Freshen Up With Archaeology Friday (Post I)

Every Friday, I shall be posting the latest news from the field of archaeology and hopefully, I won't miss a single Friday! So, lets start off with this week:

Ancient Stone Markings in Jerusalem stuns Experts:

The marks are believed to be 2,800 years old

On the seventh of December, 2011, Archaeologists discovered what seemed to have been a rather odd find in an excavation in Jerusalem.

The archaeologists uncovered a complex of rooms carved into the bedrock in the oldest section of the city recently found the markings: 

Three "V" shapes cut next to each other into the limestone floor of one of the rooms, about 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep and 20 inches (50 centimeters) long.

There were no finds to offer any clues pointing to the identity of who made them or what purpose they served.

he shapes were found in a dig known as the City of David, a politically sensitive excavation conducted by Israeli government archaeologists and funded by a nationalist Jewish group under the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem. The rooms were unearthed as part of the excavation of fortifications around the ancient city's only natural water source, the Gihon spring.

It is possible, the dig's archaeologists say, that when the markings were made at least 2,800 years ago the shapes might have accommodated some kind of wooden structure that stood inside them, or they might have served some other purpose on their own. They might have had a ritual function or one that was entirely mundane. 

Archaeologists faced by a curious artifact can usually at least venture a guess about its nature, but in this case no one, including outside experts consulted by Shukron and the dig's co-director, archaeologists with decades of experience between them, has any idea.

There appears to be at least one other ancient marking of the same type at the site. A century-old map of an expedition led by the British explorer Montague Parker, who searched for the lost treasures of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem between 1909 and 1911, includes the shape of a "V" drawn in an underground channel not far away. Modern archaeologists haven't excavated that area yet.

Ceramic shards found in the rooms indicate they were last used around 800 B.C., with Jerusalem under the rule of Judean kings, the dig's archaeologists say. At around that time, the rooms appear to have been filled with rubble to support the construction of a defensive wall.

It is unclear, however, whether they were built in the time of those kings or centuries earlier by the Canaanite residents who predated them.

Centuries-Old Witches' Cottage and Mummified Cat Unearthed in Britain

The ruined cottage where the mummified cat was found

A cottage believed to be linked to a famous group of 17th-century English witches and a mummified cat were unearthed by workmen in Lancashire, northern England.

The site, described by one archaeologist as "Lancashire's Pompeii," was discovered during a construction project, Sky News reported.

Water engineers found the 17th-century cottage during excavations in Pendle, and experts think it could be connected to the famous Pendle Witches, a group of 16 women tried for witchcraft in 1612.

It is thought the mummified cat -- found sealed into one of the walls -- may have been entombed in the wall while still alive, as paranormal protection.

"Cats feature prominently in folklore about witches. Whoever consigned this cat to such a horrible fate was clearly seeking protection from evil spirits," Pendle Witches expert Simon Entwistle said. "We're just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, which could well be the famous Malkin Tower."

Malkin Tower was said to be the site of a notorious meeting between the witches on Good Friday in 1612.
Frank Giecco, who led the team that unearthed the cottage, said, "It's like discovering your own little Pompeii. We rarely get the opportunity to work with something so well preserved. As soon as we started digging, we found the tops of doors and knew we were onto something special."

The cottage is said to be in remarkable condition and contained many 19th-century artifacts such as crockery, a cooking range and a bedstead. The construction project was put on hold while archaeologists investigate the site.