Archaeology
Underwater survey reveals new discoveries in sunken town of Baia
Underwater archaeologists have been conducting ongoing research at the sunken Roman town of Baia, revealing new discoveries in the Terme del Lacus area.
Baiae is an archaeological park consisting of a partially sunken town from the Roman period, located on the shore of the Gulf of Naples in the present-day comune of Bacoli in Italy.
Baiae developed into a popular Roman resort which was visited frequently by many notable Roman figures, such as Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (also known as Pompey the Great), Julius Caesar, Gaius Marius, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, Hadrian, and Septimius Severus.
The town would never attain a municipal status, but instead gained a reputation for a hedonistic lifestyle. This is supported by an account by Sextus Propertius, a poet of the Augustan age during the 1st century BC, who wrote that Baiae was a “vortex of luxury” and a “harbour of vice”.
Image Credit : NAUMACOS
Due to the position of the town on the Cumaean Peninsula in the Phlegraean Fields, an active and volatile volcanic region (which the Romans believed was the home of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan), local volcanic bradyseismic activity raised and lowered the geology on the peninsula that resulted in the lower parts of the town being submerged.
Underwater archaeologists from the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park and Naumacos, have been conducting a survey of the Terme del Lacus area, revealing a block of structures covering 60 metres in length. The team also found stone colonnades, marble columns, and a portasanta marble column, which was imported during antiquity from the island of Chios in Greece.
A large piece of marble opus sectile flooring has also been identified, still rendered with portasanta and white marble in a chromatic alternating pattern. This currently appears as the most indicative dating element, being the typology and implementation referable to the Late Antiquity age.
Previous surveys of the area in 2013 uncovered an ornate statue representing Apollo, the Greek/Roman god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more.
Header Image Credit : NAUMACOS
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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