Source, craftsmanship, and exchange: The first comprehensive scientific analysis of gold foils unearthed from Xinjiang (6th–3rd centuries BCE)

Intestinal parasites from Hubei archaeological sites of early China (5th century BCE to 3rd century CE)

A number of source‑scientific and historiographical studies have been analyzed. They provide information on finds of objects related to the cults of deities of Egyptian origin in the territory of the Northern Black Sea Coast and the Ukrainian Steppe. A description of the relevant epigraphic inscriptions, sgraffito, bronze, marble, terracotta and bone statuettes, reliefs on clay candelabrums and dishes, gems carved from precious stones, golden, silver, bronze and iron rings, bone tessarae, amulet-beads, made of Egyptian faiense and bronze coins is given. It is established that faience beads first began to enter these regions in the 6th – 5th centuries BCE, they performed the role of apotropaeus among the ancient Greek, Scythian, and later Sarmation population and gained great popularity there. It is determined that on the territory of the Ukrainian Steppe up to the 4th century CE only such beads belonging to Egyptian cult material occur, on the other hand, the rest of the material is characteristic only for the Northern Black Sea Coast. It is found that the discovered sacred objects testify to the existence of Egyptian beliefs in their Hellenized version in the Greek colonies of the specified region starting from the 3rd century BCE and until the end of the ancient era. The opinion is substantiated that despite the possible official nature of the studied cults, that can be evidenced by the minting of copper coins with the image of Zeus Amon and Serapis in the Bosporus by Queen Dynamia (12/11 BCE - 7/8 CE) or the presence of temples of Serapis, Isis, Asclepius, Hygeia and Poseidon in the first half of the 3rd century CE in Olbia, the worship of the Egyptian gods was rather private. In particular, they were addressed in healing magical practices, and these deities acted as patrons of the dead. Isis was considered the patroness of sailors. Keywords: Egyptian deities, cult objects, monuments of epigraphy and archaeology, Northern Black Sea Coast, Ukrainian Steppe

“Epigram,” (Gr. epigramma) is one of the terms that the Greeks employed, from Herodotus onward, for short verse-inscriptions, poems typically composed in hexameters or elegiacs in order to be inscribed, and as a rule originally associated with a particular object, occasion, and context (such as dedicatory, funeral, honorific, or sympotic). By the virtue of its metrical form it constitutes a category separate from the prose inscriptions, and by the virtue of its conciseness, its reliance on the object, and the occasion, it stands apart from other verse-inscriptions (such as metrical oracles, hymns, or aretalogies which in some cases may also have extraordinary length). The history of inscribed epigram started in the second half of the 8th century bce and continued throughout the entirety of Greco-Roman antiquity. Inscribed epigrams are attested in significant numbers in all major areas inhabited by the Greeks, but also in remote areas of Asia and Egypt where Hellenization was relatively short-lived. Inscribed epigram flourished again during the Byzantine period, and the practice of carving epigrams on public monuments continued in Greece well into the modern period. These texts represent an invaluable source for literary, cultural, social, religious, art, and military history. From the Archaic and Classical periods, around 950 inscribed epigrams survive; from the Hellenistic period, based on the estimates, more than 1,500; from the later periods, and until the end of antiquity, several thousand poems survive. Poems are composed in a variety of meters, among which elegiac, hexameter, and iambic and trochaic tetrameter were most popular, but later texts also occasionally employ relatively less common meters such as Sotadeus or Priapeus. Some of the earliest inscriptional epigrams, attested on pottery, are composed in iambic meter and associated with the sympotic setting; in the course of early 6th century bce, dedicatory and funerary epigrams, often consisting of a single hexameter, gain in numbers. From around the middle of the 6th century bce, elegiac became by far the most dominant meter and would remain so until the end of Classical Antiquity. From the late 6th century bce onward new epigrammatic genres appeared (such as, e.g., epigrams that are distinctly honorific in nature, which are sometimes called “epideictic”), and prose inscriptions of various genres increasingly find their counterparts in verse-inscriptions (such as, e.g., iamata, binding spells, or building inscriptions). From the 5th century bce onward, professional poets are attested as authors of inscriptional epigrams. From the 4th century bce onward, there is conclusive evidence of collections of inscribed poems. From the early 3rd century bce at the latest, inscriptional epigram becomes a model for the by then fully established genre of literary epigram.

Although scientific methods are frequently applied in archaeology and are often considered as indispensable, their results do not always agree with archaeological expectations. This can usually be resolved by detailed discussions and by acknowledging the potentials and limitations of the different approaches. To do this it is necessary to accept the competence and experience of each other and, foremost, accept and understand the different methodologies. Here a case is presented, in which such a conundrum could in principle be solved but archaeological arguments are given a priori more weight and discomforting scientific results are thus suppressed. The case deals with a number of decorated gold foils and pieces of amber that were found near a Late Bronze Age structure at the hamlet of Bernstorf near the small town of Kranzberg, Lkr. Freising, in Bavaria. They were interpreted as clear evidence for contacts between Mycenae and Bavaria in the Late Bronze Age and it was suggested that the gold derives from Egypt. It was also maintained that this find would corroborate the widely accepted hypothesis of an “amber road” and a link between the Mediterranean cultures and Central Europe. Analyses of the Bernstorf gold showed it to be exceptionally pure which is not only unknown in natural gold but also in all prehistoric gold objects hitherto analyzed. It was therefore concluded that the finds from Bernstorf were made from modern gold foil, which is supported by radiocarbon dates of soil intentionally enveloping an amber “seal” containing gold foil of similar composition. However, this unavoidable conclusion is dismissed by some archaeologist, claiming that “mere chemical analysis” and “a chemist” cannot decide on the authenticity of an object and that archaeological reasoning has to be given priority.

A rare medieval parchment roll, called Exultet 1 (first half of XI Century), preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Capitolo Metropolitano of Bari (Italy) has been studied. Certainly, it is one of the highest literary and artistic expressions ever produced in Bari, one of a kind. It is also the very first among medieval European liturgical rolls, in which miniatures are painted upside-down in respect to the text. To analyse inorganic pigments, a mobile laboratory has been set up at the museum. The techniques used, for a non-invasive and non-destructive in situ analysis, were: VIS-NIR spectrophotometry in reflectance mode with optic fibres (FORS), X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and finally μ-Raman spectroscopy. Such multi-methodological approach allowed to acquire many data without causing any stress to the artwork. The mineral pigments have been identified mainly by FORS and they are: red earth and minium, lapis lazuli and azurite, green earth and copper resinate, orpiment and yellow earth. In some areas, traces of a residual gold leaf have been identified by XRF. The presence of rare and precious pigments as lapis lazuli and gold leaf underlines the sacredness and the importance of the parchment. This is the first scientific investigation performed on the Exultet 1 of Bari.

The archaeological visibility of the production and consumption of gold and silver ornaments increased substantially during the Iron Age. A large number of precious metalworks rendered with distinctive ‘animal style’ motifs have been recovered from elite tombs in north‐west China, and have attracted great interest when investigating the dynamics of exchange, mobility and transcultural encounters in Eurasian antiquity. However, little scientific research has been undertaken to examine the manufacturing techniques and metal composition of such ‘animal style’ artefacts found in north‐west China and its neighbouring areas in a broader Eurasian context. Using multiple non‐invasive analytical methods, we conducted a detailed scientific analysis of two groups of precious metals excavated from Dongheigou Tomb 12 (fourth–second centuries bce) and Xigou Tomb 1 (third–second centuries bce) in present‐day Balikun county, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The results suggest that mould‐pressing technology was employed for the production of the ‘animal style’ appliqués found in these two tombs. The current analysis provides a definitive explanation for the traces of superficial crafting through their specific microstructure and the tool marks of manufacturing, and will thus be of significant interest for further research concerning the metallurgic knowledge and technological practice of precious metalworking industry in north‐west China and Central Asia.

Pontecagnano is one of the largest pre-Roman sites in southern Italy, best known for its necropolises, located around the inhabited area. Archaeological excavations of the burial areas have uncovered more than ten thousand burials. Several studies have highlighted different phases of the settlement’s development from the 9th to the 3rd century BCE, which are marked by major societal and cultural shifts. In turn, these periods are reflected by changes in funerary customs. The present study aims to provide further evidence of these social transitions through an interdisciplinary analysis focused on the non-adult population. The analysis integrates archaeological, anthropological, and archeozoological data relating to 152 burials from three chronologically and spatially distinct funerary sectors: Colucci (early Iron Age, 9th century – 8th century BCE); De Chiara (Orientalizing period, 7th century – 6th century BCE); and Baldi (Archaic period, 6th century – first half of the 5th century BCE).

At the 3rd meeting of the Hellenistic Central Asia Research Network in November 2018, southern Tajikistan was referred to as a “blank spot” on the archaeological map of Hellenistic Central Asia. This assessment relates to the fact that despite numerous archaeological excavations undertaken since the 1960s very little is known about the ancient settlement structure of the region, at least during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The earliest and one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries in southern Tajikistan is the so-called Oxus Treasure, an extraordinary collection of roughly 180 gold and silver objects, dated stylistically to the Achaemenid and early Hellenistic period and about 200 mostly Hellenistic coins. In any case, the Oxus Treasure shows that considerable wealth was accumulated in Bactria already in the Achaemenid period and in the third century BCE.

This article examines the archaeological context of the Oxus Auloi, ancient wind instruments unearthed at the Oxus Temple in Takht-i Sangin, Tajikistan. Based on excavation records, the instruments were likely produced in the 3rd or early 2nd century BCE and deposited around the mid-2nd century BCE. Their spatial distribution in Corridor 6 – a space used for storing damaged or retired votive offerings – provides clues about their ritual treatment and fragmentation. The article situates these instruments within broader traditions of votive practice and ritual sound in Hellenistic Bactria, arguing that although they exhibit Greek stylistic traits, they were likely produced locally, reflecting cross-cultural entanglements in the region.

P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236/5-183 BC) is best known for his extensive role in Roman expansion throughout the Mediterranean in the late 3rd and early 2nd Centuries BC. His contribution to the Second Punic War, most famously his defeat of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202, and to the Roman-Seleucid War with Antiochus III has naturally resulted in ancient and modern fascination with his military campaigns, strategies, and achievements. Similarly, the development of the ‘Scipionic Legend’ and his reception within Greek and Latin literary traditions has received comprehensive analysis. Yet questions remain to be asked about Scipio’s image and identity, and how they were promoted and received by both Scipio and contemporary audiences in Rome and the Hellenistic world. Existing treatments of his career, such as those of Liddell-Hart (1927), Haywood (1933), Scullard (1970), and Gabriel (2008), have approached him almost exclusively as a military and political figure. In this thesis, however, Scipio will be examined as a figure shaped by Rome’s and his own immersion in the culture of the Hellenistic world during the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BC. It will be argued that the honours and presentation techniques associated with Scipio are by and large products of his own age and that there has been too much emphasis on parallels with figures such as Julius Caesar and on the consequent theory that Scipio’s honours are the product of hindsight. At each stage of Scipio’s public career, he used a combination of Roman and Hellenistic promotional techniques to great effect, engaging with leadership ideals and methods from both cultures to appeal to varying audiences. From his early roles in Rome and Spain, he presented himself in terms of Roman virtues, embodying filial pietas in battle and display, while exploring Hellenistic conceptions of the gods through his personal relationships with Jupiter and Neptune. In Sicily and Africa at the end of the Second Punic War, he further engaged with Greek culture in his manner and dress and established a diplomatic relationship with the Numidian prince, Masinissa, and later with Philip V and Antiochus, that transcended Roman convention. On his travels through Greece and Asia Minor during the war with Antiochus in 190-189, he presented himself as a magnanimous benefactor to local communities and leaders, who responded with honours suitable for a Hellenistic king. His immersion in foreign contexts certainly enhanced opportunities for exploration of Hellenistic technique, but it was equally present in his presentation at Rome. His triumphal procession, his erection of the ‘Arch of Scipio’, and his cultivation of a popular image seem to have drawn on precedents within both Rome and the Hellenistic world. Rome, as part of a broader Mediterranean cultural koine, engaged with and was receptive to Hellenistic culture to a much greater extent than is often acknowledged, and his contemporaries responded to his Hellenistic display with honours and veneration appropriate for a Hellenistic leader, benefactor, or saviour figure. Ultimately, this exploration of Scipio Africanus through a Hellenistic and cultural lens sheds light on the development of Roman elite identity and its engagement with Hellenistic culture during the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BC.

Astrology in the twentieth century West has a central place in popular culture, at least if we judge from the spread of horoscope columns in the press and popular magazines. There has been little attempt to trace the causes for its popularity or even to examine its nature. Most histories of the subject from Thorndike (1923-1958) to Tester (1987) assume a fundamental conceptual and technical break between Babylonian and Greek astrology in the last centuries BCE. They say that western astrology also effectively came to an end in the late seventeenth century, when it lost its intellectual respectability, allowing for little connection between then and the present day. The Encyclopaedia of Religion (Culianu, 1987: 472) stated categorically that ‘astrology, a product of Hellenistic civilisation, appeared at the end of the third century BCE’, completely denying any Mesopotamian connection. Chambers Encyclopaedia was more circumspect, considering that, It was in Greece, about the 4th century BC, that astrology underwent a great development and was regarded as regulating all things in the universe, including the fates of men’ (1970: 724). However, while it is clear that astrology, like any other belief system, experiences periods of reinvention as it passes between different cultures and periods, it is possible to identify a fundamental continuity from the earliest Babylonian astrology to the present day. Contemporary popular astrology may therefore be seen as a remarkable revival of the practical applications of an ancient non-Western astronomy, that of Mesopotamia of four thousand years ago, one which predates all the other intellectual pillars of western society, from Greek philosophy to Judaism, Christianity and modern scientific method.

Castro Marim is an Iron Age site from the Algarve region, Portugal. The earliest evidence of settlement, from the Late Bronze Age, dates to the 9th century BCE, with the Phoenician-Punic period dating from the 7th to the 3rd century BCE. This study focuses on the stable isotope analysis of plant and collagen of faunal remains to reconstruct cultivation and husbandry practices. Barley was the most abundantly cultivated cereal crop. The stable isotope results of barley indicate that the primary source of water was natural precipitation and the soil nitrogen was enriched through manuring. Δ13C and δ15N isotope values of stone pine support the previously suggested human management hypothesis. The differences from stable isotope data of domesticated fauna indicate a diverse management strategy for different species based on their economic importance to capitalize from the animal by-products such as wool and dairy products.

Between the second half of the 8th and the beginning of the 6th century bce, the Greeks expanded toward the West by settling at numerous sites in Sicily, southern Italy (the area of Greek colonization in this region being defined as Magna Graecia), and the south of France and Spain. The terms traditionally used to describe this process and its results, “colony” and “colonization,” are still convenient labels. However, both definitions are misleading given their strong “statist” associations, which are not appropriate for the settlement processes of the Archaic period, processes that were due more to the initiative of single individuals or groups than to city-states, and ultimately led to the foundation of new city-states independent from their mother cities. This expansion toward the West marks an important moment in the history of Greek architecture. New territories and foundations became available for the development of land division, urbanism, and construction. Moreover, within a few generations after their foundation, the successful settlements developed a particular interest in monumental building, which was critical, from the Archaic all the way down to the Hellenistic period, in asserting not only the wealth and power of these communities living away from home, but also in constructing and reinforcing their cultural identity. This process led to major construction and significant experimentation and innovation, first, in association with sacred architecture, in the 6th and 5th centuries bce and later in the field of military architecture, when in the 4th and 3rd centuries bce and before the advent of Rome in the latter century, the Greeks came under particular pressure from Carthage in Sicily and indigenous populations in southern Italy. Finally, not only did the Western Greeks play a critical role in the transmission of Greek architecture to the other populations of pre-Roman Italy, but also they had a significant effect on the development of Roman, particularly Republican, architecture. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, monumental architecture at critical sites, such as Poseidonia/Paestum and Acragas, played a major role in the rediscovery of ancient Greek architecture in Europe, particularly before the systematic development of archaeological research in Greece and Asia Minor. This renewed interest in monumental, particularly Doric temple architecture led to the first systematic excavations at ancient sites in both southern Italy and Sicily, starting in the early 19th century. These excavations were mainly focused on sacred architecture and its design, and only in the second half of the 20th century did the interest of scholars start to shift toward political, domestic, and military architecture. As well, only in recent years has interest in sacred architecture moved from a focus on design to a larger archaeological and anthropological approach. Site conservation has played a major role since the rediscovery of monumental architecture, including in the anastylosis or partial reconstruction of buildings, especially temples, at critical sites like Acragas and Selinus between the late 18th century and the mid-20th century. Today, in the age of mass tourism, site conservation and site management have become particularly critical issues, especially with respect to the presentation and preservation of architecture.

Two phases of urbanism are identified in the South Asian context: the first one is the Mature Harappan phase (<italic>c</italic>. 2500–1900 <sc>bce</sc>) and the second one is the Early Historic phase (<italic>c</italic>. 600 <sc>bce</sc>–300 <sc>ce</sc>). The latter phase of urbanism has its roots in the preceding Protohistoric cultural phases. The gradual developments in various facets of the society, such as polity, social setup, subsistence strategies, settlement size and hierarchy, crafts and industries, and trade and exchange, during the Neolithic-Chalcolithic (non-Harappan) and Iron Age phases appear to have subsequently culminated into Early Historic urbanism in South Asia. Scholarship on the subject has proposed various theories to explain the genesis of the second urbanism, which include technologically deterministic explanations citing the introduction of iron in South Asia and its repercussions that resulted in drastic changes between 1200 and 600 <sc>bce</sc>. These multivariate explanations identify technological advancements, technology-based diversification of activities, and growing complexity of socioeconomic organizations as the causal factors behind the Early Historic urbanism. As is evident in the archaeological context, the transformation of wider spatial urban morphology, characterized by differential velocity and magnitude, occurred during different time periods in different parts of South Asia. However, by the beginning of the current era, in around <italic>c</italic>. 100–200 <sc>ce</sc>, it can be said that most of the South Asia had experienced growth of urbanism. The process of Early Historic urbanism in South Asia from between the 6th century <sc>bce</sc> and the 3rd century <sc>ce</sc> can be divided into three phases: <bold>Phase 1:</bold> The period around the 6th century <sc>bce</sc> witnessed the emergence of the first urban polities in South Asia known as the <italic>Janapada</italic>, organized under a ruling class of <italic>Janapadins</italic>. These <italic>Janapadas</italic> were ruled by twofold constitutions: <italic>Rajya</italic> (monarchical) and <italic>Gana</italic> or <italic>Sanghas</italic> (non-monarchical). Among these polities, the four monarchies of Kosala, Vatsa, Magadha, and Avanti emerged as notable rivals contending for internal supremacy. By the 4th century <sc>bce</sc>, Magadha arose supreme. The period 600–300 <sc>bce</sc> is characterized by an early phase of fortification in South Asia involving mud and stone ramparts, and ditch or moat building at a few sites like Charsada, Kausambi, Rajghat, Rajagriha, Champa, Adam, and Ujjain. There is substantial evidence of civic planning in these settlements, such as for the construction of streets, lanes, brick and ring wells, and drainage systems. There is also extensive evidence of burnt-brick structures, early coinage (bent bars, punch-marked coins [PMCs], and uninscribed cast copper coins) and script, apart from the widespread distribution of the identifying ceramic style: the Northern Black Polished Ware. It can be argued that these changes in socioeconomic conditions and urbanism may have in fact contributed to the formation and rise of institutional religious sects like Buddhism and Jainism. <bold>Phase 2:</bold> This period of urbanism in early South Asia can be dated to between 300 and 100 <sc>bce</sc>, marked by rise of the Mauryas. This stage was characterized by the steady expansion of trade with the western world, evidenced in the proliferation of Mauryan PMCs that are found all over South Asia, indicating the presence of vibrant political and economic interactions across the larger geographical region. The presence of Mauryan courtly culture and art can be seen reflected in the technological sophistication of the polished surfaces of Asokan pillars and the various distinct animal capitals that may indicate Persian, Greek, and Achaemenid influence. The patronage that Buddhism gained among royalty, trading communities, and masses is more than evident in the various donator inscriptions that can be seen at monuments like Sanchi. The rules regarding social status and the concept of wealth seem to have been liberal, with Buddhism providing much-needed impetus in facilitating long-distance trade through their encouragement of traders to undertake long journeys. The earliest script of South Asia is the Brahmi script and the earliest acceptable evidence of Brahmi can be found in the Asokan inscriptions. However, in the past few years, new data have emerged from Peninsular India and Sri Lanka (from the sites of Porunthal, Vallam, Alagnkulam, Uraiyur, Karur, Kodumanal, and Anuradhapuram) that indicate evidence of Brahmi script that can now be dated from as early as the 6th century <sc>bce</sc> to the 4th century <sc>bce</sc>. <bold>Phase 3:</bold> The rise of the Kushanas, Sakas, Kshtrapas, Satavahanas, Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas, and their active presence in South Asia from <italic>c</italic>. 100 <sc>bce</sc> to 300 <sc>ce,</sc> brought significant changes to the urban aspects of life. This period is characterized by extensive construction activity, complex burnt-brick buildings, well laid-out streets and drains, and fortification walls; further characterized by the adoption of new techniques of tiled flooring and roofing, extensive coinage, remarkable developments in the fields of art and architecture, knowledge production, and organized religions. Under the rule of the Kushanas and the Satavahanas, hinterland as well as the maritime trade networks grew manifold. Maritime trade with Mediterranean and Southeast Asia is quite extensively evident within archaeological findings. Another commonality between the Kushanas and Satavahanas is their patronization of Buddhism that resulted in the impressive development of art and architecture. The Gandhara and the Mathura schools of art, the rock-cut Buddhist viharas in the western Deccan, and the construction of various <italic>stupas</italic> in Sanchi, Bharhut, Nagarjunakonda, Amaravati, and Kanaganahalli, are all excellent examples of flourishing Buddhism under the Kushanas and Satavahanas. These impressive social and political complexities arose from the financial demands of maritime and overland trade, and were not necessarily the consequence of mere territorial expansion. To summarize, Early Historic urbanism in South Asia is manifested through complex polities that took the form of cities and states characterized by architectural advancement in both secular and non-secular structures, the use of baked bricks, and ring wells. Early Historic urbanism was also characterized by technological advancements in the form of various craft industries and the extensive use of metal (iron and copper), along with the development of a complex system of recording, measurement, accounting, and other sciences due to an advancement in scripts, coinage, astronomy, and mathematics. Long-distance trade led to the introduction and intensification of new religious movements (Buddhism and Jainism) that in turn contributed to the development of philosophy, art, and architecture, and. ultimately, to the rise of a ruling class.

Представлена історія та результати дослідження уступчастого склепу з кургану 3, розкопаного у 2009—2010 рр. Східно-Кримською російсько-українською експедицією Інституту археології НАН України біля с. Челядинове у Криму, на хорі античного міста Німфею. Доведено, що поховальна споруда відноситься до боспорських склепів що є наслідуванням «македонської» традиції.