Archaeology
Rare depiction of Romulus and Remus found in Vilanova d’Alcolea
The Department of Culture of the Generalitat Valenciana has announced the discovery of a rare silver brooch depicting Romulus and Remus.
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, whose narrative recounts the founding myth of Rome and the Roman Kingdom.
The twins were born in Alba Longa to their mother, Rhea Silvia, the daughter of their deposed grandfather, the former King Numitor. Seeing the infants as a threat, King Amulius (Numitor’s brother), ordered the twins to be abandoned on the bank of the river Tiber and left to die.
The story varies depending on the source, but the most prominent tale tells of the twins being rescued by a she-wolf, who suckled them in a cave known as the Lupercal (located at the southwest foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome). Upon learning of their past, they kill Amulius and reinstate Numitor as king of Alba.
Following an argument between the two twins, Romulus commits fratricide against Remus and founds the city of Rome.
The silver brooch shows a depiction of the she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy, which has become the primary symbol of the city of Rome since the 3rd century BC.
Archaeologist, Josep Carbó, said: “It is an exceptional piece due to its rarity and quality, since there are very few pieces of this type that have been studied.”
Measuring 4 cm’s in size, the brooch dates from the 2nd century AD and was found during excavations of an ancient public building used for postal services during the Roman period.
Header Image Credit : The Department of Culture of the Generalitat Valenciana
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeology
Archaeologists explore submerged Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff
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
Archaeology
Origins of “Excalibur” sword identified by archaeologists
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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