Archaeology
Ritual hoard found in Ukraine’s Verteba Cave
Archaeologists from the Borschivskyy Local History Museum have uncovered a ritual hoard in Verteba Cave in the Ternopil province, Ukraine.
The cave contains up to 8km’s of passageways which was used as a Sanctuary by the Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture.
The Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture emerged during the Neolithic–Chalcolithic (5500 to 2750 BC) in Eastern Europe, extending from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions, centred on modern-day Moldova, and covering substantial parts of western Ukraine and northeastern Romania.
A mysterious characteristic of the culture was the regular dismantling or burning of settlements, where each individual dwelling site had a lifespan of approximately 60 to 80 years.
Scholars debate the reason behind the burning of these settlements. Some settlements were reconstructed multiple times on pre-existing habitational levels, maintaining the form and direction of the prior structures.
Some of the settlements, such as Talianki, grew to be as large as the city-states of Sumer in the Fertile Crescent, and these Eastern European settlements predate the Sumerian cities by more than half of a millennium.
Little is known as the religious practices of the Cucuteni-Trypillia Culture, and examples of ceramics discovered are very rare. However, archaeologists excavating in Verteba Cave have uncovered a gigantic clay storage jar containing a white organic material (yet to be analysed).
Near the jar the team noticed a small niche in the cave wall, which upon a closer examination led to the discovery of a ritual hoard consisting of five female “goddess” clay figurines.
Many figurines have been found across Cucuteni-Trypillia sites, but the term “goddess” may not be entirely appropriate for every female anthropomorphic clay figurine. The archaeological evidence indicates that distinct figurines served various functions (such as protection) and therefore not all of them embody a goddess.
The researchers also found jewellery and tools (for pottery production) made of boar teeth, which is relatively unique as the culture’s rituals are normally focused more on domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, goats and dogs. When wild animals were represented, they are usually bears or deer.
Header Image Credit : Mykhailo Sokhatskyi
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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