Archaeologists in Pompeii said Saturday that they had discovered the remnants of a “slave chamber” in an extremely uncommon find at a Roman mansion devastated by Mount Vesuvius’ explosion about 2,000 years ago.

The little chamber, which had three beds, a pottery pitcher, and a wooden chest, was discovered during an excavation at the House of Civita Giuliana, a suburban villa located just a few hundred metres from the remainder of the old city.

A virtually complete ornate Roman chariot was unearthed here earlier this year, and researchers said Saturday that the chamber most likely housed slaves responsible for cleaning and preparing the chariot.

According to a press release, the “unique testimony” into how “the weakest in ancient society lived. is without a doubt one of the most thrilling findings in my time as an archaeologist.”

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it blanketed Pompeii in ash, killing anyone who hadn’t managed to flee in time. They were killed by heat shock or crushed by crumbling structures.

Rare insight

The 16-square-metre (170-square-foot) chamber was a mix between a bedroom and a storeroom, with three beds (one of which was child-sized) and eight amphorae tucked away in a corner.

The wooden box included metal and cloth artefacts that seemed to be part of the chariot horses’ harnesses, and a chariot shaft was discovered sitting on one of the beds.

Earlier this year, the corpses of three horses were discovered in a barn during an excavation.

“The chamber offers us a remarkable insight into the everyday existence of slaves,” the Pompeii archaeological park said.

Experts were able to create plaster casts of the beds and other artefacts in perishable materials, which left their impression in the cinerite (volcanic ash rock) that covered them, according to the report.

Slave clan

The beds were built of rough-hewn wooden planks that could be modified to fit the height of the person using them.

The webbed bases of the beds were constructed of ropes and were covered with blankets.

While two were roughly 1.7 metres long, one was only 1.4 metres long and might have belonged to a toddler.

According to the archaeological park, the three slaves might have been a family.

Archaeologists discovered various personal items beneath the beds, including amphorae for intimate items, clay jugs, and what seemed to be a chamber pot.

The room was illuminated by a small upper window, and there are no remains of wall decorations, only a mark left by a lamp placed on a wall.

The excavation is part of a 2017 initiative to combat criminal activities in the region, which includes tunnel digging to obtain artefacts that may be sold on underground marketplaces.

For years, the Villa of Civita Giuliana had been the object of systematic plunder. There were indications that part of the “archaeological treasures” in the Slave Room had also been looted, the park said.

The damage caused by grave robbers at the property has so far been assessed at around two million euros ($2.3 million), according to the report.

A Polish archaeologist has made “the discovery of his life” after discovering a one-of-a-kind 3,000-year-old gold bowl with a sun pattern.

The gold bowl was discovered in shallow ground in an ancient village used as a site of worship in Ebreichsdorf, Austria, and is constructed of thin sheet metal containing roughly 90% gold, 5% silver, and 5% copper.

Inside, researchers discovered two gold bracelets composed of coiled wire and two clumps of organic material that were mysterious at the time of discovery, measuring 5 cm high and 20 cm in diameter.

One of the most significant archaeological findings in Austria in recent decades, dig director Dr Micha Sip from Pozna stated, “This is the discovery of a lifetime for me.”

“I’ve worked on numerous continents, including Egypt and Guatemala, but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“This is the first discovery of its sort in Austria.”

“Not only are the numerous bronze and gold items unusual in this area of Europe,” Sip said, “but so is the size of the community we uncovered at Ebreichsdorf.”

He went on to say that just a few vessels of this sort have been unearthed in Spain, France, or Switzerland.

Between 1300-1000 BCE, the village in today’s Ebreichsdorf was occupied by a society known as the Urnfield civilization, according to researchers (the name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns which were then buried in fields).

 

Header Image: Discovered in the shallow ground at a prehistoric settlement used as a place of worship in Ebreichsdorf, Austria, the unique gold bowl is made of thin sheet metal consisting of approximately 90 percent gold, 5 percent silver, and 5 percent copper. Andreas Rausch

In September, archaeologists unearthed a 1,300-year-old ski frozen on top of a mountain in Norway, completing the best-preserved set ever discovered.

In September, researchers discovered a 1,300-year-old ski frozen in ice on top of a mountain in Norway, completing a set hailed by Science Magazine as the “best-preserved prehistoric pair of skis on record.”

In 2014, another crew discovered the first ski on the mountain, five metres distant from the second. According to Science, the new team waited seven years for the ice to melt before discovering the second ski partially exposed inside the melting ice.

Many artefacts have lately been unearthed in frigid, northern locations like Norway, as glacier melting has increased due to climate change, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

According to the Science article, while parts of skis dating back to 6,000 BCE have been discovered, these specific skis are entirely whole, providing unique insights on how such equipment was utilised.

According to the report, the skis had been “extensively restored,” implying that they were valuable and would have been impossible to replace.

“The skis are handcrafted rather than mass-produced.” According to the Smithsonian, “they had a lengthy and separate history of wear and repair before an Iron Age skier used them together and they wound up under the ice,” said Lars Pil of Norway’s Glacier Archaeology Program (GAP).

Archaeologists previously assumed that the bottom of the skis may have been coated with fur to make uphill travel easier, but the researchers uncovered a wide groove in the middle of the freshly discovered ski, a characteristic that would be worthless if fur had been employed.

“Archaeologists have also discovered many cairns that might have been part of an ancient mountain track. They believe the owner of the skis was a hunter, traveller, or both “according to the Smithsonian Institution

The 5,000-year-old site lies on an island and is centred around an acropolis in an ancient Greek city. The rectangular-shaped temple was built in the early Roman era, between 31 BC and 193 AD, according to experts. It was extensively remodelled in the late Roman era, between approximately 284 AD and 476 AD. However, the archaeologists, a group of Spanish, Lebanese, and Polish experts, have failed to identify the god worshipped at the temple.

“Its position on a pedestal in the most elevated section of the ancient island underlines this building’s special significance,” said Francisco J. Nunez of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw.

The researchers also discovered that the building was composed of sandstone pieces and stood on a limestone and sandstone platform.

Dr Nunez also stated that two 26-foot columns of Egyptian pink granite were located on one side of the temple beside a vestibule.

The steps to the doorway were also adorned with stunning carved geometric patterns.

This roadway runs next to a smaller street where another sanctuary has been found.

It was a building with two rooms and a courtyard on a north-south axis, according to archaeologists.

Researchers discovered an Egyptian bas-relief portraying Isis nursing Horus as an infant in one of them.

The experts also believe there was an underground room at the temple’s entrance.

However, evidence shows that during the Byzantine time, the beautiful building was replaced by a basilica, which was destroyed by a tsunami in the sixth century AD.

“Overlapping architectural remnants, signs of natural disasters, increasing sea levels, and active urban growth in recent decades have effectively made understanding the character of ancient architecture difficult,” stated Dr Nunez.

While Lebanese excavations at Tyre began in the 1960s, the majority of their documentation vanished as a result of the country’s 1975 civil war.

However, much of this work concentrated on the classical and mediaeval stages.

“Given Tyre’s historical prominence during the Bronze and Iron Ages, we know very few archaeological remains from these times,” Dr Nunez noted.

Our understanding of the old city is primarily restricted to Roman and Byzantine ruins, which are currently centred in two archaeological parks: al-Bass and the Basilica.”

One of the project’s primary goals was to discover the effect of environment, history, and the growth of urbanisation on the historic island of Tyre.

Excavations in the 1970s discovered buildings from several eras that require additional investigation to determine the truth.

However, excavations carried out during that time period unearthed some significant evidence that aids in understanding the history of habitation in this ancient metropolis.

Researchers want to continue their study next year, focusing on both the temple and the surrounding area of the city.

Dr Nunez did, however, clarify that there are more intriguing structures to be discovered.

“There is another massive edifice in the north, possibly another temple, that we would also like to investigate,” he added.

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Archaeologists discovered a single wooden ski frozen in ice on Digervarden Mountain in southern Norway in 2014. According to Andrew Curry of Science magazine, researchers have discovered the other half of the 1,300-year-old pair, which are among the best-preserved antique skis ever discovered.

The newly recovered ski is in better shape than the one discovered seven years ago. This might be due to it being buried deeper in the ice, argues Lars Pil, an archaeologist with Norway’s Glacier Archaeology Program (GAP), on the organization’s blog.

The second ski is significantly bigger than the first, measuring roughly 74 inches long and 7 inches broad. Both have elevated footholds. Leather straps and twisted birch bark bindings discovered with the skis would have been fastened via footing holes. The new ski has evidence of significant wear and will require maintenance in the future.

“The skis aren’t exactly the same, but we shouldn’t expect them to be,” Pil says. “The skis are handcrafted rather than mass-produced.” Before an Iron Age skier used them together and they wound up under the ice, they had a lengthy and individual history of wear and repair.”

Archaeologists are uncovering more evidence of ancient life in cold northern areas, including portions of Norway, as glacier melting rises due to climate change. According to Daniel Burgess for Columbia Climate School’s GlacierHub blog, GAP has discovered several relics attesting to links between Viking-era people of southern Norway’s highlands and the outside world.

“The [discoveries] demonstrate that the high mountains of southern Norway were not isolated places with no outside interaction,” Pil tells GlacierHub.

Archaeologists have been monitoring the region since the first ski was discovered, utilising satellite imagery and, in 2016, an in-person survey.

“We could observe from satellite images this year that the ice patch had receded compared to 2014,” Pil says in the blog post.

On September 20, two researchers went to the site and discovered the second ski firmly embedded in ice about 15 feet from where the first one was discovered. By the time a larger team with better equipment arrived, the area had been re-covered by new snowfall. Fortunately, the crew was able to locate the second ski using GPS data and photos. They used an ice axe and tepid water to release the ski after cleaning the area with a snow shovel.

The Digervarden ice patch has previously revealed relics and monuments connected to reindeer hunting, according to David Nikel of Life in Norway. Archaeologists have also discovered many cairns that might have been part of an ancient mountain track. They believe the owner of the skis was a hunter, traveller, or both.

Following the finding of the first ski, the researchers questioned if its underside had been coated with fur, as other old skis were. The new ski addresses that mystery: it contains a furrow similar to those seen on other ancient and modern skis, which would have served no function if covered, leading researchers to assume that the skis did not have fur.

According to National Geographic, at the conclusion of the last Ice Age, hunters in Europe and Asia began utilising skis to pursue animals. Disputed evidence of skiing found in China stretches back to 8000 B.C.E., but the earliest verified ski, discovered in Russia, dates back to 6000 B.C.E. Archaeologists in Scandinavia have discovered wooden skis and ski-like objects dating back to 3200 B.C.E.

Pil and his colleagues revealed the finding of a centuries-old beeswax candle and a lamb’s wool tunic dated to about 300 C.E. near the Lendbreen ice patch in June, as Gizmodo’s George Dvorsky wrote at the time. That area may be found in the Jotunheim Mountains, just south of Digervarden.

Header image: Close-up view of the repaired foothold of the 1,300-year-old ski Espen Finstad / Secrets of the Ice