Archaeology
Analysis reveals rituals of mass sacrifice of horses and other animals
A study published in the journal PLOS ONE reveals that the Iron Age site of Casas del Turuñuelo was used for large scale animal sacrifices and banquets.
Casas del Turuñuelo is an archaeological site associated with the Tartessos culture, a people that emerged from the evolution of local populations inherited from the Bronze Age in the southwest Iberian Peninsula.
The study examined and dated 6770 bones from 52 sacrificed animals, including a large proportion of adult horses – alongside cattle, pigs, and a lone dog.
All the sacrifices were done in three successive phases, with the early phases featuring mostly intact, unaltered skeletons, while the third phase exhibited processed skeletons (excluding equids), suggesting a potential meal accompanying the ritual.
The sacrifices were found in a building dated to the end of the 5th century BC, when both the building (intentionally destroyed) and the sacrificed animals were buried under a 6 metre tall tumulus.
The study sheds light on the sequence of animal sacrifices and the protocols associated with rituals accompanied by celebratory banquets. Specific characteristics linked to the closure of this structure beneath a burial mound provide indications of the decline of the Tartessian Culture.
According to the researchers, these findings imply repeated usage of this space over several years for diverse sacrificial practices, and deliberate selection of adult animals. Casas del Turuñuelo distinguishes itself from other sites due to its notably high number of sacrificed horses, contributing to a better understanding of ritual animal sacrifices in Europe during the Iron Age.
The authors underscored the significance of their study, stating, “This investigation emphasises the role of mass animal sacrifices within Iron Age European societies. Through zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and microstratigraphic analyses, it illuminates the practices of animal sacrifice and Tartessian ritual behaviour at Casas del Turuñuelo (Badajoz, Spain).”
Header Image Credit : Construyendo Tarteso, CC-BY 4.0
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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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