5,000 Year Old "Venus" Figurine Found

Only goes to show, you can't keep a good woman down! The one photograph with the story isn't very good, but you can see the white "Venus" figurine on the left, and the "seal" on the right, held by the man in the photograph. Story at todayszaman.con 5,000-year-old Venus figure found in Çanakkale 25 September 2009, Friday A 5,000-year-old Venus figure has been found as part of an excavation being carried out in Çanakkale's Ezine district. The excavation began in the field three weeks ago in cooperation with Germany's University of Tübingen. Assistant Professor Rüstem Aslan, who is vice head of the excavation, told the Anatolia news agency that the aim of the dig is to find settlements outside Troy from the Bronze Age. Some interesting findings have been unearthed during the excavation, Aslan said. “We found a 5,000-year-old Venus figure, which used to represent woman at the time, as well as a seal with which people used to mark their belongings in prehistoric ages. Such a seal is a rare piece. In addition to these items, we also found stone axes, well-processed and embellished pots and spindle-whorls, which were used for spinning wool.”

Hidden Goddess Figurines Discovered

(Image: from original article at Live Science) Ancient Aphrodite Figures Hint at Pagan Resistance Excerpted from a Live Science story at Yahoo News Mon Sep 14, 2:07 pm ET Three figurines of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, have been found buried underground in the remains of a shop in a Roman city built in the second century B.C. The hidden figures hint at the reluctance of some denizens of the Roman Empire to give up their pagan beliefs despite the spread of Christianity. The ancient treasure, buried for more than 1,500 years, was uncovered during the tenth season of excavations that are being carried out by researchers of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. The hidden statues were discovered when the researchers exposed a shop in the southeastern corner of the forum district of Sussita, which is the central area of the mountaintop Roman city that existed through the Roman and Byzantine periods and destroyed in the great earthquake of 749 A.D. Sussita, also known as Hippos, is located in Israel and sits on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The city was originally built by Greek colonists, but later came under Roman rule. The researchers say it was clear the followers had wished to hide the figurines, as they were found complete. "It is possible that during the fourth century A.D., when Christianity was gradually becoming the governing religion in the Roman Empire, there were still a number of inhabitants in Sussita who remained loyal to the goddess of love and therefore wished to hide and preserve these items," said Arthur Segal, one of the excavation's leaders. The clay pieces are 9 inches (23 cm) tall and represent the common model of the goddess of love known to the experts as Venus pudica, "the modest Venus." This name was given to the form due to its upright stature and the figure's covering her private parts with the palm of her hand. (Venus is the Roman name for the goddess of love. The term 'aphrodisiac' comes from the Greek name of the goddess.

7,000 Year Old Female Icon Discovered

Archaeologists find unique 7000-year-old statue By ČTK / Published 5 September 2008 Masovice, South Moravia, Sept 4 (CTK) - Czech archaeologists have uncovered a torso of a unique female statue created about 7000 years ago near Masovice, which is the second similar find in this locality, Zdenek Cizmar, head of the archaeological research, told CTK Thursday. The woman's statue found in the area last summer was given the name "Hedvika of Masovice," while "her sister" is called "Johanka," according to the female names in the calendar on the days when the artifacts were found, Cizmar added. "Though the statues come from the same period, each of them is different and exceptional," Cizmar said. Both sculptures, created by people of the Moravian Painted Ceramic culture, probably served as idols, symbolising life and fertility. The lower part of the half-a-metre tall "Hedvika" statue is the oldest sculpture of such a large size found in central Europe. The torso of "Johanka," measuring "mere" 35 centimetres, consists of four fragments of the body that were put together. The legs are missing. "It has a realistically shaped face. Distinctive ears with holes are also interesting features. Hands, chest and lap are very well apparent. Moreover, Johanka was completely white," said Cizmar. He added that the statue was polished with a resin base covered with a white colour finish. Masovice is a significant archaeological site where remains of prehistorical settlements as well as a high number of artifacts have been found. Among other rarities from the locality is the "Masovice rondel," of which a double circular ditch with a 110 metres in diameter has been preserved. It served as a ritual place and possibly as a calendar. Czech archaeologists, slightly exaggerating, call it a Moravian predecessor of the famous Stonehange in Britain. ***************************** This is what I found on "Hedvika:" From Radio Praha Archaeologists in Moravia discover 7000 year-old sculpture [19-10-2007 13:40 UTC] By Jan Richter

The find of the century is what Czech archaeologists are calling the discovery of a 7000 year-old statue in Masovice, a village just west of Znojmo, South Moravia. Although only the lower parts of the sculpture have been found, experts say that Hedvika, as the statue has been named by those who discovered it, is a unique find in a European context. On Wednesday, experts from the Brno Archaeological Institute marked a discovery that could change the way historians look at the era of 7 000 years ago, known as the Neolithic Age. During an emergency survey on a building site in the community of Masovice, some 8 km north of Znojmo in South Moravia, they discovered fragments of a ceramic female sculpture. Archaeologist Zdenek Cizmar, who was the first to lay his hands on this unusual find, explains the significance of the discovery. "The sculpture is unique for two reasons; one of them is its size. The fragment we have found is 30 centimetres tall, from its feet to the waistline. We therefore estimate its overall original height to be 55 to 60 centimetres; this means that it is the largest statue of the Moravian Painted Ware culture ever found in the whole Middle Danube Basin". The people of the Moravian Painted Ware culture formed a part of the Neolithic civilization of central Europe in the period between 5000 and 4000 BC and they were particularly distinguished for their pottery skills. Many other figurines have been found in sites across Moravia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, but the recently discovered statue is different in yet another way - it is hollow. As Zdenek Cizmar says, archaeologists are still not quite sure why. "We have two possible explanations. It could either be some sort of a technological issue to make sure the statue was easier to dry and burn. It is also possible that the sculpture, which surely served some ritual purposes, could also be used as a vessel to pour liquid from during ritual ceremonies." Following an unwritten rule of their profession, archaeologists from the Brno institute gave the statue the name of Hedvika, as Wednesday was Hedvika's holiday in the Czech Republic. Now the experts are hoping to find the rest of the figurine in remaining parts of the survey zone that are yet waiting to be uncovered and explored. The fragments of Hedvika are currently being studied by scholars from the Brno Archaeological Institute but they promise that next year, it will be displayed at the South Moravian Museum in Znojmo.