#Who are Forensic Archaeologists

[forensicfield]

Forensic Archaeology: An Overview

Archaeology is simply the study of past remains and it’s recovery, analysis for the information. In other words is the study of the ancient and recent human past through material remains that may aged up to millions of years. The application of ....

Continue reading Forensic Archaeology: An Overview

[morbidology]

The haunting question "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" has perplexed and fascinated the public since 1943, when the skeletal remains of an unidentified woman were discovered inside a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, Worcestershire, England.

On April 18, 1943, four young boys—Bob Farmer, Fred Payne, Thomas Willetts, and Bob Hart—were exploring Hagley Wood, part of the Hagley Hall estate owned by Lord Cobham. In the course of their exploration, the boys came across a large wych elm tree. Curiosity led one of them to peer inside the hollow trunk, where he discovered what appeared to be a human skull, complete with some strands of hair and teeth.

Frightened by their grisly find, the boys initially kept the discovery to themselves, fearing they would get into trouble for trespassing. However, the secret proved too heavy to bear, and one of the boys eventually confided in his parents, who contacted the police.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they retrieved the nearly complete skeleton of a woman, along with fragments of clothing, a shoe, and a gold wedding ring. The woman’s right hand was missing, later found buried nearby. The skeletal remains were sent to Professor James Webster, a forensic pathologist, who estimated that the woman had been dead for about 18 months, placing her death around October 1941.

Professor Webster's examination revealed that the woman was around 35 years old, 5 feet tall, with irregular teeth, including a distinctive dental feature—a missing front tooth. He suggested that she had been dead for approximately 18 months before her discovery and that she had likely been placed in the tree shortly after her death, as the small hollow would have made it difficult to fit her body after rigor mortis had set in.

The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, possibly due to being suffocated or strangled, although the exact circumstances remained unclear. Despite extensive investigations, the police were unable to identify the woman. Missing person reports were checked, dental records were examined, but no match was found.

The case took an strange turn in late 1943, when graffiti began appearing in the West Midlands area. The first message, written in chalk on a wall in Upper Dean Street, Birmingham, read: "Who put Luebella down the wych-elm?" Subsequent messages shortened and refined the name to "Bella," and variations of the phrase "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?" began appearing on walls and buildings across the region.

The identity of the graffiti artist remains unknown, but the messages suggested that someone knew more about the woman’s identity or her fate than they had revealed.

Over the years, numerous theories have emerged regarding the identity of "Bella" and the circumstances of her death. Some of the most prominent theories include:

Witchcraft: One theory suggests that Bella may have been killed as part of a black magic ritual. The removal of her hand, a practice known as the "Hand of Glory" in folklore, lent some credence to this idea. The Hand of Glory was believed to possess magical powers, often associated with witchcraft and sorcery. However, there is little concrete evidence to support this theory.

Espionage: Another theory posits that Bella was a spy during World War II. This idea gained traction in the 1950s, when Margaret Murray, an anthropologist and archaeologist, suggested that Bella could have been involved in espionage, possibly as a Nazi spy. Some speculated that she might have been a German cabaret singer and spy named Clara Bauerle, who had parachuted into the area during the war and was killed after her cover was blown. However, no concrete evidence has been found to confirm this theory, and Clara Bauerle's records suggest she died in Berlin in 1942.

Romani Connections: Some researchers have suggested that Bella might have been part of a Romani group or a traveler community. This theory is based on the fact that many Romani people lived in the area during the 1940s, and some witnesses reported seeing gypsies in Hagley Wood around the time of Bella's presumed death. However, like the other theories, this remains speculative.

Local Knowledge: There are suggestions that the graffiti artist had local knowledge and possibly knew more about the case than the police were able to uncover. The use of the name "Bella" might indicate that someone in the community recognized her, but chose to remain anonymous.

Despite extensive investigations, the true identity of Bella and the circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown. The case was reopened several times, and modern forensic techniques have been suggested to re-examine the remains and the evidence, but so far, these efforts have not provided definitive answers.

[anticapitalistclown]

Lookism Characters as Archaeologists pt.1

Jake, Eli, Johan, Samuel, Daniel, Yujin/Eugene

Jake

Specialization: Classical Archaeology

He romanticizes being an archaeologist, which makes working with him a dream job.

He knows all his workmates names and remembers all the students who spend a week on internship with his team.

He's straightforward and does what he thinks is more suitable on his research even if it means not keeping some strata in order to reach the most ancient one.

He does not teach, prefers to spend the day on the fields.

Has written some cool articles about remarkable warriors.

Didn't want to be an excavations' director but somehow ended up being a good one.

There's a rumor that he infiltrated in a black market in order to retrieve some stolen archaeological artifacts from smugglers.

Eli

Specialization: Forensic Archaeology

(Duties of archaeologists in this field of archaeology include collecting evidences like human burials, artifacts, footprints, tool-marks, etc., and trying to figure out the situation in which a particular crime might have happened; and to ascertain the influences on the remains of external factors that may have disturbed the crime scene).

His cold mindset made him the best on this field.

He teaches at the laboratories and side eyes the students who find gross touching real bones.

Keeps a file of plenty of different types of burials, sacrifices and traces of violence of the bones.

Shares laboratory with Johan.

He gets hyperfocused when a crime scene seems to be impossible to decipher.

He works more on the laboratory than the field.

When he was a student he destroyed a lot of evidence by mistake, improved trough practice.

Johan

Specialization: Zooarchaeology

(Also known as faunal analysis, is a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites).

There's a rumor that he cried when he found out a 4000-year-old dog died by a human weapon.

He's the best at his field but awful at tutoring, he doesn't have the patience to deal with students so Eli and other lab workers have to replace him on the teaching.

Has to be reminded once in a while that archaeology is a collaborative and multidisciplinary discipline.

Has made some internships cry.

He is the one who causes less damage to the bones making some restorers jealous.

Zack, Jake and Daniel forced him to participate on their excavations.

Samuel

Specialization: Prehistoric Archaeology

Joined this field because it was the hardest but the most well paid, doesn't mind the toxic ambience, he fuels it.

He is the strictest, never accepts he's wrong and avoids teaching newbies.

There's a rumor that he started a fistfight with Eli because of a debate about a burial ceremony.

He has good eye on the cutting techniques.

You have an only opportunity to make a good impression on him, if not you can say goodbye to work with him.

Talk about the survival methods and you have his attention.

Daniel

Specialization: Ethnoarchaeology

(Ethnoarchaeology is the science that deals with the ethnographic investigation of living communities in order to acquire knowledge of the past).

Joined motivated to understand the human conduct and because he was a fan of Indiana Jones since a kid.

His workplace is really tidy and organized, has a shelf with ceramics and fossils displayed on his office, so students can admire when tutoring.

None knows why, but he always ends up on the other archaeologists messes (infiltrated with Jake in a black market, got caught in the Samuel vs Eli fistfight, went to ask Gun for an artifact and ended up working with him).

A lot of students joined archaeology because had a crush on him.

He's a rookie yet has made a name for himself inside the community.

Eugene

Specialization: Quantitative Analysis Archaeology

None knows why there's this branch and why he does it, yet since he's the only one who knows how to use it, everyone depends on him.

Has never stepped in a field nor grabbed a shovel.

Loves to fail his students, says things like "you can try next year, if you succeed".

There's a rumor that his predecessor confused him for a student on his first day of teaching, and he cut his (the predecessor) car's brakes.

Only corrects his students essays so he can diss them.

[boatshoesdude]

one piece of anti-trans rhetoric that pops up now and again is the "your skeleton is your agab" thing, which for some reason turns into "archeologists will know your agab" (which is a very weird scenario that I don't like to think about for other reasons. Like why my grave specifically? What do they find? Was I helpful to their research? Why does the thought of someone touching my skeleton send shivers up my spine?)

anywho, I'm learning about archaeology atm and thought I'd share some cool archaeological info about actual grave identification!

Number one biggest point of note for this argument that "oh but archaeologists will know" is that if an archaeologist is handeling your bones someone has done something very wrong. A forensic anthropologist is who you're looking for! These are going to be the people trained in all the science/medical stuff and are dealing with humans. Cause there's a big difference between idenifying a sword, and idenitying a person. Two different sects of knowledge that work together, sometimes its the same person, but most times the body will be "handed off" so to speak to the forensic anthropologist while archaeologists work on the physical grave site. this leads to my next grief with the retoric; identifying gender when it comes to graves is mainly guesswork, very educated and very well researched guesswork, but guesswork non the less. When archaeologists are looking to identify the gender, you're looking at the grave itself and its contents (plus historical records and research and yada yada yada). If we know "hey men were typically burried in suits, with watches, dress shoes, and had masculin names" and the grave that's found matches all of the above, then yeah it'll probably be marked as a male skeleton.

you can say "oh but what about height charts and science!?!? The hormones in your body! They'll know!!!" But listen, humans show very very little sexual dymorphism, and humans come in all sizes. It is easy to tell a deer skull's gender because males have rivets where the antlers grow and fall off, where females do not. It is much much harder to tell the difference between a male and female pelvis even though female pelvises (pelvi?) are typically bigger (unless you're trained for body id and have many different factors to aid you). Theres just not enough information to go off of for identification! Humans change in size, yes depending on sex, but also on a million other characteristics like diet, medical history, ethnicity, medication, exercise, so if out of a hundred men, one end up 5'4 with wide hips while the others are 5'10, well them something probably went different with the growth of the 5'4 guy!!! Plus, the standard mesurments used to determin the stature of a person are based on white europeans from historically healthy families, meaning that the measurements are only accurate if you're looking at the body of a white european from a historically healthy family, but that's a side thing that doesn't matter if you have a (mostly) complete skeleton. "But what about the hormones!!!" I hear people in the back screaming. And I have two little things to note for that. 1. Research is really expensive and if you want to justify spending money on identifying the sex of a body you'd better have a really solid research base behind it and 2. Theres so many better things you could learn through bone analysis taht isnt "this person was trans" (unless thats your research topic you do you boo). What does that have to do with hormones you ask? Well bones change with time and as you change, right? So if you take hormes, your skeleton will reflect that. Now its not going to like change your pelvic shape or something, but it will show chages.

Say that a cis woman goes through menopause and then takes hormone supplements for it, that will show change, and change that is important to archeological research. One of the effects caused later in life after menopause is often osteoporosis, the body has a hard time taking in and processing calcium, so it leeches it from the bone, making bones more brittle and prone to breaking. Well, hormone supplements after menopause mitigate osteoporosis, so the bones are stronger, which you can tell from stuff like bone density, to less fractures in the bones in old age. So say you have a city of people you're excavating, and you can tell these people, city-wide, had stronger bones in old age, with less fractures, than most other cities. What this can tell you is that these people had systemic access to medical care that allowed them to live longer, which tell you A LOT about the people that you are looking at and the city they lived in (ya know, the primary reason for archaeological research).

if theres anything take takeway from this post let it be 1. Archeological aren't interested in your agab unless they are specifically looking for it and 2. HAND OFF MY BONES!!!!!

[blueiscoool]

2,000-Year-Old Ancient Headless Statue Found in Greece

A headless statue believed to be 2,000 years old has been found inside a black plastic bag near trash cans in Greece, prompting a police investigation.

A 32-year-old local found the statue on Jan. 18 in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki, according to Hellenic Police. The statue that dates back to the Hellenistic period, which covers the time between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the conquest of Egypt by Rome in 30 BC.

The man who found the statue took it to authorities in Thessaloniki. It was then was examined by an archaeologist with the Ephorate of Antiquities, which handles the conservation, protection and preservation of antiquities.

A crime team that combats the trafficking of people and goods then got the statue, which will be forensically tested and ultimately go to the Ephorate of Antiquities for further evaluation.

The statue is 32 inches tall by 10 inches wide. It appears to depict a someone wearing flowing garments. It is missing its head and arms.

Finding statues from ancient Greece not common in country

The trafficking of antiquities from ancient Greece is not new as police continue to investigate other discoveries and road and construction workers across the country still regularly find new pieces from that era, CBS News reported.

In December, construction workers putting in natural gas pipelines near Athens found a Roman-era statue of the ancient Greek god Hermes buried upright in a brick-lined pit near the Acropolis of Athens historical landmark, according to CBS News and the Greek City Times. Weeks ago, Thessaloniki authorities unveiled a litany of antiquities found during the decades-long construction of its metro system that officially opened in November, the outlets added.

Some of the key finds included a marble-paved Roman thoroughfare and tens of thousands of artifacts spanning the Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, CBS News reported. These artifacts are now showcased at subway stations, the outlet said.

By Jonathan Limehouse.

[welcome-to-green-hills]

Hey mystery! Time to flex the big brain of yours with a science question. I’m sure that you’re familiar with the recent change in ages for Sonic and co. All of their ages were removed. So my question to you is how old would Sonic and his friends be since he’s now meant to be seen as TEENAGER?

Hello, my dear!❤️✨

This is a very interesting question. And I say that because it's a very... controversial (?) topic in the fandom at the moment. For those of you who are not familiar with the matter, the ages for many characters on their Sonic Channel bios were removed back in October (Bevan, 2022). Even characters like Vector and Rouge, who have notoriously been viewed as adults in canon, do not have a defined age anymore. This was a decision made by SEGA of Japan (SoJ) to keep the characters ambiguous with ages. For some characters, we can still infer that they’re strictly teenagers, like Sonic (Game Informer, 2022. 05:00 to 05:08). Maybe a little bit older, but not by much. It could range between 13-years-old to 19-years-old. It’s really up for interpretation with some fans, especially since the actors for the Sonic series are focusing on deeper voices.

Disclaimer:

I am more than happy to answer this question, but I’m afraid that I’m very limited on how I can answer this. Ages displayed throughout the series has always been a fickle thing. And that’s okay! I’m assuming that this ask is geared towards Game!Sonic rather than Sonic Wachowski, since his canonical age is 13-going-on-14 (Fowler, 2020). If this ask is geared towards me debunking the "age argument," then you might get a different answer. That, and I'm not gonna buy into the B.S. that comes from it.

The problem here is that I'm being asked to apply scientific logic to a fictional character. That's all well and good, but I'm limited in resources. That, and I'm making assumptions on how physiological traits work with an anthropomorphic animal. I'm basing my conclusions on human physiology. While this may seem logical for the ask, I don’t necessarily know how “fair." This would be considered more of a headcanon rather than a scientific explanation to your question. If there was more of an understanding of the Sonic characters’ anatomy, then I would be comfortable with giving a strong answer. They best that I can supply is a hypothetical scenario that might supply a content answer. “Content” meaning that’s it’s fine, but gives me enough wriggle room to debunk/empathize in the future.

I must also stress that an average does not mean the "perfect model." No singular person is the same. There is no such thing as normal. When I say that something is of average comparison, I'm translating it to a general starting point. I need a base to go on in order to build on top of my reasoning and data.

References:

For this ask, I will be looking at cranial structures and comparing them to both human, anthropomorphic animals (Sonic). Data that is generated to answer this ask comes from existing games, interviews with game developers, and anthropological research.

The methodology and techniques that I’ll be referencing comes from “Bare Bones: A Survey of Forensic Anthropology” by, Michael Warren et al. (2012). This is an excellent book that provides techniques and disciplines to criminologists, anthropologists, and physicians. The Smithsonian: National Museum of Natural History provides a sample of "Forensic Anthropology 101" in their free educational service HERE. I’ll also be referencing different case studies found in cultural anthropology journals. Hyperlinks will be attached in the in-text citations for view.

Methods:

I can answer this question using basic forensic techniques. There are a few different ways to determine an individual’s age when examining skeletal anatomy:

Cranial anatomy

The pelvic girdle (pelvis)

Femur

Mandible

Most archaeologists and forensic anthropologists will answer that the pelvic girdle is the best indicator for identifying an individual's age. The pelvis girdle consists of three main bones: hip bone (ilium, ischium, pubis), sacrum and the coccyx. With this, we look at the level of maturity of bone growth to make an educated guess. This can be identified by the bone's state of fusion. Depending on the identification of the individual, the pubis may fuse or grow robust. If the femur is present with the pelvis girdle, then the collected data becomes stronger. The femur is measured in height from the neck to the head, then the shaft alone to provide an idea of one's stature. All of these together create a plausible stature for one's growth and maturity.

The mandible is touch-and-go. I’ve shared in the past that teeth can provide an idea of an individual’s weight, social/economic status, stature, left/right dominance, and types of bite when chewing food. The state in which teeth grow in can give us an indication of age. This is just as good as observing one's age with a pelvis girdle. If not, maybe a bit better! However, this only works if there's a certain amount of teeth present and a record of growth is present. We look at an individual’s molars and premolars in order to determine a rough estimate in age. On average, wisdom teeth come in between the ages of 17 to 25 (Renton et al., 2016). Some are late bloomers, others are early birds. X-Rays can help us identify where the teeth are currently and provide a projection of when they'll appear. As long as there is recorded data on how teeth grow and when they come in, it's easy to determine how old someone is.

Finally, we have the calvaria. For the sake of sanity, I will be referring to this as the “cranial cap." This is the top crown of the head with four major bones that shapes the skull. These bones feature the frontal bone, two parietal bones, and one occipital bone. Along the top of the cranial cap we see these squiggles that separate the bones. These are called “sutures.” Sutures can be defined or barely visible due to the state of mend. Through maturity, these bones mend together to create one bone rather than four. These are not signs of damage done to the head, these are signs that show the state in which a child is growing (Warren et Al., 2012). Sutures are a result of an infant's cranial cap fusing together after being birthed. To put simply; the less defined they are, the older that one supposedly is.

OBSERVATION:

As explained in the “Methods,” section, the cranial cap and mandible appear to be a more logical choice when determining Sonic’s age. I am fortunate for the small crumbs given to me from Sonic CD (1994) and Sonic Unleashed (2008). Both of these provide a good picture of Sonic’s biological estimation on age range. I will not be referring to Evan Stanley’s interpretation of his skull. I do not feel that this is necessary, nor canon. This is Ms. Stanley’s interpretation of Sonic anatomy and fan art.

Mandible

Right before it's initial release, Sonic Unleashed's opening cinematic was meant to have a darker tone. Initially, the beta version of the scene depicted Sonic being electrocuted in his super form as he's infused with Dark Gaia energy. This scene was also meant to show his skeleton during the painful transformation. Screenshots of the scene are available online. One particular shot shows enough of Sonic's mandible to identify canine, incisor, premolars, and molars. The image above shows that at least ONE wisdom tooth (third molar) is present. Other signs of third molars is not visible due to angle of shot.

In the animated short titled "Night of the Werehog," we're given a good shot of Sonic opening his mouth and showing his fangs. Way in back are three molars (Image has been brightened and highlighted for view). Since one confirmed wisdom tooth is present in the shot, we could infer that Sonic is at least 17-years-old. Not fifteen. Seventeen is the average age for when we see wisdom teeth begin to grow in.

Cranial anatomy/Cranial Cap

In Sonic CD (1993), there is a particular scene where Sonic is electrocuted once again. [Fun Fact: one would not be able to see Sonic's skeleton if electrocuted, you'd see his nervous system instead.] Once again, players are able to see Sonic's entire skeletal system. The problem with this example is that it's pixelated art. Pixel art can range from being detailed works of art, or simplified icons that have symbolic meaning. The skeletal anatomy that we see of Sonic in the CD title is not enough for me to draw a conclusion on how old he is. It's merely a representation of a shock taking place.

For a better representation of a cranial cap, we should refer to the beta version of Sonic Unleashed once more. Sutures on Sonic's skull are a tad harder to make out in the image due to how saturated the scene is. A wonderful example of seeing Sonic's cranial suture can be seen at a side profile. The one closes to the sphenoid bone (eye socket) is a cranial suture. Again, this one is up for debate since the quality of the photo is poor. For the sake of sanity, we'll claim that this is a suture.

Examining the suture, we see that it's less defined. This does not mean that the sutures disappear completely. As we grow older, the bone fuses. If Sonic were younger, then the sutures would be more defined. Here, they've fused quite finely. This leads me to believe that he is out of the child phase (1yr to 12yrs) and into Adolescence (13yrs to 17yrs).

Femur & Pelvic Girdle/Pelvis

Generally, there's a model that can be used to display what a mature individual looks like compared to an adolescent when observing a pelvis girdle. Here, it's a bit harder for me to make an assumption because there's a lacking model of what adults and adolescents look like for anthropomorphic animals. This is a query that I've faced when trying to examine Sonic's skeletal anatomy. Of course, measuring a femur and weighing the density of bone could provide some insight on Sonic's estimated age (Shipman, 2018).

In a real world, that would require lots of money and an actual subject that is the equivalent to Sonic's height and weight (canonically, Sonic is 100cm tall and weighs 35kg). You'd then have to figure how much the bone density changes when someone stands up, sits down, lies down, and so forth. Plus, I don't know Sonic's level of body fat to even begin doing a simple calculation. It's a bit of a headache the more that this is tackled upon. That is a lot of data to collect for a talking blue hedgehog.

Measurements of the femur to the pelvis are fine and dandy, but the data is inconclusive. A simple measurement could be off by a single year or three. Once more, it's kind of hard to capture a crisp picture of the pelvis girdle and femur. I feel that gathering data from this perspective is inconclusive.

Discussion:

I must stress that this isn’t meant to be as in-depth or taken seriously. I must also stress that many social groups around the world have different approaches and cultural definitions to what it means to be a teenager. This is a common topic that I try to educate people about when it comes to cultural norms and social practices. Most western cultures consider that teenagers starting at 13yrs of age and ending at 17yrs of age before becoming a legal adult at 18yrs. Some western cultures even extend the age gap to 13yrs to 19yrs. Cultural and social teachings of how we define what is and isn’t a teenager could easily be defined as “adolescence.” We refer to this as adolescence, it allows us to have an extended age gap of 13yrs to 19yrs (Ember et Al., 2017). It all narrows down to how these practices and beliefs are taught within one’s community.

Some fans headcanon Sonic and his friends are growing older, others younger… or even stick with the Western interpretation of him being 15-years-old. Sonic's age has always been ambiguous, meaning that it's not narrowed down to a specific number. The query that I've faced is that there is a lack of official material that displays this easily. The information that I have shared in this post works on a plausible theory that he's older than 15. However, gaming manuals have almost always made it a point hat hes 15/16 (Sonic Heroes Game Manual, 2003). The point now is that he's a teenager. He will always be viewed as a teenager in this canon. To me, Game!Sonic is definitely older. He clearly shows characteristics of being an older version of himself (the strongest supporting evidence here being his teeth), but still within the range of being classified as a "teenager."

My goal here is to not enforce one way of thinking. The most that I can do is supply the data and leave you, the reader, to make your own conclusions. I hope that this answers your question, my dear.

[astriiformes]

Actually if you'd be willing to answer, how do people sex bones when that's the only remains of a person? Why do people do that? How important are the person's sex characteristics to identifying them compared to everything they may have been wearing or buried with, especially when they are just bones now and the vast majority of indicators would be based on soft tissue and are no longer available to examine? Is it different for a body that's a hundred years old vs. a thousand? Modern forensics is very advanced but your field is different right? Sorry if this is morbid or overly clinical, I just am very interested in this type of thing, and I love learning! Thank you for your time and have a lovely day. :D

So this is not really my field at all, but I can speak a little on what I do know and then toss it into the wilds of tumblr where some of my mutuals/followers more knowledgeable on the subject can chime in if they want to.

There are some general characteristics people keep in mind when analyzing skeletons to get information like size, width of hips, and etc that have historically been used to guess at the sex of individuals, but 1) obviously those are not foolproof, the spectrum of human variation is such that, contrary to what biological essentialists would have you believe, even that tends to be a form of educated guesswork, not guaranteed fact and 2) as a result archaeologists are considering it less and less important these days as the field evolves. Nowadays things like grave goods and clothing are generally considered likely to tell you more -- and on top of that, more archaeologists and historians are willing to consider the possibility that a "mismatch" between someone's remains and burial might be telling them something interesting about the individual and their society as opposed to a weird fluke or mistake.

Again, I'm not an archaeologist so that's a very basic rundown and I imagine there are other people who've done these things in practice who have much more interesting insights on the topic, but it's an evolving area in the field for sure, and also a lot more mutable than many people realize.

[jamesandnina6389]

Oldest Fingerprint: A 2,400-Year-Old Bog Body and a Glimpse into Iron Age Rituals

In 1950, deep within a peat bog in Bjældskovdal, Denmark, a discovery was made that would fascinate archaeologists and historians for decades to come. The nearly perfectly preserved body of a man, later named the “Tollund Man,” was unearthed by two farmers cutting peat. What made this find extraordinary was the fact that the man’s features were so intact that he appeared to have only recently died. This remarkable preservation, caused by the unique conditions of the peat bog, revealed a man who lived during the Iron Age, some 2,400 years ago. His story, a mixture of ritual, sacrifice, and daily life in ancient Scandinavia, has captivated researchers ever since.

Submerged in waterlogged peatlands, which may have been seen as sacred places connected to the gods or the afterlife.

The Tollund Man’s calm, peaceful expression has led some researchers to speculate that he may have been willing to participate in the ritual, or that he was drugged or otherwise prepared for his death. Other bog bodies have been found with signs of violence—stab wounds, blunt force trauma, or strangulation—indicating that Iron Age people may have practiced different forms of ritual killing depending on the situation.

Insights into Iron Age Diet and Health

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Tollund Man’s discovery is the amount of information scientists were able to gather about his diet and health. Thanks to the preservation of his internal organs, researchers were able to analyze the contents of his stomach and determine his final meal. It was a simple porridge made from barley, flax, and seeds from wild plants. This humble meal suggests that the Tollund Man came from a farming community where grains and wild plants were staple foods.

Beyond his diet, other studies have shown that the Tollund Man was around 40 years old when he died, stood about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and was in relatively good health for his time. His teeth, though worn from the rough Iron Age diet, were free of cavities, and there were no signs of long-term illness or malnutrition. In addition, forensic examination revealed that his fingerprints were still intact, an astonishing detail considering his age. This level of preservation allowed researchers to study a man who lived over two millennia ago as if he were a modern subject.

The Legacy of the Tollund Man

The Tollund Man continues to be one of the most famous and well-preserved examples of a bog body, providing a unique window into the past. His remarkably lifelike appearance, combined with the wealth of information gleaned from his remains, has made him an invaluable resource for understanding Iron Age culture, religion, and daily life. While much about his life and death remains a mystery, the Tollund Man serves as a poignant reminder of the complex belief systems and rituals of ancient peoples.

Today, the Tollund Man is housed at the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, where visitors can marvel at the well-preserved features of a man who lived 2,400 years ago. His story, frozen in time by the bog’s conditions, continues to captivate scientists and the public alike, offering a glimpse into the ancient world and the enigmatic practices of the Iron Age.

[mast3rofnonee]

0:Height- 5'10/11

1:Virgin?- yes

2:Shoe size-11

3:Do you smoke?-no

4:Do you drink?-no

5:Do you take drugs?-no

6:Age you get mistaken for- 18

7:Have tattoos? -yes but no

8:Want any tattoos? -yesssss

9:Got any piercings? -yes (septum)

10:Want any piercings?-eyebrow, nose stud vertical labaret, belly, and my all of my ears

11:Best friend?- yes but not really (i literally fell out with my bestie of four years. Lmk for a storytime)

12:Relationship status- takennn

13:Biggest turn ons- intellectual/intelligence, funny, kinda really mean, big nose(s), and height (ntm tho)

14:Biggest turn offs - disrespectful to women (or anyone but mainly women) in ANY way, too sexual, dumb, immature!!

15:Favorite movie- CMBYN

16:I’ll love you if- you let me do weird stuff with you. like weird esoteric off-putting shit.

17:Someone you miss- My bestie, my man.

18:Most traumatic experience- idek know atp tbh but maybe when i got outted and when my parents thought i was doing drugs.

19:A fact about your personality- i am very goofy and a weirdo <3 (no corny stuff lmao)

20:What I hate most about myself- mouth lol

21:What I love most about myself- face, personality mainly tho

22:What I want to be when I get older- psychiatrist/forensic scientist

23:My relationship with my sibling(s)- good!!

24:My relationship with my parent(s) - fine. (dad), my mother im pretty close to id say.

25:My idea of a perfect date- picnic by a waterfall in a secluded forest in a cute bikini and fresh fruit with a charcuterie board with a speaker playing my music.

26:My biggest pet peeves- chewing with your mouth open, "ALPHA MALE" men, self centered people, being that try and force stuff on you (cough cough), being greedy, MEAN PEOPLE!

27:A description of the girl/boy I like- short king(lmao), curly hair, chubby, nerdy. (my bf)

28:A description of the person I dislike the most- normal height, afro hair, lightskin, crooked teeth, huge boobs.

29:A reason I’ve lied to a friend - she would get mad at the truth ( dont do that anymore idgaf)

30:What I hate the most about work/school - teachers.

31:What your last text message says- idk

32:What words upset me the most- "youre not my _ anymore " idek i have sm

33:What words make me feel the best about myself- youre so beautiful, i can trust you, i love you.

34:What I find attractive in women- basically everything if i find them attractive. but even if not, i still like everything, ( i think women are the most gorgeous creatures on earth)

35:What I find attractive in men - big noses, body hair (hear me out), freckles, messy (long) hair / curly hair, pretty eyes, long eyelashes, thighs, ass, arms/ hands.

36:Where I would like to live- Countrysides in the medteranian (idk if italy counts), UK/ireland/scotland/iceland (idk if italy counts), any big city in western europe, NYC, brasil, or somwhere in washington state!!

37:One of my insecurities- my height sometimes, stretch marks sometimes.

38:My childhood career choice- archaeologist.

39:My favorite ice cream flavor- coffee

40:Who wish I could be- if i had to Zendaya.

41:Where I want to be right now- anywhere i would like to travel to, just anywhere, in a cute outfit with my favorite DILF.

42:The last thing I ate- whole grain crackers.

43:Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately- Pedro Pascal and then after that one of my DILF teachers (teehee)

44: A random fact about anything- In WWII during the blitz in the UK, they shipped all of the children to the countryside of Britain to protect them.

[coochiequeens]

Say hello to an ancestoress

More than 4,000 years ago, a young woman who died in what is now Scotland was buried in a crouched position within a stone-lined grave. She remained buried for millennia, until excavators at a stone quarry unexpectedly unearthed her bones in 1997.

Little is known about the woman — dubbed Upper Largie Woman after the Upper Largie Quarry — but now, a new bust-like reconstruction reveals how she may have looked during the Early Bronze Age.

The reconstruction, which went on display Sept. 3 at the Kilmartin Museum in Scotland, shows a young woman with dark braided hair who is wearing a deer-skin outfit. And she appears to be looking at someone nearby.

"Making a reconstruction I usually think that we are looking into their world, [meaning] they don't see us," Oscar Nilsson, a forensic artist based in Sweden who crafted the woman's likeness, told Live Science in an email. "I thought it could be an interesting idea to twist this a bit, and actually thinking that she can see us. And as you can see, she looks a bit critical to us (I don't blame her for that...)!"

Upper Largie woman, who died in her 20s, lived during the early Bronze Age of Scotland. (Image credit: Oscar Nilsson)

After the discovery of Upper Largie Woman, a skeletal and dental analysis revealed that she likely died in her 20s and experienced periods of illness or malnutrition. Radiocarbon dating found that she lived between 1500 B.C. and 2200 B.C., during the Early Bronze Age, according to the museum. Meanwhile, a look at different isotopes, or versions of strontium and oxygen from her remains suggested that she grew up locally in Scotland, but the team wasn't able to extract her DNA, so her ethnic heritage, including her skin, eye and hair color, is unknown.

However, archaeologists found sherds of Beaker pottery in her grave, hinting that she was part of the Beaker culture, named for its peoples' bell-shaped beakers. Research suggests that the Beaker culture started in Central Europe with people whose ancestors came from the Eurasian Steppe. Eventually, the Beaker culture reached Britain in about 2400 B.C. DNA evidence indicates that the Beaker culture replaced most of Britain's inhabitants, including the Neolithic communities that had built monuments such as Stonehenge.

"The carbon dating suggests she might be a descendant of the first Beaker newcomers," Sharon Webb, director and curator of Kilmartin Museum, told Live Science in an email.

For the reconstruction of Upper Largie Woman, her skull was CT (computed tomography) scanned and then 3D printed in Scotland. However, "she lacked her mandible [lower jaw], and her left side of the cranium was in a quite fragmented condition," Nilsson said. "So, the first thing I had to do was to rebuild the left side of her cranium. And then to create a mandible, a rather speculative issue of course."

Then, Nilsson took her age, sex, weight and ethnicity into account, as these factors help determine tissue thickness. "So, in this case: a woman, about 20-30 years of age, signs of undernourishment in a period of her life, and a probable origin from the region," he said.

Nilsson pulled from a chart of modern individuals who fit these characteristics, then used their tissue measurements to begin sculpting the reconstruction. Pegs placed on the replica skull helped him measure the tissue depth, which he then covered with plasticine clay as he molded the facial muscles. Based on her skull's contours, he noted that Upper Largie Woman's eyes were wide set and that her nose was broad and "probably a bit turned upwards." She also had a rounded forehead and a broad mouth.

"I found it interesting that once she was reconstructed, I did not see that much of her malnutrition," Nilsson said. "She had a very rounded facial skeleton, which helped her looking a bit more healthy than she may have been."

However, he was clear that "the colors were all qualified guesses, based on other burials from the time and the region, where the DNA was in better shape than this one."

Webb called the reconstruction "absolutely amazing, we wanted her expression to be asking questions of the visitor, wondering who they are, and what their lives were like so that visitors might also ponder her life."

Upper Largie Woman's remains are now "sensitively 'reburied'" in the same position and orientation she was likely buried in 4,000 years ago, Webb said. Visitors can see her reconstruction at the museum's permanent exhibit.

[usafphantom2]

World War Two: When 600 US planes crashed in Himalayas

2 days ago

View of a US Army Air Transport Command cargo plane as it flies over the snow-capped, towering mountains of the Himalayas, along the borders of India, China, and Burma, January 1945, February 20, 1945.Getty Images

Pilots called the flight route "The Hump" - a nod to the treacherous heights of the eastern Himalayas

A newly opened museum in India houses the remains of American planes that crashed in the Himalayas during World War Two. The BBC's Soutik Biswas recounts an audaciously risky aerial operation that took place when the global war arrived in India.

Since 2009, Indian and American teams have scoured the mountains in India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, looking for the wreckage and remains of lost crews of hundreds of planes that crashed here over 80 years ago.

Some 600 American transport planes are estimated to have crashed in the remote region, killing at least 1,500 airmen and passengers during a remarkable and often-forgotten 42-month-long World War Two military operation in India. Among the casualties were American and Chinese pilots, radio operators and soldiers.

Has India's contribution to WW2 been ignored?

The operation sustained a vital air transport route from the Indian states of Assam and Bengal to support Chinese forces in Kunming and Chungking (now called Chongqing).

The war between Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the US, the Soviet Union, China) had reached the north-eastern part of British-ruled India. The air corridor became a lifeline following the Japanese advance to India's borders, which effectively closed the land route to China through northern Myanmar (then known as Burma).

The US military operation, initiated in April 1942, successfully transported 650,000 tonnes of war supplies across the route - an achievement that significantly bolstered the Allied victory.

This operation sustained a vital air transport route from India to support Chinese forces in Kunming and Chunking

Pilots dubbed the perilous flight route "The Hump", a nod to the treacherous heights of the eastern Himalayas, primarily in today's Arunachal Pradesh, that they had to navigate.

Over the past 14 years Indo-American teams comprising mountaineers, students, medics, forensic archaeologists and rescue experts have ploughed through dense tropical jungles and scaled altitudes reaching 15,000ft (4,572m) in Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar and China. They have included members of the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the US agency that deals with soldiers missing in action.

The forgotten Indian soldiers of Dunkirk

With help from local tribespeople their month-long expeditions have reached crash sites, locating at least 20 planes and the remains of several missing-in-action airmen.

It is a challenging job - a six-day trek, preceded by a two-day road journey, led to the discovery of a single crash site. One mission was stranded in the mountains for three weeks after it was hit by a freak snowstorm.

"From flat alluvial plains to the mountains, it's a challenging terrain. Weather can be an issue and we have usually only the late fall and early winter to work in," says William Belcher, a forensic anthropologist involved in the expeditions.

A machine gun, pieces of debris, a camera: some of the recovered artefacts at the newly opened museum

Discoveries abound: oxygen tanks, machine guns, fuselage sections. Skulls, bones, shoes and watches have been found in the debris and DNA samples taken to identify the dead. A missing airman's initialled bracelet, a poignant relic, exchanged hands from a villager who recovered it in the wreckage. Some crash sites have been scavenged by local villagers over the years and the aluminium remains sold as scrap.

These and other artefacts and narratives related to these doomed planes now have a home in the newly opened The Hump Museum in Pasighat, a scenic town in Arunachal Pradesh nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas.

US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, inaugurated the collection on 29 November, saying, "This is not just a gift to Arunachal Pradesh or the impacted families, but a gift to India and the world." Oken Tayeng, director of the museum, added: "This is also a recognition of all locals of Arunachal Pradesh who were and are still an integral part of this mission of respecting the memory of others".

The museum starkly highlights the dangers of flying this route. In his vivid memoirs of the operation, Maj Gen William H Tunner, a US Air Force pilot, remembers navigating his C-46 cargo plane over villages on steep slopes, broad valleys, deep gorges, narrow streams and dark brown rivers.

Wreckage of many planes has been found in the mountains in recent years

The flights, often navigated by young and freshly trained pilots, were turbulent. The weather on The Hump, according to Tunner, changed "from minute to minute, from mile to mile": one end was set in the low, steamy jungles of India; the other in the mile-high plateau of western China.

Heavily loaded transport planes, caught in a downdraft, might quickly descend 5,000ft, then swiftly rise at a similar speed. Tunner writes about a plane flipping onto its back after encountering a downdraft at 25,000ft.

Spring thunderstorms, with howling winds, sleet, and hail, posed the greatest challenge for controlling planes with rudimentary navigation tools. Theodore White, a journalist with Life magazine who flew the route five times for a story, wrote that the pilot of one plane carrying Chinese soldiers with no parachutes decided to crash-land after his plane got iced up.

The co-pilot and the radio operator managed to bail out and land on a "great tropical tree and wandered for 15 days before friendly natives found them". Local communities in remote villages often rescued and nursed wounded survivors of the crashes back to health. (It was later learnt that the plane had landed safely and no lives had been lost.)

Does Nolan's Dunkirk ignore the role of the Indian army?

Not surprisingly, the radio was filled with mayday calls. Planes were blown so far off course they crashed into mountains pilots did not even know were within 50 miles, Tunner remembered. One storm alone crashed nine planes, killing 27 crew and passengers. "In these clouds, over the entire route, turbulence would build up of a severity greater than I have seen anywhere in the world, before or since," he wrote.

Parents of missing airmen held out the hope that their children were still alive. "Where is my son? I'd love the world to know/Has his mission filled and left the earth below?/Is he up there in that fair land, drinking at the fountains, or is he still a wanderer in India's jungles and mountains?" wondered Pearl Dunaway, the mother of a missing airman, Joseph Dunaway, in a poem in 1945.

The China-bound US transport planes took off from airbases in India's Assam

The missing airmen are now the stuff of legend. "These Hump men fight the Japanese, the jungle, the mountains and the monsoons all day and all night, every day and every night the year round. The only world they know is planes. They never stop hearing them, flying them, patching them, cursing them. Yet they never get tired of watching the planes go out to China," recounted White.

The operation was indeed a daredevil feat of aerial logistics following the global war that reached India's doorstep. "The hills and people of Arunachal Pradesh were drawn into the drama, heroism and tragedies of the World War Two by the Hump operation," says Mr Tayeng. It's a story few know.

[solar-halos]

question time tag!

thank you for tagging me @thelettersfromnoone <3

what is a bad habit you have?

i’m a huge procrastinator

what’s your dream job?

oh boy. during winter break i thought i fs wanted to be an archaeologist but then school started back up and now i wanna be a forensic technician. except that law enforcement seems so genuinely corrupt to me that it’s kinda overwhelming so im tryna see what all this commotion is about library science. but also if i could crochet and scrapbook all day everyday i would. this drives my mom infuckingsane btw

how many times have you been pulled over by a cop?

zero

dream travel destinations?

greece (zakynthos island looks soo pretty) and italy

what are the top two words your friends would use to describe you?

sometimes they accuse me of being sassy. also (believe it or not) a bit quiet

have you ever had sex in a public place?

i legally can’t answer this question. (just kidding i just don’t want to)

favorite beverage?

strawberries and cream dr pepper <3

are you more independent, or need lots of people around you?

a mix of both. i fucking hate being by myself but i also get overwhelmed easily, so i tend to cling onto one or two ppl. i remember seeing something like “that moment when your built in errand buddy (your sister) is busy :(“ and that’s exactly right. i always have to bribe my sister with a lil treat if i need to run an errand

and then i’m trying not to be less shy so (if you want to!!) here are the tags: @the-sun-and-the-sea @bodyelectric77 @mollywog @caesarflickermans. and then also anyone else who wants to do this i’m very nosey

[tryingtimi]

LONEL INTRODUCTION.

GENRE: Neo-Noir, Urban Fantasy, Thriller. CONTENT: Best Friends to Lovers, Ancient Conflict, Vampires vs Werewolves, Lone Wolf, Anti-Hero Protag. SETTING: State of Auris in the world of Aetherius. Decades before IQRUS happens. STATUS: Worldbuilding | Outlining. MASTERPOSTS: SNIPPET | CHARACTERS | WORLDBUILDING

SYNOPSIS

Lonel has two secrets. One, he is the last of his kind since his mother was killed. Two, he is certain a vampire is to blame. These, however, are secrets he can’t tell anyone about. Vampires do not exist, and he can't be sure if his mind could be trusted anyway. Until one day, during his daily forensic cleaner job, he witnesses a scene that changes everything.

LOCATIONS - IMPORTANT ASPECTS

AURIS CITY ― The capital of Auris, where everything happens. HALL OF ECHOES ― The national museum of Auris. It's a place where every historical knowledge is stored, including mythical legends, and possible artefacts. THE CRIMSON SHADOW ― A famous club and bar for VIP members only. Only those can enter who were invited, and to get an invitation, you need to meet certain requirements. The regulars, however, can't say anything about it. They sometimes seem to not be able to. There are also rumours about occasional orgies, and that it's a strip club than anything else in actuality.

CHARACTERS

LONEL. A lone forensic cleaner who’s secretly helping the police while cleaning the crime scenes. He's a dangerous man with an obsession over his mother's death. Yet, for the things and people he cares, he cares deeply. pinterest | playlist SELYS DUMWERMER. Lonel's almost only friend, and superior as chief detective at the station. An eccentric gentleman with a mysterious, melancholic aura around him. pinterest | playlist ODENA SLYHER. A talented archaeologist, and member of the Hall of Echos. As much as she's interested in human history, she is still an expert on the subject of supernatural, and mythical beings. Lonel's childhood acquaintance as he would call her. She, however, rather prefers to be called a friend. pinterest | playlist LORD VOLERON DE NOMEUR. One of the richest men of Auris. He’s funding a lot of institutes and owns The Crimson Shadow as well. He’s not the governor, but some say he’s much more. pinterest | playlist

AUTHOR'S NOTE | TAGS

Will edit this post as I go and share more stuff. Made this when I had the biggest urge to write some Lonel stuff eh. Everything is subject to change.

Thank you for checking it out, loves! ♡

TAG LIST: @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @the-void-writes, @circa-specturgia, @dyrewrites

[savefrog]

Dude the human body is crazy

That post about T giving you too much blood, and how thats a genetic condition passed down mainly through cis men (hemachromatosis). And how its a risk for going on T because someone can have inherited the gene but not know until going on T triggers the issues. I need to do more research, because I cant find a lot of information on how it reacts to T (besides it often resulting in lower T), but it almost looks like the body gets T and is like "Oh cool we're going dude mode now, heres that condition you were missing!"

Makes me think of how people who have had a hysterectomy can still experience the menstruation cycle even without a Uterus. Like PMS and the soreness and bloating associated with cramps. And its hard to find research on because its a newly recorded phenomenon with a lot of bias against it, but trans women on E may also experience a monthly cycle (PMS and the soreness and bloating associated with cramps) even without a Uterus as well. The body gets estrogen and is like "oh sick i know what to do with this! Pain!!!!!"

Like it really drives in how the human body is made of analogous structures. The reproductive system is all the same parts, just given different instructions. The clitoris can get erections! Hormones can change BONES even though its limited! (Horomonal changes also affect the bones during menopause for example, something archaeologists or forensic scientists can notice)

And speaking of, that whole thing about "when archaeologists see your skeleton THEN they will know" is bullshit! (ON SO MANY LEVELS)! Sex determination with bones is typically based on the measurement of literally ONE bone. And the field of archaeology has, for quite some time, acknowledged how innaccurate this can be. (And honestly, this assumption shows a lack of science knowledge in general, where in my experience researchers like to lean more towards "probably" rather than "definitely" when making ANY kind of assertion about something because there are ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS!)

Thanks to X-rays, we have classifications for different types of pelvis shapes. Do you know what may cause someone to have a C-section???? Having an Android (or "male-shaped") pelvis. Yes. A cis woman LITERALLY GIVING BIRTH, may have a pelvic shape that is labeled as having a masculine shape. AND IT IS NOT THAT RARE!!!! (A brief search says 20% of cis women)

But consider that people usually only get X-rays or other scans when absolutely needed. There could be so much more overlap that we arent even aware of. Things that are "rare instances" may not be that rare. We arent analyzing the dna of every person in existence, we only see what we are looking for and research has only just opened up past our cultural biases towards gender!

We know from studies of the brain that a lot of gendered assumptions (women are good at sorting colors because they were gatherers, etc) are not well-defined AT ALL. A lot of it may be learned during development. There are some stereotyped trends, but they're just small percentage trends such that its impossible to look at a brain and 100% say "yup thats male!", only at the most "well, statistically, its Slightly More Likely male" and still be very wrong. Exceptions are the NORM.

(And that whole evolutionary psychology thing of "women are better at colors because gatherers?"...based on what ancestors?!?!?!?!? Different groups of ancient people had different gender norms!!! There wasn't just one big caveman family for the entire paleolithic!!!! There are SO MANY recorded remains of what are most likely female hunters!!!!! Why would they not take advantage of having MORE HUNTERS during a hunting season?!?!!)

"Its simple biology" is quite possibly the most ignorant statement one can make, its a paradox. Biology is INHERENTLY complex, varied, and difficult to categorize. If you say it's simple even just for the sake of categorization, you are literally admitting to not knowing SHIT. Ask anyone into taxonomy. Categorizing animals seems easy if youve never actually done it, and meanwhile there are appparently heated debates on river dolphin teeth and whether or not river dolphins with no visible differences except slightly different teeth are different species or not. Birds are reptiles!!! Everything is a fucking fish!!!! Rigid thought based on societal bias is antithetical to science (though it has SURE affected science!)

Its that bias where the less you know about something, the easier you think it is. Someone may think they already know everything about a topic if they never actually researched it because they dont know whats out there. Whereas someone actually knowledgeable in that field KNOWS that its complicated and feels LESS like they know everything about it. Cis people who have never thought deeply about gender THINK it is simple because they lack any experience. They THINK its the same as they believed in preschool because they never challenged it - when everything else you learn in grade school is obviously simplified!!!

Its so blatantly apparent how little transphobes want to actually consider facts. Its all "just ask a biologist" until real biologists tell them its complex, then its "science is woke". They'll talk about gender all day and yet mock anyone actually studying it. It's all about rigid definitions, until someone tells them the literal definition of gender makes it seperate from sex. They pretend to care so much about the literal definitions of words and what you can and can't call something due to biology...but still call a seastar a "starFISH".

The WORLD is amorphous! Words are merely tools! Biology hates rigid categorization! EXCEPTIONS ARE THE NORM! live your damn life!

[zoramones]

friendly reminder before christmas ends that is what jesus would have ACTUALLY looked like based upon forensic science and anthropology founded by a team of experts led by Dr Richard Neave, formerly of the University of Manchester. jesus christ, the christian lord and saviour, was a brown man from bethlehem who would have spent his first days in rubble in he were born today under israeli apartheid occupation.

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Roman Elite Necropolis Discovered in Italy

A two-year dig to install a solar power plant near Rome has unearthed an ancient Roman necropolis containing 67 skeletons buried in 57 ornate tombs.

Archaeologists were baffled by the find — thought to date between the second and fourth centuries — not least because the skeletons were discovered wearing golden jewelry and expensive leather footwear, inside tombs designed to resemble their homes.

The discovery, on a 52-acre patch of land close to the ancient city of Tarquinia, north of Rome, was a surprise to authorities, despite the area being renowned for such findings.

Silver rings with amber and engraved initials, precious stones, terracotta pottery, coins, shiny glasses, amulets and even items of clothing were found alongside the golden necklaces and earrings.

“We found several skeletons still wearing their expensive stockings and shoes,” Emanuele Giannini, lead excavation archaeologist at the site said. “All these riches, and the fact that the bones show no sign of stress or physical labor, (leads us to believe) these weren’t local farmers, but upper-crust members of Roman families coming from cities.”

Giannini said techniques of “pre-emptive archaeology” such as field surveys and trial trenches were used to identify potentially ancient constructions below ground.

“We did have a faint idea that some treasure could lie there, as historical sources mentioned the location of a postal station for travelers near the site,” explained Giannini. “Many Romans would stop (here) for the night to eat and rest, but the magnitude of the discovery is unmatched.”

The diversity of funerary objects laid near the remains, and the luxurious designs and linings inside the tombs, have led archaeologists to believe that the occupants wanted to recreate heavenly spaces similar to their earthly homes. The interior of many tombs originally featured elaborate cloth linings, or were surrounded and covered by tiles or terracotta pieces like little houses.

Giannini said another astounding aspect is that most of the discovered tombs were communal — built for at least two occupants who likely shared a family link. A few skeletons were found wrapped around each other.

“Building tombs for entire family nuclei is a typical ancient Roman trait,” he said, “but these are outstanding in their inner decor, which shows wealth and status.”

The shallow tombs were found just 20 inches below the surface — almost popping out of the grass — yet nobody had ever noticed anything peculiar.

The site’s unique state of preservation has been attributed to the fact that “huge limestone blocks that stick out of the ground (made) ploughing, seeding and modern farming impossible in the area,” said Giannini. “It has remained untouched (for) centuries.”

Findings from the dig, which started in 2022, are being preserved as they’re found and many are going on show at the castle of Santa Severa in the coastal town of Santa Marinella. The skeletons however, are being analyzed to determine their origins and will not be put on display until forensic tests have been carried out.

Whatever their genesis, authorities are certain more hidden wonders will come to light as digs for the solar park move to another nearby site.

“We are excavating a huge rural area to redevelop the land and are balancing the need to avoid ruining such unique wonders with the goal of boosting clean energy production,” Margherita Eichberg, art heritage superintendent of the provinces of Viterbo and southern Etruria for Italy’s Culture Ministry said. The area where the necropolis has been discovered will not form part of the solar park and will be cordoned off for safety reasons, without public access.

“This is the fascination and beauty of Italy: Each time there’s a dig, incredible wonders from the past come out of the ground which need to be preserved.”

By Silvia Marchetti.