Ancient roman sarcophagus found at London building site

The 1,600-year-old coffin found near Borough Market is thought to contain the remains of a member of nobility.

Archaeologists have been unable to identify the body as the stone coffin has been left filled with soil after being robbed, experts believe.

The sarcophagus will now be taken to the Museum of London's archive for analysis.

The coffin was found several metres underground with its lid slid open, which indicates it was plundered by 18th century thieves.

Gillian King, senior planner for archaeology at Southwark Council, said she hoped the grave robbers "have left the things that were of small value to them but great value to us as archaeologists".

The grave owner must have been "very wealthy and have had a lot of social status to be honoured with not just a sarcophagus, but one that was built into the walls of a mausoleum" Ms King said.

She added: "We always knew this site had the potential for a Roman cemetery, but we never knew there would be a sarcophagus."

The coffin was found on Swan Street last month after the council told developers building new flats on the site to fund an archaeological dig.

Researchers discovered the coffin six months into the dig as they were due to finish their search.

Experts at the Museum of London will now test and date the bones and soil inside.

Discovering a strange hat on the tomb of the Scythians in Russia makes everyone panic

Archaeologists excavating the Middle Don burial ground of Devitsa V in the Ostrogozhsky District of the Voronezh region, Russia, have discovered a unique silver plate depicting winged Scythian gods and griffins.

The site, which contains 19 burial mounds, was discovered in 2000 and has been the subject of excavations led by the Archaeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 2010. Several other significant discoveries have been made over the last decade, including a barrow containing a female warrior in 2019.

The silver plate discovered during the 2021 field season was found inside Mound 7, located in the central part of the cemetery. The main burial in this mound dates to the 4th century BC and belonged to a man in his forties. The tomb had been plundered by grave robbers in antiquity, but several rich grave goods survived thanks to the collapse of the roof during the robbery. Among the objects buried with the man were an iron knife, a horse rib, a spearhead, and three javelin heads, as well as fragments of horse harnesses, a moulded cup, a large, black-glazed vessel, and the jaw of a young bear, thought to be related to the presence of a bear cult in the Scythian Middle Don culture.

The square silver plate, which measures 34.7cm long and 7.5cm wide in the middle, was found in the northeast part of the grave, away from other the items. It appears to have originally been connected by small silver nails to a wooden base, although this has now been almost entirely lost. The central section of the plate depicts a winged figure wearing a horned headdress or crown, thought to be the goddess of animal and human fertility: Argimpasa, Cybele, or the Great Goddess, surrounded by eagle-headed griffins.

The figures are depicted in a style that combines the traditions of Asia Minor and ancient Greece, resembling finds from other Scythian barrows in the Northern Sea region, Dnieper forest-steppe region, and the Northern Caucasus. The left side of the object is made up of two square plates decorated with depictions of syncretic creatures (combining features from several different species) in a heraldic pose. On the right, two round buckles are attached to the plate, each depicting an anthropomorphic figure wearing a crown, flanked by two griffins.

At present, it remains unknown who these figures represent and what kind of object the plate originally adorned, but it is nonetheless a significant discovery as the site of Devitsa V has not yet produced any other depictions of gods from the Scythian pantheon, and it is unusual to find an object like this so far to the north-east of the main Scythian centres.

Top 10 Dark North Sentinel Island Theories

North Sentinel island is regarded as one of the most dangerous islands in the world. Why? Well, its home to a tribe that will kill anyone who dares to intrude on their land. They live their own life completely isolated from the rest of the world. In fact, they still live a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

As a result we hardly know much about them, but in today's video let's explore some scary theories people have come up with surrounding this island… from the Sentinelese practicing cannibalism to the island housing a secret facility. Let's talk about these and more only in today's video!

Archaeologists Discovered Something Gigantic That No One Can Explain

Giants have long been a part of human mythology and folklore, but could they have actually existed in real life? Throughout history, there have been numerous discoveries of remains that suggest the existence of giants. However, many of these discoveries have been met with skepticism and controversy, with some experts arguing that they are simply the result of misinterpreting normal-sized human remains or even outright hoaxes.

Today, we're going to be talking about some of the most mysterious archaeological discoveries of giants. Enjoy!

Christian Denominations Family Tree | Origins & Early Schisms

In the following video we will talk about the Christian denominations family tree, and more specifically about the origins and early schisms. Enjoy!

Norsuntepe: An extremely mysterious prehistoric place in Turkey

Norsuntepe is located in the Keban area (modern eastern Turkey) on the Upper Euphrates, about 25 km from Elazig.

The crown of the hill had an area of approximately 500 m to 300 m, within which settlement traces were detectable by archaeologists.

Excavations at Norsuntepe were conducted between 1968 and 1974 by the German Archaeological Institute archaeologists led by Harald Hauptmann, the Heidelberg professor of Prehistory and Early History.

The field works had to be finished by 1974 because of the construction of the Keban Dam works and the rising water level.

In the excavations of Norsuntepe, archaeologists conducted investigations on the extractive metallurgy of copper, arsenic, and a lustrous gray metalloid found in nature and known as antimony.

They also analyzed excavated smelting products from Norsuntepe (Keban) area on the Upper Euphrates.

In Anatolia, most artifacts of a late Chalcolithic date were made of unalloyed copper. Some others were arsenical coppers with low arsenic content.

At Norsuntepe (a site now under the waters of Keban dam), smelting furnaces, copper ore, slag, fragments of clay crucibles or molds, and finished metal artifacts were found in the courtyards and buildings probably belonging to metal workers.

Norsuntepe was probably a fortified site, with mudbrick houses finished with plaster, and in some instances, they had wall paintings.

Archaeologists identified 40 settlement layers from different periods, namely the late Chalcolithic (4,000- 3,000 BC), through all phases of the Bronze Age until an Urartian settlement in the Iron Age.

Norsuntepe was one of the most important sites of this period.

The Chalcolithic (sometimes referred to as the 'Copper Age') was an important period with achievements, of which the most striking development was the extensive use of copper.

Until this period, natural stones were the only material humankind used to make their weapons.

Later, they learned to process and shape this metal copper to make solid weapons and ornamentation. We also see a considerable increase in the number of towns scattered across the area.

The new towns of this period were usually built on the water or in rich valleys.

The great mother goddess of Asia Minor was the main deity, and they made many figurines of this goddess, which they used in their religious rituals. The burials within the houses of the preceding Neolithic period now occur outside the towns.

After the Iron Age, which supplied several richly furnished graves, the settlement was abandoned and destroyed by fire.

Neolithic Romeo and Juliet? The Star-Crossed Lovers of Valdaro

The “Lovers of Valdaro” are a pair of human skeletons that were discovered in 2007 by a team of archaeologists at a Neolithic tomb in Italy. The two skeletons appear to have died while they were gazing into one another’s eyes and hugging each other, thus reminiscent of a “lovers’ embrace.”

Their Embrace Amazingly Goes Back 6,000 Years

For 6,000 years, two young lovers had been locked in an eternal embrace, hidden from the eyes of the world. Despite their embrace lasting six millennia, the Lovers of Valdaro only became known ten years ago, when their tomb was discovered near Mantua, in the northern region of Lombardy.

Digging in the village of Valdaro, a team of archaeologists led by Elena Maria Menotti found a double burial: a young man and woman considered to be about 20 years of age, huddled close together, face to face, their arms and legs entwined, as if they were embracing.

What’s even more impressive, double burials from the Neolithic period are very uncommon, and the position of the couple is certainly unique. Furthermore, it is the only example of a double burial in Northern Italy found to date. When the “lovers” were discovered, photos of their embrace were published on media worldwide causing great excitement, especially since the discovery took place near Valentine’s Day.

How Did the Young Couple Die?

Historians have not been able to determine how the two died, but, in popular imagination, the couple have come to symbolize Romeo and Juliet of a prehistoric age, star-crossed lovers who took their own lives.

This theory is helped along by the fact that Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was set in nearby Verona, that Romeo was exiled to Mantua, where he was told that Juliet was dead, and that Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, another story of star-crossed love and death, was set in Mantua too.

But subsequent research showed that the skeletons do not have any signs of creating their own violent deaths. Elena Maria Menotti, head of the excavation, stated at the time ,

"We have never found a man and a woman embraced before and this is a unique find. We have found plenty of women embracing children but never a couple. Much less a couple hugging΄and they really are hugging. It's possible that the man died first and then the woman was killed in sacrifice to accompany his soul. From an initial examination they appear young as their teeth are not worn down but we have sent the remains to a laboratory to establish their age at the time of death. They are face to face and their arms and legs are entwined and they are really hugging.”

The Archaeological Value of this Find is Truly Immeasurable

Romantic interpretations aside, their discovery remains one of the most remarkable finds in Neolithic archaeology and an excited Menotti made sure to point that out too,

“I am so thrilled at this find. I have been involved in lots of digs all over Italy but nothing has excited me as much as this. I've been doing this job for 25 years. I've done digs at Pompeii, all the famous sites. But I've never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special."

Although it might not be the only Neolithic burial to include more than one person, double burials in that period are extremely rare, while the pose and the positioning of the couple make the find even more unique. After an initial examination of the bones, experts determined that the man and woman were not only young, but also short (especially the male) around 5’2” (158 cm) tall each.

The examination also revealed that the man has an arrow in his spinal column while the woman has an arrow head in her side. Additionally, researchers speculate that 5000 years ago the area around Mantua was marshland and crisscrossed by rivers, so the environment was ideal and helped to preserve the skeletons in their near-perfect state.

The Mystery Might Never be Solved but the Couple Found a New Home

The mystery of their death might never be solved, but many people from around the world are willing to travel to Italy to see the most ancient romantic couple.

The skeletons were displayed briefly in public for the first time in September 2011 at the entrance of Mantua's Archaeological Museum. But the association “Lovers in Mantua” campaigned intensely for a long time for their right to have a room of their own, and now visitors can now see the Lovers of Valdaro at the Archaeological Museum of Mantua, where they are on permanent display inside a shatterproof glass case.

Ancient Egyptian Music | Songs of the Pharaoh

In the following video we will be listening to ancient Egyptian music. This is some calming, relaxing, music which we hope helps your day be a little lighter. It can help you study, read or you can simply listen. May peace and calm be always by your side!

Archaeologists Just Discovered What No One Was Supposed To See

From ancient Egyptian tombs to Bronze Age burials, these finds give us a unique glimpse into the lives and loves of our ancestors. Whether they were high-ranking officials or common folk, these couples demonstrate the enduring nature of love and the importance of relationships in the past.

In this video, we'll be exploring some of the most interesting and poignant discoveries of ancient couples that have been made over the years.

'Römerwein': An extremely rare bottle of wine, 1,650-years-old

For a few years now, contemporary historians have been debating the future of the oldest bottle of wine in the world, known as the Speyer wine bottle, or “Römerwein.”

Historians have split opinions on whether the bottle should be opened or not.

This extremely rare artifact is 1,650-years-old and it is placed in the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Germany.

The glass amphora has handles in the shape of dolphins and is sealed with wax. The contents of the bottle is about one-third olive oil which in the past was used as a preservative that prevented the wine from oxidizing.

The Speyer bottle was found in the grave of a Roman nobleman in 1867, in the Rhineland-Palatine region of Germany and caused a real stir among historians and archaeologists at the time.

It’s been said that the noble owner, believed to be a high ranking Legionnaire, was buried with the bottle of wine, an ancient custom which represents the Romans’ beliefs in the after-life, that is, sending valuable objects with the body of the deceased so she or he can use them in the “hereafter.”

Reportedly, the tomb near the city of Speyer also contained the sarcophagi of his two spouses.

The antique bottle, which represents thousands of years of human history and customs, was named after the city of Speyer. In the glory days of Ancient Rome, wine and wine cults were diligently observed.

One of the inventions of Hero of Alexandria, an engineer who was centuries ahead of his time, was a delightful party centerpiece that seemingly turned one liquid into another.

His trick jug incorporated two separate, sealed compartments and some clever pneumatics to make it seem that water added to the vessel was dispensed as wine. This is one of several similar devices that Hero describes in his Pneumatica.

During WWI, a chemist analyzed the Speyer bottle but never opened it so the wine was given to the Historical Museum of the Palatinate collection in Speyer. Over time, numerous scientists have hoped to obtain permission to analyze the bottle’s contents thoroughly, though nobody has been granted one yet.

Some scientists and microbiologists are adamant that the bottle shouldn’t be opened, among them Ludger Tekampe, the curator of the Folklore Wine Museum collection. “We are not sure whether or not it could stand the shock to the air. It is still liquid and there are some who believe it should be subjected to new scientific analysis but we are not sure.” said Tekampe on the matter.

This rare artifact of the ancient world was created during the early days of the tradition of wine production and consumption, which was begun by the ancient Greeks. The tradition was later embraced by the ancient Romans, who also took Dionysus, the Greek god of agriculture, wine, and fertility, and renamed him Bacchus.

Contrary to the general notion and belief that the older the wine is, the better, the Speyer wine is presumed to be undrinkable. According to the Daily Mail, Professor Monika Christmann said that although the Speyer wine might not be microbiologically spoiled, it “would not bring joy to the palate.”

Biggest Unsolved Mysteries In The World!

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Most Mysterious Ancient Structures In The World!

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What Happened To Atlantis?

Check out what happened to atlantis! This top 10 list shows the most current theories surrounding the location of the mysterious los city of atlantis!

Amazing Discoveries That Prove Giants Actually Existed!

Check out these amazing discoveries that prove giants actually existed! From real giant skeletons to other mysterious and unexplained discoveries, this top 10 list show some of the biggest discoveries in history!

Most Terrifying Creatures From Greek Mythology!

Check out the Most TERRIFYING Creatures From Greek Mythology! From legendary monsters to mysterious beasts, this top 10 list of mythical creatures from ancient greece will amaze you!

120 million-year-old ‘dancing dragon’ fossil found in China

About 120 million years ago, a “dancing dragon” lived in China’s Jehol Province. The discovery of a fossil belonging to the small feathered dinosaur is new to science and helps bridge the gap between dinosaurs and birds.

Researchers named the dinosaur Wulong bohaiensis, which translates to “a dancing dragon.”

The dinosaur was about the size of a raven but double its length with a long, bony tail. Its entire body was covered with feathers, complete with two plumes at the tail’s end.

Despite its small size, it had a fierce, narrow face and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Like a bird, it had small, light bones and wing-like forelimbs. And there were also a number of feathers on its legs.

The fossil was initially discovered in the fossil-filled Jehol Province a decade ago by a farmer and was placed in China’s Dalian Natural History Museum.

Researchers, including Ashley Poust, a postdoctoral researcher at the San Diego Natural History Museum, later analyzed the fossil (at the time, Poust was still a student at Montana State University).

The findings were published last week in the journal The Anatomical Record.

“The new dinosaur fits in with an incredible [range] of feathered, winged animals that are closely related to the origin of birds,” Poust, the study’s author, said. “Studying specimens like this not only shows us the sometimes surprising paths that ancient life has taken, but also allows us to test ideas about how important bird characteristics, including flight, arose in the distant past.”

This dinosaur was a juvenile when it died, according to its bones, but its feathers resembled that of a mature adult. This suggests that the feathers grew quickly, unlike modern birds, which take time to grow their mature feathers.

“Either the young dinosaurs needed these tail feathers for some function we don’t know about, or they were growing their feathers really differently from most living birds,” Poust said.

The dinosaur was an early relative of Velociraptors, which lived 75 million years ago. Its contemporaries would have been Microraptors, small feathered dinosaurs that resembled birds.

The researchers actually sliced into several bones from the fossil and studied them with microscopes to understand the different regions of the skeleton. They also compared it to a close relative that also appeared more mature, known as the Sinornithosaurus.

Surprisingly, that dinosaur was also still growing when it died. The researchers said that histology, or cutting up the bones, was the only way for them to truly know the life stage of the dinosaurs when they died.

“We’re talking about animals that lived twice as long ago as T. rex, so it’s pretty amazing how well-preserved they are,” Poust said. “It’s really very exciting to see inside these animals for the first time.”

Fossils from the Jehol Province have painted a portrait of the diverse life that once flourished there. It’s an area in northeastern China full of exceptionally preserved fossil discoveries that has been studied for the past 90 years.

Researchers learned that birds, pterosaurs and bird-like dinosaurs all lived in the environment at the same time. This is also when flowering plants initially began to flourish.

“There was a lot of flying, gliding and flapping around these ancient lakes,” Poust said. “As we continue to discover more about the diversity of these small animals, it becomes interesting how they all might have fit into the ecosystem. It was an alien world, but with some of the earliest feathers and earliest flowers, it would have been a pretty one.”

Inside the Tomb of the First Aztec Emperor

The Templo Mayor excavation in present-day Mexico City has unearthed an exciting site; in March 2019, archaeologists found a cache of sacrifices and offerings that may indicate the burial of royalty. The trove was discovered near the holiest temple in the Aztec world, Templo Mayor, which has been described in historical accounts as the resting place of the Aztec kings. Archaeologists have never found an Aztec royal burial despite decades of excavations, but this recent discovery may lead to the first.

Top 10 | Beautiful and Expensive Imperial Egg of Russia from the House of Faberge

In 2010, an American scrap-metal dealer visited an antique stall somewhere in the United States and purchased a golden egg sitting on a three-legged stand. The egg was adorned with diamonds and sapphires, and it opened to reveal a clock. Intending to sell the object to a buyer who would melt it down for its component metals, the dealer purchased this egg-clock for $13,302. He then had trouble selling it, as potential buyers deemed it overpriced.

The dealer had valued it incorrectly—but not the way he originally thought. In 2014, the man—who remains anonymous—discovered that his little golden objet d’art was one of the 50 exquisitely bespoke Fabergé Easter eggs created for imperial Russia’s royal Romanov family. Its value? An estimated $33 million.

The Romanovs’ extravagant royal Easter egg tradition began with Czar Alexander III in 1885. Alexander was then in the fifth year of his reign, having succeeded his father, Alexander II, who had been killed by bomb-wielding assassins. In 1885, Alexander sought an Easter gift to surprise and delight his wife Maria Feodorovna, who had spent her early years as a Danish princess before leaving Copenhagen to marry him and become a Russian empress. He turned to Peter Carl Fabergé, a master goldsmith who had taken over his father’s House of Fabergé jewelry business in 1882.

Geneticists Have Found Traces Of Biblical Figures Hidden In The DNA Of Modern Populations

An international team of genetic experts examine the ancient DNA extracted from 93 individuals. All these people died over a period of 1,500 years at five different sites in the Middle East. All of them were part of the Canaanite civilization which thrived for some 4,700 years up until around 1200 B.C. However, what surprises the scientists is the link they can now make between these ancient Biblical people and their modern-day descendants.

When Experts Dug Beneath Jerusalem’s Holy Western Wall, They Found These Eerie Underground Chambers

Archeologists are working at an Israel Antiquities Authority archeological dig beneath Jerusalem’s iconic Western Wall and the adjoining plaza. They’re delving under a mosaic floor that was once part of a Byzantine building dating back 14 centuries. And what they find underground astonishes both them and the experts running the excavation.