A Man, a Horse And a Dog Found in Extremely Rare Boat Burial Unearthed in Sweden

Not one, but two incredibly rare boat burials have been excavated in Uppsala, Sweden. One of these was still intact, with remains inside of not just a human, but also a dog and even a horse, all in good condition. According to archaeologists, it is a remarkable find, and indicates the burial of a high-status male.

"This is a unique excavation," said archaeologist Anton Seiler of Swedish archaeology firm The Archaeologists. "The last excavation of this grave type in Old Uppsala was almost 50 years ago."

Ship burials are found all across Europe, particularly in Scandinavian countries, but that doesn't mean they were common. They seemed to have been reserved for the upper echelons of society, those of the very highest status. These elite individuals were interred inside a ship, or a smaller boat, often loaded with rich grave goods.

The addition of horses, dogs, and hunting birds was also not uncommon.

"It is a small group of people who were buried in this way," Seiler explained. "You can suspect that they were distinguished people in the society of the time since burial ships in general are very rare."

Read the rest of this article...

Climate change threatens Greenland's archaeological sites: study

Students and scientists investigate materials found at the Norse site Iffiartarfik
[Credit: Roberto Fortuna, National Museum of Denmark]

In Greenland, climate change isn't just a danger to ecosystems but also a threat to history, as global warming is affecting archaeological remains, according to a study published Thursday.

There are more than 180,000 archaeological sites across the Arctic, some dating back thousands of years, and previously these were protected by the characteristics of the soil.

"Because the degradation rate is directly controlled by the soil temperature and moisture content, rising air temperatures and changes in precipitation during the frost-free season may lead to a loss of organic key elements such as archaeological wood, bone and ancient DNA," the report, published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports, stated.
Read the rest of this article...

Roman coins 'may be linked to Boudiccan revolt'

 The coins dated between 153BC and AD61
Suffolk County Council

A hoard of Roman coins found in a field may have been hidden there during the Boudiccan revolt, an expert has said.

The trove of 60 denarii, dating between 153BC and AD60-61, was found in a field near Cookley, in Suffolk, by a metal detectorist.

Dr Anna Booth, who examined the find, said there "might be a link with the Boudiccan revolt" and the coins.

Queen Boudicca led the Iceni tribe against the Romans in AD61 which led to the destruction of Colchester.

Most of the coins dated from the Republic era, pre-27BC, but there were also denarii minted during the reigns of emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero.

Read the rest of this article...

Deux sols de mosaïque antiques au cœur de Poitiers

Située au nord-ouest de l’église Notre-Dame-la-Grande, la fouille se situe dans un secteur particulièrement sensible du point de vue archéologique compte-tenu de la densité importante des vestiges reconnus, notamment pour l’Antiquité. La surface de 230 m²  présente une grande densité de vestiges enchevêtrés et mobilise sept archéologues pendant sept semaines (du 11 juin au 26 juillet). Prescrite par la Drac Nouvelle-Aquitaine, cette fouille est mise en œuvre par la Communauté urbaine de Grand-Poitiers.

Read the rest of this article...

A Skull Bone Discovered in Greece May Alter the Story of Human Prehistory

A reconstruction of Apidima 2, which was shown to be a Neanderthal skull. A far older skull fragment, Apidima 1, was also assumed to be Neanderthal, but scientists now say it belonged to a modern human.
CreditCreditKaterina Harvati, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

The bone, found in a cave, is the oldest modern human fossil ever discovered in Europe. It hints that humans began leaving Africa far earlier than once thought.
A skull fragment found in the roof of a cave in southern Greece is the oldest fossil of Homo sapiens ever discovered in Europe, scientists reported on Wednesday.

Until now, the earliest remains of modern humans found on the Continent were less than 45,000 years old. The skull bone is more than four times as old, dating back over 210,000 years, researchers reported in the journal Nature.

The finding is likely to reshape the story of how humans spread into Europe, and may revise theories about the history of our species.

Read the rest of this article...

Cannonballs, skulls and jewellery: Archaeologists discover 'Bronze Age relics' in Edinburgh city centre, delaying Richard Branson’s new hotel

Building of first Virgin Hotel in Britain has been delayed for a year after archaeologists at the Edinburgh site unearthed artefacts dating back 1,000 years ( Jon Savage /SWNS ) 

The opening of Sir Richard Branson‘s first Virgin Hotel in Britain has been delayed by a year after archaeologists at the site unearthed artefacts dating back 1,000 years.

The excavation in Edinburgh has lasted more than a year, three times longer than expected, due to the range of objects and material discovered from the 10th century.

Experts say the remains of buildings found predate Edinburgh Castle and the creation of the town burgh by David I by around 200 years.

The work has also unearthed ditches and walls marking the original boundary of the city and some of the discoveries could date as far back as the Bronze Age.

Read the rest of this article...

In pictures: New Unesco World Heritage Sites

Every year, natural and cultural landmarks from around the world are singled out for their "outstanding universal value" to humanity.

Unesco's World Heritage Committee has been meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan to decide which sites deserve special status and protection.

The 43rd session meets until Wednesday 10 July, but here are some additions made to their list so far.

Read the rest of this article...

The first Europeans weren’t who you might think

Genetic tests of ancient settlers' remains show that Europe is a melting pot of bloodlines from Africa, the Middle East, and today's Russia.
The idea that there were once “pure” populations of ancestral Europeans, there since the days of woolly mammoths, has inspired ideologues since well before the Nazis. It has long nourished white racism, and in recent years it has stoked fears about the impact of immigrants: fears that have threatened to rip apart the European Union and roiled politics in the United States.

Now scientists are delivering new answers to the question of who Europeans really are and where they came from. Their findings suggest that the continent has been a melting pot since the Ice Age. Europeans living today, in whatever country, are a varying mix of ancient bloodlines hailing from Africa, the Middle East, and the Russian steppe.

The evidence comes from archaeological artifacts, from the analysis of ancient teeth and bones, and from linguistics. But above all it comes from the new field of paleogenetics. During the past decade it has become possible to sequence the entire genome of humans who lived tens of millennia ago. Technical advances in just the past few years have made it cheap and efficient to do so; a well-preserved bit of skeleton can now be sequenced for around $500.

The result has been an explosion of new information that is transforming archaeology. In 2018 alone, the genomes of more than a thousand prehistoric humans were determined, mostly from bones dug up years ago and preserved in museums and archaeological labs. In the process any notion of European genetic purity has been swept away on a tide of powdered bone.

Read the rest of this article...

Viking Burial Ships Uncovered in 'Sensational' Archaeological Find

Archaeologists have discovered two Viking burial ships in the Swedish municipality of Uppsala.

A find of this type is rare in the country. In fact, only around ten discoveries of this kind have been made to date in the Scandinavian nation, according to researchers.

"This is a unique excavation, the last burial ship was examined 50 years ago," Anton Seiler, an archeologist who works with several Swedish museums, told The Local.

The two vessels—which Saeiler describes as a "sensational" find—were excavated near the grounds of a vicarage in the village of Gamla Uppsala last fall.

These types of burials, where individuals were placed in full-sized boats, were not available to the common folk. They are thought to have been reserved for individuals with high status.

"It is a small group of people who were buried in this way," Seiler said. "You can suspect that they were distinguished people in the society of the time since burial shiaps in general are very rare."

Read the rest of this article...

Exercise Shallow Grave

Mary-Ann Ochota joins Archaeologist of the Year,  Richard Osgood and his team of veterans and local archaeologists as they unearth Saxon artefacts and develop life changing skills.

An idyllic site in Gloucestershire has yielded some important 6th Century artifacts and is vulnerable both to ploughing and ‘night hawking’. But what’s going on above ground is just as valuable as what lies beneath it.

Lead by former Marine Dickie Bennet, ‘Breaking Ground Heritage (BGH)’ uses archaeology and heritage to develop projects that encourage physical and psychological well-being amongst former members of the armed forces.  Working alongside trained archaeologists, participants bring their skills of attention to detail and resilience whilst also building their own recovery pathways, empowering them to regain control of their lives.

Read the rest of this article...

Viking Grave Discovery In Sweden Leaves Archaeologists Stunned

A member of the Arckeologerna team at the grave site in Sweden.

Arckeologerna, National Historical Museums

Swedish authorities have announced the first viking boat grave discoveries in the country in more than fifty years. Archaeologists taking part in a routine dig in Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), 46 miles (74km) north of Stockholm, were shocked as they unearthed the viking boat graves that included human remains.

There are only a handful of known burial sites of this kind in the country. While rare in Sweden, discoveries of viking burial sites have become more frequent elsewhere in Scandinavia. Last year, Norwegian archaeologists found remains of longhouses and at least one ship lying just below the topsoil near Halden in the south-east of Norway. Just months later, another ship discovery was made on the shores of the Oslofjord at the Midgard Viking Center in Horten.

Read the rest of this article...

Late Iron Age chariot pieces found in Pembrokeshire

Archaeologists discovered bronze artefacts, the iron tyres of the chariot wheels and an iron sword

MUSEUM WALES

Archaeologists have discovered more artefacts at the first Celtic chariot burial site to be found in southern Britain.

Two iron tyres and a sword from the chariot were retrieved during an excavation in Pembrokeshire.

The exact site remains a secret and follows the discovery of decorative objects by a metal detector enthusiast on the same land in February 2018.

National Museum Wales is conserving the chariot pieces.

Archaeologists had suspected they would uncover more beneath the farmland where metal detectorist Mike Smith found a number of objects associated with a chariot.

Following an initial investigation in June 2018 by archaeologists from National Museum Wales and Dyfed Archaeological Trust, a dig was carried out in March and April, funded by National Museum Wales, Cadw and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Read the rest of this article...

Viking men were buried with cooking gear

Scientists often imagine that men’s and women’s roles during the Viking Age were clearly differentiated, archaeologist Marianne Moen says. “The illustrations show women making food and holding children, while men were active, in battle,” she says. But maybe this wasn’t the way things were. The illustration is from “Vikinger i vest” (Vikings in the West), published in 2009. 

(Illustration: Peter Duun)

What were gender roles like during Viking times? A Norwegian archaeologist thinks we often misinterpret the past based on our current cultural assumptions.
Marianne Moen says that gender roles during Viking times weren’t nearly as differentiated as we might think.

“I think we need to move away from distinguishing between men’s and women’s roles during the Viking times,” she said. Moen has completed her PhD on Viking Age gender roles at the University of Oslo. Her research shows that upper-class men and women generally were buried with the same types of items — including cooking gear.

Moen went through the contents of 218 Viking graves in Vestfold, a county on the southwest side of Oslo Fjord, and sorted the artefacts she found according to type. Many of the graves were richly equipped with everything from cups and plates to horses and other livestock.

Read the rest of this article...

Ancient Humans Dietary Habits Reflected In Bonobo Aquatic Greens Diet

Bonobos have been spotted doing something interesting in the Congo basin. They are scouring the swamp in search of aquatic herbs that are packed with iodine, a nutrient that is very important for advancing the growth of higher cognitive abilities. That could help scientists understand the nutritional needs and practices of ancient humans. The Bonobo consumption of food rich in iodine is the first-ever recorded by a species other than humans.

“Our results have implications for our understanding of the immigration of prehistoric human populations into the Congo basin,” Dr. Gottfried Hohmann, the lead author of the study comments.

“Bonobos as a species can be expected to have similar iodine requirements to humans, so our study offers—for the first time—a possible answer on how pre-industrial human migrants may have survived in the Congo basin without artificial supplementation of iodine,” the researcher added.

Read the rest of this article...

Bones and wall uncovered at clifftop fort in Aberdeenshire

Tests to date charcoal and bones found at Dillyminnen are to be carried out

KATIE SOUTH

The first modern archaeological excavation of an ancient clifftop fort in Aberdeenshire has begun.

Several digs were done at Dillyminnen, near Gamrie, in the 1860s.

The remnants of two rectangular buildings were identified and unidentifiable bone fragments and a glass bead were found at the time.

A large stone wall along with charcoal and bones have now been uncovered by a team of archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen.

Further analysis of the charcoal and bones will be done, including tests to radiocarbon-date the finds.

Read the rest of this article...

Calstock Roman dig reveals 'unexpected' mine

Mine workings reveal the Romans were exploiting the mineral-rich area

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Archaeologists digging near a Roman fort in Cornwall have unearthed remains of a mine and a Roman road.

The discoveries were made during a new dig near a fort found at Calstock in 2007, one of only three such sites known in the county.

Experts will carry out further analysis of a previously-unknown series of deep pits, connected by arched tunnels.

Dig leader Dr Chris Smart, from the University of Exeter, said the mine was an "unexpected bonus".

Read the rest of this article...

Roman road and possible mine discovered during Cornish dig

View of the possible mining pits looking north [Credit: University of Exeter]

Archaeologists have discovered a Roman road and possible ancient mine during excavations in Cornwall as they work to discover more about the history of the county.

Experts will carry out further analysis of the previously-unknown series of deep pits, which are connected by arched tunnels. It is likely to be yet another mine worked many hundreds of years ago when this area of South East Cornwall and West Devon was famed for having some of the richest mineral deposits in the world.

Archaeologists from the University of Exeter and local volunteers have been digging for the past month near to the site of a previously-found Roman fort at Calstock, in the Tamar Valley. This year’s excavation has focused on an area outside the fort’s west gate, which was at the front of the fort, originally facing hostile territory.

As well as the possible mine they have discovered a Roman road, which would have served regular military traffic in and out of the fort. The excavation has revealed a rare glimpse of timber-built Roman military buildings constructed outside of the fort, as well as a series of rubbish and cess pits, indicating that the Roman army was also active outside of the fort’s defences.

Read the rest of this article...

Orkney world heritage sites threatened by climate change

The world heritage status of Orkney's archaeological treasures is threatened by climate change, a report has warned.

Rising seas and higher rainfall mean the Heart of Neolithic Orkney site is "extremely vulnerable", experts said.

Their assessment is being presented at a Unesco meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The method used to assess the impact of a warmer, wetter climate on Orkney could eventually be rolled out to all 1,092 Unesco World Heritage Sites.

Read the rest of this article...

Britain’s Atlantis: Evidence of Stone Age human activity found beneath North Sea

Archaeologists have found evidence of ancient human activity on Britain’s very own “Atlantis”. 

Scientists investigating a drowned Stone Age landscape at the bottom of the North Sea have discovered two potential prehistoric settlement sites on the banks of a long-vanished ancient river.

It is the first time that an archaeological expedition has ever found such evidence far offshore under the huge body of water. 

In the past, prehistoric artefacts have on occasions been trawled up by fishermen and found by oil exploration teams – but the seabed contexts they came from were never archaeologically assessed.

This time, the discoveries are part of a systematic archaeological survey.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists discover that Roman dockers ate surprisingly well – until the barbarians arrived

Built during the reign of Claudius in the 1st century AD at the mouth of the Tiber,
Portus was the epicentre of Roman trade for centuries. 

(Photo: Portus Project/Artas Media)

British-led study finds that all inhabitants of the town of Portus had a similar diet rich in meat and North African wine

Ancient Rome may have not have had much to offer its subjects by way of equality but when it came to the diet of its dockers at least it seems they dined something like emperors.

A British-led archaeological study of remains found in Portus, the maritime port which served Rome, has found that its labouring inhabitants benefited from the flow of goods through the town by having a diet entirely similar to that of its wealthy ruling citizens – at least until the “barbarians” arrived.
Exotic goods
The study, based on an analysis of food and human remains at locations around the manmade port to the west of Rome, found that dockers or “saccarii” benefited from their work unloading the flow of exotic goods – including bears and crocodiles – to the heart of the ancient empire with a diet rich in animal protein, imported wheat, olive oil and wine from North Africa.

Comparison with remains found at locations where rich and middle class inhabitants lived during the second to the fifth centuries AD found the same sort of diet, suggesting that Portus was unusual in the Roman world in that rich and poor ate similarly well.

Read the rest of this article...

Anglesey archaeology: Bronze Age cairn dig at Bryn Celli Ddu

Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber is aligned to the sun and is lit during the summer solstice

AERIAL-CAM

An excavation is under way on the site of a suspected 4,500-year-old burial cairn that lies next to one of Wales' most important prehistoric monuments.

Experts are hoping to learn more about it and its relationship to Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber at Anglesey.

The 5,000-year-old "passage tomb" is aligned to coincide with the rising sun on the summer solstice.

Dr Ffion Reynolds said the cairn showed the site remained a "special location" centuries after the chamber was built.

Read the rest of this article...

Archaeologists uncover megalithic monument thought to be unlike any found in Ireland to date

IT Sligo Archaeology students Jazmin Scally Koulak and Eugene Anderson sieving the soil at Carrowmore excavation

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION in Co Sligo has uncovered a megalithic monument thought to be unlike any found in Ireland to date. 

Several prehistoric tools made from a hard stone called chert were discovered and are thought to have been used for activities such as working animal hides, cutting and preparing food, basket food, basket working and bone working. 

The discovery was made by a team of archaeologists from IT Sligo during a two-week excavation of a prehistoric monument in the heart of the Carrowmore megalithic complex in Co Sligo. 

Carrowmore in the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland, with 5,500-year-old passage tombs dating from 3,600 BC. 

Read the rest of this article...