Welcome back, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew.  Here we go with our latest batch of four top news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

A burial from the tenth century in Hungary displays possible evidence of a female warrior.  A new statistical tool gives DNA researchers a much clearer picture of European migrations in the first millennium AD.  Maritime archaeologists in Iran are excavating the beached shipwreck of an 18-century Russian cargo ship.  And restorers at a famous Boston church are uncovering painted cherubs hidden under white paint for more than a century.

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And now, here’s Laura Kennedy with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day!

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica!  I’m Laura Kennedy, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of December 29th, 2024 through January 4th, 2025.

Our first story this year takes us to Hungary, where archaeologists have confirmed the first known medieval burial of a female with weapons.  Known as SH-63, her grave is located in the Carpathian Basin and dates back to the 10th century.

As reported by Phys.org, her burial took place in what is now the largest cemetery from the Hungarian Conquest period (AD 895-1000).  A substantial number of graves contain weapons and horse-riding equipment. The study, led by Dr. Balazs Tihanyi [BOL-azsh TEE-han], a bioarchaeologist at the University of Szeged [SEH-ged], was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

In the past, interpreting the graves of women buried with weapons has been challenging. Genetic and morphological testing to confirm their sex can be complicated and is influenced by the preservation quality of their remains. Moreover, determining whether an individual was a warrior presents an even greater difficulty.

As warriors were members of a distinct social and legal class, the contemporary indicators of their status often haven’t survived to become archaeological evidence.  Physical markers of a warrior’s frequent activities, such as training with weapons, riding a horse, or injuries sustained in battle, may have led to changes in their bone morphology that would be visible to archaeologists today.  However, all of these characteristics could have resulted from a non-warrior lifestyle. 

As a result, multiple lines of evidence are needed to infer that a given individual was a warrior in their time. 

According to Dr. Tihanyi, SH-63’s burial initially stood out to researchers because of its unique composition of grave goods.  They identified characteristics of both male and female burials, featuring items such as buttons, jewelry made from silver, stone, and glass, pieces of an iron quiver, and an armor-piercing arrowhead.

Although her remains had undergone significant wear and tear, successful analyses of her skull and genetic markers from different parts of the body pointed to her being female.  Further morphological testing, including the estimation of her age and stature at the time of her death, proved to be more challenging. 

The team was able to locate signs of osteoporosis, three significant traumas in her upper limb bones, and changes in joint morphology.  While the first two conditions may have resulted from advanced age, the changes in her joints—most pronounced in the upper right-hand side of her body—match similar deviations in individuals buried with weapons or horse-riding equipment.

While these findings aren't enough to conclude that this individual was a warrior, this identification of the first known female laid to rest with weaponry in the region is leading archaeologists to new questions about daily life in Hungary during the 10th century.  

Our next story brings us to Europe, where scientists are utilizing an innovative data analysis technique to trace three waves of migration across the continent during the first millennium A.D. 

As reported by Phys.org, existing methods for studying DNA have worked well for comparing genetically distant populations, such as early farmers and hunter-gatherers. However, they have been less fruitful for analyses of more closely related groups.

Published in the journal Nature, the study details a new, more precise method of genetic analysis called Twigstats, which has enabled researchers to analyze these migrations in greater detail. 

The research team, led by the Francis Crick Institute, used this technique to survey the genomes of more than 1,500 Europeans, most of whom lived during the first millennium AD.  This time period encompassed the Iron Age, the fall of the Roman Empire, and the Viking Age. 

They noted at least two separate streams of migration during the first half of the millennium, originating in Scandinavia or northern Germany and moving into the western, central, and eastern parts of the continent.  This observation aligns with historical Roman documents, which mention clashes with Germanic groups beyond the Empire’s borders.  Most descendants of these migrants would eventually mix with local populations.

In Scandinavia, the team located a significant influx of Central European ancestry beginning around AD 800.  A large proportion of the then Viking Age population carried ancestry from these groups that their Iron Age predecessors did not. 

According to Pontus Skoglund, Group Leader of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Crick and senior author of the study, their next step will be tracing additional historic whole-genome sequences.  These additional data will help researchers answer more questions about migration patterns and their social, political and cultural impacts in their times.

Next, we make our way to northern Iran, where archaeologists are working to excavate a centuries-old wooden shipwreck.  Now resting in the coastal city of Mazandaran [ma-ZAHN-da-RAHN], the vessel once sailed across the southern Caspian Sea.

As reported by Phys.org, archaeologists discovered the Zaghermarz [ZAHG-air-MARZ] shipwreck after rising sea levels began to wash away the three-meter sand dune it was buried under.  According to the study published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, radiocarbon dating of wood samples from the ship has placed in its construction between 1762 and 1808. 

The research team comprised archaeologists from the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies in Italy and the Underwater Archaeology Faculty in Tehran.  Over the course of two seasons, they unearthed remains of the ship’s hull, masts and cargo, which hinted at the vessel’s origin.

To protect against any further erosion, the team began their work by building a temporary sandbag barrier around the excavation site.  They noted 43 layers of sediment that had formed over the wreck, gradually swallowing it over the centuries.

The ship’s construction style matches what we know about Russian shipbuilding practices in the region during that era, from its material composition to the three masts it likely bore.  Its structural elements were made of Scots pine, spruce, or larch wood, indicating sourcing from the Caucasus or the Volga basin region. 

The ship’s cargo contained six varieties of plants and weeds, including lambsquarters and pennycress.  Buckwheat formed the bulk of the remains.  Researchers dated the seeds within a broad period of time that stretched all the way to the early 20th century.  These crops came from the same region as the wood used in the ship's construction and were integral to local agricultural practices at the time.

Using this archaeobotanical and architectural evidence, the research team posits that the ship was part of a merchant fleet that operated in the Caspian under Russian influence.  Given that buckwheat was the main item in its cargo, their findings align with historical accounts of the plant’s role as a staple food for sailors and a key trade good in the maritime economy of the Caspian. 

Finally, we arrive in Boston, Massachusetts, where conservators are working to restore long-hidden artwork in the city’s oldest standing house of worship: the Old North Church.  Painted by a congregation member during the colonial era, the angels adorning the church walls would later witness Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride. 

As reported by Smithsonian Magazine, the church was founded in 1723 and served as a gathering place for Anglicans, a minority among the city’s Puritan population at the time.

Decades later, Paul Revere would stop by during his midnight ride at the onset of the American Revolutionary War.  Warning that British soldiers were on their way, Revere instructed Robert Newman—sexton at the church—to hang two lanterns in the building tower.  This signaled that the British were making their way by boat, rather than on land.

This moment would be captured by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in “Paul Revere’s Ride,” coining the phrase “one if by land, and two if by sea.”

Church leaders tapped John Gibbs to paint angels on the interior upper arches around 1730.  His artwork—including additional cherubs on the organ case and an altar panel—would decorate the church's walls for nearly two centuries before new leadership chose to hide them under white paint, which over time became seven layers.

According to Reverend Matthew Cadwell, the church's Vicar, angels would have been visible throughout the sanctuary, a striking difference from any of the Puritan churches in the area at that time. 

Though the reason for covering Gibbs' work remains unclear, the building's all-white renovation aligns with the colonial revival aesthetic, which gained popularity at the turn of the twentieth century.

Conservators began work on the project in September.  They use solvent gel, plastic scrapers and cotton swabs to gently remove the thick white coating and touch up each angel, bringing them back into view.  The team has restored eight of the angels so far and hopes to complete the other eight by spring. 

According to Gianfranco Pocobene [POE-koh-BEN-ay], a member of the conservation team, they were surprised to discover that each of the cherubs has its own unique character.  Decorating the church in various poses, they create a visual pattern that extends throughout the building—a delightful rhythm connecting Paul Revere’s time to ours 

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history! Also, be sure to check out our growing subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Laura Kennedy and I’ll see you next week!