Exciting archaeological discoveries....

[Dr Doran]

I know many of you like Homer or archaeology or both. This is not "vintage" 1930s/1940s but it's vintage 1200 BC or so and I don't think it's too fluffy to post here (feel free to correct me Hemingway) so here it goes ....



From <http://www.charlotte.com/world/story/523098.html>:
=====================================================

Posted on Wed, Mar. 05, 2008
Ancient tomb found on Greek island
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS

Road construction on the western Greek island of Lefkada has uncovered
and partially destroyed an important tomb with artifacts dating back
more than 3,000 years, officials said on Wednesday.

The find is a miniature version of the large, opulent tombs built by
the rulers of Greece during the Mycenaean era, which ended around 1100
B.C. Although dozens have been found in the mainland and on Crete, the
underground, beehive-shaped monuments are very rare in the western
Ionian Sea islands, and previously unknown on Lefkada.

The discovery could fuel debate on a major prehistoric puzzle - where
the homeland of Homer's legendary hero Odysseus was located.

"This is a very important find for the area, because until now we had
next to no evidence on Mycenaean presence on Lefkada," excavator Maria
Stavropoulou-Gatsi told The Associated Press.

Stavropoulou-Gatsi said the tomb was unearthed about a month ago by a
bulldozer, during road construction work.

"Unfortunately, the driver caused significant damage," she said.

She said the tomb contained several human skeletons, as well as
smashed pottery, two seal stones, beads made of semiprecious stones,
copper implements and clay loom weights. It appeared to have been
plundered during antiquity.

With a nine-foot diameter, the tomb is very small compared to others,
such as the Tomb of Atreus in Mycenae, which was more than 46 feet
across and built of stones weighing up to 120 tons.

But it could revive scholarly debate on the location of Odysseus'
Ithaca mentioned in Homer's poems - which are believed to be loosely
based on Mycenaean-era events. While the nearby island of Ithaki is
generally identified as the hero's kingdom, other theories have
proposed Lefkada or neighboring Kefallonia.

Stavropoulou-Gatsi said the discovery might cause excitement on
Lefkada but it was too soon for any speculation on Odysseus.

"I think it is much too early to engage in such discussion. The
location of Homer's Ithaca is a very complex issue," she said.

 

[Martinis at 8]

Extremely interesting. Thanks for posting.

 

[Dr Doran]

My pleasure. Stay tuned for more.

 

[KeyGrip]

That is interesting, please keep us updated.

 

[blacklagoon]

Thank you Doran,That is incredible info.An archaeologist worked out which was odysseus's island a few months ago,simply by realising an island was not originally one whole island,but was in fact,joined by a centuries old sand build up.
as a little extra,here is a link to Snake Island,the location the temple of Achilles was built,and where Achilles himself is buried.the romans documented the location,as Achilles was a demi god to the roman legions,and they use to go there to offer sacrifices to Achilles.The island was much bigger originally,but the sea has over run most of it now.

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Cities/SnakeIsland.html

Snake island is situated in the black sea,and there is a possession war over it between Romania and Ukraine.no one is allowed on the island,so would be divers,archaeologists,please be aware.
If anyone doubts the validity of Snake Island being known around the time of Achilles,there is a wealth of documentive evidence etc,stating that from the age of jason,the greeks sailed and settled all along the shores of the black sea.Jason and Peleus ( Achilles's father ),where of the same generation and hung out together,so a lot of the black sea sea ports were obviously quite new when Achilles found Snake Island.

 

[CharlesB]

great read. i love this sorta stuff

 

[JazzBaby]

Groan! Flashback to college Classics lectures... lol

Thanks for posting, Doran, and reminding me why I studied Classics in the first place. These discoveries really are exciting. Makes you wonder what else we haven't found yet.

 

[Dr Doran]

,the location the temple of Achilles was built,and where Achilles himself is buried.the romans documented the location,as Achilles was a demi god to the roman legions,and they use to go there to offer sacrifices to Achilles.The island was much bigger originally,but the sea has over run most of it now.

That's very cool, but let me hasten to note that in my profession (ancient history), Achilles is not usually believed to have necessarily been a real person. There have been several shrines to Achilles found in several spots which enjoyed sacrifice, (and, for example, a notable one to Agamemnon near Sparta). It is probably best not to make a statement as bold as "where Achilles himself is buried" as we would need a skeleton, then need to identify it somehow with Achilles (impossible as he did not live in the historic period). Many, many Mycenean tombs were thought, in the historic period, to be those of particular, specific Homeric pre-historic warriors, and used by elite, aristocratic families who claimed descent from these heroes and sponsored festivals, libations, and ceremonies at these tombs, which more likely did not contain these specific individuals. The practice increased the prestige of these aristocratic families and was thus in their best interest. It was a popular public relations move, and similar things happened in archaic Sparta when the "bones of Orestes" were brought back to Sparta (whose bones they actually were is impossible to know) and then in the early Classical period when Kimon/Cimon (an identifiable historic figure) brought "the bones of Theseus" from Skyros back to Athens for repatriation in the state burial ground. This was a ploy to secure Athenian access to Skyros which was a vital stop on the grain route from the Black Sea. The Athenians took over the island and sent colonists there. As to whose bones these were, the folklorist Adrienne Mayor in her book The First Fossil Hunters thinks some of them may have been petrified dinosaur bones mistaken, because of their great size, for the bones of humans of the prehistoric "heroic" period (such as Achilles, Odysseus, etc.) as the Greeks believed that their heroic ancestors were larger in stature than the humans of the historic period.

 

[dhermann1]

When I was 16 my mother took my brother and me on a 6 countries in 17 days type cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean. We were required to study up CONSIDERABLY, so we had a very clear idea of what we were seeing. We went to Mycenae and saw the "Treasury of Atrius", the Lion Gate, etc. Those images are absolutely engraved in my brain, even after 45 years. So I know exactly what you're describing from experience. I still find ancient history totally fascinating, and am glad I have a fairly good grounding in it. It really helps to know the background when discoveries are made, or modern conflicts arise in ancient lands.
Just to tie this thread in with something a little more mid 20th century, I'm posting a slightly fuzzy shot of a mosaic in the lobby of the 1939 Art Deco/Art Moderne building I'll be moving into in the Bronx next month. It's Diana the Huntress, which you can sort of tell from the stag running in the foreground. Anyhoo, it just shows to go you how classical themes persist into the moderen world, don't it?

 

[Dr Doran]

Absolutely cool shot, Hermann, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE modern mosaics especially on classical themes -- many from the Golden Era. I'll post a few on this thread. There is an absolutely marvelous one on campus, classically themed, I think from the 1930s, just brilliant. There is a weird one featuring I think peacocks near campus, across from the Julia Morgan Berkeley Club building (a Golden Era masterpiece, must be seen to be believed, one block south of campus). Finally there is a PAINTED faux-mural (fun genre) in my new favorite cafe that is classically themed.

 

[Twitch]

Interesting stuff indeed. I am into much about the atiquities and find things such as this interesting. If you are into ancient history you know that as studies have preservered over time that writings fron the past are more than just frivilous fiction.

While all the "experts" poo-pooed era-written accounts as fantasy they were in fact simply chronicles of the time much like a news article. More and more taking these writings literally has resulted in lost things found.

 

[dhermann1]

Thucydides!!!

 

[Dr Doran]

One nice thing is when we find an inscription that confirms what a classical author stated. For example, Thucydides records seeing an inscription on an altar dedicated by Peisistratos son of the Athenian tyrant Hippias. Then in 1877 the altar was FOUND, with the inscription exactly as Thucydides recorded it. Many other inscriptions support Thucydides' descriptions of the actions of the Athenian Empire, honors given to various individuals, etc. etc. etc.

 

[HungaryTom]

Absolutely cool shot, Hermann, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE modern mosaics especially on classical themes -- many from the Golden Era. I'll post a few on this thread. There is an absolutely marvelous one on campus, classically themed, I think from the 1930s, just brilliant. There is a weird one featuring I think peacocks near campus, across from the Julia Morgan Berkeley Club building (a Golden Era masterpiece, must be seen to be believed, one block south of campus). Finally there is a PAINTED faux-mural (fun genre) in my new favorite cafe that is classically themed.

Doran,

Very interesting article.
A few days after you posted, it also made its way to the yahoo headline. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080305/ap_on_re_eu/greece_tomb

Wonder what will be the follow-up.
I think that his ACTUAL grave will never be found - in Hungary they all seek after Attila's 3 coffins: a golden inside a silver which is inside an iron one. Hint: the grave was artificially floded by an arm of a river.
The quest after such 'grail' however always unearths very precious finds in terms of archaeology.

***

As a teenie I read a book of a paleontologist who gave interesting examples how the base of the trunk on fossil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_elephant skulls were mistaken for cyclops eyes, how cave bear bones were misinterpreted for dragons.

It was interesting at 17 to see Delphi, to drive along the Tempi river and to be on the Olymp.

I wait to see those New World murals.

 

[Twitch]

There was a History Channel program on the other night relating to the fact that many Greek writers describing places where fossils were found exactly duplicate places where modern fossil fields were discovered.

Taken in itself the old way of thinking was to call it myth. In reality the writers were actually historians of their times.

 

[blacklagoon]

I do recall,a short while ago,some archaeologists discovered a ruined palace,i think on an island.the island and the palace,are assumed to be the palace of ajax,who fought in the trojan war.It seems,if the locations actually exist,as described in the past,then the people themselves may have very well existed.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

mycenaean...thas a looooong time back, boy i tell you..hehehe...one of my favorite eras right there...ancient greece, yes indeed...

 

[Story]

Archaeologists Unveil Finds in Rome Digs
By MARTA FALCONI,AP
Posted: 2008-03-09 13:23:18

ROME (March 8) - A sixth-century copper factory, medieval kitchens still stocked with pots and pans, and remains of Renaissance palaces are among the finds unveiled Friday by archaeologists digging up Rome in preparation for a new subway line.

Archaeologists have been probing the depths of the Eternal City at 38 digs, many of which are near famous monuments or on key thoroughfares.

Over the last nine months, remains -- including Roman taverns and 16th-century palace foundations -- have turned up at the central Piazza Venezia and near the ancient Forum where works are paving the way for one of the 30 stations of Rome's third subway line.

"The medieval and Renaissance finds that were brought to light in Piazza Venezia are extremely important for their rarity," said archaeologist Mirella Serlorenzi, who is working on the site.

Serlorenzi said that among the most significant discoveries in a ninth-century kitchen were three pots that were used to heat sauce. Only two others had been found previously in Italy.

The copper "factory" was used to work on copper alloys, and it consisted of small ovens, traces of which can be seen. Small copper ingots were found and are being analyzed.

The archaeological investigations are needed only for stairwells and air ducts, as the 15 miles of stations and tunnels will be dug at a depth of 80 to 100 feet - below the level of any past human habitation, experts said.

However, most of the digs still have to reach the earth strata that date back to Roman times, where plenty of surprises may be waiting. That may create problems between planners and conservationists, officials said.

"It is impossible that there will not be situations of conflict. We know that in some cases the conflict will create a removal of ancient ruins," Rome's archaeological superintendent Angelo Bottini told The Associated Press.

Under Italy's strict conservation laws, it will be up to Bottini's office for Rome to decide whether a find will be removed, destroyed or encased within the subway's structures.

Countless public and private works have been scrapped over the years in Rome and across Italy, and it is not uncommon for developers to fail to report a find and plow through ancient treasures.

Rome's 2.8 million inhabitants can rely on just two subway lines, which only skirt the center and leave it clogged with traffic and tourists.

Plans for a third line that would serve the history-rich heart of Rome have been put off for decades amid funding shortages and fears that a wealth of discoveries would halt work.

The $4.6-billion project is due for completion in 2015, but parts of the line are scheduled to open in 2011, with high-tech automatic trains to transport 24,000 passengers per hour.

 

[Dr Doran]

I do recall,a short while ago,some archaeologists discovered a ruined palace,i think on an island.the island and the palace,are assumed to be the palace of ajax,who fought in the trojan war.It seems,if the locations actually exist,as described in the past,then the people themselves may have very well existed.

Possibly.

 

[Story]

Greek team finds ancient skull that underwent surgery: reports
1 day ago

SALONIKA, Greece (AFP) — Archaeologists have unearthed the skull of a young woman in northern Greece who is believed to have undergone head surgery in the third century, Greek news media reported Wednesday.

A Greek team discovered the skeleton at an ancient cemetery in Veria, with the skull including an injury that led them to conclude the surgery had been performed.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmOACL0J7oTrpF9Aemh1SLc4Ab_A


Hippocrates is believed to have lived in the fifth century BC, Celsus between 25 BC to 50 AD, and Galen from 131 to 201.