Medium: The rock that could change history

UC's Griffin Warrior discovery included a sealstone considered a masterpiece of Bronze Age

Medium writer Andrei Tapalaga wrote about the University of Cincinnati's 2015 discovery of a Bronze Age tomb in Greece that contained priceless artworks, including a tiny sealstone with an engraving capturing an epic battle.

UC Classics department head Jack Davis and UC senior research associate Sharon Stocker discovered the tomb of what they call the Griffin Warrior, a man the two researchers suspect was both a warrior and religious leader whose armor was emblazoned with a mythic Griffin.

Among the artifacts married couple Stocker and Davis discovered was a tiny sealstone just 3.6 centimeters long capturing a moment frozen in time of two soldiers locked in mortal combat: one wielding a sword, the other a spear, while a third soldier lies slain on the ground.

Archaeology Magazine declared the find "a Bronze Age masterpiece."

Medium's Tapalaga did not disagree.

"In an ongoing discussion of prehistoric objects that could change or even deny many history books, I think that this one takes it all," he wrote.

Read the Medium story.

UC unravels world of Griffin Warrior

Related Stories

1

Ohio nurses weigh in on proposed federal loan rule

December 12, 2025

Spectrum News journalist Javari Burnett spoke with UC Dean Alicia Ribar and UC nursing students Megan Romero and Nevaeh Haskins about proposed new federal student loan rules. Romero and Haskins, both seniors, were filmed in the College of Nursing’s Simulation Lab.

3

UC awarded nearly $1 million to help fight infant obesity spike

December 12, 2025

University of Cincinnati researcher Cathy Stough spoke with Spectrum News1 about a nearly $1 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded to UC to help prevent infant obesity through early nutrition support and family-based interventions.