www.archaeology.ws/archive

http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/neanderthal-skeleton-provides-evidence-of-interbreeding-with-humans-130327.htm

First Love Child of Human, Neanderthal Found

MAR 27, 2013 05:00 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS

 

The skeletal remains of an individual living in northern Italy 40,000-30,000 years ago are believed to be that of a human/Neanderthal hybrid, according to a paper in PLoS ONE.

 

If further analysis proves the theory correct, the remains belonged to the first known such hybrid, providing direct evidence that humans and Neanderthals interbred. Prior genetic research determined the DNA of people with European and Asian ancestry is 1 to 4 percent Neanderthal.

 

The present study focuses on the individual’s jaw, which was unearthed at a rock-shelter called Riparo di Mezzena in the Monti Lessini region of Italy. Both Neanderthals and modern humans inhabited Europe at the time.

 

 “From the morphology of the lower jaw, the face of the Mezzena individual would have looked somehow intermediate between classic Neanderthals, who had a rather receding lower jaw (no chin), and the modern humans, who present a projecting lower jaw with a strongly developed chin,” co-author Silvana Condemi, an anthropologist, told Discovery News.

 

Condemi is the CNRS research director at the University of Ai-Marseille. She and her colleagues studied the remains via DNA analysis and 3D imaging. They then compared those results with the same features from Homo sapiens.

 

The genetic analysis shows that the individual’s mitochondrial DNA is Neanderthal. Since this DNA is transmitted from a mother to her child, the researchers conclude that it was a “female Neanderthal who mated with male Homo sapiens.”

 

By the time modern humans arrived in the area, the Neanderthals had already established their own culture, Mousterian, which lasted some 200,000 years. Numerous flint tools, such as axes and spear points, have been associated with the Mousterian. The artifacts are typically found in rock shelters, such as the Riparo di Mezzena, and caves throughout Europe.

 

The researchers found that, although the hybridization between the two hominid species likely took place, the Neanderthals continued to uphold their own cultural traditions.

 

That's an intriguing clue, because it suggests that the two populations did not simply meet, mate and merge into a single group.

 

As Condemi and her colleagues wrote, the mandible supports the theory of "a slow process of replacement of Neanderthals by the invading modern human populations, as well as additional evidence of the upholding of the Neanderthals' cultural identity.”

 

Prior fossil finds indicate that modern humans were living in a southern Italy cave as early as 45,000 years ago. Modern humans and Neanderthals therefore lived in roughly the same regions for thousands of years, but the new human arrivals, from the Neanderthal perspective, might not have been welcome, and for good reason. The research team hints that the modern humans may have raped female Neanderthals, bringing to mind modern cases of "ethnic cleansing."

 

Ian Tattersall is one of the world’s leading experts on Neanderthals and the human fossil record. He is a paleoanthropologist and a curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History.

 

Tattersall told Discovery News that the hypothesis, presented in the new paper, “is very intriguing and one that invites more research.”

 

Neanderthal culture and purebred Neanderthals all died out 35,000-30,000 years ago.

 

http://www.livescience.com/28326-neanderthal-remains-found.html

Trove of Neanderthal Bones Found in Greek Cave

Charles Choi, LiveScience

01 April 2013 Time: 08:19 AM ET 

 

A trove of Neanderthal fossils including bones of children and adults, discovered in a cave in Greece hints the area may have been a key crossroad for ancient humans, researchers say.

 

The timing of the fossils suggests Neanderthals and humans may have at least had the opportunity to interact, or cross paths, there, the researchers added.

 

Neanderthals are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, apparently even occasionally interbreeding with our ancestors. Neanderthals entered Europe before modern humans did, and may have lasted there until about 35,000 years ago, although recent findings have called this date into question.

 

"Greece lies directly on the most likely route of dispersals of early modern humans and earlier hominins into Europe from Africa via the Near East," paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati at the University of Tübingen in Germany told LiveScience. "It also lies at the heart of one of the three Mediterranean peninsulae of Europe, which acted as refugia for plant and animal species, including human populations, during glacial times — that is, areas where species and populations were able to survive during the worst climatic deteriorations."

 

"Until recently, very little was known about deep prehistory in Greece, chiefly because the archaeological research focus in the country has been on classical and other more recent periods," Harvati added.

 

Harvati and colleagues from Greece and France analyzed remains from a site known as Kalamakia, a cave stretching about 65 feet (20 meters) deep into limestone cliffs on the western coast of the Mani Peninsula on the mainland of Greece. They excavated the cave over the course of 13 years. [Amazing Caves: Photos Reveal Earth's Innards]

 

The archaeological deposits of the cave date back to between about 39,000 and 100,000 years ago to the Middle Paleolithic period. During the height of the ice age, the area still possessed a mild climate and supported a wide range of wildlife, including deer, wild boar, rabbits, elephants, weasels, foxes, wolves, leopards, bears, falcons, toads, vipers and tortoises.

 

In the cave, the researchers found tools such as scrapers made of flint, quartz and seashells. The stone tools were all shaped, or knapped, in a way typical of Neanderthal artifacts.

 

Now, the scientists reveal they discovered 14 specimens of child and adult human remains in the cave, including teeth, a small fragment of skull, a vertebra, and leg and foot bones with bite and gnaw marks on them. The teeth strongly appear to be Neanderthal, and judging by marks on the teeth, the ancient people apparently had a diet of meat and diverse plants.

 

"Kalamakia, together with the single human tooth from the nearby cave site of Lakonis, are the first Neanderthal remains to be identified from Greece," Harvati said. The discoveries are "confirmation of a thriving and long-standing Neanderthal population in the region."

 

These findings suggest "the fossil record from Greece potentially holds answers about the earliest dispersal of modern humans and earlier hominins into Europe, about possible late survival of Neanderthals and about one of the first instances where the two might have had the opportunity to interact," Harvati said.

 

In the future, Harvati and her colleagues will conduct new fieldwork in other areas in Greece to address mysteries such as potential coexistence and interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, the spread of modern and extinct humans into Europe and possible seafaring capabilities of ancient humans.

 

"We look forward to exciting discoveries in the coming years," Harvati said.

 

The scientists detailed their findings online March 13 in the Journal of Human Evolution.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21981068

WALES

31 March 2013 Last updated at 13:54

Snow survey uncovers prehistoric sites in Wales

 

While snow has not been a welcome sight for all this winter, it has turned up some remarkable surprises for experts charting the history of Wales.

Bronze Age burial mounds have been found in the Vale of Glamorgan and a moated site at Llangorse Lake, near Brecon, Powys.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) made about 40 discoveries in the snow.

It showed up monuments from the air that could not be seen at ground level.

Dr Toby Driver said this winter had offered "exceptional conditions".

The pair of prehistoric burial mounds discovered at Beacon Down, near Ogmore-by-Sea during the aerial reconnaissance date back 4,500 years, said Dr Driver, who is an aerial investigator with RCAHMW.

"The snow has been causing a lot of problems but from the air it's like a white blanket has been laid over the landscape," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"You can see every lump and bump that people have made from history into prehistory, and it's yielded some pretty impressive views from the air this winter."

Top of the list of those winter discoveries is the burial site near Ogmore, Dr Driver explained.

'Still untouched'

"Nobody knew about them until we discovered them under snow this year. The people are still inside them as far as we can be aware: the barrow mound, the earth mound is still intact.

"And the Vale of Glamorgan is very intensively cultivated. It has been since medieval times. Most of the prehistoric sites have been ploughed away and yet here we have these ancient sites still there, still untouched but completely unknown."

The discovery surveys done under the RCAHMW flying programme in extreme weather conditions - they carry out the work in the heat of summer too - mean "sometimes the story of Wales gets flipped on its head," said Dr Driver.

Each year about 200 discoveries are made.

This winter the team were also able to photograph earth works which they already knew about, including the remains of a Norman castle at Painscastle near Builth Wells.

'Real time capsule'

The images which also include urban views of Swansea and Cardiff are then stored in the commission's database and can be used by communities researching local history projects, he said.

Sometimes projects are passed onto archaeological trusts and sometimes, as in the case of a Roman villa discovered near Aberystwyth, the commission chooses to carry out its own research.

"Excavation is a big job," said Dr Driver.

"Every now and then we do excavate some of the aerial discoveries we make: a site is just too important to leave it in the ground."

However, the barrows near Ogmore - which he described "a real time capsule of information" will be left.

"But we've visited them, we'll make a survey of them as well. Where we need to we can talk to the landowners. Those barrows are on Crown land so we don't need to [talk to the owners] there.

"But we get out to the more important sites to learn more about what we can see at ground level."

More Wales stories

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Benefit changes will have a "destabilising" and "devastating impact," claims a Welsh government minister in a strongly-worded attack on the UK coalition.

Environment body's delivery pledge

Climber breaks leg after snow slide

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

 

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=57807

Newly found pyramids reveal aspects of social equality in ancient Sudan

Three years of digging by French team at Sedeinga unearth 35 pyramids that emphasise contrast between ancient cultures of Sudan, Egypt.

First Published: 2013-03-30

Middle East Online

By Ian Timberlake – KHARTOUM

 

People power may have come to modern-day Egypt and not Sudan, but the unearthing of ancient pyramids in Egypt's southern neighbour shows that greater social equality existed there 2,000 years ago, a French archeologist says.

 

Three years of digging by a French team at Sedeinga, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the Egyptian border, has unearthed 35 pyramids that emphasise the contrast between the two ancient cultures, said Claude Rilly, director of the mission.

 

"Pyramids were so fashionable that everybody that could afford to build one, did," said Rilly, referring to the latter part of the Meroe kingdom, around 100-200 AD.

 

"So we have really a kind of inflation, what I call a democratisation of the pyramid which is without equivalent anywhere, especially in Egypt."

 

Sudan's remote and relatively undiscovered pyramids contrast with their grander and better-known cousins to the north.

 

Egyptian pyramids, built far earlier than those in Sudan, held the tombs of kings, the royal family and nobles -- but never the middle class, Rilly said.

 

Sudanese royalty also got their pyramids, but later so did many other lesser souls, said the 53-year-old archeologist, who began studying hieroglyphics when he was only seven.

 

"It reached layers of the population which have never been concerned by building of pyramids in Egypt," Rilly said. "This is really something new, which we didn't expect."

 

That is why there is such a large number. Sometimes they were built so close together, typically in a circular pattern, that there isn't enough room to squeeze between them.

 

The pyramids are in a necropolis of about 40 hectares (99 acres) that is thought to hold more than 1,000 tombs. One quarter have been found and opened so far, he said.

 

The structures come in various sizes, with some no more than a metre (yard) high.

 

All of them were made from mud brick, which wasn't expensive but still required a designer and workmen to construct.

 

That meant that the poorest people could not afford pyramids but were buried in surrounding pits, he said in his office at Sudan's National Museum.

 

Archaeologists began work on the site in the 1960s, focusing on a section reserved for princes. But during the past three years they discovered that more common folk had also been buried there.

 

Little remains, however, of Sedeinga's grandest structure. That was a temple which Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III built for his wife Queen Tiye, grandmother of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen.

 

It appears to have been heavily damaged during flooding perhaps around 400 or 500 BC, said Rilly, whose team is funded by the French government and the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

 

Despite the large number of pyramids recently unearthed, little has been found inside because of plundering by tomb raiders, both ancient and modern.

 

But the robbers missed one tomb that has yielded "a rich site" for archaeologists -- the skeleton of a child buried with four decorative collars and anklets of bronze.

 

The youngster was four or five years old "and we wondered why they took so much precaution to bury a young child like that," said Rilly.

 

Egypt occupied northern Sudan for about 500 years until roughly 1,000 BC but its cultural influence faded during the 700-year reign of the Meroe kingdom from about 350 BC.

 

Inscriptions found in the Sedeinga tombs are in Meroitic, a phonetic writing simplified from the Egyptian.

 

Rilly, a world expert in the language, said Meroitic is still little understood.

 

But he has been able to decipher details about the social structure of families, concluding that this part of the necropolis holds "a lot of women."

 

Many were priestesses of the goddess Isis, of whom Queen Tiye was considered an incarnation.

 

In one of those female tombs late last year Rilly himself made a rare discovery as he dug amid extreme heat after water entered the structure. He found a sandstone slab bearing an image of the main Egyptian god Amun.

 

It had originally been part of a wall in Queen Tiye's temple, and is the only entirely preserved divine figure to have been recovered.

 

Finds like this are rapidly advancing knowledge about the ancestors of today's Sudanese, said Rilly, who is hopeful of more revelations.

 

The first archeological digs in Sudan took place only about 100 years ago, much later than in Egypt or Greece.

 

"The field to research is still very open and this is a science... changing all the time. That is very stimulating," he said.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-21939274

Grave at 'Alfred the Great' Winchester church exhumed

26 March 2013 Last updated at 18:18

 

An unmarked grave has been exhumed at a church where the remains of King Alfred the Great are thought to be buried.

 

Human remains from the grave at St Bartholomew's Church in Winchester have been removed to secure storage.

 

A church spokesman said no scientific investigation of the remains had been permitted yet.

 

It is thought the bones of the Saxon king could have been moved to the church from the ruins of the nearby Hyde Abbey in the 19th Century.

 

'Widespread interest'

A Church of England spokesman said the decision to exhume on Monday and Tuesday was taken to "counter the risk of theft from or vandalism to the grave".

 

"Understandably, there is widespread interest in this situation. For now we can't say any more about the remains, their nature or whereabouts but promise to keep people updated when there is something to tell.

 

Alfred the Great died in 899

"Although no application has yet been made to carry out any scientific investigation, we do acknowledge that there is local interest in learning more about the remains found in this grave," he said.

 

The Bishop of Basingstoke, the Right Reverend Peter Hancock, led prayers at the grave site before the work started.

 

The Reverend Canon Cliff Bannister, Rector of St Bartholomew's Church said: "Although we know there is historical interest in this site, our chief concern this week has been to ensure that the exhumation of human remains from a consecrated Christian burial site has been fulfilled in a reverent and dignified manner."

 

Tomb robbed

The work comes after the remains of Richard III were found under a car park in Leicester. The skeleton was found last August and confirmed as that of the 15th Century king in February.

 

Alfred's remains are known to have been moved several times since he was buried in the Winchester's old minster in 899 AD.

 

They were moved in 904 to a new church to be alongside his wife and children, before being moved again to Hyde Abbey in 1110.

 

The abbey was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 and studies indicate the tomb was robbed.

 

It is believed some bones were put on display in the 19th Century before being buried at St Bartholomew Church.

 

Alfred was King of Wessex but was referred to as King of the English towards the end of his reign after he united areas of the country and defeated the Danes in several battles.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/never-mind-the-hunt-for-richard-iii-what-about-boudicca-8554841.html

Never mind the hunt for Richard III, what about Boudicca?

The search is on for warrior queen’s bones, once thought to lie beneath a McDonald’s

LIAM O'BRIEN   FRIDAY 29 MARCH 2013

 

First there was Richard III. Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, with the exhumation of bones from an unmarked grave at St Bartholemew’s Church in Winchester, archaeologists came closer to unravelling one of the great mysteries of British history – the burial place of King Alfred the Great.

 

These are exciting times in the field of historical bone-hunting, and senior archaeologists believe we could be in for a flood of new discoveries in the next few years as technology improves and the number of amateur enthusiasts continues to grow.

 

While the Winchester skeleton awaits scientific tests to see if it is Alfred, the ninth-century monarch revered for his victories over the Danes, speculation is now rife as to which historical riddle will be solved next.

 

At least some of the smart money is on Boudicca, whose army led an uprising against the Romans and razed London in the first century AD.

 

Dr Mike Heyworth, the director of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), said that experts are on the hunt for her burial place, at one point rumoured to be near what is now a McDonald’s restaurant in Birmingham, and he wouldn’t be surprised if she was unearthed in the next few years.

 

There are contradictory but persistent tales (with “no element of truth”, according to the Museum of London) that she lies beneath either platform eight, nine or 10 at King’s Cross Station.

 

Another archaeological grail is the final resting place of King Arthur, the location – not to mention existence – of which has been in dispute for centuries. He was connected to ruined Glastonbury Abbey, but some believe the story was concocted by monks.

 

Dr Heyworth offered a starting point for investigators: “Cadbury Castle [in Somerset] was thought to be Camelot, and a lot of those tales are based on stories passed down to us, and often they’re based on truth, and that has to be tested with some sort of excavation. There are a lot of ideas and theories with someone of that status, and sometimes archaeologists don’t agree.”

 

Britain’s growing army of amateur archaeologists, meanwhile, might not have much hope of digging up a former monarch, but that hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm.

 

CBA research suggests there are more than 2,000 voluntary groups and societies active in the UK with an interest in archaeological heritage, representing 215,000 members. The CBA is adding another four youth branches this year, and plans to double its membership from 33,000 over the next five years. Dr Heyworth was keen to stress that anyone can usefully get their knees dirty at a dig.

 

“It’s one of the few fields where anyone can make a significant contribution with almost no background,” he said.

 

Dr Paul Wilkinson, founder of the Kent Archaeological Field School, believes there are swathes of plunder still to be found.

 

Speaking from Teston, where he is excavating a Roman villa with the help of the public, he said: “King John’s treasure was engulfed when it crossed the Wash, but it must be there somewhere.”

 

He said surprising discoveries could become the norm: “Metal detectors are getting so sophisticated that more and more hoards are going to be found.”

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-21937045

Sudeley Castle artefacts 'point to undiscovered Roman temple'

26 March 2013 Last updated at 13:50

 

Sudeley Castle is home to Henry and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and their families

 

The ruins of a Roman temple and villa could be hidden in the grounds of Sudeley Castle, experts have said.

 

The claim follows the recent discovery of a Roman stone sculpture in a castle cupboard, coupled with the further discovery of a Roman column.

 

Archaeologist Rev Prof Martin Henig believes the artefacts, which date from AD150 to AD300, point to an undiscovered temple at Stancombe Wood.

 

The Gloucestershire castle is known for its connections to Henry VIII.

 

The sculpture of a Roman altar god was originally found during an archaeological dig on the estate in 1875.

 

But it was later lost and, after being missing for more than 100 years, turned up recently during a clear-out of the castle's basement.

 

In addition, the castle team has identified the remnants of a Roman column which was being used to prop open a door inside the stately home.

 

According to Prof Henig, professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, the column would have only stood about 40cm (16in) tall on the dwarf wall of a portico, possibly of a temple or of a private house.

 

He said such small columns were very unusual in the region and therefore indicate the existence of a building of unusual sophistication in or around Sudeley.

 

Another archaeologist, Dr Patricia Witts, said there was evidence to suggest that an oil pipeline installed in the area in 1985 cut through two Roman buildings somewhere between Stancombe Wood and Spoonley Wood.

 

She said: "This area was clearly a desirable place to live. We can imagine the area around what is now Sudeley Castle dotted with prestigious Roman dwellings."

 

Among those dwellings could be an undiscovered temple at Stancombe Wood, according to Prof Henig, who is an expert on the Romans in the Cotswolds.

 

'More to discover'

He said that one would expect to find a spiritual stone relief, such as the one found, in a temple.

 

Prof Henig said stone reliefs, such as the one at Sudeley Castle, would likely be found in a temple

"We are finding that villas quite often included temples on the estate and our Apollo Cunomaglos suggests that there may be more to be discovered at Stancombe," he said.

 

He added: "It is exciting to think what might be found. The famous Chedworth Roman villa lies only a few miles to the south of Sudeley and it is known that there was a temple nearby, as well as other villas in the vicinity.

 

"Perhaps Sudeley was similar."

 

Sudeley Castle was built on its current site in 1442 and is now home to Lord and Lady Ashcombe, Henry and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and their families.

 

It was once home to Queen Katherine Parr, the last wife of King Henry VIII, who is buried in the castle's chapel.

 

http://walbrookdiscovery.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/knock-knock/

Roman Door found in London

Knock Knock…..

BY MOLA ARCHAEOLOGIST DECEMBER 14, 2012

 

Who’s there? Doris. Doris who? Doris locked, that’s why I’m knocking!

 

Ok enough of the bad jokes! However what we found on site this week was no joke… we indeed found a Roman door. To quote our timber specialist, Damian Goodburn, the largest and most complete example of its type to be found in London… possibly Britain!

 

The door was found within a build up of organic material; unfortunately only half of the door was uncovered as it had been truncated by 1950′s piles. It was found alongside other planks of wood and it has been suggested they were laid down as a surface so that people could traverse the wet slippy mud… much like we lay boards down on site today! There have been other areas on site where timber boards have been found and interpreted in the same way.

 

It is an oak panelled door with a molded frame. A small wooden rod was attached at one side – possibly this would have acted as the hinge. This rod could have fit into a hole above the door in the frame, and below in the floor, allowing the door to pivot round to open or close. This rod appeared to be a later addition, indicating the door was repaired during its life.

 

After the door was planned, it was lifted carefully by excavating the deposit around it and then cutting the soil underneath with trowels. It was then placed onto a board and wrapped up with clingfilm to protect it and keep it damp. The door will be taken into our office where it will be cleaned, photographed and drawn.

 

Wooden Roman doors are very rare, although there are other known examples in Roman London. At No 1 Poultry a three plank door was found, again though this door had been laid down as a surface. The Poultry door was more complete than this one, however it was a much simpler design.

 

For more information on Roman doors, visit the Museum of London website.

 

For more information on the excavations at No 1 Poultry click here. The site was also published last year in 2 volumes available from MOLA.

 

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northyorkshire/bedale/10313923.Viking_hoard_of_precious_jewellery_found_in_North_Yorkshire_is_of_national_significance/?ref=twtrec

Viking hoard of precious jewellery found near Bedale is of national significance

6:00am Wednesday 27th March 2013 in Bedale News Exclusive By Emily Flanagan, Reporter

 

A HOARD of Viking treasure unearthed by metal detectorists in a North Yorkshire field is likely to be “significant and nationally important”, according to experts.

 

The stash of gold and silver jewellery was discovered buried on land near Bedale and is currently being conserved at the British Museum in London.

 

The find includes 29 silver ingots, five silver neck rings, gold rivets, a gold sword pommel and half a silver brooch, dating from the late ninth century and early tenth century.

 

One of the silver neck rings has caused a particular stir, with experts declaring it a “unique” find.

 

The jewellery was found in May last year by metal detectorist Stuart Campbell, who reported it to the finds liaison officer at the Yorkshire Museum in York.

 

Two archaeologists were then dispatched to the location, which is currently being kept secret, and discovered the rest of the hoard.

 

A spokesman for the Yorkshire Museum said: “It’s a significant and nationally important discovery, made up of gold and silver items.”

 

The hoard is thought to be Viking bullion, obtained in trade or plundered from enemies, and whoever originally buried it is likely to have intended to come back for it, to exchange or melt it down and reuse for jewellery.

 

It is now being conserved by specialists at the British Museum, but the York Museums Trust has already indicated it hopes to raise money to keep the hoard in North Yorkshire.

 

The next step will be for the find to be officially declared “treasure” by a coroner under the Treasure Act.

 

Middlesbrough archaeologist Blaise Vyner said the stash of precious objects would not necessarily have been pillaged from the local population.

 

He said the Vikings were much keener on metal work than the Saxon population. They would tend to bury precious objects to keep them safe.

 

He said: “The idea that Vikings were coming in and pillaging objects, then going away again is not entirely true. Certainly it was part of what went on.

 

“Some Vikings were coming in and stealing, but a lot were becoming farmers, settling to farm the land.”

 

• It is the second such major archaeological find for North Yorkshire. Last week, experts concluded a sapphire ring found in a field in Escrick, just outside York, probably belonged to a Dark Ages king. Originally it was believed to have belonged to a bishop from the tenth or 11th century.

 

http://www.thelocal.se/47000/20130328/#.UVk5nhew-kC

'Stunning' Stockholm shipwrecks wow experts

Published: 28 Mar 13 14:36 CET | Print version

 

"I was stunned by how big it was," marine archaeologist Jim Hansson told The Local of the find.

 

Hansson was out for a stroll along Kastellholmen island with his girlfriend on Sunday, taking in some rare springtime sun, when he noticed a pattern of wooden stumps penetrating the surface.

 

"If it had only been one or two beams sticking up, I may not have noticed it," he said.

 

"But I saw immediately that it was a shipwreck. You could clearly see the bow and the stern."

 

Upon further examination of the area, Hansson caught a glimpse of another, never-before-seen wreck.

 

"I'd heard rumours that it might exist, but I'd never seen any trace of it," he wrote on his blog.

 

Hansson, who works for the Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska museet) in Stockholm, explained that archaeologists have known about the existence of one of the wrecks for decades.

 

Previous examinations revealed that it had been used as the foundation for a bridge, but it had more or less been forgotten since it was found in the 1940s.

 

However, now that lower-than-usual water levels in Stockholm harbour have made almost the entire wreck visible, archaeologists are taking a closer look

 

"No one realized just how large the shipwreck was. It's 30 metres long, so the actual size of ship was probably about as big as the Vasa," he said, referencing the famed 17th-century Swedish warship that was recovered from Stockholm harbour and is now on display at a nearby museum.

 

"There are lots of wrecks around Stockholm but you rarely find anything this big. It's incredible."

 

After consulting with his colleagues as well as archives at the Maritime Museum, Hansson now believes the wreck is that of the Grå Ulven ('Gray Wolf'), a Danish-built man-of-war that reportedly sunk in Stockholm harbour in 1670.

 

According to Hansson, the ship has a "fascinating history", having been captured from the Danish navy by the Swedes in 1659 following a skirmish near Ebeltoft Cove in Denmark.

 

The second wreck may also be a Danish ship known as the Den Stora Draken ('The Big Dragon') and museum officials have since been in contact with their colleagues in Denmark to confirm their theory.

 

"We know that the wrecks were sunk in the area," Andreas Olsson, head of the Maritime Museum's archaeology section told the Expressen newspaper.

 

Hansson and his team have spent Thursday taking wood samples from the wreck to be sent for testing to confirm that the wrecks are indeed those of the Grå Ulven and Den Stora Draken.

 

He expects to have an answer within six to eight weeks.

 

David Landes

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