Traces of Bronze Age Copper Mine Found in Oman

WARSAW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that evidence for the processing of copper ore has been found in the rocky, mountainous Qumayrah region of Oman. Piotr Bieliński and Agnieszka Pieńkowska of the University of Warsaw were looking for traces of copper mining, processing, and smelting because it is known that the metal was exported from the region to India and Mesopotamia throughout the Early Bronze Age, between about 2600 and 2000 B.C. “On [the] ground surface, we found dozens of stone tools used for crushing ore and numerous fragments of furnace walls used for smelting copper,” Pieńkowska said. “The remains of buildings that most likely served as workshops have also been preserved,” she added. The materials have not yet been dated, but Bieliński and Pieńkowska suggest that copper ore was processed at the site over a long period of time. They also discovered remnants of an Iron Age settlement on a hill in the region. The settlement, inhabited between 1300 and 300 B.C., was made up of adjoining houses situated on both sides of a narrow street. “This kind of plan is far removed from the rural character of the settlements one would expect in such a small mountain center,” Bieliński said. To read about 3,000-year-old bronze weapons uncovered at a site in Oman, go to "Fit for a War God."

Bronze Age Settlement Found in Switzerland

HEIMBERG, SWITZERLAND—A Bronze Age settlement thought to have been inhabited between 3,200 and 3,500 years ago has been found in the Swiss Plateau, beside the Aare River, according to a Newsweek report. The ancient village likely sat along a route between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. Researchers from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern (ASCB) discovered the settlement during an excavation conducted ahead of a construction project. “What is exciting about the Heimberg site is that no settlement from the Middle Bronze Age was previously known at this location,” said ASCB archaeologist Regine Stapfer. Pits filled with stones were among the structures uncovered by the project. The stones, Stapfer explained, appear to have been shattered by heat. “It is not clear what these pits with the fragmented stones were used for,” she said. Similar pits have been unearthed at other Middle Bronze Age sites, however. Researchers think they may have been used to provide warmth or to cook food. Clay may have been extracted from other pits at Heimberg, Stapfer added. The clay would have been used to plaster the wicker walls of houses or to produce the abundant ceramics found at the site. “We know of no burial ground for the settlement and therefore have no evidence of the people who inhabited the settlement,” Stapfer concluded. To read about a unique second-millennium B.C. bronze hand unearthed in Switzerland, go to "An Eccentric Artifact," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2018.

Tool Analysis Suggests Neanderthals Mixed Compound Adhesives

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—According to a statement released by New York University, stone tools recovered in France from the Neanderthal site of Le Moustier in the 1960s have been reexamined by an international team of researchers. The team, led by Patrick Schmidt of the University of Tübingen, detected traces of ocher and bitumen on several of the scrapers, flakes, and blades. “We were surprised that the ochre content was more than 50 percent,” Schmidt said. “This is because air-dried bitumen can be used unaltered as an adhesive, but loses its adhesive properties when such large proportions of ochre are added,” he explained. The researchers then tested liquid bitumen and bitumen mixed with various levels of ocher. They found that a mix made up of 55 percent ocher and 45 percent bitumen was just sticky enough to hold a stone tool and yet not stick to the hands, making it a suitable handle. Team member Radu Iovita of New York University said that microscopic examination of the ancient tools revealed wear on the sharp edges from use on other materials, and bright polish on other areas of the tools, where they may have been abraded by the movement of the tool within a grip made of ocher and bitumen. “Compound adhesives are considered to be among the first expressions of the modern cognitive processes that are still active today,” Schmidt concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Science Advances. To read about the earliest known piece of cord, go to "Twisted Neanderthal Tech."

Possible Royal Ring Discovered in Denmark

EMMERLEV, DENMARK—Live Science reports that a metal detectorist discovered a gold ring set with a semiprecious red stone in the hamlet of Emmerlev, which is located in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. Archaeologist Kirstine Pommergaard of the National Museum of Denmark said that the ring has been dated to the fifth or sixth century A.D., and may have belonged to a local royal family connected to the Frankish kings known as the Merovingians, based upon its spirals and trefoil knobs usually associated with Frankish craftsmanship. The red stone could also be a symbol of power, she added. “The gold ring is probably a woman’s ring and may have belonged to a prince’s daughter who was married to a prince in Emmerlev,” Pommergaard said. “Gold is typically [a] diplomatic gift, and we know that people have married into alliances.” She thinks the royal family in Emmerlev may have controlled an area between Ribe, a trade center in Southwest Jutland, and Hedeby, a Danish trade center in what is now Germany. Discoveries of other valuable ancient items in the surrounding area suggest that elites in Southern Jutland may have controlled important trade links and wielded greater influence than previously thought, added archaeologist Anders Hartvig of the Museum Sønderjylland. To read about Iron Age jewelry uncovered on the Danish island of Zealand, go to "Splendid Surprise."

France’s Beaumont Abbey Excavated

TOURS, FRANCE—The Miami Herald reports that the excavation of the entirety of Beaumont Abbey, including the church, cloister, peripheral buildings, abbey dwellings, the refectory, the kitchen, the parlor, cellars, ovens, pipes, washhouses, latrines, an icebox, the gardens, and dumping areas, has been completed. This is the first time a complete abbey site has been excavated in Europe, according to Philippe Blanchard of the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research. The remains of a medieval village were found under the oldest structures, which date to 1002. The Benedictine nuns were expelled from the abbey in 1790, at the start of the French Revolution. More than 1,000 burials, spread out over a parish cemetery, a cemetery for the nuns, a servants’ cemetery, and the village cemetery, were also uncovered. Nuns buried in the church’s nave were interred in wooden coffins with crucifixes, medals, and small bone crosses. Some of the more elaborate tombs are thought to have belonged to abbesses and important benefactors. Sets of rosary beads imported from Rome and statuettes likely connected to religious tourism were also recovered in the church. To read about two lead sarcophagi that were found underneath the floor of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, go to "Update: Notre Dame's Nobility."

DNA Study Identifies Chromosomal Disorders in Infant Remains

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA—According to a statement released by the University of Adelaide, statistician Adam “Ben” Rohrlach of the University of Adelaide, Kay Prüfer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and an international team of researchers screened some 10,000 DNA samples taken from human remains dating from the Mesolithic period through the mid-nineteenth century for evidence of autosomal trisomies, or a third copy of one of the first 22 chromosomes in the human genome. The researchers were able to identify six infants with Down syndrome, which occurs when a person carries an extra copy of chromosome 21. “This is the first time we’ve been able to reliably detect cases [of Down syndrome] in ancient remains,” Rohrlach said. The study also identified the remains of a perinatal infant who had Edwards syndrome, a condition caused by three copies of chromosome 18. “These individuals were buried according to either the standard practices of their time or were in some way treated specially,” Rohrlach added. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature Communications. To read about Neanderthal gene variants that occur in some living populations today, go to "Painful Past."

Lost Medieval Church and Burial Found Under Venice Piazza

VENICE, ITALY—According to a report in The Miami Herald, a rectangular stone-lined tomb dated to the seventh or eighth century has been found under Venice’s Piazza San Marco. The grave was found during an investigation carried out ahead of work to restore the plaza’s paving stones. Archaeologist Sara Bini said that the tomb holds the remains of seven people, including an eight-year-old child and a woman. Near the tomb, the researchers uncovered traces of walls and a floor identified as the Church of San Geminiano. Archival records show that the church was constructed in the early medieval period and destroyed in the early nineteenth century. To read about a stretch of Roman that is now submerged beneath a Venetian waterway, go to "A Trip to Venice."