History

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Legendary ancient 'lost city of King of the Gods' uncovered in Cambodia

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An ancient "lost city" dating back to the 9th Century has been uncovered for the first time.

The legendary Mahendraparvata was feared lost forever, as scientists could not even agree where it was.

It was hidden in dense jungle, but the advanced aerial mapping has finally allowed its location to be identified after years of searching.

But now experts say they can confidently state where temples and large palaces once stood, thanks to laser scanning.

The city is thought to have been the first capital of the powerful Khmer Empire, which ruled over large swathes of South East Asia between the ninth and 15th centuries.

Its name means the Mountain of Indra, King of the Gods.

Although archaeologists knew of its existence from ancient records, it has long eluded them because the terrain is so difficult.

Exploring the area on foot has been incredibly dangerous because the evil Khmer Rouge, which ruled over Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, laid down landmines there.

It was the location of the Communist regime's last stand before it was finally defeated.

It is located in the Phnom Kulen highlands, around 30 miles north of Siem Reap.

Damian Evans, from the French Institute of Asian Studies in Paris, told the New Scientist: "The city may not have lasted for centuries, or perhaps even decades, but the cultural and religious significance of the place has lasted right up until the present day."

Even when it was the empire's capital, it was challenging for its inhabitants because it was so mountainous.

The city was built on a plateau measuring around 30 square miles and followed a grid system.

Mr Evans stated: “It shows a degree of centralised control and planning.

"What you’re seeing at Mahendraparvata... speaks of a grand vision and a fairly elaborate plan."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/legendary-ancient-lost-city-of-king-of-the-gods-uncovered-in-cambodia/ar-AAJ1Psb

 

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World's oldest pearl found in Abu Dhabi

An 8,000-year-old pearl that archaeologists say is the worlds oldest will be displayed in Abu Dhabi, according to authorities who said Sunday it is proof the objects have been traded since Neolithic times.

The natural pearl was found in the floor of a room discovered during excavations at Marawah Island, off the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which revealed the earliest architecture found in the country.

"The layers from which the pearl came have been carbon-dated to 5800-5600 BC, during the Neolithic period," Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism said.

"The discovery of the oldest pearl in the world in Abu Dhabi makes it clear that so much of our recent economic and cultural history has deep roots that stretch back to the dawn of prehistory," said its chairman Mohamed Al-Muabarak.

The excavation of the Marawah site, which is made up of numerous collapsed Neolithic stone structures, has also yielded ceramics, beads made from shell and stone, and flint arrowheads.

The "Abu Dhabi Pearl" will be shown for the first time in the exhibition "10,000 years of Luxury" which is opening on October 30 at the Louvre Abu Dhabi -- the outpost of the famous Paris museum.

Emirati experts believe that the pearls were traded with Mesopotamia -- ancient Iraq -- in exchange for ceramics and other goods. They were also likely worn as jewellery.

"The Venetian jewel merchant Gasparo Balbi, who travelled through the region, mentions the islands off the coast of Abu Dhabi as a source of pearls in the 16th century," the culture department said.

The pearl industry once underpinned the economy of the United Arab Emirates, but the trade collapsed in the 1930s with the advent of Japanese cultured pearls, and as conflicts rocked global economies.

Instead, the Gulf nations turned to the oil industry which dominates their economies to this day.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/worlds-oldest-pearl-found-in-abu-dhabi/ar-AAJ5AuI

[CaaC (John)]

27 Maya ritual sites discovered on an online map by eagle-eyed archaeologist

© FoxNews.com Researchers have uncovered a 1,500-year-old stucco mask of Maya ruler K'inich Janaab 'Pakal. What differentiates this mask from others is it’s seemingly made in the king’s likeness.

An eagle-eyed archaeologist has used a freely available online map to locate 27  Maya ceremonial sites in Mexico. 

Takeshi Inomata, a professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, made the discovery using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) map he found online last year, according to the New York Times. LiDAR technology harnesses a laser to measure distances to the Earth’s surface and can prove extremely valuable to study what is hidden in areas with thick vegetation.

The 2011 map, which covers 4,400 square miles of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, was published by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the Times reported. 

Inomata told Fox News that the discovery followed his research at the site of Ceibal in Guatemala, where a ceremonial complex dating back to 1000 to 900 B.C. were found. “We then went to this area (Tabasco) thinking that there may be similar ceremonial complexes of this period,” he explained, via email. “It was great to see that there [are] more sites of this type than we expected. It is also remarkable that they had very standardized rectangular formations.”

Although visible on LiDAR maps, many sites, such as one dubbed “La Carmelita” are difficult to find in ground-based surveys, according to the Times.

The discovery of the 27 lost Maya ritual sites sheds new light on the ancient culture. “This is the period when people were just starting to use ceramics and adopting a sedentary way of life,” he explained. “The presence of these formal ceremonial complex in this early period indicates that certain rituals and religious ideas spread over a wide area as people accepted new ways of life.”

The Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History also participated in the project.

There have been a number of fascinating Maya discoveries across central America in recent years.

Experts recently discovered a unique ancient tool that was used by Maya salt workers more than 1,000 years ago. Fashioned from the mineral jadeite, the chisel-style implement was found at the site of Ek Way Nal, a Maya salt works in southern Belize that is now submerged in a saltwater lagoon.

Last year an ancient mask depicting a 7th-century Maya king was discovered in southern Mexico.

Also in 2018, archaeologists harnessed sophisticated technology to reveal lost cities and thousands of ancient structures deep in the Guatemalan jungle, confirming that the Maya civilization was much larger than previously thought.

LiveScience reports that hundreds of Maya artefacts that may have been used in ritual animal sacrifices have also been discovered at the bottom of a Guatemalan lake.

From its heart in what is now Guatemala, the Maya empire reached the peak of its power in the sixth century A.D., according to History.com, although most of the civilization’s cities were abandoned around 900 A.D.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/27-maya-ritual-sites-discovered-on-online-map-by-eagle-eyed-archaeologist/ar-AAJ1M7k

[CaaC (John)]

Researchers find second warship from WWII Battle of Midway

© Provided by The Associated Press Rob Kraft, director of undersea operations at Vulcan Inc., reviews sonar scans of a warship from the World War II Battle of Midway that was found by his crew on the research vessel Petrel, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, off Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

MIDWAY ATOLL, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (AP) — A crew of deep-sea explorers and historians looking for lost World War II warships have found a second Japanese aircraft carrier that went down in the historic Battle of Midway.

Vulcan Inc.'s director of undersea operations Rob Kraft and Naval History and Heritage Command historian Frank Thompson reviewed high-frequency sonar images of the warship Sunday and say that it's dimensions and location mean it has to be the carrier, Akagi.

© Provided by The Associated Press The sun rises over Vulcan Inc.'s research vessel Petrel nearly 200 miles off Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. The crew of the Petrel found the sunken remains of the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga, which sank in the historic Battle of Midway, and are searching the vast area for other sunken warships in the coming days. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

The Akagi was found in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument resting in nearly 18,000 feet (5,490 meters) of water more than 1,300 miles (2,090 kilometres) northwest of Pearl Harbor.

The researchers used an autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV, equipped with sonar to find the ship. The vehicle had been out overnight collecting data, and the image of a warship appeared in the first set of readings Sunday morning.

The first scan used low-resolution sonar, so the crew sent their AUV back to get higher-quality images.

FULL REPORT

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Take a Virtual Tour of a 17th-Century Dutch Smugglers’ Shipwreck

When the wreck of the Dutch smuggling ship Melckmeyt was found off the coast of Iceland in 1992, the only way to explore it was with diving equipment. That's no longer the case: As Live Science reports, shipwreck enthusiasts can now experience the watery ruin at home by taking a virtual tour.

Sunk by a storm on October 16, 1659, the Melckmeyt (Dutch for Milkmaid) is Iceland's oldest shipwreck. Its origins are Dutch, but when it set sail 360 years ago, the vessel flew a Danish flag. That's because it had been illegal for the Netherlands to trade with Iceland, which was ruled by Denmark at the time, so to smuggle goods into Icelandic ports, the Dutch sailors posed as a Danish crew.

The Melckmeyt was one of a fleet of illicit merchant ships meant to travel from the Netherlands to Iceland in 1659. After sinking that year, the wreck spent centuries in the cold, protective waters off the island of Flatey near Iceland's west coast. When it was discovered by local divers in the early 1990s, the lower hull of the ship was still in impressive condition.

The shipwreck remains in its frigid resting place at the bottom of the North Atlantic, but you don't need to book a flight or don a wetsuit to see it. In 2016, researchers from the University of Iceland and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands captured high-resolution scans of the site and used them to construct a 3D model. Today, that model is available for anyone to explore on YouTube, either as a virtual reality experience with a headset or an interactive 360° video.

During the three-minute tour, you'll follow virtual divers on a journey into the ship's remains. The video ends with a computer-generated model showing what the ship might have looked like before it was ravaged by time. The video is free for anyone to watch from their computer, but if you find yourself in Iceland, you can view the recreation with a VR headset at the Reykjavik Maritime Museum.

Itching to get in touch with your inner deep-sea explorer? Here are some shipwrecks you can visit in real-life.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/take-a-virtual-tour-of-a-17th-century-dutch-smugglers-shipwreck/ar-AAJdq4S

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The face of medieval man reconstructed from a 600-year-old skeleton

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The face of a medieval man has been reconstructed from skeletal remains buried more than 600 years ago.

The bones - found during the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery in 2015 - were used in conjunction with facial reconstruction technology to help experts paint a picture of what life was like in the Middle Ages.

The result of their work has been dubbed Skeleton 125, or SK 125, who is thought to have been at least 46 years old, between 5ft 2in and 5ft 5in in height, and suffered from extensive dental and joint disease.

Researchers at AOC Archaeology Group said evidence suggests the man was not local to Aberdeen but may have spent his childhood in the northwest Highlands of the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland.

His remains date back to the time of the old Blackfriars Dominican Friary, which is believed to have been founded at some point between 1222AD and 1249AD.

The discovery caused the redevelopment of the gallery, which itself is more than 130 years old, to be suspended.

Dr Paula Milburn, from the archaeology group, said: "SK 125 has provided us with a first fascinating glimpse of one of the people buried on the site of Aberdeen Art Gallery over 600 years ago.

"The ongoing post-excavation work is examining the remains in detail and will provide us with amazing information on the kind of people buried here, including their ages, gender, health and lifestyles."

Dozens of other full skeletons were also found at the site but have not been reconstructed like SK 125.

After a four-year wait, Aberdeen Art Gallery is due to reopen on Saturday 2 November.

Work to transform the venue cost £36.4m - its biggest investment since it opened in 1885 - and includes improvements to the buildings, new galleries and a new exhibition.

VisitScotland expects it to attract around 250,000 visitors annually.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/face-of-medieval-man-reconstructed-from-600-year-old-skeleton/ar-AAJcA5c

 

 

[CaaC (John)]

An Ancient Maya Staircase Is Brought Back to Life — and Back to Mexico

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An ancient Maya monument damaged by erosion has been brought back to life at a temple site in Mexico after a new version was re-created with 3D printing technology using Victorian-era copies preserved in the British Museum.

The rebirth of the Hieroglyphic Stairway at Palenque was made possible by the museum’s fortuitous collection of hundreds of plaster casts of Maya inscriptions taken 130 years ago by the British explorer and diplomat Alfred Maudslay. 

Maudslay hacked through the jungles of Middle America in the 1880s on a mission to uncover the secrets of the Maya, recording with casts and photographs monuments that have subsequently become illegible due to their exposure to the elements.

The British Museum and Google Arts & Culture, a not-for-profit arm of the tech company, laser-scanned the plaster casts, which had lain in storage for more than a century, and commissioned a limestone reproduction from Pangolin Editions, a Gloucestershire-based foundry better known for creating sculptures for artists such as Damien Hirst.

The stairway has been flown to Mexico and will be put on permanent display at the site, where visitors will be encouraged to touch the glyphs and read a translation of the inscription.

Jago Cooper, curator of the Americas at the British Museum, said the project was “a journey of understanding built on the latest technology of our time.”

“You can now see what the ancient Maya were trying to do with this staircase, which currently you can’t.”

Maudslay’s preference for recording rather than retrieving objects gives the museum some welcome relief from a series of disputes over some of the artefacts in its collection, from the Parthenon Marbles taken from Athens by Lord Elgin to the Benin bronzes looted by British troops in the 19th century. Sir Richard Lambert, chairman of the British Museum trustees, described restitution as “an existential question” for the institution at an event in London in July.

With the exception of a handful of artefacts he feared would be looted and so had sent to London, Maudslay used the then cutting-edge techniques of plaster casting and photography to capture the monuments in situ, bringing large glass plates and phytochemicals into the jungle interior on mules, as well as tons of plaster mix.

The project has won the support of the Mexican government, but some indigenous descendants of the Maya, now spread across Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and elsewhere, raised questions over the focus given to heritage when many communities remain marginalized.

“There’s a lot of interest in dead Maya and not living Maya. They reduce us to folklore … when we are stuck in poverty today,” says Pedro Uc, a teacher and farmer in Buctzotz, northeast of the city of Mérida, and a member of the Múuch’ Xíinbal assembly of defenders of the Maya territory.

Atanacio Gómez Encino, a custodian of the archaeological zone in Palenque and himself a Maya, applauded the decision to protect the original steps from further deterioration but lamented the fact that conservation projects at the site were foreign initiatives. “The Mexican government should provide enough cash for conservation and protection,” he says.

British Museum curators have spent time with indigenous Maya communities in the state of Yucatán, explaining the significance of the ancient sites as well as the role played by Maudslay’s Maya collaborators, captured in the many photographs he took of them.

Last Tuesday Maudslay’s entire archive of photographs, diaries, drawings and casts was made available on the Google Arts & Culture site as part of the project, with the help of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Virtual reality and augmented reality tours of the sites are published in English and Spanish, while Maya scholars can examine online the entire cast collection scanned in 3D, altering the position of the light source and point of view to help them decode the highly complex text.

The digitization of Maudslay’s glass plate photographs revealed details not previously observed, the museum says, including stucco decoration on the facades of buildings as well as the dress, tools and even the facial expressions of his colleagues.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/an-ancient-maya-staircase-is-brought-back-to-life-—-and-back-to-mexico/ar-AAJkoVI#image=1

[CaaC (John)]

New Archaeological Evidence Shows Pontius Pilate Not as Bad as We Thought

When you hear the name “Pontius Pilate” you probably think of Jesus. After all, were it not for Jesus the vast majority of people would never have heard of him. Historians remember Pilate as a rash and headstrong ruler who unnecessarily offended the religious sensibilities of Jews in Roman Judea, plundered the Temple treasury, and—most famously—sentenced Jesus of Nazareth to die. He was, in other words, an ineffective leader whose actions contributed to political unrest in the region and who is best known for executing a Galilean teacher for treason. But new archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem suggest that perhaps Pilate was not as bad as previously thought.

As reported by LiveScience, archaeologists working in Jerusalem have excavated an important nearly 2000-foot-long street that connected the Temple Mount to the pool of Siloam, an ancient religious site where people would bathe and collect freshwater. The existence of the street was well known to archaeologists ever since its discovery by British archaeologists in 1894, but what has emerged from the more recent excavations was that it was Pilate who was responsible for its construction.

The archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority who excavated the street discovered a hundred coins dating to between 17 and 30/31 A.D. trapped in the paving stones. This leads them to conclude that most if not all of the construction were performed while Pilate was governor of the region as construction must have been finished by 30/31 A.D., during Pilate’s tenure as governor.

Donald T. Ariel, a coin expert who works with the Israel Antiquities Authority,  said “Dating using coins is very exact… As some coins have the year in which they were minted on them… statistically, coins minted some 10 years later are the most common coins in [excavations of sites in] Jerusalem, so not having them beneath the street means the street was built before their appearance, in other words only in the time of Pilate.”

The fact that the street connects the pool of Siloam and the Temple is suggestive and can tell us something about its purpose. In the New Testament Jesus sends a man “born blind” that he heals to complete his healing. The story might suggest that in the first century the pool was a mikvah (or ritual bath) that had a kind of cleansing or purifying function. Pilgrims could stop there to bathe before approaching the holiest place in Judaism. The story involving Jesus might suggest that the two locations both served a kind of healing function: those who had been sick would bathe before presenting themselves to priests, who would evaluate their physical (and, thus, spiritual) health. For Pilate, as a Roman, the link between healing and temples would have been obvious because temples to the god of healing, Asclepius, were as much healing centres as they were religious sites.

The size of the street—approximately 25 feet wide—and the large stone slabs used to pave it suggests that the road had a certain grandeur to it. Joe Uziel and Moran Hagbi, archaeologists at the Israel Antiquities Authority and co-authors of the recently published article “Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem: The Monumental Street from the Siloam Pool to the Temple Mount” argued that if this was a simple walkway joining two points there would be no need for a thoroughfare of such size: “its finely carved stone and ornate 'furnishings' …all indicate that this was a special street.” Taken together all of this evidence points to the importance of the street for those ascending to the Temple Mount. This would mean that during his time as governor Pilate used funds to construct a road that would help Jewish pilgrims reach the Temple Mount.

This would be out of character for a man best known for his religious insensitivity and heavy-handed approach to leadership. A former soldier, Pilate took an aggressive stance towards those under his rule. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, Pilate flouted the Jewish prohibition against idolatry by having Roman soldiers bring imperial standards that included the emperor’s image into Jerusalem (albeit at night). The incident provoked outrage and a crowd journeyed to Pilate’s residence at Caesarea to implore him to remove the standards. They remained there, prostrate, for five days. After five days of protest, Pilate gathered the crowd in the market-place, seemingly to render a decision on the matter. Instead of speaking, he had soldiers encircle the protesters and draw their swords. He told the Jews gathered there that unless they relented he would have them cut in pieces. In response, the protesters purportedly bared their necks as a sign that they were prepared to die. At this point, Pilate had to back down and removed the standards from the city.

The Jewish philosopher Philo, who calls Pilate “inflexible, stubborn, and cruel,” offers another story that also portrays Pilate as an over-zealous ruler. In his Embassy to Caligula, he writes that Pilate deliberately tried to “annoy” the Jewish people by setting up gilded shields in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem.  When the authorities asked him to remove them, he refused and the people had to write to Emperor Tiberius asking for his help. Philo adds that Pilate was afraid that the people would reveal to Tiberius “his violence, his thefts, his assaults, his abusive behaviour, his frequent execution of untried prisoners, and his endless savagery.” If true, it would seem that Pilate treated Jesus better than others. Philo is biased, but it’s obvious that Pilate was no diplomat either. On another occasion, Josephus says, Pilate used funds from the Temple treasury to pay for the construction of an aqueduct. Compared to these stories, the biblical descriptions of Jesus’s trial before Pilate make him appear reasonable and thoughtful.

According to Josephus, Pilate’s governorship ended after the slaughter of a group of Samaritans near Mount Gerizim. Pilate was then recalled to Rome for a hearing. We do not know what happened but one thing is certain: Pilate did not return to Judea. One historically questionable tradition, relayed in the writings of the fourth-century Christian historian Eusebius, says that Pilate committed suicide.

The discovery that Pilate was responsible for building the street from the pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount suggests that there was another side to the intemperate governor. One in which Pilate funded public works for the benefit of both the local people and their religion. That Pilate would take such steps is especially interesting given that Joan Taylor has suggested that Pilate had been trying to promote the imperial cult in the region. Whether the purpose of the road was to serve religious tourists, benefit locals, or facilitate healing practices, it seems that Pilate’s building project was altruistic in nature: it was something he did either to placate or to please Jewish authorities and locals. All of which suggests that perhaps Pilate was more sensitive and complicated than we have thought.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/new-archaeological-evidence-shows-pontius-pilate-not-as-bad-as-we-thought/ar-AAJqpDB

[CaaC (John)]

‘Supernatural’ Bronze Age find could shed light on one of London’s greatest prehistoric mysteries

VIDEO

Archaeological research may be about to shed remarkable new light on one of London’s greatest prehistoric mysteries – the ancient religious status of the River Thames.

It’s known that Bronze Age and Iron Age Britons deposited thousands of prehistoric objects in the river as gifts to its deity or spirits.

But now, archaeologists investigating a site in east London have discovered what may be a 9th-century BC Bronze Age temple or ceremonial centre established specifically to honour or venerate the Thames as the physical incarnation of such divinity.

What’s more, the archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of beautiful bronze artefacts which Bronze Age people had buried in the complex – potentially as votive offerings to that supernatural being.

Archaeological research may be about to shed remarkable new light on one of London’s greatest prehistoric mysteries – the ancient religious status of the River Thames.

It’s known that Bronze Age and Iron Age Britons deposited thousands of prehistoric objects in the river as gifts to its deity or spirits.

But now, archaeologists investigating a site in east London have discovered what may be a 9th-century BC Bronze Age temple or ceremonial centre established specifically to honour or venerate the Thames as the physical incarnation of such divinity.

What’s more, the archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of beautiful bronze artefacts which Bronze Age people had buried in the complex – potentially as votive offerings to that supernatural being.

FULL REPORT

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Archaeologists uncover Essex dock 'where Darwin's ship was dismantled'

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Archaeologists believe they have found the location where Charles Darwin's ship - which took him all over the world - was likely dismantled.

HMS Beagle enabled the evolutionist to discover some of the most important scientific discoveries in history.

However, once it was decommissioned in 1870, not much was known about where the vessel ended up.

Now, a team of archaeologists, commissioned by Historic England, believes it has found the spot where the ship spent her final days.

Experts have identified the outline of a dock on the mudflats of the River Roach, near the village of Paglesham in the east of Essex.

Using a drone, fitted with a specialist camera which captures red, green, infrared and near-infrared light, a clear outline of the dock can be seen.

The device looks at the health of natural life to build up a picture of buried remains.

It is based on the principle of differential growth - the idea that buried features affect what grows above ground, in a way similar to the way crop marks are formed in dry weather.

Dr Dan Atkinson, director of coastal and marine at Wessex Archaeology, said: "It has been hugely exciting to work on this project, which is starting to shed some light on the famous ship that carried one of science's most renowned individuals.

"No evidence has yet been found of the Beagle itself.

"It was likely dismantled at the dock, and lots of the material would have been taken and re-purposed elsewhere.

"But we know from previous surveys that there are the remains of potentially substantial material in the dock - this could be the remains of the dock itself, another vessel possibly associated with the local oyster fishery or the Beagle - we can't say for sure.

"Further analysis of data from the previous survey results, and our recent survey may tell us more."

The HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop ship and was built in 1820 at a cost of £7,803, which is the equivalent of around half-a-million pounds in today's money.

It was initially used by the government to gather marine data but was later used by Darwin to develop his theory of natural selection across the planet.

Once it had finished travelling the globe, the HMS Beagle was re-purposed as a coastguard ship in 1845, where it was used to stop smuggling until 1870, at which point it was sold and believed to be dismantled.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/archaeologists-uncover-essex-dock-where-darwins-ship-was-dismantled/ar-AAJtb77#image=1

[CaaC (John)]

Knights Templar secret tunnels ‘leading to Treasure Tower’ discovered in Israel

Secret tunnels built by the Knights Templar to move gold underground to their “treasure tower” have been discovered by archaeologists.

The tunnels were found beneath the ancient coastal city of Acre, Israel, and were used by the knights 800 years ago.

As well as the tunnels, the team of archaeologists discovered the remnants of the warriors’ lavish fortress headquarters.

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American archaeologist Dr Albert Lin revealed the discovery as part of a National Geographic documentary.

Speaking on the programme, he said: “These warrior monks are the stuff of legend, and so is their gold.

“During the Crusades the Knights Templar battle for God, gold and glory. Somewhere in the modern city of Acre lies their command centre, and possibly their treasure.

“It’s the stuff of childhood dreams. I’m here to find them.”

The Knights Templar were devout Christians renowned for fearsome skill in battle during the Crusades, which began in the 11th Century.

Using LiDAR technology, Dr Lin’s team scanned a site that was a key fortress for the group during the Third Crusade.

The technology uses lasers and detectors to scan the earth without disturbing any artefacts.

Scans revealed the secret tunnels and a guardhouse hidden beneath the modern city.

The work has revealed how the knights moved gold to their fabled “Treasure Tower”.

But the tower is buried beneath metres of dirt and rock and it is not clear if there will be a future excavation.

Dr Lin added: “The Templar’s hidden tunnels snaked beneath the streets.

“They secretly transported gold to the Acre fortress’ crowning glory, its Treasure Tower.”

1128, A meeting of a branch of the Knights Templar. The order, founded in 1118, was originally formed to protect pilgrims on their journey to the Holy Land. The elderly man in the centre is the Grand Master. (Photo by Spencer Arnold Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

There were a total of nine Crusades during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

The original goal was to remove “infidels” from the holy land of Israel – which to this day is one of the holiest cities for Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

Crusaders who arrived in Israel were ignorant of Islam and mistook it for a branch of Christianity.

Where most Muslims were spared, Jews were brutally slaughtered in their thousands - even European Jewish communities Crusaders encountered on their way to the Middle East.

The Dome of the Rock – one of the holiest sites for Muslims – was turned into a church and the Al Aqsa Mosque was turned into stables for the crusaders.

The king of Jerusalem gave the Dome to the Knights Templar who maintained it as a headquarters and it became an architectural model for Templar churches across Europe.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/knights-templar-secret-tunnels-leading-to-treasure-tower-discovered-in-israel/ar-AAJuoSx?li=BBoPWjQ#image=1

[CaaC (John)]

Great Orme copper mine 'traded widely in Bronze Age'

North Wales was Britain's main source of copper for about 200 years during the Bronze Age, new research has found.

Scientists analysed metal from the Great Orme, Conwy, and found it was made into tools and weapons, and traded across what is today's Europe.

Historians once thought the Orme's copper mine - now a museum - had been a small-scale operation.

Experts now believe there was a bonanza from 1600-1400 BC, with artefacts found in Sweden, France and Germany.

The research, by scientists from the University of Liverpool, involved sampling copper ore from the old mine and a nearby smelting site.

It allowed experts like Dr Alan Williams, the geoarchaeologist who co-wrote the study published in the journal Antiquity, to create a "fingerprint" of the metal-based on chemical impurities and isotopic properties.

• New reptile species identified from quarry fossil
• Big roundhouse uncovered at Iron Age hillfort dig
• Crop marks reveal 200 new ancient sites

"Remarkably, this metal is also found in bronze artefacts across Europe stretching from Brittany to the Baltic," he said.

Geological estimates suggest "several hundred tonnes of copper metal was produced, enough to produce thousands of bronze tools or weapons every year, equivalent to at least half a million objects in the 200-year bonanza period".

"This very extensive distribution suggests a large-scale mining operation [in Bronze Age terms], with a full-time mining community," he said.

Today, the copper mine is open to tourists after being uncovered in 1987 during landscaping on the Great Orme, itself a popular attraction.

It is now regarded as one of the largest prehistoric copper mines in the world.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50213846

[CaaC (John)]

Revealed: The final journey of the 5,300-year-old iceman

The corpse was found in the Alps

The final journey of a mountaineer has been charted more than 5,000 years after he died in the Alps.

Hikers found the mummified remains of a man now known as Otzi back in 1991, with his corpse having melted out from the ice some 3,210m above sea level.

Almost 30 years on from the discovery, the last trek of the 5,300-year-old body has been revealed by plants that were frozen with him at the time of his death.

Researchers have identified preserved moss and liverwort fragments in his gut and clothing which represent at least 75 different species - only 30% of which appear to be local to the area.

The remaining 70% have helped scientists come to the conclusion that Otzi, who was about 45 when he died, found his way up the mountain via the lower Schnalstal valley in modern South Tyrol, Italy.

The key find was a woodland species called Flat Neckera, which along with other mosses was found to be as "near proof as it is possible" to show the Copper Age iceman climbed from south to north up Schnalstal.

 Clothing and gear was found alongside the remains

Until now it was thought possible that he may have ascended other adjacent valleys.

Jim Dickson, of the University of Glasgow's Institute of Biodiversity, said the mosses were "recovered as mostly small scraps from the ice" around Otzi.

He said they were "important investigative clues" that proved crucial in mapping "the precise route" of his last trek.

Gallery: What the World Was Like a Million Years Ago (24/7 Tempo)

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Schnalstal is now a popular skiing location and several of the identified moss types still thrive there.

Otzi himself is housed in a specially designed cold cell in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, which has simulated glacier conditions to preserve his remains since he arrived in 1998.

When he was alive, Otzi was about 5ft 2in, is believed to have weighed 50kg, and had dark, medium-length hair with brown eyes and a beard.

His estimated age of 45 was considered healthy for the time.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/revealed-the-final-journey-of-the-5300-year-old-iceman/ar-AAJBIVx#image=2

[CaaC (John)]

Wreck of an 18th-century ship that sank 'in dubious circumstances' discovered after a 40-year search

Divers in Norway have discovered the wreck of an 18th-century Dutch merchant ship that has eluded searchers for decades.

Members of the Sogne Diving Club in southern Norway found the undisturbed wreck of the Juffrau Elisabeth, according to a statement released by Norway’s Directorate for Cultural Heritage on Oct. 25.

"This discovery is important because no one has been robbing this wreck for items," Karl Klungland, head of the Sogne Diving Club told Fox News, via email, noting that the ship's artefacts are still on the seabed.

The diving club hopes that some objects can be recovered from the wreck site and exhibited in a local museum.

"We are also hoping that remaining objects can be kept at sea bottom so that other divers can get the same feeling as we got when we discovered this untouched wreck," Klungland added.

The ship sank on March 21, 1760, off the Sogne archipelago.

“The vessel sank under dubious circumstances and the Dutch Captain Pitter Eelkesh later received criticism during the inquiry,” said Norway’s Directorate for Cultural Heritage in the statement.

With all of her sails up, Juffrau Elisabeth struck several skerries, or small rocky islands, according to the Directorate. “The recent discovery is significant, and it will be an incredible source of information for scientists,” it added. “There are very few preserved shipwrecks from this period in Norway.”

Hanna Geiran, director-general of the directorate, described the discovery as an “incredible find” in the statement.

The Directorate said that Sogne Diving Club will receive “a record-breaking finder’s reward” for discovering the shipwreck.

NRK reports that the Sogne Diving Club has been searching for the wreck of the Juffrau Elisabeth for 40 years. The wreck was found on March 10, 2019, according to NRK.

Klungland told Fox News that the diving club was founded in 1979. Divers who subsequently became members of the club were already searching for the wreck at that time, he explained.

The Norwegian Maritime Museum will now document the wreck site. Photogrammetry will be used to create a 3D-model of the wreck and an underwater drone will take photos of the wreck. Some artefacts will also be retrieved from the ship’s final resting place, according to officials.

In a separate project, experts have harnessed virtual reality to create a stunning virtual dive of a 17th-century shipwreck. The Dutch merchant ship Melckmeyt or “Milkmaid” was wrecked off a remote Icelandic island on Oct. 16, 1659.

The ship was on a secret trading mission when it sank during a sudden storm. Digital archaeology specialists from Australia’s Flinders University have worked with maritime archaeologists at the University of Iceland to create a 360-degree virtual view of the wreck, which was discovered in 1992.

Earlier this year, archaeologists in South Africa announced the discovery of the long-lost wreck of a Dutch merchant ship that played a crucial role in the country’s colonial history.

The Dutch East India Company vessel “Haarlem,” or “Nieuw Haarlem,” became stranded in Table Bay on the evening of March 25, 1647.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/wreck-of-18th-century-ship-that-sank-in-dubious-circumstances-discovered-after-40-year-search/ar-AAJzNg6

[CaaC (John)]

Hoard of golden treasure stumbled upon by metal detectorist revealed to be most important Anglo-Saxon find in history

Britain’s most spectacular Anglo-Saxon treasures may well have been captured on a series of Dark Age battlefields – during bitter conflicts between rival English kingdoms.

Archaeologists, who have just completed a major study of the finds, now believe that they were captured in several big mid-seventh century battles.

It is likely that the treasures, now known as the Staffordshire Hoard, were seized (in perhaps between three and six substantial military encounters) by the English midlands kingdom of Mercia from the kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia and possibly Wessex.

FULL REPORT

[CaaC (John)]

Hidden 4,000-year-old monument discovered in Forest of Dean

VIDEO

A 4,000-year-old ritual monument has been discovered hidden in the Forest of Dean.

The Bronze Age ring cairn is made up of ten small standing stones on top of a raised bank in a woodland enclosure near Tidenham in Gloucestershire.

It is believed to be the only site of its type in the area, according to Jon Hoyle, an archaeologist working for the county council.

He first spotted the ring when examining the results of a survey of the forest using an airborne laser scan in 2006.

The technique uses a computer algorithm to strip away the trees and vegetation covering the forest floor to create a 3D impression of the surface.

It revealed a 25-metre-wide raised circle around a seven-metre-wide central mound, which Mr Hoyle initially thought may have been a gun emplacement from World War Two.

However, when he went to see the area for himself in 2010, he realised it could date back to around 2,000BC.

The circular mound was first spotted using a laser scan of woodland near Tidenham (Forestry Commission/ Gloucestershire County Council)

Of particular interest were the one-metre-high standing stones protruding from the ring, consistent with early or middle Bronze Age ring cairns found in Wales.

“Nobody knows precisely what they were used for,” Mr Hoyle told the BBC. “Some have been found in association with burials, and often there appear to be residues of charcoal in places like this, suggesting rituals that involved fire.”

The same survey also uncovered more than 100 possible burial mounds which have not yet been properly investigated.

Another Bronze Age monument, a round cairn burial mound made up of limestone slabs, was found in nearby Tidenham Chase in the 1960s.

Mr Hoyle published details of his discovery in a book for Historic England, Hidden Landscapes of the Forest of Dean, last month.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/hidden-4000-year-old-monument-discovered-in-forest-of-dean/ar-AAJCZnh?ocid=chromentp

Edited November 1, 2019 by CaaC (John)
Spelling corrections

[SirBalon]

Talking about discoveries 

@Carnivore Chris I'm sure will like this one...

 

[CaaC (John)]

Boat trapped for 101 years near the edge of Niagara Falls moves after Halloween night storm

A boat that has been grounded in shallow rapids near Niagara Falls since 1918 became dislodged on Halloween night and moved downriver about 150 feet.

The development was reported by Niagara Parks, an agency of the government of Ontario, Canada, in a video posted to social media on Friday. At the time, the boat was again grounded in a new location.

The agency says the boat, an iron dumping scow, became stuck after an incident on August 6, 1918, where the barge broke loose from a tugboat.

Two men were rescued in a joint effort between the U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities. The men opened dumping doors in the bottom of the barge in a successful attempt to slow the boat from being carried away by the current, the agency says.

Since then, the boat has been remained about one-third of a mile from the edge of the Horseshoe Falls and about one-tenth of a mile from Canadian shores, according to the agency.

That is, until the night of Halloween, 2019.

Overnight severe weather and heavy currents resulted in the boat being "turned and twisted," according to Jim Hill, Senior Manager of Heritage for Niagara Parks Commission. He said the boat had also flipped on its side.

“We think it’s about 50 meters downriver from its original location," he said.

The boat had been deteriorating badly, he said. The commission extensively documented it last year to mark the 100th anniversary of the rescue and grounding of the scow. 

As for how long the boat will remain in its new location: “It’s anyone’s guess,” Hill said.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/boat-trapped-for-101-years-near-edge-of-niagara-falls-moves-after-halloween-night-storm/ar-AAJLa6T?li=AAnZ9Ug

[CaaC (John)]

Minoan treasures found on Libyan Sea island: experts

Archaeologists in Greece have located a "major treasure" of Minoan origin in a Bronze Age settlement on a small island in the Libyan Sea, the culture ministry said Friday.

A team excavating on the tiny island of Chrysi south of Crete for over a decade have unearthed a 3,800-year-old Bronze Age compound containing gold jewels, glass beads and the remains of bronze talents, the common unit of value of ancient Greece.

Some of the beads are of Egyptian origin, the culture ministry said in a statement.

The archaeologists also found ancient fish tanks and large amounts of porphyry -- a prized purple pigment of the ancient world derived from sea snails, and later the colour exclusively reserved for Roman emperors.

"The amount of broken shells found...show a very early Mediterranean production of porphyry dye," the culture ministry said.

The cache "constitutes one of the most important (Minoan treasures) ever found in Crete until now," it added.

The Minoan civilisation, a naval superpower of the Bronze Age era, flourished on Crete and other Aegean islands until about 1500 BCE.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/minoan-treasures-found-on-libyan-sea-island-experts/ar-AAJIZj7

[CaaC (John)]

Ciudad Perdida is the archaeological site of an ancient city in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It is believed to have been founded about 800 CE, some 650 years earlier than Machu Picchu. This location is also known as "Teyuna" and "Buritaca".

 

[CaaC (John)]

Britain's first city discovered as archaeologists say it was home of people who built Stonehenge

Britain’s first ‘city’ arose near an ancient spring on Salisbury Plain, and its inhabitants probably built Stonehenge, archaeologists believe.

Blick Mead lies just a mile away from the Wiltshire stone circle, and experts have uncovered more than 70,000 stone tools at the site, as well as an intriguing ceremonial platform suggesting the area held ritual importance for prehistoric hunter-gatherers who lived there 10,000 years ago.

Although hunter-gatherer populations rarely settle in one place, Professor David Jacques of the University of Buckingham believes the site may have been a permanent encampment where at least the children, elderly and sick lived.

“When you look at Stonehenge you think, ‘but where are the people?’” said Prof Jacques. “It makes sense that if you want to find the people who built it, the obvious idea is to look for where the water is. 

FULL REPORT

[CaaC (John)]

Albert Lin travels to Micronesia, in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, to uncover the ancient island city of Nan Madol

 

[CaaC (John)]

The Misunderstood Legacy of Guy Fawkes

“Remember, remember the fifth of November,” the old British rhyme goes.

For more than 400 years, Britain has remembered. Every year, on this day, fireworks are set off, bonfires are built, and effigies are burned to commemorate the failed 17th-century plot by a group of English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament—with the country’s entire political establishment and reigning Protestant monarch, King James I, inside.

But for an event rooted in remembrance, what has come to be known here in Britain as Guy Fawkes Night (named after one of the key plotters) could not be further removed from it. Today, the annual ritual is more festive and fun than religious and monarchical. Even Fawkes himself has taken on new meaning, becoming best known around the world not as a would-be religious extremist and terrorist, but as a populist hero. His life has been romanticized in film, his likeness has been preserved in masks, and his legacy has morphed into an almost mythical tale of anti-government rebellion, anarchy, and subversion.

Related: How the Gunpowder Plot backfired

How we remember Fawkes, as both a person and a symbol, presents a case study for how the meaning of historical events can be bent to serve the religious, political, and cultural needs of the present. But it also presents a fundamental question about how much is too much historical alteration. By turning people into symbols, do we run the risk of changing them into someone they weren’t?

FULL REPORT

[CaaC (John)]

Ancient Greek Settlement With Purple-Producing Shells and Carved Fish Tanks Discovered on Tiny Island

© Greek Ministry of Culture Archeologists excavating a Minoan settlement at a location to the west of Chryssi Island, near Crete, have found the discarded remains of Hexaplex trunculus shells, used in the production of the colour purple. Pictured: site of the excavation.

Archaeologists excavating a Minoan settlement have found the discarded remains of Hexaplex trunculus shells, used in the production of the colour purple—as well as gold jewellery and copper vases.

The discoveries were made at a location to the west of Chryssi, a small island near Crete, where ancient carved fish tanks can still be found preserved on the beach.

According to the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports, the site, a large multi-room dwelling, would have been involved in the craft production of Tyrian (or "royal) purple dye, an extremely expensive and highly prized commodity, in the Late Minoan period circa 1800 to 1500 BCE.

In addition to the large quantities of shells found at the site, archaeologists unearthed a treasure trove of valuable objects, including a gold ring, a gold bracelet and dozens of beads made from gold, silver, bronze, and maple. Three copper vases, handfuls of glass beads made from amethyst, lapis, corneal stone and "Egyptian blue," and one seal made of agate were also found during the excavation.

These artefacts, the researchers say, suggests the settlement had once had a flourishing economy, despite the rather simple architecture of the building. The inhabitants would have been of a high social level and involved in purple trade, they say.

The history of the colour purple

Recently, research has confirmed the production of various dyes in Crete during the Minoan period, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology reports.

Faded fresco painting hints that Minoans, named after the legendary Greek King Minos, wore brightly coloured garments and samples of ancient dye found in pottery appears to confirm this, suggesting several vibrant dyes were being produced at the time, including yellow dye from the plant Reseda lutiola and red dye from the plant Rubia tinctorum.

Purple would have been particularly prized by the Minoans (as it has been in several societies since) for its expense and the amount of time it would have taken to produce. According to Robert R. Stieglitz, author of The Minoan Origin of Tyrian Purple, purple was "the most expensive dye in the ancient world."

The dye was highly coveted in spite of its slightly icky origins—sea snail mucus. Hexaplex trunculus is a medium-sized sea snail (or mollusk) that produced an intensely coloured secretion, which (when oxidized, added to water and heated) creates a brilliant purple dye.

Aristotle, 384 BC – 322 BC. Greek philosopher and scientist. From The Story of Philosophy, published 1926. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

According to the first-hand accounts of Aristotle and Pliny, to make the colour purple, the creature is crushed and its gland extracted. Each extraction only provides a few drops of secretion, making the production of purple dye an expensive and industrial process.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/ancient-greek-settlement-with-purple-producing-shells-and-carved-fish-tanks-discovered-on-tiny-island/ar-AAJWVeJ?li=AAg17eQ#image=1

[CaaC (John)]

150-million-year-old sea monster unearthed in once-tropical Poland

© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. A pliosaur takes down another unlucky victim in this illustration from the University of Oslo. Natural History Museum/University of Oslo/Tor Sponga

Researchers have unearthed a 150-million-year-old fossilized sea monster called a pliosaur in a cornfield near a village in southern Poland. In a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences describe the titan of the Jurassic period.

With jaws up to about 8 feet long and 4.5 times more powerful than those of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the pliosaur could grow to be twice the size of a modern killer whale, weigh dozens of tons and eat any creature in the water. 

The fossil is about 33 feet long and was surrounded by ancient crocodile teeth and turtle shells and situated in what's believed to have been a tropical archipelago dotted with warm-water lagoons and reservoirs. 

"This new locality is rich in fossils of coastal and pelagic reptiles," the researchers wrote of the find's site, located in the northeastern part of the Holy Cross Mountains near the village of Krzyżanowice. 

© Provided by CBS Interactive Inc. Pliosaurus jaws and teeth from the Krzyzanowice site in Poland. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 2019

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/150-million-year-old-sea-monster-unearthed-in-once-tropical-poland/ar-AAJUtyI