Archaeology
Roman elite burials found in ancient Tarquinia
Archaeologists excavating a necropolis in ancient Taquinia have uncovered Roman elite burials.
Tarquinia was an Etruscan (Tarchuna) and Roman (Tarquinii) city, located in the province of Viterbo, Central Italy. During the Roman period, the municipium became an important trading centre for the export of wine and coral throughout the Roman Republic, later gaining the status of a colonia.
Recent excavations have uncovered over 67 skeletons that date from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD within a Roman necropolis.
According to the archaeologists, the necropolis was designated for the interment of Roman elite, evidenced by the discovery of numerous high status funerary goods. Most of the graves appear to be for shared burials, likely intended for multiple family members, with several skeletons found interred together.
Many of the skeletal remains are adorned with gold jewellery and sophisticated leather footwear, while their tombs are decorated to emulate the architectural styles of residential dwellings.
Archaeologists speculate that the tomb occupants intended to replicate their homes in their final resting places. This is indicated by the luxurious adornments and interior linings within the tombs, some of which featured intricate fabric coverings.
Excavations also uncovered silver rings decorated with amber and engraved initials, amulets encrusted with precious stones, an array of terracotta pottery, various Roman coins, polished glass objects, and even preserved textiles.
According to Emanuele Giannini, an archaeologist from Eos Arc, the skeletal remains show no indications of physical labour or stress, further suggesting that they were prosperous Roman families from affluent urban areas.
The excellent preservation of these archaeological discoveries is attributed to the presence of substantial limestone rocks protruding from the ground, rendering the area unsuitable for agricultural purposes. “It remained undisturbed for centuries,” remarked Emanuele Giannini.
Header Image Credit : Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti Paesaggio Etruria Meridionale
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
-
Ghosts2 years agoZozo: The Ouija Board Demon
-
Space2 years agoScientists claim to have found the answer what existed before the Universe
-
Ghosts2 years agoOld Coot of Mount Greylock
-
Archaeology1 year ago
New discoveries at Ekʼ Balam during conservation works
-
General3 years agoUC San Francisco engaging in horrifying experiments, organ harvesting of live babies in the name of “science”