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2014 Offi ce of the Governor, Economic Develo pment and Touris m.

E X P L O R E I T A N D O T H E R W O N D E R

Its like a

HELLO! HELLO!HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!

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24 Saving theVilla of the MysteriesBeneath the surface of Pompeiis

most famous house

BY JARRETT A. LOBELL

32 A Change of FortuneA destroyed tomb, a stone epitaph,

and the last powerful women ofimperial China

BY LAUREN HILGERS

35 All Hands on DeckInviting the world to explore a

shipwreck deep in the Gulf of Mexico

BY LAUREN HILGERS

42 A Well-Aged VintageArchaeologists discover a

3,700-year-old wine cellar

BY JASON URBANUS

44Built to LastHow Roman harbors have stood the

test of time

BY NIKHIL SWAMINATHAN

48Messengers to the GodsAncient Egyptians turned to animal

mummies to petition the gods,

inspiring a massive religious industry

BY ERIC A. POWELL

CONTENTS

MARCH/APRIL2014VOLUME67, NUMBER2

features

55 Archaeologist Borbla Nyri records

different types of ancient Chinese

dragon jars at a cemetery in Borneos

Kelabit highlands.

1

Cover: A fresco from the Villa of the

Mysteries dating to the mid-first century B.C.

depicts two young satyrs and the elderly

Silenus, members of Dionysus retinue.

PHOTO: PASQUALESORRENTINO

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departments

More from the IssueTo see more imagesof Egyptian animal mummies, go to

www.archaeology.org/animalmummies

Interactive DigsRead about the latest discoveriesat the Minoan site of Zominthos in central Crete and at

Johnsons Island, a Civil War site in Ohio

on the web www.archaeology.org

Archaeological NewsEach day, we bringyou headlines from around the world. And sign up

for our e-Update so you dont miss a thing

Stay in TouchVisit Facebook and likeARCHAEOLOGYor follow us on Twitter at

@archaeologymag

20

4 Editors Letter

6 From the President

8 Letters Egyptian for doctor, what led to the Battle of

Baecula, and an ancient Mexican Adam and Eve

9 From the Trenches Humankinds tangled family tree, Vikings sartorial

splendor, a turtle-inspired robot, and Cold War

secrets revealed

22 World RoundupAztec god of the dead, gold in Lake Titicaca,

Anglo-Saxon gaming piece, and building the

Forbidden City

55 Letter from Borneo Archaeology, oral history, and culture deep in the

Malaysian jungle

68 Artifact The importance of music in ancient Peru

16

14

3

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ARCHAEOLOGY March/April 20144

EDITORS LETTER

Editor in Chief

Claudia Valentino

Executive Editor Deputy Editor

Jarrett A. Lobell Samir S. Patel

Senior Editor

Nikhil Swaminathan

Online Editor

Eric A. Powell

Editorial Assistant

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Creative Director

Richard Bleiweiss

Contributing Editors

Roger Atwood, Paul Bahn, Bob Brier,Andrew Curry, Blake Edgar, Brian Fagan,

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Angela M. H. Schuster, Neil Asher Silberman,Julian Smith, Zach Zorich

Correspondents

Athens: Yannis N. StavrakakisBangkok: Karen Coates

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Giovanni LattanziWashington, D.C.: Sandra Scham

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Subscription questions and addresschanges should be sent to Archaeology,

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ARCHAEOLOGYMAGAZINE

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Claudia Valentino

Editor in Chief

Not Yet Lost

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Founded in 1879, the $UFKDHRORJLFDO ,QVWLWXWH RI $PHULFD $,$ LV WKH QDWLRQV ROGHVWarchaeological organization. Its charter, granted by Congress in 1906, states thatthe AIA exists for the purpose of promoting archaeological studies by investigation

and research in the United States and foreign countriesby publication of archaeologicalSDSHUV DQG UHSRUWV RI WKH UHVXOWV 7KXV IURP WKH EHJLQQLQJ WKH $,$V PLVVLRQ KDV EHHQarchaeological discovery and the dissemination of new information about the human past.

This is as important today as it was a century ago. I am proud to have been elected thenew president of this distinguished organization that supports archaeologists in the fieldand spreads the word about their work to the wider public.

In a 45\HDU FDUHHU devoted to archaeology,

I have had many opportunities to revealextraordinary evidence of the human past:the earliest village of farmers in Western Asia,figurines in clay and stone that testify to anastonishing artistic sensibility on the part ofour prehistoric forebears, marine shells on asite far inland that point to the existence ofORQJGLVWDQFH WUDGH12,000years ago, and more.

Yet there is far more to archaeology thansimply making discoveries. Archaeology isthe only discipline that reaches back to the

beginnings of humanity, two million years ago, and tells the entire story of human cultural

GHYHORSPHQW ,W H[SODLQV KRZ WKH FRQWLQHQWV ZHUH SHRSOHG DQG KRZ WKH ODVW KXQWHUgatherers became the first farmers. It illuminates the formation of the first cities andcivilizations and their demises, and then describes how the complex societies familiar tous today came into being. Along the way our ancestors developed new technologies thatenabled them to make ever more efficient use of resources. Through this long, fascinatingnarrative, humans have experienced major climatic changes, survived natural disasters, andcoped with debilitating epidemics. They have also created great art, including the cavepaintings of France and Spain that date back some 35,000\HDUV DQG WKH ILUVW OLWHUDWXUHthe Epic of Gilgamesh, written on clay tablets in ancient Iraq more than 4,000years ago.

Archaeology teaches us how our modern world came to be in all its richness and variety,and where we should look for the roots of contemporary human achievement.

Knowledge of the human past is powerful. As we look to the future, let us remember that

an understanding of how our world came to be is an essential element in confronting thechallenges that lie ahead. I look forward to exploring these thoughts with you in future letters.


FROM THE PRESIDENT AIofA

Located at Boston University

OFFICERS

President

Andrew Moore

First Vice President

Jodi Magness

Vice President for Outreach and Education

Pamela Russell

Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs

Carla Antonaccio

Vice President for Professional Responsibilities

Laetitia La Follette

Treasurer

David Ackert

Vice President for Societies

Thomas Morton

Chief Operating Officer

Kevin Quinlan

GOVERNING BOARD

Susan AlcockBarbara BarlettaAndrea Berlin

David BoocheverBruce CampbellDerek Counts

Julie Herzig DesnickSheila Dillon, ex officio

Michael GalatyRonald Greenberg

Michael HoffJeffrey Lamia

Lynne LancasterBecky Lao

Deborah LehrRobert Littman

Elizabeth Macaulay-LewisMaria PapaioannouJ. Theodore Pea

Eleanor PowersPaul Rissman

Robert RothbergDavid SeigleChen Shen

Monica SmithCharles Steinmetz

Douglas TildenClaudia Valentino, ex officio

Michael Wiseman

Past President

Elizabeth Bartman

Trustees Emeriti

Brian HeidtkeNorma Kershaw

Charles S. La Follette

Legal Counsel

Mitchell Eitel, Esq.Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP

A I ofA656 Beacon Street tBoston, MA 02215-2006

www.archaeological.org

Past, Present, and Future

AIA president Andrew Moore

Andrew Moore

President, Archaeological Institute of America

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LETTERS

Whats in a Name?

, MXVW UHDG 7KH 'RFWRU ,V ,Q -DQXDU\)HEUXDU\ 2014 ,P FXULRXV DERXW WKHUR\DO SK\VLFLDQV QDPH 6KHSVHVNDIDQNK 7KH QDPH FDUWRXFKH LQ WKHSLFWXUHV \RX XVHG VSHOOV 6KHSVHVNDI7KH DQNK LV WR WKH ULJKW RI WKH FDU

WRXFKH EXW GRHV QRW VHHP WR EH SDUW RIWKH QDPH 3HUKDSV WKH DQNK LV D WLWOHRI VRPH VRUW OLNH ZH XVH 'U WRGD\"

Heidi Smallidge

Northeast Harbor, ME

Author Nikhil Swaminathan responds:Only royal or divine names appear withincartouches. Shepseskaf was the name ofthe last pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty. Thedoctors name, perhaps a tribute to the ruler,was Shepseskaf lives, or Shepseskafankh,

and only the royal portion of his nameappears in a cartouche.

Buildup to the Battle of Baecula

2XU FODVV UHDG \RXU DUWLFOH $Q (SLF&RQLFW -DQXDU\)HEUXDU\2014 7KHDXWKRU VWDWHV WKDW WKH 5RPDQV ZHQW RQWKH RHQVLYH LQ 6SDLQ DQG DWWDFNHG DW6DJXQWXP :KLOH WKLV PD\ KDYH EHHQWUXH FRQFHUQLQJ D ODWHU SHULRG LQ WKH6HFRQG 3XQLF :DU LW ZDV QRW WKH FDXVHRI WKH ZDU DV WKH DXWKRU VHHPV WR LPSO\

,Q IDFW WKH ZDU ZDV VWDUWHG DFFRUGLQJWR 3RO\ELXV ZKHQ WKH &DUWKDJLQLDQIRUFHV OHG E\ +DQQLEDO DWWDFNHG6DJXQWXP LQ HDUO\ 219B.C. GHVSLWH D5RPDQ XOWLPDWXP DGYLVLQJ WKHP QRWWR GR VR ,W ZDVQW XQWLO HLJKW PRQWKVDIWHU +DQQLEDO LQLWLDOO\ DWWDFNHG 6DJXQ

WXP WKDW WKH 5RPDQV VHQW WURRSV WRGHIHQG WKH FLW\ LQ 218B.C.Latin History Class

Germantown Friends School

Philadelphia, PA

Author Roger Atwood responds:7KH 5RPDQ PLOLWDU\ FDPSDLJQ WKDW SUHceded the Battle of Baecula included thecounterattack on Saguntum, which wasindeed not a cause of the war. But warshave complicated histories, and its rarely

possible to pinpoint tidy beginnings and ends.As Polybius himself wrote, Neither writersQRU UHDGHUV RI KLVWRU\ VKRXOG FRQQH WKHLUattention to the narrative of events, butmust also take account of what preceded,accompanied, and followed them.

A Novel Quandary

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ZKHQ , UHDG 0V 'XUUDQLV IDVFLQDWLQJUHSRUW DQG IRXQG RXW ZKDW UHDOO\ KDSSHQHG , KDVWHQHG WR EHJLQ FRUUHFWLQJ P\WH[W WKH IROORZLQJ GD\

Sherre Costello

Fair Oaks, CA

Ancient Mexican Adam and Eve5HJDUGLQJ WKH LQWHUSUHWDWLRQ RI WKH:HVW 0H[LFDQ VKDIW WRPE JXULQHV$QFLHQW 7DWWRRV 1RYHPEHU'HFHPber2013 WKH EHVW HWKQRJUDSKLF PRGHOV

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JXULQHV DUH OLNHO\ UHSUHVHQWDWLRQV RI DP\WKRORJLFDO $GDP DQG (YHOLNH RULJLQDO SDLU UDWKHU WKDQ UHSUHVHQWLQJ DFWXDOLQGLYLGXDOV :H H[FDYDWHG RQH VXFK SDLULQ -DOLVFR ,W ZDV GHSRVLWHG LQ D VKDIW DQGSLW WRPE ZLWK WKH UHPDLQV RI D 20 WR30\HDUROG IHPDOH

Joseph B. Mountjoy

University of Guadalajara

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Correction,Q WKH DUWLFOH &RORQLDO &DQQLEDOLVPLQ RXU 7RS 10'LVFRYHULHV RI2013-DQXDU\)HEUXDU\ 2014 ZH PLVWDNHQO\ LGHQWLHG -DPHVWRZQ DV WKH UVWSHUPDQHQW 1HZ :RUOG FRORQ\ -DPHVWRZQ ZDV WKH UVW SHUPDQHQW (QJOLVKFRORQ\ LQ WKH 1HZ :RUOG

ARCHAEOLOGYwelcomes mail from

readers. Please address your comments

to ARCHAEOLOGY, 36-36 33rd Street,

Long Island City, NY 11106, fax 718-472-

3051, or e-mail [email protected].

The editors reserve the right to edit

submitted material. Volume precludes

our acknowledging individual letters.

Please be aware of unauthorized magazine agencies that may attempt to solicit your new or

renewal subscription to ARCHAEOLOGY. If you received a renewal notice or invoice that you suspect is not

from ARCHAEOLOGY, you can check the status of your subscription by going to www.archaeology.org

and clicking on Subscribe or by calling 1-877-ARKY-SUB (1-877-275-9782). Renewals to

ARCHAEOLOGYshould only be sent to Palm Coast, FL, or to Boston, MA. All renewals will bear the logo of

ARCHAEOLOGYor the Archaeological Institute of America.

READER ALERT

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LATE-BREAKING NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE WORLD OF ARCHAEOLOGY

When scientists attempt to draw the evolutionaryfamily tree of the human race, they would like toEH DEOH WR XVH VWUDLJKW OLQHV WR VKRZ WKH UHODWLRQ

ships between hominin groups: one species leads to another,and so on. But this isnt always possible. Three recent studiesof ancient DNA have uncovered unique genetic markers inunexpected places, showing that our ancestors got aroundand interbred more than anyone had previously thought. The

result is a convoluted set of relationships among early humanswhere once there was a simpler family tree.

The story of this new work begins in northern Spain.

There, a group of Spanish researchers at the site of Simade los Huesos teamed up with geneticists from the MaxPlanck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to examinethe oldest known hominin DNA sample, which comes froma 400,000\HDUROG Homo heidelbergensisthigh bone. TheyVHTXHQFHG WKH ERQHV PLWRFKRQGULDO '1$ PW'1$ ZKLFKis passed from mother to child. What we were expectingto see was Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA, says Matthias

Meyer of the Max Planck Institute, as Neanderthals wouldlater occupy that part of Europe and might be expectedto carry genetic material from the previous inhabitants.

Surprisingly, the mtDNA is instead more closely related tothat of a hominin who lived more than 50,000years ago inSiberias Denisova Cave than it is to that of Neanderthals.

The Denisovans were related to, but genetically distinctfrom, Neanderthals.

According to Meyer, the Sima de los Huesos sample is oldHQRXJK WKDW LW FRXOG UHSUHVHQW DQ DQFHVWRU WR ERWK 'HQLVR

vans and Neanderthals. However, it is also possible thatH.heidelbergensisLV QRW DQFHVWUDO WR HLWKHU JURXS EXW ODWHU LQWHUbred with the Denisovan lineage. Studies of nuclear DNA,

which contains genetic information from both parents, willbe needed to clarify the relationship, Meyer believes.

Max Planck Institute scientists also recently sequencedWKH JHQRPH RI D VHFRQG LQGLYLGXDO ZKR OLYHG DW 'HQ

Our Tangled Ancestry

www.archaeology.org 9

Homo heidelbergensisskeleton

Denisova Cave, Siberia

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FROM THE TRENCHES


The remains of Dorchester inSummerville, South Carolina,

contain one of the most complete

archaeological records of colonial

America anywhere. Dorchester was

founded in 1697 by a group of New

England Puritans representing the

Congregational Church of

Dorchester, Massachusetts. For

nearly a century, the village was

inhabited by traders, planters,

artisans, and wealthy owners of

local plantations, and prospered as

an inland trade center on the north

side of the Ashley River. At the

beginning of the Revolutionary War,

Dorchester became a fortified

American post, briefly commanded

by Francis Marion, known as the

Swamp Fox. The British claimed the

post near the wars end, only to turn

it over to the Americans again.

Shortly thereafter, the village was

abandoned and left in a ruinous

state until archaeological

excavations began in the 1940s and

then continued more formally in the

1970s. South Carolina state

archaeologist Jon Leader says that

Colonial Dorchester haseverything. The site hosts public

archaeology excavations in the

spring and fall that visitors can

observe and even participate in, and

there is an indoor lab that can be

visited in winter and summer. Its

also a great site for a picnic.

The site

Dorchester is unique because it

was an interior trade town, unlike

Charleston, which is on the coast.

Trails and signs guide visitors throughthe intact remains of the old town,

including the brick bell tower of St.

Georges Anglican Church, a fort

made of oyster-shell concrete called

tabby, and part of a log wharf thats

visible at low tide. Excavations have

unearthed undisturbed evidence of

eighteenth-century village life just

below the surfacepipe stems, bowl

fragments, historic bottle and window

glass, metal buttons, ammunition for

hunting, and a variety of Europeanand slave-made pottery sherds.

Revolutionary War artifacts have

also been identified, such as a British

military insignia of

shiny brass. Many of

these artifacts were

found and sorted by

volunteers, who sifted

through thousands of

pounds of brick and

mortar rubble. For all

that has been discov-

ered, much more re-

mains underground

of 119 quarter-acre

lots on the site, fewer

than 10 have been

investigated, accord-

ing to site archae-

ologist Larry James.

Just one of these lots

recently yielded 6,500

artifacts.

While youre there

Colonial Dorchester

is just minutes from

downtown Summer-

ville, which offers edu-cation, culture, and

more at places such

as the Summerville

Dorchester Museum

and numerous antique shops. Guerins

Pharmacy, the oldest in South Caro-

lina, is a great place for refreshments.

(Summerville is famed for its sweet

tea.) Also, the gardens, waterfront,

historic buildings, and museums of

Charleston are just 25 miles away.

MALINGRUNBERGBANYASZ

isova more than 50,000 years ago.They discovered that the individualwas actually a Neanderthal, not aDenisovan. It is the most completeNeanderthal genome yet recovered,and it has given geneticists a novel

point of comparison among varioushuman lineages. The new analysisshows that occasional interbreedingbetween Neanderthals, Denisovans,and Homo sapiensprobably took placein more than one time and place, andthat the Denisovans also interbred

with an unknown archaic homininJURXSSRVVLEO\H. heidelbergensis.

According to another new studywith surprising results, a small percentage of the Denisovans unique DNAstill lives on in the indigenous people of

Australia, New Guinea, and the easternLVODQGV RI ,QGRQHVLDDOO SODFHV WKDW

are separated from the Asian mainlandby strong ocean currents that form amigratory barrier called the WallaceLine. Based on the lack of DenisovanDNA markers in ancient and modernpopulations on the Asian side of theline, and their relative abundance onthe other, Alan Cooper of the Uni

versity of Adelaide and Christopher

Stringer of Londons Natural HistoryMuseum believe that Denisovans mayhave boated to locations across theWallace Line and interbred with theH. sapiensalready living there.

While these studies paint a complex

picture of our genetic past, Meyerbelieves the relationships betweenancient humans will become clear asmethods for recovering ancient DNAimprove. In the next year or two, heVD\V ZH ZLOO KDYH D PXFK PXFK KLJKHUresolution picture of human migrationsout of Africa and within Eurasia.

ZACHZORICH

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12

FROM THE TRENCHES

N

early half a mile beneath the

VXUIDFH RI WKH 3DFLF VRXWKwest of Oahu, lie massiveremains tied to a stunning tale fromthe last days of World War II and theUVW GD\V RI WKH &ROG :DU WKDW IROlowed. Archaeologists usingPisces V, amanned submersible operated by theHawaii Undersea Research Laboratory,found the wreck of ,400, a Japanesesubmarine remarkable not only forLWV VL]H 400feet long, twice that of

D *HUPDQ 8ERDW EXW DOVR IRU LWVFDSDELOLWLHV LW KHOG WKUHH DLUFUDIW ZLWK

folding wings that could be launched

E\ FDWDSXOW DQG PLVVLRQ LWV FUHZWUDLQHG WR DWWDFN WKH 3DQDPD &DQDOFollowing the end of hostilities in the3DFLF WKH $OOLHV KDG DJUHHG WR VKDUHmilitary technology seized from Japanese forces. But ,400and its sister

vessels were simply too advanced andLPSRUWDQWWKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV VFXWWOHGthe ships rather than share theirsecrets with the Soviets.

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Viking Finery

Though they have a popular reputation for being coarse, some9LNLQJV KDG D WDVWH IRU QH IDE

rics. Pieces of silk have been found at anumber of Viking sites, and appear to have

FRPH GLUHFWO\ IURP VLONSURGXFWLRQ VLWHVto the east, such as Byzantium and Persia,VXJJHVWLQJ ZLGHUDQJLQJ WUDGH QHWZRUNV

For example, the famous Oseberg ship,which had been buried with the remainsof two women in a mound inNorway and was excavatedmore than 100years ago, contained dozens of thin stripsRI VLON IRU GHFRUDWLQJ FORWKLQJ IURP15GLHUHQW WH[WLOHVMarianne Vedeler of the Uni

versity of Oslo has examinedthese and other Viking silks tounderstand how the Vikings

regarded these materials andthe patterns they contain.One pattern found in thesilks from the ship featuresa bird with a pearl tiara in itsbeak. This motif, called thekingbird in Old Persian, represents the heavenly blessingof a new king in ZoroastrianP\WKRORJ\ ,W LV GLFXOW WRsay whether the meaning ofthese symbols transformed

IRU WKH 9LNLQJV RU LI WKH\simply continued to be usedas meaningless decorative patterns, says Vedeler.

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Scuttled but Not Forgotten


Drawing of silk fragment from

the Oseberg ship burial depicting

Persian kingbird motif

8/13/2019 Archaeology 2014-03-04

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FROM THE TRENCHES

In the seventeenth century, the 1,200\HDUROG +LOWRQ RICadboll Stone had a great fall. Now, National Museums6FRWODQG 106 LV HQOLVWLQJ YLGHR JDPH SOD\HUV WR KHOS

put it together again.

The sandstone slab was carved by the Picts of northernScotland around $'800, likely to celebrate their conversion to Christianity. In the 1670s, a storm toppled it and

a cross emblazoned on one side was damaged. Originallydiscovered in 2001, the bottom portion of the7.5IRRWWDOO VWRQH ZDV LQ 3,000pieces, ranging insize from two to eight inches. Reassembling it byhand would prove a daunting task.

Enter the techies. A Scottish company calledRelicarte has transformed the fragments into 3'

virtual objects and made them available to the public in a special application. Starting in late October2013, gamers could use their spatial reasoning skillsto reassemble the slab. The ability to manipulate3' LPDJHV HDVLO\ DQG LQWHUDFW RYHU VRFLDO PHGLD LV

key, says Mhairi Maxwell, an NMS curator. Archaeology has always had to draw upon a diverse rangeRI VNLOO VHWV IRU XQGHUVWDQGLQJ WKH SDVWLW LV ERWKan art and a science. The researchers dont knowhow long the process will take, but it will certainlyEH IDVWHU WKDQ WKH ROGIDVKLRQHG ZD\

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Game of Stones


8/13/2019 Archaeology 2014-03-04

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FROM THE TRENCHES

Archaeologists excavating anancient mountaintop sanctuaryin southeastern Turkey have

unearthed more than 600 seals andamulets left at the temple as votiveRHULQJV 2ULJLQDOO\ GHGLFDWHG WR D 1HDUEastern storm god, the sanctuary was inXVH IURP WKH UVW PLOOHQQLXP %&untilthe seventh century $' But around200%& WKH WHPSOH ZDV UHEXLOW D SUR

FHVV WKDW VHDOHG R WKH VLWHV ROGHU OD\HUVand protected the objects intentionallyOHIW EHKLQG E\ JHQHUDWLRQV RI ZRUVKLSpers seeking the storm gods help.

Dating from the seventh to fourthcenturies %&, the artifacts come fromall over the Near East and depict bothsimple geometric symbols and intricatescenes of men praying. Some show aUR\DO KHUR LQ WKH PLGVW RI JKWLQJ DQL

mals or mythical creatures. University of0QVWHU DUFKDHRORJLVW (QJOHEHUW :LQter says worshippers would have wornWKH DPXOHWV LQ HYHU\GD\ OLIH WR ZDUG RHYLO DQG WKDW RHULQJ WKHP WR WKH VWRUP

god was an intensely personal piousact. People consecrated to the god anobject that was closely associated withtheir own identity, says Winter.

(5,&$ 32:(//

How to Pray to a Storm God

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FROM THE TRENCHES


Triangulating Buddhas Birth

Buddhist scholars anddevotees are split intotwo camps over when

Buddha was born, in largepart because the sages birthpreceded formal writing byseveral centuries. Some say thePLGVL[WK WR VHYHQWK FHQWXU\%& while others believe it

ZDV ODWHU LQ WKH PLG WR ODWH

fourth century %&What theydo agree upon is his birthplace:Lumbini, Nepal.

Archaeologists working atLumbini have now uncoveredevidence that appears to support theearlier birth date. Digging within the

grounds of the Maya Devi Temple,named after Buddhas mother, the teamunearthed a succession of temples careIXOO\ RULHQWHG WR UHFUHDWH WKH FRVPRVand place Buddha at its center. The old

est, which would have been outlined intimbers, dates to the sixth century %&

The timber temple sits beneath anewer brick structure dating to thethird century %& that was built by

Ashoka, a proselytizer of Buddhism andruler of the Mauryan Empire that held

most of South Asia at the time.Archaeologists found root features at the center of the

Ashokan temple, evidence thatit was built around a sacredBodhi Tree, a common feature of Buddhist shrines thatsymbolizes enlightenment.

The team believes the timberstructure was built around one

as well. Our sequence startsin the sixth century %&withthe creation of a sacred spacearound a tree, and this patternis later replicated twice, says

lead archaeologist Robin Coningham ofthe University of Durham. The earlierstructures were not destroyed, but werecarefully enshrined one under another,indicating the importance of preservingthat continuity.

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FROM THE TRENCHESMesopotamian Accounts Receivable

It was surely hard to keep accurate accounts before writing

was developed, but Mesopotamian merchants found away in the form of clay balls that researchers call

HQYHORSHV OOHG ZLWK WRNHQV DQG LPSUHVVHGwith seals. Dozens of these envelopes haveEHHQ IRXQG EXW GHFLSKHULQJ WKHLU PHDQLQJ LV SUREOHPDWLFEURNHQ RQHV DUHGL FXOW WR UHFRQVWUXFW DFFXUDWHO\ DQGuntil recently, intact ones could not beVWXGLHG ZLWKRXW UVW EUHDNLQJ WKHP

Sumerologist Christopher WoodsDQG KLV WHDP IURP WKH 2ULHQWDO ,QVWLtute at the University of Chicago arenow using CT scans to peer inside 18intact envelopes that date to more

than5,000years ago, excavated fromChoga Mish in Iran in the 1960s and1970s. The team observed that the tokens

come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and sometimes haveVXUIDFH LQFLVLRQV DOO RI ZKLFK FRXOG UHSUHVHQW GLHUHQW

FRPPRGLWLHV RU DPRXQWV ,I WKH FRQWHQWV RI D

WUDQVDFWLRQ ZHUH FRQWHVWHG :RRGV ZULWHVthe envelope could be broken open andWKH WRNHQV YHULHG 7KH EDOOV DOVR KDYHseal impressions around the middle andon each end, which might representthe identities of buyers, sellers, orwitnesses to a transaction. More scanswill help researchers build a corpusof envelopes that can be deciphered.

We are now at a point in terms oftechnology where we can collect more

and better data using nondestructive

methods than we could if we physicallyopened the balls, according to Woods.

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18 ARCHAEOLOGY March/April 201

Barbarian Body Modification

Archaeologists digging in Obernai, a commune in northeastern Francediscovered a deformed female skull in a necropolis containing 18burialGDWLQJ WR WKH IWK FHQWXU\$', or the early Middle Ages. The entombe

woman was adorned with gold pins, two pendants, and a silver mirror. Thdeformation of her skull, says Clment Fliu, an archaeologist with the NationaInstitute of Preventive Archaeological Research, was absolutely intentional. It iOLNHO\ DQ DULVWRFUDWLF VLJQLHU KH H[SODLQV FUHDWHG E\ OLQNLQJ VPDOO ERDUGV DURXQGa newborns head to make the skull taller and narrower. I think the peoples wh

were buried in Obernai belong to a little group of Barbarians, from the eastwhere the practice was more common, says Fliu.

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Radiograph CT image CT cross section

8/13/2019 Archaeology 2014-03-04

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DidNeanderthalsBury eir

Dead?

More than 100 years ago,DUFKDHRORJLVWV UVW H[FDYDWHGWKH FDYH RI /D &KDSHOOHDX[

Saints in southwestern France and madeD VSHFWDFXODU GLVFRYHU\ZKDW VHHPHG WREH DQ LQWDFW 1HDQGHUWKDO EXULDO +RZever, excavation methods in the earlyWZHQWLHWK FHQWXU\ ZHUH VORSS\ E\ PRGern standards, and the 20RU VR 1HDQ

derthal burials found since then haveDOO EHHQ VHULRXVO\ TXHVWLRQHGPDQ\EHOLHYH WKH\ DUH WKH UHVXOW RI QDWXUDO IHD

tures and depositional processes. Now, aresearch team led by Cdric Beauval ofthe private company Archosphre andWilliam Rendu, a researcher at Frances1DWLRQDO &HQWHU IRU 6FLHQWLF 5HVHDUFKKDYH UHH[DPLQHG /D &KDSHOOHDX[6DLQWVand found evidence that the burial isauthentic. Their analysis shows thatthe burial pit is not a natural feature,and probably was dug by Neanderthals.

%XW 5HQGX GRHV QRW EHOLHYH WKHVH EXULDOV ZHUH FRPPRQD 2011 reanalysisof a purported Neanderthal burial atRoc de Marsal showed that it was theresult of natural processes. Some of theNeanderthals in some regions, in veryparticular moments, made these kindof burials, Rendu says. Having burialpractices suggests that Neanderthalspossessed spiritual beliefs, but what theymay have been is anybodys guess.

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FROM THE TRENCHES

Turtle Power

Florida History Springs Forth

About 70 miles north of Tampa, Florida, lies theVSULQJIHG VRXUFH RI WKH &KDVVDKRZLW]ND 5LYHU ,WVname means a place for the hanging pumpkins in

Seminole, and until recently it was blocked by septic tankUXQR DQG DOJDO RYHUJURZWK :KHQ WKH 6RXWKZHVW )ORULGDWater Management District decided to clean the spring up

last year, it brought in SEARCH, a local cultural resourcesmanagement company. Good thing, too, since amid the refuse

was thousands of years of history.$UWLIDFWV SXOOHG RXW RYHU WKH IRXUDQGDKDOIPRQWK HRUW

LQFOXGH D 6XZDQQHH SRLQW WKDW DFFRUGLQJ WR 0LFKDHO $UEXWK

not, an archaeologist with SEARCH, likely dates to 10,000years ago. Dredgers also found a rare, intact Pasco Plainceramic vessel, dating back 2,000 years to the WoodlandSHULRG DV ZHOO DV SRWWHU\ EURXJKW WR WKH $PHULFDV E\ 6SDQLVK H[SORUHUV DQG D WR\ FDS JXQ GDWLQJ WR WKH PLGWZHQWLHWKcentury. Florida springs are widely known as magnets for

human activity, both prehistoric, historic, and modern, says$UEXWKQRW )RU WKH UHODWLYHO\ ORZ FRVW RI KDYLQJ DQ DUFKDHologist present, weve opened up the Chassahowitzka Springsand the material it held for all to see.

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R

HPRWHO\ RSHUDWHG YHKLFOHV 529V DUH H[FHOOHQW IRU H[DPLQLQJ

KLVWRULFDO VLWHV XQGHUZDWHU VHH $OO +DQGV RQ 'HFN SDJH 35but theyre not designed for going inside intact wrecks. Meet8&$7 D WLQ\ QHZ XQGHUZDWHU URERW WKDW LV VPDOO HQRXJK WR WDNH FDPeras and other sensors where traditional ROVs cant. Designers at theCentre for Biorobotics at Tallinn University of Technology in EstoniaPRGHOHG 8&$7 RQ D VHD WXUWOH ZLWK IRXU LSSHUV WKDW PDNH WKH URERWuniquely maneuverable. Because the device has no propellers, it is lessOLNHO\ WR VWLU XS EOLQGLQJ VLOW LQ WKH WLJKW FRQQHV RI D ZUHFN $FFRUGLQJWR 0DDUMD .UXXVPDD KHDG RI WKH &HQWUH 8&$7 PLJKW DOVR EH XVHIXOLQ HQYLURQPHQWDO PRQLWRULQJ DQG VHDUFKDQGUHVFXH RSHUDWLRQV )LHOGWHVWV DUH SODQQHGRQFH WKH LFH LQ (VWRQLD PHOWV WKLV VSULQJ

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Suwannee projectile

point, 8000 B.C.

Bone fishhook,

8000500 B.C. Pasco Plain ceramic bowl,A.D.100 Spanish Majolica plate, 1600s

Chattahoochee Brushed pottery

(Seminole), 1700s

Kerosene lamp, 1860 Boat license, 1941 Toy cap gun, 1940s1950s

8/13/2019 Archaeology 2014-03-04

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T

wo years before the outbreak of

World War II, countries representing Europes warring ideologies fought by proxy in the Spanish Civil:DUZLWK WKH 6RYLHWV DQG )UHQFK VXSporting the Republicans, and Germanyand Italy behind the insurgent Nationalists. Now, a researcher digging near thenorthern Spanish city of Oviedo hasfound more than 200bullets and casingsfrom as far away as the Soviet Union andGermany, vivid reminders of the foreignDLG RHUHG E\ IRHV RQ WKH HGJH RI WKHLU

RZQ GLVDVWURXV FRQLFWAlfonso Fanjul, a doctoral candi

date at the Autonomous University ofMadrid, made the discovery at a hilltopEDWWOHHOG ZKHUH 1DWLRQDOLVW IRUFHV VXSporting Francisco Franco clashed, afterD ORQJ VWDQGR ZLWK 5HSXEOLFDQ WURRSVOR\DO WR WKH OHIWOHDQLQJ 3RSXODU )URQWgovernment in 1937. Francos forceseventually won the battle, and the war.Yet the discovery of so much war matriel from abroad, the origins of which

are determined by tiny factory markings,

suggests how quickly and deeply foreignSRZHUV EHFDPH LQYROYHG LQ WKH JKWand how the battles outcome might haveEHHQ GLHUHQW LQ WKHLU DEVHQFH

Weve found a large amount of German munitions that were sent by AdolfHitler to the Nationalists, munitions notavailable on the open arms market, saysFanjul. He also discovered ammunition

sent to Republican forces from Poland,Czechoslovakia, France, the SovietUnion, and even Mexico. Besides thePXQLWLRQV ZKLFK DOVR LQFOXGH 6SDQLVKmade casings used by the Nationalistsafter they seized Oviedos garrison in1936, Fanjul has found the remains of

about 20of the thousands of soldierswho died there, as well as boots, hel

mets, and dog tags. But disturbing wargraves and the ethical issue this raisesare not the projects goal. We want toshow how to perform Spanish Civil Wararchaeology, Fanjul says, to unearthWKH VLWHV IRUWLFDWLRQV IRU WKH SXEOLFDQG WR QG QHZ GDWD WR XQGHUVWDQG ZKDW

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October 3 - 20, 2014

IN THE PATH OFGENGHIZ KHANMongolia and China

With Professor Andrew Wilson

October 10 - 28, 2014MYANMAR (Burma)

With Dr. Charlotte GallowayDecember 1 - 18, 2014

and much more!Sudan Rome & Southern Italy Sicily

Easter Island Cambodia & LaosIndia Iran Jordan France Turkey

Bolivia Maya World EnglandMongolia & China Bali & Indonesia

Since 1983, Far Horizons

has been designing unique

itineraries led by renowned

scholars for small groups of

sophisticated travelers who

desire a deeper

knowledge of

both past and

living cultures.

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WORLD ROUNDUP

POLAND: A cemetery belongingto people of the Lusatian culture,

from the late Bronze Age and early

Iron Age, has turned up around

a thousand ceramic vessels. The

Lusatians, a culture of cereal farm-

ers and herdspeople, cremated

their dead and buried the bones

in urns alongside grave goods

such as richly ornamented vessels,

jewelry, and tools. Among the 151

graves excavated in this cemetery

are a number of childrens graves,which include miniature clay ves-

sels and even clay rattles.

MEXICO: At the mid-

14th-century site of

Tehuacn in the state

of Puebla, archaeolo-

gists have identified

a shrine they believe

was dedicated to Mictlantecuhtli, Aztec god ofthe dead. Two niches there each contained a

skull and four femurs. Atop the temple were two

clay heads believed to represent Mictlantecuhtli,

along with hundreds of pieces of human

remains, suggesting sacrifices. It is believed the

site was built by the Popolocas people, who

were conquered by the Aztecs in 1456.

BOLIVIA: According to legend,

Lake Titicaca is home to Inca

treasure and submerged cit-ies. Underwater archaeologists

have recently found thousands

of objects around the Island

of the Sun, most of which

date to the pre-Inca Tiwanaku

period (7th11th centuries).

Among the finds are incense

containers, animal figurines,

and 31 pieces of gold leaf

in the shape of llamas and

pumas. Rather than Inca trea-

sure, the finds are evidenceof the ways the Inca co-opted

old sacred sitesthe

objects were likely

ritual offer-

ingsto

con-

solidate

power.

URUGUAY: Could Lestodon, a

15-foot-tall ground sloth, havebeen on the menu of early

humans? In a bone deposit, pale-

ontologists found fragments of

19 individuals, and 40 of these pieces of bone appear to

have cut marks, suggesting humans processed them. But

the deposit dates to nearly 30,000 years ago, thousands

of years before humans are thought to have arrived in the

Americas. The researchers are confident in their findings,

which are likely to be controversial. Its possible that the

marks were the result of some natural process.

ENGLAND: Excavations at an Anglo-

Saxon site have turned up a single piece

from a high-quality gaming set dating to

the 7th century.

Made from a hol-

low cylinder of

bone with carvedend caps and a

copper alloy pin

holding it together, the token, found in

a royal complex that was home to both

game-playing and feasting. It was likely

used in an unknown game akin to back-

gammon or checkers. Its owner might

have been disappointed to have lost a

piece from such a fine set, or might have

cast it away in anger after a biting loss.

ISRAEL: Construction of a highway bridge

in Ramla has revealed a building belonging

to a wealthy family, with a mosaic fountain

dating to the Fatamid period in the late 10th

and early 11th centuries. The fountain, which

includes a system of terracotta pipes and con-

nectors made of old jars, is the first of its kind found outside the wealthy

district of Old Ramla and the first found with its plumbing intact.

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BYSAMIRS. PATEL

PHILIPPINES: Skeletal remains dat-ing to more than 9,000 years ago

tell of a previously undocumented

burial ritual involving disarticulation,

defleshing,

crushing, and

then burning.

The fragmen-

tary bones

bearing signs

of this complex activity were buried

in a shallow pit outside the mouth of

Ille Cave. Five other sets of remainsfound there bear similar marks.

Clearly, it was an elaborate process,

but much is still unknown about the

culture that engaged in it.

CHINA:

Countless

words have

been writ-

ten about

how the

Egyptians moved the large stone blocks ofthe pyramids into place, but less attention has

been paid to how the Chinese moved the mas-

sive blocks of the Forbidden City in Beijing in

the 15th and 16th centuries. A new analysis of

historical records and mechanical tests shows

that stone could have been moved 40 miles,

from quarry to the Forbidden City, on ice roads

lubricated with water. Just 46 men would have

been needed to move a 123-ton block.

TURKEY: A painting at the Neo-

lithic city of atalhyk may

depict the city beneath two

peaks, one of which appears to be

erupting. While another theory

posits it is a geometric pattern

topped by a leopard skin, thepainting could represent the

Hasan Dag volcano 80 miles

away, making it the oldest known

depiction of an eruption. A new

dating technique for volcanic

rocks confirms that Hasan Dag

did indeed erupt about 9,000

years ago, around when the

painting was made. Volcanolo-

gists believe the eruption was

milda bit of a lava burp.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: In late 2010, at a construction site on New Britain Island,

archaeologists uncovered a cache of sophisticated obsidian tools dating to

between 3,000 and 6,000 years ago. Upon analysis, scientists found that at

least five of the tools were thin, fragile, and unusedsuggesting a ritual or

decorative purposeand appear to have a distinctly phallic shape. There are

few archaeological sites from this period in Papuan history, and the discovery

suggests an early, previously unrecognized trade in ritual objects before the

emergence of the Lapita culture across the South Pacific.

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CROW CANYONARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTERDiscover the Past, Share the Adventure

CST

2059347-50

&KDFRV 6RXWKHUQ )URQWLHUChacoan outliers and great house

communities in Zunis Cibola regionJune 17

$QFLHQW 3HRSOHV RI $UL]RQDThe archaeology of the Sinagua

October 511

800.422.8975, ext. 136www.crowcanyon.org/travel

2014TRAVEL ADVENTURES

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Saving the Villa

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of the MysteriesBeneath the surface of Pompeiis most famous house

byJ A. Lphotographs byP S

The stunning frescoes of the Villa of the

Mysteries include one room with a painted

frieze widely considered to depict an initiation

rite into the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine,

pictured at the center of this panel.

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including a bedroom with simple black walls, an atrium decorated with panels painted to resemble stone, several rooms thacontain fantastical architecture and landscapes, and scenes oVDFULFHV JRGV DQG VDW\UV

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of the volcanic ash and soil that had fallenon Pompeii inA.D.79 WKH YLOODV VWXQQLQJ

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was removed, revealing columns, artifacts, mosaics, and frescoes, the threatLQFUHDVHG ,W VRRQ EHFDPH FOHDU WKDWthe house and its vibrant paintings wereH[WUDRUGLQDULO\ YXOQHUDEOH QRW RQO\ WRVXQ UDLQ DQG ZLQG EXW DOVR WR WKHIW -XVWWKUHH ZHHNV DIWHU WKH GLVFRYHU\ RI RQH

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This scene (right) shows a woman, perhaps the initiate, cringing as she is about to be

flogged, and then the same or perhaps a different woman dancing and playing cymbals.

Conservators are now using lasers to clean the frescoes, including this panel (above).

To study the top layers of the frescoed

walls without damaging them,

conservators take ultrasonic surface

measurements in one of the villas

painted corridors.

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LQWHQGHG WKHP WR KDYH $W WKH VDPH WLPH WKH ZD[ OOHG LQcracks in the surfaces, sealing moisture inside the walls, furWKHU ZHDNHQLQJ WKHP E\ FRPSURPLVLQJ WKH VWUHQJWK RI WKPRUWDU KROGLQJ WKH ZDOOV WRJHWKHU

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the frescoes, harmful salts from the wet ground left whitesplotches on the paintings, and the sun began to fade theIUDJLOH SLJPHQWV

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painted on while the third coat is stillZHW $V WKLV XSSHUPRVW OD\HU GULHV WKHpainting becomes part of the wall, creating a durable surface that can last forKXQGUHGV LQGHHG WKRXVDQGV RI \HDUVunlike an oil painting on canvas, forH[DPSOH ZKLFK FDQ HDVLO\ SHHO RU FKLS

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villa, both mosaics and frescoes, had been conVHUYHG EHIRUH EXW LQ DQ LUUHJXODU ZD\ VD\V 6WHIDQR9DQDFRUH GLUHFWRU RI WKH UHVWRUDWLRQ ODERUDWRU\DW 3RPSHLL %XW WKHUH KDV QHYHU EHHQ D ODUJHFRPSUHKHQVLYH SURJUDP OLNH ZH DUH GRLQJ QRZ:H DUH ORRNLQJ DW HYHU\ VLQJOH VXUIDFH WR DQDO\]Hthe materials used, both ancient and modern, andWR UHVHDUFK WKH FDXVHV RI WKH GHWHULRUDWLRQ 2QO\WKHQ FDQ ZH UHVWRUH WKH YLOOD SURSHUO\

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Restoring the villas mosaics is a

high priority and requires replacing

the tesserae individually by hand.

This panel of the Dionysiac frieze

(left and opposite) depicts a seated

woman, possibly the initiate. A cupid

holds a mirror in which her reflection is

visible. By using thermography, which

detects small changes in the surface

temperature of the walls, researchers

can spot cracks and places where the

paintings have become detached,

without ever touching the wall.

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2WKHU PHWKRGV FDQ JR HYHQ GHHSHU EHORZ WKH VXUIDFHUsing devices that emit and sense returning electromagnetic

To fill cracks in the paintings, conservators inject a diluted

acrylic resin directly into the surfaces. This panel depicts two

young satyrs, one holding a mask, and an elderly Silenus,

Dionysus companion and tutor.

Current efforts include measures to conserve the interior

and decorations, as well as using drones to photograph the

modern exterior shell that covers and protects the villa.

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INFALL2013,a few miles west along the Feng Riverfrom Xian, capital of Chinas Shaanxi Province, anarchaeologist named Li Ming had been called tosurvey an area of the countryside before a construction crew arrived. It is routine work in that part ofShaanxi, as Xian was once Changan, one of the

nations oldest cities and the seat of several dynasties. Thusit was no surprise that Lis team hit a tomb. But what they


found inside revealed a tale of palace intrigue and a markeof the end of an era in imperial China.

2XU H[SORUDWLRQ FOHDUO\ VKRZHG WKHUH ZDV D ODUJH WRPEbut there was no indication of who it belonged to, Li says

The tomb was 118feet long and 13IHHW IURP FHLOLQJ WR RRU$ ORQJ FHQWUDO FRUULGRU UDQ XQGHU YH EULFN DUFKZD\V DQG Ycarved skylights into a main vault. At the time the tomb waEXLOW GXULQJ WKH 7DQJ '\QDVW\ A.D. 618907 PRVW EXULDO

A CHANGE OFFORTUNE

A destroyed tomb, a stone epitaph, and the last

powerful women of imperial China

byL H

A large Tang Dynasty tomb in

Chinas Shaanxi Province had been

systematically destroyed, presenting

archaeologists with many questions.

Who was the important person

entombed there, and why was his or

her memory desecrated?

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ZHUH OLPLWHG WR RQH URRP 2QO\ LQGLYLGXDOV ZLWK D FORVH UHODtionship to the emperor could have had such a grand restingplace. It was our assumption, Li says, that it belonged toD KLJKOHYHO 7DQJ R FLDO

As Li excavated, a mystery emerged. For all the care shownin the tombs construction, even more had been given to itsWKRURXJK GHVWUXFWLRQZDOOV KDG EHHQ WRSSOHG FHLOLQJV KDGEHHQ EURXJKW GRZQ RRU WLOHV KDG EHHQ ULSSHG XS DQG WKHUH

were no valuables or human remains. What artifacts therewere, including pottery and a troop of ceramic horses andsoldiers, had been partially shattered. This did not appear to beWKH UHVXOW RI ORRWLQJ DQG WKHUH ZHUH QR VLJQV RI PRGHUQ LQWUXVLRQ 7KH GHVWUXFWLRQ KDG D GLHUHQW FDVWVRPHWKLQJ PRUHpersonal. The pieces of the puzzle began to come together

when archaeologists uncovered a largestone epitaph. On the top of the stone,written in big, rounded characters, werethe words The Late Imperial ConsortShangguan of the Great Tang Dynasty.

SHANGGUANWANER, to whom theepitaph refers, lived from aroundA.D.664to 710. She was one of only

D KDQGIXO RI SURPLQHQW IHPDOH R FLDOVthroughout the long history of imperial

China, and served under another, Empress:X =HWLDQ $W D WLPH ZKHQ ZRPHQ W\SLcally only held power when they served asregents for their young sons, Wu Zetiantook complete control of the court inA.D. 660, ruled without apology, andhad a series of lovers who also served aspolitical advisors. Up until that time,this was not uncommon. It was a littlebit like Catherine the Great, says KeithMcMahon, a professor in the East AsianLanguage and Cultures department at

the University of Kansas, and an expert on the roles of womenin imperial China. This was a period in which women wereH[WUHPHO\ SRZHUIXO DQG LQXHQWLDO %XW WKDW SHULRG ZDVnearing its end.

Shangguan grew up a slave in the palace at Changan, oneof the most prosperous and cosmopolitan cities in the worldat the time, according to McMahon. As a slave in the innerpalace, Shangguan was educated and given access to all the

LQXHQWLDO ZRPHQ RI KHU WLPH $FFRUGLQJ WR SRSXODU OHJHQGVKH ZDV UVW QRWLFHG ZKHQ :X =HWLDQ GLVFRYHUHG VRPH SDJHVof her poetry in the crown princes study.

:X =HWLDQ ZDV VR LPSUHVVHG ZLWK 6KDQJJXDQV ZULWLQJ DELOity that she appointed the young woman her personal secretary.Shangguan became responsible for drafting imperial edicts and

grew into a savvy politician who was also lauded for her poemsVHH 7KH &RQFXELQHV 9HUVH SDJH 34 %XW KHU SRVLWLRQ ZDVsubject to the machinations of the family that had elevatedher to prominence. When the empress abdicated at 80, herson became Emperor Zhongzong, and he and his powerful

wife, Empress Wei, claimed power. Shangguan became one

of the emperors concubines and continued drafting edicts.%XW =KRQJ]RQJ GLHG P\VWHULRXVO\ YH \HDUV ODWHU SHUKDSVpoisoned by his wife. Following a period of upheaval, one ofWu Zetians grandsons became Emperor Xuanzong and exiledor executed all former ministers in the court. Shangguan hadapparently allied herself with the wrong faction. When the

invading forces arrived at her courtyard, shewas dragged from her home and beheaded.

SHANGGUAN WANERS STORY didnot end with her death. A few yearslater, the emperor who had had her

executed ordered the creation of a collectionof her poetry. However, the destruction of

her tomb and the epitaph discoveredinside suggest to archaeologists that,at some point, she fell out of favor yetagain. During the Tang Dynasty, stoneepitaphs were common additions to theWRPEV RI KLJKUDQNLQJ R FLDOV LQWHQGHG

WR HQVXUH WKH VWDWXV RI WKH WRPEV LQKDELWant in the world of the dead. Typically, theLQVFULSWLRQV DUH ORQJ ELRJUDSKLHV FKDUDFWHUL]HG E\ HXVLYH RZHU\ DFFRXQWV

RI DFFRPSOLVKPHQWV VWDWXV DQG R FLDOservice to the state.6KDQJJXDQV HSLWDSK IROORZV WKLV IRUPX

OD EXW ZLWK D KDQGIXO RI VLJQLFDQW GHSDUWXUHV 7KH YHVTXDUHIRRW VWRQH FRQWDLQVa text of 982characters, bordered with


An elaborately carved stone epitaph both

identifies the occupant of the tomb and hints

at the reasons behind its destruction.

Among the few artifacts that survived the

tombs destruction were these servant

figurines. Such small sculptures, meant to

serve the deceased in the afterlife, were

common in Tang Dynasty tombs.

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and histories demonized the empress. It didntake too long after her death before prominen

women would say, Oh, I wouldnt do such thing because that would be like Wu Zetian,says McMahon. The sin she had committed inthe eyes of the imperial historians, McMahonexplains, is that she had tried to name her ownG\QDVW\VKH ZDV D XVXUSHU 2QO\ WZR KLVWRULHVone written during the Tang and another durinthe ensuing Song Dynasty, record her reign, andboth are harshly critical.

This change in the way history representedthe empress happened quickly and the repercusVLRQV ZHUH ORQJODVWLQJ 7KH EDFNODVK DJDLQVW :XZetian helped keep women out of imperial powein China for good. The power of women in ancienChina reached a climax at this time and thenstopped, says McMahon. There was no otheperiod like it. The destruction of Shangguantomb was a clear sign of the end of this time opowerful women.Q

Lauren Hilgersis a freelance writer based in Brooklyn.

FDUYLQJV RI DXVSLFLRXV DQLPDOV DQG RZHUV 7KHWH[W ZKLFK UHIHUV WR 6KDQJJXDQ E\ WLWOH 6KDQJ

guan Zhaorong, or Consort Shangguan, ratherWKDQ WKH QDPH :DQHU IRFXVHV SULPDULO\ RQ KHUDQFHVWU\ VWDUWLQJ ZLWK KHU JUHDWJUDQGIDWKHUand explaining that her father had once beenD KLJKOHYHO RFLDO EXW ZDV EURXJKW GRZQ IRUhis opposition to Wu Zetian. The epitaph only

EULH\ PHQWLRQV 6KDQJJXDQV DFFRPSOLVKPHQWVand her relationship with Wu Zetian is conspicuously absent, a sign of a precipitous dropin esteem for the empress following her death.Unusually for the Tang Dynasty, Shangguansepitaph also mentions a patron, perhaps a clueto why the tomb had been destroyed. ThePrincess Taiping grieves, the epitaph reads.She has donated 500silks to the funeral, disSDWFKHG DQ HQYR\ WR RHU VDFULFH DQG GUDIWHGan obituary full of sadness and emotion.

Princess Taiping was Wu Zetians daughter,

and it was believed she had imperial ambitionsof her own. If Xuanzong had determined that6KDQJJXDQ ZDV DOOLHG ZLWK 7DLSLQJ KLV DXQWthis could have provoked the later destructionof the tomb. Right now its the most rationalexplanation, Li says, as there are records of thepolitically motivated destruction of other tombsduring the Tang Dynasty.

According to records, the rule of Wu Zetian,when Shangguan rose to prominence, waspeaceful and prosperous. But both women wereFRQWURYHUVLDO JXUHV DQG ODWHU &KLQHVH OLWHUDWXUH

The Concubines Verse

AFRQWURYHUVLDO JXUH LQ WKH KLVWRU\ RI LPSHULDO &KLQD FRQFXELQH DQGSROLWLFLDQ 6KDQJJXDQ :DQHU ZURWH SRHWU\ WKDW ZDV ZHOOUHJDUGHGfor centuries, even as later historians discounted her political

DFKLHYHPHQWV DQG WKRVH RI RWKHU SURPLQHQW IHPDOH RFLDOV DQG UXOHUV ,Q

one poem that has survived, Shangguan records an emperors visit to thethermal springs on Mount Li.

The very last of winters three months in the year of the Jinglong Reign,The Prince of Hosts left the River Ba to view the ways of his land.I see in the distance lightning leap, dragons are his steeds.I turn and spy the frosty plain

ZKRVH HOGV DUH DOO RI MDGH:LQGUDWWOHG SKRHQL[ SHQQRQV

turn brushing through the sky,6KDJJ\KRRIHG VWHHGV RI WKH KRUVH JXDUG come stamping beams of light.Mount Li lies sunk in shadow, MXWWLQJ EH\RQG WKH FORXGVWhile far in the distance the royal tent

opens beside the sun.

A troop of ceramic horsemen, found in a niche in the wall of Shangguan Waners

tomb, largely survived the destruction of the site shortly after her execution.

An 18th-century drawing

of Shangguan Waner

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www.archaeology.org

ATTHE BOTTOM OF the Gulf ofMexico, far enough from bothshore and surface that the waterno longer carries the silt of theMississippi, the wreck of a shiprests at a slight angle. The boats

structure has collapsed and artifacts litter the sandyVHDRRUFHUDPLFV GHPLMRKQV ROG PHGLFLQH ERWWOHV

and more. Copper nails and bronze spikes stand inlines where the planks they once held together havepartially rotted away. Crouching in the shadow of aWRSSOHG KHDYLO\ FRQFUHWHG ROG VWRYH D ORQJOHJJHGblack crab eyes an odd interloper with suspicion. At4,300IHHW EHORZ WKH VXUIDFH QR KXPDQDUFKDHROR

JLVW RU RWKHUZLVHVKRXOG EH ERWKHULQJ LW %XW ZLWKthe help of a remotely operated submersible named

Inviting the world to explore a shipwreck

deep in the Gulf of Mexico

byL H

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV)

Hercules, or Herc, visits a shipwreck

called Monterrey A, 4,300 feet deep

in the Gulf of Mexico. Video from the

expedition was streamed live online.

A navigational

device called

an octant was

retrieved from

the wreck of

Monterrey A.

All Handson Deck

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+HUFXOHV+HUF IRU VKRUWWKH FUDE LV HQGXULQJ D PRPHQW RIonline celebrity. Folks at shoreside would like to get a measurement on that crab, a voice crackles over the live videofeed. And lets take a look at those cannons.

From where+HUFKRYHUV MXVW DERYH WKH RFHDQ RRU cablesstretch up through thousands of feet of murky water to aVWDWHRIWKHDUW UHVHDUFK YHVVHO FDOOHG Nautilus. There, ina room illuminated only by video screens, James Delgado,underwater archaeologist and director of Maritime Heritageat the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration12$$ DQG %UHQGDQ 3KLOOLSV RQH RI Hercs pilots, guideWKH H[SORUDWLRQ RI WKH HLJKWHHQWK RU QLQHWHHQWKFHQWXU\

wreck they call Monterrey A. FromNautilus, the video feedfrom Hercis sent by satellite to a building on the campus ofthe University of Rhode Island. It also goes to various othercommand centers, where groups of scientists gather to com

municate directly with an archaeologist on watch duty and thelp guide the exploration. The feed is also being streamedlive over the Internet, so thousands more people across th

ZRUOG FDQ ZULWH LQ ZLWK TXHVWLRQV RU MXVW KDYH D PRPHQW ZLWKthis big crab and the shipwreck it lives on.

Whats giving us a sense of the nineteenth century are thanchors, cannons, some of the bottles, and the navigationainstruments, says Delgado on the video feed. And if th

ship had been abandoned, the captain would have grabbedthe instruments to navigate the small boat away. This suggestthese guys did not make it.

7KH VWXG\ RI WKH 0RQWHUUH\ $ KDV EHHQ D ODQGPDUN SURMHFWbringing together archaeologists from around the country in FROODERUDWLRQ IDFLOLWDWHG E\ WHOHSUHVHQFHD WHFKQRORJ\ VLPLODto videoconferencing. Except, in this case, the technology iconnecting a robot thousands of feet underwater, a ship bobbing 170miles out to sea, and rooms full of experts on land

The excavation, conducted over seven days in July 2013, wainclusive and public, as anyone with a computer could ridshotgun with Hercand observe the successes and challenge

of deepwater archaeology. And, through the wreck, onlinviewers could explore a time when the Gulf of Mexico was thHSLFHQWHU RI VKLIWLQJ HPSLUHVSOLHG ZLWK PHUFKDQW QDYDO DQGprivateer ships on missions of commerce, war, and thievery.

DEEPWATERARCHAEOLOGY, including the exploration and mapping of Titanic KDV EHQHWHG JUHDWO\IURP WKH JURZLQJ HHW RI VRSKLVWLFDWHG UHPRWHO\

RSHUDWHG YHKLFOHV 529V VXFK DV +HUF ZKLFK LV DPRQJ WKELJJHVW ,W KDV DOVR EHQHWHG SHUKDSV XQH[SHFWHGO\ IURPthe demand for oil, which has pushed drilling into deeper anddeeper water. In the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. waters

WKH %XUHDX RI 2FHDQ (QHUJ\ 0DQDJHPHQW %2(0 ZKLFKRYHUVHHV RVKRUH GULOOLQJ UHTXLUHV WKDW RLO FRPSDQLHV ORRNIRU LUUHJXODULWLHV RQ WKH RFHDQ RRU WKDW PLJKW EH KLVWRULFDOO\LPSRUWDQW 7KH ZD\ WKH\ QG WKHVH ZUHFNV QRZ LV WKURXJKVRQDU VD\V -DFN ,ULRQ DQ DUFKDHRORJ\ VXSHUYLVRU DW %2(0A lot of times these sonar systems are mounted in auto

archaeology 2014-03-04

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