Greece
The amazing Macedonian Kasta tomb at Amphipolis, first excavated in 2014, is brought back to life in this fascinating 3D reconstruction.
Although the tumulus is so far the largest found in ancient Greece, and much larger than the tumulus attributed to Philip II of Macedon, it is not thought to be the tomb of Alexander the Great, despite dating to the correct time period (last quarter of the 4th Century BC).
Although the last known location of Alexander’s body was in Alexandria in Egypt, there is a plausible notion that Alexander could be buried further inside the tumulus, as recently a more central burial has been located using radar technology. Alexander, however, died in Babylon (modern-day Iraq) in 323 BC, so it is unlikely his body was transported to Alexandria and then all the way to northern Greece. Unlikely, but still possible…
The most incredible element of the Kasta tomb are the caryatids, which are similar to those found on the Erechtheion on the acropolis in Athens. Caryatids are one of the ancient world’s most incredible architectural achievements, both artistically and aesthetically.
https://www.greecehighdefinition.com/blog/2016/12/14/amphipolis-kasta-tomb-
The tomb can be seen in great detail here:
Egypt
The longest ever causeway – 133 metres – has been found on the banks of the Nile River in the Aswan region of ancient Egypt.
The causeway, Located at Aswan’s Qubbet El-Hawa necropolis, leads to the tomb of the first provincial governor (monarch) of the Middle Kingdom at Elephantine Island, Sarenput I.
Russia
A burial of a Mongolian warrior has been found in southern Russia, near the town of Kokorya and close to the modern border of Mongolia.
The find is very rare in that the warrior was an archer and many of the artefacts have been preserved due to the weather conditions of the burial, and no other finds of this type have been discovered in the same region.
The report states:
“Dr Nikita Konstantinov, Head of the Museum of Gorno-Altaisk State University, said: ‘At the moment we have a birch bark quiver, two bone plates with elaborated ornaments, iron arrowheads, wooden arrow shafts, birch bark linings for a saddle, the remains of ribbons, likely silk, and what is left of a leather strap.’ ”
That said, any connection, relation or comparison with Robin Hood is utter bollocks.
I am sorry for swearing, but these annoying headlines are only used for media hype – it’s not science at all, and neither is there any evidence this person was similar to Robin Hood. It’s extremely annoying and places false ideas into the reader’s mind about the buried individual.
It’s a remarkable find and we await more news when the coffin is finally opened…
Egypt
As excavations continue at Abydos, more and more interesting finds are being discovered.
This time a building which contained an actual boat has been found with 120 images of boats on the walls.
Dating to 1800 BC, the building was most likely part of a funerary site related to the pharaoh of that time, Senwosret III. A few wooden planks of the boat that was once housed in the building have been found, and this is a clear indication of its purpose – many pharaohs had a boat burial put in place as a part of their funerary ritual. Many of these dry boats have been found – occasionally fully intact – giving valuable insights into Egyptian maritime practices and ship building techniques.
Along with the boat, more than 140 pottery jars were found near the entrance. Each jar was lying down with the neck facing towards the building, and this unique element is leaving Egyptologists with some searching questions – nothing like this has ever been found before. Naturally a lot of guesswork has come forward on that issue.
http://www.livescience.com/56695-ancient-egypt-boat-tableau-discovered.html
Iraq
Despite the ongoing civil war, a bronze age city has been discovered in the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
The site, near the modern-day village of Bassetki, was established in at least 3000 BC and flourished for at least 1,200 years. Archaeologists have also found layers attributed to the Akkadian Empire (2340 – 2200 BC), which is (wrongly, in my opinion) thought to be the world’s earliest empire.
Some very interesting finds have surfaced during excavations – a road dating to 1800 BC connecting Mesopotamia and Anatolia has been found, and this was likely the most important road in the entire world at that time, connecting east with west. Also, fragments of Assyrian cuneiform tablets dating to 1200 BC have also been found.
The Bassetki settlement was extremely large for its day, with many roads and housing complexes stretching in all directions. It was probably one of the biggest cities in the world at that time period.
There is no doubt that further cities will be discovered in the area over the coming years. Let’s hope the wars in Syria and Iraq will cease sooner rather than later.
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/11/2016/bronze-age-city-discovered-in-northern-iraq
United Arab Emirates
In 2014 I visited what was publicly the only main archaeology site in the whole of the UAE. In fact, there were only thought to be two in the whole country. Now, a major site has been discovered.
The site of Saruq Al Hadid was actually discovered in 2002, but while excavations were ongoing the site was kept a secret until it was revealed this year in a blaze of publicity. A new museum opened in July 2016 and it’s clear why the site was kept, for the most part, pretty quiet – many priceless objects have resurfaced and it’s thought only 15% of the 6.2 square kilometer site has so far been excavated.
Saruq Al Hadid is located south of Dubai city, near the border with Abu Dhabi, and finds suggest people settled there around 5,000 years ago. Other finds suggest people were “passing through” the area up to 10,000 years ago. Most of the important finds, however, date to the iron age, when the area was settled and iron smelting was abundant in the ancient town.
Like most things in the UAE, the museum is a stunning building with state of the art facilities.
http://www.saruqalhadid.ae/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BROCHURE-ENGLISH.pdf