Mycenaean gold "seal" rings with Minoan-style iconography

 When the so-called "Griffin Warrior" was discovered near the Palace of Nestor in Pylos, the young man who died around 1500 BCE was buried with some 2,000 objects, including silver cups, beads made of precious stones, ivory combs, a sword and four intricately decorated solid gold rings. Archaeologists Shari Stocker and Jack Davis from the University of Cincinnati that excavated the warrior's burial think these grave goods provided evidence that Mycenaean culture recognized and appreciated Minoan culture more than previously believed, especially the gold rings. Made of multiple sheets of gold, the rings depict detailed scenes including bull leaping and iconography such as sun symbols and mythological genii creatures from Minoan mythology.  

Originally the rings were thought to have probably been crafted on Crete where they were used to seal documents or indicate ownership of goods or other objects and pillaged in warfare. But, after extensive study, Stocker and Davis have expressed their opinion that these items were probably not plunder but examples of exchanged ideas and the adoption of certain aspects of Minoan culture including religious concepts and symbols of political power.

Cynthia W. Shelmerdine of the University of Texas, an expert on the Bronze Age in the Aegean, observes, "These things clearly have a power connection…[and] fits with other evidence that the elites on the mainland are increasingly closely connected to the elites on Crete whether or not the rings were used in the Minoan way for sealing objects.”

"The elite of Pylos at this time knew what these symbols and objects meant.  The Griffin Warrior was not simply imitating the Minoan world but he was a part of it, just as he was a part of the Mycenaean world.  His burial serves as a testimony that the transition between the two eras was neither abrupt nor concrete, but that the process was much more complex. There was a time, at least in Pylos, where the two cultures seemingly blended and coexisted." - Uncovering Pylos, The Archaeological Institute of America.

Gold Mycenaen Seal Ring with two female figures with raised arms praying by a shrine or altar. The branches on either side of the central structure may indicate that the ritual is related to seasonal cycles and fertility, end of 15th century BCE, now in the NAM Athens. I photographed this ring at "The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great" exhibit at the Chicago Field Museum.

Mycenaean gold signet ring depicting a man with a branch approaching a building with a goat behind him intended for sacrifice 1500 BCE NAM Athens. I photographed this ring at "The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great" exhibit at the Chicago Field Museum.

Gold ring from grave IV of grave circle A at Mycenae 1500-1200 BCE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Schuppi

National Archaeological Museum of Athens, NAMA 240: Gold ring from grave IV of grave circle A at Tiryns, 1500-1200 BCE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Schuppi.

Archea Nemea, Corinthia, Greece: Mycenaean Gold Signet Ring MN 1005 showing a chariot. Part of the Repartriated Mycenaean Treasure of the Mycenaean cemetery of Aidonia in the Archaeological Museum of Nemea courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Schuppi.

Archea Nemea, Corinthia, Greece: Mycenaean Gold Signet Ring MN 1006 showing two woman holding flowers. Part of the Repartriated Mycenaean Treasure of the Mycenaean cemetery of Aidonia in the Archaeological Museum of Nemea courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Schuppi

Mycenaean gold seal ring, two lions tied to a pillar, said to be from Mycenae, 1700-1400 BCE, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zde

A ring with a hunting scene from the Minoan and Mycenaean culture, around 1400 BCE. Gold, Historical Museum of Serbia. Inv. No. 50/A, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor M Todorovic

Gold ring with relief: Sitting Goddess and procession of seahorses. Mycenaean Late Bronze Age. Tiryns, 15th cent. BCE. National Archaeological Museum of Athens N 6208, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zde.

 

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Phoenician mortuary practices of the Achaemenid period

The Phoenicians as a politically, religiously, and perhaps even ethnically distinct entity on the Levantine coast emerged at the end of the Late Bronze Age about 1200 BCE, as one of the successor cultures to the Canaanites.  From their homeland on the coast of the Levant, the Phoenicians spread throughout the Mediterranean and its islands including Cyprus, Sicily and Malta. Some scholars have observed that Iron Age Phoenicia was not a nation, but rather a collection of cities built around natural harbors along the coast. While they shared a common culture, these small states remained independent, competing with each other in the international marketplace. 

"Depending on how evidence is weighed [based on Ugaritic texts and classical sources], Phoenician religion might be presented on the one hand as inclusive and diverse – a “conservatively” polytheistic society easily able to incorporate or syncretize new deities, customs and traditions or on the other hand as highly place-specific – a model in which Phoenicians were devoted to city-gods only, with little shared pantheon above the local or regional scale," Helen Dixon, University of Michigan, observes.

This variety in religious practices initially resulted in the use of both cremation and inhumation in mortuary practices and funerary art often expressed influences by non-Phoenician ruling administrations like New Kingdom Egyptians, Assyrians, and Achaemenid Persians.  By the Achaemenid period, however, adult cremation abruptly disappears from sites in the Phoenician cultural sphere.  This corresponds with the increasing importance of Zoroastrianism in the 5th century BCE. In Zoroastrianism, water (aban) and fire (atar) are agents of ritual purity, and the associated purification ceremonies are considered the basis of ritual life. A corpse is considered a host for decay. Consequently, scripture enjoins the safe disposal of the dead in a manner such that a corpse does not pollute the good creation.

For inhumation burials, the use of sarcophagi during the Achaemenid period along with epigraphic evidence points to a consistent and insistent emphasis on the integrity of the burial. Deities, including Astarate, are invoked to assist with the procurement of blessings and to enforce curses and righteousness is defined by political accomplishments or the building of religious shrines.  Although Egyptian iconography persisted, it was supplemented by Persian iconography. A paucity of grave goods was referenced in inscriptions as a deterrent to grave robbing and what few ceramic vessels have been found in Phoenician burials have been ceremonially broken. Wealthier burials, though, apparently included the use of expensive resins such as myrrh to anoint, perfume or preserve the body and the deceased were dressed in special garments with head ornaments, particularly royal women whose head ornament was described as a gold bridle. However, there apparently were no extensive preparations for a “next life,” no large quantities of food or drink on which to survive or any biographical depictions or texts to accompany the dead. With the exception of the occasional appearance of amulets or other possibly apotropaic items, there was no preparation for an encounter with an underworld deity or space or expectation of  a future meeting one's deceased ancestors.

Read more about it in Dixon's dissertation, "Phoenician Mortuary Practice in the Iron Age I – III (ca. 1200 – ca. 300 BCE) Levantine “Homeland”:

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/99972

Sarcophagus made from Greek marble. burial grounds of Antarados, northern Lebanon. 480-450 BCE courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor McLeod

Anthropoid sarcophagi, from Sidon, 5th century BCE, National Museum of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Carole Raddato.

Phoenician sarcophagus of the fifth century BCE, from the Carthaginian colonization of Sicily. Discovered in Palermo. Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Giovanni Dall'Orto.

Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II, king of Sidon, Phoenicia, ca first quarter of the 5th century BC.E. at The Louvre courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Fred Romero.

Marble anthropoid sarcophagus, last quarter of the 5th century B.C.E., Graeco-Phoenician found on Cyprus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Phoenician sarcophagus of the fifth century BCE, from the Carthaginian colonization of Sicily. Discovered in Palermo. Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Giovanni Dall'Orto.

Marble anthropoid sarcophagus, last quarter of the 5th century B.C.E., Graeco-Phoenician found on Cyprus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Phoenician marble sarcophagus found in Cádiz. Spain, 5th century BCE, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Professor Ángel M. Felicísimo, University of Mérida.

Phoenician marble sarcophagus found in Cádiz. Spain, 5th century BCE, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Professor Ángel M. Felicísimo, University of Mérida.

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

The Mycenaean Dendra Panoply

In May 1960 Swedish archaeologists discovered the earliest example of a beaten bronze cuirass at Dendra, dated to the end of the fifteenth century BCE (Late Helladic IIIA - about 1400 BCE). It forms part of the Late Helladic Dendra Panoply, which consists of fifteen separate pieces of bronze sheet, held together with leather thongs, that encased the wearer from neck to knees. 

The panoply was found in tomb 12 of the Dendra necropolis and had been partially plundered at some point.  But in addition to the squashed armor, archaeologists were able to recover pottery fragments, a silver toggle pin (probably used to fasten an item of clothing), a bronze oinochoe (jug), as well as various other objects of bronze, including at least one knife and a dagger, a bronze mirror, a gold-plated ring, fragments of a silver cup, fragments of boar's tusk and a pair of swords inlaid with gold and ivory.

The panoply, when restored, was found to include a back and breast plate and six bronze plates, three in front and three behind along the bottom edge of the cuirass. A throat guard protected the wearer's neck and two triangular pieces were attached to the front of the breast plate to further protect the chest. The panoply also included two shoulder guards, two pieces of bronze to protect the the upper arms, a single greave and forearm guard.  Other bronze fragments were also found that may have been the remains of a second greave and forearm guard although classicist Diane Fortenberry argued that single greaves were used to indicate rank in Mycenaean Greece.

My first impression on seeing the panoply was that it resembled remnants of a robot from "Lost in Space." I couldn't visualize a Mycenaean warrior staggering around the battlefield in that armor! Although it is dated to about 100 years before the Trojan War, can you imagine Achilles fighting in it?

Apparently, my reaction has been shared by other scholars as well.  Some scholars tried to rationalize its use as armor worn by a chariot-mounted warrior.  Joost Crouwel observes,

"While it is certainly difficult to visualize a warrior thus equipped marching to and from a battlefield in the Greek summer, it is equally difficult to see him as fighting in a chariot. If we look at contemporary oriental armour, we see that the corselets worn by Asiatic and Egyptian chariot crews are long, flexible, short-sleeved tunics, covered with many scales of bronze or leather. This type of armour […] is much less cumbersome than the Dendra panoply."

Crouwell points out that the warrior wearing the Dendra panoply would not have fought with a bow as stretching a bow would have been extremely difficult, but used  a sword, dagger or thrusting spear, close range weapons which are rendered practically useless from a moving chariot.  Instead, Crouwel suggests the Dendra warrior may have been driven to the battlefield by a charioteer where he dismounted and fought as a swordsman, as evidenced by the two swords included in the grave goods. Piotr Taracha agrees and even points out that the warrior may have fought with two swords, even though there were skeletal remains of another male buried in the tomb as well.

Although we have only this one complete panoply to date, armor of similar type appears as an ideogram on Linear B tablets from Knossos, Pylos, and Tiryns and fragmentary armor of a similar type  was recovered in Thebes in 1964. No examples of such metal armor predate the Late Helladic II period and it disappears from the archaeological record at the end of Late Helladic IIA or beginning of Late Helladic IIB (about 1300 BCE) before reappearing briefly during the Dark Ages following the fall of Mycenaean palaces about 1200 BCE.

Read more about it:

https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/encased-bronze-panoply-mycenaean-tomb-dendra/

The Mycenaean Dendra Panoply found in tomb 12 of the Dendra necropolis dating to the end of 15th century BCE now in the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion (sometimes called Nafplio or Nauplion) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Schuppi.

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor, 1400-1200 BCE, by artist Christian Jégou.

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor, 1400-1200 BCE, by artist Christos Giannopoulos.

Ajax, wearing Dendra-type armor, heaves a large boulder at Hector's shield. by artist Peter Connolly

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor, 1400-1200 BCE, by artist Giuseppe Rava

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor, 1400-1200 BCE, by artist Giuseppe Rava

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor, 1400-1200 BCE, courtesy of Lāwāgetās, @ArcGreek on Twitter.

Mycenaean warrior wearing Dendra-type armor as envisioned by artist Bizfuzz on DeviantArt.

Historical reenactor wearing Dendra-type armor courtesy of Pinterest.

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Mysterious burial of fetus with 17th century Danish Bishop

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2015

Although I usually read and write about the study of Egyptian mummies, I received a press release about Lund University's current research on the mummy of it's 17th century founder, Bishop Peder Winstrup and was intrigued when I read that a 5 - 6 mo. old human fetus was found under the Bishop's feet in his coffin.  Apparently the researchers will be conducting DNA testing to see if the child was related to the Bishop.

Peder Winstrup, a bishop and prominent historical figure in Scandinavia, was one of the founding fathers of Lund University. He died in 1679 and was buried in the famous cathedral in Lund a year later. The coffin, together with its contents, constitutes a unique time capsule from the year 1679 with a well-preserved body, textiles and plant material.

Usually the internal organs would have been removed; in this case, however, the body was not embalmed in a traditional manner but simply dried out naturally. The good condition of the body seems to be the result of several factors in combination: constant air flow, the plant material in the coffin, a long period of illness resulting in the body becoming lean, death and burial during the winter months of December‒January and the general climate and temperature conditions in the cathedral.

In December Peder Winstrup underwent a CT scan at the University hospital in Lund. The preliminary results show that the body is relatively well preserved and it was possible to identify most of the internal organs.

The first results show dried fluid and mucus in the sinuses, indicating that Winstrup had been bedridden for a long period before he died. Calcifications in the lung could indicate both tuberculosis and pneumonia. Plaque was also found in the left coronary artery of the heart, the aorta and the carotid artery, indicating that the bishop suffered from atherosclerosis.

“The gall bladder also has several gallstones, which could indicate a high consumption of fatty food”, says Caroline Ahlström Arcini, an osteologist working on the project.

Peder Winstrup, who lived to the age of 74, also suffered from osteoarthritis in both the knee and hip joints. In addition, he had lost a number of teeth. Traces of caries were found in a couple of the remaining teeth, which would indicate that he had access to sugary foods.

“His right shoulder was slightly higher than his left, due to an injury to a tendon in the shoulder. This would have limited Winstrup’s mobility, making it difficult for him to carry out simple everyday tasks such as putting on a shirt or combing his hair with the comb in his right hand”, says Caroline Ahlström Arcini.

Unexpected discovery of a foetus

An unexpected discovery that emerged from the CT scan was a four- or five-month old foetus, well hidden in the coffin under Winstrup’s feet. Nobody knows who put the foetus there.

“You can only speculate as to whether it was one of Winstrup’s next of kin, or whether someone else took the opportunity while preparing the coffin. But we hope to be able to clarify any kinship through a DNA test”, says Per Karsten.

The next step will be investigations into the textiles in the coffin, as well as further study of the body. Tissue samples from the internal organs are to be removed, among other things. In addition, the extensive plant material in the coffin will be investigated.

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

3000 year-old gold bracelets unearthed on the Isle of Thanet

Gold bracelets, nearly 3,000 years old, are among more than 10,000 items unearthed during construction on the East Kent Access Road on the Isle of Thanet between Ramsgate and Sandwich (UK).  150 archaeologists supported by 91 volunteers are conducting the excavation of prehistoric burial monuments, Iron Age enclosures and a village whose inhabitants would have experienced the Roman invasion .

Simon Mason, Kent County Council’s principal archaeological officer, found the bracelets, dating back to around 700BC.  It is thought they were child­ren’s bracelets that may have been buried as a worship offering. They were found together, one pushed inside the other.

There is evidence of a Bronze Age settlement on the find site, and five hoards of bronze objects of a similar age have been found in the same area.

“With all the thousands of everyday objects we have dug up they are really helping to shed new light on the lives of prehistoric, Roman and Saxon people in Thanet.” [Mason said]  - Allister Hagger, Express.co.uk

*Image courtesy of Express

                  If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Will 2700-year-old tomb link Olmec to Maya?

Researchers excavating a Zoque Indian site in Chiapa de Corzo have uncovered a 2700-year-old tomb of a dignatary and, perhaps, his wife inside the earliest pyramid found so far in MesoAmerica.

The tomb held a man aged around 50, who was buried with jade collars, pyrite and obsidian artifacts and ceramic vessels. Archaeologist Emiliano Gallaga said the tomb dates to between 500 and 700 B.C. Based on the layers in which it was found and the tomb's unusual wooden construction, "we think this is one of the earliest discoveries of the use of a pyramid as a tomb, not only as a religious site or temple," Gallaga said.

The body of a 1-year-old child was laid carefully over the man's body inside the tomb, while that of a 20-year-old male was tossed into the chamber with less care, perhaps sacrificed at the time of the burial.
The older man was buried with jade and amber collars and bracelets and pearl ornaments. His face was covered with what may have been a funeral mask with obsidian eyes. Nearby, the tomb of a woman, also about 50, contained similar ornaments.

The ornaments — some imported from as far away as Guatemala and central Mexico — and some of the 15 ceramic vessels found in the tomb show influences from the Olmec culture, long considered the "mother culture" of the region. - Fox News

Like many people of my generation, I was taught that the earliest culture to construct pyramids was the Maya.  But this find clearly illustrates native peoples that preceded the Mayans used monumental architecture for ritualistic purposes as well.

I found this interesting article that gives further background on the Zoque people.  It also points out that the earliest archaeological remains of "public architecture" was not in Central America at all but at Watsons Brake in northern Louisiana!

The appearance of ceramics in Mexico coincided with either the arrival of a new people or sudden fluorescence of an existing people around 1600 BC in the tepid lowlands of what is now the states of Vera Cruz and Tabasco, adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico.  They called themselves the Zoque. According to their own legends, they crossed the Gulf of Mexico in three great flotillas of giant canoes, to arrive in their new homeland. Three thousand years later the Aztecs called the inhabitants of this region, the Olmecs, which means “rubber people.”  It is not known if the builders of the ancient ceremonial complexes in Vera Cruz and Tabasco are one and the same as the people occupying the region in 1500 AD.  However, the process of making rubber by mixing the saps of an indigenous rubber tree and an indigenous vine seems to coincide with the arrival of the Zoque.  

Around 1400 BC the first large ceremonial complex appeared in the Zoque lands.  Known today by the Spanish name of San Lorenzo, it featured earthen mounds and geometric forms grouped around plazas. The theocratic elite lived near the ceremonial complex, but the commoners were dispersed in hamlets and farmsteads across a large expanse of territory.  It is quite likely that the farmers only lived in the same location as long as their soils remained fertile.  There was very little exposed stone in the region so all of the architecture was of wood, clay and earth.  The palace of the king or high priest has stone columns to support its roof, plus stone cisterns and steps. Any stone used in art, was imported from 80-150 miles away by river transportation. 

San Lorenzo was abandoned around 900 AD. - The Mesoamerican Connection by Richard Thornton, Examiner.com

 Mr. Thornton goes on to describe Zoque stone sculptures depicting men with beards led some people to jump to the erroneous conclusion that the Americas must have been initially settled by early Europeans based on this evidence.

[Colossal head from Monument 4 Veracruz Mexico Omec 1200-900 BCE Basalt.  Photographed by Mary Harrsch at the DeYoung Museum of Fine Art, San Francisco, CA]

The fact is that several indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere wore beards and even mustaches.  These include the tribes of the Northwest Pacific Coast, the Aztecs, and the Creeks of the Southeast.  The chroniclers of the de Soto Expedition (1539-1543) commented on an elderly Okonee (branch of Creeks) leader who had a beard down to his belly button. - The Mesoamerican Connection by Richard Thornton, Examiner.com

I have been privileged to see one of the more iconic Olmec stone sculptures of men wearing leather helmets at the DeYoung Museum of Fine Art in San Francisco.  The DeYoung has an excellent collection of early American Art and I would encourage you to put it on your agenda the next time you travel to the Bay Area.

Here's a slideshow of some of the wonderful art I photographed there several years ago:





      If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!