Latest news with #excavation
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Buried City' Review: Pompeii on Display
After lying inert beneath volcanic ash for nearly 17 centuries, the Roman city of Pompeii, near Naples, is today a site of continuous change. New discoveries emerge constantly, even as conservators struggle to protect what's been found from damage by weather, looters and crowds. Articles and books about these findings have steadily appeared as excavations expand into parts of the town that remain buried. In 2021 Gabriel Zuchtriegel, a German classicist then in his late 30s, was given the enormous task of directing this dynamic site. His youth and non-Italian origins made him a controversial choice; some scholars signed a petition of protest or resigned from the academic advisory board in an effort to stop the appointment. In 'The Buried City,' a meditation on both the ruins of Pompeii and his life as a pioneering archaeologist, Mr. Zuchtriegel shows that his selection was an inspired choice. Whether exploring the circumstances that led him to choose his career or depicting a bustling town of the high Roman Empire, he speaks with passion, wonder and deep humanity. 'Pompeii is like a rip in the screen, through which we have the opportunity to take a peek behind the official version of history,' writes Mr. Zuchtriegel. He describes in vivid detail his 2021 discovery of a small room containing the remains of three beds and other quotidian objects. Perhaps it was the dwelling, as well as the workspace, of slaves. A newspaper described the discovery as 'the rarity of the everyday,' and Mr. Zuchtriegel takes the phrase as a rallying cry. 'The 'rarity of the everyday' could also be the title for my personal access to archaeology and Pompeii,' he writes. 'What we found here was different, precisely because it wasn't a temple, grave or palace,' says Mr. Zuchtriegel, just some 50 square feet 'of everyday hardship.' He recounts how he noticed a nail on the wall for hanging an oil lamp and, beneath it, a white painted rectangle designed to reflect the lamplight and increase illumination. Moved by this simple effort to lighten a dark existence, he ponders how the room's occupants, who no doubt lacked paint and brushes, got that rectangle made. It's one of many instances where he reimagines the lives of Rome's downtrodden.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Surprise wall find as years of Auckland Castle excavations end
Seven years of excavations involving more than 1,000 people have come to an end with the surprise discovery of huge medieval returned to Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, for a final season of digging earlier in project's academic lead Prof Chris Gerrard said the walls, which are at least 8ft (2.5m) wide and "double the height of a person", showed "a lot about power in the North".Digging ends on Friday and findings will be analysed, with hopes more objects will go on display at the Faith Museum at Auckland Palace. Archaeologists from Durham University and experts from The Auckland Project have been working on the site since uncovering a mansion which had lain buried for almost 400 years last summer, they turned to the north side of the palace where they found the structure was buried under a slope, with the remains of a banqueting hall on the Gerrard said the walls were believed to have been built around 1200 and must have been part of a medieval curtain wall running around the palace or garden. He said the "truly impressive" finding helped his team better understand the shape and layout of the medieval bishop's palace."It's completely hidden under the grass," Prof Gerrard said, adding: "We had no idea it was here."It's quite a surprise to find something as enormous as this without any prior knowledge of it."I don't think I've ever found anything so huge under the soil as this. It's much bigger than anything that's still standing here."Prof Gerrard said the structure felt "like a big statement of wealth and power"."It says a lot about power in the North and about the resources that somebody could bring together to be able to construct something on this scale," he added. A piece of folded lead with a cross faintly scratched into it was also among the objects unearthed this Curator John Castling, from the Auckland Project, said exploring the findings would help build a more detailed picture of life on the palace grounds."We'll also be working on interpreting the archaeology to visitors to the palace, including installing a replica of a pillar base from the medieval chapel in the garden over where the original is still buried," Mr Castling added. Frankie Rickett, a first year archaeology student at Durham University, was the 1,000th person to take part in the said one of the most exciting moments was on her second day when they found part of the wall in her trench."It's been quite intense work," she said, adding: "We think we're near the bottom of the section of the wall in the trench that I'm digging in." Prof Gerrard said the excavation had been a great experience and he had been looking forward to it over the year. "I shall miss it next year," he added. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Archaeologists to uncover more of Roman town in Derby
A Roman town next to the River Derwent will be further uncovered through training digs for work will take place over three weeks in August at Darley Playing Fields in Little Chester, the oldest inhabited part of Derby which was once known as from York Archaeology, a charity which operates throughout the UK, will work on the project with amateur archaeologists, alongside Derby Davies, director of archaeology for York Archaeology, said: "As archaeologists this is a very exciting site to uncover as we start to peel back the layers on what life would have been like for civilians in Roman times." Mr Davies added: "This part of the settlement would have originally been established to service the soldiers garrisoned in Derventio, so we would expect to find evidence of pottery making and food production, as well as any items dropped or discarded by the local people whilst going about their day-to-day business."The team will focus on an area near Ryknield Street, a long-distance Roman road that crossed Derbyshire which can still be seen across Darley Playing Parker, community engagement manager at York Archaeology, said: "Quite a lot was uncovered during excavations between 2013 and 2016, so we're just hoping to expand on that knowledge."It is exciting because it will hopefully encourage people to learn more about a career in archaeology, as well as learning more about their local heritage."In past excavations, archaeologists uncovered a cobbled surface in the Parker added: "We're hoping that we can find more of it and understand it better and in the process potentially find more Roman artefacts that can tell the story of the area."Digging will begin in early August and Ms Parker will run free weekday tours of the site from 18 to 22 the city centre, Derby Museum & Art Gallery will host activities on Thursday afternoons in August linked to the 'ask the archaeologist' session will be available along with a mini dig and the chance to wash and identify some of the items recovered from the training dig.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Irchester Field School initiative wins national award
A heritage site's hands-on archaeological initiative has won a national Northamptonshire Council's partnership with the Irchester Field School, based at the Chester House Estate near Wellingborough, was recognised at the MJ Awards which celebrate success in local field school, which is also supported by the University of Leicester, provides students and volunteers with the opportunity to excavate Iron Age and Roman settlements at Chester House believed to date back more than 10,000 Griffiths, leader of the Reform UK-controlled council, said the award was a "significant achievement". The site previously appeared on BBC Two's Digging for Britain, with presenter Prof Alice Roberts exploring the Roman MJ Awards described the field school initiative as being "a powerful example of place-based engagement, a project that connects communities with history and archaeology – improving wellbeing, education, and public health". Excavations at the field school have revealed houses, workshops and cemeteries - with hundreds of human and animal skeletons and other artefacts Scott, professor of archaeology at the University of Leicester, said the site "would have been a really bustling small town in the Roman period".She said: "We have buildings, workshops, some houses... so many things are really interesting and tell us how people lived. It's really exciting to see the wealth of evidence that we have." The scheme is running again in 2025, with about 1,500 students Jeremy Taylor, lecturer in archaeology at the University of Leicester, said: "From the start we wanted to open up the excavations on the project to everybody."We've got a big programme where we're working with all the schools in the local area to encourage them to come out to understand archaeology in action, and to get involved with looking for and processing the artefacts we find, and how to be an archaeologist." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Fox News
18-06-2025
- General
- Fox News
Grim excavation begins at site believed to contain remains of around 800 babies
Irish officials have begun excavating the grounds of a former home for unwed mothers which authorities say contains the remains of around 800 babies and young children who died there. "It's a very, very difficult, harrowing story and situation," Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Monday. "We have to wait to see what unfolds now as a result of the excavation." The former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in western Ireland — which closed in 1961 and was run by Catholic nuns — was one of many mother-and-baby homes during the 20th century in the European country. The homes housed unmarried pregnant women as well as tens of thousands of orphans, according to The Associated Press. Historian Catherine Corless tracked down death certificates in 2014 for nearly 800 children who died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home between the 1920s and 1961. However, she could only find a burial record for one child, the AP reported. A mass grave was later discovered by investigators in an underground sewage structure at the home. DNA analysis found the structure contained the remains of infants and young children between the ages of 35 weeks gestation and 3 years old, according to the AP. Family members and survivors will soon have the opportunity to view the works, according to Daniel MacSweeney, who is leading the exhumation of the infant remains. "This is a unique and incredibly complex excavation," MacSweeney said in a statement. Any remains recovered from the site will be analyzed and preserved by forensic experts. Identified remains will be returned to family members, while unidentified remains will be buried. The work is expected to take two years to complete, the AP reported. The sisters who ran the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home previously offered a "profound apology," acknowledging they failed to protect the dignity of the women and children that lived there, according to the AP. In 2021, Prime Minister Martin issued a former state apology after a report found that 9,000 children died in 18 mother-and-baby homes during the 20th century in Ireland. Daniel MacSweeney and Ireland's National Police and Security Service, An Garda Síochána, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
