Archaeology
Archaeologists discover Ancient Egyptian tombs and mummification workshops
In a press conference by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, has announced the discovery of mummification workshops and decorated tombs at Saqqara in the Giza Governorate, Egypt.
Saqqara served as the necropolis for Ancient Egyptian royalty and their extended family during the Old Kingdom period. During the New Kingdom from the 18th Dynasty onward, the necropolis was used by many high-status officials from Memphis.
The mummification workshops have been described as “the largest and most complete”, for which the team found one that was used for embalming people, and the other for animals. Both workshops date from the end of the XXX dynasty (between 380 BC–343 BC) and the beginning of the Ptolemaic era.
The Ancient Egyptians saw the preservation of the body after death as an important step to immortality and living well in the afterlife. Within the Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul, the “ka”, which represented vitality, leaves the body once the person dies. Only if the body is embalmed in a specific fashion will the “ka” return to the deceased body, and rebirth will take place.
Image Credit : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
To attain eternal life and gain an audience with Osiris, the deceased was mummified in different fashions (depending on cost) to preserve the body. This allowed the soul to reunite with its physical form and find joy in the realm beyond.
The embalming workshop for people is a rectangular building constructed using mudbricks, consisting of several chambers containing beds that measure 2 metres long, by one metre in width. Archaeologists also found a number of ceramics, tools, ritual vessels, and a large amount of linen and black resin used during the embalming process.
The workshop for embalming animals is also a rectangular mud brick construction, which is divided into several chambers and halls with a central entrance lined with a limestone floor. Excavations found numerous ceramic vessels and animal remains, in addition to specialised tools for animal embalming.
Professor Sabri Farag, Director General of the Saqqara Antiquities Area, also announced in the press conference the discovery of two tombs. The first belonged to an official from the 5th Dynasty (around 2400 BC) who was called “Ni-Hesbast-Pa”, who held important religious and administrative titles such as Grand Overseer of the South and Priest of the gods, Horus and Maat.
The second tomb belonged to a person from the 18th Dynasty (around 1400 BC) who was called “Menjebu”. This individual held the title of Priest of the goddess Qadesh, a foreign deity of Canaanite origin from the Syrian region who was worshiped in the city of Qadesh.
Among the artefacts found during excavations are a group of stone statues of a person named “Ni Su Hanu” and his wife, as well as wooden and stone statues portraying an individual named “Shepseskaf”. Also uncovered are Osiris statuettes, fragments of clay seals, parts of a shroud, a human-shaped polychrome wooden coffin from the end of the New Kingdom, and various ceramics, some of which contain ancient Egyptian cheese (goat cheese) from 600 BC.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Header Image Credit : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
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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