11.
VIKINGS IN NORTH AMERICA
In 1960, researchers discovered the remains of a 10th-century Viking settlement in Newfoundland,
Canada.
This place is known as L'Anse aux Meadows and it completely changed history!
More recently, in 2016, National Geographic announced yet another discovery of a likely
Viking site on the southernmost tip of Newfoundland.
During excavations, archaeologists found an ironworking fireplace and the remains of turf
walls.
Although other cultures visited Newfoundland throughout history, including Native Americans
and Basque whale hunters from Spain, the team was confident Norsemen left behind the remains.
The hearth and turf structure are common features of Viking settlements, and nearby evidence
shows that the Vikings used the hearth for smelting iron ore, which was likely used to
create nails to hold the Vikings’ supreme ships together.
The history of Vikings in North America is still being investigated, and the extent to
which they explored the continent remains unknown.
One saga claims an explorer named Thorfinn Karlsefni traveled to the so-called “New
World” around 1,000 years ago in search of wealth and prosperity.
According to the story, he took the same route as the famed Viking Leif Eriksson and settled
near Newfoundland.
Thorfinn and his fellow settlers got into some squabbles with the local natives, who
eventually drove the Vikings out of North America and back to where they came from.
It’s unknown whether this story is true, but the confirmed discoveries of Viking settlements
certainly show that it could be.
10.
SWASTIKA FLOOR TILES During a renovation earlier this year, an
Indiana jeweler had the hardwood flooring of his store ripped out, only to reveal swastika-designed
tiling underneath.
Images of the shocking floor pattern appeared on Reddit’s “Damn That’s Interesting”
forum in late February.
While swastikas are most commonly associated with Nazis and white supremacy, the symbol
long predates the Third Reich’s twisted ideology.
It dates back at least 15,000 years, with the oldest evidence of it being identified
on a prehistoric mammoth’s tusk.
Controversial as it is, it has appeared in many cultures, including Buddhism, Hinduism,
Jainism, and even in Christianity, Ancient Greece, and the Medieval period.
And its meaning has varied over time and based on the beliefs of the different groups that
used it, but the swastika was generally a symbol of well-being or good fortune.
It wasn’t until the Nazis adopted it as their own that it took on the horrific connotations
it carries today.
The jeweler disclosed that the building dates back to the 19th century, so its use of the
pattern is completely unrelated to Nazi beliefs.
Many commenters agreed that the shop owner likely covered up the tile with wood flooring
to avoid being associated with the Nazis, which is completely understandable, all things
considered.
9.
ANCIENT ROMAN TOILET
In a study that was published earlier this year, researchers examined a conical piece
of ancient pottery, much like many others that explorers and researchers have found
throughout the former Roman empire.
The particular artifact in question came from the bathing complex of a centuries-old villa
in Sicily.
Experts initially assumed that people used this type of pottery for storage.
But they kept finding the vessels near public latrines, leading them to wonder if they were
chamber pots.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge, who analyzed what they described as a “crusty
material” that was caked onto the inside of the pot, recently proved their suspicions.
They found the eggs of an intestinal parasite called whipworm, confirming the suspicion
that the vessel was a chamber pot and that it once held human waste.
The discovery marks the first time scientists have found parasitic eggs in the residue inside
a Roman piece of pottery.
The team that made the findings hopes other researchers will adopt the technique they
used to examine other Roman jars that people may have used for the same purpose.
While the only way to tell if a vessel functioned as a chamber pot is to detect intestinal parasites
in the material left behind, it’s likely that this parasite commonly infected the people
of Ancient Rome, so this is probably a good way to identify ancient toilets.
8.
DA VINCI DRAWING
In 2016, the French auction house Tajan initially valued a 15th-century drawing called Étude
pour un Saint-Sébastien dans un paysage at somewhere between $21,460 and $32,191 (€20,000
and €30,000).
Later that year, they deemed it to be an original Leonardo da Vinci Work, and its estimated
value skyrocketed to around $16,100,000 (€15,000,000).
Not long after that, French officials declared the sketch a “national treasure” and banned
its owner from selling it.
As part of the agreement, the country’s cultural ministry had 30 months to buy the
artwork.
But the sketch’s elderly owner rejected the ministry’s meager offer of just $10,700,000
(€10,000,000), and the ministry withdrew its offer.
Once the 30 months had passed, the owner applied for a certificate to sell the drawing abroad.
But they’ve found themselves entangled in what the French government claims is an ongoing
investigation into allegations that someone had stolen the sketch, leaving the owner stuck
in a legal limbo of sorts.
At the last update, the owner’s lawyer had sued several members of France’s cultural
ministry, hoping to force them to issue the certificate.
7.
MASSIVE UNDERGROUND CITY
Archaeologists have just announced the discovery of a massive ancient city called Matiate beneath
the streets of Turkey’s Mardin province.
A cleaning crew discovered a cave that was part of the city during a project dedicated
to cleaning and preserving historic houses.
Suspecting it may lead to more, archaeologists carried out excavations and found the rest
of it.
They found an abundance of artifacts dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries, as well
as water wells, corridors, places of worship, and more.
Found beneath the city of Midyat, the subterranean settlement differs from other ancient underground
cities that archaeologists have found in the past, according to Mardin Museum director
Gani Tarkan, who spoke with The Daily Sabah.
He said that Matiate first emerged as a hiding place for Christians since the religion wasn’t
official.
Worshipers sought refuge in underground cities or formed their below-ground settlements to
escape Roman persecution.
At its peak, the ancient city was home to about 60,000 to 70,000 residents.
Tarkan said that his team plans to expand their excavations throughout the entire district.
6.
TEMPLE TO ZEUS
Archeologists have just unearthed a temple dedicated to the Greek god Zeus on Egypt’s
Sinai peninsula, according to the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry.
The dig took place at the Tell el-Farma archaeological site, also known by its ancient name Pelusium.
The site dates back to the late Pharaonic period, and its use continued into the Greco-Roman
and Byzantine times, as well as the Christian and early Islamic periods.
The excavation team started their dig at two massive, fallen granite columns which mark
the temple’s entrance.
They also found enormous granite blocks that worshipers may have used as a staircase.
Researchers have known about the temple as far back as 1900 when French Egyptologist
Zeus-Kasios discovered it but didn’t excavate it.
The Roman Emperor Hadrian renovated the temple during the 2nd century, according to inscriptions
found in the area.
An earthquake ultimately destroyed it.
Who is your favorite god from Greek mythology?
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5.
NEW FINDINGS ON THE ROMAN FINANCIAL CRISIS
By 90 B.C., the Roman Empire was in danger of financial collapse.
Researchers have long suspected that this was due largely to its excessive military
spending and involvement in wars, especially in Italy.
But there’s a lot that experts don’t know about the Roman financial crisis.
A group of researchers recently analyzed some of the empire’s coinage to learn more about
this troubling time.
They determined that around the time Rome struggled, its mint started cutting silver
coins with a copper alloy.
This happened in two distinct stages in the years leading up to 87 B.C., at which point
the coins contained anywhere from 5 to 10 percent copper.
Regarding the debt crisis, Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote that “the coinage
was being tossed around so that no one could know what he had.”
Experts were long confused about what that meant, but the new findings shed a lot of
light on the statement.
From that angle, it appears the Romans placed a high value on their coins being made of
pure silver, and that they lost confidence in their currency when the mint began deliberately
infusing the money with copper, making it impure.
4.
ANIMATED CAVE CARVINGS
Between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago, a group of ancient people called the Magdelanians
lived in what is now southern France.
They carved images of animals, humans, geometric shapes, and more into bone, ivory, and on
the walls of limestone caves.
Researchers often glean their most extensive insight into the region’s prehistoric cultures
through these engravings, since other archaeological evidence is scarce.
A recent study examined the carvings on 50 plaquettes by using sophisticated computer
software to amplify the inscriptions.
The team then shined a strobe light on the images and found that it produced an animated
effect by shifting the viewer’s focus from one animal to another.
It made the figures look like they were moving.
There’s also heat damage around some plaquettes, showing that the ancients probably illuminated
them to achieve this effect.
People during this time made cave artwork with very little light, relying primarily
on the flicker of their torches, according to lead study authors Andy Needham and Izzy
Wisher, who spoke with Courthouse News.
And now it appears as though they became so adept at working in near darkness that they
became experts at harnessing this limited light and using it to their advantage.
3.
ANCIENT MIGRATION ROUTE
Thousands of islands scatter the South Pacific.
Some of its first human inhabitants were a group called the Lapita, who reached some
of the region’s most far-flung places as early as 3,000 years ago.
Their languages, pottery, tools, and domestic animals spread along with them.
But their exact migration patterns are a mystery.
For example, researchers long believed that the Lapita avoided Papua New Guinea, presumably
because there were already people living there.
But a new study shows that they lived on the southern tip of the landmass on what’s known
today as Brooker Island.
The oldest layer of sediment at what’s known as the Gutunka archaeological site contains
the bones of many introduced species that the Lapita brought with them, including pigs,
dogs, and rats.
Tools and pottery filled a more recent layer on top of it that is specific to the culture,
serving as definitive proof they settled in Papua New Guinea.
The items include objects made from obsidian sourced from outside the island, as well as
blades that the inhabitants may have used for tattooing.
It appears as though the Lapitas’ presence was sparse and occasional at first, but that
they developed a more permanent presence as time went on.
Evidence shows that their hunting of sea turtles intensified and that their material culture
became more complex as the settlement became more established.
Humans have inhabited Papua New Guinea for around 50,000 years.
Unlike some places the Lapita settled, they weren’t the first people to arrive there.
It may be their interactions with other cultures that prompted them to look elsewhere for a
place to live.
Lead researcher Ben Shaw said that the team found the Gutunka site by a random stroke
of luck, along with the local community’s help and permission, earning them a distinction
as one of the paper’s senior authors.
2.
UNDERWATER MAYA CITY
Between 400 B.C. and 250 A.D.
during what’s known as the Late Preclassic period, the ancient Maya people established
a settlement at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.
On an islet within the lake, the city, known as Sambaj, comprised housing and public buildings,
including temples and plazas.
Today, the ruins sit between 39 and 66 feet (12-20 meters) beneath the water’s surface.
Researchers recently looked toward the lake’s origins in their search to find out what caused
the city to become submerged.
Lake Atitlán is volcanic.
It appeared around 84,000 years ago after an eruption caused a caldera to form on top
of the volcano and fill with water.
Experts believe that volcanic activity may have been responsible for causing the settlement
to fall into the water.
Back when the city still existed, several cultures and Maya subgroups inhabited the
area surrounding the lake.
Researchers have identified many settlements besides Sambaj.
A group of researchers are inspecting the site and have found buildings, ceramics, and
other artifacts that were previously undiscovered.
Their next step is to create a map of Sambaj, which they’ve determined measures at least
656 by 984 feet (200 x 300 meters).
This will enable people to take a virtual tour of a fascinating ancient place they would
otherwise not get to see.
1.
SUMERIAN RIVERBOAT
Starting as early as 5000 B.C., the world’s largest city was a place called Uruk, in what
is now Iraq.
This is where the legendary king Gilgamesh lived and it may also be where people developed
the world’s first writing system.
In 2018, archaeologists found some black tar, or bitumen, on what would have been the outskirts
of Uruk.
It’s all that’s left of a riverboat that was likely made of reeds, palm leaves, wood,
or some other organic material that has long since decayed.
Evidence shows that the boat was roughly 23 feet (7 meters) long and five feet (1.5 meters)
wide.
It was a good size for navigating Sumer’s canals and channels and probably served its
purpose well until it sank into a river that no longer exists.
By the time someone built the boat around 2000 B.C., Uruk was entering its decline.
When the boat was first discovered, archaeologists left it in place to avoid damaging it.
But it eventually became clear that the sediment it was buried in wouldn't protect it for much
longer, so they recently dug it up.
It is now on display at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.
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