More than 400 archaeological excavations discovered along the route dug out for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) have been completed, while another 7 large-scale projects are ongoing in the regions traversed by the pipeline, the company said on Tuesday, following the 31st annual Conference "Archaeological Excavations in Macedonia and Thrace" in Thessaloniki, held between 8 and 10 March 2018 at the Aristotle University.

More than 400 archaeological finds have been discovered along the route dug out for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), while another seven large-scale projects are ongoing in regions traversed by the dig [Credit: ANA-MPA]

To date, specialist teams have concluded ca. 300 small- and large-scale rescue excavations and more than 100 trial trench investigations within the project's Right of Way, with more than 650 experts in archaeological research (archaeologists, topographers, conservators, etc.), as well as archaeological labourers involved in the work.

Fortress of the 4th cent. BC related to the activity of Philip II in the region of Aegean Thrace  [Credit: ANA-MPA]

The multiple findings that have been unearthed - both movable and immovable - include burial grounds or individual tombs with some of them containing grave goods, parts of settlements and architectural remains such as walls and churches, monuments, workshops and indications of human activity, for instance kilns and wells.

Aerial view of ancient cemetery found along the route of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) [Credit: ANA-MPA]

In addition, many movable findings have also been located (pottery, jewellery, coins, etc.), dating from the prehistoric to the post-Byzantine period.

Archaeologists excavating an ancient Macedonian warrior's grave [Credit: ANA-MPA]

Lead scientists-representatives of 9 Northern Greek Ephorates (from the regional units of Evros, Rodopi, Xanthi, Serres, Kilkis, Thessaloniki, Kozani, Kastoria and Florina) discussed the initial findings of their excavation research, noting that archaeological excavations in Greece would have almost completely ceased, if it weren't for the funds from public or private works.

Workers remove an ancient furnace for relocation [Credit: ANA-MPA]

"We are collaborating closely with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, as well as the local Ephorates of Antiquities, for the protection and promotion of the rich Greek cultural heritage. We are thankful for this collaboration that guarantees the implementation of archaeological best practice and the promotion of academic work and scientific knowledge,"  TAP's Country Manager for Greece, Katerina Papalexandri, said.

Glass bracelets from the Byzantine period Cemetery [Credit: ANA-MPA]

Archaeological works implemented in collaboration with TAP and its contractors are monitored by the ministry of culture and the 13 local Ephorates of Antiquities (one per each regional unit traversed by the pipeline), as provided for by the relevant memoranda of understanding.

Source: ANA-MPA [March 13, 2018]

The newcomers who arrived in the little farming villages of medieval Germany would have stood out: They had dark hair and tawny skin, spoke a different language and had remarkably tall heads.

Skulls unearthed from 1,400-year-old burials in southern Germany may show signs of intensive or moderate skull modification, left and center, which researchers believe is a cultural practice seen in tribes from further east [Credit: State collection for Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy Munich]

Now scientists who investigated the unusually shaped skulls say they provide evidence that women also migrated long distances across medieval Europe, not just men. A genetic analysis showed the women traveled from what is now Romania, Bulgaria and northern Greece at a time when the continent was being reshaped by the collapse of the Roman Empire.

In a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers say the women's elongated heads—a result of binding done after birth—suggest they might have been high-class individuals.

"These women looked extremely different to the local women, very exotic if you will," said one of the researchers, Joachim Burger, a population geneticist at the University of Mainz, Germany.

With colleagues from Europe and the United States, Burger compared the genetic profile of almost 40 human remains unearthed from 5th and 6th century burial sites in Bavaria, along the Isar and Danube rivers.

They expected to find the telltale signs of centuries of Roman presence in the area—soldiers from the Mediterranean leaving their genetic mark on the location population. Instead, it looked "very central or northern European—blond and fair-skinned, like modern-day Scandinavians," Burger said.

The exception was a group with deformed skulls. Known from various cultures across the world, artificially elongated skulls may have been considered a form of beauty or denoted high status because of the time and effort required to bandage a child's head, said Burger.

While the practice is often associated with the Huns who swept into Europe from the East during the 5th century, the genetic makeup of the women found in Bavaria showed little Asian ancestry, suggesting that either head binding had been adopted by people living in southeastern Europe or emerged there independently.

"This is a sound study with quite interesting results," said Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. He had no role in the research.

"Usually large-distance movements involve more males—explorers, soldiers, political elite, etc.—and short range movements are more common for females (spouses moving to their husband's family)," Hublin said via email.

While it's unclear why the women—apparently without men—traveled such a long distance, the study's authors speculate that they may have represented strategic alliances between distant populations across Europe.

"They must have come on purpose," said Burger. "It's not a single case, there are quite a few of them."

Despite their foreign origins, the women integrated into Bavarian society, according to the researchers. They wore the same clothes as the locals and were buried with the same artifacts. Burger said further research is needed to see whether the women intermarried with the local population.

Author: Frank Jordans | Source: The Associated Press [March 12, 2018]

In a multidisciplinary study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers combined archaeological, genetic and stable isotope data to encapsulate 4000 years of Iberian biomolecular prehistory.

El Portalón cave in the Sierra de Atapuerca (northern Spain) contains four millennia of biomolecular prehistory [Credit: Eneko Iriarte (Universidad de Burgos)]

The team analyzed human remains of 13 individuals from the north and south of Spain, including the rich archaeological site of El Portalón, which forms part of the well-known site of Atapuerca in Burgos and in itself harbors four millennia of Iberian prehistory. The study also involved important sites like Cueva de los Murciélagos in Andalusia, from which the genome of a 7,245 year-old Neolithic farmer was sequenced, making it the oldest sequenced genome in southern Iberia representing the Neolithic Almagra Pottery Culture—the early agriculturalists of southern Spain.

Background

Prehistoric migrations have played an important role in shaping the genetic makeup of European populations. After the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago, Europe was inhabited by hunter-gatherer groups and two major migrations during the last 10,000 years had massive impacts on lifestyle and gene pool of European populations. First, groups originally coming from the Middle East and Anatolia introduced farming practices to Europe during the Neolithic. Less than 5,000 years ago, herder groups from the Pontic-Caspian steppe spread over the European continent. As both of these movements originated in the east, the most western parts of the continent were last to be reached by these migrations. While archaeogenetic studies have shown that both of these migrations have replaced more than half of the gene pool in Central and Northern Europe, much less is known about the influence of these events in Iberian populations, particularly in the most southern areas such as Andalusia.

Two independent migrations spread farming practices across Europe

The first farmers mainly reached Iberia following a coastal route through the northern Mediterranean Sea. The new study demonstrates that Neolithic Iberians show genetic differences to the migrant farmers that settled in Central and Northern Europe. "This suggests that all early farmers in Iberia trace most of their ancestry to the first Neolithic people that migrated into the peninsula and that later contributions from their central European counterparts were only minor," says archaeogeneticist Cristina Valdiosera from La Trobe University in Australia, one of the lead authors of the study.

Skeletal remains of a 7245-year-old Early Neolithic Farmer from Andalusia, Spain (Cueva de los Murciélagos)  sequenced in this study. 1) Diagram of funerary position, 2) Skull of the individual, 3) Funerary remains as discovered in the cave [Credit: Rafael Martínez-Sánchez (Universidad de Granada) and Antonio Moreno Rosa (Universidad de Córdoba)]

These Mediterranean route migrants show a strong genetic connection with the modern-day inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. "We can probably consider modern Sardinians relatively direct descendants of the people who spread farming practices across the Mediterranean region around 8,000 years ago," adds Mattias Jakobsson, population geneticist at Uppsala University, Sweden and one of the senior authors of the study.

First wave of eastern migration involved small number of individuals

Despite other potential entrances into Iberia, such as North Africa or mainland Europe, the researchers did not find substantial regional differences within Iberia. Uppsala University's Torsten Günther, population geneticist and one of the lead authors of this study, says, "While geographic differences seem minor, we do see some differences over time due to interaction and genetic exchange between groups." The first Iberian farmers show remarkably low levels of genetic diversity, indicating that the first wave of eastern migration to establish itself on the peninsula was relatively small. Following this initial period of low diversity, the newly arrived populations grew in size and mixed with the local hunter-gatherers, rapidly increasing genetic diversity during later periods.

Low genetic impact of later/Bronze Age migrations in Iberia While recent studies have demonstrated that a massive migration of Pontic-Caspian steppe herders during the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age transition is responsible for a major population turnover in central and northern Europe, the authors report in this study that the genetic influence of this migration on contemporary southwestern Europeans, namely the prehistoric Iberians, was only minor. This confirms that the genetic history of Iberia was unique as it has mostly been influenced by the main prehistoric migration associated with the introduction of farming practices—the Neolithic Revolution.

Representation of an Iberian Neolithic farmer [Credit: Maria de la Fuente (Maria de la Fuente Archaeological Illustrations)]

Homogenous diet in Iberian farmers

The authors also investigated the diet of these Neolithic farmers throughout almost 4000 years corroborating that despite the significant biological interaction between culturally different groups the farming culture predominated from the very beginning and continued over time. Molecular archaeologist Colin Smith from La Trobe University, one of the senior authors, explains: "Interestingly, while we do see a substantial genetic influx of hunter-gatherer ancestry into farmers over time, the diet of these early farmers does not change. Their terrestrial diet is characteristic of farming cultures and persist temporally and geographically across the millennia."

The study illustrates the power of interdisciplinary research to understand the full complexity of European prehistory. "Overall, these results emphasize the differences between the westernmost populations and their central European counterparts and highlight the need for detailed regional studies to reveal the full complexity of prehistoric migrations," Dr. Valdiosera concludes.

Source: Uppsala University [March 12, 2018]

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro recently will be extracted, cleaned and be exhibited at the same station they were excavated in, the Central Archaeological Council (CAC) said on Wednesday.

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

The mosaics were found in the south entrance of the station "Agia Sofia" and are believed to be part of a nearly 315 sq.m. urban villa dated to the first half of the 4th century AD to the 5th century AD, experts said.

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

Other areas discovered in the villa complex were a section of a pillared corridor (stoa), five consecutive rooms, a complete under-floor wood-heating system (hypocaust), and several multicoloured mosaics, which have been destroyed in parts by subsequent construction layers.

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

Decoration of the mosaic floors consists of geometric patterns, while one includes a central medallion, possibly depicting Aphrodite, head of the Thessaloniki Ephorate of Antiquities Polyxeni Adam-Veleni told CAC.

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

She said the head of the figure was missing but the face of Eros, holding on to her, is visible. She added that the villa complex in the multiple-levelled site is probably "a large urban villa (villa urbana) in the center of town," as the size of the intact hypocaust at the site corresponds to a house.

The mosaics have been destroyed in places, by the opening of big holes during the Ottoman period [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

Adam-Veleni added, "Thessaloniki had a several such houses ? at least 18 have been found until now. In the second half of the 4th century AD, following the founding of Constantinople, a lot of officials settled in the city, where they built huge houses."

The late Roman mosaics found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

The city went through several rebuilding phases in late antiquity, she said, including later on by Byzantine emperor Justinian, "who paid a lot of attention to Thessaloniki," she revealed.

The well preserved hypocaust bath found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

The new findings lay south of the renowned in antiquity Byzantine highway of "decumanus maximus," where more mosaics connected to the ones found now were discovered in previous years.

The well preserved hypocaust bath found during work for the Thessaloniki metro [Credit: Ministry of Culture and Sports]

Constantine the Great had initially settled in a palace in Thessaloniki and thought of turning the city into a capital of the Roman Empire before going on to found Constantinople, Adam-Veleni said.

Source: ANA-MPA [March 10, 2018]

An entire quarter of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii is set to be uncovered using drones, lasers and virtual reality, the director-general of the site, Massimo Osanna, said Friday.

View of the unexplored Regio V district [Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei]

The new hi-tech digs will take place to the north of the already discovered city, an area that has been unexplored since the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD that buried Pompeii in ash.

View of the unexplored Regio V district [Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei]

Measuring a half-hectare in Regio V, the new area includes a buried alley with buildings along it including homes, shops and taverns.

"We expect great discoveries," Osanna said.

Source: ANSA [March 09, 2018]

There is a famous song by Antonio Rodríguez Martínez, aka El Tío de la Tiza, that was sung at the Cádiz carnival of 1905 chronicling a fisherman’s discovery of 18th-century coins at La Victoria beach. In the song, locals rush in with shovels to extract the valuable coins from the sand.

Architectural remains uncovered by the recent storm in Cádiz [Credit: ADIP]

Now, 114 years later, a similar scene has unfurled at Cortadura beach: when local residents walked out on the sand following the recent storm, they were amazed to find remains of a Roman aqueduct and parts of a stone road dating back to the 16th or 17th centuries.

“We were alerted to the presence of these remains, and to the fact that people were digging in the area, so we went there, warned people to stop what they were doing, and called city officials,” explains Moisés Camacho, president of the Association for the Investigation and Dissemination of Cádiz’s Heritage (Adip).

Soon after that, the municipal archeologist and a local police patrol car showed up to watch over the remains on a stretch of beach that runs parallel to the road connecting Cádiz and San Fernando.

The Roman road and aqueduct were discovered near the beach of Cortadura [Credit: CEN/ADIP]

Experts have identified remains of two walls around 80 centimeters thick and two meters high that once delimited the road, said Eugenio Belgrano, a member of Adip and president of the Association of Underground Investigators.

This road was used until 1755, when it was destroyed by a tidal wave triggered by the great earthquake in Lisbon. The tsunami swept through Cádiz and Huelva, killing 1,240 people.

Not two meters from this road, archaeologists have identified up to seven fragments of what might have been the aqueduct of Gades (the Latin name for modern-day Cádiz), a Roman construction built in the first century. “Two of these fragments are still joined together with the original mortar, which is a rare occurrence,” said Camacho.

The modern epoch road that the temporary 'Emma' has left visible in Cádiz [Credit: Silvia Manito Velázquez]

Historians had already been aware of of the existence of both the aqueduct and the road, although no finds had emerged in recent decades.

The Roman aqueduct of Cádiz once stretched over 75 kilometers, bringing residents water from the springs of Tempul, in San José del Valle. It is considered one of the greatest feats of engineering in Roman-era Hispania. Other similar aqueduct fragments found years ago are now on display in Cádiz’s Asdrúbal square.

Scholars believe that there could also be an older Roman road right underneath its 17th-century counterpart, or else running parallel to it under the sea.

Author: Susana Urra | Source: El Pais [March 06, 2018]

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) begins restoration of five Ottoman-era sites in Albania.

AA Photo

According to the statement issued by TIKA's office in the Albanian capital Tiran, the agency continues to deliver various technical assistance and projects to common historical and cultural assets with the aim of protecting and transferring them to future generations.

The new projects included Ethem Bey Mosque, Ergiri Pazar Mosque, Berat Hünkar Mosque, Halveti Tekkesi and Berat Bekarlar Mosque, the statement said, adding the restoration is expected to be completed in two years.

The agency previously completed the restorations of Preza Castle Mosque, Akçahisar Murad Bey Mosque, Elbasan Nazire Mosque, Imrahor Ilyas Bey Mosque and Berat Kurşunlu Mosque.

TIKA has been operating in Albania since 1996 and it has carried out more than 300 technical assistance and business associations projects to support the development of the country.

Source: Daily Sabah [March 04, 2018]

Work on a new Roma subway station has uncovered an ancient Roman 'Commander's House', the first discovery of its kind in the Italian capital, archaeologists said Friday.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

The dig on the Metro C line has turned up a domus connected to the dormitory of a barracks built at the time of Emperor Trajan and then modified by Hadrian.

The dormitory and barracks were discovered at the Amba Aradam stop work site in 2016.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

"It is an exceptional discovery because a barracks has never been identified before in Rome, nor a domus connected to the barracks," said Rome's archaeological superintendent, Rossella Rea.

The domus of the commander was found about 12 metres under the level of the Amba Aradam station, near the Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano (St John Lateran). The house will now be dismantled, level by level, and temporarily moved to another site before being placed back at its original site, sources said.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

Heated containers will be used to keep it pristine during the move, while work will then resume at the Amba Aaradam metro stop.

Rome Archaeological Heritage Superintendent Francesco Prosperetti said he had already been in touch with national anti-corruption body ANAC chief Raffaele Cantone to help preserve the integrity of the find.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

"He assured me that the place will be made accessible to the public and the whole find will be put back in its place," said Prosperetti. "Exactly how this will happen, compatibly with the metro C line, we'll have to see".

Prosperetti said he had "already secured planning and funding" for the project. ANAC and Cantone has to sign off on all major public works in Italy.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

The area at and around the Amba Aradam station has already yield a rich archaeological trover.

Last June excavations conducted as part of work for the new C line of the Rome metro uncovered Pompeii-like finds including a dog's skeleton.

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

The dig has unearthed two spaces dating to the middle of the imperial period which, due to a fire, feature well-conserved parts of a wooden ceiling and furniture.

"The material is only conserved in exceptional environmental and climatic conditions, or after special events like those that took place at Herculaneum and Pompeii," said sources at Rome's special superintendency. "The discovery of a burned wooden ceiling is unique for the city".

Credit: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma

The excavation in via dell'Amba Aradam also found the skeleton of the dog, curled up in front of a door and "likely trapped inside the building at the time of the fire," sources said.

The remains of a smaller animal, which have yet to be identified, were also uncovered. A fine black and white mosaic floor was also found.


"What makes this find resemble Pompeii is that we have evidence of a moment in history," said Prosperetti at the time. "The fire that stopped life in this environment allows us to imagine life at a precise moment".

The ongoing excavation is taking place on the southern slopes of the Coelian Hill, one of Rome's seven hills, which in imperial times was home to luxury aristocratic residences and, further to the south, a series of military buildings, including a barracks recently found in Via Ipponio.

The stretch of metro from Amba Aradam to the Imperial Fora is scheduled to be unveiled in 2021.

Source: ANSA [March 02, 2018]

The completion of the Thessaloniki Metro has set the city on a steady course towards its development in commerce, production and tourism as well as shielding its historical identity through time. This was announced last Friday by the representatives of all bodies involved, in a public awareness meeting regarding archaeological finds uncovered in the stations of the Metro as well as the progress of construction works.

Archaeologists presented more than 300,000 finds including monumental funerary and architectural ensembles, 50,000  coins and a wide array of artifacts that provide a near-complete picture of the city beneath modern-day Thessaloniki from the 4th century BC to recent times [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

“The progress and completion of the Thessaloniki Metro are proof that the works of infrastructure and the protection of our cultural heritage go together and can help make Thessaloniki not just the commercial but also the cultural centre of combined transport, production and trade- if we wish to also overcome other problems that concern both our country and the Balkans, especially in recent times” said minister of Transport and Infrastructure Christos Spirtzis, speaking at the meeting with the topic “Both Antiquities and the Metro” jointly organized by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki and the Attic Metro SA, in the amphitheatre of the Museum of the Ancient Agora.

Structures of an ancient city were discovered in 2012 during the excavations for the depot of the main metro line at Pylaia. The structures dating from the 4th century BC occupy an area of 31 acres [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

The Roman cemetery (2nd-4th century AD) discovered near Fleming Station revealed aspects of an unknown settlement at the outskirts of ancient Thessaloniki [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Minister of Culture Lydia Koniordou spoke of “a significant day” that demonstrates the strength of cooperation  between the construction company ,the city hall and the ephorate of antiquities, emphasizing the benefit for the people of the city and its visitors who, with the project’s completion, will have the opportunity to coexist with the monument on a daily basis.

Figurines, jewellery, ceramic and bronze vases from Hellenistic era graves, New Railway Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Gold crown from a burial dating to the late 4th - early 3rd cent. BC., Syntrivani Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Referring to emblematic texts by Konstantinos Christomanos, scholar of the early 20th century, about the concept of ‟Useful and Utilitarian”, Mrs Koniordou pointed out that “culture is not intended simply to decorate our existence but is a necessary compass with whose help we will shape the world we wish to live in, it is the means by which quality and meaning are given to our daily lives, at a crossroad of major choices we are required to make as citizens.”

Hellenistic era building foundations, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Marble lined public square, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

“Monuments are powerful elements of public space—landmarks that shield a country’s identity—and their protection is a constitutional obligation”underlined Maria Andreadakis-Vlazakis, secretary general of the ministry of Culture, herself an archaeologist and excavator, stressing that “with the completion of the works of the metro, Thessaloniki will be transformed into an open museum and the trains will finally move on steady tracks connecting the city’s past with its future.”

The so-called Avenue of the Byzantines, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Byzantine Agora, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Deputy Mayor of culture, Elli Chrysidou, representing absent Mayor Yannis Boutaris, also spoke about the vindication of the Municipality of Thessaloniki’s long term struggles for the rescue of pieces of monuments in Venizelos station and their remaining in situ, for the city’s change into an open museum and landmark which will give it added value.

Public Fountain/Nymphaeum, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

The Decumanus Maximus, Venizelos Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

The president of the Attiko Metro SA, Yannis Mylonopoulos spoke about the policy of collaboration between the interested bodies these last two years, a policy that as he pointed out “put the metro back on its rails”, while at the beginning of his talk he did not avoid referring to the beginning of the project, its interruption in 2014, collaborations fraught with difficulties, and the “divisive, humiliating dilemma of either antiquities or the metro, lacking in any knowledge of history”. He added that “it was various fixations and not the antiquities that delayed the progress of the works.”

Remains of warehouses and workshops from the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period, Demokratias Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Early Byzantine Amphorae, Demokratias Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Last, Polyxeni Adam-Veleni, head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki, retraced the “legendary” history of the Thessaloniki metro. It had started as a … joke in the mid 1980’s with a long rectangular section opened in Egnatia street and funded by the Municipal radio station till the works commenced in 2006, followed by long term archeological surveys, arguments and struggles of the archaeologists to save the monuments of the city’s uninterrupted historical course.

Basilica and rectangular building, Syntrivani Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

Byzantine bronze pendant crosses, Venizelou Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

According to Mrs Veleni, there are over 300,000 movable finds resulting from excavations in the stations of the metro during the twelve years of work (50,000 of these are ancient coins). All of them have been cleaned and preserved, are currently being stored and will be extensively studied and published, improving everyone’s knowledge on the continuous urban planning , the historical and sociological organization of the city over more than 23 centuries since its birth.

Medicine bottles from the 1917 fire, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

According to the speakers, there are plans in mid-April of this year for an exhibition of part of the movable archaeological finds in two completed metro stations (possibly in the Panepistimio and Papafi stations) and the parallel organizing of cultural events for the public’s awareness and entertainment. Moreover, the authorities involved are in search of a suitable space to house the metro museum.

The meeting continued with presentations by the archaeologists excavating the metro stations and their already well known impressive movable finds (the pre-Cassandrian settlements and cemeteries, coins, six gold wreaths, bronze and ceramic artefacts- evidence of the city’s timelessness from the 3rd c. BC up to the fire of 1917, analyses on Decumanus Maximus, and the Byzantine agorae that enhance the timelessness of the city’s habitation and evolution).

Source: Art and Archaeology [March 01, 2018]

Geochronologists from the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) have led a study published in the journal Quaternary Geochronology about the chronology of the archaeological site of Gran Dolina, situated in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos), whose results confirm a pulse of human dispersion in southern Europe around one million years ago..

TD4 Level at Gran Dolina site [Credit: CENIEH]

This is a paleomagnetic study of the lower stratigraphic levels of this archaeological site in Burgos, whose objective was to determine the possible presence of the Jaramillo subchron, a geological event of normal magnetic polarity about one million years ago, to improve the chronological framework for the lithic industry found at level TD4, and therefore for human presence in Atapuerca.

"Gran Dolina is one of the sites with the best-preserved sedimentary records of the Middle and Early Pleistocene in Europe, and therefore, knowing the chronology of the stratigraphic levels comprising it is an extremely important element in understanding the presence and development of human activity in the zone," explains Claudia Álvarez Posada, lead author of this paper.

Samples from the levels TD4 to TD6 were analyzed using paleomagnetism, a methodology which is increasingly used for establishing absolute datings given its great versatility and the fact that it has an extremely wide chronological register, because the magnetic field remains captured in sediments when they are formed. These days there is a known register covering a timeline of over 180 million years up to the present, so that as Álvarez affirms, "it's a very powerful tool for chronology."

This method, together with the data furnished by biostratigraphy and the recent dating studies using Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) made at the site, has allowed an age later than the Jaramillo Subchron to be definitively established for the level TD4, that is, less than one million years, consistent with with a pulse of human dispersal across southern Europe during the time interval known as the Lower Pleistocene transition.

Dual study 

This paper forms part of a dual paleomagnetic study of Gran Dolina, encompassing levels TD1 to TD6, undertaken for better understanding of the ages of the different stratigraphic levels which comprise the fillings of the site.

The second paper, which has just been published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, focuses on the chronology of the lower sedimentary fillings, and corroborates the datings found for TD4.

Source: CENIEH [February 28, 2018]

Over 41 000 cultural goods such as coins, paintings and drawings, furniture and musical instruments, porcelain, archaeological and paleontological objects, books and manuscripts and sculptures were seized all over the world as a result of coordinated law enforcement actions. These seizures were made during the first Global Global Customs-Police Operation, codenamed ATHENA and organised by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in cooperation with INTERPOL, and during the regional Europe-focused Operation PANDORA II, coordinated by the Spanish Guardia Civil and Europol.

Credit: Europol

Both operations took place from October to early December 2017, with a common action phase from 20 to 30 November 2017, and saw the involvement of customs and police forces from 81 countries. Both, ATHENA and PANDORA II, focused on the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, theft, looting as well as internet sales. Most of the actions were developed and coordinated jointly between Customs and Police on the national level with the support and participation of the experts from the Ministries of Culture and other relevant institutions and law enforcement agencies.

Apart from seizures, there have been tens of thousands of checks and controls in various airports, ports, other border crossing points, as well as in the auction houses, museums and private houses. As a result, more than 200 investigations were opened and 53 persons arrested.

Credit: Europol

Given the global nature of this crime, operation coordination units working 24/7 were established by Europol on one side, and the WCO and INTERPOL on the other, to support the exchange of information as well as disseminate alerts, warnings and perform cross- checks in different international and national databases.

Internet as a facilitator for the illicit trafficking of cultural goods

Internet has changed, as in many other fields of our society, the traditional chains of the illicit trade of cultural goods. It is a new challenge for law enforcement authorities especially for the specialized cultural goods crime units. Now the criminals can reach the collector’s (anywhere in the world) without any intermediate, and out of the traditional channels.

Credit: Europol

Facing this threat, the involved law enforcement agencies monitored thousands of market places, internet announcement has in order to detect and seize looted or stolen cultural goods. Only in this area, 63 new criminal investigations have been opened and more than 6 000 cultural objects have been seized.

In a single successful investigation in Spain, Guardia Civil seized more than 2 000 cultural objects. Most of them were coins from Roman and other Empires and archaeological objects made of ceramic, metal and stone. In addition, 88 pieces of ivory were seized during the searches, including a carving of Christ valued at EUR 6 000 , and 39 firearms of different classification, from historical weapons, such as rifles and shotguns, swords, swords, katanas and a crossbow, revolvers and pistols. The investigation started with the checks of various internet pages dedicated to the sale and purchase of objects of historical value, and is still ongoing.

The Hellenic Police conducted a fruitful investigation in the framework of PANDORA II: during the searches in two residences and in two businesses of a national entrepreneur, they found 41 archaeological objects, for which the collector did not have a corresponding license. Additionally, from a legal collection of 1 133 coins of silver, bronze and gold of the 2nd century B.C. until 200 A.C., 15 coins were missing, and from a legal collection of 105 ancient objects, 26 objects were missing. All the possessed objects of archaeological and cultural value were confiscated, namely 1 252 cultural goods.

Source: Europol [February 23, 2018]