Archaeology
Archaeologists find network of ancient tunnels at Houchengzui
Archaeologists excavating at Houchengzui in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have uncovered a network of ancient tunnels.
Houchengzui, also known as Houchengzui Stone City, is an archaeological site located on the northern shore of the Hun River within Qingshuihe County, situated in the Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Previous excavations have dated the city to around 4,300 to 4,500 years ago during the Longshan period, which saw the emergence of late Neolithic societies such as the Black Pottery or Longshan culture.
Encompassing approximately 341 acres in an oval layout, Houchengzui consists of both an inner and outer city, fortified by a triple defensive system comprised of trenches and walls.
According to an announcement by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), excavations have revealed a network of underground tunnels, which were used as an ancient transportation network and also provided a defensive and offensive purpose.
A total of 6 underground tunnel passages were discovered at a dept of between 1.5 to 6 metres, which are distributed in a radial pattern from the city centre. The tunnels have an arched ceiling, similar to cave dwellings from the Longshan culture, and measure around 1 to 2 metres in height by 1.5 metres wide.
According to Sun Jinsong, director of the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Academy of Inner Mongolia, the surrounding moats as well as the outer defensive perimeters (known as barbicans) were the focus of recent research.
Excavations also uncovered three city gates, namely the main city gate (CM1), the urn city gate (CM2), and the outer urn city gate (CM3). The main city gate is located in the middle of the outer city wall and is rectangular in plan with a doorway flanked by earthen platforms on either side.
Archaeologists also found other defensive structures, including city walls and bastions－structures that project outward from the walls to allow defensive fire in different directions.
Header Image Credit : CASS
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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