Scientists have determined that the skeletal remains discovered in Peru near the city of Chiclayo belonged to a high-status woman who was a priestess in the Lambayeque or Sican culture. She had been buried with seven other individuals, a llama, and a variety of objects, including a golden scepter, shells, and ceramics. She was between 25 and 30 years old at the time of her death in the thirteenth century A.D.

Alfonso Manas of the University of Granada suggests that a statue from Germany’s Museum für Kunst und Gewerbein is a likeness of a female gladiator. The figure is of a woman with a bandaged knee wearing only a loincloth. She is holding a curved object that in the past has been interpreted as a strigil, which is used in bathing. Manas thinks the item in her hand is a sica, a short sword used by gladiators. While her pose is similar to one taken by a victorious fighter, her lack of protective gear is curious for a gladiator, but could have indicated her low social status and have been meant to titillate. The provenance of the statue is unknown.

Four rock-cut tombs from the Greek and Byzantine eras were found in Alexandria’s eastern necropolis  during an excavation conducted by Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities, ahead of a planned building project. One of the tombs features an open courtyard and walls coated with plaster and traces of red paint. Human remains and pottery have also been recovered. The site will become a protected area.

A section of the Palladion, the court used by the ancient Greeks for trying manslaughter cases, has been uncovered in downtown Athens. The room contained ceramic ballot boxes and coins, which may have been used by the judges to vote for innocence or guilt.

There are photographs of some of the 3,000 fragments of Buddha statues unearthed in China last month at National Geographic News. The statues are estimated to be 1,500 years old. Scientists are trying to figure out how they came to be buried together in a pit.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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