NatGeo History 2020.05 PDF

AMAZONS
WARRIOR WOMEN OF
THE ANCIENT WORLD
THE PAINTED TOMB

REVEALING EGYPT’S
ROYAL SPLENDOR
BORDER PATROL
ROMAN LEGIONS
ON THE DANUBE
VOYAGE OF
THE BEAGLE
DARWIN’S JOURNEY
AROUND THE WORLD
PLUS:
Taking Down the Nazis:

The Battle of Berlin
FROM THE EDITOR
My favorite Amazon didn’t come from classic tales,

but a 1970s television show. Every week, Diana Prince would spin around
to transform into Wonder Woman, an Amazon princess who fought
Nazis. According to the theme song, she could “Stop a bullet cold / Make
the Axis fold / Change their minds and change the world.” Idolizing her,
I spent a lot of time trying to spin myself into an Amazon with super
strength and bulletproof bracelets. (Sad to say, it didn’t work.)
Wonder Woman’s Amazon lineage can be traced back through comic books
to Greek mythology to real warrior women: the Scythians. Their prowess
with weapons and horses earned the admiration of the ancient Greeks, who
then wove these women into their myths as foes for their greatest heroes.
The Scythians are not the only real Amazons in history. The past is full of
them—from Boudica and Joan of Arc who scored iconic military victories,
to Queen Elizabeth I of England and Empress Cixi of China who led their
nations in times of transition. With their strength and smarts these
women had to overcome not only their enemies but also the conventions
of their times about what women could do. They were true wonder
women, changing minds and changing the world.
Amy Briggs, Executive Editor
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VOL. 6 NO. 2
HEAVENLY VAULT
Gods, beasts, and constellations
adorn the blue vaulted ceiling of
Pharaoh Seti I’s burial chamber in the
Valley of the Kings.
Features Departments
14 A Pharaoh’s Glorious Tomb 4 NEWS
Hidden in the Valley of the Kings, the colorful walls of Egyptian king Seti I DNA preserved in ancient
greeted Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni in 1817, when he unearthed “chewing gum” found in Denmark
chambers covered in richly detailed funerary art. has revealed numerous details—including
gender, age, and last meal—of a hunter-
gatherer from 5,700 years ago.
32 The Real Amazons
6 MILESTONES
Tales of warrior women thrilled the ancient Greeks, who chronicled their
exploits on pottery and in poetry. Recent archaeology reveals that Amazons The fall of Berlin to the Red Army
were more than myth and based on Scythian female fighters of the steppes. in spring 1945 brought the Third
Reich to an ignominious end. After six years
of Nazi devastation and genocide, the Allies
46 Barbarians on the Frontier could finally declare victory in Europe.
The Danube defined the Roman Empire’s northern border, with Rome on
one side and “barbarian” Germanic tribes on the other. The 1,700-mile 10 PROFILES
waterway was strong protection, fortified by watchtowers and forts. Major Californian cities grew
from Junípero Serra’s missions,
founded in the 1700s. Hailed as a hero
60 The Children’s Crusade by many, the Spanish missionary and
Spurred by divine visions, two bands of Christian Catholic saint has also been criticized for
youths sought to reach the Holy Land in 1212. his treatment of Native Americans.
Their mission captured the popular imagination,
90 DISCOVERIES
but historians are still seeking the full story.
More than 20 years after a
damaged skull was found
72 Darwin and the Beagle in a Gibraltar cave, technological
Charles Darwin’s five-year voyage on the Beagle advances revealed it belonged to
brought back wildlife specimens that stunned a late Stone Age woman whose
origins lay in modern-day Turkey.
his peers and planted the seeds of a scientific
idea that would revolutionize the world.
CHILDREN LEAD A MARCH IN A ROMANTICIZED 19TH-CENTURY

DEPICTION OF THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE.
NEWS
LOLA’S APPEARANCE WAS

RECONSTRUCTED THANKS TO THE
5,700-YEAR-OLD SALIVA SHE LEFT ON
BIRCH-PITCH “GUM” DISCOVERED IN
SOUTHERN DENMARK.
TOM BJÖRKLUND
0.393 inch
LUCKY LUMP The wad of birch tar (above)

preserved Lola’s entire genome. The
material was used primarily in toolmaking,
THEIS ZETNER TROLLE JENSEN
but it also had medical properties. Mildly

antiseptic, people might have used it to ease
a toothache, clean teeth, suppress hunger,
or for the simple chewy pleasure of it.
NEOLITHIC DNA
SEA
RTH SWEDEN
NO
‘Chewing Gum’ Holds

D EN M A R K
Copenhagen
Baltic
Ancient Genetic Secrets
Sea
Lolland
Syltholm A piece of birch pitch chewed by a Stone Age woman in
Denmark opens exciting new vistas for genetic archaeology.
NG MAPS
GE R .
C
FIELDWORK by ar- hewed-up wads of discarded. The gum contained man genome from something
chaeologists ahead of tree pitch are not human saliva, and scientists other than human bones—a
tunnel construction uncommon finds at have been able to extract DNA feat called “amazing” by
led to the birch-tar Stone Age sites in from it. Hannes Schroeder, who led a
find at Syltholm on northern Europe, but one little Found on the island of Lol- team at the University of Co-
the Danish island of black blob of it has proved to land in southern Denmark and penhagen. Schroeder said the
Lolland in the Baltic
be a goldmine of genetic infor- carbon-dated to around 5,700 gum is as well preserved as the
Sea. They also found
evidence of toolmak- mation. The pitch (also called years ago, the gum preserved best skull bones, considered
ing, but no human re- “tar”) from a birch tree was an- enough DNA that scientists the holy grail in ancient DNA.
mains were present. cient “chewing gum” that was were able to extract for the “This is a very valuable source
preserved in mud after it was first time an entire ancient hu- of ancient DNA, especially for
4 MAY/JUNE 2020
THE BIRCH: A TREE
WITH THE GIFT OF GUM
SILVER BIRCH FORESTS occur naturally throughout
most of Europe, but the trees prefer colder climates
and are more abundant in the boreal region of north-
ern Europe. Researchers link birch bark with vari-
ous possible Stone Age uses, such as layered mats
or containers. Charred birch-bark rolls have been
found that might have served as torches or tapers
for lighting fires. But the main use of birch bark was
to heat it to make pitch, or tar, a gluey black-brown
substance used in Europe since at least the middle
Pleistocene (approximately 750,000 to 125,000
years ago) to fasten stone blades to handles. Pieces
of birch pitch have been found with tooth marks,
prompting archaeologists to reason that as the pitch
cooled and solidified, it was chewed to make it mold-
able again. The birch pitch chewed by Lola was found
at Syltholm, the biggest Stone Age site in Denmark.
Almost everything at the site was covered by mud,
which preserved remains from Lola’s mouth in the
pitch. Stone Age birch gum is scattered wherever
birches were prevalent, around Scandinavia and
moving eastward toward Russia.
BIRCH TREES (RIGHT) ARE A FAMILIAR FEATURE OF

THE NORTHERN EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE.
IMAGE SOURCE/GETTY IMAGES
time periods where we have no ae, the strain of bacteria that Europe than to the people
human remains,” he said. The causes pneumonia, was also who lived in Scandinavia at
team’s study, published in Na- present, but whether Lola was that time. This suggests that
ture Communications, yield- suffering from pneumonia at southern Scandinavia was
ed an approximation of the the time she was chewing the populated by immigration
chewer’s appearance: a young gum isn’t clear. The microbi- both from the south and the
woman with dark skin, dark ome also revealed that Lola had north along the Norwegian
hair, and striking blue eyes. eaten a meal containing duck coast.
Researchers named her “Lola.” and hazelnuts around the time Chewed pitch is some-
she chewed the pitch. times the only sign of a hu-
Tiny Details, Big Finds All these findings taken to- man presence at sites where
In addition to the saliva, the gether support the idea that physical remains are absent.
gum preserved microbes from Lola was a hunter-gatherer Archaeologists can now turn
Lola’s mouth (collectively who lived during a transition- to humble wads of chewing
known as her “oral microbi- al phase in the early Neolithic gum to secure valuable ge-
ome”). This community of mi- period in Denmark. Meso- netic information about in-
croorganisms can give insight lithic hunter-gatherers were dividuals, researchers say,
into Lola’s health and diet. living side by side with farm- revealing how ancient pop- MESOLITHIC BONE TOOLS FROM CIRCA
Study of the microbes revealed ers. Genetically, Lola is more ulations changed over time, 8700 B.C. FOUND ON DENMARK’S LOLLAND
ISLAND, NEAR WHERE LOLA’S BIRCH-PITCH
she had severe periodontal dis- closely related to hunter- how healthy they were, and GUM WAS DISCARDED.
ease. Streptococcus pneumoni- gatherers from mainland how they survived. ALBUM/PRISMA

Fall of the Reich:
The Red Army Takes Berlin
At the end of a brutal campaign in spring 1945, the Soviet Union’s forces barreled
into Berlin, the last refuge of Nazi Germany. Taking this city would be the final step for
securing victory for the Allied powers and ending World War II in Europe.
B
y spring 1945 World War II forces to capture German territory and ation Bagration, a massive offensive on
had been raging in Europe for press the Axis powers back. At the same the eastern front aimed primarily at
more than five years. Years of time, the Soviets, led by Premier Joseph annihilating Army Group Center, the
brutal battles resulted in mas- Stalin, began their campaign in the east. once mighty Nazi force that had reached
sive losses of human life and Over the year, the Red Army marched the outskirts of Moscow in 1941 during
destruction of towns and cities. Since toward Berlin, intent on the destruction Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa. Having
1941, the Soviet Union had been fighting of Nazi Germany. since recaptured from the Germans
Germany in eastern Europe, losing nearly all the ground held by the Soviet
millions of soldiers as they repelled Soviets on the March Union before the war began, the Red
Hitler’s invasion of Soviet territory. On June 22, 1944, three years to the Army now advanced into areas that Jo-
In June 1944 successful Allied inva- day after German troops invaded Soviet seph Stalin had annexed following his
sions in France allowed U.S. and British territory, the Red Army launched Oper- ill-fated pact with Adolph Hitler in
6 MAY/JUNE 2020
MILESTONES
THE YALTA CONFERENCE

IN FEBRUARY 1945 the three chief Allied leaders gathered at the resort town of Yalta in Crimea
to discuss the end of World War II. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom,
President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, and Premier Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union
saw that war in Europe was close to an end, but that victory in Japan was still uncertain. Their
plans mapped out not only the future for postwar Germany and Eastern Europe, but also the
terms for Soviet military participation in the Pacific theater to defeat Japan and end the war.
VICTORY OVER
GERMANY
In one of the war’s
most iconic images,
Soviet soldiers raise
their flag over the ALLIED LEADERS CHURCHILL,
ruins of the Reichstag, ROOSEVELT, AND STALIN POSE
FOR THE CAMERAS AT THE
Berlin, on May 2, 1945. YALTA CONFERENCE, HELD IN
FEBRUARY 1945.
YEVGENY KHALDEI/GETTY IMAGES HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
1939, including the Baltic states and Be- the north—where they advanced from well, but German troops kept Hungary
larus, a borderland long disputed by the Baltic states into East Prussia—and from leaving the Axis until Budapest
Russia and Poland. momentous gains to the south, where fell in February 1945. By then, Russians
Deceptions indicating a Soviet offen- they invaded Romania and other na- were poised to deliver the deathblow to
sive to the south around the Black Sea tions allied with Germany. After So- Hitler’s regime in Berlin—and dom-
left Germans to the north exposed viets seized the Ploesti oil fields and inate Eastern Europe for decades to
when nearly 1.5 million Soviet troops denied their output to fuel-hungry come.
attacked. Hitler made things worse by German forces, King Michael I of Ro-
not allowing forces caught in that on- mania ousted that country’s pro-Nazi Divided and Conquered
slaught to withdraw until it was too late. dictator, Ion Antonescu, and yielded Stalin had a strong hand to play when
The German Fourth and Ninth Armies to Russia. Bulgaria switched sides as he met with U.S. president Franklin
were decimated as Soviet pincers closed Roosevelt and British prime minister
around them at Minsk. The Third Pan- Winston Churchill at the Crimean
zer Army was hard-hit as well. Russians city of Yalta in February 1945. Recent
then advanced into German-annexed advances by the Red Army had posi-
Poland before halting to regroup in Au- tioned Soviets to occupy eastern Ger-
gust at the Vistula River near Warsaw, many while American, British, and
where a determined uprising by Polish French troops occupied western Ger-
partisans against German occupation many. Separate occupation zones for
forces was eventually crushed. those forces were drawn up at Yalta
The Red Army did not renew its A SOVIET SOLDIER (RIGHT) along with postwar plans to divide Ber-
EMBRACES AN AMERICAN
offensive in Poland and take Warsaw SERVICEMAN NEAR THE ELBE lin, which was situated in the Soviet
until January 1945. In the meantime, RIVER IN APRIL 1945. zone but would be partitioned among
AP IMAGES/US ARMY
Russian troops made great strides to the Allied powers.

MILESTONES
2ND BELORUSSIAN
FRONT
Rokossovsky
Battle of Berlin ARMY GROUP VISTULA
OPERATIONAL GROUP
STEINER
Heinrici
61ST
ARMY
POLISH
BATTLE OF BERLIN
el
Eberswalde
1ST ARMY
April 16 ¢May 2, 1945
THE ASSAULT on Berlin was Oranienburg av
ST
61 ARMY 2ND GUARDS TANK ARMY
1ST BELORUSSIAN
H
POLISH Od 47TH ARMY
ST
1 ARMY Wriezen FRONT
launched on April 16, 1945. Two So-
er
Bernau 3RD SHOCK ARMY Zhukov
47TH 2ND . Prötzel April
D S.A Se 16 5TH SHOCK ARMY t a
ARMY G.T.A. 3R . Wa r
viet fronts (army groups) took part: 5T
H S.A Küstrin
elo
3RD 47TH Strausberg (Kostrzyn)
Seelow
wH
ARMY ARMY Spandau 1ST G.T.A. 8TH GUARDS ARMY
the First Belorussian Front under Ketzin Müncheberg
ei g
BERLIN 8TH G.A. ht 1ST GUARDS TANK ARMY
r
vel s
de
April 24 April
Ha MY
3RD ARMY
Potsdam 3R AR 16
O
D
Marshal Georgi Zhukov and the April 24

B ra
ndenburg
Königs
Sp
ree
Fürstenwalde 9TH
69TH ARMY
Frankfurt an der Oder
3RD ARMY
First Ukrainian Front led by Mar- Russians
encircle Berlin, 4TH G.T.A.
G.T.A.
28TH
Wusterhausen
Storkow
69TH
ARMY
April 24, 1945 Beelitz ARMY
33RD ARMY
shal Ivan Konev. Zhukov’s forces Zossen
Märkisch
Beeskow
Belzig Buchholz Eisenhüttenstadt
advanced due west from the Od- Luckenwalde 9TH ARMY
AND PART OF
Baruth Oder 28TH
er River against the German Ninth 12TH ARMY 33RD Jüterbog
ARMY
4TH PANZER
ARMY
Gubin
ra
(Od )
ARMY
31ST
G E R M A N Y ARMY
Army, while Konev’s forces crossed
sse
Wittenberg Lübben
13TH ARMY
Dahme
ei
Luckau S p r e 3RD GUARDS
Elbe e N
the Neisse River to the south and Dessau
Cottbus
ARMY
Sommerfeld
1ST UKRAINIAN FRONT
ARMY GROUP
overwhelmed the Fourth Panzer A U.S. patrol meets
Russian forces at Torgau,
CENTER
Herzberg (formerly Army 4th PANZER
Forst
April 16
Konev
3RD GUARDS
TANK ARMY
Group A) ARMY
Army. After sending two armies Bitterfeld April 25, 1945.
Schörner Finsterwalde
Trzebiel
13TH ARMY
Żary
M
Torgau Spremberg April 16
12TH ARMY GROUP
ulde
April 25 5TH GUARD 5TH GUARDS ARMY
west to link up with the U.S. First Bradley
Halle
April 25
E
l be Elsterwerda
ARMY 4TH GUARDS
TANK ARMY
Eilenburg Schwarze El s t e rHoyerswerda
Army along the Elbe River, Konev U.S. 1ST ARMY
POLISH
Spre
Sa
LEIPZIG 2ND ARMY

Wurzen Strehla
turned north with armored forces
ale
52ND
Niesky
e
Riesa Grossenhain ARMY
Kamenz
German territory, The main body of U.S.
and sealed off Berlin on April 25, April 15, 1945
Allied-held territory,
troops reaches the
Elbe, April 26, 1945 Bautzen
POLISH 2ND ARMY
Meissen
preventing the German 12th Army April 15, 1945
st
Advance of Russian 1 Belorussian Front
E
l be Radeberg
Gorlitz
s se
DRESDEN
from relieving the capital. Russian Advance of Russian 1st Ukrainian Front Front Line 17TH ARMY
Nei
0 mi 10 20
Advance of U.S. 12th Army Group April 15, 1945
troops then stormed Berlin, which German counterattack April 18, 1945 0 km 10 20
1945 features are shown. Varnsdorf Zittau
Pocket of German forces April 25, 1945 Present-day city names are in parentheses.
fell on May 2.
NG MAPS
Left unresolved was who would cap- German civilians in the path of the Red Soviet artillery along the Oder River
ture Berlin. After General Eisenhower’s Army were evacuated or fled westward unleashed a thunderous bombardment
U.S. troops seized the Ruhr in early April, on their own initiative to escape the that reverberated 40 miles away on the
armed opposition wilted in western Soviet occupation zone. outskirts of Berlin. German troops had
Germany but persisted in the east, where pulled back to avoid that pounding and
Russian soldiers enraged by the brutal The Fall of Berlin held firm initially. But they could not
German occupation of their homeland The final battle in the savage struggle long withstand onslaughts by the First
were raping German women and com- between Germany and Russia opened Belorussian Front under Marshal Geor-
mitting other atrocities. Millions of before dawn on April 16, 1945, when gi Zhukov, hailed as the savior of Mos-
cow, whose numerically su-
perior forces now bludgeoned
their way toward Berlin.
“They keep coming at us
DEATH IN THE BUNKER in hordes, wave after wave,”
reported a commander in the
KNOWING defeat was at hand, on April 28, 1945, Adolf
depleted German Ninth Ar-
Hitler married his lover, Eva Braun, in the bunker under
the Chancellery in Berlin. On April 30, as the Soviets my, mauled at Minsk the year
conquered the city, the pair committed suicide: Hitler before. “My men are fighting
shot himself, and Braun took poison. Both bodies were until they run out of ammu-
burned, and Europe’s nightmare neared its end. nition,” he added.“Then they
are wiped out or completely
ART EXPLORER/ALAMY
overrun.” To the south, Mar-
shal Ivan Konev, commander
8 MAY/JUNE 2020
V FOR VICTORY
Members of the public and
armed forces celebrate
Victory in Europe Day in
London in May 1945.
BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES
of the First Ukrainian Front, shredded city became a funeral pyre for the Reich Soviet states, their victory dance came
the Fourth Panzer Army before pivoting and the leader who drove it to ruin. on May 9.
toward Berlin to compete with Zhukov Hitler had once proclaimed his Reich
for that prize. “Whoever reaches Ber- Official Surrender would last for a thousand years. It stood
lin first,” said Stalin, “let him take it.” On April 30, Adolf Hitler committed for only 12—thanks to the sacrifices
Zhukov had a shorter path to the city suicide while holed up in the Führer- of millions of people who gave their
and won the race, but Konev’s swift ad- bunker; his body was cremated by aides. lives in the brave fight against the Axis
vance drew a noose around the capital. That evening, Soviet troops fought powers.
On April 26, a half million Soviets their way into the Reichstag and raised
launched a furious assault on central their red flag over the smoldering cap- NEIL KAGAN AND STEPHEN G. HYSLOP HAVE
PARTNERED ON MANY HISTORY BOOKS, INCLUDING
Berlin, site of the Reich Chancellery— ital. German forces conceded defeat EYEWITNESS TO THE CIVIL WAR, ATLAS OF THE CIVIL
WAR, EYEWITNESS TO WORLD WAR II, AND THE SECRET
under which lay Hitler’s bombproof on May 2, 1945. Five days later on HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II.
Führerbunker—and the nearby Reichs- May 7, 1945, Grand Adm. Karl Dönitz,
tag, the old German parliament buil- left in charge of the doomed Reich and its
ding, abandoned after an arsonist set shattered armed forces, signed a formal
it ablaze in 1933 and Hitler seized unconditional surrender to the victo-
emergency powers. Berlin’s last-ditch rious Allies.
defend ers, including Waffen-SS News of the surrender spread quick-
units and civilians of the Volkssturm, ly, and “Victory in Europe Day,” or This article is
excerpted from Atlas
a people’s militia made up largely of “V-E Day,” celebrations erupted all over of World War II,
published by National
boys and old men, were outmanned and the world. In Britain and the United Geographic Books.
Copyright © 2018
outgunned. Many fought to the bitter States, jubilant crowds gathered in city National Geographic
end in subway tunnels and streets as the streets and squares on May 8, while in Partners, LLC

PROFILES
Junípero Serra:
California’s Founding Father
To convert native peoples and secure lands for Spain in the 18th century, Spanish priest
Junípero Serra founded a chain of missions from which many of California’s cities grew.
T
he state of California gave a whose efforts culminated in a demo-
Man bronze statue of Father Serra

to Statuary Hall in the U.S.
graphic and cultural tragedy for Native
Americans.
on a Capitol building in 1931. Fa-
Mission ther Serra established nine of
the 21 missions that grew into thriving
Mallorca to Mexico
He was born Miguel José Serra on No-
1749 cities along California’s coast, from San vember 24, 1713, in Petra, a small farming
Diego to San Francisco. Two centuries town on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Junípero Serra leaves earlier, Serra, on behalf of the Catholic Educated in his early childhood by Fran-
the island of Mallorca
and sets sail for New Church and Spain, fervently sought to ciscan monks, he moved at age 15 to the
Spain to begin his Christianize the native populations who nearby city of Palma to study for the
missionary work. lived there and to solidify Spain’s impe- priesthood. In September 1731 Serra of-
rial reach in North America. To expand ficially joined the Franciscan order, tak-
1769 this influence of the crown and church, ing the name Junípero after a friend of
At the request of Spanish
Serra established a series of missions: St. Francis. He taught theology until
leader José Gálvez, villages for indigenous people to live, spring 1749, when he decided to join
Serra joins an expedition work, and worship under the leader- other Franciscan missionaries in part of
to Alta California to ship and authority of Spanish priests New Spain (what is today Mexico).
establish Franciscan
missions. and soldiers. After five months of study at the Col-
Since 1931, Serra’s legacy has become lege of San Fernando in Mexico City,
1770 more complex and divisive. Some note Serra left for Sierra Gorda, an isolated
After the 1769 founding that he helped lay the foundation for region to the north. It had been a site of
of the San Diego mission, much of the Golden State’s modern missionary work since Spain’s conquest
Serra travels north where economy, including its agriculture and two centuries before. In the near decade
he establishes the San
Carlos mission. winemaking. To the faithful, he remains that Serra spent there, he developed the
the “Apostle of California,” a saint who practices he would bring to his work
planted the seeds of Cathol- in California. Agricultural productiv-
1777
icism in what would be- ity increased, and new churches were
Serra founds his eighth come American soil. decorated with statues and paintings.
mission in Alta Yet others view him Sacramental materials were built in the
California, Santa
Clara, honoring St. as an oppressive five missions he oversaw. But Serra’s
Clare of Assisi. colonial occupier goals weren’t only about embracing
1784 José Gálvez tapped Serra to lead

Serra dies and is
buried at the San
the Franciscans to New Spain’s
Carlos mission
in what is today
northern frontier.
Carmel, California.
JOSÉ GÁLVEZ, PORTRAIT. FRIAR JUNÍPERO SERRA MUSEUM, PETRA, MALLORCA
TONO BALAGUER/ALBUM
10 MAY/JUNE 2020
DIVISIVE
LEGACY
JUNÍPERO SERRA was canonized,
or made a saint, in a special
mass in Washington, D.C., in
September 2015. Pope Francis I
praised the priest’s efforts to
“defend . . . and protect” the
“dignity” of California’s Native
American population in the
mid-1700s. Yet detractors—50
different Native American
tribes among them—argued
that Serra supported a colo-
nial system that destroyed
Native American cultures and
decimated its populations.
He was not, as some believe,
a self-sacrificing pioneer who
introduced Catholicism and
European-style agriculture;
he imposed them, they believe.
A STATUE OF JUNÍPERO SERRA IN FRONT OF
MISSION SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA, CALIFORNIA
ALAMY IMAGES
Catholicism, producing enough food, or investigating those people whose beliefs took over the former Jesuit missions in
building beautiful structures. His daily or actions the Catholic Church viewed Baja California.
regimen of prayer and labor sought an- as heretical and dangerous. Serra and Gálvez’s solution to the pro-
other result: to further embed Cathol- blems facing the missions was similar
icism and European-style agriculture Going to California to the Jesuits’ unsuccessful implemen-
within the local populations. Spanish inspector general José Gálvez tation. The answer was straightforward:
Serra returned to Mexico City in led a reorganization of the missions in “All Indians should live in settlements,
1758, dividing his time between vari- Baja California in the 1760s, where he so that they might be instructed and
ous roles at the College of San Fernan- felt the Jesuit missionaries had been civilized.” Dismissive of their cultures,
do and months-long journeys into the unsuccessful in creating a profitable col- customs, and traditions, Serra viewed
countryside—“popular missions” that ony for the Spanish Empire. After King the Indians as children in need of pro-
were as much performance as they were Charles III expelled all the Jesuits from tection, and his missions offered a safe
evangelical preaching. He also worked as Spain and its colonies in 1767, Franciscan haven from exploitation by Spanish
a field agent for the Spanish Inquisition, missionaries, including Father Serra, colonists. But Baja California’s arid

PROFILES
“PREACHING AND FARMING AT MISSION DOLORES”

is a panel from American artist Anton Refregier’s mural
at the Rincon Center, San Francisco. Painted in the
1940s, the mural was controversial for its unflinching
depiction of California history, including the relationship
between Catholic missions and Native Americans.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
environment, while suitable for nomadic mately lead to his fame, become his lega- 1769. Two months later, Serra began the
Indian hunter-gatherers, made European cy, and introduce a period of unpreceden- 700-mile overland trip north. Stopping
agricultural practices untenable; the In- ted change for the native communities first in northern Baja California, he esta-
dians spoke many different languages, whose lands Spain would soon claim. blished his first mission, San Fernando
making it difficult for the missionaries Fearing Russian expansion down the Pa- de Velicatá.
to engage effectively; and epidemics of cific coast, the Crown instructed Gálvez He introduced the Cochimi Indians
smallpox and measles brought by the to claim and occupy what was then called to the Franciscan priest and small group
Spaniards decimated Indian populations. Alta (Upper) California. of soldiers who would“stay with them,”
In 1768, the Spanish Crown offered The first of three ships set sail from departing his new mission a few days
Serra an opportunity that would ulti- Baja California for San Diego in January later. He arrived in San Diego on June 29
and founded the first Alta California
mission on July 16. The trip had been
an arduous one, but Serra remained ju-
NINE MISSIONS bilant and energized, believing that the
Franciscans could win converts among
FATHER SERRA founded nine of California’s the Kumeyaay Indians “without much
missions. While in Monterey, Serra received difficulty”in a land“where no Christian
a letter from the viceroy of Mexico urging foot had trod before.”
him to organize an expedition to occupy the The first months proved otherwise,
area of San Francisco Bay. The mission was however, as a group of 20 Kumeyaay at-
founded on June 29, 1776, just five days be- tacked and set the mission on fire. But the
fore English colonists signed the Declaration mission march continued, and in March
of Independence. 1770, the expedition traveled north to
A 1915 MAP SHOWS THE MISSIONS FOUNDED BY SERRA IN CALIFORNIA. Monterey, arriving in June. Again they
ALAMY/ACI
CALIFORNIA’S
FIRST MISSION
IN HIS 1787 BIOGRAPHY of Father
Junípero Serra, Spanish mis-
sionary Francisco Palóu re-
corded the founding of the
San Diego mission on July 16,
1769: “[In order to] subject the
barbarism of the people who
live in this new California to the
gentle yoke of our Holy faith
. . . Father Junípero raised the
Standard of the
H o l y C ro s s ,
putting it in
the place that
seemed most
appropriate
to him for the
establishment
of the settlement and in THE SAN DIEGO
sight of that port.” de Alcalá mission,
photographed in 1915,
RELIQUARY OF FATHER JUNÍPERO was founded by Father
SERRA. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, Serra in 1769.
WASHINGTON, D.C. GRANGER/ALBUM
ALBUM
quickly erected a small makeshift chapel On August 28, 1784, Serra died at the Francis I’s decision, while many Native
and altar, Serra sang a mass, and—taking San Carlos mission. In 1821 Mexico won American groups did not. Three years
formal possession of the land for Spain— its independence from Spain, and Cali- later, officials at Stanford University,
waved the royal flag over their second new fornia became a part of the new nation. in Palo Alto, California, voted to re-
mission, San Carlos Borromeo. In 1833 the Mexican government passed move Serra’s name from two campus
Throughout the 1770s, Serra contin- a law that secularized and ended the buildings and the university’s mailing
ued to build his “ladder” of missions, as missions. Most Indians left, relocating address. The Stanford committee noted
he called them, in California. He found- to the countryside or to the villages that they had “no doubt about [Serra’s]
ed nine of them, but the church would of San José, Los Angeles, and Monte- piety and good intentions,”but that“the
establish 12 more. Believing that Native rey. Most of the mission lands were not mission system pervasively mistreated”
Americans could only become civilized returned to them but instead became California’s Native Americans.
under the direction of their Franciscan privately owned. By 1855, following the Indeed, Serra—and perhaps the
“padres,” he faced continual disputes 1844 smallpox epidemic, the 1848 gold thousands of missionaries who arrived
with Spanish officials regarding the di- rush, and the establishment of Califor- on North American shores determined
vision of authority between the soldiers nia statehood in 1850, the population of to “civilize” millions of indigenous peo-
and missionaries. In 1774 Spanish offi- California’s Indian population had been ples—can embody both sides of that
cials approved Serra’s recommendations reduced from about 300,000 in 1769 to statement. Serra transplanted European
on mission governance, authorizing about 50,000. institutions, cultures, and customs to
the priests to remove any Spanish sol- create what he believed was a Chris-
dier “who may set a bad example.” But Changing Attitudes tian refuge, but decimated a thriving
by the late 1770s and early 1780s, new The Catholic Church canonized Father and self-sufficient native population
laws placed a more secular focus on the Serra in 2015, a decision that revealed in the process.
missions, threatening Serra’s evangel- the mixed legacy of the missionary.
ical vision. Many Catholic Latinos supported Pope —Grace Hill Smith

ART FOR THE AFTERLIFE
THE PHARAOH’S
PAINTED TOMB
Discovered in 1817, the burial chambers of Seti I are adorned
from beginning to end with some of the finest funerary art of
all time, a New Kingdom masterpiece that set a standard for
the great royal tombs that followed.
JOSÉ LULL
14 MAY/JUNE 2020
SACRED IMAGES
Myriad figures from the Book
of Gates, a New Kingdom
funerary text, line the far wall
of Seti I’s burial chamber.
Opposite: Seti I is depicted in
a colored relief in his tomb.
BOTH IMAGES: ARALDO DE LUCA

Entrance to
Ramses X’s tomb
(KV18) Entrance to
Seti I’s tomb (KV17)
Entrance to
Ramses I’s tomb (KV16)
N
ROYAL ROW estled among the entrance ways to of power and influence. Building this great des-
Discovered by the tombs of the Valley of the Kings ert necropolis began during the reign of Thut-
Giovanni Belzoni in is a structure known to scholars as mose I, third king of the 18th dynasty, whose
1817, Seti I’s tomb KV17. Despite its unpoetic designa- rule marked the resurgence of Egypt following
(above) is situated
between the tomb of
tion, this tomb makes the hearts of a long period of instability. A grand tomb was
his father, Ramses I Egyptologists beat faster: Built for Seti I, who prepared for Thutmose, cut into the rock of the
(also discovered by died in 1279 b.c., it was discovered in 1817, sur- rugged desert valleys on the Nile’s west bank.
Belzoni), and that prising excavators with its richly decorated walls The remote spot was chosen to hide lavish royal
of Ramses X, the depicting religious beliefs through images of the burials from tomb raiders. Other New Kingdom
penultimate ruler of
the 20th dynasty. dead pharaoh and the deities of ancient Egypt. rulers placed their tombs there, and the necropo-
TRAVEL PICTURES/ALAMY/ACI The Valley of the Kings was the burial site lis grew.
of many rulers of Egypt’s New Kingdom (circa Despite attempts to hide their contents by
1539-1075 b.c.), when Egypt rose to new heights the use of concealed passages, most tombs—
1817 1828
Giovanni Belzoni discovers French scholar Jean

SETI’S the tomb of what will later
be identified as that of 19th-
François Champollion
visits Egypt. His ability
VIBRANT dynasty pharaoh Seti I in the to decipher hieroglyphs
TOMB Valley of the Kings. In 1821 he
allows the empty sarcophagus
identifies the tomb as
belonging to Seti I, father
to be shipped to London. of Ramses the Great.
BELZONI. REVERSE SIDE OF AN 1818 MEDAL.
16 MAY/JUNE 2020 BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON
SCALA, FLORENCE
erranean Sea
Me d i t
Italian Adventurer LOW E R E GY P T

In the first century b.c., the histo- Giza Cairo
rian Diodorus Siculus, described Memphis
Re
the Valley of the Kings as a ruin. The
d
Se
centuries were not kind to the site
a
MIDDLE
as both natural and human causes EGYPT
had further degraded the site. The N
i
le
sincere academic interest of French
scholars following Napoleon’s 1798 UPPER
EGYPT
invasion of Egypt was matched by Thebes
Luxor
Valley
keen commercial interest in antiqui- of the Kings
Modern names in gray
ties. In the early 1800s many objects

across Egypt were pillaged for the
European market.
When Italian adventurer and
former circus strongman Giovanni
Belzoni arrived in Egypt in 1815, the
country was under British control.
Belzoni’s status, a combination of
explorer and tomb robber, did not
deter the British consul, Henry Salt, from us- DEEP SOUTH
ing his services to help transport a massive head The Valley of the
of Ramses II to Alexandria, from where it was Kings lies on the
shipped to the British Museum in London. Bel- west bank of the Nile
zoni also became embroiled in a turf war with River near the ancient
the French consul, who employed gangs of tomb Egyptian capital of
Thebes, some 420
raiders to track down antiquities. miles south of the
with the famous exception of the tomb of As part of his campaign to best a French rival, modern Egyptian
Tutankhamun—were extensively looted, in- Belzoni befriended local people near the Val- capital, Cairo.
NG MAPS
cluding Seti I’s. However, even with the loss ley of the Kings who worked as tomb robbers.
of its golden grave goods, Seti’s tomb still had Thanks to their information, he became famil-
myriad treasures. The priceless iar with the site. Despite his mercenary streak,
art that adorns the walls re- Belzoni was genuinely interested in archaeol-
mained intact to give mod- ogy. He studied the valley’s topography and
ern scholars a vivid look noted how fast draining rainwater could
into the intricate art that indicate hidden openings.
revealed Egyptian spir- In winter 1816 Belzoni located the
ituality and funerary tomb of the 18th-dynasty pharaoh Ay.
rituals surrounding In October of the following year, his
the death of a king. men discovered the tomb of Ramses I,
1903 1979 2007
As the Antiquities Exploration of the Egyptologist Zahi Hawass

Service’s chief inspector tomb continues when investigates the unexplored
of antiquities of Upper the Theban Mapping tunnel beneath Seti I’s
Egypt, Howard Carter Project maps Seti I’s funerary chamber. In 2010
carries out the first tomb. It will do so he reaches the end of the
scientific archaeological in 1996 and again corridor, 570 feet long, which
exploration of Seti I’s tomb. in 2000. remained unfinished.
FAIENCE USHABTI FOUND IN THE TOMB OF
SETI I. BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 17
SCALA, FLORENCE
PILLARED CHAMBER.
THE LONGEST TOMB UNFINISHED CHAMBER.
The walls of this two- The start of the next
At 290 feet from entrance hall to burial chamber (and a farther pillared side chamber are stage of descent, this
570 feet in the form of the tunnel at the end), Seti I’s tomb covered with unfinished chamber is adorned with
(known as KV17) is the longest in the Valley of the Kings. It decorations from the scenes from the Book of
Book of Amduat. Gates funerary text.
accommodates ritual features, such as the well chamber, and
scenes from Egyptian funerary texts. One of these, from the Book
of Gates, depicts the journey of a soul through the underworld.
ILLUSTRATION: WHITE STAR
LOWER BURIAL CHAMBER.

A magnificent curved roof depicts
ANNEX. This undecorated
astronomical constellations. The
chamber was one of empty sarcophagus of Seti was
several storerooms. found in front of the stairs that lead
down into an unfinished tunnel.
PASSAGEWAY. Paintings depict a

ritual in which the deceased’s
mouth was opened before the
journey to the afterlife.
ANTECHAMBER. Artworks in
this room show Seti I praying
before Anubis, Isis, Horus,
Hathor, and Osiris.
UPPER BURIAL CHAMBER.

This six-pillared room is adorned
with murals depicting Osiris, god
of the dead and resurrection.
founder of the 19th dynasty. In the course of that tity of the tomb’s original occupant, Belzoni rec-
discovery, Belzoni noticed another small hollow ognized that the paintings adorning the inte-
that easily absorbed rainwater, suggesting that a rior were exceptional. In the months following
cavity lay beneath. On digging, his team found the discovery, Belzoni took wax impressions of
a rubble-filled entrance. Once the debris was them, which damaged the reliefs. He also painted
cleared, they could glimpse magnificent wall watercolors of the tomb art.
decorations beyond. When Belzoni reached the burial chamber
While exploring the tomb, Belzoni found an whose magnificent painted ceiling represents
embalmed bull, leading him to believe the tomb the heavens, he found an empty alabaster sar-
was dedicated to Apis, the holy bull worshipped cophagus. The coffin was found laying across a
in northern Egypt. He did not identify the tomb staircase that led down to a long and mysterious
as that of Seti I, or of any ruler, because nowhere corridor, which Belzoni’s men gave up explor-
in the tomb was there a human mummy. ing after a hundred yards. The sarcophagus was
removed from the tomb and eventually acquired
Gallery of Wonders by the English collector Sir John Soane (today it
Despite his ignorance as to the iden- is in London, England, in the museum that bears
Soane’s name).
HOWARD CARTER IN A 1924 PORTRAIT.
CARTER CARRIED OUT A CAREFUL RE-EXCAVATION Not only were the tomb’s artworks breathtak-
OF SETI I’S TOMB IN THE EARLY 1900S. ing to see, they also provided today’s Egyptolo-
BRIDGEMAN/ACI
18 MAY/JUNE 2020
Ramses VII
Pharaoh - 18th dynasty Son of

Pharaoh - 19th dynasty Ramses III
Pharaoh - 20th dynasty
Ramses IV
Ramses XI
Ramses II
Sons of
Ramses II
Tiye or
Horemheb Akhenaten
Ramses IX
Merneptah Tutankhamun
Ramses V Ramses I
& Ramses VI Mentuherkhepeshef
Ramses X
Thutmose IV
Amenmeses
ENTRANCEWAY. The murals
in this corridor come from Amenhotep II SETI I (KV17)
Thutmose I
two Egyptian funerary Ramses III & Hatshepsut
texts, the Book of Amduat Tawosret
and the Litany of Re. & Setnakhte
Thutmose I Thutmose III
Siptah
Seti II
in the Royal Mummy Cache nearby, where it had DEATH VALLEY

WELL CHAMBER. A feature of been moved in antiquity for safekeeping. In the Valley of
tombs in the Valley of the Study of the tomb continued into the next the Kings (above),
Kings, this deep chamber century. In 1903 Howard Carter, future discover- the most famous
symbolizes the burial of tomb, that of King
Osiris, god of the dead, who er of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, re-excavated Tutankhamun, can be
guides and protects souls in Seti I’s tomb using meticulous care and scholarly found between Seti I
their passage to the afterlife. methods to record the tomb’s contents. More (center) and his son,
than a century later, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass Ramses II “the great”
(upper left).
finally excavated the tunnel that Belzoni had EOSGIS.COM/NG MAPS
found leading downward from the sepulchral
chamber. He discovered that it ends abruptly
after 570 feet, and concluded it may have been
gists with the earliest, most complete set of fu- intended to link the burial chamber with the
nerary texts from ancient Egypt. Wall paintings realm of the dead.
depict detailed scenes from the Book of Amduat Since Belzoni’s first excavation, exposure to
and texts from the Litany of Re, a collection of the elements and human visitors have damaged
invocations and prayers to the solar deity. The Seti’s tomb, but conservation efforts strive to
giant sarcophagus is decorated with scenes protect and preserve it. In 2016 the Factum
from the Book of Gates—an Egyptian text that Foundation used the latest technology to scan
recounts the passage of a soul through the under- and photograph the entire complex not only to
world—and is today regarded as one of the most preserve and study its artworks, but also to cre-
important artifacts from Egypt’s 19th dynasty. ate high-precision facsimiles that can be printed
For years after the discovery, the tomb would to erect full-size models of the tomb in full color.
be identified with various rulers. But in 1828 Visitors can experience the majesty of a pha-
French scholar Jean-François Champollion deci- raoh’s resting place without endangering the
phered hieroglyphics in the tomb to identify it as original. The excavation of the tomb is largely
that of Seti I. One of the 19th dynasty’s greatest complete, but its aura of enigma will linger, it
rulers, and father of Ramses II, Seti I ruled for 11 seems, for centuries to come.
years during which he expanded Egypt’s influ-
ence south to Nubia and northeast to Syria. Ar-
AN EXPERT ON ANCIENT EGYPT’S LATE DYNASTIES, JOSÉ LULL IS A SENIOR LECTURER
chaeologists would later find the king’s mummy AT THE AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA, SPAIN.

1
THE FIRST
STEPS
THE ENTRANCE TO SETI I’S TOMB leads to a series of
preliminary corridors and chambers. The walls in
these opening chambers are covered with myriad
artworks (in the form of colored reliefs) depicting
funerary texts centering on the sun god Re. One
of these is the New Kingdom Book of Amduat,
showing the journey taken each night by Re. Over
the course of 12 hours, he must overcome obsta-
cles using the magical texts shown on the walls.
The walls also feature texts from the Litany of Re,
a collection of invocations and prayers to the solar
deity. Visitors descend a set of stairs and then pro-
ceed through three corridors. 1 In the first room,
Seti I can be seen greeting the god Re-Horakhty
in a scene from the Litany of Re, which associates
the deceased pharaoh with the various forms of
the sun god. A succession of vultures represent-
ing the goddess Nekhbet appear on the ceiling
against a starry background. Images from the
Litany also appear in 2 the second stairway and
depict Re in different forms. 3 The next corridor
depicts different stages of Re’s nightly journey on
the left and right walls, as recounted in the Book
of Amduat. A visitor’s journey then pauses at 4
the well chamber, which symbolizes the burial
of Osiris, god of the underworld. Artworks here The seal on the tomb of Seti I consists
of a scarab beetle and Khnum, the ram-
show gods welcoming the deceased pharaoh.
headed god of the source of the Nile.
ALBUM
3
4
HAZARDOUS JOURNEY
Serpents slither in a scene from a funerary text,
the Book of Amduat, painted on the walls of the
preliminary passageway of Seti I’s tomb.
ARALDO DE LUCA
EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

Principal entrance to Artworks in this opening section of the tomb
Seti’s tomb in the Valley represent two texts that both center on Re, the
of the Kings
sun deity. The Book of Amduat portrays stages
ALAMY/ACI
of Re’s nightly journey through the underworld.
This 12-hour period poses different obstacles
and dangers for Re to overcome (and echoes
the similar hazardous journey undertaken by
the deceased through the underworld in the
Book of Gates, scenes from which are depicted
in later sections of the tomb). The other text is
the Litany of Re. This New Kingdom composition
is a guide to the different manifestations of Re,
and equates Re with the deceased pharaoh.
Seti’s was not the first tomb to incorporate
hieroglyphics from the Litany of Re, but their
inclusion into the primary corridors of the tomb
set a standard that was copied by later royal
tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
2
PILL ARS OF
THE GODS
AFTER THE WELL OF OSIRIS, visitors pass into
1 a room supported by four richly adorned
pillars. Whereas the preliminary corridors and
chambers centered on the role of the solar god
Re, this space marks a shift in tone to a type
of art that historians term “chthonic” (related
to the underworld). The artwork in this room
depicts scenes from the Book of Gates, a funer-
ary text that recounts the deceased’s journey
through the underworld, in which each hour of
the night is marked by a heavily guarded gate.
Although the Book of Gates may predate the
New Kingdom, its first usage in a royal tomb is
found in the funerary chamber of Horemheb, the
last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. In the scenes
shown here, the soul is the deceased Seti I him-
self, portrayed on each side of the four pillars
with a divinity: the falcon-headed Horus (center)
and the blue-skinned Ptah (right). On the rear
wall of the chamber, Seti is welcomed by Osiris,
god of the underworld (left). A door (not visible
here) leads to 2 a two-pillared side chamber
whose walls are covered with unfinished deco-
rations. Illustrations were sketched out in great
detail, but color had not been added when Seti I
was entombed. 3 Stairs proceed down to the
lower levels of the tomb to continue the journey
toward the burial chamber.
2 1
3
UNFINISHED WORK
The decoration in the two-pillared side
chamber was made with black ink on
white plaster walls. No color has been
added, as the artwork was probably left
unfinished on Seti’s death. The sketches
depict scenes from the Book of Amduat,
including one (above) in which Maat,
the goddess of order and justice (right),
offers an ankh, a symbol of rebirth, to the
deceased Seti (left).
ARALDO DE LUCA
3
CLOSER TO
TH E AF TERLIFE
DESCENDING THE STAIRS from the pillared cham-
ber, visitors reach another 1 corridor with walls
that show Seti I standing in front of an offering
table. Artworks on the left wall show a set of
texts and images connected with the Open-
ing of the Mouth ritual, a ceremony in which a
series of ritual tools are applied to a likeness of
the deceased to enable them to regain the facul-
ties of a living, speaking, and eating being in the
afterlife. The ceremony has its roots in the Old
Kingdom, but its depiction in tomb art is rare.
Only one other royal New Kingdom tomb—that
of 19th-dynasty Queen Tawosret—has extensive
depictions of it. A passageway begins with stairs
and wall paintings of protective winged serpents
before entering 2 a room decorated with more
scenes of the Opening of the Mouth and excerpts
from the Litany of the Eye of Horus. This funerary
text allowed the deceased to partake in a series of
offerings to the god. 3 An antechamber follows,
with breathtaking paintings of the starry sky on
the ceiling. The polychrome wall paintings were
greatly damaged by Belzoni, who made direct
copies of the colored reliefs using wax molds.
1
2
3
ACCOMPANIED BY THE GODS
Seti I meets with various divinities (above) in this
antechamber. The pharaoh is accompanied by the
goddess Isis, and Anubis, the god of death and
mummification, represented with the head of a dog.
ARALDO DE LUCA
4
THE BURIAL
CHAMBERS
AFTER THE ANTECHAMBER comes the splendor
of the burial complex itself, which would have
housed the pharaoh’s mummy. Following the
precedent established in the tomb of Amenhotep
II a century before, the room is divided into two
sections: 1 an upper chamber, originally sup-
ported by six richly adorned pillars, and 2 a lower
chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling painted with
stunning depictions of Egyptian deities. At 20
feet high, the curved structure symbolizes the
celestial vault, and a series of gods and god-
desses can be seen proceeding toward symbols
of constellations painted in the form of animals.
The walls are decorated with scenes from the
Book of Amduat. Presiding from the highest point
on the rear wall, 3 the goddess Isis spreads her
wings. It was here, under this beautiful vaulted
ceiling, that Belzoni found Seti’s empty alabaster
sarcophagus. Some theorize that ancient looters
left it behind because its bulk made it nearly im-
possible to move. Perplexing archaeologists for
nearly two centuries is 4 the long, uncompleted
tunnel that stretches downward (Egyptologist
Zahi Hawass excavated it in the 2000s and
found that it went to nowhere). Many scholars
believe the long descending tunnel was meant
to link Seti’s earthly resting place with the realm
of the dead far below.
2 1
4
UNDER THE HEAVENS
The upper burial chamber opens onto the spectacle of Seti’s
lower burial chamber. Deities and constellations stand
out against the rich blue background of its curved ceiling,
representing the vault of the heavens.
ARALDO DE LUCA
The mummy of
Seti I (left) was
LEFT BEHIND
removed from the
The translucent alabaster coffin (left), discovered by tomb in antiquity
Giovanni Belzoni, was removed from the tomb and taken and hidden nearby
to London in the early 1820s. Belzoni’s patron, the British for safekeeping.
It was discovered
consul Henry Salt, wanted to sell it to the British Museum,
in 1881. Egyptian
but the £2,000 asking price was considered too high. The Museum, Cairo
English collector Sir John Sloane bought the sarcophagus, ARALDO DE LUCA
and it became the most celebrated piece in his

collection. The sarcophagus features carved
hieroglyphics from the Book of Gates.
SCALA, FLORENCE
H E A V E N S A BO VE
The vaulted ceiling of Seti I’s lower burial chamber represents
the firmament and the stars within it. Different constellations
from the night sky—including Ursa Major, which is a bull in
ancient Egyptian cosmology (right)—appear, positioned between
processions of the gods.
ARALDO DE LUCA
28 MAY/JUNE 2020
STOREHOUSE S
OF TH E DE AD
THE UPPER BURIAL CHAMBER has two small side
annexes. When Howard Carter discovered the
largely intact tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he
found annexes there that served as storage for the
afterlife. They were filled with pottery, games, and
even food. The annex contents of Seti’s tomb may
have contained similar objects that were probably
looted long ago. 1The first storeroom is decorated
with scenes from the Book of Gates, while 2 a
twin annex (not shown below) directly opposite
shows scenes from the Book of the Heavenly
Cow, which recounts how the goddess Nut as-
cended to create the celestial vault. According
to the story, when the height made her teeter,
she had to be supported by several divinities.
The lower burial chamber also has two annexes.
3 A square chamber’s two supporting pillars are
covered with figures, including the deceased pha-
raoh, associated with the god Osiris, and more
images from the Book of Amduat. 4 At the rear
of the complex is another undecorated store-
room. Here Belzoni found the mummified bull
and numerous ushabtis, figurines made of wood
and faience that would serve the deceased in the
afterlife.
2 Second annex
(not shown)
The second annex features several gods

holding a cow, an animal form of Nut,
goddess of the sky.
ARALDO DE LUCA
4
3
R UL ER OF THE DEAD
Wearing a multicolored atef crown,
the god Osiris, sovereign of the
underworld, sits on a throne in the
annex. He wears a beard and holds a
flail, both symbols of royalty.
ARALDO DE LUCA
TUNNEL TO THE UNDERWORLD

A mysterious long passageway leads downward from Seti I’s funerary
chambers, and for nearly two centuries, no one knew where it went. The unfinished tunnel
In 1817 Belzoni followed it for some distance before turning back. runs 570 feet downward
Speculation mounted that the tunnel, its lower sections filled with from the funerary
rubble, might hide the “real” resting place of the pharaoh. In 1960 an chamber.
THEBAN MAPPING PROJECT
amateur local archaeologist cleared an additional 100 feet but then took
a wrong turn and lost the course of the original passageway. Finally, in
2007, a team led by Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass began three
years of careful rubble-clearing. In 2010 they discovered the 570-foot-
long tunnel came to an abrupt end with no further chambers. Hawass
believes the corridor may have been intended to link the burial chamber
to the underworld, but it was left unfinished when Seti I died.
TH E R E A L
AMAZONS
Tales of fierce women who lived and fought like men thrilled
ancient Greek audiences. Today, archaeological evidence proves
that Amazons were real and based on the Greeks’ encounters
with Scythian women, mounted warriors of the steppes.
ADRIENNE MAYOR
MORTAL
COMBAT
An Amazon and
a Greek engage in
mortal combat on this
second-century a.d.
Roman sarcophagus.
Louvre Museum, Paris
DEA/ALBUM
T he Amazons of Greek mythol-
ogy, were fierce warrior women
dwelling in the lands around
and beyond the Black Sea. The
greatest Greek heroes proved
their valor by overcoming formidable Amazon
queens in several famous myths. In one, The-
seus, mythic founder of Athens, fought and de-
feated the Amazon Antiope. Heracles set out
on his ninth labor with orders to obtain the war
belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyte. In the leg-
endary Trojan War, the champion Greek war-
rior Achilles and the bold Amazon Penthesilea
were locked in hand-to-hand combat on the
battlefield.
Known to the Greeks as the “equals of men,”
the Amazons were said to be as courageous and
skilled in war as men. In Greek art and litera-
SI B E R I A ture, Amazons were invariably depicted as
RUSSIA brave and beautiful, but always armed and
EUROPE
MONGOLIA dangerous. By the time Homer wrote
KAZAKHSTAN The Iliad (around 700 b.c.), every Greek
GREECE
Black
A S I A CHINA man, woman, boy, and girl knew exciting
Sea Scythian Amazon tales.
AFRICA world
Greek artists created myriad images
of Amazons wearing pants, riding horses,
shooting bows, swinging battle-axes, hurl-
ing spears, and fighting and dying heroically.
Amazons were popular subjects on privately myths, Amazons enjoyed a vigorous outdoor
commissioned pottery as well as on public life, sexual freedom, hunting, and warfare. No-
SCYTHIAN sculptures. Vivid scenes of women warriors in tably, these same characteristics could be ob-
LANDS battle decorated buildings and temples. To theserved among the peoples that roamed Scythia,
Scythian culture lover of Greek myths, the Amazons might seem the ancient Greek name for the vast territory
extended from as imaginary as the hydra or Pegasus, but archae-
stretching from the Black Sea east to Mongolia.
Eurasia across the
steppes to Siberia ologists are finding compelling evidence for the
The Scythians who occupied these lands were
and Mongolia. existence of ancient warrior women. nomads, who appear as early as the ninth cen-
Encounters between tury b.c. Their culture spread across Asia, from
Greek colonists on Eastern Origins the lands of Ukraine to those of Siberia. The
the Black Sea and
Scythian nomads led Recent archaeological discoveries of graves from Greeks first encountered Scythians, whose lives
to myths featuring the fifth century b.c. suggest that the Greeks’ centered on horse riding and archery, in the sev-
the Amazons. tales of Amazons were influenced by the lives of enth century b.c. when Greeks began to establish
NG MAPS
real equestrian nomads of Eurasia. In the Greek colonies around the Black Sea.
TALES 8th century b.c.

In a work in which women
circa 7th century b.c.
A post-Homeric account
5th century b.c.
In his Histories, which often
OF are otherwise portrayed

as weak, Homer’s epic
of Troy, the Aethiopis,
features the Amazon
blends fact and fiction,
Herodotus recounts how
VALOR
poem The Iliad refers to the queen Penthesilea. She Amazon women and Scythian
Amazons as “women who sides with the Trojans men paired up and enjoyed
are the equals of men.” and is killed by Achilles. sexual equality.
34 MAY/JUNE 2020
As Greek knowledge of Scythia expanded, de- SPLENDOR ON sexual equality that would have astonished the
scriptions and images of Amazons in art and lit- THE STEPPE Greeks. In Greece, wives and daughters were
erature took on more realistic details, reflecting Adorned with gold, a usually kept indoors weaving and minding chil-
the actual customs and attire of steppe nomads, Scythian queen and dren. In contrast, the nomadic horsemen and
including their horses and weapons. By about her husband survey women lived a rugged life in a harsh landscape.
450 b.c., Herodotus and other writers were de- their herd in a painting The tribes were always on the move, finding
by U.S. artist Donato
scribing how women of Scythia fought alongside Giancola (above). new pastures for horses, hunting, raiding, and
men on horseback, like the Amazons of myth. DONATO GIANCOLA/ battling hostile tribes. Every member, male and
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION
Ancient Greek and Roman historians reported female, young and old, contributed to defend-
that Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and ing the group and ensuring survival. It was not
Rome’s general Pompey encountered Amazon- only logical but necessary to train the girls as
like women in eastern lands. well as the boys to ride, shoot arrows, hunt, and
The archaeological evidence from fight. This lifestyle encouraged equality. For
Scythian graves reveals a level of the nomads, the great equalizer for women was
the crucial combination of horses with archery.
Astride a fast horse, a woman with a bow is as
deadly as a man.
4th century b.c. The egalitarian lifestyle of the Scythians was
In his Laws, Plato proposes very different from the settled, agricultural life-
girls and boys receive style of the Greeks. The fact that women could be
the same instruction in the equals of men aroused ambivalence. The idea
combat, inspired by tales of
Amazons, and the example was both exhilarating and daunting, inspiring an
of real-life Scythian women. outpouring of thrilling stories about barbarian
women who were as brave and skilled in war as
GOLD COMB TOPPED WITH SCYTHIAN FIGHTERS. EARLY FOURTH
CENTURY B.C. HERMITAGE MUSEUM, ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
AKG/ALBUM
AMAZON men. In their myths about the bold Amazons,
ARCHAEOLOGY it seems that the Greeks allowed themselves a

secure space to explore the idea of equality be-
tween the sexes, an impossible dream in their
E
VIDENCE that genuine warrior women existed in the regions
own paternalistic society where men dominated
where ancient Greeks located the Amazons has been
and controlled women.
mounting for years. In late 2019 researchers from Rus-
sia’s Institute of Archaeology made a landmark discovery
in the Voronezh province in western Russia: a burial containing Bones and Burials
four female Scythian fighters, ranging in age from about 13 to Scientific advances in the study of human re-
late 40s, who fought, lived, and died on the steppe of western mains have deepened the study of the Scythians
Russia some 2,300 years ago. Parts of the tomb had been looted, and revealed a much more nuanced view of their
but the burials of two women were intact. One appeared to have culture and burial practices. Early excavations
died in her mid-20s. Her body was buried with her legs bowed, in of Scythian burial mounds, known as kurgans,
the position of a horsewoman, with two spears alongside. Also in the 1940s revealed skeletons buried with
intact was the body of the oldest woman, whose skull still was spears, axes, arrows, and horses. These remains
adorned with a ceremonial headdress known as a calathos. The were previously identified as male, but decades
burials of 11 other armed women dating to the same era have later the advent of DNA-testing has revealed
been found in the region in the past decade. Each one has borne that not all the remains belonged to men. Many
signs of having received the same funerary rites as men. of them were women.
A SCYTHIAN FEMALE SKULL WAS STILL ADORNED WITH A CEREMONIAL HEADDRESS
About one-third of Scythian women found
(CALATHOS) WHEN FOUND IN VORONEZH, WESTERN RUSSIA. in burials to date have been discovered with
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY RAS
36 MAY/JUNE 2020
weapons. Their bones bear the marks of combat The new finds debunk older theories as to BATTLE OF
injuries: slashed ribs, fractured skulls, and bro- how the stories of Amazons arose in Greek cul- THE SEXES
ken arms. In 2017 archaeologists found a female ture. One theory proposed that imagination Amazons fight
skeleton in Armenia with an arrowhead in her alone brought Amazons into existence just so Greeks on a terra-
femur, and evidence of other injuries consistent they could be killed off by Greek heroes. Oth- cotta lekythos (oil
with warfare. ers insisted that the myths display a hatred and flask) from the fifth
century b.c. Amazon
Recent discoveries have further strengthened fear of women, who must be crushed by men. battle scenes, known
the theory that female warriors among Scyth- In this old argument, Amazons only existed in as Amazonomachy,
ian and other steppe cultures played a role in the myth to be defeated, and heroic warrior status were popular in
Greek myths of Amazons. In late 2019 archae- was impossible for women. ancient Greek
art. Metropolitan
ologists working in the Voronezh province of It is true that in Greek myths, the foreign Museum, New York
Russia discovered a tomb containing the bodies Amazons were always defeated by Greek he- MET/SCALA, FLORENCE
of four women. The youngest was in her early roes—after all, Greeks wanted to hear stories
teens, and the oldest in her mid- to late 40s. The about their champions as ultimate victors. But
oldest was buried with weapons and an elabo-
rate headdress. Another woman, in her 20s, was
buried in the position of a horse rider. Analysis
SCYTHIAN WOMEN HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED
suggests the remains are those of people who
lived in the fourth century b.c. The site in west- BURIED WITH WEAPONS. THEIR BONES BEAR
ern Russia is within the territory where Greeks THE MARKS OF COMBAT INJURIES: SLASHED
could have encountered Scythians. RIBS, FRACTURED SKULLS, AND BROKEN ARMS.

in every myth, the Amazons were portrayed as
the heroes’ match in valor and prowess. Heroes
seeking glory need powerful adversaries to over-
come. There would be no honor in killing a weak
foe. Accordingly, Greek vase paintings of the
battles with Amazons are filled with suspense.
The Amazons fight and die courageously, and
some even kill Greek warriors.
Facts and Fictions

Just as archaeology has shown that Amazons
were not pure fantasy, other mistaken ideas
about Amazons can also be discarded. One of
the most famous“customs”of the Amazons was
that they supposedly cut off one breast in order
to be able to draw a bow, a fake “fact” that has
been perpetuated for more than 2,500 years.
The claim first emerged in 490 b.c., when
the patriotic Greek historian Hellanicus tried
to fabricate a Greek meaning for the foreign
word Amazon. “Amazon” was not a Greek term,
but “mazon” sounded something like the word
for breast and a meant “without” in Greek. So
Hellanicus proposed that the name meant that
Amazons removed a breast so they could draw
a bow. Not only was his claim rejected by other
Greeks of his own day, but no ancient artist ever
accepted the notion. All Amazons in Greek and
Roman art appear with both breasts intact. And
in practice, female archers are not hindered by
their breasts.
WOUNDED Another persistent belief broadcast by the
WARRIORS ancient Greeks was that Amazons were a tribe

of man-hating, domineering women who en-
slaved men and mutilated, killed, or rejected
T
HE GREEKS surrounded themselves with images of
baby boys. This idea likely arose because Greek
powerful Amazons in battle scenes on painted pot-
men oppressed their own women. By their logic,
tery and temple friezes, but these female figures were
if women were strong and independent, then the
also popular with sculptors. Writing in the first cen-
men must be weaklings forced into submission.
tury a.d., the Roman writer Pliny the Elder described a com-
Some sources, however, extoll the Amazons:
petition between Greek sculptors in the mid-fifth century b.c.
Charged with creating an Amazon statue for the temple of Homer used a term for Amazons that translates
Artemis at Ephesus, they created bronze statues of Amazons as “the equals of men.” And many Greek poets
in various poses. “Wounded Amazon” statues were especially called the warrior women “man-lovers.”
popular. They depict an injured female warrior who has retreat- Some modern scholars suggest that Amazons
ed from battle. In the example shown above, her quiver hangs were women who gave up motherhood in order
useless under one arm. Her chiton, fastened at one shoulder, to become warriors. This notion is undermined
falls, exposing both breasts. Despite her fate, her expression by the Greek lists of Amazon generations, all
does not betray suffering or anguish, which would likely have traced by matrilineal lines. Moreover, the Greeks
impressed Greeks for its courage and stoicism. described the warlike Amazons nourishing their
babies with mares’milk. The“no Amazon moth-
WOUNDED AMAZON. COPY OF A SCULPTURE BY THE FIFTH-CENTURY B.C.
SCULPTOR KRESILAS. VATICAN MUSEUMS ers” fallacy is further disproved by the graves of
SCALA, FLORENCE
38 MAY/JUNE 2020
FIGHTING DIRTY
Battles scenes featuring Amazons often show a male soldier
grabbing his opponent’s hair, such as the scene depicted on a
Roman plaque relief (a second-century a.d. copy of an older
Greek original). Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, Athens
SCALA, FLORENCE
FROM THE BATTLE nomadic horsewomen-archers whose real lives
inspired the Greek Amazon stories 2,500 years
TO THE GRAVE ago. Next to the skeletons of female warriors
buried with their weapons, archaeologists have
I
N THE 1940S archaeologists studying Scythian sites in Ukraine, discovered infants and children. Warrior women
south Russia, Caucasia, and Central Asia excavated grave were definitely also mothers.
mounds called kurgans. When they found human remains Finally, many modern scholars assume that
accompanied by weapons, they assumed the deceased Amazons were a purely Greek invention. But
must be male. The advent of DNA-testing has proven those as- research reveals that the warrior women of the
sumptions wrong. About 300 skeletons, some battle-scarred, vast steppes of Central Asia also influenced oth-
have been identified as female; like Scythian men, these women er ancient cultures who came in contact with
were buried with their quivers of arrows, battle-axes, spears, Scythian nomads. Adventurous tales and his-
and horses. Further studies of Scythian culture revealed an torical accounts of Amazon-like warrior women
egalitarian way of life. As part of a nomadic tribe of mounted appeared in Egypt, Persia, Caucasia, Central Asia,
archers, all the children—both sons and daughters—would India, and even China.
be taught to ride horses and shoot arrows from a young age.
Regardless of gender, Scythians donned similar clothing too.
Egalitarian Ideals
Everyone dressed in tunics and pants, making it easier for all
Study of Greek literature from the classical
people to hunt and ride.
period further supports the idea that Amazons
A SIXTH-CENTURY B.C. PLATE PAINTED IN THE ATTIC STYLE BY EPICTETUS were based in part on real people. The fifth-
DEPICTS AN AMAZON OR FEMALE SCYTHIAN ARCHER.
BRITISH MUSEUM/SCALA, FLORENCE
century b.c. historian Herodotus, the first-
century b.c. geographer Strabo, and others had The Scythian men accept the Amazons’ offer. PARTING SHOTS
no doubt that Amazon-like women really ex- They relocate together to new lands where the Like Scythian
isted, and associated them with the flesh-and- Amazons can continue their traditions alongside mounted archers,
blood warrior women of Scythia. In his Histories, their new partners. Herodotus’s presentation Amazons were
depicted riding and
Herodotus explained how a group of ship- of the Amazons reveals a balanced look at these wielding bows. This
wrecked Amazons take local male Scythians as independent women. fifth-century b.c.
lovers. The Scythian men propose that the Am- Another figure who wrote about the Amazons Etruscan bronze
azons become their wives and return with them was the philosopher Plato. Amazons and Scyth- Amazon is executing
to the lands of their fathers. The women reply: ian women figure in his Laws, a dialogue about a Parthian shot
(turning the body
the best ways to raise citizens to be prepared to fire an arrow at
We should not be able to live with your for both peace and war. In an ideal state, Plato a pursuer). British
women, for we and they have not the same proposes that at age six, boys and girls “should Museum, London
BRITISH MUSEUM/SCALA, FLORENCE
customs. We shoot with bows and hurl have lessons in horse riding, archery, javelin-
javelins and ride horses . . . whereas your throwing, and slinging.”Notably, these military
women do none of these . . . We therefore
should not be able to live in agreement
with them: but if you desire to keep us for “WE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH YOUR
your wives and to be thought honest men, WOMEN, FOR WE . . . HAVE NOT THE SAME CUSTOMS.
go to your parents and obtain from them
your share of the goods, and then let us go
WE SHOOT WITH BOWS AND HURL JAVELINS AND RIDE
and dwell by ourselves. HORSES . . . YOUR WOMEN DO NONE OF THESE.”

activities are not the typical martial skills of tra-
ditional Greek soldiers. Instead, these lessons
mirror the expertise of mounted nomad archers
of Scythia, a place that in the time of Plato—the
fourth century b.c.—was notorious for warlike
women who rode to battle alongside the men.
Plato compares these real Scythians with the
Amazons of tradition to help frame his argument
that the ideal education would be based upon a
similar notion of equality:
I say further, without hesitation, that the

same education in riding and gymnastics
shall be given both to men and women.
The ancient tradition about the Amazons
confirms my view.
Plato specifies that foreign teachers would be

assigned to instruct the children to ride and
shoot arrows in wide-open spaces created for
the purpose. Ensuring that girls are “trained in
precisely the same way as the boys” in athlet-
ics, riding horses, and wielding weapons would
mean that, in an emergency, Greek women could
“take up bows and arrows like Amazons, and join
the men” in battle against enemies.
Plato’s radical departure from traditional
Greek gender roles was not only justified by the
ancient stories of Amazons. The philosopher
declares that we“now know for certain that there
BRAVE WOMEN are countless numbers of women . . . around the

Black Sea who ride horses and use the bow and
OF ARGOS other weapons” just like the men. In their cul-

ture, Plato continues,“men and women have an
equal duty to cultivate these skills.” Together,
A
MAZONIAN VALOR can be found among other female
characters in classical writings. Plutarch, in his the men and the women join to pursue “a com-
first-century a.d. treatise On the Bravery of Women, mon purpose and throw all their energies into
recounts the deeds of Telesilla, a Greek poet who the same activities.”
successfully defended the city of Argos against the Spartans. This sort of mutual cooperation and equal
King Cleomenes of Sparta had defeated the city’s army in the training, Plato affirms, are essential to a soci-
field and was marching to Argos to capture the city. Telesilla ety’s success. Indeed, he calls any state that does
rallied the women, the youth, and the elderly to take up arms otherwise “foolish” because without women’s
against Cleomenes’ attack. Their combined forces repelled participation “a state develops only half its po-
the Spartans, and Argos was saved. The second-century a.d. tential”when at the same cost and effort it could
geographer Pausanias wrote of a stela (now disappeared) out- “double its achievement.” Plato likens this all-
side the Temple of Aphrodite in Argos that records Telesilla’s inclusive, egalitarian approach to the famous
bravery, a rare tribute to a woman in a culture where they had Scythian archers’ ability to shoot arrows with
little official place in public or military life. either the right or left hand. Such ambidexterity
is crucial in fighting with bows and spears, and
FEMALE FIGURE FROM ARGOS. FOUND AT THE TEMPLE OF APHRODITE, WHERE A NEARBY “every boy and girl should grow up versatile in
STELA ONCE COMMEMORATED THE VALOR OF TELESILLA, SAVIOR OF THE CITY
G. DAGLI ORTI/DEA/ALBUM the use of both hands.”
Scythian women, declared Plato, proved that it modern female heroes draw heavily upon the TWO ON ONE
is possible and advantageous for a state to decide traits of Amazons of Greek mythology. Katniss Two Amazons defeat
that “in education and everything else, females Everdeen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Prin- a man in this detail
should be on the same footing as males and fol- cess Leia are all beneficiaries. Perhaps the most (above), which
low the same way of life as the men.” direct descendent of all is Wonder Woman, who appears on the
fourth-century b.c.
is imagined as an Amazon bestowed with gifts Sarcophagus of the
A Dream of Equality and strengths from the Greek gods. Amazons. National
The idea that women could really be the equals The eternal struggle to find harmony and Archaeological
of men may have been unsettling to the ancient balance between men and women seems to lie Museum of Florence
SCALA, FLORENCE
Greeks, but the idea was one they loved to con- at the heart of most Amazon tales. It’s a time-
template in myth, art, theater, and philosophy. less, universal tension. Their stories continue
Notably, egalitarian democratic ideals were born to suggest the possibility of egalitarian gender
in ancient Athens and playwrights featured relationships. If it could happen in the past, it’s
strong, independent women in many popular not impossible now.
plays. The myriad myths about Amazons gave
ADRIENNE MAYOR IS A RESEARCH SCHOLAR IN CLASSICS AND HISTORY OF
Greek men and women a way to imagine equality PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.
between the sexes.
In their myths and in their “thought experi-
Learn more
ments,”the Greeks wove imaginative storytelling
with facts to create a panoramic world of Ama- The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women
Across the Ancient World
zons, a world that still fascinates today. Many Adrienne Mayor, Princeton University Press, 2016.

TALES OF
PENTHESILEA AND ACHILLES
Amazon queen Penthesilea appears in the circa seventh-
century b.c. work Aethiopis as an ally of the Trojans in
WARRIOR their war against the Greeks. Mounted on her swift horse,
Penthesilea faces the Greek champion Achilles in combat.
QUEENS
Achilles is victorious and kills the Amazon queen with his
spear. When he observes Penthesilea’s lifeless body, he is
moved by her beauty and lets the Trojans honor her with
funerary rituals worthy of a man.
The Amazons appeared with Greek
heroes in a multitude of classical ANTIOPE AND THESEUS
Greek stories, legends, and founding Theseus, the mythical founder of Athens, sails to the
country of the Amazons with his friend Pirithous. The
myths. Their interactions became Amazons, led by Queen Antiope, come bearing gifts to
popular motifs painted on ceramics. meet them. When Antiope boards the ship, Theseus
abducts her and takes her back to Athens. The Amazons
then attack the city; Antiope, now married to Theseus,
fights alongside her husband. She is eventually killed by an
arrow fired by one of her former compatriots.
ANTIOPE CAPTURED
BY THESEUS AND HIS
FRIEND PIRITHOUS. FIFTH
CENTURY B.C. LOUVRE
MUSEUM, PARIS
BRIDGEMAN/ACI
PENTHESILEA SUBDUED BY
ACHILLES. REPRODUCTION
OF AN ATTIC CUP, FIFTH
CENTURY B.C.
ALAMY/CORDON PRESS
BATTLING THE BARBARIANS
The Great Ludovisi sarcophagus depicts the chaos
of a battle between the Romans and barbarians,
who can be identified by their clothing and beards.
The sculpture, from the mid-third century a.d., was
found on a tomb near Rome’s Porta Tiburtina.
ALBUM/AKG-IMAGES/WERNER FORMAN/N.J. SAUNDERS
FORTIFYING THE ROMAN FRONTIER
STRONGHOLD
ON THE DANUBE
A string of bases, forts, and towers stretched along
the banks of the Danube, forming a powerful military
barrier to protect the Roman Empire from assaults
coming from the barbarian world.
BORJA PELEGERO
Barbarians
at the
Border
27 b.c.
As Germanic tribes push
south into Roman territory,
Emperor Augustus
launches a campaign to
push them back.
a.d. 9
Three Roman legions are
wiped out by barbarians at the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Augustus withdraws, fixing a
border on the Danube River.
a.d. 105-106
A series of wars against
Dacia, today’s Romania,
culminate in Trajan’s victory.
Rome annexes it—its only
territory north of the Danube.
F
a.d. 270
The Visigoths attack Dacia RIVER RUN lowing out of the Black Forest in Ger-
while Rome is consumed by
civil wars. Although Aurelian The Danube River many across Europe, the Danube runs
defeats the Visigoths, he (above) passes for more than 1,700 miles before it
cedes the territory to them. through the Iron meets the Black Sea. This river, Eu-
Gate gorge between
present-day Serbia
rope’s second longest, shaped the
and Romania. The history of the continent as much as it shaped
a.d. 378 waterway acted as the landscape. The Danube created a natural
The Visigoths, after having
Rome’s northern border, and the rulers of Rome, starting with
been allowed to settle inside
the empire, to flee the Huns, border in Europe. the first emperor, Augustus, used it to mark
CSP_SLAST/AGE FOTOSTOCK
attack and defeat the Romans the place where Rome ended and the frontier
at Adrianople. began.
On one side of the river dwelled Romans, on
a.d. 476 the other were barbarians. Roman writers did
A Visigoth army removes the not differentiate among the Germanic tribes
last Roman emperor in the who lived north of the Danube. Their culture
west, replacing him with and practices were of no interest to Rome. All
Odoacer, who becomes
the first “barbarian” to Rome wanted to do was keep the barbarians
rule Rome. out as it turned its attentions to expanding
and maintaining its empire.
THE EMPEROR TRAJAN ON A
SESTERCE. ALONG WITH DACIA,
HIS MILITARY CONQUESTS Barbarian Identity
PUSHED ROMAN BOUNDARIES TO
THEIR FARTHEST EXTENT. Barbarians were not one large group of people.
DEA/ALBUM They were many different cultures with dif-
fering ethnicities and origins from all over Eu-
48 MAY/JUNE 2020
A ROMAN’S-EYE VIEW
ROMANS MAPPED THEIR EMPIRE in the fourth century on a sprawl-
ing 22-foot-long parchment. A 13th-century copy, known today
as the Peutinger Table, is the oldest surviving version. It shows
Rome’s roads and borders, including the Danube. The river can
be seen just below Sarmatarum (or Sarmatia), which was home
to the Iazyges, a barbarian tribe of Central Asian origins.
THE BOOT OF ITALY IS SHOWN ON A SECTION (ABOVE) OF THE PEUTINGER TABLE.

AUSTRIAN NATIONAL LIBRARY IN VIENNA
AGE FOTOSTOCK
rope and Asia. The nomadic Huns most likely blood.” In short, Tacitus believed a barbarian WOUNDED
came from the area around Kazakhstan, the would rather steal and kill for his necessities WARRIORS
Vandals from Poland and Scandinavia, and the than make them himself. Reliefs from Trajan’s
Picts from Britain, while the Sarmatians mi- The Germanic tribes that lived along the Column show the
grated westward from Iran. Danube were not monolithic. They were nu- challenges faced by
Roman legionaries
The image of a “barbarian” as a hairy wild- merous and distinctive. Some were more pow- on the Danube
eyed man communicating with grunts and erful than others, such as Marcomanni, the (below), such as the
shouts comes from ancient Greece. The Greek Quadi and Cherusci. Most used Germanic lan- risk of injury in battle.
word barbaros was used to describe non- guages that probably differed (historians have Museum of Roman
Civilization, Rome
Greeks whose language was incomprehensi- found no written records from these cultures).
DEA/SCALA, FLORENCE
ble, sounding like “bar, bar, bar.” Later Roman They practiced different faiths. They had dif-
writers adopted the term and used it to mean ferent motives for interacting with the Ro-
“other,” applied to both non-Romans and un- mans: Some sought trade, while
civilized people. others formed alliances. Some
To Roman writers, barbarians epitomized sought conflict with Rome, while
a lack of discipline, a quality Roman warriors others may have preferred no in-
were trained to value and employ. In his first- teraction at all.
century a.d. work Germania, the historian Tac- The Germanic tribes fought
itus wrote: “A German is not so easily prevailed with each other just as easily
upon to plough the land and wait patiently for as they fought with Rome. The
harvest as to challenge a foe and earn wounds Cherusci leader Arminius in
for his reward. He thinks it tame and spiritless a.d. 9, sought a pact with the
to accumulate slowly by the sweat of his brow king of the Marcomanni to
what can be got quickly by the loss of a little launch a joint attack against the

MONUMENT TO VICTORY
Ruins of a Roman fortress still stand in southeastern
Romania at Adamclisi, the site of Trajan’s victory
over the Dacians in a.d. 102. The Tropaeum Traiani
was erected there in Trajan’s honor but was severely
damaged over the centuries. In 1977 a reconstruction
was built to remind people of the ancient historic battle.
CALIN STAN/GETTY IMAGES
empire. He turned him down, and eight years IMPERIAL then, Roman expansion had been mostly by
later, in a.d. 17, Arminius attacked and defeat- SUPERVISION sea toward the west, south, and east, leaving
ed the Marcomanni instead, sending their king A detail from the mainland of Europe relatively neglected
Trajan’s Column
to exile in Italy. (below) shows the and vulnerable to attack.
emperor watching Augustus brought in more troops, launching
Augustus on the Frontier his men build a stone them against the barbarians in a campaign to
Under the republic, Rome expanded into new bridge during the subdue the region and establish a defensible
Dacian campaign.
territories and acquired new provinces—first border farther north. With the campaign go-
Museum of Roman
in Italy, then in North Africa, across southern Civilization, Rome ing well, he pushed the legionaries beyond the
Europe, and into the Middle East. When Au- AKG/ALBUM Danube River, setting his sights on reaching
gustus became the first emperor of Rome the Elbe River farther north and
in 27 b.c., he saw that protecting these east. In a.d. 9 three crack le-
territories was essential to maintaining gions (some 15,000 soldiers)
Rome’s power. Augustus developed a led by general Varus were am-
new strategy to define and defend the bushed and annihilated by bar-
borders of the empire. barian soldiers in the Battle of the
When it came to frontier defense, Teutoburg Forest.
the emperor’s priority was the Italian For Augustus and his succes-
Peninsula’s northern border. German- sors, the defeat at Teutoburg—
ic tribes migrating into what is now one of the empire’s worst—made
southern Germany and Austria had it clear that the Germanic tribes
been boldly launching raids on fron- were a formidable foe. The Ro-
tier settlements, sometimes strik- mans withdrew to the south, and
ing inside the peninsula itself. Until Augustus set a fixed northern
50 MAY/JUNE 2020
ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
ROMAN FORCES BUILT TOWERS along the Danube as an alarm sys-
tem that sounded if barbarians began attacking. A detail from
Trajan’s Column in Rome (above) shows one built on the shores
of the river. Typically built of stone, the watchtower (right) is sur-
rounded by a palisade and has a gallery at the upper level. Stacks
of firewood (left) could be lit to signal neighboring fortifications.
Two haystacks (center) would provide food for horses.
ERICH LESSING/ALBUM
border along the banks of the Danube. From Rhine, there was much less construction of this SOLDIERS’
then, Roman strategy to the north shifted to type than has been documented on other forti- POSE
defending the frontier more than expanding fied borders, such as Hadrian’s Wall in Britain. Roman legionaries
the empire. Together with the Rhine to the Although some forts have probably been lost bear their distinctive
shields in a relief
east, the Danube would remain a boundary of due to erosion, it seems that the river’s con-
(below) from
imperial Europe for more than four centuries. siderable width was obstacle enough for any the Tropaeum
For protection, Rome relied first on the riv- attacker. Traiani monument
er’s width of 1,500 feet along much of its route The Augustan border strategy along the at Adamclisi.
as a natural defense. Augustus then added a Danube was designed for maximum flex- Archaeological
Museum of Istanbul
border patrol, launching a fleet to secure the ibility, seeking to maintain peace through a DEA/GETTY IMAGES
waterway. He built a series of forts, watchtow- combination of security, trade,
ers, and signal stations to detect and contain and diplomacy. Even something
an attack or call for reinforcements, which also like granting coveted access to
served to monitor movements, regulate trade, markets could involve an ex-
and collect customs fees. This system, known change for border security, add-
as limes, originally meant a fortified military ing a buffer against more hos-
road. It came to signify a network of defensive tile tribes farther from Rome.
installations—including walls, forts, and pali- Favored tribes would win the
sades—built by the Romans on the empire’s right to move through the fron-
frontiers along the Danube as well as other tier more easily, providing they
locations. were in smaller groups and un-
The land between the legionary bases and armed, while others could on-
the auxiliary forts was dotted with small forts ly sell wares at markets under
and watchtowers. Along the Danube and the armed guard.
PATROLLING A LIBURNA FROM THE SECOND CENTURY A.D. THIS
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE AGILE WARSHIP IS BASED
THE DANUBE
ON THE DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIAN J. S. MORRISON
WITH DETAILS SUPPLIED BY TRAJAN’S COLUMN.
ILLUSTRATION: GIUSEPPE RAVA/OSPREY PUBLISHING
the two roman fleets sailing the

Danube performed the same
functions on the river as the
legions did on land. Warships
monitored the waters, control-
ling the movements of people and
goods and ensuring the collection of
taxes. There were also freighters to
move troops and supplies. The libur-
na was one type of warship used
on the Danube, a light galley that
mimicked the design of Illyrian pirate vessels. long triremes with 120 oars—but these may TRAJAN EMBARKS AT
BRINDISI ON HIS WAY
A liburna was typically 80-100 feet long with have only been used as flagships. The most TO DACIA. MOLD FROM
about 60 oars. A smaller version, specially common types of freighters were the onerar- TRAJAN’S COLUMN,
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
adapted to river use, was also used, this one ia and the actuaria. Both these ships were ROMANIAN HISTORY,
measuring around 65 feet long and having 50 crewed with a naval infantry comprising a BUCHAREST
DEA/ALBUM
oars. There were a few large ships—130-foot- mix of sailors (nautae) and oarsmen (remiges).
THE ROMAN FORUM AT
AQUILEIA IN THE PROVINCE OF
UDINE, NORTHEAST ITALY UNITED
TARGA/AGE FOTOSTOCK
EFFORTS
ARBARIAN FORCES were a constant
B threat to Rome despite successes

patrolling the Danube. In a.d. 167 a
consortium of Marcomanni, Quadi,
and other Germanic tribes attacked Ro-
man towns in Italy for the first time in
more than 150 years. They ransacked the
prosperous town of Opitergium (mod-
ern Oderzo, Italy) and defeated the Ro-
man troops sent to stop them. Then they
marched against Aquileia, but lacking
siege equipment, could not get past its
walls. Emperor Marcus Aurelius fought
the barbarians repeatedly over the next
decade, culminating in a major victory in
a.d. 179, a year before his death. His son,
Emperor Commodus, agreed to peace with
the by-then destitute tribes in exchange for
a promise not to retaliate. The Marcoman-
ni remained a threat until a.d. 296, when
they were beaten definitively.
Manning the Forts Smaller fortified settlements followed the

The Roman territorial army was divided into le- same format as the castra, but were only about
gions, each containing some 5,000 regular troops, one-fifth the size and hosted just one cohort (or
plus auxiliaries. A main frontier base along the two, in exceptional cases). They had most of the
Danube could accommodate as many as 6,000 same buildings as in the legionary bases, with-
men, much larger than the villages and hamlets in out the hospital and the baths. Small forts were
the frontier zone. Within the legion there were occupied by cohort detachments and numeri.
different infantry, cavalry, and mixed units known Along river borders like the Danube, all of these
as the cohortes and alae, each of which numbered structures were arranged irregularly, depending
between 500 and 1,000 men. The smallest de- on the river’s terrain.
tachments, or numeri, consisted of some 200 bar- A soldier’s daily life was
barian men who fought with their own equipment organized into vigilia, the eight
and customs rather than the Roman style. watches in a day that required
The main bases were large complexes of some rotating groups to stand guard
50 acres and followed a rectangular site plan in three-hour shifts. Training
with rounded corners. The largest were the so- sessions were also on the agenda:
called castra, such as the Lauriacum on the Dan- Recruits had two each day, one
ube limes in Austria. They were comprised of a in the morning and one in the
headquarters building, commander’s residence, afternoon, lasting the length of a
barracks, barns, stables, warehouses, hospital, watch, which included training in
baths, and latrines. The castra were often ac-
companied by a settlement of local tribespeople MEDUSA BRONZE GILT SCULPTURE FROM ULPIA TRAIANA
SARMIZEGETUSA, DACIA, SECOND CENTURY A.D. PALAZZO
outside the walls who ran businesses catering MASSIMO ALLE TERME, NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM, ROME
to the needs of the camp. DEA/ALBUM

A.D. 101
Roman Empire
EUROPE Dacia TRAJAN’S DACIAN WARS
Located in today’s romania, Dacia was a wealthy regional
Black Sea power known for its gold and silver mines and skilled metal-
Rome workers. Dacian raids across the Danube into Roman lands
ROMANIA spurred Emperor Trajan to wage a war, first in a.d. 101-102
Me d i
te and again in 105-106. Trajan’s forces destroyed Sarmizeg-
rr
ane
an Sea SIA
ASIA etusa, the Dacians’ capital, wiped out their culture, and
0 mi 400
folded their lands and their treasures into the empire.
0 km 400
PRESENT-DAY BOUNDARIES SHOWN AFRICA
APPROXIMATE ARMY ROUTES
ABOVE AND BELOW: NG MAPS C Roman, A.D. 101–102

A Dacian, A.D. 101–102
Roman, A.D. 105–106
R
P
0 40 miles
A
T
0 40 kilometers
za
H
is Modern names appear
IA
T
in parentheses.
Apuseni
N
Gold
deposits
Pr
M
ut
O
SA R M AT I A
M t s.
Potaissa
U N
(Turda)
Silver
D A C I A
Si
ureș deposits
M
re
T A
Apulum (Alba Iulia)
t
Battle of
I N S
Sarmizegetusa
Sarmizegetusa 105
(Berzovia)
Berzobis C A R P A T H I A N M T S.
Roman Aizis S Y L V A N I A N A L P S)
fortress
Battle of (T R A N
Tapae
101
Castra Traiana
(Orșova) (Sîmbotin)
Lederata Dierna
Singidunum
(Belgrade) Viminacium
Drobeta TRAJAN’S BRIDGE
(Drobeta-Turnu
U P P E R MO E S I A
Ol t
Severin)
Bla ck
the movements of Roman
Sea
military reveal the power be Durostorum
nu (Silistra) Battle of
Da
brought across the Danube Adamclisi

to fight the Dacians. Rome 102
Oescus
scored its first major victory at Novae LOW E R MO E S I A
Tapae in 101. The Dacians sued
for peace in 102. After this R O M A N E M P I R E
accord broke down, Trajan fully
defeated them at their capital,
Sarmizegetusa, in 106.
THUNDERSTORMS REPORTEDLY BROKE OUT

DURING THE BATTLE OF TAPAE IN A.D. 101,
THROWING THE DACIANS INTO DISARRAY.
DEA/ALBUM
FIRST
CROSSING
N ARCHITECTURAL WONDER, Tra-
A jan’s Bridge was ordered built

in a.d. 103 to secure rapid sup-
ply lines in Rome’s war against
the Dacians. Completed in two years, it
connected the Danube’s southern shore
(modern-day Kladovo in Serbia) with the
northern (modern-day Drobeta–Turnu
Severin in Romania). Designed by Apol-
lodorus of Damascus, the bridge was
made of intricate wooden arches that
stood atop stone piers. Rather than build
short spans, which would have required
more piers and taken too long, he devised
a unique wooden arch solution. The bridge
was demolished some 150 years later by
Aurelian as he withdrew from Dacia. At
over six-tenths of a mile, it was the lon-
A REPLICA OF TRAJAN’S BRIDGE IN
gest span bridge built for more than 1,000
DROBETA–TURNU SEVERIN, ROMANIA, years. Twelve of the original 20 piers still
WITH TWO REBUILT PIERS AND A
SECTION OF THE WOODEN SPAN.
exist, although all but two are underwater.
KENNETH GARRETT
weapons use and horseback riding. Apart from from the archaeological study of their settle-
the training, each soldier had a regular job. ments. Roman sources do provide accounts of
Special assignments could change a soldier’s Dacian culture, but their biases must be con-
routine too. A papyrus found in Egypt reveals sidered with a careful eye. (Tacitus warned
activities carried out by soldiers in one aux- that they were “a people which never can be
iliary unit on the Danube in the early second trusted.”) The Dacians were a well-estab-
century a.d. Some were engaged as bodyguards lished regional power known for their fine
to imperial officials, two groups traveled to metalwork and rich mines. Their forc-
Gaul to procure clothes and cereals, while three es would raid Roman frontier towns
others went north of the Danube—one to su- along the Danube, and Rome wanted
pervise crops, one to do reconnaissance, and to put a stop to it.
another on an unspecified expedition. Led by King Decebalus, the
Dacians attacked the Roman
Attacks on the Border province of Moesia, located
For recruits who began their service on the Dan- south of the Danube. They won
ube frontier, action was probably limited to the two battles against the empire, but Em-
odd bandit attack or isolated barbarian incursion peror Domitian defeated them in a.d. 88. This
across the river for most of the first century a.d. conflict ended with peace rather than total
But those who served in a.d. 85 would face the defeat, and the Dacians continued to pose a
first of three Roman wars against the kingdom of threat to Rome’s holdings along the frontier.
Dacia (in what is Romania today), the strongest
kingdom north of the Danube. DACIAN SOLDIER REPRESENTED IN A MARBLE ROMAN
The Dacians had no written language, so SCULPTURE. SECOND CENTURY A.D. PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE
TERME, NATIONAL ROMAN MUSEUM, ROME
much of what is known about them comes DEA/ALBUM
FEEDING AN ARMY
The saying “an army marches on its stomach”
was true for Roman soldiers, who grew and
harvested provisions as pictured in a detail
from Trajan’s Column. Museum of Roman
Civilization, Rome
AKG/ALBUM
Emporor Trajan, fought two separate wars their shaggy beards contrasting with
against the Dacians. The first was fought 101- clean-shaven Roman faces. Other
102. King Decebalus and Trajan formed a trea- panels show more practical concerns
ty, which the king then broke. In the second of daily life on the frontier: harvesting
conflict, Trajan and his legions wiped out the grain, clearing forests, and building forts.
Dacians. In a marvelous show of organization
and engineering, Trajan’s forces built the first Becoming Roman
permanent bridge spanning the Danube to fa- Trajan’s show of strength served as a warn-
cilitate military supply lines. Tens of thou- ing to the other Germanic tribes along the
sands of soldiers finished off the Dacians and river. During most of the next century, the
reestablished Roman control along this portion frontier system fulfilled its function of guard-
of the Danube. ing and regulating the borders, which in turn
The spoils were brought back to Rome fostered deepening connections between
and used to build Trajan’s Column, Rome and the Germanic tribes who lived along
a 126-foot-high monument that the Danube.
still stands in Trajan’s Forum in During the reign of Marcus Aurelius (start-
Rome. The column is covered with ing in a.d. 161), state policy allowed increased
sculptural reliefs of 155 scenes that depict numbers of barbarians (unarmed and in small
multiple aspects of Trajan’s campaigns. groups) to cross the Danube and settle on va-
Roughly half of the scenes involve the Ro- cant lands where they raised families, farmed,
man military, showing them marching, fight- and paid taxes. Their sons could enlist in the
ing, and making sacrifices. Their opponents, the
Dacians, also appear and provide one of the best A DANCING LAR. THE LARES WERE MINOR ROMAN DEITIES. BRONZE
FIGURINE FROM DACO-ROMAN SITE IN CORABIA, ROMANIA. SECOND-THIRD
visual sources of how barbarians looked— CENTURIES A.D. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ROMANIAN HISTORY, BUCHAREST
DEA/ALBUM
56 MAY/JUNE 2020
THE RUINS OF A PAVED ANCIENT DACIAN
ROAD IN SARMIZEGETUSA, CAPITAL OF
DACIA, CONQUERED BY TRAJAN IN A.D. 106
TIBERIU-CALIN GABOR/ALAMY/ACI
ROME’S FRONTIER COLONY

CAPITAL OF ANCIENT DACIA, Sarmizegetusa was conquered by Tra-
jan in his campaign against the Dacians, a.d. 105-106. Nearby he
founded Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa,
whose first settlers were veterans of the Dacian wars. This heavi-
ly fortified enclave became the center of Dacia, the only Roman
province beyond the Danube, famed for its silver and gold mines.
Roman army, and their descendants would Between a.d. 235 and 284, emperors reigned
routinely rise to the high ranks of the mili- an average of 18 months. This instability drew
tary or the administration. Incorporating the Rome’s attention away from the frontier. The
Germanic tribes into Roman civilization was Visigoths (western Goths) took advantage and
seen as a way to protect the empire by giving attacked Dacia in a.d. 270. Although Emper-
these former outsiders a stake in its contin- or Aurelian defeated the Visigoths, he sur-
ued success. rendered the territory north of the Danube
Roman policy toward immigration was con- to them.
stantly evolving, often contradictory but al- Meanwhile, smaller tribes of barbarians
ways guided by practicality. Tribes that were beyond the Danube and the Rhine had been
loathed on the one hand might eventually forming mighty confederations: the south-
be candidates for Roman citizenship, a trait ern Germans into the Alemanni and middle
present since the empire’s early days. Tacitus Rhine groups into the Franks. In a.d. 260 the
quotes Emperor Claudius addressing the Sen- Alemanni broke through northern limes estab-
ate in a.d. 48 in favor of letting in members of lished by Hadrian, forcing the Roman frontier
the Gallic aristocracy:“My ancestors encourage back to the Danube and Rhine. The Danube
me to govern by the same policy of transfer- limes fell into disrepair, and emperors tried to
ring to this city all conspicuous merit, wher- strengthen them in the 300s. When Rome fell
ever found.” The Danubian limes continued to a century later, the Danube limes would still
function as the northern frontier. Subsequent be standing.
sovereigns reinforced them with the construc-
tion of new fortifications.
The empire began to weaken in the third
A SPECIALIST IN ANCIENT HISTORY, BORJA PELEGERO
century as Rome itself began to fall into chaos. HAS WRITTEN A BIOGRAPHY OF GENGHIS KHAN.

FROM FORTRESS TO CITY
In Petronell, Austria, stand the remains of Carnuntum, Rome’s most
important defensive position on the upper Danube.
the remains of carnuntum have been studied since 2012 by the

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual
Archaeology (LBI ArchPro) in collaboration with others. Using noninvasive
methods such as ground-penetrating radar and aerial photography,
researchers have discovered a gladiator school, two amphitheaters (one
civilian and one military), and traces of one of the area’s oldest Roman
encampments.
Carnuntum began in Road connecting

the year a.d. 6 as a Carnuntum with
winter military camp, Vindobona (Vienna)
located here on the
banks of the Danube,
and occupying an
area the size of six
football fields.
City of
Carnuntum
A ludus, or gladiator school, included

training grounds, dormitories, and a
bath. Archaeologists also found remains
of the civilian amphitheater nearby.
BIRTH OF A FRONTIER TOWN

The Roman presence in the Carnuntum area began around enhanced the location’s military capabilities, which included
a.d. 6, when Tiberius set up a winter camp in his campaign a field army of some 5,000 legionary troops. At the end of
against the Marcomanni. During the reign of Claudius the first century a.d., the city of Carnuntum was formally
(a.d. 41-54), a permanent legionary base was added along founded and became the capital of a new province, Pannonia
with a harbor for the Danube fleet. Within a few years, a Superior. It was the most important legionary camp of the
civilian settlement, or canaba, developed around it, inhabited upper Danube frontier with some 50,000 inhabitants by
by soldiers’ families, licensed veterans, and service people for the end of the second century a.d. As the Roman Empire’s
the military—including artisans, merchants, and prostitutes. strength began to wane in the coming centuries, Germanic
Under Domitian (a.d. 81-96), an auxiliary fort was built tribes targeted this city on the Danube with repeated
to accommodate a division of 600 cavalry. The addition invasions until it was ultimately abandoned in 433.
7REASONS/IKANT/LBI ARCHPRO
Military amphitheater
Permanent legionary
base
Auxiliary
fort
A civilian settlement, called a

canaba, grew up close to the
Roman legionary fortress.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Gustave Doré’s 1877 engraving
reflects a popular romanticized
view of the 1212 Children’s
Crusade, while historians
continue to investigate the true
details. Opposite: 13th-century
French processional cross
ENGRAVING: GRANGER/AURIMAGES CROSS: ALBUM
XXXXX
THE CHILDREN’S
CRUSADE
M i ssi on of t h e M a sses
In 1212 thousands of European youths banded together

to try to take back the Holy Land from Muslim control.
Unsanctioned by the church, their holy heroism left a deep
mark on the popular imagination and fascinated historians.
ENRIQUE MESEGUER
WITH THEIR FLOCKS
Shepherds listen to an angel announce Jesus’
birth in a 12th-century relief from the Church
of San Giovanni in Fonte, Verona, Italy. Many of
the participants of the Children’s Crusade were
shepherds themselves.
DEA/GETTY IMAGES
T
HOLY POVERTY he Crusades stand as one of the key Most consider that the events recorded by later
The Crusades historical milestones of the Middle chroniclers may be legendary or exaggerated.
coincided with the life Ages. Backed by the Catholic Church, The Children’s Crusade was not an official
of St. Francis of Assisi European Christians launched eight crusade—which had to be sanctioned by a
(below, in a 14th-
century painting before separate missions to take the Holy pope—nor does there exist solid evidence that
Pope Innocent III), Land from Muslim control between 1096 and it was supported predominantly by young chil-
who believed poverty 1291. Led by Europe’s elite, the Crusades were dren. Nevertheless, it was a mass movement,
brought the faithful documented in great detail by the leaders of the inspired by the desire to defend and spread
closer to God. church as well as the people who fought them. Christianity in the early 1200s.
DEA/ALBUM
Their leaders, their movements, and their out-
comes are well known to history. The Age of Crusades
The story of the Children’s Crusade of Official papal crusades began in the 11th cen-
1212 brings to mind powerful images of tury. Islam had spread far and wide to formerly
throngs of medieval European chil- Christian lands in the Near East and North Af-
dren gathering together in faith to rica in the seventh century, and to the Iberian
wrest Jerusalem from the Muslims. Peninsula in the eighth. By the late 11th cen-
The events of the two expeditions tury, Europe was enjoying a period of econom-
fascinated 13th-century audiences, ic strength, and the papacy had asserted its
and chroniclers wrote different ac- power following a series of important reforms.
counts decades after the Children’s Buoyed by a resurgence in pilgrimage across
Crusade ended. Historians, however, Europe, the Catholic Church wanted to expand.
are hampered by a lack of detailed, The blessing of Pope Urban II in 1095 launched
primary sources about these popular the First Crusade, a bid to retake the Holy Land,
movements of the early 13th century. the following summer.
62 MAY/JUNE 2020
INSPIRATION
Construction of the
Cathedral of Chartres,
southwest of Paris, began
in the 12th century. Many
Europeans were inspired
to join the Crusades
after hearing sermons
in the shadow of this
magnificent edifice.
LEROY ARTHUR/AGE FOTOSTOCK
The Christian alliance took Jerusa-
lem from the Fatimid Muslims in
1099 and established the King-
dom of Jerusalem. Over the next
two centuries, seven crusades
followed in an attempt to re-
tain control in the Holy Land.
Muslim retaliation would prove
too strong, however, and the last
European crusader stronghold
would fall to the Mamluks in 1291.
The most well known Crusades
were these large expeditions to the Holy
Land, but there were other military mis-
ROYAL sions in Europe that roused the faithful. In the
APPROVAL early 1200s, Pope Innocent III proclaimed two
Stephen of Cloyes led “local”European crusades: One was the struggle
his followers to Paris against Almohad Muslim rulers in Spain; the
in 1212 to seek an other was the campaign to destroy Catharism,
audience with King
a Christian heresy popular in southern France.
Philip II of France,
depicted crowned Both these local and distant holy wars stirred up
and enthroned on a religious fervor among commoners in Europe,
royal seal (above). in turn sparking a series of “popular” crusades.
JOSSE/SCALA, FLORENCE
The Mysterious Pueri

The Children’s Crusade began in spring 1212 as
the church sought recruits to fight Muslim Spain
and the Cathars. But a new group of people will-
ing to fight for God started to emerge, volunteers
who were neither mercenaries or warriors. Thir-
teenth-century chroniclers called them pueri.
Pueri is a Latin term that can mean children
generally or boys specifically. The appearance of
this word in the sources led to the popular name
of the Children’s Crusade, but historians are
unsure that all the participants were
literal children. Existing sources social designation for poor, landless peasants
have scant details, so it is and that their movement may have been notable
not possible to establish the for the large number of poor, peasant youths.
exact ages of all the pueri. The Children’s Crusade had two principal
While the youthful- leaders: Stephen, from Cloyes (a hamlet on the
ness of many of those Loire River in central France), and Nicholas of
who took part was not- Cologne in Germany. A shepherd, Stephen was
ed by chroniclers, some perhaps as young as 12 in 1212 when he rose to
historians have recent- lead a popular religious movement.
ly suggested that “pu- The Chronicon universale anonymi Laudunensi
eri” could have been a was written by an unnamed monk from Laon in
The Latin word pueri in historical sources led to

the popular name “Children’s Crusade.”
STEPHEN OF CLOYES LEADS THE PUERI IN A ROMANTICIZED 19TH-CENTURY ENGRAVING.
UIG/ALBUM
64 MAY/JUNE 2020
KING’S COURT
In 1212 Stephen and his young
followers set out for the court of
King Philip II, which was installed at
the abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris. The
great basilica is where for hundreds
of years French sovereigns, including
Philip II, were laid to rest.
SYLVAIN SONNET/CORDON PRESS
northern France, and is one of the sources histo-

rians look to when studying the Children’s Cru-
QUESTIONS
sade. The text describes Stephen:“In the month
of June [1212], a certain puer named Stephen,
OF AGE
IT HAS BEEN ARGUED that the so-called Children’s Crusade was
a shepherd by profession, from a village called
not strictly made up of children. In 1977 the Dutch historian
Cloyes . . . used to claim that the Lord appeared
Peter Raedts argued that the Latin term pueri referred not
to him in the guise of a poor pilgrim and accepted only to those who were children, but also to those who were
bread from him and entrusted to him letters to socially “small.” In other words, pueri could be peasants, like
be carried to the king of the Franks.” Stephen and Nicholas, who belonged to the lowest echelon
Since Cloyes is in the diocese of Chartres, of society. Several sources specifically mention that adult
Stephen may have been to that cathedral city men and women, as well as the elderly, did take part in the
when Pope Innocent III visited to build sup- events of 1212. The term pueri could have been used to re-
port for the larger crusading efforts. Stephen fer to male adolescents under 15 years old, which was then
began attracting followers to his self-proclaimed the legal age to marry. This definition adds teenagers to the
crusade. Laon’s chronicle recounts that Ste- mix. However, the word infantes also appears in the sources
phen and a large band of pueri set out for Paris describing participants in the crusade: This term does refer
to seek an audience with the French sovereign, unequivocally to children.
Philip II, to deliver the
holy letters. The king lived
in the Benedictine abbey
of Saint-Denis, just to the
north of the city.
The arrival of the shep-
herd boy and his followers
in Paris coincided with the
annual Lendit fair, attend-
ed by merchants from all
over Europe. At this time
of year, Paris saw a great
influx of pilgrims to the
abbey of Saint Denis. Among them was Ste-
FAITH phen:“Together with shepherds of a similar age,
AND TRADE
nearly 30,000 people flocked to him from vari-
A 13th-century
ous parts of France.”
Spanish miniature
(above) depicts The Laon chronicler noted that“the holy boy
a merchant ship. Stephen” appeared as their “master and leader.”
The 1212 crusaders According to another source, the 13th-century
struck out for Barnwell Chronicle, written in England, the chil-
Mediterranean ports,
hubs of European dren had their sights set higher than holy war
trade, and the exit with Muslim Spain or the Cathars: “They said
point for pilgrims and they needed to go [to the Holy Land] and recover
official crusaders, to the True Cross.” This desire was prompted by a
the Holy Land.
ORONOZ/ALBUM
traumatic event that had taken place two decades
previously, in 1187, when the crusaders lost the
relic of the True Cross at the Battle of Hattin.
Later that year, forces of the Ayyubid sultan,
Saladin, took Jerusalem.
Philip II did not lend his support to Stephen
or his followers. It is not clear from the sources
whether he read the mysterious “letters” Ste-
phen received, or indeed exactly what these let-
ters said. However, the chronicler of Laon re-
cords that the king took the movement seriously
enough to consult a learned group of churchmen after the events recounted, so many historians
known as the Paris Masters. His actions suggest regard as credible his claim that, following the
the king was fearful of the likelihood that the royal order, Stephen’s authority crumbled.
presence of large numbers of poor, young people Interest in Stephen and his followers later
might lead to civil unrest. aroused more speculative accounts. These in-
The Laon scribe wrote that, on their advice, clude authors such as Matthew Paris, an English
the king commanded Stephen’s followers to re- Benedictine monk writing more than 20 years
turn to their homes. Stephen’s after the event. Matthew attributes Stephen’s
crusade ended as quickly as it charisma to a dangerous, Satanic magic. An-
began. The Laon chronicle other chronicler, the Cistercian monk Alberic
was written very soon de Trois-Fontaines, extends Stephen’s story
In 1187 the crusaders lost the relic of the

True Cross at the Battle of Hattin.
SALADIN’S CAPTURE OF THE TRUE CROSS IN 1187 INSPIRED THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE. ENGRAVING FROM
13TH-CENTURY CHRONICLE OF MATTHEW PARIS
FINE ART/ALBUM
66 MAY/JUNE 2020
HAZARDOUS COAST
The 13th-century castle of
Castelsardo looms over the rugged
northwestern coast of Sardinia.
Accounts that followers of Stephen
of Cloyes were shipwrecked near
this Mediterranean island in 1212
are considered to be apocryphal.
KREDER KATJA/AGE FOTOSTOCK
to a tragic end in which Stephen leads his fol-

lowers to the Mediterranean port of Marseille.
GREGORY’S INNOCENTS
There they are tricked by two merchants, who ALBERIC DE TROIS-FONTAINES, a 13th-century French monk, wrote
give them free passage aboard their seven ships. a lengthy chronicle between 1227 and 1241 that featured an entry
Two ships sink, and the five remaining take the on the Children’s Crusade, but historians doubt its accuracy. He
children to Bugia (modern-day Bejaïa, Algeria) details the attempts of the pueri to secure passage to Jerusa-
lem when 30,000 of them reach Marseille. Swindled by slavers,
and Alexandria, Egypt. The merchants sell the
many perished when their ships sank near Sardinia. According
children to Muslim slavers, who then try to force
to Alberic, Pope Gregory IX was so moved by the event that he
them to renounce their Christianity. They re-
ordered a new church, called the Church of the New Innocents,
main faithful, and 18, according to Alberic, are
to be erected on San Pietro (an island some four miles southwest
tortured to death. One of the pueri escapes and of Sardinia), where the drowned children washed ashore. Alberic
returns to Europe to give this testimony. reported that their perfectly preserved bodies were carried into
Most historians consider Alberic’s writ- a local church where they remained and were visited by pilgrims.
ings questionable. Alberic includes many of Historians have searched for remnants of this church, both in
the same details as the Laon chronicler, but ecclesiastical documents as well as archaeological sites. Solid
the events in Marseille and North Africa are confirmation of its existence has yet to be confirmed.
not supported by any other sources of the era,
placing his account more in exhaustion and disappointment.
the realm of hearsay. Despite not reaching the Holy Land, the Chil-
dren’s Crusade made an indelible mark on 13th-
Nicholas’s Miracle century culture. More than 50 chroniclers re-
In parallel with Stephen’s corded it; some penned a few terse lines, while
doomed crusade, another others devoted pages. Because the crusade was
venture was taking shape in not sanctioned by the pope, it is remarkable that
Germany, under the leadership both Stephen’s and Nicholas’s movements at-
of another charismatic youth, tracted attention that lasted for decades. One ac-
Nicholas of Cologne. There is some count from an Augustinian monastery in Alsace,
confusion in the sources as to whether written in 1230, describes Nicholas’s 1212 ven-
Stephen’s crusade influenced Nicholas, or if ture as“a certain vain expedition, which came to
both movements arose spontaneously. pass when pueri and foolish persons snatched up
PARTING
THE WATERS It is clear, however, that Nicholas, like Ste- the sign of the cross, without any discernment,
phen, believed he had received orders from God motivated more by curiosity than concern for
Nicholas of Cologne
believed the to travel to Jerusalem to recover the Holy Land. their salvation.”
Mediterranean would His followers reportedly numbered in the thou- Whether the pueri were children, or peas-
open before him as sands and included men and women, as well as ants, or a mixture of the two, the hostility of
the Red Sea did for the youth. They gathered in Cologne between some chronicles toward them reflects the fear
Moses as depicted
in a 13th-century Easter and Pentecost in 1212. Sources recorded that piety carried too far by the young or by the
miniature (above) that Nicholas and his followers carried T-shaped poor would lead to a breakdown in authority.
from the Bible of tau crosses, later associated with the Francis- Such fears later came to pass in the form of the
St. Louis, held in the can monastic order associated with poverty and Shepherds’ Crusade of 1251. Led by an elderly
Cathedral of Toledo,
humility. The tau emblem would also become Hungarian, it was linked at the time to the Chil-
Spain.
ORONOZ/ALBUM
associated with Nicholas. dren’s Crusade when the chronicler Matthew
The remoteness of Jerusalem did not deter Paris claimed the leader was the now grizzled
Nicholas. He claimed that upon reaching the Stephen of 1212 (almost certainly untrue).
shore, the sea would part for him as it had for Despite such fears of unrest arising from
Moses when he led the Hebrews out of Egypt. popular crusades, later chronicles also exalt the
Contemporary written sources tracked the Children’s Crusade. The tale that many had been
progress of Nicholas’s pueri as they moved to- shipwrecked on San Pietro island near Sardinia
ward the Mediterranean. On July 25, 1212, their later prompted Pope Gregory IX to sponsor a
presence was registered in the city of Speyer in church there. For all the troublesome nature of
southwestern Germany. From Speyer, the pueri the Children’s Crusade as it unfolded, the church
marched south and crossed the Alps, an unimag- soon held up the fervor of the pueri as an ex-
inably difficult and dangerous route. ample to emulate.
Weakened by hunger, exposure, and fatigue, As recruitment began in 1213 for a new cru-
those who did not choose to return home or who sade—the fifth, which eventually set out for the
did not die along the way arrived at Piacenza in Holy Land in 1217—people were urged to follow
northern Italy on August 20, 2012. They had the example of the children the year before, and
walked over 400 miles in a month. From Piacen- offer their lives for Christ. Historians may never
za several thousand traveled almost 100 miles be fully able to separate truth from rumor and
more to the port city of Genoa in Italy. fact from fiction, but the Children’s Crusade
Despite their prayers, the sea did not part, and provides valuable insight into the relationship
the multitude disbanded. Nicholas’s leadership between popular movements and the church.
seems to have ended, and his ultimate fate re-
mains undetermined. Tales abound that some
HISTORIAN ENRIQUE MESEGUER WRITES EXTENSIVELY ON
pueri went by ship to Marseille, while others MEDIEVAL HISTORY, SPECIALIZING IN THE POPULAR CRUSADES.
ended up in Rome. The ones who stayed in Ge-
noa probably found work as a source of cheap Learn more
labor. Only lasting a few short months, Nicho-
las’s crusade was recorded as a failure, begun The Childrens’s Crusade:
Medieval History, Modern Mythistory
with earnest passion and faith and ending with Gary Dickson, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
68 MAY/JUNE 2020
CRUSADE’S END
The tower (center left) of the 12th-century
Cathedral of San Lorenzo rises over the
Mediterranean port of Genoa, Italy.
Sources say this city was where Nicholas
of Cologne’s exhausted followers vainly
waited for the waters to part and open a
passage to the Holy Land.
LUCA REI/SHUTTERSTOCK
ENGLAND
London
ROMANTIC N EL
aN
LEGENDS E N GLISH C
H
Amiens
Accounts of the 1212 Children’s Crusade
Rouen Laon
featured dramatic events, some that are
now regarded as apocryphal. For centuries, NOR MA NDY Saint-Denis
Paris
romanticized retellings included these
Chartres
episodes, such as The Story of the Crusades, Cloyes Se
i n e R.
an English children’s book from 1910: Orléans
Vendôme
FRANCE
S
uddenly, while named Nicholas, who L oire R. Bourges
Pope Innocent was swayed them by the
vainly trying to most extraordinary
rouse Europe to undertake a power . . . But to get to
Stephen of Cloyes
Sixth Crusade . . . boy leaders Genoa, they had to cross (France): The pueri’s march
drilled their little regiments the Alps, and there cold and from Cloyes to Saint-
. . . and prepared seriously to hunger left thousands of Denis in spring 1212 is well
documented. His followers’
go forth to the Holy War. At the poor mites dead . . . The journey to Marseille, and
first they met with opposition, remnant . . . made its way subsequent shipwreck off
and ridicule; but such was at length into Genoa. There Sardinia, is likely to be an
invention.
the earnest zeal of these little they hoped . . . to cross the
people that even the most sea; but the citizens of the
hardened onlooker ceased port looked with scant favour CENTRAL
to jeer or hinder. Mothers, upon the little Crusaders . . . MASSIF
Tarn R.
with aching hearts, saw their Enthusiasm was long since
little ones march forth, and dead, they were laughed at, Toulouse
put out no hand to prevent as failures, and saddest of all,
Carcassonne
them . . . From Germany when they were asked why
a band of seven thousand they had left their homes, Narbonne
children set out for the port they now made weary
of Genoa, from whence they answer that “they could not
hoped to embark for the Holy tell.” Few indeed, ever saw
Land. They were led by a boy their native land again.
19TH-CENTURY ILLUSTRATION OF THE
CHILDREN’S CRUSADE. ABOVE: 13TH-
CENTURY COIN FROM GENOA
ILLUSTRATION AND COIN: ALBUM
a
SE
R TH
NO
Rh Nicholas of Cologne (Germany): Followers
in
of Nicholas headed south along the Rhine
e
R HINEL A ND in 1212, as corroborated by historical
R.
Leuven records. Their goal is the Mediterranean,
Cologne where they believe the waters will part
Jemappes Maastricht allowing them to walk to the Holy Land.
Many die crossing the Alps. On arrival
in Genoa, Nicholas’s miracle fails to
Mainz materialize, and the crusaders disperse.
Trier Many remain living and working in Genoa.
Ma
rn GERMANY Speyer
e
R.
H O LY RO M A N
.
Da n u b e R
EMPIRE
R hine R. L. Constance
L. Geneva
P S
L
Lyon A
R.
I TA LY L. Garda
Venice
one
Piacenza Cremona
Rh
Po R .
Genoa
Avignon
A P
E N
S EA
N
R A N EA N
Marseille I
N
TER
E
I S
ED
M TY
Ti
C O R S ICA RR be
rR
HE .
NIa
N SE
a
Rome
Children’s Crusade (1212)

Documented movement
Uncertain movement
Boundary (1212)
S A R D IN IA
EOSGIS.COM/NG MAPS
San Pietro
V O YA G E O F T H E B E A G L E
In 1831 a young Charles Darwin embarked on a voyage

to South America and then around the world. The
astonishing variety of specimens he collected, and
his profound reflections on the natural world, later
crystallized into his revolutionary ideas about evolution.
ALISON PEARN
SCIENTIFIC
PORTRAITS
Charles Darwin’s portrait was
painted in 1840 by George
Richmond, four years after
he returned from the Beagle
voyage. Opposite: Illustrations
of a Galápagos porgy and a
Madagascan sphinx moth,
two of the new species
recorded by Darwin.
PORTRAIT: AKG/ALBUM
ILLUSTRATIONS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/AGE FOTOSTOCK
L IFE ABOARD
THE BEAGLE
first launched in 1820, the Beagle started life as a
brig (a swift two-masted vessel), 90 feet long and
25 feet wide. It was reconditioned as a three-mast-
ed bark in 1825, and later set off to South Ameri-
ca under the command of Pringle Stokes. Stokes
died during the mission, and Robert FitzRoy took
command. On the Beagle’s return in 1830, it was
remodeled again for a second surveying expedi-
tion in which Darwin would participate (1831-36);
the route would take the Beagle to South America
and then make a circumnavigation of the globe.
The 74-person crew for this second voyage con-

CHRIST’S COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, WHERE DARWIN STUDIED sisted of officers, midshipmen, sailors and por-
FROM 1828 TO 1831. THE ENGRAVING IS BASED ON A PAINTING BY I. A. BELL.
SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/AGE FOTOSTOCK
ters, and marines, who all formed the naval crew;
D uring August 1831 Charles Dar-

win, recently graduated from the
University of Cambridge, was
stuck at home on exactly the same
principle, he complained, as a per-
son would choose to remain in a debtors’prison. At
age 22, Darwin was fascinated by the natural world
and inspired by the adventure stories of the Ger-
man naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, whose
ENLARGED VIEW
travels across Central and South America in the

early 1800s was the basis of a series of extensive
travelogues. Darwin was desperate to undertake a
similar scientific odyssey. An attempt to organize
an expedition to Tenerife in the Canary Islands off
the coast of northwest Africa, had fallen through.
The awful necessity of earning his own
living, probably as the vicar of a coun-
try parish, seemed inescapable.
And then a letter arrived offering
Darwin an amazing opportunity.
The writer was one of Darwin’s
former teachers, John Stevens
Henslow, professor of bot-
any at Cambridge. Henslow
informed Darwin that he had
recommended him to accom-
pany Captain Robert FitzRoy on
ROBERT FITZROY, CAPTAIN OF THE

BEAGLE DURING THE 1831-36 EXPEDITION.
THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS PUBLISHED IN
1865, THE YEAR OF HIS DEATH, AGE 59.
in addition, there were nine noncommissioned
members, including Darwin. It was a large crew
for a ship of such modest dimensions, as Darwin
wrote: “The vessel is a very small one . . . but every
body says it is the best sort for our work . . . The want
of room is very bad, but we must make the best of it.”
2
Darwin spent most of his time in the stern where
1 Captain FitzRoy’s cabin was located. 2 Darwin’s
cabin was outfitted with a folding bunk and book-
1
shelves. He also had a chest in which to store the
samples collected ashore. Darwin soon felt at ease
on the Beagle. He wrote in February 1832: “I find to
my great surprise that a ship is singularly comfortable
for all sorts of work. Everything is so close at hand, &
being cramped, make one so methodical, that in the
end I have been a gainer. I already have got to look at
going to sea as a regular quiet place, like going back
to home after staying away from it.”
ILLUSTRATION: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/AGE FOTOSTOCK
THE BEAGLE OFF THE COAST OF

TIERRA DEL FUEGO IN 1834, IN A
PAINTING BY CONRAD MARTENS
AKG/ALBUM
A MAN
OF LET TER S
during the beagle’s voyage, Darwin famously
amassed a huge scientific collection of plants
and animals, but another important legacy is
his prolific and detailed correspondence with
family and friends. The letters reflect Dar-
win’s mood over the five years of the voyage
and—despite the ups and downs—suggest
he was never disheartened. His words to his
loved ones also expose the man
behind the scientist. His hu-
manity and personality quirks
are on full display—from
delighting in his private
cabin on the ship to
asking his sisters
to mail him more
“Prometheans,” or
matches.
SAMPLE CASE WITH MOLLUSK SHELLS COLLECTED BY DARWIN’S SEXTANT
DARWIN FROM VARIOUS LOCATIONS DURING HIS TRIP. FROM THE VOYAGE ABOARD
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON THE BEAGLE. ROYAL
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY,
LONDON
BRIDGEMAN/ACI
an expedition aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. He wrote:

“I state this not on the supposition of yr. being To Catherine Darwin, Charles’s sister
a finished Naturalist, but as amply qualified for Río de la Plata, May 1833
collecting, observing, & noting any thing worthy And it appears to me, the doing what lit-
. . . in Natural History.”
tle one can to encrease the general stock
Robert FitzRoy was an aristocratic but mercurial
of knowledge is as respectable an object of
naval captain. In 1826 he had set off as a crew mem-
life, as one can in any likelihood pursue . . .
ber on the Beagle to carry out a survey of South
Think of the Andes; the luxuriant forest of
America. In the course of the voyage, he was placed
the Guayquil; the islands of the South Sea
in command of the expedition, from which he re-
turned in 1830. The letter from Henslow to Darwin & new South Wale. How many magnificent
was written as FitzRoy was under instructions & characteristic views, how many & curious
from the Admiralty to mount a second survey ex- tribes of men we shall see.—what fine oppor-
pedition to Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago at the tunities for geology & for studying the infinite
tip of South America. The primary motive of the host of living beings: is not this a prospect
voyage was to chart the coast of South America. to keep up the most flagging spirit? If I was
A secondary motive was scientific exploration. to throw it away; I dont think I should ever
FitzRoy wanted a naturalist aboard, both to carry rest quiet in my grave; I certainly should be
out scientific work and to keep him company. a ghost & haunt the Brit: Museum.
Despite Henslow’s recommendation, howev-
er, Darwin’s place was not immediately assured.
FitzRoy’s first impression of the young naturalist
was not entirely favorable. Darwin’s father ex-
pressed skepticism at the expense and dangerous
nature of the venture. The Beagle was the over-
crowded home to a total crew of 74. Shipwreck
GREAT BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA. DRAWING BY CONRAD MARTENS
was a common hazard, death through disease an SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/AGE FOTOSTOCK
76 MAY/JUNE 2020
90° 60°W
NORTH
EUR0PE
AMERICA ASIA
AFRICA
SOUTH
AMERICA
AUSTRALIA
Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle

1831-36
Galápagos Islands E Q UAT O R
0°
1832
1.
A
Lima SOUTH
Salvador
AMERICA
N
PA C I F I C
r e s t
OCEAN
D
183
5
Fo
Ataca
E
ma Desert
2.
c
ti
S
Rio de
n
Janeiro
la
At
Coquimbo
Darwin’s overland
routes are indicated 30°S
by gray, dashed lines
Montevideo ATLANTIC
Valparaíso
Santiago OCEAN
Buenos Aires Rí
1834
od
S
e la
3. as Plata
mp
Pa
E
Bahía Blanca
D
32
i a
18
o n
N
a g
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM Puerto

THE ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF
H.M.S. BEAGLE (1838-1843) Deseado
P a t
1. GRAY LEAF-EARED MOUSE

A
(GRAOMYS GRISEOFLAVUS) FOUND IN

SOUTH AMERICA
2. MEDIUM GROUND FINCH (GEOSPIZA
FORTIS) OBSERVED IN THE GALÁPAGOS R ío Sa
3. BLUE-AND-YELLOW TANAGER nta Cruz
(THRAUPIS BONARIENSIS)
4. H.M.S. BEAGLE
Falkland Islands
ILLUSTRATIONS: SCIENCE PHOTO
LIBRARY/AGE FOTOSTOCK Tierra del
MAP: CHARLES W. BERRY/NGS Fuego
1833
0 km 750
C a pe
SCALE AT THE EQUATOR Beagle Channel H orn
4.
60°S
PRESERVED LIZARDS COLLECTED BY
DARWIN DURING THE BEAGLE VOYAGE.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON
REPTILIAN even greater one, and much of South America

was lawless. To try to convince his father, Dar-
RELATIONSHIPS win sought help from his mother’s brother, the
industrialist Josiah Wedgwood II. Wedgwood’s
ON APRIL 18, 1835, Darwin wrote a long letter from
daughter Emma had been a childhood friend of
Valparaíso (Chile) to his friend and former teacher,
the botanist and geologist John Stevens Henslow. He Darwin’s, and the two first cousins would later
described the local lizards and invited his colleagues’ marry, in 1839.
opinions. Darwin's methodical approach to research In the end both FitzRoy and his father were per-
and his generosity and openness to academic suaded that he should go, and on December 27,
cooperation is on full display: “I also send a small bottle 1831, the Beagle sailed out of Plymouth with Dar-
with 2 Lizards: one of them is Viviparous, as you will see win on board. Originally planned for two years,
by the accompanying notice.” Darwin had heard of a the voyage stretched to five, and took Darwin not
French scholar who had found a similar lizard, so he only to South America but to Tahiti, Australia,
urged his friend to “hand over the Specimens to some New Zealand, Africa, and many of the Atlantic
good Lizardologist & Comparative Anatomist to publish and Pacific islands in between. Darwin often left
an account of their internal structure.” the ship to travel hundreds of miles on horseback.
FOREST OF DELIGHT
In a letter to his friend Frederick Watkins in
1832, Darwin describes his encounter with
the “luxuriant vegetation” of a Brazilian
rainforest: “The brilliancy of the Scenery
throws one into a delirium of delight.”
LUCIANO CANDISANI/AGE FOTOSTOCK
In the course of this extraordinary journey, he work, identifying rock samples and recording a
filled notebook after notebook with sketches and cross section of the volcanic strata. He had the best
observations. Darwin shipped home barrels, boxes, equipment he could buy: a microscope, a clinome-
and bottles by the dozen, filled with pressed plants, ter for measuring angles, geological hammers, and
fossils, rocks, skins, and skeletons. He explored a vasculum (a container for botanical specimens),
landscapes that ranged from the gray desolation of but he was still a novice. He boasted in a letter to
the Falklands to the glorious heights of the Andes, his Cambridge teacher, John Stevens Henslow,
from the wild glaciated cliffs of the Beagle Channel that his discovery of a color-changing octopus
to the beaches of Tahiti, from the tropical lushness “appears to be new.”It wasn’t, and Henslow gently
of Rio to the dripping rainforest of southern Chile. disabused him.
Early Observations DA RWI N E XPLOR ED A LL K I N DS OF

First landfall was the volcanic island of St. Jago
(now Santiago) in the Cape Verde Islands. After L A N DSC A PE S , FROM TH E DE SOL ATION OF TH E
three weeks of seasickness, Darwin threw himself FA LK L A N D ISL A N DS TO TH E A N DE A N PE A K S
enthusiastically into his first independent field- A N D TH E PA R A DISIAC A L B E ACH E S OF TA H ITI .

COLLECTORS’ ITEMS
In the course of his voyage, Darwin gathered hundreds
of plant specimens, many which were entirely new
to British naturalists. A moss specimen (left) was
collected by Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, Chile, in 1833.
Natural History Museum, London
MARY EVANS LIBRARY/NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/AGE FOTOSTOCK
By February 15, 1832, they were resupplying on

the remote rocky islets of St. Paul’s, and two weeks
later, the Beagle crossed the Equator and reached
the coast of Brazil. Darwin, however, injured in the
final leg of the journey, was forced to stay on board,
so it was April before he first set foot in South
America, at Botafogo Bay near Rio de Janeiro.
For the next few months as the crew of the Bea-
gle sailed up and down the coast checking and re-
checking naval charts, Darwin stayed ashore, hap-
pily exploring the Corcovado mountains near Rio,
shifting from geology to zoology and building an
impressive collection of spiders and wasps.
The ship went south again at the end of June.
This time he went, too, encountering porpoises,
whales, penguins, and seals. The expedition
dropped anchor at the end of July at the mouth
of the majestic Río de la Plata. Both Montevideo
on the north bank, where they helped put down a
revolt, and Buenos Aires on the south bank, where
they were fired on as suspected cholera-carriers,
were dangerous places. The flat and empty land-
scape seemed to Darwin a poor exchange for the
lushness of the tropics.
Moldy Mice
All the while, Darwin’s collections were annoying
the ship’s purser who complained about the clut-
ter. Darwin had already learned some taxidermy,
and now experimented with other ways of pre-
serving unfamiliar specimens using wax, spirits,
and thin sheets of lead—with mixed results.
The first letters from home brought criticism
and advice from Henslow, on whose doorstep Dar-
win’s treasures were landing. It is another remind-
er of how Darwin's voyage was a learning expe-
rience: His labels weren’t securely fixed, beetles
had been crushed, mice had gone moldy, and one
mystery bottle looked like“the remains of an elec-
tric explosion, a mere mass of soot.”
By September 1832 they were surveying the
coast of Argentina. Already a good shot, Darwin
learned to use a bola (a weighted lasso) to bring
down ostriches and took time off from “admir-
AZURE AND WHITE
A splash of azure, of the kind Darwin
noted, is reflected in a bay in Tierra del
Fuego, Chile. The Darwin mountain range,
named for the young naturalist by Captain
FitzRoy in 1834, rises above it.
PETER ESSICK/NGS
ing the Spanish ladies” to discover his first large

fossilized vertebrate—a Megatherium, an extinct
LANDSCAPES
species of giant ground sloth. Darwin’s curiosity AND VISTAS
was piqued by its similarity to a species of agouti,
DARWIN’S LETTERS recorded his astonishment and awe
a rodent native to South America. In November he
at the beautiful landscapes he experienced on his five-
returned to Buenos Aires to restock for the voyage
year voyage. In an 1833 letter to his sister Caroline, he
to Cape Horn. wrote: “[T]he Beagle will sail in a few days for Monte Video.
A year after leaving home, the Beagle, like the It is now four months since my last letter so I will write a
Endeavour of Captain Cook and Joseph Banks be- journal of everything that has since happened . . . Part of the
fore it, finally anchored in the Bay of Good Suc- way [through Tierra del Fuego] was by means of an arm of
cess on the coast of Tierra del Fuego. It was mag- the sea, which connects the Atlantic & Pacific. Some of the
nificent but inhospitable country. They spent scenes, from their retirement, & others from their desolate
Christmas on Hermit Island, just west of the cape, air, were very grand. Glaciers descend to the water's edge;
but were repeatedly beaten back by gales. One of the azure blue of the ice, contrasted with the white snow, &
their whaleboats was smashed against the ship in surrounded by dark green forests were views as beautiful as
a storm, and Darwin lost notes and specimens. they were novel to me."
ADMIRALTY MAP OF THE GALÁPAGOS PREPARED FROM DATA PROVIDED
BY CAPTAIN ROBERT FITZROY, WHOSE SIGNATURE AND INSCRIPTION
APPEAR AT THE TOP
After arriving at Ponsonby Sound, FitzRoy and

some of the crew, including Darwin, headed off in
two of the ship’s boats on a 300-mile round trip
to chart the farther reaches of the Beagle Channel,
named for FitzRoy’s first adventures there. It was
spectacular country. Darwin’s letters home glitter
with descriptions of the glaciers’beauty. But they
were dangerous as well: When a large sheet of ice
crashed into the water sending a surge along the
shore toward their boats, it was Darwin who led
the desperate race to drag them to safety. FitzRoy
named the place Darwin Sound in his honor.
Foiled in their attempt to round the cape, they
sailed east and on March 1, 1833, arrived at the
Falkland Islands where the navy was keen to dis-
cover safe harbors. Concerned that the Beagle
crew alone could not complete their mission,
FitzRoy bought another boat: the Adventure. Both
ships returned in April to Montevideo, where
Darwin set off on his first long inland expedition,
accompanied by the Beagle’s cabin boy, Syms
Covington, whom Darwin had hired as com-
bined servant and research assistant. They did
not rendezvous with the ship until September,
in Buenos Aires.
Rounding the Cape

Both the Beagle and the Adventure headed south
in December, retracing the route of the previous
year as far as Tierra del Fuego. There, Darwin
finally found something he had been looking for:
a new species of rhea (originally named Rhea
82 MAY/JUNE 2020
COMING OUT OF THEIR SHELL
Giant tortoises gather at dawn on Isabela Island in
the Galápagos archipelago in the Pacific. Darwin
was amazed by the large number and variety of
these animals. Living for a century or more, they
are native to the remote archipelago, to which they
have given their name: galápago, a Spanish word
meaning “tortoise.”
FRANS LANTING/NGS
THE SMALLER RHEA WAS IDENTIFIED BY DARWIN IN TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND
WAS ORIGINALLY NAMED RHEA DARWINII. DARWIN MADE THE IDENTIFICATION
IN THE COURSE OF EATING A SPECIMEN ABOARD THE BEAGLE. HE AND OTHER
CREW MEMBERS HAD THOUGHT IT WAS A YOUNG OSTRICH.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/BRIDGEMAN/ACI
darwinii), an ostrich-like bird—but only after

half of it had been eaten for the crew’s dinner.
By March 1834 they were once again forced to
head back to the Falklands without rounding the
cape. The Beagle’s keel had been badly damaged,
so by the middle of April it was beached at the
mouth of the Rio Santa Cruz for repairs. FitzRoy
took advantage of the opportunity to mount an
expedition upriver. They rowed and dragged the
boats 140 miles through uncharted territory. It
took three weeks to go up and three days to sail
back down, Darwin all the while was adding to his
observations.
After the Beagle was repaired, it made a third
attempt to round the cape. Perhaps the third time
was the charm, because this time they made it. In Darwin loathed the incessantly dripping and
June 1834 the expedition finally reached the west impenetrable temperate rainforest of southern
coast of South America. Chile, and was frequently absent organizing his
The next year was spent following the coast- own inland expeditions. He traveled southeast
line of Chile and Peru in much the same manner through the Andes from the colonial elegance of
as the previous two and a half years had been Valparaíso to Santiago. It was largely unchart-
spent in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina: The ed, so he relied on the help of locals who drew
Beagle followed a switchback course, surveying maps, advised on safe routes, and helped hire
and resurveying the complex archipelago of the guides and horses. One looked after him for sev-
coastline. eral weeks when he fell dangerously ill, proba-
bly with typhoid fever. Meanwhile FitzRoy felt
DA RW I N ' S ROUTE OV ER L A N D TH ROUG H CH I LE isolated, overworked, and depressed. The Admi-
ralty’s unwillingness to shoulder the cost of the
WA S L A RG ELY U NCH A RTED. LOC A L PEOPLE Adventure forced him to sell the ship, after which
DR E W M A P S , A DV ISED ON SA FE ROUTE S , A N D he threatened to resign. The future of the voyage
H EL PED H I M H I R E G U I D E S A N D H O R SE S . hung in the balance.
84 MAY/JUNE 2020
SLEEPING LION
The Galápagos archipelago can be found
600 miles west of Ecuador. Not only
home to abundant wildlife, it is also home
to striking rock formations, such as the
Sleeping Lion (also called Kicker Rock)
near San Cristóbal Island.
MATTIAS KLUM/NGS
Darwin made one more major land expedition, Darwin’s observations on this trip led to a dif-
traveling 220 miles from Valparaíso through the ferent grand, scientific theory. In the Andes, in
Andes to Coquimbo and Copiapó, before rejoining the Uspallata Pass, he had noticed something cu-
the Beagle to sail to Iquique in Peru. From Lima rious: fossilized trees that he realized must once
they sailed west at the end of July 1835 and arrived have been submerged in the sea. The question in
at the Galápagos archipelago in mid-September. Darwin’s mind was how had they been raised so
They spent five weeks exploring the islands, high up in the mountains.
each with its own distinctive flora and fauna. Dar- On January 19, 1835, while Darwin was ex-
win, still months from forming even a rudimenta- ploring inland, the Beagle crew had witnessed
ry theory on how species might evolve over time, the eruption of the Osorno Volcano in Chile. A
filed new facts away with each species he came month later, farther up the coast, an earthquake
across. Although the Galápagos, and their finches struck and caused a tidal wave. Darwin began to
and great tortoises are closely connected in the speculate that the events might be connected.
popular imagination with the origins of his ideas FitzRoy reviewed earlier soundings and confirmed
about species change, Darwin did not conceive of the height of the land had changed. Armed with
his famous hypothesis on that visit. this information, Darwin proposed a theory of

GALÁPAGOS FINCHES. LITHOGRAPH
FROM ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF
H.M.S. BEAGLE, PUB. 1838-1843
SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES
BIRDS OF continental-scale fall and uplift, with tiny changes

working over eons to create dramatic landscapes
SOUTH AMERICA like those in the Andes.
With this in mind, when they arrived in Tahiti
THE BEGINNINGS OF Darwin’s theory of evolution have
and Darwin saw his first coral reef, he proposed
been traced by some authors to his study of finches in
the Galápagos. The differentiation that existed between a brilliant new solution to the mystery of how
the birds of each island demonstrated how the species such reefs were formed. His letters describ-
evolved according to the particular environment. ing his ideas were, unbeknownst to him,
Today, however, many believe that Darwin only appearing in scientific journals, and
came to these conclusions some time after he would return with an already
returning to England and seeing the results of new established scientific reputation.
experiments with bird breeding. The samples of But he wasn’t home yet. As they
finches brought from the Galápagos turned out to be
badly labeled, so once back in London, Darwin found it CORAL SAMPLE COLLECTED BY
hard to identify them. CHARLES DARWIN DURING HIS TRIP TO
THE COCOS ISLANDS, NORTHEAST OF
AUSTRALIA, IN APRIL 1836
DARWIN IN PARADISE
“At Tahiti, we staid 10 days, & admired all the charms
of this almost classical Island,” wrote Darwin in a
letter to his sister Caroline in December 1835.
Tahiti’s coral reefs prompted Darwin to formulate
a theory of their formation.
DEA/AGE FOTOSTOCK
sailed west from the coast of Africa, FitzRoy had about species change were born not only out of
found errors in the very first charts they had made, his encounters with so many different plants and
and diverted across the Atlantic to resurvey the animals (including humans), but, most impor-
coast of Brazil. tantly, through the opportunity to see them in
The Beagle finally docked at Falmouth on all the complexity of their shared habitats. Many
October 2, 1836. Darwin never left Britain again, years later, Darwin had no hesitation in declaring
but he maintained a robust correspondence with the voyage of the Beagle the single most important
his colleagues all over the world about the work event of his life.
done on the voyage. He went on to publish more
than 20 articles from his notes and diaries written ALISON PEARN IS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE DARWIN
CORRESPONDENCE PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND.
aboard the Beagle. He published books, became a
best-selling travel writer, and a leading scientist.
Learn more
The work of identifying hundreds of specimens
was parceled out to others, many of whom be- BOOKS
came lifelong friends and colleagues. Although The Voyage of the Beagle: The Illustrated Edition of Charles
Darwin’s Travel Memoir and Field Journal
not conceived during the voyage, Darwin’s ideas Charles Darwin, Zenith Press, 2015.

DARWIN’S
FOSSILS

Various factors over time influenced Darwin to
formulate the theory of evolution. The 19th-
century French scientist Jean-Baptiste MEGATHERIUM (ARTIST’S IMPRESSION)
Lamarck had proposed an evolutionary
model, which shaped Darwin’s early
thinking. In addition to his voluminous
analysis of specimens from the
Beagle voyage, his study of fossils
of extinct animals found in
Argentina also helped form

his revolutionary idea that he
would explain in his work On
the Origin of Species. MACRAUCHENIA (ARTIST’S IMPRESSION)
ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, TITLE PAGE OF THE 1859 FIRST EDITION.

E VO L U T I O N O F A T H E O R Y
it is likely that during his trip aboard the Beagle

Darwin may have already been beginning to sketch
a first outline of his theory of evolution. Immediate-
ly after returning to London, he began to work on
the theory in earnest, albeit secretly, in his private
notebooks. He drafted a
ALAMY/ACI
first brief treatise that he
GLYPTODON (ARTIST’S IMPRESSION)
kept hidden for fear of the
scandal it would provoke.
As early as 1837 (a year
after his return on the Bea-
gle), he drew a “tree of life”
(left) to illustrate the evolu-
tion—or “transmutation” as
he then termed it—of spe-
cies. It was not until 1859
that Darwin published the
final version of his theory,

spurred to do so by the
publication of similar ideas
by the English naturalist Al-
fred Russel Wallace.
TOXODON (ARTIST’S IMPRESSION)
AKG/ALBUM
D A R W I N ' S I N S P I R AT I O N
The systematic, scientific study of fossils began with
the French scholar Georges Cuvier. In the 1790s Cuvier
studied a giant skeleton, the size of an elephant, that
had been found in 1788 near Buenos Aires and then
transferred to Madrid. Based on drawings that were
sent to him, Cuvier baptized the skeleton Megatherium
americanum and argued that this extinct animal had once SKELETON OF A
been a giant member of the sloth family that had gone MEGATHERIUM,
FOUND IN 1788
extinct. Cuvier rejected the early ideas of evolution as NHM/BRIDGEMAN/ACI
proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
D A R W I N ' S T R AV E L S
During his treks through Argentina, Darwin found
numerous fossils of what he referred to as “antediluvian
animals.” These animals would have lived before the
biblical flood, which many people at the time considered
a historic event. He wrote to his sister Caroline in 1832: “I
VERTEBRA OF A
have been wonderfully lucky, with fossil bones . . . I found MACRAUCHENIA
parts of the curious osseous coat, which is attributed to PATACHONICA
NHM/BRIDGEMAN/ACI
the Megatherium.” Other bones, he surmised, belonged to
a giant extinct “armadillo . . . the living species of which
genus are so abundant here.”
DA RW I N ' S FR I EN D
Darwin shared fossils with paleontologist Richard
Owen, who confirmed that some were indeed
Megatherium fossils. Owen named one of Darwin’s
fossils Macrauchenia, a large, extinct animal with a long SKELETON
OF A GLYPTODON
neck. Owen recognized the fossils of Darwin’s “giant CLAIPES. NATURAL
armadillo” from other descriptions by naturalists, and HISTORY MUSEUM,
LONDON
settled on the name Glyptodon. Owen confirmed that SPL/AGE FOTOSTOCK
Darwin had found the head of a Toxodon, an extinct

species of large mammal that had already received its
name from other naturalists.
DA RW I N ’ S CO N CLUS I O N S
Thanks to fossils, scientists knew animal species, now
extinct, existed in times very remote from today. This idea SKULL OF A
of the very long timescale of natural history helped shape TOXODON PLATENSIS
SPL/AGE FOTOSTOCK
Darwin’s hunch that animal species evolve from each
other and therefore change over time. Darwin recognized
how the fossils he found influenced him. The species
variation he noted across South America, he believed,
“could only be explained on the supposition that species
gradually became modified.” The idea “haunted” him, and
has fascinated humanity ever since.
DISCOVERIES
Calpeia: Modern
Woman of Gibraltar
The reconstruction of a skull found in Gibraltar has revealed
the face of a woman who lived over 7,000 years ago. Studies
reveal that her origins lay far from the Rock, shedding light
on the complex migratory routes of the Neolithic.
I
n 1996 archaeologists and damaged portions, in-
ventured into a cave in cluding the jaw. Combin-
Gibraltar, where they ing the data from the scans
found a burial contain- with the genetic analysis, a
PORTUGAL
S PA I N
ing human bones. Among team at the museum spent
them was a skull. six months to create her
The archaeologists knew striking, lifelike visage. The
Gibraltar (U.K.)
that the burial was very old. model was named Calpeia by
MEDITERRANEAN
It was discovered under lay- ATLANTIC researchers, who were in-
ers of sediment containing spired by the classical term
fish, bird, and mammal bones for Gibraltar, known in an-
and carved flint objects. The Analysis also revealed cient times as Mons Calpe.
skull had been damaged after that the skull’s genetic an-
the burial, but it still joined cestry lay far east of the Ibe- Rock of Humanity THE EUROPA POINT
lighthouse crowns the
the collection of the Gibral- rian Peninsula. The pres- Situated at the southern tip southerly tip of the
tar National Museum. ence of genes from across of the Iberian Peninsula, Gi- Gibraltar peninsula. The
The skull’s age remained the Mediterranean gave ar- braltar is no stranger to the skull of Calpeia was
a mystery for many years. chaeologists new clues about presence of ancient hominid discovered in a cave
nearby in 1996.
In 2019 the results of a how ancient humans trav- remains. Numerous exciting JACEK SOPOTNICK/AGE FOTOSTOCK
landmark study proved eled when agriculture was discoveries from Gibraltar
through DNA analysis that spreading through Europe. have shed light on early hu-
it belonged to a woman who The Gibraltar National man history. Gibraltar, Brit-
lived 7,500 years ago, mak- Museum team worked to ish since the 18th century, dled with an extensive cave
ing it the oldest remnant of create a forensic anatomical lies within sight of Morocco network that has offered
a modern female woman reconstruction of her face. across the Strait of Gibraltar shelter to humans, and their
found in Gibraltar to date. Computers scanned its bro- at the gateway to the Medi- hominid cousins, for tens of
ken bones and utilized 3D terranean Sea. thousands of years.
cloning and restitution pro- Just under 1,400 feet high, Calpeia’s burial was found
grams to re-create missing the limestone outcrop is rid- in a cave at Europa Point,
1996 2018 2019

Buried among fish and other Genetic analysis finds the skull A lifelike reconstruction of
animal bones, ceramic objects, belonged to a woman who lived the ancient woman’s face
and carved flints, a damaged around 5400 B.C. The results is created in the Gibraltar
human skull is recovered from a will be published in Science the National Museum and is
cave at Europa Point, Gibraltar. following year. named Calpeia.
HUMAN SKULL FOUND IN A CAVE AT

EUROPA POINT, GIBRALTAR, IN 1996
MANUEL JAÉN
THE EYES OF HISTORY
THE FORENSIC reconstruction of Calpeia’s face, un-

veiled in 2019 and now on display in the Gibraltar
National Museum, startles visitors with the
modernity of her appearance. Manuel Jaén, the con-
servator who carried out
the reconstruction, has
stressed, “The entire
face conforms to
forensic param-
located at the southern- possible to glean much in- eters: the nose,
most tip of the peninsula.formation from it. Gibral- hair, skin color . . .
Nearby lies the Gorham’s tar’s humid climate leads It’s amazing; a lot
Cave Complex, a UNESCO to a rapid deterioration of of people have said
World Heritage site, once DNA, and the possibilities that Calpeia looks
home to Gibraltar’s Nean- of extracting useful genetic very familiar.”
derthal population, who are
material seemed unlikely at
of special interest to archae-
the time. DNA analysis was RECONSTRUCTION OF
ologists. An extinct form of
in its infancy, and the dam- THE FACE OF CALPEIA.
GIBRALTAR NATIONAL
humans, Neanderthals were age to the skull made it dif- MUSEUM
living in these caves as re-
ficult to study. MANUEL JAÉN
cently as 32,000 years ago. By 2019 the study of an-

cient DNA had made great
Story of the Skull strides. The journal Science
When Calpeia’s skull was published the genome anal-
found in 1996, it was im- ysis of 271 inhabitants of

DISCOVERIES
Making Faces
FORENSIC RECONSTRUCTION of
the skull found in Gibraltar in
1996 was carried out by Manuel
Jaén, conservator at the Gibraltar
National Museum.
1 2
1 SCANNING
3D cloning and restitution techniques
allowed computers to fill in the missing
and damaged portions of Calpeia’s
skull.
2 R E - C R E AT I N G
Using the proportions of the cranium,
Jaén re-created the woman’s missing
jaw. The researchers now had a 3D 3
impression of a complete skull.
3 SCULPTING
After DNA analysis established the
nature of Calpeia’s soft tissue and
muscles, the conservators sculpted
clay to re-create her facial traits.
4 PA I N T I N G
A hyperrealistic silicon model was
created from a mold and painted. Jaén
ensured her skin showed signs of aging
and weathering, typical of the time.
4
IMAGES: MANUEL JAÉN
Spain, Gibraltar, and Portu- eyes. She was also lactose Calpeia’s age when she from the population found
gal, including the 1996 skull. intolerant (a common trait died cannot be determined in the Iberian Peninsula,
Under the coordination of for that period). precisely from the skull. while the remaining 90 per-
Harvard Medical School, re- Dated to 7,500 years ago, Her cranial sutures—the fi- cent has its origin in Anato-
searchers were successfully Calpeia’s life corresponds brous joints connecting the lia, modern-day Turkey.
able to extract viable sam- to the later Neolithic pe- bones of the skull—sug- Farmers from Anatolia
ples of ancient DNA. riod. She lived at a time gest that she was an adult, during the Neolithic period
The results told the re- when agriculture and rais- somewhere between 25 and had a high percentage of al-
searchers a great deal: ing livestock were spread- 40 years of age. leles for dark eyes and light
The skull belonged to a ing across the Iberian Pen- skin. By contrast, hunter-
woman who lived around insula, displacing the old Head West gatherers from central and
5400 b.c.—many millennia hunter-gatherer model. Researchers were most ex- western Europe show ge-
after the Neanderthals of Gi- Her lactose intolerance in- cited about what DNA re- netic markers for dark skin
braltar had become extinct. dicates that dairy farming vealed about Calpeia’s an- and light eyes.
She was slightly built, light- was most likely not part of cestry. Only 10 percent of Archaeologists believe
skinned, with dark hair and her culture. Calpeia’s genome comes that agriculture developed in
92 MAY/JUNE 2020
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DISCOVERIES
THE CAVES of the Gorham’s

Cave Complex (a UNESCO
World Heritage site) were
once favored by Neanderthals.
Many millennia later, in circa
5400 b.c., Calpeia’s people
would use nearby caves for
their burials.
SPL/AGE FOTOSTOCK
several areas of the world at The high proportion of mixed with local popula- not yet been established. No
roughly the same time. Ana- Anatolian components in tions along the way, making archaeological evidence in-
tolia was one of the global Calpeia’s DNA suggests Calpeia’s resulting genome dicates agricultural activity
centers of the Neolithic rev- that her Anatolian origins more diverse. at this period in Gibraltar. It
olution. From there, tech- were recent. It is likely that Analysis of genes of indi- is likely that Calpeia and her
niques for crop farming and Calpeia—or her parents or viduals from the Mediterra- cohorts hunted and fished.
animal husbandry slowly very recent ancestors— nean island of Sardinia also Even so, archaeologists
spread westward across the journeyed from Anatolia to finds a high proportion of have uncovered the remains
Mediterranean world and Gibraltar by sea. Anatolian genes, bolstering of wheat seeds dating to
into Europe. If Calpeia’s people had the theory that Anatolians the same era in which Cal-
traveled by land, their prog- traveled west over the Med- peia lived, around 125 miles
ress westward would have iterranean. away. She lived on Gibraltar
taken years or generations. Whether agricultural pro- at a time of great change in
Their DNA would have duce traveled with them has human customs, a trans-
formation that she—or her
Anatolian relatives—were
It is likely that Calpeia—or her parents doing much to introduce and
or very recent ancestors—journeyed to spread.
from Anatolia to Gibraltar by sea.
MANUEL JAÉN, SCULPTOR OF THE CALPEIA
FORENSIC RECONSTRUCTION, IS A CONSERVATOR
A NEOLITHIC VESSEL OF THE TYPE USED IN AT THE GIBRALTAR NATIONAL MUSEUM.
GIBRALTAR DURING CALPEIA’S TIME
MANUEL JAÉN
Next Issue
POMPEII’S
BURIED
TREASURES
BACKED BY the latest
technology, a massive
archaeological effort has
uncovered more wonders in
the Roman city of Pompeii.
The Great Pompeii Project,
funded by the European
Union and the Italian
government, has undertaken
an ambitious new plan
to reveal more ancient
wonders preserved by a
volcanic eruption in a.d. 79.
Astonishing discoveries—
fantastic frescoes, intricate
mosaics, and vibrant gems
and jewelry—are stunning
LEDA AND THE SWAN EMERGE DURING archaeologists with their
THE 2018 EXCAVATION OF A VILLA AS
PART OF THE GREAT POMPEII PROJECT. beauty.
SCALA, FLORENCE
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

THE FIGHT FOR Ancient writers described Babylon’s wondrous gardens
THE RIGHT TO VOTE as an enchanting sight and marvel of irrigation, but solid
archeological evidence of their location—and existence—has
IN JANUARY 1917 American women still did
not yet been found. Archaeologists continue to sift through
not have the right to vote, and a determined
fact and legend in the hunt for this wonder of the world.
group of activists devised a new strategy
to get it. Every day for months, these
women—the Silent Sentinels— Decor for the Dead
challenged the status quo by picketing
The tombs of the rich and powerful in ancient Egypt were
the White House bearing signs
that challenged Woodrow covered with myriad works of sacred art. These elaborate
Wilson with messages like “Mr. paintings were created by skilled artists who preserved
President, How Long Must We Egyptians’ fascinating religious beliefs in colorful detail.
Wait for Liberty?” Imprisoned
and abused for their
persistence, these activists
Dawn of the Atomic Age
fought with bravery and daring The world’s first two atomic bombs detonated over Japan
to secure passage of the 19th in August 1945, unleashing devastation on the cities of
Amendment. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Though hopeful that Japan would
AN AMERICAN SUFFRAGETTE DEMONSTRATING surrender, the United States developed backup plans—
IN WASHINGTON, D.C., DURING WORLD WAR I
AKG/ALBUM including a third nuclear bomb—if World War II raged on.
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AMAZONS

THE PAINTED TOMB

Taking Down the Nazis:

My favorite Amazon didn’t come from classic tales,

Amy Briggs, Executive Editor

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 1

Deputy Editor JULIUS PURCELL

Advertising ROB BYRNES

Consumer Marketing and Planning ANDREW DIAMOND, KEVIN FOWLER,

Production Services JAMES ANDERSON, JULIE IBINSON, KRISTIN SEMENIUK

for subscription questions, visit www.nghservice.com or call 1-800-647-5463.

CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS GARY E. KNELL

PRESIDENT RICARDO RODRIGO

14 A Pharaoh’s Glorious Tomb 4 NEWS

CHILDREN LEAD A MARCH IN A ROMANTICIZED 19TH-CENTURY

LOLA’S APPEARANCE WAS

LUCKY LUMP The wad of birch tar (above)

but it also had medical properties. Mildly

‘Chewing Gum’ Holds

BIRCH TREES (RIGHT) ARE A FAMILIAR FEATURE OF

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 5

THE YALTA CONFERENCE

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 7

Battle of Berlin ARMY GROUP VISTULA

Marshal Georgi Zhukov and the April 24

LEIPZIG 2ND ARMY

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 9

Man bronze statue of Father Serra

1784 José Gálvez tapped Serra to lead

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 11

“PREACHING AND FARMING AT MISSION DOLORES”

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 13

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 15

Giovanni Belzoni discovers French scholar Jean

Italian Adventurer LOW E R E GY P T

ties. In the early 1800s many objects

1903 1979 2007

As the Antiquities Exploration of the Egyptologist Zahi Hawass

LOWER BURIAL CHAMBER.

PASSAGEWAY. Paintings depict a

UPPER BURIAL CHAMBER.

Pharaoh - 18th dynasty Son of

Thutmose I Thutmose III

in the Royal Mummy Cache nearby, where it had DEATH VALLEY

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 19

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

and it became the most celebrated piece in his

The second annex features several gods

TUNNEL TO THE UNDERWORLD

TALES 8th century b.c.

OF are otherwise portrayed

ARCHAEOLOGY it seems that the Greeks allowed themselves a

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 37

Facts and Fictions

WARRIORS ancient Greeks was that Amazons were a tribe

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 41

I say further, without hesitation, that the

Plato specifies that foreign teachers would be

BRAVE WOMEN are countless numbers of women . . . around the