Archaeologists do it in holes: Tales from the stratigraphy

[jimmy olsen]

Very interesting. Surprising that physical apperance can undergo such strong selection in just a few thousand years.

[mongers]

Posting this as we don't seem to have Tim around these days to do it?

A figurine called Adorant from Geissenkloesterle Cave, located near the town of Blaubeuren in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, made approximately 40,000 years old and consisting of a small ivory plate bearing an anthropomorphic figure and multiple sequences of notches and dots, is displayed, in Stuttgart, Germany, February 23,...

40,000-year-old German artifacts may display written language precursor
By Will Dunham
February 24, 20262:03 PM GMT Updated February 24, 2026

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A small object called the Adorant figurine discovered in a cave in Germany in 1979 - crafted roughly 40,000 years ago by some of the earliest people to establish a distinct culture in Europe - bears intriguing sequences of notches and dots. Numerous other objects produced by this same culture exhibit similar marks.
New research suggests these marks on objects like this figurine, made of mammoth ivory and depicting a hybrid lion-human creature, fall short of amounting to a written language. But it found that their sequential use on these artifacts displayed properties similar to a script that emerged much later in ancient Mesopotamia, around 3300 BC, that was a forerunner to cuneiform, one of the oldest-known forms of written language.

This suggests remarkable cognitive abilities for such ancient people. The artifacts date to a time when our species was spreading across Europe - traversing the landscape as bands of hunter-gatherers - after trekking out of Africa, encountering our close relatives the Neanderthals along the way.
The researchers use the term sign types to describe these marks, which include notches, dots, lines, crosses, star shapes and some others. They conducted a computational analysis of their use on these artifacts for a trait called information density. This concept refers to the amount of information conveyed per unit of language, like a syllable or in this case a sign.

....

Full article here:

40,000-year-old German artifacts may display written language precursor

[crazy canuck]

You beat me to it Mongers, very cool.

[jimmy olsen]

Neat
https://www.reuters.com/science/italy-uncovers-basilica-designed-by-vitruvius-father-architecture-2026-01-19/

ROME, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Italian officials on Monday hailed the discovery of a more than 2,000-year-old public building attributed to Vitruvius, the ancient Roman architect and engineer known as the "father of architecture."

"It is a sensational finding ... something that our grandchildren will be talking about," Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli told a press conference.

Vitruvius, who lived in the 1st century BC, is celebrated for having written "De architectura," or The Ten Books on Architecture, the oldest surviving treatise on the subject.

His teachings on the classical proportions of buildings have inspired artists over centuries, including Leonardo da Vinci, whose famous drawing of the human body is known as the "Vitruvian Man."

BASILICA BELIEVED TO BE 'DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY'
Archaeologists believe they have found the remains of an ancient basilica, or public building, in the central Italian city of Fano northeast of Rome, that was created by Vitruvius.

"I feel like this is the discovery of the century, because scientists and researchers have been searching for this basilica for over 500 years," said the Mayor of Fano Luca Serfilippi.

"We have [an] absolute match" between what was discovered and the descriptions given by Vitruvius in his books, regional archaeological superintendent Andrea Pessina told reporters.

PRECISE LAYOUT DESCRIPTIONS
The basilica had a rectangular layout, with 10 columns on the long side, and four on the short ones, Pessina said.

During excavation, when traces of four columns emerged, archaeologists used Vitruvius' descriptions to calculate where the top right corner column should be. When they started digging, they found it immediately, Pessina said.

"The are few certainties in archaeology ... but we were impressed by the precision" of the match, he added.

Further digging will determine whether more of the basilica lies underground and if the site can be shown to the public, the superintendent said.

(This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in paragraph 9)
Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Bernadette Baum

[Crazy_Ivan80]

That's very nice. Some careers are being made there.

[viper37]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2rew2dgzzo

One for All, All for one.

[Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church

More than 350 years after the death of legendary French musketeer d'Artagnan, his remains may well have been found under the floor of a Dutch church.

Jos Valke, who is deacon at St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht, helped unearth the skeleton and is 99% certain that the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, a close aide to France's Sun King Louis XIV who was known as Count d'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan was killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, but later immortalised in the adventure stories of Alexandre Dumas as a friend of the Three Musketeers.

His remains were long rumoured to have been buried in the church but no evidence has been found until now.

Deacon Valke told the BBC that nobody had dug under the floor until now, but as a few tiles had been broken it was decided to have a look. They first found a wall and took out a brush to dig further.

At this point an archaeologist was called, who discovered the skeleton beneath where the altar table had stood 200 years ago.

"We became quite silent when we found the first bone," he said, adding that there were several pointers indicating that the skeleton belonged to the Sun King's right-hand man.

"He was buried on sacred ground below where the altar was; we found the bullet that put an end to his life and we found a coin from 1660 in his grave, and it was from the bishop who attended Mass for the Roi Soleil."

The skeleton was found directly beneath where the altar table used to sit

The archaeologist who took part in the excavation is more cautious.

"I'm a scientist, but my expectations are high," Wim Dijkman told regional public broadcaster Omroep Limburg, adding that he preferred to wait for DNA confirmation of the skeleton's identity.

A sample has been taken from the remains and is currently being analysed in Germany, while some of the bones have been taken to the Dutch city of Deventer to assess the skeleton's age, where it is from and whether it is male or female.

"I've already been researching d'Artagnan's grave for 28 years. This could be the highlight of my career," said Dijkman.

D'Artagnan is believed to have been hit in the throat by a musket ball as Louis XIV sought to capture Maastricht.

The French army decided that as it was mid-summer they would bury him locally, and their camp had been set up close to the church in the Wolder area in what is now the south-west corner of Maastricht.

Although d'Artagnan was modelled on a historical figure, the three musketeers were fictional characters who may have been inspired by three members of an elite corps who provided protection for the king and took part in military action.

[Duque de Bragança]

SPOILERS for The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later!