Archaeology
Excavation reveals new insights into last moments before Vesuvius eruption
Archaeologists conducting excavations in the Villa San Marco, a high status Roman villa on the outskirts of Stabia, are revealing new insights into the last moments before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Stabiae was an ancient Roman town and seaside resort near Pompeii on the eastern end of the Bay of Naples. Like Pompeii and Herculanium, Stabiae was largely buried during the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius in thick tephra and ash.
Pliny the Elder, a Roman author who wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (which became an editorial model for encyclopedias died at Stabiae during the eruptions, but many of the town inhabitants were spared and resettled. Publius Papinius Statius recites in a poem to his wife – “Stabias renatas”, meaning Stabiae reborn.
Recent excavations at the Villa San Marco, a large Roman villa complex which covers more than 11,000 square metres, have been investigating the previous building phases of the site to further understand the chronology and extent of the entire structure.
Image Credit : Pompeii Sites
The villa’s original construction dates back to the Augustan Age and was focused on a tetrastyle Ionic atrium. Later, during the Claudian period, expansions incorporated a panoramic garden and a swimming pool that were enclosed by a three-sided portico, topped with a colonnade featuring spiral columns.
As a result of these additions, the layout of the villa underwent significant changes, shifting away from the previous axial plan and decentralising the entrance and the original core.
The main entrance, now buried, used to open onto a porticoed courtyard that provided access to the tablinum. From there, one could proceed to a tetrastyle atrium, leading to four small cubicula. Additionally, the thermal baths were accessible from the atrium, but their alignment deviated from the villa’s main axis due to their connection with the pre-existing street running in front of the structure.
Since March 2023, archaeologists have excavated the end part of the upper portico, revealing paintings with seated figures and large parts of the collapsed walls. The portico was buried in lapilli tephra (volcanic rock), allowing the paintings to be preserved along with a flight of the spiral columns.
According to a press announcement: “Following the story provided by the stratigraphies of lapilli and collapses, and by the sequence of pyroclastic flows, it is also possible to reconstruct the last hours of the villa’s life.”
“Despite the dramatic destruction, the life and luxury of the villa resurface in the chromatic ranges of the paintings on the walls and ceilings, in the stuccos, in the capitals, in the precious coatings and crowning of columns and roofs,” added the researchers.”
Header Image Credit : Pompeii Sites
Excavations led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, working in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, have linked an event mentioned in the Bible to archaeological findings from the City of David.
The results of the excavation, published in the journal PNAS, challenges the accepted perceptions of the development of Jerusalem during the rule of the kings of Judah. In particular, the scope of Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon and the period that followed.
The researchers have accurately dated several structures, including the city walls and royal construction projects, which are linked to Jerusalem’s growth to the west during the period of King Hezekiah around 2,700-years-ago.
The previous assumption was that the city expanded due to the arrival of refugees due to the Assyrian exile, however, the new findings now indicate that the city spread towards Mount Zion in the 9th century BC during the reign of King Jehoash, 100 years before the Assyrian exile period.
Prof. Yuval Gadot from the Department of Archeology at Tel Aviv University, said: “In light of this, the new research teaches us that the expansion of Jerusalem is a result of internal-Judean demographic growth and the establishment of political and economic systems.”
Excavations have also revealed that the wall of Jerusalem on the eastern slopes of the city of David is older than previously thought. It was thought that the wall in this area was built by Hezekiah, King of Judah, however, findings now indicate that it dates from the reign of King Uzziah.
King Uzziah is described in a passage in the bible that reads: “’And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem… and strengthened them” (2 Chronicles 26:9).
According to Dr. Uziel: “Until now, many researchers have assumed that the wall was built by Hezekiah during his rebellion against Sennacherib (King of Assyria), in order to defend Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. It is now apparent that the wall in the easter part of the City of David, was built earlier and as part of the construction of the city during the reign of King Uzziah.”
Header Image Credit : Leonardo Gurvitz, City of David Archives
Sources : IAA
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A new study, published in the journal Antiquity, suggests that the ancient Pueblo culture used conch-shell trumpets for communication.
The focus of the study is the site of the Chaco Canyon in north-west New Mexico. Located in Chaco Culture National Historic Park, Chaco Canyon contains numerous small dwellings and multi-story buildings known as great houses.
Based on the density of structures, archaeologists speculate that the site was once a bustling metropolis, inhabited by as many as 2,300 people during its height from AD 1050 to 1130.
Conch-shell trumpets have been found in burial contexts at Chaco Canyon, which today are used in contemporary Pueblo ritual practices.
Using a Soundshed Analysis model, archaeologists have digitally modelled the sound of a conch-shell trumpet being sounded at a great house in relation to other features in the landscape. Soundshed Analysis calculates the distance a sound can travel from a point, taking into account both the type of sound and environmental conditions such as elevation and ambient noise.
“Chaco Canyon is surrounded by over one hundred understudied great house communities”, says lead author Professor Ruth Van Dyke from Binghamton University. “We sought to determine if extra-canyon great house communities demonstrated relationships similar to Chaco Canyon between landscape, community layout, and sound.”
In this case, the team modelled the sound of a conch from great houses at five Chacoan communities to determine whether it would reach all habitation sites within the community.
They found that if somebody blew a conch-shell trumpet from the great house at the centre of all five Chacoan communities, the sound would have reached almost all of the surrounding settlements.
This suggests that ancient Puebloans may have managed their land-use and community structures around the sound of trumpets. The sound was potentially used to signal communal activities, such as religious ceremonies.
“This is not unlike the idea of a medieval church bell calling a community to mass”, states Professor Van Dyke.
It also indicates how Chacoan heritage sites should be managed going forward.
“Soundscapes were meaningful dimensions of past experiences, landscapes, and environments and are important facets of social interaction in the ancient world,” observes Professor Van Dyke. “Management of archaeological and heritage sites should incorporate consideration of the auditory environment.”
Header Image Credit : Shutterstock
Sources : Antiquity | Seashells and sound waves: modelling soundscapes in Chacoan great-house communities – Ruth M. Van Dyke, Kristy E. Primeau, Kellam Throgmorton & David E. Witt. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.54
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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