Trumpington Meadows, a village near Cambridge, is the place here a teenage girl, probably of noble birth, was laid to rest, lying on an ornamental bed, in her best clothes. Exactly how this 16-year-old Anglo Saxon girl met her death,  and who she was remains mysterious, but she was interred wearing a gold cross, suggestive of her having been one of the earliest Christians in Britain.

It was Cambridge University scientists who unearthed her well-preserved 1,400-year-old grave, a burial site indicating that Christianity had established itself as early as the 7th century in this area, not long after Roman monk St Augustine was dispatched in 595 by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the English.

His missionary team started in Kent, slowly working their way around the country until he became first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597, although it is certain that Christians and pagans co-existed for a very long time. The latest discovery gives good insights to life at the time, the girl being buried, according to the pagan tradition, with grave goods – in the shape of a knife and glass beads for use in the next life –which contravenes Christian beliefs.

Expert on Anglo-Saxon cemeteries Dr Sam Lewsey called this an extremely rare discovery, because, as Christian conversion only gradually filtered down, such an elaborate burial, including a valuable artifact, are sure signs that this girl was either nobility or royalty, the cross  certainly  belonging to the highest sphere of society.

13  such Anglo Saxon so-called bed burials have over time been discovered, almost all noble women, laid to rest on wood and metal frames topped with straw mattresses, but none earlier than 7th century. The small – 1in wide – gold cross, dated to between 650 and 680AD  and studded with cut garnets, was almost certainly sewn into her clothing around the neck and worn in daily life. 

Three further graves were found the others containing two girls in their late teens – with no religious signs – an individual, in their 20s, gender unknown, so the girl buried with the cross could have had an official role in the fledgling Christian church, which the Romans had tried without success  to introduce  200 years before. 

7th century kings and nobles were happy to join in with the conversion process, because any noblewoman not wanting to marry could use the church as a good choice instead. Since life in those days was hard, and average life expectancy short by modern standards, the girl probably died young because of illness, like the plague, which could have killed the other three as well.

Back in those peaceful times, people were healthy, well-fed and in many cases quite prosperous, as well as being, contrary to misplaced ideas, more than a little sophisticated into the bargain, because archaeology has shown that the Anglo-Saxons produced stunning and intricate jewellery, probably mining silver and gold in England, and trading other commodities across Europe and Asia.

Tests will be conducted on the skeleton to establish cause of death of the young woman, what she tended to eat and her medical condition, because the way that she relates to the other three graves is key to the investigation, establishing  whether the buried people were related, for example, such a small set of graves being unusual, even if the bed and cross are ignored. Just why this one grave merited such lavish  treatment has captured the imagination of all involved, and they are impatient to learn more.

Ten  years ago, professor of Hebrew and Aramaic philology and epigraphy at the Paris Sorbonne University, André Lemaire, claimed to have made a sensational discovery, in the form of  the very first archaeological evidence of the existence of Jesus – his so-called James ossuary – an inscribed limestone box supposedly containing the bones of James, brother of Jesus – is, according to a Jerusalem court. still a mystery object

This verdict came after a fraud trial lasting seven year, this ruling making it clear that determining whether the ossuary and other objects were genuine or had been forged was simply not possible. The story began with the discovery of  a limestone bone box – an ossuary – found in Israel with an extraordinary inscription incised on one side, which translated reads in clear Aramaic letters – James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.

James the Just, it is believed, was stoned to death in 62 AD, and features in  both Gospels of Mark and Matthew as brother of Jesus, something hotly disputed by the Roman Catholic church, which believes Jesus was an only child.

Once proclaimed publicly, this ossuary discovery immediately stirred a scientific controversy. Professor Eisenman – biblical archaeology department, California State University, was the first to doubt the authenticity, as he said that the words brother of Jesus would never have been used at that time.

First displayed in 2002 at the Royal Ontario Museum, the ossuary was viewed by almost half a million visitors, whilst yet another stunning find was being announced – the Jehoash Inscription – a stone tablet presented as a building inscription describing, in an ancient Hebrew script, renovation work on the first King Jehoash biblical temple nearly 3,000 years ago, supposedly the only surviving item of the First Temple ever.

These twin finds fuelled imaginations among many Christians around the world, thinking to have finally seen tangible proof of the family of Jesus, and physical evidence of the First Temple, verifying the biblical stories. A complaint of forgery was filed with the Israel Police, the eventual trial stretching to over 100 hearings.

A court case involving archaeology, history, Bible, chemistry, geology, linguistics and more was to say the least unusual, testimony heard on subjects never before talked about or ruled on in court, but in the end the prosecution failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the ossuary is a forgery, though stating that it definitely was not such was also impossible. What the real truth is remains to be seen, but there is little doubt that many Christians will carry on believing.

Those who know the teachings of the bible read how Joseph of Arimathea, on the evening of the crucifixion, asked Pontius Pilate for the body of Jesus, in reference to Mosaic Law, which clearly states that a person hung from a tree – or cross – must not be left there overnight, but before sundown has to be buried.

Thus it was that Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen cloth and was assisted by Nicodemus in the burial process, using a mixture of spices  myrrh and aloe in the burial cloth, and the according to Jewish customs found a tomb in which to lay out the corpse, but exactly where has always been a mystery.

It seems today, according to archaeologists investigating a first century Christian burial chamber, that they have found an ancient coffin lid inscription possibly proving it to be his final resting place. It was the use of a remote-controlled camera, which was connected to a robotic arm in order to get to the area beneath a Jerusalem tower block, stunned to discover hitherto unknown stone Tombs.

Such limestone boxes are commonly referred to as ossuaries, and one of those revealed held  a Greek inscription translating to the words Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up, while yet another shows an image of a fish with a stick figure in its mouth – referring perhaps to one of the very first biblical stories – Jonah and the Whale .

A 1980s discovery dubbed the Jesus Family Tomb, hugely controversial when unearthed, lies a mere 200ft from this latest find, and was once thought to be the burial site for both Jesus and Mary Magdalene, whom he was thought to have married and raised a family with, though hotly disputed by many.

Orthodox Jews, protesting hotly about disturbing this grave site,  caused the ending of  the excavation, which was promptly sealed up, the tower block built over the site to prevent further investigation. But in 2010, documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and University of North Carolina scriptural scholar James Tabor got Israeli Government permission for use of the robotic arm, leading to the discovery of a separate chamber – the Patio Tomb – inside which the inscriptions were found.

The pair believe these tombs to be part of the property of Joseph of Arimathea, the inscriptions having something to do with resurrecting of the dead, as referred to in the earliest gospel materials, which state that Jesus mentioned the sign of Jonah as a symbol of his resurrection, though these symbols are the most common motif found on tombs of Christians. 

These Jonah tale , however, is not depicted at all in 1st century Jewish art, and Ossuary iconographic imagery is very rare, Judaism banning the creation  of people or animal depictions.  Since this tomb dates to before 70 CE, when Roman destruction of the city caused the cessation of ossuary use in Jerusalem, so should the discovered markings prove to be Christian, they will be the earliest archaeological record of Christians ever discovered, most likely made by some of Jesus earliest followers, within decades of his death.

Of 2000 ossuaries recovered only 650 have inscriptions of any kind, none comparable to the new finds by the team. Fewer than 12 have epitaphs, inscribed messages usually warnings  about disturbing the bones of the dead. Complete and final translation of the epitaphs is uncertain, first three lines being clear, the last line, three Greek letters with several possible meanings.

Other interesting engravings on these ossuaries might also be connected to resurrection, such as the fish tail of vanishing off the edge of the box, as if diving into water.  Also having small fish images on the front facing,  around its border on the one side, on the other the image of an entrance or cross-like gate which could be interpreted as the notion of entering the bars of death, mentioned in the Bible in the story of Jonah.

Whether or not this really is the actual tomb of the person known to the world as Jesus is of course highly debatable, but the finds are nonetheless very exciting, and could well pave the way for a clearer understanding of the truth behind biblical events.

10,000 year old bones unearthed on the Southern California coast in 1976, some of the oldest skeletons in the Western Hemisphere and a scientific treasure, are also bones of contention. A local tribe claimed that the bones were their direct ancestors and demanded them back a few years ago. A recent federal regulation apparently sides with the many tribes that want old bones, often being studied or residing in museums, returned to them. At first glance, this might seem reasonable. We do want to give grandma a burial proper to our cultural beliefs.

At second glance, anyone with even a passing knowledge of how populations migrate, shift and blend over many generations will realize that it would be difficult, if not impossible for a group of people to say that their particular tribe descended directly from a group of people who lived in the area 500 generations ago. Even with a highly skilled genealogist, I’d be hard pressed to identify ancestral origins ten generations back. To claim a direct decent from 10,000 year old bones would be to ignore the mass human migrations that have taken place since humans first crossed the land bridge from Siberia.

People move, people invade, and the newcomers mix with the established population. People die off or move away when weather or soil productivity turn against them, and over 10,000 years a lot of changes can occur: Forests can become savannahs and then deserts. Direct descendents?  Well, if you go back far enough, we’re all direct descendents of a small population that arose in Africa’s rift zone. Yet, somehow I don’t feel all that personally connected to those cavemen. Perhaps those advocating for the return of “ancestral bones” do feel intimately connected to 1,000,000 year old cavemen. From reading their point of view, I suspect they might.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that these bones are direct ancestors. Can some tribal member living in today’s Southern California say, with a straight face, while looking at these bones, “Ah yes, I remember great, great, great, great….. grandmother.”

In the hands of tribes, these bones get a ceremonial burial and everyone in the tribe gets a feel good moment. In the hands of scientists, they provide information about the various paths and obstacles encountered by humanity. They also serve to educate those who visit our museums.

However, federal regulations side with political correctness rather than reason and science.

Medical marijuana according to a new, shows smoking pot to be much less harmful to users lungs than tobacco. Having studied 20 years worth of data from over 5,000 adults, significant lung damage in the tobacco smokers was commonplace.

 The more they had smoked, the worse their lung volumes were, yet people who had averaged only one joint a day passed lung function tests with flying colors, air flow rate actually going up slightly in marijuana users.

 Of course, the comparison could be different again if the user smoked ten joints a day, but  this study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, and measuring air flow rates) in 18-30-year-old adults from Birmingham, Oakland, Chicago, and Minneapolis, showed clearly that occasional use of Marijuana was actually beneficial.

The findings do not point to health benefits from heavy marijuana use, stating that findings did actually suggest accelerated decline in pulmonary function with such use, proving that moderation in marijuana use is considered the best option.

There is one soda company in Colorado that have taken Marijuana use to another level by developing a line of sodas containing the drug and. available to anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana from Dixie Elixirs

Eight different flavors are offered, pink lemonade, root beer and grape among them, but as Marijuana is only legal to consume in 14 states with a prescription from a doctor, you have to live in one of them to get a taste of these concoctions, as well as being one of the estimated half-million people who is a medical marijuana patient.

Dixie Elixirs say they developed their line of mary-jane drinks was to remove the stigma associated with marijuana, and should voters in 
California decide to make recreational marijuana legal this November, these organic sodas might end up right next to the stuff from Pepsi and Coke in grocery and liquor stores. 

If you thought tobacco use was fairly recent, think again. Archaeologists have found the first physical evidence of tobacco use by the Mayans, through traces of nicotine in a vessel 1,300 years old, from around

700 A.D., and produced in Southern Campeche, Mexico, during the Classic Mayan period. Hieroglyphic texts on the two-and-a-half-inch wide and high clay vessel indicate it to be a house of tobacco as indicated by the inscription translations.

It was twenty years ago that the last such vessel – containing cacao was found –  though analysis proved that no nicotine by-products associated with smoking of tobacco were present, the tobacco in the container was probably not used for smoking, and was likely a powered product.

What the research did indicate was that this tobacco – known to the ancient Mayas but not modern man – was far stronger than any plant grown today and possibly strong enough to be hallucinogenic, so it seems probable that it was used by shamans for the practice of their religious beliefs.

Other uses could have involved mixing with lime, before being chewed, consumed as snuff or added to alcohol to make for stronger drinks, as well as the use of the powder as snake repellent and fly-killer. Tobacco has been around, it seems, for much longer than previously believed.

Popular conception of Stone Age community: Image via Wikipedia

Cannibalism may have been a facet of life in Stone Age Britain. The Romans recorded instances of cannibalism in Britain when they conquered the island and there are records of cannibalism even in Mediaeval Britain. The taste for human flesh may have been part of the life of the inhabitants of the British Isles as far back as 14,700 years ago. That is when the skulls if Cheddar Gorge have been dated to.

In the 1980s, skulls were excavated at Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge, but only now have the technology come into being that allows archaeologists to thoroughly examine them. The marks on the three relevant skulls are the same as those seen in the butchery of animals, which means that the skulls were defleshed. It does not necessarily mean the contents of the skull were consumed, but it is considered likely by the Natural History Museum and University College London. Bone marrow was eaten than (and it is now). The skulls were, 14,000 years ago, carefully taken apart, cleaned, smoothed and then decorated by using “razors” and “hammers”. The skulls were from two adults and a toddler. It is thought that the skulls were used as drinking cups, linking modern anthropological study of different human behaviours seen today. Even the Greek historian Herodotus noted the use of skulls in temple rites.

Scholar Silvia Bello said: ‘We suspected that these early humans were highly skilled at manipulating human bodies once they died, and our research reveals just what great anatomists they were. “The cut marks and dents show how the heads were scrupulously cleaned of any soft tissues shortly after death. The skulls were then modified by removing the bones of the face and the base of the skull. Finally, these cranial vaults were meticulously shaped into cups by retouching the broken edges. All in all, it was a very painstaking process, given the tools available.”

Chris Stinger of London’s Natural History Museum opined: “This shows us the complexity of human behavior in ancient Britain. … They treated their dead in many different ways. It seems gruesome to us, but there are people in Asia today who aren’t even meat eaters, who treasure human skulls and use them as drinking bowls.”

He also said: ‘They don’t seem to have been used for very long. In some more recent examples they have been kept for hundreds of years and have become polished and worn through wear. These seem to be relatively fresh and it looks as if their use was limited to a short time – days or weeks or months.”

Rick Schulting, an archaeology professor at Oxford University added: “These finds are important because there are so few finds from this period. These are fully modern humans like us but we have very little insight into what they thought about themselves and their world. We know they had some burials, we know they cared about their dead. This adds complexity to their world. It’s not some barbaric bloodthirsty example. It’s always a ritualistic setting where you eat the remains of the dead, but we can’t know in this case whether you’re eating your own revered ancestors, to keep in contact, or eating the outsider, the enemy, as a way of insulting them and imbibing their power and their spirit.”

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/17/uk-cave-yields-ice-age-skull-cups/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1357764/Ancient-Britons-drank-skulls-used-cups.html

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/17/ancient-brits-were-cannibals-scientists-say/?hpt=T2

See also:  http://socyberty.com/social-sciences/scottish-stone-age-secrets/

Stone Age tools: Image via Wikipedia

http://www.themarysue.com/800-year-old-witches/

The image above if of eight century old remains believed by archaeologists to be those of a Middle Ages witch, because seven nails had been driven through her jaw bone when interred, the grim discovery made during a supposed witches graveyard dig.

The skeleton of another woman at the site was encircled by seventeen dice, extremely odd as this was not a game women allowed to play in that period. The archaeologists involved think that these 25 to 30 year old women having been were buried in simple shallow graves without coffins or shrouds is significant.

Archaeologist Alfonso Forgione convinced that they are of suspected witches due to the strangeness of the burials.These gruesome human remnants remains were unearthed near by the sea-shore in Italy’s Tuscany region, at Piombino near Lucca,

http://www.themarysue.com/800-year-old-witches/

Those nails driven through the jaw, and the other nails hammered around the body to pin the clothes down indicate, Forgione feels, an attempt to ensure the dead woman would not return from the dead. In those far-off days, those burying her were undoubtedly convinced of her being in possession of evil powers.That second skeleton, surrounded by the seventeen – an unlucky number in Italy – dice was buried in similar fashion, as if exorcism rituals of some sort had been performed when the women were interred, though the unexplained conundrum is that of the burial site being consecrated ground, an 800 year old church on the site.

http://www.themarysue.com/800-year-old-witches/

It is quite possible that the two women were of influential families rather than peasants, their class and connections enabling the consecrated Christian ground burials. It is only two years ago that, close to Venice, the skull of a Medieval woman was found with a stone driven through the mouth. Archaeology experts maintain that such treatment was the traditional method employed for dealing with vampires and stopping them rising from the dead, as opposed to the east European stake through the heart, so there obviously was, in those dark days of history, a very real fear of the supernatural.

http://www.themarysue.com/800-year-old-witches/

Orkney: Image via Wikipedia

Isbister Chambered Cairn, 5000 years old, was used for about 800 years on the Islands of Orkney, Scotland. It is said to have held the remains of roughly 340 individuals when it was opened in 1958 and 1976. No complete skeletons were found, leading archaeologists to surmise the bodies had been excarnated (exposed to the weather to hurry decomposition). Also in the tomb were 70 eagle talons which led scholar to presume the bird was a clan totem.

In the Tomb of the Eagle (a.k.a. Isbister Chambered Cairn) excavated skulls have signs of serious head trauma. As archaeologists will tell you, if there is no sign of healing of the bone then the injury was probably the cause of death or occurred after death. Out of 16,000 bones there are 85 skulls of which 16 show serious evidence of trauma and some of those showed signs of healing. The skulls belonged to adults and children. One female skull had three head injuries that had healed. The wounds were caused by both blunt and sharp objects such as stones, arrowheads and axes. Until this discovery, the area was believed to have been inhabited by peaceful Neolithic (New Stone Age) farmers. However, as the site was occupied for about 1000 years, the number of skulls may not be that significant an amount of evidence. More interesting is why were they interred in the area that they were interred in? That, we may never know.

Archaeologist David Lawrence detailed the findings with these words: “By checking if the wounds were healed or not, we can see if someone suffered from severe head trauma just around the time if their death. To say with absolute certainty if they actually died from it, is very hard, but some attacks were so severe that the whole skull has split in two horizontally.  Other wounds are very subtle and are most easily observed inside the skull, where splinters have been bent inwards. Some were caused by a blunt force, like a stone or a mace. Other cases were caused by pointed objects, like a bone headed arrow and there were also traumas caused by edged objects, like an axe. Some wounds did heal. There is a skull of a woman that has three healed wounds which were caused by blows from a blunt object.  She also had a dislocated jaw which was badly healed. She must have suffered terribly, as it would have been very difficult for her to chew properly. It is likely she also had problems speaking.”

He also said: “There was a great variety in the places where people were hit and the instruments used: there is no simple pattern. This variety makes it very unlikely that they were killed in some kind of ritual.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1364489/85-New-Stone-Age-skulls-head-injuries-Orkneys-Tomb-Eagles.html

http://www.tomboftheeagles.co.uk/introduction.asp

http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/39/39_2/tomb_eagles.htm

Popular conception of Stone Age community: Image via Wikipedia

Stone Age tools: Image via Wikipedia

Remains of a chambered cairn: Image by Shandchem via Flickr

Archeology is the scientific study of past human culture and behavior from the remains, ruins and artifacts left behind. Some times archeology and geology can clash because some times ruins and artifacts can be confused for geological features and vise versa.

 Archeology has a number of benefits:

1. Studying history apart from historical records because there are some things you can’t just learn about from historical records, such as art, physical characteristics, architectural
2. Discovering things about history not found in written historical records since historical records only contain what is considered important and much of every day life is not considered important enough to be  recorded.
3. Discovering additional written records.
4. Confirming the existence of civilizations only written about by other civilizations. The most famous example of this is the discovery of Troy.
5. Discovering civilizations not yet known.
6. Discovering things about groups that left no written records.

 A main problem in Archeology is that much of the evidence is not preserved because evidence van be lost do to decay over time, the destruction of war, and accidental destruction by reuse of land. It can also be lost do to the destruction of artifacts by carelessness of both Scientists and non- scientists this is the case because archeologists have not always been a careful as they should be. Sadly artifacts have been deliberately destruction by both scientists and non- scientists. Being human scientists are not always honest, now this is not necessarily a big problem in that most archeologists do not deliberately destroy artifacts but it is still occasionally a source of artifact loss. An example of non-scientists deliberately destroying artifacts is the fact that Moslems have a history destroying religions artifacts in countries they conquer. The looting of archeological site is a major problem in some case. The further you look back in time the bigger this problem of the loss of archeological artifacts becomes.

Government often hinders archeological research by blocking excavation and investigation except by approved archeologists to control access to potential digs. They have blocked excavation and investigation of sites they don’t like. This includes the fencing off of a possible Mount Sinai site in Saudi Arabia. They further control evidence by demanding that artifacts discovered in their boarders be turned over to their officials. The reason given is to prevent the looting of National Treasures but it allows Governments to hide evidence that goes against their official view of history while allowing Governments to control access to the artifacts they have.

Artifacts are not self interpreting so they have to be interpreted by way of a theoretical system. The accuracy of the interpretation is dependent on the accuracy of the theoretical system. Artifacts and ruins are easily dismissed if they do not fit the theoretical system being used because there are just too many different ways artifacts be interrelated. This is particularly true when sites are poorly preserved which can cause interpretation mistakes since the evidence that makes the difference can easily be lost. The discovered of sites by armatures can easily be dismissed since the claim can be they did not know what they were doing or that they messed up the site. Furthermore the theoretical systems used are based on philosophical assumptions.

Being an historical science Archeology is greatly influenced by philosophical assumptions. A purely naturalistic theoretical system requires assuming that any supernatural claims in history are mythological. The point is that the Philosophical Assumptions behind any claim needs to be understood. 

 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1618236

Inside what were formerly the royal gardens below Stirling Castle, a geometrical earthwork known as The King’s Knot, has been shrouded in mystery for centuries, because even the modern appearance dates from the early 17th century, the  central mound, flat topped is believed much older, written texts over 600 years suggesting a link to the legend of King Arthur.

Glasgow University archaeologists found, in the course of a recent survey that  there was a round feature pre-dating the visible earthworks on the site, using geophysics sensing equipment, throwing new light on traditional stories that put the location of the famous round table in this area.

 http://www.socialspreadmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/roundtable.jpg 

Scots poet John Barbour said, in a oem believed written in 1375 that the round table was to be found south of Stirling Castle, something repeated by William of Worcester in 1478, the fuel further added to by Scottish writer, Sir David Lindsay in 1529.

It is a matter of record that a great deal of work was done on the royal gardens, for Charles I in the early 17th century, when the mound was made into the feature it now is, first dubbed King’s Knot isin 1767, though

locals refer to it as the cup and saucer.

 http://churchsync.com/uploads/2/7/9/4/2794348/3637568.jpg?692 

Funded by Historic Scotland and Stirling City Heritage Trust, the new survey showed many previously unsuspected features up to 3ft below ground, including ditches and remains of buildings. Further investigations are to be conducted using ground penetrating radar, to make things clearer, and though there can be no definitive claim to this being the true site of the round table, it is exciting nonetheless.