Archaeology
Brass trumpets among cargo of 16th century shipwreck
![](https://conspirazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/brass2-4KfMe0.jpeg)
Underwater archaeologists from the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar have discovered a cargo of brass trumpets at the wreck site of a 16th-century ship.
The ship sank off the southern coast of Istria near Cape Kamenjak, Croatia. It was transporting a valuable cargo of ceramic vessels, along with colourful glass beads and bowls made from red glass.
Recent excavations have also discovered that the cargo contains brass trumpets, an exceptionally rare find for this period.
Luka Bekić of Croatia’s International Centre for Underwater Archaeology, said: “The trumpets were being transported in pieces.” Based on an analysis of the components, the researcher suggests that the cargo consisted of ten trumpets.
“There are less than ten trumpets from the 16th century in well-known museums across the entire world,” added Bekić, further emphasising the importance of the discovery.
Image Credit : International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar
Inscriptions on the trumpets indicate that they originated from Strasbourg, France, and Leiden, with the best-preserved example having the inscription LVGDVNY BATAVORVM, which corresponds to the Latin name for Leiden.
According to the researchers, the ship was likely of Dutch origin and engaged in trade between Leiden, Venice, and Istanbul.
Excavations also found traces of the ship’s wooden structure, in addition to fragments of wooden pulleys and ropes.
On the seabed, three cannons have also been identified, which will remain in situ while the team plan the best method to safely raise and conserve.
The wreck site is being recorded using photogrammetry to create a 3D digital model. Roko Surić, said: “Today, we can create a photogrammetric model using digital methods, which shortens diving time and allows for precise documentation of the site segment we are investigating, ultimately giving us a complete picture of the site.”
Header Image Credit : International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar
Sources : International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar
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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