Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini
“In view of the known critical factors influencing Bronze and Iron Age agriculture in the Eastern Mediterranean region, such as the global climate fluctuations at the end of the Early and Late Bronze Age or the collapse of the socio-economic system in connection with migrations, at least in part of a warlike nature, which are described as the invasion of the “Sea Peoples”, agricultural production at Tell Tweini proves to be comparatively resilient. Thus, despite the destruction of Tell Tweini in the first quarter of the 12th century BC, a revival of urban life and trading systems in the 11th century BC and continuing into the Iron Age II is evident.”
Fuller BT, Riehl S, Linseele V, Marinova E, De Cupere B, et al. (2024) Agropastoral and dietary practices of the northern Levant facing Late Holocene climate and environmental change: Isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Bronze to Iron Age Tell Tweini. PLOS ONE 19(6): e0301775. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301775
🪔 For the #RuinOftheDay: remains of the Temple of Rome and Augustus right behind the Parthenon of Acropolis in Athens. It was likely built between 19 and 17 BC and it is the only Athenian temple dedicated to the cult of the Emperor. 📸 me
Concordia, located in the north of Italy, was the birthplace of the early Christian author Rufinus. Among its archaeological remains are a Christian basilica and the “Trychora Martyrum,” a 4th c. martyrs shrine. By the end of the century it was transformed into a small basilica
🪔 #OnThisDay, in 17 BC Secular Games of Octavian continued in Rome: spectators were offered games in Circus and an animal hunt. On the photo - the Temple of Apollo Palatinus build by Octavian and where choirs of boys and girls sang the Carmen Saeculare, composed for the occasion of Games by the poet Horace. 📸 me
Archaeologists have traced the origin of the horse and why humans ride them
“Researchers believe the very earliest horse ancestors arose in North America, then sauntered across the Bering Strait into Asia around a million years ago. They flourished in Asia, but went extinct in the Americas.”
🪔 For eyes pleasure: This statue depicts the river god Arno and it dates to the time of Hadrian. It was heavily restored during the Renaissance times. Curiously, a small lion's head has been carved on the vase, probably in homage to Pope Leo X Medici (1513-1521). Now in Musei Vaticani. 📸 me
🪔 #OnThisDay in 323 BC Alexander the Great died in Babylon, possibly from malaria. The marble bust in the post was likely produced in Alexandria in 300 BC - 150 BC. It is now in the BM, London. 📸 me
The arch of Titus stands on the Via Sacra which leads from the Colosseum into the Roman Forum. It marked Titus' campaign in Judea which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. Titus' deified image is depicted lifted up to the heavens on the back of an eagle.
The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant
“We find that Levant-related modern populations typically have substantial ancestry coming from populations related to the Chalcolithic Zagros and the Bronze Age Southern Levant. These groups also harbor ancestry from sources we cannot fully model with the available data, highlighting the critical role of post-Bronze-Age migrations into the region over the past 3,000 years.”
Evidence for dynastic succession among early Celtic elites in Central Europe
“The historical and archaeological record leave no doubt that the development of culture and population in southwestern Germany was temporarily characterized by profound discontinuities, particularly during the third to first century BCE. The definitive end of the 2,000 years of relative genetic continuity from the Bronze throughout the Iron Age in southern Germany is marked by a sudden, sharp increase of Steppe-related ancestry during the Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages.”
Gretzinger, J., Schmitt, F., Mötsch, A. et al. Evidence for dynastic succession among early Celtic elites in Central Europe. Nat Hum Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01888-7
Biblical Gilgal: A Common Place Name or a Cult Site near Jericho?
“Gilgal was a national cult centre of the Kingdom of Israel, and in several references its name appears alongside that of Bethel (1 Sam 7:16; 2 Kgs 2:1–2; Hos 4:15; 12:12; Amos 4:4; 5:4–5). Bethel, located in the highlands, was the seat of a national temple (see Amos 7:13) and the place where the golden calf, the animal sacred to the Storm God, represented the God of Israel in his temple.”
“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.”
“_ 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._”
“This episode examines the origins of Hebrew and its relationship with Canaanite dialects in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The episode will explore archaeological artifacts such as an inscription from Izbet Sarteh in Israel, which may be one of the earliest inscriptions of the Hebrew language.”
#Video length: ten mintues and fifty nine seconds.
Remains of a triconch room in a 4th cent. Roman villa in Patti Marina, #Sicily. The room is comprised of three curved apses and a mosaic floor decorated with geometric patterns and animals.
“The fakes created during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century tell us another story, one of the rediscovery of the ancient Near East within the Orientalism movement. This fascination about the Orient and the past led certain individuals to create some fantastic stories and theories, such as those published by the writer Zecharia Stichin (1920–2010) who took the mythological battles of gods related in the authentic Babylonian Epic of Creation to be real astronomic phenomena.”
Michel, C. 2020. Cuneiform Fakes: A Long History from Antiquity to the Present Day. In: Michel, C. and Friedrich, M. ed. Fakes and Forgeries of Written Artefacts from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern China. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 25-60. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110714333-002
“The fakes created during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century tell us another story, one of the rediscovery of the ancient Near East within the Orientalism movement. This fascination about the Orient and the past led certain individuals to create some fantastic stories and theories, such as those published by the writer Zecharia Stichin (1920–2010) who took the mythological battles of gods related in the authentic Babylonian Epic of Creation to be real astronomic phenomena.”
Michel, C. 2020. Cuneiform Fakes: A Long History from Antiquity to the Present Day. In: Michel, C. and Friedrich, M. ed. Fakes and Forgeries of Written Artefacts from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern China. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 25-60. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110714333-002
“The extent to which the worship of Baal and Asherah affected Israel’s understanding of Yahweh is seen in the inscriptions found at Kuntillet Ajrud. Jezebel was not fully responsible for the ongoing worship of Canaanite deities in Israel and Judah but her reign gave legitimacy to the long held tendency.”
Dolan, M. (2024) “Jezebel: A Hebrew Disaster”, Buried History: The Journal of the Australian Institute of Archaeology, 40, pp. 39–48. https://doi.org/10.62614/7d25h288
Found at last: long-lost branch of the Nile that ran by the pyramids
"The highest concentration of pyramids in Egypt can be found in a stretch of desert between Giza and the village of Lisht. These sites are now several dozens of kilometres away from the Nile River. But Egyptologists have long suspected that the Nile might once have been closer to that stretch than it is today.
Satellite images and geological data now confirm that a tributary of the Nile — which researchers have named the Ahramat Branch — used to run near many of the major sites in the region several thousand years ago."
Found at last: long-lost branch of the Nile that ran by the pyramids
“The highest concentration of pyramids in Egypt can be found in a stretch of desert between Giza and the village of Lisht. These sites are now several dozens of kilometres away from the Nile River. But Egyptologists have long suspected that the Nile might once have been closer to that stretch than it is today.
Satellite images and geological data now confirm that a tributary of the Nile — which researchers have named the Ahramat Branch — used to run near many of the major sites in the region several thousand years ago.”
Found at last: long-lost branch of the Nile that ran by the pyramids
“Satellite images and geological data now confirm that a tributary of the Nile — which researchers have named the Ahramat Branch — used to run near many of the major sites in the region several thousand years ago.”
"After a thorough examination, we may conclude that the item’s amateurish preparation and local origin are suggestive of a scribal exercise. The use of an available mould that was not suitable for a tablet, the child’s fingerprint on the reverse and the corrected mistakes in the script all point to an inexperienced scribe."