Top 5 Discoveries of Archaeology in This Decade
An aerial shot of the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Tenea. Photo: Greece’s Ministry of Culture
Our ancestors brought very small footprints on the planet due to which there is hardly anything to record their global existence. With Archaeology, an ever-changing landscape, the experts can reassess the most firmly held views about the bygones.
With the discovery of a stone tool, femur, or skullcap, archaeologists are systematically keeping a check on the cracked antiquity of our species and other things closely related to them.
Whether they are lost civilizations, cities or stone circles, discoveries made in this decade have added appreciably to the Archaeology’s unfolding story. Here’s a look back to some of the top five discoveries of archaeology.
- The Lost City of Tenea in Greece
Back in 2018, determined archaeologists found evidence of the ancient Trojan city of Tenea. It was found in the village of Chiliomodi in modern-day Greece.
Elena Korka led the team of archaeologists for this significant discovery. They revealed the pieces of pottery in the preceding years and hit the jackpot the last year, finding buildings, remains of the stone walls, seven burials dating back to Roman, marble floors and Hellenistic times.
According to sources, the city was operated independently with the 200 uncovered coins. Also, 500 square meters of Roman baths were discovered in 2019.
Korka in an interview to BBC elaborated that they would keep unveiling interesting findings for the next 100 years because this finding was like an iceberg and they were hitting the tip.
- 12th Dead Sea Scrolls Cave
New Dead Sea Scrolls cave was discovered in 2017 near the site of Qumran. Sources confirm that the cave was looted back in 1950s and 1960s.
Recently, the archaeologists found a blank scroll when they mined it deeply. 11 caves have already been unveiled in the 1940s and 1950s while this is the 12th one near Qumran which is held Dead Sea Scrolls.
This finding made headlines around the world, yet it is not the end of the story. The team after finding this 12th cave is looking for other more caves that hold more Dead Sea Scrolls.
The team is excavating caves in the Judaean Desert that may have some archaeological remains.
- The Youngest Mummy in England
Sitting in Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, there is a coffin found in 1907. It is almost 2,500 years ago between 664 and 535 B.C. from the late Egyptian period.
Previously, the museums wardens thought that the coffin was too small to hold anything. Soon, a micro CT scan unveiled an interesting story – a mummified fetus.
According to archaeologists, it is only 16-18 weeks old when it passed away probably from a miscarriage. This makes it the youngest fetus that has been ever discovered.
The scan further showed five fingers each with two hands while the arms were wrapped around the chest.
Without causing any structural damages, the advance CT showed the inner operations of the artifacts.
- Largest Tomb of Greece
When the archaeologists discovered the site near the Greek city of Amphipolis, the Hill of Kasta in 1970s, there was a large tomb in Greece.
After four decades, the hard work of a famous archaeologist, Lazaridis made them revisit and the tomb was waiting for them.
The tomb dates back from the 4th century B.C. and is looked after by two marble sphinxes containing individual chambers.
Not only this, they found 5 more people: 2 males between 30 to 45, another male whose age is difficult to determine, an infant and an old woman over 60.
Reports elaborated that the tomb belonged to a member of an ancient royal family.
- Valley of the Kings
There have been several researches done on Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in the recent past. A year ago, an area was identified near the tomb of pharaoh Ay with four foundation deposits and a radar reading which may be the tomb while there was another group of archaeologists who carried out surveys of the western part in recent years.
That said, a third team in Switzerland also analyzed and published findings from KV 40 which is a tomb in Valley of the Kinds where several mummies were found back in 2014.
Also, there are a few unconfirmed reports which tell us that discovery of a new tomb is also expected.
To sum up, the ancient world was as exciting as betting on the latest football odds in BetAmerica, and it is not completely lost.
Archaeologists are trying to retrieve it in bits and pieces each year, with an extenuating work that deserves a lot of accolades. Let’s see how many more gates they will open in the upcoming years and decades.
***
