Archaeology
“Magic mirror” to ward off evil found at ancient Usha
Excavations led by the Israel Antiquities Authority have uncovered a fragment of a “magic mirror” meant to ward of the “evil eye” at the site of Usha, located near Kiryat Atta in the western Galilee area of Israel.
Usha was a city that rose to prominence when the seat of the Patriarchate moved to Usha under the presidency of Gamaliel II in AD 80. In AD 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha.
During the Byzantine Period, Usha became a centre for the production of glassware and metallurgy, in addition to the large-scale production of wine and olive oil.
The mirror was discovered during the Shelah Project run by the Ministry of Education, where 500 high-school pupils participated in archaeological excavations across the country
A study of the mirror has dated the find to the Byzantine period around 1,500-years-ago, which was found between the walls of a building from the 4th to 6th centuries AD.
Image Credit : Emil Eljam
According to Navit Popovitch from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the mirror was meant to provide protection against evil spirits such as demons that would see their reflection. Similar mirrors have been found in sites as funerary gifts deposited in tombs in order to protect the deceased in their journey to the next life.
Another theory suggests that the mirror could have been used in catoptromancy, the art of divination by means of mirrors which was practiced by the Greeks and Romans.
Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: “During the week-long trek, the young leaders discovered additional finds, including ceramics, coins, decorated stone fragments, and even a water aqueduct. History, usually taught in the classroom, comes to life from the ground. A pupil who uncovers a find during an excavation will never forget the experience. There is no better way to attach the youth to the country and the heritage.”
Header Image Credit : Clara Amit
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the crash site of a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress in an English woodland.
The B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
The bomber was mainly used in the European theatre for daylight strategic bombing, complimenting the RAF Bomber Command’s night bombers in attacking German industrial, military and civilian targets.
Cotswold Archaeology have been tasked by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency to search the crash site for the remains of the pilot, who died when the B-17 crashed following a system failure in 1944.
Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
At the time, the plane was carrying a payload of 12,000lbs of Torpex, an explosive comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT, and 18% powdered aluminium. Torpex was mainly used for the Upkeep, Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, as well as underwater munitions.
The pilot was declared MIA when the plane exploded into an inferno, however, using modern archaeological techniques, the researchers plan to systematically excavate and sieve the waterlogged crash site to recover plane ID numbers, personal effects, and any surviving human remains.
It is the hope of the excavation team members that they will be able to recover the pilot’s remains and return him to the United States for burial with full military honours.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Sources : Cotswold Archaeology
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists excavating at the ancient Tharsa necropolis have uncovered a Roman Era tomb guarded by two carved bull heads.
Tharsa is located near Kuyulu village in southeastern Turkey along the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway.
The site was situated on a major Roman highway from Doliche to Samosata, which today consists of a two settlement mounds and a large necropolis that dates from the 3rd century to the Byzantine period.
Excavations first commenced in 2021 which discovered a collection of Turuş Rock Tombs, a type of tomb construction carved directly into the bedrock.
In the latest season, archaeologists have excavated another Turuş Rock Tomb, however, this example was found to have two carved bull heads which is decorated with garlands and rosettes between the horns.
Bull heads, known as Bucranium, were a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. In Ancient Rome, bucrania were often used on the friezes of temples in the Doric order of architecture, later influencing the architecture of buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods.
Architectural examples of bucrania are representations of the practice of displaying garlanded, sacrificial oxen, whose heads were displayed on the temple walls.
Like similar Turuş Rock Tombs, the bull heads are carved directly into the bedrock, guarding a dozen rock cut steps descending into the burial chamber which has three arched niches known as acrosolia.
Mustafa Çelik, Deputy Director of Adıyaman Museum, said, “Tharsa Ancient City consists of 3 main archaeological areas: Big Mound, Small Mound and Necropolis Area. We started excavations in the necropolis area in 2024. We added 2 more rock tombs to the rock tombs we had previously uncovered. One of them is the rock tomb we identified today.”
Header Image Credit : Adıyaman Museum
Sources : Adıyaman Museum
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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