Wooden Stake in Starosel Tomb dates structure to reign of Odyrisan King Amatokos II

A wooden stake unearthed in the ancient Thracian burial mound known as Starosel Tomb in Bulgaria last summer has helped Bulgarian archaeologists to date the construction to the reign of the Thracian King Amatokos II, a monarch of the 4th century Odrysian state.  The Odrysians were a powerful Thracian tribe that ruled an area that extended from modern Bulgaria all the way to western Turkey in the valley of the Hebrus River from the 5th to 3rd century BCE.

[Image of fresco from Thracian tomb in Kazanluk, Bulgaria courtesy of Peter Ashton]

Xenophon tells us the Odrysians raced horses and drank heavily after the burial of a warrior while later Roman writer Tacitus adds that the Odrysians frequently used gifts as a diplomatic strategy to get things done.

The radio carbon dating analysis carried out in Heidelberg, Germany, in the laboratory of Dr. Bernd Krommer, have shown that the stake was burned in the period after 358 BC, when the temple was constructed, and the earth was heaped on top of it to form a burial mound.

The analysis of the lab research and of the events which happened at that time have given archaeologist Ivan Hristov grounds to conclude that the temple in the village of Starosel, in the so called Chetinyova Mound, and the nearby Thracian ruler’s residence under Mount Kozi Gramadi were built during the reign of the Thracian King Amatokos II (359-351 BC), of the Thracian Odrysian state (5th-3rd century BC.

The family coat of arms of King Amatokos was a doubleheaded ax, or a labrys. Symbols of a labrys were discovered on several items around Starosel, including Thracian coins.

Before Dr. Hristov’s analysis, the researchers of Ancient Thrace believed that the Starosel tomb and underground temple complex were built by King Sitalces (445-424 BC), the third ruler of the Odrysian State. - Novinite.com

         
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Possible Discovery of Lost Army of King Cambyses II Makes Top Ten List of 2009

I see the possible discovery of the lost army of King Cambyses II of Persia made the Brit's top ten list of archaeological discoveries of 2009.  I truly hope the brothers Castiglioni are able to prove their claim.  It would be almost as exciting as Schliemann's  discovery of Troy!  The Castiglioni shouldn't be too discouraged by scholarly naysayers.  They didn't believe Schliemann either!!

 [Image:  Cambyses at Pelusium]


The complete list:

1.  The Staffordshire Hoard  (7th century Anglo Saxon stash of gold weapons, jewelry, etc.)
2.  Bone Flute and Erotic Figurine at Hohle Fels (Germany)
3.  Bronze Age Burial Cist at Forteviot (Scotland)
4.  The Lost City of Bathonea (Turkey)
5.  The Stirling Hoard (of gold neck torcs - Scotland)
6.  World's Oldest Flax Fibres (Republic of Georgia)
7.  Earliest Evidence of Chemical Warfare (Dura Europos, Syria)  
8.  Ida - the 47-million-year-old fossil thought to be the missing link in human evolution (Germany) 
9.  The Emperor's Private Amphitheatre at Portus (Italy)
10. The Lost Army of Cambyses II of Persia (Siwa Oasis, Egypt) 

     
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Ancient Leaded Egyptian Eyeliner found to trigger Immune Response!

A recent study by the [French] National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS) and Paris's



Pierre and Marie Curie University, along with the French Centre for Museum Restoration and Research says the quantities of lead used in ancient Egyptian eyeliner actually triggered the body's immune response and helped to protect the wearer's eyes from infection!

[Image: Gilded cartonnage mummy-mask of a lady of high rank early 18th dynasty 1500 BCE from Thebes Egypt.  Photographed at the British Museum by Mary Harrsch]

"To get these results, the team under Christian Amatore made use of laurionite, a lead chloride among the salts synthesised by ancient Egyptians, and noted its actions on an isolated cell of the skin with the help of ultramicroelectrodes, observing the super-production of a few dozen thousands of molecules of nitric oxide molecules. This stimulates the arrival of macrophages cells which clean the organism by eating living bacteria and various residual matter." - ANSAmed If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!