Archaeology
Mesoamerican “Underworld” was swallowed by seismic landslide
The Mesoamerican site of Mitla was swallowed by a seismic landslide event, according to a new study by the Lyobaa Project.
Mitla, known as Mictlán in Nahuatl, means the “place of the dead” or “Underworld”. Mitla was established in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley to serve as a burial complex for elites during the Classic Period (AD 100-650).
The site emerged as the primary religious centre of the Zapotec people, however, by around AD 1000, Mitla and the surrounding region was conquered by the Mixtec. As a result, the architectural elements of Mitla’s buildings reflect a blend of influences from both Mesoamerican cultures.
A recent geological study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the ARX Project Association, has uncovered evidence to suggest that Mitla was engulfed by a massive seismic landslide in the 15th century AD.
In a collaboration with INAH archaeologists, a geophysical study using ground penetrating radar was conducted within the Arroyo and the Adobe cluster group of structures. In parallel, researchers used seismic records of natural subsoil vibrations to obtain the resonance frequency and the underground velocity structure.
A researcher from the project told HeritageDaily “These parameters allow us to understand and predict the seismic amplification that can occur during an event of this type, and to establish, for safety and risk purposes, to which buildings are subject. It should be noted that San Pablo Villa de Mitla is located in the foothills of the Sierra Norte, in the far east of the Tlacolula Valley, a seismically active region.”
The analysis discovered that the subsoil in the Mitla area contains irregular layers composed of deposits and materials transported by a massive landslide event.
This confirms research by geologist Víctor Hugo Garduño Monroy, who suggested that the settlement area of Mitla was buried under a large deposit of rock avalanches sometime during the Postclassic period (AD 900-1520).
The study believes that a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake likely caused the landslide, which is consistent with a reference in the Telleriano-Remensis Codex that recounts the ground violently shaking in AD 1495 in the Oaxaca Valley area.
The event must have been decisive in the decline and partial abandonment of Mitla prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
Header Image Credit : Mitla – Aleksandar Todorovic
Sources : INAH
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have rediscovered the Mallerbach Chapel at the site of the Kaltenborn monastery.
Between 1524 to 1525, a large number of peasants, urban lower classes, and lesser nobles living in the German-speaking areas in Central Europe rebelled against a combination of economic, social, and religious factors. These include:
Economic hardship and inequality: Peasants faced heavy burdens from taxes, dues, and rents imposed by landlords, the church, and secular rulers.
Feudal oppression: Many peasants grew increasingly resentful of the limitations placed on their freedoms by feudal lords, including restrictions on hunting, fishing, and access to communal lands.
Religious influence: The Reformation inspired many peasants who saw in it a call for social and economic reform against a corrupt church.
Legal grievances: Peasants sought greater control over local governance and justice. They were frustrated by the arbitrary decisions made by their lords and demanded more influence over the laws and rules that governed their daily lives.
Image Credit : LDA
Following the outbreak of the Peasants’ War, insurgents from the nearby villages of Riestedt and Emseloh plundered the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt in the German district of Mansfeld-Südharz, leading to the monastery’s decline and eventual dissolution in 1538.
According to a press statement by the LDA: “It’s destruction – an act of rebellion against the Cistercian convent of Naundorf, which was in charge of the Chapel of St. Mary and to which the Allstedt residents were subject to taxes – can be seen as the first flare-up and harbinger of the coming uprising of the ‘common man’ against the authorities.”
Recent excavations at the monastery site have located the 12th/13th century Mallerbach chapel, a sacred place of worship for pilgrims who came to witness a weeping image of the Virgin Mary.
Archaeologists have uncovered the original floor plan of the chapel, which measures around 17 metres in length with a rectangular choir and semicircular apse. Excavations have also found the altar foundations, as well as traces of burning from the time of the German Peasants’ War.
Header Image Credit : LDA
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists have excavated the remains of Fregellae, an ancient city in central Italy that revolted against the Roman Republic.
Fregellae was founded during the 4th century BC near the present-day commune of Arce in the province of Frosinone. Due to the strategic location of the city, the Romans established a colony in 328 BC as a bulwark against Samnite incursions.
In 125 BC, the inhabitants of Fregellae revolted against Rome, demanding equal standing as Roman citizens. In response, Rome dispatched a force led by praetor Lucius Opimius, who swiftly suppressed the uprising and razed the city to the ground.
Archaeologists from the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) and the University of Trier have excavated the remains of an agricultural villa which belonged to the local elite within the extent of Fregellae.
Image Credit : Dominik Maschek
Based on archaeological evidence, the villa was constructed around AD 45 and produced wine, fruit and grain in a dedicated production complex.
Prof Dr Dominik Maschek, project manager at LEIZA, said: “The wine was probably not only produced for the local market. It is quite possible that it was traded within Mediterranean exchange networks as far as Spain and France. The cultivation of grain and fruit, on the other hand, was certainly intended for the local market.”
Excavations also revealed traces of the encampment used by the Roman forces that destroyed the city. The camp covered an area of 90 x 143 metres and was surrounded by a defensive rampart and ditch.
Archaeologists suggest that the destruction of Fregellae dealt a severe blow to the region’s economy, leaving the area uninhabited for more than 170 years until the site was reused as a rubbish dump in AD 50.
Header Image Credit : Dominik Maschek
Sources : Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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