Historical accounts, archaeological data and recent environmental research brought to light multiple accounts, where the fates of entire civilizations have been affected by climatic events and resulting social conflict. In this episode of archaeological context, we focus on the first century BCE in the eastern Mediterranean region. A period marked by the end of the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Recent multidisciplinary research by the guest of this episode, Dr Joe Manning from the Yale University, has highlighted the pivotal role played by a massive volcanic eruption in Alaska and resulting climatic fluctuations, that likely helped to trigger this transformative moment in the middle of the first century BCE.

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The myth of El Dorado played a significant role in driving the European conquistadors to explore and conquer large parts South America starting in the sixteenth century CE. But did this El Dorado actually exist, and where was it, or better who was it? In this episode of archaeological context, we will cover the source of the El Dorado legend, as it originates from specific rituals performed by the Muisca, indigenous peoples in nowadays Colombia, specifically at a small mountain lake called Guatavita. In addition, Dr Marcos Martinón-Torres, Professor at the University of Cambridge shares results of his research project examining Muisca gold artefacts.

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In this special episode of archaeological context, I want to highlight a bit of a different topic, as we will focus on a time period and especially geographical region, not often featured in archaeological discussions: A 17thcentury UNESCO world heritage site, located on the Westcoast of Africa. Specifically, we will explore Christiansborg Castle in Osu, a suburb of Accra, the capitol of Ghana. I aim to cover the interesting and dark history, as well as results of recent excavations and I had the pleasure to talk about this with Prof Fritz Biveridge from the University of Ghana.

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Since 2011 the Syrian civil war, with armed confrontations between regime and various opposition forces, led to a traumatic process that has strained the ethnic and social fabric of the country. Much of Syria lies in ruins, and also its archaeological heritage has been a major casualty of the conflict, especially regarding the deliberate destruction and systematic looting of antiquities by forces of the so-called Islamic State terror organization. I had the pleasure to discuss some of the intricate details of these actions with Dr Amr Al-Azm on this episode of archaeological context.

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The stone age site of Herxheim in Western Germany is counted among the most important and at the same time enigmatic prehistoric localities of Europe, because in the ditches surrounding an Early Neolithic settlement, the skeletal remains of hundreds of individuals were found. But these were not proper burials, as the bones were smashed beyond recognition and the skulls shaped to bowl-like artefacts. Soon after this discovery, the possibility of ritualized mass cannibalism was debated, as all the evidence hints to complex ceremonies taking place at this site. To find out more, I had a discussion with my friend Dr. Andrea Zeeb-Lanz on this episode of archaeological context.

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The unprovoked Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022 marks the largest armed conflict in Europe since the second World War, and at least six million Ukrainians had to flee their home country. This ongoing war also damaged or destroyed many archaeological sites and museums featuring the rich cultural heritage in eastern and southern Ukraine. My friends Dr Pavlo Shydlovski and Dr Marta Andriiovych talk about their their experiences and share evidence of the looting of artefacts on this episode of archaeological context.

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Welcome back to another episode of 23 minutes archaeology, where we continue with part 2 of or look at Ötzi, the prehistoric Iceman. Because soon after the recovery of the mummy, and its significance was understood, the site of his discovery at the Tisenjoch-mountain was extensively researched. In the process, many parts of Ötzis equipment were found and uncovered from the ice. 
And for us archaeologists, these finds are truly invaluable. Because as you may remember from last episode, Ötzi was not formally buried, but unexpectedly torn from life. Additionally, not only his body, but also his clothing and equipment was frozen in ice and therefore preserved over the millennia. This gives us the unique opportunity to get an unaltered picture of the different objects used in everyday life, over 5000 years ago. Afterwards we continue our conversation with Dr. Albert Zink and also focus more on the tattoos discovered all over Ötzis body.

Reverences:

• Maixner et al. (2018), The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals
• Fleckinger Ed. (2011), Ötzi 2.0: Eine Mumie zwischen Wissenschaft, Kult und Mythos
• Möckli (2011), Medizinische Untersuchungen und Ergebnisse an Ötzi 

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The Iceman, this may sound like the name of a wrestler or comic-book hero, but today we’re actually talking about one of the most sensational archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Exactly 30 years ago in 1991 this now world-famous mummy was discovered accidentally, in the Ötztal Alps between Austria and Italy, at an altitude of 3210 meters. At the time of discovery, it was unclear what a sensational find the frozen body represented. But after the effective age of the mummy of over 5000 years was proven, media interest was enormous. The German speaking media gave the individual the name Ötzi (from the Ötztal mountain range). In the English-speaking world, he was named "The ice man", or "Man from the ice".
In these 30 years since his discovery, Ötzi's body have been studied by many different sciences, from archaeology, anthropology medicine, forensics, botany and so on. And I am very happy to present to you my conversation with Dr. Albert Zink, head of the institute for mummy studies at the European academy in Bolzano and actually in charge of preserving the body of the prehistoric Iceman.

 Reverences:

• Maixner et al. (2018), The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals
• Fleckinger Ed. (2011), Ötzi 2.0: Eine Mumie zwischen Wissenschaft, Kult und Mythos
• Möckli (2011), Medizinische Untersuchungen und Ergebnisse an Ötzi 

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I grew up loving the film “gladiator” with Russel Crow and Joaquin Phoenix. And probably since the beginning of film, gladiators were an integral part of the display of ancient Rome. Take the figure of Spartacus for example; probably his first appearance on the screens was in an Italian silent movie from 1913, then came the masterpiece from Stanley Kubrick in 1960 or the more recent, the tv-series “Spartacus, Blood and Sand”. 

One mutual element these films have, are brutal displays of duels and dramatic deaths of gladiators in the arena. In the last episode we focused on how one became a gladiator and what their diet actually was. Now, let’s focus on the gritty stuff, the chances of surviving an encounter in the arena, injuries and finally, actual causes of death! Additionally, I tried to find out if there is also evidence for female gladiators. In order to investigate these questions, we turn to the gladiator graveyard in ancient Ephesus and continue our conversation with the researcher, who analyzed these excavated skeletons Dr. Fabian Kanz.

Reverences:

• Lösch et al. (2014), Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) – Implications for Differences in Diet
• Meller, Sampaolo (2013), Gladiator. Looking on death every day
• Kanz, Grossschmidt (2009), Dying in the Arena: The Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators
• Nossov (2009), Gladiator. Rome’s bloody spectacle
• Ville (1981), La gladiature en Occident des origines à la mort de Domitien

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Maybe you know the movie “The Game changers” by UFC-fighter James Wilks. The premise of this documentary was him finding out, that roman gladiators ate very little to no meat. Before this, James Wilks was sure that animal protein was essential for the upkeep of energy levels, the growth of muscles and the healing from injuries. But after reading recent research papers on the subject, he was convinced that the gladiators had a predominantly plant-based diet during training and fights in the arena. Which in term led him to promote a vegan diet for modern day top athletes in his movie.

But is this actually true, were the gladiator’s “vegan”? In this episode we will lock at primary sources, results from analyzed bone samples and talk with Dr. Fabian Kanz, the researcher, who wrote the article James Wilks based “The Game changers” on and who is actually featured in the movie alongside people like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Reverences:

• Lösch et al. (2014), Stable Isotope and Trace Element Studies on Gladiators and Contemporary Romans from Ephesus (Turkey, 2nd and 3rd Ct. AD) – Implications for Differences in Diet
• Meller, Sampaolo (2013), Gladiator. Looking on death every day
• Kanz, Grossschmidt (2009), Dying in the Arena: The Osseous Evidence from Ephesian Gladiators
• Nossov (2009), Gladiator. Rome’s bloody spectacle
• Ville (1981), La gladiature en Occident des origines à la mort de Domitien

Website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch