Archaeological surveys performed as part of a reconstruction of the city market of Vinkovci, eastern Croatia, has unearthed a rare unlooted brick grave in a Roman-era necropolis. Out of more than 200 brick-built burials discovered in the area of the ancient city’s northern necropolis over the years, only two have been discovered intact and unlooted.

The city market area is known to have bordered the necropolis, so a preventative excavation was ordered before construction. This spring, archaeologists have unearthed 44 graves, but last Tuesday they found the first one that had not been looted in antiquity.

When the brick lined and topped tomb was opened, archaeologists found a skeleton that was nearly complete and in excellent condition. They were able to determine the skeletal remains belonged to an adult man between 40 and 45 years old at the time of death. Only two grave goods were found with him: an iron object by his right foot and a fragment of bronze on the right shoulder. Archaeologists don’t yet know what the objects were. They may have been part of his funerary clothing or something used for the burial rites.

The Vinkovci area has been continuously inhabited for over 8,000 years prompting local authorities to declare it “the oldest city in Europe.” Known as Cibalae, it was populated by Illyrian people when Rome conquered the province and was granted municipal rights by the Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 A.D.), making its official name Municipium Aelium Cibalae. That changed to Colonia Aurelia Cibalae when it was granted status of a colony by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, aka Emperor Caracalla (r. 196-217 A.D.), in the early 3rd century A.D. It was an important center of trade linking the eastern and western empire, and bears the distinction of having been the birthplace of two emperors: brothers Valentinian I (r. 364-375) and Valens (364-378). They are the only Roman emperors born in what is now Croatia.

Excavation of a high-quality 2nd century mosaic in Tokat, nothern Turkey, that was seized by authorities last year after looters live-streamed themselves illegally excavating it, has revealed a finely-detailed figure that some are comparing to the iconic Gypsy Girl mosaic in Zeugma.

The mosaic was discovered in the courtyard of a vineyard house. Police raided the site last May after receiving a tipoff to the looting activity that had been so stupidly but so helpfully posted on the internet. The looters had already arranged to sell it abroad on the black market before they were done excavation, but the Provincial Gendarmerie Command foiled their plans and archaeologists began to carry out official excavations.

The mosaic is a large rectangle with multiple panels of geometric and figural designs employing a variety of techniques including opus vermiculatum and opus tessellatum. A female figure inscribed “ΤΡΥΦΗ” (Tryphe), the Greek word for “luxury” or “abundance” suggests an obvious interpretation that the floor decoration was meant to emphasize the luxuriousness of the surroundings. However, now that more of the panel has been exposed, you can see the labrys, the double-headed axe that was a symbol of the Great Goddess going back to prehistory in Anatolia, in each of the four corners of the panel. The figure is flanked by two mandorla (almond) or pointed oval shapes that in antiquity was a symbol of new life, fertility and the junction of the spiritual and the physical world.

The structure that housed the mosaic appears to have performed a social function rather than having been a private luxury villa, but what that function may have been has not yet been determined. The area was an important center for the Cult of Cybele, which could have a connection to the labrys designs, but the newly uncovered figure appears to be a nereid or an Oceanus. The face has green hair and long, thin horns (perhaps the stylized crab or lobster claws seen in depictions of Oceanus). A curled fish tail is visible at the side of its reclining body.

The vineyard house where the mosaic was found is located a few hundred feet from the site of a Roman amphitheater in the ancient city of Zela. Zela is famous as the place where Julius Caesar declared “Veni, vidi, vici” after his swift defeat of Pharnaces II, King of Pontus, in 47 B.C. The excavation of the mosaic and of the theater continue, and archaeologists believe their proximity will lend new insight into Zela’s urban design, cultural and religious practices.

A hiker enjoying his morning constitutional in Sandnes, Norway, discovered a rare 6th century gold sword scabbard fitting. One of only 18 similar examples found in Northern Europe, the intricately decorated artifact is so rare, the sword it was mounted on had to have belonged to a member of the regional elite, likely a local chieftain, during the Migration Period.

The hiker found the fitting at the base of a hill named Riaren where a tree that had fallen years earlier caught his eye. He poked at a mound under the roots with a stick and suddenly saw the glint of gold. It was a small rectangle, 6 cm long by 2 cm wide (2.4 x .8 inches), weighing an unexpectedly heavy 33 grams (1.2 oz).

The ornamentation consists of a stylized animal motif created in looped and knotted gold ribbons with finely beaded gold threads overlaid on some of the lines. This filigree required a high degree of skill and is rare in works from the period. While the surface is very worn, it’s possible to make out two animals face each other in profile, one with the head against the bottom edge, the other with the head against the top edge. Additional animal figures can be made out on the back of a bent part of the fitting. These ribbon-shaped zoomorphic designs date the piece to the first half of the 6th century.

This is the third elite artifact found in the marshes at the base of Riaren. A silver necklace with gold decorations was unearthed during ploughing in the 19th century, and a large Roman bronze cauldron manufactured on the Rhine around 300 A.D. was found on a farm in 1907. All three are believed to have been deliberately deposited as offerings to the gods in hard times.

[Archaeologist Håkon Reiersen] at the Archaeological Museum in Stavanger believes that the gold treasure was buried in a rock crevice for religious reasons. It may have been an offering to the gods sometime in the 6th century.

In the year 536, Norway and the Nordic countries may have been hit by a disaster after a major volcanic eruption in Central America. The result may also have been a severe cooling for several years. Several sources in Europe describe the event. In the northern hemisphere, temperatures probably dropped by several degrees. Summers became short and cold. Crops failed for several years in a row. Perhaps half the people here died.

A lot of gold was offered to the gods at this time. People probably left valuable objects as offerings in the hope of better times. “By sacrificing such magnificent objects to the gods, the leaders at Hove confirmed their status and power,” says Reiersen.

The area around Hove in Rogaland was a center of the new warrior elite who conquered the ancient tribal communities of the region during the Roman Iron Age and early Migration Period. The warriors were seasoned serving as auxilia (mercenaries) in the Roman legions starting in the 2nd century A.D., and some of them moved north after they were discharged, using the unit organization they had learned under Rome and their military might to overpower the Scandinavian tribes and claim their fertile agricultural land.

They would seize existing farms, with the leader taking the largest, most central one and his men taking other ones nearby. They built new structures modeled after the layout of Roman military camps and forced the tribes to work the land for them, and to generate saleable goods like iron implements, fur and whale oil. This was a key period of transition from the early model of tribal communities to local chieftains and then to kingdoms.

The scabbard fitting is being cleaned and conservators by experts at the Archaeological Museum of the University of Stavanger. When the work is complete, the artifact will be exhibited to the public in the museum.