The five archaeological discoveries of 2021 finalists for the Khaled al-Asaad International Prize

The Mediterranean Archaeological Tourism Exchange and Archeo announce the five archaeological discoveries of 2021 nominated for theeighth edition of the annual International Archaeological Discovery Award "Khaled al-Asaad," aimed at giving relevance to archaeological discoveries in collaboration with the Exchange’s international media partner publications: Antike Welt (Germany), Archäologie in Deutschland (Germany), Archéologia (France), as. Archäologie der Schweiz (Switzerland), Current Archaeology (UK), Dossiers d’Archéologie (France).

Fellowship Director Ugo Picarelli and Archeo Director Andreas Steiner are aware that “the civilizations and cultures of the past and their relations with the surrounding environment assume today more and more importance linked to the rediscovery of identities, in a global society that increasingly disperses its values.” The Prize is thus characterized by popularizing an exchange of experiences, represented by international discoveries, also as a good practice of intercultural dialogue and cooperation among peoples.

Named after thearchaeologist from Palmyra who paid with his life for the defense of cultural heritage, the prize recognizes worldwide archaeology and its protagonists, the archaeologists, who with sacrifice, dedication, expertise and scientific research face their task daily. The award, given to the first-ranked archaeological discovery, will be selected from five finalists reported by the editors of each journal and will be presented on Friday, October 28, during the XXIV BMTA scheduled in Paestum October 27-30, 2022, in the presence of Fayrouz Asaad, archaeologist and daughter of Khaled.

A Special Award will also be given to the discovery, among the five nominees, that has received the most support from the general public during the period July 4-September 30 on the Exchange’s Facebook page(www.facebook.com/borsamediterraneaturismoarcheologico).

Here are the five archaeological discoveries of 2021 finalists for the eighth edition of the International Archaeological Discovery Award “Khaled al-Asaad.”

Egypt: the city founded by Amenhotep III in Luxor resurfaces from the desert;
Italy: Pompeii, slave room discovered in Civita Giuliana;
Pakistan: at Barikot site the oldest urban Buddhist temple in the Swat Valley;
UK: in England’s Rutland county an extraordinary mosaic with scenes from the Iliad;
Turkey: in Anatolia the site of Karahantepe a rock sanctuary more than 11,000 years old.

Egypt: the city founded by Amenhotep III in Luxor resurfaces from the desert.

Beneath the sand for thousands of years “the largest city ever found in Egypt” in good condition and with nearly complete walls has been found by Zahi Hawass’s team, searching in truth for Tutankhamun’s funerary temple. The site was located near the palace of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1391-1353 B.C.), across the Nile River from the city and capital of Thebes (now Luxor). Hieroglyphic inscriptions indicate that the city was called Tjehen-Aten, or Aton “dazzling,” and that it was founded by Tutankhamun’s grandfather Amenhotep III. Hailed as the “lost city of gold,” it is not a city-that it already existed and was Thebes-was not exactly lost, as some zig-zag walls had already been discovered in the 1930s by Frenchmen Robichon and Varille 100 meters away, and so far it has produced no gold finds: “I call it golden because it was founded during Egypt’s Golden Age,” Hawass said. The rooms preserve objects related to daily life: precious rings, scarabs, colorful ceramic vessels, mud bricks with the cartouche seals of Amenhotep III, as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions on clay caps of wine jars, helped date the settlement. A bakery, an area for cooking and preparing food, with ovens and storage dishes, was also identified. The second area, still largely buried, coincides with the administrative and residential quarters, circumscribed by a zig-zag wall. The third area was set up for workshops: along one side is the area for the production of mud bricks used to build temples and outbuildings, in the other a large number of foundry molds for making amulets and delicate decorative elements. Two unusual burials of a cow or a bull were found inside one of the rooms, while surprising the burial of a person with arms stretched out along the sides and the remains of a rope wrapped around the knees. A large cemetery with a group of rock-cut tombs of different sizes was discovered north of the settlement.

Italy: Pompeii, slave room discovered at Civita Giuliana.

In the suburban villa north of Pompeii, at Civita Giuliana, the slave room offers an extraordinary insight into a part of the ancient world. The state of preservation of the room and the possibility of making plaster casts of beds and other objects from perishable materials constitutes an “ancient snapshot” of the life of slaves, generally overlooked by history, which focuses on the exploits of the powerful. Grooms were slaves who lived in this unadorned room where three wooden cots and a wooden chest containing metal and fabric objects, which appear to be part of horse harnesses, were found. Also, resting on one of the beds, a chariot helm was found, a cast of which was made. The beds consisted of a few roughly worked wooden planks; beneath the cots were a few personal items, including amphorae rested to store private possessions, ceramic jugs and the “chamber pot.” The room was lit by a small window at the top and had no wall decorations. It was probably a dormitory for a group of slaves, but it is possible that it was a small family given the presence of the child-sized cot. The room also served as a storeroom, as evidenced by eight amphorae crammed into the corners vacated specifically for that purpose. The find occurred not far from the porch where a ceremonial chariot was discovered in early 2021.

Pakistan: at the site of Barikot the oldest urban Buddhist temple in the Swat Valley.

The discovery of one of the world’s oldest Buddhist temples in the ancient city of Barikot in the Swat region is the result of the latest excavation campaign by the Italian Mission in Pakistan of theISMEO (International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies) under the direction of Professor Luca Maria Olivieri of the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The very ancient Buddhist temple (dated to around the second half of the second century BC, but probably dates back to an earlier age, to the Maurya period, thus 3rd century B.C.) is considered a very important find because it reveals new details about the architectural organization and life in the ancient city, the relations between the Greek rulers of the time and Buddhism, and the spread of the religion throughout the region. “”The discovery of a large religious monument founded in Indo-Greek times certainly points to a large and ancient center of worship and pilgrimage,“ Olivieri explained, stressing that ”the attribution to such an ancient age for Buddhism in this region is of enormous importance." Barikot is known in Greek and Latin sources as one of the cities besieged by Alexander the Great, ancient Bazira or Vajrasthana; it was occupied continuously from protohistory (1700 B.C.) to the medieval period (16th century), with more than 10 meters of archaeological stratigraphy. The temple found has an apsidal podium form with a circular cella and inner stupa, a form so far unique and evidently harking back to India that Italian and Pakistani archaeologists think it may date back to at least the Indo-Greek age. The monument was abandoned when the lower town was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake in the early 4th century.

UK: in England’s Rutland county an extraordinary mosaic with scenes from the Iliad

A magnificent Roman mosaic, in poor condition, has been discovered under plowed fields in the East Midlands region, the first mosaic ever found in England with scenes from Homer’s Iliad: it presumably decorated a large dining room inside a Roman villa dating to the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. The site is under official government protection on the advice of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England. The mosaic depicts the confrontation between Achilles and Hector at the end of the Trojan War. At the time it was found it was just below the surface, discovered in 2020 by Jim Irvine, son of landowner Brian Naylor, who found pottery fragments during a walk in a wheat field. Looking later at satellite images Jim had noticed a very clear crop mark, as if someone had drawn on the computer screen with a piece of chalk, so he contacted archaeologists at Leicestershire County Council. Historic England with urgent funding sent a team of archaeologists in August 2020 with further work in September 2021 by the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester with John Thomas, deputy director of Archaeological Services at the University and project manager of the excavation. The find offers new insights into the customs and traditions of the people of the time, their knowledge of classical literature, and also provides information about the individual who commissioned the mosaic, a wealthy person with a good knowledge of the classics. Part of the site has not yet been excavated, but geophysical surveys revealing underlying structures show a complex of buildings, including corridor barns, circular structures, perhaps grain stores, and a presumed bathhouse. The work also continues with contributions from David Neal, a leading expert on Roman mosaics.

Turkey: Karahantepe site in Anatolia a rock sanctuary more than 11,000 years old

The archaeological site of Karahantepe, about 25 miles southeast of its more famous twin Göbeklitepe, is shedding new light on the ingenuity of the Neolithic people of this part of southeastern Turkey. The discovery by Istanbul University with the team led by Professor Necmi Karul shows an underground chamber 23 meters in diameter and 5.50 meters deep, with well-preserved sculpture of an imposing head with human features, emerging from the rock face that appears to be “looking as if from a window” at a series of eleven tall pillars carved in the shape of a phallus. A sacred temple with roots in prehistory that may have been the heart of a procession of priests and possible worshippers moving along a trajectory involving three other connected temples. It has numerous worked stone artifacts with at least 250 monoliths, mostly with T-pillars, as well as many unique stone carvings and designs. As at Göbeklitepe this site is covered with many strange depictions of humans, symbols and animals, sometimes involved in very strange activities and a striking 3-D representation of a human head with a serpentine neck, emerging from the rock. Many artifacts are now on display at the Sanlıurfa Archaeological Museum. Karahantepe is an entire sacred city with a hydraulic system for water distribution. The large megaliths of which it is built are covered with elaborate decorations, carvings depicting mostly local wildlife once present on the site, cranes, wild boar and other game animals, but also cheetahs, foxes, vultures and even some rare human heads. After being inhabited for millennia, around 8000 B.C. the main site was abandoned in a relatively short period of time: but before leaving, it appears that the inhabitants deliberately buried it, a huge task achieved for reasons unimaginable today.

Pictured is the discovery of the mosaic with scenes from the Iliad in the United Kingdom. Credit University of Leicester Archaeological Services

The five archaeological discoveries of 2021 finalists for the Khaled al-Asaad International Prize

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