Ancient trade in ostrich eggs investigated

Archaeologists and scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Durham and the British Museum are using cutting edge technology to crack a conundrum surrounding the ancient trade in ostrich eggs.

Carved ostrich egg from Isis Tomb, Vulci (Etruria), BM1850, 0227.6 
[Credit: T. Hodos/Trustees of the British Museum]

Decorated ostrich eggs were traded as luxury items from the Middle East to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron Age (1200-300 BC).

Several beautiful examples -- both intact and in fragments -- have been part of the British Museum's collection since the nineteenth century.

The eggs were engraved, painted and occasionally embellished with ivory, precious metals and faience fittings. They were found in elite contexts from Spain to Iraq.

The research team wants to find out where the eggs were laid and whether the birds laying them were wild or captive.

Dr Tamar Hodos, Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, said: "Apart from noting their presence as unusual vessels in funerary and celebratory settings, surprisingly little is known about where they actually come from or who decorated them, much less how they circulated."

Carved and painted ostrich egg showing hoplites, BM1850, 0227.9 
[Credit: Trustees of the British Museum]

Using the British Museum's collection of ostrich eggs from the Mediterranean and Middle East, isotopic analyses of strontium, oxygen and carbon in the eggshells are being used to investigate where the eggs were laid and whether the ostriches were captive or wild, by detecting what and where the mother was eating and drinking during ovulation.

Detailed study of the eggshells' intricate decoration via scanning electron microscopy will allow the research team to compare carving techniques, helping them understand how they were created.

Dr Alexandra Fletcher, Curator in the Middle East Department at the British Museum, said: "We really want to find out more about how this trade worked. Were eggs gathered from nests in the wild, given that this was a potentially dangerous activity? Or is it possible that ostriches were kept in captivity to ensure the luxury trade had a supply of eggs readily available?"

The question of captivity is an important one. Images on objects such as cylinder seals from the same period show ostriches as dangerous and fierce creatures.

Ostrich eggshell fragment ready to be analysed under the Scanning Electron Microscope 
[Credit: A. Fletcher/Trustees of the British Museum]

One has an ancient king strangling an ostrich while the bird kicks him in the stomach, for example. It seems, however, that some members of these ancient societies were adept at catching and handling dangerous beasts.

The famous Assyrian reliefs at the British Museum show that royal 'lion hunts' were staged affairs. Captured lions were released from cages directly into the path of their hunters. Could the ostriches also have been captive creatures?

It is hoped that the information held in the ostrich eggshells themselves will tell us more about how they were obtained, decorated and traded, which will in turn reveal more about both the people who supplied these luxury goods and those who coveted them.

Source: University of Bristol [April 12, 2017]

byUnknown

in Archaeology, Europe, Iraq, Italy, Middle East, Spain

April 12, 2017

Ancient trade in ostrich eggs investigated

Archaeologists and scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Durham and the British Museum are using cutting edge technology to crack ...

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2,000 year old underground city unearthed in Iran

After more than a decade of excavations, archaeologists unearthed a two-millennia-old subterranean city in Iran’s Samen, Hamedan Province.

The subterranean complex appears to have been first used for religious purposes, then as a cemetery 
and finally as a shelter during emergencies [Credit: IRNA]

The city, located 400 km west of Tehran — provisionally dubbed the Underground City of Samen, is “under the modern city of Samen,” said Ali Khaksar, the head of the provincial office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO).

The official said the ancient city is believed to be around 2,000 years old, built sometime in the transition years between the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and early Parthian era (247 BC-224 AD).


Excavations began in 2005 and have continued to this day.

The city is made up of interlinked tunnels comprising 25 rooms (which served as houses and catacombs), halls and corridors. Some 60 complete skeletons (16 men, 26 women, 14 children and an infant; 3 are unknown) have been retrieved from nine rooms.

It is believed the hidden city spans more than 3 hectares.

Source: Iran Front Page [April 12, 2017]

byUnknown

in Archaeology, Iran, Middle East

April 12, 2017

2,000 year old underground city unearthed in Iran

After more than a decade of excavations, archaeologists unearthed a two-millennia-old subterranean city in Iran’s Samen, Hamedan Province. T...

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Sand storm in southern Iran exposes ancient city

A strong sand storm in Kerman province in southern Iran has led to the discovery of a lost ancient city full of historical relics.

The sand storm unearthed a large part of an ancient city in Negin-e Kavir County near the city of Fahraj in Kerman province.

Pottery, bones, and brick walls have been discovered in the historical site. Further archaeological investigations will be carried out to discover more about the city.

Source: Iran Front Page [April 06, 2017]

byUnknown

in Archaeology, Iran, Middle East

April 06, 2017

Sand storm in southern Iran exposes ancient city

A strong sand storm in Kerman province in southern Iran has led to the discovery of a lost ancient city full of historical relics. The sand ...

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Violence less widespread in ancient Mesopotamia than previously believed

Analysis of the bone remains in ancient Mesopotamia suggests that physical violence in the area was less common than suggested by historical sources, argues bioarchaeologist Dr. Arkadiusz Sołtysiak.

Skull with traces of healed trauma (the arrow) from Tell Majnuna, Syria, late Chalcolithic (c. 3,500 BC)
[Credit: A. Sołtysiak]

Dr. Sołtysiak from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, reviewed all publications concerning the burial grounds in Mesopotamia, the ancient land in the Middle East, located in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates (mainly present territory of Iraq and Syria).

Analysed skeletons come from the period covering 10 thousand years, from the Neolithic, i.e. the introduction of agriculture - to the present day, the beginning of the 20th century.

The publications collected by Sołtysiak contain information on more than 1,200 skeletons. The scientist focused on descriptions of traces of healed skull injuries - injuries that did not directly lead to death. Traces of such injuries followed by recovery are much easier to identify than traces of a fatal injury (which are often very similar to the changes occurring after death, for example due to a specific funerary ritual or damage to the bones in the tomb).

"The incidence of such injuries in Mesopotamia is clearly lower than in other parts of the Middle East, and clearly decreases with the formation of the first states" - Arkadiusz Sołtysiak said in an interview with PAP. The scientist also found that most of the healed head injuries occured in the outskirts of Mesopotamia, with almost no such cases in the central part. Historically, the risk of skull injury for the average inhabitant of Mesopotamia was therefore low, significantly lower than in Armenia and the Levant, the scientist believes.

Map of Mesopotamia showing location of sites mentioned in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology paper 
[Credit: A. Sołtysiak]

This fact - according to the researcher - may be the result of the existence of a strong, centralized state authority. "The authorities were able to effectively minimize violence within a single state organism. The rulers had the right to administer justice, and ensured that any conflicts between the subjects would not lead to violence". suggested the bioarchaeologist.

"Many texts from ancient Mesopotamia contain colourful descriptions of wars and other physical atrocities, such as mass beheadings or stripping the skin. Meanwhile, bioarchaeology research paints the picture of a community, in which physical violence appeared to be rather uncommon", noted the researcher .

The number of cemeteries from the last 10 thousand years that had been studied and described by scientists, proved to be surprisingly small. To date, researchers have published data on the bone remains from only 25 cemeteries.

"This shows that the degree of development of bioarchaeology in Mesopotamia is quite low, especially when compared to Europe or North America", commented Sołtysiak. There are several reasons for this situation, the main one being that Syria and Iraq are politically unstable. "The work of archaeologists in these countries is often impossible due to armed conflicts", he added.

The results of Arkadiusz Sołtysiak's research have been published in a special issue of International Journal of Osteoarchaeology dedicated to violence.

Source: PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland [April 06, 2017]

byUnknown

in Anthropology, Forensics, Iraq, Middle East, Syria

April 06, 2017

Violence less widespread in ancient Mesopotamia than previously believed

Analysis of the bone remains in ancient Mesopotamia suggests that physical violence in the area was less common than suggested by historical...

Read More