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
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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