Archaeology
Columned building containing large amounts of flour found at ancient Metsamor
A joint Polish-Armenian archaeological mission has uncovered a columned building containing large amounts of flour at ancient Metsamor in the Armenian province of Armavir.
Metsamor was a fortified city with the earliest evidence of occupation dating to the 4th millennium BC (Chalcolithic). In the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the settlement became an important religious and economic centre consisting of a large religious complex, a palace, and a fortified citadel.
While it was long believed that the city was destroyed by the Urartians during the Iron Age, more recent research now suggests that the destruction was caused by Scythian or Cimmerian nomads.
The archaeological mission is a joint project led by the University of Warsaw and the Department of Antiquities and Protection of National Heritage of Armenia.
Flour residue – Image Credit : Patrick Okrajek
Excavations have uncovered a 3,000-year-old building supported by columns that was used from the 11th and the beginning of the 9th century BC. The building collapsed during a fire leaving behind what was believed to be layers of ash up to 36 cm thick, however, using floatation this has been revealed to be flour.
Prof. Krzysztof Jakubiak from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, said: “It is one of the oldest known structures of this type from the southern Caucasus and eastern Anatolia. Its remains have been preserved so well only thanks to an ancient fire.”
The researchers estimate that the building stored up to 3.5 tons of flour, while the building consisted of two rows of wooden columns supporting a reed roof with wooden beams. Only the stone bases of the columns and well-preserved burned fragments of beams and roof sheathing have survived.
The team suggest that the building initially had a representative function, but was converted for the production of bread, evidenced by the discovery of several furnaces.
Header Image Credit : Patrick Okrajek
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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