Archaeology
Archaeologists uncover 4,200-year-old “zombie grave”
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt have uncovered a “zombie grave” during excavations near Oppin, Germany.
Excavations are in advance of the network expansion of the Südostlink direct current line, where a 93 mile long section through Saxony-Anhalt will be archaeologically examined until 2025.
The burial, which dates from around 4,200-year-ago during the Bronze Age, contains the remains of a man who died between the age of 40 to 60 years old.
A large stone block has been deposited on the man’s lower half, which according to the researchers, was likely placed to prevent the individual from rising as a revenant.
Project Manager, Susanne Friederich, said: “We know that even in the Stone Age, people were afraid of revenants. Back then, people believed that dead people sometimes tried to free themselves from their graves.”
In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse found in various cultures, including Old Irish Celtic and Norse mythology, and the verbal traditions and lore of many European ethnic groups.
In medieval times, those inflicted with the revenant condition were generally suicide victims, witches, corpses possessed by a malevolent spirit, or the victim of a vampiric attack. In Nordic times, they were known as aptrgǫngur (meaning “again-walker(s)”), and were found inhabiting cairns and burial mounds.
The burial has been associated with the Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex, a Bronze Age people that emerged around 2800 BC and dispersed to cover most of Western Europe and some coastal areas in north-western Africa.
The culture is named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel, with the term first introduced by John Abercromby in 1904. Since the Beaker culture left no written records, all speculations about their linguistic roots remain speculative. Some propose it could be an early Indo-European culture, while others suggest it might be linked to the Vasconic substrate.
Header Image Credit : Alamy (Licensed Under Copyright)
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A study of archaeological sites in Winchester, England, has revealed that red squirrels served as a host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people.
Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in human history and is still prevalent to this day in Asia, Africa, and South America.
It has previously been suggested that the extensive trade of red squirrel fur, greatly valued during medieval times, could have contributed to the leprosy epidemic in medieval Europe.
The results of the study, published in the journal Current Biology, studied 25 human and 12 squirrel samples from two medieval sites in Winchester.
During this period, the city had strong connections to the fur trade and housed the leprosarium, a hospital that treated people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria.
Verena Schuenemann of the University of Basel in Switzerland, said: “With our genetic analysis we were able to identify red squirrels as the first ancient animal host of leprosy.”
The study found that the medieval red squirrel strains were more closely related to human strains in Winchester, rather than to modern squirrel strains from England – suggesting an independent circulation of Mycobacterium leprae strains.
“Our findings highlight the importance of involving archaeological material, in particular animal remains, into studying the long-term zoonotic potential of this disease, as only a direct comparison of ancient human and animal strains allows reconstructions of potential transmission events across time,” says Sarah Inskip of the University of Leicester, UK, a co-author on the study.
Header Image Credit : Shutterstock
Sources : Current Biology, Urban, Blom, and Avanzi et al.: “Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genome reveals medieval English red squirrels as animal leprosy host.” https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00446-9
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the Uncovering Roman Carlisle project have discovered a rare lump of Tyrian purple at the grounds of the Carlisle Cricket Club in Carlisle, England.
The project is a community supported excavation by Wardell Armstrong, focusing on uncovering a Roman bath house found in 2017.
The bath house is located near the Roman fort of Uxelodunum (meaning “high fort”), also known as Petriana, in the Carlisle district of Stanwix.
Uxelodunum was constructed to control the territories west of present-day Carlisle and an important crossing on the River Eden. The fort was garrisoned by the Ala Petriana, a 1,000-strong cavalry unit, whose members were all granted Roman citizenship for valour on the field.
Previous excavations at the bath house have discovered colossal sandstone heads depicting Roman gods, in addition to engraved gems known as intaglios, figurines, animal bones, and imperial-stamped tiles.
During the latest season of excavations, archaeologists found a mysterious lump of a soft purple substance. The substance was tested by researchers from Newcastle University, revealing that it contained levels of Bromine and beeswax.
According to the researchers, the substance is Tyrian purple, a coloured dye associated with the Imperial Court in the Roman Empire. Tyrian purple is secreted by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name Murex.
Frank Giecco, Technical Director at Wardell Armstrong, said: “For millennia, Tyrian Purple was the world’s most expensive and sought after colour. It’s presence in Carlisle combined with other evidence from the excavation all strengthens the hypothesis that the building was in some way associated with the Imperial Court of the Emperor Septimius Severus which was located in York and possibly relates to an Imperial visit to Carlisle.”
“It’s the only example we know of in Northern Europe – possibly the only example of a solid sample of the pigment in the form of unused paint pigment anywhere in the Roman Empire. Examples have been found of it in wall paintings (like in Pompeii) and some high status painted coffins from the Roman province of Egypt,” said Giecco.
Header Image Credit : Wardell Armstrong
Sources : Wardell Armstrong
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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