Glazed bricks depicting a Persian archer, dating back to around 510 BCE, from the city of Susa in the Achaemenid Empire. This glazed brick bas-relief style was perfected in Babylon, and even the Foundation Charter of the Susa palace states that the baked bricks at the palace were the work of the Babylonians. Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In various cities of the Ancient Iberians (Ancient Iberians were the indigenous cultures that lived in the Eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula before they got conquered by the Roman empire), archaeologists have often found skulls perforated by a nail. All of them have been found in the cities located in what nowadays is the Northern half of Catalonia (Ancient Iberian cultures, though related to each other, varied a lot area to area).
These are believed to be the skulls of their enemies, who were captured and beheaded. The enemy’s heads were nailed to the city walls or above the entrance door to houses, together with their weapons. Most of these heads belonged to individuals of the male sex, though some are female and a few belonged to children.
The Ancient Iberian language hasn’t been deciphered and their contemporaries didn’t write much about them, thus many aspects of their culture aren’t known for certain. Archaeologists have the hypothesis that this practice could be related to the way Celts exhibited the heads and hands of their enemies as war trophies, or related to a belief present in the ancient Mediterranean according to which cutting someone’s head off stopped them from reaching immortality. The Gauls even passed down the beheaded heads of their enemies to their children, as a prized possession that brought prestige. It’s a possibility that Northern Iberians were in touch with this practice.
Photos from the Ancient Iberian site Ullastret (Comarques Gironines, Catalonia) posted on National Geographic. Information from Rovirà i Hortalà, 1998 and MAC Ullastret.
"Tegyük fel, hogy az 5. században élsz és van egy kedvenc csontfésűd 🪮, ami sajnos eltörött... Meg akarod tartani mert kedves a szívednek. Hogyan javítanád meg? 🤔" - tettük fel a kérdést. És ím, itt a válasz, melyet egy röntgen felvétel adott meg számunkra. Akik valamilyen ragasztóra voksoltak, azoknak van egy rossz hírünk.... 🤭
Researchers have for the first time discovered evidence of microplastic contamination in archaeological soil samples.
The team discovered tiny microplastic particles in deposits located more than 7 meters deep, in samples dating back to the first or early second century and excavated in the late 1980s.
Preserving archaeology in situ has been the preferred approach to managing historical sites for a generation. However, the research team say the findings could prompt a rethink, with the tiny particles potentially compromising the preserved remains.
"Archaeologists are now finding microplastics in ancient remains"
What does this mean for us oh wise archeology babe
microplastics spending enough time in soil can potentially cause anything embedded in it to decay faster, meaning leaving finds alone in the earth is going to become a problem. Regardless I think we should worry more abt finding them in our food and utensils and everywhere else that has a direct impact on our health lmao