Photo above: Pericles, photo by Brett Bigham Wikimedia Commons
Greeks in Russia. Classical Greeks had colonies all over, so this one in the Bosporus region of what is now southwest Russia isn’t surprising. If you picture the iconic image of Athena or Pericles with the full bronze helmet of the 5th century Greek soldier, you are picturing the recently excavated helmet. The large group of warriors were all buried with their weapons and bridled horses (cavalrymen?), and it seems likely they all died in a battle and then were given this highly honorific burial. Infusing this story with hints of Achilles, who was the great warrior bard, one of the men was also buried with a harp. Click here for Archaeology Magazine In the Trenches “Helenistic Helmet Safety”
Venus from the ground (shell missing…). In Granada Spain, excavations at a Roman villa have revealed a 3rd statue of Venus. The photos in this article are weirdly evocative. one of her face and hair in the dirt seems so frail, so vulnerable. The one of her backside is almost lewd. The overall piece is small, 60 centimeters, but it is lovely. These are late Roman artwork (somewhere between the 1st and 5th centuries AD). They have a refined civilized look to their grace. Sometimes I prefer rawer, less tidy sculptures from the ancient world, but Venus’s beauty here is undeniable. Click here for Archaeology News Network “Third Venus discovered at Granada’s Roman Villa of Salar”
Working in the salt mines clearly had a different meaning in Bronze Age Austria. Hallstatt, a salt mine that has been continuously worked for 7,000 years, reveals fascinating Bronze Age tools, staircases and bodies. The salt preserves wood and leather perfectly so such things as a wooden staircase (sounds like not such a big deal, but trust me, it’s a big deal!) can be taken apart and reconstructed outside the mine. When you sift through Bronze Age ruins, the wood is all gone for the most part, so we can only guess about such things based on holes in stones or our active imaginations. They’ve also found whole leather gloves. Interestingly, the burials all include wealthy bronze ornaments, but their bones reveal lives of hard work. No lazing around for the rich? That’s an unusual social structure in ancient worlds. There’s even a staghorn axe from 5,000 BC, which is amazingly early for active mining. And around 800 BC, the mine was the richest in Europe, producing on an “industrial” scale and trading with half of Europe and beyond, as shown by African ivory sword handles and Mediterranean wine bowls. Click here for Archaeology News Network “Salt of the Alps: ancient Austrian mine holds Bronze Age secrets”