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Discovery of a 3,200-year-old inscription in Egypt that may date back to the time of Ramses II

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A 3,200-year-old inscription may hold the key to locating a long-lost ancient Egyptian city from the era of Ramesses II, one of the most powerful pharaohs of the New Kingdom. The carved text, which has drawn the attention of archaeologists, could reshape the known map of settlement sites tied to that dynasty.

The inscription, engraved on a block of stone, appears to name a city that has not yet been identified in the archaeological record. Researchers studying the text believe it refers to a settlement that was active during the reign of Ramesses II, who ruled Egypt for roughly six decades in the 13th century BCE. If the reading is correct, the city would add a new location to the administrative and economic geography of the period.

Mysterious Runestone Found in Floor of Faroe Islands Chapel

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SONDUR, FAROE ISLANDS—All That’s Interesting reports that a centuries-old runestone was unearthed from the ruins of a medieval prayer house at the site of Á Sondum on the island of Sandoy. Runic inscriptions are exceptionally rare in the Faroe Islands, with only a few other known examples. Experts from the National Museum have only partially translated the lettering, but believe that some of the legible characters appear to read “Her hvílur,” meaning “Here lies” or “Here rests” in Old Norse. The object was found embedded in the floor of the chapel-like structure and may have served as a burial marker for a notable individual. Other artifacts recovered at the site include fragments of a small sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, as well as a kola, a type of small oil lamp. Dating to around a.d. 1000, the building and objects uncovered within it are providing scholars with important new insight into the early Christian period in the Faroe Islands, when Norse pagan traditions gradually merged with Christianity. To read more about the islands’ earliest era, go to “Letter from the Faroes: Lost History of the Sheep Islands.”

Archaeological Survey of the Parthian-Sassanian Oltan Fortress

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Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

The article “Archaeological survey sheds new light on Sassanid era fortress” was published in the Tehran Times on September 21, 2022. The version printed further below has been edited from its original in the Tehran Times. Excepting one image, none of the other images and accompanying descriptions printed below, appear in the original Tehran Times report.

Note that the article below alludes the Oltan fortress as Sassanian in origin, however its foundations were most possibly built during the earlier Parthian era.

For further information on Sassanian military architecture see:

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A team of Iranian archaeologists has recently finished an archaeological season on the Sassanian-era (224–651 CE) Oltan Fortress in Ardabil province, ISNA reported on Wednesday. The new archaeo-geophysical studies with magnetometric methods have led to novel discoveries, said Kurosh Mohammdkhani, who presides over the project. As a result of this method, as well as the aerial photographs taken by a drone from 95 meters above the ground of the castle and its surroundings, digital maps of the terrain will be prepared, he added.

A view of the standing structures of Oltan Fortress (Image Source: Ezzat). Note the openings in the corner tower which were most likely used as slits for firing arrows, with the smaller slits towards the top of the structure possibly used as observation ports.

There can be no doubt that this castle was an important defensive structure in northwest Iran during the Sassanian era, but its studies and excavations have largely been neglected until this day, he mentioned. The fortress has been inscribed on the national heritage list. From ancient to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Fortresses were designed primarily to defend territories in warfare and were also used to solidify rule in a region during peacetime.

An excellent view of the Sassanian-built wall of Derbent, located in the modern city of Derbent in Daghestan and the Caspian Sea (Source: Сулим Кудусов in Public Domain).

Uruk in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) is one of the world’s oldest known walled cities. The Ancient Egyptians also built fortresses on the frontiers of the Nile Valley to protect against invaders from neighboring territories. Many of the fortifications of the ancient world were built with mud brick, often leaving them no more than mounds of dirt for today’s archaeologists.

An archeologist engaged in data collection at the site of Oltan castle (Source: Tehran Times).

Sprawling on a high, windswept plateau, Ardabil is well-known for having lush natural beauties, hospitable people, and its silk and carpet trade tradition. It is also home to the UNESCO-registered Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and the Shrine Ensemble. The province is very cold in winter and mild in summer, attracting thousands every year. The capital city of Ardabil is usually recorded as one of the coldest cities in the country in winter.

A splendid view of the defensive wall of the Oltan fortress (Image Source: Tishineh).

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  2. UNESCO: Sassanian Archaeological Landscape of the Fars Region
  3. Archaeological Survey finds Prehistoric Hatch to Apadana Palace in Persepolis
  4. UNESCO: Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent
  5. The Izadkhast Fortress at Fars Province
  6. Shahr-e Belqeys in the late Sassanian and Early Islamic eras
  7. Parthian artifacts housed in Istanbul’s Archaeological Museums
  8. Ancient 70-Mile-Long Wall Found in Western Iran. But Who Built It?
  9. The Ancient Sassanian City of Bishapur
  10. Oblicza Wojny [Faces of War] (2024) publishes article on Parthian Military Architecture

Hidden for 2,000 years: Egypt’s astonishing tomb discovery

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Dubai: Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably preserved funerary complex dating to the Late and Greco-Roman periods at the Tell Athar Quesna necropolis in Menoufia Governorate, revealing hundreds of burial artefacts, imported pottery and evidence of ancient trade links across the Mediterranean. 

The excavation provides archaeologists with fresh evidence to reconstruct the religious, cultural and economic life of communities that lived in the Nile Delta more than 2,000 years ago.

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The discovery was made by an Egyptian mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities during ongoing excavations at the site, one of the most important non-royal cemeteries in the central Delta. 

According to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the excavation uncovered a complete funerary unit centred on a main hall connected to several vaulted burial chambers, where archaeologists found human burials in Osirian positions, alongside an extensive collection of objects associated with funerary rituals.

Among the most significant finds were 560 faience ushabti figurines in their traditional Osirian form, many inscribed with passages from the Book of the Dead, one of ancient Egypt’s most important religious texts relating to the afterlife. 

Ancient Egyptian princesses born 4,000 years ago were skilled archers, new study shows

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The 2020 rediscovery of six mummies, previously thought lost, allowed scientists to re-evaluate the remains of five princesses — four sisters, Khenmet, Itaweret, Ita, and Sathathormeryt, and Princess Noub-Hotep — and King Hor. These royal women were buried with weapons like bows, arrows, and daggers, but without a modern bioarchaeological assessment scientists couldn’t be sure if these were ceremonial or if the princesses could use them. Researchers identified pronounced muscle attachments on the princesses’ bones, consistent with training and developing the muscles for archery, as well as signs of well-cared-for physical trauma. But they also found evidence of persistent infection and possible malnutrition, an indication that royal status couldn’t protect the princesses from everything.

 

For decades, scientists have disputed the meaning of the weapons found in the burial chambers of some ancient Egyptian princesses. Were they symbolic or practical tools? Now a reassessment of five royal women’s mummies from the Middle Kingdom has shown that some princesses buried with weapons could use them.

 

“Members of the royal family, especially the women, were active participants in skilled, physically demanding activities such as archery and hunting,” said Dr Zeinab Hashesh of Beni-Suef University, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. “This conclusion is supported by the way their bones developed to sustain heavy muscle use, which corresponds directly to the weapons discovered in their tombs.”