Archaeological Context

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

Website: https://23minarch.com
Support: patreon.com/23minarch

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

website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch

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

website: https://23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch

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

As the title already indicates, in this episode we examine the diet of “Celtic warriors”. First, I present the late Iron Age cemetery of Münsingen and highlight why this site from Switzerland became such an important reverence point for Celtic archaeology: because based on the evolution of the characteristics of the fibulae grave goods a so-called typo-chronology could be established. Then we talk with Dr. Sandra Lösch, who was the supervisor of a recent research project on the diet of these late Iron Age individuals.

Reverences:

· Moghaddam et al. (2016), A bioarchaeological approach to the Iron Age in Switzerland: stable isotope analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human remains

· Moghaddam et al. (2016), Zur Ernährung und Sozialstratigraphie der Kelten aus Münsingen-Rain

· Moghaddam et al. (2014), Social stratigraphy in Late Iron Age Switzerland: stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope analysis of human remains from Münsingen

· Martin-Kilchner (1973), Zur Tracht- und Beigabensitte im keltischen Gräberfeld von Münsingen-Rain

· Hodson (1968), The La Tène Cemetery at Münsingen-Rain
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