Gold bear found in Kazakhstan kurgan

Ancient

A unique gold bear ornament has been discovered in a burial mound in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from the Saka period, dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries B.C.

“The sculptural bear figurine is unique in the context of Kazakhstan. No comparable artefacts have previously been discovered. This find makes it possible to trace cultural parallels across the Eurasian region, stretching from the Black Sea region to the Altai,” said Lyazzat Sagyndykova, Director of the Almaty City Museums Association.

The little bear is made of cast gold and stands on his hind legs, holding a vessel in both front paws. He is mounted on a plate with perforations on each corner suggesting it was originally attached to something. Archaeologists hypothesize that it was sewn into a headdress.

Comparable gold animal figurines have been found on ceremonial headdresses of the Saka culture, nomadic peoples who inhabited the Eurasian Steppe from the 9th century BC to the 5th century AD.. A gold argali (a wild sheep) was sewn to the headdress of the Golden Warrior, a Saka royal buried in ceremonial armor in the Issyk Kurgan 30 miles east of Almaty. A gold snow leopard found at the Kok-Kainar burial site in 2014 also decorated a headdress.

The tumulus where the bear was found is in the Karagayly burial ground. It is about 25-26 meters in diameter and is currently 2.5 meters high at the highest point, but would originally have been larger. It was looted in antiquity, leaving behind a crater three meters wide, but the thieves missed the little gold ursine treasure.

An unusually large number of human remains were found in the kurgan. Typically a tumulus this side would have contained the remains of one or two people at most, but bones from at least four adults and three children have come to light, and the excavation isn’t over yet. Archaeologists also found fragments of Saka-era pottery. The remains and objects were scattered around the burial site, presumably by the looters.

When the excavation is complete and all the artifacts documented, cleaned and conserved, a selection of the most significant objects discovered in the kurgan will go on display at the Almaty Museum.

CT scan cracks 16th c. shipwreck combination lock

Modern(ish)

A brass combination lock recovered from a 16th century shipwreck off the coast of Wales has been unlocked for the first time in almost 450 years. CT scanning technology cracked the code, allowing researchers to decipher the four-letter code: ANCE.

The Elizabethan merchant vessel Ann Francis went down in a storm on December 28th, 1583, on its way home to Norfolk from Spain. It was blown off course and ran aground on Margam Beach, near Port Talbot. Its incredibly rich cargo of almost 900 gold and silver coins, personal belongings, compasses, tools, eating and drinking utensils was buried under the sand for centuries. It was gradually discovered by metal detectorist Peter Hughes between 1996 and 2017. The Ann Francis treasure was acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales earlier this year and is now on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

The brass combination lock was found among a group of silver coins. It was probably the lock for a chest that held the coins. Wooden coffers are listed on the surviving inventory of the ship, although no locks are mentioned (they wouldn’t be, typically). Elizabethan combination locks have been found before, but this one is unique for having been found in its original archaeological context on a ship that can be precisely dated.

Experts from the museum worked with Cardiff University CT scanning specialists to non-invasively examine the internal mechanism of the lock.

“By creating a detailed 3D image of the internal mechanism, I could see how the notches lined up with the letters and identify the exact combination. We normally use this technology to study bones and other biological structures, so investigating a 400-year-old padlock was certainly a first for us. I had to wait until later that evening for the museum team to test the combination, so getting the message that we’d cracked it was incredibly satisfying.”
Dr David Williams
Post-Doctoral Research Associate

Bronze Age hoard found on 16th c. battlefield in Hungary

Ancient

A Bronze Age vessel containing a two large metal spirals has been unearthed at the 16th century battlefield of Mezőkeresztes in Hungary. This is the first time a Bronze Age vessel hoard in the Borsod region has been found in its original archaeological context and professionally excavated with modern methodologies.

A team of archaeologists and volunteers were investigating the field where the Ottoman and Habsburg armies clashed October 22-26, 1596, looking for material remains of the battle when one of the volunteer metal detectorists got a signal alerting to metal under the surface. The subsequent excavation uncovered a large bronze bowl with two spiral ornaments inside. Based on the shape of the vessel and spirals, archaeologists date the three objects to the Late Bronze Age, between the 13th and the 11th centuries B.C., more than 2,500 years before the Battle of Mezőkeresztes.

To preserve any organic fragments, even ones so small they can’t be seen with the naked eye, archaeologists removed the entire bowl, still filled with soil for micro-excavation in laboratory conditions. Once the contents have been removed, scientists will be able to analyze the interior of the bowl for any traces of substances it once contained, food or beverages, for example.

Metal burials like these are well-known in Bronze Age Europe. They vary in size and object type, and there is as yet no consensus on whether they were intentionally placed, perhaps as part of a religious ritual, or buried for safekeeping or for some other purpose. Discovering an assemblage undisturbed in its original context, therefore, may provide crucial clues as to why the bowl and spirals were buried there.

2,300-year-old possible priestess tomb found in southern Italy

Ancient

Archaeologists have discovered the 2,300-year-old tomb of a possible priestess of Demeter in Manduria, a town in Apulia inside the heel of Italy’s boot. It contains two inscriptions, one carved, one painted, in the pre-Roman, non-Italic Messapic language and decorative iconography related to the cult of Demeter.

The tomb was found in the ancient necropolis of Manduria in the Mura Messapiche Archaeological Park. Tomb 17 was carved into the bedrock, the opening originally sealed with three massive stone slabs. The carved inscription is spread over the three stone slabs that originally sealed the tomb. Epigraphers have identified the name of a woman, her father’s name, and the word “thabara,” in this context a priestly title. The inscription is evidence that the tomb belonged to a woman from a prominent family who held a significant religious role in the community.

The second inscription is painted on the inner side of one of the sealing slabs. It consists of four lines of texts that again include the word “thabara” and a name that has been interpreted as “Damatrioas,” a possible reference to Demeter, Greek goddess of harvest and agriculture. The inscription combining the priestly title with the name of the goddess is what suggests the deceased may have been a priestess of Demeter.

The tomb also contains exceptional pictorial decorations, with meander pattern on the upper part of the stone slabs, a temple key and a thymiaterion (a vessel used to burn incense). It had been looted in antiquity, so only a few grave goods remain. They include bronze fibulae, a silver finger ring with a snake motif, a silver coin minted in Taranto and an unknown iron object. Osteological remains are sparse and fragmentary, damaged by looters and acidic soil conditions.

There are only about 600 surviving Messapic inscriptions. The language went extinct after the Roman conquest of southern Italy in the Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.) so any new discoveries are of great archaeological significance. These inscriptions hold additional significance as the role of women in Messapian religion is an open question. If the preliminary interpretations of the inscriptions are confirmed, Tomb 17 will provide important new insights into women’s religious positions and how Greek cults evolved in southern Italy.

Archaeologists will continue to study and analyze the inscriptions from Tomb 17. In additional to further epigraphic study, the tomb’s decorations will be conserved and the grave goods examined.

Silver medallion for dog hero sells at auction

Modern(ish)

A Late Victorian medallion presented to a poodle named Zulu by an insurance company for his heroic efforts during a house fire has sold at a Woolley & Wallis auction in Salisbury. The pre-sale estimate was £400 – £600 ($536 – $804). It sold for £762 ($1,021).

The little black poodle named Zulu barked when a fire broke out at the Glasgow home of Mr. Montague W.Baird, drawing attention to the fire when it still small enough to control. It was the night of December 26th, 1897, the Feast of Stephen, and the insurance company was so grateful for his decisive action in saving them from a really big bill they gave him a medal.

The medallion is sterling silver, topped with a pierced ribbon finial. On the front is a handsome enamel black poodle in the center with an inscription below that reads: “Presented to ‘Zulu’ by Alliance Assurance Company For Services Rendered 26th Dec 1897.” On the reverse is the crest of Alliance Assurance: a castle on a hill with a banner bearing the logo “Multi societate tutiores,” meaning “safer together in a group.”

The lot comes with 13 original letters by Mr. Baird and the insurance company representatives.

Stuart Lawrey, the secretary of the Assurance Company, wrote to Baird on February 2, 1898:

“With reference to our recent conversation, we beg to state that we have made further inquiries into the matter and we are overbound to admit the indebtedness of the company to your black poodle, Zulu, for his behavior on the occasion of the recent fire in your dwelling house. Without doubt, the dog exhibited exceptional sagacity in his persistent and successful endeavor to call the attention of your servants to the outbreak. We cannot say to what serious dimensions the fire might have attained and consequent danger to, and possibly loss of, life but for this little animal’s timely warning and under the circumstances which are very unique, we should be happy if you would obtain a silver medal for your dog collar. Bearing an inscription and suitable for the occasion and recording the interesting event, the expense of which we shall be very pleased to meet.”

The medallion on its foot and pedestal is just three inches high, so it’s possible the medal alone was worn by Zulu as a collar ornament, but given how it’s mounted, I suspect it was for his trophy case only.