According to a report in The First News , archaeologists from Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Museum of the First Piast at Lednica used photogrammetry to map the bottom of west-central Poland’s Lake Lednica. Located between the city of Gniezno, site of the country’s first capital, and Poznań, the seat of the country’s first Christian bishop, the lake is remembered as the site of the Christian baptism of Duke Mieszko I, who ruled Poland from about 960 to 992. The study revealed the remains of wooden shore fortifications dated to the time of Mieszko I, and two medieval wooden bridges. Artifacts discovered under the remains of the bridges include an intact tenth-century sword and remains of its leather scabbard. X-rays revealed that the sword was decorated with a Christian symbol known as the Jerusalem cross. Two axes, a spearhead, arrowheads, crossbow bolts, a sickle, ceramics, and animal bones were also found. One of the axes, resembling a Scandinavian style, was inlaid with silver decorations.

BBC News reports that metal detectorist Mariusz Stepien discovered a hoard of Bronze
Age artifacts in southern Scotland. “I was over the moon, actually shaking with happiness,” Stepien said of the find. The archaeologists who excavated the site recovered an intact horse harness, complete with leather straps, rings, and buckles; a sword in its scabbard; chariot wheel axle caps; and a rattle pendant thought to have been hung from the harness for decoration. “There is still a lot of work to be done to assess the artifacts and understand why they were deposited,” Emily Freeman of the Crown Office’s Treasure Trove Unit commented
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8947-200811-scotland-intact-harness

By: Rebecca Anne Proctor
5th August 2020 08:08 BST
Two powerful explosions at the Port of Beirut on early Tuesday evening left more than 70 people dead and over 4,000 injured. Initially, Lebanese state-run National News
Agency reported that a fire broke out near the Beirut Port. According to Lebanon’s Prime Minister, an investigation is underway concerning an estimated 2,750 tons of the
explosive ammonium nitrate that has been stored at the site for six years.
The damage rocked an already fragile Beirut to its core and wreaked havoc on the city’s
renowned art scene. Major art galleries, including Marfa Gallery, located close to
Beirut’s Port, and Galerie Tanit were completely destroyed. Galerie Tanit had hosted a
vernissage on Monday evening for the Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri’s solo exhibition
Remains of the Last Red Rose scheduled to be on view until 25 September. Opera
Gallery’s sleek Beirut branch, located in the city’s downtown district overlooking the
seafront, has also been decimated.
The blasts sent ripples of destruction throughout the city. Galerie Sfeir-Semler, located in the desolate district of Karantina, and Galerie Janine Rubeiz in the Raouché area, have also been damaged. “One of my employees is in intensive care and the gallery has been damaged,” said gallery owner Saleh Barakat. “We barely had the time to close the open vitrines to protect the artworks and are now in the hospital to be with our colleague.”

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/beirut-explosion

According to an ANSA report, a team of archaeologists from Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities conducting rescue excavations on private land south of Cairo have uncovered black and pink granite statues and carved blocks dating to the reign of Ramesses II (r. ca. 1279–1213 B.C.). The finds include statues of the god Ptah, the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, and Hathor, the goddess of beauty and love who was also regarded by the ancient Egyptians as the symbolic mother of the pharaohs. Another sculpture depicts the pharaoh himself alongside two deities. Mostafa Waziri of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that carved limestone blocks dating to the Coptic period indicate later reuse of the site. Excavations will continue until the area has been surveyed entirely.

University of Oregon scientists are probing archaeological evidence for how indigenous peoples used sea otters, and their findings could help Alaskans confront growing numbers of the mammals and Oregonians who want to reintroduce them on the coast.

Before fur traders decimated sea otter populations from Alaska to Oregon, ancestors of at least one Alaskan indigenous population, the Tlingit, hunted the mammals for their pelts but probably not for food, according to a study by anthropologist Madonna Moss.
Her research, published in April in American Antiquity, took on questions about
traditional use by native populations amid calls to expand harvesting. Since their
reintroduction in the 1960s, the population of sea otters has spiraled.

Only Alaska Natives living along the coast are permitted under federal law to hunt sea
otters for subsistence and with little waste. They use the pelts for clothing, bedding, hats
and other regalia.

Some environmentalists have challenged the right of Alaska Natives to hunt sea otters
without eating their meat. Conservationists want to show that native populations regularly did so as part of their case for allowing larger-scale harvesting for consumption.

The idea comes amid rising tensions. Sea otters have altered ecosystems, making it more difficult for commercial fisherman to catch abalone, clams, Dungeness crabs, red sea urchins and other invertebrates the otters consume. From 1996 to 2005, the industry was reported to have experienced an economic loss of $11.2 million.

The research by Moss, however, speaks only for Tlingit ancestors. Numerous indigenous populations from Alaska to California hunted sea otters for thousands of years, Moss said. As sea otters recolonize their historic range through population growth or additional reintroduction, such as along the Oregon coast where the
mammals are rarely seen, she said, finding out whether other native populations ate sea otter meat is worthy of attention.?

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-explores-native-americans-sea-
otters.html

Exploration of a 1,300-year-old shipwreck just off the coast of Israel is offering new insights into life in the region at a time of transition from Byzantine to Islamic rule, according to a report from The Jerusalem Post. Researchers from the University of Haifa’s Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies began excavating the wreck in 2016. They have found that its cargo included more than 100 amphoras filled with products including olives, dates, figs, fish, pine nuts, grapes, and raisins. The researchers believe the ship made stops in Cyprus, Egypt, and possibly at a port along the coast of Israel before it sank. The size and richness of its cargo appear to contradict the generally accepted belief that commerce in the eastern Mediterranean was limited during the transition from Byzantine to Islamic rule in the seventh to eighth century A.D. The excavations have also turned up several Christian crosses and the name of Allah written in Arabic. “We do not know whether the crew was Christian or Muslim, but we found traces of both religions,” said University of Haifa archaeologist Deborah Cvikel. Given that the wreck occurred close to shore and that no human bones have been found, the researchers believe everyone on board survived the ship’s sinking

Anatolia: Heir to an Irano-Greek Legacy

by manuvera

The article regarding the history of the Lion and the Sun motifs on Iranian flags bears the image below which was originally identified as an Achaemenid seal of King Artaxerxes II (at left) facing the goddess Anahita who sits atop a lion. The seal however was not produced during the Achaemenid era, but after the fall of the Achaaemenids and is traceable to the post-Achaemenid dynasties of Anatolia known as Commagene, Cappadocia and the Pontus.

The seal was discovered along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea (Consult Collon, 1987, no. 432) in the region of the ancient Pontus.  The seal is in the British museum and not the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg as is often assumed.

Before we discuss (or revisit) the themes imprinted upon the plaque, we need to first provide a sketch of the successor states of Anatolia following the fall of the Achaemenids in 333-323 BC.

The Greco-Persian Legacy of Anatolia: An Overview

As Parthia gained prominence on the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia, Persian culture had (once again) risen in prominence in Anatolia as it had during the Achaemenid era. Despite the fall of the Achamenid Empire a few hundred years before, the legacy of Iranic culture had never departed from eastern and central Anatolia. The Hellenic conquests had certainly resulted in political divisions with different regional monarchies,

Anatolia: Heir to an Irano-Greek Legacy

by manuvera

The article regarding the history of the Lion and the Sun motifs on Iranian flags bears the image below which was originally identified as an Achaemenid seal of King Artaxerxes II (at left) facing the goddess Anahita who sits atop a lion. The seal however was not produced during the Achaemenid era, but after the fall of the Achaaemenids and is traceable to the post-Achaemenid dynasties of Anatolia known as Commagene, Cappadocia and the Pontus.

The seal was discovered along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea (Consult Collon, 1987, no. 432) in the region of the ancient Pontus.  The seal is in the British museum and not the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg as is often assumed.

Before we discuss (or revisit) the themes imprinted upon the plaque, we need to first provide a sketch of the successor states of Anatolia following the fall of the Achaemenids in 333-323 BC.

The Greco-Persian Legacy of Anatolia: An Overview

As Parthia gained prominence on the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia, Persian culture had (once again) risen in prominence in Anatolia as it had during the Achaemenid era. Despite the fall of the Achamenid Empire a few hundred years before, the legacy of Iranic culture had never departed from eastern and central Anatolia. The Hellenic conquests had certainly resulted in political divisions with different regional monarchies, however the Iranic Culture of Pontus-Cappadocia endured

The Kingdoms of Anatolia, Pontus, Commagene and Cappadocia bore a very strong Iranian cultural, artistic and mythological tradition which was combined with that of ancient Greece. The kingdoms were later absorbed by the Roman Empire. Eastern Anatolia to this day endures with a distinct Iranic tradition with its Kurdish population speaking a west Iranian language akin to Persian.

The most famous Pontic leader was Mithradates (Mehrdad ) VI Eupator who was raised in the Greek language but also learned Persian (Bickerman, 1985, p.103; Raditsa, 1985, p.110).  Plutarch notes that Mehrdad Eupator appeared in “Persian Dress“.

Mithradates (Mehrdad ) VI Eupator (134-63 BC). Mithradates spoke both Persian and Greek and sought to combine the traditions of both Greece and Persia. According to Plutarch, he appeared in “Persian Dress”. 

Some Iranian influence even extended to Ionian coast along  Aegean. Plutarch had noted that the cultural exchanges taking place in Ephesos (near modern Izmir in western Turkey), were leading to latter’s “barbarization” (Plutarch, Lys. 3).  In Lycia, Iranic names become widespread among the nobility (Dandamaev & Lukonin, 1989, p.300). It was this Greco-Iranian legacy that was to inspire Mithradates of Eupador.

However, to characterize those regions as exclusively Iranian is simplistic: Eastern Anatolia bears a powerful Hellenic and subsequent Armenian imprint as well. During the Achaemenid era Greek cities began to be founded along the Black Sea coast just as the Iranian Magi, nobility and settlers were arriving into the region. A similar process of Irano-Greek fusion had been taking place in the ancient Ukraine since at least Median times.

Just twenty years after the passing of the Hellenic conqueror Alexander in 333 BC, two independent Irano-Anatolian monarchies gained power in Anatolia by 305 BC: the Kingdoms of Pontus and Cappadocia. What is especially of interest is that their subjects claimed descent from the Achaemenids of the First Persian Empire (Raditsa, 1985, p.106). Note the contrast to those Iranians west of the Halys River in western Anatolia: these had become Hellenecized after the conquests of Alexander.

Pontic Greek music performance during the Olympic ceremonies held in Athens, Greece in 2004. The music is of interest in that it contains instruments, percussion and melodies consistent with the Music of northern Iran, the Caucasus and Turkey. The drumming for example is seen in western Iranian folklore music; the genuflect motion is seen in various types of Kurdish dances; and the attire is seen in traditional Georgian and Armenian costume.

The Iranians of Cappadocia fought against Alexander at Gaugamela in 331 BC and continued to resist the Greeks, even after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (Raditsa, 1985, p.106). Hellenization took longer to find its roots in Cappadocia and began a century after Alexander’s conquests. The Iranian character of Cappadocia recognized as late as the time of Roman Emperor Augustus by the ancient historian Strabo who considered Cappadocia as: “a living part of Persia” (Strabo XV, 3.15).

Cappadocia bore a strong Zoroastrian legacy.  Despite Alexander’s conquests of Asia Minor, Cappadocia still had many Iranian temples and Zoroastrian magi by the advent of Parthian rule in Persia (Strabo, XI, 14.16, XV, 733). Remarkable is the term of Grand Magus as being second after the king (Strabo, XII, 2.3). This term is found in Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanian Persia.

The Mithraic-Zoroastrian temples of Cappadocia also served as centers of worship for the populations of: Armenia and Pontus (Raditsa, 1985, p.107) just as the temples of Media Atropatene did for Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians and other Iranic peoples of the Parthian realm.

By the 1st century BC Antiochus I of Commagne spoke of combining the mythology and cultures of Greece and Persia. His genealogy claimed Iranian descent from the Achaemenids and Greek descent from Alexander.

Statue at Nimrud-Dagh (ancient Commagene). Note the combination of tall conical Persian hat (still used by mystic cults and Dervishes) with Greek style of anthropomorphic depiction.  Antiochus I (86-38 BC) spoke Greek but dressed in Iranian style and demanded that the local Magi dress like the Persians. The surviving statues and architecture of Nimrud-Dagh shows a clear synthesis of Greek and Persian arts and architecture (Ghirschman, 1962).  

The regions of Cappadocia and Pontus failed to attract the same level of Hellenic immigration as those further east and south into Iran and Mesopotamia. As noted by Raditsa:

“…Hellenization in lands like Pontus and Cappadocia meant that the natives Hellenized themselves” (1985, p.112)

Assyriology notes on the Plaque: Heir to a Mesopotamian Tradition

But what of the plaque discussed in the introduction of the article?

It is interesting that the seal shows the sun emanating 21 rays, the same symbol which is used by various ancient Iranic cults among the Kurds of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The 21 rays may be related to the festival date of Mehregan (Festival of the Sun-god Mithra) which takes place from the 16th to the 21st of Mehr of the Iranian calendar.

That too is in the post-Achaemenid tradition of arts and its style bears a stronger resemblance to the Achaemenid rather than the Hellenic arts. This was (as noted earlier) found in the site of the ancient Pontus where the imprint of Zoroastrianism was strong.

The plaque represents Anahita superimposed on a solar deity – perhaps the ancient Iranic god Mithras. But is the theme specifically Iranic and/or Zoroastrian? The discipline of  Assyriology provides an interesting explanation as to an ancient Mesopotamian tradition that has exerted its own influence upon the Iranian-type seal. Simo Parpola accounts of the seal are as follows:

The Achaemenid seal discovered on the northeast coast of the Black Sea and represents the goddess Anahita, mounted on a lion and surrounded by the divine radiance, appearing to a Persian king. The details of the king’s and the goddess’s dress and crown are Persian, but in all other respects the seal is a faithful reproduction of centuries older Assyrian seals depicting appearances of the goddess Ishtar to members of the imperial ruling class. It thus illustrates not only the adoption of the Mesopotamian concept of “divine radiance” by the Persians,

A Neo-Assyrian seal (circa  750-650 BC) of Ishtar (at left) standing with her bow on her mythical lion. She is faced by a worshipper. British Museum. The Assyrian and Mesopotamian tradition in general certainly left a robust legacy on the Achaemenid Persians who succeeded them. Indeed the Aramaic language was the Lingua Franca of the Achaemenid Empire.

Therefore while the Achaemenid (or post-Achaemenid) seal has Iranian mythological themes, its artistic motifs have certainly drawn from an ancient Mesopotamian tradition.

References

Collon, D. (1987). First Impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East. London: British Museum Publications.

Dandamaev, M., & Lukonin, V.G. (1989). The Culture and Social Institutions of Ancient Iran. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ghirshman, R. (1962). Iran: Parthians and Sassanians. London: Thames & Hudson.

Nissinen, M. (Editor) (2000). Prophecy in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context: Mesopotamian, Biblical, and Arabian. Atlanta, GA:  Society of Biblical Literature.

Parpolo, S. (1997). Assyrian Prophecies. Helsinki, Finland:Helsinki University.

Related posts:

1. Fezana Journal article on Ancient Iranian Women

2. UBC Lecture (November 29, 2019): Civilizational Contacts between Ancient Iran and Europe

3. The Nozhat ol Majales: A major document proving the Persian legacy of Azarbaijan and Arran

4. M. L. Chaumont: Greek Historian Arrian (2nd century CE)

5. Tajik speakers of China: Heir to an Ancient Tradition

6. Azerbaijan Republic acknowledges Historical Legacy of Polo Game

7. Challenging the Core of Greek and Iranian Identities

8. Persian Influence on Greek Thought

9. Nowruz in Georgia and the Georgian Legacy in Iran

10. New Course: Persia and World Civilization: A Silent Legacy

http://kavehfarrokh.com/news/eastern-anatolia-heir-to-an-ancient-irano-greek-legacy/

VERONA, NEW YORK—According to a Rome Sentinel report, bone fragments held in the archives at Colgate University’s Longyear Museum of Anthropology will be handed over to the Oneida Indian Nation. The ten fragments, identified during a recent inventory, are thought to be the remains of at least six different people. The bones were unearthed in the twentieth century by members of the New York State Archaeological Association at various sites in the ancestral Oneida homelands, and were acquired by the museum between 1959 and 2000. “We are grateful for the return of these remains, and truly appreciate Colgate University for coming forward with this discovery so that our ancestors may receive a proper re-internment at our burial grounds,” said Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation Representative. The Longyear Museum repatriated additional items to the Oneida Nation in 1995 and 2003. To read about Native American sites on an island in the Hudson River, go to ” Off the Grid: Rogers Island, New York .”
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8872-200722-oneida-remains-repatriated