Archaeology
Tomb from the Ichma Culture found in Peru
Archaeologists have uncovered a tomb from the Ichma Culture during excavations in Ancón, a district of northern Lima Province, Peru.
The Ichma were a pre-Inca indigenous polity located south of Lima in the Lurín River valley and the Rímac River valley. The culture emerged around AD 1100 and lasted until around AD 1469 when they were absorbed into the Inca Empire.
Is believed that the Ichma were an Aymara-speaking people that came to inhabit the coastal areas near Lima following the collapse of the Wari empire. Around this time, several small kingdoms and confederations were created, which were dominated in the region by the Chancay Culture to the north of Lima, and the Ichma culture to the south.
The Ichma were centred on their capital of Pachacamac (formerly known as Ishma before the Inca conquest), where they constructed at least 16 pyramids and worshiped Pacha Kamaq, the creator god.
Image Credit : Cálidda
Archaeologists were notified of the tomb following works by the Cálidda company for a new pipeline. This revealed a 500-year-old burial from the late Ichma period, whose remains were deposited in a pit and wrapped in natural fibre blankets secured using ropes tied in geometric patterns.
Alongside the burial are various funerary offerings, including ceramics and containers for mate – dried leaves of the yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) that many cultures of the Americas use to create a caffeine-rich infused herbal drink by soaking the leaves in hot water.
Luciana Caravedo, a spokesperson from Cálidda, said: “Cálidda has a team of archaeologists who supervise all Gas Natural installation works to guarantee the protection of the city’s archaeological heritage. We work hand in hand with the Ministry of Culture to rescue and preserve the findings.”
Header Image Credit : Cálidda
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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