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Description
This amulet was uncovered in 2009 outside the small town of Santa Margalida, on the island of Majorca, Spain. This area, known as the Son Real Necropolis, is an 800-square-foot mass gravesite that dates from the 7th to the 4th century BC. It is located on the small rocky coastal headland of Punta Fenicis and served as a mass burial site where the remains of over three hundred people, including woman and children, were found.
The dead were discovered along with over a thousand strange and unknown weapons, jewelry, and everyday objects, all themed around an apparent octopus-headed creature or god. The origin of the people buried in the necropolis is not clear. Scholars believe it to be a remote settlement of Ancient Romans, or an isolated Pagan cult who worshiped a god of the sea.
As much of this area has been destroyed by sea erosion, the bodies and the artifacts found there are in a poor state of preservation. What has been determined with the aid of CT imaging techniques and evaluation by Physical Anthropologists is that a great number of the dead bodies show evidence of knife wounds to their sternum and ribs – possibly due to a war or most likely, due to the high number of female bodies found with these wounds, evidence of ritual sacrifice. Some remains, including those of children, show evidence of the actual removal of a portion of the ribcage, possibly to remove the heart.
This amulet or medal was found on a complete and well-preserved body of a man buried high on a hill overlooking the central section of the Necropolis. It normally would have been worn around the neck, via a gold or leather chain, however the chain has either rotted or corroded.
As a result of his burial far from the destructive forces of the sea, and with the aid of the rocky soil around him, the man’s remains including his clothes (a black and red robe) were still well preserved. Along with this large octopus-headed amulet, the excavation team found gold coins, miscellaneous everyday objects, a gold and copper ceremonial dagger ([link] ), gold bracelet and gold face-mask inside the tomb. Based on the ornate nature and quantity of the gold artifacts found on the body (he was buried with more gold than any of the others), and the man’s placement at the highest peak of the necropolis, evidence suggests him to be a high-priest or the leader of the Pagan settlement.
The grave was placed at the base of a previously unknown talaiots (a bronze age megalith) that does not relate to any of the over 274 other stone talaiots, or their related Talaiotic settlements. While scholars believe most of the stone talaiots to have had some sort of defensive purpose, the purpose of those found near the necropolis is not clearly understood.
Gold amulet: 4 inches tall x 3 inches wide
PRIVATE COLLECTION, SWITZERLAND
The dead were discovered along with over a thousand strange and unknown weapons, jewelry, and everyday objects, all themed around an apparent octopus-headed creature or god. The origin of the people buried in the necropolis is not clear. Scholars believe it to be a remote settlement of Ancient Romans, or an isolated Pagan cult who worshiped a god of the sea.
As much of this area has been destroyed by sea erosion, the bodies and the artifacts found there are in a poor state of preservation. What has been determined with the aid of CT imaging techniques and evaluation by Physical Anthropologists is that a great number of the dead bodies show evidence of knife wounds to their sternum and ribs – possibly due to a war or most likely, due to the high number of female bodies found with these wounds, evidence of ritual sacrifice. Some remains, including those of children, show evidence of the actual removal of a portion of the ribcage, possibly to remove the heart.
This amulet or medal was found on a complete and well-preserved body of a man buried high on a hill overlooking the central section of the Necropolis. It normally would have been worn around the neck, via a gold or leather chain, however the chain has either rotted or corroded.
As a result of his burial far from the destructive forces of the sea, and with the aid of the rocky soil around him, the man’s remains including his clothes (a black and red robe) were still well preserved. Along with this large octopus-headed amulet, the excavation team found gold coins, miscellaneous everyday objects, a gold and copper ceremonial dagger ([link] ), gold bracelet and gold face-mask inside the tomb. Based on the ornate nature and quantity of the gold artifacts found on the body (he was buried with more gold than any of the others), and the man’s placement at the highest peak of the necropolis, evidence suggests him to be a high-priest or the leader of the Pagan settlement.
The grave was placed at the base of a previously unknown talaiots (a bronze age megalith) that does not relate to any of the over 274 other stone talaiots, or their related Talaiotic settlements. While scholars believe most of the stone talaiots to have had some sort of defensive purpose, the purpose of those found near the necropolis is not clearly understood.
Gold amulet: 4 inches tall x 3 inches wide
PRIVATE COLLECTION, SWITZERLAND
Image size
4500x3904px 9.53 MB
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