World War II Machine Gun Nest Uncovered in Slovakia

KOSTOLNÁ-ZÁRIEČIE, SLOVAKIA—According to a Miami Herald report, a farmer in western Slovakia discovered the lower portion of a World War II–era Nazi machine gun nest in his field. The reinforced concrete structure, also known as a kugelstand or a kugelbunker, would have been spherical in shape with a hole in the top. A gunman would have been sheltered by the nest while still able to fire a weapon. As many as 1,000 machine gun nests are thought to have been built by the Nazis in Slovakia during the war. The field where the lower section of the sphere was found would have been near the front line between the Nazi army and the Soviet and Romanian armies during the last few months of the war in 1945. A metal detector search of the field did not recover any additional artifacts, however, suggesting that fighting did not reach this particular machine gun nest. After the war, some of these structures in Slovakia were destroyed, while others were left in place and repurposed as flower pots or playground equipment. This one has been now moved to the Trenčin Museum. To read about archaeological remnants of the D-Day Allied invasion, go to "Letter from Normandy: The Legacy of the Longest Day."

11th-Century Jain Sculptures Found in Southern India

MYSURU, INDIA—According to a report in The Hans India, three sculptures were discovered during work to install a drain in southwestern India’s town of Varuna. Researchers C. Manjula and N.S. Rangaraju, who were called to investigate the site, identified one of the damaged sculptures as the goddess Kushmandini Devi, and the other two as Jain Tirthankars, or teachers who have conquered the cycle of death and rebirth and created a path for others to follow. They also dated the carvings to the eleventh century, and the time of the Ganga and Hoysala empires, when there were Jain centers in the region. Additional excavation is being planned for the area in order to shed light on these Jain settlements. To read about an elephant sculpture unearthed on a riverbank in India's state of Odisha, go to "The Elephant and the Buddha."

Possible Celestial Calendar From Italy Identified

RUPINPICCOLO, ITALY—Newsweek reports that a carved stone disk discovered at a hillfort in northeastern Italy may be an ancient celestial map. The hillfort, or castelliere, where the disk was recovered was in use between about 1800 and 400 B.C., making it possible that the stone disk could date back some 2,400 years. Archaeologist Federico Bernardini and astronomer Paolo Molaro of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics said that 29 marks on the stone were likely made by the same person with a chisel. Twenty-four of the marks are on one face of the stone, and five marks are on the other. The researchers used software to map the marks, and found that they match groups of stars in the constellations of Scorpius, Orion, and Cassiopeia, and the star cluster Pleiades. One mark on the stone, however, could not be identified. The researchers suggest that it may represent a star in the Orion cluster that may have since exploded as a supernova, or is perhaps a failed supernova that left a black hole behind. Bernardini and Molaro believe that a search for a black hole in that area could verify their interpretation. They also think the disk may have been used by the people who lived at the hillfort to track changing seasons and the agricultural calendar. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Astronomical Notes. To read about a celestial map unearthed in Germany, go to "Mapping the Past: The Nebra Sky Disc."

Artifacts Recovered From Antakya’s Earthquake Rubble

HATAY, TURKEY—According to a Hurriyet Daily News report, the Hatay Disaster Area Excavation Directorate, which was established by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry, has recovered fragments of the 720 registered cultural assets in Antakya that were destroyed by an earthquake this past February. The team is made up of art historians, archaeologists, architects, restoration architects, civil engineers, and students, who have been working in an area covering more than 3,000 acres for the past 10 months. Lead excavator Muhammet Arslan said that the team members have been conducting “rubble archaeology,” by rescuing columns, capitals, wooden door wings, windows, wooden cabinets, and features from mosques. “We carried the historical artifacts we collect from the rubble to the sorting area,” he explained. “We started by separating the cut and rubble stone, wood, and all the original materials of the buildings, and sorted them by district and parcel numbers. Then we put signs indicating the region they belong to. These materials will be used in the restoration of the original buildings.” Some artifacts, particularly from the Great Mosque, Habibi Neccar Mosque, and the Russian Orthodox Church, were taken directly to the Hatay Archaeology Museum, Arslan concluded. For more on archaeology in Turkey, go to "Preventing the Return of the Dead."

Possible Ancient Palace Discovered in Central China

HENAN PROVINCE, CHINA—Newsweek reports that remains of a large, 4,000-year-old structure have been unearthed at the site of Xinmi, an ancient walled city located on the banks of the Zhenshui River in central China. The structure, thought to be part of a palace complex, had a rammed-earth foundation measuring about 200 feet long and 100 feet wide. Holes at the site indicate there were terraces on the southern and northern ends of the complex, cloisters to the east and west, and a central yard. Xinmi is said to have been built by the Longshan culture between 2100 and 1600 B.C., during the period of the legendary Xia Dynasty. To read about evidence for floods that Chinese histories tied to the founding of the Xia Dynasty, go to "China's Legendary Flood."

Remote Maya Campsite Found in Southeastern Mexico

TELCHAC PUEBLO, MEXICO—Newsweek reports that a remote 57-acre Maya campsite with traces of several structures, mounds of ash and charcoal, and pottery fragments has been discovered on the Yucatán Peninsula by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Mario Alberto Garrido. No other Maya sites had been identified in the area, Garrido said, and this one was probably only used by the Maya during the dry season. Most of the pottery has been dated to the Early Classic period, between A.D. 250 and 600, although some of the fragments have been dated to the Late Preclassic period, between 400 B.C. and A.D. 200. Alicia Beatriz Quintal of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History added that the remains of a large number of snails were also recovered. Many of the snail shells were complete, while others were found in fragments or had been modified. The snails are thought to have been used for food and to make utensils, such as spoons. For more on the Maya, go to "Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens."

Update on Excavation of Intact Western Han Dynasty Tomb

WULONG DISTRICT, CHINA—A set of 23 wooden slips has been found among the more than 600 artifacts recovered from a 2,000-year-old waterlogged wooden chamber tomb in southwestern China by researchers from the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, according to a Live Science report. Characters written on the wooden slips, which each measure about an inch wide and four inches long, suggest the set is related to the traditional Chinese astronomical calendar known as the Tiangan Dizhi, or “Ten Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.” This system was established during the Shang Dynasty, between about 1600 and 1050 B.C. Perforations on the edges of each slip suggest that they had been tied together. It is not clear how the slips would have been used, but archaeologists think that slips such as these may have been used to represent particular years in a 60-year cycle. To read about other finds from Western Han Dynasty tombs, go to "Mirror, Mirror."