artifacts

Archaeologists working at a site called Blackfriars in Leicester, England, have recently found several clay roof and floor tiles with the prints of not only dogs, but also those of a cat and a sheep or goat, who all ran across the tiles as they were drying sometime in the second or third century A.D. While not an especially rare discovery, as such imprints have been unearthed at many Roman sites, “they are always a lovely find as they are such a unique snapshot into the past,” says project archaeologist Nick Daffern. “I think these kinds of finds bring the archaeology to life and give emotional engagement—you can imagine how the person reacted when they found their lovely batch of tiles had been disturbed.”

The key was likely used for a door or a chest and is similar to a common type of medieval key referred to as ‘London type VI’. These keys were large copper alloy keys with chunky proportions, typically measuring 80–100mm long. They had fully or partially hollow stems and large, complex bits. Though our key has similar characteristics to these keys, it is much smaller. Consequently, the key recovered from Claverham is likely a less common form of medieval key, which was similar in design, but much smaller (typically 50–70mm), which had simple bits.

Over the years, thousands of scraps of textiles dating from the Roman period have been found at different sites in Israel, but textiles with intriguing “knots” have only been uncovered in the Cave of the Letters in the Judean Desert.

“The knots are like small pendants at the bottom of the garment, created by tying part of the fabric around substances known for their protective qualities: resin, salt, iron sulfate, asphalt, henna, seeds, and other unidentified materials. The binding was done by winding a flax thread around the material several times,” says Dr. Orit Shamir, Israel Antiquities Authority textile specialist.

Based on its size, the gown belonged to a child, and it has knots at its hem. It probably served as an undergarment worn beneath a decorative upper garment made of colorful wool. The gown is made up of two equal-sized panels sewn together along their upper edges, with an opening in the middle for the neck.

The gown is adorned with flax threads hanging down from both sides of the neck. “If we examine the fabric from which the tunic was made,” says Dr. Shamir, “We'll find that the thickness and density of the threads are not uniform. The weaving was simple, manufactured according to a simple twining technique, and occasionally mistakes were made. The sewing up of the garment is also not meticulous, and the garment has several holes, some of which resulted from wear and tear.”

Since there is no doubt that the nightgown is meant for a child, it may be speculated that the knots were hung on it to protect the child from illness and harm. “You can really imagine a mother hiding salt for protection and tying up a piece of the flax garment while reciting prayers and hopes for her son or daughter,” says Dr. Shamir.

A project to photograph an inscription on a stalactite in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea has led to the discovery of three Roman long swords, or spatha, and one shorter ring-pommel sword. The well-preserved 1,900-year-old weapons are thought to have been taken from the Roman army as booty by Judean rebels and were found in their wooden scabbards.

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A glass mirror, for protection against the Evil Eye, was placed in the middle of the plaque: the idea was that the evil spirit, such as a demon, who looked in the mirror, would see his own reflection, and this would protect the owner of the mirror.

The image above is labeled as B-314643 from the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library collection. The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be a keystone in the history of archaeology with great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books later included in the biblical canons, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which preserve evidence of the diversity of religious thought in late Second Temple Judaism. At the same time they cast new light on the emergence of Christianity and of Rabbinic Judaism. Almost all of the 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held by Israel in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum.

Published on: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/515-2307/features/11499-netherlands-texel-palmwood-wreck

Published in https://www.archaeology.org/news/11607-230724-europe-glass-amber

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