Forty years after the celebrated Riace Bronzes were discovered, a new group of artifacts have been found only 50km south of the site of the earlier discovery.
Three divers were investigating the area in the Calabrian Sea in southern Italy when they saw a gilded bronze sculpture of a lion on top of a 15cm square panel. They also saw what they at first thought was a set of armor made of bronze but what is now thought to be a statue. The statue is still stuck between rocks on the sea’s floor, about 300 meters from where the lion was discovered.
It is thought that the artifacts are of either Phoenician or Greek origin, and were perhaps sunk along with a ship, the remains of which were also found close by. The divers also said that they found parts of colored vases spread out over the seafloor, which also most likely went down with ship.
It is a lucky twist of fate that this is the same area where the famed Riace Bronzes were found in 1972. Unfortunately the bronzes have not been on for public view since 2009 as the government is waiting until the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Reggion Calabria completes its extensive renovation project. When the museum does open, hopefully in December of this year, there will be several new items to be displayed.
Category: archeology
Neanderthal Cave Art Discovered in Europe
50 ancient paintings in 11 different caves were recently discovered in Spain, and further research has revealed they may be the work of Neanderthals. If so, the art dates back to the prehistoric times of our closest relatives who roamed Europe and Asia until 30,000 years ago.
Alistair Pike, the study’s lead author from the University of Bristol, said:
“This currently is Europe’s oldest dated art, by at least 4,000 years.”
The art discovered includes hand stencils that date back 37,300 years, as well as 40,800-year-old red discs.
Joao Zilhao of the University of Barcelona co-authored the study. He explained that the possibility of Neanderthals being Europe’s first cave artists is likely.
“We know that from the fact that they were burying their dead, that they were decorating bone and ivory tools with abstract markings, and from the fact that they were painting their bodies using sophisticated cosmetic recipes, in some instances, and that they were using objects of personal ornamentation,” said Zilhao. “We know they were doing this from at least 50,000 years ago, and in the case of burials from at least 100,000 years ago.”
Zilhao continued, stating that the discovery may challenge today’s accepted evolutionary history.
“We know from the Neanderthal Genome Project that four percent of the genes of present day Europeans are of Neanderthal origin. So perhaps we should start thinking of these people as the European brand of homo-sapiens, that were morphologically different from what we call modern humans in Africa, but they were sapien people as well.”
Ancient Stone Art Discovered in Brazil
Photo from US News
Scientists excavating in Brazil have discovered what they believe to be the oldest rock engraving ever found. The finding indicates that humans may have inhabited the Americas 4,000 prior to what was previously believed.
According to University of Sao Paulo researchers, the anthropomorphic figure may be “the oldest figurative petroglyph ever found in the new world.” They also referred to it as the “earliest indisputable testimony of rock art in the Americas.”
The depiction was found in the Lapa do Santo rock in Brazil. The figure was “pecked into the bedrock” and consisted of “tri-digits” and a “C”shaped head.
One of the archeologists, Danilo Bernardo, wrote “When we found it, it was a great surprise. During our excavations, we never attempted to look for any rock art.”
The style of the etching is very different from other ancient art found in Argentina and Brazil, which lead scientists to conclude that the Clovis people were not in fact the first humans to live in the Western Hemisphere.
“The variability was impossible to be reached in a short span of time, suggesting the idea that the peopling of the New World occurred prior to the antiquity recognized by the Clovis model,” the archeologist explained.
Ancient Art Studio Uncovered in South Africa
Researchers believe they may have uncovered an ancient art studio in South Africa, having found two shells containing a primitive paint mixture from 100,000 years ago.
Found at Blombos Cave in Cape Town, the shells were found alongside various other tools, suggesting that the users were mixing flakes of ochre, an iron ore used to create red and yellow shades, with other compounds to create a liquid paste.
According to the study, “a bone was probably used to stir the mixture and to transfer some of the mixture out of the shell.”
The paint could have been ceremonial, decorative or protective, used perhaps on the body.
“Ochre may have been applied with symbolic intent as decoration on bodies and clothing during the Middle Stone Age,” explained Christopher Henshilwood, head of the study at the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand.
“This discovery represents an important benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition in that it shows that humans had the conceptual ability to source, combine and store substances that were then possibly used to enhance their social practices.”
New Discovery in Egypt
For antique dealers archeological finds are always of interest. These news stories are often of interest to many other people as well, as they reveal a fascinating discovery from the past.
In recent news, archeologists in Egypt have unearthed 57 ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to around 2750 B.C. The find actually throws new light on Egypt’s ancient religions, according to Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Find out more about the recent discovery of these antiques.
Neanderthal Cave Art Discovered in Europe
50 ancient paintings in 11 different caves were recently discovered in Spain, and further research has revealed they may be the work of Neanderthals. If so, the art dates back to the prehistoric times of our closest relatives who roamed Europe and Asia until 30,000 years ago.
Alistair Pike, the study’s lead author from the University of Bristol, said:
“This currently is Europe’s oldest dated art, by at least 4,000 years.”
The art discovered includes hand stencils that date back 37,300 years, as well as 40,800-year-old red discs.
Joao Zilhao of the University of Barcelona co-authored the study. He explained that the possibility of Neanderthals being Europe’s first cave artists is likely.
“We know that from the fact that they were burying their dead, that they were decorating bone and ivory tools with abstract markings, and from the fact that they were painting their bodies using sophisticated cosmetic recipes, in some instances, and that they were using objects of personal ornamentation,” said Zilhao. “We know they were doing this from at least 50,000 years ago, and in the case of burials from at least 100,000 years ago.”
Zilhao continued, stating that the discovery may challenge today’s accepted evolutionary history.
“We know from the Neanderthal Genome Project that four percent of the genes of present day Europeans are of Neanderthal origin. So perhaps we should start thinking of these people as the European brand of homo-sapiens, that were morphologically different from what we call modern humans in Africa, but they were sapien people as well.”
Ancient Stone Art Discovered in Brazil
Photo from US News
Scientists excavating in Brazil have discovered what they believe to be the oldest rock engraving ever found. The finding indicates that humans may have inhabited the Americas 4,000 prior to what was previously believed.
According to University of Sao Paulo researchers, the anthropomorphic figure may be “the oldest figurative petroglyph ever found in the new world.” They also referred to it as the “earliest indisputable testimony of rock art in the Americas.”
The depiction was found in the Lapa do Santo rock in Brazil. The figure was “pecked into the bedrock” and consisted of “tri-digits” and a “C”shaped head.
One of the archeologists, Danilo Bernardo, wrote “When we found it, it was a great surprise. During our excavations, we never attempted to look for any rock art.”
The style of the etching is very different from other ancient art found in Argentina and Brazil, which lead scientists to conclude that the Clovis people were not in fact the first humans to live in the Western Hemisphere.
“The variability was impossible to be reached in a short span of time, suggesting the idea that the peopling of the New World occurred prior to the antiquity recognized by the Clovis model,” the archeologist explained.
Ancient Art Studio Uncovered in South Africa
Researchers believe they may have uncovered an ancient art studio in South Africa, having found two shells containing a primitive paint mixture from 100,000 years ago.
Found at Blombos Cave in Cape Town, the shells were found alongside various other tools, suggesting that the users were mixing flakes of ochre, an iron ore used to create red and yellow shades, with other compounds to create a liquid paste.
According to the study, “a bone was probably used to stir the mixture and to transfer some of the mixture out of the shell.”
The paint could have been ceremonial, decorative or protective, used perhaps on the body.
“Ochre may have been applied with symbolic intent as decoration on bodies and clothing during the Middle Stone Age,” explained Christopher Henshilwood, head of the study at the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand.
“This discovery represents an important benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition in that it shows that humans had the conceptual ability to source, combine and store substances that were then possibly used to enhance their social practices.”
New Discovery in Egypt
For antique dealers archeological finds are always of interest. These news stories are often of interest to many other people as well, as they reveal a fascinating discovery from the past.
In recent news, archeologists in Egypt have unearthed 57 ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to around 2750 B.C. The find actually throws new light on Egypt’s ancient religions, according to Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Find out more about the recent discovery of these antiques.