Archaeology
Medieval artefacts found in Poland from possible knights court
Archaeologists have found a collection of Medieval artefacts dated from the 11th and 12th century AD in Daromin, a village in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland.
Excavations were carried out by the Nadwiślańska Grupa Poszukiwawcza “Szansa” Association, in which archaeologists found a clasp and two denarii from the Roman period, and a rich collection of artefacts from the early Middle Ages.
Dr Marek Florek, from the Institute of Archaeology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, said: “Apart from fragments of pottery, there are: coins, including a denarii of Bolesław the Bold, silver, lead and copper alloy ornaments, lead and bronze crosses, everyday objects such as knives and flintlocks, lead and iron weights coated with bronze, militaria and elements of equestrian gear”.
Several of the items, such as the crosses, rings made of copper wire, silver ornaments and an appliqué depicting a rider, were imported from the historic region of Carpathian Rutheni or the Baltic.
Excavations also uncovered a small bronze representation of a horse and a lead mace, likely decorative symbols of military power. The bronze horse is of the Lutomiersk type which were worn by the knightly elites of the early Piast state.
Dr. Florek suggests that the finds, especially those of an elite nature, indicate that a knight’s court could have been located in the vicinity of Daromin in the 11th-12th century AD.
This interpretation is supported by the discovery of barrel-shaped and polyhedral bronze-coated iron weights.
“From the accounts of Ibrahim ibn Jakub, a Jewish merchant from Spain, who reached the Polish lands in the 1060s, we know that Mieszko I was supposed to collect taxes in the form of weights and used them to pay salaries of his men. Therefore, if there was a knight’s court in Daromin in the 11th-12th centuries, their presence, as well as elements of armament and elite items, should not be surprising,” added Florek.
The artefacts are currently being stored in the Sandomierz branch of the Provincial Monument Protection Office in Kielce for further study, after which they will be transferred to the Castle Museum in Sandomierz for display.
Header Image Credit : Dr Marek Florek
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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