It is a good thing to post these and let everyone know the difficulties they pose when those of us who are not into archaeology - and we cannot all be up on everything going on in the world. Please put it out there - we do not discredit you - rather the hastily drawn conclusions of the writers. I cannot believe the archaeologists I know psersonally are so slipshod or hungry that they would rush to publish erroneous material. Maggie, you have such great sources, Please continue. I need you to do so. I cannot be on so many elists. I am already on more than I can handle comfortably in a 12 hour day! *HUGS*

Besides, we are not shooting the bearer of the news, just the news. Post away and let those who are well up on the subject toss roses or stones depending on what it deserves! Thanks, Maggie!

If you read what you posted you can see why I thought you were saying that you didn't want stuff posted here and I should check out on 40 first ....I just don't have time and I'm too stressed out at the moment to check out ... which lead me to over react to almost everything. If you're happy for me to post and sometimes get it wrong ..then OK. But the whole point of publishing is for people to come back at you .... *stir stir* That's why it terrifies me! Be gentle with me folks .. bad time just now ....early Sept looms near and still nowhere to live and I've yet to come to terms with the fact that I won't get finished on the PhD by the end of the year!

O dear. Maggie. That is a bit more than one small lady can deal with at one time. I was rather hoping you would graguate in December when a "friend" of mine gets his MSc in Geoarchaeology and plunges into his PhD. I rather fancied a photograph but I guess I will just have to imagine it, now. You neglected to mention amongst all of the above you are shortly to become mother of the bride. *Hugs* for success on all fronts! Post away, dear. We'll sort it out! Between you and the BBC you seem to have the most fascinating bits and pieces this side of Liam (across the Celtic Sea.)

Ok, Liam, post your piece you sent me to look over. I am working on the four good methods of dating prehistoric samples from Archaeological digs. Your points are so well taken, it surely deserves a wider audience than the tunnel-visioned club might give it. I can even think of a few archaeologists I know personally who might agree with you and one I am certain would not. He no longer matters, actually... It is the younger generation of archaeologists who are going to dare dispue the accepted norms. I know one who already has pointed out how woefully ill-equipped the old guard is to handle modern technological tools. They not only refuse to use it, they refuse to acknowledge its usefulness.

OBSIDIAN CLOCK Obsidian is the term for the material known as volcanic glass. Obsidian was a material of choice for prehistoric tool and weapon makers. Determining the age of these obsidian arrowheads, knives, and spear points left by our Mexican and Central American ancestors has always been a challenge for archaeologists. If you read The Obsidian Clock, ORNL method chips away barriers to dating prehistoric human artifacts at http://www.ornl.gov/reporter/no7/clock.htm you will learn how ORNL and University of Tennessee, Dept. of Anthropology Researchers have created the Obsidian Clock dating technique called ODDSIMS (Obsidian Diffusion Dating by SIMS (Secondary Ionization Mass Spectrometry)). The Obsidian Clock tools AKA ODDSIMS method is fully explain as to how and why it works, as well as the problems encountered in field use. It seems "some established chronological systems may go out the window if the ODDSIMS method continues to provide consistent and reproducible results." With more progress on this dating technique science may finally know exactly how long ago many ancient civilizations and cultures flourished. (This also works with flint. I have some lovely half nodules from a Salisbury Plain road fill rock pile. Freshly cleaved and showing all that nature allows)

Regarding the recent finds of the "oldest human" bits in Ethopia.I am coming to the conclusion that yet again the experts could be and probably are wrong.My research which is as always cross-disciplinary is shouting out that humans and apes did not split form each other but rather that they are different strains of developement from an earlier form.Like it or not we share over 90%(nearer 95% in some reports) of our genetic makeup with Viruses so the monkey bit is a side-road driven by those too idle to get onto the Highway and too scared of the oppinion of their "peers" to get their collective heads out of their butts".Out of Africa" is popular ,ok if you are studying apes but Human as in US PEOPLE types have developed in a crescent across from Spain to Japan on the current documentation and maybe even further when the real search starts.Prehensile thumb? So what?Remember that in some places on the web, and elsewhere, long winded and detailed articles were written about the Scythians? Have you read the rece t reports on excavations of Scythian sites showing the 2000 year disrepancy in the "expert" dating ? 25% error is not exactly scientific is it? And the exploration of Central Europe has only just started.Its no wonder that crap like the Valetta treaty is being foisted on to us,the Acedemics have had it so easy for so long that they can't cope with the exposure of their waste of funds and even more damning their waste of TIME.Serandipity has been a bigger source of information than all the PHds laid end to end.Maybe these people should take work as Interns with the US government and really get laid end to end!PS The inaccuracy of Carbon Dating has been in question for a while, I raised that point before but was ignored.Now, I know of 4 very good methods for dating prehistoric samples ,do you?

and that took FIVE attempts to post..if there is anything worse than an academic gobshite its a bloody ISP like Eircom, the Irish one. If i get cut off agiain tonight some one will DIE!!!

Please, Liam, not you! You simply cannot be the sacrifice to the cyber gods. Thanks for that magnificent post - I love it.

Hmmm ... actually a geophys archy is one reason not to graduate in dec!!! grin. No no twin photos. Actually I'm not too far off schedule .. had a a good supervisory session today ..feel a little happier ... but masses of edited material to plough through.... and I still have a video to produce!

Oh and er .. we were house hunting in Reading.

Oh no........*grin* I could be a neighbor...

Gas workers uncover Scottish Bronze Age cemetery online.ie 10 Jul 2001 Gas pipeline workers in Northern Scotland have uncovered a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age cremation cemetery. The find was made near Auchnagatt and includes 10 cremation urns and human bones. All the finds have been transferred from the site at Skilmafilly to Marischal Museum, Aberdeen, to be analysed. Aberdeenshire Council archaeologist Ian Shepherd said: "Latest advances in archaeology mean we will be able to analyse the ashes in the pots like never before. "Tiny crystallised fragments of DNA contained in the bone fragments can reveal all sorts about the person who died, including when they died, possibly their sex and whether they were in good health." Original article at: http://www.online.ie/news/viewer.adp?article=1401418

Things like this give me nightmares - especially the last sentence... Iron age discovery at road scheme Relics dating back 3,000 years have been unearthed during work on a new motorway near Birmingham. The discoveries were made by archaeologists working alongside the construction teams on the Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR). Their finds have included Bronze Age charcoal mounds, an Iron Age settlement and a Roman farmstead. The Iron Age discovery, near Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, is the first of its kind in the area. Work continues All removable items are being taken away allowing work on the 27-mile-toll road to continue. They will eventually be displayed in museums. Previous discoveries along the route of the BNRR have included a medieval fishpond at Wishaw, Warwickshire, and a Roman burial ground containing 50 cremations at Wall, Staffordshire. Major discovery Dr Mike Hodder, planning archaeologist for Birmingham City Council, described the finds as a "major discovery". He said there had been previously been strong evidence of Bronze Age settlement in the area. But little had been known about the Iron Age. Dr Hodder told BBC WM: ""These are very important new discoveries of Birmingham's very earliest period of history. "Myself and the local archeologist agreed the archeology would be managed as part of the road construction. " The excavations started a few months ago". http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1437000/1437374.stm

NBC News had a good vignette last night about the guy who inspired the archeaologist in Jurassic Park, you know, Sam Neill's role.

Yes, and on something I was watching they switched between the film character and the actual excavation being carried out by the Palenontologist. I found it fascinating!

Maggie, I hope that you're doing well and that the househunting has improved. Thanks for posting the Time magazine article. Of course, there will always be debates in paleoarchaeolgy.

Here we go gathering nuts in may

*Hugs* How delightful to have the Horrible one back amongst us. Did you fall into your keg of rice beer or did the night patrol find you out when you were flipping your Joe Cocker CD? Liam, luv, there will always be nuts amongst us. Without them we would not have forests nor squirrels. I just wondered about nuthatches. What actually do they hatch out of those nuts?

The Sam Neill character in the "Jurassic Park" movies is either based on Robert Bakker or Jack Horner. I think it might be Bakker, but I'm not sure.

(What a pity ... I'm back down from Scotland by 18th August or I'd go to this ....) Still I thought you'd find it interesting. Invitation: FROM SCRIBE TO SCANNER; COMPUTERS, IMAGES AND ANCIENT DOCUMENTS 1-4pm Monday, 3 September 2001 C305 Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow Digital detective work is breaking new ground in deciphering ancient stone inscriptions and writing tablets. A team of classicists and engineers have been brought together by the British Academy and the Hunterian Museum to give live demonstrations of their imaging techniques. Techniques such as 3D active imaging using projected laser light could have a huge impact for historians trying to understand ancient artefacts. But the benefits do not end there. The team have developed an imaging technique to help read stilus tablets and a variant to some of their analysis has proved to be of value for analysing mammogram images for early detection of breast cancer The presentation is part of the British Association�s 2001 Festival of Science. The event will be followed by a tour of Glasgow University�s Hunterian Museum and a reception to which all members of the audience are invited. Presentation team: Dr Alan Bowman FBA Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford University Professor Mike Brady FRS FREng Dept of Engineering Science, Oxford University Dr Charles Crowther Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford University Professor Lawrence Keppie Hunterian Museum, Glasgow University Professor Andrew Wallace Dept of Computing & Electrical Engineering, Heriot- Watt University The event will appeal to anybody with an interest in archaeology or science, whether an expert or novice. Attendance is free but it is essential to register in advance. For further details: Jonathan Breckon The British Academy Tel: 020 7969 5263 Email: jbreckon@britac.ac.uk

Great groans of anguish accompany this response to your post regarding archaeological sleuthing. Thanks for sharing it - I wish at least one of us could go and report back!

from Liam. We finally won a round for ancient monument preservation ! Ancient stones block by-pass - and will THREE ancient standing stones which lie in the path of the �140m Waterford by-pass road are holding up the administration of a South Kilkenny woman's last will and the sale of her house and seven acres of land. The status of the standing stones was the subject of an objection against confirmation of a CPO at an oral hearing by Bord Pleanala in Waterford yesterday. more... http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=487876&issue_id=5006

Step forward for Acropolis museum An international committee which will decide the winner of the competition for the new, 50-billion-drachma Acropolis museum was set up yesterday. The museum, originally planned by the government to be ready before the 2004 Athens Olympics, will be built in the former gendarmerie barracks in Makriyianni, under the Acropolis. The deadline for submission of projects is August 10. The 13-member committee, presided over by distinguished archaeologist and former Socialist MP Dimitris Pantermalis, has an international flavor with six members from Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Italy and Spain. They include noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who has already been commissioned for two Olympics-related projects. The jury's composition and setup was made public a year after former Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos announced that competitors were to submit their plans by October 2000 and that a committee was to decide the winner by the end of November. Pangalos's dismissal last November delayed decision making considerably. This is the second competition for the museum. The first, in 1989, had been awarded to Italy's Manfredi Nicoletti and Lucio Passarelli but was canceled due to the discovery of antiquities on the site. The new design must incorporate the finds. http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=94415

Tombs Found in Mongolia Might Hold Genghis Khan By Andrew Stern CHICAGO (Reuters) - A team searching for Genghis Khan's elusive grave site said on Thursday it has discovered a walled burial ground 200 miles northeast of the Mongolian capital that may contain the 13th century conqueror's remains along with priceless artifacts. "It is an exciting discovery because it's located near where some other important events occurred in Khan's life," said University of Chicago history professor John Woods, who directed the summertime expedition organized by former Chicago commodities trader and lawyer Maury Kravitz, an amateur explorer who has studied Khan for 40 years. more... http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=161415#

East-West Exchange Starts 5,000 Years Ago: Experts BEIJING, Aug 7, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- More than a dozen heads of maces dating back to between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago, extremely similar to those used by kings of ancient Egypt, were recently unearthed in northwest China. "The findings indicate that the contact between east and west civilizations began as early as the prehistoric period," said Li Shuicheng, a professor from the archaeological department of Beijing University. Previously, historical documents and archaeological discoveries have shown that east and west cultural exchanges started from the Qin and Han dynasties over 2,000 years ago. The new discovery greatly pushes back that date. http://library.northernlight.com/FB20010807550000160.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc

Hi Marcia, Around 3000 BC, people lived in settlements complete with streets, squares and mud-brick houses centered around a large palace-like structure which belonged to the tribal leader. The most complete Neolithic settlements in Greece are in DIMINI (inhabited from 4000 to 1200 BC) and in SESKLO, both about 5 km west of the city of Volos. John

John, you are absolutely enchanting to me. You have everything wonderful near to you so I might search for it and post what I discover by digging on the net. I knew Greece had lovely things - we are still building things looking like the Parthenon all over the world! I just did not realize how close to you were visible antiquities. I suspect ever cm of Greece is somehow holy ground for the archaeologically inclined. One day in some lifetime, I will see it with my own eyes. Thank you... and so much more!

I was searching for your ancient volcano and found Dimini - they must be close to one another. I did find several sites - in Greek, and one in Czech. I am going to have to learn many languages in my quest for things Ancient and Volcanic in Greece. The Museum in Volos must be a wonderful expereince. I can get lost in Museums for the longest time and not ever feel alone. History Magnesia was among the first areas in Greece to be inhabited. Archaeologists have brought to light Mesolithic finds from the Sarakinos cave, Neolithic settlements such as Dimini and Sesklo, as well as forgotten Mycenean cities that played an important role during the Bronze Age. All these discoveries prove that distinguished cities were found in the district around present day Volos and that they reached their peak during the Mycenean era. Among them there was the legendary Iolkos, capital of Mycenean Thessaly and site of today�s Volos. More plus pictures... http://www.travel-pelion.gr/makrinitsa/magnesia/magnesia_history_gb.htm

================================================================ AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA ================================================================ The Egyptian State Information Service reports on the discovery of a plaque for Thutmose IV: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html4/o230821k.htm A brief item in the same source gives an idea of who's digging where ...: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html4/o200821a.htm ... and something on the ancient Egyptians' etiquette: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html4/o210821n.htm The Star Tribune has a report on a lecture series "The Archaeology of Ancient Israel" recently hosted by the LA Museum of Ancient Art: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/643796.html HumanOasis has a brief item on the excavations at Nemea, where the ancient hippodrome has been discovered: http://www.humanoasis.com/Feature%20Stories/082301-Tracks%20of%20Ancient%20Athletes.html A "spectacular" pre-Greek-influence Scythian mound has been discovered: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=7174 The Times has a report on what Mount Caburn (in East Sussex) might really have been used for: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,61-2001290444,00.html I don't know what readers will make of this, Space.com has a news item on the use of satellite technology to find Noah's Ark (there's a link there as well to similar technology being used to find Amelia Earhart's plane): http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/noahs_ark_010823-1.html A study of bones suggests that medieval Britons who lived in villages were actually better off health-wise than their country cousins: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4244639,00.html The mystery of the location of William Wallace's Stirling bridge might not be a mystery for long: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/08/26/stiscosco02013.html http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/shtml/NEWS/P40S4.shtml This should be a followup, but it's getting renewed attention ... back in May we drew your attention to the discovery of stained glass which might be associated with Lady Godiva: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001292274,00.html The BBC has a feature on Lady Godiva herself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/newsid_1507000/1507606.stm http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/08/23/ngodi23.xml http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001292274,00.html Discovery.com (and others) have an interesting report on the 'rescue' of a Venetian island and two 700-year-old ships: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20010820/venice.html http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991182 http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010821/wl/italy_submerged_island_1.html Xinhua (via Northern Light) reports on the discovery of a HUGE Han Dynasty coin hoard: http://library.northernlight.com/FA20010823370000028.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc ================================================================ THE AMERICAS ================================================================ It's deja vu all over again (8^)) ... the discovery of aboriginal remains have put a halt to development of some prime Miami real estate: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010823/ts/miami_ruins_1.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/healthscience/science/anthro/2001-08-24-ancient-miami.htm http://www.bergen.com/morenews/grave24200108247.htm http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0108240313aug24.story http://www.archaeology.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?page=0109/newsbriefs/miami [can't resist this one] The National Post reports on some stone circles in southern Alberta which didn't quite pan out: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/national/story.html?f=/stories/20010825/666889.html OSU Research has a nice article on the fate of Mayan scribes who toiled for defeated kings: http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/mayans.htm The first extensive archaeological survey of the South Puget Sound area is bearing fruit: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134331862_squaxin21m.html The Tampa Tribune reports on the discovery of a tool-making site: http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGAFV14KSQC.html A 17th century tobacco-manufacturing factory has been discovered in Providence (Maryland): http://sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.digs24aug24.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines A dig in Idaho has failed to come up with evidence for the Ward Massacre of 1854: http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=347&NewsID=164731&CategoryID=2143&show=localnews&om=2 More light is being shed on Annapolis' historical African-American community: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2242736&BRD=2101&PAG=461&dept_id=392169&rfi=6 Nasa has put up some new images of the Nazca lines: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5103 ================================================================ ON THE NEWSSTANDS ================================================================ Archaeology Magazine has a new look and new online content, including a guide to Nero's Domus Aurea: http://www.archaeology.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?page=pdfs/nero/index and abstracts of items in the current print issue on mummies, Israel Finkelstein's work, and other things: http://www.archaeology.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?page=curiss/index Speaking of Archaeology magazine, if you haven't checked out their ongoing coverage of the Anglo-American Project in Pompeii's dig this summer, it's worth a look: http://www.archaeology.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?page=online/features/pompeii/index Archaeology Today has some new online content, including a piece on tool use by early hominids: http://www.archaeologytoday.net/web%20articles/081401-Tools,%20Termites%20and%20Hominids.htm ... and some items stemming from the analysis of Oetzi's stomach contents: http://www.archaeologytoday.net/web%20articles/081401-otzi.htm Egypt Revealed has a feature on mapping Egyptian sites: http://www.egyptrevealed.com/081501-mapping%20egypt.htm ================================================================ ON THE WEB ================================================================ The Whitehall Farm Roman Villa project has its latest field reports online: http://www.whitehallvilla.co.uk/ ================================================================ AT ABOUT.COM ================================================================ Ancient History Guide N.S. Gill's latest is a review of Karen Essex's *Kleopatra*: http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa082801a.htm ================================================================ REVIEWS ================================================================ The Bible and Interpretation site has a review of K. Armstrong, *Jerusalem*: http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Jerusalem_OneCity.htm Athens News has a reviews of the "Oxford Archaeological Guide to Greece": http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12924&m=A38&aa=2&eidos=S CAA has a review of Katherine Dunbabin's *Mosaics in the Greek and Roman World*: http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/dunbabin.html ================================================================ CLASSICIST'S CORNER ================================================================ A pair of reviews of Medea at Epidavros: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=96763 http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12924&m=A39&aa=1&eidos=S ... and Seven Against Thebes, with some commentary on relevance: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=96243 Mike DiMaio's De Imperatoribus Romanis site is getting media attention: http://24hour.modbee.com/24hour/technology/story/684117p-745269c.html Peter Jones in the Spectator: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/newsid_1507000/1507606.stm Radio Finland's Nuntii Latini http://www.yle.fi/fbc/latini/trans.html U.S. Weather in Latin: http://latin.wunderground.com/ ================================================================ OBITUARIES ================================================================ E.T. Hall: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/21/obituaries/21HALL.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,60-2001292239,00.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4241884,00.html Julian Pitt-Rivers: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=90490 ================================================================ FOLLOWUPS ================================================================ Elgin Marbles (yes, there is something new): http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12924&m=A35&aa=1&eidos=S Genghis Khan: http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0823/p14s2-stgn.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0820_wiregenghis.html Queen Anne's Revenge: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/blackbeard0825.htm Temple Mount: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,285-2001292015,00.html http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2001/aug/20/082009211.html ================================================================ ALIA One I missed: the New York Times had a brief item on why the Dog Days of summer are so named: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/10/science/space/12SKYWATCH.html ================================================================ EXPLORATOR is a weekly newsletter representing the fruits of the labours of 'media research division' of The Atrium. Various on-line newsand magazinesources are scoured for news of the ancient world (broadlyconstrued: practically anything relating to archaeology orhistory priorto about 1700 or so is fair game) and every Sunday they aredelivered to yourmailbox free of charge! ================================================================

Archaeologist Uses Air Force Robot By ERIN EVERETT, Associated Press Writer HELENA, Mont. (AP) - When Meriwether Lewis first pushed his ``great experiment'' into the Missouri River near present-day Great Falls in 1805, he surely beamed. ``She lay like a cork,'' he wrote in his journal. But the iron-framed boat that Lewis designed floated only for a moment before it leaked and sank, taking with it his high spirits. ``The circumstance mortified me not a little,'' he wrote. Lewis and expedition co-commander William Clark gave the boat a proper burial in a field near the river's great falls. It was never mentioned again. But now, archaeologist Ken Karsmizki intends to find it. Karsmizki, of the Columbia Gorge Discovery (news - web sites) Center in The Dalles, Ore., has enlisted the help of an Air Force robot equipped with a giant metal detector, and will set out the second week of September to find the boat he believes is still buried. The boat, dubbed by some ``the holy grail of the exploration,'' would solve a brainteaser for archaeologists and historians if it is found. ``What we would learn that nobody knows is exactly what that thing looked like - the engineering,'' Karsmizki said. ``What was it that they had imagined and then constructed?'' The journals say Lewis designed the frame, which was fabricated by Harper's Ferry arsenal in West Virginia. The expedition carried the 220-pound frame to the great falls, and assembled it at the explorers' White Bear Island camp. The frame came in 10 sections, so it could be adjusted depending on the availability of materials for covering it. Fully assembled, the government vessel was 36 feet long, 21/2 feet deep and 41/2 feet wide. The frame was covered with elk and buffalo hides and sealed with a mixture of beeswax, animal fat and charcoal. more... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010826/sc/exp_buried_boat_1.html

This is a bit of a wonder for me who has stood in the same place and looked 360� to admire Avebury. Take a look and at the second one in Wales, as well. http://www.henge.org.uk/wiltshire/aveburypano.html http://www.henge.org.uk/dyfed/gorsfawrpano.html

This article in infuriates me. Go be crazy and chase after UGFS's but leave our antiquities alone! Alien seekers damage Stone Age mound Silbury Hill: Sacred place or waste tip Trespassing UFO hunters have climbed into Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, UK, damaging the biggest man-made Neolithic mound in Europe. English Heritage closed the 4,000-year-old mound to the public after an 18th Century mining shaft opened up in the summit in May last year. The alien hunters broke into the site under cover of darkness soon after the hole was discovered. Evidence of the trespass has only come to light now, after a video of the foray was included in a documentary film. More... http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1511000/1511448.stm

================================================================ AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA ================================================================ The New York Times (and others) have an item on the alignment of the pyramids: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/28/science/social/28PYRA.html There appears to be controversy over a Turkish excavation of Salamis (Cyprus): http://library.northernlight.com/FB20010831720000173.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc The New York Times has a travel feature on Minorca, which has a good overview of the archaeological history of the Balearics: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/26/travel/MINOR.html The Aftenposten has a piece (in Norwegian) on the discovery of a strange arrangement of human skulls: http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article.jhtml?articleID=183210 DNA analysis is shedding more light on when Central Asia was populated post-out-of-Africa: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1502000/1502189.stm The Roman villa at Chedworth (Cheltenham) has revealed the skeleton of an infant: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_386332.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001302658,00.html MSNBC has an interesting item on recent excavations/research at the Colosseum: http://www.msnbc.com/news/622857.asp Kyodo News has a report on the discovery of an almost complete 7500 year-old skeleton in China: http://home.kyodo.co.jp/all/display.jsp?an=20010828073 Here's one I missed: China Daily reports on the discovery of a large number of ancient mace heads in Northwest China: http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/cn/2001-08-13/26240.html People's Daily has a report on the discovery of some very ancient (pre?) writing: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200108/31/eng20010831_78972.html The Ancient capital of the Dian kingdom might have been found: http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=31&si=504600&issue_id=5190 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001302980,00.html The Buddhas of Angkor Wat are under threat from looting: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_angkorbuddhas.html The British Museum has plans to make its ca. 4 million objects in storage more available to the public: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,542811,00.html Iraq is seeking the return of a number of artifacts in European museums: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1403503408 A little out of the regular time period covered by this newsletter, but folks might be interested that an expedition has been launched to find the remains of Amelia Earhart: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/reu/20010827/amelia.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia1.html Not quite sure how to classify this one: the Independent has a piece called 'Beirut Stories' which focuses on a diving school in Beirut but which has some interesting info on underwater sites unexplored and/or lost (I think): http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=91833 The same newspaper reports on the recreation of neolithic dung- flavoured ale: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=91895 ================================================================ THE AMERICAS =============================================================== The TimesDaily has a report on an ongoing dig into a mound in Shiloh (Tennessee) National Military Park: http://www.timesdaily.com/news/stories/8110newsstories.html A pre-Columbian temple has possibly been found on a Mexican mountain top: http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Technology/Science_Nature/0,1113,2-13-46_1072796,00.html A Hohokam site in Phoenix is about to be bulldozed by a gravel mining company: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/breaking/0830ruins30.html The Concord Monitor reports on the threats to an Abenaki site hear Holderness: http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/front0400/abenaki_site_clash.shtml http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=378&ArticleID=38991 A two-year rescue dig near Townsend, Tennessee is winding down: http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/08/08189011.shtml?Element_ID=8189011 The Las Vegas Sun has a feature on archaeological theft: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2001/aug/31/512293814.html

What is possibly the oldest fortified settlement in the Aegean has been discovered on the island of Andros: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?aid=98628 AthensNews has a piece on the history of the excavations at Troy (I believe this was in the Times of London previously): http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12926&m=A24&aa=1&eidos=S Assorted Iron Age boats found near Fiskerton (UK) are being excavated: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001305231,00.html A Hellenistic site has been discovered near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border: http://www.dawn.com/2001/09/07/nat17.htm Chinese archaeologists have excavated (maybe) some 2000-year-old wine: http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/020901/dtLFOR43.asp It would appear that Greek museums and sites still suffer from the problems they have suffered from for many years: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=98610

A midden along the Withlacoochee river is proving to be a rich source of animal remains (as opposed to fish and shellfish): http://www.sptimes.com/News/090601/Citrus/Mound_is_fresh_snapsh.shtml The Miami Herald has a piece on the search for Pelikalaha: http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/florida/digdocs/006615.htm A vague report of the discovery of a 2000-year-old skeleton on Vancouver Island: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=090201&ID=s1017641&cat=section.regional A unique burial site has been found in Boteourt County (Virginia): http://info.timesdispatch.com/printversion.cgi?url=http%3A//www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGB8YOWT9RC.html&oaspagename=printthispage A gold-rush-era ship has been discovered in San Francisco's financial district: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/09/08/MN214923.DTL http://www.modbee.com/24hour/nation/story/788958p-849702c.html http://www.nando.com/nation/story/75251p-1058850c.html

Not sure where to put this but it somehow is important: Athens bailiffs seek SS atrocity reparations FROM ROGER BOYES IN BERLIN BAILIFFS in Athens will take over some of Germany�s most important cultural offices in the Greek capital next week and attempt to auction them off in order to compensate the victims of an SS massacre. This extraordinary development, the result of a Greek court ruling on Tuesday, could open a new round of international wrangling about how to settle wartime crimes. Germany�s Goethe Institute � the equivalent of the British Council � is a prime piece of property only a few minutes walk from the Greek Parliament and situated at the very hub of Athens. Other buildings due to be impounded include the German Archaeological Institute and the German School � all owned by the German Government, which is being sued for �18 million by villagers of the mountain community of Distomon. There, not far from the ancient site of Delphi, SS tank grenadiers ran amok on June 10, 1944, slaughtering 218 civilians, including old women and babies. The skulls of the victims have been preserved in the village and are regarded as a shrine to Greek suffering at the hands of the Germans. A Greek court in Livadia awarded the survivors �18 million against the German Government in 1997, but Germany has not paid up, arguing that a state-to-state compensation payment of DM115 million (�37 million at today�s exchange rates) paid to Athens in 1960 covered all outstanding claims. more... http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001310153,00.html

Prehistoric People Cared for Kin, Study Shows WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early humans were willing to lend a helping hand -- or at least some mushy deer meat -- to assist elderly and incapacitated members of their clans, tens of thousand of years earlier than previously believed, scientists said on Monday more... http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=209944

Sounds tasty...mushy deer meat. I guess it beats starving!

From Horrible_Horace http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/archaeologyireland Taking a look at the Archaeology of archaeology,your most excellent and exalted founder has become a little disgruntled.( OK so I am a crankey bastard at times .so what??) I am forming an enlighten impression that this whole darned subject started out life as an excuse for rich sods to have an excuse to travell abroad.hence all the out of Africa and such nonsense. These early Archys were a sorry lot for the most part,failing to even get a job running a plantation or embassy in Basutoland or wherever.That was the fate of the more stupid offspring of the arisotocracy jes a little while back.Now this idle bunch were hardly going to go to Siberia or the relative comfort of Bandar Abbas and fearing the tendancy of the Turks to sodomise tourists off they trotted to the dark continent instead. Once there they found Egypt a little full,what with Huns and Frogs and other continentals,so onwards to the sandy bits,the jungles being full of natives and animals." Ah " they said "this is our bit " and then they found somes bones which they made some informed decisions on and declared them to be very old indeed.After a while some more of them arrived and found more bones which they declared to be even older..and so on.This process continues as we speak(so to speak) In more modern times in Ireland and I'm sure elsewhere also as well ,the shortage of Aristos opened up the subject to those who failed to qualify for Medicine and Engineering and other difficult subjects and so instead of being a bit of fun for the Gentry it became a serious subject of study for the lesser gifted ,who spent many hours in debate,arriving at decisions which are now being shamefully scorned by the new race of young Archys using scientific tools .Tools which the old brigade depise because their cosy sinecure is threatened,as the utter crap they espouse is debunked daily. Most of the excavations recently seem to have taken longer than the origional construction of the site,due allowance being made for scientific study. So where do we go from here?All the new finds that I knowoff have been made by accident or amateurs.Yet the full rigours of the law designed to protect monuments will be misused to hound any field walker lucky enough to make a find,and silly enough to announce the find in earshot of the Holy People of Archy.Its enough to make you spit

You are right, Liam. As I told you on your home turf at Yahoo, I am reading a book recommended to me by a practicing archaeologist who works for the US Gov't saving as much of our heritage from freeways as possible. "TUTANKHAMUN, The Untold Story" by Tomas Hoving. Liam is right. Give it a look!

A 2,000 year old manuscript of the Torah (maybe) has been found in the UAE: http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=26492 The theatre at Aspendos -- or rather, the concerts being held there -- are causing much concern amongst archaeologists: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7409-2001Sep11.html The tomb of Alexander the Great's grandmother (Eurydice) was broken into and robbed some time this summer: http://news.excite.com/news/r/010912/13/odd-antiquities-dc http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?aid=99363 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001314555,00.html http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010912/od/antiquities_dc_1.html A bronze age canoe has been found in Scotland: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001313884,00.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=003100565149417&rtmo=V1kmwZlx&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/01/9/13/ecncano13.html An ancient cave temple has been found in India: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_394521.html?menu= Researchers have found the fault line which caused a massive earthquake in plague-ridden 1356 Europe: http://www.msnbc.com/news/628398.asp The Middle English Lexicon Project has been brought to an ende: http://www.sltrib.com/09162001/nation_w/132626.htm

From Liam - with great thanks! Trust plans to restore copper-miners' winch Copper mining and the Allihies area of west Cork have been synonymous for thousands of years. The Illustrated Archaeology of Ireland records that radiocarbon dating of the Mount Gabriel Mine on the Mizen Peninsula suggested it was being worked between 1700 and 1500 BC, making it the oldest copper mine in north-west Europe. More recently, the copper mine above the village of Allihies was worked up to 1880 when it closed. The local copper miners then emigrated with their skills to the mines of Michigan and Butte, Montana, where their presence and influence has been well documented. In Allihies, they left behind what is known as a man engine house, basically a sophisticated winch with steps which allowed miners to travel 2,000 feet down into the bowels of the mine and back up again after their shift was over. The Cornish-designed winch was a big improvement, even if working conditions were still barbarous. Now the Mine Heritage Trust of Ireland wants to restore and preserve the man engine house for posterity. Mr John Morris of the trust says that plans to begin the project were stymied by the foot-and-mouth scare when members were unable to travel to Allihies to begin surveying the mine which is on land that has passed into commonage used by sheep farmers. There is nothing in Ireland like this man engine house, he says; it is one of only 20 in the world and the best example extant. A grant from the Heritage Council to facilitate the work, was unable to be taken up because of the foot-and-mouth restrictions but it is hoped this will become available again. Cork County Council will also provide funds. Today Mr Morris will travel to Allihies to begin the trust's work afresh now that the allclear has been given. ireland.com - The Irish Times - IRELAND

Tuscany's Excalibur is the real thing, say scientists Rory Carroll in Rome - The Observer The sword of St Galgano, said to have been plunged into a rock by a medieval Tuscan knight, has been authenticated, bolstering Italy's version of the Excalibur legend. Galgano Guidotti, a noble from Chiusdano, near Siena, allegedly split the stone with his sword in 1180 after renouncing war to become a hermit. For centuries the sword was assumed to be a fake. but research revealed last week has dated its metal to the twelfth century. Only the hilt, wooden grip and a few inches of the 3ft blade poke from the hill, which still draws pilgrims and tourists to the ruins of the chapel built around it. 'Dating metal is a very difficult task, but we can say that the composition of the metal and the style are compatible with the era of the legend,' said Luigi Garlaschelli, of the University of Pavia. 'We have succeeded in refuting those who maintain that it is a recent fake.' Ground-penetrating radar analysis revealed that beneath the sword there is a cavity, 2m by 1m, which is thought to be a burial recess, possibly containing the knight's body. 'To know more we have to excavate,' said Garlaschelli, whose findings have been published in Focus magazine. Carbon-dating confirmed that two mummified hands in the same chapel at Montesiepi were also from the twelfth century. Legend has it that anyone who tried to remove the sword had their arms ripped out. In English legend the sword Excalibur is pulled from a stone by the future King Arthur, heralding his glory. In Galgano's case the miracle signified humility and holiness. The son of an illiterate feudal lord, Galgano had a reputation for arrogance and selfishness. After a vision of the Archangel Michael, however, he retired to a cave to become a hermit. Lured out by his family he was thrown by his horse while passing Montesiepi, a hill near Chiusdano, where another vision told him to renounce material things. Galgano objected that that would be as difficult as splitting a rock and to prove his point he struck one with his sword. The rock, it is said, yielded like butter.

Stalagmites in Caves Show History By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Stalagmites created over thousands of years in New Mexico caves preserve a rainfall climate record of the arid Southwest and help explain why ancient Americans fled the high, dry mountains and settled in river valleys some 700 years ago, researchers say. Victor J. Polyak of the University of New Mexico said that two-foot-long stalagmites taken from Carlsbad Caverns and from two other caves contain mineral deposition rings that correspond to levels of precipitation in the region. Polyak, first author of a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, said the rings formed in the stone by the slow dripping of mineral-rich water are similar to growth rings found in tree trunks. more...http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011005/sc/stalagmites_climate_2.html

How to mess with an archaeologist's head: excavations of a 17th century shipwreck have also turned up a possibly paleolithic hand axe: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_411508.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery The Guardian (et al) has a piece on the mystery of why Britons appear to have disappeared from the archaeological record for 100,000 years or so: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,558200,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1565000/1565002.stm http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001332868,00.html Sewage construction has revealed a bronze age site in Limerick: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0928/hom6.htm Also in Ireland, housing construction has revealed a number of tunnels in Cork: http://www.unison.ie/corkman/stories.php3?ca=34&si=516836&issue_id=5310 Al-Ahram has a feature on what's being done to Menkaure's pyramid: http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/552/tr2.htm There are plans for a new museum of antiquities near Giza: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html4/o260921o.htm Here's some interesting noggin fodder: Greece recently passed a law which requires archaeologists to publish within a certain time frame or lose their right to direct excavations: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?aid=100849 The Roman camp at Carnuntum (Austria) has been located using ground-penetrating radar: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010923/sc/austria_roman_ruins_1.html The Times (et al) reports on the discovery of a pair of Roman-era water lifting machines in London: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001333960,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1564000/1564325.stm http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991343 The AP wire has a feature on a mini-sub called the Thetis which will prove useful in underwater archaeology situations: http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/09/24/archaeology.sub.ap/index.html http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010923/sc/exp_archaeology_by_sub_1.html In China, archaeologists report the discovery of a number of carts and the remains of draught animals dating to the Zhou dynasty: http://library.northernlight.com/FB20010926450000146.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc This should be a followup, but since it happened so long ago ... the extent of Shinichi Fujimura's 'salting' of paleolithic sites in Japan is becoming very clear: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20010929p2a00m0fp009001c.html http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_411388.html?menu=news.quirkies http://home.kyodo.co.jp/all/firstp.jsp?news=technology&an=#20010929134

Congratulations to Stephen on his MSc in Geoarchaeology

Iraqi Archaeologists Find Ancient Temple to Ishtar Last Updated: October 21, 2001 03:00 PM ET BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi archaeologists in a new find have uncovered a temple dedicated to the goddess Ishtar at the ancient city of Babylon, 56 miles south of Baghdad, the weekly Tikrit newspaper reported Sunday. "Cuneiform inscriptions on the 25 artifacts found at the temple indicate that the building dates back to the old Babylonian era, and to the reign of King Hammurabi (179-1750 BC) in particular," Tikrit quoted a source at the Antiquities and Heritage Department as saying. Ishtar was the goddess of love in Babylonia and Assyria. Under various names, the cult of the mother goddess was universal in the ancient Near East. Tikrit reported that excavation teams had also discovered a house with an open courtyard, a number of rooms and graves inside the house in the temple area. "Artifacts included a relief on a clay tablet of a woman breast-feeding her child, the first ever to be found," it quoted the source as saying. The excavations also yielded a number of jars, clay tablets, seals used at that time, and toys. A well and two canals used to carry water to the temple and the houses and clay basins to collect water were uncovered.

Some Neolithic art has been discovered on the Greek island of Andros: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011018/wl/greece_neolithic_dc_1.html Cyprus Mail has a brief item on the discovery of some Bronze Age tombs: http://www.cyprus-mail.com/October/13/news4.htm Bronze Age tombs have also been discovered at Ras al Khaimah: http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/people-places.asp?ArticleID=29286 AlphaGalileo has a press release on recent research into the Maykop people: http://www.alphagalileo.org/ReadNotice.cfm?releaseid=7604 A Hellentistic/Roman era settlement has been discovered near Ioannina: http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12932&m=A10&aa=5&eidos=S

A Gallic Stonehenge may be a vital link in evolution Sanjida O'Connell Guardian Thursday October 18, 2001 In Saint-Just, a village in central Brittany, is one of the largest collections of neolithic monuments in northern France. Giant quartz blocks straggle across the hillside, some weighing up to 30 tons, many brought from the surrounding region. A Gallic equivalent of Stonehenge, archaeologist Dr Chris Scarre believes the monuments were built when people changed from being hunter-gatherers to farmers and that such buildings were indicative that people's world views changed as they began to farm. Scarre, the deputy director of the McDonald Institute at Cambridge University, has been studying settlements in northern France for 20 years. Genetic studies have tried to decipher whether Europe's population descends from the first wave of colonists that arrived as the ice age receded, or whether later settlers are the ancestors of modern Europeans. The spread of these settlers could be linked to the spread of farming. "Archaeology has always suggested that there are large areas of Europe where people were hunting and gathering but began farming," says Scarre. His studies indicate that small-scale farming took place here, but it was another two to three hundred years before farming became widespread. Ultimately these settlers inspired a radical new way to view the landscape. "Hunters and gatherers in Europe don't build much in the way of physical structures," says Scarre, "yet from the beginning of farming in Western Europe you get these massive monuments." Neither was it a case of having sufficient numbers of people or resources, argues Scarre. "It's a question of wanting to. Suddenly they look at the world in a different way and they start to build these monuments. They pick up all sorts of resonances between monuments and landscapes." Scarre argues that people began relating to the landscape in a particular way, almost copying it. He gives the example of an alignment on Gree de Cojoux, a hill in Saint-Just where there are three rows of stones. Two run east-west, the third is at a right angle and consists of five massive quartz blocks in a line 25 metres long along a naturally rocky outcrop. "The row of standing stones appears to be aligned on a natural rock formation, blending the cultural and natural," says Scarre. Burial tombs at Saint Just were made from the local schist, but the stone alignments were solid quartz, the same kind that runs in thin veins through the rocky outcrops. Scarre believes the people, by carrying chunks of quartz from the surrounding valley, were "trying to unlock something they thought was in the land already." More... http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4279520,00.html

The remains of a medieval village have been found near Somerset: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1599000/1599898.stm There are plans in the works to excavate London's Rose Theatre: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1597000/1597821.stm

As much as I appreciate museums and would be content to be lost forever in the British Museum, here is the flip side of this issue: A pile of antiquities from various periods has been found buried in the yard of a holiday home in Greece: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=103897 http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_424334.html http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12932&m=A10&aa=0&eidos=S Another case from Greece: http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12932&m=A10&aa=7&eidos=S The British Museum has returned a stolen Egyptian statue to the Sudan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1600000/1600389.stm http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001355635,00.html

The Descendents Of Horsewomen Buried Only Men The archaeological expedition of Volgograd State University has for ten years been working at the South of the Volgograd region. Here, in the near-Volga-river steppes, there are hundreds of burial-mounds made by nomadic tribes. The scientists are working along the river Aksay (the left tributary to the Don river); this region is very rich with artifacts. Nomadic life did not stop for several thousand years here. The wide Aksay flood-lands with lush steppe vegetation attracted ancient Eurasian cattle-breeders of the Neolithic Age; then catacomb and shell-makers of the Bronze Age; Polovets and Pecheneg people of the Middle Ages; but Sarmat people of the Iron Age made the most number of burial-mounds. It is the latter that the archaeologists at Volgorad State University are studying. They excavated fourteen burial-mounds last year and ten more burial-mounds this summer dating from the second century B.C. up to the third century A.D. More... http://www.alphagalileo.org/ReadNotice.cfm?releaseid=7467

Bath discovery opens window on 13th-century Jewish world BY DALYA ALBERGE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed a 13th-century ritual bath that provides exceptional physical evidence of the Jewish community in medieval London. The bath, or mikveh, reveals new information on life in the city before the expulsion of the Jews by Edward I in 1290. The Museum of London Archaeology Service discovered it in Gresham Street in the City of London. The bath consists of a semicircular basin about 4ft across and more than 4ft deep and is built of blocks of masonry, with a flight of stone steps leading into it. Although the upper parts of the structure and steps were destroyed by later buildings, the remains of seven steps survive. Bruce Watson, who is heading the excavation, said that archaeologists had assumed that it was the entrance to a medieval cellar, until they noticed �the beautiful nature of the close-jointed masonry�. They led down to an outside tank with a puddle clay floor, which was meant to hold water. He said that it was a ritual bath which would have been at least 5ft deep. more... http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001371420,00.html

FRIDAY OCTOBER 26 2001 Greece to build �29m home for Elgin Marbles BY DALYA ALBERGE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT THE Greek Government has commissioned a design for a �29 million Acropolis Museum crowned with a glass structure intended to hold the Elgin Marbles � even though Britain shows no sign of giving them back. Nicos Papadakis, a spokesman for the Greek Embassy in London, said that the plan would send a clear message to Britain. �With this project, which does cost a lot of money, we�re simply manifesting in a practical way our commitment to completing this project in the expectation that the Parthenon sculptures will grace the new rooms of the museum in Athens,� Mr Papadakis said. �This shows our determination to forge ahead.� He said that the issue would not go away. more... http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001372085,00.html

A personal comment on the Parthenon Freize (commonly known as the Elgin Marbles): Please read the rest of the above story. Anyone with a sense of history and fairness knows that none of the Marbles from the Arcopolis in Athens belongs anywhere but in Greece. That they are creating a safe and protective building to house them is to be applauded. I have seen them in their sterile surroungings in the British Museum. It is protective of them, but it gives no sense of the context for which they were created. Next time, I hope to see them in Greece, where they rightfully belong.

Neolithic Rock carvings unearthed in Greece A SERIES of digs carried out at the newly discovered Neolithic settlement of Strofilas on the island of Andros uncovered significant rock carvings. The excavations, which started in June under the supervision of archaeologist Christina Televanou, brought to light a dozen ships incised on the outer face of the settlement's defensive wall and measuring 20-30cm. A 1.5-metre long carving depicting 17 animals and a 15m2 group of ships and fish were discovered in the settlement. http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12933&m=A35&aa=4&eidos=S

'Bronze Age Pompeii' Found Buried by Vesuvius ROME (Reuters) - Italian archaeologists have discovered one of the world's best-preserved prehistoric villages, a "Bronze Age Pompeii" that was buried in volcanic ash near the world-famous Roman city almost 4,000 years ago. The ancient settlement was overwhelmed by volcanic flow when Mount Vesuvius erupted around 1800 BC, smothering the village near present-day Nola in southern Italy many centuries before Pompeii suffered the same fate. "This is by far the best-preserved prehistoric village in Italy and one of the best in the world. Everyday life in the ancient Bronze Age is preserved there," Giuseppe Vecchio, the director of the excavation, told Reuters. Vecchio discovered the village north of Vesuvius while doing routine tests to grant a company a license to build a shopping center and underground parking lot on the site. But the cross sections of the earth revealed part of an ancient pottery kiln. "It was a complete surprise, a really extraordinary find," he said. While much of the original structures, especially the wood beams of huts, was destroyed, the original forms are preserved in molds made of volcanic ash and mud. "For the first time we can see things about prehistoric life that we had only imagined," Vecchio said. "People didn't have time to grab their things when they fled, so we can see what they ate, how they cooked, what social life was like." Explorations so far have revealed three huts up to eight meters (26-ft) high, pots full of grains, sheep bones, a cage holding the bones of pregnant goats and hunting and cooking tools made from other bones. Archaeologists expect to find more dwellings. At most sites around Europe, all that is left of Bronze Age villages are holes in the ground where huts used to stand. RECONSTRUCTION PLANNED No human remains have been found at Nola, unlike at Pompeii, which was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD killing an estimated 2,000 people and freezing the once-bustling commercial town under a sea of ash. With its well-preserved shops, houses, amphitheater and baths, Pompeii is one of Italy's top tourist sites. Archaeologists at Nola hope to complete their excavations in the next couple of months. They plan to reconstruct the village at a nearby archaeological museum and possibly open the site to tourists. "This is a prehistoric Pompeii, the Pompeii of the ancient Bronze Age," said Salvatore Nappo, an archaeological consultant and Pompeii expert. "It will teach us about the period, but also shows that the area has been inhabited for thousands of years." Other late Bronze Age period villages have also been discovered in the area, although they were not preserved in volcanic ash the way the Nola site was. Archaeologists believe one nearby settlement was destroyed by a flood. Today, a giant pool of magma still lies beneath Vesuvius and extends at least 400 square kilometers under some of Italy's scenic coastline, making a fresh eruption possible at any time. The last major eruption of the imposing volcano, which overshadows Naples, was in March 1944, as Allied troops landed in Italy during World War Two.

Thank to Neil for the following: Explorers View 'Lost City' Ruins Under Caribbean By Andrew Cawthorne HAVANA (Reuters) - Explorers using a miniature submarine to probe the sea floor off the coast of Cuba said on Thursday they had confirmed the discovery of stone structures deep below the ocean surface that may have been built by an unknown human civilization thousands of years ago. Researchers with a Canadian exploration company said they filmed over the summer ruins of a possible submerged ``lost city'' off the Guanahacabibes Peninsula on the Caribbean island's western tip. The researchers cautioned that they did not fully understand the nature of their find and planned to return in January for further analysis, the expedition leader said on Thursday. The explorers said they believed the mysterious structures, discovered at the astounding depth of around 2,100 feet and laid out like an urban area, could have been built at least 6,000 years ago. That would be about 1,500 years earlier than the great Giza pyramids of Egypt. more... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011206/sc/cuba_discovery_dc_1.html

================================================================ AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA ================================================================ You knew it was coming: a pair of geologists are challenging the Pittman-Ryan theory on the flooding of the Black Sea region: http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSScience0111/25_nfld-cp.html The Irish Independent has a brief item on high hopes for finding a 3200-year-old goldsmith's workshop in Mayo: http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=649166&issue_id=6490 A Hungarian expedition has found all sorts of sites relating to pharoahnic mining activities: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html5/o281121z.htm A statue of Mut has been discovered near Karnak: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html5/o031221n.htm Well, at least *something* escaped the Taliban's antiquity-smashing: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=110372 cf sadly: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001560012-2001565718,00.html Ha'aretz has a very in-depth article on the excavations of Herod's palace: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=101418 Deseret News has a feature on the Nag Hammadi library: http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,355010719,00.html? A brief item on the excavation of a Roman winery in Abu Qir: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html5/o061221j.htm The Museum Lauriacum folks are miffed that plans are in the works to send 30 years' worth of finds elsewhere for cataloging (in German): http://ooe.orf.at/oesterreich.orf?read=detail&channel=4&id=164042 Genetic evidence is providing more information as to the extent of Viking settlement in Britain: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1689000/1689955.stm Xinhua has an item on the discovery of a West Han Dynasty sacrificial pit: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2001-12/06/content_150239.htm ... and a Southern Song Dynasty palace: http://library.northernlight.com/FA20011205810000075.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc ... and a Tang Dynasty wooden (!) building: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2001-12/04/content_146179.htm A very brief item in China Daily reports on the discovery of a very well-preserved body dating from the Ming dynasty: http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/lf/2001-12-06/46878.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001565696,00.html Not sure how to classify this one, but if you read through it, you'll find a cancer treatment which was discovered due to an archaeological discovery: http://www.msnbc.com/news/667259.asp ================================================================ THE AMERICAS ================================================================ A bit out-of-date but a good read nonetheless, the Stanford Report has a piece on John Rick's discoveries this year at Chavin de Huantar, not least of which were a number of Strombus shells: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/report/news/october24/chavin-a.html An ancient Incan doorway has been discovered in the Andes: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011205/wl/peru_incan_discovery_1.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-1363967,00.html http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap12-05-173956.asp?reg=AMERICAS This is technically a followup, but since it has been so long since we heard about it ... a Canadian exploration company is claiming to have found evidence of a lost civilization off the coast of Cuba: http://www.msnbc.com/news/668477.asp?cp1=1 http://dsc.discovery.com/news/reu/20011203/cuba.html# http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/341/nation/Explorers_pinpoint_lost_city_near_Cuba+.shtml http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=109015 There's a new claim that the Mayans did not routinely engage in human sacrifice: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991650 Evidence has finally been found to confirm a French presence in the 1700's near what is now Peoria: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-12/uoia-wsp120301.php http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_465162.html The number of potential sites in Clark County (Washington) has been expanded: http://www.columbian.com/12052001/clark_co/236255.html

The Greek Drachma has a history that goes back to the beginning of the use of coins as money. The world's first coins appeared simultaneously in two places - China and the kingdom of Lydia in what is now western Turkey at the end of the seventh century BC. No-one knows what the Lydians called their coins, but not long after the Lydian ruler Croesus was minting his legendary fortune. In the middle of the sixth century BC, Greeks in Athens and the island of Aegina had begun producing silver drachmas. The word "drachma" is Greek for "handful". It was taken as the name for a coin because it was worth a handful of iron spits known as obols, which earlier Greeks had used for money. Heavier silver or gold coins were known as staters. Coins minted on the island of Aegina were stamped with the image of a turtle, those in Athens with an owl. At each mint the weight was precisely calibrated, though it differed from one city-state to the next. "It was the mother of all later coinage systems," says Jonathan Williams of the British Museum. Automatic vending Before long drachmas were being minted at Greek settlements in southern Italy, with the result that the Romans switched from using bronze bars to coins in about 300 BC. And at roughly the same time Philip of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great were producing huge quantities of coins to finance their military conquests. A big copper five-drachma coin was used in the first recorded automatic vending machine, used to dispense ceremonial water in Greek-governed Alexandria in 150 BC. Jesus Christ, in one of the parables recorded by Saint Luke, refers to a woman who had 10 drachmas but lost one. The writer Josephus, reporting on the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 says that starving people in the besieged city were selling bundles of withered grass for four drachmas. Further afield, Indian drammas, and dirhams from North Africa and Central Asia, which were used in trade all over Russia, are descendants of the drachma. Depreciation The ancient Greeks began the art of coin design, and some experts believe Greek artists working in Italy have never been matched. Usually coins bore images of plants and animals or gods and goddesses, sometimes views of cities or temples. It was only in the third century BC that one of Alexander the Great's successors started stamping coins with his own head. The drachma disappeared for almost a millennium while Greece was ruled by foreign powers, but made its return shortly after the creation of the modern Greek state in 1827. Jonathan Williams says it was a conscious throwback to the nation's golden age. "An ancient people gets its freedom back - what more natural for that people to have an ancient Greek name for its coinage," he says. "It's a symbol of antiquity." The changeover evokes mixed feelings among Greeks, who will miss the drachma with their hearts, while recognising that it's been a weak currency - now worth only one twelfth as much against the dollar as it was in 1970. For this reason they will welcome the euro, which promises to be a rock of stability by comparison.

The above article on the history of the Greek Drachma was from http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1627000/1627442.stm I think the Euro might be a good economic move but it rather ruins part of what makes each country so wonderfully different from the rest. I guess I am too much of a romantic.

Irish man finds rare Bronze Age necklace DUBLIN (AP) � When a man walked into Tim Keane's store and asked him to identify an unusual necklace, the jewel dealer got very excited. What the man presented was a Bronze Age torc, a strand of twisted gold worn around the neck or upper arm of a child. More than 3,000 years old and very rare, it is regarded as extremely valuable. "He produced this piece and asked could we identify what it was," Keane said today. "Needless to say I got very excited when I saw it. Keane, owner of Michel Jewelers in Cork, said "it was like a unicorn walking through the door, I was so excited." He said the piece is a ribbon torc, made in Ireland in the second half of the Bronze Age in a time called the Ornament Arising period. "It is a twisted gold child's necklace or amulet. If you got a piece of metal laid it flat and kept twisting, it would end up like a spring. That's the best way to describe it," he said. The torc has been handed to officials of the National Museum in Dublin, who are planning to display it. A preliminary assessment by Peter Woodman of Cork's University College has confirmed it is around 3,200 years old. Authorities are not identifying the area where the artifact was discovered so that it is left undisturbed while archeologists search for other pieces. Under Irish law, the state has first claim to such treasures, but in most cases the finder is given a reward calculated according to the item's value. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1007032217472&call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&call_pagepath=News/Ontario

Thor Heyerdahl is back in the news, this time with a claim that Odin is based on a real life king who fled north to escape the Romans: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/30/international/30BRIE.html http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=415842 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1353000/1353343.stm

A first century A.D. Roman burial site has been found in Wales: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/wales/newsid_1684000/1684894.stm http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Culture&F=1&id=5006 Some sixth-century A.D. warrior paraphernalia has been found near Sutton Hoo: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001545142,00.html ... and there's a bit about Sutton Hoo too: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001545138,00.html Here's another case where conservationists did rather more damage than conserving, this time in regards to a Leonardo drawing of Orpheus: http://www.allemandi.com/TAN/news/article.asp?idart=8215 Another major site buried by Vesuvius (but in the Bronze Age!) has been discovered near Nola: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_460049.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery.archaeology http://etad.telegraph.co.uk/html.ng/site=et&spaceid=box2&logstatus=f&transactionID=10072945263083872&Sect=uk&view=details http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$SNVZ0MIAAIARFQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F11%2F28%2Fwpomp28.xml eKathimerini has a report on the emergency excavations of an ancient cemetery at Kephisia: http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=109840

Ancient graves discovered near Kifissia train station Archaeologists struggle to save remains of cemetery spanning 800 years A Roman marble portrait from the Louvre of orator, sophist and public benefactor Herodes Atticus, the most illustrious resident of ancient Cephisia. By Nicholas Paphitis Kathimerini English Edition A couple of streets down from the electric railway terminus in one of the less leafy parts of Kifissia, the most extensive traces yet known of the northern Athenian suburb's ancient past have emerged in the form of a cemetery spanning 800 years of use. A rescue excavation that started in March and still continues on a building site on the corner of Acharnon and Socratous streets has revealed 45 graves dating from Geometric to Roman times, many of which yielded rich pottery artifacts. The 2,000-square-meter site, only half of which has been fully excavated, also contains remains of a round Roman building of dressed marble blocks that stand almost six feet tall. Possibly a Nymphaeum - sections of a waterproofed floor that would have contained a small pond have been found in the structure - it will be incorporated in a luxury apartment complex. The summer finds, in combination with two smaller cemeteries and several fourth century BC houses unearthed on Kato Kifissia construction sites over the past four years, have helped archaeologists form a clearer picture of the ancient deme of Cephisia, celebrated in antiquity for its abundant waters and cool groves of deciduous trees. http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=109840

Roman mosaics were found near Lopen (Britain): http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1642000/1642564.stm http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001385297,00.html http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=103765 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,589468,00.html http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/11/08/nmos08.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/11/08/ixhome.html Timbers from Seahenge have yielded the oldest metal-made axe cuts in Britain: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,602119,00.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1664000/1664196.stm Also on the British Bronze Age front, some guy has found a bronze age burial in his back yard: http://ews.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1670000/1670707.stm Obviously coinciding with Harry Pottermania, the Telegraph has a piece about ancient wizards: http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/11/19/nwiz19.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/11/19/ixhome.html

Acropolis Museum foundation stone to be laid in June BY CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU THE FOUNDATION stone for the Acropolis Museum will be laid in June, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos told the press on November 20, adding that the exhibition space will be ready in time for the 2004 Olympic Games. Complete with the Parthenon Hall, which will remain empty until the British Museum returns the Parthenon Marbles, the space will function as "an ongoing challenge and invitation for the Marbles' return", Venizelos said. "It will serve as a painful reminder for those who wish to keep the monument in a mutilated condition." more... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12937&m=A39&aa=3&eidos=S

DEMOCRITUS He was a philosopher and he lived at Avdera city in the ancient Macedonia of ancient Greece. (460-370 B.C). Democritus describing that the structure of the matter came to the conclusion that the smallest element was the atom. Atom in Greek means that it can't be cut, or divided more. Describing the centre of the atom named it 'pirin'. The meaning in Greek comes from two words pyr (fire) and ein (is)! He found a very interesting way to describe what could be found inside the atom if anyone dares to divide it! Today we are trying to find a safe way of using that power playing with the fire... Maybe we have to learn from our mistakes what Democritus told us. The atom has more parts but don't divide it because inside there is fire! From: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5743/en/dimokritos.htm Democritus stated that all existing things, like the earth, the moon and the sun and stars moved as in a vacuum. And he also maintained worlds were infinite, and of different sizes. He stated there were worlds where neither sun nor moon existed. Democritus stated worlds could be destroyed by clashing one with another. Some worlds are without animals and plants, and contains no moisture. John

Thank you, John! The 10 Drachmae coin has Democritos' image on the obverse and an atom on the reverse. I looked for him using a search engine wondering what atoms had to do with Democracy. Nothing, really! I mistook his name for the founder of democracy. I did not discover any other sites telling me much about him. I wonder how soon children will forget who these great people of Greek history were since they now do not see them and will not ask why they are on their coins. Euros will be a great help to visitors, but also a great disservice to those who will populate the countries involved in the new currancy. *sigh*

Pavement slide uncovers cave in Plaka district 07/01/2002 18:39:41 A cave apparently hidden since antiquity came to the forefront on Monday after the pavement gave way on a secondary road near the Acropolis in central Athens. A truck parked exactly over the three-metre cave subsequently fell in, police said. According to reports, the subterranean cavity was located recently during work for a new metro line passing nearby, although support beams placed by construction crews failed to prevent the landslide. Archaeologists and engineers were dispatched to the site, located in the old quarter district of Plaka. http://www.ana.gr/

so that's why we have mud slides! how very interesting!!!

I cannot believe the archaeologists and engineers failed to put timber supports in there. I hope no one was hurt and that nothing of antiquity was damaged. Wow! When we have mud slides, all we have underneath is lava flows. *sigh*

but they didn't know that stuff was there in the first place, did they?

Under the Acropolis? In Athens? Actually, they did know. They had found it earlier when digging for a metro line and had it surveyed but neglected to support it properly. That is why it fell in with the weight of the truck on it. I'd suspect every inch of that magnificent country is rife with antiquities of the most irreplaceable sort. *Sigh* Too bad progress and preservation cannot be more compatible.

that's what i get for skimming through articles! *wink*

I wish I could find a longer one. I will search for more information and, hopefully, for the original finding of the cave. I'd really be interested in finding what is in that cave!

I think none of the known world was the same after the death of Alexander ANCIENT TRADERS SUFFERED BOOM AND BUST Alexander the Great's death plunged Babylon into economic turmoil. http://www.nature.com/nsu/020101/020101-9.html

There are several of great interest among the following ================================================================ AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA ================================================================ The New Yorker has a nice article on what ice cores tell us about ancient climate etc.: http://www.newyorker.com/FACT/?020107fa_FACT A shrine erected in honour of Ramses II has been found in an ancient Egyptian army base: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2001/1230/breaking44.htm http://www.arabia.com/egypt/life/article/english/0,5127,19979,00.html http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$D1NW0IYAADAMRQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2001/12/30/uw06.xml&sSheet=/portal/2001/12/30/ixport.html Perhaps the same?: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html6/o050122e.htm or: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html5/o311221j.htm The Egyptian State Information Service also has a feature on Carter's discovery of Tutankhamen: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html6/o030122.htm ... and news that the Kalabsha Temple restoration is almost complete: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html5/o010122a.htm Tutankhamen also features in a somewhat strange 'news' story in the Guardian (this is one of those things which probably made sense in the print version): http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4327484,00.html There is word that a new chamber of some sort has been discovered by georadar in the Great Pyramid (article in French): http://www.egypt.edu/actualite/2002/020101/01janvier01.htm A new development in the Temple Mount saga: http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/01/02/News/News.40993.html The Middle East Wire has a feature on Biblical archaeology: http://www.middleeastwire.com/commentary/stories/20011227_1_meno.shtml There's plenty of coverage of one scholar's claim that a long-known artifact actually came from the throne of Midas: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/03/science/social/03MIDA.html http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-01/uop-uak122101.php http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1742000/1742019.stm http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/681100.asp http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/01/020103074806.htm http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020103/od/midas_dc_1.html http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?aid=113367 A brief item on the discovery of a Greco-Roman period town in the Sinai: http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg/online/html6/o030122i.htm A major Roman coin hoard has been found in Moray (Scotland), although the conclusions being drawn from it are somewhat suspect: http://www.news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=3152002 ... while the discovery of a dog burial in Silchester is causing more questions to be asked: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,626325,00.html A team of Greek archaeologists is headed to Afghanistan to see, well, what's left: http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12943&m=A35&aa=1&eidos=S http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_487723.html?menu= http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=113509 http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap01-04-154838.asp?reg=ASIA

More great things found in Greece Rare Macedonian Tomb Unearthed in Northern Greece ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek archaeologists have discovered an ancient Macedonian tomb, part of a war memorial from the time of Alexander the Great, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday. "Such buildings are rare," the ministry said in a statement. "The monument is of special archaeological importance not just for the Epirus (region) but the whole of Greece." The tomb measuring 2.28 by 2.35 meters dates back to Hellenistic times, about 330-150 BC, and is part of a larger memorial which includes an open-air yard and a store-room. Discovered in September near the northern Greek town of Ioannina, the monument is located on an ancient road leading from the western coastline to the Epirus region. The building had apparently been looted by antiquities smugglers and contained no artifacts. The tomb is close to the Dodoni oracle, where ancient worshippers hoped to receive prophesies from the god Zeus, and which Jason visited on his mythical quest for the golden fleece.

THE PARTHENON MARBLES WILL NEVER LEAVE THE BRITISH MUSEUM Athens, 15 January 2002 (18:15 UTC+2) The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, will never leave the British Museum to return to Greece, stated the London Museum director to the London Times newspaper. The statement was made in response to the campaign for the return of the marbles to the Acropolis launched by at least 90 British parliament members and personalities from the world of art and literature. Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos stated that Greece is not interested in the legal aspect of the dispute and it simply wants the marbles to be returned to their natural place. http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=244522

Evidence shows Greeks were first to cultivate the almond tree and enjoy the taste and nutrients the dry fruit offered BY CONNIE PHILLIPSON ALMONDS are probably the oldest and most widely known of the world's nut crops, having helped to sustain our hunter/gatherer ancestors with their monounsaturated oils, more calcium than any other nut, B vitamins and vitamin E, and a small amount of protein. The nuts are the fruit seeds of Prunus dulcis, that was formerly known as P amygdalus, and which is also known as Amygdalus communis. Don't you sometimes wish that scientists would make up their minds! At any event, the almond tree is native to the Mediterranean area and western Asia, and was apparently first cultivated by the Greeks. An almond seed was found at the Neolithic level of Knossos on Crete, under the palace complex, and wild almonds were discovered at the Neolithic sites of Sesklo and Dimini in Thessaly, showing a presence in the Aegean area of at least 5,000 years. more... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12946&t=04&m=A40&aa=1

wow! that's neat.....we oughto include this tidbit in garden. i'll copy it and put it there now.

Great idea. The only Greek on scene I know has not come into this topic, I think. I do NOT support Britain's claim to the Parthenon marbles! Perhaps he is afraid I just might.

THE ANCIENT CITY OF ATHENS A photographic archive of the archaeological and architectural remains of ancient Athens (Greece). It is intended primarily as a resource for students of classical art & archaeology, civilization, languages, and history at Indiana University as a supplement to their class lectures and reading assignments and as a source of images for use in term papers, projects, and presentations. This site will be useful to all who have an interest in archaeological exploration and the recovery, interpretation, and preservation of the past. View of the Acropolis and the South Slope from the southwest (from near the Philopappos Monument). In the background to the right of the Parthenon are Mt. Lykabettos and Mt. Penteli. http://www.indiana.edu/~kglowack/athens/

Oh John! You do know my vulnerabilities. Pictures like the one you posted of the Acropolis is what made me want to be an archaeologist since my youngest days. But, where I lived there were no antiquites in our soil when we made gardens. Not even arrowheads like other people find. So, I collected rocks. Thank you! What a feast for my eyes and my soul to see your post. I will investigate the rest of the links there. Have you ever found anything ancient? Bits of pottery? I have this page saved in my bookmarks because it is very detailed and has the same deep blue skies and magnificent edifices. http://www-media.dbnet.ece.ntua.gr/wacro/erecht01.htm

Acid could wreck wreck If you are planning to visit the restored wreck of the Swedish ship, the Vasa, get your skates on - by a quirk of chemistry, the ship's timbers are producing sulphuric acid and threaten to consume themselves from within. Due to the overzealous addition of one too many gundecks, the top-heavy warship keeled over and sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. Left for 333 years marinating in the sulphurous waters of Stockholm harbour, the Vasa soaked up large quantities of hydrogen sulphide, which was then converted to a reservoir of benign sulphur in its timbers, Magnus Sandstrom of the University of Stockholm and colleagues have found. More... http://www.nature.com/nsu/020218/020218-15.html

I need one of these - unfortunately they were sold out: http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/rmorris/cophap.htm

TRIVIA ~ Early human habitation Bluefish Cave is only one of several sites that are current- ly candidates for the earliest human site in North America. Many have been claimed to be early but only a few have fair- ly strong evidence for occupation dating to before about 11,000 years ago. Meadowcroft Rockshelter (Pennsylvania) has levels with stone tools that have been radiocarbon dated to 19,000 to 11,000 bp (bp means radiocarbon years before 1950 and is not exact- ly equal to 19,000 to 11,000 years ago). Cactus Hill (Virginia) has some levels questionably dated to about 16,000-15,000 bp. The Chesrow Complex (Wisconsin) has mammoth skeletons that may have been killed or butchered by humans. These date to around 12,000 and 13,000 bp. Bluefish Caves (Yukon) has stone tools mixed with bones that have been dated to approximately 12,000 to 25,000 bp (but the stone tools may actually belong to occupation that dates to 11,700 bp and later). Valsequillo (Puebla, Mexico) has a crudely worked artifact associated with shells that have been dated to about 21,800 bp. It's possible that the "artifact" is actually only a natural rock, though. The information given above comes from "The Peopling of the New World: Present Evidence, New Theories, and Future Dir- ections" by Stuart J. Fiedel published in 2000 in the Journal of Archaeological Research.

This is an outrage. What is Berlin using for curators?! FRIEZE DAMAGED 380 BC panels depicting Odysseus are cracked at Berlin exhibition A 2,500-year-old stone frieze loaned by an Austrian museum for an exhibition of ancient Greek art in Berlin has been accidentally damaged, the German news magazine Tagespiegel reported yesterday. The organizers said that three panels of the 220-meter-long frieze, which comprises about 100 panels in all, dating to 380 BC, fell while they were being mounted for display. Their fronts were not damaged but they suffered cracks on the back. The panels � insured for up to 1 million euros each � have been returned to Vienna for repair. They illustrate the wanderings of Odysseus after the Trojan War. The frieze is from Goelbasi, in present-day Turkey.

German archaeologists claim to have found a bronze age star chart: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_533690.html In a much anticipated bout, Korfmann and Kolb finally came to blows at a conference over their differences about the site of Troy (the two pieces from the Times are different): http://www.thetimes.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-218343,00.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-218264,00.html An early Christian cemetery has been found in Athboy (Ireland): http://www.unison.ie/meath_chronicle/index.php3?ti=50&ca=34&si=693684&issue_id=6920

================================================================ CRIME BEAT ================================================================ Vandalism has been committed in the archeological park of Kos and damaged a mosaic: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=13977 http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=254412 Another raid on a Greek home: http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12951&m=A10&aa=5&eidos=S Museum staff are accused of aiding in the theft of various artifacts from the National Taiwan Museum: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/02/27/story/0000125571

Kalamata antiquities raid nets mini-treasure trove POLICE in the southern port city of Kalamata confiscated two ancient statues, more than a dozen ancient coins and arrested a man allegedly trying to sell the artefacts, authorities said on February 22. Archaeologists said they appeared to date from the Hellenistic period, between the 3rd and the 1st centuries BC, while the 16 bronze coins were from the later Byzantine times. The antiquities were found during a raid on the home of Pandelis Semertzidis, 44, in Kalamata. Photo: http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12951&m=A10&aa=5&eidos=S

I suspect stolen antiquities are a problem for any country older than Hawaii - but even we have this problem with raiding of ancient burial caves. Poi pounders seem to be the prize because they are made of stone and are about the only things to survive long periods of time.

Campaign for Parthenon Marbles return begins in Belgium 13/03/2002 22:50:31 BRUSSELS (ANA - V. Demiris) A campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece was launched in Belgium on Wednesday by Belgian senators Francois Roelants du Vivier and Paul Wille, at a press conference in the Belgian capital. Entitled 'Parthenon 2004', the campaign aims to put pressure on the British government and the British Museum, where the Parthenon Marbles are currently on display, to return the ancient sculptures in time for the start of the Athens Olympics in 2004. The Belgian campaign mirrors a similar campaign started up in Britain with the same aim. http://www.ana.gr/

Do you think that the curator or curators at the Berlin museum will lose his or their job(s) over the damaging of the Greek friezes. It seems unlikely that the Austrian museum in question will be loaning anything to Berlin for quite some time.

Interestingly, Cheryl, I asked my archaeologist-friend about this appalling event. He assured me these things happen - hairline cracks not apparent on the face develop and carvings literally fall apart in their hands. If that were the case, why weren't they x-rayed for this possibility and stabilized on some sort of stable background? I guess I am just too much of an idealist. I suspect there was more than a little damage done to inter-museum loans!