Latest news with #Archaeology
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
City seeks to resolve dispute about likely ancient Indigenous remains found in Toronto
The city of has provided an update on ancient Indigenous remains found on Withrow Avenue more than a year ago. As CBC's Lane Harrison reports, city crews found the remains during waterline work on the street. City staff are hoping to resolve a dispute over what are believed to be ancient Indigenous human remains found below a Toronto sidewalk. The remains were found on Jan. 5, 2024 on Withrow Avenue in Riverdale by a city contractor working on a water service line. The area has been known to be an archeological site since at least 1886, when it's reported that crews excavating the initial construction of Withrow Avenue found communal gravesites in the area. Will Johnston, deputy city manager for infrastructure services, said on Monday 10 out of 11 Indigenous groups consulted since then are on board with a plan on how to handle the remains and have agreed to help monitor the burial site process or to provide consent for it to proceed. Earlier this month on July 17, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), which represents the interests of Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, threatened in a news release to shut down the construction activity at the site. The HDI says it has been denied access to the remains. Johnston told reporters at a news conference that the city is committed to having all 11 groups involved. "We recognize the need to conduct this process with the utmost sensitivity and respect and with meaningful communication and engagement with Indigenous and First Nations as a top priority," Johnston said. "After 19 months since this discovery, we need to resolve this matter. The ancestors deserve this." When the remains were found, work immediately stopped and the city contacted Toronto police, who took control of the site, Johnston and Lou Di Gironimo, general manager of Toronto Water, said. Police contacted the coroner's office. That office retained an anthropologist, who determined that the remains were human, ancient and likely of Indigenous origin. The provincial registrar for the funeral, burial and cremation services directed the city to protect the site and to investigate. The soil removed from the ground was put in a safe place, according to Di Gironimo. A view of the site on Withrow Avenue. There is a tent, fencing and security at the site. (Chris Langenzarde/CBC) As part of the order, the registrar contacted 11 Indigenous groups to notify them about the remains and invite them to provide advice on protecting the site. Di Gironimo said the city has worked with the First Nations to ensure Indigenous protocols are followed. City staff also hired a licensed archeological consultant to determine the origin of the site, he said. The city has since retained a second licenced archeological consultant, Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI). Once the investigation is completed, a report will be submitted to the city and registrar by this fall. "All 11 parties are welcome, and have always been welcome, to join the monitoring process associated with Withrow," Di Gironimo said. Haudenosaunee objects to process The HDI claims the remains are of the Haudenosaunee people. It said in its news release that it has been denied basic information and has been told in writing that the remains are sitting in a dump truck. "The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) is prepared to shut down all construction activity on Withrow Avenue following revelations that the ancestral remains of the Haudenosaunee people have been kept in a dump truck for over a year after being extracted from an active archaeological site. "The current location of this dump truck, and those remains, is unknown," the HDI says in the release. Aaron Detlor, legal counsel for HDI, said the Haudenosaunee wants to do its own investigation. According to city staff, the HDI made unrealistic demands that could not be met. The city did not elaborate on what those demands were. At the news conference, city staff said the remains were secured in a truck, adding that the soil was not put back into the site because they did not want to disturb it further. Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation disputes claims At Monday's news conference, Claire Sault, chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), said she disputes the HDI's claims. The dispute has left the First Nation with a "feeling of unrest," she added. "The Mississaugas of the Credit should be the only point of first contact until remains are determined by experts. Then, through proper protocol, if the remains are found to be from another tribe... We'll reach out to that tribe, nation to nation," she said. The traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation includes the city of Toronto and the First Nation is the sole treaty holder in Toronto, she said. "We have a duty to speak out for these lands, to speak out for our ancestors and to speak out for our treaties," she said. "And so let me be clear and let me be blunt. The group of individuals calling themselves HDI, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, have no rights here. These are not their lands, They have no treaty here and they have no ancestral connection here. Sault alleged the group has been "obstructing the important work that MCFN and the City of Toronto have been doing to respectfully and in a culturally appropriate way address this discovery of ancestral remains at the Withrow's burial site. This is unacceptable." Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Chief Claire Sault speaks on ancient human remains found near Withrow Park, during a news conference at city hall, on July 21, 2025. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Lisa Merritt, principal of infrastructure at ASI, said the company will proceed carefully. She said it doesn't know how many people were buried there. "We will begin very carefully to excavate any areas of lawn or soft scaping by hand, which will be done in one metre square units and following a grid pattern," Merritt said. Toronto sits on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Pompeii welcomes home erotic mosaic looted by Nazi officer
ROME, July 15 (Reuters) - An ancient Roman erotic mosaic depicting a half-naked couple has returned to Pompeii more than 80 years after it was stolen by a Nazi officer during World War Two, Italy's cultural heritage police said on Tuesday. The intimate artwork, featuring a man reclining in bed with his female partner standing in front of him, was handed back by Germany following a diplomatic effort, the police said in a statement. Set on a slab of travertine, the mosaic panel dates to between the late 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. It was taken from the area around Pompeii, near Naples, during the war by a German Nazi army captain assigned to military logistics in Italy. The German officer gifted the piece to a civilian, who kept it until his death. His heirs, realizing its origin, contacted the Italian authorities to arrange its return. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the German-born director of the Pompeii archaeological park, described the mosaic as part of a cultural turning point where everyday intimacy became a subject in Roman art, as opposed to the heroic myths of earlier centuries. "Here we see a new theme, the routine of domestic love," he said, noting that the male figure's expression "seems almost a little bored". The mosaic will now be put on display at Pompeii alongside the hundreds of other items and archaeological remains at the site of the ancient city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
Fox News
15-07-2025
- Fox News
Mysterious 1,600-year-old settlement emerges from soil with rare Roman military finds
Archaeologists recently uncovered a mysterious Roman-era settlement site in Germany, complete with building remains and hundreds of artifacts dating back nearly two millennia. The Schafbreite site, located within the western German town of Delbrück, has been settled since the first century A.D. The site was recently excavated by the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL). In a June 13 statement, the LWL announced the results of its excavation, revealing a trove of discoveries that mostly date back to the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Officials identified hundreds of ancient features at the site, including numerous holes in the ground that were likely from ancient wooden posts. After months of careful digging, archaeologists also found two "clearly identifiable" buildings, along with two pit houses, two wells and a cremation grave — along with several hundred artifacts. "Seven hundred and fifty individual finds were recovered from the ancient cultural layer preserved under a thick ash soil, 600 of which were metal," said the LWL's statement, translated from German to English. Archaeologists also explained that the site "must have been settled at different times, making it a multi-period settlement site." "The finds from various periods also show the inhabitants had access to Roman material culture." "The finds from various periods also show that the inhabitants had access to Roman material culture," the press release said. The statement added, "The new excavations have expanded the picture of this site, as a burial has now been confirmed: The isolated cremation grave contained remains from the pyre, such as charcoal, cremated remains and parts of burned grave goods." In the burial section, archaeologists found that one decedent was buried with a spearhead, two garment clasps and a broken bone comb, in addition to "a fire steel, and an animal head buckle with fittings." "Experts date this buckle to the 4th or 5th century based on its shape. It further confirms the settlers' contact with the Roman cultural sphere, as it belonged to the Roman military belt," officials said in a statement. Historians were unable to identify the mysterious burial. The LWL speculated that the deceased person may have been a Germanic mercenary in the Roman military. "[It's] a special find, as it is the first burial in East Westphalia where parts of a Roman military belt have been detected, previously only known from surface finds in other regions," officials said. Other discoveries at the site included a cattle trough, a construction pit with ceramics and a three-foot-wide well that was made from tree trunks. "The organic preservation was so good that we recovered not only wood but also a leather fragment and even an insect wing," excavation manager Sven Knippschild noted. He added, "Completely extraordinary and unique for the Migration Period in Westphalia was the discovery of a beam piece with various tool marks on the last day of excavation." "[It] was certainly once part of a house and was later recycled for the well construction." Sven Spiong, a lead archaeologist at LWL, said the site offers a glimpse into what life was like during the Migration Period. The era, also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a time of significant upheaval and change in Europe, lasting from roughly 300 to 600 A.D. "Sites like these help us better understand how the people of the region lived and worked during the arrival of the Romans and in the following centuries." "Sites like these help us better understand how the people of the region lived and worked during the arrival of the Romans and in the following centuries, what interregional contacts and connections they had, and how the settlement structure changed during the Migration Period," Spiong said. Even though the excavation has wrapped up, the recent discoveries are just the beginning of researchers' study of the archaeological site. Experts plan to analyze the wood and charcoal found at the site to help date the site more precisely. Archaeologists will also look at some soil from the well to learn more about what the area around Bentfeld was like over 1,600 years ago. "This [study] may reveal changes in vegetation, landscape, and settlement between the time around the birth of Christ and around 400 A.D.," LWL archaeologist Julia Hallenkamp-Lumpe noted.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Roman road discovered in Manchester city centre
A well-preserved Roman road is among the finds uncovered by archaeologists in a city artefacts have been found in Manchester just below street level on Liverpool Road, near excavating the site said it was one of the most significant Roman discoveries in the city in more than 20 Mottershead, an archaeologist with Civic who carried out the dig, told BBC Radio Manchester it was an "absolutely astonishing find", adding: "I haven't seen anything this significant in Castlefield for 20 years at least." "The Romans knew what they were doing when it came to engineering," said Mr Mottershead, explaining they found multiple levels and repairs of the road, which was basically made out of compacted said it was well preserved, with "no potholes in it".He said a range of Romano-British artefacts had been found, dating from the late 1st to the 3rd and possibly even the early 4th century AD, showing the length of time the vicus - which means civilian settlement - was in road would have been the main northern exit route from the former Roman fort nearby, a Civic spokesperson hearths and domestic artefacts including pottery and decorative glassware have also been discovered on the site. Ian Miller from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service said: "It's certainly the best Roman archaeology I've seen in the city centre for 20 years and probably more than that."He said the Roman road was "really well-preserved", which was remarkable given it was only 400mm beneath the surface in a busy site is near to the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established around 78 AD and much of which was excavated in the 1970s, Mr Miller is also close to Roman excavations further south of the site which uncovered parts of the Roman settlement in the 1970s and 1980s. Mr Miller said that "in some respects, the latest excavation was the missing piece of the jigsaw that will hopefully link to those two together".He said it should provide more information about what sort of buildings were in the area, just outside the Roman fort, and to re-examine the discoveries of the dig has taken place as part of a development on the site being carried out on behalf of Allied London. Mr Mottershead said the uncovered artefacts would eventually go on display in the city, after they had been analysed. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Neolithic moms decorated baby carriers with dog teeth
Preparation work for a high-voltage powerline project in eastern Germany has revealed a very unexpected archeological find: the gravesites of multiple women and infants dating back nearly 4,500 years. While somber, their remains and burial goods are helping experts better understand class, gender, and parenting dynamics of late Neolithic society known as the Corded Ware Culture. The discoveries are located near Krauschwitz, a small village about 53 miles northeast of Dresdeb. The site is one of multiple currently overseen by the country's State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt. According to their announcement on July 9, archeological teams have already identified numerous ancient burials along the 105-mile SuedOstLink electrical grid route. However, none of them compared to the rare artifacts found close to Krauschwitz. Researchers are particularly astounded by the remains of leather bags intricately decorated with drilled dog teeth. Although the organic material decomposed long ago, the dental adornments remained arranged in overlapping patterns similar to roofing shingles. Archaeologists estimate each bag measured 11.8 inches by 7.9 inches, and featured as many as 350 teeth, usually sourced from dogs similar to today's Small Münsterländer pointers. The artisanry required to craft each satchel implies that their owners were elite women in their communities. Their placement in relation to each body also suggests the bags were worn slung around the front torso. However, many of these bags weren't empty at the time of their burial. In multiple cases, archeologists discovered infant bones either inside or near a woman's bag. In one instance, a bag was in the grave of a woman who died during pregnancy, which researchers believe indicates the baby carriers were 'personal, non-inheritable belongings.' Some of the infants' heads and limbs were also found wrapped in scarf-like textiles. These sashes included even more embroidered teeth, usually molars, possibly to function as protective wear for the babies. Taken altogether, the bags were likely both ceremonial and practical for their wearers. Today, they speak to both the harsh environment of the time, as well as the care that went into honoring the dead. [ Related: Viking woman buried in ceremonial boat with her dog. ] Archeologists also discovered older burial mounds from the Baalberg Culture dating to around 4000 BCE. These structures were built from trapezoidal wooden frames, then covered in loess—silt-sized sediment formed from wind-blown dust. The repeated use of the area as resting places for the deceased speaks to a longtime sense of reverence and community among the region's ancient peoples. A 20-person team will continue working on-site through the end of July to excavate and conserve additional artifacts. From there, the items will be further examined and likely displayed in museums. Once completed, the SuedOstLink power line will stand atop these locations—a symbol of humanity's technological advancements above ancient, poignant evidence of community and family.
