From hidden treasures nobody came back for to an entire arena for gladiator fights, here
are 10 amazing recent archaeological discoveries!
10.
Calatrava La Vieja
Over the past few decades, archaeologists have discovered four separate treasure stashes
at the ancient walled city of Calatrava La Vieja in Spain’s Ciudad Real province.
Nicknamed “the city of four hidden treasures,” the fortified medieval settlement was established
around 785 A.D.
Two of the hoards discovered there date back to the ninth century, during the age of the
Muslim emirs in Spain.
The other two troves date to the 13th century.
The first stash, which contained over 100 coins dating back to the ninth century, was
discovered in 1960.
Unfortunately for archaeologists, the farmer who found them sold almost all the coins.
In 1995, a construction worker discovered the second hoard, which consisted of around
400 grams of silver coins from the Umayyad Emirs of al-Andalus and other Islamic dynasties.
Archaeologists found the third trove of 71 coins dating between 1212 and 1217, during
the reign of Alfonso VIII, in 2004.
But that's not all!!
The most recent find, uncovered in 2010, contains 29 coins that were minted between the end
of the 12th century and 1264.
The treasures were likely hidden during times of instability and perceived danger, according
to a study.
At its peak, Calatrava La Vieja had an estimated 4,000 residents.
The city fell into decline at the end of the 13th century amid decreased military importance
as the war line between Christians and Muslims moved further south.
Researchers describe these discoveries as evidence of “how movable fortunes were hidden
in secret places” and a reminder that not everyone who hid their treasure survived to
retrieve it.
9.
Sarcophagus in Olive Grove
For thousands of years, the story of the Trojan war was believed to be mostly myth, since
much of it was written by Homer who was a writer and a poet and liked to embellish things.
Ancient historians questioned the account of the siege of Troy and how much of the epic
story of love and war is actually real.
Scenes from the battle have been found on artwork all over the ancient world and even
though the lost city itself was found in the 19th century, the details remain murky.
In 2015 and 2016 archaeologists uncovered a marble sarcophagus dating back to the 2nd
century BC.
Taken from a necropolis known as the “city of the dead '' located in northwestern Turkey,
the place is constantly monitored by police to prevent thieves from stealing precious
artifacts.
A nearby olive grove has become the center of a lawsuit since it is an archaeological
site and there were rumors that illegal excavations had found something very interesting.
Whoever found the sarcophagi removed them and took them to a museum.
Now there is a fight as to who owns the artifacts, who has to pay for excavations, all kinds
of problems and now the woman that owns the olive grove has a major headache to deal with!
While all this is going on the sarcophagi are now safe and sound and historians examining
them at the İznik Archeology Museum found that they had small statues depicting the
warrior Achilles and the Greek King Agememnon, as well as sculptures representing the spring,
summer, and autumn seasons.
The sarcophagi tell the story of the Trojan war.
One has a relief of Eros with a lotus flower and it’s believed it was used for the burial
of a queen.
It is the only one of its kind ever found.
8.
Botched Seal
During the 13th or 14th century, an aristocrat in eastern England used a silver seal bearing
an engraved design, called an intaglio, to sign and authenticate documents.
Recently discovered by a metal detectorist in Norfolk, the badly-burned seal was set
with a Roman-carved gem.
But according to experts, the person who used it was likely unaware of this!
Inscribed with an image of a winged figure holding a spear, believed to be the Roman
god Mars, the artifact’s owner probably mistook it for being from the Mediterranean
and the time of the Crusades, rather than from Romain Britain, according to Norfolk
finds liaison officer Helen Geake, who spoke with the BBC.
It’s encased inside a silver seal matrix that would normally be flat, but is lumpy
and rounded due to heat damage.
Geake explained that seals like this were primarily used for authenticating, or “signing,”
a document written by someone else.
Because of the damage, the inscription is proving difficult to decipher, but someone
with a seal like this was likely an aristocrat, or someone “high up,” as Geake put it.
And while the person’s identity is a mystery at least for now, it’s safe to assume that
they were a baron, bishop, or other member of the “one percent” at the time.
This is the fourth seal matrix found in Norfolk out of just 50 that have been discovered worldwide,
and this particular example is the only burned one, leading Geake to speculate that perhaps
it was damaged by accident or in a forest fire.
Either way, in her words, “it’s seen a lot of action.”
7.
A Mysterious Sacred Structure
While excavating at Istanbul’s historic Haydarpaşa train station recently, archaeologists
discovered the ruins of what they describe as a “mysterious structure” likely dating
back to the third century B.C. Found beneath the station’s waiting platforms in the ancient
city of Khalkedon, also known as the “Land of the Blind,” the building is shaped like
an apse, a vaulted space usually in the shape of a semicircle.
This feature is common among ancient churches, and experts believe that the roughly 2,500-year-old
building is the oldest structure among those excavated so far, and that it was considered
sacred to those who built and used it.
In addition to the building, archaeologists found objects dating as far back as 6 B.C.,
such pots and coins, and an array of buildings, including one that may have been used as a
warehouse and a collection of structures that could have been a small summer palace.
Excavations at the site began in 2018 after the Train Station was closed for renovations.
The discoveries are offering unprecedented insight into the ancient civilizations that
once populated Anatolia and Istanbul.
6.
Stolen Artifacts Found
In May of this year, Italian police announced that fragments from six frescoes that they
believe were stolen from Roman villas in and around Pompeii during the 1970s have been
returned to Italy.
Three of the pieces, which date back to the first century and depict a cherub playing
a flute, a dancing woman carrying a tray, and a woman’s head, were taken from the
ancient coastal city of Stabiae, which is located roughly 2.8 miles (4.5 km) southwest
of Pompeii and was also buried in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.
The artwork was smuggled across international lines and to collectors in the U.S., Britain,
and Switzerland during the 1990s.
A cultural protection squad working under Italy’s Carabinieri police seized the frescoes
last year as part of a larger investigation into stolen and trafficked archaeological
goods.
The other three frescoes were seized in 2012 after police caught the thieves illegally
excavating them red-handed from a villa in Civita Giuliana, which sits just a half-mile
(0.8 km) northwest of Pompeii.
Inside the same villa, where excavations began in 2017, long after thieves had tunneled their
way in, archaeologists discovered the remains of two victims of the eruption, who they believe
were a master and his slave.
To law enforcement and experts alike, the return of the ancient works to their rightful
place is cause for celebration, especially amid heightened efforts to combat artifact
smugglers.
5.
Mysterious Runes
While examining a cow bone dating back to the seventh century in the Czech Republic,
archaeologist Alena Slámová noticed some unusual scratches.
Upon further inspection, experts identified the markings as Germanic runic letters.
The discovery upended the previously held belief that this Slavic alphabet was not used
until the ninth century, leaving archaeologists shocked.
These runes could change history!!
They do not know who carved the inscriptions, but a new study suggests that the author was
a Slav who had learned the Germanic alphabet or someone from a Germanic tribe living in
a Slavic region.
Expert Robert Nedoma identified the writing specifically as Elder Futhark runes, a 24-letter
alphabet that was used from the first to the seventh centuries by German-speaking peoples
of central Europe.
In an official statement, the scholars clarify that the bone contains no specific message,
but instead bears the alphabet’s last seven letters and contains several mistakes, suggesting
that it was a “learning aid.”
Tensions between Slavic and German peoples have continued into modern times, making the
discovery especially significant.
It has given rise to increased animosity between the two groups today and proposes the very
realistic possibility that literacy was achieved in the Slavic world much earlier than previously
thought.
At the very least, researchers hope that this leads to further discoveries of runic lettering
that will help them fill in critical gaps of its history.
4.
Burial in a Bed
Archaeologists at Kozani in northern Greece recently revealed the surprising discovery
of the bed and remains of a wealthy first-century woman bearing ties to the god Apollo.
Uncovered between 2018 and 2020, it constitutes the first known discovery of a preserved bed
in Greece, as well as the first time someone has been found buried in this fashion.
The bed survived for thousands of years mainly because it was made from bronze.
It had wooden components, which deteriorated by the time it was discovered.
Last year, archaeologists constructed a replica of the bed, complete with these missing parts.
This fascinating discovery confirms that Ancient Greek people were buried in their beds.
The identity of the woman remains unknown, but it’s evident that she was wealthy or
perhaps even a royal due to the array of luxury items found buried with her and the golden
laurel leaves on her head.
She died when she was middle-aged, and if she wasn’t rich, it’s likely that she
was a religious authority of some sort.
Parts of her bed were adorned with mermaid heads, as well as an aquatic bird with a snake
in its mouth, which is a symbol of the god Apollo.
The leaves on the woman’s head were also likely symbolic of Apollo, who is characterized
by the laurel tree and leaf.
Ongoing tests should reveal the woman’s age and cause of death, and archaeologists
are currently working to create a life-sized replica of her bed.
3.
Roman Gladiator Arena
Last summer, archaeologists discovered the remains of a Roman-era theater in the ancient
city of Mastaura, located in modern-day Turkey’s Aydin Province.
The 1,800-year-old structure once seated as many as 20,000 spectators, but is now mostly
underground, according to project survey leader Mehmet Umut Tuncer.
The team that made the discovery first noticed sizable stonework sticking out of the ground.
They got to work excavating the building and protecting it from nature and the elements,
and meanwhile dated it to around 200 A.D.
The arena was built during the Severan Dynasty, which encompassed five emperors and spanned
from 193 to 235 A.D.
For the most part, the structure is well-preserved, with some rows of seats, the building’s
supporting walls, and the arena where gladiators fought remaining intact.
It was smaller than the Colosseum, with 82-foot-tall (25 meters) walls and a central arena measuring
131 by 98 feet (40 by 30 meters).
Mastaura was very “developed and rich” at the time thanks to Roman administrators
who focused on the city’s economic growth, according to the study’s authors.
The increased variety and volume of Mastaura’s coins during that time period are a testament
to this growth.
Along with these improvements came the arena, where visitors placed bets on gruesome gladiator
and wild animal fights.
For those who could afford it, there were entertainment rooms for private spectators,
and the building also had waiting rooms for the gladiators.
It’s the only known theater of its type ever found in Anatolia, according to the researchers;
consequently, it attracted spectators from neighboring cities and all around.
For now, the team’s goal is to clean and preserve what’s left of the arena, then
to do geophysical surveys to better understand the parts of it that remain underground.
2.
The Home of Harriet Tubman’s Father
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased a 2,600-acre (1,052 hectares) plot
of land on Maryland’s Eastern Shore for conservation purposes.
Known as the Peter’s Neck Property, it’s part of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge,
which has lost over 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) of land to rising sea levels since it was
established in 1933.
This particular area, however, is projected to remain above sea level at least until 2100.
Additionally, officials speculated that the property might contain the home of Harriet
Tubman’s father, Ben Ross.
And they were right -- in late April, archaeologists announced that they had discovered the site.
Located near the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, the 10-acre (4 hectares)
parcel of land was bequeathed to Ross by his enslaver, Anthony Thompson.
Ross received the land and his freedom in the 1840s, five years after Thompson died,
according to the slave owner’s will.
It is here that a young Harriet Tubman, then named Araminta Ross, learned some of the valuable
navigation skills that she used for escaping and helping escaped slaves reach freedom along
the Underground Railroad.
A team of archaeologists began digging last November, and after getting off to a frustrating
start, they found a half-dollar coin from 1808 -- the same year Ben Ross and his wife
married.
Although the home’s foundation was missing, they uncovered numerous other 19th-century
artifacts that helped them identify exactly where Ross lived, including nails, brick,
glass, dish fragments, pottery, and a button.
The discovery was made just in time, because although the land is predicted to remain above
sea level for some time, it’s not immune to the effects of climate change, and there’s
a good chance that it will soon become a marsh.
1.
Ancient Tools
Located in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, Wonderwerk Cave is full of clues
about our prehistoric past.
Here there is evidence that human ancestors were crafting stone tools as far back as 1.8
million years ago.
The tools were found in a layer of sediment within the cave that also contained animal
remains and fire remnants.
Using several dating methods, experts determined that the shift from simple Oldowan stone tools,
such as sharp flakes and objects used for chopping, to more complex objects like basic
hand axes, occurred around one million years ago, which is also when our ancestors were
first known to deliberately create fire.
Wonderwerk Cave is, quite possibly, the oldest known home that was inhabited by early humans.
First excavated in the 1940s, it contains a plethora of artwork and other artifacts
reflecting a long history of use by our predecessors, and these discoveries are helping researchers
piece together the little-understood timeline of human evolution and migration, as well
as how these things relate to climate change.