Egypt says Ramses II temple unearthed southwest of Cairo

This undated photo released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities shows the remains of a recently discovered temple for King Ramses II, in Abusir, southwest of Cairo. The temple may shed light on the life of the pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, over 3,200 years ago. Mustafa Waziri, the head of agency, has told The Associated Press on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, that the discovery was made by an Egyptian-Czech mission in the village of Abusir near the step pyramid of Saqqara. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's antiquities agency says archaeologists have unearthed remains of a temple belonging to King Ramses II southwest of Cairo, which may shed light on the life of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh, over 3,200 years ago.

Mustafa Waziri, the head of agency, told The Associated Press on Monday that the discovery was made by an Egyptian-Czech mission in the village of Abusir near the step pyramid of Saqqara.

In a statement on Sunday, Miroslav Barta, the head of the Czech team, said the temple is the only evidence of the presence of Ramses II in the Badrashin area in Giza, part of Greater Cairo.

This undated photo released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities shows the remains of a recently discovered temple for King Ramses II, in Abusir, southwest of Cairo. The temple may shed light on the life of the pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, over 3,200 years ago. Mustafa Waziri, the head of agency, has told The Associated Press on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, that the discovery was made by an Egyptian-Czech mission in the village of Abusir near the step pyramid of Saqqara. (Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities via AP)

He said the discovery confirms the continued worship of the sun god "Ra" in Abusir, which started in the 5th Dynasty, over 4,500 years ago.

Rich Ancient Shipwreck Off Greece Yields More Bronze Statues

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's Culture Ministry says archaeologists revisiting one of the most famous shipwrecks of ancient times off southern Greece have found fragments of bronze statues and a section of the wooden hull.

A ministry statement says divers raised a complete arm and a section of pleated clothing from statues, and compacted metal objects that have yet to be cleaned and separated.

Last month's expedition off Antikythera island also located broken bronze and marble statues under large boulders that covered them, probably following an earthquake. Wednesday's statement said these would be investigated during a future excavation.

The 1st-century B.C. wreck of a large freighter discovered more than a century ago has already yielded an ancient astronomical computer — known as the Antikythera Mechanism — as well as statues and thousands of other artifacts.

Legendary 7-Branched Sword Of Japan

Swords are not merely deadly weapons used for injuring enemies or ending human lives. Some of them have gained renown and went down in history as legendary artifacts for the role they played in massive conquests and violent and bloody wars. This is why it is not so surprising that many of these bladed weapons that had been discovered bring with them stories that make some people believe they hold unknown powers or are simply cursed.

More often than not, epic tales of their origins and the bizarre claims of what these swords were once capable of accomplishing when wielded by their owners are nothing more than mythical fiction. But over the years, experts have come across ancient swords that they believe serve as testament to the possibility that there may be some semblance of truth in some of the legendary tales that have been passed down for many generations.

One such weapon is the Nanatsusaya no Tachi or the Seven-Branched Sword of Japan.

Background on the Seven-Branched Sword

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It was said that the mysterious Seven-Branched Sword was re-discovered in the 20th century in Japan’s Isonokami Shrine in 1945. Situated in the foothills of Tenri-shi in Nara Prefecture, Japan, this 2000-year-old Shinto shrine is home to many of the country’s national treasures and has housed the original Seven-Branched Sword since antiquity.

Nanatsusaya no Tachi is referred to as the Seven-Branched Sword because of its unique appearance. The sword has three pairs of branch-like protrusions which extend on each side of the main blade. Along with the central blade’s tip, these protrusions make up the sword’s iconic seven “branches.”

The sword is made of iron and is 2 feet and 5 and a half inches in length. Considering the unusual appearance of the sword, particularly the blade’s several branches, the Seven-Branched Sword is not a functional weapon for combat. And so, it is believed that it most likely served a ceremonial function and not a military one.

In the 1870s, a two-sided inscription inlaid in gold was rediscovered on the sword’s blade by Masatomo Kan, one of Isonokami Shrine’s Shinto priests at the time. Unfortunately, due to abrasion and deterioration of the blade over the years, some of the characters of the inscription are now indecipherable.

On one side of the blade, the inscription mentions that the Seven-Branched sword was “manufactured with hundred-times-wrought iron” and that it possessed a “magical power” that could repel enemy forces.

On the other side, the inscription reveals who commissioned the forging of the sword and for whom it was made. The second inscription reads:  "Never before has there been such a blade. The crown prince of Baekje's king, who lives under august sounds, had this sword made for King of Wa in the hope that it might be passed on to later generations."

Debate Over the Inscriptions of the Sword

The ambiguity of some of the characters found in the inscription of the Seven-Branched Sword has caused much debate among experts, particularly regarding the nature of the relationship between Baekje and Japan.

One interpretation of the inscription suggests that Baekje was a vassal state of Japan - a claim largely supported by many Japanese scholars. This would mean that the sword along with the other precious items sent by this old Korean kingdom to the ruler of Japan were equivalent to paying tribute to an overlord.

In contrast, many Korean scholars insist that the relationship between the two states was reversed – It was the Yamato ruler the sword was given to who was the king of a vassal state that answered to the might of Baekje during that period. If the superior power and influence of Baekje at the time is considered, there is supposedly no reason why its kingdom would be the one to pay tribute to Japan - a nation which showed no evidence that it reached the same advancement that Baekje achieved during the same period.

The translations of the sword’s faded inscription have been called into question many times, but what remains clear is that the Nanatsusaya no Tachi was a gift from a Korean royalty to a Japanese monarch. And a third interpretation of the inscription sees neither Baekje and Japan as the superior nation. Instead, some experts from Japan and Korea are of the opinion that the two countries during that time treated each other with respect and regarded one another as equals.

Significance of the 7 Branched Sword

The Seven-Branched Sword is a significant piece of East Asian history for several reasons. First, the sword breathes life to the semi-mythical existence of Japan’s Empress Jingū, who supposedly ruled Japan in its early years after the death of her husband in 201 and before her son, Emperor Ōjin ascended to the throne in 269.  

It is believed that that the sword found in Isonokami Shrine is the same seven-branched sword mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, which chronicles Japan’s early history. The sword mentioned in this ancient text is a gift of the king of Baekje to a Yamato ruler during the 52nd year of Empress Jingū’s reign. If the ancient sword that exists today is indeed the same sword mentioned in the Japanese Chronicles, the empress’s controversial existence becomes more fact than legend, which gives her an official place in Japan’s imperial history.  

The second reason for the Seven-Branched Sword’s significance is that it is a tangible evidence of the level of knowledge and sophistication that the swordsmiths of Baekje possessed in metal industrial art. In fact, some experts have argued that the intricate process required to make the sword reflected the high standards of Baekje experts in making metal weapons, which in turn contributed to the improvement of Japan’s own process of metal craftmanship at the time.  

And the third reason for the sword’s importance is that its inscription, though heavily debated until now, is an indication that there was once a sincere and respectful relationship between the rulers of Yamato and the kings of Baekje.

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The value of several bladed weapons from our distant past are usually determined by the magnitude of the legends surrounding them and the potential impact such mythical tales may have on our actual history. However, not all swords of renown are prized simply because they were the possession of invincible warriors or was used to end the lives of many in the battlefield. Some swords are regarded as culturally significant and protected as world treasures because they represent a history of good faith between nations and their people.

This is mainly why the Seven-Branched Sword is a priceless piece of East Asian history. Not only does it somehow validate the existence of a legendary empress, it also serves as proof that at some point in the tumultuous history shared between Japan and the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula, the two nations once forged a respectful and perhaps an equal relationship that they cultivated for many years. Today, the amount of care Japan has placed in the safekeeping of this artifact is equivalent to the value it has put on its own heritage and its peaceful relations with a neighboring nation.    

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SOURCES:

1.http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/seven-branched-sword-mystical-ceremonial-sword-japan-003185?nopaging=1

2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-Branched_Sword

3.://www.hongwontack.com/homepage4/data/450814.pdf

4.http://baekjemuseum.seoul.go.kr/eng/contents.jsp?mpid=SEM0301130000

5.http://listverse.com/2013/11/16/10-mysterious-swords-from-legend-and-history/

Archaeologists may have discovered St. Nick's bones

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish archaeologists believe they may have discovered the remains of St. Nicholas — from whom the legend of Santa Claus emerged — beneath a church at his birthplace in southern Turkey, an official said Thursday.

St. Nicholas was born and served as a bishop of what is now the Turkish Mediterranean town of Demre, near Antalya, in the 4th century. He was buried in the area formerly known as Myra, but his bones were believed to have been stolen and taken to the southern Italian town of Bari.

Archaeologists, however, have recently discovered what they think is a temple below the church and now believe his remains may be lying there, Cemil Karabayram, the head of Antalya's Reliefs and Monuments authority, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Archaeologists are looking for a way into the temple without harming the 11th-century Church of St. Nicholas, Karabayram said.

Karabayram said the temple was discovered through geo-radar surveys of the church that were conducted as part of a restoration project.

"It is a temple that is intact, has not been touched but may have been affected by an earthquake," he said.

"This is an important find both culturally and for Turkey's tourism," Karabayram said.

St. Nicholas was known for his generosity. His legend spread around the world and became interwoven with mythical stories of the gift-giving Santa Claus.

Karabayram said that the bones that were smuggled to Bari may have been the remains of another priest.

10 Most Badass Princesses in History

Forget Ariel, Jasmine, and Merrida. Disney princesses may have an appeal to us, but history has a lot more to offer when it comes to princesses who are the definition of "badass."

They are not your typical damsels in distress that get abducted by dragons and kept in stone castles. No. These women fought in wars or gained their title by keeping ten steps ahead of their male counterparts. Of course, it also helps a little if you are related to Genghis Khan or a Spartan.

So buckle up and sharpen your swords! We are counting down to the 10 most badass princesses in history!

#10 - Urraca of Zamora

One of the five children of Ferdinand I The Great of Spain, Urraca was destined for greatness as she was able to fend off an advancing army intent on taking her city.

At the death of her father, Ferdinand I, she and her siblings were each bequeathed lands to which they can rule it as their own city-states in peace. Of course, if there is anything that history has shown us is that he – or she – who has the largest amount of land gains control of a significant portion of a territory or country. This was the case with the eldest of Ferdinand’s children, Sancho.

Deciding that he wanted all the lands to himself, Sancho effectively overthrew each of his siblings, leaving Urraca last. When Sancho reached the city-state of Zamora, his little sister was more than prepared, and Sancho’s armies were not able to enter Zamora’s walls. In a final attempt to topple Urraca, Sancho surrounded Zamora to prevent anyone from coming in or out, hoping to starve its citizens and Urraca.

The princess, however, was not deterred by Sancho and set up a plan to assassinate her brother – which was carried out successfully – and take down the family bully.

#9 - Tomoe Gozen

While she was not considered a princess or of royal birth, Tomoe Gozen deserves a spot on this list because being a female samurai is pretty much an equivalent of being a badass warrior princess.

The life of Tomoe Gozen is one of the few to have been ever recorded of a woman who rode to war. While female samurais were not completely uncommon in Japan, they are quite a few, and Tomoe was one who has exhibited an extraordinary amount of talent in martial arts, archery, and swordsmanship.

Her skills, therefore, earned her a spot in one of the history’s most respected and iconic warriors: the samurai.

Her greatest, recorded, the accomplishment was when she fought side by side with her husband in the Gempei War. As records of her life show, Tomoe single-handedly killed a group of advancing soldiers and decapitated their leader as he attempted to dismount her from her horse.

While historical records about her were kept as accurate as possible, her later years became clouded in obscurity. One account has it that, after the Gempei War, Tomoe retired her sword and entered a monastery where she lived out the rest of her life. In another story, because her husband did not survive the Gempei War, it was believed that Tomoe Gozen took her life through the ancient ritual of seppuku.

#8 - Olga of Kiev

She embodies the age-old saying, “Hell Hath no Fury As a Woman Scorned.” Olga of Kiev lived a peaceful and prosperous life in the Ukraine around the 10th century AD until her husband, Igor, was brutally murdered by invading Drevlians.

Believing that Olga was of weak stock because of her gender, the Drevlians forced her to marry one of their princes, which she did consent to. Still scorned by the killing of her husband, Olga led a group of Drevlians to a pit, which was dug overnight, and buried them alive!

She continued her systematic purge of the Drevlians and lured their most elite and influential citizens to bathhouses that she set on fire, burning alive that faction of the Drevlians in her domain – and during her husband’s funeral, she managed to get 5,000 Drevlians drunk and wiped them out.

As a final stroke to her vengeance, she returned all the pigeons that were offered to her as a sign of peace by the Drevlians but not before powdering their feathers with bits of sulfur that burned their town to ashes.

#7 - Nanny of the Maroons

On the shores of Jamaica in the 18th Century, escaped slaves built communities to protect themselves from the British. With the help of a member of the Ghanaian Royal family named Nanny, they were able to fend off the British effectively.

Coming to the shores of Jamaica on her own free will, Nanny helped the escaped African slaves, called Maroons, set up a lookout system across the entire island that would communicate through telegraph should British ships be spotted and prepare to defend their community.

Among many other systems she put in place, Nanny was even able to develop a potent herbal mixture that knocked their enemies out cold by its fumes alone.

Celebrated as a hero, her face can be found printed on Jamaican $500 bills, as well as having her name on several schools, buildings, and institutions around the island country.

#6 - Lili’uokalani

She was the last reigning monarch and Queen of Hawaii. Spending her life on the throne protecting the native people of the islands and fiercely campaigning against the annexation of the United States, Lili’uokalani used brains and diplomacy and avoided violence as a means to maintain sovereignty and independence.

In one move, she attempted to pass an amended constitution that would restore power to the native people of Hawaii as well as grant her more political power to fend off any US involvement in their affairs.

Unfortunately, in 1898, she was forced off the throne and Hawaii was finally claimed by the United States. During her lifetime she advocated for peaceful resistance and resolutions to conflict, and despite losing her country to the Americans, she continued to preserve Hawaiian identity by curating all things related to its people and culture.

Not all of us may know this, but among her various contributions to Hawaiian culture was a song that she composed called “Aloha Oe.”

#5 - Zhao Pingyang

Pingyang lived in the 7th century AD when the Sui Dynasty was on the verge of crumbling. Originally, she was not of any royal descent, being only a daughter of a governor.

However, in this turbulent time, her father saw an opportunity to topple the Sui Dynasty through rebellion. As her father amassed a force to take on the Emperor, he warned Pingyang and her husband to leave their home – which was a stone throw’s away from the Emperor’s palace – because they would soon be labeled as enemies of the state and will likely be executed on sight.

Pingyang urged her husband to leave town first to join the rebel army. On the way to meet her husband and her father, Pingyang sold her family’s estate and used the money to raise an army to help bring down the Sui Empire.

Eventually, she began to lead an army of 700,000 soldiers from one victory to the next that the Emperor assembled a special force just to kill her. Unfortunately for the Sui forces, Pingyang and her army were able to rout them, destroying the Emperor’s hopes of ridding the rebellion of their female leader.

The Sui Dynasty was later toppled and replaced by the Tang Dynasty with Pingyang’s father as the country’s new emperor.

In honor of her daughter’s victory and contributions to the successful rebellion, the Emperor commemorated her with a military parade and bestowed her with the title of “Zhao, ” and she was crowned as princess of the Tang Dynasty. She was only 20 years old.

#4 - Chiomara

At the height of the Roman Empire when they marched from one country to the next; conquering, pillaging, and abducting women, they came across a tribe of people that were on their list of subjugating next.

As part of bringing the tribe to their knees, the Romans abducted a woman named Chiomara who was, incidentally, the wife of the chief.

While with the Romans, Chiomara had to endure some abuses and sexual assaults. One centurion promised Chiomara that she would be returned to her tribe if a ransom in gold would be paid in her exchange.

Eventually, the tribe agreed to pay her ransom and she was returned. While the centurion was busy counting the gold, Chiomara ordered her rescuers to behead the centurion, and they did. To add more insult to injury, Chiomara took the head of the centurion and carried it like a trophy as she walked back home. Meeting her husband, the chief, she throws the centurion’s head at his feet and declares, “Only one man who has lain with me shall remain alive.”

#3 - Isabella of France

Called the “She-wolf of France,” Isabella had it hard from the beginning when she was married to her, presumably homosexual husband, Edward. It was even said that to keep her from losing power, she had to also build an alliance with Edward’s lover.

It was when Edward found a new lover that Isabella’s life went upside down.

During a failed skirmish in Scotland after the death of William Wallace, Edward suddenly decided to flee and abandoned Isabella and her entourage. Before they were captured by the advancing Scottish army, Isabella, her entourage, and a few knights that stayed with her managed to steal boats to escape back to England.

Unfortunately, Isabella did not receive a warm welcome back home. Her lands and her many estates were confiscated, and her household staff were thrown in jail. To add more salt to the wound, her children were sold off to her political enemies.

Sensing that trouble was closing in on her, Isabella regrouped in her home country of France and raised an army and returned to England to overthrow Edward and his new lover, Hugh. She was later joined by multiple factions during her campaign who were equally fed up with Edward.

Sensing that they are close to being cornered, Edward and Hugh fled but were caught. Hugh’s father, who was Edward’s adviser and Isabella’s fiercest political enemy, was also captured and sentenced to be dragged by a horse, hanged, and decapitated.

Hugh suffered a much harsher fate. Like his father, he was dragged by a horse, hanged until he was mostly dead, then disemboweled and decapitated with his head put on a spike on display at the London Bridge.

Due to Edward’s existing political influence and allies outside of England, Isabella had no choice but to place him behind bars where, according to historians, he “accidentally died.”

#2 - Khutulun

She was the real Warrior Princess, and that title was well deserved. After all, what other title could you be given if you were the great, great granddaughter of Genghis Khan and your family ruled a third of the globe for centuries?

Known for her independent spirit, Khutulun was a Mongolian Royalty whose reputation preceded her wherever she went. Part of her life was chronicled by Marco Polo himself where he took note of her incredible abilities in wrestling among many other impressive skills.

Her political ambitions were fueled by her father from whom she learned the fierce military strategies of the Mongol army.

Naturally, her father wanted her to marry and bear children to carry on the legacy of her bloodline but, not wanting to be married off to anyone, Khutulun issued a challenge to anyone wishing to court her: that he should beat her in wrestling before she consents to be betrothed.

Another condition was that if a man lost to her challenge, he must give her a horse.

She ended up with 10,000 horses before she finally consented to be wed.

#1 - Rani Lakshmi Bai

Before you ask why Khutulun did not make it to number one, hear us out on this and you will be surprised why Rani Lakshmi Bai landed the top spot on today’s list.

Born in 1835 in India, Lakshmi Bai was the daughter of one of India’s Prime Minister’s aides who gave her the opportunity to grow up in a royal setting. Not content to just sit around and learn needlework or other tasks usually designated to women during that time, Lakshmi Bai spent a great deal of her youth learning to use a sword, mastering archery, and wielding guns.

Married to a prince at the age of 12, Lakshmi Bai’s road to power was being paved for her. Soon enough, her husband became raja, and they adopted a son to complete their family. Unfortunately, her husband died and a certain Lord Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, cited a legislation called the Doctrine of Lapse to justify seizing her family’s lands and further stated that, according to the British government – who was occupying India – Lakhsmi Bai and her son were not of royal descent and therefore was forced out of the throne.

After emotionally and mentally recovering from the trauma dealt with her by the British Empire, she began gathering an army of men and women to rebel against the Empire. Taking on the mantle of their leader, she led her army of rebels head on against British soldiers with her adopted son strapped to her back. You heard that right. Now if that isn’t the most badass thing in history, I don’t know what is.

Labelled by her enemies as “the most dangerous of all rebel leaders,” Rani Lakshmi Bai was eventually killed at the Battle of Gwalior while charging and firing at the man who had shot her in the back.

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And that wraps up our 10 most badass princesses in history! Let us know what you think by commenting below!

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Sources:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19478_5-real-princesses-too-badass-disney-movies.html

https://www.nylon.com/articles/badass-women-in-history

http://flavorwire.com/514284/10-badass-princesses-youve-probably-never-heard-of

http://www.refinery29.com/2016/10/127504/disney-rejected-princesses-jason-porath-book#slide-21

Ancient Indian Manuscript Shows "Zero" is 1,300+ Years Old

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The Bakhshali manuscript contains the oldest recorded example of the symbol that we use for zero today. The 70 leaves of birch bark that make up the manuscript are incredibly fragile and are housed in this specially designed book at the Bodleian Libraries’ Weston Library, Oxford. Scholars are able to view both sides of the birch bark through the ‘windows’ of the book. Image credit: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

India's oldest record for the concept of "zero" is in the Bakhshali birch bark manuscript and originally dated to the 9th century, but the University of Oxford just carbon dated it to the 3rd century, making it 500+ years older. 

Since this book is remarkable fragile, it's likely are even older records that did not survive as well as it did. There are many other ancient civilizations responsible for building impressive architecture, making astronomical calculations, and so on. 

This Bakhshali book was found by a farmer in 1881 and named after the Pakistani town, Bakhshali, it was found in.

A mathematician can really appreciate this book because it contains rules, illustrations, solutions, verifications, algebra, geometry, and more. Can you imagine finding an ancient textbook teaching how to run business, build computers, or drive a car? 

The topics include fractions, square-root, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, income and expenditure, profit and loss, computation of gold, interest, rule of three, summation of certain complex series, simple equations, simultaneous linear equations, quadratic equations, indeterminate equations of the second degree of a particular type, mensuration, and miscellaneous problems.

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The Bakhshali book predates a 9th-century inscription of zero on a temple wall in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, previously regarded as the oldest record a zero in India. Actually, parts of the book are even older than the rest, being from 224-383 CE. 

“The zero symbol that we use today evolved from a dot that was used in ancient India and can be seen throughout the Bakhshali manuscript,” said University of Oxford Professor Marcus du Sautoy and co-authors.

“The dot was originally used as a ‘placeholder,’ meaning it was used to indicate orders of magnitude in a number system — for example, denoting 10, 100s and 1000s.”

The Bakhshali is written in a semi-sacred text: a hybrid of Sanskrit and Buddhist languages. This might be why the placeholder dot evolved to have a hollow center, thus representing the concept of emptiness found in Buddhism. 

“Today we take it for granted that the concept of zero is used across the globe and is a key building block of the digital world. But the creation of zero as a number in its own right was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of mathematics,” Professor du Sautoy said.

“We now know that it was as early as the 3rd century that mathematicians in India planted the seed of the idea that would later become so fundamental to the modern world. The findings show how vibrant mathematics has been in the Indian sub-continent for centuries.”

“Determining the date of the Bakhshali manuscript is of vital importance to the history of mathematics and the study of early South Asian culture and these surprising research results testify to the subcontinent’s rich and longstanding scientific tradition,” said Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian.

Real-Life Indiana Jones' Artifact Finally Deciphered as World's Oldest Trigonometry Table

After 70 years of baffling researchers, this 3,700-year-old Babylonian clay tablet's secret was finally solved by... mathematicians! A new study by Dr. Mansfield and Dr. Norman Wildberger presents another perspective. “[Plimpton 322] contains a special pattern of numbers called Pythagorean triples,” said UNSW researcher Dr. Daniel Mansfield.

“Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius.” 

“The tablet not only contains the world’s oldest trigonometric table; it is also the only completely accurate trigonometric table, because of the very different Babylonian approach to arithmetic and geometry.”

According to western education, Greek astronomer Hipparchus (120 years BC) is the father of trigonometry with his ‘table of chords’ in a circle.

“Plimpton 322 predates Hipparchus by more than 1,000 years. It opens up new possibilities not just for modern mathematics research, but also for mathematics education. With Plimpton 322 we see a simpler, more accurate trigonometry that has clear advantages over our own,” Dr. Wildberger said.

By "accident," Dr. Mansfield read about Plimpton 322 while preparing for class and decided to study Babylonian mathematics' different understandings.

“The 15 rows on the tablet describe a sequence of 15 right-angle triangles, which are steadily decreasing in inclination,” they explained.

The main body of the obverse is ruled by neat horizontal lines into 15 equally spaced rows containing sexagesimal (base 60) numbers, some of which are quite large. The vertical lines continue on the bottom and reverse, which are otherwise empty.

“The left-hand edge of the tablet is broken, and we build on previous research to present new mathematical evidence that there were originally 6 columns and that the tablet was meant to be completed with 38 rows.”

“We also demonstrate how the ancient scribes, who used a base 60 numerical arithmetic similar to our time clock, rather than the base 10 number system we use, could have generated the numbers on the tablet using their mathematical techniques.”

Archaeologists trace Plimpton 322 to the ancient Sumerian city of Larsa near present-day southern Iraq and probably written between 1822-1762 BC during the reign of the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty.

Actually, this artifact was discovered by the real-life Indiana Jones! Edgar J. Banks was an archaeologist, academic, and adventurer who found it in the early 1900's and sold it to the American publisher George Arthur Plimpton.

Plimpton donated his collection of mathematical artifacts to Columbia University in 1936, where it remains today. 

Sources:

Daniel F. Mansfield & N.J. Wildberger. Plimpton 322 is Babylonian exact sexagesimal trigonometry. Historia Mathematica, published online August 24, 2017; doi: 10.1016/j.hm.2017.08.001

World's Oldest Italian Wine Just Discovered

Someone just hit the wine jackpot! The oldest Italian wine ever was just discovered in Monte Kronio, Agrigento and it's over 6,000 years old! 

Well, archaeologists only found residue of wine in large unglazed ceramic pottery, so it's not like digging up barrels of the world's oldest fine Italian wine that could sell for $100,000's, but it's an amazing find nonetheless. 

We previously believed that wine growing and production began in the Middle Bronze Age (1,300-1,100 B.C.), based on finding collections of grape seeds. But, now that Davide Tanasi, PhD., University of South Florida chemically tested these ancient pots from the Copper Age (~4,000 B.C.) in Italy, we know this is the oldest Italian wine in the world. His team found tartaric acid and its sodium salt, which occur naturally in grapes and in the winemaking process. This discovery was possible because the pottery remained intact for thousands of years — a remarkable find. 

Now, the only question that remains is... were these ancient winemakers drinking red or white wine?

Source:
University of South Florida (USF Health). "World's oldest Italian wine just discovered: Ancient pottery tests positive for wine." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 August 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170824141201.htm>

Mysterious 3,000-year-old Female Statue Uncovered In Turkey

For hundreds and thousands of years, sculptures have filled many roles in human history and played an important part in the development of societies and cultures. The earliest known sculpture was likely created to provide aid and luck to hunters. After the rise of civilizations, statues and sculptures were used to represent the form of Gods, and these statues are what the earliest people worshiped. Some ancient kings created portraits of themselves, with the idea that it would make them immortal, and thus, portrait sculpturing was born. In recent times, sculpturing has become a hobby for many people, and sculptures are mostly created either for work and business, or recreational purposes.

Archaeologists at the University of Toronto led an excavation in Southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. From this excavation, they have unearthed a beautifully carved head and a torso of a female figure. The figure appears to be largely intact, but somehow, the face and chest are shown to have been intentionally – and possibly ritually – defaced in antiquity.

CREDIT: Tayinat Archaeological Project

The lower part of the statue is missing, but the remnants of the figurine is made of a reddish basalt stone and measures 1.1 meters long and 0.7 meters wide. The researchers suggested that the full figure would have stood 16 feet high.

For hundreds and thousands of years, sculptures have filled many roles in human history and played an important part in the development of societies and cultures. The earliest known sculpture was likely created to provide aid and luck to hunters. After the rise of civilizations, statues and sculptures were used to represent the form of Gods, and these statues are what the earliest people worshiped. Some ancient kings created portraits of themselves, with idea that it would make them immortal, and thus, portrait sculpturing was born. In recent times, sculpturing has become a hobby for many people, and sculptures are mostly created either for work and business, or recreational purposes.

Archaeologists at the University of Toronto led an excavation in Southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. From this excavation, they have unearthed a beautifully carved head and a torso of a female figure. The figure appears to be largely intact, but somehow, the face and chest are shown to have been intentionally – and possibly ritually – defaced in antiquity.

The lower part of the statue is missing, but the remnants of the figurine is made of a reddish basalt stone and measures 1.1 meters long and 0.7 meters wide. The researchers suggested that the full figure would have stood 16 feet high.

Timothy Harrison, a professor from the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto says,

“The statue was found face down in a thick bed of basalt stone chips that included shard-like fragments of her eyes, nose and face, but also fragments of sculptures previously found elsewhere within the gate area. That parts of these monumental sculptures have been found deposited together suggests there may have been an elaborate process of interment or decommissioning as part of their destruction.”

The statue was discovered at the monumental gate complex that could have possibly provided access to the upper citadel Kunulua – later known as Tayinat – the capital of the Iron Age Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Patina (ca. 1000-738 BCE). The site can be located approximately 75 kilometers west of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Credit: Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey

The identity of this female figurine has not yet been determined, but the archaeological team had guesses as to who this statue may have represented. They believe that the statue was a representation of Kubaba, the divine mother of gods of ancient Anatolia. However, this hypothesis is not fully supported because the statue shows stylistic and iconographic hints that the statue represented a human figure. Some researchers also believe that it could be the wife of King Suppiluliuma, or even more intriguingly, a woman named Kupapiyas, who was the wife or mother of Taita, the dynastic founder of ancient Tayinat.

"The discovery of this statue raises the possibility that women played a much more prominent role in the political and religious lives of the early Iron Age communities compared to what existing historical records suggest" says Harrison.

Also, the statue provides valuable insights into the character and sophistication of the indigenous Iron Age cultures that had emerged in the eastern Mediterranean following the collapse of the great civilized power of the Bronze Age. The presence of lions, sphinxes, and colossal human statues at the citadel gateways continued a Bronze Age Hittite tradition that accentuated the symbolic role of space that serves as the boundary zones between the ruling elite and their subjects.

The Tayinat gate complex was destroyed and has been converted into the central courtyard of an Assyrian sacred precinct. Tayinat was then transformed into an Assyrian provincial capital, with a governor and imperial administration.

Every event that occurred in the past played an important role in shaping our society today. With more research, this discovery may have the potential to provide invaluable insight into the lives and sophisticated culture of individuals and communities during the Iron Age.

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Sources:

1. https://phys.org/news/2017-08- archaeologists-uncover- year-old- female-statue.html

2. http://www.heritagedaily.com/2017/08/archaeologists-uncover- 3000-year- old-female- statue-citadel-gate-complex- turkey/116287

3. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753866

4. https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002CD/finalprogram/abstract_34786.htm

New Discovery May Solve Mystery of Great Pyramid

The Great Egyptian Pyramids are some of the most mysterious structures on earth and have been the topic of countless debates throughout history. The question of how they were built, when they were built, and who they were built by, and for what purpose they have to this day have garnered endless theories and speculations.

Here’s what we think we know:

Archaeologists believe that the Great Pyramids in Egypt were constructed by the old kingdom society around 2500 BC. They believe that the main purpose of these pyramids was to act as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. That would make sense considering the sheer size of the pyramids. They are huge with the largest, the great pyramid of Giza incorporating around 2.3 million stone blocks, with an average weight of 2.5 to 15 tons each.

But besides what we can measure, the rest of what we think we know about the pyramids are mostly just theories. The fact is, we really don’t know for sure why the pyramids were created, we don’t know who created them, we really don’t know exactly how old they are and we for sure have NO clue how a Bronze Age society that we perceive to be primitive was able to create them.

Not only that, there are a few unbelievable facts about the dimensions of the Great Pyramid in relationship to the earth: Did you know that if you  take the height of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the polar radius of earth? Not only that, If you take the base perimeter of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the equatorial circumference of the earth. Why 43,200? The number isn't random. It comes from a key motion of the earth called the precession of the earth’s axis. Pyramids were built and encoded with the exact dimensions of the earth at a scale of 1 :43,200.

General agreement on how the pyramids were built: 

It seems that archaeologists generally agree that the granite from the pyramid’s internal chambers was somehow quarried 533 miles south of Giza in Aswan, and the limestones used as casings were from Tura a few miles away, but because these stones were so massive, everyone had varied opinions about how they were transported. Every once in a while, a new theory will come out and claim to solve the mind-boggling mystery of how the pyramids were constructed.

The last big theory was proposed in 2014 by a Dutch engineer who claimed that the stones were transported using sand, water, and a wooden sled.

New finding:

Now, according to a new British documentary called Egypt’s Great Pyramid: The New Evidence, there is apparently new evidence that two tonne blocks of limestone and granite were transported by thousands of laborers along the Nile river in wooden boats held together by ropes. Special canals were also used to bring them to an inland port which was in close proximity to the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The scroll that provided evidence of such a procedure was written by an Egyptian overseer named Merer and is apparently the only first-hand account of how the great pyramid was constructed. In the papyrus scroll found in the seaport Wadi Al-Jar, it is written that Merer and his team of 40 workmen were in charge of using wooden boats along the Nile River to carry 150,000 tonnes of limestone in order to build Pharaoah Khufu's tomb in 2600BC. He explained that the boats were tied together by ropes, which helped to keep them secure.

Besides the scroll, researchers also uncovered a system of canals and a ceremonial boat, which lends truth to what Merer wrote, detailing that his team of 40 skilled workers dug canals to channel the water from the river to the pyramid.

What do you think? Did we just solve one of the greatest mysteries in the world?

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Source: 

http://www.newsweek.com/who-built-ancient-egypts-great-pyramid-hidden-text-holds-clues-thousand-year-670265