The History Blog

Archaeologists have discovered a large complex of stone walls from the early Roman Empire in the Äbnetwald gravel quarry in central Switzerland. This is the first time in nearly a century that the remains of a large Roman stone building has been found in the canton of Zug.

The first walls were discovered at the beginning of the year in an excavation of the gravel mound near Cham-Oberwil. The gravel mound has been quarried since the 1990s and archaeologists have been investigating the newly-exposed top layer for potential findings since then. The archaeological team has now uncovered more than 5,000 square feet of a building complex with multiple rooms.

In addition to the architectural remains, archaeologists unearthed fragments of artifacts. Among them are pieces of utilitarian objects (bowls, millstones, workmanlike amphorae that held food staples like wine, olive and the infamous garum fish sauce) as well as more luxurious objects like imported terra sigillata dishware and blown glass vessels. There was also a single fragment of gold that likely was originally part of a piece of jewelry. These artifacts were not produced locally and thus bear witness to the reach of Roman trade networks.

The team also found bronze and copper coins, and one silver denarius struck by Julius Caesar in 49-48 B.C., shortly after he crossed the Rubicon and took Rome when Pompey, both consuls and much of Roman Senate fled the city. The coin has an elephant stepping on a horned serpent on the obverse and religious implements on the reverse. Caesar had his name stamped under the elephant. He struck what is now known as the “elephant denarius” with his military mint using silver from the treasury, obviously without approval of the Senate.

It is unclear what the function of the building was. The remains of several villa rusticas (country estates) have been found before, and the presence of high-end terra sigillata and glass vessels suggests elite people visited or lived at the site.

“We were also amazed that the top bricks were even visible above ground”. Christa Ebnöther, Professor of Archeology of the Roman Provinces at the University of Bern, puts it this way: “Only a few structural relics of this kind from the Roman period are known in the pre-Alpine region – in contrast to other regions. What is also astounding is the relatively good preservation of the remains». The entire extent of the Roman buildings in the Äbnetwald is not yet known. […]

It is not surprising that the Romans chose the elevated position near Äbnetwald as the location for their buildings. It offered an excellent view and overview of the surrounding landscape, which served to supply water and food. The fact that the gravel hill near Oberwil was already inhabited several thousand years before the Romans came, testifies to the attractiveness of this location.

Archaeologists have unearthed what they believe is an elite priestly tomb at the Pacopampa archaeological site in the Cajamarca region of northern Peru. It dates to the Pacopampa I phase, ca. 1200-1,000 B.C.

The tomb consists of a large circular pit ten feet in diameter and 3.3 feet deep. The body was placed at the bottom of the pit, his legs partially flexed, with small spherical ceramic bowls incised with geometric designs, a carved bone spatula and other offerings, including a seal in the shape of a hand. He was then buried under six layers of black soil mixed with ash.

Two more seals were found in the upper strata along the edges of the tomb. One features an anthropomorphic face design facing east; the other a jaguar facing west. Archaeologists hypothesize that the seals were actually paint stamps, used for the body painting exclusive to the Pacopampa elite.

“He is one of the first priests in the Andes to have a series of offerings,” [archaeologist Juan Pablo Villanueva] said, adding that “the funerary context is intact.” […]

“The find is extremely important because he is one of the first priests to begin to control the temples in the country’s northern Andes,” Japanese archaeologist Yuji Seki, who has been working at the site for 18 years, told AFP. […]

Seki said the find helped demonstrate that even that long ago, “powerful leaders had appeared in the Andes.”

Archaeologists have unearthed a Neolithic dragon figure made of mussel shells at the Caitaopo Site in Chifeng, in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was meticulously crafted by the Neolithic Hongshan Culture (4700-2900 B.C.) which is known for producing some of the earliest examples of carved jade, including a C-shaped jade dragon that has become emblematic of the Hongshan Culture.

Found in the southwest corner of a house at the Caitaopo Site, the piece is eight inches wide and combines several different shells arranged together seamlessly to form the entire body of the dragon from head to tail. Also found in the same archaeological layer of the dwelling were pieces of cylindrical grey pottery, one with a line pattern decoration and another with a lettering pattern. The pottery dates the house and the dragon to the early period of the Hongshan Culture, making it much older than the iconic jade dragon which was previously believed to be the oldest known representation of a dragon on the archaeological record.

It is very different from the stylized, abstract representation of the C-shaped design. It is more realistic in its minute details, with everything from the teeth to rhombic scales on the tail carved into the shells’ surfaces. The mouth is short and wide. A pierced circular hole represents the eye under the dragon’s forehead. There are four more circular holes where the tail and lower body meet. Archaeologists believe the parts may have been connected by a string threaded through the holes.

These dragons, while artistically different, also differ in the archaeological contexts of their discoveries. The jade artifacts previously unearthed, belonging to the Hongshan Culture, were predominantly found in locations that suggest their association with high-grade ritualistic practices. These places were likely of significant importance, possibly serving as ritual buildings or sacred sites.

In contrast, the mussel shell dragon, given its unique composition and the location of its discovery, seems to hint at the spiritual beliefs of people residing in lower-grade settlements. This distinction underscores the cultural diversity and societal stratifications of the Hongshan Culture, presenting a richer tapestry of their way of life, beliefs, and rituals.

The mussel shell dragon has been extracted from the site in a soil block so it can be micro-excavated in laboratory conditions by expert conservators.

A second monumental polychrome mural has been discovered in the excavation of Huaca Tomabal in the Virú province of northern Peru’s La Libertad region. The new discovery greatly advances the estimated date of the temple. It was previously believed to be about 3,200 years old. The second mural dates the Pre-ceramic period between 4,000 and 4,500 years ago, making it the oldest polychrome painting recorded in the La Libertad region.

The first mural was discovered in 2020 after farmers seeking to expand their avocado and sugar cane fields illegally bulldozed 60% of the mound. The destruction of cultural heritage was reported and an emergency archaeological intervention ensued. The area was declared a protected site and the polychrome mural was stabilized in situ.

At the time of the first intervention, archaeologists thought the monumental mural was painted by the Cupisnique people of northern Peru who used a conical adobe type also found in the wall. That would have dated it to about 3,200 years ago.

Three years later, archaeologists returned to the site for a new intervention. The excavation revealed a second monumental mural on the north side of the huaca. The new mural is almost 10 feet tall and features triangular shapes painted in red and a central figure adorned with scrolls and waves. It is thought to be a stylized depiction of a mythological character (the first mural is believed to represent the spider god), but which character is unknown.

“The objective of this excavation unit was to define the northeast corner of the enclosure that had been destroyed, which in 2020 allowed me and archaeologist Regulo Franco to find a polychrome wall featuring an anthropomorphic character from the Cupisnique period, as we thought first, but it is much older,” [Feren Castillo Lujan, head of the Viru Valley Archaeological Project,] remarked.

“Indeed, we have confirmed that it (the enclosure) has a curved corner. Besides, the wall is polychrome. There is clear evidence that the wall continues down into the ground, since what we see is only a part of the mural,” he added.

The researcher explained that, according to the building tradition —in which truncated adobe bricks and their variants stand out, as well as the absence of ceramics— it can be concluded that this is a temple dating to the Pre-ceramic or Late Archaic Period….

The curved corner is one of the characteristic architectural elements of Pre-ceramic period ceremonial temples. The other common element found in Pre-ceramic temples is a central interior hearth. Archaeologists hope to uncover the hearth of Huaca Tomabal in future excavations, but they need more funding to continue.