Archaeology
Archaeologists find Hecate figurine at ancient Kelenderis
A team of archaeologists from Batman University have uncovered a figurine depicting Hecate during excavations at ancient Kelenderis.
Kelenderis, also known as Celenderis, was an ancient Greek city, port and fortress, located in the present-day town of Aydıncık in Turkey’s Mersin Province.
Excavations have been ongoing for the past 36 years, in which archaeologists have found the remains of a Roman bathhouse, an odeon (a building used for musical activities such as singing, musical shows, and poetry competitions), churches with a basilica plan and mosaics.
According to legend, the city was founded by Sandocus, the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the sun-god Helios. Archaeological evidence suggests that the site was first inhabited by the Phoenicians, emerging into a major trading centre during the 4th and 5th century BC.
Archaeologists from Batman University have uncovered a figurine depicting Hecate, a three headed goddess from Greek mythology. Hecate is often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods was depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied.
Hecate is associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, protection from witchcraft, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. She was worshiped by the witches of Thessaly and held a crucial sanctuary among the Carian Greeks of Asia Minor in Lagina.
According to a press release by Batman University, the figurine dates from 2,300-years-ago and was found among ceramics from the Hellenistic period.
Dr Mahmut Aydın, said: ““It is a figurine that is about 20 centimetres tall and has three heads. We know that she has a temple in the Lagina Ancient City in Muğla and that Kelenderis is counted among the cities that participate in the competitions held every 5 years for Hecate in an inscription there.”
Header Image Credit : Batman University
Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology are excavating the crash site of a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress in an English woodland.
The B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).
The bomber was mainly used in the European theatre for daylight strategic bombing, complimenting the RAF Bomber Command’s night bombers in attacking German industrial, military and civilian targets.
Cotswold Archaeology have been tasked by the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency to search the crash site for the remains of the pilot, who died when the B-17 crashed following a system failure in 1944.
Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
At the time, the plane was carrying a payload of 12,000lbs of Torpex, an explosive comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT, and 18% powdered aluminium. Torpex was mainly used for the Upkeep, Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, as well as underwater munitions.
The pilot was declared MIA when the plane exploded into an inferno, however, using modern archaeological techniques, the researchers plan to systematically excavate and sieve the waterlogged crash site to recover plane ID numbers, personal effects, and any surviving human remains.
It is the hope of the excavation team members that they will be able to recover the pilot’s remains and return him to the United States for burial with full military honours.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts.
Header Image Credit : Cotswold Archaeology
Sources : Cotswold Archaeology
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists excavating at the ancient Tharsa necropolis have uncovered a Roman Era tomb guarded by two carved bull heads.
Tharsa is located near Kuyulu village in southeastern Turkey along the Adıyaman-Şanlıurfa Highway.
The site was situated on a major Roman highway from Doliche to Samosata, which today consists of a two settlement mounds and a large necropolis that dates from the 3rd century to the Byzantine period.
Excavations first commenced in 2021 which discovered a collection of Turuş Rock Tombs, a type of tomb construction carved directly into the bedrock.
In the latest season, archaeologists have excavated another Turuş Rock Tomb, however, this example was found to have two carved bull heads which is decorated with garlands and rosettes between the horns.
Bull heads, known as Bucranium, were a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. In Ancient Rome, bucrania were often used on the friezes of temples in the Doric order of architecture, later influencing the architecture of buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical periods.
Architectural examples of bucrania are representations of the practice of displaying garlanded, sacrificial oxen, whose heads were displayed on the temple walls.
Like similar Turuş Rock Tombs, the bull heads are carved directly into the bedrock, guarding a dozen rock cut steps descending into the burial chamber which has three arched niches known as acrosolia.
Mustafa Çelik, Deputy Director of Adıyaman Museum, said, “Tharsa Ancient City consists of 3 main archaeological areas: Big Mound, Small Mound and Necropolis Area. We started excavations in the necropolis area in 2024. We added 2 more rock tombs to the rock tombs we had previously uncovered. One of them is the rock tomb we identified today.”
Header Image Credit : Adıyaman Museum
Sources : Adıyaman Museum
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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