A look at the world of the past, through ancient ruins and archaeological discoveries.
In Pictures: A Look at the World of the Past
Category: Archaeology
Unearthed: Ancient Temple in Bali
A structure believed to be a Hindu temple in Bali was found. The temple is also thought to be the largest temple ever found in Bali.
Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says that workers were digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali’s capital, when they discovered a large stone about 1 meter underground. So far, the excavation teams have uncovered 57-meter of the temple structure.
The temple is still being analysed but according to its shape and characteristics, Wayan Swantika believes that the temple was built between the 13th and 15th century.
Mammoth Found in Russia
Last month, an 11 years old boy, Yevgeny Salinder, found a well-preserved mammoth carcass at his home in Taymyr, Siberia, Russia.
The mammoth carcass is estimated to be 30,000 years old. It is informally named Zhenya, after the boy’s nickname. Its official name is the Sopkarginsky mammoth, according to ABC News. The 16-year-old mammoth was 2 meters tall and weighed 500 kilograms.
Scientists say:
- Could have been “possibly” killed by a human or a rival mammoth.
- The mammoth was pretty small for his age.
- It’s one of the best-preserved bodies of a grown mammoth yet found.
Unearthed: Enormous Roman Mosaic
A giant poolside mosaic featuring intricate geometric patterns was unearthed in the southern Turkey earlier this week under a farmer’s field. The first hint that something stunning lay underground in southern Turkey came in 2002, when Purdue University classics professor Nick Rauh walked through a freshly-plowed farmer’s field near the ancient city of Antiochia ad Cragum. The plow had churned up bits of mosaic tiles.
The mosaic was a decorated floor of a bath complex. The pool was 7-meter long. The find likely dates to the third or fourth century, said Michael Hoff, a University of Nebraska, Lincoln art historian and director of the mosaic excavation. The mosaic composed of large squares, forming unique geometric designs, from starburst patterns to intertwined loops on white background.
The mosaic is 149 square meters. So far, it is the largest Roman mosaic ever found in southern Turkey. The existence of the mosaic suggests that Antiochia ad Cragum was far more influenced by the Romans than believed.
Only about 40 percent of the mosaic had been revealed so far. The team will return with students and volunteers to complete the mosaic excavations in June 2013. Hoff said, the plan is to construct a wooden shelter over the entire mosaic and open the site to public visits.
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Unearthed:Aztec Human Remains in Mexican Settlement
Archaeologists in Mexico Cit have unearthed the remains of 15 people in an ancient Mexican settlement. Most of them are the remains of the children of travelling merchants during the Aztec times.
They also found ceramic flutes, bowls, incense burners, the remains of a dog that was sacrificed to accompany a child in the afterlife and other artifacts of a pre-Columbian civilization.
According to researcher, Alejandra Jasso Pena, a construction was about to start on five buildings in a Mexico City neighborhood when the National Institute of Anthropology and History asked to carry out an excavation of the site first.
Experts suspected the site was an important ceremonial center for the Tepanec tribe between 1200 and 1300. The influential traders living there were called Pochtecas.
Unearthed: Ancient Road in Greece…
Archaeologists in Thessaloniki, Greece have recently discovered an ancient road in Greece .
The 70-meter section road was built by the Romans and is the city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.
Several of the large marble paving stones were etched with children’s board games, while others were marked by horse-drawn cart wheels.
Also discovered at the marble-paved road were remains of tools and lamps, as well as the bases of marble columns.
