Archaeology

[John Thomas8]

Mary Beard does some very interesting stuff:

[RTH10260]

Researchers use AI to read word on ancient scroll burned by Vesuvius
University of Kentucky challenged computer scientists to reveal contents of carbonised papyrus, a ‘potential treasure trove for historians’

Ian Sample Science editor
Thu 12 Oct 2023 18.38 CEST

When the blast from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius reached Herculaneum in AD79, it burned hundreds of ancient scrolls to a crisp in the library of a luxury villa and buried the Roman town in ash and pumice.

The disaster appeared to have destroyed the scrolls for good, but nearly 2,000 years later researchers have extracted the first word from one of the texts, using artificial intelligence to peer deep inside the delicate, charred remains.

The discovery was announced on Thursday by Prof Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, and others who launched the Vesuvius challenge in March to accelerate the reading of the texts. Backed by Silicon Valley investors, the challenge offers cash prizes to researchers who extract legible words from the carbonised scrolls.

“This is the first recovered text from one of these rolled-up, intact scrolls,” said Stephen Parsons, a staff researcher on the digital restoration initiative at the university. Researchers have since uncovered more letters from the ancient scroll.

To launch the Vesuvius challenge, Seales and his team released thousands of 3D X-ray images of two rolled-up scrolls and three papyrus fragments. They also released an artificial intelligence program they had trained to read letters in the scrolls based on subtle changes that the ancient ink made to the structure of the papyrus.

The unopened scrolls belong to a collection held by the Institut de France in Paris and are among hundreds recovered from the library at the villa thought to be owned by a senior Roman statesman, possibly Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

Two computer science students, Luke Farritor in Nebraska and Youssef Nader in Berlin, who took up the Vesuvius challenge, improved the search process and independently hit on the same ancient Greek word in one of the scrolls: “πορφύραc”, meaning “purple”. Farritor, who was first to find the word, wins $40,000 with Nader winning $10,000.

The race is now on to read the surrounding text. Dr Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II, said three lines of the scroll, containing up to 10 letters, were now readable with more expected to come. A recent section shows at least four columns of text.




https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... y-vesuvius

[RTH10260]

Herculaneum scrolls: A 20-year journey to read the unreadable

University of Kentucky
24 Aug 2023

Brent Seales, computer science professor at the University of Kentucky, discusses his work to rescue ancient text, such as that buried deep within the carbonized scrolls of Herculaneum.

BREAKTHROUGH: A major announcement on the two-decade journey to uncover ancient wisdom and read the Herculaneum scrolls will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12 via livestream: https://engr.uky.edu/live

You can learn more about the Vesuvius Challenge, an on-going global competition to read the Herculaneum scrolls, here: https://scrollprize.org/

[RTH10260]

Out of the Ashes: Recovering the Lost Library of Herculaneum (2003)

Brigham Young University
14 Oct 2023

Twenty years ago, Brigham Young University engineers and classical scholars pioneered the use of multispectral imaging technologies to read ancient documents, including the charred and fragile Herculaneum papyri. In the case of the Herculaneum papyri, which were carbonized and buried by the same eruption that destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii in AD 79, the BYU team had miraculous results. Black ink on blackened pages of papyri suddenly became readable, to the amazement of scholars. The BYU images would lead to dozens of new publications and forever changed the world of papyrology.

Out of the Ashes: Recovering the Lost Library of Herculaneum, produced in 2003, tells the story of the only library ever recovered from antiquity, and efforts by a worldwide team of scholars to unroll, read and preserve the fragile scrolls.

The documentary was produced by Brigham Young University/KBYU Television for American Public Television. Special thanks to Roger Macfarlane, BYU associate professor of comparative arts and letters, Giovanni Tata, and to Biblioteca Nationale "Vittorio Emanuele III" in Naples, Italy.

In 2023, engineers at the University of Kentucky announced exciting new advancements that will allow the Herculaneum papyri to be read without unrolling them and to decipher the texts using AI. The announcement has sparked a renewed interest in the original Herculaneum documentary, and in BYU's groundbreaking work using technology to study ancient papyri.

[keith]

based on this

Archaeologists discover the largest—and oldest—Maya monument ever
The huge earthen platform discovered in Tabasco, Mexico, dates back 3,000 years.
KIONA N. SMITH - 6/3/2020, 7:06 PM

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06 ... ment-ever/

Wow! That's HOT!

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Coooooool!

[RTH10260]

LOST Relics of the Great Sphinx REVEALED! | Ancient Architects

Ancient Architects
18 Oct 2023

Not many people know that there was once an ancient temple, shrine or santuary between the paws of The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt. It was excavated in the 19th century and it contained a number of artefacts that have been lost to time, and very little is known about them today.

These include smaller lion statues, two more stele of Ramesses II, which sat adjacent to the Dream Stele, the beard of the Sphinx, a horned altar, and much more. There was also a grand staircase and more infrastructure built by the Greeks and the Romans.

It is thanks to Giovanni Caviglia's excavations and the writings of Henry Salt that we know what was discovered in the 19th century, and you can reads Salt's words in Howard Vyse's book 'Operations Carried on at the Pyramids of Giza in 1837' Volume III, linked below.

In this video I will reveal all of the lost relics of the Great Sphinx and I will be trying my best to now locate them in the museums around the world. Please subscribe to Ancient Architects, Like the video, and please leave a comment below. Thank you.

[RTH10260]

Norway

Video in article

Melting glaciers reveal Viking pass hidden for centuries

16 OCTOBER 2023|CLIMATE CHANGE

With global warming, glaciers and ice patches high in Norway's mountains are melting, and in their wake revealing a secret history that's been hidden for millennia. Thousands of ancient artefacts have been discovered that until very recently were covered up by snow and ice. The discoveries have given rise to a new field of study, glacial archaeology, which is focused on uncovering these icy secret links to the past. Each summer archaeologists head high up into the mountains to excavate new finds.

Film by Adrienne Murray & James Brooks
Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh




https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0gl9tq4 ... -centuries

[Kriselda Gray]

Norway

Video in article

Coolness, thanks!

[RTH10260]

Jordan: The mysterious Stone Age village | DW Documentary

DW Documentary
2022 20 Oct

The Neolithic village of Ba'ja in Jordan is a famous archaeological site. It was one of the world's first known settlements, founded some 9,000 years ago. The site has produced magnificent finds including an ancient necklace made of 2,500 beads.

What prompted our Neolithic ancestors to settle down? Why did they change their nomadic, hunter-gatherer lives so radically? As is so often the case in archaeology, it is tombs that tell us the most, while also raising new questions.

One of the most magnificent finds at the Ba'ja archaeological site is the richly furnished tomb of a young girl. In 2018, as the excavation team was about to depart, beads emerged from beneath the slab of a nondescript tomb. The team kept working until they finally recovered around 2,500 beads. Further research showed the beads belonged to an elaborately crafted necklace that had been buried with the girl. The team affectionately christened her Jamila, "the beautiful one."

Jamila's necklace is a sensation, and has been put on display at the new Petra Museum. There, the entire history of the country is presented, beginning with Ba'ja and humankind’s decision to leave behind the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Along with other finds from Ba'ja, Jamila's finely wrought necklace calls into question much of what we thought we knew about the Stone Age. In recent decades, the burial site in Jordan has helped us see Neolithic people through different eyes. One thing seems clear: They were able to invest time in aesthetics, jewelry and furnishings because their food supply was secure.

[RTH10260]

Florida

[RTH10260]

World War 0 ?

Large-scale warfare occurred in Europe ‘1,000 years earlier than previously thought’
Reanalysis of skeletal remains in Spain suggests conflicts took place about 5,000 years ago in neolithic period, say researchers

Mabel Banfield-Nwachi
Thu 2 Nov 2023 21.41 CET

The earliest period of warfare in Europe might have occurred more than 1,000 years before what was previously thought to be the first large-scale conflict in the region, researchers have suggested.

Reanalysis of more than 300 sets of skeletal remains uncovered in Spain – radiocarbon dated to between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago – indicates that conflicts took place long before powerful states formed in the region.

The number of damaged bones and the disproportionately high percentage of males suggest the wounds resulted from a period of conflict, potentially lasting at least months, the authors of a study, published in Scientific Reports, said.

The study re-examined the skeletal remains of 338 individuals from a mass burial site in a shallow cave in the Rioja Alavesa region of northern Spain.

Researchers found there were substantially higher injury rates for the time, with 23% of the individuals showing evidence of skeletal injuries and 10% having unhealed injuries.

The authors also found that 74% of the unhealed injuries and 70% of the healed injuries had occurred in adolescent or adult males, a significantly higher rate than in female individuals, and a difference not seen in other European neolithic mass-fatality sites.

Fifty-two flint arrowheads were also discovered at the site, and 36 of these had minor damage associated with hitting a target.

Previous research had suggested that conflicts consisted of short raids lasting a few days and involving small groups of up to 20 to 30 people, and it was assumed early societies lacked the logistical capabilities to support longer, larger-scale conflicts.

The earliest such conflict in Europe was previously thought to have occurred during the bronze age, approximately 4,000 to 2,800 years ago.



https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... ly-thought

[RTH10260]

‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’ worth $20 billion in treasure to be raised from seabed
A treasure ship described as the “holy grail of shipwrecks” will reportedly be lifted from the sea floor where it has lay for more than 300 years. Now, the Colombian government has said it will be raised before President Gustavo Petro ends his term of office in 2026.

The shipwreck containing up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds could be floating on the Caribbean within months after Colombia declared a national mission to recover the treasure.

The ship’s cargo of gold, silver, gemstones, and antiques is speculatively valued at up to $20 billion.

The San José was a 64-gun, three-mast galleon launched by Spain in 1698. The galleon was part of the fleet of King Philip V when it was sunk by the Royal Navy in 1708 during the War of Spanish Succession. Now, the San Jose galleon has been declared a national mission, 315 years after a ship off the Colombian port of Cartagena tragically sank.

On board, not only were there treasures valued at approximately $20 billion in today’s currency, there were also 600 sailors, with only 11 survivors among them, reports The Daily Mail.

In December 2015, Colombia declared a team of navy divers had found the San José, footage of which found its way to the news. The well-preserved shipwreck was reportedly found in 3,100 feet of water, with much of its cargo visibly intact.

So far, gold ingots, Chinese ceramics and tableware, and the ship’s cannons, which were cast in Seville in 1655, have been discovered in the depths. Of the most interest of course is the ship’s coffers of 11 million gold coins.




https://arkeonews.net/holy-grail-of-shi ... om-seabed/

Also:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/67342273
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/worl ... asure.html

[RTH10260]

video clips on this news

NBC News

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Today

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New York Post

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[RTH10260]

the find was listed upthread a year ago

Rare find of 24 ancient bronzes in Tuscany goes on display in Rome
Statues were unearthed last year in what was a place of worship for both the Etruscans and Romans

Angela Giuffrida in Rome
Fri 23 Jun 2023 06.00 CEST

A trove of bronze statues buried by mud and boiling water for thousands of years before being found in the ruins of a network of ancient thermal springs in a small town in Tuscany are going on display in Rome.

The 24 bronzes, mostly dedicated to the gods, are the largest discovery of their kind in Italy and were unearthed last year in the ancient springs of San Casciano dei Bagni, in what used to be a place of worship for both the Etruscans and Romans.

The statues, which experts believe were commissioned by wealthy families living in the area, include a sleeping Hygeia, the goddess of health, with a snake wrapped around her arm, and one dedicated to Apollo, the god of sun and light.

They once adorned the rim of the oval-shaped baths before being immersed into the water in a spiritual ceremony believed to have occurred in the first century AD.

Entitled Gli Dei Ritornano (The Gods Return), the exhibition at Palazzo Quirinale runs from 23 June until 25 July, before resuming on 2 September until 29 October 2023.

The relics will eventually be displayed in a museum being developed in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop town close to Siena.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... ay-in-rome

[RTH10260]

as above, the exhibition

[Foggy]

I'm fascinated by bronze. Our ancestors were genius artists with the stuff. Bronze is the first real alloy discovered in the ancient world, made of copper and tin. It was the precursor of the Iron Age.

How did they mine tin, and copper? I've been to a gigantic copper mine in Arizona. You need awesome big machinery to mine copper.

How did they measure 12% tin or whatever (there are other elements and formulas that can be used, but this is most common)? How did they invent castings? Bronze can't be carved like butter, y'know.

What did they use to hold the molten metal, the first people who ever had to hold molten metal in a container of some sort?

Bronze, man. My ancestors were bronzers.

[RVInit]

I'm fascinated by bronze. Our ancestors were genius artists with the stuff. Bronze is the first real alloy discovered in the ancient world, made of copper and tin. It was the precursor of the Iron Age.

How did they mine tin, and copper? I've been to a gigantic copper mine in Arizona. You need awesome big machinery to mine copper.

How did they measure 12% tin or whatever (there are other elements and formulas that can be used, but this is most common)? How did they invent castings? Bronze can't be carved like butter, y'know.

What did they use to hold the molten metal, the first people who ever had to hold molten metal in a container of some sort?

Bronze, man. My ancestors were bronzers.

Sand casting is an easy method silversmiths still use today when they want to dabble in low cost casting before deciding to make a bigger investment. Also used in ancient times for casting bronze statues.

https://www.mayfairgallery.com/blog/bro ... '%20method.

The foundries utilised a set of established techniques for making bronze sculptures, and these included sand-casting, ‘lost-wax’ casting, and centrifugal casting. Most of these methods were methods utilised in antiquity.

By far the most common technique for producing bronze sculpture, however, is the ‘lost-wax’ method.

[keith]

Am i the only one who thought that the lost wax process was a process that was lost in antquitity and could not be reproduced in modern times

[AndyinPA]

As far as I know, it's still very much used today.

[Estiveo]

As far as I know, it's still very much used today.

It is. I inherited a couple bronze statues from Estiveo's Mom, both by an artist who used it.

[Foggy]

Yabbut, the casting is only one of the really tricky technologies. What about the mining? The only tin mine I ever heard of, like most idiot Americans, was in Cornwall. Tin miners in Cornwall, yeah, that's the ticket. But wait, the Bronze Age was while the people in Cornwall were still dyeing themselves blue and fighting with clubs. They didn't have tin mines in Cornwall for freakin' centuries after the Bronze Age.

So tell us about tin mining.

And copper mining.

How different are those two, and who put two and two tin and copper together to found a whole freakin' AGE called the Bronze Age? How many bronze-manufactories were there in the ancient world, and how much bronze did they produce per annum?

The beginning of the Bronze Age occurred around 3500 BCE and the beginning of the Iron Age began around 1000 BCE. Why did it take 2000 years for bronze to be replaced by iron? Source: Materials in Today's World

Editor's note: 3,500 minus 1,000 does not = 2,000

The question should be, Why did it take 2,500 years for bronze to be replaced?

Every 500 years counts, y'know. Two thousand five hundred years is a very, very long time. Bronze, babydoll. My ancestors were bronzers.

[much ado]

Here's a bronze age artifact dated c. 1800–1600 BCE, the Nebra sky disc, a bronze disc of around 12 inches diameter and a weight of 4.9 lbs, having a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. It is attributed to the Early Bronze Age Unetice culture.

According to an initial analysis of trace elements by x-ray fluorescence by E. Pernicka, then at the University of Freiberg, the copper originated at Bischofshofen in Austria, whilst the gold was thought to be from the Carpathian Mountains. A more recent analysis found that the gold used in the first development phase was from the River Carnon in southern Cornwall in England. The tin present in the bronze was also of Cornish origin.

Details here: Nebra sky disc

In addition from Mining in Cornwall and Devon

The oldest production of tin-bronze is in Turkey about 3500 BC, but exploitation of the tin resources in Britain is believed to have started before 2000 BC, with a thriving tin trade developing with the civilisations of the Mediterranean. The strategic importance of tin in forging bronze weapons brought the south west of Britain into the Mediterranean economy at an early date.

[Foggy]

NOW does anyone wonder why I have a fascination for bronze and the Bronze Age? That is so cool, much ado.

[much ado]

NOW does anyone wonder why I have a fascination for bronze and the Bronze Age? That is so cool, much ado.

Oh thanks! I have another bronze story that I've been wanting to post. I'll try to get to it tomorrow...