Easter Island discovery sends archaeologists back to drawing board

From: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/

Archaeologists have disproved the fifty-year-old theory underpinning our understanding of how the famous stone statues were moved around Easter Island.

Fieldwork led by researchers at University College London and The University of Manchester, has shown the remote Pacific island’s ancient road system was primarily ceremonial and not solely built for transportation of the figures.

A complex network of roads up to 800-years-old crisscross the Island between the hat and statue quarries and the coastal areas.

Laying alongside the roads are dozens of the statues- or moai.

The find will create controversy among the many archaeologists who have dedicated years to finding out exactly how the moai were moved, ever since Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl first published his theory in 1958.

Heyerdahl and subsequent researchers believed that statues he found lying on their backs and faces near the roads were abandoned during transportation by the ancient Polynesians.

But his theory has been completely rejected by the team led by Manchester’s Dr Colin Richards and UCL’s Dr Sue Hamilton.

Instead, their discovery of stone platforms associated with each fallen moai - using specialist ‘geophysical survey’ equipment – finally confirms a little known 1914 theory of British archaeologist Katherine Routledge that the routes were primarily ceremonial avenues.

The statues, say the Manchester and UCL team just back from the island, merely toppled from the platforms with the passage of time.

“The truth of the matter is, we will never know how the statues were moved,” said Dr Richards.

“Ever since Heyerdahl, archeologists have come up with all manner of theories – based on an underlying assumption that the roads were used for transportation of the moai, from the quarry at the volcanic cone Rano Raraku.

”What we do now know is that the roads had a ceremonial function to underline their religious and cultural importance.

“They lead – from different parts of the island – to the Rano Raraku volcano where the Moai were quarried.

“Volcano cones were considered as points of entry to the underworld and mythical origin land Hawaiki.

“Hence, Rano Ranaku was not just a quarry but a sacred centre of the island.”

The previous excavation found that the roads are concave in shape –making it difficult to move heavy objects along them

And as the roads approach Rano Raraku, the statues become more frequent – which the team say, indicated an increasing grades of holiness.

“All the evidence strongly shows that these roads were ceremonial - which backs the work of Katherine Routledge from almost 100 years ago, “ said Dr Sue Hamilton.

“It all makes sense: the moai face the people walking towards the volcano.

“The statues are more frequent the closer they are to the volcano – which has to be way of signifying the increasing levels of importance.”

She added: “What is shocking is that Heyerdahl actually found some evidence to suggest there were indeed platforms.

“But like many other archaeologists, he was so swayed by his cast iron belief that the roads were for transportation – he completely ignored them.”

Notes for editors

Routledge and her husband arrived at Easter Island in 1914, to publish her findings in a popular travel book, The Mystery of Easter Island in 1919.

Geophysical surveys are used to create subsurface maps by passing electrical currents below the ground and measuring its resistance.

High quality images are available.

Drs Hamilton and Richards are available for comment

For media enquires contact:
Mike Addelman
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
0161 275 0790
07717 881 567
michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk

Archaeologists find door to the afterlife

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor.

Nearly six-foot tall nearly six-foot-tall the slab of pink granite was used as a false door in the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut Photo: AP

The recessed niches found in nearly all ancient Egyptian tombs were meant to take the spirits of the dead to and from the afterworld. The nearly six-foot- tall (1.75 meters) slab of pink granite was covered with religious texts.

The door came from the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, a powerful, 15th century BC queen from the New Kingdom with a famous mortuary temple near Luxor in southern Egypt.

User held the position of vizier for 20 years, also acquiring the titles of prince and mayor of the city, according to the inscriptions. He may have inherited his position from his father.

Viziers in ancient Egypt were powerful officials tasked with the day-to-day running of the kingdom's complex bureaucracy.

As a testament to his importance, User had his own tomb on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, where royal kings and queens were also buried. A chapel dedicated to him has also been discovered further south in the hills near Aswan.

The stone itself was long way from its tomb and had apparently been removed from the grave and then incorporated into the wall of a Roman-era building, more than a thousand years later.

False doors were placed in the west walls of tombs and faced offering tables where food and drink were left for the spirit of the deceased.

Unmasked: The real faces of the crippled King Tutankhamun (who walked with a cane) and his incestuous parents

By Claire Bates

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

King Tutankhamun was a hobbled, weak teenager with a cleft palate and club foot. And he probably has his parents to blame.

For the mother and father of the legendary boy pharaoh were actually brother and sister.

The startling discovery was revealed today by a team led by Egyptian antiquities expert Dr Zahi Hawass. They identified the mummies of both his parents and both of his grandparents by studying DNA samples over two years.

For a long time there were strong suspicions that he was murdered because he had a hole in the back of his head.

But this is now believed to be due to the mummification process and scientists think the new research points to him dying from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria.

Scroll down for video report

Enlarge

Meet the family: Scientists have for the first time - with the help of DNA - been able to identify these skulls as belonging to King Tut's father Akhenaten (left) and mother (right). They were also brother and sister

INCEST AND ROYALTY

King Tut (pictured below) belonged to the 18th dynasty of Egyptian kings during the period of the New Kingdom. His genealogy is complex as there was considerable inter-marriage within his family.

The pharaohs believed they were descended from the gods and incest was seen as acceptable so as to retain the sacred bloodline. King Tut was born c.1341 BC. His father was Akhenaten, first known as Amenhotep. Tutankhamun's mother has been confirmed as Mummy KV35YL, a sister of Akhenaten. Tut's stepmother was Nefertiti, the chief wife of Akhenaten. In c.1348 BC Ankhesenamun was born to Akhenaten and Nerfertiti, making her Tut's half-sister. At the age of ten Tut married her. He died at the age of 19.

The revelations are in stark contrast to the popular image of a graceful boy-king as portrayed by the dazzling funerary artifacts in his tomb that later introduced much of the world to the glory of ancient Egypt.

King Tut has fascinated the world ever since his ancient tomb was unearthed by the British archaeologist Dr Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in 1922.

The treasure in his tomb included an 24.2lb solid gold death mask encrusted with lapis lazuli and semi-precious stones.

Rumours of a curse arose after Dr Carter's benefactor Lord Carnarvon died suddenly a few months after the tomb was opened, even though Dr Carter went on to live another 16 years.

King Tut was known to be the son of the 'heretic' pharaoh Akhenaten, who tried to reform the Egyptian religion during his rule. But the identity of his mother had been shrouded in mystery - until now.

The fact that his mother and father were brother and sister may seem bizarre today but incest was rife among the boy king's family because pharaohs were believed to be descended from the gods.

Therefore it was an acceptable way of retaining the sacred bloodline. King Tut's own wife Ankhesenpaaten, was his half-sister as they shared the same father. They were married when he was just ten.

But Dr Hawass' team found generations of inbreeding took their toll on King Tut - the last of his great dynasty.

The bone disease he suffered runs in families and is more likely to be passed down if two first-degree relatives marry and have children, the study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows.

They described him as: 'A young but frail king who needed canes to walk.'

This explains the presence of more than 100 canes in his tomb, which he would have needed in the afterlife.

'A sudden leg fracture possibly introduced by a fall might have resulted in a life threatening condition when a malaria infection occurred,' the JAMA article said.

Tut, who became pharaoh at the age of ten in 1333 BC, ruled for just nine years until his death. He was the last of the royal line from the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom.

The cause of King Tut's death has long been disputed among historians, with many speculating that he was murdered.

Theories that he was assassinated stemmed from the fact that he was the last ruler of his dynasty and had a hole in the back of his head.

King Tut's grandmother Queen Tiye, the mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The hairpiece behind her is believed to have been made up of her own hair. It has not disintegrated because of the mummification process and the dry conditions within the tomb

Enlarge

The two faces of the boy king Tutankhamun. Left, his mummified head and, right, a reconstruction of what he would have looked like

However, in 2005 Dr Hawass announced his team had found no evidence for a blow to the back of the head, and the hole was from the mummification process.

King Tut was succeeded by the high priest Ay for four years - who also married his widow Ankhesenpamon.

Ay was followed by the military leader Horemheb who ruled for 26 years until he ceded power to Ramses, founder of the 19th dynasty.

The researchers studied 16 mummies from the Valley of the Kings. They revealed that beneath the golden splendour in which they lived, ancient Egypt's royals were as vulnerable as the lowliest peasant to disease.

Three other mummies besides Tut's showed repeated malaria infections and incestuous marriages only worsened their maladies.

However, analysis of King Tut's family disproved speculation his family suffered from rare disorders that gave them feminine attributes and misshapen bones, including Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that can result in elongated limbs.

The theories arose from the artistic style and statues of the period, which showed the royal men with prominent breasts, elongated heads and flared hips.

'It is unlikely that either Tutankhamun or Akhenaten actually displayed a significantly bizarre or feminine physique,' the team said.

One of the most impressive-looking mummies who was studied was King Tut's grandmother, Queen Tiye.

She was the chief wife of Amenhotep III and mother of King Tut's father Akhenaten. She was the first queen to figure so prominently beside her husband in statues and temple reliefs.

After 3,000 years and DNA analysis, scientists have proved that, from foreground to background, these mummies are of King Tut's mother, grandmother, and his father, Akkenaten

Enlarge

Antiquities expert Dr Zahi Hawass (right) announces today in Cairo's Egypt Museum that the mummies in front of him have been identified as Tutankhamun's father, mother and grandmother by using DNA

Technicians take DNA samples from the mummy of Boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. Tests revealed his parents were siblings

SO WHO WAS KING TUT?

King Tut became pharaoh at the age of ten in 1333BC and ruled for just nine years until his death. In the same year he became pharaoh he married Ankhesenpaaten, his half-sister. Tutankhamun's significance stems from his rejection of the radical religious innovations introduced by his predecessor and father, Akhenaten.

He had attempted to supplant the traditional priesthood and deities with the minor god Aten. When King Tut was aged 12 the backlash against the new religion was so intense that the young pharaoh changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. A year later, the royal court moved back to the old capital at Thebes (now called Luxor), which was the centre of worship of the god Amun and the power base of the Amun priests. King Tut is considered a minor phaorah. However, his fame arose when his tomb was found in 1922 by Howard Carter (pictured above). It was almost intact and remains the most complete ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found.

Queen Tiye held much political influence at court and acted as an adviser to her son after the death of her husband.

There has been speculation that her eldest son Prince Tuthmose was in fact Moses who led the Israelites into the Promised Land.

A lock of her hair was found in a miniature coffin in King Tut's tomb.

Her tomb was identified by matching the labelled hair in Tut's tomb with the well-preserved hair on her mummy.

The ancient Egyptians were very concerned with maintaining their hair to promote their social status.

They devised remedies for baldness and greying and regularly washed and scented their hair. Adults sometimes wore hairpieces, and had elaborate styles.

The hairpiece found by Queen Tiye is believed to have been made up of her own hair. It has not disintegrated because of the mummification process and the dry conditions within the tomb.

Hair does not continue to grow after death, instead the skin retracts around the follicles as it dries, making the hair jut out more prominently.

King Tutankhamun has long been big business.

A 1970s Tut exhibit drew millions of visitors to U.S. museums, and a popular revival including artefacts from his tomb and others' has been traveling around the United States for the past several years and is currently at San Francisco's DeYoung Museum.

Egypt's economy depends a great deal on tourism, which brings in around $10billion a year in revenue.

The King Tut exhibit at Cairo's Egyptian Museum is one of the crown jewels of the country's ancient past and features a stunning array of treasures including Tut's most iconic relic - the golden funeral mask.

Another tourist destination is Tut's tomb tucked in the Valley of the Kings amid Luxor's desert hills. In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it and the trove of fabulous gold and precious stones inside, propelling the once-forgotten pharaoh into global stardom.

Hundreds of tourists come daily to the tomb to see Tut's mummy, which has been on display there since 2007.

Though historically Tut was a minor king, the grander image 'is embedded in our psyche' and the new revelations won't change that, said James Phillips, a curator at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.

'Reality is reality, but it's not going to change his place in the folk heroism of popular culture,' Phillips said. 'The way he was found, what was found in his grave - even though he was a minor king, it has excited the imagination of people since 1922.'

Dr Zahi Hawass removed King Tut from his stone sarcophagus in 2007 to study his DNA. Tests revealed the king was a sickly young adult

8 Jewish archaeological discoveries

From Dead Sea Scroll fragments to a ‘miracle pool’

MSNBC.com

AP By John Roach, contributor Introduction It’s been more than 60 years since the first pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the caves of the Judean desert, but yet another piece of parchment bearing 2,000-year-old scriptures — verses from the Book of Leviticus — was found just in the past few years. Such finds demonstrate that the Holy Land can still produce ancient treasures, thousands of years after the events described in the Bible. Click the "Next" arrow above to learn about seven more archaeological discoveries in recent years that have shed light on Jewish history and the Old Testament. Bernat Armangue / AP Ceramic shard may bear oldest Hebrew inscription A 6-by-6-inch pottery shard unearthed at the archaeological dig site of Hirbet Qeiyafa (the Elah Fortress) in Israel, shown here, contains five lines of faded characters that may bear the oldest Hebrew inscription ever found. The 3,000-year-old text dates to the time of the Hebrew Bible's King David and is thought to be written in proto-Canaanite, a precursor to the Hebrew alphabet. While other people used proto-Canaanite characters as well, the inscription contains a three-letter verb meaning "to do" that existed only in Hebrew, according to Yossi Garfinkel, a Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the dig. "That leads us to believe that this is Hebrew, and that this is the oldest Hebrew inscription that has been found," he told the Associated Press. Other scholars, however, have urged caution until more is known about the inscription and its context. AP Elusive biblical wall discovered? The Book of Nehemiah describes the construction of a wall as part of a rebuilding project after Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians. Archaeologists think they have now found the wall. Their case rests on the pottery pieces and other artifacts shown here. They were discovered near a wall that was previously thought to date to the Hasmonean period of Jewish history (142-37 B.C.). These pottery pieces date to the 5th century B.C., which suggests that the wall is older and corresponds with the time of the biblical account. Other archaeologists, however, are unconvinced. Kevin Frayer / AP Remains of ‘miracle pool’ discovered In this image, water flows through a site where the remains of a pool serve as a link between Jewish rituals and a famous miracle said to have been performed by Jesus. The site, known as Siloam Pool, was used by Jews for ritual immersions before heading down to the Temple Mount. Jesus is said to have miraculously cured a man of blindness in the pool. Archaeologists have also found biblical-era coins with Jewish writing, pottery shards and a stone bottle cork — all helping confirm the authenticity of the site, located in what is now the Arab neighborhood of Silwan. Tara Todras-whitehill / AP Dead Sea Scrolls shrouded in mystery The ancient texts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century, yet to this day they remain shrouded in mystery and controversy. The 2,000-year-old collection of writings, which includes the earliest surviving pieces of the Bible such as the Book of Isaiah, shown here, was discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd in a cave above the ancient settlement of Qumran. Conventional interpretations hold that the texts were authored and stored by the Essenes, a hard-core Jewish sect thought to have occupied Qumran at the time. However, in recent years this view has come under attack by scholars who believe Qumran was a fortress or pottery-making facility that had nothing to do with Essenes. These scholars contend that the cave was just a convenient storage locker of sorts for Jews fleeing the Roman siege on Jerusalem in the year 70. Bernat Armangue / AP Evidence of King Herod's tomb mounts Archaeologists excavating King Herod's winter palace in the Judean desert continue to unearth what appear to be the remains of the ancient ruler's tomb. The sarcophagus shown here was pieced together from scattered fragments of a mausoleum archaeologists believe was smashed apart by Jewish rebels who reviled the king as a Roman puppet. Herod was the Jewish proxy ruler of the Holy Land under Roman imperial occupation from 37 to 4 B.C. After his death, scholars believe the palace became a stronghold for rebels fighting the Roman occupation. The rebels were defeated, and the palace destroyed, in the year 71. Emilio Morenatti / AP Tunnels, chambers aided escape from Romans When the Romans sacked Jerusalem around the year 70, Jews took refuge in a network of underground tunnels and chambers, archaeological finds have revealed. This image depicts one of the tunnels dug beneath the main road of Jerusalem during what is known as the Second Temple era. Pottery shards and coins from the end of the era attest to the channel's age, according to one of the project’s researchers. Elsewhere in the city, archaeologists have uncovered chambers filled in with supplies, an indication that the ancient Jews prepared for the uprising. Rachael Strecher / AP Archaeologists question Masada saga The mountaintop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea is famous in Jewish history as the final holdout for about 900 rebels who chose suicide over capture by the Romans in A.D. 73. The story plays a central role in Israel's national mythology, though recent studies have cast doubt on its credibility. Some scholars think the mass suicide was greatly exaggerated or never happened at all. In the 1960s, archaeologists found two male skeletons and the braided hair of a woman in a bathhouse — and the Israeli government gave those remains a state burial in 1969, thinking that they came from Masada’s Jews. More recently, however, some archaeologists have suggested that the remains were actually those of the Jews’ Roman enemies. Despite the recent controversies, the Masada fortress, seen here, remains one of Israel's top attractions. A cable car carries visitors to the top of the rock.

Updated: 3:44 p.m. ET Dec. 10, 2008

© 2008 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28162671/

Oldest Hebrew Text Is Evidence for Bible Stories?

Mati Milstein in Elah Valley, Israel for National Geographic News

A 3,000-year-old pottery shard with five lines of text (above) is the oldest Hebrew writing ever found, archaeologists said in October 2008. The text, found on a hilltop above the valley where David is said to have battled Goliath, could give historical support for stories in the Bible. Copyright 2008 by David Willner for Foundation Stone

What may be the oldest known Hebrew text, found on a hilltop above the valley where David is said to have battled Goliath, could lend historical support to some Bible stories, archaeologists say. The 3,000-year-old pottery shard with five lines of text was found during excavations of the Elah Fortress, the oldest known biblical-period fortress, which dates to the tenth century B.C. It is the most important archaeological discovery in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls, according to lead researcher Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology. His team believes the text may provide evidence for a real-life King David and his vast kingdom, the existence of which has been long doubted by scholars. Carbon-14 dating of olive pits found at the archaeological site, as well as analysis of pottery remains, also place the text to between 1000 and 975 B.C., the time King David, head of the Kingdom of Israel, would have lived. "This means that historical knowledge of King David could pass from generation to generation in writing—and not just as oral tradition." The exact nature of the text— believed to be Hebrew written in Proto-Canaanite script, a type of early alphabet—has yet to be determined, but a number of root words have already been translated, including "judge," "slave," and "king." But the archaeologist's claims are disputed by an Israeli colleague, who says there is not enough scientific information to reach definitive conclusions. Strategic Valley The fortress is located southwest of Jerusalem on what was the border between the Israelite-run Kingdom of Judea and the coastal Philistine territories. Philistines, who possibly came from Crete, settled the southern coast of Palestine around the same time as the Israelites in the 12th century B.C. (See a time line of early Christianity.) During the biblical period, the Elah Valley was the main point of passage between the two territories. It's not known whether the Judeans or the Philistines controlled the strategic fortress overlooking the Elah Valley, which was surrounded by nearly 3,000-foot-long (700-meter-long) fortifications built of massive stones. But Garfinkel believes the site was most likely the westernmost outpost maintained by the Kingdom of Judea, which controlled land in southwest Asia and Palestine and was a predecessor to the Kingdom of Israel. For instance, pottery at the fortress is similar to that found at other Israelite sites, and there are no pig remains—an indicator that often distinguishes Israelite from Philistine sites. The newfound Hebrew text has also added new evidence of Judean rule, since key words indicate the text is most likely Hebrew. (Related: "4,000-Year-Old Tombs Found Near Jerusalem Mall" [November 21, 2006].) Proving the Bible? Garfinkel believes the Elah site and newfound writing could provide historic evidence of the United Monarchy in the tenth century B.C. That's when King David is said to have united Judea and Israel, establishing a large kingdom that stretched between the Nile River in present-day Egypt and the Euphrates in Iraq, according to the Bible. Though most researchers don't believe this kingdom existed, evidence from the site and pottery shard seems to support the idea of a strong central administration based in nearby Jerusalem, as detailed in the Bible, Garfinkel said. (Related: "Jerusalem Tunnel Linked to Bible" [September 11, 2003].) "There is a big debate if the biblical tradition is accurate history or mythology written hundreds of years later … But this is the first time in the archaeology of Israel we have evidence that in the time of King David such heavily fortified cities were built." ABC Evolution The ancient text may also shed light on the evolution of the world's alphabetic languages. "This is the first time that we have a Proto-Canaanite inscription dated in [the context of] an archaeological site from the tenth century B.C.," Garfinkel said. "This is a major contribution to the understanding of writing in the world." The evolution of alphabetic scripts, which had their origins in Proto-Canaanite some 3,700 years ago, was one of humankind's greatest intellectual achievements, experts say. "This allowed everyone to read and write. Before this, Sumerian scripts and Egyptian hieroglyphs were very complicated writing techniques … only trained scribes could read and write in the ancient Near East," Garfinkel said. Archaeological Doubts Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, who is not involved in the Elah excavations, agreed the site is very important, but has significant concerns with Garfinkel's interpretations of the findings. Immediately drawing ties between the site and the Kingdom of Judea is a mistake, he said—and it might well have been Philistine in origin. Also, due to the small number of samples, the carbon-14 dating of the site is also not as precise as it should be, he added. "We need to wait for more samples. It's not enough to date the site based on two [olive pits]," he said. He also expressed doubts about the centerpiece of Garfinkel's findings—the text. "I am prepared to predict that it will be very difficult to determine whether the text is, in fact, Hebrew. There will be evidence indicating various possibilities," he said. "In the nature of its discovery, this [piece of pottery] is also not unusual. There is a group of late Proto-Canaanite [pottery shards] from the same chronological phase that have been found in various sites on the coastal plain—none of them were discovered in Judea proper."

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