Sarcophaguses found in Georgia

 

Georgia, Tbilisi, March 30 / Trend News N.Kirtzkhalia

Ancient graves were found in the Urbnisi village of the Kareli region during the construction of a highway. About 20 sarcophaguses were discovered dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries.

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New Written Language of Ancient Scotland Discovered (As Posted on Discovery News, March 31, 2010

Once thought to be rock art, carved depictions of soldiers, horses and other figures are in fact part of a written language dating back to the Iron Age.

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Bell Beaker Cultures in Central Europe

Selection from Wikipedia
Edited by Pat Chouinard


In their large-scale study on radiocarbon dating of the Bell Beakers, J. Müller and S. Willingen (2001) established that the Bell Beaker Culture in Central Europe started after the year of 2500 B.C.Two great coexisting and separate Central European cultures – the Corded Ware with its regional groups and the Eastern Group of the Bell Beaker Culture – form the background to the Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age. Their development, diffusion and long range changes are determined by the great river systems. As a third component counts the indigenous Carpathian Makó/Kosihy-Caka culture.[23]
     The Bell Beaker settlements are still little known, and have proved remarkably difficult for archaeologists to identify. This corresponds to contradictory results of anthropologic research[17] and to the modern view of Bell Beakers who, far from being the "warlike invaders" as once erroneously described by Gordon Childe (1940), added rather than replaced local late Neolithic traditions into a cultural package and as such did not always and evenly abandon all local traditions.[24]
      Bell Beaker domestic ware has no predecessors in Bohemia and Southern Germany, shows no genetic relation to the local Late Copper Age Corded Ware, nor to other cultures in the area, and is considered something completely new. The Bell Beaker domestic ware of Southern Germany are not as closely related to the Corded Ware as would be indicated by their burial rites. Settlements link the Southern German Bell Beaker culture to the seven regional provinces of the Eastern Group, represented by many settlement traces, especially from Moravia and the Hungarian Bell Beaker-Csepel group being the most important. The relationship to the western Bell Beakers groups, and the contemporary cultures of the Carpathian basin to the south east, is much less.[25] Research in Northern Poland shifted the north-eastern frontier of this complex to the western parts of the Baltic with the adjacent Northern European plain. Typical Bell Beaker fragments from the site of Ostrikovac-Djura at the Serbian river Morava were presented at the Riva del Garda conference in 1998, some hundred km south-east of the Hungarian Csepel-group. Bell Beaker related material has now been uncovered in a line from the Baltic Sea down to the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea, including countries such as Bielo-Russia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and even Greece.[26]
       The Bell Beaker culture settlements in Southern Germany and in the East-Group show evidence of mixed farming and animal husbandry, and indicators such as millstones and spindle whorls prove the sedentary character of the Bell Beaker people, and the durability of their settlements.[25] Especially some well-equipped child-burials seem to indicate sense of predestined social position, indicating a socially complex society. However, analysis of grave furnishing, size and deepness of grave pits, position within the cemetery, did not lead to any strong conclusions on the social divisions.
       The Late Copper Age is regarded as a continuous culture system connecting the Upper Rhine valley to the western edge of the Carpathian Basin. Late Copper Age 1 was defined in Southern Germany by the connection of the late Cham Culture, Globular Amphora Culture and the older Corded Ware Culture of "beaker group 1" that is also referred to as Horizon A or Step A. Early Bell Beaker Culture intruded[27] into the region at the end of the Late Copper Age 1, at about 2600–2550 BC. Middle Bell Beaker corresponds to Late Copper Age 2 and here an east-west Bell Beaker cultural gradient became visible through the difference in the distribution of the groups of beakers with and without handles, cups and bowls, in the three regions Austria-Western Hungary, the Danube catchment area of Southern Germany, and the Upper Rhine/lake Constance/Eastern Switzerland area for all subsequent Bell Beaker periods.[28] This middle Bell Beaker Culture is the main period when almost all the cemeteries in Southern Germany begin. Younger Bell Beaker Culture of Early Bronze Age shows analogies to the Proto-Únětice Culture in Moravia and the Early Nagyrév Culture of the Carpathian Basin.
        During the Bell Beaker period a border runs through southern Germany, which divides culturally a northern from a southern area. The northern area focuses on the Rhine area that belongs to the Bell Beaker West Group, while the southern area occupies the Danube river system and belongs to the homogeous East Group which overlaps with the Corded Ware Culture and other groups of the Late Neolithic and of the earliest Bronze Age. Nevertheless, southern Germany shows some independent developments of itself.[27] Although a broadly parallel evolution with early, middle and younger Bell Beaker Culture was detected, the Southern Germany middle Bell Beaker development of metope decorations and stamp and furrow engraving techniques do not appear on beakers in Austria-Western Hungary, and handled beakers are completely absent. It is contemporary to Corded Ware in the vicinity, that has been attested by associated finds of middle Corded Ware (chronologically referred to as "beaker group 2" or Step B) and younger Geiselgasteig Corded Ware beakers ("beaker group 3" or Step C). Bell Beaker Culture in Bavaria used a specific type of copper, which is characterized by combinations of trace elements. This same type of copper was spread over the area of the Bell Beaker East-Group.
      Previously archeology considered the Bell-beaker people to have lived only within a limited territory of the Carpathian Basin and for a short time, without mixing with the local population. Although there are very few evaluable anthropological finds, the appearance of the characteristic planoccipital Taurid type in the populations of some later cultures (e.g. Kisapostag and Gáta-Wieselburg cultures) suggested a mixture with the local population contradicting such archaeological theories. According to archaeology, the populational groups of the Bell-beakers also took part in the formation of the Gáta-Wieselburg culture on the western fringes of the Carpathian Basin, which could be confirmed with the anthropological Bell Beaker series in Moravia and Germany.[17]
        In accordance with anthropological evidence, it has been concluded the Bell Beakers intruded in an already established form the southern part of Germany as much as the East Group area.[27]

Stone "Ship" May Be Viking Burial Mound

The Ancient American, Volume 1, Issue 6
By Carol Bass

An unusual mound of stones in the shape of a ship which could date back to Viking settlements in the New World has been discovered in an area forest. History experts who have visited the site suspect the 65-foot stone structure may be a large “cairn,” an ancient European burial site constructed for the dead by the Viking and Celtic cultures. The exact location of site, which is in Windham County, is being kept under wraps to avoid the possibility of vandalism.
When first sighted through undergrowth, the ‘cairn’ appears to be just another short stretch of old New England stone wall, but on closer inspection, the boat shape of the stone pile becomes immediately apparent. The ‘cairn’ is close to 50 feet long and at its widest point measures 30-40 feet wide, and is four feet high. It is a near exact stone replica of a New England dory, a narrow at the bow and stern, with a very wide-mid-section. It is in fairly good shape and is only slightly damaged on one side where a growing tree has caused part of it crumble.
The structure was discovered by photographers Virginia and William Welch of Hampton. The couple saved it from near demolition by officials who have been planning to reforest the area. The state Department of Environmental Protection has now flagged the site to protect it for further observation and study.
The site has been viewed by several regional historical societies, including the Early Sites Research Society of Rowley, Mass., and the Gungywump Society of Noank. Officials from the societies agree that the site is ‘Nordic’ in nature, although no definitive conclusion has been reached about the origin of the artifact.
All who have viewed the site, however, agree with David Barron, president of the Gungywump Society, the structure is ‘very definitely not just a pile of stones. It was deliberately laid, deliberately set out, and has a deliberate plan to it.”
The Gungywump Society is a group of avocational archaeologists and historians who study historical phenomena throughout the state.
The mounds origins remain unknown now, although it is known that Vikings were in Canada. Barron said he wouldn’t suggest the mound is Viking in origin, because he said, “There is no evidence yet beyond the fact that it is unique and in the shape of a boat.”
Welch noted that the centerpiece of the structure, which he described as a ‘a slab that appears to have been standing,” resembles European burial places, or ‘cairns’.
This particular cairn, if that is what the structure is, is unusually large, according to Barron.
The presence of Viking in the New World before Columbus has been a debatable topic for years. It is agreed that the Vikings visited ancient Russia, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Iceland and Greenland.
Experts who have visited the Windham Country site are cautious to theorize about its origins. They all agree with Welch, however, that it is ‘something that appears to be very old. It’s an artifact that goes far beyond the English-Colonial period,” he said.
“Our main objective right now is to keep it low key Riggio said, “One of the problems we have today is that field, stone is in such high demand there pillaging of old stone walls and their stones get robbed every day.” Welch thinks the structure has at least ‘superficial similarities’ to European cairns which commemorate burial sits.”

America's Viking Heritage

Frank Joseph
(The Ancient American, Volume 1, Issue 6)

Through the ominous visor of the helmet feature on this month’s cover once peered the eyes of a Norse warrior. Found at a Swedish site belonging to the 7th century A.D., it predates the generally accepted beginning of the so-called “Viking Age,” 200 years later. For unknown millennia before, culturally related Germanic peoples inhabited the lands of the Baltic and Scandinavia, steadily growing in the number of settlements, until the relationship between burgeoning population and shrinking living space made the Norse look beyond Northern Europe, around the turn of the 9th Century . It was then that they began referring to th4emselves as “Vikings”, or “Bay-raiders”, after their early sorties among the fjords of their own homelands. And, while the title persisted for the duration of the Viking Age, the Norse very quickly expanded their activities far beyond local bays and inlets. Their great courage and incomparable long-ships took them throughout Russia to North Africa, as far as Ireland, Greenland, Iceland and . . . America.
Most salaried historians have long demonstrated a knee-jerk rejection of any notion that Vikings actually landed here, dismissing such embarrassing suggestions as many tall tales. Even after the critics were forced to acknowledge 40 years ago that a northern Newfoundland site, L’Anse aux Meadows, yielded physical evidence of an 11th Century Norse settlement, they continue to deny the Vikings any farther. Clearly, Establishment academics are clinging to a deteriorating position. The two widely this issue are certainly authentic artifacts which confirm Viking impact on America. The very text of the Kensington Runestone establishes its authenticity, even down the smallest detail. For example, the runic author describes his Minnesota location as an “island”. Nowhere in the broad vicinity of its discovery does the area remotely resemble anything like an island. Yet, at the same time of the date inscribed on the Stone, 1362, the present location of Kensington was an island surrounded by a shallow lake that has long since vanished, a fact not recognized until long after the deaths of all persons who found the Stone in the late 19th Century. Moreover, modern stone-carvers have affirmed that the Runestone was inscribed by an expert mason, while the artifact’s discoverers were only simple farmers, with no such skills.
A contrary view is taken by rune-researcher, Jane Sibley. Kensington SAtone is not authentically Viking. But unlike other critics, Jane makes a provocative presentation of new evidence and challenges the defenders of the runestone to find convincing responses. Whatever we may think of her assessment, her advocacy of new testing for the controversial artifacts points future research in the right direction.

The Development of the Germanic Languages

Deanna Gallo


First, let us define the Germanic languages. The Germanic languages are a sub-family of languages which descend from the large Indo-European language family. The Germanic languages are subdivided into three groups. The Western Germanic family includes English, Dutch, German, Afrikaans and the lesser-known Frisian. The North Germanic languages are Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic. A third group, East Germanic, which included Gothic, is now extinct.
The Proto-Germanic dialect of Indo-European that would in time give rise to the various Germanic languages probably emerged in a small area of Northern Europe around 2500 BC. Proto-Germanic retained much of the grammar characteristic of Indo-European; for example, grammatical gender and the inflectional system of nouns and adjectives.
At the same time, however, Proto-Germanic differs from the other Indo-European languages in specific and regular ways. Grimm's Law describes the sound-shift of several Indo-European consonants into their Germanic forms. The Indo-European p-sound, for example, becomes the sound f in all Germanic languages. Among other notable changes, k becomes the Germanic h, and d becomes t.
The Germanic languages are also characterized by their dual system of verbs, which is preserved in English today. So-called weak verbs form their past tense by the addition of a d or t sound, as in the English walked and helped. Strong verbs form their past tense by changing the verb internally, as in sang and brought.
By 500 BC, Germanic speakers had spread through much of Northern Europe, and the language had by this time diverged into western, northern and eastern dialects. It is believed that at this time these dialects were mutually intelligible. Runic inscriptions made around this time allow linguists to study the Germanic dialects. It is around this time, also, that the first written records of the Germanic peoples appear; the Roman historian Tacitus wrote an account of Germanic customs and catalogued the geographical location of several tribes.
What is known as the Migration Period occurred between 300 and 700 AD, and the Germanic dialects were taken into new lands. In many of these places, such as Ireland, France and Spain, Germanic eventually gave way to other, more dominant languages. But in other places, Germanic established itself as the predominant language. The Vikings, speaking a Germanic dialect known as Old Norse, brought their language into Iceland, where it is spoken today in a form not much different from the original Old Norse. In England, three Germanic-speaking tribes brought their dialects, which would soon merge to become Anglo-Saxon, or Old English.
By the tenth century AD, the various Germanic languages had evolved to a point where they were no longer mutually intelligible. Around this time, the Eastern Germanic languages were assimilated and soon disappeared. The principal northern dialect, Old Norse, gave rise to the earliest recognizable forms of Icelandic, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. And the main western dialects were now Old English, Old High German, and Old Franconian, which would later emerge as Dutch.

These now fully divergent languages would continue their separate development throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period, and would finally become the modern Germanic languages.

The Bosnian Pyramid Phenomenon

By Robert M. Schoch
Boston University

Semir Osmanagic announced it to the press with fiery conviction: “The history of civilization has to be rewritten,” he said. “Bosnia will become a giant on the world archeological map” (quoted from a May 4, 2006 Reuters Report By Daria Sito-Sucic). On the outskirts of the Bosnian town of Visoko, half an hour drive northwest of Sarajevo, Osmanagic claimed there were two monstrous pyramids (dubbed the “Pyramid of the Sun” and the “Pyramid of the Moon”), and perhaps several smaller pyramids as well. Even the prestigious New York Times picked up the story: “Some See a Pyramid to Hone Bosnia’s Image. Others See a Big Hill.” (New York Times, May 15, 2006, page A8). At least four different websites were devoted to the “Bosnian Pyramids” (http://www.bosnianpyramids.org/ http://www.bosnianpyramid.com/ http://www.bosnian-pyramid.com/ and http://www.piramidasunca.ba/). The supposed pyramids formed the stuff of heated debate at other websites (most notably, perhaps, that of the Archaeological Institute of America, http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanagic/update.html), chat-rooms, and blogs across the Internet.

Were they really man-made pyramids, perhaps dating back thousands of years? (Some advocates placed them as much as 12,000 or 14,000 years in the past.) Now covered with soil, trees, and other vegetation, Bosnian pyramid buffs argued that the “pyramids” needed to be excavated to reveal their glory and prove that Bosnia, of all places, was the virtual origin of, well not just pyramids, but perhaps even civilization. Tunnels reputedly associated with the pyramids were said to contain cryptic engravings that could just possibly be the oldest writing ever discovered. Detractors, on the other hand, saw the so-called pyramids as simply interesting, but perfectly and completely natural, geomorphologic features - - that is, they are just big hills. Some even argued that the whole notion of the Bosnian pyramids was not just a mistake or an ill-conceived notion, but a downright hoax designed to bring prestige, fame, power, and money to Bosnia, Visoko, and the head of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation, the Bosnian-American (he now resides in Houston much of the time where he maintains a business) Semir (“Sam”) Osmanagic (also spelled Osmanagich). Indeed, on May 12, 2006, National Geographic ran an article on their website titled “Pyramid in Bosnia -- Huge Hoax or Colossal Find?” (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/pyramid-bosnia-1.html). It did not help Osmanagic’s case, at least in the eyes of the traditional academic community, that he is an advocate of “alternative history” (see his website http://www.alternativnahistorija.com/), and of his numerous books (mostly published in Bosnian), the one widely available in English, titled The World of the Maya, almost seems purposefully written to provoke the ire of traditional archaeologists.

Having more than a casual interest in ancient pyramids (after all, I am the author of two books focusing on pyramids: Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, and Pyramid Quest), I wanted to see first-hand what all the pyramid fuss in Bosnia was about. If there really was a huge pyramid, larger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, in Bosnia, then I wanted the opportunity to study it. On the other hand, if there were no pyramids in Bosnia, that would be important to know too. But how to get to Bosnia? The answer turned out to be easy. My friend and professional colleague, Dr. Colette M. Dowell, simply contacted the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation and Semir Osmanagic. Initial contact was followed up with emails and phone calls, and quickly we received an invitation to visit Visoko and see the “pyramids” for ourselves. We made the trip to Bosnia during July and August 2006.

The afternoon we arrived in Bosnia, Osmanagic insisted on taking us straightaway to the so-called “Pyramid of the Sun.” I observed the excavated areas of huge stone blocks; blocks that I was told were most definitely not natural. Clearly, Osmanagic insisted, they were man-made concrete blocks that cannot be explained geologically, put into place with a sophisticated ancient technology that has now been lost. Amazingly, he explained, the “concrete” blocks proved to be harder and more durable than any modern concretes or cements. But he and I were apparently seeing different things, perhaps viewing an entirely different world. Where he saw concrete blocks and human intervention, I saw only perfectly natural sandstones and conglomerates that had broken into larger or smaller blocks due both to tectonic stresses and gravity slumping. For a week and a half this seemed to be the dominant theme: Osmanagic and others who worked with and for him insisting that this or that feature can never occur in nature, and thus must be artificial and human-made, versus me finding a perfectly reasonable geological explanation for each of the same features.

The geology around Visoko is incredibly rich, and I suggested to Osmanagic that, in lieu of “pyramids,” he might redefine his “Archaeological Park” as a “Geological-Archaeological Park” and focus more on the geology. Visocica Hill (the one dubbed “Pyramid of the Sun”) and Pljesevica Hill (“Pyramid of the Moon”) are composed of layers of sandstone, clay, mudstone, siltstone, and conglomerates apparently deposited in an ancient lake and river system during Miocene times (about 5.3 to 23 million years ago). The rocks have been tilted and bent due to tectonic stresses. The tectonic forces plastically deformed the clays and mudstones, but the sandstones and conglomerates broke into semi-regularly shaped pieces that Osmanagic and his team have excavated in numerous places, interpreting them as “pavements,” “terraces,” “concrete blocks,” “foundation stones,” and so forth. Interestingly, and tellingly, the sizes of the sandstone and conglomerate blocks found are a function of the thickness of the original rock layers. Thin sandstone layers, stressed tectonically, broke into small blocks while thick and durable conglomerate layers broke into massive blocks. This is exactly the pattern expected among natural rock formations. The sandstones also typically preserve various sedimentary and depositional features, such as ripple marks and the traces of ancient burrowing animals. These same rocks are also rich in paleontology. In some of the sandstone layers, and in many of the mudstone layers, I found large accumulations of fossil leaf debris and even some fairly complete Miocene fossil leaves. I believe that the real treasure of Visoko may be a huge fossil biota just waiting to be uncovered, not some imaginary pyramids.

While wondering the streets of Visoko, being offered all sorts of pyramid souvenirs, from tee shirts to copper plates bearing depictions of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun (stylistically rendered either as a stepped Mayan-style pyramid or, less frequently, as a smooth-sided Giza-style pyramid), I continued to hope against hope that I could find some “truth” underlying the “pyramid mania” that has gripped the region. One last possibility might be the evidence of the reputed tunnels found in the area that supposedly connect one pyramid to another. We had the opportunity to explore one tunnel that is currently open; to put it mildly, I was disappointed with what I saw. The tunnel had clearly been entered and modified in recent times, as evidenced by the graffiti found in places, the collapsed ceilings and walls, and the stories that the Yugoslavian army (Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the former Yugoslavia) had once used the tunnels for military purposes, and possibly purposefully destroyed parts of them. If this was an ancient tunnel, it was difficult to tell now. The much-touted “ancient inscriptions” seem not to be ancient at all. I was told by a reliable source that the inscriptions were not there when members of the “pyramid team” initially entered the tunnels less than two years ago. The “ancient inscriptions” had been added since, perhaps non-maliciously, or perhaps as a downright hoax.

So, no pyramids, but there are many fascinating and genuine archaeological wonders in Bosnia. On the summit of Visocica Hill, which overlooks Visoko, are the remains of a medieval fort built on top of Roman ruins, and there is also evidence of Neolithic occupation of the hill, dating back perhaps 5,000 years. While in Bosnia we also visited megalithic ruins attributed to the Illyrians (circa 4th century B.C.), a possible Paleolithic cave (unfortunately, we had neither the time nor equipment to enter it; I would love to return and explore it), and fascinating medieval cemetery monuments to the dead.

Despite my failure to validate the Bosnian pyramid dreams, Semir Osmanagic and all the members of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation were most gracious hosts. They spared no effort to make sure that I could view all aspects of the so-called pyramids, even arranging for me to take a short airplane ride to see them from the air. Bosnia is a beautiful country with amazing scenery and a rich history. The people are extremely friendly and hospitable, and Bosnia exhibits a wonderful mixture of Western (Austro-Hungarian) and Eastern (Turkish and Islamic) traditions. Even in the absence of pyramids, it is certainly a country worth visiting.