Archaeological discovery reveals China’s link to Africa

by Sean McLachlan on

A Chinese and Kenyan archaeological team has discovered evidence that Chinese traders visited Kenya in the 15th century. A coin minted between 1403 and 1424 and a sherd of porcelain dating to the early Ming dynasty were found in the remains of a village. The excavation by Peking University and local archaeologists was searching for clues to the voyages of Zheng He, who led a fleet of more than 200 ships on numerous trips across the Indian Ocean.

The coin was of a special make used by representatives of the emperor and the porcelain may have came from a kiln reserved for the use of the royal family, so these finds are evidence of an official visit.

An article on BBC gives further details, and adds that China is renewing its historic ties to Africa. In 2008 China had $107 billion in trade with the continent, a figure that’s been increasing dramatically every year. This trade outstrips every other nation including the United States. During my trip to Ethiopia I saw Chinese engineers with Ethiopian road crews building highways and bridges, and the Chinese are beginning to build factories too.

In the past few years there’s also been a dramatic increase in Chinese tourists. Ten years ago I never saw a Chinese tour group in Oxford or London; now I see them every day. The face of travel is changing.

While the discovery is big news to Western archaeologists, it only confirms what the Chinese and Africans knew all along–that there have been centuries of ties between the regions. Residents of Lamu, a port near the excavation site, have a tradition that they’re descended from one of Zheng He’s shipwrecked crews. Many have Chinese features. DNA tests show some of the residents do have Chinese ancestry. When I was in the medieval trading center of Harar in Ethiopia I noticed several people with vaguely Chinese features, and Harari coins have been found in China. Perhaps Chinese researchers should conduct some DNA tests in Harar.

[Photo courtesy user Hassan Saeed via Wikimedia Commons]

Roman ruins in Turkey to be flooded by dam project

by Sean McLachlan on

One of the most important Roman archaeological sites in Turkey will soon be underwater.

The Roman spa town of Allianoi will be submerged beneath a reservoir once the nearby Yortanli dam becomes operational. The town was built in the second century AD near Bergama (ancient Pergamon) and has remained remarkably preserved. Archaeologists have uncovered baths, sculptures, artifacts, and elaborate mosaics that are giving them insights into Roman medicine and culture.

The site has become a battleground between archaeologists and European Union cultural officials on one side, and the Turkish government and farmers on the other. Local farmers are eager to see the dam finished because it will irrigate almost 20,000 acres of land. The EU has weighed in on the controversy because Turkey hopes to become a member state, yet the construction goes against both EU and Turkish heritage preservation laws.

Ironically, the site was only discovered because of an archaeological survey conducted in anticipation of the dam’s construction.

Only a quarter of the town has been excavated so far. Workers are currently burying the site in sand in order to protect it when it gets inundated.

[Photo courtesy Cretanforever via Wikimedia Commons]

3000 year old statue of Egyptian pharaoh discovered in Luxor

by Kraig Becker on

A 3000 year old statue of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III has been discovered near his funeral temple in Luxor. The double statue, which depicts the rular seated next to the Thebian god Amun, stands more than four feet in height and three feet in width. While Amun’s head is no longer in place however, the face of the pharaoh is unmistakable. The statue shows him seated upon a throne and wearing the traditional double crown which signified his dominance over both Upper and Lower Egypt.

Amenhotep III is thought to have ruled during Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, sometime between 1388 and 1351 BC. He is believed to be the wealthiest of all the ancient pharaohs and his funerary temple demonstrated those riches by it’s sheer size. The temple in his honor was more than 700 meters in length and 500 meters in width, with the eastern ended marked by the Colossi of Memnon, two of the better known, and often visited, statues in the Luxor region. At the time of its construction, it was one of the largest religious structures in the entire world.

The statue, which is made out of limestone, is similar to another that was discovered at the temple earlier this year. That one was carved out of granite and depicted Amenhotep seated next to Thoth, the god of wisdom. The massive sculpture was more than 2.5 meters in height and is thought to be the best preserved likeness of the pharaoh that has been discovered to date.

The archeology team that discovered this latest find is focused on finishing the excavation of the statue, but they haven’t ruled out the possibility of even more discoveries either. These two major finds came about because of an ongoing restoration project that is expected to take up to twenty years to complete and will likely reveal even more wonders of this impressive ruler.

[Photo credit: the SCA]

Colchester Castle celebrates 150 years as a museum

by Sean McLachlan on

It’s not often that a museum becomes a museum piece.

The Colchester Castle Museum recently celebrated its 150th birthday. Located in Essex, England, and housed in one of the best preserved Norman castles in the world, the museum boasts a massive collection of Roman artifacts.

Colchester used to be the capital of Roman Britain until it was leveled by the warrior queen Boudica in 60 AD. As the leader of the Celtic Iceni tribe, she had defied the recent Roman conquest of England. As punishment she was whipped and her underaged daughters raped before her eyes. Boudica raised an army and wreaked a terrible revenge across Roman Britain, slaughtering an estimated 30,000 people at Colchester alone before she was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street.

The Normans built a castle here around the year 1076 on the foundations of the temple to the Emperor Claudius. The foundations were so large that the castle ended up being the biggest ever built in England. After a stint as an interrogation center for suspected witches, it eventually became a museum in 1860. Today it houses an excellent collection of Roman artifacts as well as collections from other periods. An interesting article in the Chelmsford Weekly News reports the collection is the product of generations of collectors and includes not only priceless archaeological treasures but oddities such as a crab with oysters growing on its shell.

[Photo courtesy Filip Walter via Wikimedia Commons]

Vietnam monuments under threat

by Sean McLachlan on

Vietnam is an ancient land filled with historic monuments, but archaeologists say many are falling into ruin.

Sites like Hue, the old capital of Vietnam pictured here, are crumbling under the strain of centuries of weathering and an increased number of visitors, while the Vietnam Archaeology Association complains it lacks the funding to make necessary repairs. The famous citadel at the UNESCO World Heritage Site is in especially bad repair, with one archaeologist saying it will be gone entirely within 15 years if nothing is done.

Historic preservation and restoration require some serious training, and qualified preservationists are in short supply in Vietnam.

Archaeologists are especially worried about 82 giant steles in Hanoi bearing the names of ancient degree earners. Some date back to the fifteenth century and it’s traditional for Vietnamese students to run their hands along their surfaces for good luck before taking exams. With one million visitors last year, the wear and tear on the carved lettering can be imagined.

Archaeologists hope that funding to preserve the steles may be forthcoming thanks to UNESCO recently naming them a World Heritage Site.

[Photo courtesy user abaesel via Gadling’s flickr photostream]