Archaeology
Medical equipment found in Roman burial
Archaeologists excavating in the Jászság region of Hungary have found a collection of medical equipment in the burial of a Roman doctor.
Excavations were conducted by the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the Jász Museum, and the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), following a preliminary magnetometer field survey that indicated archaeological features beneath the ground surface.
A magnetometer is a device that records spatial variation in the Earth’s magnetic field to detect and map magnetic anomalies, artefacts, and features.
The survey led to the discovery of a cemetery from the Avar period and several metal tools deposited in a shallow grave from the 1st century AD based on a radiocarbon analysis. This places the burial during a transitional period when parts of present-day Hungary were incorporated into the Roman province of Pannonia.
A closer examination of the tools revealed that they were of Roman origin and were placed in the burial of a Roman doctor in two wooden boxes. The tools were used for medical interventions, which includes forceps, needles and tweezers, and decorated scalpels made from copper alloy equipped with replaceable blades.
Evidence of drug residues were also identified in the burial, which were found alongside a grinding stone likely used for mixing herbs to make medicines.
A study of the skeleton has determined that he was a man aged between 50 to 60-years old, although the cause of death is unknown as the remains show no sign of trauma or illness. The team plans to conduct an isotopic analysis of the skeleton to determine whether he was of local origin.
According to the researchers: “Only one example of a similar medical kit has been discovered from the same period which was found in Pompeii”.
Header Image Credit : Magyar Múzeumok
Archaeologists from the University of Warwick are conducting an underwater study to document the submerged Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff before it vanishes due to erosion.
Bouldnor Cliff is situated in the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the southern coast of England. The site was first discovered in 1999 when divers observed a lobster discarding worked flint tools from its burrow on the seabed.
At a time when Britain was cut off from mainland Europe by rising sea levels, the area of the Solent was a river valley inhabited by an advanced Mesolithic community who developed a boat building technology 2,000 years ahead of their time.
The study aims to find new data on the nature of the late Ice Age environment during the development of the Mesolithic era, and the extent of the interaction between the inhabitants of Bouldnor Cliff and Europe, including the exchange of materials.
Professor Robin Allaby, who is leading the expedition, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to understand the lost world in which the Mesolithic developed using the latest techniques before our chance is gone.”
The study will involve a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental analysis, in addition to state-of-the-art techniques such as optical simulated luminescence for constructing ecological profiles. Furthermore, archaeologists intend to recover archaeological artefacts and environmental markers to reconstruct the past environment.
Dr Kinnaird adds: “This is an exciting research project to showcase the new innovations in luminescence dating, which can tell when an object was last exposed to the Sun. The relevance of this technique in writing the narratives for 4000 years of history, at the time that the British coastline was rapidly changing, is huge!”
According to the researchers, these discoveries carry the potential to significantly transform our comprehension of the era when Britain emerged as an island.
Header Image Credit : University of Warwick
Sources : University of Warwick
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A study of the “Excalibur” sword found in Valencia has been revealed to have Islamic origins sometime during the 10th century AD.
Valencia is one of the oldest cities in Spain, founded under the name of Valentia Edetanorum by the Romans in 138 BC.
The city was conquered by the Moors in the 8th century AD, and was destroyed by Abd al-Rahman I of the Umayyad dynasty. Under Caliphate rule, the wider city area became known as Madînat al-Turâb (meaning “city of earth” or “sand”).
The sword was discovered back in 1994 in a house on Valencia’s Historiador Chabàs Street, where it was found standing upright in a grave beneath an Islamic era house.
Dubbed “Excalibur” due to the circumstances of its discovery, the sword is made from iron and has a hilt decorated with bronze plates. In mythology, Excalibur was the legendary sword of King Arthur and appears in various medieval poems describing Arthur pulling the sword from a stone.
However, the “Excalibur” from Valencia was found in a sedimentary strata from the 10th century AD and was likely the weapon of a cavalryman from the Andalusian Caliphate Era.
According to the archaeologists, the sword measures 46 centimetres in length and has a slightly curved blade towards the tip. Swords from this period are rarely found well-preserved due to the levels of oxygen and water in the soil that causes oxidation of the iron.
“It is the first Islamic sword that appears in the city of Valencia, with only one similar example being found during the excavations of Medina Azahara, the caliphal city of Abd al-Rahman III, in Córdoba,” said the Valencia City Council.
Header Image Credit : The Archaeology Service (SIAM) of the Valencia City Council
Sources : Valencia City Council
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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