Sunday, July 12, 2009

A 2,000-year-old cream belonging to an aristocrat discovered

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ashington, July 12 (ANI): Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a 2,000-year-old cream, left almost intact in the cosmetic case of an aristocratic Etruscan woman.The lotion, which was discovered four years ago in a necropolis near the Tuscan town of Chiusi, has been revealed now, only after chemical analysis has identified the original compounds of the ancient ointment.


The archaeologists found an intact tomb-dating to the second half of the second century B.C.-sealed by a large terracotta tile.

The site featured a red-purple painted inscription with the name of the deceased: Thana Presnti Plecunia Umranalisa.

And quite near to the tomb, they found a cosmetic case, richly decorated with bone, ivory, tin and bronze elements.

The feet of the box featured bone carved in the shape of Sirens.

The case was filled with precious personal objects- a couple of bronze finger rings, a pair of tweezers, two combs and an alabaster unguentarium vessel - a vase-shaped jar - of Egyptian origins.

"The entire content of the cosmetic case was found under a clay layer which deposited throughout time. This made it possible for the ointment to survive almost intact despite (the fact that) the vessel had no cap," Discovery News quoted Erika Ribechini, a researcher at the department of chemistry and industrial chemistry of Pisa University, as saying.

The ointment, a solid, homogeneous and pale yellow mass, revealed fatty acids in high abundance.

"This is almost unique in archaeology. Even though more than 2,000 years have passed, the oxidation of the organic material has not yet been completed. This is most likely due to the sealing of the alabaster unguentarium by the clayish earth, which prevented contact with oxygen," said Ribechini.

The analysis revealed that the contents of the vessel consisted of a mixture of substances of lipids and resins.

"The natural resins were the pine resin, exudated from Pinaceae, and the mastic resin, from Anacardiaceae trees. The lipid was a vegetable oil, most likely moringa oil, which was used by the Egyptians and Greeks to produce ointments and perfumes," said Ribechini.

Moringa oil was one of the ingredients in a recipe for a perfume for ancient royalty.

Thus, the researchers believe that the lotion was imported.

The discovery has been detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. (ANI)

Metro bridge collapses in Delhi

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t least five people have died and 15 have been injured after a partially constructed bridge collapsed in Delhi, Indian officials say.

A pillar supporting part of the structure collapsed, a spokesman for the Delhi Rail Corporation said.

The men who died were reported to be labourers working on the bridge, part of the city's new metro system.

The accident happened in the early hours of Sunday morning. Rescue crews are checking others are not trapped.


A labourer working on the site said that at least 25 men were working there when a concrete supporting pillar collapsed, Reuters reports. "Sacks of cement were being taken up. Two to three were taken up and then suddenly the bridge collapsed," Mukesh said.

A police spokesman said the accident happened as workers lifted heavy concrete slabs for the bridge.

One slab slipped, crushing the metal beams of the bridge beneath and rupturing a water pipe.

It is the second accident involving metro construction projects in less than a year.

In October, two people were crushed to death and 12 injured when another bridge under construction collapsed on to a bus and cars below.


Gujarat hooch tragedy: Death toll rises to 127


Ahmedabad Jul 12: The toll in the Ahmedabad hooch tragedy has risen to 127 following fourteen more deaths on Sunday Jul 12.
According to police, 229 people are still admitted to various city hospitals. The Crime Branch, of the Gujarat Police is investigating the case.


The investigation has revealed that spurious liquor was supplied from Mahemdabad town in Kheda district. Though police have identified one Vinod Chauhan alias Dagri as the main supplier of the killer brew, the Congress Party is alleging that a BJP councilor from Ahmedabad was the key supplier.

As a large number of people are still being brought to hospitals, Gujarat police suspect that some quantity of same batch of the illicit liquor may still be in circulation in parts of the city.

Gujarat is the country's only state where the sale and consumption of liquor is banned out of respect for Mahatma Gandhi. The Ahmedabad tragedy is the biggest in the history of Gujarat after the 1989 Vadodara hooch tragedy, which claimed 132 lives.

ANI