Oldest Metal Object To Date In Middle East Found in Woman's Tomb

The Oldest Metal Object Found to Date in the Middle East

According to Dr. Danny Rosenberg of the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archeology, the copper awl is a unique and very rare artifact, whose discovery, along with other items during the excavations at Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley, indicates that the site was an ancient international commercial center

Released:21-Aug-2014 4:00 AM EDT
Source Newsroom:University of Haifa

 

Newswise — A copper awl, the oldest metal object found to date in the Middle East, was discovered during the excavations at Tel Tsaf, according to a recent study published by researchers from the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and the Department of archaeology at the University of Haifa , in conjunction with researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the German Archaeological Institute of Berlin. According to the study, which appeared in the prestigious journal PLOS One, the awl dates back to the late 6th millennium or the early 5th millennium BCE, moving back by several hundred years the date it was previously thought that the peoples of the region began to use metals.

Only 4 centimeters long, and originally set in a wooden handle.

Woman's Bronze Age Burial Uncoverd in Kazakhstan

From Caspio.net
June 11, 2012

Archeological excavations in West Kazakhstan region

She was buried in a fetal position, facing west, ready to be born again...

Specialists of the West Kazakhstan Centre of History and Archeology have found the burial of a young lady dated back to the Bronze Age.
It is situated in the territory of the ancient city of Zhaiyk some 12 kilometres from Uralsk. Archeologists claim that their discovery is unique. The woman was buried in the fetal position and her body was directed to the west. It is believed that a person buried like that will receive the second birth. People buried their relatives and friends in such a manner in the Bronze Age, over 2 thousand years ago. It means that if earlier archeological information dated Uralsk back to the 14th century, today there is proof that this city is much older. The ancient skeleton was situated near the 800-year old brick furnace. The team accidentally found the landmark site during routine excavations. It means that the two discoveries located in close proximity were in fact two millennia apart.

Murat Kalmenov, SENIOR FELLOW, WEST KAZAKHSTAN REGION CENTRE FOR HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY:
-The burial was higher than the base of the furnace. Then we have found an inscription, which said that there was a burial mound here in the 14th century. I believe that people living here hadn’t recognised it and built a furnace near it.
There are a lot of such historical complex areas in the territory of this region. This year excavations in Akzhaiyk, Chingirlau and Kaztal regions are planned to be launched.

Serik Ramazanov, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY:
-In 2009 we found a similar ancient city in the Kaztal region. It was bigger than Zhaiyk. The length of this city was 900 metres and the width was estimated at 300 metres. We also excavated one residential area within the city and we are going to continue working.
An open-air museum is going to be set up in the place of the ancient city of Zhaiyk, where archeologists would like to collect all historical and archeological monuments of the region.

Thracian Woman's Tomb Reveals Unique Treasures

Bulgarian Archeologists Dig Up Unique Thracian Treasure
September 12, 2011, Monday

A Bulgarian archeological team discovered unique ornaments from the chariot of a wealthy Thracian woman, which are in the form of eagle heads. Photo by 24 Chassa.

The archeological team, led by Daniela Agre, has discovered a treasure during digs at a Thracian mound near the southern village of Borisovo, in the vicinity of the town of Elhovo.

The precious items were placed in the tomb of a wealthy Thracian woman and are from the end of the 1st – beginning of the 2nd century AD, the Bulgarian 24 Chassa (24 Hours) daily.

They include a set of luxury bronze dishes, a large round plate and a caldron, all decorated with ivy leaves. There is also a vessel, looking like a small bucket with a lid, which the archeologists say has no analogue in finds in Bulgaria, and a bronze box for toiletries with incrusted bronze busts of satyrs.

The team, however, is the most enthusiastic about another discovery, according to 24 Chassa – a set of ornaments from the chariot of the buried woman. Illegal treasure hunters have dug and nearly destroyed the chariot, but were unable to find the ornaments, which had, actually, been their goal.

"This happened because before the funeral the ornaments had been removed and hidden. The ancient people obviously knew that even then the tombs faced the danger of being robbed. This is why we have this precious find today," Agre is quoted saying.
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The ornaments include four eagles whose wings transform into dragon heads.

Near the tomb, the team also found a large square table where the Thracians placed food for the deceased as part of the burial ceremony – Agre says this is also an exceptional discovery because it is evidence this had been a tomb from Roman Thrace.

In 2008, the same team discovered in the southeastern village of Borilovo, in the Strandzha Mountain, an early Thracian tomb from the 4th century B.C., evaluated as an unheard of for this period expensive structure.

A Woman Born to Rule

From enperu blog Lady of Pacopampa: A woman born to rule Date posted - unknown - I saw it today (October 20, 2009) By Stuart Starrs After three years of work in the town of Pacopampa, a team of archaeologists led by Yuji Seki have found the outlines of an ancient temple that would have formed part of a larger complex located 20 minutes from the modern town of the same name. But far more impressive is what they’ve found buried inside the temple. The team discovered the tomb of a woman, whose social position quickly became evident. On the highest terrace of the San Pedro mountain in what is today Chota in Cajamarca, the birth of a girl began what was to be a new episode of the Formative Period some 3000 years ago. Born in the archaeological complex that we now call San Pedro de Pacopampa, the healthy baby girl would be raised to one day lead her people. This is the conclusion arrived at by Yuji Seki, lead archaeologist from the National University of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. More...

Female Burial and Dogs-Head Earrings Discovered

This is a very interesting burial, dating to about 300 BCE. This woman must have been of very high status - buried with four golden wreaths (!!!!) plus dog-head, gem-encrusted earrings!!!! (Unfortunately, no photos of the earrings, I would love to see what they look like). The dog-head earrings provide a possible clue; maybe she was a priestess of the Great Goddess in her aspect of Hecate, whose totemic companions were dogs (guardians of the gates to the after-world and, in some religions, accompanied the souls of the deceased into the after-world). Story from PhysOrg.com Published: 11:25 EST, June 07, 2008 Ancient Greek grave found during subway work Photos: In this undated handout photo provided by the Greek Culture Ministry on Friday, June 6, 2008, a 2,300-year-old gold wreath is seen beside two ancient clay pots in a newly-discovered grave in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. The grave, found during work for a new subway, contained four gold wreaths, earrings, as well as clay and copper vases. (AP Photo/Greek Culture Ministry) The 2,300-year old grave contained a female skeleton, accompanied by four gold wreaths and gold earrings in the shape of dogs' heads set with semiprecious stones. A Culture Ministry statement said Friday that the grave goods included a bronze mirror, a bronze vase and six clay pots. The woman had been buried in a wooden coffin, traces of which survived. The ministry said part of the grave had been destroyed by a modern sewage pipe. The Thessaloniki subway is scheduled for completion in 2012. ©2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Women's Viking Longship Burial Re-Examined

Vikings acquitted in 100-year-old murder mystery By Alister Doyle Fri Apr 25, 10:06 AM ET OSLO (Reuters) - Tests of the bones of two Viking women found in a buried longboat have dispelled 100-year-old suspicions that one was a maid sacrificed to accompany her queen into the afterlife, experts said on Friday. The bones indicated that a broken collarbone on the younger woman had been healing for several weeks -- meaning the break was not part of a ritual execution as suspected since the 22-metre (72 ft) long Oseberg ship was found in 1904. "We have no reason to think violence was the cause of death," Per Holck, professor of anatomy at Oslo University, told Reuters after studying the two women who died in 834 aged about 80 and 50. "The fracture could have been caused by stumbling or whatever. She could have been seriously hurt, got brain damage. But this fracture alone is no sign of killing," he said. The discovery of the ornate Oseberg oak longboat in south Norway, with a curling prow and the bodies of two women, was one of the archaeological sensations of the early 20th century. Historians believe the Vikings sometimes practiced ritual killings. Arab 10th century traveler Ahmad Ibn Fadlan wrote a detailed description of a Viking burial in Russia where a servant girl was stabbed to death and buried. The bones of the older Oseberg woman showed she had cancer, Holck said of studies since the skeletons were exhumed last year to see if modern technology could discover more about them than when they were re-buried in 1948. "It is a terminal cancer so I'm pretty sure that was the reason for her death," Holck said. It was the earliest documented cancer in Norway. The studies also indicated both women were of high rank -- their diets were largely of meat when most Vikings lived off fish. The teeth of the younger woman showed she used a metal toothpick, a rare 9th century luxury. Historians have long suspected that one of the two was Queen Aasa, mother of Halfdan the Black, father of the first king of all Norway, Harald Fairhair. The old woman suffered from Morgagni's syndrome, a hormonal disturbance that gave her a man-like appearance with a beard and a thick-set body. For the two women, there was not enough DNA to tell if they were related, for instance a queen and her daughter. "There are still more questions than answers," said Egil Mikkelsen, director of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History. (Editing by Jon Boyle)