Archeology

Archaeologists find 1700 year old trident

Assos was an Ancient Greek city located on the Aegean coast in the present-day Çanakkale province of Turkey. The city was founded by Aeolian colonists between 1000 to 900 BC, emerging as a major centre of philosophy under the school of Aristotle.

According to Christian tradition, St. Paul visited the city during his third missionary journey (AD 53-57 AD) through Asia Minor on his way to Mytilene. Acts 20 records that Luke the Evangelist and his companions (‘we’) “went ahead to the ship and sailed [from Troas] to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board … and when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene”.

Recent excavations have unearthed a trident harpoon among pieces of a collapsed vault from a Nymphaion, a structure used for distributing water typically from aqueducts.

Trident’s served various purposes, such as spearfishing, and its historical use as a polearm. In classical mythology, the trident is associated with Poseidon in Greek mythology and Neptune in Roman mythology, symbolising their dominion over the sea.

In Ancient Rome, tridents were also used by a type of gladiator called a retiarius or “net fighter”. The retiarius was traditionally pitted against a secutor, and cast a net to wrap his adversary and then used the trident to spear them.

According to the researchers, the trident is made from iron and dates from around 1700-1800-years-ago. Such discoveries are rare, which are normally found in contemporary depictions on ceramics and frescos showing fisherman harpooning fish with tridents.

According to Prof. Dr. Arslan, there is evidence of iron working at Assos, so its possible that the object may have been produced locally. Because iron objects generally oxidise, the discovery is the first example found by archaeologists during their excavations at Assos.

The object has been sent for preservation by separating the soil or oxidised parts, and then will have protective materials applied to present further oxidation of the iron.

Related Posts

El lujoso ‘esqueleto’ cubierto de joyas encontrado en catacumbas romanas.

En las oscuras profundidades de las catacumbas romanas, los arqueólogos hicieron un descubrimiento sorprendente: un lujoso “esqueleto” cubierto de joyas y envuelto en un velo de misterio. Desenterrado…

Revelando las almas perdidas de Pompeya: innovadoras tomografías computarizadas iluminan la trágica historia de una ciudad antigua.

Después de permanecer sepultadas en cenizas durante más de 1.900 años, las víctimas de la devastadora erupción de Pompeya están volviendo a la vida gracias a la tecnología…

Siglos desenterrados: hombre inca de 500 años con tocado de plumas descubierto cerca de Lima, Perú.

Miles de momias de Ica, algunas de ellas reunidas en grupos de personas para buscar, han sido desenterradas de un cementerio atractivo debajo de una torre de piedra…

No hay dos iguales: las colosales cabezas de piedra de los olmecas en México.

Las enormes estatuas probablemente representan a gobernantes de la antigua civilización olmeca. Dos de las cabezas olmecas se exhiben en el Museo de Antropología de Jalapa en Xalapa,…

Egipto recibe de vuelta a casa una estatua robada de Ramsés II.

Muchos de los artefactos y obras de arte de Egipto han sido víctimas de robos en el pasado. Se saquearon ricos sitios culturales y se robaron sus riquezas…

El majestuoso y antiguo obelisco de Asuán, Egipto, un monumento con 3500 años de antigüedad, es desvelado.

El Antiguo Egipto es un enigma con su arquitectura e ingeniería. Incluso hoy en día, los expertos de todo el mundo se sorprenden de que los egipcios fueran…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *