Archaeology
Mystery of Bronze Age shipwreck solved
A shipwreck is generally defined as a sunken or damaged ship, however, sometimes the term can also be applied to the sunken remains of a ship’s cargo.
This is the case of a shipwreck found off the coast of Turkey, for which underwater surveys conducted by the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń have yet to locate any structural remains, fragments of wood, or even the anchors.
All that survives are coppers bars on the seabed, that were being transported on a ship leaving the Bay of Antalya into the open sea during the Bronze Age.
According to the researchers, the vessel was likely pushed against rocks and sank quickly. Due to the heavy cargo and intake of water, the vessel slid down a submerged slope that caused the cargo of copper bars to be emptied along the slide path at different positions on the slope.
Some of the bars are found at a depth of 35 metres, while others are located at 50 metres. However, the dive team suggest that more of the ship’s cargo is likely found at far greater depths.
Image Credit : Mateusz Popek
30 bars have been discovered to date (which were being transported for the production of bronze), along with fragments of bronze vessels.
The lack of physical evidence of the actual vessel is explained in a press announcement: “In the Mediterranean, any wooden part of a ship that is not covered by bottom sediments or cargo is eaten by the ship borer (Teredo navalis). It can be compared to a large bark beetle that eats wood very quickly. It occurs in waters that are salty and warm enough for it.”
Furthermore, the vessel is likely the oldest known example found transporting copper bars, which preliminary dating suggests to around 1500 BC.
Header Image Credit : Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń – Mateusz Popek
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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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