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Feeling upbeat? We've got the cure for that! Welcome to another edition of
Bad Discoveries, in which we bring yet another delicious serving of the
buffet of bad news from recent archaeological finds.
Let's take a big bite of misfortune! An impressively well-preserved Bronze Age village was
uncovered in the Must Farm quarry in Britain during 2016. Destroyed by fire
prompting sudden evacuation the dwellings remained preserved in mud for
centuries. This affords us a time capsule of daily life in the period of 1200 to
800 BC featuring various items including textiles, tools, dishes, and food. What came
of the fleeing inhabitants? Given that they lacked time to take essentials such
as food in the crisis, prospects for their long-term survival seem doubtful.
Also in 2016, divers off the coast of Israel near the ancient port of Caesarea
discovered an ancient shipwreck containing an astounding number of
ancient artifacts including extremely well-preserved bronze statues and
thousands of coins near fragments of large jars. Analysis of the remains
indicates that the ship was caught in strong winds, and attempts to use anchors
were too late to prevent the ship's demise. As bronze items were often melted
down and recycled in the ancient world, shipwreck discoveries constitute most of
what can be found. Required to turn the discovery over to the Israel Antiquities
Authority, the divers were rewarded with gratitude and little else. Financial
compensation is not on the table under most conditions. Archaeologists have
found the remains of a boat burial in Abydos Egypt. Although only a few planks
remain today, drawings of various other boats along with numerous pottery
vessels have been found at the site. We don't know with certainty the reason for
so many drawings of boats in the middle of a desert region, but we do know that
this burial dates to 1850 BC around the time of Senwosret III. He was the
most powerful ruler of his era, having killed many
Nubians during egypt's conquest of their territory. His reign lasted a respectable
39 years and he may have lived on for another 20 years during his son's reign.
He was worshiped as a deity. Has the cost of athletic shoes got you down? The Vindolanda Trust feels your pain.
In Britain around 1800 years ago several hundred soldiers and their families took cover behind a wall while battles between Roman troops and the British raged. Once the fighting ended the inhabitants that
sheltered there threw everything they couldn't carry into ditches. Over time
this was covered by other buildings and was preserved by the cold mud.
Archaeologists excavated the ditch and found dog and cat skeletons and some
pottery. Most notably however they found 421 Roman shoes. There were shoes for
children, athletes, men, and women. It's a remarkable example of Roman footwear.
Unfortunately the discovery of so many shoes greatly increased the costs
required to preserve them all. The Vindolanda Trust, which manages those
items had to ask the public for help to, in quotes, "conserve a shoe." Without any
outside funds, preservation of this ancient footwear is entirely dependent
upon donations. A team of archeologists studied a pair of mummified legs on
display in an Italian Museum. They think these may have actually
belonged to Queen Nefertari, Ramses II's favorite wife. Her tomb was
plundered in ancient times but was excavated in 1904, with some of the
remaining items sent to Turin Italy at the time. The mummified legs being among them.
The results of various tests the archaeologists performed on the legs
showed that they belonged to a 40 year old woman. Chemical analysis also showed
the methods used to embalm the legs are consistent with methods from the 13th
century BC. Additional corroborating evidence helped confirm their conclusions.
Villagers fleeing bronze-age fires, shipwrecks, expensive shoes, and forgotten
mummy legs... What other dreadful, curious, and frankly weird items have the
world's researchers found? We're happy to tell you all about it, and we hope you'll
help us by subscribing. Thank you for watching Bad Discoveries.