Mythical or Real? Part 5

 This week, we visit an ancient trading center and a Biblical pool.

8. Steinkjer, Norway -

Norse sagas tell of an ancient trading center that was, briefly, the largest in the Viking world, but no one knew where or if it had actually existed. In 2013, archaeologists found some intriguing evidence during an archaeological investigation conducted near Steinkjer. Researchers uncovered two separate boat graves associated with a wide variety of high-status trade goods, such as a silver button, a set of balance scales, imported jewelry, and amber beads.

These findings add to the area’s rich archaeological record, which includes twenty-two examples of a special trade-related Viking-age sword. Taken together, these artifacts suggest that Steinkjer was the major trading city described in the Norse sagas, and that its center was likely where its modern church stands today.

 

9. Pool of Siloam, Jerusalem – 700 BCE

In the New Testament, Jesus returns sight to a blind man at the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. Christians searched for the site for centuries before repair work on a water pipe south of the Temple Mount in 2004 revealed two ancient stone steps.

During the archaeological investigation that followed this find, researchers discovered a 2,000-year-old, 225-foot-long trapezoidal pool, which they believe to be the site where Jesus conducted his miracle. In addition to being an important part of early Jerusalem’s water system, the architectural feature was also likely a ritual bath used by visiting pilgrims.

Careful extraction and restoration work over the past twenty years have preserved the ancient Pool of Siloam. It was opened to the public as part of the City of David National Park.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/nine-mythical-places-archaeologists-think-may-have-actually-existed/ar-AA1pZfYc?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=81421580eeb740c9bf0eb1832cd5508b&ei=66

Mythical or Real? Part 4

This week, we look into a famous temple and an infamous labyrinth.

6. Ain Dara (Solomon’s Temple), Syria – 1000 BCE

Armed conflict destroyed Ain Dara in northwestern Syria in 2018. In the 1980s, some archaeologists had identified it as the 3,000-year-old temple mentioned as Solomon’s Temple in the Bible. The ancient site shared more features with the temple described in the Book of Kings than any site uncovered before or since. It included walls carved in reliefs of lions and cherubs, a courtyard paved in flagstones, a monumental staircase guarded by sphinxes, and a multistory hallway. Even its location—on a raised platform overlooking a city—echoes the temple’s depiction in the Bible.

Although the bombing and plundering of the site prevents archaeologists from finding any more evidence of its history, some of its most important artifacts can be seen at the National Museum of Aleppo.

 

7. Kastelli (Minotaur’s Labyrinth), Greece – 2000 BCE

While building a new airport on the island of Crete, workers uncovered something unexpected. With a central circular building surrounded by eight stone rings intersected by walls, the site resembled the style of tomb constructed by the Minoan civilization around 2000 to 1700 BCE. But to anyone familiar with Greek mythology, it also looked like the Minotaur’s labyrinth.

The Minotaur was a ferocious creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man who was trapped in a maze built by the Greek architect Daedalus. Every seven years, Athens sacrificed seven young men and seven young women to the monster until Theseus, a prince of the city, volunteered to kill the creature. Marking his route with a ball of thread, Theseus made his way through the labyrinth, murdered the beast, rescued the not-yet-dead victims, then followed the thread back to safety.

Although archaeologists are still studying Kastelli, its architectural similarities to the mythical maze, combined with evidence of ceremonial offerings and communal feasting that was found at the site, suggest that it was part of the story’s origin.

Kastelli is not open to the public, but Knossos, the ancient palace that was previously believed to be the site of the Minotaur’s labyrinth, is.