Archaeology
Ancient Egyptian carvings found submerged in Lake Nasser
A joint French/Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered a collection of Ancient Egyptian carvings beneath the waters of Lake Nasser, Egypt.
Lake Nasser is a reservoir in southern Egypt, created through the construction of the Aswan High Dam between 1960-1970.
The lake covers an area of 5,250 km2, which at the time of its creation, threatened to submerge many Ancient Egyptian sites and monuments.
An international effort was made to rescue and relocate many of the sites, which culminated in the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, led by UNESCO.
In a recent study, archaeologists from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, working in collaboration with the Paul Valéry University of Montpellier, have discovered a number of submerged paintings, carvings, and miniatures that depict Amenhotep III (reigned 1391–1353 BC), Thutmose IV (reigned 1401–1391 BC), Psamtik II (reigned 595–589 BC), and Apries (reigned 589 BC – 570 BC).
The carvings were discovered in submerged rock formations around the Island of Philae and Knossos Island. These islands, located near the expansive First Cataract, were also submerged with the creation of Lake Nasser.
Prior to the submerging, the Philae temple complex, which was located on the Island of Philae, was rescued and moved to Agilkia Island, between the High Aswan Dam and the Low Aswan Dam.
According to a press statement by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the mission has used modern archaeological techniques to identify and document the carvings, which have been found in a good state of preservation.
Dr. Islam Saleem, said: “The mission is currently creating 3D models of the carvings in preparation for their scientific publication, which contributes to their protection and preservation.”
Header Image Credit : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Sources : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
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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