An archaeologist should expect to encounter the odd dead body - but sometimes the contents of a grave defy expectation. Why not grab a shovel and take a look at...
The attackers seem to have begin excavations in an underground necropolis around 40 meters from the walls. Meanwhile, the siege-savvy Romans began making counter tunnels in the hope of intercepting the besiegers. We know of at least one such interception - and it didn't go well for the defenders.
The Romans had intended to drop down from their shallow counter-tunnel and kill the sappers... but the Persians could hear the approaching counter tunnel and set a deadly chemical trap. They built up a fire in their own tunnel and laced it with bitumen and sulfur. The resulting smoke would have been drawn into the Roman tunnel the second it connected.
The fumes would have been incredibly toxic, turning to sulfuric acid when mixed with moisture in the lungs. Nineteen Romans (and one unfortunate Persian who was too close) died in the choking darkness. The surviving Persian sappers dragged the bodies into a makeshift blockade - and that's how they were found in the 1930s.
The Lombards were Germanic invaders who fought alongside the Avar against the Byzantines. They had probably established a military outpost near where the graves were found, as two exhumed skeletons show the tell-tale damage of shock weapons (i.e. spiked maces and battle axes) favored by Byzantine forces.
The third corpse showed signs of a blade impact on the skull - the wound itself would have not been lethal since it was only a shallow cut, but the lack of any healing on the bone implies death soon followed. Most interesting is that the skeleton shows signs of advanced leprosy. Though clearly ill and wasting away, this warrior fought to the death alongside his comrades - and was interred beside them when he fell.
Just who were these people? The answer may lie within the sordid tale of an ancient athlete. Cylon was a winner in the 640BC Olympic games - and he sought to parlay this celebrity into political power. Having married the daughter of the Tyrant of Megara, he led a group of soldiers into Athens, hoping the people would rise up in support of him. He was wrong.
Cylon and his supporters took refuge in the Acropolis, but lacked the food needed to prolong a standoff. They surrendered to the Archons of Athens in exchange for their lives - only to be killed as they left the temple.
- The Roman tunnel fighters killed by ancient chemical weaponry
- The Lombard leper warrior who fought to the death alongside his comrades
- The shackled rebel skeletons of Greece
- The Polish "vampire" buried with a sickle above her neck
- The screaming, cursed mummy of Prince Pentawere
- The towering Tzompantli: Aztec skull racks
- The Atacama mummies (and Ata the "alien")
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| Imposing enough, even without skull racks... (Joshart3d) |
The Roman Tunnel Fighters Killed by Ancient Chemical Weaponry
Siege warfare has always been a brutal affair. In 250AD, the Persian Sasanian Empire set its sights on Dura, a Syrian city held by Rome. Faced with thick walls and a determined garrison of legionnaires, the Persians decided to undermine the defenses instead.The attackers seem to have begin excavations in an underground necropolis around 40 meters from the walls. Meanwhile, the siege-savvy Romans began making counter tunnels in the hope of intercepting the besiegers. We know of at least one such interception - and it didn't go well for the defenders.
The Romans had intended to drop down from their shallow counter-tunnel and kill the sappers... but the Persians could hear the approaching counter tunnel and set a deadly chemical trap. They built up a fire in their own tunnel and laced it with bitumen and sulfur. The resulting smoke would have been drawn into the Roman tunnel the second it connected.
The fumes would have been incredibly toxic, turning to sulfuric acid when mixed with moisture in the lungs. Nineteen Romans (and one unfortunate Persian who was too close) died in the choking darkness. The surviving Persian sappers dragged the bodies into a makeshift blockade - and that's how they were found in the 1930s.
The Lombard Leper Warrior Who Fought to the Death Alongside His Comrades
The usual fate of a leper was that of an outcast - but that wasn't the case for one warrior found in a Lombard-Avar 500-700AD cemetery in Molise, Italy.The Lombards were Germanic invaders who fought alongside the Avar against the Byzantines. They had probably established a military outpost near where the graves were found, as two exhumed skeletons show the tell-tale damage of shock weapons (i.e. spiked maces and battle axes) favored by Byzantine forces.
The third corpse showed signs of a blade impact on the skull - the wound itself would have not been lethal since it was only a shallow cut, but the lack of any healing on the bone implies death soon followed. Most interesting is that the skeleton shows signs of advanced leprosy. Though clearly ill and wasting away, this warrior fought to the death alongside his comrades - and was interred beside them when he fell.
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| Did these statues watch a mass murder? (Gonbiana) |
The Shackled Rebel Skeletons of Greece
Hidden in the ancient city of Phalaeron near Athens in Greece is a mass grave. The occupants are a line of eighty skeletons, thirty-six of which are bound in iron shackles. Ominously, the victims were in good health when they died.Just who were these people? The answer may lie within the sordid tale of an ancient athlete. Cylon was a winner in the 640BC Olympic games - and he sought to parlay this celebrity into political power. Having married the daughter of the Tyrant of Megara, he led a group of soldiers into Athens, hoping the people would rise up in support of him. He was wrong.
Cylon and his supporters took refuge in the Acropolis, but lacked the food needed to prolong a standoff. They surrendered to the Archons of Athens in exchange for their lives - only to be killed as they left the temple.
The Polish "Vampire" Buried With a Sickle Above Her Neck
When researchers investigated a grave at Pien in Poland, they probably didn't expect to encounter the grave of a "vampire."
The 400 year old skeleton inside was that of a woman (dubbed "Zosia") aged between eighteen and twenty. Analysis of her skull indicated that she suffered from a number of health conditions - such as fainting and severe headaches. It also seems that she may have had a growth on her chest and a protruding incisor - both things that could have marked her out as a potential vampire.
Whoever buried Zosia took measures to prevent her from rising from the grave. She had a padlock placed on her toe (thought to make it hard for the dead to walk) and a sickle placed blade-down across her neck. If her body had attempted to make for the surface, the sickle's blade would have cut into her neck - quite a clever anti-vampire measure really!
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| Not a bad idea for preventing a vampire rising... (Aleksey Oryshchenko) |
The Screaming, Cursed Mummy of Prince Pentawere
Embalmed and entombed to outlast the ages in regal slumber - that's the normal raison d'etre of the Egyptian mummy. Not so for the unfortunate Prince Pentawere, a royal condemned to spend eternity locked in an soundless scream.
What makes this really stand out is that the mummy (confirmed to be royalty via DNA testing) was not properly prepared. No embalming fluid was used, leaving the body to naturally dry out by itself. The corpse was wrapped in sheepskin, a material considered impure by the ancient Egyptians. Finally, the mouth seems to be locked in a scream - either because Pentawere died like that, or had it adjusted post-mortem. It really seems that whoever prepared the body did their utmost to curse the prince to an eternity of misery.
So what did Prince Pentawere do to get this treatment? Well, it seems that he may have been behind the assassination of Ramses III. Archaeologists determined that the pharaoh died from a cut throat - and that his retainers conducted a trial of all those thought to have had a hand in his murder. Found guilty and sentenced to death, the Prince died of asphyxiation, poisoning or a combination of both!
Known as Tzompantli, these racks came in two forms - carved stone representations... and wooden shelves decorated with real skulls. These structures were imposing - in 2020, archaeologists working in Mexico city discovered yet more layers to "Huey Tzompantli" a rack featuring over 600 skulls from men, women and children. The skulls were displayed on smaller racks before being set in lime and added to the Tzompantli. As many as seven of these structures may have been featured in the city.
As alien as it may seem to modern sensibilities, the Aztecs believed that only human sacrifice could keep the gods fed, healthy and holding the universe together!
The Atacama Desert in Chile is the one of the driest places on Earth - and as it turns out, the pre-Columbian Chinchorro people were mummifying their dead 2,000 years before the Egyptians. Techniques varied - some were allowed to dry naturally in the desiccating desert conditions, others were stuffed with ash, feathers and grass, whilst others were flayed, bandaged and coated with clay. Mummification wasn't the preserve of nobility either - it was so common that (combined with shallow burials) locals have described layers of the preserved dead just beneath the surface, often interfering with construction work!
One of the strangest discoveries in the Atacama Desert is a mummified six-inch tall humanoid. These desiccated remains (dubbed Ata) seemed so otherworldly that some people deemed them to be alien. Scientists in California used DNA analysis to reveal the truth - Ata was a human girl, either stillborn or dying shortly after birth. She was burdened with extreme mutations - missing ribs, some skeletal features that shouldn't have emerged until reaching 6 to 8 years old and a cone-like head. Researchers were able to identify seven mutated genes in the remains that might explain the skeletal malformation.
In perhaps the strangest twist of all, this tiny corpse, found in a pouch amidst the ruins of La Noria, a nitrate mining ghost-town... is only a few decades old.
What makes this really stand out is that the mummy (confirmed to be royalty via DNA testing) was not properly prepared. No embalming fluid was used, leaving the body to naturally dry out by itself. The corpse was wrapped in sheepskin, a material considered impure by the ancient Egyptians. Finally, the mouth seems to be locked in a scream - either because Pentawere died like that, or had it adjusted post-mortem. It really seems that whoever prepared the body did their utmost to curse the prince to an eternity of misery.
So what did Prince Pentawere do to get this treatment? Well, it seems that he may have been behind the assassination of Ramses III. Archaeologists determined that the pharaoh died from a cut throat - and that his retainers conducted a trial of all those thought to have had a hand in his murder. Found guilty and sentenced to death, the Prince died of asphyxiation, poisoning or a combination of both!
The Towering Tzompantli: Aztec Skull Racks
For all their artistry and culture, the Aztecs are best known for macabre ceremony. Nowhere is this more evident than the skull racks of Tenochtitlan - the heart of modern day Mexico City.Known as Tzompantli, these racks came in two forms - carved stone representations... and wooden shelves decorated with real skulls. These structures were imposing - in 2020, archaeologists working in Mexico city discovered yet more layers to "Huey Tzompantli" a rack featuring over 600 skulls from men, women and children. The skulls were displayed on smaller racks before being set in lime and added to the Tzompantli. As many as seven of these structures may have been featured in the city.
As alien as it may seem to modern sensibilities, the Aztecs believed that only human sacrifice could keep the gods fed, healthy and holding the universe together!
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| Being one of the driest places on Earth lent itself to mummification. (davidvives90) |
The Atacama Mummies (and Ata the "Alien")
Though ancient Egypt is the first place people think of when it comes to mummies, plenty of other cultures have preserved their dead. You can find examples like the Sokushinbutsu of Japan, the smoked mummies of the Anga in Papau New Guinea and Lady Dai of China (possibly the best preserved mummy in the world.) There's also the truly ancient Atacama mummies.The Atacama Desert in Chile is the one of the driest places on Earth - and as it turns out, the pre-Columbian Chinchorro people were mummifying their dead 2,000 years before the Egyptians. Techniques varied - some were allowed to dry naturally in the desiccating desert conditions, others were stuffed with ash, feathers and grass, whilst others were flayed, bandaged and coated with clay. Mummification wasn't the preserve of nobility either - it was so common that (combined with shallow burials) locals have described layers of the preserved dead just beneath the surface, often interfering with construction work!
One of the strangest discoveries in the Atacama Desert is a mummified six-inch tall humanoid. These desiccated remains (dubbed Ata) seemed so otherworldly that some people deemed them to be alien. Scientists in California used DNA analysis to reveal the truth - Ata was a human girl, either stillborn or dying shortly after birth. She was burdened with extreme mutations - missing ribs, some skeletal features that shouldn't have emerged until reaching 6 to 8 years old and a cone-like head. Researchers were able to identify seven mutated genes in the remains that might explain the skeletal malformation.
In perhaps the strangest twist of all, this tiny corpse, found in a pouch amidst the ruins of La Noria, a nitrate mining ghost-town... is only a few decades old.
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