Enkomi Tomb 66.
According to the study authors: “Although the handle type supporting the riveted mirror from Hala Sultan Tekke remains unknown, its diameter might well align with the average diameter and weight of mirrors produced in central-northern Crete during LM IIIA1–2.”
“This production, probably resulting from the activities of workshops located in Knossos and possibly in Chania, represents a relatively homogenous group of artefacts in terms of measurements, with production ceasing in the subsequent LM IIIB.”
Header Image Credit : Wiley
Sources : , , , , and (2024) AN AEGEAN MIRROR FROM HALA SULTAN TEKKE, CYPRUS. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 43: 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12292.
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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