Archaeology
Bronze Age arrowhead made of meteoritic iron identified by study
A study of archaeological collections from the greater area of Lake Biel in Switzerland has revealed that a Bronze Age arrowhead housed in the Bern History Museum was made from IAB meteoritic iron.
The arrowhead was found during a 19th century excavation of a stilt house settlement at Mörigen in the canton of Bern. The settlement dates from around 900 to 800 BC and was inhabited by people from the Urnfield culture, a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe.
The site was discovered in 1843 after water levels in Lake Biel dropped. This resulted in amateur excavations taking artefacts out of situ which were placed in private collections.
In 1873, the Bernese government took decisive action to protect the site, by prohibiting private excavations and commissioned a research team to conduct a detailed survey led by Edward Jenner and Edmund Fellberg. The archaeologists found a settlement covering 190 by 120 metres, containing evidence of buildings and bridges, and numerous Bronze Age artefacts.
In a study published in the journal Science Directs, researchers using gamma spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence, and a Muon Induced X-ray Emission (MIXE) analysis, have revealed that the arrowhead from the Mörigen settlement was made from IAB meteoritic iron.
The results of the analysis indicate that the arrowhead is partly made of Aluminium-26 (26Al, Al-26), a radioactive isotope only found naturally in extraterrestrial objects. In addition to the typical meteoritic elements Fe, Ni, Co, Ga and Ge (Cr < 52 ppm, average detection limit), they also found relatively high concentrations of As and Cu, not typical of iron meteorites.
By comparing the chemical composition, the team suggest that the arrowhead’s material was sourced from the Kaalijarv meteorite, an impact event that occurred around 1,500 BC in Estonia and produced many small fragments.
The researchers also suggest that the arrowhead could indicate a network of trade in iron meteorites by 800 BC (or earlier) in Central Europe, which may have been traded over the same routes from the Baltic area as amber.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105827
Header Image Credit : Science Directs
Archaeologists excavating at Colonial Williamsburg have discovered a barracks for soldiers of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence.
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum that forms part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia.
Williamsburg was the capital of the Virginia colony from 1699 until 1779, founded by English settlers during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622–1632).
Tensions with England mounted over fundamental civil and economic rights for the colonists, resulting in the American Revolution and the American War of Independence.
Image Credit : Colonial Williamsburg
Archaeologists excavating next to the museum’s visitor’s centre uncovered foundations of a barracks that could accommodate up to 2,000 soldiers from the Continental Army and up to 100 horses.
“We have horseshoes,” said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg executive director of archaeology. “We also have this object here which is a snaffle bit, so it’s part of a horse bit that goes in the mouth to control the horse. And this object here is part of a curry comb for brushing down the horse’s coat.”
Excavations have so far unearthed only a small part of the complex, but experts suggest that it covered roughly three to four acres.
The barracks were known from Eighteenth-century maps and other historical documents, but until now, the exact location of where it existed within the colony interior was unknown.
According to the historical sources, the barracks were built between 1776 and 1777, and were later destroyed by fire in 1781 by soldiers of the British Army under the command of General Cornwallis.
Excavations also uncovered mid-1700 chimney bases, ceramics, gun flint, coins, musket balls, military buckles, and items of decorative jewellery worn by high-ranking officers as cufflinks.
An interesting discovery are examples of lead shot with indications of tooth-marks, suggesting that the soldiers chewed on the lead shot because it tasted sweet.
Header Image Credit : Colonial Williamsburg
Sources : Colonial Williamsburg
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeology
Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought
Archaeologists have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
An analysis of the oldest archaeological sites on the island suggests that the first human occupation occurred between 14,257 and 13,182 years ago.
This analysis, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used archaeological data, climate estimates, and demographic modelling.
The demographic modelling indicates that these early groups consisted of hundreds to thousands of people, who arrived in two to three main migration events over a period of only 100 years. Within just a few centuries, 11 generations – the population of Cypris had expanded to up 4,000 to 5000 inhabitants.
According to the study authors, these findings refute previous studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies. “This settlement pattern implies organised planning and the use of advanced watercraft,” says Professor Bradshaw.
The climate estimates suggest that these early settlers arrived at a time during an increase in temperature and precipitation, also enabling an increase in environmental productivity that could sustain large hunter-gather populations.
Dr Moutsiou, said: “It has been argued that human dispersal to and settlement of Cyprus and other eastern Mediterranean islands is attributed to demographic pressures on the mainland after abrupt climatic change saw coastal areas inundated by post-glacial sea-level rise, forcing farming populations to move to new areas out of necessity rather than choice.”
Our research, based on more archaeological evidence and advanced modelling techniques, changes that”, adds Dr Moutsiou.
The research – “Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus” by Corey Bradshaw, Christian Reepmeyer, Frédérik Saltré, Athos Agapiou, Vasiliki Kassianidou, Stella Demesticha, Zomenia Zomeni, Miltiadis Polidorou and Theodora Moutsiou – has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Header Image Credit : Michalakis Christoforou
Sources : Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2318293121
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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