Archaeology
Lost Roman forts discovered using Cold War spy satellites
A study of declassified imagery taken by Cold War era satellites during the 1960s and 70s has led to the discovery of 396 previously undiscovered Roman forts.
The forts are spread across the Syrian Steppe in what is now Syria and Iraq to protect the eastern provinces from Arab and Persian incursions.
According to the researchers, the forts are in a region where a proposed defensive line of 116 forts were identified in an aerial survey conducted by Father Antoine Poidebard in 1934.
“Since the 1930s, historians and archaeologists have debated the strategic or political purpose of this system of fortifications,” says lead author of the research, Professor Jesse Casana from Dartmouth College, “but few scholars have questioned Poidebard’s basic observation that there was a line of forts defining the eastern Roman frontier.”
Image Credit : Antiquity
In a study published in the journal Antiquity, a team from Dartmouth College studied the declassified spy satellite imagery which formed part of the first spy satellite programme’s to determine whether Poidebard’s findings were accurate.
Using the forts found by Poidebard’s as a point of reference, the study revealed 396 new fort locations in a landscape that has been severely impacted by modern-day changes in land-use. The forts were found throughout the region spanning from the east to the west, contradicting the theory that they formed a north-south border wall.
Instead, the study suggests that the forts were constructed by the Romans to promote inter-regional trade, safeguarding caravans journeying between the eastern provinces and non-Roman lands, and enabling communication between the eastern and western regions.
Image Credit : Antiquity
Crucially, this suggests that the boundaries of the Roman World were more flexible and inclusive than previously thought. It’s probable that the eastern Roman frontier wasn’t a constant hotspot of violent conflict.
Although the Romans had a strong military presence, they also placed importance on trade and communication with regions beyond their direct rule. Consequently, this revelation could significantly reshape our comprehension of life on the Roman frontiers.
Speaking to HeritageDaily, Professor Jesse Casana from Dartmouth College, said: “We were only able to confidently identify extant archaeological remains at 38 of Poidebard’s 116 forts. In addition, many of the likely Roman forts we have documented in this study have already been destroyed by recent urban or agricultural development, and countless others are under extreme threat.”
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.153
Header Image Credit : Antiquity
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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