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
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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