This week, I’m digging several new and new-to-me archaeological (and historical) stories. From recently discovered artifacts that have been unearthed after lying hidden for centuries, to rediscovered treasures and long-hidden tombs, these stories and artifacts brought the buried past back to life for a few minutes while I read them. I hope they brighten up your weekend with their vivid colors and beautiful designs!
This 2,000-Year-Old Roman Dagger
An intern dug up this elaborate Roman dagger while working at an archaeological site at Haltern am See in Germany with Westphalie Department for the Preservation and Care of Field Monuments in Germany. The dagger, which dates to the Augustan period (37 BC – 14 AD), was obscured by a thick layer of rust upon discovery, but after a nine-month-long restoration period, a perfectly preserved artefact was revealed. The highly elaborate dagger is decorated with an inlay of silver and glass and a red enamel sheath. This rare find will go on display at Westfälisches Römermuseum in Haltern am See in 2022.
Infernal Cartography
Atlas Obscura takes a brief look at the weird Renaissance obsession with mapping the vision of Hell presented in the first part of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Whether this particular interest in Inferno derived from a twisted thirst for suffering or the fact that it’s the easiest read of the great epic, a wealth of maps of the fictional domain were produced.
This Perfectly Preserved Egyptian Tomb
Archaeologists discovered the tomb of a dignitary named Khuwy in Saqqara, an area known for being the site of some of Egypt’s oldest pyramids. The tomb’s age and untouched state make it an important example of the art and architecture of the Fifth Dynasty, which spanned the 25th and 24th centuries BC over 4,000 years ago. It also gives a new understanding of Khuwy’s life and importance; the architecture and bright, “royal” colors decorating his tomb point to a person of considerable importance, perhaps as a relative of an important yet mysterious pharaoh named Dhedkare Isesi. Though the pharaoh had a huge impact on Egyptian funerary cults, his own tomb left few insights into his legacy due to tomb robbing prior to its excavation.
A No-Longer-Missing Lewis Chessman
One of the famous Lewis Chessmen was found hiding in (almost) plain sight after being missing since the 19th century. The 800-year-old gaming piece was separated from its pals sometime after the chess set was unearthed in 1831. The rest of the set is split between the British Museum, which holds eighty-two pieces, and the National Museum of Scotland, which has eleven pieces. Four remain missing. The recently found piece was the beloved possession of an Edinburgh family, who bought it at an antique shop for £5 in 1964 without realizing exactly what they were getting. The piece sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for £735,000.
The Remains of a Saint Found in the Walls of a Church
(Image Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons)
The discovery of a lead casket of bones hidden in the walls of the Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe in 1885 convinced residents of the Kentish town of Folkstone that the remains belonged to the local saint Eanswythe, the granddaughter of Aethelbert I, the first Christian king in what is now England. Eanswythe also became an important figure in early Christianity in her own right, founding religious communities and performing miracles. Analysis proved that the locals were likely right, with the bones dating to Eanswythe’s lifetime in the seventh century.
You can learn more about the efforts to explore Eanswythe’s history and legends at Finding Eanswythe.
I hope you enjoyed these stories! Let me know if you’ve found anything interesting in your weekly reading that you think Keys & Quill readers would enjoy, I’d love to pass them along!
