A PART OF CAESAR'S TRIUMPH: VERCINGETORIX
by Lucius Aelius
"Himself a man of boundless energy, he terrorized waverers with the rigours of an iron discipline."
Caesar, Gallic War
In 53 BC, when Caesar had left for Italy after the summer campaign season, the Gallic tribes rebelled under the leadership of Vercingetorix, who raised an army against the Roman legions still wintering in Gaul. Hearing of the rebellion, Caesar crossed the mountains in the south, digging through snow drifts six feet deep, to rejoin his troops. "The very vigour and speed of his march in such wintry conditions," says Plutarch, "was a sufficient advertisement to the natives that an unconquered and unconquerable army was bearing down upon them." To deprive the Romans of food and supplies, Vercingetorix had ordered a scorched-earth policy, and all the neighboring villages and farms were burned, "until fires were visible in all directions." But one tribe, already having torched twenty towns in a single day, refused to destroy its capital at Avaricum (Bourges), "almost the finest in Gaul, the chief defense and pride of their state." Vergingetorix relented and set about to help defend the fortified town, which held a large supply of grain so desperately needed by the Romans.
Caesar began a siege that lasted 27 days. It now was early spring 52 BC, and, in spite of incessant rain, two wheeled towers, 80 feet high, and ramps 330 feet long, over which they could be rolled into place, as well as a high siege terrace, were constructed in less than a month. The Gauls did all they could to counter or destroy the siege works. As the towers increased in height, so the defenders raised their own. They attacked the soldiers at work and tunneled under the terrace to undermine it.
As the terrace approached the height of the wall, the defenders became desperate. Caesar writes that "They felt that the fate of Gaul depended entirely on what happened at that moment, and performed before our eyes an exploit so memorable that I felt I must not leave it unrecorded." It was almost midnight when they again had dug under the terrace and set it on fire. Opposite one of the towers, a Gaul was throwing pitch and tallow onto the fire when he was killed by an arrow from a catapult. Another man stepped forward to take his place and he, too, was killed. Another came forward and also was killed. This continued throughout the night until the fire finally was extinguished.
The next day, it began to rain heavily and, as the defenders took shelter, one of the siege towers was moved into position. The Gauls, taken by surprise, were dislodged from the walls and, panicked at the sight of the Romans surrounding them, threw down their weapons and fled. Exasperated at the length and difficulty of the siege, the Romans massacred the inhabitants. No-one was spared, "neither old men nor women nor children. Of the whole population--about forty thousand--a bare eight hundred who rushed out of the town at the first alarm got safely through to Vercingetorix."
Later that year, Vercingetorix and his men were trapped in the stronghold of Alesia, near present-day Dijon. Caesar surrounded the oppidum and began to construct siege works. The defenders had food only for a month, and Caesar hoped to starve them into surrender before reinforcements could arrive.
The circumvallation extended around the town for ten miles, too large to be occupied by the Romans. It therefore was made more secure by a series of defenses. First, facing the town, a trench twenty-feet wide was dug to protect against surprise attack. Six hundred and fifty yards behind this ditch two more trenches were dug, each fifteen feet wide and the inner one filled with water. Behind these trenches was a palisaded rampart twelve feet high, with a breastwork of earth studded with forked branches. Around the entire circuit of the wall, towers were erected every one hundred and thirty yards.
Still, there were attacks by the Gauls, and the siege works were strengthened even more. Tree trunks and strong branches were cut and sharpened, and buried securely in rows in front of the trenches. In front of them, diagonal rows of pits also were dug, each three-feet deep with a thick sharpened stake at the bottom and covered with brush to hide the trap. And, in front of these, blocks of wood were buried in the ground with iron barbs (stimuli) fixed in them.
Aware that Vercingetorix had sent for reinforcements to break the siege, Caesar had an similar line of defense constructed facing outward to protect against attack from a relief force.
By now, the food in the town had been exhausted, and it was determined that all those who could not fight were to be turned out. The inhabitants of Alesia, who had given refuge to Vercingetorix and his men, now were compelled to leave the town, together with their wives and children. Starving, they beseeched the Romans on the surrounding walls to take them in as slaves. But the population was refused any refuge and left to die of hunger between the two armies.
Caesar writes that 250,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry assembled to relieve the besieged town. But the Gauls had difficulty communicating across the Roman siege works that ringed the oppidum and were not able to coordinate their attack. Now surrounded, themselves, the Romans were able to repel the first assault. At midnight the next day, the Gauls suddenly attacked again, and Vercingetorix led his men out of the town in support. But it was too dark to see and, when the relief army came nearer the Roman defenses, "they suddenly found themselves pierced by the goads or tumbled into the pits and impaled themselves, while others were killed by heavy siege spears discharged from the rampart and towers." Before he could even reach the trenches, Vercingetorix heard the army retreating and was forced back behind the town walls.
Again, the relief force reassembled: "The Gauls knew that unless they broke through the lines they were lost; the Romans, if they could hold their ground, looked forward to the end of all their hardships....on that day, he said, on that very hour, depended the fruits of all their previous battles." There was a desperate struggle. The Gauls filled the trenches with dirt and bundles of sticks, pulled down the breastworks with hooks, and drove the Romans from the towers. But Caesar, his presence marked by a scarlet cloak, attacked with cavalry and additional cohorts. The Gauls broke and fled, the relieving army giving up and returning to their homes.
Vercingetorix was forced to surrender and allowed himself to be given up to the Romans. The Gallic chieftain languished in the Tullianum at Rome for five years before being publicly beheaded as part of Caesar's triumph in 46 BC. Two years later, Caesar, himself, was dead.
SOME ASPECTS OF AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN ETRURIA
Part One
by Aulus Sergius
Finding a site for archaeological purposes is not always simple, especially in Etruria. Etruria presents several problems to the site hunter. If one is looking for a city, there are many times no grand walls standing, no mounds like that which concealed Troy, no great, noble ruins like the Acropolis at Athens or the fora at Rome. If one is looking for tombs, there are too few exposed or unleveled to readily spot on the ground.
Aerial archaeological techniques can help, however. Just as the viewer of a painting sometimes stands back a few feet to grasp the scope of the work, so too, the archaeologist takes to the air to get the big picture of a site or potential site. In Etruscan archaeology, a great deal of interest has focused on the tombs and necropoli, and so, too, in its aerial applications. I will deal primarily with that, but touch on its use in other areas.
Aerial archaeology relies on many techniques and methods already long part of traditional ground archaeology. For example, when a site is selected, it is laid out and mapped and measured according to a grid. The same is true with the aerial application. The vertical air survey is best for mapping the area through photography. (Bradford, John; Ancient Landscapes, p. 11.) Vertical photographs are taken at a constant altitude, flying over the designated area at regular, but overlapping intervals, according to a predetermined grid. The importance of the overlap is to give the effect of relief to the contours of the area, to provide a stereograph for interpretation. (ibid. pp. 11, 49, 59-63.)
Other means of discovering a site, employed previous to and independent of aerial archaeology, are soil marks. Stemming from that, are also crop marks. Soil and crop marks begin with the disturbance of the virgin soil by a hole or a trench. In digging a hole, one irrevocably changes the composition of the ground and the area. No one can exactly replace what one excavates. In fact, it has been said there is nothing as permanent as a hole. When a hole or a trench is left unattended, it gradually fills back in due to natural forces. It is this fill that marks a distinct change in the soil. The coloration and consistency will be different. The illustration below shows how this process works and the general shape is maintained.
The fortunate aspect of this change is that the soil of the fill will be generally moister (hence another type, or rather subtype of marking, the damp mark) and more rich in growth promoting elements of the top soil and organic matter composition. This results in crop marks. Over a hole or a trench, the plant growth will be denser, taller, and in many cases, greener. (ibid. pp. 13-27; Deuel, Leo. Flights into Yesterday, pp. 51-58.) the reverse is true where there is a wall, road or other stone structure buried. Here, the plant growth will be stunted, as can be seen in the next two illustrations.
Sometimes, this will not hold, as the lime in some mortar may actually promote plant growth.
With regards to crop marks, other means may be used to take advantage of them than ground observation and vertical air photography. Oblique air photography, where the camera is many times hand held at a sharp angle, takes advantage of the shadows thrown by even slightly raised features.
Of course, it follows that the angle and direction of the light are important. Most oblique photos are best taken in the early morning and late evening hours. (Deuel, p. 10; Bradford, p.11.)
In dealing with Etruscan necropoli, the soil and crop marks lend themselves best to efforts at location. The tombs of the Etruscans were cut into the soil and substrata rock, surrounded by a ditch, and the excavated soil piled on top of the tomb in a mound. Over the years, natural forces and man, through his working of the soil, have fairly leveled many of these mounds, filling in the surrounding ditch.
Thus, the archaeologist is presented with both “positive” and “negative” crop marks. This is in the form of the growth over the filled in ditch being fuller and the growth over the tomb itself more sparse or non-existant. (Bradford, pp. 119-120.)
Prime examples of this are the necropoli of Banditaccia and Monte Abetone at Cerveteri (ancient Caere) and Monterozzi in Tarquinia.
Part two of this series will cover the specifics of these sites. Part three will deal with other aspects, towns, walls, cuniculi and roads.
Bibliography
Bradford, John. Ancient Landscapes: Studies in Field Archaeology, G. Bell and sons, Ltd., 1957
Deuel, Leo. Flights into Yesterday: The Story of Aerial Archaeology, The Hamlyn Group, 1972
Photo Credits
Illustrations 1-4: Deuel
Illustration 5: Bradford
THE RISE OF PHILIP II OF MACEDON
by Drakus Domitius
The rise of the kingdom of Macedon to power in the fourth century B.C. can rightly be said to be the accomplishment of one man, the son of Amyntas III, Philip II. Macedon before Philip was a country threatened both externally and internally. Externally, the Greek states, especially those who exercised hegemony in the Aegean threatened, as well as the Chalcidians and the Illyrians, among others. Internally, the threat of pretenders to the throne was ever present. Macedon on the eve of Philip’s accession had been in turmoil and there was little reason to doubt that the situation would change. But never before had there been a ruler of Macedon like Philip. Over the twenty-three years of his reign, Philip would use both diplomacy and military force to achieve his goals, employing deceit to help him to buy the time he needed in order to effectively deploy his diplomatic and military strategies.
Philip’s quick actions in stabilizing his borders were the subject of a previous article (see last month’s Acta Diurna), but we must return to one of those early actions. Shortly after defeating Argaeus (the Athenian supported usurper who tried to deprive Philip of his throne in his first months as king), Philip had made a deal with Athens. He promised Athens that he would restore Amphipolis to Athens if they would give him Pydna. The Athenians agreed. Amphipolis was a key city, to Philip no less than others. Amphipolis had enormous commercial and strategic importance, and the Athenians had been trying to recover it since Thucydides (the Historian) had lost it in the Peloponnesian War. Philip too, wanted it as it provided a port for Macedonian timber and gave access to the rich mining area round Mt. Pangaeus. Philip, it would seem, had no intention of keeping his promise to Athens. In the spring of 357, Philip picked a quarrel with the Amphipolitan government. Among the Greeks, a casus belli was rarely difficult to engineer. Philip placed Amphipolis under siege. Seeking aid from Athens, the Amphipolitans were rebuffed by an Athenian Assembly who expected the city to be handed over to them upon the completion of Philip’s siege. Through the use of siege engines and battering rams, he was able to breach the walls and take the city (a feat most Greek armies were not capable of duplicating), and not surprisingly, he did not hand the city over to Athens.
Demosthenes related that two Amphipolitans, Hierax and Stratokles, came before the Assembly at Athens and encouraged the Athenians to sail to their city and take it over. Demosthenes recorded that no help was sent. It is likely that no help was sent to Amphipolis at this time because the Social War had just broken out between Athens and the members of her second confederacy. It is also quite likely that Philip took advantage of Athenian misfortunes to act at a time when Athens could not react to his aggressions. Adding insult to injury, Philip marched on Pydna and took it from Athens by force.
The Olynthians were quickly becoming alarmed by Philip’s activities and offered alliance to Athens against Philip. Illustrating the naivety and poor decision making that the Athenians had displayed in the past the Olynthians were sent packing. The Athenians may have still hoped that Philip would honor his promise to them. News of the fall of Pydna to Philip must have ended these hopes and Athens declared war. Philip, knowing that peace with Athens was over, set about to ensure that Athens and the Chalcidian League (headed by Olynthus) made no alliance. There was only one area of Athenian influence left, and Philip was prepared to offer the Chalcidians Potidaea in return for an alliance. Hardheaded realists, the League accepted Philip’s offer. Philip had, through this act of diplomacy, secured himself against the one threat that could have caused him significant concern, an Olynthian-Athenian alliance. In addition, by capturing Potidaea and turning it over to his new allies, he had rid himself of every Athenian base in or near his territory.
Philip, however, was aware of the deficiencies of his country. Macedon needed money, and to Philip (no natural economist) that meant one of two things, mining precious metal, or taking it from those weaker than himself. The nearest source of precious metals was in Thracian territory and Philip did not yet want to be branded an aggressor. Fortuitously, the occupants of the stronghold Crenides asked Philip for aid against Thracian aggression. Philip occupied the city (renaming it Philippi) in the spring of 356 and sent a large force of settlers. Before long, precious metal started pouring into Philip’s treasury, to the tune of 300,000 gold pieces annually. Not only had Philip now secured and stabilized Macedon, he had made it rich.
One of Philip’s early marriages paid dividends in 353 when he was invited by the city of Larissa to intervene in the murderous internecine war between the Thessalian League and the Tyrants of Pherae. Initial defeat in 353 was redeemed by the great victory of the Crocus Field in 352. The tyrants were expelled, and Philip became the de facto ruler of Thessaly. He may have even been appointed archon of Thessaly in 352 following this victory, though some scholars now think this appointment didn’t occur until 344. Still, Philip gained control of the revenues of Thessaly, and perhaps more importantly, he gained the use of the superb Thessalian cavalry. Turning his attention back to the Olynthians, Philip decided it was time to deal decisively with the Chalcidian League. In 349, he attacked Olynthus and laid it waste, enslaving the population. Stunned, Athens called for an international alliance against Philip, but to no avail. Despondent, the Athenians themselves entered into peace negotiations with Philip early in 346. At the same time, the Amphictyonic council (the council in charge of the Delphic Oracle) appealed to Philip for aid in its bid to recover control of the oracle from the Phocians. The Phocians were Athenian allies who believed that since the Oracle was located in Phocian territory it should be controlled by Phocis. Using the wealth of the Oracle, the Phocians were able to field a large mercenary army that successfully defeated successive Greek armies.
Philip marched against the Phocians at the same time he was concluding a peace treaty with Athens. With masterly prevarication, Philip delayed signing the peace treaty until he was in a position to smash the Phocian army and able to prevent Athens from reinforcing her ally. For this victory, Philip was awarded the presidency of that year’s Pythian Games and was given Phocis’ two seats on the Amphictyonic council.
Over the next several years, Philip increased his territory and wealth, mainly at the expense of the Illyrians and other barbarian tribes. In the Greek mainland, his influence grew through his diplomatic and military support of Megalopolis and Messenia against Sparta, his support of Elis and Euboea as well as others. An Athenian led expedition overthrew Philip’s regimes at Eretria and Oreos. Despite a number of campaigns, including sieges of both Perinthus and Byzantium, the final scene was acted out at Chaeronea in August of 338. Philip, using only a portion of the resources now available to him, crushed the alliance lead by Thebes and Athens decisively. The settlement he imposed was used to ensure Macedonian domination of Greece, and did so effectively.
In twenty-three years, Philip had taken a backward, trouble-prone and over-run kingdom and turned it into the most powerful state in the ancient world up to that point. Philip’s diplomatic skill along with his skillful use of force set the example which Alexander would follow on his way to unjustly overshadowing his father. The words of Diodorus, that historian of Sicily ring true: “For King Philip excelled in shrewdness in the art of war, courage, and brilliance of personality.”
BACK TO THE BEGINNING: SUMERIA
by Leah Enkidu
At the dawn of history in the middle of the fifth millennium BC, we find in the Euphrates Valley a number of city-states, or rather city-monarchies, in rivalry with one another and in such a condition of culture and progress, that this valley has been called the cradle of civilization.
Although a number of arguments converge into an irrefragable proof that the Sumerians were the aboriginal inhabitants of Babylonia, we have no historical records of the time when they were the sole occupants of the Euphrates Valley; at the dawn of history we find both races in possession of the land and to a certain extent mixed, though the Semite was predominant in the North while the Sumerian maintained themselves for centuries in the South.
Whence these Sumerians came, cannot be decided, and probably all that will ever be known is that, after a nomadic existence in mountainous districts in the East, they found a plain in the lands of Sennaar and dwelt in it (Gen., xi, 2).
The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people. The remains show them to be generally short and stocky, with high, straight noses and downward sloping eyes. Many wore beards, but some were clean-shaven. Most, though, had a clean-shaven upper lip, but a beard around the chin. They wore fleece and finally woven wool. The women draped the garment from the left shoulder, while the men bound it at their waists and left the upper half of their body bare.
Styles changed gradually over time, and later on, the male clothing moved up toward the neck, at least among the upper class. Slaves, from beginning to end, both male and female, went about naked from the waist up. On their heads, the Sumerians wore a cap; on their feet, they wore sandals; wealthy women sometimes wore shoes of soft leather, lacking heels, that they laced up. Bracelets, necklaces, anklets, finger rings and ear rings made the women of Sumer into show windows of their husband's prosperity.
When the civilization of Sumer was already a thousand years old, around 2300 BC, we find written accounts of creation, a primitive paradise, and a flood that destroyed the world. But they were gradually overcome, dispossessed, and absorbed by a new race that entered the plain between the two rivers, the Semites, who pressed on them from the north from the kingdom of Akkad. The Semitic invaders, however, eagerly adopted, improved, and widely spread the civilization of the race they had conquered.
AND HOW IT ALL ENDS: RAGNAROK
by Anya Gepid
The end of the world will be preceded by the axe-age and the sword-age. Weapons will be wielded and destroyed; following it is a wind-age and a wolf-age before the inevitable doom of Ragnarok.
Ragnarök, also called Gotterdammerung is the end of an era in Norse mythology. It is preceded by a harsh series of winters, Fimbulvetr, being the winter of all winters. Three such winters will follow each other in succession and there will be no summer in between. There will be great upheaval and turmoil because of this. Morality will disappear and feuds and wars will break out between all mankind, including families. Father and son will fight against on another in battle. Siblings will join each other in incestuous acts. Mothers will leave their husbands and seduce their own sons, while brothers rip at each others' hearts.
Wolves will finally be set loose and begin to destroy things. Skoll will destroy the sun. His brother, Hati will devour the moon causing the earth to plunge into total darkness. The stars will fall from the skies, trees will be uprooted and mountains will crumble to the ground. Monsters, which were previously bound, will break free and the wild hunt will begin.
The terrible wolf Fenrir (Fenris) will be loosed upon the world. He will drag his jaws upon the ground below and the heavens above. Next, Jormungand (Iörmungandr), the Midgard (our earth) Serpent will, will raise up and cause the shores to flood. He will make his way to the land, and with every breath stain the sky and the soil with his poison. "In giant wrath the Serpent tossed
In ocean depths, till, free from chain,
He rose upon the foaming main ;
Beneath the lashings of his tail
Seas, mountain high, swelled on the land ;
Then, darting mad the waves acrost,
Pouring forth bloody froth like hail,
Spurting with poisoned, venomed breath
Foul, deadly mists o’er all the Earth,
Thro’ thundering surge, he sought the strand."
Valhalla (J.C. Jones)
The ship Naglfar, a ship constructed entirely out of the nails of the dead, will be freed by the waves the serpent makes with his writhing. On the ship, the much feared ice giants will return, led by Hymir. They will head toward the battlefield. A second ship will be called forth, this is the one of the dead and the god Loki will be at its helm. This ship, carrying the sons of Hel, will travel northbound to join the fray. While, in the south, the fire giants, led by Surt will leave Muspell to join the gods. His sword, which blazes like the sun, will scorch the earth and Birfrost will crumble beneath him. Meanwhile, the horns of Heimdall will ring across the nine worlds and call the sons of Odin and the heroes to the battlefield:
"Odin will charge against the Fenris Wolf, but All-father will fall prey to the creature's deadly jaws and be swallowed. Odin's son Vidar will courageously avenge his father's death by stepping on Fenrir's jaw with his foot. (He wears a special shoe made of pieces of leather that have been offered to the gods). Vidar (Odin’s son) will snatch the upper jaw of the wolf and tear it asunder.
Thor will battle against the Midgard serpent and succesfully slay it. He will take nine steps back and die from the poisonous fumes the serpent spews forth.
The god Frey will fight against the guardian of Muspell. He will fall victim to the giant Surt since he has given away his sword to his messenger Skirnir. Tyr, the god of war, will attack the hound of Hel, Garm, while Loki and Heimdall engage in combat and die by each other's hand."
Surt will fling fire in every direction and the nine worlds under the Yggdrasil tree will become a blazing inferno. The sky will fall into a pit of flame and the earth will sink into the sea.. All the head gods of the Aesir and Vanir will perish, as well as the inhabitants of all the realms that lie beneath the great Ash tree. All is not lost, however. A new beginning will ensue. The earth will rise once more from the depths of the ocean and will flourish. The sons and daughters of the gods, who survived Ragnarok, will meet where the Asgard used to be, on the plain of Ida:
"Odin‘s sons, Vidar and Vali will meet there and the sons of Thor will join them and be heirs of their fathers hammer, Mjollnir. The beloved god Baldr and his brother Hod will return fron Hel and join the rest, while Hoenir will predict what is to become of the new world. Bor's sons, Vili and Ve, will be sent to the heavens to rule with the rest. The new ruling gods will congregate and recall past memories of Ragnarok. Treasures that once belonged to the Aesir will be found scattered on grassy plains and will be looked upon with great amazement."
There will still be a place for evil in this new world. A region in Hel will be set aside and called Nastrond, the shore of the dead. The dragon Nidhogg, another survivor of the fiery doom, will continue to gnaw on the bodies of the deceased. As for mankind, there are two survivors. Lif and Lifthrasir, the ones who sought protection beneath the Yggdrasi, will now repopulate the earth. They will nourish themselves with dew drops and give birth to many children. As for the sun, through the ash, new rays of light will come from the skies above. A daughter was born by the Sun before the wolf swallowed Her in the dawn of Ragnarok. This is how it all has ended; and this is how the world begins.
AIFA'S ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES
by Aifa Niafer
 China- Finely ground stoneware and a human shank bone have been founding Pi County Hongguang Town in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province. The Shiben stoneware has been dated back 4,000 years to the Shu Kingdom.
Egypt – Three mummies were found in the Minya region while archaeologists were studying the terrain in order to grant a farmer permission to begin working it. An underground burial site made of stone was discovered containing the mummies of an old man, a woman and a young man. Most finds in the Minya region are from the Grecco-Roman period spanning from 332 BC to 395 AD.
England – Engravings of a pair of birds were found carved on the wall of Church Hole cave in Creswell Crags, Derbyshire. These engravings are the first example of prehistoric cave art in Britain and are believed to be 12,000 years old. The engravings are in a style similar to t hat found at Altamira in Spain and Lascaux and Chauvet in France. The pair of birds appears to be a crane or swan and a bird of prey. Another engraving may be that of an ibex which is not thought to have existed in Britain. The engravings are covered in calcite, indicating their ancient origin, and graffiti dating to 1948.
Ethiopia - The nearly complete skull of an adult male and a child and the partial skull of a second adult were found near the village of Herto in the Afar region. The fossils were assigned to a new subspecies of Homo sapiens idaltu, idaltu meaning “elder” in the Afar language. The skulls, dated between 160,000 and 154,000 years, have modern features such as a reduced brow, flattened face and prominent forehead and are the oldest human fossils ever discovered. The age and appearance of the skulls support genetic evidence that modern humans evolved in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. Skull fragments from 10 individuals were discovered all missing their jaws and any bones below the neck. Also found were thousands of stone tools and the butchered bones of hippopotamus and antelope. These hominids were nearly indistinguishable from us and could have walked down the streets of any major city without attracting a second glance. The deluges from the 1997 El Nino exposed buried fossils and caused the people of Herto to leave along with their livestock. This prevented the trampling of the fragile bones. Researchers driving by spotted a fossil
hippo skull poking out of the sand that showed evidence of damage by a stone tool. Eleven days later they discovered two adult, probably male, skulls and the skull of a 6 or 7 year old child that had been shattered into about 200 pieces. This find finally ends the debate linking modern humans to Neanderthals which are clearly an evolutionary side branch since Homo sapiens idaltu are an older subspecies.
England - A recent excavation at Norwich City's football ground on Carrow Road has unearthed clusters of flint tools that might date back to 12,000 years to during the Paleolithic era.
Germany - After the bust of Nefertiti was briefly placed on a modern nude bronze entitled "Nefertiti's Body" the furor over the act has yet to die down. A tape of the project will be shown at the Venice Beiennale art festival. The bust has been returned to the Berlin Egyptian Museum's collection and the headless bronze statue has been sent back to Venice. Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities is outraged and many Egyptians are demanding the return of the bust feeling it's not safe in German hands. The bust has been part of the museum's collection for nearly a century.
Egypt - The Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities announced that the mummy of Rameses I will be returned to the city of Luxor in October. It was believed that the mummy had been stolen from an excavation in the Valley of the Kings and taken to the US.
England/Egypt - A pair of brothers from Keynsham believe they've solved the mystery of the exact route Moses and the Israelites took when they fled Egypt. After viewing a video on the subject the brothers, who'd never been diving before, took lessons and searched the Gulf of Aquaba otherwise known as the Red Sea even though many archaeologists don't believe the Exodus actually occurred. The search began at the beach at Nuweiba, Egypt, which had been previously identified in the video as being large enough to accommodate over two million people. The brothers, along with an experienced diver, retrieved a chariot wheel and parts that had been covered by coral dating back to 3,500 years ago. The finds are now at the Cairo University. (Note - I had to really think about if I should include this abstract because these two brothers appear to be taking credit for another person's work. Several years ago a co-worker told me about the same video that the brothers' recently watched. I was also directed to a website where the archaeologist who had figured out the route and first dived in the Gulf of Aquaba had posted his findings. For anyone who wishes to research this further you can see pictures of the chariot remains underwater at this site. For more information about the crossing site including the beach at Nuweiba, Egypt go to this page.
Israel – Both the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Inscription have been declared forgeries by the Israel Antiquities authority. Committees were formed to investigate the epigraphic aspects of the inscriptions and to carry out a complete physical examination of the artifacts including the patina. The Jehoash Inscription was the easiest of the two pieces to debunk. The epigraphers unanimously concluded that t here were far too many mistakes in the grammar and letter forms for it to be authentic. This matched the geological conclusion when it was discovered that the stone was a low grade metamorphic greywacke found commonly in western Cyprus but not in the Levant. The patina was composed of silica only and didn’t contain any calcite as would have occurred if the stone was buried around Jerusalem. As for the other artifact, it wasn’t the James Ossuary itself that was in question but the inscription on its surface. The ossuary had been carved out of chalk limestone of the Menuha Formation of the Mount Scopus Group which is fully consistent with the hundreds of other authentic ossuaries found in the Jerusalem area. Also found were three distinctive coatings. Two of them, a rock varnish of clay and other minerals cemented to the rock surface, and a crusty patina created by the absorption and loss of elements and minerals covered the ossuary most places except the inscription which had been cut through the varnish. A third coating was formed by chalky material dissolved in water and placed over the entire inscription. The epigraphers found two styles of seemingly authentic handwriting on the ossuary but further examination showed that the entire inscription was carved at the same time. It’s believed that scanning software was used to bring together pieces of authentic inscriptions to make up the one found on the James ossuary. The scientists concluded that although the James Ossuary itself was authentic, the inscription on it and the Jehoash tablet were forgeries.
Scotland – An archaeological dig off the main road from Kirkwall to Stromnessin in Orkney could be the oldest farm settlements in Britain. The wooden structures could produce the earliest dates for settlements on the island. At the foot of Wideford Hill a number of large post holes show the position of a number of circular structures which have been dated back to about 3900 BC. Originally the houses were thought to be from the Mesolithic they were finally dated to t he Neolithic using period pottery.
Egypt – A superbly decorated Amarna period tomb has been found in Sakkara. The tomb excavated on behalf of the French Centre National de Recherche Scientifique is of a scribe who worked in the temples of Aton in Memphis and Amarna. The scribe had two names: Raya, typical of the Athonian religion, and Hatyiay, which may refer to Amon. The first name helped to date the tomb to the second half of Akhenaton’s reign. The tomb reliefs are in the same fashion as those in Akhenatoin’s tomb and were probably created by artists from the Studio of Thutmosi in Amarna. What is unusual is that decorations from the pre-Amarnian period are present along with those of the Amarna style.
Cyprus – An ancient tomb, dated to the 8th Century BC was discovered at the village of Galatia. Inside the tomb were found a crater, a small cup, an oil lamp in the shape of the cover of an oyster, a wine amphora, some urns, wine jugs and a turquoise scarab.
England – Tests carried out at Newton House Farm by Trent and Peak Archaeological Society based at the University of Nottingham, have found the remains of a fourth century Roman villa under a beet field. Using non-destructive magnetic testing archaeologists discovered the villa without actually having to dig up the land. Another building known as the Margidunum-Castle Hill is situated nearby and its believed the two complexes could be linked.
China – Five liters of an almost clear liquor was found in western China. The earthenware jars containing 2,000 year old rice wine was discovered in a tomb dated to the early Western Han dynasty which ruled mainland China between 206 BC and 25 AD. The liquor was an integral part of ceremonies and ritual sacrifices. Along with the wine were several drinking vessels, bronze bells, more than 100 jade pieces and part of a human skull.
Norway – During a class outing in Borre National Park a sixth grader unearthed a ring that appears to be part of a larger piece of women’s jewelry and is probably over 1000 years old. The discovery was made at the Midgard Historical Center while the boy was digging near the ship mound. The ring appears to be of eastern inspiration and might have come from the Finnish or Baltic regions. The ring will be sent to the Museum of Culture in Oslo and may become part of the permanent exhibit at Borre.
Tibet – A cache of 37 groups of relics was found along the Qinghai-Tibet railway. Included in the find was stoneware along with tombs and military watchtowers. The stoneware found in Damxung County was the largest find of its kind in discovered as was the large scale sacrificial sites excavated in Nagqu County. This was also the first time that stoneware used for hunting and farming was discovered at a height of 16,170 ft (4,900 meters). Additionally archaeologists found a megalithic circle, 12.2 ft (3.7 m) in diameter near a lake in Amdo County.
Ireland – A Northern Ireland police station in west Belfast, slated for closure, may be sitting on a medieval Celtic settlement. According to ancient records the Church of Crook Mecht and the Iron Age Calendar’s Fort are under the barracks and adjoining land. 14th century records also pinpoint a medieval graveyard on the site.
Egypt – The remains of a large building, dedicated to the god Thoth, dating back to the Ptolemic era around 300 BC have been found in the southern Minya district, about 120 miles (200 km) south of Cairo by German and Egyptian archaeologists. The facility, used by priests and their families, contained 50 rooms used for religious rituals and meetings. Also found were stone pieces probably used in a chess-like game, terracotta tablets with reports and letters in Demotic and Greek written on them, pottery and remains of human hair in an area believed to be the barber shop. Outside the building the Tuna al-Gabel Cemetery was used for the burials of sacred birds and animals some of the oldest dating back to the 19th dynasty.
Britain – Although most British historians ascribe much of British history to the Anglo-Saxons, mostly due to their greater written legacy, recent DNA testing suggests they failed to leave much of a genetic stamp. A recent survey of Y chromosomes in the British Isles show t hat instead of the Celts being pushed out to the fringes of Britain many of them remaining in central England and central Ireland. The study showed the Anglo-Saxons and Danes showed up in central and eastern England with the Norwegians appearing in the northern British Isles including Orkney. Additionally, DNA samples of men from Wales and Ireland closely resemble those of the Basques who are thought to be the original Europeans.
Philippines – Part of the site which is believed to be Cagayan de Oro’s first settlement has been allowed to be bulldozed by city hall officials. Although local historians protested the action, construction was continued at the Huluga Site, Taguanao Barangay Indahag. Verbal assurances had been given by the mayor to preserve the site but apparently the multi-billion peso road and bridge project was more important. Since scientists have not dug pits on the site but only done surface scans, its possible that the site will yield artifacts and evidence of the early Cagayan culture. The site has already yielded proof of people living in Cagayan de Oro around 1200 BC. Skeletal remains from a nearby cave are believed to be from a person living around 1600 BC.
England – The dig at Firhill Playing Fields, Bellingham, carried out by Birbeck College, University of London, has identified a quarry and building materials used in the 4th century. The archaeologists were attempting to find a Roman road that ran from through Brockley and Bellingham to the North Downs and Lewes. So far there’s no sign that the road ran through the area of the dig which is near Ravensbourne River.
Ecuador – Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that humans inhabited the upper reaches of the Amazon near Sand Ana Florida 4500 years ago. Remains of a monument and stone receptacles were discovered in southern Ecuador close to the Peruvian border by Ecuadorian and French archaeologists. The finds which include finely engraved and polished stone containers are very similar to that of the Chavin or Cupisnique culture of Peru. The site of the finds is believed to have been used for funereal or ceremonial occasions.
England – Recent digs ad Silbury Hill have shed new light on the largest man made prehistoric mound in Europe. The collapse of the 1776 excavation shaft spurred English Heritage Centre for Archaeology into action. Two small trenches cut at the summit revealed a fragment of an antler lying against a chalk wall. This find led to the first secure reliable carbon dating of the mound to between 2490 -2340 BC which places the site in the late Neolithic. A recent survey of the earthwork revealed that each level of the mound is a polyhedron with several straight sides, up to nine at the base. The uppermost terrace spirals down implying a continuous spiral path from the top to the base. The ditch surrounding the mound was found to be circular in nature with a rectangular western extension that could have been a cistern or reservoir if filled with water. When the ditch dried out in the summer of 2001 a high vegetation mark, running diagonally across the ditch, ran straight edged, about 10 m wide, for some 50 m towards the mound. It may have been dug as a channel to collect water to fill the ditch. The site of Silbury Hill itself may show its importance. It’s constructed near the River Kennet but the summit isn’t higher than the surrounding hills implying it was the site itself that was important. It’s also situated close to other Neolithic sites.
Australia – A cave containing rock art believed to be up to 4000 years old is being hailed as one of the most significant finds of Aboriginal art ever. The finds were found in Wollemi National Park eight years ago and have been kept secret until this recent announcement by officials of the Australian Museum. There are about 203 pristine paintings and stencils dating from 2000 BC to the early 1800s.
China – A 2500 year old tomb of a ruler of the mysterious Ba Kingdom has been unearthed at a site in Luo Jiaba in Xuanhan County, Sichuan province. The site has been under excavation since 1996 but discoveries in the past month had indicated that the tomb of a Ba king was nearby. The newest of the thirty-two tombs was the most majestic representing the highest standards of the Ba culture.
Egypt – Two 4000 year old tombs were found by Belgian archaeologists at Deir el Bersha in the Minya district. The tombs contained terracotta pots and pieces of a gilded human mask. The finds date back to the Middle Kingdom (2040-1785 BC) according to the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The remains of two 1785-1550 BC tombs were also found.
Israel – Recent excavations in Jaffa have unearthed a wine press dating from the Byzantine period (4th to 7th centuries CE). The press has a mosaic floor and wine storage vats and was found during a dig sponsored by the Israel Government Tourist Corporation and the Tel Aviv municipality. Because of the size of the press wine produced from it was probably fro export.
England – A Bronze Age wooden trackway and adjoining platform has been found in Beckton, East London. The site is an area of reclaimed marshland near the Thames. The trackway was just wide enough for a single person to pass and was made of bundles of brushwood pegged down with stakes. It ran along the marsh toward the river and was dated to about 1500 BC. The rare rectangular platform was made of a layer of yew branches fro the base and cut alder poles were laid on top.
Scotland – Recent evidence from the “Gask frontier”, an area consisting of a network of forts and watchtowers between Sterling and Perth, indicate that the initial Roman occupation of Scotland lasted about 15 years and came about peacefully perhaps even with the consent of the native population. One item that supports this is that the pollen evidence shows no decline as would have been expected if the native farmers had been killed by an invading army. Two miles from the Roman fort of Doune, at Coldoch evidence suggest that the native farmers began growing wheat which is a crop not normally grown in Scotland during the Iron Age. This crop was most likely traded to the Roman army and its camp followers. 1st century Roman glass was also found at the settlement suggesting contact between the two groups.
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On This Page
A PART OF CAESAR'S TRIUMPH: VERCINGETORIX
by Lucius Aelius
AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN ETRURIA - PART I
by Aulus Sergius
THE RISE OF PHILIP II OF MACEDON
by Drakus Domitius
BACK TO THE BEGINNING: SUMERIA
by Leah Enkidu
AND HOW IT ALL ENDS: RAGNAROK
by Anya Gepid
AIFA'S ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES
by Aifa Niafer
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 The Campus Martius group in Rome is being re-started under new management! The Campus Martius, which many remember from earlier days, is a military roleplaying group this time situated in the year 159 BC.
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A new group, Eternal Gods, Eternal Lives has been formed in Egypt and is under construction. This roleplaying group will concentrate on the Netjeru, gods and goddesses of Egypt. Join before the playing starts!
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