Archaeology
Roman shipwreck carrying architectural marble found off Israeli coast
A shipwreck that sank 1,800-years-ago off the coast of Moshav Beit Yanai in central Israel has been discovered containing ornate marble architectural pieces.
The location of the wreck site was first identified by Gideon Harris, who contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority reporting that he observed ancient columns on the seabed.
This led to an underwater survey, revealing Corinthian capitals decorated with vegetal motifs, partially carved capitals, and a huge marble architrave measuring up to 6 metres in length.
Koby Sharvit, Director of the underwater archaeology unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority. “We have been aware of the existence of this shipwrecked cargo for a long time,” he says, “but we didn’t know its exact whereabouts as it was covered over by sand, and we could therefore could not investigate it.”
Image Credit : Israel Antiquities Authority
“The recent storms must have exposed the cargo, and thanks to Gideon’s important report, we have been able to register its location, and carry out preliminary archaeological investigations, which will lead to a more in-depth research project,” added Sharvit.
Archaeologists suggest that the marble was destined for a high-status public building such as a temple or theatre, however, it is evident that the ship encountered a storm in shallow waters and dropped anchor in an attempt to prevent the ship from grounding.
Image Credit : Israel Antiquities Authority
“Such storms often blow up suddenly along the country’s coast,” says Sharvit, “and due to the ships’ limited manoeuvring potential, they are often dragged into the shallow waters and shipwrecked.”
The ship probably came from the Aegean or Black Sea region in Turkey or Greece, and was likely destined for one of the ports along the southern Levantine coast, Ashkelon or Gaza, or possibly even Alexandria in Egypt.
Image Credit : Israel Antiquities Authority
The discovery has settled a long-debated argument on whether the Romans imported architectural elements that were completely worked in their lands of origin, or whether they were transported in a partially carved form and were carved and fashioned at their site of destination.
Gideon Harris has been awarded a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship. According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Gideon’s report epitomises the value of a citizen’s awareness regarding antiquities, and even more the importance of reporting them to the Israel Antiquities Authority.”
Header Image Credit : Israel Antiquities Authority
An archaeological survey has identified three clusters of ancient qanats in the Diyala Province of Iraq.
A qanat, also known as a kārīz, is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well over long distances in hot dry climates without losing water to evaporation.
Qanats use a sequence of vertical shafts resembling wells, linked by a gently inclined tunnel that serves as a conduit for channelling water. Qanats efficiently transport substantial volumes of underground water to the surface without requiring pumps.
The water naturally flows downhill by gravity, with the endpoint positioned at a lower level than the origin. When the qanat is still below ground, the water is drawn to the surface via water wells or animal driven Persian wells.
Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
Some Qanats are divided into an underground network of smaller canals known as kariz, functioning similarly to qanats by staying beneath the surface to prevent contamination and evaporation. In certain instances, water from a qanat is stored in a reservoir, usually with nighttime flow reserved for daytime usage.
The technology for qanat’s first emerged in ancient Iran around 3,000-years-ago and slowly spread westward and eastward.
A recent survey within the Diyala Province has discovered three clusters of qanats stretching between the areas of Jalulaa and Kortaba. Initial studies dates the clusters to around AD 1000, a period known as the “Iranian Intermezzo”, when parts of the region were governed by a number of minor Iranian emirates.
The first cluster consists of 25 wells on a linear alignment connected to an adjacent 10 metre deep water channel. The second cluster also has 25 wells and is connected to a 13 km long hand dug channel, while the third cluster consists of 9 wells connected to water canals dug on both sides.
Header Image Credit : State Board of Antiquities & Heritage
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have discovered a 16,800-year-old Palaeolithic dwelling in the La Garma cave complex, located in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte in Spain’s Cantabria province.
The La Garma cave complex is a parietal art-bearing paleoanthropological cave system on the southern side of the La Garma Hill.
The cave complex is noted for one of the best preserved floors from the Palaeolithic period, containing more than 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphical units.
A project led by Pablo Arias and Roberto Ontañón from the University of Cantabria has recently announced the discovery of a Palaeolithic dwelling within the cave system, described as “one of the best preserved Palaeolithic dwellings in the world.”
The dwelling is an oval space and is delimited by an alignment of stone blocks and stalagmites that supported a fixed structure of sticks and skins leaning against the cave wall. The total area of the space is around 5 square metres that centred on a camp fire.
Archaeologists also found vestiges of various daily activities associated with Magdalenian hunters and gatherers at the dwelling, including evidence of stone manufacturing, bone and antler instruments, and the working of fur.
In total, over 4,614 objects have been documented, such as dear, horse and bison bones, 600 pieces of flint, needles and a protoharpoon, shells of marine mollusks, as well as numerous pendants worn by the cave dwelling inhabitants.
Additionally, the researchers also found a number of decorated bones, including a remarkable pierced aurochs phalanx engraved with a depiction of both the animal itself and a human face—a distinctive artefact unique to the European Palaeolithic era.
Due to the national importance of the discovery, the team used innovative non-intrusive techniques in their study of the dwelling. This includes continuous tomography of the soils, 3D cartography, the molecular and genetic analysis of soils and Palaeolithic objects, mass spectrometry, and hyperspectral imaging.
Header Image Credit : University of Cantabria
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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