Researchers have discovered tunnels and buildings from the time of the American Civil War, buried under the famous prison of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California.

Historians have long suspected that a federal prison was erected on the site of military fortifications built in the 1800s. The publication of the journal Near Surface Geophysics, describes the complex, found under the prison yard.

The study of the territory of the national park was conducted using ground penetrating radar and ground scanning. Under the recreation yard of the prison, researchers found traces of completely buried buildings, ammunition depots and tunnels. “These ruins are well preserved and are located close to the surface,” said Timothy de Smet, an archaeologist at Binghamton University. He added that these artifacts are right under their feet. Armed with new evidence, researchers plan to continue to study the remnants of old structures.

Archaeologists began exploring most of the 19th century fortress buried under existing prison buildings in 2014. During work on the territory of Alcatraz, scientists were surprised by the concrete reinforcement of some earthen tunnels, despite the fact that concrete was not used in construction at that time.

“It is interesting that at that time they did not even produce cement in the United States,” said Tanya Vattenburg Comas from California State University Chico. “It was probably cement brought in barrels from Europe. Finding it on a mid-19th century battery was a big surprise.”

During the American Civil War, Alcatraz Island served as a military base that backed supporters of the West Coast Confederation. The defenses were built in the mid-1850s and included barracks and gun batteries. While most of the country was drawn into a bloody battle, Alcatraz’s fortress remained calm.

In addition, Fort Alcatraz was used as the official military prison of the west coast. The first prisoners from the federal penitentiary system began arriving in the 1930s, and the last were evicted in 1963. On an island with a high level of security, famous prisoners were serving sentences: Al Capone, George “machine gunner” Kelly, Whitey Bulger.

Milena Moskvich

By author Milena Moskvich

The Ministry of Antiquities of Egypt reports that Egyptian archaeologists discovered a tomb with 40 mummies. According to the estimates of scientists, the finds date back to the era of Ptolemy (323-30 BC). 

The embalmed remains were found in four burial chambers nine meters deep. Among the mummies 12 of them are children. Excavations were carried out at the Tuna el Göbel site in Minya , 260 kilometers south of Cairo. 

 “They are all fairly well preserved, some are wrapped in linen and decorated with demotic handwriting (in ancient Egyptian writing),” the ministry said in a statement. Some mummies are found in clay coffins and wooden sarcophagi. Fragments of colored patches were found on the turtles, which were used as burial masks. 

 “This is the first archaeological discovery, announced in 2019 after the excavations, which began in November last year. The excavations are carried out thanks to the joint work of the Ministry of Antiquities and the Research Center for Archaeological Research at Minya University, ”said Khaled al-Anani at a press conference. It was attended by the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Vaziri, Egyptian Tourism Minister Rania al-Mashat, Governor Mini Kassem Hussein, professors at Minya University, as well as diplomats from more than 10 foreign countries.   

Mostafa Vaziri stated that the mummy’s identity is unknown. “We did not find names that could be written with hieroglyphs,” he said, adding that the mummies most likely belong to wealthy Egyptians.  

Waziri also said that fragments of ceramics and pieces of ancient paper found at the excavation site helped the researchers determine the date of burial. According to Ahmed Ata, a professor of archeology at Minya University and a member of a joint mission, these tombs are about 2000 years old.  

The tombs of Minya, discovered during the excavations, are part of a family grave, which probably belonged to an urban well-to-do family, the ministry added.  

Archaeological excavations also found the tomb of Petosiris, the tomb of Isadora, an animal sacrifice site, a Roman cemetery, and two reliefs of King Akhenaten.  

This is not the first discovery made in Minya. In 2017, as reported by The Inquisitr, a necropolis with 17 mummies was discovered in the same area. Tuna El Gebel is also known for finding mummified animals.

Milena Moskvich

By author Milena Moskvich