Largest Mexican Pyramid Discovered as the Tonina Pyramid Complex in Chiapas

I'm back from a long 3 week vacation, so now, on with the news! -SeraphSirius

""It was just over five years ago that researchers in Mexico discovered an enormous pyramid of the Maya civilization in Toniná,  Chiapas. The fact that the pyramid had remained concealed under what was believed to be a natural hill for around 1,700 years is truly incredible, particularly considering that it has been confirmed as the largest pyramid in Mexico and is even taller than Teotihuacan’s enormous Pyramid of the Sun.

The pyramid, which measures 75 meters (246 feet) in height, was first excavated by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in 2010.

La Jornada reports that it was found during explorations of the acropolis of Toniná in what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas. The archaeological site of Toniná sits on a platform covering 6 hectares and consists of seven terraces on the north side of the platform which rise above a plaza. Social, political, economic, and religious structures were constructed on the terraces, including housing, administrative units, and groups of temple-pyramids. There is also a ballgame court at the site, and over 100 carved monuments dating from the 6th to the 9th centuries AD.

Toniná has been described as an aggressive state that used warfare to develop a powerful kingdom that rivalled Palenque. Toniná eventually became the dominant city in the west of the Maya region.

Emiliano Gallaga, director of the archaeological zone, told La Jornada that the pyramid was covered in vegetation and was initially believed to be a natural hill. However, exploration of the site soon revealed that the structure was almost entirely man-made, constructed by the ancient Maya inhabitants of Toniná.

Three-dimensional scanning of the pyramid revealed that it was “one of the largest constructions in Mesoamerica, comparable in size only to great Mayan cities like Tikal and El Mirador in Guatemala,” said Gallaga. “Toniná is bigger than we suspected. The pyramids are connected by roads located on top of the surrounding elevations.”

Gallaga added that, after evaluating all the information gathered from exploratory studies, it can be confirmed that the pyramid exceeds the height of the Pyramid of the Sun at  Teotihuacan, which previously held the position as the tallest pyramid in Mexico at 65 meters (213 feet) in height.""

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/researchers-confirm-recently-discovered-tonina-pyramid-largest-pyramid-mexico-020433

Hundreds of Ancient Mummies Discovered in Peru Ceremonial Site

""Archaeologists in Peru made a monumental discovery when they found dozens of tombs with up to 40 mummies in each at a 1,200-year-old ceremonial site in Cotahuasi Valley. So far 171 mummies have been discovered across seven tombs, but it is thought that there may be thousands more.

The finding was made at Tenahaha, a 4 hectare site in the Cotahuasi Valley, which was established during the height of the Wari Empire (500 – 1000 AD). Very little archaeological research has been undertaken in the region due to its sheer remoteness. The Cotahuasi Canyon, sitting at 3535 meters (11,600 feet) above sea level, is the deepest canyon in the world – about twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. A number of prehistoric cultures occupied the canyon and its eastern plateau from the earliest Paleoindians to the Incas (11,000 BC – 1532 AD).

In recent years, archaeological research and analysis has begun piecing together the importance of Tenahaha during a period of growth and expansion from the first state-level society in the Andes and increased interregional interactions in the Cotahuasi Valley. The site is composed of a ceremonial/domestic component concentrated into a 2 hectare area, and a second component is composed of clusters of tombs located on the hillocks surrounding the ceremonial area.

"The dead, likely numbering in the low thousands, towered over the living," wrote archaeologist Justin Jennings, in the newly published book Tenahaha and the Wari State: A View of the Middle Horizon from the Cotahuasi Valley.

According to Live Science, the mummies range in age from babies to adults and had been placed with their knees tucked up towards their shoulders with their arms folded across their chest. Like other burials discovered in Peru, the deceased were then tied with rope and wrapped in layers of textiles. The younger mummies, including babies and neonate fetuses, were buried in jars.

Examples of traditional ancient Peruvian burials. The knees are tucked towards the chest and the body is wrapped in textiles and rope. These mummies came from the Chauchilla ancient cemetery in the desert of Nazca Peru (Source: Dreamstime)

The mummies found at Tenahaha are not, however, as well preserved as those found at Chauchilla (shown above).

Broken Mummies

“The mummified remains were in poor shape due to damage from water and rodents,” reports Live Science. “Additionally, the researchers found some of the mummies were intentionally broken apart, their bones scattered and moved between the tombs. In one tomb the scientists found almost 400 isolated human remains, including teeth, hands and feet.”

"Though many individuals were broken apart, others were left intact," Jennings wrote in the book. "People were moved around the tombs, but they sometimes remained bunched together, and even earth or rocks were used to separate some groups and individuals." Some grave goods were smashed apart, while others were left intact, he said.

Researchers are not entirely sure why some mummies were broken apart and moved, while others were left in intact. However, the separation and movement of skeletal remains is a known practice to have taken place throughout the Andes.  In February this year, archaeologists investigating a religious complex in Bolivia discovered an ancient mortuary where human body parts were stripped of their flesh, cleaned, and transported, making them what archeologist Scott C. Smith called “portable ancestors”."" 

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/hundreds-ancient-mummies-discovered-ceremonial-site-peru-002880

John the Apostle Relics Discovered in Ashes of Grave

""Excavations at a medieval port and fortress in Bulgaria have led archaeologists to discover several artifacts of significance. A lead vessel containing ashes from the alleged grave of John the Apostle has been found, as well as a 10th century Bulgarian royal seal.

Archaeology in Bulgaria reports the artifacts were recovered during excavations of the ancient fortress of Rusocastro, and the port of Burgos (Poros), located in what is today Burgas, Bulgaria

The curved lead tube or vessel containing ashes was discovered in a reliquary attributed to Saint John (St. John the Theologian), one of the Twelve Apostles to Jesus in Christian belief. It was found within a reliquary in an early Christian basilica, dating to the sixth century A.D. The vessel itself is very small, measuring only 2.2 centimeters (less than an inch) long. The outside of the artifact is decorated with many equal-armed crosses, and one of the two handles is missing.

Described as a “holy possession that preserved a holy substance,” the relic would have been considered to have had healing properties, said Milen Nikolov, Director of the Burgas Regional Museum of History, at a press conference this week.  He explained that relic was related to ancient beliefs, saying “every year on May 8, the date of John the Apostle’s death, there is manna, a holy healing powder, on the site of his grave.”

According to historical sources, Christian pilgrims are said to have gathered on the date of his death at his grave site in ancient Greek city Ephesus (Turkey), where they would lay rose petals and receive healing manna. Many would make pilgrimages in hopes of taking the ashes or manna powder to their own villages to serve as a healing item or a powerful talisman to ward off evil. As the tube’s decorations match those in Ephesus, researchers believe it may have originated there, and was brought to Bulgaria via pilgrimage, reports news site Novinite.

“All of these Early Christian pilgrimage centers produced primarily clay tubes for holy water; a total of only 43 lead tubes from this time period are known in the entire world,” notes Archaeology in Bulgaria.""

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/ancient-relic-found-containing-ashes-grave-john-apostle-002826

Ancient Remains of New Zealand Monster of the Sea Unearthed

""The jagged teeth of a hefty predator that lived in our waters 80 million years ago have been discovered in a Hawkes Bay forest.

The fossil remains of a mosasaur - a large marine reptile that was a dominant predator toward the end of the Cretaceous period - have been identified by experts at GNS Science after being earlier found in Maungataniwha Native Forest.

Earlier this year, Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust forest manager Pete Shaw and Department of Conservation biodiversity ranger Helen Jonas had been searching for whio (blue duck) up a small stream, when they spotted a rock with a lump of bone in it.

Ms Jonas was keen to see if the bone extended through the rock, so Mr Shaw jumped into a nearby pool to fetch a branch with which to lever the rock loose.

While in the pool, Mr Shaw felt something rough and lifted out another rock containing the fossilised jaw fragment.

"There was great jubilation at that point," Mr Shaw said.
The mosasaur could be likened to a crocodile with a snake-like body and paddle-like appendages.
It is believed to have lived only in water.

The area where the teeth were found is known by geologists as a hot-spot for fossils, and was where renowned palaeontologist Joan Wiffen famously first discovered evidence of land-dinosaur fossils in New Zealand, changing a long-held view that dinosaurs never existed here.

While mosasaur fossils have been found before in New Zealand - including around the forest area - they are not particularly Common.""

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11423436

Outback Deep Impact is Largest Asteroid Crater Ever Discovered on Earth

""The largest asteroid impact zone in the world has been discovered in Australia. A pair of markings are each measured to be at least 125 miles in diameter.

Analysis reveals the geological feature was formed by a massive asteroid more than 300 million years in the past, which likely split into two pieces from atmospheric friction before striking the ground.

The impact was responsible for a widespread extinction that vastly altered the biological makeup of the planet. However, no extinction event can be definitively tied to this collision, and there is no distinct geological layer in the strata of the Earth that provides a means of definitively dating the event. When a separate asteroid impact 66 million years ago ended the age of the dinosaurs, the blast sent a layer of iridium around the planet that was easily detected by geologists.

"The two asteroids must each have been over 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) across - it would have been curtains for many life species on the planet at the time. Large impacts like these may have had a far more significant role in the Earth's evolution than previously thought," said Andrew Glikson from the Australian National University's School of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The first of these markings was discovered in 2010, and researchers at the time declared it to be the third-largest meteor basin in the world. It is possible that the impact occurred more than 300 million years ago, researchers theorize. Dating of the basin is uncertain due to the nature of the rocks in the area, which are between 300 and 600 million years old.

A geothermal research project drilled over 1.25 miles under the surface of Warburton Basin in Central Australia, revealing a region where rock melted due to tremendous heat and pressure, forming glass. This material may have been created by a tremendous impact with an asteroid, investigators determined.

The crust of the Earth in this area, also known as the Alice Springs region, is nearly 19 miles thick. Magnetic modeling revealed the presence of two large domes in the crust, consistent with features that would be formed if the upper layer of the planet rebounded following a major impact.""

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/41660/20150323/largest-meteorite-crater-discovered-australian-outback-what-really-happened.htm

Anti-Pirate Roman Military Fort Oldest Ever Discovered

""Researchers at a site near Italy's northeastern border with Slovenia have discovered the hidden remains of the oldest known fort from ancient Rome. The site, which is in San Rocco, in the Trieste province, is the only Roman fortress discovered in Italy, and it may have been built to defend against people from the north, whom the Romans called "pirates."

The findings are described in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the researchers believe the fort could explain the Roman army's rise in power. The team believes the hilltop fort, which spans 32 acres, was built in 178 B.C.E., which dates it back several decades further than previously discovered Roman forts. They made the impressive find using Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) scanners from a helicopter over the area, as well as ground radar techniques.

Researchers believe the "pirates" in question were the Histri, who controlled the Istrian peninsula, Ancient Origins explains. The site includes a main camp and two smaller camps, and the researchers believe the camps were used until the foundation of Tergeste, which would eventually become the modern Trieste.

Now that the radar has located the site, scientists are planning a full-scale archaeological excavation at the fort. The fort could provide important clues about the Roman Republic's military as well as Trieste's founding."" Meghan DeMaria

http://theweek.com/speedreads/544921/researchers-discover-oldest-known-roman-military-fort--built-fend-pirates