Archaeology
3,800-year-old textile dyed using insects found in desert cave
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Bar-Ilan University, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have discovered the earliest known example in Israel of red-dyed textiles made using insects.
The textile fragment was found in a cave in the Judean Desert, which was dyed using Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) insects, known from biblical text as the “Tola‛at Hashani” (scarlet worm).
Scale insects can be used to make red kermes dyes in crimson and scarlet, which are derived from the dried bodies of the females.
Since antiquity, the Ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Indians, Greeks, Romans, and Iranians, have been known to use the insects to produce red dye, however, the discovery in the Judean Desert is the earliest known example in Israel as described in the Hebrew Bible.
The Bible describes the “scarlet worm” 25 times, often alongside blue (Tekhelet) and purple (Argaman), in the context of luxurious clothing, in the use of Tabernacle textiles, and in other cultic contexts.
The textile, dated to the Middle Bronze Age (1767-1954 BC), is less than 2 cm in size, and was discovered in the “Cave of Skulls” during excavations as part of project to save archaeological remains from looting.
A closer analysis found that the woolen weft threads were dyed using Kermes vermilio scale insects, which lives on the kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera), a species not indigenous to Israel.
“The important find bridges the gap between written sources and the archaeological discoveries, providing evidence that the ancient textile dyeing industry was — already at this stage, sufficiently established for dyeing using animals,” said Dr. Sukenik from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“The rare textile is a testament to broad international commercial networks functioning already at this time and indicates the presence of an elite society,” added Dr Sukenik.
Header Image Credit : IAA
Sources : IAA
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeology
Ornate grave goods found in Murom burial ground
Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been excavating a burial ground associated with the Finnic Muromians.
The Finnic Muromians were groups of settlers that lived within the vicinity of the Volga and Oka rivers. They spoke Muromian, an Uralic language that became extinct following their assimilation by the Slavs.
The burial ground, which dates from the early 10th century AD, was discovered on the eastern bank of the Oka river, located in the Nizhny Novgorod Region of Russia.
A total of seventeen burial pits have been identified, nine of which have been severely damaged through looting.
The surviving 8 burials contain the remains of four children, two women, and two men.
The men were accompanied with an ornate collection of grave goods, including arrowheads, knives, bronze bracelets, iron plates, a bronze buckle, and a whetstone.
At the bottom of one of the pits is a heavily corroded axe, along with a flint that has traces of iron-coated embossed leather and textile threads.
The burials containing women were also accompanied with high status funerary goods, such as a necklace of red-brown prismatic and dark blue berry-shaped beads of Byzantine origin, signet ring-shaped pendants, plate bracelets, a bronze spiral, and a silver ring.
Traces of wood within the pit fillings suggest that they originally contained a wooden structure, similar to a log house made of thin beams and covered with birch bark.
According to the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “The culmination of the discoveries at the site were two clay vessels, testifying to direct and close contacts between the right-bank Muromians and the Old Russian population.”
Header Image Credit : Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Sources : Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeology
Ghastly finds at gallows execution site
![](https://conspirazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/gast2-S78Iej.jpeg)
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt are currently excavating the site of a former gallows in Quedlinburg, Germany.
Gallows are usually wooden structures made of two vertical posts, a horizontal crossbeam, and a hanging noose. They have been used for executing criminals by hanging, a prevalent form of capital punishment in Europe since the Middle Ages.
Archaeologists are currently excavating a gallows site on Galgenberg, or ‘Gallows Hill,’ which was used for public executions by the courts in Quedlinburg from 1662 to 1809.
Excavations have revealed complete and partial burials in the area, along with bone pits containing multiple bundled burials, likely the result of mass executions carried out in a short period.
Image Credit : LDA
According to the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt, “these discoveries provide unique insights into penal practices from the Middle Ages and early modern times.”
A burial unrelated to the gallows has also been unearthed, featuring a wooden coffin containing the skeletal remains of an individual buried with a rosary chain.
Archaeologists propose that the burial’s characteristics suggest that the individual was likely a suicide victim, denied burial in consecrated ground so was placed in the cemetery near the gallows.
Also discovered is a so-called ‘revenant grave’, where the skeletal remains of a man was found placed on his back with several large stones placed across his chest.
According to the researchers, the stones were likely placed to prevent the individual from rising as a revenant, which are described as animated corpses in 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.
Header Image Credit : LDA
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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