Archaeology
Archaeologists find Crusader Era cemetery and sword
Archaeologists conducting excavations in the town of Salon in Finland have uncovered a cemetery containing Crusader Era burials.
The Crusader Era in Finland refers to the period when Swedes brought Christianity to Finland, known as the First Swedish Crusade. Academics debate whether this crusade actually took place, as there’s no corroborating archaeological data and the earliest written sources of the crusade are from the late 13th century.
In August 2023, a local landowner noticed an iron object in the soil removed to place a pipe trench in the vicinity of a medieval stone church. Upon closer inspection, the object appeared to be a sword, which was reported to archaeologists from Turk University and the Turku Museum Centre.
According to the researchers, the sword, which dates from between AD 1050 to 1150 during the Crusader Era, was found with a bent blade, a bar-like straight hilt, and a three-sided oval pommel. In the soil pile, archaeologists also found part of the scabbard, additional blade pieces from the sword, iron objects, and human remains.
Image Credit : Juha Ruohonen
One of the most notable finds is a leather belt with thirty square rosette-patterned bronze ornaments. This was found with a buckle, several end and animal head buckles, strap dividers, and parts of the leather still preserved.
A wider study has confirmed a mortuary cemetery, evidenced by grave pattern along the pipe trench that suggests possibly dozens or even hundreds more burials remain in situ.
According to a press announcement by the Turk University, “The observation can be considered very significant from a research point of view, because cremation cemeteries from the time of the Crusades are clearly less known in Finland than cremation cemeteries that preceded them in time. So far, this is also the only confirmed burials dating to the end of the Iron Age from the Salon or Uskelanjoki valley. Also notable, is the fact that the deceased have been buried in the cemetery with Christian customs.”
Header Image Credit : Riikka Saarinen
A Polish-Peruvian team of archaeologists have uncovered 22 mummified burials in Barranca, Peru.
The discovery was made on the Cerro Colorado hill, where the researchers unearthed the burials in one of four mounds located in a cluster.
Bioarchaeologist, Łukasz Majchrzak, said: “The bodies are wrapped in fabrics and plant material known as burial bundles. Between the layers of the fabrics we found ceramics, tools, and cult objects placed as funerary offerings.”
The team also found corn cobs and unidentified plant materials, which were likely placed as food for the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.
Six of the burial bundles contain the remains of adults placed in the fetal position, with their upper and lower limbs tucked under their chests.
According to the researchers, the adult burials are arranged vertically, which makes them appear as if they were sitting. They all have a similar external appearance, wrapped in thick fabric and entwined with rope.
One of the adult bundles is decorated with geometric patterns, while the remaining bundles – as Majchrzak suggests – may contain representations of animals and deities.
The other 16 burial bundles mostly contain the remains of children no older than 2 years old who were placed in a horizontal position.
The team plan to use computed tomography to examine completely preserved burial bundles that have no visible damage to allow for a non-invasive anthropological analysis. In further stages, they plan to carry out a chemical and isotope analysis, including the strontium isotope, which will determine whether the burials are from a local population.
Header Image Credit : R. Dziubińska
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
An international team, led by archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin has uncovered an ancient prehistoric fortress in a remote region of Siberia known as Amnya.
According to a study, published in the scientific journal “Antiquity”, the fortress is a complex system of defensive structures around an ancient settlement, dating from 8,000 years ago.
The fortress is spread across two settlement clusters, Amnya I and Amnya II. Amnya I consists of extant surface features such as banks and ditches, which enclose the tip of a promontory, and 10 house pit depressions. Ten further house pits, located approximately 50m to the east, comprise the open settlement of Amnya II.
Excavations have uncovered approximately 45 pottery vessels within the wider complex, including pointed and flat-based forms that reflect two distinct typological traditions.
The Amnya settlement complex signifies the start of a distinctive, enduring trend of defensive sites among hunter-gatherers in northern Eurasia—an almost continuous tradition that persisted for nearly eight millennia until the Early Modern period.
Tanja Schreiber, archaeologist at the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology in Berlin and co-author of the study, explains, “Through detailed archaeological examinations at Amnya, we collected samples for radiocarbon dating, confirming the prehistoric age of the site and establishing it as the world’s oldest-known fort.
“Our new palaeobotanical and stratigraphical examinations reveal that inhabitants of Western Siberia led a sophisticated lifestyle based on the abundant resources of the taiga environment,” added Schrieber.
The construction of fortifications by foraging groups has been observed in different parts of the world, primarily in coastal regions during later prehistoric periods. However, the early in inland western Siberia is unparalleled.
According to the researchers, the discovery transforms how we perceive ancient human communities, questioning the notion that the establishment of permanent settlements with grand architecture and intricate social systems began solely with the rise of agriculture.
Header Image Credit: Nikita Golovanov
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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