Tag: archaeology

13th century man buried face down

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3.21.2017

He looks like a friendly sort of guy, a geography teacher who helps out with the local football team or perhaps a social worker who visits an elderly neighbour for a chat in his spare time. But, in fact, this is the reconstructed face of a man who died in Cambridge more than 700 years ago. It is believed he was homeless when he died as his body was found in the grounds of the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, which was a charity that provided refuge for those who had nowhere else to stay, were ill or infirm.

Source: What an ordinary 13th century man looked like, scientists reveal | The Independent

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The Diet of Danish Bishop, Jens Bircherod

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Seeds in the excrement indicate it came from someone eating an upper-class diet with fruit, nuts and spices, most likely Jens Bircherod, the Bishop of Aalborg.

CHR Comment: The interview describes how archaeologists studied a latrine, discovering the differences between the life of a leading church figure and a typical Dane. This is a physical illustration of how church hierarchy enjoyed a privileged position in European society.

Source: Danes match 300-year-old poop with bishop who made it – Home | As It Happens | CBC Radio

More Than 80 Anglo-Saxon Coffins Uncovered

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Archaeologists uncovered an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in England with dozens of rare wooden coffins arranged in rows.

CHR Comment: This find dates to the early years of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons and proves to be Christian as the burials do not contain grave goods and they are oriented East/West as is typical of Christian grave yards. A wooden chapel may have stool on the site.

Source: Surprise Find: More Than 80 Anglo-Saxon Coffins Uncovered in England

Computers Decipher Burnt Scroll Found in Ancient Holy Ark

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Scientists have formally announced their reconstruction of the Ein Gedi Scroll, the most ancient Hebrew scroll since the Dead Sea Scrolls.

CHR Comment: The Ein Gedi Scroll contains a text of Leviticus that is consistent with the Masoretic text used by Jews and Christians today. This is also likely the kind of Hebrew text known to Jerome, who translated the Vulgate. The text stands between the Dead Sea Scrolls and those discovered in the medieval Cairo Genizah, helping to fill a gap in the story of the biblical text.

The second article below dates the text to between the second and fourth centuries AD.

Source: Computers Decipher Burnt Scroll Found in Ancient Holy Ark

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0922/En-Gedi-scroll-unfurled-How-technology-helped-reveal-an-ancient-biblical-text