Archaeology
New discovery confirms that the Saint-Bélec slab is a “treasure map” for archaeologists
Archaeologists have confirmed that the Saint-Bélec slab is a “treasure map”, revealing previously unknown ancient sites in north-western France.
The Saint-Bélec slab was discovered in 1900 by Paul du Châtellier in a prehistoric burial ground in Finistère, where it formed part of an early Bronze Age cist structure. Du Châtellier stored the slab at his home, Château de Kernuz, where it was forgotten until its rediscovery in 2014.
The slab is made from a grey-blue schist, thought to originate from rocky outcrops from the Precambrian period found close to Douarnenez in the region of Brittany.
The surface is engraved with geometric shapes such as lines, circles and squares, interpreted as symbols representing settlements, barrows and fields. According to the researchers, the symbols on the slab matched the landscape of the Odet valley in Finistère, with lines used to represent the river’s tributaries.
Recent excavations by archaeologists from the University of Western Brittany (UBO), have uncovered additional fragments belonging to the Saint-Bélec slab at the original discovery site. The fragments complete the puzzle, providing new evidence to indicate that the Saint-Bélec slab was indeed a map that could lead to many previously unknown ancient sites.
The results of a study, published in the journal Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, suggests that the topography of the slab was deliberately modified to show motifs representing structures from the Bronze Age, as well as enclosures, plot systems, tumulus, and roads.
According to the study: “The central motif on the Saint-Bélec slab could be interpreted as a central place of an early Bronze Age territory. One outstanding question is why it was made?”
“One possibility is that such a territorial depiction was a material and symbolic act. Set alongside the contemporary development of field systems in Brittany, the making of the slab suggests perhaps the appearance of a new form of land tenure, while the distribution of elite graves is closely linked to soil fertility. Against this background, we can hypothesize that the Saint-Bélec slab was used as a cadastral plan for managing the territory and controlling land.”
University of Western Brittany (UBO)
Header Image Credit : Denis Glicksman
Archaeologists from the University of Warwick are conducting an underwater study to document the submerged Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff before it vanishes due to erosion.
Bouldnor Cliff is situated in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the southern coast of England. The site was first discovered in 1999 when divers observed a lobster discarding worked flint tools from its burrow on the seabed.
At a time when Britain was cut off from mainland Europe by rising sea levels, the area of the Solent was a river valley inhabited by an advanced Mesolithic community who developed a boat building technology 2,000 years ahead of their time.
The study aims to find new data on the nature of the late Ice Age environment during the development of the Mesolithic era, and the extent of the interaction between the inhabitants of Bouldnor Cliff and Europe, including the exchange of materials.
Professor Robin Allaby, who is leading the expedition, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to understand the lost world in which the Mesolithic developed using the latest techniques before our chance is gone.”
The study will involve a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental analysis, in addition to state-of-the-art techniques such as optical simulated luminescence for constructing ecological profiles. Furthermore, archaeologists intend to recover archaeological artefacts and environmental markers to reconstruct the past environment.
Dr Kinnaird adds: “This is an exciting research project to showcase the new innovations in luminescence dating, which can tell when an object was last exposed to the Sun. The relevance of this technique in writing the narratives for 4000 years of history, at the time that the British coastline was rapidly changing, is huge!”
According to the researchers, these discoveries carry the potential to significantly transform our comprehension of the era when Britain emerged as an island.
Header Image Credit : University of Warwick
Sources : University of Warwick
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A study of the “Excalibur” sword found in Valencia has been revealed to have Islamic origins sometime during the 10th century AD.
Valencia is one of the oldest cities in Spain, founded under the name of Valentia Edetanorum by the Romans in 138 BC.
The city was conquered by the Moors in the 8th century AD, and was destroyed by Abd al-Rahman I of the Umayyad dynasty. Under Caliphate rule, the wider city area became known as Madînat al-Turâb (meaning “city of earth” or “sand”).
The sword was discovered back in 1994 in a house on Valencia’s Historiador Chabàs Street, where it was found standing upright in a grave beneath an Islamic era house.
Dubbed “Excalibur” due to the circumstances of its discovery, the sword is made from iron and has a hilt decorated with bronze plates. In mythology, Excalibur was the legendary sword of King Arthur and appears in various medieval poems describing Arthur pulling the sword from a stone.
However, the “Excalibur” from Valencia was found in a sedimentary strata from the 10th century AD and was likely the weapon of a cavalryman from the Andalusian Caliphate Era.
According to the archaeologists, the sword measures 46 centimetres in length and has a slightly curved blade towards the tip. Swords from this period are rarely found well-preserved due to the levels of oxygen and water in the soil that causes oxidation of the iron.
“It is the first Islamic sword that appears in the city of Valencia, with only one similar example being found during the excavations of Medina Azahara, the caliphal city of Abd al-Rahman III, in Córdoba,” said the Valencia City Council.
Header Image Credit : The Archaeology Service (SIAM) of the Valencia City Council
Sources : Valencia City Council
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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