Archaeology
Archaeologists find cemetery and cultural objects from the Warring States period
Archaeologists from the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Xiangyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, have uncovered a large cemetery from the Warring States period in Xiangyang, China.
The Warring States period (475–221 BC) was an era defined by numerous conflicts between several feuding Chinese kingdoms and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest.
Excavations of the Baizhuang Cemetery, located near the village of Dengcheng, have revealed a large number of earthen pit tombs and cultural relics.
Archaeologists have so far uncovered 176 tombs, with 174 dating from the Warring Sates period, and two from the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 9 and AD 25-220).
Speaking to HeritageDaily, a member of the excavation team explained that most of the tombs are modest in size, while 9 are medium-sized tombs with sloping tomb passages (designated M1 to M9).
Within M3 and M4, excavations have found the blue-grey decay marks of the coffins and funerary objects, which include bronze tripods, pots, and boats, as well as bronze swords, spoons, and horse bits. In the vicinity are also several horse burials with chariots found in situ.
Image Credit : Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
A press statement states that the cemetery has yielded over 500 cultural relics, among them, sets of pottery, imitation copper pottery ritual vessels, everyday items such as plates, bowls, and combs, as well as several jade rings.
Archaeologists from the project said: “This excavation provides a source of new materials for the study of funerary customs in the Xiangyang area during the middle and late Warring States Period, and also provides important physical data for the study of Chu culture.”
Header Image Credit : Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Sources : Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
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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