blueiscoool

[blueiscoool]

50 Lost Military War Helmets Found in Poland

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, over 50 military helmets from both World Wars have been unearthed just steps away from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Wrocław in southern Poland. The rare find was made by roadworkers conducting surface repairs along Koszarowa Street, sparking immediate interest from archaeologists.

The majority of the helmets are German in origin, specifically M35 and M42 models from World War II, alongside a number of M16 helmets dating back to World War I. The cache also includes two M38 Luftschutz helmets, designed for German civil air defense, a Wz31 Polish helmet, and a Soviet SSz36, reflecting the region’s complex military history.

Experts believe the helmets were stored in an outbuilding that once formed part of the barracks of the German army’s 8th Signal Battalion. This battalion was stationed in Wrocław (then Breslau) during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The condition and orderly arrangement of the helmets indicate they were likely not used in combat, but rather kept for defensive purposes such as air raid or fire protection drills.

The helmets’ discovery comes in a significant year for the city, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Siege of Wrocław. In January 1945, Adolf Hitler had declared the city a fortress (Festung Breslau), ordering it to resist the advancing Soviet forces at all costs. The siege lasted three grueling months, ending only on May 6—just days before Nazi Germany’s surrender.

This find adds a tangible layer to the city’s wartime past and highlights Wrocław’s strategic importance during the final stages of World War II. According to the Institute of Archaeology, the helmets will be handed over to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, who will determine their long-term preservation and display.

The discovery is a poignant reminder of the region’s turbulent 20th-century history and offers researchers valuable insights into the logistical and defensive preparations made by occupying forces. It also demonstrates how routine infrastructure projects can unexpectedly open windows into the past.

By Oguz Kayra.

[blueiscoool]

SpaceX Rcket Explodes on Launch Pad

SpaceX confirms no injuries after dramatic rocket explosion at Texas Starbase caught on multiple livestreams.

SpaceX's Starship exploded Wednesday night during a test at SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.

An explosion occurred late Wednesday night at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. A Starship rocket preparing for its tenth flight test experienced a “major anomaly,” SpaceX says. There were no injuries and all employees are accounted for, according to SpaceX. The cause of the explosion and the extent of any damage are unclear.

[blueiscoool]

A 2,000-Year-Old Pompeii Garden Springs Back to Life

The Pompeii Archaeological Park has recreated an ancient perfume garden—right down to its antique roses.

A garden once flourished in Pompeii. There, alongside a typical row house, olive trees, roses, and vines blossomed, nourished by hand-carved irrigation channels. The entrance to the site bore the Latin inscription “Cras Credo,” translated to “Credit will be offered tomorrow,” a touch of Pompeiian humor. The Vesuvius eruption in 79 C.E. wiped out the grounds—but preserved hints of its purpose.

Now, a new garden is taking root the same spot. The Pompeii Archaeological Park has just unveiled the restored Garden of Hercules (so named for a statue of the mythical hero uncovered at the site), freshly planted with 1,200 violets, 1,000 ruscus plants, and 800 antique roses, as well as vines and cherry and cotton apple trees. The botanical display is intended to mirror how the garden appeared 2,000 years ago, based on the findings of botanist Wilhelmina Jashemski, who identified pollen, spores, and plant fossils in the area in the 1950s.

“In Pompeii, the natural and archaeological landscape are one,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the park’s director, said in a statement. “The green of Pompeii, which was once perceived as a management and maintenance problem, an element almost separate from archaeological structures, is now recognized as an essential component of archaeological areas, as well as of the largest agricultural project of the Park.”

Located on Regio VIII, Insula 2 of the archaeological park, the house joining the garden was uncovered in 1953 before the rest of its grounds was excavated in 1971–72, with further studies carried out in the ’80s. Researchers found that the house was rebuilt following a 62 C.E. earthquake, with its owner buying surrounding land to plant the garden.

In the garden, archaeologists discovered holes in the earth that once held the roots of olive trees, impressions left in the soil by vine trellises, and biological traces of roses. Numerous perfume bottles found on the site indicate the garden was once involved in the commercial production of perfume. Flowers would be pressed with olive oil or grape juice, researchers found, before the concoction was bottled and sold.

Also significant was the discovery of an ancient irrigation system, which allowed gardeners to water the plants through a hole in the wall, without having to enter the site. The water would then flow through channels that wound their way around flower beds, or pool in reservoirs created by earthenware pots, or dolia, situated around the grounds.

“If a gardener needed to give extra water to a plant, they could take it from a dolia,” historian Maurizio Bartolini told the London Times.

Bartolini, who worked on the replanted garden, believes that the garden’s owner might have been experimenting with scents at the site, as opposed to running a full-scale operation. The garden, he noted, measures a mere 98 by 98 feet, while creating 5cc of perfume takes some 2,000 roses.

The irrigation system has been recreated for the Garden of Hercules, its troughs meandering across the new beds. A terracotta statue of the Greek legend has also been reproduced, installed in a small nook next to an outdoor dining space.

“This was a productive place,” Zuchtriegel told the Times of the space, “but also really beautiful.”

The recreated garden is part of Pompeii Archaeological Park’s efforts to shed light on daily life in the ancient Roman city before its destruction. Also currently on view at the site is “Being a Woman in Ancient Pompeii,” an exhibition that delves into the lives, roles, and activities of Pompeiian women.

By Min Chen.

[blueiscoool]

Twilight

Twilight after a rain shower in Largo, Florida.

📸 flickr

[blueiscoool]

One of a Kind 7th Century Gold Coin Found in UK

A tiny gold coin that is believed to be the oldest from the Anglo-Saxons in East Anglia has been found in a field.

Coin expert Adrian Marsden described the coin as a "massively significant" find that was struck in the 7th Century.

The design depicts a man dancing a jig while holding a Christian cross above a symbol linked to the Norse god Odin.

The coin was discovered by a metal detectorist near Norwich in the autumn and Norwich Castle Museum hopes to acquire it.

"It's the first one of this type of coin that we've seen and new types of shillings just don't turn up," said Dr Marsden, from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service.

"It's got this fascinating iconography of a little figure with a long cross - explicitly Christian - over the valknut design, which has pagan roots."

Dr Marsden said all the evidence pointed to it being "the earliest Anglo-Saxon East Anglian coin so far known", dating it to AD640 to 660.

It was struck at a time when pagan beliefs were starting to give way to Christianity, and its design appears to straddle this time of change.

Experts associate the design with the god Odin, whose roles in Norse mythology included ferrying the dead to the afterlife.

In the 20th Century, the valknut was adopted as a symbol by white supremacists among others.

The coin dates back to the same era as the famous Sutton Hoo ship burial, which, as Dr Marsden explained, had a mix of Christian and pagan grave goods.

On the reverse of the coin is a design that could be a cross or could be a swastika, then recognised as a good luck symbol, surrounded by an attempt at a Latin inscription.

Dr Marsden recently published his research in the Searcher.

"It's plain from looking at the letters that whoever made the die wasn't literate, the letters don't bear much resemblance to Latin - they're garbage really," he explained.

Testing revealed the coin was made from a very high gold content, of up to 60%.

Dr Marsden also pointed out it was the second coin in Norfolk to benefit from a new treasure definition on "the basis of national significance".

The government changed the legal definition of the 1996 Treasure Act two years ago, to try getting more artefacts on public display.

A coroner decides if a discovery is treasure and a museum usually gets first refusal over whether to store it.

By Katy Prickett.

[blueiscoool]

Archeologists Discover 2,500-Year-Old Midas Dynasty Tomb in Turkey

A 2,500-year-old royal tomb has been discovered by archeologists at the site of an ancient city in Turkey.

After four months of excavations, Penn Museum and Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University archeologists discovered a well-preserved royal tomb chamber that dates back to 8th century BCE (800 to 701 BCE). The tomb's roof was collapsed, but objects inside remained intact, including bronze vessels used during banquets, iron rods, a pair of large bronze cauldrons and assorted smaller bronze cauldrons, jugs and bowls, according to a news release.

The tomb was discovered at the archeological site of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygian kingdom, which controlled much of Asia Minor during the first millennium BCE, Gordion Excavation Director C. Brian Rose said in a news release. Gordion is located in northwest Turkey, about 60 miles southwest of Turkey’s capital Ankara.

At one time, Gordion was ruled by King Midas, famously known for his "golden touch." Archeologists believe that the newly-discovered tomb may have belonged to a member of the Midas dynasty.

Archeologists used magnetic prospection technology to find the tomb, a news release states. This geophysical method uses variations in Earth’s magnetic field to identify objects below the surface, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

to archeologists’ surprise, the tomb indicated a cremated burial. Up until this latest excavation, researchers believed the first cremation to occur in Gordion was more than 100 years later.

Vessels inside the tomb also featured textiles adhered to their exterior, which indicate that textiles were an important industry in Gordion, Rose said in a news release.

The tomb was located near and appeared like the Midas Mound tomb, which is believed to have housed the body of King Midas’ father.

The Gordion site has proved fruitful for archeologists for 75 years, since Penn Museum began leading excavations there in 1950. Previous excavations included the oldest wooden building in the world, dating back to 740 BCE. Others include the earliest colored stone mosaics found in Gordion, the best-preserved citadel gate of the first millennium and a gilded ivory sphinx of the 6th century BCE, according to a news release.

By Greta Cross.

[blueiscoool]

Gold Coins from the 1708 San José Galleon Seen in New Images

Researchers used robotic diving vehicles to study gold coins on the seafloor by the wreck of the Spanish galleon San José.

New details of gold coins found off the coast of Colombia around the "world's richest shipwreck" verify they are from the Spanish galleon San José, a treasure ship that sank in 1708 during a cannon duel with British warships.

The galleon was laden with up to 200 tons (180 metric tons) of gold, silver and uncut gemstones when it sank, and the treasure's modern value may be as high as $17 billion.

Colombia's government hopes to recover some of the artifacts for a dedicated museum that is yet to be built. But there are opposing claimants, including the Spanish government, which asserts the wrecks of its naval vessels, no matter how old, remain the property of Spain.

The authors of a new study, published Tuesday (June 10) in the journal Antiquity, include researchers from Colombia's navy and other Colombian authorities. Their analysis included studying images taken by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) of dozens of rough coins that now lie scattered around the wreck at a depth of roughly 1,970 feet (600 meters).

In 2015, Colombia's government announced that it had located the San José in the Colombian Caribbean near the city of Cartagena, and the observations were made during four ROV expeditions to the wreck in 2021 and 2022.

According to the study, the observations confirm that the coins and the nearby wreck debris are from the 1708 wreck of the San José.

he ROV dives in 2021 and 2022 revealed dozens of distinctive gold cobs at several locations within the wreck, surrounded by other artifacts.

Sunken gold

The researchers describe seeing dozens of rough gold coins — the total number is not known — at several locations within the shipwreck, surrounded by other artifacts from the cargo, guns and everyday life as it was on board more than 300 years ago.

They used high-definition photography to closely examine the coins and determined that they had an average diameter of 1.3 inches (32.5 millimeters) and a likely weight of 27 grams (about 1 ounce).

The ROV images revealed the coins' designs. One side has a variation of a Jerusalem cross — one large cross surrounded by four smaller crosses — and a shield decorated with castles and lions. On the back, these coins show the "Crowned Pillars of Hercules above the waves of the sea," with the waves being unique to the Lima Mint, the researchers wrote in the study.

They also noted that some bore distinctive marks that had been hammered into the metal, including the marks of an assayer — an expert who tests the purity of metal — from the Spanish mint in Lima, now the capital of Peru, in 1707.

By cross-referencing their observations with colonial records, the researchers determined that the coins and other artifacts came from the San José, the study said.

Study lead author Daniela Vargas Ariza, a maritime archaeologist at Colombia's Almirante Padilla Naval Cadet School in Cartagena and the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History in Bogotá, said these colonial Spanish coins were often cut from gold or silver ingots.

"Hand-struck, irregularly shaped coins — known as cobs in English and macuquinas in Spanish — served as the primary currency in the Americas for more than two centuries," she said in a statement.

The "cobs" made in Spanish colonial mints in the Americas were hand-struck coins, often irregularly shaped and cut from gold or silver ingots. 

Richest shipwreck

The San José wreck is one of the most valuable ever found, and there are intense legal disputes about who has the right to recover it — although it's not known if that's possible. Colombia hopes some of the treasure could be sold to pay for the archaeological recovery effort of the entire ship, but Colombian law may prohibit selling anything deemed a historical artifact.

Spain also claims the shipwreck and all of its treasure, under an international convention on the Law of the Sea that states the wrecks of naval vessels belong to their original nation. But Colombia hasn't ratified that convention, and critics say the provision is intended to protect modern warship technologies, not centuries-year-old treasure wrecks.

The San José was leading a treasure fleet of 18 ships from Cartagena bound for Europe on June 8, 1708, when it was attacked by a squadron of five British warships; Britain was Spain's enemy during the War of the Spanish Succession at that time.

The three largest Spanish galleons fired back with their cannons, but the San José blew up and sank when its stores of gunpowder exploded; most of the Spanish fleet fled to safety in the harbor at Cartagena.

By Tom Metcalfe.

[blueiscoool]

A 1,700-Year-Old Roman Sarcophagus Discovered in Israel

Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed a Roman-era sarcophagus that depicts Dionysus beating Hercules in a drinking contest.

A 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus depicting a legendary drinking contest has been discovered in Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Monday (June 9).

Archaeologists uncovered the artifact, which dates back to the second or third century A.D., near the ancient city of Caesarea along the country's northwest coast. The carved marble depicts a drinking contest between the demigod Hercules and Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and parties, who is equivalent to Bacchus in the Roman pantheon. Though similar scenes appear in mosaics from the same period, the find marks the first appearance of this particular story on a sarcophagus from the region.

"This sarcophagus is an extraordinary work of art," Mark Avrahami, head of artistic conservation at the IAA, said in a translated video. "There are not many sarcophagi like this, even in the world."

The 1,700-year-old sarcophagus was buried beneath a sand dune and fractured into pieces when archaeologists uncovered it as part of a series of excavations of the city. After the pieces were excavated, conservators cleaned and reassembled the parts to reveal the full scene.

One unbroken side of the marble coffin shows Hercules depicted lying on a lion skin. "He's at the end of the contest holding a cup of wine in his hand, and of course he's in this position because in the contest Dionysus, the god of wine — whom no one can defeat — emerged victorious," Nohar Shahar, an archaeologist with the IAA, said in the video.

Dionysus is shown as part of a joyful procession, surrounded by satyrs, female followers and Pan, the god of the wild. "In this case, it seems that the figures are not only celebrating — they are in fact accompanying the dead on his last journey, when drinking and dancing are transformed into a symbol of liberation and transition to life in the next world," Shahar said in a statement. "This sarcophagus offers an unusual perspective of the idea of death — not as an end, but as the beginning of a new path."

Archaeologists found the sarcophagus outside the walls of Caesarea, an ancient city by the Mediterranean Sea, alongside other marble slabs with names inscribed on them. These discoveries suggest that Caesarea wasn't only confined to within its walls, and that the surrounding area was more densely populated and rich in artifacts than archaeologists previously thought.

"This is a thought-provoking discovery reflecting how life and faith were perceived in the Roman world," IAA director-general Eli Escusido said in the statement.

The sarcophagus is undergoing thorough conservation before being made available for public viewing.

By Skyler Ware.

[blueiscoool]

A 1,500-Year-Old Underground Byzantine Tomb Complex Found in Syria

A contractor digging into the earth where the rubble of a destroyed house had been cleared away in northern Syria stumbled across a surprise: the remains of an underground Byzantine tomb complex believed to be more than 1,500 years old.

The discovery emerged last month in the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province , which is strategically located on the route between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus. The community became a touchpoint in the nearly 14-year Syrian civil war that ended with the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December.

Assad’s forces seized the area back from opposition control in 2020. Houses were looted and demolished. Aerial images of the area show many houses still standing but without roofs.

Now residents are beginning to return and rebuild . In the course of a reconstruction project, stone openings were uncovered indicating the presence of ancient graves. Residents notified the directorate of antiquities, which dispatched a specialized team to inspect and secure the site.

Aboveground, it’s a residential neighborhood with rows of cinder-block buildings, many of them damaged in the war. Next to one of those buildings, a pit leads down to the openings of two burial chambers, each containing six stone tombs. The sign of the cross is etched into the top of one stone column.

“Based on the presence of the cross and the pottery and glass pieces that were found, this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era,” said Hassan al-Ismail, director of antiquities in Idlib. He noted that the discovery adds to an already rich collection of archeological sites in the area.

Idlib “has a third of the monuments of Syria, containing 800 archaeological sites in addition to an ancient city,” al-Ismail said.

The Byzantine Empire, which began in the 4th century AD, was a continuation of the Roman empire with its capital in Constantinople — today’s Istanbul — and Christianity as its official religion.

Abandoned Byzantine-era settlements called Dead Cities stretch across rocky hills and plains in northwest Syria, their weathered limestone ruins featuring remnants of stone houses, basilicas, tombs and colonnaded streets.

In the past, the owners of sites where archeological ruins were found sometimes covered them up, fearful that their property would be seized to preserve the ruins, said Ghiath Sheikh Diab, a resident of Maarat al-Numan who witnessed the moment when the tomb complex was uncovered.

He said he hoped the new government will fairly compensate property owners in such cases and provide assistance to the displaced people who have returned to the area to find their homes destroyed.

The years of war led to significant damage to Syria’s archeological sites, not only from bombing but from looting and unauthorized digging.

Some see in the ruins a sign of hope for economic renewal.

Another local resident, Abed Jaafar, came with his son to explore the newly discovered tombs and take pictures.

“In the old days, a lot of foreign tourists used to come to Maarat just to see the ruins,” he said. “We need to take care of the antiquities and restore them and return them to the way they were before … and this will help to bring back the tourism and the economy.”

By Omar Albam and Abby Sewell.

[blueiscoool]

Lost Turner Oil Painting Found After 150 Years

The first oil painting ever exhibited by Turner is to be put up for auction after being lost for more 150 years.

The Rising Squall features a dramatic view of a former hot spring and spa in Bristol seen from east bank of the River Avon, before Clifton Suspension Bridge was built.

It made its way around the world and returned to the UK but was unknown as a Turner masterpiece for more than a century. His signature was revealed after the painting was cleaned last year.

The artwork will be displayed in a public exhibition at Sotheby's, in London, between 28 June and 1 July before it is auctioned with an estimated value of up to £300,000.

Julian Gascoigne, Sotheby's senior specialist, said: "It's a fascinating and very instructive insight into his early style."

He added the painting represents Turner, famed as a watercolourist, as a teenage artist with "ambition and skill" as he experimented as an oil painter.

The painting made its debut at the Royal Academy in 1793, three days after Turner's 18th birthday, before being bought by Reverend Robert Nixon, a customer of his father's barber shop.

Reverend Nixon's son inherited the painting after his death, Mr Gascoigne said, adding it then fell "into obscurity" having last been exhibited in Tasmania, Australia, in 1858.

The painting was done as part of Turner's first artistic tour when he was a teenager, where he travelled from London to the West Country.

Mr Gascoigne said: "Bristol would have been a very natural place for a young artist based in London to get to relatively easily and relatively cheaply, but would provide him with the sort of dramatic, sublime, picturesque landscape that he was seeking."

There was early mention of the painting in obituaries of Turner's life but for at least a century it was mistaken for a watercolour, meaning it was missing from the catalogue of his exhibited oil paintings.

Up until the discovery last year during a restoration project, experts believed Turner's earliest exhibited oil was his Fisherman at Sea painting.

By Leigh Boobyer.

[blueiscoool]

Rare Roman Mosaics Discovered in Austria

Archaeologists in Austria recently unearthed a trio of Roman era mosaics, which shed light onto life in ancient times.

The works were found among the ruins of a Roman building complex in Thalheim bei Wels, located about 65 miles northeast of Salzburg, according to a news release from the Upper Austrian State Culture Museum.

The site — which has been under excavation since 2023 — overlooks the ancient Roman city of Ovilava, which is now called Wels.

The three mosaics were discovered beneath several feet of sediment alongside what appear to be stone walls, photos show.

One depicts a wine-mixing container affixed with curved handles, while another has geometric motifs. The third artwork — described as the most impressive — contains images of two dolphins.

The latter mosaic measures several feet in length and is made up of numerous multi-colored tiles, photos show.

The findings are considered a rarity in the region, museum officials said.

Thomas Stelzer, the governor of Upper Austria, said in the release that the artworks demonstrate what amazing cultural artifacts still remain hidden in the region.

All three mosaics date to the second century A.D., making them at least 1,800 years old, according to Der Standard, an Austrian newspaper.

While it’s unclear what purpose they served beyond beautification, they were found in pools of water, indicating they may have been part of a spa, the newspaper reported. Supporting this idea is the fact that the area is known for its clean spring water.

Roman troops occupied much of present-day Austria starting around 15 B.C., establishing the provinces of Raetia, Noricum, and Pannonia, according to Britannica.

Throughout their rule, the Romans laid down a vast system of roads and set up a number of towns along the Danube River, including Ovilava.

But, by the fifth century A.D., Roman influence in the region began to wane following invasions by the Huns and Germanic peoples.

By Brendan Rascius.

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Roman Marble Head Found Beneath Basilica in Rome

A stunning stone head, likely to belong to a Roman deity or philosopher, has been discovered during excavations at the 5th-century Christian Basilica of Santo Stefano, within Rome’s Tombe di Via Latina archaeological park. The carved marble fragment, larger than life, is complete with a carefully carved beard and solemn facial expression, and was discovered embedded in the basilica’s foundations, suggesting it had been reused in medieval construction.

The archaeologists first saw flowing marble locks breaking through the earth before a complete profile of the head emerged. Even after centuries of burial and thick encrustations of mortar, the fine details in the hair and beard remained astonishingly preserved.

While thick mortar covers parts of the face of the sculpture, preliminary research indicates the sculpture dates to circa the 2nd century CE. The head may be that of a Roman god such as Jupiter or Serapis, or even a philosopher. Though its initial identity is unknown, its reuse in a Christian context provides us with significant information regarding the complex cultural interplay of Late Antique Rome—a period of the 4th to 6th centuries CE, marked by the gradual shift from paganism to Christianity.

The statue has been transferred to Matera, a city that is firmly dedicated to preserving culture and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was then placed into the care of the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (ICR), where it is now undergoing restoration. The project also involves students from the Scuola di Alta Formazione per il Restauro, who are assisting in meticulous documentation, technical examination, and diagnostic studies.

Experts at the ICR hope to not only restore the physical integrity of the piece but also determine its original function and historic context. They are exploring whether the head originally belonged to a monumental statue or had a religious function before it was buried within the basilica walls. Careful removal of mortar might still uncover inscriptions or symbols that could give additional leads.

The reuse of pagan statues in Christian buildings was not uncommon in Late Antiquity, but each one is a special case. This particular find contributes to efforts to grasp how Roman society changed from its imperial, polytheistic origins to a Christianized world.

By Dario Radley.

[blueiscoool]

Roman Funerary Altar Reunited with its Cover

A funerary altar discovered in Rome's Appia Antica archaeological park has been reunited with its cover, approximately 1,800 years after their separation. The altar, discovered in July 2023, and its cover, found just inches away in 2025, were both in excellent condition. The altar is inscribed with the name of its owner, Caius Ofilius Ianuarius.

The altar was discovered at a site on the first mile of the Appian Way, near the tomb of Geta. The site was abandoned in the 4th century due to rising water levels. The waterlogged soil helped preserve the archaeological materials.

The cover, discovered just eight inches in front of the altar, was upside down but otherwise in good condition. The altar itself is inscribed with the name Caius Ofilius Ianuarius. The Ofilii family was likely of Samnite or Oscan origin and had a long history in Rome. The name Ianuarius refers to the god Janus and the first month of the year, and was often adopted by freedmen or their sons.

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Bread Rises Again as Turkey Recreates 5,000-Year-Old Loaf

In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in what is today central Turkey.

Now, more than 5000 years later, archaeologists have unearthed it, and helped a local bakery to recreate the recipe—with customers lining up to buy it.

Round and flat like a pancake, 12 centimeters (five inches) in diameter, the bread was discovered during excavations at Kulluoba, a site near the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir.

"This is the oldest baked bread to have come to light during an excavation, and it has largely been able to preserve its shape," said Murat Turkteki, archaeologist and director of the excavation.

"Bread is a rare find during an excavation. Usually, you only find crumbs," he told AFP.

"But here, it was preserved because it had been burnt and buried," he said.

Archaeologists Murat Turkteki and Deniz Sari examine an ancient house at the Kulluoba excavation site in central Turkey.

The bread was charred and buried under the entrance of a dwelling built around 3300 BC.

A piece had been torn off, before the bread was burnt, then buried when the house was built.

"It makes us think of a ritual of abundance," Turkteki said.

The original Kulluoba bread, on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum.

'Moved by this discovery'

Unearthed in September 2024, the charred bread has been on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum since Wednesday.

"We were very moved by this discovery. Talking to our excavation director, I wondered if we could reproduce this bread," said the city's mayor, Ayse Unluce.

Analyses showed that the bread was made with coarsely ground emmer flour, an ancient variety of wheat, and lentil seeds, with the leaf of an as yet undetermined plant used as yeast.

Ancient emmer seeds no longer exist in Turkey.

To get as close as possible to the original recipe, the municipality, after analyzing the ancient bread, decided to use Kavilca wheat, a variety that is close to ancient emmer, as well as bulgur and lentils.

Employees at the Halk Ekmek bakery mix and cut dough for Kulluoba bread, recreating a 5,000-year-old loaf.

At the Halk Ekmek bakery (meaning "People's Bread" in Turkish), promoted by the municipality to offer low-cost bread, employees have been shaping 300 loaves of Kulluoba by hand every day.

"The combination of ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread," said Serap Guler, the bakery's manager.

The first Kulluoba loaves, marketed as 300-gram (11-ounce) cakes that cost 50 Turkish lira (around $1.28), sold out within hours.

"I rushed because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left. I'm curious about the taste of this ancient bread," said customer Suzan Kuru.

Drought resistant

In the absence of written traces, the civilization of Kulluoba remains largely mysterious.

In the Bronze Age, the Hattians, an Anatolian people who preceded the Hittites, lived in the Eskisehir region.

"Kulluoba was a medium-sized urban agglomeration engaged in commercial activities, crafts, agriculture and mining. There was clearly a certain family and social order," said archaeologist Deniz Sari.

Customers have been lining up for Kulluoba bread at the Halk Ekmek bakery.

The rediscovery of the bread has sparked interest in the cultivation of ancient wheats better adapted to drought.

Once rich in water sources, the province of Eskisehir is today suffering from drought.

"We're facing a climate crisis, but we're still growing corn and sunflowers, which require a lot of water," said Unluce, the local mayor.

"Our ancestors are teaching us a lesson. Like them, we should be moving towards less thirsty crops," she added.

The mayor wants to revive the cultivation of Kavilca wheat in the region, which is resistant to drought and disease.

"We need strong policies on this subject. Cultivating ancient wheat will be a symbolic step in this direction," she said.

"These lands have preserved this bread for 5,000 years and given us this gift. We have a duty to protect this heritage and pass it on."

By Burcin GERCEK.

'The combination of ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread,' says Serap Guler, the bakery's manager.

[blueiscoool]

Wildflower

A small but pretty flower in Largo, Florida.

📸 flickr

[blueiscoool]

Wayne Thiebaud Untitled (For Window Gazing)

Inscribed for "Window Gazing" (upper left); signed, dated 1994 and inscribed ♡ (upper right). Pastel on paper. Executed in 1994.

[blueiscoool]

A Lost Frans Post Painting Found in a Barn Sells for Over $7 Million

A grimy old painting recovered from an attic or a barn that turns out to be priceless: Fans of Antiques Roadshow will recognize the thrilling trope but also appreciate just how rare an occurrence it actually is.

In 1998 George Wachter, chairman and co-worldwide head of Old Master paintings at Sotheby’s, heard about a painting that had been pulled out of, well, a barn attic. “It was filthy, black, dirty,” Wachter tells Robb Report. “You could hardly see it.”

In less than two minutes of bidding, it sold Wednesday at the auction house with a hammer price of $6 million ($7.37 million with fees), a record for Frans Post, the Dutch Old Master who painted it some 359 years ago. (His previous auction record was $4.5 million, achieved at Sotheby’s in 1997.)

View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church went on the block as part of the single-owner sale of Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III’s impressive collection of Old Masters, which Wachter was instrumental in assembling. Despite the piece’s condition back in the ’90s, Wachter had a hunch about the oil on panel, and early in his collaboration with the Saunderses he encouraged them to acquire it. “I said, ‘This is a killer,’” Wachter recalls. “And so they trusted me because they couldn’t see it. It was jet black.”

The trio enlisted Nancy Krieg, who was the premier conservator of Dutch and Flemish paintings in New York, to restore it. First, she carefully “opened a tiny window” in the sky of the landscape, according to Wachter, “and it became blue and white, and it was just incredible.”

Krieg then gave the piece a thorough cleaning with cotton swabs and solvents, which revealed the charming pastoral scene visible today. “There was a little anteater in the corner, and all these animals running around and all the different kinds of figures,” Wachter marvels.

“It’s an art and a science, the process of cleaning,” says David Pollack, senior vice president and head of Old Master paintings at the auction house.

Prior to the sale, Sotheby’s placed a $6 million to $8 million estimate on the painting. Its value derives not only from its quality but also from its place in art history. While most 17th-century Dutch artists concentrated on familiar, local landscapes and the rising merchant class who formed their clientele, Post journeyed to Brazil, then a colony of the Netherlands. There he became one of the first European artists to take landscapes of the New World as his subject. He drew and painted what he saw there for several years—and continued to dine out on his adventures for the remainder of his career back in his hometown of Haarlem.

Pollack says Post painted View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church, among many other works, from memory and/or sketches. “This would be one of his greatest,” he says.

Post was highly collectible even in his lifetime. “He was painting for a very open, ready market,” Pollack notes. “This was his calling card, these views of Brazil. And to have something on this scale certainly ranks it in the top tier, no doubt.” The panel measures 23 ¾ by 35 5/8 inches, which is on the large side for the artist.

Pollack says the painting, which is signed F. Post and dated 1666, moved through Parisian collections in the 18th century and was bought in the 19th century by the dealer Charles Simon for 160 francs, most likely on behalf of Cardinal Joseph Fesch, Napoleon Bonaparte’s maternal uncle, who had a voracious taste for fine art—and a budget to match. He acquired a reported 17,000 works of art, some the spoils of his nephew’s wars. (He bequeathed a thousand paintings to his hometown of Ajaccio, on the French island of Corsica, which formed the basis of Musée Fesch.)

The piece then ended up in a private collection in Connecticut. It’s unclear who exactly banished it to the barn or when—though Wachter speculates that “it had probably been there 100 years.” But eventually someone uncovered it and consigned it to a London gallery, from which Wachter arranged the sale to the Saunderses. After its makeover, the painting long hung in their Park Avenue apartment, where it held special meaning for Tom, who died in 2022. “Tom was obsessed by it,” Wachter says.

By JULIE BELCOVE.