Archaeology
Archaeologists uncover over 2,000 seal impressions in ancient Doliche
A team of archaeologists from the Asia Minor Research Centre have uncovered over 2,000 seal impressions in ancient Doliche.
Doliche was founded as a Hellenistic colony during the 2nd century BC in the present-day province of Gaziantep, Turkey. During antiquity, the city was located in the ancient region of Cyrrhestica, which was annexed by the Roman Empire in AD 72.
Previous excavations in the city have unearthed the remains of a Mithraic temple, rock cut graves, and a stele depicting a previously unknown Iron Age deity.
A recent study by the Asia Minor Research Centre has found over 2,000 seal impressions used to seal documents from the city municipal archive. The impressions consist of stamped clay lumps that range from 5 millimetres to 2 centimetres in size.
Image Credit : Asia Minor Research Centre
According to Professor Michael Blömer from the University of Münster: “The images of the official city seals have a direct urban connection. As a rule, they show their most important deities such as Jupiter Dolichenus, the main god of the city.”
Between the mid-second and mid-third century AD, the veneration of Jupiter Dolichenus gained widespread popularity within the Roman military. Several religious structures dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus identify him as the “deity of the Commagenians.”
The smaller private seals exhibit a diverse array of images and symbols, shedding light on the cultural impact that religion played in the lives of the people of Doliche. “The gods on the seals provide insights into people’s religious environment. Mythical figures or rare private portraits indicate a strong Greco-Roman influence,” said Professor Blömer. The well-preserved seal impressions and their motifs also provide information about ancient administrative practices.
The seals were found in the lower foundations of an archive building made of solid limestone blocks. The building measures 8 x 25 metres in size and was a multi-story structure containing a sequence of rooms. While each Roman city had archives designated for contract storage, only a few archive structures from the Roman Empire have been identified thus far.
According to the researchers: “The archive documents themselves were destroyed in a major fire, possibly in AD 253 when the Persian king, Šāpūr I, destroyed numerous cities in the Roman province of Syria.”
Header Image Credit : Asia Minor Research Centre
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have uncovered a well-preserved Bronze Age wooden well in Oxfordshire, England.
The discovery was made during construction works for the Benson Relief Road in compliance with planning conditions to ensure archaeological finds are recorded.
John Boothroyd, Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archaeology, said: “When investigating what appeared to be a standard pit for the site, the archaeological team started exposing the remains of a preserved wooden post driven vertically into the ground.”
Excavations revealed that the posts formed the uprights of a wattle structure lining the edge of the pit, which have been well-preserved due to the soil conditions being waterlogged.
The timber structure was digitally recorded, before being carefully dismantled by hand for removal to the Oxfordshire Museum Service.
Samples of the preserved wood have been sent for further analysis to indicate the type of wood used in the construction. Excavations also found pieces of struck flint, animal bone and pottery used for storage and waste.
Previous studies of the area around Benson and as far as Wallingford have revealed traces of Bronze Age activity and settlement.
“Despite the extremely challenging conditions, the team were able to expose and fully record the well. The specialist soil samples collected will also help establish what the surrounding landscape would have been like, and the intensity to which it was settled, when the well was actively being used.”
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “This find gives fantastic insight into the area’s past land use. It is thought the well may have been used for agricultural irrigation purposes for settlements nearby. Archaeological surveys like this are an important part of the process of delivering construction schemes. They help us identify and understand past residents of the area and record them for future generations.”
Header Image Credit : Oxford Archaeology
Sources : Oxfordshire County Council
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A restoration project to remove invasive plants from dunes in the Heist Willemspark, Belgium, has led to the discovery of three intact WWII bunkers.
Heist Willemspark is located in the Knokke-Heist municipality, situated on the coastline of Belgium near the border with the Netherlands.
During WWI, the area of the park was used as a German position for heavy artillery batteries known as “Freya” and “Augusta”, and a series of forward observation bunkers for ranging shipping in the English Channel.
A number of these structures were repurposed by the German army in WWII, and further fortified as part of the Atlantic Wall, a system of coastal defences built between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe. The area of the Atlantic Wall at Heist Willemspark was designated by the German army as Stützpunkt Heyst.
Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
According to a press statement by the Municipality of Knokke-Heist, the bunkers were discovered by the Agency for Nature and Forests during a restoration project called LIFE DUNIAS.
Excavations at a depth of only a few feet revealed three Gruppenunterstand Type VF2a bunkers. The VF2a is intended for housing a Gruppe (the smallest German unit consisting of 10 soldiers) who operated forward radar positions. The bunkers at Heist Willemspark measure 6 by 7 metres externally, and are capped by a concrete reinforced roof measuring 1 metre thick.
The project also found traces of brick trenches, a fragment of a concrete track, and large amounts of rubble containing objects such as utensils, ammunition, cabling, and water pipes.
A representative of LIFE DUNIAS said: “These ruins illustrate the previous attempts to completely erase the park’s war history. The lighter structures were demolished and reduced to rubble, while heavier bunkers were covered with a layer of soil and hidden, as if they had never existed.”
Header Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
Sources : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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