Archaeology
Vandal warrior graves discovered in ancient cemetery
Archaeologists have discovered two Vandal warrior graves during excavations of an ancient cemetery in Ostrowiec County, Poland.
The cemetery is located near the town of Glinka and dates from around the 3rd to 4th century AD.
Based on the material objects, the wider cemetery is associated with the Przeworsk culture, an Iron Age people that inhabited what is now central and southern Poland from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD.
Excavations also uncovered two pit graves cut into the cemetery strata, containing cremated human remains and traces of a funeral pyre. Archaeologists believe that these graves belong to warriors linked to the Vandals, a Germanic people who inhabited what is now southern Poland.
Image Credit : Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce
Following several conflicts with Rome, the Vandals established a kingdom which included the Roman province of Africa, as well as Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta and the Balearic Islands.
In AD 455, a Vandal force led by Gaiseric, King of the Vandals and Alans, sacked Rome for two weeks, causing widespread destruction to the city and the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire.
Archaeologists also found funerary objects linked to warriors of a high station. These include swords, shield elements, an umbo (shield boss), iron spearheads, and fragments of burnt clay vessels.
Image Credit : Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce
Dr. Marek Florek from the Office for the Protection of Monuments in Sandomierz, said: “Traces of scorching is visible on all the metal objects. This indicates that the bodies of the deceased, together with all the weapons, were burned on a pyre in a funerary ritual, before being placed in the pit graves.”
Both swords were found bent, a practice commonly associated with the Przeworsk culture and believed to ensure that the deceased could carry the weapon into the afterlife. However, the archaeologists also suggest that destroying the weapons could deter grave robbers by making them useless.
Header Image Credit : Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce
Sources : Science In Poland
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the APSARA National Authority have uncovered a guardian statue at the Banteay Prey Nokor temple complex in Kompong Cham, Cambodia.
Known locally as the temple of “Wat Nokor in Khum of Kompong Siem”, or “Wat Angkor”, Banteay Prey Nokor was constructed during the reign of Jayavarman VII (AD 1181–1218), the first king devoted to Buddhism in the Khmer Empire.
The complex covers an area of 37 acres and consists of a central tower surrounded by four laterite wall enclosures made from sandstone and laterite.
In addition to being the largest ancient temple complex in Kampong Cham Province, it has several distinguishing features. One of the most notable is its construction from black sandstone, which sets it apart from other temples of the period, typically built from brick or reddish sandstone.
Image Credit : Phouk Chea / Chea Sarith
Archaeologists from the Department of Preservation and Archaeology at the APSARA Authority recently excavated one of the gateways of Banteay Prey Nokor, clearing away layers of rubble from the collapsed upper structure.
Upon removing the rubble material, a guardian door statue was uncovered to the right of the eastern entrance to the gateway. The statue is broken into six pieces – breaking at the neck, the left forearm, the waist, and below the knees of both legs.
According to the researchers, the statue, which originally stood at a height of around 1.6 metres, is of the Bayon style, in reference to the Bayon state temple of Jayavarman VII at the centre of Jayavarman’s capital, Angkor Thom.
“The sandstone gate guardian will now be stored at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum,” Angkor Wat’s heritage police said in a statement. “It will be preserved and studied further.”
Header Image Credit : Phouk Chea / Chea Sarith
Sources : APSARA National Authority
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have rediscovered the Mallerbach Chapel at the site of the Kaltenborn monastery.
Between 1524 to 1525, a large number of peasants, urban lower classes, and lesser nobles living in the German-speaking areas in Central Europe rebelled against a combination of economic, social, and religious factors. These include:
Economic hardship and inequality: Peasants faced heavy burdens from taxes, dues, and rents imposed by landlords, the church, and secular rulers.
Feudal oppression: Many peasants grew increasingly resentful of the limitations placed on their freedoms by feudal lords, including restrictions on hunting, fishing, and access to communal lands.
Religious influence: The Reformation inspired many peasants who saw in it a call for social and economic reform against a corrupt church.
Legal grievances: Peasants sought greater control over local governance and justice. They were frustrated by the arbitrary decisions made by their lords and demanded more influence over the laws and rules that governed their daily lives.
Image Credit : LDA
Following the outbreak of the Peasants’ War, insurgents from the nearby villages of Riestedt and Emseloh plundered the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt in the German district of Mansfeld-Südharz, leading to the monastery’s decline and eventual dissolution in 1538.
According to a press statement by the LDA: “It’s destruction – an act of rebellion against the Cistercian convent of Naundorf, which was in charge of the Chapel of St. Mary and to which the Allstedt residents were subject to taxes – can be seen as the first flare-up and harbinger of the coming uprising of the ‘common man’ against the authorities.”
Recent excavations at the monastery site have located the 12th/13th century Mallerbach chapel, a sacred place of worship for pilgrims who came to witness a weeping image of the Virgin Mary.
Archaeologists have uncovered the original floor plan of the chapel, which measures around 17 metres in length with a rectangular choir and semicircular apse. Excavations have also found the altar foundations, as well as traces of burning from the time of the German Peasants’ War.
Header Image Credit : LDA
Sources : State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA)
This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily
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