Image Credit : Andreas Rausch

ARCHAEOLOGY

golden sun bowl discovered in

prehistoric settlement
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Archaeologists conducting excavations in a prehistoric settlement in

Ebreichsdorf, Austria, have discovered a golden sun bowl dating from 3,000 years

ago.

Excavations in Ebreichsdorf have been carried out since September 2019, where
archaeologists found an ancient settlement dating from between 1300-1000 BC, which
researchers associate with the urn field culture (related to the cremation type of funeral rites).
The bowl was found close to the wall of a prehistoric house and is decorated with a sun motif
depicting the rays of the sun. It is made of very thin sheet metal, consisting of approximately 90
percent gold, 5 percent silver, and 5 percent copper.

Inside the bowl was coiled golden wire wrapped with organic material clumps that was originally
fabric sewn with gold thread. The research team suggests that the fabric could have been
decorative scarves, used during religious ceremonies for the worship of the sun.

Image Credit : Andreas Rausch

Archaeologist Dr. Michał Sip from Novetus said: “This is the discovery of a lifetime”, who
believes that the bowl is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Austria in
recent decades.

The bowl is the first of its kind found in Austria, and the second to the east of the Alpine line,
with only thirty or so such golden bowls ever being discovered throughout all of Europe.

Since excavations began in 2019, up to five hundred bronze objects consisting of pins, daggers,
and knives, and various ceramic clay vessels, shells, and animal bones have been discovered
near to the settlement.
Image Credit : Andreas Rausch
It is suggested that these finds were deposited in an ancient swamp or dried up riverbed, and
were thrown into the water during religious rituals by the inhabitants of the settlement.

The bowl will be placed on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, with excavations
of the settlement site to continue for the next six months.

PAP

Header Image Credit : Andreas Rausch

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/10/discovery-of-a-lifetime-golden-sun-bowl-discovered-in-
prehistoric-settlement/141559
Image Credit : Balate Dorin - Shutterstock

ANCIENT RUINS

Sarmizegetusa Regia – The

Mountain Capital of the Dacians
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Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and political centre of the Dacians, located

in the Orăştie Mountains of the Grădiștea Muncelului Natural Park, in present-day

Romania.

The Dacians were a Thracian people who inhabited the cultural region of Dacia, an area that
incorporated parts of modern Romania, Moldova, as well as smaller parts of Bulgaria, Serbia,
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Ukraine.
During the reign of the Thracian King Burebista (82/61 BC to 45/44 BC), the Getae and Dacian
tribes were unified into the Dacian Kingdom, with the capital being moved to Sarmizegetusa
Regia (possibly from the Geto-Dacian stronghold at Argedava).

Sarmizegetusa Regia was situated at an elevation of 1200 metres near a mountain summit,
serving as a nucleus of a strategic defensive system that included the fortresses of Costești-
Blidaru, Piatra Roșie, Costeşti-Cetățuie, Căpâlna and Băniţa.

Image Credit : Andrei Lucian Vaida – CC BY-SA 4.0

The stronghold was built over five terraces, covering an area of 7.4 acres split into a ceremonial
zone, a residential district, and a fortress for state and civic functions.

The ceremonial zone contained some of the largest Dacian sanctuaries, consisting of a number
of rectangular temples, an altar grouped on two large terraces, and a circular sanctuary with a
setting of timber posts in the shape of a D, surrounded by a timber circle which in turn was
surrounded by a low stone kerb for astronomical observations or a solar calendar.

Archaeological findings suggest that the Dacian god Zalmoxis and his chief priest played a
central role in Dacian religious worship at Sarmizegetusa Regia, a deity who Herodotus gives
mention in his Histories Book IV, 93–96 which states: “93. the Getae are the bravest of the
Thracians and the most just. 94. They believe they are immortal forever living in the following
sense: they think they do not die and that the one who dies joins Zalmoxis, a divine being; some
call this same divine being Gebeleizis. Every four years, they send a messenger to Zalmoxis,
who is chosen by chance.”

Image Credit : Andrei Lucian Vaida – CC BY-SA 4.0

During the First Dacian War in AD 102, Dacia was invaded by the Emperor Trajan as part of the
Roman Empires eastward expansion. The Dacians were defeated and made concessions by
surrendering the territories of Banat, Tara Haţegului, Oltenia, and Muntenia in the region south-
west of Transylvania.

However, during the years AD 103–105, the Romans claimed that the Dacians failed to respect
the peace conditions of their surrender, resulting in Sarmizegetusa Regia being sacked and
burned in AD 106 (which is recorded on Trajan’s Column in Rome).

The Romans established a military garrison at Sarmizegetusa Regia and moved the capital of
Roman Dacia 40 km from the ruined Dacian capital, naming it – Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta
Dacica Sarmizegetusa.

Header Image Credit : Balate Dorin – Shutterstock

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/03/sarmizegetusa-regia-the-mountain-capital-of-the-
dacians/138232
Image Credit : Institute for the History of Material Culture

ARCHAEOLOGY

Bull geoglyph discovered in

Southern Siberia
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Archaeologists from the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Russian

Academy of Sciences (IIMK RAS), and LLC Krasnoyarsk Geoarchaeology have

discovered a geoglyph depicting a bull during excavations in Southern Siberia.

The geoglyph was unearthed near the village of Khondergey in the south-west of the Republic
of Tuva, close to Russia’s border with Mongolia, and represents the first such discovery in the
region and Central Asia.

Archaeologists stated that the discovery was found as part of a wider burial from the Early
Bronze Age, dating from more than 4,000 years ago, evidenced by ceramics in situ from that
period. Measuring 3 by 4 metres, the bull is depicted by carefully placed pebbles and stone
made from locally sourced sandstone.

The geoglyph has only partially survived due to road construction in the 1940’s destroying the
head and torso, leaving only the backside of the bull with the hind legs and a tail.

Image Credit : Institute for the History of Material Culture

Marina Kilunovskaya, Head of the Tuvan archaeological expedition, senior researcher of the
Department of Archaeology of Central Asia and the Caucasus of IIMK RAS said: ′′The bull
geoglyph has characteristics of Central Asian cultures in the era of the Early Bronze Age. We
find bulls in petroglyph groups in Tuva and the surrounding areas, but a geoglyph in the form of
an animal figure is a unique phenomenon, perhaps even for the Central Asia region in general.”

Kilunovskaya added: Although we can recognise the bull depiction, allowing us to reconstruct
the lost parts with a high degree of probability, we have never seen stone layouts such as these
before. In our opinion, the uniqueness of the find and the threat to the site due to the adjacent
road requires further preservation.”
Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/09/bull-geoglyph-discovered-in-southern-siberia/141527
Image Credit : Dr. Francisco J. Núñez

ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists excavate Roman

temple complex in Tyre
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An international research team conducting excavations in the city of Tyre has

discovered a large Roman temple complex.

Tyre is a complicated archaeological site with uninterrupted settlement as far back as 2750-
1700 BC. The city came under the supremacy of the Ancient Egyptians, the Phoenicians, was a
tributary kingdom to the Neo-Assyrians and the Neo-Babylonians, was conquered by the
Persians and Alexander the Great, before being absorbed into the province of Roman Syria in
64 BC.

Dr. Francisco J. Núñez from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of
Warsaw (CAŚ UW) said: “Overlapping architectural remains, traces of natural disasters, rising
sea levels, and dynamic urban development in recent decades has made it very confusing to
understand the character of ancient architecture at Tyre”

Although Lebanese excavations in Tyre began in the 1960s, most of their documentation was
lost in the turmoil of the 1975 civil war. Moreover, much of this work focused on the classical
and medieval levels. In the latest series of excavations, archaeologists from Lebanon, Spain,
Poland, and Portugal are conducting a study to shed light on the nature, history, and evolution
of urbanism on the ancient island of Tyre.

Image Credit : Dr. Francisco J. Núñez

The researchers discovered a temple complex that dates from two periods of construction
during the early and late Roman periods. Excavations revealed that the temple has a central
rectangular structure that stood on a platform made of massive blocks of limestone and
sandstone, and had a vestibule flanked by two columns, and a podium.

The temple and related city area experienced extensive damage and reconstruction in the early
Byzantine period. The temple was demolished and covered with a platform, on which a
monumental basilica was erected, but later destroyed along with a large part of the city by a
tsunami in the 6th century AD.
Image Credit : Dr. Francisco J. Núñez
The researchers have also identified remains from later periods: the Fatimid dynasty, the
Crusaders, and the Ottoman.

Work on the site is to be continued next year, where archaeologists will focus on both the
temple itself, and the related part of the city. However, their attention is drawn to something
more. “There is a second monumental building in the north, perhaps another temple, which we
would also like to explore,” says Dr. Núñez.

PAP

Header Image Credit : Dr. Francisco J. Núñez

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/09/archaeologists-excavate-roman-temple-complex-in-
tyre/141542