Archaeology
Amber beads suggest long-distance connections in the Early Bronze Age
Archaeologists examining amber beads found under the great ziggurat of Aššur suggest that long-distance connections existed in the Early Bronze Age with the Baltic region or North Sea.
Aššur (now Qala’at Sherqat), was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Middle Assyrian Empire (1363–912 BC), and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC). The remains of the city lie on the western bank of the Tigris River in the al-Shirqat District, Iraq.
Starting from the 2nd millennium BC until 614 BC, a temple-tower known as a ziggurat stood in Aššur, dedicated to the god Aššur (also known as Enlil) who was the head of the Assyrian pantheon in Mesopotamian religion.
The sacred structure, referred to as Earattakišarra in Sumerian during the first millennium BC and as the “great ziggurat” in Middle Assyrian royal inscriptions, is believed to have been established by Šamšī-Adad I, an Old Assyrian ruler who reigned around 1808-1776 BC.
Excavations conducted in 1914 by the Royal Museums in Berlin and the German Orient Society found two beads under the ziggurat in a foundation deposit dating from around 1800-1750 BC. The team also discovered several thousand beads of shell, stone, glass and pottery lying directly on the bedrock beneath the first layer of mudbricks.
A recent study using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) has revealed that the amber beads broadly match Baltic amber (succinite), suggesting that the amber likely originates from the Baltic or North Sea region.
According to the researchers: “The beads represent some of the earliest amber specimens in southwest Asia and also some of the most distant discoveries from the find areas in the Baltic region.”
The rarity of amber in the Mediterranean and the Middle East before 1550 BC can be explained by the restrictions placed on the exchange of this raw material by the Únětice culture and the Wessex culture.
After 1550 BC, the researchers suggest that connections developed, through which amber became available in larger quantities in the Mediterranean region and also in the Middle East from the Baltic regions.
https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-20210031
Header Image Credit : J. Lipták, Munich
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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