World's oldest glue used from prehistoric times till the days of the Gauls

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 13, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, Western Europe

Birch bark tar, the oldest glue in the world, was in use for at least 50,000 years, from the Palaeolithic Period up until the time of the Gauls. Made by heating birch bark, it served as an adhesive for hafting tools and decorating objects.

(A) Illustration of hinge (© S. Sorin, CNRS, CEPAM), based on Deschler-Erb 1998; (B) Hinge from Nice (Transfert Massena; Alpes-Maritimes, sample MR6258); (C) Decorative plaque from Narbonne  (sample MR6253) [Credit: J.-D. Strich, CNRS, CEPAM, & I. Rodet-Belarbi, INRAP, CEPAM]

Scientists mistakenly thought it had been abandoned in western Europe at the end of the Iron Age (800-25 BC) and replaced by conifer resins, around which a full-fledged industry developed during the Roman period.

But by studying artefacts that date back to the first six centuries AD through the lens of chemistry, archaeology, and textual analysis, researchers from the CNRS, Universite Nice Sophia Antipolis / Universite Cote d'Azur, and Inrap have discovered birch tar was being used right up to late antiquity, if not longer.

The artefacts in question -- found in a region where birch is scarce, thus raising the question of how it was procured -- are testimony to the strength of tradition among the Gauls.

The scientists' findings are published in Antiquity.

Source: CNRS [November 13, 2019]

New study suggests the original location of the Bayeux Tapestry is finally solved

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 23, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, UK, Western Europe

New evidence, published in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association, has confirmed that the Bayeux Tapestry was designed specifically to fit a specific area of Bayeux's cathedral.

Part of the junction of Pieces III and IV of the Bayeux Tapestry [Credit: Detail of the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century, with special permission from the City of Bayeux]

New research suggests the Tapestry was designed to be hung along the north, south and west sides of the nave of Bayeux Cathedral, between the west wall and choir screen. It has long been known that the Tapestry was hung in the cathedral in the fifteenth century, but new analysis of the linen strips on which it is embroidered suggests that it was intended to hang there from the moment it was made in the eleventh century.

This discovery proves that the designer must have visited Bayeux and known the nave's exact dimensions, adjusting the design accordingly.

The findings shed light on how the artwork, depicting one of British history's most famous stories, should be displayed ahead of its loan to the UK.

Diagram of the layout of the Bayeux Tapestry as originally displayed in the nave of the cathedral [Credit: Journal of the British Archaeological Association]

For centuries, there has been debate around where the Bayeux Tapestry was manufactured, who commissioned the embroidery and whether it was originally displayed in England or France. Questions have also persisted over its exact dimensions, and the specific venue it was made for.

"It has always been the case that the simplest explanation is that it was designed for Bayeux Cathedral," says author Christopher Norton from the University of York. "This general proposition can now be corroborated by the specific evidence that the physical and narrative structure of the tapestry are perfectly adapted to fit the (liturgical) nave of the 11th-century cathedral."

Professor Norton's research is based on mathematical calculations, analysis of documentary evidence including of the Tapestry's linen fabric, and of surviving architectural details. Published data on the Tapestry's measurements was assessed and compared along with information on medieval cloth sizes, allowing for factors such as shrinkage and missing sections.

The position of the tapestry as shown on a reconstructed plan of Bayeux Cathedral  in the late eleventh century based on Vallery-Radot 1923 and 1958 [Credit: Stuart Harrison]

By studying the cathedral's surviving architectural features, Professor Norton also established how the nave would have looked in the 11th century. This enabled him to establish the nave's original proportions by pinpointing the choir screen's location - the Tapestry would have fitted five bays of the nave, with the artwork's 'narrative' deliberately structured in relation to doorways and architectural supports.

He recommends that the Tapestry, currently kept in a long U-shaped tunnel, should be displayed along three sides of a rectangular space (31.15 m long x 9.25 m wide). This would evoke the original architectural setting, he adds, and enable viewers to appreciate the artwork as intended.

The findings arrive with the news that the embroidery is set to be lent to Britain (possibly in 2022) for the first time in recorded history, following a promise made by President Macron last year. The upcoming exhibition of the Tapestry, documenting the 1066 Norman conquest of England, has huge significance in UK-European relations - especially as it will go on public exhibition post-Brexit.

Source: Taylor & Francis Group [October 23, 2019]

An exceptional antique necropolis discovered in Narbonne

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 10, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, Western Europe

At the gates of Narbonne, an Antique necropolis is currently under excavation by an Inrap team, as prescribed by the State (Drac Occitanie), prior to the construction of a Zac. Due to its importance and its exceptional state of preservation, this site is a major discovery for French archaeology and benefits from significant funding from the government (State, Occitanie region, Aude department, Grand Narbonne agglomeration, city of Narbonne) and the project developer (Alenis, Grand Narbonne development company). The archaeological site adjoins Narbo Via, an international Antiquity museum designed by 'Foster+Partners' who, in 2020, will present the exceptional heritage of Antique Narbonne in an 8,000 m2 space.

Drone view of Narbonne necropolis [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

At the end of the Roman conquest of 125 BC, the city of Narbonne was the first Roman colony established in Gaul. One century later, Auguste made Narbo Martius the capital of the Narbonne province, which extends from Frejus to Toulouse and the Pyrenees, and from the Mediterranean to Vienna and Geneva. Narbonne was also a flourishing economic center during Antiquity, and one of the largest ports in the western Mediterranean, situated at a crossroads of land, river and sea routes.

Drone views of Narbonne necropolis [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Six hundred meters to the east of the Antique city, at the junction of two roads, the funerary space occupied 2,000 m2 during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Nearly 300 tombs have been found among the estimated 1000.

Funerary slabs with inscribed epitaphs [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The necropolis is structured by masonry enclosures implanted according to a regular division of parcels. The parcels enable the archaeologists to discern distinct groups whose respective practices they will be able to compare.

Ceramic jugs and glass vessels found over remains burned on pyre [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Ceramic jug and ossuary vessel [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The contiguous plots, sometimes separated by service roads, display small monuments adorned with painted plaster. Plaques are sometimes affixed to the monuments. Their epitaphs document the lives of the lowest commoners (slaves or emancipated), mostly of Italian origin. They also testify to the economic prosperity of these plebian circles.

Libation conduit feeding a cinerary urn [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Funerary monument excavated [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The burials are mainly cremations: there are many pyres and simple graves—often protected by a tiled covering or coffin. The graves contain burned bones placed in a container and accompanied by a glass or ceramic jugs, sometimes associated with perfume vases and lamps.

Glass bottles found with the cinerary remains in a stone chest [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

These recipients testify to the importance of the offerings of liquid (wine?) and perfume in honor of the deceased. Charred fruit (including dates and figs), personal objects (personal ornaments and hygiene items) are present in the ashes of the pyres.

Intact ceramic jugs found in burial [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The proximity of a branch of the Aude (today the Robine canal) played a major role in the exceptional preservation of the archaeological remains. The site was protected by 3 m of silt from its floods. In addition, recurring floods during Antiquity sealed the successive states of the necropolis and now enable us to observe the evolution of the funerary practices and commemorative cults.

Protective phallus amulet [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The state of preservation allows us, for once, to understand some of the ritual gestures; at the time of the funeral, at the stake or in the grave, as well as in the context of the memorial worship, through offerings in honor of the deceased or meals consumed in the enclosures.


Rarely attested in Gaul, libation conduits were used in one out of three graves at Narbonne. Extending above the ground, these conduits are ceramic, sometimes amphorae, driven into the tomb to get closer to the deceased. They allowed the introduction of offerings. Some still contain cups used for libations and shells. The studies of them focus on identifying the libation practices through organic chemistry analyses.

The diversity of the funerary structures, their state of preservation, and the superposition of floors and tombs make this a unique site in Gaul, which can be compared with sites in Italy, such as Pompeii and Rome. It offers a very rare opportunity to apprehend funerary practices in time and space. The Narbonne necropolis is already considered as the reference in the study of funerary practices in Roman Gaul, as well as for our knowledge of the working class in Antiquity.

Source: Inrap [October 10, 2019]

New excavation of 'princely tomb' of Vix underway

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 27, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, Western Europe

In Europe, the site of Vix is an emblematic testimony to the Celtic princely phenomenon. It is primarily famous for the tomb of the “Lady of Vix,” whose 1953 excavation revealed a remarkable array of grave offerings. Sixty-six years after the excavations by Rene Joffroy and Maurice Moisson, archaeologists are returning to this site. Supported by the Drac, this research is conducted under the direction of Inrap in partnership with the ARTEHIS laboratory (CNRS/Universite de BourgogneFranche-Comte). Expected to run until mid-November 2019, the aim of this research excavation is to understand the environment of this fabulous discovery.

Aerial view of the excavation at the Vix burial mound [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Vix, a place of power The site includes a promontory overlooking the Seine, fortified by a vast network of ramparts. On its summit, there is a settlement, which was probably the seat of the local aristocracy. It is composed of large apsed buildings and granaries. The tomb is located below and near the river.

The princely monument, once an impressive mound of earth and stone marking for eternity the memory of the “Lady of Vix,” is now cultivated and appears as only a discreet relief in the landscape. With its association of a fortified city and a princely tomb, the hill of Mont Lassois can be seen as an important center of power controlling the Seine Valley.

General view of the princely monument, clearing of the external facing and cleaning of a complete section  to the tomb (in the background on the left) [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The excavation in 1953 During the winter of 1953, under difficult conditions, the tomb of the “Lady of Vix” was excavated by Rene Joffroy. In the wood-covered burial chamber, four chariot wheels were placed along a wall. In the center, a woman around 40-years-old was resting on the carriage of the chariot. She was richly decorated with a gold torc, bronze fibulae decorated with gold, coral and amber.

A giant Greek bronze krater—the largest metal vessel in Antiquity—stood at one corner of the tomb. It is decorated with hoplites, horses and chariots, and its handles are formed of gorgonians. Also present are a silver phiale (shallow bowl), an oinochoe, bronze basins, etc.

Removal of the stone crown from the burial mound; the tomb is located in the background[Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Though this tomb was the largest Celtic discovery in France in the 20th century, its vast funerary monument was never really excavated. Acquired by the Community of Communes of Chatillonnais and listed as an historic monument, it is now the subject, until November 2019, of a large excavation aiming to contextualize this extraordinary discovery.

Reopening an old excavation The data recording techniques used in 1953 allowed only a partial exploration of the tomb. No global view or stratigraphic recording exists for this funerary space. Today, archaeologists can draw on new techniques, such as drones, photogrammetry and 3D modeling, to enhance their research.

Archaeologists clear a slice of the mound [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Many questions remain unanswered, which the team of specialists (archaeologists, geomorphologists, ceramologists) is attempting to answer. Does the funerary monument still contain secondary burials? Can we, as at the princely site of Lavau, detect the remains of a podium intended for the funeral of the princess?

The excavations in 1953 revealed little of the funerary monument itself. Only recent geophysical surveys (carried out as part of the “Vix and its environment” PCR) have confirmed its presence. This large mound, 40 meters in diameter, has been visible since the start of the excavation as a leveled dome of stones and earth. Its uncovering reveals, on the periphery of the construction, a large crown of powerful stone blocks that do not originate from the immediate environment of the tomb. The presence of a few foundations shows the past existence of a real wall clad in stones touching to the ground and reaching one or two meters high.

The giant Greek bronze krater found in the tomb [Credit: Mathieu Rabeau NMR - Grand Palais]

This structure surrounding the mound further emphasized the monumental nature of the funerary edifice. The abundance of Antique artifacts on the surface of the princely monument suggests that the mound was leveled at that time. Unlike the Lavau princely monument, which was leveled during the Middle Ages, the Vix tumulus thus appears to have been destroyed very early.

In the center of the mound, a crown of gravel seems to delimit the location of the sepulchral chamber, which has not yet been explored by the archeologists. On its surface, however, the backfill of the 1953 excavation contained small bronze nails from the ornamentations of the chariot. These objects bear witness to the hasty nature of the early research. In the near future, the current researchers will carry out a more detailed excavation of the backfill of the tomb, allowing them to verify if the early explorations thoroughly probed the entire sepulchral chamber or if the ground of Vix still holds new clues.

Source: Inrap via Art Daily [September 27, 2019]

French archaeologists restore three Sudanese artefacts

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 19, 2019 / comment : 0 Africa, Archaeology, France, Heritage, Sudan

A team of French diggers has restored three Sudanese artefacts, including a 3,500-year-old wall relief, and handed them to the African country's national museum on Thursday, a French archaeologist said.

A visitor looks at a wall relief inscription, discovered at the temple of Soleb, on display at the Sudan National Museum [Credit: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP]

The three artefacts were discovered at separate archaeological sites in recent years in Sudan and were restored by a French team of experts.

The items are a wall painting of an ancient Kandaka Nubian queen, a Meroite stela and a wall relief inscription believed to be almost 3,500 years old.

Marc Maillot, director of the French archaeological unit in Sudan, stands next to an ancient wall painting displayed at the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum [Credit: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP]

"The idea is to give back to the museum the most important archaeological pieces discovered and restored," said Marc Maillot, director of the French archaeological unit deployed in Sudan.

The wall painting was found at El-Hassa site, the stela discovered at Sedeinga and the relief at the temple of Soleb, where French diggers along with Sudanese counterparts have conducted extensive archaeological work for several years.

A stela, discovered at Sedeinga pyramids, is displayed at the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum [Credit: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP]

On Thursday the three artefacts were handed over to the Sudan National Museum to mark the completion of 50 years of French archaeologists' presence in the country.

For decades international archaeologists have worked extensively in Sudan, proving that the northeast African nation has its own extensive wealth of ancient relics and was not merely a satellite of neighbouring Egypt.

Archaeologists are convinced that many kingdoms still lie buried, waiting to be discovered.

Source: AFP [September 19, 2019]

Paris art sale goes ahead despite Mexico protest

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 18, 2019 / comment : 0 Americas, Archaeology, Central America, France, Heritage, Mexico

A controversial sale of pre-Columbian art went ahead in Paris on Wednesday despite furious calls from Mexico for it to be halted.

The Mexican government filed a formal complaint against the auction of 120 religious and cultural artefacts from several private collections, with UNESCO also urging auctioneers Millon to postpone the sale.

But despite a last-minute appeal by Mexico's ambassador for the French authorities to intervene, the auction went ahead, with a statue of an Aztec goddess selling for five times its estimate.

The stone figure of Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of water and protector of births, went for 377,000 euros ($417,000). Sculpted from volcanic rock, it shows her kneeling and looking at the sky.

Another kneeling figure of the Aztec mother goddess Coatlicue sold for 97,500 euros to bring the auction total to more than 1.2 million euros.

Mexico insisted that 95 of the 120 works were part of its "cultural heritage", with its ambassador to France Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo warning that some "could turn out to be imitations".

He told reporters that as many as 23 could be recently made fakes, according to experts from the country's National Institute of Anthropology and History.

But Millon went ahead with the auction, and all but a handful of the artefacts were sold. Last week it agreed to withdraw a pre-Hispanic artefact from neighbouring Guatemala from the sale.

An item of pre-Columbian artworks to be auctioned is displayed at the Drouot auction house in Paris. The Mexican government called for an auction of pre-Columbian art in Paris to be halted,  insisting that 95 works going under the hammer are a part of its cultural heritage [Credit: Philippe Lopez/AFP]

Millon said the core of the auction was "part of the last French collections (of Pre-Columbian art) put together in the postwar period.

"It is remarkable in terms of its origin and prestige," it said, adding that some of the pieces had featured in major exhibitions and in "indispensable works on pre-Columbian art".

But Mexico -- which has been increasingly vocal about protecting its indigenous heritage -- condemned the decision to press on.

"We regret that despite the efforts undertaken, we did not get the auction house to cancel the sale," Gomez Robledo said shortly before the first objects went under the hammer at the Drouot auction house.

He said the cancellation of the Paris sale would have been "a first step towards the restitution of authentic cultural property of Mexico."

"This type of trade encourages pillage, illegal trafficking and counterfeiting practised by organised transnational crime networks," the diplomat told reporters, lamenting that the artefacts were being treated as "mere objects of decoration".

Under the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico has stepped up efforts to reclaim its cultural heritage.

As well as calling for artworks to be returned, it has accused major fashion houses of cultural appropriation for lifting native designs for their clothes.

Source: AFP [September 18, 2019]

Northern France was already inhabited more than 650,000 years ago

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 17, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Early Humans, Europe, France, Western Europe

The first evidence of human occupation in northern France has been put back by 150,000 years, thanks to the findings of a team of scientists from the CNRS and the Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle at the emblematic site of Moulin Quignon in the department of the Somme.

Photographs of three of the bifaces discovered during the archaeological excavation at Moulin Quignon.  (a) Biface with extended black coatings of Fe-Mn oxides typical of lithic artefacts discovered in the lower part of the Moulin Quignon sequence. (b) Biface from Grs-j unit. (c,d) facial and lateral view of a biface from Grs-j unit with thick base [Credit: Pierre Antoine et al. 2019]

The site, now located in the gardens of a housing estate in Abbeville, was rediscovered in 2017 after falling into oblivion for over 150 years.

More than 260 flint objects, including 5 bifaces or hand axes, dating from 650,000 to 670,000 years ago, have been uncovered in sands and gravel deposited by the river Somme about 30 metres above the current valley.

This also makes Moulin Quignon the oldest site in north-western Europe where bifaces have been found. The discovery confirms the central position of the Somme Valley in current debates about Europe's oldest settlements.

The study was in the online journal Scientific Reports.

Source: CNRS [September 17, 2019]

Following Neanderthals' footsteps to learn how they lived

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 10, 2019 / comment : 0 Anthropology, Early Humans, Fossils, France

Like modern humans and primates, Neanderthals—our closest evolutionary cousins—are thought to have lived in groups, but their size and composition have been difficult to infer from archeological and fossil remains.

Scientists have reported the discovery of 257 footprints along the Normandy shore in France that were immaculately  preserved over 80,000 years, offering major new clues into the social structures of its pre-historic inhabitants [Credit: AFP/Dominique Cliquet]

Now, though, scientists have reported the discovery of 257 footprints along the Normandy shore in France that were immaculately preserved over 80,000 years, offering major new clues into the social structures of its prehistoric inhabitants.

Their work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the band numbered 10 to 13 individuals, mostly children and adolescents, along with a few very tall, likely male adults, who could have been up to 190 centimeters (six feet three inches) in height, judging from foot size.

Jeremy Duveau, a doctoral student at France's National Museum of Natural History and one of the study's co-authors, told AFP the footprints were left in muddy soil, then quickly preserved by wind-driven sand when the area was part of a dune system, creating a snapshot in time.

The Rozel site was discovered by amateur archeologist Yves Roupin in the 1960s, but it was not until 2012, when it was faced with the twin dangers of wind and tidal erosion, that annual excavations began with government support.

Tens of meters of sand were extracted with mechanical shovels to reach the layers that were of interest.

Rapidly-preserved footprints offer an advantage over archeologiocal or fossilized bone remains in estimating group sizes because these can accumulate over time and do not necessarily reflect a single occupation [Credit: AFP/Dominique Cliquet]

The team then switched to brushes to carry out the last phase of the delicate excavation work that led to the identification of 257 footprints between 2012 and 2017, and hundreds more since.

The footprints were found among what the team called "abundant archeological material" indicating butchery operations and stone tool production, and date back to a time when only Neanderthals, not anatomically modern humans, lived in western Europe.

Rapidly-preserved footprints offer an advantage over archeological or fossilized bone remains in estimating group sizes because these can accumulate over time and do not necessarily reflect a single occupation, unless a catastrophic event led to a whole group being killed at once.

Yet this strength is also footprints' main weakness: "They record a kind of snapshot into the lives of individuals over a very short period," said Duveau.

"That gives us some insight into the composition of the group, but it is possible that it represents only those members of the group who happened to be outside at the time."

When humans and Neanderthals diverged [Credit: AFP/John Saeki]

The question thus becomes: were there so few adult footprints because Neanderthals died young? Or were the adults off somewhere else?

Each of the footprints was photographed and modeled in three dimensions. Casts were taken of a few of them using an elastomer, which is less rigid than plaster.

Thanks to an advanced new chemical technique available to the team since 2017, hundreds of the prints were lifted from the site to be preserved elsewhere.

Those which weren't extracted were "totally destroyed" by the wind, said Duveau.

"The conservation of footprints requires a sort of miracle: we have to get very, very lucky," he concluded.

Before Rozel, only nine confirmed Neanderthal footprints were found in Greece, Romania, Gibraltar and France.

Some of Rozel's casts have already been exhibited, including at the Musee de l'Homme in Paris, and researchers want to find ways to broaden the audience through future exhibits.

Author: Ivan Couronne | Source: AFP [September 10, 2019]

Dozens of Roman baby graves discovered in Nîmes

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 08, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, Western Europe

Dozens of early Christian baby and fetal graves have been discovered near the remains of the Roman rampart of Nîmes, an archaeologist from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) announced last month.

Credit: Pascal Guyot/AFP

"About sixty graves have been found, including some fifty perinatal (less than six months old) and fetal graves at the foot of the Roman rampart in what was a public funeral area from the beginning of our era, from the first to the second century," Richard Pellé, the campaign's excavation manager, told the press. "It's really very impressive in such a small area."

The bones of the children "thin as cigarette paper" were found in stone coffers or amphorae. The remains have yet to be analyzed and dated.

"At a time when infant mortality was very high, it can be seen that parents took great care of their children's graves even if the child had no legal status, no existence before the age of three in Roman society," he adds.

Credit: Pascal Guyot/AFP

Credit: Pascal Guyot/AFP

Four dog graves and seven adult graves were also found on the same site. Among them, one grave near the road to Sauve (Gard), which contained the remains of a woman, had "a very special and rare position: her hand resting on her cheek, her legs to one side; she was wearing jewellery, including two rings and a bracelet and footwear", the archaeologist noted, suggesting that the woman buried in a public area was probably passing through the ancient city of Nîmes.

The Roman enclosure of the city of Nîmes has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1989. Since 2014, Richard Pellé and his team have conducted six excavation campaigns that have enriched our knowledge of the history of Nîmes.

In 2019, for this final campaign, archaeologists concentrated their investigations near the lower tower, next to the road to Sauve.


Richard Pellé also stressed the "exceptional and magnificent aspect of the Roman rampart of Nîmes", due to its size (six kilometres), its "ostentatious" aspect and the originality of its massive towers. "It is one of the largest ramparts in the Mediterranean world, it must be preserved and enhanced, and this includes private landowners who have a piece of it on their property," he added.

Source: AFP [trsl. TANN, September 08, 2019]

Prehistoric burial amid standing stones discovered in central France

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 28, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, Western Europe

Around 30 prehistoric monolith stones and one human skeleton - which could date back as far as 6,000 BC - have been found in central France, with the discovery hailed as the first of its kind in the region.

Burial in center of cairn [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The 150-metre-long area was discovered during routine preventative excavations ahead of the widening of the A75 motorway, near Veyre-Monton, between Clermont-Ferrand and Issoire, in Puy-de-Dôme (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).

The findings were confirmed as prehistoric by archaeological research body l'Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives (INRAP).

Rounded stone blocks forming an arc in the foreground [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

In a press release, it said: “This is the first time that such structures, [standing stones known as] menhirs, have come to light in Auvergne, and more widely in the centre of France.”

INRAP has said that there appear to be few traces left among the stones to help with dating them precisely, but the institute is now planning a series of analyses.

The cairn is 14m long and 6.5 m wide and has four sides and was made of wedged stone slabs, which may have come from fallen or destroyed menhirs [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

Early estimates suggest that the findings could date back to the Neolithic era (New Stone Age) or the Bronze Age - from anywhere between 6,000 to 1,000 BC.

The stones measure 1m by 1.60m, and are “spread out across 150 metres across the excavation, and likely beyond it”, researchers said. They are in a north-south formation, and are in the style of “large, megalithic, Armorican monuments”.

Aerial view of the cairn and aligned monoliths [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

In the same way as those found in Carnac (Morbihan), the monuments have “an impressive layout”, with the largest stones at the top of the slope towards the north, and the smallest, closer together and more towards the south.

One stone is more “sculpted”, and is “largely anthropomorphic”, researchers added.

Limestone monolith still partially erect with fragments [Credit: Denis Gliksman, Inrap]

The statement said: “This ‘statue’ is the only example [of its kind] known in the Auvergne. It has a rounded head, placed on rough shoulders, and shows two small breasts.”

The excavation also revealed a burial ground, with the remains of a tall man, which had been covered with a stone that was 14 metres long and 6.5 metres wide.

Statue-menhir during excavation [Credit: Nina Parisot, Inrap]

The statement continued: “In the same way as other monuments, such as Belz in the Morbihan, the menhirs of Veyre-Monton were taken down, to make them disappear from the countryside. They were pushed into large pits, sometimes damaged or covered in soil…[and] deliberately erased from the countryside.

“They were the object of iconoclastic acts; a sort of condemnation that may be linked to a change of community or of beliefs.”

Source: The Connexion [August 28, 2019]

Unravelling the history and science behind ancient decorative metal threads

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 27, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Chemistry, France, USA

When it comes to historical fashion, nothing stands out more than an item woven with shiny metal threads. These threads have been woven into textiles since ancient times and have been used by cultures around the world. However, the historical record has limited insight into how these materials were made, and conservation efforts limit scientists' ability to obtain samples because many methods are destructive.

This colourized microscopy image of an 18th century metal thread reveals it is made of a piece of metal wrapped around a silk core; inset shows relative amounts of silver and gold/silver alloy. Scale bar = 100 microns [Credit: Aleksandra Popowich & Edward Vicenzi]

The researchers reported their progress toward a new, less damaging methodology for analyzing metal threads at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting & Exposition. ACS.

"This project began when we were asked to investigate the metal threads of a 14th century Italian textile using a proteomics-based approach," says Caroline Solazzo, Ph.D., who is one of the project's principal investigators. Her team published a study last year characterizing the protein-containing membranes and adhesives in the threads of this artifact, which were made from animal products such as cow hide and pig intestine. Now, the team is reporting on their investigation into the exact composition of metal fibers of this and other historical objects.

"Conservation science is a unique area of chemistry research," says Aleksandra Popowich, Ph.D., who is presenting the work at the meeting. "We are using microscopy techniques that allow us to build a 3D view of the threads, so we can see things like layering and micro-structure that give us insight into when and how the fibers were made." Both Solazzo and Popowich are researchers at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute, a center for specialized technical collections research and conservation of artistic, anthropological, biological and historical artifacts.

While decorative metal threads have been a subject of historical research interest for decades, studies to determine their manufacture and makeup have relied on cross-section analysis to view the internal metal structure. The current study, however, was driven by the desire to maintain the integrity of artifacts.

For this particular work, Popowich and her Smithsonian colleagues Thomas Lam, Ph.D., and Edward Vicenzi, Ph.D., obtained 30 samples from the Fashion Institute of Technology. The samples originated from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and some of them were nearly 1,000 years old. The types of threads were diverse; some were strips of metal, others were strips of paper wrapped around fibers. Many of the pieces were religious textiles, such as vestments, demonstrating the cultural and historical importance of metal threadwork.

To get a closer look, the researchers developed a strategy that combined energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and correlated micro X-ray fluorescence. Together, the methods provided a high-resolution map of the threads' elemental composition and thickness. These techniques only required a few micrograms of material, leaving most of the threads intact for future conservation efforts.

The resulting surface images and cross-sections showed that most threads had a combination of gold, silver and sometimes copper or zinc, creating a layered structure that highlighted the intricacy of the craftsmanship. The researchers learned that some thread-making techniques vary by culture, but other methods did not change much over time. For example, data from two French threads, one from the 16th century and one from the 18th century, showed that the process of rolling super-thin metal wires and wrapping them around a core material was largely unchanged between those years. In addition, the measurements taken using this method align with historic sources and data from computer simulations.

With this pilot investigation completed, the researchers plan to further develop this strategy to the point where they do not need to destroy a piece of the sample at all. This advance could open up the list of artifacts for study to include those that are too culturally important to damage for the sake of research. Such a method could also expand their work to include other materials, such as gilt leather, tapestries or gilded furniture.

Source: American Chemical Society [August 27, 2019]

The beginnings of trade in northwestern Europe during the Bronze Age

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 26, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, France, UK, Western Europe

People in England were using balance weights and scales to measure the value of materials as early as the late second and early first millennia BC. This is what Professor Lorenz Rahmstorf, scientist at the University of Göttingen and project manager of the ERC Weight and Value project, has discovered.

Gold flange twisted spiral torc (around 15cm long; 367.1 g) from Castlemount, Dover, Kent, England [Credit: British Museum]

Rahmstorf compared Middle and Late Bronze Age gold objects from the British Isles and Northern France and found that they were based on the same unit of weight. This confirmed the hypothesis of the research team of the project that there was already expertise in using standard weights and measures in many regions of Europe at that time.

Until now, it had often been assumed that trade during the Bronze Age in northwestern Europe was primarily socially embedded - for example as in the exchange of gifts. The existence of precise units of measurement, however, enabled people even at that time to compare exact ratios of material values of different goods such as metals, possibly also wool and grain. They were also able to calculate profits, to create currencies and to save up measurable quantities of metal.

Rectangular bronze weight (around 4.8 cm long; 29.8 g) from Salcombe, Devon, England [Credit: British Museum]

"Obviously, the exchange was already based on the economic interests of trading partners," explains Rahmstorf, director of the Institute for Prehistory and Early History at the University of Göttingen. "So it is clear we are talking about real trade."

What is surprising about the statistical analysis of the unit of weight that has been identified, is that it is very nicely compatible and possibly even identical with the dominant East Mediterranean weight of that time. This would be an indication that knowledge about standard weights and measures has been widely disseminated and possibly passed on through travelling traders.

Fragment (around 1.5 cm long) of a balance beam of bone with a bronze suspension loop from Cliffs End Farm, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England, identified by Jörn Schuster [Credit: Wessex Archaeology]

It was already known that people in the technologically advanced, literate cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia - for example Greece, Egypt or Mesopotamia - used such weights and scales as an aid.

However, these findings now indicate that such value measurement systems already existed in many if not all parts of prehistoric Bronze Age Europe. "The results of our research show that we have so far underestimated the complexity of the early commercial transactions during the Bronze Age in Europe," said Rahmstorf.

The results were published in the journal Antiquity.

Source: University of Göttingen [August 26, 2019]