Month: September 2025

Rare 13th c. hair styling tool found at iconic Scottish castle

Medieval

A rare gravoir, a medieval hairstyling tool, has been discovered at Eilean Donan castle at Dornie, in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is one of only three examples ever found in the UK, and the first of them to be found in Scotland.

The tool dates to the 13th century and is made of red deer antler. It a single piece: an elaborately carved handle depicting a hooded figure in a draped robe holding a book and a blunt tapering point.

Dr Blackwell, senior curator of medieval archaeology and history at [National Museums Scotland], said the gravoir would likely have been part of a set that had also included a mirror and a comb.

She said: “The gravoir would have been used to part hair neatly and help to make elaborate hairstyles – they are incredibly rare objects.

“They originated from France where the fashion for creating elaborate hairstyles seems to have spread through northern Europe around the 13th Century.”

French gravoirs were typically made of ivory. That makes this example even more unusual in that it was a French object made locally of local materials.

The original castle was built in the 13th century on the tiny island of Eilean Donan at the meeting point of three sea lochs. It was an important defensive fortification of the local Gaelic lords against the Vikings who controlled most of the area at that time. It reached its largest extent in the 14th century.

It became a stronghold of Clan Mackenzie, perhaps as early as the middle of the 14th century, and the castle was the setting for many a clan feud clash. The Mackenzies sided with the Jacobites in the uprising of 1715, but by then the castle was in parlous condition. In 1719, pro-Jacobite Spanish soldiers and a 343 barrels of gunpowder were garrisoned in the castle. The English caught wind of an upcoming delivery of weapons from Spain and sent warships to intercept. They bombarded the castle for three days, but even roofless and decrepit, the castle still held out against the assault, thanks to its phenomenal walls, 14 feet thick in some areas. Finally the English troops disembarked, defeated the 46 Spanish defenders by hand and finally brought down the castle by igniting all 343 barrels of gunpower.

For 200 years the castle was just a ruin. The current castle was built in the 1920s and its nostalgic fantasy castle beauty and picturesque location have made it an iconic image of Scotland, seen in many advertisements, television programs and films.

With few traces of the original castle remaining, little is known about life at Eilean Donan in its 13th and 14th century heyday. The Conchra Charitable Trust, owner of the castle, commissioned a series of excavations to uncover more information.

In addition to the gravoir, the excavations have unearthed brooches, game pieces, animal bones, an iron jaw harp and ceramic crucibles used to melt copper, silver and gold. The crucibles are evidence that metal objects were manufactured at the castle. National Museums Scotland researchers say it is one of the most important collections of medieval metalworking tools in the UK.

Roman shipwreck uncovered in Croatia

Ancient

A Roman shipwreck in an excellent state of preservation has been excavated from the seabed of Barbir Bay, Croatia. The boat dates to the 1st-2nd century and is about 12.5 meters (40 feet) long. Many features of the ship’s upper works have survived, a rare find in ancient shipwrecks.

Underwater archaeologists from the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar encountered the first remains of the shipwreck while investigating a Roman-era harbor in 2021.

“We came across a piece of timber with an iron nail, which suggested there might be something more significant nearby. The following year we expanded the search area and realised it was a Roman shipwreck. After four and a half years of research, this final season has allowed us to uncover the entire ship,” Mladen Pešić, director of the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, told HRT.

Hundreds of olive pits were found on the wreck, evidence that the ship was used to transport olives, probably from a local agricultural estate near the harbor.

“This is a very precise and stable type of ship construction, capable of carrying heavy loads and sailing medium to long distances. Such vessels were essential for life along our coast and islands two thousand years ago,” explained Anton Divić, owner of the Croatian underwater archaeology company NavArchos.

The ship cannot be removed due to the cost and danger of damage, so it will be covered with geotextile and then reburied with the sand that protected it before it was excavated. Archaeologists have thoroughly documented its structure and contacts and taken thousands of overlapping photographs from which to create photogrammetric models. The detail data will also be used to reconstruct a 1:10 model of the ship to demonstrate what it looked like when it was intact. The model will give researchers new information about how such vessels were built and navigated in antiquity.

Rare Gold ring brooch found at Troy

Ancient

A gold brooch that is one of only three known examples in the world and the best preserved of them has been unearthed at Troy. The delicate piece features a long, tapered pin with four spiral rings at the top.

The pin was found in the layer that dates to 2,500 B.C. Another extremely rare find was made in the same context: a flat jade stone that may have originally been part of a ring or jewel. A luxury import traded from distant lands, jade is very uncommon on the archaeological record of Early Bronze Age Anatolia. A bronze pin was also found in this layer.

The brooch was unearthed in the layers of Troy II, one of the early settlement phases of the site.

Scholars have long debated the beginning of this period, with estimates ranging between 2,300 and 2,200 B.C. The discovery has now provided clear evidence, dating the layer firmly to around 2,500 B.C.

This breakthrough helps refine the chronology of Troy’s early history, which has been central to archaeological research for decades.

The gold pin, jade stone, bronze pin and other objects found in this season’s excavation will go on display at the Troy Museum in Çanakkale

Roman mosaic found during in Tivoli

Ancient, Roma, Caput Mundi

A Roman mosaic floor from the early Imperial period has been discovered during fiberoptic cable installation in Tivoli, 20 miles north of Rome. The mosaic features black and white tiles arranged in geometric patterns.

The mosaic emerged in the excavation for the laying of cable near the church of Sant’Andrea. The discovery spurred an archaeological investigation of the wider area unearthed remains from the ancient city that were converted into tombs, likely in the Middle Ages, although the chronology has yet to be established.

The origins of the ancient city of Tibur go back to the 13th century B.C., and it was prominent in the Etruscan period as the seat of the Tiburtine Sibyl. It maintained its religious significance under Roman rule, and its proximity to Rome, natural beauty and convenient location on the Via Tiburtina, the road that crossed the Apennines made it a desirable destination for country villas of wealthy Romans.

The artistry of the mosaic floor, the technique in the geometric patterning, points to it having been created by high-end craftsmen, comparable to the mosaic work in public buildings and the luxury private homes. The area where the floor was found is known for important structures, including ones with elaborate mosaic floors.

The agreement between cable company FiberCop and the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the metropolitan area of ​​Rome and the province of Rieti ensures that any archaeological finds are .

The operational model includes preventive verification of historical and archaeological information and ongoing monitoring. If any discoveries are made, work is immediately suspended, with targeted extension of investigations, documentation, and site safety measures. When necessary, alternative technical solutions, such as replanning routes or on-site protection, are adopted to avoid impacting the ancient deposits.

The agreement also applies to protected areas, transforming excavations for underground utilities into opportunities for understanding, protecting, and updating the city’s archaeological map. Data and materials will be transferred to the Superintendency’s archives for further scientific analysis and the possible implementation of safeguards aimed at protecting and conserving the assets, contributing to more informed urban planning and future enhancement efforts.

Largest lamassu discovered in Mosul

Ancient

What may be the largest recorded Neo-Assyrian winged bull (aka lamassu) has been uncovered at Tell Nabi Yunus in Mosul, Iraq, the famed ancient city of Nineveh. Located in the remains of the throne room built by King Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.), the lamassu is six meters (20 feet) high, towering over the renown examples at the British Museum and the Louvre which reach between 3.5 and 4.2 meters (11.5-13.8 feet) in height.

According to [Iraq’s Minister of Culture, Ahmed Fakkak al-Badrani], the palace’s architecture includes multiple adjoining halls leading to the throne room, each guarded by lamassu pairs at their entrances. Archaeologists believe the newly revealed statue was one of a matching pair flanking the main gate to the throne hall.

This is not the first lamassu to be uncovered at the site. A smaller specimen was found in the 1990s on the left side of the palace, measuring just under four meters. In 2021, Iraqi authorities announced the discovery of another large winged bull, though smaller than the new find. The most recent excavation, however, has brought to light the largest ever recorded, making the site a focal point for the study of Assyrian monumental sculpture.

Son of the Sennacherib and father of Ashurbanipal, Esarhaddon became one of the most powerful rulers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. He was appointed heir by his father, even though he was the youngest son, and had to fight his elder brother to claim his throne after his brother assassinated their father. He was an able general, conquering Egypt and Syria and increasing the size of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to its greatest extent in his brief decade of rule.

Inscriptions found at Nebi Yunus dating to the reign of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) and Esarhaddon indicate it was built by the former as a military palace astride the southwest wall of the city facing the Tigris River. It was used as a royal residence, armory, stables, barracks, parade ground where horses, mules, chariots and equipment were mustered for battle. Archaeological remains of courtyards, workshops, administrative offices and barracks have been found, and on the other side of the building, a throne room suite and state apartments decorated “in the Hittite style,” as an inscription of Sennacherib’s describes it. Esarhaddon added significantly to the palace and its courtyards, expanding the residential area so that it was comparable in size to the other residential palaces.

Peter Nicholas, an archaeologist at Heidelberg University, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that excavation teams also uncovered numerous cuneiform tablets inscribed with the writings of kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal–three of the most prominent rulers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Additional artifacts appear to represent spoils of war taken from Egypt and the Levant, offering a richer picture of Assyria’s far-reaching campaigns.

Nebi Yunus was revered for millennia as the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. In early Christian times, there was a church on the site, and records mention the Jonah Mosque there already in the 10th century. There was also a small village and an associated cemetery, so even as Nineveh began to be excavated in the 19th century, Tell Nebi Yunus was not available to archaeologists. Only a few limited digs were allowed between homes, and one notable excavation by the Ottoman governor Helmi Pasha which uncovered the entrance to the throne room.

In July of 2014, the mosque was blown up by Islamic State. Claiming the mosque had become “a place for apostasy, not prayer,” they demolished the tomb, cleared all of the rubble and graded the site flat, ensuring that it could never be reconstructed. The destruction above must have caused damage to the Neo-Assyrian layers below, and the Islamic State’s greed to fund their wars and terrorism with the cultural patrimony of the locations under their control caused even more damage. They tunneled under the mosque seeking out saleable antiquities to loot, even as they pretended to destroy everything contrary to their faith.

The Institutes of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology at Heidelberg University in cooperation with the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage began a new project of excavations in 2018. They began exploring IS’ looting tunnels. In 2019, the project expanded to excavate and preserve the Assyrian remains of Nineveh, including the Nebi Yunus mound.