Anglo-Saxons may have fought in northern Syrian wars, say experts
“These finds put the Anglo-Saxon princes and their followers centre-stage in one of the last great wars of late antiquity. It takes them out of insular England into the plains of Syria and Iraq in a world of conflict and competition between the Byzantines and the Sasanians and gave those Anglo-Saxons literally a taste for something much more global than they probably could have imagined.”
@bibliolater Note that by the 8th century there was a Schola Anglorum (English quarter) in Rome because of all the travel back-and-forth, so the Anglo-Saxons were never all that insular — I suspect that stereotype came from 19th century Romanticism, trying to depict them as pure germanic warriors unsullied by Latinate decadence, or some similar racist nonsense.
“The implication is that Anglo-Saxon elites had access to significant quantities of Byzantine silver, something that dramatically alters our view of how economically and politically connected they were.”
🪔 For #EigraphyTuesday: These are Fasti Capitolini in the ‘Sala della Lupa’ - Salon of the Wolf – in the Musei Capitalini of Rome. “Fasti” is a list of all main magistrates of the Roman Republic: the first year for which records are preserved is 483 BC and the last surviving year is AD 13. 📸 me
🪔 For eyes pleasure: the atrium of the House of the Vestals on the Roman Forum in Rome. The Atrium Vestae was a three-story 50-room palace, standing at the foot of the Palatine Hill. Its elegant atrium with a double pool still can be seen today. 📸 me
🪔 The second photo shows the view on the atrium from the Palatine Hill.
the annual research meeting of the #okinawa archaeologists society will be held today in yonabaru. i'll live-toot it, hashtag #okiarch
the theme this year is Kindai (modern period, from the fall of the kingdom to WWII) #archaeology @archaeodons
📕 Nona Palincaş and Ana Cristina Martins are the editors of the book "Gender and Change in Archaeology. European Studies on the Impact of Gender Research on Archaeology and Wider Society", published by Springer Nature.
The book shows various ways in which the study of gender makes a difference in archaeological research, in academia and in the public's thinking about gender.
Nobody’s land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia
“The directly dated cut-marked bones of ungulates indicate the presence of AMHs in inland Iberia during the early and mid-Upper Paleolithic. The paleoecological inferences suggest that human populations occupied Malia when climatic and ecological conditions were not particularly severe in terms of aridity and temperature.”
Nohemi Sala et al., Nobody’s land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia. Sci. Adv.10, eado3807 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado3807
Ancient Egyptian scribes and specific skeletal occupational risk markers (Abusir, Old Kingdom)
“Our research reveals that remaining in a cross-legged sitting or kneeling position for extended periods, and the repetitive tasks related to writing and the adjusting of the rush pens during scribal activity, caused the extreme overloading of the jaw, neck and shoulder regions.”
Brukner Havelková, P., Dulíková, V., Bejdová, Š. et al. Ancient Egyptian scribes and specific skeletal occupational risk markers (Abusir, Old Kingdom). Sci Rep 14, 13317 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63549-z
Ancient DNA sheds light on the genetic origins of early Iron Age Philistines
“Our analysis suggests that this genetic distinction is due to a European-related gene flow introduced in Ashkelon during either the end of the Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age. This timing is in accord with estimates of the Philistines arrival to the coast of the Levant, based on archeological and textual records (2–4).”
Michal Feldman et al., Ancient DNA sheds light on the genetic origins of early Iron Age Philistines. Sci. Adv.5, eaax0061 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0061
Long-lost Assyrian military camp devastated by ‘the angel of the Lord’ finally found, scientist claims
“At the British Museum in London, there is a relief depicting the siege of Lachish, and it shows the Assyrian camp. Stephen Compton, an independent scholar who specializes in Near Eastern Archaeology, compared this relief to photos from the early to mid-20th century which show Lachish. He identified a site north of Lachish with an oval shaped structure with walls that he thinks may have been the Assyrians’ camp.”
A little hard to get to, but a visit to Cimitile is worth the effort if you're interested in #EarlyChristian#archaeology Here St Paulinus of Nola expanded the basilica over the tomb of St Felix making it one of the most important martyr shrines in Italy
Does a cave beneath Pembroke Castle hold key to fate of early Britons?
“One of the issues that scientists are seeking to resolve is the question of whether or not Neanderthals interbred with Homo sapiens in Britain, as they did in other parts of the world. For good measure, they also want to know if the two species lived alongside each other or whether they replaced each other in successive waves.”