PLoS ONE—Hunter-gatherers made use of open woodland conditions in the millennia before Stonehenge monuments were built, according to a study published April 27, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Samuel Hudson of the University of Southampton, U.K., and colleagues.
Much research has explored Bronze Age and Neolithic history of the region surrounding Stonehenge, but less is known about earlier times in this area. This leaves open questions about how ancient people and wildlife used this region before the famous archaeological monuments were constructed. In this paper, Hudson and colleagues reconstruct environmental conditions at the site of Blick Mead, a pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer site on the edge of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site.
The authors combine pollen, spores, sedimentary DNA, and animal remains to characterize the pre-Neolithic habitat of the site, inferring partially open woodland conditions, which would have been beneficial to large grazing herbivores like aurochs, as well as hunter-gatherer communities. This study supports previous evidence that the Stonehenge region was not covered in closed canopy forest at this time, as has previously been proposed.
This study also provides date estimates for human activity at Blick Mead. Results indicate that hunter-gatherers used this site for 4,000 years up until the time of the earliest known farmers and monument-builders in the region, who would also have benefited from the space provided in open environments. These results indicate that the first farmers and monument-builders in the Stonehenge area encountered open habitats already maintained and used by large grazers and earlier human populations.
Further study on similar sites will provide important insights into the interactions between hunter-gatherers and early farming communities in the U.K. and elsewhere. Furthermore, this study provides techniques for combining sedimentary DNA, other ecological data, and stratigraphic data to interpret the ancient environment at a site where such information is difficult to assess.
The authors add: “The Stonehenge World Heritage Site is globally recognized for its rich Neolithic and Bronze Age monumental landscape, but little is known of its significance to Mesolithic populations. Environmental research at Blick Mead suggests that hunter-gatherers had already chosen part of this landscape, an alluvial clearing, as a persistent place for hunting and occupation.”
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A) Timeline of the Stonehenge landscape, including radiocarbon dates from Blick Mead and other significant Stonehenge World Heritage Archaeological Sites. B) A representation of the development of vegetation history at Blick Mead based on the palaeoenvironmental data. Hudson et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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The iconic Stonehenge circle on the prehistoric landscape of the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Freesally, Pixabay
*Hudson SM, Pears B, Jacques D, Fonville T, Hughes P, Alsos I, et al. (2022), Life before Stonehenge: The hunter-gatherer occupation and environment of Blick Mead revealed by sedaDNA, pollen and spores. PLoS ONE 17(4): e0266789. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266789
MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY—Were Neanderthals really as well adapted to a life in the cold as previously assumed, or did they prefer more temperate environmental conditions during the last Ice Age? To answer these questions, it is worthwhile to examine Neanderthal sites on the northern periphery of their range. After all, it was there that environmental fluctuations were most noticeable, especially as a result of repeated ice advances from Scandinavia. A region particularly suitable for such investigations is northern Germany, with its numerous documented Neanderthal sites.
In a recent study, researchers from MPI-EVA, FAU, Leuphana University Lüneburg, LIAG and other partner institutions have now investigated the remains of Neanderthals at a former lakeshore in Lichtenberg in the Wendland region (Lower Saxony). Using an integrative research approach, the team has combined analytical methods from archaeology, luminescence dating, sedimentology, micromorphology with the study of pollen and phytoliths to explore in detail the relationship between human presence in the north and changing environmental conditions.
A window into environmental history
”Archaeological excavations are a window into environmental history”, says Michael Hein, a geographer at MPI-EVA. “Based on sediments and pollen grains they contain, we can reconstruct the vegetation and environmental conditions of the time. For this, the most accurate dating possible is required, which – in the case of Central Europe – is still lacking for many climatic phases of the last Ice Age.” Collecting environmental information and performing independent dating is of great interest to archaeology and paleoenvironmental research alike.
“In Lichtenberg, we have now succeeded in dating quite accurately the end of a pronounced warm phase – the so-called Brörup Interstadial – to 90,000 years”, Hein adds. “Thus, the cooling of the continent would have coincided with the climate change in the Greenland ice and the North Atlantic. A direct coupling had so far only been suspected – but not proven – for northern Germany.”
Settlement of northern areas also during cold phases
The study also found that Neanderthals occupied a lightly wooded lakeshore about 90,000 years ago in a relatively temperate climate. Stone tools found at the former campsite attest to a variety of activities, such as woodworking and plant processing. Already between 1987 and 1994, the Landesmuseum Hannover excavated a site close to Lichtenberg containing bifacial backed knives, so-called “Keilmesser” – specialized cutting tools. In the excavations, the layers of this former campsite are located above the lakeshore campsite, which is associated with a temperate climate period, and date to a time about 70,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age’s first cold maximum began. The researchers were thus able to prove that Neanderthals had indeed inhabited the northern regions even during cold phases.
Flexible adaptation to environmental conditions
”Changes in stone tools indicate that Neanderthals adapted in line with changing environmental conditions”, says Marcel Weiß, an archaeologist at FAU. “In Lichtenberg, we were able to show that they repeatedly visited northern Central Europe – which developed from a heavily forested environment during the last warm period, to sparser forests of a cold-moderate climate period at the beginning of the last Ice Age, to the cold tundra of the first cold maximum.”
In this context, the stone tools, especially knives made of flint, show that the Neanderthals’ lakeshore site may have served a hunting party for a short stay. Evidence from other sites from the same time period indicates that during cold phases Neanderthals likely visited their northern dwelling grounds mainly during the summer months.
*Neanderthals in changing environments from MIS 5 to early MIS 4 in northern Central Europe – Integrating archaeological, (chrono)stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental evidence at the site of Lichtenberg, Quaternary Science Reviews, 15-Apr-2022. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107519
As most archaeological material is found in a fragmented state, the phenomenon has been considered a natural consequence of objects’ having been long buried underground. However, according to Postdoctoral Researcher Marja Ahola from the University of Helsinki, not all objects have necessarily been broken by accident. Instead, it is possible some were fragmented on purpose as part of maintaining social relations, bartering or ritual activities. The research* now completed has demonstrated that a substantial number of ornaments have been found in extensive and central locations. As some of the ornaments originate in Lake Onega region and have been transported to Finland through a widespread exchange network, it is possible that they symbolize the connections established within the network.
By matching pieces of slate ring ornaments, analyzing their geochemical composition and investigating traces of use and manufacture in the objects, a research group at the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku demonstrated that the ornaments had not only been worn, but also intentionally broken. Because fragments from the same ornament were found in two different locations, it is possible that they were worn by two different individuals. Another indication of this is the fact that one of the fragments had been worked on more finely than the other.
“These fragments of the same object may show the handprint and preferences of two individuals. Perhaps they wore the ornaments as a symbol of a connection established,” Ahola muses.
A similar link was found in slate ring ornaments created during the same manufacturing process, one of which was found in a settlement-site context and the other in a burial site investigated near the settlement.
“What we see here may be one way of maintaining connection between the living and the dead. This is also the first clear material connection between a certain place of residence and a burial site. In other words, the people who lived there most likely buried their dead in a site close to them,” Ahola explains.
An X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) of a little over 50 slate ring ornaments demonstrated that some of the ornaments or fragments thereof had been imported from Lake Onega region, Russia, hundreds of kilometers from the site where they were found. XRF analyses can be used to determine the element concentrations and raw materials of inorganic archaeological materials with a very high precision. The technique can be applied as an entirely non-invasive surface analysis, which makes it perfectly suited to the study of archaeological objects.
“By comparing the elemental concentrations of the objects under investigation with findings published on the basis of international datasets, we were able to demonstrate that some of the ornaments or the stone material used in them was transported to Finland through an extensive exchange network, primarily from the Lake Onega region. There was also variation in the chemical composition of the objects, which correlates with their design. These factors indicate that the ornaments were produced at Lake Onega region in several batches, most likely in different locations and by a number of makers,” says Docent Elisabeth Holmqvist-Sipilä from the University of Helsinki
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Slate ring ornaments from the Stone Age. Marja Ahola
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—Analysis of ancient DNA brings to light the nature of burials in some of the colossal burial mounds in Neolithic France, according to a study. In Normandy, France, monumental burial mounds from the Cerny culture represent some of the earliest funeral structures in western Europe. The earthen barrows can reach up to 300 meters in length and are often built for a single individual and sometimes for two people. Maïté Rivollat, Aline Thomas, and colleagues analyzed ancient DNA to examine the social organization of 14 of the 19 individuals buried at Fleury-sur-Orne, a cemetery which was mainly used from 4600 to 4300 BCE. Previous research has found that Cerny burials in the Paris Basin contained similar numbers of men and women, but 13 of the 14 individuals analyzed at Fleury-sur-Orne were male. The sole female was buried with arrowheads, a symbol typically associated with elite males in the Cerny culture. Two pairs of individuals—one pair buried together in the same monument and another pair buried in the same tomb—were identified as father and son. The rest of the burials were from genetically independent lineages. All individuals had a higher within-group than regional group affinity and were likely more closely related to each other than to other regional groups. According to the authors, the predominance of males and the symbolism of the female burial indicate the importance of male identity and lineages in this regional expression of Cerny culture.
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Artistic impression of the Fleury-sur-Orne monuments and surrounding landscape. Laurent Juhel (artist).
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE—Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a major new bioarchaeological study* suggests. Its sister study also argues that peasants occasionally hosted lavish meat feasts for their rulers. The findings overturn major assumptions about early medieval English history.
‘You are what you eat’ isotopic analysis of over 2,000 skeletons by far the largest of its kind.
Early medieval diets were far more similar across social groups than previously thought.
Peasants didn’t give kings food as exploitative tax, they hosted feasts suggesting they were granted more respect than previously assumed.
Surviving food lists are supplies for special feasts not blueprints for everyday elite diets.
Some feasts served up an estimated 1kg of meat and 4,000 Calories in total, per person.
Picture medieval England and royal feasts involving copious amounts of meat immediately spring to mind. Historians have long assumed that royals and nobles ate far more meat than the rest of the population and that free peasants were forced to hand over food to sustain their rulers throughout the year in an exploitative system known as feorm or food-rent.
But a pair of Cambridge co-authored studies published today in the journal Anglo-Saxon England present a very different picture, one which could transform our understanding of early medieval kingship and society.
While completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge, bioarchaeologist Sam Leggett gave a presentation which intrigued historian Tom Lambert (Sidney Sussex College). Now at the University of Edinburgh, Dr Leggett had analysed chemical signatures of diets preserved in the bones of 2,023 people buried in England from the 5th – 11th centuries. She then cross-referenced these isotopic findings with evidence for social status such as grave goods, body position and grave orientation. Leggett’s research revealed no correlation between social status and high protein diets.
That surprised Tom Lambert because so many medieval texts and historical studies suggest that Anglo-Saxon elites did eat large quantities of meat. The pair started to work together to find out what was really going on.
They began by deciphering a food list compiled during the reign of King Ine of Wessex (c. 688-726) to estimate how much food it records and what its calorie content might have been. They estimated that the supplies amounted to 1.24 million kcal, over half of which came from animal protein. The list included 300 bread rolls so the researchers worked on the basis that one bun was served to each diner to calculate overall portions. Each guest would have received 4,140 kcal from 500g of mutton; 500g of beef; another 500g of salmon, eel and poultry; plus cheese, honey and ale.
The researchers studied ten other comparable food lists from southern England and discovered a remarkably similar pattern: a modest amount of bread, a huge amount of meat, a decent but not excessive quantity of ale, and no mention of vegetables (although some probably were served).
Lambert says: “The scale and proportions of these food lists strongly suggests that they were provisions for occasional grand feasts, and not general food supplies sustaining royal households on a daily basis. These were not blueprints for everyday elite diets as historians have assumed.”
“I’ve been to plenty of barbecues where friends have cooked ludicrous amounts of meat so we shouldn’t be too surprised. The guests probably ate the best bits and then leftovers might have been stewed up for later.”
Leggett says: “I’ve found no evidence of people eating anything like this much animal protein on a regular basis. If they were, we would find isotopic evidence of excess protein and signs of diseases like gout from the bones. But we’re just not finding that.”
“The isotopic evidence suggests that diets in this period were much more similar across social groups than we’ve been led to believe. We should imagine a wide range of people livening up bread with small quantities of meat and cheese, or eating pottages of leeks and whole grains with a little meat thrown in.”
The researchers believe that even royals would have eaten a cereal-based diet and that these occasional feasts would have been a treat for them too.
Peasants feeding kings
These feasts would have been lavish outdoor events at which whole oxen were roasted in huge pits, examples of which have been excavated in East Anglia.
Lambert says: “Historians generally assume that medieval feasts were exclusively for elites. But these food lists show that even if you allow for huge appetites, 300 or more people must have attended. That means that a lot of ordinary farmers must have been there, and this has big political implications.”
Kings in this period – including Rædwald, the early seventh-century East Anglian king perhaps buried at Sutton Hoo – are thought to have received renders of food, known in Old English as feorm or food-rent, from the free peasants of their kingdoms. It is often assumed that these were the primary source of food for royal households and that kings’ own lands played a minor supporting role at best. As kingdoms expanded, it has also been assumed that food-rent was redirected by royal grants to sustain a broader elite, making them even more influential over time.
But Lambert studied the use of the word feorm in different contexts, including aristocratic wills, and concludes that the term referred to a single feast and not this primitive form of tax. This is significant because food-rent required no personal involvement from a king or lord, and no show of respect to the peasants who were duty-bound to provide it. When kings and lords attended communal feasts in person, however, the dynamics would have been very different.
Lambert says: “We’re looking at kings travelling to massive barbecues hosted by free peasants, people who owned their own farms and sometimes slaves to work on them. You could compare it to a modern presidential campaign dinner in the US. This was a crucial form of political engagement.”
This rethinking could have far-reaching implications for medieval studies and English political history more generally. Food renders have informed theories about the beginnings of English kingship and land-based patronage politics, and are central to ongoing debates about what led to the subjection of England’s once-free peasantry.
Leggett and Lambert are now eagerly awaiting the publication of isotopic data from the Winchester Mortuary Chests which are thought to contain the remains of Egbert, Canute and other Anglo-Saxon royals. These results should provide unprecedented insights into the period’s most elite eating habits.
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Food list compiled during the reign of King Ine of Wessex (c. 688-726), part of the Textus Roffensis. Chapter of Rochester Cathedral. CC BY-SA
*Food and Power in Early Medieval England: a Lack of (Isotopic) Enrichment, Anglo-Saxon England, 20-Apr-2022. 10.1017/S0263675122000072
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References
S. Leggett & T. Lambert, ‘Food and Power in Early Medieval England: a Lack of (Isotopic) Enrichment’; Anglo-Saxon England (2022). DOI: 10.1017/S0263675122000072
S. Leggett & T Lambert, ‘Food and Power in Early Medieval England: Rethinking Feorm’, Anglo-Saxon England (2022). DOI: 10.1017/S0263675122000084
UNIVERSITY OF YORK—Our early ancestors probably created intricate artwork by firelight, an examination of 50 engraved stones unearthed in France has revealed.
The stones were incised with artistic designs around 15,000 years ago and have patterns of heat damage which suggests they were carved close to the flickering light of a fire, the new study has found.
The study, by researchers at the Universities of York and Durham, looked at the collection of engraved stones, known as plaquettes, which are now held in the British Museum. They are likely to have been made using stone tools by Magdalenian people, an early hunter-gatherer culture dating from between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago.
The researchers identified patterns of pink heat damage around the edges of some of the stones, providing evidence that they had been placed in close proximity to a fire.
Following their discovery, the researchers have experimented with replicating the stones themselves and used 3D models and virtual reality software to recreate the plaquettes as prehistoric artists would have seen them: under fireside light conditions and with the fresh white lines engravers would have made as they first cut into the rock thousands of years ago.
Lead author of the study, Dr Andy Needham from the Department of Archaeology at the University of York and Co-Director of the York Experimental Archaeology Research Centre said: “It has previously been assumed that the heat damage visible on some plaquettes was likely to have been caused by accident, but experiments with replica plaquettes showed the damage was more consistent with being purposefully positioned close to a fire.
“In the modern day, we might think of art as being created on a blank canvas in daylight or with a fixed light source; but we now know that people 15,000 years ago were creating art around a fire at night, with flickering shapes and shadows.”
Working under these conditions would have had a dramatic effect on the way prehistoric people experienced the creation of art, the researchers say. It may have activated an evolutionary capacity designed to protect us from predators called “Pareidolia”, where perception imposes a meaningful interpretation such as the form of an animal, a face or a pattern where there is none.
Dr Needham added: “Creating art by firelight would have been a very visceral experience, activating different parts of the human brain. We know that flickering shadows and light enhance our evolutionary capacity to see forms and faces in inanimate objects and this might help explain why it’s common to see plaquette designs that have used or integrated natural features in the rock to draw animals or artistic forms.”
The Magdalenian era saw a flourishing of early art, from cave art and the decoration of tools and weapons to the engraving of stones and bones.
Co-author of the study, PhD student Izzy Wisher from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Durham, said: “During the Magdalenian period conditions were very cold and the landscape was more exposed. While people were well-adapted to the cold, wearing warm clothing made from animal hides and fur, fire was still really important for keeping warm. Our findings reinforce the theory that the warm glow of the fire would have made it the hub of the community for social gatherings, telling stories and making art.
“At a time when huge amounts of time and effort would have gone into finding food, water and shelter, it’s fascinating to think that people still found the time and capacity to create art. It shows how these activities have formed part of what makes us human for thousands of years and demonstrates the cognitive complexity of prehistoric people.”
Art by firelight? Using experimental and digital techniques to explore Magdalenian engraved plaquette use at Montastruc (France) is published in the journal PLOS ONE and is available here.
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Photograph showing ambient light levels and the position of replica plaquettes in relation to the fire (during experiment E). Needham et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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The study looked at a collection of engraved stones, known as plaquettes, which are now held in the British Museum. Dr Andy Needham, University of York
*Art by firelight? Using experimental and digital techniques to explore Magdalenian engraved plaquette use at Montastruc (France), PLoS ONE, 20-Apr-2022. 10.1371/journal.pone.0266146
Editor’s Note:As a journalist specializing in archaeology, I am not usually inclined to travel on group tours. The fact, however, remains that tourism is actually an essential player when it comes to the impact and benefits that archaeological excavations and research have bestowed on world economies, particularly countries that possess an enormously rich and often spectacular heritage of humanity’s past. Andante Travels, a British tour company that specializes in archaeological and cultural tours, has in this writer’s opinion pulled together perhaps the most compelling opportunities for travelers when it comes to experiencing our global archaeological and cultural heritage from the educated ‘layman’s’ perspective. Originally created by archaeologists themselves for lovers of archaeology, it affords travel experiences that cater primarily to individuals with distinctive academic and cultural interests. What follows is my personal venture with one of those offerings—one I felt uncharacteristically compelled to experience on my own:
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Naples, Italy — Although November is considered the wettest month in this, the third largest city of Italy, my arrival was graced by the sun. Traveling by motor coach with like-minded friends from the international airport, one could easily see why, even in the latter half of autumn, this city and its environs still make for a very holiday-like visit.Trees, still green, some bearing yellow-orange citrus, and the distinctive stone pine and umbrella trees that famously define the landscape of the Naples region, accent the view along the main freeway leading southeast from the city. Here there are scenes I’m not accustomed to seeing while on the road in most places of my home country, the U.S. In Naples, apartment complexes and houses are colorfully painted and even household laundry, hanging from balcony lines and rippling in the breeze that flows in from the nearby Bay of Naples, adds some color and interest — a reminder that people like all of us live here.
Situated only a few miles from Salerno in the region of Campania, the little city of Cava de’ Tirrenistrikes a picturesque pose within a valley rich in agricultural land, surrounded by wooded hills. It is on one of these hills where I found myself settled into Hotel Scapolatiello, a family-owned and operated business established in 1821, located within walking distance of a thousand-year-old Benedictine Abbey and nestled with breathtaking views in its context of surrounding hills and the valley below. My initial impression, and perhaps the best part of the stay here: My room, which featured shutters that could be opened up to the fresh air and a lofty view of the hills and valley landscape below me. I could stand there for hours, and the temperature, albeit mid-November, was comfortably cool, with a breeze carrying the scents of the local flora, still mostly green in defiance of autumn. This first night, only a few hours away from arrival, featured a lecture from our accompanying Guide Lecturer, John Shepherd, relating a comprehensive review of the history and geology of the Bay of Naples area and Campania, anticipating our upcoming visits to the ancient sites — some iconic, such as Pompeii and Herculaneum, and some less so but equally compelling.
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Above and below: The Hotel Scapolatiello.
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Opening the shutters: The view from my hotel room window. (Yes, that is a rainbow in the distance). A slight, slow rocking earth tremor came calling early one morning before breakfast, reminding us that the geology of the region is still very active.
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The Roman Villa of Positano
The Amalfi coast, named after the town of Amalfi on the Sorento Peninsula, is famously known for its majestically scenic beauty. Nick-named the “Divine Coast” and historically a popular destination for Europe’s jet set, it is no wonder that it is among the most visited regions of Italy, particularly during the high tourist season between April and October. Rugged, rocky vertical lines and cliffs, dressed by nature’s artful touch of green pine and other flora, overlook the vast, glistening blue water of the Mediterranean. To negotiate it, one must drive the winding and relatively narrow 25-mile-long Amalfi Drive that hugs the steep coastline from the town of Vietri sul Mare in the east to Positano in the west. For this writer, the drive was a bit like being in a visual heaven, but, like my discriminating colleagues, this was all secondary to our objective — the Roman Villa of Positano.
Otium
“Otium,” isa latin term which in ancient Roman times meant ‘leisure time’, a luxury of the Roman elite, who had their sumptuous seaside villas built along what is presently the Amalfi coast beginning as early as the Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 BC to68 AD). This was where the rich and famous played, away from the usual business of Rome and other urban centers. Evidence for one of these otium villas, today called the Roman Villa of Positano, was first discovered by Karl Weber, the initial excavator of Pompeii and Herculaneum, in 1758. But the most extensive excavations were undertaken between 2003 and 2016, when archaeologists uncovered a startlingly well-preserved portion of the villa beneath the medieval hypogeum of the Santa Maria Assunta church at the city center. Although it represented but a fraction of the original structure, the room, determined by the archaeologists to be a triclinium, featured walls covered with masterfully rendered fine fresco painting in brilliant color and clarity, almost as if they had been painted yesterday. “Yesterday”, in this instance was a time not long after 62 AD, when an earthquake’s destruction presented the opportunity for the villa’s ownership to renovate, including this triclinium now on view to the public. Scholars have suggested that the villa may have been owned by Posides Claudi Caesaris, a wealthy and powerful man who, once a slave or servant, had been favored and freed by Emperor Claudius himself. It is thought that Positano may have taken its name from this individual. What can be seen today of Posides’s grand villa is its appearance just moments before it was buried beneath the same ash, pumice, and pyrooclastic flows that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 AD. Archaeologists and scholars suggest that the greater complex featured at least a peristyle with a central garden and fountain, along with the triclinium and bath quarters — features typical of a Roman villa of the times.
Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other sites such as Stabiae, the Roman Villa of Positano afforded us the opportunity to see something “off the radar” for many visitors who come to see the most iconic spots in Campania. It is an example of the special and distinctive itineraries developed by Andante Travels for their guests.
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The rugged and beautiful Amalfi coastline.
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Above and below: Views of the wall painting in the Villa of Positano. The two lower photos show painting features displacement caused by the ancient earthquake.
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Pompeii
Archaeologically speaking, Pompeii is arguably the world’s most spectacular archaeological site and park. Home to about 11,000 to 11,500 people in its day, the city’s urban footprint spreads across 160 to 170 acres, and archaeological excavations have thus far uncovered about two thirds of the city. Although excavations continue, efforts now focus on specific, smaller areas with designs to achieve certain research objectives. Conservation of current exposed remains also continues to be a major priority of governing authorities for the site.
Thus it was no wonder that, given the site’s massive size and complexity, along with the sensational state of preservation reflecting everyday living in the ancient Roman Empire, our group was allotted a full day to explore its remains — not typical of the usual group ‘day’ tours that afford but two or three hours. John Shepherd, our Guide Lecturer, began leading us just outside the city walls by addressing the common thread underpinning our entire exploration of the Bay of Naples area — the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. and the massive destruction, yet concomitant preservation, that followed in its wake. We proceeded afterwards to walk the ancient city streets and through some of the most prominent and spectacular structures and features of the city, including the remarkably well preserved amphitheater. Throughout, Shepherd detailed the stories and research findings behind every stop, giving us an inside, intimate perspective that could not possibly be acquired by exploring on one’s own.
A highlight of this tour was the time spent at the recent discoveries in Regio V, where archaeologists uncovered, among other things, a well-preserved thermopolium, a cook-shop or snack bar conceptually much like a fast-food shop one would encounter today in the modern world. I imagined the city residents wandering by during its day, some stepping in to purchase a freshly cooked snack or meal, just as one might enter a modern Chipotle or Panera establishment just off the road today. This shop, in contrast to other similar shops we had already observed as we walked along the streets, featured unusually rich painting illustrations, such as a Nereid on horseback in a marine environment, still life scenes and representations of animals likely slaughtered, the meat of which was prepared and sold to customers in the shop.
It is not enough to see pictures and read about Pompeii in the popular literature. The massive site demands a personal encounter with sufficient time to properly absorb it, and Andante fulfills this exceptionally well.
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The recently discovered thermopolium.
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Above and below: Views of Pompeii.
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Even as Pompeii hosts its many visiting tourists, archaeological conservation and excavation work continues in the ancient city. These workers were oblivious to our presence as we passed them along the ancient street.
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Herculaneum
One cannot speak of Pompeii in the context of the 79 AD Vesuvius eruption without speaking of Herculaneum. Like Pompeii anciently, it bore the brunt of the cataclysm. We arrived at Herculaneum in the morning, embarking on a half-day’s worth of exploring the site. Given the size of the site compared to Pompeii, the stay was proportional, but experiencing the remains here was every bit as spectacular, if not more. An obvious difference between Pompeii and Herculaneum can be seen in the generally well-preserved height of the structures, as well as much of the restored decor within the structures. If one wants to see architecture and art more akin to the way it actually appeared before the eruption, Herculaneum earns first place. Here again, Shepherd related in detail the facts and stories behind the incredibly well-preserved structures and their decorative elements, affording his guests a rich tapestry of the physical appearance and lives of the citizenry, an experience not enjoyed by most visitors. Additionally, we were provided with ample time at the end of Shepherd’s program to explore Herculaneum on our own, a luxury made possible in part because, in comparison to Pompeii, the smaller area combined with instruction minimized the probability that individuals would get themselves lost!
Important to keep in mind for the future, the Park authorities are contemplating plans to excavate the still un-excavated forum area of the site, which may be open to public observation during the excavations.
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Above and below: Views of Herculaneum.
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Note the carbonized wooden beam exposed in this structure along Herculaneum’s decumanus maximus (central main street).
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This marks the ancient shoreline at Herculaneum during the time of the Vesuvius eruption.
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One example of the skeletal remains discovered at Herculaneum, preserving the final moment of life during the eruption.
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Baia
Be wealthy, and visit any of today’s most luxurious, seaside spa resorts designed for relaxation and fun in the sun, and you would get a modern-day taste of what defined the ancient site of Baia in its 1st Century A.D. heyday, nestled on the shore of the Gulf of Pozzuoli (part of the Gulf of Naples). This was a destination of choice for ancient Rome’s rich and famous. For centuries, Roman emperors and the Roman elite established opulent getaway villas here. While it drew people for the healing powers of its mineral springs and the soothing fragrance of the surrounding myrtle groves, it also became known for the hedonistic lifestyle of its residents, both permanent and transient. Its spas and baths drew everyone who was anyone, and stories of corruption and scandal is said to have marked its character, whether true or false. Only a fraction of its sumptuous massive architecture has been exposed. Its remains cascade down the steep rocky slopes that overlook the gulf. The numerous baths and complexes that functioned in their time were fed by the natural hot springs as well as fresh water transported in by the nearby Augustan aquaduct. Unlike the better known iconic sites of nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum, it is not on everyone’s must-see bucket list. But the fact remains that what any visitor can see here is every bit as impressive and engaging. Our exploration took us through most of the site, and, like Herculaneum, in addition to Shepherd’s insightful guidance and detailed lecture, we were permitted free time to independently explore its corners on our own. One could get lost here, meant of course in a good way.
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Above and below: Views of Baia.
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Pozzuoli
Imagine yourself as a member of the Roman Senate vacationing at your summer villa at Baia and you have plans for some exciting entertainment. Gladiatorial combat is a favorite of yours, so you have your horses harnessed to get yourself and your guests off to the games at the nearby Flavian amphitheater in Puteoli (today known as Pozzuoli).
One of the grandest amphitheaters of ancient Rome, the Flavian amphitheater of Pozzuoli is considered the third largest after the Colosseum in Rome and the Amphitheater of Capua. With a historic capacity of 50,000 spectators, it measures 482 x 384 feet, with the arena floor alone at 237 x 139 feet. We were impressed first by the exterior remains towering above us, reddish brickwork providing a contrast with other grey-hued structural elements. On this day, we were not permitted to enter the arena. A fire occurred not long before and authorities had the arena cordoned off while investigations were being conducted. Our disappointment quickly disappeared, however, when we stepped down into its subterranean spaces. Like a world unto itself, a massive system of arches, chambers, walls and fallen pillars lay before us, left as if the ancient inhabitants had just abandoned the spaces only the day before. It was difficult to believe the almost pristine freshness of the stone and brickwork. Hidden, protected from the ravages of human activity and weathering above ground level over the centuries, it seemed, like Pompeii and Herculaneum, frozen in time. One could still easily imagine the sight and sounds of the sets, animals, and other equipment and devices in play within the cool spaces, now mostly empty, as workers made preparations for the pending performance. In my mind’s ear, a somewhat muted ancient roar of the sitting crowds above could be heard. Here, too, following Shepherd’s guidance and detailed lecture, we were permitted free time to independently explore these internal spaces on our own.
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Above and below: Views of the amphitheater at Pozzuoli.
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Villa Augustea
Our last day was highlighted by visits to the remains of two ancient Roman villas. What made these visits special was the fact that we were permitted private access to the sites, a privilege not routinely granted on typical tours of ancient Italy. Our first stop was a seaside villa known as the Villa Sora (Torre del Greco). Affording a remarkably intimate view of the adjacent bay, we walked through the results of excavations that still showed the outward signs that this was an ongoing work in progress with clearly much more work to do. What was visible to us this day, however, was proof enough that this was a sprawling estate, hugging the sea yet clearly, given the evidence and known history of its context, a large agricultural operation. A walkable carpet of grass framed architectural remains that protruded above ground, showing the promise of much more to be discovered beneath. But the highlight of the experience was the more deeply defined excavated area that revealed the architectural details of the villa’s interior spaces — frescoed walls, steps, floors — that clearly marked an unfinished business for the laboring teams, now absent during our group’s sojourn here, begging for more excavation beyond the trench’s current perimeter.
But the most surprising, breathtaking experience came after we made our way later that day to the second major site of the day, located near Somma Vesuviana, a town on the north side of Vesuvius. Unlike other archaeological sites in the area like Pompeii and Herculaneum, this was a rural setting. We approached the location by walking past a fenced-off agricultural field toward a stationary construction crane in the distance, towering conspicuously above a flat, green landscape.
Our first-blush experience upon arrival was much like looking down into an open-pit mine — though much more aesthetically pleasing. We were peering down on the results of recent and ongoing excavations of a spectacularly massive ancient Roman villa — massive and jaw-dropping not only in size but also in its remarkable state of preservation. Descending down via a stairway constructed for workers and visitors, we saw, up close and personal, walls, pillars, floors, doorways, and other architectural features, frozen in time, entombed in large measure as they were before they were overwhelmed and smothered by the ash, pumice, pyroclastic fall, surge and flow activity of a Vesuvius eruption. This was not the exclusive work of the eruption of 79 AD. It was the legacy of multiple eruptions, but most especially that of the eruption of 472 AD. Recent excavations had cut laboriously through the cataclysmic coat that had been deposited over and through the villa, such that we could see the vertical profile of the stratigraphy of volcanic deposits in distinct layers, left as a physical record by the excavators to mark the phases of the eruption that impacted the site.
Less known in the popular literature than the famous 79 AD eruption that assaulted Pompeii and Herculaneum, the 472 AD event, otherwise known as the Pollena eruption, impacted multiple relatively prosperous communities that thrived near the time of the decline of the Roman Empire. One of these included the sprawling, elaborate Villa Augustea, or Villa of Augustus, named after Augustus as it is thought that it could have a connection (under scholarly debate) to Emperor Augustus, who died at the nearby ancient town of Nola in 14 AD. The site was initially discovered in the 1930’s with limited excavation, but the most extensive investigation began in 2002 through a multidisciplinary project with the University of Tokyo. Those excavations have revealed walls preserved to a remarkable height, doorways decorated with Dionysiac motifs, a pilastered arcade, apses decorated with frescoes, cisterns, terraces, colonnades, and a large wine cellar with dolia (large earthenware jars), some of which can be seen still buried to their lips in the ground. Scholars have determined that they still contained fermenting grape juice when the eruption occurred. For a time, this was clearly more than a wealthy person’s villa — it was also a production facility for wine, the principal product of the region. Many artifacts, including a marble statue of Dionysus, the god of wine himself, were also recovered in the process.
It was a fitting end to an astounding exploration of ancient sites around the Bay of Naples—arguably the richest, by square mile, archaeological landscape in the world.
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Above and below: Views of the Villa Sora (Torre del Greco).
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Above and below: Views of Villa Augustea.
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Museums
Any archaeologically-oriented tour would not be complete without including visits to key museums. This is where one can see, close-at-hand, some of the most important and/or most spectacular or diagnostic individual artifacts unearthed at the sites explored. In our case, there were museums attached to or related to most of the sites encountered during our visits, perhaps the most iconic of which was the famous National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Here, for example, the curators have displayed some of the most magnificent fresco paintings and other works of art and artifacts of Pompeii, among other sites. Here they are kept safe, preserved from the deleterious effects of the exterior environment, and close-at-hand for further study and conservation — and, of course, as a convenient one-stop destination for the public to see some of the most impressive objects representing the archaeology and ancient culture of the region.
For this author, the museum that left the most positive impression was unequivocally the facility attached to the site of Herculaneum. Small in comparison to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, it is nonetheless rich with some of the finest artifacts and art pieces archaeologists have unearthed since the inception of investigations at the site. Furniture, tableware, jewelry, fresco paintings — all of the items that tell the story of Roman life in this coastal city for both the rich and the not-quite-so-rich, including a remarkably well-preserved boat recovered from the deposits that defined the ancient Herculaneum coastline when Vesuvius made its disastrous assault — make this museum something not to miss on any itinerary that includes Herculaneum.
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Above and below: Artifacts recovered from the Herculaneum excavations, as exhibited in the associated museum. Shown above is a well-preserved boat.
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This writer should mention that, as would be the case with any international journey, the shifting circumstances of the COVID pandemic can and does have an impact on plans. So it was also with Romans on the Bay of Naples. One prime objective of the tour was to visit the remains of Villa Jovis, the grand get-away villa of Emperor Tiberius on the island of Capri, not far off the coastline of Naples. Pandemic impacts unfortunately affected the resources that could be made available for our group visit at the site, and thus this opportunity had to be cancelled. Nonetheless, adjustments were made such that a meaningful and very memorable visit to this island destination could be realized, which included a stunning boat exploration of the various grottos and scenic points around the picturesque island.
Finally, one can argue that visiting archaeological sites on one’s own, or with one or two friends or family members, can have advantages of flexibility and affordability that a group tour cannot bestow. However, aside from the education, insight, and value that an expert-led group visit can offer, few experiences can match the opportunity a group tour with like-minded travelers can offer when it comes to the adventure of meeting fellow travelers who, each and every one, are a treasure house of life’s experiences and stories that are, in a different way, as fascinating and interesting as the sites one is visiting. This writer made some meaningful new friends along the way.
*All photographic images were taken by the author on the November tour, taking advantage of the much lower numbers of tourists during the region’s ‘off-season’ for tourism.
Find out more about the Andante Travel experience generally by visiting their website.
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About The Tour Leaders
One of the elements that make specialized tours like those of Andante valuable, of course, is the skilled and knowledgeable accompaniment of archaeologist/scholars who are deeply informed and experienced about the destinations of the travel itinerary. Beyond simply having the remarkable visual experience of the sites, guests are afforded an ongoing narrative of facts, history, stories and detailed observations that only an expert can impart. This bestows immeasurably more meaning and appreciation for the structures, objects, and landscapes the visitor is experiencing. Add to this the advantage of having a tour manager along to ensure the smooth and secure operation of your visit and to facilitate meeting your every need and convenience, and one can see why group tours like those of Andante are well worth the value they offer………..
Getting the Inside Story from John Shepherd
More valuable than any element of our tour, we were imbued with a sense of personal connection to the people who lived and, in some cases, tragically died so long ago in the places we visited. This could not have happened without the detailed insight that John Shepherd so brilliantly imparted to us as we sojourned among the remarkably well-preserved remains of the towns and villas we visited.
I asked Shepherd about what he regarded to be his favorite site and what he enjoyed the most about being a guide lecturer. Hands down, his favorite site activity revolved around leading groups through Pompeii:
“I came to realize that an important part of the study of archaeology was the dissemination of the stories that we can weave from all the evidence,” said Shepherd, who is an archaeologist, “and so there are many stories based upon the same evidence, depending upon your viewpoint in a particular place or part of society in antiquity. Even at a very early age I was, precociously, a relativist – never really believing in a single true story about the past but the intricate tapestry upon which one can set ones gaze and see different things.”
“When you get to a place like Pompeii,” Shepherd continued, “well, there it is — the perfect frame on which to weave that tapestry. Wherever I go around that town, taking guests, every room in every house affords a chance to tell a story about who lived there — their ‘trials and tribulations’, their loves and hates. Pompeii provides the opportunity to consider what its inhabitants were thinking, what they aspired to – how poor, how rich, how kind, how cruel, how enlightened, how traditional. All of these things we might see in ourselves, and although it was most definitely a different place and time – and they did hold differing attitudes about so many things compared to us (technology, etc., aside) I do hope that my group guidance helps to populate the town with many characters – such as we find in our own towns. But most importantly, I hope to leave visitors with the idea that, armed with a little knowledge about a few various aspects of Roman life, then as they move around the town it begins to become familiar to them — how a street worked, how a house was laid out, who used what parts, whether we were in a smart place or a rundown area.”
“So there it is,” he concludes. “Making the lives of those people who called Pompeii their home accessible through storytelling to modern visitors and leaving the visitors with a feeling of understanding of what the town meant to those Pompeiians – that, I suppose, is my manifesto.”
Shepherd specializes in ancient glass, and he has worked across Europe as an archaeologist, including the UK, Italy, France, and Bulgaria. He worked at the Museum of London for over 20 years, and published Professor W F Grimes’s post war excavations on the London Temple of Mithras and the Cripplegate Roman Fort. He also established the Museum’s Archaeological Archive and Research Center. After leaving the Museum in 2004, he focused on developing the use of museum archaeological collections in universities and schools. Since 2019 he has been working with Pre-Construct Archaeology to publish their Iron Age and Roman sites. And lastly but no less significant, he designed and led the London Borough of Islington’s World War 1 commemorative projects, including ‘The Streets They left Behind’ – which located every man (and a few women) with Islington connections who died in World War I, identifying as many as possible of their last known Islington addresses before the soldiers went off to war and never returned.
Going First Class with Anna
“I like working with people,” says Anna Vigetti, the tour manager who traveled with us on this tour. “My biggest satisfaction is seeing that our guests are happy. That’s the reason I’m here: to give them the best experience possible.”
Based on my first-hand experience watching her work and play with us on this journey, there is no exaggeration in her statements. Every step of the way, we were treated like VIPs, allowing us to throw every personal, logistical and safety concern out the window of our minds. She ensured that every person in the group was accounted for before the group was transported on to the next destination, and that the travel plans and mechanics were executed as effectively as possible, including meals, accommodations, transport, site access, and much more. It afforded us the luxury of focusing entirely on the up-close-and-personal educational and visual experience of the sites, countryside and museums we traversed. She even pampered us with little things along the way, like offering and distributing treats as we traveled.
Anna’s specialized talents had already been honed by years of experience as a tour manager. Born in Italy to a Scottish mother and Italian father, she eventually went on to acquire her undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, then her graduate degree in Cultural Heritage Management from the University of Barcelona in Spain. She has a native fluency in Italian and English (which came in handy when she functioned as our interpreter at certain sites during the tour), a full professional proficiency in Spanish and Catalan, and a working proficiency in French. She began work with Andante Travels in 2014, leading groups as a tour manager at such locations as the Campania region of Italy (which includes Pompeii, Herculaneum, and many other archaeological sites), Spain, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Oman, and Easter Island, among others. Managing tours, however, is only one element in the spectrum of her skill sets, which includes translation, an activity in which she found herself more profusely engaged during the pandemic.She currently lives in Barcelona, Spain.
I asked her about some of her favorite experiences while working as a tour manager. Her response was enough to inspire anyone to want to travel:
“On one of my first tours around Naples,” she began, “I was blown away by a carbonized loaf of bread from Roman times that looked like it had just come out of the oven;
On Easter Island, I couldn’t stop thinking about what it must have been like for the Rapa Nui to live on such a tiny patch of land 3,500 km away from the nearest continent. It’s a very strange feeling to be so far away from everything. Their world was so small and so different from ours!
In northern Spain, it was incredibly moving to catch a glimpse of deer running across the hillside and, minutes later, stand in a small cave (the Covalanas cave) looking at beautiful images of deer painted by our ancestors during the Paleolithic Age.
And another incredible experience included visiting the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua at night. It glowed in the dark and you could see it from miles away. When we got to the top, we saw lava flowing and splashing inside the crater, and even heard the lava waves – it was like listening to the sea. Just mind-blowing!
Many of these moments feel like actual time travel, because they give me a deep sense of connection with people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago. Others have something to do with experiencing the force and beauty of nature in different ways. And then apart from that, of course — every time I go somewhere new I get a wonderful sense of adventure and discovery.”
More information about Andante Travels can be obtained online at theirwebsite. Individuals interested in the specific tour described in this article can see it here.
Here are the most compelling published stories of Popular Archaeology Magazine. Some have an element of controversy, some discoveries took place decades before, and others entail findings that may lead to further discoveries yet to come. In all cases, they represent the excitement and adventure of archaeology as it opens new and fascinating windows on humanity’s collective past. To read the latest articles like these, you can subscribe to Popular Archaeology Premium.
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The discovery of the world’s largest trove of ancient writings opened an unparalleled window on a vanished world. Read About It Here
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The story of a forgotten explorer and his intrepid journey to discover great ancient Arabian cities of the Incense Road. Read About It Here
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How an archaeologist-sculptor is bringing bones of the dead back to life. Read About It Here
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Two remarkable sites are shedding light on a critical transitional period in human evolution. Read About It Here
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The startling discovery of million-year-old human footprints on a beach in the United Kingdom had scientists jumping. Read About It Here
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The recent controversial discoveries, and a renowned scholar’s quest to uncover the historical truth about Jesus of Nazareth. Read About It Here
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Excavations of princely tombs are shedding new light on a formative time before the high florescence of the Mycenaean civilization. Read About It Here
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An anthology of articles focusing on the findings that are informing a new paradigm about the early settling of the Americas. Read About It Here
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Archaeologists are unearthing new clues to America’s historic “lost” colony. Read About It Here
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The in-depth story about the controversial discovery of a 130,000-year-old human presence in Southern California. Read About It Here
Professor Frank J. Korn has retired from his teaching position on the Classical Studies faculty at Seton Hall University.He is a Fulbright Scholar at the American Academy in Rome and the author of nine books on various aspects of the Eternal City.He is listed in Marquis Who’s Who as “a notable classical educator and writer.”Recipient of the Princeton Prize for Distinguished Teaching, he resides with his wife Camille in Scotch Plains, N.J.The couple’s three sons –Frank, Ronald, and John and their families live nearby.His latest book–Below Rome, the Story of the Catacombs–which he co-authored with his wife, is available on Amazon or from the publisher, St. Johann Press, Haworth, N.J.
After the great fire of Rome in July, A.D. 64, the suspected arsonist, Emperor Nero himself, set the Imperial propaganda machinery into high gear to get the word out among the surviving populace that the conflagration had been the work of the tiny Christian community in the city. To strengthen his story, he cited the “weird” rituals of the “fanatical cultists,”their sacrilege by worshiping not the pagan deities of the Roman pantheon but an ”absurd” man-god instead, and their disloyalty to the state. As a clincher, Nero charged the followers of Christ with many other heinous crimes, including cannibalism. To support this last allegation, he quoted from Chrisitan writings: “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you shall not have life in you.”
Moreover, he had the Senate enact legislation outlawing Christianity as a subversive organization, issuing a warrant for the arrest of the leaders of the “organization” (i.e. Peter and Paul) and launching the first persecution of the Christians. Eventually, the first Supreme Pontiff (i.e. the Bishop of Rome or Pope), Peter the Apostle, was arrested and forcibly taken to the unspeakable horror of the Mamertine Prison, adjacent to the Forum.
For nine months Peter suffered the brutalities of the jail guards and was then informed that Nero had given the word for his execution. Peter, along with some of his flock, was crucified before an enormous crowd jammed into the stadium known as the Circus of Nero, on the southern slope of Vatican Hill.Behind this race course was a public cemetery of streets lined with the mausolea of affluent pagan Romans. Adjoining these streets was a sort of potter’s field where the grieving friends of the apostle interred his remains
A Sacred Tomb
For the next quarter of a century or so, the location of the grave was marked –as a safeguard against desecration– only in the memories of these Christians.During this period too, an unofficial Christian necropolis developed around the grave of Peter since many–facing martyrdom–made it known that they wished to lie forever near their beloved bishop.
Pope Anacletus, as depicted on the wall of the Sistine Chapel. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
When in A.D. 90 the first pogrom against the Christians had abated somewhat, Anacletus, the second successor to St. Peter as Bishop of Rome, built a simple shrine directly over the grave of Peter. To this site would come, daily, groups of Christians in pious pilgrimage. These pilgrimages would, in the early centuries of the Church, cease each time a new wave of anti-Christian atrocities would be instigated by the state. Yet, as much as the government wished to suppress the infant religion, it would not go so far as to desecrate or destroy the grave of Peter, in compliance with its own statute, Violatio Sepulchri, which declared all burial grounds– Pagan, Jewish, Christian alike –to be inviolable.
A persistent tradition tells us, however, that thepersecution by the Emperor Valerian in 257-258 was so savage that the Christians feared for the security of the apostle’s mortal remains and thus secretly exhumed them for transferral to the catacomb of St. Sebastian on the Appian Way. Graffiti and inscriptions in this subterranean necropolis (one reads:Domus Petri, Home of Peter) seem to corroborate the claim by some scholars that Peter was indeed for a short period entombed therein. Valerian did confiscate all Christian cemeteries during his reign of terror but when, under his successor Gallienus, these grounds were restored to the Christian community, the apostle’s relics were re-interred in their original grave, still indicated by a memorial.
A letter from about the year 200 by a certain Roman presbyter (priest) named Gaius perhaps refers to this shrine. From the letter and later archeological evidence we learn that the Christian community in time built a brick wall around their potter’s field to prevent further encroachment by pagan mausolea. Since the wall crossed directly over the apostle’s tomb, it incorporated into its fabric, at that point, a “trophy” as Gaius calls it.(Trophy in the ancient idiom meant monument.)This was either the memorial erected by Pope Anacletus or one by a laterpontiff. From a manufacturer’s stamp in the tile of a drain in this plot it can be plausibly inferred that the wall project dates to about A.D. 150.
With the victory of Constantine over Maxentius in the famous battle of the Milvian Bridge, there opened a new chapter in the history of Rome and of Christianity. Crediting the Christians’ God for his victory, the new emperor, Constantine, in gratitude, gave two state properties (the Lateran and the Vatican) to the beleaguered community, ordered a temple to be built over the site of Christ’s tomb on Golgotha in the Roman province of Judea, and in 326 began the building of an immense, splendid five-aisle basilica to honor the apostle, with the main altar placed directly over the modest oratory of Anacletus.
Tradition informs us that Constantine was most reverential in caring for the holy remains. The Liber Pontificalis, a book of biographies of popes from St. Peter until the 15th century, describes how the tomb of the apostle was opened in the presence of Pope St. Sylvestor and the Emperor, the bones collected and placed in a small but precious chest of gilt bronze surmounted by a solid gold cross weighing 160 pounds, and entombed beneath the main altar of the massive church.
In 594, due to the troubled times, Pope Gregory the Great ordered the raising of the basilica’s floor so that the apostolic tomb, now a veritable repository of gold and silver and jewels, might be more secure out of sight. It could now be viewed only by going through a passage in the crypt beneath the church.Subsequent floor elevations and new altars by later popes, Clement VIII for one, relocated the tomb of Peter even deeper underground.
In 846, the hapless Eternal City was plundered by the non-Christian Saracens, who destroyed everything in their violent path and even plundered the temple and the tomb of Peter. From this point on there was to be no trace ofConstantine’s gold cross and precious stones.
After the departure of the merciless Saracens, the damages to the great basilica were repaired by Pope Leo IV (who also raised the lofty fortifications that we still see today encircling the Vatican, which accounts for the enclave’s other name, “The Leonine City”). Nearly all of Leo’s successors continued to embellish the ancient church with rare and costly productions of old and contemporary Christian art. The European nations which had by now been illuminated by the glow of Christianity also sent marvelous gifts of art to enrich St. Peter’s.
The 1300’s marked the beginning of another significant chapter in the basilica’s history. Upon the election of the French Pope, CLement V, the papal residence was transferred, for political reasons, from Rome to the sleepy town of Avignon in southern France.Here the papacy stayed for 70 years. During that time St. Peter’s fell dark and abandoned.From sheer neglect the basilica began to deteriorate. Its south wall bulged outward more than six feet out of true and the roof started to collapse. In 1378, Pope Gregory XI brought the papal throne back to Rome, but too late to save the crumbling basilica.
Finally, in 1450, the decay of St. Peter’s had reached such alarming dimensions that the architects of Pope Nicholas VI exhorted him to raze the sacred edifice lest it someday fall down upon the Holy Father and his flock gathered there for a pontifical Mass. But Nicholas died before he could carry out his intention to level the old structure and replace it with a far more splendid one. It wasn’t until eight popes and more than a half century later that the Constantinian basilica was pulled down to make way for the magnificent St. Peter’s we know and love today.
Testing the Tradition
The passage of so many centuries notwithstanding, Catholic tradition continued to hold that St. Peter’s Church–both the old and the new –stood expressly as a monument over the grave of the apostolic prince, Peter. In 1939, the newly elected Pope Pius XII had the faith and the fortitude to put this tradition to the test. As preparations were being made in the grottoes under the basilica for the tomb of his predecessor Pius XI, the digging had accidentally led to the discovery of an ancient pagan burial ground. Pius XII then authorized further excavations far below the nave of the church and gave orders for a specific search for the tomb of St. Peter.
Previous pontiffs had shied away from such a quest. One deterrent was the frightening warning by Pope Gregory the Great back in 594 that anyone who would commit such a sacrilege as to disturb the bones of the apostle would suffer awful consequences. Another was the well-documented calamity, coincidental or not, that accompanied the last disturbance of the holy earth around Peter’s grave. When the architect Bernini in the early 1600’s informed Clement VIII that the massive columns supporting his proposed bronze baldacchino would need strong and deep foundations that required extensive digging near the apostolic tomb, the Holy Father, acutely aware of Gregory’s curse, was most reluctant to grant permission. Bernini ultimately prevailed. Work was initiated, auspiciously, on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29.
Within a week, the foreman in charge of the work died. Hours following his death, his assistant passed away. Hysteria swept over Rome and intensifiedwhen a few days later another official involved in the project died. When the pontiff himself took seriously ill, a short time later, all the laborers walked off the job, terrified by the omens. Eventually the panic eased, Rome regained its composure, and Bernini, via a promise of pay raises, was able to get the diggers back to the task.
Through their work, Pius XII’s excavators found a cemeterial street lined with house-like sepulchers whose interiors contained niches with urns of ashes or bones of Romans from the Imperial Age. At the very least, this supported the long-standing belief that Constantine had built the original St. Peter’s over a cemetery.
The excitement in the Vatican became palpable when, early in the digging, deep and directly under the papal altar, a small, ruined, immured monument was uncovered, fitting the description of Gaius’ “trophy.” More exciting still, however, was the slab, undoubtedly a gravestone, found at the foot of this wall shrine.When upon raising the stone the excavators unfortunately found an empty grave — the long trail seemed to have come to a hopeless dead end.
Lost and Found
But a humble, learned professor from the University of Rome, Margherita Guarducci, was granted permission by Pius XII to continue the search. An expert in ancient graffiti, she spent the next six years scrutinizing the crude etchings on the wall above and near the vacant grave. In her customary scholarly thoroughness, Professor Guarducci wandered through the catacombs of Rome, comparing the etchings with the graffiti of the subterranean galleries to further authenticate the former.
One day she deciphered a Greek inscription near a recess in a side wall.It revealed this simple message:“Peter is within.”Now the professor examined the recess itself and was persuaded that it was indeed a burial niche for human bones. And though Constantine’s marble enclosure of this original shrine was gone, it would have doubtlessly incorporated this side wall, too.
Another dead-end? Not to the dedicated academic detective. Interrogating workmen who had helped in the digging from the start, she learned that a monsignor assigned to the excavation work had some 10 years earlier come upon some bones in the niche in question, gathered them in a box, and moved them to a nearby storage room. By this time, Pius XII and his successor John XXIII had entered the ages, and it was Pope Paul VI who authorized the professor to attempt to identify the relics. With the aid of fellow scholars from the university, she determined the bones to be those of a man of 60 or 70 in age. Some handfuls of soil and shreds of purple and gold fabric were also found in the box along with the bones. All of this, plus the inscriptions, in addition to what ancient writings and tradition had to say on the matter, added up to one irrefutable fact as far as Professor Guarducci was concerned: Here indeed were the mortal remains of Peter the apostle!
Tradition relates that he would have been about 70 years of age at his death and that he was buried in the earth. Constantine, in encasing the remains, would appropriately have wrapped them in precious cloth. As for the remains being found in a place other than that marked by Pope Anacletus, that was simple to explain: In an age where grave robbing and desecration were virtual national pastimes, Constantine, or someone in charge of the basilica soon after him, would likely have taken the precaution of transferring the holy relics to a safe, clandestine place nearby.
The evidence was persuasive enough to Pope Paul VI. On June 26, 1968, at a splendid ceremony in the Basilica, he settled the issue for the Catholic world.From the papal altar, sunlit by golden beams streaming through the little windows of Michelangelo’s dome, beneath the towering letters at the base of the cupola declaring:“TU ES PETRUS…” the Holy Father, 262nd successor to the apostle, announced that the remains of St. Peter, the Fisherman from Galilee, had been found.
Cover Photo Image, Top Left: View of St. Peter’s Basilica at sunset. Anna Klein, Pixabay
It was the beginning of a discovery Giulia Rossetto would only have imagined in her dreams when she realized that what she was looking at were faint Greek letters long hidden from view on a centuries-old parchment manuscript. Viewing the document on her laptop computer while traveling on a train from Vienna, Austria, to her home in Italy, she was examining faint images of Greek script long erased in antiquity and over-written by a later Arabic text on the leaves of a parchment book. She could only see them because the magic of state-of-the-art multi-spectral imaging made it possible for her to see what was otherwise invisible. Based on her studies and research, she knew that the script style suggested it was likely classical Greek written in Egypt in the 5th or 6th century A.D. She could decipher names of well-known mythological figures — Zeus, Persephone, Dionysus. Elated, she transcribed the text of what she saw.
Later, Giulia compared her transcriptions to other known ancient classical texts. In the initial stages of her research, nothing matched. But she eventually came to realize that what she was looking at was actually a literary fragment of a great ancient Greek epic poem, thought long lost and about which little is known to current scholarship. Popular Archaeology interviewed Giulia. This is what she had to say:
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Q: What is the substance of your discovery?
GR (Giulia Rossetto):What survives are fragments from a longer poem written in hexameters, which is the most common verse used in epic poetry (Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are written in hexameters). The two surviving folia preserve episodes dealing with the childhood of the god Dionysus. One folio refers to a dialogue between the goddesses Persephone and Aphrodite about the child, while the second folio describes how the Giants and other characters attempt to attract the child Dionysus away from the father’s throne in order to kill him. This text was copied in majuscule letters, probably in Egypt (Alexandria?), between the 5th and 6th c. after Christ. It was written in a luxurious large book and annotated and corrected over the centuries, at a certain point erased and in the early 10th c. replaced with an Arabic text at the Monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem.
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Epiphany of Dionysus mosaic, from the Villa of Dionysus (2nd century AD) in Dion, Greece. Now in the Archeological Museum of Dion. Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
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5th-6th c. after Christ is the date of the writing style of this text in this specific manuscript: however, the specific moment a text was copied rarely corresponds to the date of its composition. It is therefore probable that the poem is older, but it is difficult to say exactly when it was composed. And what could it be? One important hint can be found in the upper margin of one of the two folia: this is the number 23 and it could indicate the beginning of a book. This is written in the same fashion of the Homeric poems, which are arranged following the letters of the alphabet. In fact, this “23” is indicated by the Greek letter psi (ψ)and not by κγ΄, which would be the most common way to indicate this number. What do we know of lost epic poems with at least 23 books? My research led me to isolate one possible poem, which as far as we can read in the ancient sources had an editorial history similar to those of the Homeric poems: this is the so-called “Hieroi Logoi in 24 Rhapsodies”, i.e. the longest lost epic poem of which scholars are currently aware. So far, we only knew fragments of this poem by indirect tradition, i.e. through the quotations of ancient authors, in particular Neoplatonists like Porphyry or Proclus. The scholarly community has not yet agreed on the date of composition of the Hieroi Logoi: it seems that the material they are made of is quite ancient, but then were re-elaborated in the Hellenistic and in the Imperial time. The Hieroi Logoi were read and studied in Alexandria by the Neoplatonists in the 5th-6th c. and this would agree with the origin and date of the Sinai fragments.
Q: What is your background education and experience as it relates to your work that led to this discovery?
Dr. Giulia Rossetto, Post-Doc researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Damianos Kasotakis
GR: I studied Classics in Italy, at the University of Padua and the Galilean School of Higher Education (http://www.unipd-scuolagalileiana.it/en/), and I was immediately fascinated by the study of Greek papyri: fragmentary documents written in a way that is at first sight incomprehensible. I encountered them for the first time through courses of Greek philology and Greek palaeography. In order to better understand how to work on such texts, I attended extra training courses of papyrology in Florence, Lecce, Bologna and Würzburg. Then, towards the end of my Master degree studies I moved to Vienna for an Erasmus stay. During that stay, I learned about a project in cooperation with the Department of Byzantine Studies of the University of Vienna: the Sinai Palimpsests Project (http://sinaipalimpsests.org/) of St. Catherine’s Monastery, the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). The project was devoted to the recovery – by means of the most advanced technologies (multi spectral imaging and batch or supervised image processing) – of erased texts from a number of palimpsest manuscripts preserved in the middle of the desert: in the 6th century Monastery of St. Catherine (Sinai). Palimpsests are medieval books whose parchment leaves come from older parchment books, the text of which had been thoroughly erased. I soon realized that it was not only papyri that were fragmentary. Captivated by this project (which I had the delightful opportunity to join), I decided to remain in Vienna for my PhD. I am still in Vienna, currently as post-doc researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, leading my own project.
Q: How did you get involved in researching/investigating this particular document?
GR: I began working with the Sinai Palimpsests Project as an assistant to Prof. Claudia Rapp, the project’s scholarly director. My role was to describe the Sinai palimpsests from a codicological point of view. This means understanding their structure and how they were assembled. We described the manuscripts onsite, at the Monastery of St. Catherine’s (an Eastern Orthodoxmonastery located on the Sinai Peninsula, at the foothills of Mount Sinai and the town of Saint Catherine, Egypt). During this period, I had the opportunity to work on several different palimpsests, written in a variety of languages, which greatly expanded my knowledge. Concurrent with this I was also one of about 30 scholars in charge of studying the erased texts: I was responsible for the Greek texts along with other scholars such as Pasquale Orsini, Agamemnon Tselikas and Nigel Wilson. Each scholar was assigned a number of manuscripts, with the task of deciphering, transcribing and identifying the texts in question. No one knew the contents at the beginning of our work. The subject manuscript discussed here, designated as Sinai Arabic NF 66, was entrusted to me in this way, towards the end of the project. It was a short text, only a couple of sheets, but surprisingly it turned out to be the one with the most surprises: fragments of a hitherto unknown text from classical antiquity.
Q: What was it like to do field research at the monastery: the physical environment, and the people with whom you interacted to do the work?
GR: Working at the monastery has been and continues to be a special experience and a wonderful privilege. I have learned a great deal from working side by side with manuscript experts, photographers, imaging scientists, data managers, just to mention some. At the monastery, I have always been well received by the Greek Orthodox monks, and especially by the librarian, Father Justin Sinaites. It was he who invited me to write my doctoral thesis – which will be published this coming summer in the form of a monograph – on some of the Sinaitic palimpsests, and this was one of the most exciting moments for me. During the stays, which usually last about ten days (although the director of photography and the camera operators stay much longer), we follow the rhythm of the monastic life: waking up at dawn, liturgy, study, lunch, study, vespers, and more study of the manuscripts.
Q: In your words, what is the biggest takeaway from your work on the palimpsest and the implications of your work?
GR:The study of palimpsests has taught me that books and the writing support from which they are made (parchment) have actually traveled much further than most people think. The manuscripts now in Sinai come from many places: Crete, Cyprus, Jerusalem, southern Italy, to name but a few. Often scribes worked in multilingual contexts, as some Sinai palimpsests copied on top of erased parchment sheets originating from several different books written in Greek, Arabic, Georgian, and Syriac attest. Working on palimpsests has also taught me – as a trained classical philologist – that all texts are interesting and worthy of study, not just classical texts. (Less than 4% of the texts preserved at St Catherine’s contain a known or unknown work of classical antiquity). There is a reason why they were no longer used and this is worth investigating in order to understand more of the textual preferences of the time: why people discarded them, their reasons, and the milieu in which they lived. This made me look at my discipline and my work with new eyes.
Q: Why do you think it is important to discover/reveal the content of these ‘hidden’ writings?
GR: It is important because they give us an insight into texts, languages and scripts that we did not know before or about which we did not know much. I can explain this the following way:
Texts: During the project work, completely unknown texts came to light. One example: the fragments from the Orphic Rhapsodies which I discovered in manuscript Sinai Arabic NF 66. But there are also previously unknown texts of a biblical or liturgical nature.
Languages: Some languages are known to us only or largely from the Sinai palimpsests, such as Caucasian Albanian or Christian Palestinian Aramaic.
Scripts: Palimpsests are a very important source of information for reconstructing the history of the early stages of Greek writing on parchment rolls or codices. This is because between the eighth and ninth centuries, when minuscule writing began to prevail over majuscule writingin books, many texts written in capital letters were destroyed, erased, and used as recycling material. Now they can be brought back to light thanks to multispectral imaging.
I also think it is very important that this precious material (images, metadata, and description) be made available open-access online.
Q: What discoveries or findings have been made since your last published discovery by the media?
GR: Scholars affiliated with the project constantly publish their findings in scientific journals. During the Sinai Palimpsests Project, 74 palimpsests were multispectral imaged and underneath these 74 manuscripts 307 erased texts were recovered. They were all preliminarily identified, but the material still requires further investigated in depth. For example, I recently recovered the text of a previously unknown Typikon (the “rule” of a monastery) that was written for a community in southern Italy (Salento, Apulia) and thereafter erased, rewritten in Greek with a Byzantine prayer book and brought to St. Catherine’s Monastery, on the other side of the Mediterranean.
Other recent discoveries:
Alexander Treiger has identified a 10th or 11th century Arabic version of Genesis and Exodus. This was probably a translation from Hebrew into Arabic made for an Arab-speaking Jewish community in North Africa. This is a very rare presence of Old Testament text from the Jewish tradition that owes its survival to a Christian context.
Grigory Kessel has recovered 29 different texts within a single Sinai palimpsest: Sinai. Arabic 514. Among these there are works which were previously considered lost: Ephrem the Syrian, Against the Jews, as well as a very early herbal in Syriac.
These and other discoveries are featured in a volume that will see the light later this year: C. Rapp – G. Rossetto – J. Grusková – G. Kessel (ed.), New Light on Old Manuscripts: The Sinai Palimpsests and Other Advances in Palimpsest Studies [Forthcoming in: Veröffentlichungen zur Byzanzforschung, Vienna, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften]
Q: What are your plans going forward related to the palimpsest and/or related documents?
GR: After the publication of the edition of the hexameters in the palimpsest Sinai Arabic NF 66 in the scientific journal Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE), my fellow imaging scientists were able to make better and more readable images of the palimpsest sheets, thanks to which I was able to read many more words and better understand the narrative scenes. For this reason, I organized a small workshop in the autumn of 2021 in which classical philologists and experts of ancient religion from all over the world took part. One of the results I can anticipate is that the metrical analysis of the Sinai hexameters has shown that the material cannot be dated after the 4th c. BC (classical period), but the frequent repetitions make us think that this very old material was probably reworked in the following centuries.
The results of this workshop will be published in the form of a new edition of the text later this year, again in the journal ZPE.
Other than the specific investigation of this very palimpsest, the Monastery of St. Catherine preserves over 170 palimpsests. Less than half of them (74) were imaged during the first phase of the Sinai Palimpsests Project, which was funded by the Arcadia Fund of London. My dream would be to see the digitization of the palimpsests at the monastery continue. But for now, we can only anticipate the continuation of this great project, perhaps in the form of a second phase, and hope it will soon be possible.
During the summer my monograph will be published, which will offer an overview of the Greek palimpsests preserved in the monastery of St Catherine: Greek Palimpsests at Saint Catherine’s Monastery (Sinai): Three Euchologia as Case Studies [Forthcoming in: Veröffentlichungen zur Byzanzforschung, Vienna, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften]
In 1577, a French corsair, Le Prince, wrecked in shallow waters near the entrance of Port Royal Sound in South Carolina. It was an ignominious end for the heavily armed, 300-ton privateer. Before its demise, it prowled the waters of the Caribbean, preying on Spanish ships, seizing cargoes and treasure, and looting coastal settlements. According to historical documents, the captain and entire crew survived the shipwreck and made their way to shore where they constructed a fort and housing. Their days, however, were numbered. Most were soon killed or taken prisoner by local Native Americans. The survivors were eventually hunted down and executed by the Spanish, who controlled the region at that time.
To this day, the remains of the Le Prince shipwreck have not been found. South Carolina State Underwater Archaeologist Jim Spirek aims to change that. Spirek is leading an exhaustive search to find and document the first shipwreck of a 16th-century French corsair. With a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and help from the Maritime Research Division at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Spirek is closer than ever to discovering Le Prince, and making history.
In August of 2021, I joined Jim Spirek and his team aboard their research vessel as they methodically surveyed the shoals near Port Royal Sound. I recently spoke with Spirek about the search for Le Prince and approximately 40 more shipwrecks that lay undiscovered off Port Royal Sound. In the following interview, he shared several details about the operation and what the team has uncovered:
Q:What prompted the search for Le Prince? What was your role in launching the project in 1996?
Spirek: We began the search for Le Prince when my new colleague, Dr. Chester Depratter, brought the shipwreck to my attention when I first arrived at the Institute in 1996. He knew I had worked on a 16th-century Spanish wreck in Florida and that I would most likely be interested in one here in South Carolina. He was correct, and with his assistance, I began to learn more about the circumstances of the shipwreck through historical research, mostly from translated and published Spanish documents, and I began to think about ways of conducting research in the French archives. These documents would reveal additional information about the preparations for the corsair to trade and raid along the Spanish Main and West Indies, documenting the people involved in the business venture, as well as the more mundane tasks of victualing, crewing, and outfitting a corsair during this period.
My role in the project was as the principal investigator along with my colleague Dr. Depratter, who was very interested in finding the shipwreck site as it figured very closely in with the history of Santa Elena where he was a terrestrial archaeologist, along with Dr. Stanley South, investigating the remains of the former Spanish capital of La Florida.
We started our first marine archaeological survey to locate the shipwreck of Le Prince and others in 2001 and have continued off and on throughout the years, using federal, state, and private funds.
Q: With approximately 40 undiscovered shipwrecks along the shoals off Port Royal Sound, why focus primarily on the Le Prince wreck?
Spirek: One of my primary research areas focuses on 16th-century shipwrecks and seafaring, so I obviously have a very keen interest on locating Le Prince,which wrecked in early 1577 at the entrance shoals to Port Royal Sound. The shipwreck also figures into the very early colonial history of the area with the reestablishment of Santa Elena, as French survivors lived in the area amongst the Native Americans for about three years after the shipwreck until they were ferreted out by Spanish forces by 1580. Besides the French corsair, there are many other interesting shipwrecks in the area, including a British warship from the War of 1812, and we’d be happy to find any of them for research and management purposes. But for me, with my research interest in the 16th century, Le Prince is the primary shipwreck of historical and archaeological significance in this region of the state.
Q: Why were French corsairs, such as Le Prince, sailing along that stretch of coast during the 16th century? What were they doing?
Spirek: Corsairs sailed along the Southeastern coastline during this period to refresh, seeking water, foodstuffs, and perhaps to trade with Native Americans, prior to undertaking the transatlantic voyage back to France. As for Le Prince, we’re not 100 percent sure why they decided to come to Port Royal Sound. Previously, they had stopped at St. Augustine to engage in trade or raid the Spanish town, but a storm drove them off and subsequently they sailed further north along the coast before they wrecked on the shoals at Port Royal Sound.
Q:What have you and the MRD team discovered thus far about Le Prince? What information has your historical research in France and Spain revealed?
Spirek: From an archaeological viewpoint, we haven’t found Le Prince yet, and we continue to methodically cover the suspected area of the wreck site. We do have a few targets that we need to ground truth, or inspect by diving, to see if any are related to Le Prince or any of the other shipwrecks historically recorded in the area. At this point, we can confidently state we know where Le Princeisn’t.
Results of our historical research, on the other hand, have been more fruitful in that we have found numerous documents in French and Spanish archives related to the French corsair. Our researcher in the French archives has uncovered a trove of documents dating from the late 1560s to 1576 that provides glimpses of the early history of Le Prince. The vessel in the late 1560s was commanded by Huguenot or Protestant corsairs attacking Portuguese and Venetian ships at the Azores Islands and strait of Gibraltar. Later the vessel was captured by Catholic forces at La Rochelle in 1573 during the Fourth War of Religion and then home-based in Le Havre where the vessel and others later caused trouble for English shipping in the Channel.
Spanish documents uncovered by our researcher in the Spanish archives documented the corsair’s movements in the Caribbean, including attacking vessels and towns and engaging with the Spanish Armada off the coast of present-day Haiti. These archival materials supplemented other translated and published documents about La Florida that included elements of the corsair’s exploits in the Caribbean, but primarily detailed the tribulations of the survivors from the shipwreck, Native American attack, and the methodical hunt by the Spanish to round up the Frenchmen.
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Le retour des corsaires. 1806. Painting by Maurice Orange, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
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Q: How are you conducting surveys of the shoals? What types of equipment are you using?
Spirek: We are conducting marine archaeological prospecting of the shoals using a suite of marine electronic equipment that consists of several devices. Our primary instrument is a cesium magnetometer that’s used to detect ferromagnetic materials such as iron or steel, or cannons, anchors, rigging, and other components associated with shipwrecks. We also use a side-scan sonar which acoustically pictures the bottom so if there’s any material standing above the bottom it will be pictured. Afterwards, we correlate the magnetometer data with the sonar data to get an idea of what could be down there. Is it a ballast pile of rocks or other components that suggest a shipwreck?There are all kinds of objects that can be on the bottom, such as dredge pipes, wire and cables, cars, crab traps, etc. Usually, the closer we are to a harbor the more debris there is that we must sort through to try and find anything of historical or archaeological significance. We also use on occasion a sub-bottom profiler that sends a low frequency acoustic signal that penetrates below the bottom. This will hopefully reveal something buried that the magnetometer detected, but not by the side-scan sonar which suggests that the magnetic anomaly is buried. Then we can run over the target with the sub-bottom profiler to try and determine if it is something of interest.
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Will Nassif minding the data acquisition and Jim Spirek steering the vessel. (SCIAA photo).
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Q: How deep are the areas you’re surveying?
Spirek: As we are surveying on and around the shoals at the entrance to Port Royal Sound the depths are primarily shallow. Depths range from several feet in proximity to the sandbars during low tide, although there is an area of deeper water about 70 feet near the channel. However, for the most part, the depths range from 25 to 30 feet or thereabouts, depending on the tide.
Q:What is a typical day of offshore surveying like?
Spirek: A typical day of survey includes heading to the boat ramp and getting the boat ready in the morning by re-connecting our laptop to the equipment, starting the generator for shipboard power, and getting our personal gear aboard. After dropping the boat in the water, we head offshore and travel time to the survey area varies from about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the weather and sea state, and if we’re working closer inshore or further offshore. Weather and sea states always dictate how far offshore we can go. We prefer glassy conditions in which we can methodically “mow the lawn” back and forth over the survey area without too much trouble although sometimes it does get a little bit lumpy out there, particularly in the afternoon. If it gets too bad, we oftentimes head in closer to the sound entrance to hopefully find a lee shore from the wind and waves sheltered by one of the islands that form the entrance. Usually, we stay out about six hours before heading back to the landing where we reverse what we did in the morning by disconnecting the computers and taking our stuff off. We then head back to where we are staying and rinse the boat, flush the engines with freshwater, and do any needed maintenance or repairs to the vessel or equipment. In the evening after dinner, we’ll start post-processing the magnetic and acoustic data to begin building a target list to obtain additional electronic data and ground-truthing by diving later in the project.
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Jim Spirek and Ryan Bradley tossing the cesium magnetometer sensor into the sea. (SCIAA photo).
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Athena Van Overschelde keeping the boat online using the helmsman display. (SCIAA photo).
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Q:What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve encountered?
Spirek: Any time working with electronic equipment and boats on the water there are always issues related to equipment problems. For instance, our laptop began resetting itself due to an internal battery issue that required us to re-boot every two hours. Although we did fix the problem, it caused us to ready another laptop for data acquisition and now we have redundancy in the event the old laptop starts giving us problems again. Since our boat is what keeps us on the water, we baby the engines and service them regularly. Fortunately, our equipment issues have been minor in nature and nothing that money can’t fix. Our main challenge is always the weather and sea state that impacts how long and where we can work offshore. Our main aim when surveying is to make it as boring as possible, that is to not have any major issues or have an “adventure.”We simply want to keep “mowing the lawn” and making progress to find Le Prince and other shipwrecks on the shoals.
Q: How confident are you that you’re searching in the right area? Has that section of coastline changed much since the 16th century?
Spirek: We feel confident that we’re looking in the right area for Le Prince based on historical Spanish documents, including one account by a Franciscan friar who wrote that the shipwreck occurred about a league from the shore, which is about three miles, and another reported observing the poop deck, or the upper deck stern structure of the ship, had been pulled into the marshes. These two accounts suggest the corsair wrecked close to shore, especially since the poop deck was drawn into the sound.
Regarding physical changes to the shoreline, there is no doubt the shoreline has changed over time, but the channel has remained fairly constant due to the strong ebb flow through the natural inlet. To account for changes to the shoals and shoreline our primary survey area encompasses a large area that extends approximately seven miles to the sea entrance at the bar and spans seven miles wide.
Q:How close are you to finding Le Prince?
Spirek: Currently, we know where Le Prince isn’t so we hope that means we’re getting closer to where Le Prince is.
Q:When you locate the Le Prince wreck, what exactly do you expect to find?
Spirek: If we do find the remains of Le Prince, we’d expect to find the lower wooden hull of the shipwreck embedded in the bottom, perhaps with an exposed area of ballast stones, and surrounded by heavier metallic components, such as anchors and cannons. Historical accounts state the corsair was heavily armed with about 40 artillery pieces, although we do know that the survivors salvaged one bronze cannon so that means there’s about 39 large cannon remaining, comprised of a mix of iron and bronze pieces. Besides metallic objects, we’d hope to find some evidence of the spoils of their depredations along the Spanish Main and the West Indies, perhaps some gold coins and pearls. We also know they took onboard numerous foodstuffs stored in ceramic olive jars while in Cuba and assume either whole jars or sherds survive, including organic preservation of their contents. Besides preserving objects from the last voyage, another class of artifacts more deeply buried in the ballast rocks, among the frames of the hull, and in the bilge, no doubt survive that are related to the life of the ship, from when it was built and from previous voyages. These include former cargoes, broken ceramics, and faunal and floral remains that upon examination may reveal more about the sailing career of the corsair.
Q: What do you hope to learn from the shipwreck? What could the remains of Le Prince teach us?
Spirek: [Although historically] overshadowed by the exploits of the British in the Caribbean, particularly by John Hawkins and Francis Drake, the French were the first to contest Spain’s New World claims through corsairing operations, and later colonial endeavors. Discovery of Le Prince would launch a research effort to learn about these activities as well as increase our understanding of their role in the development of the New World. From a nautical archaeological point of view, the discovery and examination of this ship would reveal a component currently absent from the archaeological record associated with the early exploration, colonization, and contention of the New World—a 16th-century French corsair shipwreck.
Q:In addition to Le Prince, what other shipwrecks are you hoping to discover?
Spirek: Besides searching for the wrecked French corsair, historical records indicate approximately 40 other shipwrecks occurred in the vicinity of Port Royal Sound. A Spanish vessel wrecked on the shoals in the 16th century and perhaps we’ll stumble upon that one during our survey operations. From the late 16th to late 17th century, there is an interlude of known shipwrecks occurring. It begins to increase in about the late 1700s when Charleston, and later Beaufort and Savannah, are established, which results in an increase of shipping traffic in the region. These unfortunate victims of the shoals primarily consist of British colonial vessels until the American Revolution, and then transition to US vessels, interspersed with a few foreign ones. One intriguing wreck is the HMB Colibri, which wrecked after leading a marauding expedition against local Sea Island plantations during the War of 1812.
Q: How important are these shipwrecks to understanding the region’s maritime history?
Spirek: Shipwrecks provide a tangible link to the maritime history and development of Port Royal Sound from the early period of European explorations, particularly related to rival Spanish and French counter claims to the territory, followed by British colonial pursuits, and commercial progress as part of the United States. Each of the shipwrecks off Port Royal Sound provides a glimpse of their individual role that, combined with the others, broadens our understanding of the maritime history of the region and the world.
Cover Image, Top Left: Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs, Painting buy Theodore Gudin, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
Alexander the Great is perhaps best known in popular literature as arguably the most accomplished military conqueror in world history. But he was far more than a conqueror.
He had his roots in the land of ancient Macedonia………..
The Early Setting
Geographically speaking, ancient Macedonia was mountainous with lowlands,highlands and thick forests. It spanned parts of what is today Northern Greece and the Balkan Peninsula. The ancient Macedonians were substantially influenced by Greeks to the south as well as the massive Persian Empire to the east, which had nearly conquered Greece. The Macedonians prayed to the same gods as other Greeks and sent a contingent to the Olympics. Their language was a dialect of Greek. Unlike the rest of Greece, the Macedonian nobility practiced polygamy. Greeks tended to prefer wine mixed with water (see the example of Plato’s dialogue on love, Symposium), whereas Macedonians drank undiluted wine. Many Greeks thought of Macedon as rough and barbarian – the proverbial country mouse compared to the more sophisticated city-states, such as Athens, Corinth, and Thebes to the south.
Yet for all their Homeric impulses, the Macedonians did not have an early history of success: sometimes in battle or regicide their kings died before their time. But a revolution in warfare, a new paradigm, emerged in the persons of Philip and his son, Alexander.
In ancient times, princes of one kingdom might live in another kingdom as hostages in order to maintain the collective peace. As a youth, Philip was sent to Thebes and was treated very well by the ruling family. It was his great luck and pluck to immerse himself in the revolutionary changes of King Epaminondas, who had accomplished the near-miraculous by defeating Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC (all dates herein are BC). Epaminondas was a genius at military innovations, such as increasing the rows of the phalanx to fifty and using an oblique attack, which broke the Spartan army – a shock and game-changer in military strategy.
In 359, Philip’s older brother, King Perdiccas III, was killed in battle against the Illyrians. Philip served as regent to Perdiccas’s infant child, but he assumed the kingship (basileus) for himself. As usual, this change of kingship was accompanied by mayhem and murder. It was a fit start for Philip, a foreshadowing of his eventual demise. He was ruthless – he had to be. He increased the size of the Macedonian phalanx and the length of the sarissa (pike) to 18-20 feet, added more regular and elite units, such as the Foot Companions and Companion Cavalry. Not a tall or large person, what Philip lacked in physical stature he more than made up with brilliance, diplomacy, and fighting spirit. He was known as a philanderer with many wives and relationships. His body featured battle wounds and was blind in one eye, possibly from an Athenian arrow. Olympias became Philip’s fourth wife. She was from Epirus, a mountainous land now shared by Greece and Albania. She and Philip were possibly initiates of the cult of the Great Gods and, in addition, Olympias was a follower of the Dionysian Mysteries (the Bacchae of Euripides hints at the wildness of this religion). It was said that Philip was afraid of her because she slept with snakes and behaved ‘witchy’. But Olympias may have contended with bad press. Professor Kara Cooney, Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA and author of When Women Ruled the World, shared this applicable reflection: “Powerful women did not receive fair treatment from historians, not at all.”
Alexander was born on 20 July 356 in Pella, the capital of Macedon. One tale relates that the goddess Artemis was so attentive at Alexander’s birth that she was not aware of a madman torching her temple at Ephesus. About Alexander there is much myth-making, a common practice among luminaries of world history. Olympias apparently instilled in Alexander the notion that Zeus visited her one night, which brought Alexander closer to divinity, conferring on him dual descent from Philip and Zeus. Alexander’s parents believed they were related to Dionysus (god of wine) and Herakles (divine hero). Alexander was thrilled by the exploits of Achilles. (He is said to have kept a copy of Homer’s Iliad annotated by Aristotle, and a dagger under his pillow at night.)
Alexander’s Youth and Aristotle as Teacher
When Alexander was twelve, Philip bought a Thessalian stallion, Bucephalus (oxhead), black with a white patch on its forehead. The horse proved unmanageable, but Alexander bragged that he could handle him. Legend says that father and son made a bet. Alexander realized Bucephalus was afraid of his shadow, so Alexander turned the horse’s head toward the sun. Alexander was able to gallop on the horse. “Find yourself another kingdom,” said King Philip. “Macedonia is not large enough.” This gift later carried Alexander across swaths of Europe and the Middle East, before dying in India. (In those times, horses did not have stirrups or much of a saddle.)
Alexander had a circle of friends who later became important military and political luminaries: Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Nearchus, Harpalus, to name a few. Alexander was known as an excellent runner and hunter and very precocious. Being a successful hunter was one way a young Macedonian received special privileges. Alexander had two teachers, Lysimachus and the austere Leonidas (a relative), who early on trained him in war and physical education
In 334, when Alexander was thirteen, Aristotle began teaching Alexander. There were political and educational reasons for this. Plutarch writes that they met in “the precinct of the nymphs near Mieza, where to this day visitors are shown the stone seats and shady walks of Aristotle. It would appear, moreover, that Alexander not only received from his master his ethical and political doctrines, but also participated in those secret and more profound teachings.” For three years Aristotle taught Alexander and his circle philosophy, politics, science, literature, geography, medicine (later Alexander sometimes helped the wounded after battle), and more. (In years to come, with both personal interest and financial support, Alexander often showed a love of the arts, music, and drama, especially the plays of Euripides. Apelles was Alexander’s favorite painter and court portraitist.)
The emphasis on science, thinking, and logic surely had a hand in Alexander’s success. Aristotle’s Organon shows some of what concerned Aristotle and Alexander.Alexander would bring scientists, historians, and philosophers on his conquests – just like Napoleon in Egypt two thousand years later. During his conquests, Alexander also sent back flora and fauna to Aristotle.
Alexander was able to see larger than his brilliant teacher Aristotle, who wrote on every subject possible, but whose geographical knowledge was limited. The earth was much larger than Aristotle believed. Aristotle also believed in the kingship of the man with outstanding excellence who is like a god, and in the inferiority of non-Greeks: Alexander believed in the first but not in the second, as we’ll see later with his politics and his marriages to three foreign princesses. Unlike most Greeks, Alexander rejected the notion that foreigners were to be treated as inferiors — like “plants and animals” (Aristotle). Over the coming years, Alexander developed a plan, a vision, larger than the independent polis and Greece itself; it would include foreigners at the highest levels.
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Map of the Kingdom of Macedon at the death of Philip II in 336 BC. Marsyas (French original); Kordas (Spanish translation), CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
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Philip’s Triumphs, 7 Wives and Assassination
Many Greeks, especially those such as the Athenian orator Demosthenes (384-322), were justly apprehensive about Philip’s ambitions. Demosthenes (like Churchill in the 1930s) warned Athens against the growing danger of the Macedonians, but there was a delay in others realizing this. Through war and diplomacy, the sly king was looming closer. At last, a coalition of city-states led by Athens and Thebes combined forces to stop Philip.
The Battle of Chaeronea, a game-changer, broke out in Boeotia in August 338. Philip seems to have feigned a retreat to draw out the inexperienced Athenians. Alexander (eighteen years of age) led the Companion Cavalry. “This in itself speaks worlds both for Alexander’s prowess and for Philip’s faith in his command abilities,” Paul Cartledge, Emeritus A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University, writes in Alexander the Great (86). Alexander ruptured the wall-like phalanx that dispersed the opposition. Plutarch writes that Alexander was the “first to break the ranks of the Sacred Band of Thebans.” Even when the battle was lost, the perfect courage of the Sacred Band led to their annihilation. (Two hundred and fifty-four skeletons of the Sacred Band have been found in a mass grave in Chaeronea.)
In winning the battle, Philip ended the independent polis in Greece and upended the balance of powers. Now leader over most of Greece, he punished Thebes but spared Athens. Philip didn’t want to destroy his allies, since he needed them to fight Persia. Athens had a great navy – so why weaken Athens? Philip set up the Hellenic League (aka League of Corinth) whose purpose was to unify the Greeks and fight the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Philip conquered powerful neighbors, wisely used diplomacy, created buffer states, filled his coffers, and was in a powerful position. He now turned his eyes to the East, sending an expeditionary force across the Hellespont into Asia Minor.
Philip, who had six wives, married Eurydice, the seventh. He was 46 and she was a full-blooded Macedonian teenager. This put Alexander and his mother Olympias at some risk. At the wedding feast, Eurydice’s intoxicated uncle, Attalus, spoke of the need for a legitimate heir to the throne. Alexander jumped up, saying, “Villain, you take me for a bastard?” Philip drew his sword but was so drunk that he fell to the floor.
Alexander and Olympias mistrusted Philip, especially because Philip and Eurydice had a son, a full-blooded Macedonian prince. Alexander was half Macedonian. Alexander and Olympias ended up going into exile for six months. Still, Philip didn’t want to be on the bad side of his own family; he planned on having his daughter, Cleopatra, marry her uncle, Olympias’ brother, the King of Epirus. It was a wise strategy in this power equation. Everyone seemed reconciled, or so it seemed.
It is easy to understand Olympias and Alexander’s mistrust and fear. In those times, it would be dangerous to be out of favor in any royal family. Over the years, Philip had often been away campaigning; perhaps Alexander was not very close to him and, in fact, had Oedipal leanings toward Philip. Did Olympias and Alexander want Philip dead? If true, the timing was exquisite, and fate seemed to join ambition. Historians suggest that Philip had humiliated Pausanias (one of the royal bodyguards), with whom he had a sexual relationship. In Alexander the Great, Robin Lane Fox points how that Pausanias was from Epirus, which was also Olympias’ homeland, “and she might not have found it hard to work on a nobleman whom Philip had recruited away from his local friendships” (22)
At the wedding, in a white robe, alongside his daughter Cleopatra, Philip walked without his bodyguards. This was in a theater in Aegae (modern Vergina). Pausanias ran up and stabbed Philip between the ribs. Pausanias fled toward his horses stationed near the walls. But he tripped on a vine and was dispatched by guards, including Alexander’s friends. Diodorus writes: “Such was the end of Philip, who had made himself the greatest of the kings in Europe in his time, and because of the extent of his kingdom had made himself a throned companion of the twelve gods.” This has been an intriguing “who done it?” Just as in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a looming question is, was anyone else involved?
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Philip II of Macedon, Roman copy after a Greek original of the 4th century BC. Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
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The Beginning of Kingship
In late summer 336: Alexander, at the age of twenty, assumed the kingship. “The army signed off on this quickly, suggesting he had prepared the ground before the murder of Philip,” Prof. Jean Alvares, Classics Professor at Montclair State University, suggested to me. As usual, there was a purge of real and imagined rivals. Alexander also made sure that allies stayed faithful. He advanced into Thrace to secure his borders and to crush revolts, as well as the Danube region to defeat the Getae.
Some Greek city-states (poleis) rebelled against the Macedonians. There was also a rumor of Alexander’s death. Thebes, suffering from the presence of a Macedonian garrison since the Battle of Chaeronea, revolted. Thebes needed allies and much assistance, but not much of anything arrived. Alexander and the Macedonians raced to Thebes before anyone joined the proud, beleaguered city. The Macedonian force was much larger, but the Thebans fought bravely. The Macedonians fought their way into the city. Thebans not killed were enslaved and the city was razed. The house of the great poet, Pindar, was spared.
Diogenes the Cynic and the Oracle of Delphi
On a visit to Corinth, Alexander visited Diogenes the Cynic (Cynicism is a school of philosophy meaning “dog-like” in Greek). It is said that Diogenes lived in a barrel. While he was sunbathing, Alexander stopped by and asked if he needed anything. Diogenes requested that Alexander “could get out of the sun.” Alexander remarked that if he were not Alexander, he would like to be Diogenes. More likely and important was Alexander’s visit to the Oracle of Delphi. The Pythia (the visionary priestess-prophet on her tripod chair) was not meeting anyone that day, but Alexander forced her to do so. The Pythia uttered, “You are invincible, my son.”
In the spring of 334, Alexander and his army, cavalry and ships crossed the Hellespont, the narrow straight that separates Greece from Asia Minor and the Persian Empire. He jumped off the ship and threw his spear into the soil, declaring Asia “spear won.” Alexander and his best friend Hephaestion ran around the walls of Troy and left offerings at the Tombs of Achilles and Patroclus. Homer’s heroes always loomed large in Alexander’s mind from childhood to kingship. Alexander’s plan was to defeat the Persian Empire — an incredible ambition. He claimed that it was retribution for when the Persians destroyed Athens. He wanted to free the Greek cities under Persian rule and replace the Persian king. Clearly, there were a few motivations of a political and personal nature. He wanted to see and conquer more than anyone, to be the Goat (Greatest of All Time), and to live on the lips of people.
The Persian Empire and Battle of the River Granicus
The Persian Empire, a multicultural superpower, was the largest of its day, stretching across the Balkans and Middle East to the Indus Valley. Its origins go back further, but it was around 550 when Cyrus the Great founded the empire, larger than any other empire of his time or before. Cyrus had a positive reputation for respecting the customs and religions of others and for restoring the Israelites back to their homeland. He is revered in the books of Isaiah and Ezra in the Old Testament. Xenophon wrote that Cyrus was “most generous of heart, most devoted to learning.”
The imagery on the Apadana walls at Persepolis show that the concept of many people (vispadana) was significant to a multicultural empire. The official religion of the Persians was Zoroastrianism, which had a god of wisdom and light (Ahura Mazda) and a god of darkness (Ahriman), featuring fire altars under the open sky. Zoroastrianism influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
During Alexander’s time, the Great King, the King of Kings, was Darius III (reigned from 336-330). Like the empire itself, the military consisted of many peoples, including Greek mercenaries such as Memnon of Rhodes. Memnon was a crafty leader and was married to Barsine, daughter of a satrap. Unfortunately, Darius did not follow Memnon’s advice. Memnon had recommended an attack on Greece and also a scorched earth policy – to wear down Alexander’s Hellenic League and avoid them for the time being. It can be effective against a powerful invader. Starve it, tire it out, look for a better position, wait for luck to turn. “He will win when he knows when to fight and when not to fight,” writes the Chinese military genius Sun Tzu.
Darius objected to Memnon’s strategy. In fact, Darius had other worries and was not present at the battle. He did not know Alexander yet. In May 334 Alexander, in a white-plumed helmet and medusa-adorned breastplate, atop Bucephalus, led the Hellenic League against the Persians at the Battle of the Granicus, the first of three earth-shattering battles.
Parmenion (aka Parmenio) commanded the forces on the left, while Alexander commanded the Companion Cavalry on the right. Memnon commanded the Greek mercenaries fighting for Darius. Memnon was one of the many Greeks who hated and feared Alexander. (More Greeks fought against than with Alexander.) With the blare of trumpets, Alexander led his forces across the river and encountered the Persians. There were many parts to both armies including allies, infantry, cavalry, slingers, archers, and others.
At one point, a Persian commander, Rhosaces, struck Alexander on his helmet and was killed by Alexander. Spithridates, another Persian commander, attacked Alexander from behind. Spithridates was about to dispatch Alexander when Cleitus the Black cut off his arm, saving Alexander and the whole campaign.
As the Persians retreated, Alexander attacked the Greek mercenaries who were not used to best effect in the battle, as they were kept back. They were surrounded by Alexander’s men; thousands were killed and enslaved, to be sent to work in the mines in Greece. Alexander’s cruelty was a warning to others – this was not the first nor would it be the last time.
The Persian army retreated without massive losses, but the situation was precarious. They realized their foe was something very dangerous. Alexander took over Sardis, Ephesus, and Miletus. (Miletus was the center of the Ionian philosophers/scientists like Thales.) Alexander retained Persians and other natives as satraps or governors and generally respected the Persian structure of governance.
Memnon went on the offensive. He planned to reconquer the Aegean islands and join forces with the Spartan king to liberate Greece from Alexander. However, by a stroke of good luck for Alexander and the Hellenic League, Memnon suddenly died at the siege of Mytilene. He seemed to be one of the last great hopes for Darius.
For the Battle of Issus, King Darius III was present and led his enormous war machine. Modern historians estimate the number of the Hellenic League at 40,000 and the Persian forces at 50,000 – 60,000, though ancient sources record that there were over 250,000 Persians (ancient sources can be unreliable). Darius was so eager to destroy this young interloper that he gave up a superior defensive position.
The set-piece battle unfolded on a narrow plane with mountains in the distance. Alexander led the Companion Cavalry on the right, with Parmenio leading the forces on the left. Alexander’s youth, zeal and unclouded confidence were balanced by Parmenio’s maturity and general caution. At one point, Alexander and the Companion Cavalry crashed through the Persian line and headed right for Darius on his chariot.
The battleground was red with blood and cluttered with the wounded and dead. Darius had made a huge miscalculation and fled in order to fight another day. Alexander was a lightning bolt into the body of the Persian Empire. Alexander was proving something that others suspected: the Persian Empire had fault lines, weaknesses. The Persian Wars (in 490 and 480) won by Greece, as well as the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries in 401 (recounted by Xenophon) who returned home safely, were solid indications. The gods and luck seemed to be on Alexander’s side. it all added up to morale, though soldiers do not always feel so confident before battle. In BBC Radio’s In Our Time (hosted by Melvyn Bragg), Prof. Paul Cartledge said that Napoleon viewed the morale factor as decisive in battle.
I asked Professor Cartledge to share more about Alexander’s mindset:
A combination of luck, bravery, charisma and inspired leadership – and that’s only Alexander. Behind him he had, to start with, his dad’s army, the best in Greece then, mainly because of its combo of superb cavalry with infantry and different grades of infantry fused into a harmonious interlocking whole. The luck came in when Alexander was NOT killed as he might well have been at the first major set piece battle, The Granicus River of 334.
Darius III left behind his family, including Queen Stateira and the Queen-Mother Sisygambis. Darius expected the opportunity to ransom them. He may have been the Great King, but he was losing the kingdom. Alexander was kind and befriended the family. Many historians note that there is much evidence that Alexander was kind to women — perhaps a reflection of his closeness to his Olympias, his mother. Alexander referred to Sisygambis as “mother.” Both sides were wise to play this game. Darius made an offer: Alexander would get the western half of the empire, his daughter in marriage, and a huge ransom for his family members if Alexander would stop his juggernaut. Parmenio said that if he were Alexander, he would accept the offer. Alexander replied, “If I were Parmenio, that is what I would do. But I am Alexander and so will answer it another way.”
The long sarissa made the enlarged phalanx especially effective, and the cavalry was a major shock. Alexander was flexible and creative even under the strains of battle and could predict his foes well. He read a battlefield better than anyone. This would bode poorly for his next foe, the island-fortress of Tyre.
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Reconstruction of a mosaic depiction of the Battle of Issus after a painting supposed to be by Apelles or Philoxenus of Eretria found in the House of the Faun at Pompeii. Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
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The Siege of Tyre
In January of 332, Alexander reached Tyre (coast of today’s Lebanon), the largest Phoenician city and the stronghold of the Persian fleet. He could not bypass it and have the fleet threatening his advance. So, Alexander sent envoys, but they were tossed from the walls into the sea. Surrounded by blue seas and high walls, the city was imposing, possibly impregnable. Alexander decided to build a half-mile causeway 200 feet wide, along with siege engines 150 feet high (fireproofed with battering rams), with catapults on top. This machinery was a leap forward in military ingenuity. There were also ballistae to hurl rocks from below. At one point, the Tyrians sent a burning ship into the causeway to destroy the siege towers – it worked, but it would not be enough to save Tyre. Alexander, who before had disbanded his own navy, now got hold of many ships from Phoenician city-states he had conquered. He used these ships to blockade the island city.
After a siege of seven painful months, during which the Hellenic League was attacked with rocks and fire, the city fell. It was reported that Alexander enslaved thousands of Tyrians; even worse, he ordered 2,000 of them to be crucified along the shore.
After Tyre, Alexander lay siege to Gaza in the autumn of 332, which also had a horrible ending for the inhabitants. In emulation of Achilles dragging Hector’s corpse behind his chariot, Persian General Batis was dragged behind a chariot whilst still alive.
Egypt Welcomes Alexander and the Famous Visit to Siwah
Egypt was a rich civilization with a long history going back thousands of years before Persian control. The fourth century was a burgeoning period for Egypt under native rule. Egypt’s power and prestige had been declining for centuries and included foreign rule by Libyans, Kushites, Assyrians, and Persians. Many Greeks including Herodotus (who wrote that “Egypt was the gift of the Nile”) and Plato had visited Egypt.
The Persians were harsh overlords and disrespectful of Egyptian religion. The Egyptians were eager to toss out the former. “Here,” writes Prof. Paul Cartledge, “Alexander found himself gifted with an advantage only rarely on offer in other parts of the Persian Empire: a friendly native upper class” (Alexander the Great 150). Alexander was welcomed by the Persian governor Mazaces (with 800 talents and the royal furniture). In Memphis, Alexander was pronounced “son of Ammon” and given the double-crown of Egypt. It is highly likely that Alexander was in awe of the gleaming pyramids, rich land, life-giving Nile, and temples.
In the winter of 332, Alexander was “seized with a longing to visit” an important, far-off oracle 300 miles into the hot desert. “His intention was to consult the god, as the oracle of Ammon was reputed to be truthful,” wrote the historian Arrian.
With some companions, Alexander headed into the desert to find the Oracle of Ammon at the Siwah oasis. Arrian, Plutarch and Rufus offer differing accounts. Alexander got lost and nearly perished from thirst. Arrian writes that “travellers lose their bearings like sailors at sea.” Either two crows or snakes (Ptolemy’s lost account apparently introduced the snakes) led them to the oasis oracle with its abundant water and date palms. Alexander went into the sanctum sanctorum and perhaps asked the oracle priest about his origins and destiny. There are differing accounts of this and what he learned will never be known. Prof. Paul Cartledge argues that after Siwah, Alexander “claimed a close relationship, possibly even physical filiation, with non-Greek Ammon” (244).
In the spring of 331, Alexander founded what would become one of the greatest cities of the ancient world: Alexandria. Plutarch writes that “since there was no chalk available, they used barley-meal to describe a rounded area on the dark soil…” Alexander wanted harbors for trade, greater control over his growing empire, and a Greek city on the coast that bore his name. Alexander left the area after a few months. His friend and a leader in his army, Ptolemy (and his family), would in the coming years transform Alexander’s vision and plans into an incredible city.
The Battle of Gaugamela
The third great clash with the Persians, the Battle of Gaugamela (literally the Camel’s House; near today’s Arbil, Iraq) happened days after an eclipse of the moon: 1 October 331. The Persian force may have been as much as twice Alexander’s 47,000 soldiers. Darius’s force included cavalry, scythed chariots, elephants, the Immortals (his bodyguard), Greek mercenaries, and others. Mazaeus (satrap of Babylon) commanded the right flank of Persia’s infantry and cavalry, including Parthians, Syrians, Cappadocians, Armenians, Mesopotamians, and Indians. Bessus, the satrap of Bactria and a relative of Darius, commanded the left flank. The night before the battle, Darius and Alexander were of course very nervous. Darius, aware of the danger of a night attack, had his soldiers armed and ready, which had to be exhausting. Alexander met with Aristander, his seer. Plutarch writes that Alexander’s army saw the Persian camp “agleam with the watch-fires of the barbarians.” Alexander disagreed with Parmenio’s suggestion of a night attack, saying, “I will not steal my victory.” As usual, Alexander led from the right with the Companion Cavalry; on the left Parmenio commanded infantry and cavalry. Alexander was aware of the danger of envelopment by the much larger Persian force. There is much to say about geography, plans, the battle itself and the aftermath, but in short Alexander created and took advantage of a gap in the Persian side, allowing the Companion Cavalry to pour in like killer T-cells.
It was reported that when Darius saw that his military was being defeated, that his bodyguard got beat back, and that his chariots wheels were clogged with dead bodies, he fled. Darius, escaping by horseback with a small force, lived to fight another day. But it was a disaster for the Great King who, in a short time, lost it all and (soon) his life. Alexander continued onto Babylon (and Susa and Persepolis).
According to Quintus Curtius Rufus, Alexander was welcomed to Babylon by Mazaeus and his children, as well as chanting Magians, Chaldeans, Babylonian priests, and musicians. The storied city was surrounded by an enormous wall, and the Euphrates River passed through the city, over which bridges connected the two halves of the city. Rufus wrote that two chariots could pass each other atop the walls and described the loveliness of the Hanging Gardens, known today historically as one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
Susa, located in the lower Zagros Mountains, was the capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. (It has been extensively examined and excavated beginning in the 1800s with Henry Rawlinson, A. H. Layard, and others recently). Alexander found an enormous amount of gold and silver and sat on Darius’ throne. He was too short for the throne, so one of the attendants provided a footstool.
Next, the city of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the empire, with its ornate and lofty temples and palaces, was torched. Why? Were the young Macedonians just drunk and goaded by the Athenian prostitute Thais (Ptolemy’s mistress), or had this been a planned revenge? There is no way to know. It was unusual for Alexander to destroy temples. Taking after his mother, he was religious and, as a military man, superstitious.
Meanwhile, Darius refused to surrender the throne: his courtiers, led by Bessus, arrested Darius and fled. Alexander and his men followed in hot pursuit. Arrian tells us that with Alexander “close upon them,” two satraps stabbed Darius and fled, leaving him to die. The new king of Persia, Bessus, did not have much success in that position. Most of the satraps declared their allegiance to Alexander.
Alexander gave orders for Darius to be buried with full honors at Persepolis “like the kings before him” (Arrian). Darius’ death signaled the end of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
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Darius’ flight at the Battle of Gaugamela. Relief inspired by Charles Le Brun’s painting Battle of Arbela (1669). Photograph: Luis García (Zaqarbal), 3 December 2008. GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2. Wikimedia Commons
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Alexander’s New Clothes and The Philotas Affair
Alexander inherited a huge harem and plenty of eunuch servants, as well.He often wore a purple and white chiton, a royal diadem, sometimes a Macedonian cavalry hat, which had a swagger to it. Sometimes he wore pants, a Persian mode of dress at that time. Many Macedonians did not like his new habits and beliefs.
In the fall of 330, whilst in Bactria, there was an assassination attempt against Alexander known as the Philotas Affair. Some young Macedonian guards decided to kill Alexander. Philotas — Parmenio’s son and a commander of the Companion Cavalry — was accused of knowing about the murder plot but not informing Alexander. Philotas and the guards were tortured and executed. It is not known if the charges against Philotas were true. Philotas was arrogant and found himself in trouble with Alexander before. More executions were to follow, including Philotas’ father, the old and very successful general Parmenio. This was tragic for this family, and realpolitik for Alexander. The way was clear for Cleitus and Hephaestion to be co-commanders; such power could not be concentrated in one person.
In the coming months, Alexander founded Alexandria-by-the-Caucasus. The Hellenic League crossed the Hindu Kush. Older men and some volunteers were sent back to Greece. The Hellenic League crossed the Oxus River. Bessus, satrap of Bactria and pretender to the Persian throne, was captured by Ptolemy and tortured and executed. Alexander and his military had to contend with revolts and fierce guerilla warfare.
Dionysus’ Gifts and Headaches and the Murder of Cleitus
In Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy, John Maxwell O’Brien focuses – through the symbol of Dionysus — on Alexander’s emotional decline, megalomania, and drunkenness. Wine drinking was common; parties and celebrations commemorated a festival or victory, announced a new campaign, honored someone, and so on. Participants told stories, bragged, drank wine. This eased the strains of war and served as a safety valve. But these events could erupt into violence.
In November of 328, at the palace in Maracanda (Samarkand), Alexander organized a banquet during a feast dedicated to Dionysus. Cleitus, one of two commanders of the Companion Cavalry (and the brother of Lanike, Alexander’s nurse), was unhappy about his new orders and possibly about Alexander’s turn toward Persian customs. Alexander was drunk. They got into an argument: Cleitus saying Alexander’s conquests were possible because of his father Philip and reminding Alexander who saved him at the Battle of the Granicus – it was Cleitus.
Alexander threw an apple at Cleitus’ head. The officers ushered Cleitus out of the room. When Cleitus returned, Alexander ran him through with a spear. Alexander immediately felt revulsion and grieved in his tent for days. The officers put together evidence of Cleitus’ treason, which helped Alexander move beyond the murder.
The Sogdian Rock
In the spring of 327, Alexander and his army encountered the Sogdian Rock, a fortress high atop the mountains (near Samarkand), ruled by Ariamazes. Another local ruler, Oxyartes, placed his wife and children, including Roxana, in what was believed to be an impregnable fortress. The Sogdians refused to surrender, telling the invaders that they needed wings to conquer the Rock. That only encouraged Alexander. During the night, Alexander sent up 300 climbers using tent pegs and rope; and “about thirty lost their lives during the ascent – falling in various places in the snow,” Arrian recounts. The following morning, the Sogdians looked up in shock, and surrendered.
At the peace celebration, Alexander saw Roxana (little star) dancing. Roxana was said to be a very beautiful woman, second only to Darius’ wife. Alexander was smitten. Were there political motivations to add territory and unity to his empire? Was Alexander in love? Perhaps yes for all of those reasons. (See the fascinating and colorful wedding dramatization of Alexander and Roxana in Michael Wood’s BBC series, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.)
The Page Boys Conspiracy
In the spring of 327, during a hunt with the king, there was a breach of protocol. One of the page boys, Hermolaus, shot a wild boar before Alexander had the chance. Alexander had him whipped. Hermolaus and a few of the other pages planned on killing Alexander, but their plot came to light. Callisthenes, the nephew of Aristotle, was implicated because he was the teacher of the page boys. Alexander was enraged: Callisthenes encouraged their independent thinking, and he didn’t believe in prostrating (proskynesis) himself before the king. It is unclear if Callisthenes had anything to do with the plot, though at the time he had fallen out of favor. Hermolaus, a few page boys, and Callisthenes were executed.
India: Rock of Aornus, the Naked Philosophers, and Battling King Porus
In the winter of 326, on the way to India, Alexander encountered a mountaintop stronghold called the Rock of Aornus (possibly Pir Sarai in Pakistan). It was a formidable place with a water supply and land for growing food – the defenders could not be starved out. Alexander accomplished the win by storming a nearby mountain and threatening the Rock with catapults. The path was now open to enter India.
In spring 326, Alexander and his forces advanced into Taxila (Punjab), a city renowned for culture, education, and trade at the juncture of very important trade routes. (In the mid-19th century, Sir Alexander Cunningham identified Aornus, Taxila, and other places based, in part, on his reading of ancient chroniclers; Taxila is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)
In a fascinating episode, Alexander made acquaintance with the naked philosophers (gymnosophists), who were possibly yogis, fakirs, or Brahmins; some scholars say Jains or Buddhists. (I think they were likely yogis or fakirs). A few criticized Alexander. One of them said he should stop his wanderings and settle in the center. Alexander rounded up ten of them and threatened to kill them if they got any of his questions wrong. Plutarch writes that Alexander asked the last philosopher how long a person should live. The reply was: “Until he does not regard death as better than life.”
They all survived. Like so much of the Alexander story, the truth of this episode is open to speculation. But these gymnosophists are tantalizing. In fact, Alexander befriended one of them named Calanus, who was about seventy years old. Did Calanus and the others have a more compassionate and spiritual path that the invaders simply could not understand? Many from the Hellenic League were intrigued. As Professor Cartledge points out: the Greeks viewed foreign spiritual traditions through the lens or vocabulary of their own culture.
King Ambhi of Taxila supported Alexander against his rival, the larger-than-life King Porus. Porus led 30,000 soldiers, 2,000 cavalry, and many elephants. By now, Alexander’s army was completely battle hardened from dealing with all manner of foes. In May 326, Alexander’s last major battle was the Battle of the Hydaspes River (Punjab region of today’s Pakistan).
It was monsoon season with fast swollen rivers. Porus’ elephants each had a mahout and about a dozen infantry – the ancient world’s version of a tank. The horses of the Hellenic League were afraid of elephants. Porus had many chariots, but the muddy conditions erased most of their menace. Alexander used feints and deceptions, some of which must have exhausted the Indians. They didn’t know when Alexander would attack across the river. Finally, Alexander’s forces crossed the river but ended up on a nearby island. Porus’ son attacked, but he was killed during the battle.
Alexander had his men cross the river at night, a dangerous feat. Porus placed his war elephants in front of his vast infantry, with cavalry on both sides. Alexander’s infantry was smaller than Porus’ infantry, but his cavalry was larger than Porus’ cavalry. As many historians have noted: Alexander knew how to read a battlefield. The solution was to orient the battle toward his cavalry.
Alexander ordered Coenus to bring extra cavalry to the left; this force galloped around Porus’ right side. Alexander’s Companion Cavalry attacked Porus’ frontline. The Indians soon found themselves being pushed into a smaller area with less room to maneuver. The soft ground didn’t help the Indian archers plant their bows (perhaps similar to the bow used by Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita). The Indians fought bravely, but in the end the Hellenic League prevailed. Porus, preferring to die in battle, rebuffed the peace offerings. Alexander rode out to meet him.
“How would you like to be treated?” Alexander asked.
“Like a king.”
“Anything else?”
“All is contained in the first request,” replied Porus.
Alexander allowed Porus to retain his kingdom and he enlarged it. An intriguing story has come down to us from ancient accounts: Alexander was visited by a young noble, Chandragupta Maurya. He enticed Alexander with news of more kingdoms ahead. He was an ambitious young man and Alexander must have been intrigued. Later, Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire and defeated the Macedonian satrapies around twenty years after Alexander’s death. His grandson became the incredible King Ashoka who, after a terrible battle, became nonviolent and promoted Buddhism.
Monsoons, Mutiny and Alexander Suffers an Arrow
Alexander’s soldiers became apprehensive over monsoons, giant snakes, and homesickness. Their armor rusted, they heard accounts of more immense armies ahead. Alexander’s men pondered: what’s the point of wealth and renown if you die so far from home? Like the Romans, the Greeks preferred to be in comfortable climates where olives flourished. Diodorus Siculus wrote that “his soldiers were exhausted with their constant campaigns.” The consensus: they wished to return home and see their families. Coenus, one of Alexander’s commanders, spoke for the army.
The Hyphasis Mutiny made Alexander fume. He went into his tent and wouldn’t emerge for three days. Finally, he consulted Aristander: the answer was that the Hellenic League should return home. This gave Alexander cover, helped him save face. He would have been in a bad situation without these veterans and must have felt that he owed them. The fighting and hardship, however, were far from over.
November 326: the Mallians (Punjab)
The Mallians lived in a city with mud walls; there was some misunderstanding, as they did not pay obeisance to Alexander, who led his army to their city. Dissatisfied with the pace of the battle, Alexander climbed onto a wall, where he was open to all sorts of weapons thrown at him. His soldiers were frightened for him and they climbed up ladders, but their combined weight broke the ladders and they fell to the ground. Alexander fought furiously and one of his bodyguards was killed. Arrian tells us that “the arrow penetrated the corselet and entering his body above the breast.”
Michael Wood vividly reenacts this event — with the luck of an ambulance passing by — in his BBC series In Search of Alexander the Great. Alexander fainted. He owed his survival to Peucestas, Abreas and Leonnatus who placed over Alexander the Sacred Shield from Troy. Many feared that that the king was dead. His army, seized by panic, crashed through the walls and went on a killing spree. This was an example of the war crimes of which his army was capable.
Alexander somehow survived. As soon as he recovered some of his health, he sailed down river so his troops could see him. When he disembarked, they were overcome with emotion and tears, crowding and touching him, tossing flowers.
Tragedy in the Desert
In the fall of 325, Alexander’s army headed into the Gedrosian Desert (the Makran in Pakistan and Iran). Why? Perhaps Alexander was trying to prove his courage and ability. Perhaps he wanted to explore and map the region. Perhaps he was punishing his men for refusing to conquer more of India. We will never know for certain why he brought a huge army through the burning desert. It was a choice that ended in much suffering and death.
It took about two months to cross. A third or more of his army and thousands of camp followers perished from thirst and starvation. As Arrian wrote: “Many died as if they had fallen overboard in a ship.” Not only did the desert swallow so many, for a flash flood drowned numerous soldiers and camp followers who had spent the night in what had been a dry riverbed.
While Alexander and the army made their way through the desert, Admiral Nearchus (long-time friend), along with Onesicritus (a philosopher and helmsman of the fleet), sailed from the Indus River to the Persian Gulf. The admiral mapped the region and founded a city, reuniting with Alexander in Carmania (southern Iran) in December 325. About two months later, Alexander reached the old religious capital, Pasargadae, where he had Cyrus the Great’s Tomb repaired.
Alexander Marries (Again), Susa Weddings and The Successors
In spring 324, there was a holiday spirit and much feasting; Alexander met officials, gave out awards like purple tunics and money, and paid off the debts of his army. Drinking contests heated up to the point where many participants died.
And there were the famous weddings: Alexander married Stateira, the late Darius’ eldest daughter, and another Persian princess, Parysatis; and Hephaestion married Drypetis, another princess and daughter of Darius. And more was to come: Alexander encouraged 100 companions and 1,000 regular soldiers to marry Persian women. The marriage ceremonies were according to Persian custom and lasted five days, and performers even arrived from Greece. The marriages were part of Alexander’s unifying, big picture plan. (After his death, it seems that few of the marriages lasted.) Clearly, there was resistance to Alexander’s plans and overall vision.
At Susa, the Epigoni or inheritors, who were some 30,000 Bactrians trained in Macedonian warfare, arrived; foreigners also joined the Companion Cavalry. Alexander’s orientalism caused much consternation among his troops – it was a massive change from what they were accustomed. (The Mutiny at Opis was only months away.) After this, Alexander explored the region by ship, while Hephaestion with part of the army headed to the Persian Gulf.
Time is Always Against Us
In Susa, Alexander’s close friend and advisor, Calanus (one of the naked philosophers from Taxila), knowing that he was very sick, gave away his possession, including a horse to one of his Greek students. He climbed atop a funeral pyre which was then lit. The onlookers, especially Alexander, were horrified. Calanus proved that he was beyond pain — as tough or tougher than anyone could be. He is an invitation to wonder: how can this be possible? (We know of this kind of self-immolation by some Buddhist monks during the war in Vietnam.)
Worse was to come. In Ecbatana (October 324), Hephaestion (Alexander’s closest friend and a Commander of the Companion Cavalry), recovering from sickness, drank much wine, relapsed, died. This devastated Alexander, who put the doctor to death. Plutarch says that Alexander’s “grief was uncontrollable.” Alexander petitioned the Oracle at Siwah, which granted him the status of divine hero. Hephaestion was given an expensive funeral and his ashes were brought to Babylon. (Alexander’s grief might remind us of Gilgamesh’s utter despair when his adventure-companion Enkidu died.)
Babylon
Adding it all up — the risks and battles, injuries and assassination attempts, desert journeys and so on – makes one wonder how Alexander lived as long as he did. Amidst the splendor of the palaces and hanging gardens, the end for Alexander arrived in Babylon months later. The historian, Arrian, following eyewitness accounts, relates it:. Alexander came down with a fever and lost his voice. He couldn’t move. He had to be carried in a litter. The men insisted on seeing him and broke down the doors. Perhaps it was malaria or typhus, the various injuries, along with alcoholism. It is possible that Alexander, before reaching Babylon’s famous gates, contracted some disease in the swamps.
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Remains of the ancient city of Babylon, Iraq. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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Alexander died on 10 June 323, just before reaching 33. He was king for twelve years and eight months. Some authors suspect that Alexander was poisoned: perhaps by the Mallian arrow that had lodged in his lung, or by a devious Macedonian. Suspects include Antipater, his sons Cassander and Iollas (a cupbearer for Alexander); this family quite reasonably feared Alexander’s return. (A few years later, Cassander killed Alexander’s mother Olympias, Roxana, and Alexander IV.) Another suspect, Medius, had invited Alexander to the party just before Alexander got feverish.
Dying Alexander, marble copy of the 2nd century BC work by unknown Greek sculptor. National Art Museum of Azerbaijan. Urek Meniashvili. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
In Joseph Campbell’s formulation of the hero’s journey, heroes separate from their homeland, initiate (transform and journey), and return home. Alexander never achieved the homecoming – another missing part of his life. Alexander was not too young to die (for that era), but it was far too soon before he could accomplish all that he desired.
Alexander was a figure of epic proportions, who helped determine history. He was one of only a few military leaders never defeated. Through conquest and creating cities, Alexander spread Greek culture and unified an immense area, which lasted centuries after his birth, paving the way for Roman and Islamic expansion, and much else; he encouraged intermarriage and unity; founded dozens of cities including Alexandria, Egypt; encouraged trade between East and West; held women in higher regard than his contemporaries; spread Greek culture (Hellenization). In the final chapters of Alexander the Great, Robin Lane Fox covers many of the details of the East/West cross-fertilization.
There was a unique vastness and panache to Alexander’s accomplishments and dreams. If Alexander were in competition with his real father Philip or Homer’s Achilles, there was no competition. Alexander wins. Had he lived longer, the course of history would be different, for he had plans to conquer far and wide. Perhaps Alexander would have stopped Rome before it became so mighty. About Alexander there are utopian or romantic views. Historian William Tarn believed that Alexander would have unified the world and brought peace. Historian Arnold Toynbee believed that the world would be a better place had Alexander lived twice as long.
From my vantage point I ask, at what price? A vast number of soldiers and civilians, and many horses and elephants, died during the dozen years of conquest. Cities were flattened. But there exists no alternate history in which there’s no Alexander. He existed in a big way and had a big afterlife; to varying degrees, we live in the world that Alexander helped determine. We benefit from the changes and evolution that Alexander put into motion. Many people live in cities he founded. It is a paradox because his plans required much conquest. His life brings us into the realm of imagination with its own light and dark qualities.
Prof. Paul Cartledge offered this assessment:
Astonishing military commander – right up there in the all-time first division with Genghis Khan, Napoleon and very very few others. Partly but not only because he was a simply superb leader of men in the field and against the odds, but also because he effected quite extraordinary sieges in seemingly impossible circumstances – Tyre, the Rock of Aornos…
However, on the debit side of the ledger, what exactly was he aiming to achieve – beyond unique personal renown? And was it really necessary to massacre quite so many non-Greek persons? (I’m thinking esp. of the Malloi here) or to treat defeated enemies quite so brutally (the Phoenicians of Tyre – crucified; the eunuch Arab governor of Gaza – killed by being dragged behind a chariot – at least Hector was already dead when Alexander’s epic role model Achilles dragged his corpse behind his chariot!)
Professor Michael Scott, author and Professor of Classics and Ancient History at University of Warwick, stated:
I believe he would have gone as far as he could, but he would have not been able to conquer China (at this time in the final stages of developing into a Unified nation during their Warring States period). And yes, I think if he had lived, he would then have turned west as well…
As Michael Wood says at the end of his program, In the Footsteps of Alexander, the gods gave Alexander multiple signs. Alexander felt that the gods were on his side.
Alexander was a man of his time — not ours. His time had continuous warfare, slavery on a massive scale, infanticide, much starvation and disease and early death, limited medicine, animal sacrifice, routine torture, plague, god-kings, and more.
Kings and Philosophers, Biology and Opportunity
It is said that Prince Siddhartha could have been either Buddha or world conqueror. Could Alexander have been a philosopher rather than a king? His parents had worldly ambitions in mind for Alexander and he did, too. It was natural for him to accept the challenge and ride that wind. The Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, was also a philosopher, but philosophy did not take up the better part of his time, and could not. The emperor fought to keep Rome’s enemies away from the empire, whereas Alexander fought to create an empire (mostly an overlay of the Persian Empire), with plans for enlargement.
Alexander had incredible parents, opportunity, and boundless ambitions. Whatever luck he had at birth, he always endeavored to add to it. Anyone who reaches for the stars must make their own luck. Opportunity knocked; Alexander stepped through the doors, or actually kicked them open, one could say. He was a blend of biology and opportunity: the will to power across the continents. Yet Alexander paid a high price for his desires. He died young, and he foolishly did not choose a successor, hence the exhaustive Wars of the Successors leading to his family’s demise. The aftermath helped leave Greece vulnerable to Rome’s relentless military might. With empires, the center cannot hold, entropy settles in, no matter how solid the dreams of myth-drenched leaders.
Would it have been better if Alexander stayed home? That was Siduri’s advice for Gilgamesh in the world’s first book. The Roman Senate wanted Julius Caesar to cut short his conquests and return to Rome. Gilgamesh failed two tests and returned to Uruk, finally pleased to be a good king. It was not in the nature of Alexander or Caesar or Napoleon, for that matter, to return home and have a peaceful life. They were crazy for conquest.
One tradition continues to imagine Alexander long after his death: The Alexander Romance. Alexander goes to the bottom of the sea, flies through the air, and so on. The great Persian poet, Ferdowsi (born 940 ACE), applauded Alexander’s unification of East and West and for being King Darius III’s half-brother.
Moreover, Alexander, at times associated with or depicted with horns (on coins, for example), and may have ended up in the Koran:
1) The Egyptian god Amun had curled horns. Alexander was crowned pharaoh.2) The two horns represent the two horizons – Alexander’s immense accomplishments and ambitions. 3) In the Koran, Alexander is quite possibly “the horned one.”
The Alexander Romance, in some sense, continues; there are many Alexanders in literature, media, and art, including Andy Warhol’s “Alexander the Great” images and Oliver Stone’s Alexander. Many people explore the story of Alexander. The word “essay” means to try – which is what I’ve done here. All we can do is try to understand Alexander from the perspective of his contemporaries and from the perspective of ourselves. There is much that is missing, contradictory, or imaginative in the ancient histories. Alexander and his army journeyed and fought across land and sea to the limits of the known world.
Body Snatcher and the Next Pharaoh: Ptolemy and the Afterlives of Alexander
Of the circle of friends still standing when Alexander died, Ptolemy may be the most astonishing and fortunate. He also had studied with Aristotle, rose in the ranks and partook of the military venture across the world, journeyed to Siwah, and was there in Babylon at the end. As Alexander lay dying, the royal ring was handed to Perdiccas: the empire would go “to the strongest,” uttered the dying king. It doesn’t seem like a good idea. Perdiccas was disliked, and who could replace Alexander? What Alexander created was destroyed when he died: a cohesive empire. Power for Macedonians was, to a large degree, of a personal nature. By accomplishing so much, Alexander made it impossible to replace him.
Without Alexander, the leaders jockeyed for control. Would Alexander’s unborn child eventually be allowed to rule? Would someone else grab the empire? War was the reply. Didn’t Alexander the Great foresee these troubles?
[I asked Professor Ikram, author of The Mummy in Ancient Egypt and Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology at the American University of Cairo, if it’s possible that Alexander’s body was preserved in honey.
“It was thus reported, and it make sense,” she replied.]
Alexander was honored in the most magnificent way with much finery – a prolific amount of gold and purple. The cortege headed to Aegae (the location of Philip’s tomb) in Macedon where Alexander would be buried. It never arrived. Diodorus, the Sicilian historian, writes that Ptolemy “doing honour to Alexander, went to meet it with an army as far as Syria, and, receiving the body, deemed it worthy of the greatest consideration.”
Ptolemy stole the body and brought it to Memphis. Ptolemy declared himself pharaoh in 305, beginning his family’s dynasty. (The last of the Ptolemies was Cleopatra VII who, with Mark Antony, lost to Octavian.) When the tomb was completed, Alexander’s body was interred in Alexandria. Under the Ptolemies, Alexandria would become one of the great cities of the world. Alexandria had a grid pattern, lighthouse (pharos), a multicultural population, and an incredible library and museum — a prototype of the modern university.
Many well-wishers, including Emperor Augustus Caesar, visited Alexander’s tomb. Emperor Septimius Severus closed the tomb to the public to preserve it. Prof. Frank Korn (Classics Department, Seton Hall University) related this to me about Julius Caesar’s admiration for Alexander: “The exploits of Alexander were well known by the military and political stars of Republican and Imperial Rome.”
By 400 ACE, the trail goes cold, the tomb’s location a mystery. Polytheism was now persecuted. When John Chrysostom, an early Christian father, visited Alexandria and inquired about the tomb, he saw that “his tomb even his own people know not.”
Might earthquakes and sea have destroyed Alexander’s tomb? Is Alexander the Great’s tomb somewhere below, like King Tut’s tomb before Howard Carter’s discovery? With well over one hundred attempts over the last century, archaeologists have been searching for Alexander.
According to Arrian, Alexander could be buried at Siwah. Professor Ikram suggested that Alexander might be in Alexandria “possibly under the Elite Café or under the Baskin Robbins based on ancient geography.”
Another researcher believes Alexander is buried in St. Mark’s in Venice. So, St. Mark is executed and buried in Alexandria. In the 800s AD, St. Mark’s corpse gets mistaken for Alexander and is brought by sea captains to Venice. Perhaps Alexander still creates myths. Wherever the tomb lies, its discovery would be an archaeological Holy Grail.
Alexander and the Hellenic League constituted one of the wildest rides in history — to be debated in many ways and perhaps forever. We can know him as we know ourselves, at a distance. It seems that people with colossal ambitions and achievements have multiple masks and paradoxical personalities — and sometimes a huge shadow. Alexander wanted to see and conquer more than anyone, to be the Goat (Greatest of All Time), and to live on the lips of others. Toward the end of The Campaigns of Alexander, Arrian writes:
He had great personal beauty, invincible power of endurance, and a keen intellect; he was brave and adventurous, strict in the observation of his religious duties, and hungry for fame.
Teaching myth inspired me to write this essay. I wanted to show students that myth was a big part of Alexander’s life and, in different ways, also makes us who we are. Alexander is both real and mythic – and sometimes the two aspects are seamlessly blended. Once I dived into the material, I realized that one needs facts and history and myth (and much more) to understand Alexander. Myth leads to the real, and the real leads to myth.
I wish to thank Professors Jean Alvares, Paul Cartledge, Kara Cooney, Salima Ikram, Frank Korn and Michael Scott for their brilliant reflections on Alexander the Great and related material; and thanks to Prof. Jean Alvares and Tracey Paradiso (the latter is a fellow writer in Cranford Writers Group) for their excellent, much-appreciated editing. Any mistakes of language or thought are clearly my own, of course. I wrote this essay during three weeks in March 2022, one week of which was spent (with Renah and our child Inanna) visiting Gettysburg, PA. For me, it was a meditation on war, courage and human folly and got me thinking about Pickett’s Charge as well as Alexander’s cavalry charges. The shock of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine also unfolded over this period and tragically continues.
As a child, I saw programs and read about Alexander in National Geographic and in picture books. The dream of travel into far-off lands was powerful, and I was too young to consider the dark side. Years later, I had a terrific semester with New York University in Greece sponsored by the late Prof. Mitchell Leaska. During a break, I went off to Egypt.
In 2021, I was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for my short story in Coneflower Café; and my collection of interviews, stories, images – Speaking of the Dead – was accepted for publication by Blydyn Square Books in New Jersey. In 2022 I was accepted for the NEH summer seminar, Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism at College of the Holy Cross. Renah, Inanna and I (with our editor Alice Almiron, PCCC graduate and Rutgers film student) made a film, “Covid, a Child’s View,” which received honorable mention from the London Short Film Festival. It will be shown in late April at the Cranford Film Festival in New Jersey. I have been a writer and teacher for a long while, the latter culminating in a Fulbright to teach at LMU Munich. This past year, I published stories, essays, interviews, and poetry in Popular Archaeology, Parabola Magazine, The Raven’s Perch, Dash Literary Journal, Paterson Literary Review, and Minerva Magazine.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE (AAAS)—Scientists have found evidence for the earliest known Mayan calendar notation, according to an investigation of painted mural fragments excavated from the Las Pinturas pyramid complex at San Bartolo, Guatemala. The fragments, which date between 300 and 200 BCE, record the date “7 Deer” in the 260-day divinatory calendar used across Mesoamerica and are about 150 years older than another well-known San Bartolo mural chamber. David Stuart and colleagues suggest that these fragments illustrate a mature art and writing tradition in the region during the third century BCE, indicating that the calendar had already been in use for a long time. “The evidence now suggests that we can no longer single out one region of Mesoamerica such as Oaxaca as ‘the’ point of origin for scripts or calendrical record keeping,” the authors write. “The situation would point to an even earlier origin of the calendar sometime during the Middle Preclassic, if not before, although the evidence remains indirect.” Archaeological excavations at Las Pinturas have previously unearthed murals depicting mythological deities and humans painted near the completion of the complex in about 100 BCE. To further explore the ancient site’s secrets, Stuart et al. analyzed 11 wall fragments (all with hieroglyphic writing) that were recovered between 2002 and 2012. The researchers used radiocarbon dates for 10 samples processed in 2005, as well as 2 new dates run in 2020, to determine the ages of the archaeological contexts of the fragments. The authors note that, during the Classic period that followed, Maya scribes rarely used the deer glyph to represent the seventh day, which consists of the number 7 in bar and dot notation over the outline of a deer head. Stuart et al. suggest that use of the glyph in this fragment may represent an early stage in Maya script development before a phonetic hand sign emerged to replace it.
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Mural fragment in San Bartolo, Guatemala, rediscovered 2003, presented at the Palacio Nacional de La Cultura, May 2006. Pre-Classic Maya art. Authenticmaya~commonswiki, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons
RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER—After the Neolithic, European populations showed an increase in height and intelligence, reduced skin pigmentation and increased risk of cardiovascular disease due to genetic changes that lowered concentrations of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. The changes reflect ongoing evolutionary processes in humans and highlight the impact the Neolithic revolution had on our lifestyle and health, write researchers from Nijmegen and Hannover in Frontiers in Genetics. Research of these past events offers interesting starting points for today’s science and health care.
Just like plants, animals and other organisms, humans are dynamic organisms with variable traits. Look at how humans behave and their appearance and you will see differences in skin color, eating habits, susceptibility to diseases, height and so on. Such external features are called ‘phenotype’. This appearance (phenotype) can be influenced by, for example, genetic factors, social and cultural habits, eating behavior and environmental factors.
Nijmegen scientists, in cooperation with colleagues from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI, Hannover), have investigated* whether they could trace the development of some complex human traits of modern Europeans from, say, 50,000 years B.C. to the present. These are complex traits such as height and intelligence. In this case, ‘complex’ means this trait is not determined by one gene but by dozens or even hundreds of genes. Each of these genes has only a very small effect on such a trait.
Genetic archaeology
How can you track down all the genes that interfere with height? This can be done with a technique called GWAS: genome-wide association studies. You take all human genes (genome) to see which genes have an effect on height. It’s not a causal relationship (you do not know exactly how those genes influence height), but a statistical relationship (it is always the same genes that show up when height is determined). In a large population study, you can get a list of genes involved in human height and compare this list of genes of modern Europeans with those of our distant ancestors. Archaeological research has unearthed already more than 800 people whose DNA has been mapped. Ultimately, this reference gives you a kind of timeline of European height genes, in which you can search for changes and turning points along the way.
Speeding up evolutionary processes
The researchers analyzed not only height but also other complex features such as skin pigmentation, weight/BMI, lipid metabolism, intelligence and cardiovascular disease. “In general, we see a clear change of some of these traits before and after the Neolithic Revolution, as if there was an acceleration of evolutionary processes then,” says Mihai Netea from Radboudumc. The Neolithic (New Stone Age) is an important period in human development, often referred to as the Neolithic Revolution. Wandering hunter-gatherers slowly disappeared and were replaced by locally settled farmers, resulting in a completely different lifestyle, change of diet, and different socio-cultural customs.
Height, skin color, cholesterol
Yang Li, researcher at the HZI: “During this transitional period, we not only found a clear change in body height, but in skin color as well. Europeans, for example, have retained their dark skin color for a remarkably long time, and it really lightens during this period. This may be due to migration from populations in the Middle East with less pigmented skin. In many genes involved in metabolism and the risk of cardiovascular disease we saw little change, only with one obvious exception: HDL cholesterol – often called ‘good’ cholesterol – shows a clear decrease. It increases the risk of arthrosclerosis, but there’s a link with intelligence as well.”
Intelligence
There’s a change in genetic factors that leads to the development of coronary artery disease by means of a decrease in HDL cholesterol. This raises the question, what is the evolutionary advantage of this lower HDL-cholesterol concentration? Li: “Perhaps it is in the development of cognitive functions, because cholesterol is fundamental to the development and functioning of the brain. Some minimal changes in genes – called polymorphisms – in cholesterol metabolism have been linked to cognitive functions, while variations in levels of HDL and LDL have been linked to changes in intelligence, learning and memory. These are hypotheses, not proofs, but illustrate the importance of this research, in which we are exploring factors that can influence the development of complex human traits.”
Useful for the present
This evolutionary research into the change of human traits in Europeans past can also be useful for the present. Netea: “It helps us to understand the physiology of contemporary humans and we may be able to tailor public health measures better to specific populations. Research has learned, for example, that Asian populations already have an increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular complications at a lower BMI compared to European populations. We can take that into account in prevention strategies. Look at the mass rural-urban migration, which is accompanied by major changes in social and cultural habits, eating behavior and environmental factors. What will it mean for important human physiological traits, for evolutionary pressures on human traits and genes, and human diseases in modern societies?”
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The Neolithic is characterized by fixed human settlements and the invention of agriculture from c. 10,000 BP. Reconstitution of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B housing in Aşıklı Höyük, modern Turkey. Sarah Murray, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE (AAAS)—Scientists have unearthed evidence for a major earthquake that struck the arid Atacama Desert region along the Chilean coast about 3,800 years ago, triggering a tsunami and severely disrupting prehistoric communities. Diego Salazar and colleagues observed that, following the disaster, the hunter-gatherers in the area adapted largely by abandoning their settlements. However, knowledge of these major events seemed to fade with time – residential sites arose near the shoreline once again by about 1,000 years ago. The authors suggest that Atacama residents may not have anticipated the earthquake because events of this scale only occur in the region over large time intervals. “These results should also be used to recalibrate current hazard assessment policies, which, for coastal northern Chile, are mostly based on the historical tsunamigenic earthquakes,” Salazar et al. write. Due to a lack of interdisciplinary research, scientists’ understanding of prehistoric megathrust earthquakes – monstrous quakes that occur in zones where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another – has not been sufficient to assess how humans have responded to these events in the past. To evaluate the existence of a megathrust earthquake that happened almost 4,000 years ago and to understand its social impact, Salazar et al. gathered a combination of geological and archaeological evidence. They measured 17 radiocarbon ages for littoral deposits – sandy remnants of the ancient sea laced with shells – at 7 sites, determining that the deposits provide evidence for coastal uplift along the northern Chile seismic gap during this period. The researchers also found that buildings at 5 archaeological sites along the coast concurrently became eroded or were destroyed. Salazar et al. discovered that extensive mining at one site ceased following the quake and human occupation throughout the region was reduced to a smaller number of less populated sites.
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Earthquake driven uplifted paleo-beaches at Zapatero archaeological site. Gabriel Easton
*Did a 3800-year-old <em>M</em><sub>w</sub> ~9.5 earthquake trigger major social disruption in the Atacama Desert? Science Advances, 6-Apr-2022. 10.1126/sciadv.abm2996
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HEADQUARTERS—Xinjiang, in northwest China, lays at an important junction between east and west Eurasia and has played a historically important role in the exchange of goods and technologies between these two regions along the Silk Road. It is a complex mix of cultures and populations.
However, the interflow and blending of these diverse populations in Xinjiang can be traced further back. Bronze Age mummies discovered in Tarim Basin were purported to have western features and textiles, and the discovery of 5th century C.E. texts of an extinct Indo-European language group, Tocharian, has spurred great interest in archeologists, linguists, and anthropologists.
Now, a research team led by Prof. FU Qiaomei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has unraveled the past population history of Xinjiang, China, based on information from 201 ancient genomes from 39 archeological sites.
Their findings were published in Science on March 31.
A mix of local northern Asian and western Steppe ancestry in Bronze Age
The peopling of Bronze Age Xinjiang is key to understanding the later population dynamics of the region. It had been proposed that the Bronze Age settling of the Tarim Basin was originally by people related to either western Steppe Cultures (“Steppe hypothesis”) or Central Asian populations related to the Bactria Margiana Complex (BMAC) (“Bactrian oasis hypothesis”).
FU and her team discovered the earliest inhabitants of Xinjiang showed genomic similarities with both of these groups, but broadly mixed with a unique ancestry found in the local Tarim Basin mummies, who were recently shown to be linked to a population found 25,000 years ago in southern Siberia known as the Ancient North Eurasians (ANE).
“In all, Bronze Age Xinjiang populations were found to contain ancestral components of the ‘local’ Tarim Basin population mixed to varying degrees with those of three groups from the surrounding regions: the Afanasievo, an Indo-European-associated Steppe culture, a group called the Chemurchek, who contained BMAC ancestry from Central Asia, and ancestry from a Northeast Asian population called the Shamanka,” said Prof. FU, the last corresponding author of this paper.
The appearance of an individual with almost exclusive Northeast Asian ancestry in northern Xinjiang at this time indicated these early populations may have been already highly mobile. This evidence fits a scenario where incoming Steppe, Chemurchek and Northeast Asian populations entered the region and mixed with the existing inhabitants, who are closest to the oldest Tarim Basin mummies.
In the later part of the Bronze Age, they found the existing genomic profiles shifted to include an influx of a newer western Steppe group linked to the Steppe Middle-Late Bronze Age (MLBA) Andronovo culture, as well as an increasing influx of ancestry from East Asia found in southern Siberia. Furthermore, an expansion of ancestry related to Central Asia (BMAC) at this time indicated an increase in interactions with Central Asia across the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor.
Early entry of Indo-European speakers in Bronze Age Xinjiang
Interestingly, they also found ancestry of several Early Bronze Age individuals identified as unmixed Afanasievo ancestry. This finding corroborates an early entry of these Indo-Europeans, who may have played a role in introducing Tocharian languages to Xinjiang, the easternmost Indo-European languages recorded. This early date would make the appearance of Indo-European languages in Xinjiang roughly contemporary with their entrance into Western Europe, clarifying the origin and spread of the language family with the largest number of speakers today.
Iron Age influx of East and Central Asians established the ancestry still present today
Compared to the Bronze Age, Iron Age populations showed an increased influx of people from East and Central Asia, with the presence of the East Asian component following a West-to-East gradient of increasing East Asian ancestry. Unlike the Northeast Asian ancestry present during the Bronze Age, the East Asian ancestry entering during the Iron Age showed more diverse origins including mainland East Asia.
These Iron Age populations could be linked to populations such as the Xiongnu and Han, which coincided with a historically documented westward expansion of Xiongnu in ~2200 BP after the defeat of Yuezhi in Gansu region. Additional Iron Age movements of people from Central Asia or the Indus periphery region into Xinjiang supported early activity along routes such as the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor.
The Iron Age appearance of ancestry linked to the Sakas, a nomadic confederation derived from the Iranian peoples, helps to date the entrance of Indo-Iranian languages like Khotanese, known to be spoken by the Sakas, into Xinjiang. This Iron Age genetic profile of the region, linking Steppe, East Asian, and Central Asian people, was found to have been maintained into the Historical Era (HE). Despite the cultural shifts of the past millennia, similar ancestries to those established in the Iron Age are still observed in present day Xinjiang populations.
Phenotypic analysis of several remains, the first reported for ancient Xinjiang, gave depth to the genetic results. The majority of individuals investigated had dark brown to black hair and brown eye color throughout Bronze Age, Iron Age, and HE. Corresponded with the appearance of Andronovo Steppe ancestry, a small proportion of the Iron Age individuals are marked blond hair, blue eyes and lighter skin tone in the west and north of Xinjiang. Two Early Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies in east Xinjiang were found likely to have had dark brown to black hair and darker skin, despite their archeologically-identified “western” features, and a more recent third mummy from the Late Bronze Age was likely to have had a more intermediate skin tone.
“With the widespread population movements documented in the study, it is intriguing to see the degree of genetic continuity that has been maintained in Xinjiang over the past 5000 years.” said Associate Prof. Vikas KUMAR from IVPP, the first author of this study.
“What is striking about these results is that the demographic history of a cross-roads region as Xinjiang has been marked not by population replacements, but by the genetic incorporation of diverse incoming cultural groups into the existing population, making Xinjiang a true ‘melting-pot’,” said Prof. FU.
This detailed aspect had not been so clear looking only at archeological and cultural evidence. These findings suggest the importance of combining genetic and archaeological evidence to provide a more comprehensive insight into population history.
The current ancient DNA analysis highlights a holistic approach to unravelling the complex history of locations like Xinjiang, where the many interactions between different groups and cultures in the past make detailed demographic studies difficult. Future studies in this area could reveal more about the finer points of Xinjiang’s history.
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Overlook of Tombs in high altitudes. Excavated from Jierzankale site in Tashikuergan, Kashi region. YAN Xuguang, Kashi Daily
PLOS—Neanderthal populations in the Iberian Peninsula were experiencing local extinction and replacement even before Homo sapiens arrived, according to a study* published March 30, 2022 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Joseba Rios-Garaizar of the Archaeological Museum of Bilbao, Spain and colleagues.
Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago, but many details of their extinction remain unclear. To elucidate the situation, it is useful to explore how Neanderthal populations were changing during their final millennia. In this study, researchers examined the distribution of a tool complex known as the Châtelperronian, which is thought to be unique to certain populations of Neanderthals in France and the Iberian Peninsula.
The researchers examined over 5,000 remains of Châtelperronian tools from a site called Aranbaltza II in Barrika, in the Northern Iberian Peninsula, dating to around 45,500 years ago. Comparing this site with other nearby Neanderthal tool sites, they document that the Châtelperronian system does not overlap in time with older Neanderthal technologies in this region, suggesting that Châtelperronian tools were not developed from earlier Iberian technology, but instead originated elsewhere before migrating into the region. They also found that Châtelperronian tools appear earlier than the first Homo sapiens tools in the Iberian Peninsula.
Based on this evidence, the authors suggest that older Iberian Neanderthal populations disappeared, taking their tool styles with them, and were replaced by different Neanderthal groups using Châtelperronian tools, likely migrating from France, and these populations were in turn replaced by Homo sapiens. The researchers propose that these patterns of local Neanderthal extinction and replacement will be an important area of future study, as they might have played a significant role in the decline and ultimate demise of Neanderthals.
The authors add: “Neanderthals with Châtelperronian technology occupied the Northern Iberian Peninsula ca. 43,000 years ago. This territory was unoccupied at the time, following the earlier disappearance of local Neanderthal groups, along with their Mousterian technology.”
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Selected lithic artifacts from the Châtelperronian at Aranbaltza II (Barrika, Spain). Rios-Garaizar et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
*Rios-Garaizar J, Iriarte E, Arnold LJ, Sánchez-Romero L, Marín-Arroyo AB, San Emeterio A, et al. (2022) The intrusive nature of the Châtelperronian in the Iberian Peninsula. PLoS ONE 17(3): e0265219. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265219
FRONTIERS—A species of giant two-humped camel, Camelus knoblochi, is known to have lived for approximately a quarter of a million years in Central Asia. A new study in Frontiers in Earth Science shows that C. knoblochi’s last refuge was in Mongolia, until approximately 27,000 years ago. In Mongolia, the last of the species coexisted with anatomically modern humans and maybe the extinct Neanderthals or Denisovans. While the main cause of C. knoblochi’s extinction seems to have been climate change, hunting by archaic humans may also have played a role.
“Here we show that the extinct camel, Camelus knoblochi persisted in Mongolia until climatic and environmental changes nudged it into extinction about 27,000 years ago,” said Dr John W Olsen, Regents’ professor emeritus at the School of Anthropology of the University of Arizona, Tucson, US.
Paradoxically, today, southwestern Mongolia hosts one of the last two wild populations of the critically endangered wild Bactrian camel, C. ferus. The new results suggest that C. knoblochi coexisted with C. ferus during the late Pleistocene in Mongolia, so that between-species competition may have been a third cause of C. knoblochi’s extinction. Standing nearly three meters tall and weighing more than a ton, C. knoblochi would have dwarfed C. ferus. The precise taxonomic relationships between these two species, other extinct Camelus, and the ancient Paracamelus aren’t yet resolved.
Olsen said: “C. knoblochi fossil remains from Tsagaan Agui Cave [in the Gobi Altai Mountains of southwestern Mongolia], which also contains a rich, stratified sequence of human Paleolithic cultural material, suggest that archaic people coexisted and interacted there with C. knoblochi and elsewhere, contemporaneously, with the wild Bactrian camel.”
Steppe specialists driven into extinction by desertification
The new study describes five C.knoblochi leg and foot bones found in Tsagaan Agui Cave in 2021, and one from Tugrug Shireet in today’s Gobi Desert of southern Mongolia. They were found in association with bones of wolves, cave hyenas, rhinoceroses, horses, wild donkeys, ibexes, wild sheep, and Mongolian gazelles. This assemblage indicates that C.knoblochi lived in montane and lowland steppe environments, less dry habitats than those of its modern relatives.
The authors conclude that C.knoblochi finally went extinct primarily because it was less tolerant of desertification than today’s camels, C. ferus, the domestic Bactrian camel C. bactrianus, and the domestic Arabian camel C. dromedarius.
In the late Pleistocene, much of Mongolia’s environment became drier and changed from steppe to dry steppe and finally desert.
“Apparently, C. knoblochi was poorly adapted to desert biomes, primarily because such landscapes could not support such large animals, but perhaps there were other reasons as well, related to the availability of fresh water and the ability of camels to store water within the body, poorly adapted mechanisms of thermoregulation, and competition from other members of the faunal community occupying the same trophic niche,” wrote the authors.
Towards the end, the last of the species may have lingered, at least seasonally, in the milder forest steppe – grassland interspersed with woodland – further north in neighboring Siberia. But this habitat probably wasn’t ideal either, which could have sounded the death knell for C.knoblochi. The world would not see giant camels again.
Prey upon or scavenged by humans
What were the relations between archaic humans and C.knoblochi?
Corresponding author Dr Arina M Khatsenovich, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, Russia, said: “A C. knoblochi metacarpal bone from Tsagaan Agui Cave, dated to between 59,000 and 44,000 years ago, exhibits traces of both butchery by humans and hyenas gnawing on it. This suggests that C. knoblochi was a species that Late Pleistocene humans in Mongolia could hunt or scavenge.”
“We don’t yet have sufficient material evidence regarding the interaction between humans and C. ferus in the Late Pleistocene, but it likely did not differ from human relationships with C. knoblochi – as prey, but not a target for domestication.”
First author Dr Alexey Klementiev, a paleobiologist with the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch, said: “We conclude that C. knoblochi became extinct in Mongolia and in Asia, generally, by the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (roughly 27,000 years ago) as a result of climate changes that provoked degradation of the steppe ecosystem and intensified the process of aridification.”
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Climate change and archaic humans may have combined to see the demise of an ancient camel species in Mongolia. Hbieser, Pixabay
*First documented Camelus knoblochi Nehring (1901) and fossil Camelus ferus Przewalski (1878) from Late Pleistocene archaeological contexts in Mongolia, Frontiers in Earth Science, 14-Mar-2022. 10.3389/feart.2022.861163
University of Illinois Chicago, UIC Today—Machu Picchu is among the most recognized archaeological sites in the world. A lasting symbol of the Inca Empire, it’s one of the most visited attractions in Latin America and at the heart of the Peruvian tourist industry.
However, when Hiram Bingham first visited the ruins in 1911 and then brought them to the world’s attention, they were little known — even among those who lived in Peru’s Cusco region.
More than 110 years after Bingham’s first visit to the site, historian Donato Amado Gonzales from the Ministry of Culture of Peru (Cusco) and archeologist Brian S. Bauer from the University of Illinois Chicago reviewed Bingham’s original field notes, early 20th century maps of the region, and centuries-old land documents from different archives. Their findings suggest that less was known about the site than what was previously thought.
In their paper, published by Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology, the researchers conclude that the Incas originally called it Huayna Picchu, for the rocky summit that lies nearest to the site, and not Machu Picchu, which is the name of the highest mountain near the ancient city.
“We began with the uncertainty of the name of the ruins when Bingham first visited them and then reviewed several maps and atlases printed before Bingham’s visit to the ruins,” said Bauer, UIC professor of anthropology. “There is significant data which suggest that the Inca city actually was called Picchu or more likely, Huayna Picchu.”
The researchers found that the ruins of an Inca town called Huayna Picchu is mentioned in a 1904 atlas that was published seven years before Bingham arrived in Peru. Additionally, they detail that Bingham was told in 1911 of ruins called Huayna Picchu along the Urubamba River before he left Cusco to search for the remains. A landowner’s son later told Bingham in 1912 that the ruins were called Huayna Picchu.
According to Bauer, the most definitive connections to the original name of the Inca city are preserved within accounts written by Spaniards relatively soon after the region came under their control in the late 16th century.
“We end with a stunning, late 16th-century account when the indigenous people of the region were considering returning to reoccupy the site which they called Huayna Picchu,” he said.
Compelling stories dramatize and humanize major events and characters in the history of Ephesus, the ruins of which are a popular destination for tourists in present-day Turkey.Historium Press, 2023.Available from Amazon and other online booksellers.
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