Prehistoric Grave Contains Gold Rings

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED A PREHISTORIC GRAVE CONTAINING 169 GOLD RINGS NEAR THE BIHARIA COMMUNE IN BIHOR COUNTY, CRIȘANA, ROMANIA.

The discovery was made during construction works for a new road that connects the city of Oradea with the A3 highway.

Excavations were conducted from march till the end of June by a multi-national team representing institutions from across Romania and Hungary, revealing three sites from the Neolithic Period, two from the middle to late Bronze Age, two from the Roman Period, and two sites from the Middle Ages.

In a press release announced by the Tarii Crisurilor Museum, archaeologists excavating near Biharia found the grave of a woman belonging to the Tiszapolgár culture.

The Tiszapolgár culture (4500–4000 BC), was an Eneolithic archaeological culture of the Great Hungarian Plain, the Banat, Crișana and Transylvania, Eastern Slovakia, and the Ukrainian Zakarpattia Oblast in Central Europe.  READ MORE...

Ancient Pyramids in the Amazon

Secret pyramids and small cities dating back to the Middle Ages have been discovered in one of the densest parts of the Amazon.


According to a journal published in Nature, a new type of advanced laser-mapping technology was used to penetrate the dense Bolivian rainforest of the region.


By deploying this new research tool, archaeologists have now made the landmark discovery of town-like civilisations in the area.


The discovery is particularly exciting for researchers as this now proves that Amazonians lived together in township-like structures before the Spanish set foot on South American soil.


Colorado State University archaeologist Chris Fisher said the new technology will usher in a new age of research in the Amazon, as per The Wall Street Journal.


"This is the first of what I hope will be a huge series of studies that will blow the lid off of preconceptions about what pre-Hispanic polities looked like in the Amazon in terms of their complexity, size and density," he said.


Dr Fisher said that before Hispanic occupation in the 16th century it was believed Amazonians lived in small groups with limited social development and agricultural systems.


However, this landmark discovery indicates that may not have been the case.


Dr Fisher added: "These sites are pushing the boundaries of what we would call cities."


Scientists from Germany and the UK searched six regions of the Amazon in Bolivia using a helicopter equipped with light detection and ranging equipment.


The new type of research has paid them back in spades, with 26 settlements revealed to them in unprecedented new detail.  READ MORE...

Medieval Manuscripts

'Le Régime du corps' described a variety of ways to maintain health by keeping the body in balance. The Bute Painter, circa 1285, MS Arsenal 2510. Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France

What type of images come to mind when you think of medieval art? Knights and ladies? Biblical scenes? Cathedrals? It's probably not some unfortunate man in the throes of vomiting.

It might surprise you to learn this scene is found in a luxurious book from the Middle Ages made with the highest-quality materials, including abundant gold leaf. Known as an illustrated manuscript, it was made entirely by hand, as virtually all books were before the adoption of the printing press.

Why would such an opulent art form depict such a mundane topic?

Scholars believe that around 1256, a French countess commissioned the creation of a health manual to share with her four daughters just as they were forming their own households. Known as the "Régime du corps," or "regimen of the body," the book was widely copied and became extremely popular across Europe in the late Middle Ages, specifically between the 13th and 15th centuries. Over 70 unique manuscripts survive today. They offer a window into many aspects of everyday medieval life—from sleeping, bathing and preparing food to bloodletting, leeching and purging.

I'm an art historian who recently published a book called "Visualizing Household Health: Medieval Women, Art, and Knowledge in the Régime du corps" about these magnificent illustrated copies. What's fascinating to me about the "Régime du corps" is how it depicts the responsibilities of women in wealthy medieval households—and how domestic management advice was passed down among them.

In a chapter on caring for one's complexion, two women exchange a remedy. 'Le Régime du corps,' circa 1265-70. British Library, MS Sloane 2435. Credit: The British Library Board

Glimpsing relationships

The illustrations, which are usually located at the start of each chapter, convey information not often found in other historical records. Even if the images are idealized, they reveal an extraordinary amount about the clothes, objects and furnishings of the period. They also show interactions among people that reflect the culture and society in which these books were made.  READ MORE...