Hola everyone! I'm back from sunny and warm Las Vegas. It was a great trip.
My hotel was smack dab outside Rock in Rio that was held last Friday and Saturday - OMG! Navigating around the street concert area (for vehicles) was a nightmare! I tried to avoid the mad crush of people as much as possible. The hotel (I stayed at Circus Circus this visit) was pleasantly busy beforehand but not like the mob scenes that can occur when there's a chess tournament in town or one or more conventions, but last week Thursday the place was inundated with arrivals for the weekend concert and, perhaps, the music awards that were hosted in LV live last Sunday night. Of course when I'd planned my trip I had no idea these things were going to be going on during my LV stay. Oh well, LOL!
I ate too much, drank too much, talked too much. I did not go shopping except to one thrift store on a trip with Isis who combs through thrift stores like a pro to find vintage items for her online shop. It was a real education watching Isis do her thing at the thrift store, wow! I picked up a small decorative plate, one other item that for the life of me now I cannot remember, and my prize score was a black and white porcelain of a beautifully detailed horse.
Now, you may be wondering "how is it she doesn't remember what she bought? Can't she just go look and write it down?" Well, no, I can't do that because I don't have the things with me! We decided rather than cramming the items into my luggage, my purchases, together with several really cool items (including a new egg for my ever-growing egg collection) that Isis surprise gifted to me, would be shipped to my home. Since Isis has re-entered the world of vintage items and clothing via her e-bay shop (years ago she had a bricks-and-mortar location) she quickly became expert at packing items for safe arrival via US Mail, FedEx and UPS. I should have the box in a few days, woo woo!
So - back to my much more sedate and slow-paced life of retirement in good ol' Milwaukee :)
The Red Lady of El Miron (cave site in Spain) made the news again this past week. She lived and died approximately 18,000 years ago and was evidently reburied at some point, perhaps after her original grave site had been disturbed by predators. Before she was re-interred, her bones were painted in a glittery (crystallized minerals laden) form of red ocher. The "big" news about her discovery, though, wasn't the fact that she had been painted in red ocher, but that there was evidence a floral offering may have been included in her second grave, based on pollen found in the grave site.
Here is the latest article on the Red Lady of El Miron from Live Science:
Ancient Mourners May Have Left Flowers On Red Lady Grave, Tia Ghose, Staff Writer, Life Science, May 20, 2015
I knew about the somewhat controversial findings surrounding possible evidence of flowers left in or on a grave of a Neanderthal woman buried some 60,000 years ago in Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan area of Iraq. See, for instance:
The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave, Owen Edwards, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2010.
For further information on Neanderthal burial practices, see Burial, Ritual, Religion, and Cannibalism at neandertals.org.
A more recent gravesite, a 14,000 year old burial in Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel, written about in this article (a man and woman buried together in a pit grave):
Oldest Grave Flowers Unearthed in Israel, Tia Ghose, Staff Writer, Life Science, July 1, 2013. Note: This article dates the Neanderthal burial with evidence of flowers to some 35,000 years ago, in stark contrast to Owen Edwards' article which dates the burial to some 60,000 years ago. Perhaps two different burials are indicated.
Showing posts with label ancient burials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ancient burials. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Friday, October 7, 2011
Three 4,000-5,000 Year Old Female Burials Uncovered in Kent
Major discoveries. Note the photo below showing TWO henges, one of which appears to be untouched! The description of the "triple pot" is also absolutely fascinating. Are the women related? Could they be mother and two daughters, for instance? The ages seem about right. But -- who knows. We may never know, unless DNA testing is done on bone fragments from the three females' remains. And that pot - I want to know more about that!
What is most incredible is that the British Isles have been one of the most intensively occupied countries for thousands of years, and yet all of these wonderful things continue to be discovered -- it seems nearly daily there is something in the archaeological news about this or that being uncovered.
From Discovery News
Prehistoric Teen Girl's Grave Found Near Henge
The finding of the 17-year-old girl's grave adds more evidence that henges were linked to death rituals.
By Jennifer Viegas
Thu Oct 6, 2011 02:31 PM ET
Four to five thousand years ago, a wealthy teenage girl was laid to rest in a grave at what archaeologists believe is a newly found henge in Kent, England.
The discovery of the 17-year-old's grave -- along with a unique prehistoric pot inside of a ringed ditch near two other women -- strengthens the idea that important death-related rituals took place at many of these mysterious ancient monuments when they were first erected.
"What is becoming clear is that with a series of major excavations in Kent linked to road and rail works, and new aerial photography, there are many circular earthworks that look part barrow and part henge, and like the one fully excavated example at Ringlemere (Kent), some of these may be both," said archaeologist Mike Pitts, publisher of British Archaeology, where a summary of the recent finds appears.
"This comes after many years in which archaeologists believed there were no henges in south-east England at all," Pitts told Discovery News.
Staff from Oxford Wessex Archaeology, during recent extensive excavations, discovered the early teen's grave on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, near what is now Manston Airport. The girl was buried laying on her side with flexed limbs, with an unusual pot standing by her right elbow.
Pitts explained that the pot consists of three small bowls joined together. Separately made pots were joined with bridging clay before decorating and firing, he suspects. Neil Wilkin, a researcher at the University of Birmingham studying early vessels, said the features of the pot confirm its suspected age and attribution.
Only one other example of multiple joined pots from the time has been seen before, Pitts said. In that other case, just two small bowls were attached together.
Two other women, aged 25-30 and 35-50, were also found buried inside the 72 feet-wide ditch. It remains unclear if the number of attached pots was somehow tied to the number of women found at the site. What is clear is that they must have been wealthy individuals. A conical amber button was located near the teenager's head. She might have then worn clothing bejewelled with amber accents.
A separate Kent excavation, near Maidstone, uncovered the new likely henge. Such monuments are seen across Britain, but this latest one may be only the second henge known to exist in south-east England.
Pitts said the henge "is 49 meters (161 feet) across with clear entrances at
the north-west and south-east...Two parallel straight ditches were seen
apparently preceeding the ring ditch on the west, and two lengths of enclosing
ditch were also exposed."
Paul Wilkinson, who conducted the dig and is director of the Kent Archaeological Field School, found charcoal, bones and pottery laying on the surface of both ditch terminals. Some of the pottery was discovered crushed and in tight clusters with small fragments of burnt bone, suggesting the pots had been urns holding cremated remains.
"The clincher will be if it is Grooved Ware," said Pitts, who explained that this type of decorated pottery tends to be associated with many henges.
Kent may be home to even more henges, according to archaeologist Paul Hart of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. He explained that "sandstone doggers (boulders) can be found in deposits which are exposed in the cliff of Pegwell Bay and may also exist in pockets along the southern coast of the Isle."
Accessibility to materials like these boulders, and the stones of Stonehenge, likely influenced where early monument builders worked. But henges made of wood were probably even more common, leaving behind what are now often difficult-to-detect traces of their existence.
What is most incredible is that the British Isles have been one of the most intensively occupied countries for thousands of years, and yet all of these wonderful things continue to be discovered -- it seems nearly daily there is something in the archaeological news about this or that being uncovered.
From Discovery News
Prehistoric Teen Girl's Grave Found Near Henge
The finding of the 17-year-old girl's grave adds more evidence that henges were linked to death rituals.
By Jennifer Viegas
Thu Oct 6, 2011 02:31 PM ET
Four to five thousand years ago, a wealthy teenage girl was laid to rest in a grave at what archaeologists believe is a newly found henge in Kent, England.
The discovery of the 17-year-old's grave -- along with a unique prehistoric pot inside of a ringed ditch near two other women -- strengthens the idea that important death-related rituals took place at many of these mysterious ancient monuments when they were first erected.
"What is becoming clear is that with a series of major excavations in Kent linked to road and rail works, and new aerial photography, there are many circular earthworks that look part barrow and part henge, and like the one fully excavated example at Ringlemere (Kent), some of these may be both," said archaeologist Mike Pitts, publisher of British Archaeology, where a summary of the recent finds appears.
"This comes after many years in which archaeologists believed there were no henges in south-east England at all," Pitts told Discovery News.
Staff from Oxford Wessex Archaeology, during recent extensive excavations, discovered the early teen's grave on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, near what is now Manston Airport. The girl was buried laying on her side with flexed limbs, with an unusual pot standing by her right elbow.
Pitts explained that the pot consists of three small bowls joined together. Separately made pots were joined with bridging clay before decorating and firing, he suspects. Neil Wilkin, a researcher at the University of Birmingham studying early vessels, said the features of the pot confirm its suspected age and attribution.
Only one other example of multiple joined pots from the time has been seen before, Pitts said. In that other case, just two small bowls were attached together.
Two other women, aged 25-30 and 35-50, were also found buried inside the 72 feet-wide ditch. It remains unclear if the number of attached pots was somehow tied to the number of women found at the site. What is clear is that they must have been wealthy individuals. A conical amber button was located near the teenager's head. She might have then worn clothing bejewelled with amber accents.
A separate Kent excavation, near Maidstone, uncovered the new likely henge. Such monuments are seen across Britain, but this latest one may be only the second henge known to exist in south-east England.
 |
The actual "circle" or henge is the one that is barely visible where one part of it touches the road -
the white line cutting across the northeast corner of the photo.. You can see the "indentation"
where the excavation is taking place. The other smaller circle that is more clearly delineated
near the center of the field does not appear to have been touched!
|
Paul Wilkinson, who conducted the dig and is director of the Kent Archaeological Field School, found charcoal, bones and pottery laying on the surface of both ditch terminals. Some of the pottery was discovered crushed and in tight clusters with small fragments of burnt bone, suggesting the pots had been urns holding cremated remains.
"The clincher will be if it is Grooved Ware," said Pitts, who explained that this type of decorated pottery tends to be associated with many henges.
Kent may be home to even more henges, according to archaeologist Paul Hart of the Trust for Thanet Archaeology. He explained that "sandstone doggers (boulders) can be found in deposits which are exposed in the cliff of Pegwell Bay and may also exist in pockets along the southern coast of the Isle."
Accessibility to materials like these boulders, and the stones of Stonehenge, likely influenced where early monument builders worked. But henges made of wood were probably even more common, leaving behind what are now often difficult-to-detect traces of their existence.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tells, Tombs, Burials
Recent news:
Six prehistoric burials have been excavated on Scotland’s Isle of Skye
Second "royal" Iron Age burial mound discovered in The Netherlands
1800 year old grave (and artifacts) uncovered in Vietnam
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