Posted on 09/28/2009 7:46:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A team of German and Syrian archaeologists have located an undisturbed Bronze Age crypt under the former royal palace of Qatna in Syria, the University of Tübingen announced on Monday. The crypt 3,500-year-old tomb contains a significant number of artefacts, as well as human bones. The team... had already discovered a royal burial chamber undisturbed by grave robbers under the palace back in 2002. This latest crypt, discovered during excavation of the northwestern wing of the palace consists of a front chamber and a grave chamber and is 4.90 by 6.30 metres large, according to a statement from the university. Thirty skulls within suggest that a corresponding number of people were buried there, and bones stacked in groups among splinters of wood may indicate a secondary burial, the statement said. Ceramic and well-preserved stone vessels of granite and alabaster, along with gold jewellery and other artefacts were also within the crypt. The team also found a small sculpture of a monkey holding a vessel used for cosmetics and an ivory human statuette.
(Excerpt) Read more at discoveryon.info ...
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Whoops, that should be "Tübingen". |
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It’ll probably get done. It would also be nice to see the RC dates of the remains to see how long a period the dead were being buried.
Agreed. I am interested to discover if the peoples buried there are representative of the peoples of that area today all these many years later.
Excavations at the Royal Palace at Qatna, Syria in 2009 - Photo courtesy Universitat Tubingen
This little monkey holding a container for facial paint discovered in the newly excavated tomb. - Photo courtesy Universitat Tubingen
Numerous vessels of ceramic and granite have been found. The latter are Egyptian imports whose production in the Old Egyptian Kingdom dates to a period 1000 years prior to the existence of the rock-cut tomb. Furthermore, the archaeologists discovered alabaster vessels which might also stem from Egypt. In one of these a collection of gold jewellery was found consisting of rings, rosettes and gold foils. In other parts of the tomb, chased gold foils possibly used for textile or furniture decorative purposes have been uncovered.
The monkey with the cosmetics is of Egyptian manufacture, IMHO. :’)
Egyptian Steatite Kohl Jar
[buffs nails on shirt]
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