Archaeology
11,000-year-old stone ornaments indicate early body perforation
Stone personal ornaments found in 11,000-year-old burials provide the earliest evidence of body perforation in South-west Asia.
Archaeologists have uncovered 100 earring-like ornaments in 11,000-year-old adult burials at the early Neolithic site of Boncuklu Tarla, Türkiye.
According to a new study published in the journal Antiquity, the ornaments were used for body perforation, and also suggest that they were used in coming-of-age rituals for young adults.
The ornaments were discovered in situ next to the ears and chins of the skeletal remains, and are mostly made from limestone, obsidian, or river pebbles. The diversity of the ornaments indicate that they were crafted for use in both ear and lower lip piercings known as labrets.
This is supported by a skeletal analysis of the remains, revealing wear patterns on the lower incisors consistent with historical and contemporary instances of labret-wearing in different cultures.
According to the study authors: “Further examination of the skeletons found that, both males and females had piercings, but they were exclusively worn by adults. None of the child burials had any evidence of these ornaments.”
Image Credit : Antiquity
This suggests that piercings served not only aesthetic purposes but also held social significance. It is probable that they served as a rite of passage, symbolising an individual’s transition into adulthood.
According to Dr Baysal, Associate Professor at Ankara University: “It shows that traditions that are still very much part of our lives today were already developed at the important transitional time when people first started to settle in permanent villages in western Asia more than 10,000 years ago.”
“They had very complex ornamentation practices involving beads, bracelets and pendants, including a very highly developed symbolic world which was all expressed through the medium of the human body”, added Dr Baysal.
Header Image Credit : Antiquity
Sources : Antiquity – Bodily boundaries transgressed: corporal alteration through ornamentation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic at Boncuklu Tarla, Türkiye – Ergül Kodaş, Emma L Baysal & Kazım Özkan. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.28
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have uncovered a well-preserved Bronze Age wooden well in Oxfordshire, England.
The discovery was made during construction works for the Benson Relief Road in compliance with planning conditions to ensure archaeological finds are recorded.
John Boothroyd, Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archaeology, said: “When investigating what appeared to be a standard pit for the site, the archaeological team started exposing the remains of a preserved wooden post driven vertically into the ground.”
Excavations revealed that the posts formed the uprights of a wattle structure lining the edge of the pit, which have been well-preserved due to the soil conditions being waterlogged.
The timber structure was digitally recorded, before being carefully dismantled by hand for removal to the Oxfordshire Museum Service.
Samples of the preserved wood have been sent for further analysis to indicate the type of wood used in the construction. Excavations also found pieces of struck flint, animal bone and pottery used for storage and waste.
Previous studies of the area around Benson and as far as Wallingford have revealed traces of Bronze Age activity and settlement.
“Despite the extremely challenging conditions, the team were able to expose and fully record the well. The specialist soil samples collected will also help establish what the surrounding landscape would have been like, and the intensity to which it was settled, when the well was actively being used.”
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “This find gives fantastic insight into the area’s past land use. It is thought the well may have been used for agricultural irrigation purposes for settlements nearby. Archaeological surveys like this are an important part of the process of delivering construction schemes. They help us identify and understand past residents of the area and record them for future generations.”
Header Image Credit : Oxford Archaeology
Sources : Oxfordshire County Council
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
A restoration project to remove invasive plants from dunes in the Heist Willemspark, Belgium, has led to the discovery of three intact WWII bunkers.
Heist Willemspark is located in the Knokke-Heist municipality, situated on the coastline of Belgium near the border with the Netherlands.
During WWI, the area of the park was used as a German position for heavy artillery batteries known as “Freya” and “Augusta”, and a series of forward observation bunkers for ranging shipping in the English Channel.
A number of these structures were repurposed by the German army in WWII, and further fortified as part of the Atlantic Wall, a system of coastal defences built between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe. The area of the Atlantic Wall at Heist Willemspark was designated by the German army as Stützpunkt Heyst.
Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
According to a press statement by the Municipality of Knokke-Heist, the bunkers were discovered by the Agency for Nature and Forests during a restoration project called LIFE DUNIAS.
Excavations at a depth of only a few feet revealed three Gruppenunterstand Type VF2a bunkers. The VF2a is intended for housing a Gruppe (the smallest German unit consisting of 10 soldiers) who operated forward radar positions. The bunkers at Heist Willemspark measure 6 by 7 metres externally, and are capped by a concrete reinforced roof measuring 1 metre thick.
The project also found traces of brick trenches, a fragment of a concrete track, and large amounts of rubble containing objects such as utensils, ammunition, cabling, and water pipes.
A representative of LIFE DUNIAS said: “These ruins illustrate the previous attempts to completely erase the park’s war history. The lighter structures were demolished and reduced to rubble, while heavier bunkers were covered with a layer of soil and hidden, as if they had never existed.”
Header Image Credit : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
Sources : Municipality of Knokke-Heist
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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