March/April 2023 Issue

JAPAN: During the 1st millennium A.D., Japanese aristocrats were sometimes buried in sumptuous tombs alongside ritual statues known as haniwa. These were mostly made from terracotta, but on rare occasions were carved from wood. The largest known wooden haniwa was recently uncovered near the Minegazuka Kofun mound in Habikino. Dating to the 5th century A.D., the 11-foot-tall figure was recovered from a moat that surrounded the 315-foot-long monumental tomb.

OMAN: Archaeologists unearthed a series of buildings belonging to the Umm al-Nar culture at the site of Dahwa that date to the mid-3rd millennium B.C. Amid the ruins was a tomb that contained a collection of silver jewelry, including a ring stamped with an image of an Indian bison. This was a common motif used in artwork of the Indus Valley, or Harappan, civilization. Analysis showed that the ring was likely made in Mesopotamia from silver sourced in Anatolia, highlighting the extensive trade networks cultivated by the area’s Bronze Age merchants.

ISRAEL: A mysterious 1,500-year-old skeleton bound in heavy iron rings was unearthed at Khirbat el-Masani, north of Jerusalem. During the Byzantine era, the site was home to a monastery, a church, and an inn for religious pilgrims. Researchers believe that the deceased man practiced an extreme form of asceticism and that his seemingly tortured state was self-inflicted. The man was likely a monk who intentionally bound his neck, feet, and hands in chains as a way to attain salvation by denying himself simple sensory pleasures.