Archaeology
Archaeologists find jar handle bearing the name “Menahem”
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered a jar handle bearing the name “Menahem” during excavations in the Ras el-‘Amud neighbourhood of Jerusalem, Israel.
The handle was found in an ancient settlement dated to two periods of occupation: the Middle Canaanite period (2200–1900 BC), and the end of the First Temple period (8th–7th centuries BC).
According to a press release by the IAA, the handle dates from the latter and was part of a storage vessel stamped with the Hebrew name “Menahem”, an expression of condolences alongside the name of “Yinahem” – which are possibly related to the death of family members.
The name Menahem is known from the corpus of Hebrew or Phoenician names, and seals bearing this name have been found in Israel, Assyria, Cyprus, and Egypt.
Menahem was also the name of a king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel who founded the dynasty known as the House of Gadi or House of Menahem.
During Menahem’s reign, the Assyrians first entered the kingdom of Israel, and had also invaded Aram Damascus to the north-east. To maintain independence, Menahem was forced to pay a tribute of a thousand talents of silver which is recorded in an inscription by Tiglath-Pileser III.
Dr. Ron Beeri, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: “This important find joins similar names that have been found in archaeological excavations in the Ancient East and in Israel in particular.”
Such names can be found during the Canaanite period and on pottery attributed to the 18th Dynasty in Egypt, but the jar handle is the first example found in Jerusalem to date.
Header Image Credit : Israel Antiquities Authority
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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