Archaeology
Roman villa complex found at Miseno
Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman villa complex on the shoreline of Miseno in the northwestern end of the Bay of Naples.
During the Roman period, Miseno was a large port known as Misenum (named after Misenus, a companion of Hector and trumpeter to Aeneas), later serving as the primary port for the Classis Misenensis, the senior fleet of the imperial Roman navy.
It was from here that Pliny the Elder (the author of the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia) was the praefect in charge of the naval fleet at the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
The volcano released a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock, pumice, and hot ash at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second. The resulting pyroclastic surges and heavy ashfall enveloped Pompeii and Herculanium, with large parts of Stabiae buried in thick tephra and ash.
Pliny organised and led a rescue mission across the bay, yet tragically succumbed to asphyxiation resulting from the noxious gases emitted by the volcano.
Recent excavations at Miseno have uncovered a villa complex dated to the 1st century AD during the period of the eruption, which according to the archaeologists may have been the residence of Pliny the Elder, however, at this time this is merely conjecture.
The villa consists of 10 large rooms dated to different periods of construction, and has opus reticulatum walls – a form of Roman brickwork consisting of diamond-shaped bricks of tuff referred to as cubilia.
The complex extends from the shore without interruption to the beach, with parts now becoming partially submerged likely due to local volcanic bradyseismic activity that has raised or lowered the geology on the peninsula.
Header Image Credit : Soprintendenza Archeologia
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from Cambodia’s national heritage authority (APSARA) have discovered the long-lost missing head of a Deva statue from the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom.
The Victory Gate is one of five gates to the city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire.
Angkor Thom was founded in present-day Cambodia during the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, the first king of the empire devoted to Buddhism.
His reign is considered a golden period in Khmer rule, introducing a welfare state for the Khmer people and a program of construction projects that included both public works and monuments.
Image Credit : APSARA
The Ayutthaya Kingdom sacked Angkor Thom, prompting the Khmers to relocate their capital southeast to Phnom Penh. The city continued to decline throughout the 16th century and was largely abandoned by the early 17th century.
According to the archaeologists, the head belongs to the 23rd Deva statue, one of 54 other deva statues who watched over visitors passing through the city gate.
Access to the gate was provided by a causeway crossing over a moat, flanked on both sides by 54 devas and 54 asuras (demons), symbolising the Hindu myth of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.
According to a press statement by APSARA, the deva head is made from sandstone and has been found relatively intact, however, the head is missing the nose and upper lip.
A representative from APSARA said: “The discovery of the Deva statue head adds to the rich archaeological heritage of Angkor Thom and provides valuable insights into the history and craftsmanship of the ancient Khmer civilisation.”
Header Image Credit : APSARA
Sources : APSARA
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the crash site of a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress in an English woodland.
The B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
The bomber was mainly used in the European theatre for daylight strategic bombing, complimenting the RAF Bomber Command’s night bombers in attacking German industrial, military and civilian targets.
Cotswold Archaeology have been tasked by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency to search the crash site for the remains of the pilot, who died when the B-17 crashed following a system failure in 1944.
Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
At the time, the plane was carrying a payload of 12,000lbs of Torpex, an explosive comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT, and 18% powdered aluminium. Torpex was mainly used for the Upkeep, Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, as well as underwater munitions.
The pilot was declared MIA when the plane exploded into an inferno, however, using modern archaeological techniques, the researchers plan to systematically excavate and sieve the waterlogged crash site to recover plane ID numbers, personal effects, and any surviving human remains.
It is the hope of the excavation team members that they will be able to recover the pilot’s remains and return him to the United States for burial with full military honours.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Sources : Cotswold Archaeology
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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