Among the main finds is a 100-year-old raisin cake, the oldest modern man, many skulls and gold, several drawings, two inscriptions, one sword and a cruiser.
The popular scientific journal Archeology (published by the Archaeological Institute of America) has published its annual list of the main finds of the outgoing year. Science and Life traditionally supplements this rating with the most important Russian discoveries.
I. Skulls of the "Pot-bellied Hill"
Göbekli Tepe ("Pot-bellied Hill") is not only one of the most famous archaeological sites, but also one of the most mysterious. 10-12 thousand years ago, the inhabitants of Anatolia (modern Turkey) built there ring structures of large stones. In these buildings, they were collected for some kind of religious or social needs.
Fragment of a skull from Göbekli Tepe. Photo: Julia Gresky.
In the past year, researchers have established that in ancient times human skulls were suspended in such structures. The fragments found during the excavation refer to the skulls of three people. They were separated after death, cut in a special way, engraved on them, they were painted. There is (forgive the involuntary pun) some ritual unknown to us. But whose skulls deserved such attention - especially revered people or, conversely, enemies - is still unclear.
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II. Lost cruiser
The sunken American heavy cruiser "Indianapolis" during the Second World War was found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. He is infamous for several reasons. The cruiser was the last major U. S. Navy ship to be sunk during that war. Its crash went down in the history of the American fleet as the most massive death of personnel (883 people) as a result of one flooding. In addition, it was "Indianapolis" that delivered the critical parts of the first atomic bomb to Tinian Island, where the Air Force base was located (which was later dropped on Hiroshima).
Heavy cruiser "Indianapolis". Photo: US Navy.
The ship died shortly after completing this controversial mission. He was sunk by a Japanese submarine. In recent decades, the exact location of the remains of the cruiser was unknown, and all attempts to find it were in vain. By comparing the location of another ship, the crew of which was the last to see the Indianapolis, with the route of the latter, historians have calculated the likely area of the wreck. Surveys with an autonomous underwater vehicle confirmed their assumptions.
III. Antarctic cake
The raisin muffin has been lying in a rusty jar at the end of the world (in Antarctica) for 106 years. He was found in a hut at Cape Adair. The house was built in 1899 and was abandoned, apparently, in 1911. The cupcake was left by one of the members of the expedition, Robert Scott. Modern researchers say the cake looks good on the outside and even smells good. Only if you smell the cake very close, it becomes clear that it is not worth eating. It is probably so well preserved because of the cold and dry air.
Cupcake from Antarctica. Photo: Antarctic Heritage Trust / Archeology.
IV. Aztec "golden" wolf
In Mexico City, during excavations at the foot of the Aztec Templo Mayor ("big temple"), a large number of gold objects and the skeleton of a young wolf sacrificed were found. The finds include ear and nose jewelry and a bib. The latter is usually part of a warrior's equipment, and in an open complex it was decorated with a wolf. The head of the beast looks to the west, which symbolizes its following the sun, into another world. The sacrifice was made during the reign of Auisotl (1486–1502), during the war and expansion of the Aztec empire. Found in 2017, the complex is the richest in 40 years of excavations of the temple.
Wolf and Gold from Mexico City. Photo: Mirsa Islas / Templo Mayor Project / Archeology
V. Dawn of Egyptian writing
A large inscription carved into the rock north of the ancient Egyptian city of El-Kab sheds light on the development of the writing of this civilization. Four hieroglyphs appeared around 3250 BC, during the so-called Zero Dynasty, when the Nile Valley was divided into several kingdoms, and writing was just in its infancy.
Pre-dynastic inscription from Egypt. Photo: Alberto Urcia, Elkab Desert Survey Project / Archeology
The researchers saw four symbols: the head of a bull on a pole, two storks and an ibis. In later inscriptions, this sequence was associated with the solar cycle. She could also express the power of the pharaoh over an ordered space. The inscriptions of the Zero Dynasty period known until 2017 were of an exclusively business nature and were small in size (no more than 2.5 cm). The height of the newly discovered signs is about half a meter.
Vi. "Cave" genetics
The remains of early Homo, such as the Neanderthals and Denisovans, have only been discovered at a limited number of sites in Europe and Asia. For a long time, this fact brought archaeologists a complete disappointment: there are much more sites without human bones than with them.
Denisova cave. Photo: Sergey Zelensky / Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences / Archeology
In the past year, a team of researchers gave their colleagues new hope: they were able to trace genetic markers of the presence of ancient Homo in ordinary-looking cave deposits. A team of geneticists studied soil samples from seven sites from France, Belgium, Spain, Croatia and Russia. They managed to find DNA of Neanderthals at three sites up to 60 thousand years old, and in Denisova cave - DNA not only of Neanderthals, but also of Denisovans.
The samples from this site are about 100 thousand years old. In most cases, genetic traces come from layers where no human remains have been found before. Interestingly, the new technique even works with soil samples that were excavated decades ago. Thus, in order to obtain new samples, it is not at all necessary to carry out new excavations.
Vii. Gold of the era of "unmercenaries"
In Lickfreet (North Staffordshire, England), four torques - neck torcs were found. The jewelry dates back to 400 to 250 AD. BC, making them the oldest early Iron Age gold objects ever found in Britain. The find is interesting not by the very fact of its antiquity, but by the fact that it was not at all typical for its time.
Gold hryvnia from Lykfrit. Photo: Joe Giddens / PA Archive / PA Images / Archeology
For people of the Bronze Age, gold jewelry was not something unusual, but with the development of iron, they (jewelry, not people) for some reason disappear. Why this happened is not known exactly. Perhaps the fact is that trade ties with the places where gold came from were interrupted. If earlier the inhabitants of Britain imported tin and copper necessary for smelting bronze, then with the transition to ferrous metallurgy, the need for imports disappeared (iron on the islands has its own).
When the trade in raw materials for bronze died out, other trade with the continent could have ceased. In addition, the social factor could play a role: people began to pay more attention to the preservation of their communities, and not to their own status (why, it is not very clear).
The torques, which most likely came to Lykfrit from the continent, show the return of fashion for personal jewelry. The hryvnia probably ended up in Britain as gifts or goods. But it cannot be ruled out that the hostess brought them with her (most likely a woman wore torques from Lykfrit).
It should be noted that the items were found by amateurs with metal detectors. Because of this, there are so many assumptions: the context of the find (in which structure they were lying) remained unknown, and the date was established by the style of the items. Science, as always in such cases, has lost a significant amount of information.
VIII. The oldest Roman aqueduct
The metro builders discovered part of the ancient Roman aqueduct. This is most likely a site of Aqua Appia, the oldest aqueduct we know of. It was built in 312 BC. The remains of the structure were found near the Colosseum, at a depth of 17-18 meters, which is usually unattainable for archaeologists (primarily because of the danger of collapse of the sides of the excavation).
The site of the oldest aqueduct in Rome. Photo: Bruno Fruttini / Archeology
The aqueduct is composed of blocks of gray tuff; it has survived to a height of about 2 meters. The length of the open area is about 30 meters. The construction, most likely, continues outside the construction site, but there is no way to fully explore it yet. The fact that no limestone was used in the construction of the aqueduct, according to experts, means that the structure did not "live" for long.
IX. Geometry of megaliths
Avebury, an iconic structure near Stonehenge, is best known for its ring of stones, the largest in Europe. This year, archaeologists have determined that an earlier square structure is located inside one of its inner rings. She was discovered using GPR. The square dates back to around 3500 BC.
Avebury Square Design. Drawing: Mark Gillings / University of Leicester / Archeology
It was previously believed that Avebury was built from the outer rings to the inner ones. Now it turns out that this is not the case. In the very center of the monument, according to the authors of the discovery, there was a house. When the dwelling was abandoned for some unknown reason, the place where it was was marked with a giant stone, and the shape and orientation of the house were marked with a square structure. And already around her there were rings, like circles on water. From the moment the house was abandoned, it could take up to 300 years. And only after that people decided to turn it into a monument. Probably, this was the place of departure of some kind of clan cults.
Needless to say, only excavations can confirm or deny this beautiful theory.
X. Sapiens was hiding under the mask of a Neanderthal (?)
For the first time, the remains of ancient people were dug up in Jebel Irhud back in 1962. The jaw found then was considered Neanderthal, and then it was transferred several times. The range of dates was quite large: from 30 to 190 thousand years. Now the layers in which both the jaw and several new bones were found have become much older - up to 240–378 thousand years. Moreover, the researchers believe that these are not Neanderthals at all, but the real sapiens, that is, our ancestors.
Jaw from Jebel Irhud. Photo: Jean-Jacques Hublin / MPI EVA Leipzig / Archeology
The authors of the discovery decided to call them the most ancient sapiens, although, according to their Russian colleague, people from Jebel Irhud stand exactly in the middle between "modern us" and our ancestors and relatives. So these are more "proto-sapiens" than the most ancient representatives of our species.
The inhabitants of Jebel Irhud had flat and short faces, like those of modern humans, but the teeth are larger and the skull is longer. That is, the facial part of the skull of the Irkhuds was much more progressive than the brain. “We see that appearance at all times was more important than mind,” S. V. Drobyshevsky (Ph. D., Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Moscow State University).
Now that (and if) we have overcome the list of the main world finds according to the version of the American edition, it's time to turn to the list of the most important discoveries of Russian archaeologists:
1. "Cave" camel
An image of a camel was cleared in the Kapova Cave. It was part of a drawing known since the late 1980s as Horses and Signs, but has only now been cleared away. The camel was painted with ocher and charcoal paint. The most probable date of the drawing is from 13 to 26 thousand years. Experts from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences believe that the harsh climate of that time could have contributed to the spread of camels in the South Urals.
Clearing the drawing in the Kapova cave. Photo: Press Service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Vladislav Zhitenev, head of the Moscow State University expedition, which has been working in the Kapova Cave for many years, thinks differently. In his opinion, in the Upper Paleolithic, camels could only accidentally wander into the South Urals, while their nearest habitat was in the Caspian Sea region. The drawing, therefore, can indicate where the idea of creating a cave sanctuary came to the region.
Camel from the Kapova Cave. Photo: Press Service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
2. God from under the bridge
Anticipating the construction of the Kerch Bridge, archaeologists examined the bottom of the strait separating the Crimea from the "mainland". Many finds were raised to the surface, but the most interesting was the head of a large terracotta sculpture. It is life-size and very well preserved. The head belonged to a statue of some hero or god. Most likely, it dates from the 5th century. BC.
Terracotta head from the Kerch Strait. Photo: Press Service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
3. Kurgan on the sidelines
For decades, the Hospital Kurgan towered at the edge of the road that connected the two urban areas of Kerch. Now he found himself on the sidelines of a new path - the Tavrida highway. Rescue excavations have brought unexpected results: under the embankment, in particular, the remains of an impressive antique crypt of the 4th century BC were discovered. BC.
Hospital mound in the process of excavation. Photo: website of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Crypt in the Hospital Barrow. Photo: website of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
There are many finds from it, but, perhaps, the most remarkable was the drawing on one of the walls of the building. An unknown artist with the help of ocher and soot depicted a battle: horsemen rushing at each other with banners. The drawing is much later than the crypt itself - III-V centuries. AD Apparently, the crypt stood open for some time, and someone lived inside.
Drawing in the Hospital Crypt. Photo: website of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
4. Millennium Sword
In one of the mounds of the Gnezdovo complex (near Smolensk), a sword of the second half of the 10th century was discovered. The last such find on the monument was 30 years ago - in 1987. The sword still has to be painstakingly cleaned and examined for a long time, but already now there is something interesting to tell about it.
Removing the sword from the burial chamber. Photo: Vasily Novikov.
The weapon is about 90 cm long; the remains of the handle and scabbard have been preserved. The latter were multi-layered - the blade was wrapped in fur, which was attached to a wooden base. She, in turn, was wrapped in cloth and covered with leather. The handle had almost the same structure, excluding the fur layer. The head and crosshair of the sword were decorated with inlay. It is made of wire of different colors: yellow, red and white.
5. Prayer "snob"
During excavations of the Church of the Annunciation at Gorodishche (Veliky Novgorod), fragments of plaster with graffiti were found, including several inscriptions made in the first Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic. One of them is arguably the longest verbal text in Russia known today.
Fragment of an inscription in a Glagolitic script from the Church of the Annunciation at Gorodishche. Photo: Press Service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Its content, at first glance, is not very interesting - it is prayer. But the date of the inscription is remarkable - the XII century. At this time, the verb was no longer used. Perhaps its author is some kind of literate and "snob". “It’s as if a modern person would undertake to write today, using the old spelling - with yats and eras,” says RAS Corresponding Member Vladimir Sedov.
Collecting fragments of frescoes at the excavations of the Church of the Annunciation at the Gorodishche. Photo: Anna Rybina / Press Service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Author: Egor Antonov
