May/June 2024 Issue

Among the ruins of a 3,000-year-old Iron Age settlement near the town of Rustaq that includes residential buildings and large defensive structures, archaeologists exposed an oddly shaped building. What they found inside was even more curious than the building’s design. Scattered within the property were graves of more than 30 children, including newborns. Experts are not yet sure why these young people were buried together in this fashion as this practice was previously unknown in the region during the Iron Age.

Sections of a lost medieval church were revealed by workers replacing damaged paving stones in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square. Newly exposed walls, floors, and tombs are believed to be remnants of St. Geminiano. Built in the 6th century A.D., the church was one of the city’s earliest houses of worship, predating the iconic St. Mark’s Basilica and its eponymous square. St. Geminiano underwent several transformations before being demolished in the early 19th century, after which its location was forgotten.

Around 170 people from Varnhem recently underwent thorough dental examinations. These patients needed no numbing agents, however, as they had been dead for more than 800 years. This study of the dental habits of the Viking community at Varnhem from the 10th to 12th century indicated that around half suffered from at least 1 cavity and, on average, adults had lost 6 percent of their teeth. Evidence of deep drilling in some molars also revealed that Vikings were capable of alleviating severe pressure from infection.