Archaeology
Archaeologists explore submerged structures off the Le Cesine coastline
A new research project led by the University of Salento is conducting an underwater and surface study of the Le Cesine coastline to explore submerged structures first identified in 2020.
Le Cesine is a 6 km nature reserve located in Italy between San Cataldo and San Foca. Previous studies using drones, ROVs, and a photogrammetric survey, revealed evidence of a submerged port and structures in the locality of Posto San Giovanni.
Archaeologists discovered the foundation of a pier measuring approximately 90 metres in length, situated 15 metres from the shoreline that followed an ancient bank at a depth of 3.5 metres.
The pier was built with large juxtaposed blocks, and possible bollards made from parallelepiped blocks with a cylinder-shaped side placed at rather regular intervals, but has since collapsed due to the disruptive force of wave motion.
Image Credit : University of Salento
According to the researchers: “This structure is similar to the submerged part of the large Hadrianic pier north of the wide bay of San Cataldo, to which it is also similar due to its impressive development and building technique, but it could also be older than that.”
On the same alignment further away from the shore are another cluster of blocks arranged in parallel and perpendicular lines.
The current project is conducting a detailed study to determine whether the two structures are associated, and further study a so-called “submerged church” which may actually be the remains of a lighthouse tower.
On the shoreline are also structures that the researchers are documenting, including a series of rock-cut storage pits, and further evidence of a building that preliminary dating suggests may be from the Roman Republican era.
In a press release published by the University of Salento: “The set of evidence at sea and on land, with the holistic approach of landscape archaeology, suggests precisely the existence of an important port complex.”
Header Image Credit : University of Salento
A groundbreaking study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, has revealed why the largest concentration of pyramids in Egypt were built along a narrow desert strip.
Since the beginning of the Pharaonic era, the Nile River has played a fundamental role in the rapid growth and expansion of the Egyptian civilisation.
The Nile provided sustenance and functioned as the primary mode of transportation for goods and building materials, which explains why most of the main cities of the Egyptian civilisation were built in close proximity to the banks of the Nile and its peripheral branches.
Over the centuries, the primary channel of the Nile shifted laterally, causing these peripheral branches to silt up. As a result, population centres were cut off from the vital resources the river provided.
Image Credit : Eman Ghoneim et al
This is apparent with the pyramids along the Western Desert Plateau, where a majority of the pyramids are concentrated along a narrow desert strip several kilometres from the current primary channel of the Nile.
Using a combination of radar satellite imagery, geophysical data, and deep soil coring, the study has investigated the subsurface structure and sedimentology in the Nile Valley adjacent to the pyramid clusters.
This has revealed an extinct branch of the primary channel called the Ahramat Branch, which was connected to the pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdoms via causeways and their Valley Temples.
According to the study authors: “The Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments’ construction and was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids’ sites.”
The eastward migration and abandonment of the Ahramat Branch could be attributed to gradual movement of the river to the lower-lying adjacent floodplain or tilting of the Nile floodplain toward the northeast as a result of tectonic activity, as well as windblown sand incursion due to the branch’s proximity to the Western Desert Plateau.
Header Image Credit : Eman Ghoneim et al
Sources : Ghoneim, E., Ralph, T.J., Onstine, S. et al. The Egyptian pyramid chain was built along the now abandoned Ahramat Nile Branch. Commun Earth Environ 5, 233 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01379-7
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the National Institute of Cultural Heritage have uncovered a Roman villa with an indoor plunge pool during excavations at the port city of Durrës, Albania.
During antiquity, Durrës was founded by Ancient Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra.
The colony emerged into a major trading centre, which during the Roman period was annexed into the expanding territory of the Roman Republic following the conclusion of the Illyrian Wars.
By the 4th century, the city (named Dyrrachium), emerged as the capital of the Roman province of Epirus nova, covering the region of Ancient Epirus.
Image Credit : IKTK
Archaeologists excavating a former residential part of the ancient city have uncovered a high status Roman villa that dates from between the 1st and 4th century AD.
The villa interior contains an indoor pool, richly decorated with frescoes on the walls and mosaic flooring with tiles and inlays of marble, stone, glass and ceramics. Located adjacent to the pool are shallow square basins lined with waterproof mortar, believed to be the remains of an ancient water feature.
Within the northern area of the excavation site, archaeologists found a large brick floor from a thermae, a Roman bath, and further traces of walls from the wider complex.
In the western area, the team discovered fragments of relief stucco that was used to decorate the walls and ceilings of the villa. The reliefs depict anthropomorphic and floral motifs, further indicating the wealth of the villa inhabitants.
According to the archaeologists, the villa was destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th century, corresponding with ancient sources that describe a powerful earthquake causing buildings to collapse and the city defences to crumble.
Header Image Credit : IKTK
Sources : National Institute of Cultural Heritage
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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