I have noticed several interesting finds of late. I especially would love to get a look at the shield.

Best
Craig


Chariot

Gold Treasure

Viking Shield

Ships

I think the ship and chariot finds are the most important, though the shield find is most relevant to this forum. I keep thinking that these finds are going to dry up some day, but they never do.

That chariot is pretty stoutly encased in much, I'll look forward to seeing it cleaned up.

Has anyone on the forums attempted archery from chariot? There seems to be a lot of interest in horse archery and jousting, but chariot archery Egyptian style would be pretty cool methinks.

Like Gavin I too find myself surprised at times that new discoveries often even significant ones are made. You would have thought that everything that could be plowed up, dredged up, stumbled across or discovered would have been... and every year someone comes up with something new, often from the weirdest places. The mail shirt (or was it a helmet I don't remember completely) that they found up in the eaves of that scandinavian church still has me shaking my head...

Also the capital of the Khazars may have been found:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jCPEFby_6F...wD93AJSA80

You beat me to it Nathan, I knew there was one one more I had meant to put on the list. I just remembered but you had covered it.

There is a lot that we do not know and have not found yet. It is a function of our age. There are so many things going on and communication is so fast we lose sight that there is a great deal that has not been found. We assume all the big stuff has been found. Even now a plane going down in a remote area can go undetected. Cover something with a thousand years of growth and dust and it may never appear. Keeps one humble as you never know when someone will find something that you would say does not exsist :)

Best
Craig

I hope that one day someone actually locates an 11th or 12 century kite shield, just so we have an example of an original. It seems odd to me that we have at least a few shields from the Viking era, but no shields prior to the late 12th/ early 13th century. Is this because shields were more likely to be buried in Norse and Scandanavian culture at that time than Europe at a later period?

In Canada it is completely illegal, an entrepreneur discovering what he would believe to be an archaeological site should stop working and get in touch with the authorities. Unfortunately nobody has ever been prosecuted for violating this law; when it is discovered, works are stopped but no one is blamed. On a lighter note, the new generation of construction workers is more informed and respectful about it. I have no idea what is the situation in the US but I suppose it would be roughly the same.

As one famous Archaeologist said, "That belongs it in a MUSEUM!" :D

But my archaeology professor did say that the biggest problem in archaeology is sample size. Only if we were to dig up every inch of reath then we have a better understanding of really happened. Since that will not happen ( I hope ) we will always have just a vague and blurry snapshot of history. It is all very exciting isn't it

Craig,
Aye, I bet that shield could tell some stories.
I ran across this today and even though its kind of old news, I thought I would post it.
I need to get a metal detector and a plane ticket to Europe :) Treasure hunting has to be a huge rush!!! I would of course hand them over to a Museum once I was done ogling them.


http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART57124.html

Sam

Hi Sam

Yes that is a very nice find. The detail on this hilt is especially nice. The piece would have been quite something in its day. My guess is a pretty high status item.

Best
Craig

Here is a great find. An ancient sword made in Italy but in a warriors grave in Greece from the 12th C BC. I look forward to better pics but here is what I could find and an article.

[ Linked Image ]


Warriors Grave

Best
Craig

Seems that Bulgarian archeologist are finding some very nice stuff of late. The first pot on this thread included a link to the first complete chariot they had found. Now they have just announced an even more elaborate model :)

Bronze sheathed Chariot

Must be quite something, plus surviving tack for the horses must be rare indeed. No mention of arms but one would expect there to be some in such a high status grave.

Very cool.

Craig

Another problem faced, and probably more frequently than contractors not wanting to stop work, is funding. A few years ago we had the hull of a wooden ship found during an excavation along the Elizabeth River. The contractor did stop work and notify the appropriate officials but no one wanted to spend the money on a quick archaeological dig so it was just ripped out and carted off to a landfill.

Check out this blurb from CNN

Roman-Germannia Battelfield

Really like the nice artifacts.

Best
Craig

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