Ausstellung "Daigo-ji – Der geheime Buddhismus in Japan" in Bonn

Wenn im Untertitel einer Ausstellung der Begriff "der Geheime Buddhismus" auftaucht, dann ist das in diesem Fall nicht der Versuch eines Ausstellungskurators, seine Schau im Stil der Boulevardpresse aufzupeppen. Vielmehr, so wird schon in den Vorankündigungen erklärt, sei "dies die direkte Übersetzung des in Ostasien gebräuchlichen Namens für den esoterischen Buddhismus", für einen "intimen" Buddhismus im Sinne von "Buddha nahe sein".[...]
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Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Archäologische Kunstschau am Kap Arkona eröffnet

Einen Bogen von der Archäologie zur Kunst schlägt eine seit Sonntag am Kap Arkona geöffnete neue Ausstellung. Unter dem Motto «Zeitensprünge - Kunst begegnet Archäologie» stellen im ehemaligen Peilturm 17 Künstler Arbeiten vor, in denen sie sich mit Landschaften und archäologischen Fundstücken auseinander setzen, wie die Kuratoren Elke Kock und Fred Ruchhöft mitteilten.[...]
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Grabkomplex in Daxing gefunden

Altertumsforscher des Instituts für Archäologie in Beijing haben vor kurzem im Vorortbezirk Daxing der Stadt Beijing einen Grabkomplex aus der Zeit der Ming- und Qing-Dynastie entdeckt. Mehr als 100 historische Relikte, wie Keramiken, Porzellan sowie Artikel aus Silber, Kupfer und Knochen wurden ausgegraben.[...]
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Der Maya-Schatz von München

Die bayerische Polizei hat in einer Lagerhalle in München vermisste Kunstwerke im Wert von mehr als 100 Millionen Dollar gefunden. Die präkolumbischen Masken und Skulpturen werden nun an einem geheimen Ort eingelagert - denn wem sie gehören, muss erst noch geklärt werden.
Die Polizisten fanden Masken, Skulpturen und Edelsteine: Das Bayerische Landeskriminalamt (LKA) hat einen wahrhaftigen Schatz beschlagnahmt, bestehend aus rund 1100 präkolumbischen Kunstwerken im Wert von mehr als 100 Millionen Dollar.[...]
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Offene Karten: Die bayerische Schatzkarte?

Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (BLfD) verteidigt bei Archäologentag den BayernViewer-denkmal. Archäologen und Ehrenamtliche sehen ihre Arbeit gefährdet.[...]
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Neandertals Ate Their Veggies, Tooth Study Shows

Tiny bits of plant material found in the teeth of a Neandertal skeleton unearthed in Iraq provide the first direct evidence that the human ancestors ate vegetation, researchers say.
Little is known about diet of Neandertals (also spelled Neanderthals), although it's widely assumed that they ate more than just meat.[...]
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LKA sichert millionenschweren Maya- und Aztekenschatz in München

Spektakuläre Entdeckung: Kunstfahnder haben in München einen Maya- und Azteken-Schatz sichergestellt. Dessen angeblicher Wert: mehr als 100 Millionen Dollar. Laut einem Zeitungsbericht handelt es sich um über tausend vermisste Exponate aus mehreren Staaten.[...]
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Terrakotta-Krieger aus Xian erstmals in Paris

Erstmals sind die Terrakotta-Krieger aus Xian in Paris zu sehen. Unter dem Titel "Die Soldaten der Ewigkeit" zeigt die Pariser Pinacothèque rund 120 archäologische Fundstücke, die aus der Zeit der Qin-Dynastie (221 v. Chr. bis 206 v. Chr.) stammen.
Unter den Exponaten befinden sich 20 Krieger der berühmten lebensgroßen chinesischen Tonarmee aus dem Grab des Ersten Kaisers Qin Shi Huangdi in Xian. Die ausgestellten Stücke, zum Großteil Gebrauchsgegenstände, stammen überwiegend aus dem Museum für Kunst und Geschichte der Provinz von Shaanxi. Die Ausstellung dauert bis zum 14. September.[...]
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Sonderschau „Die Schätze der Pharaonen“ in Wächtersbach

Nach der Erstausstellung im französischen Toulouse wird zum Jubiläum der 60. Messe Wächtersbach vom 26. April bis 4. Mai die Sonderschau „Die Schätze der Pharaonen“ erstmals in Deutschland gezeigt. Bereits in der Vergangenheit waren die historischen Sonderschauen „Tutenchamun“ und „Von Ramses II. bis Echnaton“ auf der Messe Wächtersbach ein Publikumsmagnet.[...]
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Römisches Stadttor entdeckt

Schon lange vermuteten Archäologen in der Kölner Innenstadt ein altes römisches Hafentor, durch das einst die gelöschte Ladung der Schiffe in die Stadt gelangte: Nun haben sie es gefunden.
Bei Bauarbeiten zu einem neuen U-Bahn-Tunnel am Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz entdeckten die Wissenschaftler um Hansgerd Hellenkemper vom Römisch-Germanischen Museum ein Stück Stadtmauer mit dem Tor sowie einen steinernen Entwässerungskanal. Die Archäologen glauben, dass sowohl Mauer als auch Tor aus der zweiten Hälfte des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. stammen.[...]
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Ancient blade found at road site

A flint blade thought to date back about 4,000 years has been found near a Bronze Age site which is being covered by a road.
The blade, which has a serrated edge, was found by workmen near the Rotherwas Ribbon - an ancient path of stones in Herefordshire.[...]
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Pyramids packed with fossil shells

Many of Egypt's most famous monuments, such as the Sphinx and Cheops pyramid at Giza, contain hundreds of thousands of marine fossils, according to a new study.
Most of the fossils are intact and preserved in the monument walls, giving clues to how the monuments were built.[...]
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Bronze Age axe 'factory' survey

Archaeologists are hoping to unearth evidence of what they believe to have been one of Bronze Age Britain's largest axe-making "factories".
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) said the axes, made from a distinctive type rock - known as picrite - had been found throughout the country.[...]
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Boy, 9, and grandfather find medieval silver treasure in Sweden

A 9-year-old boy's search for shrapnel on an old battlefield resulted in a huge find of medieval silver coins near the Lund in southern Sweden, local media reported Monday. Alexander Granhof, 9, and his grandfather made the recent discovery, dubbed "silverado" by archaeologists.
"We went out on the field looking for cannonballs," Alexander Granhof told the online edition of the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
"I found a piece of metal and thought at first it was shrapnel from a shotgun. I shouted to grandfather and then we discovered more and more coins," he added. In all, the pair found more than 4,600 coins on the field. Archaeologists, using metal detectors, boosted the tally to 7,000 but did not rule out that even more coins were hidden in the soil.[...]
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Japanese Royal Tomb Opened to Scholars for First Time

A rare visit by archaeologists to a fifth-century imperial tomb offers hope that other closely guarded graves in Japan might soon be open to independent study.
This month a group of 16 experts led by the Japanese Archaeological Association released results from their February visit inside Gosashi tomb.
The event marked the first time that scholars had been allowed inside a royal tomb outside of an official excavation led by Japan's Imperial Household Agency.[...]
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Syria hands over 700 looted artifacts to Iraqi authorities

Syria handed over a trove of some 700 looted artifacts to Iraq on Wednesday after seizing the items from traffickers since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The head of the Syrian Antiquities Department, Bassam Jamous, said some of the objects were from the Bronze Age and early Islamic era.
The treasures were returned during a ceremony at the Syrian National Museum attended by senior Syrian officials and the Iraqi state minister for tourism and antiquities affairs, Mohammad Abbas al-Oraibi.[...]
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Römer-Euphorie gipfelt in Museum

Bis Ende 2005 wurde in den Güglinger „Ochsenwiesen“ und „Steinäckern“ gegraben. „Damals“, erinnert sich Kreisarchäologin Dr. Andrea Neth, die Leiterin des Lauffener Außenstelle des Landesdenkmalamts, „haben wir jeden Tag einen Kombi voller Funde weggefahren“. Nur gut zwei Jahre nach Abschluss der umfangreichen, auch wissenschaftlich wertvollen Grabungen wurde am Wochenende das Güglinger Römermuseum im Alten Rathaus eröffnet. Ein Teil der Funde ist dort ausgestellt. Neth sprach von einem „tollen Museum“, das zudem „in rekordverdächtiger Zeit“ konzipiert und realisiert worden sei.[...]
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Das Geheimnis von Indiana Jones' Kristallschädel

Für Esoteriker sind sie kosmische Energiequellen, im neuesten "Indiana Jones"-Film rettet der Held damit sogar die Welt. In den Museen dieser Welt liegen rund ein Dutzend mysteriöse Kristallschädel - und die schimmernden Artefakte haben ein gemeinsames Geheimnis.[...]
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Münze sollte Fährmann bezahlen

Nicht die Zahl der bei Straßenbauarbeiten in Netzow gefundenen Skelette eines alten Friedhofs überrascht. Vielmehr sind es die vielen bestatteten Kinder und die Grabbeigaben.
"Wir haben hier in den letzten Tagen etwa 45 Grabstätten entdeckt, 20 Skelette geborgen und zu Untersuchungen ins Landeslabor geschickt", erzählt Jette Anders.[...]
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2,200-year-old gemstones found in Iran

Ancient priceless gemstones and jewels belonging to postdated Achaemenid era have been unearthed in Iran's southern province of Fars.
Archeologists succeeded in discovering over 20 pieces of 2,200-year-old bracelets, necklaces and earrings adorned with agate, ruby and opal in ancient graves behind Salman-e Farsi Dam in Iran's southern city of Yarj.[...]
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Ancient rock drawings discovered in northern China

A huge cluster of ancient rock drawings has been discovered in northern China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Through the help of local herdsmen, the over one thousand drawings from the Bronze Era were discovered about 55 kilometers west of Hailiutu county.
Most of the drawings are carved on black granite along the mountainsides. The drawings stretch about five kilometers into a valley near the Bayinhudu mountain.[...]
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"Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage"

Consciously or subconsciously, archaeological interpretation and the public presentation of archaeological monuments are used to support the prestige or power of modern nation-states.
For years, archaeologists have lobbied for national and international laws, treaties, and conventions to prohibit the international movement in antiquities. For many of these years, U.S. art museums that collect antiquities have opposed these attempts. The differences between archaeologists and U.S. art museums on this matter has spilled over into the public realm by way of reports in newspapers and magazines, public and university symposia, and specialist—even sensationalist —books on the topic.[...]
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Volcanic Eruption Of 1600 Caused Global Disruption

The 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru had a global impact on human society, according to a new study of contemporary records by geologists at UC Davis.
The eruption is known to have put a large amount of sulfur into the atmosphere, and tree ring studies show that 1601 was a cold year, but no one had looked at the agricultural and social impacts, said Ken Verosub, professor of geology at UC Davis.[...]
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The Archimedes Codex unpeeled by modern technological sleuthing

Deciphering latent script on ancient parchment makes curator Will Noel's job an Indiana Jones-style adventure.
This is about an ancient book called The Archimedes Codex, bought for $2.2 million in October, 1998, at an auction in New York City by an anonymous collector who sent it to the Walters Art Museum, here to be restored, conserved, and probed for its content. It was thought to contain mathematical theses conceived by the genius of Syracuse (287-212 BC), whose name it bears, ideas not found anywhere else in the world.[...]
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More Unique Findings Unearthed in Cybele Temple in Bulgaria's Balchik

A total of four antique statues were unearthed in the temple of the Phrygian Goddess Cybele in Bulgaria's coastal town of Balchik on Wednesday.
The team of the archaeologists Igor Lazarenko, Elina Mircheva and Radostina Encheva discovered two Cybele's statues and two other, believed to be statues of Aphrodite and Dionysus.
During the excavation works, there have been found also two relieves and a limestone slab with a lion embossment.[...]
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Scholars gather in Seattle to discuss ancient Egypt

The patient, a woman, was clearly in distress, with persistent sores and pain so fierce it cut like a knife.
Dr. W. Benson Harer Jr., of Seattle, recognized the symptoms as "a very good indication of genital herpes." And he would have helped, barring one inescapable fact: He was a few thousand years too late.
Harer, an OB/gyn by profession and an amateur Egyptologist by passion, learned about the case from a centuries-old medical text written on papyrus.[...]
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Mardan: Illegal digging at archaeological sites continues

Illegal excavation continues at various archaeological sites in Mardan and Buner districts, and the people involved in the business use dynamites and metal detectors to find coins and antiquities.
During a visit to different areas in the two districts, this correspondent found groups of people busy in digging at the sites.
In Mardan, the illegal excavation has almost ruined two Buddhist sites at Kashmir Smust (cave) and Sra Dhery near Rustam. The accused mostly use power generators and dynamites to blast the Kashmir Smust, some 7,000 feet above the sea level, for coins and antiquities.
The monastery and the settlement at the cave have been destroyed.[...]
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Small islanders show no signs of growth disorder

Defenders of a small humanlike species that lived on an Indonesian island more than 12,000 years ago have launched their latest scientific counterattacks against critics of their position. Remains of Homo floresiensis, also referred to as hobbits, display no signs of growth disorders proposed by researchers who regard the fossils as those of modern humans, says Dean Falk of Florida State University in Tallahassee.[...]
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Emperor Nero's gate discovered in Cologne

The gate, found complete with 11 meters of wall, was a goods-delivery entrance to the Roman town from its river port outside on the Rhine.
Cologne, Germany -- A town gate that was probably built with a grant from Roman Emperor Nero has been discovered in Cologne, Germany during work on a new underground train line, archaeologists said.
"This is finest Roman handiwork," said Hansgerd Hellenkemper, director of the Roman museum in the city.[...]
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Ancient Maya Tomb Yields "Amazing" Fabrics

Fabric fragments excavated from the tomb of an ancient Maya queen rival modern textiles in their complexity and quality, scientists say.
The tomb was discovered in the Maya city of Copán in Honduras by a team led by archaeologist Robert Sharer of the University of Pennsylvania.[...]
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Chinese porcelain likely originates in Zhejiang

The sites of more than 30 ancient porcelain kilns from the Shang, Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou dynasties (1600 B.C. to 256 B.C.) were found in Deqing, indicating the area as the birthplace and center of the country's ancient porcelain activities, archaeologists agreed in Deqing.[...]
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Holes in ancient skulls reflect skilled medical care

When Incan healers scraped or cut a hunk of bone out of a person’s head, they meant business. Practitioners of this technique, known as trepanation, demonstrated great skill more than 500 years ago in treating warriors’ head wounds and possibly other medical problems, rarely causing infections or killing their patients, two anthropologists find.[...]
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Megalithic period pottery found

Pottery items including bowls, dishes and urns, from the Megalithic period, have been excavated at Sembiyankandiyur near Kuthalam in Mayiladuthurai taluk of Nagapattinam district by the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department.
An important finding: eight urns aligned in a particular manner, three of them with human bones inside. These might be of members of one family, according to department officials. The pottery included black-and-red ware, black ware and red ware.[...]
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Romanische Reste in der Merseburger Domklausur entdeckt

Bauhistorische und naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen durch das Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt ergaben, dass die gewölbten Räume im Keller- und Erdgeschoss aus der Zeit um 1150 stammen müssen. Somit zählt der Merseburger Südflügel zu den ältesten Domstiftsgebäuden in Sachsen-Anhalt.[...]
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Mysterious church and palace from the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D. discovered by Polish archaeologists in Sudan

At the beginning of this year, archaeologists from Warsaw University, headed by Dr Bogdan Żurawski discovered the remains of an Early Christian church and an even older palace.
"During research in the area of Selib, a village located on the right bank of the Nile, between the 4th and 3rd cataract, the remains of a building erected on the plan of a huge rectangle were found. It soon turned out that this was one of the most unique churches found in the area of ancient Nubia, that is modern Sudan" - Dr Zuzanna Wygnańska, editor of "Archewieści Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej" (Archaeo-new from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology) informed. Thanks to geophysical research and aerial photographs made from a kite, it was possible to establish that a circular building eight metres in diameter made from red brick was adjacent to the main building.[...]
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Afghan oil paintings world's oldest

Artists in Afghanistan were painting using oils as far back as the 7th century, research shows, hundreds of years before oil paint was used in Europe.
The world's first oil paintings were in caves near two destroyed giant statues of Buddha at Bamiyan.
Samples from paintings, dating from the 7th century, were taken from caves behind two statues of Buddha that were blown up as un-Islamic by Afghanistan's hardline Taliban in 2001.
The paintings in 12 of the 50 caves were created using oil paints, possibly from walnut or poppy, according to scientists at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France.[...]
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Vikings acquitted in 100-year-old murder mystery

Tests of the bones of two Viking women found in a buried longboat have dispelled 100-year-old suspicions that one was a maid sacrificed to accompany her queen into the afterlife, experts said on Friday.
The bones indicated that a broken collarbone on the younger woman had been healing for several weeks -- meaning the break was not part of a ritual execution as suspected since the 22-metre (72 ft) long Oseberg ship was found in 1904.[...]
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Römisches Hafentor bei U-Bahnbauarbeiten entdeckt

Beim Bohren eines U-Bahn-Tunnels ist in der Kölner Innenstadt ein römisches Hafentor mit einem Stück Stadtmauer entdeckt worden. "Das ist beste römische Handwerksarbeit", sagte am Donnerstag Prof. Hansgerd Hellenkemper, der Direktor des Römisch-Germanischen Museums.
Tor und Mauer - insgesamt elf Meter lang - sollen für die Öffentlichkeit erhalten und zugänglich gemacht werden, was sich die Stadt drei Millionen Euro kosten lässt. Die U-Bahn wird drunterherfahren, die Autos drüber. "Ich bin sehr glücklich, dass wir es in der Tiefe lassen, da wo es gefunden wurde", sagte Hellenkemper.[...]
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Germanen unterwanderten britischen Genpool früh und ausdauernd

Das genetische Erbe der heutigen Engländer erklärt sich nicht durch mit Gewalt aufrechterhaltene Apartheitpolitik im Frühmittelalter, bei der eine kleine germanische Oberschicht von Invasoren die große Menge unterpriviligierter britischer Ureinwohner fortpflanzungstechnisch ausgestochen hat. Dies meint der Physiker John Pattison nach einer Neubewertung demografischer und historischer Belege aus dem Frühmittelalter.[...]
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Abarqu's 4000-Year-Old Cypress-Tree Gracefully Standing

A 4500-year-old cypress tree in Iran's southeastern province of Yazd is to be soon protected as one of the world's biggest living organisms.
Department of Environment of Yazd Province hopes to have this colossal tree protected from being damaged or destroyed.
The tree, gracefully standing in the city of Abarqu (ancient Abarkuh), located in the southwest of the Yazd Province is one of the region's seven historical and natural sites and is nominated to be added to the World Heritage list.[...]
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Exhibit Shows Ancient Links Between Persia and Korea

Cultural exchange between Korea and Persia goes back more than a thousand years. Some historians say through the Silk Road, Muslim traders put the name, Shilla, Korea's ancient dynasty, on the world map.
To open a window into this intriguing past, the National Museum of Korea is hosting an exhibit of Persian artifacts. "Glory of Persia" showcases the history of Persia over a span of twelve centuries when it was one of the world's biggest empires.[...]
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Germanic invaders may not have ruled by apartheid

When a strong Germanic signal was discovered in the Y-chromosome of British men, geneticists at University College London suggested that enslavement and apartheid imposed by Saxon invaders was responsible.
It was an idea that, given 20th-century European history, had a particular resonance.
The argument is, that from AD 430 to 730, the Germanic conquerors of Britain formed an elite, with a servant underclass of native Britons. Inter-marriage was restricted, and the invaders and their genes flourished.[...]
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Basha dam endangers ancient rock, archaeological carvings in N. Areas

A high level meeting was held on Wednesday between the elected representatives and officials of Northern Areas and the Federal Government to review rock/archaeological carving being impacted by the proposed Basha Dam.
Reportedly thousands of Rock Carvings have been discovered so far in the areas like Chilas, Hodar, Thaplan etc. during the last three decades by German scholars in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology, Government of Pakistan, said a press release issued here.
The survey is still under process to document these rock carvings spread in different areas of Northern part of Pakistan.[...]
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Experts say the ancient city of Troy needs museum

Troy, one of the nine world heritage sites in Turkey determined by UNESCO, is a significant culture and tourism spot in Çanakkale province. Troy urgently needs a museum to attract more tourists and to increase tourism potential of the city, experts say.[...]
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Tomb of Cleopatra and lover to be uncovered

Archaeologists have revealed plans to uncover the 2000 year-old tomb of ancient Egypt's most famous lovers, Cleopatra and the Roman general Mark Antony later this year.
Zahi Hawass, prominent archaeologist and director of Egypt's superior council for antiquities announced a proposal to test the theory that the couple were buried together.
He discussed the project in Cairo at a media conference about the ancient pharaohs.
Hawass said that the remains of the legendary Egyptian queen and her Roman lover, Mark Antony, were inside a temple called Tabusiris Magna, 30 kilometres from the port city of Alexandria in northern Egypt.[...]
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Alexander the Great's "Crown," Shield Discovered?

An ancient Greek tomb thought to have held the body of Alexander the Great's father is actually that of Alexander's half brother, researchers say.
This may mean that some of the artifacts found in the tomb—including a helmet, shield, and silver "crown"—originally belonged to Alexander the Great himself. Alexander's half brother is thought to have claimed these royal trappings after Alexander's death.[...]
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Buried Dogs Were Divine "Escorts" for Ancient Americans

Hundreds of prehistoric dogs found buried throughout the southwestern United States show that canines played a key role in the spiritual beliefs of ancient Americans, new research suggests.
Throughout the region, dogs have been found buried with jewelry, alongside adults and children, carefully stacked in groups, or in positions that relate to important structures, said Dody Fugate, an assistant curator at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[...]
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Experimentelle Archäologie: An die Riemen, Römer!

Eine römische Galeere im Praxistest. Geschichtsstudenten haben das antike Kriegsschiff nachgebaut und rudern im Dienste der Wissenschaft. Die Kraftübung verheißt neue Erkenntnisse über die Flotten der frühen Kaiserzeit.[...]
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Expertin warnt: Indiana Jones ermutigt Schatzräuber

"Die Darstellung des Schatzsuchers unterstützt den illegalen Antikenhandel." Im exklusiven NEMO-Interview räumt Archäologie-Expertin Margarete von Ess mit dem romantischen Bild vom abenteuerlichen Jäger verlorener Schätze wie Indiana Jones auf.
Mit Geschick und List an tödlichen Fallen vorbei gemogelt, um dann den Goldschatz zu bergen: So wird die Archäologie in den "Indiana Jones"-Filmen dargestellt. Margarete von Ess, Direktorin der Orientabteilung des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, rückt dieses romantische Bild ihres Berufsstandes zurecht: "Archäologen suchen nach Erkenntnissen, nicht nach Schätzen."[...]
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Archäologische Funde im Hafen

An der Generalversammlung des Vingelzleists referierte Albert Hafner, Leiter der Unterwasser Archäologie des Kantons Bern über die Funde, die während der Hafensanierung in Vingelz gemacht wurden.[...]
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Der Pharos von Alexandria

Er galt als die technische Sensation der Alten Welt: der Leuchtturm von Alexandria – der erste und beeindruckendste seiner Art. Fast 1700 Jahre lang soll der 160 Meter hohe Bau den Seeleuten den Weg gewiesen haben – bis ihn ein Erdbeben zu Fall brachte und er aus der Geschichte verschwand.
P.M. HISTORY spekuliert darüber, wie der Leuchtturm wirkte, welche technischen Tricks er bereithielt – und wir befragen Forscher, die in Ägypten heute unter Wasser nach den Resten des legendären Leuchtturms suchen.[...]
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There is more to be mourned than Iraq's ancient treasures

Nada Shabout's talk at Home Works laments the tragic loss of the occupied country's modern art patrimony as well
"My scholarly identity," declared art historian Nada Shabout, "is concerned with the destruction of Iraq and its modern art." A professor of Art History at the University of North Texas and a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shabout is in town for Home Works IV, Beirut's yearly forum of cultural practices. Her comments were delivered in a lecture earlier this week called "Usurping History: Iraqi Art, Monuments and Artists."[...]
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Ancient Great Wall sites found in N.W. China

Several ancient Great Wall sites from different periods were found in northwestern China's Gansu Province after a survey of the Great Wall within the province began in 2007, according to news from the Gansu Cultural Relics Bureau on April 21.
These Great Wall sites were separately built during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC), Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) and Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. – 1644 A.D.).[...]
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Russia to renovate 14th century fortress on Estonian border

Renovation work is due to begin this year at the Izborsk Fortress, one of northwest Russia's oldest and most impressive buildings, museum chief Natalya Dubrovskaya said on Tuesday.
The fortress, which was built in the 14th century, is spread over a 2.4 hectare area and surrounded by 850 meters (2,800 feet) of ramparts, which in some areas are up to three meters (10 feet) thick. Local archaeologists are currently preparing a nomination for the building to be included as a UNESCO world heritage site.[...]
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Synchrotron light unveils oil in ancient Buddhist paintings from Bamiyan

The world was in shock when in 2001 the Talibans destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan. Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D. The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery.[...]
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Fiji jewellery box find stuns archeologists

Archeologists have discovered a 3000-year-old pot in Fiji containing jewellery believed to have been made by the South Pacific’s original settlers – the Lapita people.
The discovery was made by an excavation party from the Fiji-based University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Museum at Bourewa in Natadola on the Coral Coast.
The dig at Bourewa, which is the earliest human settlement in Fiji, unearthed the pot and a thick piece of “exquisitely decorated pottery”.[...]
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Forscher finden älteste Ölgemälde der Welt - in Afghanistan

Ausgerechnet an den Resten der gesprengten Buddha-Statuen von Bamiyan ist Forschern eine sensationelle Entdeckung gelungen: In Höhlen fanden sie Spuren von Ölgemälden aus dem 7. Jahrhundert - 800 Jahre vor der vermeintlichen Erfindung der Maltechnik in Europa.
Sieben Jahre sind vergangen, seit die Taliban in Afghanistan die berühmten Buddhas von Bamiyan sprengten. Die Weltöffentlichkeit reagierte entsetzt auf den barbarischen Akt. Nicht nur die beiden Kolossalstatuen wurden damals zerstört, sondern auch wertvolle Gemälde aus dem 5. bis 9. Jahrhundert, die sich in den Höhlen hinter den Standbildern befanden.[...]
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Sagenhafte Marienkapelle bei Lenzen entdeckt

Archäologen suchten bei Lenzen Spuren der Elbslawen und fanden mittelalterliche Klosterreste
Was macht ein Archäologe im Winter, wenn er keine Ausgrabung im Gelände machen kann: Er studiert schriftliche Quellen, die ihm Hinweise auf Fundstellen geben. So hielt auch Norbert Goßler, der seit vier Jahren im Raum Lenzen für das Brandenburgische Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologische Landesmuseum Wünsdorf Untersuchungen zur ländlichen Besiedlung, zum Burgenbau und zu Besiedlungsstrukturen im linonischen Siedlungsgebiet der Westprignitz unternimmt.[...]
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Merseburger Dom: Südflügel ist älter als bisher gedacht

Der Südflügel des Merseburger Doms ist über 700 Jahre älter als bisher angenommen. Damit gehöre der Bau zu den ältesten Domstiftsgebäuden Sachsen-Anhalts, teilte das Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie gestern in Halle mit.[...]
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Biblische Archäologie auf Google Earth

Das Biblisch Archäologische Institut Wuppertal führt mehrere Forschungsprojekte im Nahen Osten durch. Wer sich auf dem virtuellen Globus "Google Earth" ansehen möchte, wo genau die Untersuchungen stattfinden, kann sich hier die notwendigen Koordinaten besorgen.
Auf der Homepage bai-wuppertal.de werden mehrere Projekte vorgestellt.[...]
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Discovery of 3000-Years old Board-Games and a Compass-Rose in Persian Gulf’s Kharg Island

An ancient four-pointed compass-rose showing directions of ‘four cardinal points’ and a number of board-games carved on rocks discovered in the Iranian island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf, reported Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
The discovery was made by Shahram Eslami, a local and a member of Kharg’s Friends of Cultural Heritage. The relics were studied and their ancient origins identified by Dr Reza Moradi Ghiasabadi.[...]
Source

Ancient Roman staircase found in Rome

An Ancient Roman staircase which appears to have led into a previously unknown major building has been found during excavations for a new subway station.
Archaeologists immediately dubbed the white-marble staircase, the latest in a trove of finds at the site, "the imperial steps".
Only a part of the staircase - five steps measuring some ten metres - has so far been uncovered.[...]
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Rising Sea Levels Threaten Egypt's Ancient Cities

In Egypt's ancient city of Alexandria, waves from the Mediterranean Sea send foam crashing over the sea wall and onto hundreds of concrete barriers built to protect the city from the rising waters.
The crumbling barriers of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor, however, are no match for a sea that scientists say will rise between one and three feet by the end of this century. They predict that rural towns and urban areas along Egypt's northern coast will be flooded, turning millions of people into environmental refugees and threatening some of the country's ancient landmarks.[...]
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Turkish site a Neolithic "supernova"

As a child, Klaus Schmidt used to grub around in caves in his native Germany in the hope of finding prehistoric paintings. Thirty years later, as a member of the German Archaeological Institute, he found something infinitely more important: a temple complex almost twice as old as anything comparable.
"This place is a supernova," said Mr. Schmidt, standing under a lone tree on a windswept hilltop 35 miles north of the Syrian border.[...]
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Terracotta army has egg on its face

China's terracotta army, a collection of 7000 soldier and horse figures in the mausoleum of the country's first emperor, was covered with beaten egg when it was made, scientists say.
According to German and Italian chemists who have analysed samples from several figurines, the egg was as a binder for colourful paints, which went over a layer of lacquer.[...]
Source

Artifact with Hellenistic influence discovered at Sassanid city

A team of archaeologists working at the ruins of a Sassanid city in southern Iran’s Fars Province has recently discovered an artifact bearing some traces of the Hellenistic artistic style. The artifact bears images of two faces looking in the opposite direction engraved on a flat piece of ivory, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.
It is only the second time such an artifact has been found at an ancient site in Iran. “The influence of Hellenistic art is clearly observed in the appearance of the eyes of the faces,” team director Alireza Jafari-Zand said.[...]
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Nationalgalerie zeigt Ergebnisse eines einmaligen Wüsten-Forschungsprojektes

Rund 25 Prozent der Erdoberfläche sind von Wüsten bedeckt und über 500 Millionen Menschen leben in diesen Regionen. Das interdisziplinäre Forschungsprojekt "ACACIA" der Universitäten Köln und Bonn, gefördert von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, widmet sich seit rund 12 Jahren der Frage, welchem ökologischen und kulturellen Wandel die Wüsten Afrikas und ihre Bewohner ausgesetzt sind. Die beeindruckenden Ergebnisse sind seit Mittwoch in der Wander-Ausstellung „Im Schatten der Akazie“ in der Nationalgalerie zu besichtigen.[...]
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Archäologen fischen nach Pfahlbauer-Spuren

Ein Bauantrag des Surfcenters Bise Noir war der Grund für die Entdeckung einer Pfahlbausiedlung vor der Pantschau in Murten.
Direkt vor dem Surfcenter Bise Noir in der Pantschau in Murten soll ein Strand entstehen. Auf Grund dieses Vorhabens führte das Amt für Archäologie des Kantons Freiburg Routineuntersuchungen unter Wasser durch. Anfang Woche begann die Tauchequipe der Archäologen mit ihren Arbeiten.[...]
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Archäologie-Schau im Museum: Unsere Vorfahren waren keine „Barbaren“

Archäologie trifft Volkskunde. Eine in jeder Hinsicht außergewöhnliche Ausstellung wurde am Freitagabend im Sonderausstellungsraum des Oberpfälzer Volkskundemuseums in Burglengenfeld eröffnet. Die Schau „Archäologie im Naabtal — von Premberg bis Kallmünz“ befasst sich unter dem Aspekt der Volkskunde mit der Frühzeit menschlicher Siedlungs- und Kulturtätigkeit in der Region.[...]
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Indiana Jones jagt eine Fälschung

Wie gemein! Einen Monat vor dem Start von "Indiana Jones und das Königreich des Kristallschädels" stellen die Franzosen Regisseur Steven Spielberg ein Bein. Mit dem Kristallschädel nämlich, um den sich das vierte Kino-Abenteuer des Schatzjägers dreht, hat Spielberg einen realen archäologischen Sensationsfund aus aztekischer Zeit in den Mittelpunkt seines Films gerückt. Und nun dies: Die Direktion des Pariser Louvre-Museums stempelt das geheimnisumwitterte Prachtstück als Fälschung ab. "Zweifel am Urteil des Louvre sind unangebracht", gibt Yves Le Fur zu.[...]
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Institut für baltische und skandinavische Archäologie geplant

Das Land Schleswig-Holstein plant ein Forschungsinstitut für baltische und skandinavische Archäologie. Das kündigte Staatssekretär Jost de Jager nach einer Mitteilung der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft vom Freitag auf Schloss Gottorf an. Basis des neuen Instituts soll die bestehende Forschung des Landesmuseums sein. De Jager betonte, langfristig solle das Forschungsinstitut für baltische und skandinavische Archäologie in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft verankert werden. Zur Leibniz-Gemeinschaft gehören 82 außeruniversitäre wissenschaftliche Forschungsinstitute. Sie werden von Bund und Ländern finanziert.[...]
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Strahlende Herrscher des Ostens

"Die Rückkehr der Eismumie": Das ZDF dokumentiert die Entdeckung eines skythischen Fürstengrabes
Dem Mann ging es nicht gut. Höllische Zahnschmerzen hatte er, Arthrose plagte ihn, die Stirnhöhlen chronisch entzündet, die Kieferhöhlen ebenso. Von seinem Oberarmknochen war beim Sturz vom Pferd ein wenig abgesplittert. Was er nicht ahnen konnte: Auch der Knochenkrebs fing schon an zu wuchern. 65 Jahre war er alt, und er saß, mit rotblondem Schopf, auf einem Pferd und ritt durch die Einöde. Wie er es immer tat, so lange er sich erinnern konnte, über Ebenen und Höhenzüge mit nichts als Grasland, Wüste oder Schnee, je nach Jahreszeit; kein Baum weit und breit, kein Haus, nicht mal eine Ruine; seine Heimat war jene Gegend, wo das Land so weit vom Meer entfernt ist wie nirgends sonst. In der Mitte der festen Welt.[...]
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Vom Leben und Arbeiten der Römer

Als 2001 die Reste der Villa Rustica bei Leutstetten freigelegt wurden, war das für Archäologen ein Schatzkästchen. Die Geschihte rund um das römische Gut gibt's jetzt als Buch.
"Ein Fenster in die Römerzeit" ist der mittlerweile zweite Band der neuen Buchreihe zur Starnberger Stadtgeschichte. Der Archäologe Stefan Mühlemeier - er leitete die Ausgrabungen - und der Paläobotaniker Michael Peters schildern als Hauptautoren die Besonderheiten der römischen Besiedelung in unserer Gegend, erörtern ausführlich den Verlauf der Grabung und dokumentieren, wie die Römer seinerzeit den Gutshof bewirtschaftet haben.[...]
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Mumie mit Pfeil, Bogen und Parodontose

"Die Rückkehr der Eismumie", Sonntag um 19.30 Uhr im ZDF / Reportage über Ausgrabungen in der Mongolei.
In der Reihe "Schliemanns Erben" zeichnet das ZDF am kommenden Sonntag, 19.30 Uhr, "Die Rückkehr der Eismumie" nach. Es ist der Weg einer wissenschaftlichen Sensation - von den Steppen der Mongolei über Ulan Bator in die Labore der Archäologen in Deutschland und Russland.[...]
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Pharaoh Seti I's Tomb Bigger Than Thought

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered that the tomb of the powerful pharaoh Seti I—the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings—is bigger than originally believed.
During a recent excavation, the team found that the crypt is actually 446 feet (136 meters) in length. Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who discovered the tomb in 1817, had noted the tomb at 328 feet (100 meters).[...]
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Egypt's Colossi of Memnon to be reunited with their twins

Towering like sentries above the necropolis of Ancient Thebes in southern Egypt, the world-famous Colossi of Memnon will see their number double from two to four from next year.
The painstaking work of 12 archaeologists and hundreds of workers is about to redefine the way visitors see and understand this mysterious site that has cast its spell over travellers for more than 2,000 years.[...]
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"Earthquake Archaeology" Blends Two Histories

Do tomorrow's archaeologists a big favor: Always carry some change in your pocket. That way if you happen to be buried alive by an earthquake, any future researchers who unearth your bones from the quake debris can easily approximate the year of the quake. That's one way that earthquakes in parts of the ancient Roman Empire have been dated.
But usually it's not so easy, say researchers who are pioneering the new field of archaeoseismology. Their aim is to clean up the seismological record by calling on geologists, engineers and seismologists to help archaeologists make better sense of ancient disasters.[...]
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Alpine guardians try to put treasures on ice

Prehistoric treasures unearthed in the Alps as melting glaciers recede are under threat from looters who are removing many of them. Such is the concern for the newly revealed objects - which include weapons, clothing and tools - that a task force of archaeologists, anthropologists, mountain climbers and Alpine rescue teams has been formed in an attempt to salvage them.
Franco Nicolis, an archaeologist from Trento, said: “We must be ready to intervene as if we were dealing with a public calamity.” He said that mountain climbers and hikers would be asked to report any finds to the task force rather than removing them.[...]
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Intrigen bei archäologischen Grabungen in Ephesos

Ein Intrigenspiel könnte die österreichischen Grabungen in der antiken Stadt Ephesos gefährden: Wie das "profil" schreibt, versuchen Neider, die Türkei dazu zu bringen, die neue Grabungsleiterin abzulehnen.
Ehe Sabine Ladstätter im Dezember 2007 zur neuen Grabungsleiterin in Ephesos - ein Flaggschiff österreichischer Archäologie - bestellt werden konnte, hatte es ein langwieriges Auswahlverfahren mit allen möglichen Einflüsterungsversuchen deutlich über der Grenze zum Intrigenspiel gegeben. Von neidischen Kollegen war damals in informierten Kreisen die Rede gewesen.[...]
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Archäologiemuseum in Athen wird unterirdisch erweitert

99 Jahre nach seiner Eröffnung soll das traditionsreiche Archäologische Museum der griechischen Hauptstadt Athen unterirdisch ausgebaut werden. Geplant sind zwei Etagen mit einer Fläche von 24.000 Quadratmetern, berichteten griechische Medien heute.
Das Kulturministerium habe nach langen Gesprächen grünes Licht für die bisher größte Erweiterung des neoklassizistischen Gebäudes im Stadtzentrum gegeben. In den neuen Ausstellungsräumen sollen Objekte aus prähistorischer Zeit ausgestellt werden, für die bis jetzt nur zwei kleine Räume zur Verfügung stehen. Zudem sei eine Tiefgarage geplant.[...]
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Smog nagt am Parthenon

Noch zieren Teile des marmornen Frieses den berühmten Parthenon auf der Akropolis, aber schon bald sollen sie abgebaut und in das neu errichtete Museum am Fuße der Akropolis gebracht werden.
Die ohnehin nur noch 17 verbliebenen von einst 92 Platten der marmornen Dekoration - sie zeigen mythische Kampfszenen - befinden sich infolge sauren Regens und starker Luftverschmutzung über der griechischen Hauptstadt schon jetzt in einem sehr schlechten Zustand.[...]
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Greek temple discovered in Alexandria

A team of archaeologists have unearthed a Greek temple in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, showing that the Greeks worshipped Pharaonic deities more than 2,500 years ago.
An official of the expedition said that the temple was found during the renovation of an area of Alexandria with the relics of the temple unearthed evidence that Greeks were influenced by the ancient Egyptian civilization.
He added that the Greeks believed in the holy trinity of Isis, Osiris and the child Horus, developing these gods after Alexander the great conquered the city in 332 BC.[...]
Source

Bones, isles and videotape

Old human remains found on the Pacific islands of Palau are caught in the crossfire between entertainment and science.
Circled by a protective coral reef, the 300-island archipelago of Palau is one of the Pacific Ocean's most biodiverse ecosystems. The first intrepid voyagers who arrived here, more than 3,000 years ago, would have found lush plants and waters teeming with fish and crustaceans. By 2,500 years ago the Palauans were even practising sophisticated agriculture, creating terraces on the archipelago's largest island on which to grow crops.[...]
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Exploring Mesolithic times of moorland life

The second phase of a project to find out more about what life was like on the North York Moors thousands of years ago is about to get under way.
The North East Yorkshire Mesolithic project will investigate areas on the Moors, along the coast and in the Tees Valley which were previously inhabited by Mesolithic – middle stone age – people to get a more detailed picture of how people lived during the period from 10,000 to 4,000BC.[...]
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Unearthing clues of catastrophic earthquakes

The destruction and disappearance of ancient cultures mark the history of human civilization, making for fascinating stories and cautionary tales. The longevity of today’s societies may depend upon separating fact from fiction, and archeologists and seismologists are figuring out how to join forces to do just that with respect to ancient earthquakes, as detailed in new studies presented at the international conference of the Seismological Society of America.
"It's an idea whose time has come, " said Robert Kovach, professor of geophysics at Stanford University and a leading proponent that seismology needs to be included in any framework for understanding what happened to past civilizations. Very large earthquakes may have recurrence rates that exceed 500 years, making it very difficult to assign potential hazard estimates.[...]
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Analysis of Rare Textiles from Honduras Ruins Suggests Mayans Produced Fine Fabrics

Very few textiles from the Mayan culture have survived, so the treasure trove of fabrics excavated from a tomb at the Copán ruins in Honduras since the 1990s has generated considerable excitement.
Textiles conservator Margaret Ordoñez, a professor at the University of Rhode Island, spent a month at the site in 2004 examining 100 textile samples found in a tomb, and since then she has been analyzing tiny fragments of 49 samples she brought back to her lab to see what she could learn from them.
The tomb, one of three excavated by archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, was of a woman of high status who was buried during the 5th century.[...]
Source

Das 4000-Jahre-Haus

Es ist einer dieser Funde, der gelassenen Archäologen zitterige Hände beschert. Bei Deichbauarbeiten in Bleckede wurde ein etwa 4000 Jahre altes Langhaus entdeckt. Vermutlich stammt es aus der Bronzezeit und ist in dieser Form einmalig in der Region.
"Wir hatten die Vermutung, aber sicher waren wir uns nicht", sagt Jan Joost Assendorp. Er ist Bezirksarchäologe und wahnsinnig stolz auf ein Haus. Auf ein 4000 Jahre altes Haus. Nach einer Probegrabung im November am äußersten Zipfel von Alt Wendischthun, einem Ortsteil im kleinen Bleckede, fanden er und seine Helfer lediglich Indizien auf eine Besiedelung zur Zeit des Mittelalters.[...]
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Limesinformationszentrum Baden-Württemberg eröffnet

Regierungspräsident Johannes Schmalzl hat am 11.4.2008 zusammen mit dem Oberbürgermeister der Stadt Aalen, Martin Gerlach, und dem Präsidenten des Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, Prof. Dr. Dieter Planck, das Limesinformationszentrum Baden-Württemberg in Aalen (Ostalbkreis) eröffnet.[...]
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Ancient idols found, devotees throng Gujarat temple

The Palaviya Jain temple in the walled city here is witnessing an unusual rush of devotees - and art lovers - to catch a glimpse of 35 ancient idols recovered last week during the temple's reconstruction.
The idols, said to have been crafted during the 14th century, are of the Jain deities Parshavnath, Adinath, Devendranath and other Tirthankars.[...]
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Legend of the Crystal Skulls

Along with superstars like Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, and Shia LaBeouf, the newest Indiana Jones movie promises to showcase one of the most enigmatic classes of artifacts known to archaeologists, crystal skulls that first surfaced in the 19th century and that specialists attributed to various "ancient Mesoamerican" cultures. In this article, Smithsonian anthropologist Jane MacLaren Walsh shares her own adventures analyzing the artifacts that inspired Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in theaters May 22), and details her efforts tracking down a mysterious "obtainer of rare antiquities" who may have held the key to the origin of these exotic objects.[...]
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Neanderthals speak out after 30,000 years

Talk about a long silence – no one has heard their voices for 30,000 years. Now the long-extinct Neanderthals are speaking up – or at least a computer synthesiser is doing so on their behalf.
Robert McCarthy, an anthropologist at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton has used new reconstructions of Neanderthal vocal tracts to simulate the voice. He says the ancient human's speech lacked the "quantal vowel" sounds that underlie modern speech.[...]
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Abgehoben - 6000 Jahre Pfahlbauten in Europa und Südostasien

Das Wohnen auf Pfählen und die dazugehörige Lebensweise hat seit Jahrtausenden eine eigene Dynamik. Die Auseinandersetzung des Menschen mit gebautem Raum samt seiner Funktion und Gestaltung hat Architektur hervorgebracht, die eine bestimmte Lebensrealität widerspiegelt.
Seit nunmehr 150 Jahren erforschen Völkerkundler und Archäologen gleichermaßen die „Pfahlbauten“, von denen wertvolle und in Europa einzigartige Funde bei Ausgrabungen ans Tageslicht gelangten.[...]
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Federseemuseum Bad Buchau

Ancient remains found

A reminder that the Ritidian area once was a village before Magellan's 1521 landing on Guamhas surfaced with the discovery of five sets of ancient human remains starting about a week ago.
The remains were discovered when a contractor dug up part of the parking lot at the Guam National Wildlife Refuge headquarters to replace a septic tank and leaching field, said Chris Bandy, refuge manager. One set of human remains was found last week and four more sets were found in the succeeding days.[...]
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Unravelling the mysteries of Stonehenge

Theories about the date and purpose of Stonehenge are to be tested through the first excavations to be permitted inside the stone circle since 1964. Scheduled Monument Consent has been granted for a two-week excavation by Tim Darvill of Bournemouth University, and Geoff Wainwright, President of the Society of Antiquaries, which was completed on 11 April 2008.
The aim of the excavation is to find out precisely when the Double Bluestone Circle, the first stone structure on the site, was built; how long it was in use, and when it was dismantled and reused in later stages of the evolution of Stonehenge. Current estimates put the erection date at around 2,550 BC, but dateable materials from earlier excavations were poorly recorded and cannot be attributed to specific features and deposits with any certainty.[...]
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Seti I artifacts unearthed in the Valley of the Kings

A fascinating view presents itself in front of a visitor's eyes. A combination of white stones and sand implements respect to anyone who is curious about the Valley of the Kings. Walking dilatory on the stone steps flanked by dunes of what appear to be made of sand, but in reality hard stone is hiding beneath. The wind blows silently bringing a never felt before after-glow, the Sun sends its brightness on the éclat site where rulers of a great civilization found their resting place.[...]
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Last Parthenon marbles threatened by pollution

A senior Greek archaeologist warned this week that the last original sculptures still adorning the Parthenon, Athens' iconic ancient temple, face a major pollution threat and must be removed to a museum.
"There are still 17 original metopes (sculpted plaques) which must be protected because they can no longer endure atmospheric conditions," Acropolis site supervisor Alexandros Mantis told AFP on Friday.[...]
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Achaemenid era dam excavated near Pasargadae

An Iranian-French archaeological team has excavated an Achaemenid era dam located in Fars Province, 30 kilometers northeast of Pasargadae. It was the first time the dam had been excavated, Hamidreza Karami, an archaeologist based at Pasargadae, told the Tehran Times in an interview at the site on April 1.
There are two ancient dams in the Hana Pass (Tang-e Hana) which were built approximately 2500 years ago in the beginning of the Achaemenid era. The Iranian-French archaeological team excavated Dam 1 in February and March 2008 but did not excavate Dam 2.[...]
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Who stole Iraq's priceless treasures?

Five years ago, as the tanks rolled in, history's most priceless treasures vanished from Iraq. What really happened still confounds world experts. Now, for the first time, Britain's leading authority on Iraq archeology and a witness to the devastation, delivers his verdict.
Five years ago, the world stood by while the Iraq Museum in Baghdad was sacked and looted. And it still beggars belief. It was abundantly clear before the invasion that the cost of removing Saddam was going to be very high, but few people could have predicted how high the price would be in terms of deaths and the country’s cultural heritage.[...]
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Archäologen lüften das Geheimnis von Stonehenge

Das Bauwerk gibt der Menschheit seit Jahrtausenden Rätsel auf: Wie und warum errichteten die Menschen vor etwa 5000 Jahren die kreisförmige Anlage im südenglischen Stonehenge? Und wie schafften sie es, die riesigen tonnenschweren Steine dorthin zu schaffen?
Seit Anfang April graben nun wieder Archäologen in Stonehenge – zum ersten Mal seit 44 Jahren – und versuchen, dem Geheimnis auf die Spur zu kommen. Jetzt verkündeten die Forscher die Lösung: Stonehenge habe als Heilstätte gedient, berichtete der britische Rundfunksender BBC, der die Ausgrabungen für eine im Herbst geplante Sendung finanziert.[...]
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Earliest Mixtec Cremations Found; Show Elite Ate Dog

An ancient burial site in Mexico contains evidence that Mixtec Indians conducted funerary rituals involving cremation as far back as 3,000 years ago.
The find represents the earliest known hints that Mixtecs used this burial practice, which was later reserved for Mixtec kings and Aztec emperors, according to researchers who excavated the site.
Evidence from the site also suggests that a class of elite leaders emerged among the Mixtecs as early as 1100 B.C.[...]
Source

Pytheas visited the Isle of Man in 300BC - claim

AN Ancient Greek explorer's extraordinary voyage took him to the Isle of Man 300 years before the birth of Christ, new research claims.
Scientist and geographer Pytheas (pronounced Puth-e-as) is now believed to have visited the Island in about 325BC to take sun measurements during a three-year voyage – the first recorded circumnavigation of the British Isles.
Pytheas was born in the Greek settlement of Massalia, now Marseille, about 360BC and was a contemporary of Alexander the Great (356-323BC). Marseille at that time was a thriving trading port in the west Mediterranean with strong commercial contacts with Rome.[...]
Source

A unique anchor discovered

Professional diver Tevfik Camgöz discovers an ancient stone anchor bearing hieroglyphic inscriptions off the shores of Kyrenia, a major port city in northern Cyprus. The anchor was sent to the British Museum, where it was discovered to be 3,000 years old. Camgöz notes that his research is on going and does not give information about the coordinates of the spot.[...]
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Peru says Yale has over 40,000 Machu Picchu relics

Peru says Yale University researchers took more than 40,000 artifacts from the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu in the early 1900s, or 10 times the original estimate, the state news agency reported on Sunday.
A team from Peru's National Institute of Culture traveled to the U.S. university in March to take an inventory of the pieces of pottery, jewelry and bones housed there, as part of an agreement to repatriate the relics.
Hernan Garrido Lecca, who is leading Peru's drive to reclaim the objects, released the inventory results to state news agency Andina.[...]
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Trading across medieval Europe revealed in cod bones

The catastrophic decline of North Sea cod as the result of over fishing has had an impact on all our menus, from the poshest restaurants to the corner chippie: the fish left are few and small, compared with those of less than a century ago. Cod more than a metre in length are rare these days, whereas archaeological remains show that fish several times that size were common.
A new study shows that cod were exploited in the Middle Ages from many, often distant, fishing grounds, with an international trade in dried stockfish. Some fish eaten in a Yorkshire village may have been some from off the coast of Sweden, while merchants in what is now northern Germany ate cod from Arctic Norway.[...]
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Egypt finds coins dating to Roman Emperor Valens

Archaeologists have discovered two gold coins in the Sinai peninsula dating to the era of Eastern Roman Emperor Valens that are the first of their kind to be found in Egypt, its antiquities council said on Sunday.
Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities said excavations at a site west of St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai unearthed two coins containing images of Valens, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 364 to 378 AD.[...]
Source

Archäologen werden im Garten fündig

Hinter den hohen historischen Mauern der Roemer’schen Gärten, direkt gegenüber des alten Amtsgerichts, graben Archäologen.
Sie haben drei bis zu 1,20 Meter tiefe Gräben in den Boden ziehen lassen. Einer der „Geländeschnitte“ reicht bis an die Fundamente der Kirchhainer Stadtmauer heran.
Das Landesamt für Denkmalpflege hatte der Stadt Kirchhain diese „baubegleitenden Untersuchungen“ zur Auflage gemacht. Spätestens im September sollen dort, wo aktuell die Archäologen arbeiten, Bagger mit den Vorarbeiten für den geplanten Einkaufsmarkt beginnen.[...]
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New stone at Skara Brae commemorates man in space

One of Scotland's most celebrated Neolithic sites is to commemorate a defining moment in the 20th century space race by erecting a new carved stone along its carved stone walk way. The pathway to the Skara Brae prehistoric village, in Orkney, is lined with 13 carved stones that form a time trail of major events in human history. Historic Scotland created it as a way of emphasising the immensity of the changes that have taken place since the settlement was inhabited 5,000 years ago. The 14th stone, about 20cm by 30cm, to line the pathway will mark the anniversary of the moment, on April 12 1961, when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth - in his spaceship Vostok 1.[...]
Source

Spain Arrests 20 for Treasure Plunder

Twenty people accused in the plunder and sale of thousands of archaeological items have been arrested and their suspected booty — including Roman and Stone Age pieces — seized, police said Friday.
The suspects and used metal detectors at archaeological sites throughout Spain, often selling their finds on the Internet, police said in a statement.[...]
Source

2,500 years ago, a city bigger than Athens in Orissa

From under the ruins of an ancient fort on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, archaeologists have dug out the remains of a 2,500-year-old city which they believe was bigger than classical Athens.
Eighteen pillars were found among the remnants of the grand city at Sishupalgarh, a ruined fortification first discovered 60 years ago. The findings include debris of household pottery and terracotta ornaments, pointing to an advanced lifestyle led by the people who lived there. The polished potteries even have ownership marks on them.
Dr Monica L. Smith, head archaeologist from the University of California, who was part of the 12-member team that conducted the excavation, said the site is the “most visible standing architectural monument” discovered in India so far. “It’s a huge city that existed about 2,500 years ago.”[...]
Source

Achaemenid inscription names uncle of Darius in Old Persian for first time

The name of Farnaka, who was the uncle of Darius I, has been identified in a newly discovered Old Persian Achaemenid inscription for the first time.
Written in cuneiform, the stone inscription bears the names of Darius the Great and his uncle, Farnaka, the Persian service of CHN reported on Friday.
His name had previously only been found in historical texts written in other languages. Greek texts refer to him as Pharnaces and Elamite texts call him Parnaka.[...]
Source: Tehran Times & The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

Rare statue of Roman emperor found

Italian police have recovered a rare statue of a Roman emperor who co-ruled alongside Marcus Aurelius and was known for his reluctance to sit for portraits.
Police said Friday that the marble head of Lucius Verus was the most spectacular find among more than a dozen looted ancient artifacts hidden in a boat garage near Rome.
The bearded visage of Lucius Verus is believed to have been secretly unearthed at a site in the Naples area and was probably destined for the international market, said Capt. Massimo Rossi of a special police unit that hunts down archaeological thieves.[...]
Source

Römische Backöfen in Tirol ausgegraben

Zwei große Backöfen aus der römischen Kaiserzeit haben Archäologen bei der St. Georgs-Kirche in Telfs im Tiroler Bezirk Innsbruck-Land gefunden. Sie dürften zu einem antiken Gutshof gehört haben, dessen gefundene Mauerreste als "Villa rustica" interpretiert worden waren.
Die beiden Öfen zum Backen von Brot sind 2,5 bzw. drei Meter lang. Sie waren im unteren Teil aus Steinen aufgebaut und von einer mit Holz verstärkten Lehmkonstruktion überdacht. Anton Höck vom Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum datierte den für Tirol seltenen Fund ins 4. Jahrhundert nach Christus. Bei der zeitlichen Einordnung halfen unter anderem Keramikscherben.[...]
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On 5th Anniversary of Iraq Museum's Looting, New Attention to Antiquities Trafficking

Iraq's National Museum, home to artifacts of the world's oldest civilization, was looted five years ago tomorrow. A collection of academics, lawyers, law enforcement officials, and former military personnel commemorated the anniversary with the release of a new book, Antiquities under Siege: Cultural Heritage Protection after the Iraq War, and an event for interested parties at the National Press Club.[...]
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"Hautzeichen im Gespräch" im Archäologiemuseum Bozen

Eine "dialogische Führung" durch die laufende "Hautzeichen" Sonderausstellung bietet das Archäologiemuseum Bozen am kommenden Donnerstag, 17. April, um 20.00 Uhr. Den Interessierten wird dabei die Sonderausstellung vorgestellt, im Gespräch werden einzelne Themen vertieft.[...]
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Italian police recover rare statue of 'shy' Roman emperor among stash of looted antiquities

Italian police have recovered a rare statue of a Roman emperor, known for his reluctance to sit for portraits, among more than a dozen looted ancient artifacts hidden in a boat garage, officials said Friday.
Red-figured ceramic vases stolen from an Etruscan tomb in central Italy were also among the stash recovered last month in the port town of Fiumicino, near Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, and traced to an antiquities dealer in the capital, police said.[...]
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Ancient burial cave found in Maitum, Sarangani

Quarry diggers accidentally discovered an ancient burial cave on Wednesday in Maitum town in Sarangani province, and officials have sealed the site to prevent looting of artifacts, many of them jars of clay.
While the latest discovery in the village of Pinol was near another ancient burial site discovered in 1991, it was not immediately known whether there were other treasures in the cave. Found in the Ayub cave earlier were burial jars, shaped in different human forms.[...]
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Ancient monument found at church

A Church wall which fell down in storms has revealed a 1,000-year-old Norman monument.
St Mary's Parish Church wall crumbled after being weakened in floods earlier this year, revealing the 11th century motte (mound) and bailey (moat) which have been out of sight for hundreds of years.
The moat is now a pond containing newts, which church committee members believe may be protected. Committee member Stephen Butler said: "The wall fell into the pond, so to rebuild it we would have to go into the pond which would disturb the clay bottom and the newts.[...]
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Skull returns to final rest place

A rare 2,000-year-old Roman skull has been returned to the cave beneath the Yorkshire Dales where it was discovered by divers in 1996.
Archaeologists were called in after cave divers unearthed human bones in what is believed to be one of the most important cave discoveries ever made.[...]
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Egypt announces new archaeological discovery in Luxor's Valley of Kings

Egypt announced Thursday 10.04.2008 the discovery of a quartzite Ushabti figure and the cartouche of King Seti I, second king of the 19th Dynasty (1314-1304 BC).They were found inside the corridor of the tomb of Seti I (KV 17) in the Valley of the Kings on Luxor's west bank.
The discovery was made by the first ever Egyptian mission working in the Valley of the Kings, after being monopolized for the past two centuries by foreigners, said Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).[...]
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Bejeweled Anglo-Saxon Burial Suggests Cult

In seventh century England, a woman's jewelry-draped body was laid out on a specially constructed bed and buried in a grave that formed the center of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, according to British archaeologists who recently excavated the site in Yorkshire.
Her jewelry, which included a large shield-shaped pendant, the layout and location of the cemetery as well as excavated weaponry, such as knives and a fine langseax (a single-edged Anglo-Saxon sword), lead the scientists to believe she might have been a member of royalty who led a pagan cult at a time when Christianity was just starting to take root in the region.[...]
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Zerbrechliche Kunstwerke

Eine Doppelausstellung in Frankfurt und Bad Homburg zur russischen Tafelkultur zeigt neben ästhetischen Gesichtspunkten die politische, kulturelle und wirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Porzellan für Russland vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert auf.
Das Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt und das Schloss Bad Homburg präsentieren in einer gemeinsamen Ausstellung unter dem Titel FRAGILE – Die Tafel der Zaren und das Porzellan der Revolutionäre vom 12. April bis 31. August 2008 zeitgleich mehr als 700 Einzelexponate aus der Porzellansammlung des Staatlichen Keramikmuseums Schloss Kuskowo in Moskau. Bad Homburg zeigt Stücke aus der Zarenzeit des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, während in Frankfurt Porzellan der russischen Moderne ausgestellt wird.[...]
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fragile-ausstellung.de

2,000-year-old artifacts, cave found in Mindanao

An ancient burial cave was discovered in the Philippine island of Mindanao, south of Manila, and officials have sealed the site to prevent looting of artifacts, many of them jars made from clay.
It was not immediately known whether there are other treasures in the cave which was accidentally discovered by quarry diggers on Wednesday in Maitum town in Sarangani province.
The latest discovery in the village of Pinol was near another ancient burial site discovered in 1991 where burial jars, shaped in different human forms, had been recovered inside Ayub cave.[...]
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"Lyuba" gives scientists glimpse of mammoth insides

Russian scientists say they have obtained the most detailed pictures so far of the insides of a prehistoric animal, with the help of a baby mammoth called Lyuba found immaculately preserved in the Russian Arctic.
The mammoth is named after the wife of the hunter who found her last year. The body was shipped back to Russia in February from Japan, where it was studied using computer tomography in a process similar to one doctors use to scan patients.[...]
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Roman soldier's gift found

He was many miles from home - a Roman soldier posted to Manchester, perhaps feeling cold and lonely, longing for loved ones left behind.
He was called Aelius Victor. And now after 2,000 years an altar he built to keep a promise to the goddesses he prayed to has been unearthed in the middle of the city.
The altar - described by experts as being in 'fantastic' condition - was discovered during an archaeological dig at a site on Greater Jackson Street earmarked for development.[...]
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Uncertain future for ancient spa

Allianoi, an ancient site that was discovered just 10 years ago, will be submerged under the waters of Yortanli irrigation dam, which is much needed for the local farmers.
When construction of the dam began in 1998, the archaeologists, as a routine procedure, were asked to make a survey of the land.[...]
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Archaeologist Helps Community By Keeping African Artifacts In Africa

It is common for professional archaeologists and paleoanthropologists working in Africa to populate western museums with foreign artifacts by excavating and permanently removing them from history rich communities in Africa. University of Calgary researcher Julio Mercader, along with University of Boston PhD student Arianna Fogelman are doing their part to stop this dated trend.[...]
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Archaeologists warn ancient Greek theatres crumbling

open-air theatres across Greece are crumbling due to neglect and need swift government intervention to rescue them, archaeologists said on Thursday.
Greece, where Classical drama was born in the 5th century BC, boasts scores of theatres that form a key part of the country's classical cultural heritage. But while about 30 are in a state to host cultural events, 76 are in need of urgent repair, they said.[...]
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Plague victims discovered after 1500 years

The remains of hundreds of victims, believed to have been killed in a plague that swept Italy 1500 years ago, have been found south of Rome.
The bodies of men, women and children were found in Castro dei Volsci, in the region of Lazio, during excavations carried out by Lazio archaeological office.
News of the extraordinary discovery was reported in the magazine, "Archeologia Viva".[...]
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Lichen Funguses are Eating Away Cyrus the Great Mausoleum

What experts have warned and feared for the past few years about the humidity level at the world heritage site of Pasargadae after the inundation of Sivand dam, has now become a bitter reality as the humidity has risen to a dangerous level, and lichen funguses are growing over the body of the Cyrus the Great's Mausoleum.
Humidity which was previously unknown to the area is now easily felt. Members of the public and a number of associate members of various Friends of Cultural Heritage Societies who have visited Pasargadae and the Mausoleum during the Norouz holiday, said that the high humidity is apparent, and damp can be smelt for miles.[...]
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Czech Egyptology – from humble beginnings to international renown

Czech Egyptologists have an impressive international reputation, so much so that a new exhibition opened in Cairo this week charting the work Czechs have been doing in the field over the past five decades. The opening, which has received plenty of coverage here in the Czech press, was even attended by President Václav Klaus. Away from the pyramids and back in Prague, I paid a visit to the Czech Institute of Egyptology to meet research fellow Hana Navrátilová.[...]
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Die Venus von Willendorf - eine Tschechin?

Pünktlich zum 100. Jubiläum der Entdeckung der Venus von Willendorf haben Wissenschaftler herausgefunden, dass der Kalkstein aus dem die berühmte Figur gefertigt wurde, aus Mähren stammt.
Weil die Geoarchäologen Alexander Binsteiner und seinen Kollegen dem kostbaren Stück keine Proben entnehmen konnten, war das Mikroskop ihr einziges Werkzeug.[...]
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Vage Hoffnung auf Grabungs-Frieden in Nahost

Palästinensische und israelische Wissenschaftler nähern sich möglicherweise einem Kompromiss, mit dem Streitereien über archäologische Fundstücke in der Region beigelegt werden könnten. Geht es nach einem außerhalb der Öffentlichkeit in kleinem Kreis von Archäologen entwickelten Plan, so könnten der umstrittene Zugang zu Grabungen in den Palästinensergebieten und in Jerusalem sowie die Besitzverhältnisse von dort ans Licht gebrachten Artefakten in Zukunft vielleicht zufrieden stellend geregelt werden. Voraussetzung bleibe allerdings ein dauerhafter Frieden im Nahen Osten, bemerken Skeptiker.[...]
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Wissenschaftler entdecken Fossilien-Schatz in Bernstein

Schatzsuche per Röntgenstrahler: Bisher waren viele Bernsteine für die Wissenschaft undurchsichtig und wertlos. Mit einem neuen Verfahren können Forscher sie nun durchleuchten - dabei stoßen sie auf faszinierende Lebewesen, eingeschlossen vor Millionen von Jahren.[...]
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Iraq's Ruined Library Soldiers On

The brutalities of the Iraq war accumulate so fast it is difficult to keep track. But in this season of fifth-year anniversaries, one largely forgotten crime demands to be recalled, in part because it relates directly to the politics of memory itself. Five years ago this week, US troops stood by as looters sacked the Iraq National Library and Archives (INLA)--one of the oldest and most used in the world. In Arab countries the old expression was "Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads."[...]
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Plunder of Median Site in Qom Continues

The plunder of the Median dynastic era site of Zarbolagh is continuing unabatedly. The ancient Iranian site is frequently excavated by smugglers searching for artefacts, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday.
The ancient monument has been left defenceless and many holes have been dug by smugglers around the monument, according to members of cultural heritage societies who visited the site during the Norouz holidays in late March.[...]
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Der Stein für die Venus kam wohl aus Mähren

Neues über die vor 100 Jahren in Willendorf gefundene Statuette. Zum Jubiläum hat ihr Walpurga Antl-Weiser, Prähistorikerin und „Venus-Hüterin“ am Wiener Naturhistorischen Museum, ein Buch gewidmet.[...]
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Kalkofen aus der Bronzezeit entdeckt

Bei Ausgrabungen haben Archäologen in Gransee (Landkreis Oberhavel) einen aus der Bronzezeit stammenden Kalkbrennofen entdeckt. Die Berliner Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baugrund Archäologie (ABA) schätzt sein Alter nach Angaben vom Dienstag auf etwa 2800 Jahre. In der Nähe war bereits ein Urnengräberfeld aus der Bronzezeit gefunden worden. Die Grabungen haben nicht nur über die Bronzezeit neue Erkenntnisse gebracht, sondern auch die Geschichte Gransees vor dem großen Stadtbrand 1711 erhellt. Spektakuläre Funde gab es dabei aber bisher nicht.[...]
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Desecrating history

Iraq's cultural treasures have been ransacked since 2003. This is no mere side issue: it undermines a key part of the country's collective identity
In the first few days after the end of the "shock and awe" campaign, from April 10-12 2003, Iraq's main museums, libraries and archives were looted and extensively damaged by fire. A Bradley tank and a number of US troops were in the area. At one point a curator from the Iraq Museum staff walked over and asked for assistance but was told by the tank commander (who to give him credit, actually radioed his superiors to request permission) that no orders had been given to help.[...]
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Missing Iraq antiquities haunt experts

About half of the 15,000 items either stolen or otherwise unaccounted for have been recovered, but the gaping hole in history remains on the fifth anniversary of the looting of Iraq's National Museum.
Five years ago this week, looters ransacked the Iraqi National Museum, stealing centuries-old artifacts that celebrated Iraq's role as the cradle of civilization. Some headlines at the time exaggerated the size of the damage, erroneously reporting 170,000 items missing. Investigators later discovered that some important artifacts, including gold jewelry from Nimrud, had been hidden at Iraq's Central Bank since the Persian Gulf War in 1991.[...]
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Alte Münzen liefern politischen Zündstoff

Auf den ersten Blick ist das von Palästinensern bewohnte Viertel Silwan nicht besonders spektakulär. Doch unter der Jerusalemer Erde liegen die Überreste einer reichen jüdischen Vergangenheit. Münzen und Siegel, ein mehr als 2.000 Jahre alter Bewässerungstunnel oder eine Straße, die zu einem biblischen Tempel führte. Und Silwan ist zwischen Israel und den Palästinensern ein hochpolitisches Thema: Es liegt in Ostjerusalem, das die Palästinenser als Hauptstadt eines künftigen Staates beanspruchen.[...]
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Gohar Tappeh was an Economic Hub During the 3rd Millennium BCE

The results of archaeo-architectural studies conducted in Gohar Tappeh in Mazandaran province have shown the city was a prosperous economic hub during the third and second millennia BCE, reported the Persian service of CHN on Monday.
“One of the most important finds in Goahr Tappeh was the discovery of its complex architectural remains, which demonstrates a strong financial state of Mazandaran province 5000-years-ago", said Ali Mahforouzi, director of the archaeological team in Gohar Tappeh.[...]
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Asche aus dem Wolkenland

Sie galt im mittelalterlichen Mexiko als Privileg, das nur Fürsten und Königen vorbehalten war. Doch zwei Gräber zeigen jetzt, dass die Feuerbestattung in Mittelamerika auf eine mindestens 3000-jährige Tradition zurückblicken kann.[...]
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Rivand Fire Temple Surveyed

Rivand Fire Temple in the village of Rivand in Khorasan Province, has finally been surveyed after its discovery and registration on Iran's national heritage list in 1981, reported Persian service of ISNA on Monday.
The Chahar Taqi (fire temple) also known to locals as Khan-Div is located in the highlands of Rivand, in the rural district of Baashtin, 40 kilometers North-East of city of Sabzevar in Khorasan province.[...]
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Überfluss in der Steinzeit

Zurzeit sind sie wieder in Betrieb, die staubsaugerähnlichen Geräte, mit denen Forscher im Rahmen des »Sincos«-Projekts (von »Sinking Coasts«) vor der Insel Rügen Zeugnisse aus der Steinzeit vom Meeresgrund einsammeln. Bereits zum zweiten Mal sind die Unterwasserarchäologen um Harald Lübke im Breetzer Bodden aktiv, um Überreste der versunkenen, rund 7000 Jahre alten Siedlungsplätze zu bergen – darunter Werkzeuge, Pfosten von Fischfangzäunen oder auch Knochen von Robben.[...]
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Experts bone up on grisly relics

Archaeologists now believe a dozen skeletons discovered in a mass grave in the centre of Oxford may have belonged to executed criminals from Saxon times.
A team of three archaeologists have been digging in the quadrangle of St John's College in Blackhall Road, off St Giles, for nearly two weeks since the discovery was made.[...]
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Appian Way, the queen of Roman roads, is under threat

In ancient times the Appian Way, which links Rome to the southern city of Brindisi, was known as the regina viarum, the queen of the roads. But these days its crown appears to be tarnished by chronic traffic congestion, vandalism and, some of its guardians grumble, illegal development.
"Look at this!" bristled Rita Paris, the Italian state archaeological official responsible for the Appian Way, peering through a weathered bamboo screen lining the road while bumpily maneuvering her car through a patch of uneven ancient stones. "You can bet that it was once a canopy that was walled in and transformed into a home."[...]
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3000 Jahre mixtekische Tradition

Bevor Christoph Kolumbus nach Amerika kam, gehörten die Mixteken zu den mächtigsten Völkern Mittelamerikas. Ihre eigenen Aufzeichnungen reichen bis in das 7. Jahrhundert zurück und zeugen von einer komplexen Gesellschaft mit ausgeprägt hierarchischen Strukturen. Jetzt gelang Archäologen im Süden Mexikos ein sensationeller Fund. Er beweist, dass das Volk schon damals auf eine mindestens 1700 Jahre alte Tradition zurückblicken konnte.[...]
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Ancient Tiberias making a comeback

A 2,000-year old Roman city will rise again in Tiberias as part of a new archeological park, Mayor Zohar Oved and the Antiquities Authority announced this week.
The Berko Archeological Park honors former Finance Ministry official Ozer Berkowitz, a longtime community leader in Tiberias who died last year. It will extend across approximately 100 dunams, or about 25 acres, and include a Roman bathhouse frequently mentioned in Rabbinic literature and a Byzantine city wall. Planners hope to complete the park this summer.[...]
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Fifty years of Czech Egyptology

The history of the country’s accomplishments in the field of Egyptology hits an important milestone this year as the Czech Institute of Egyptology turns 50. The birthday of the institute, located in Prague, will be celebrated with a series of exhibitions in Egypt as well as in the Czech Republic. President Václav Klaus will open one exhibit in Cairo April 7. Two others are also planned for Prague, one at Liechtenstein Palace April 17, and the other this fall at the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures. The institute is also publishing several books about its five decades of achievements.[...]
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Himmler suchte den Gral in Spanien

Zusammenarbeit zwischen deutschen und spanischen „Ahnenerbe“-Forschern.
In Kastilien und auf den Kanarischen Inseln suchten Hitlers Ahnenforscher nach Vorfahren der „arischen Rasse“ – in Zusammenarbeit mit Spaniern. Laut Francisco Gracia (Historiker, Universität Barcelona) kooperierte der oberste Archäologe des Franco-Regimes, Julio Martínez Santa Olalla, eng mit Heinrich Himmlers Stiftung „Deutsches Ahnenerbe“. Der Deutschland-Freund wollte die spanische Geschichte unter Berufung auf die Westgoten „arisieren“.[...]
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Archäologen finden versunkene Kultur vor Rügen

Mit einer Art Staubsauger durchsuchen Forscher den Boden der Ostsee — ihr Objekt der Begierde: abgesunkene Küstensiedlungen aus der Steinzeit. Aus den Beutestücken lassen sich neue Erkenntnisse gewinnen.
Quadratmeter für Quadratmeter saugen derzeit Unterwasserarchäologen den Grund des Breetzer Boddens (Lagune) vor der Ostsee-Insel Rügen ab. In den Netzen an den Schlauchenden bleiben Relikte aus der Steinzeit hängen: Werkzeuge, tausende Jahre alte Kieferknochen von Robben, steinzeitliche Fischwirbel.[...]
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Bild über bronzezeitliche Besiedlung in Gransee verdichtet sich

Ende vergangener Woche machten die leitende Archäologin Dietgard Kühnholz und ihr Team von der Berliner Grabungsfirma „Arbeitsgemeinschaft Baugrund Archäologie“ (ABA) erneut eine Entdeckung. Vor der Toreinfahrt der Hirtenstraße 18 legten sie eine weitere bronzezeitliche Grube frei. „Diese wurde bereits beim Verlegen des Hausanschlusses angeschnitten und aus dem Füllmaterial konnten jungbronzezeitliche Wandungsscherben geborgen werden“, sagt die Archäologin. Außerdem wurden Holzkohleproben zum Zwecke einer möglichen Datierung entnommen.[...]
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35 000 Jahre alte Steinwerkzeuge der Aborigines

Auf dem Gelände einer Eisenerzmine im Nordwesten von Australien entdeckten Archäologen Steinwerkzeuge, die zu den bisher ältesten des Kontinents gehören. Sie sind rund 35 000 Jahre alt und zeugen von einem eiszeitlichen Lagerplatz der Aborigines.
Die Wissenschaftler um Neale Draper waren in etwa zwei Metern Tiefe auf hunderte kleiner Schneidewerkzeuge und einen Feuerstein gestoßen.[...]
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Musket balls from 1782 battle found in park

Some 225 years after the Revolutionary War battle at Blue Licks, a Morehead State University historian is leading an archaeological search of the storied grounds where settlers fought British troops and Native Americans for the right to live in "Kaintuckee."
The historian, Adrian Mandz, said the findings will be part of an effort to get the battlefield listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Searchers turned up eight musket balls from beneath the once bloodied soil that's now part of the state park system. They also found lots of other less historic items.[...]
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35,000-year-old tools unearthed in Australia

Archaeologists in Australia have unearthed stone tools that are at least 35,000 years old, national media said on Monday.
The tools were discovered some two meters (6.5 feet) beneath the floor of a rock shelter near the Hope Downs iron ore mine site in the northwest of the country, about 950 kilometers (590 miles) from Perth, the capital of Western Australia.[...]
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Im Diva-Sarg ruht ein Pharaonenspross

Schon lange vermuteten Wissenschaftler, dass in dem Sarkophag einer Tempelsängerin im britischen Bolton Museum gar nicht die Diva persönlich liegt. Jetzt steht fest: In dem Sarg steckt einer der 45 Söhne des großen Pharaos Ramses II.
Tawhenut war zu Lebzeiten wahrlich keine Schönheit. Bedingt durch einen starken Überbiss hatte sie vorstehende Hasenzähne. Eine große Hakennase dominierte ihr Gesicht. Und die Augen lagen nicht auf einer Achse, sondern schielten im Gespräch quer ihr Gegenüber an. Auf ihrem Sarkophag aber trauern zwei Göttinnen bitterlich um den Körper der Toten.[...]
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Vom Papyrus zum Digitalisierungsprojekt

Die Universitätsbibliothek Trier stellt sich vom 9. bis zum 30. April 2008 zusammen mit rund einem Dutzend weiterer rheinland-pfälzischer Bibliotheken in einer Informationsausstellung im Mainzer Landtag vor.[...]
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Hügelgräber im Trentino entdeckt

In Gardolo di Mezzo, einige Kilometer nördlich von Trient, wurde eine bedeutende bronzezeitliche Fundstätte der Alpensüdseite gefunden. Das archäologische Areal liegt am linken Etschufer und ist auch im Norden und Süden durch Flüsse geschützt. Untersucht werden derzeit zwei Hügelgräber, die vermutlich mit einer unweit davon gelegenen Siedlung derselben Zeit in Zusammenhang stehen. Die Strukturen datieren ins 2. Jt. v. Chr. (Antica und Recente Età del Bronzo).[...]
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In the reign of the Black Pharaohs

Our great grandfathers called it Ta-Seti, Land of the Bow. They were referring to the area south of the First Cataract at Aswan, and the reason behind the name was the unparalleled skill its inhabitants demonstrated when using the bow as a method of arm. Those excellent bowmen were actually the Kushites.
At first, Egyptians, as back as the First Dynasty, would send expeditions to the area in pursuit of slaves as well as the exploration of new sites where copper and gold could be mined. Egyptian influence grew and by the Middle Kingdom, a series of strongholds and fortresses controlled the Nile at the Second Cataract. Their influence over the area grew further through the New Kingdom; Pharaoh Tuthmoses III marched as far south as the Fifth Cataract. But change is a question of time, and by the end of the New Kingdom, Kush began to rise.[...]
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Remnants of Pharaonic temple and Romanian church drowned in the Nile in Aswan

Part of Khnum Temple in Elephantine Island to the second side of "Cataract" Hotel in Aswan city was discovered 40 meters deep under the Nile water, Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary General Zahi Hawwas said Thursday 3/4/2008.
The Egyptian archaeological mission also unearthed part of a church and two granite columns, Hawwas said during a cultural salon at the Cairo Opera House.[...]
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Russian-American research team examines origins of whaling culture

Recent findings by a Russian-American research team suggest that prehistoric cultures were hunting whales at least 3,000 years ago, 1,000 years earlier than was previously known.
University of Alaska Museum of the North archaeology curator Daniel Odess presented the team's findings at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia last week.
"The importance of whaling in arctic prehistory is clear. Prehistoric settlements were situated and defended so that people could hunt whales," says Odess. "Yet, as important as whaling is, we know very little about how, where and when it began."[...]
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Minister orders probe into Buddha era findings at Bhasha Dam site

Federal Minister for Culture Khawaja Saad Rafiq took a serious notice of the report published in The News on Friday and ordered investigation into the archaeological recoveries of Buddha statues and sculptures from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam site.
I am also setting up a committee to ensure that the archaeological heritage is preserved and to eliminate the chances of their transport outside the country,î the minister told this correspondent.[...]
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Major archaeological report about Red Bay published by Canadian Gov.

On behalf of Canada's Environment Minister John Baird, Mr. Norman Doyle, Member of Parliament for St. John's East, today launched a major scientific report entitled: The underwater archaeology of Red Bay: Basque shipbuilding and whaling in the 16th century. This much-anticipated report paints a detailed picture of Basque whale hunting techniques, and of the Basque contributions in European shipbuilding and the
development of transatlantic trade routes in the mid-16th century.
"Through the Red Bay project, Parks Canada's underwater archaeologists have set a great example in their field," said Mr. Doyle. "Our Government is proud to recognize their hard work, which will give Canadians a better understanding of Red Bay's history."[...]
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Scientists tantalize with "iceman" findings

Scientists from around the world who have been studying the centuries-old human remains that melted out of a glacier in northwestern British Columbia in 1999 will gather for the first time in Victoria later this month to talk about what they've learned from the unnamed "iceman."
The Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi Symposium will be held April 24-27 at the University of Victoria. It is being held in conjunction with the Northwest Anthropology Conference.[...]
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Rare Buddha relics discovered in Pakistan dam

Archaeologists have discovered rare Buddha relics from the Diamer-Bhasha dam site in Pakistan. According to a report in The International news, the relics include rare stone carvings, sculptures and statues of the Buddha.
At least 1,000-1,500 different kinds of rock carvings, sculptures and statues have been found during the technical work, and the archaeology department expects huge consignment when full-fledged reservoir building is started, sources reported. The Archaeology department of Northern Areas and Wapda officials confirmed to have discovered the Buddha-age stone work.[...]
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Swedes find Viking-era Arab coins

Swedish archaeologists have discovered a rare hoard of Viking-age silver Arab coins near Stockholm's Arlanda airport.
About 470 coins were found on 1 April at an early Iron Age burial site. They date from the 7th to 9th Century, when Viking traders travelled widely.
There has been no similar find in that part of Sweden since the 1880s.[...]
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Restaurierung des Circus Maximus

Nach jahrelangen Diskussionen soll im Sommer die Restaurierung des römischen Circus Maximus beginnen.
Heute von den Bürgern Roms überwiegend als Grünanlage oder als Veranstaltungsort für Konzerte genutzt, erinnert die ungefähr 300 Meter lange Arena mit ihren Ruinen und verödeten Grasflächen nur noch wenig an den Ort, der vor zwei Jahrtausenden regelmäßig riesige Menschenmassen anzog.[...]
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Münze aus der Zeit Karls des Großen gefunden

Archäologen haben zum ersten Mal in Aachen ein Geldstück aus der Zeit Karls des Großen (768-814) gefunden. Der silberne Denar wurde nach Angaben des Domkapitels nach 794 geprägt.
Die Münze sei "in einem wunderbaren guten Zustand", sagte Dombaumeister Helmut Maintz am Mittwoch. Sie habe ursprünglich im Estricht des Doms gelegen. Fachleute vermuten, dass sie beim Bau der Pfalzkapelle Karls des Großen verloren ging oder extra dorthin gelegt wurde. Nach einer neueren Berechnung hätte sie heute einen Wert von etwa 50 Euro. Nach damaligen Maßstäben sei das sehr viel Geld gewesen. "Die Münze hat kein einfacher Handwerker verloren", sagte Maintz.[...]
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Aztec Math Decoded, Reveals Woes of Ancient Tax Time

To measure tracts of taxable land, Aztec mathematicians had to develop their own specialized arithmetic, which has only now been decoded.
By reading Aztec records from the city-state of Tepetlaoztoc, a pair of scientists recently figured out the complicated equations and fractions that officials once used to determine the size of land on which tributes were paid.[...]
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Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae

The Treasury of Atreus - also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon - is the largest and most impressive of the nine tholos tombs at Mycenae. The location of the Atreus Tomb has intrigued archaeologists for many years but by studying the landscape, the courses of the ancient roads and the various lines of sight at Mycenae, archaeologist David Mason believes he has found out why such an unusual and distinctive site was chosen for the tomb.[...]
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Aztec Math Used Hearts and Arrows

The Aztecs had more numbers than we do, or at least symbols denoting numerical concepts. When it came to measuring land—critical for levying the proper tax or tribute—these medieval Mesoamericans used arrows, hearts, hands and other units representing fractions, according to a new study in Science.[...]
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Edakkal caves re-excavated after 114 years in Kerala

A re-excavation, conducted after 114 years, by the Kerala State Archeology Department has unearthed 40 odd engravings, artifacts of Neolithic period and some tools used for chiseling these huge engravings at the renowned Edakkal Caves.
The Edakkal Caves are situated at Ambukuthi mountain ranges near Ambalavayal, about 12 km from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad district of Kerala. The size of each engraving in the lower part ranges from two feet and the upper part contains engravings of more than six feet in size.[...]
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DNA sheds light on Minoans

Crete’s fabled Minoan civilization was built by people from Anatolia, according to a new study by Greek and foreign scientists that disputes an earlier theory that said the Minoans’ forefathers had come from Africa.
The new study – a collaboration by experts in Greece, the USA, Canada, Russia and Turkey – drew its conclusions from the DNA analysis of 193 men from Crete and another 171 from former neolithic colonies in central and northern Greece.[...]
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Researchers, Led by Archaeologist, Find Pre-Clovis Human DNA

Human DNA from dried excrement recovered from Oregon's Paisley Caves is the oldest found yet in the New World -- dating to 14,300 years ago, some 1,200 years before Clovis culture -- and provides apparent genetic ties to Siberia or Asia, according to an international team of 13 scientists.
Among the researchers is Dennis L. Jenkins, a senior archaeologist with the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History, whose summer field expeditions over two summers uncovered a variety of artifacts in caves that had caught the scientific attention of the UO’s Luther Cressman in the 1930s.[...]
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Ethnomathematik

Die Azteken entwickelten eine Mathematik, die mit dem Untergang ihres Reiches in Vergessenheit geriet. Doch überlieferte Dokumente enthüllen allmählich ihre Rechenkünste.
Bis die Spanier in der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts Mittelamerika eroberten, herrschten die Azteken über weite Teile Zentralmexikos. Innerhalb weniger Jahrzehnte hatten sie eine florierende Hochkultur zur Blüte gebracht. Die Ruinen ihrer Pyramiden zeugen bis heute von ihren enormen kulturellen Leistungen. Inwieweit half den Azteken dabei die Mathematik?[...]
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Stonehenge-Grabung:Auf Krücken nach Salisbury

Erstmals seit vielen Jahren graben wieder Archäologen in den Steinkreisen von Stonehenge. Sie wollen das genaue Alter der Quader bestimmen – und eine gewagte These prüfen. War das Monument eine Art frühbronzezeitliche Pilgerstätte, die Lahmen und Kranken aus ganz Europa Heilung versprach?
Um das Jahr 1136 beschreibt der britische Historiker Geoffrey von Monmouth in seinem Werk Historia Regium Britanniae, wie der Zauberer Merlin große Steine von Irland in die Ebene von Salisbury versetzt. Mit ihnen baute er dort Stonehenge.[...]
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After 1,500 years as a ruin, gladiators' stadium to be restored

It still bears its thrilling ancient name, and the antique ruins on the Palatine Hill, the heart of ancient Rome and home of the Caesars, still gaze down upon it. But now it takes a feat of the imagination to see Circus Maximus as it must have been in its pomp.
Today it is little more than a long, narrow park, 340 metres in length, with a small archeological dig fitfully in progress at its south-eastern end. It can still hold a crowd: Genesis played a free concert here last year, and Bob Geldof persuaded Rome's mayor, Walter Veltroni, to let him use it for the Italian leg of the Live-8 spectacular in 2005. The rest of the time it is the haunt of dog-walkers, joggers and the occasional conceptual artist.[...]
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Were Assyrian rulers the forefathers of today's CEOs?

Dr. Oded Lipschits, from Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology, directs Ramat Rachel, an archaeological dig two miles from the Old City of Jerusalem. Until now archaeologists believed the site was a palace of an ancient Judean king, probably King Hezekiah, who built it around 700 BCE.
But evidence points to foreign rule, says Dr. Lipschits, who believes the site was likely an ancient local administrative center — a branch office — of Assyrian rulers. "They were wise rulers," he says, "using a good strategy for keeping control, stability and order in the region.”[...]
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Technische Präzision aus der Altsteinzeit

Eine Ausstellung des Landes Niedersachsen im Landesmuseum Hannover präsentiert vom 28. März bis zum 27. Juli 2008 steinzeitliche Holzspeere und zeigt, wie sich das wissenschaftliche Bild vom Leben des frühen Menschen im Laufe der letzten hundert Jahre gewandelt hat.
Seit 1983 führt das Niedersächsische Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Helmstedter Braunkohlerevier Grabungen durch. Der Tagebau ermöglicht Einblicke in normalerweise unerreichbare Bodenschichten. So konnten in der Gegend um Helmstedt Siedlungen und Gräber aus der Stein-, Bronze- und Eisenzeit entdeckt werden.[...]
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Rumours of another tomb found in the Valley of the Kings?

Jane Akshar mentions rumours of another tomb find near KV-8 (Merenptah) on her blog and I received an email from Lug Buergin last night pointing me to this story [Sensational Discovery in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings!, Luc Buergin, Legendary Times, March 11, 2008] (Jane has updated her blog post since I first looked to include this story)
Also Bernhard Grundl mentions it here on the Glyphdoctors forum here.
So if this new find is over by KV-8 then it is not the radar anomaly reported by Nicholas Reeves' Amarna Royal Tombs Project here (31 July 2006) as this appears to be in a different place.[...]
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Seit 3000 Jahren Walfang in Sibirien

Im Nordosten Sibiriens, unweit der Beringstraße sind Archäologen auf eine 3000 Jahre alte Elfenbeinschnitzerei gestoßen. Zu sehen sind Jäger mit Harpunen in den traditionellen Booten der Inuits, auf Wale zielend. Daniel Odess von der University of Alaska und sein Team fanden das rund fünfzig Zentimeter große, aus dem Zahn eines Walrosses gefertigte Stück neben zahlreichen Walknochen.[...]
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Wie sich Klimaveränderungen auf Mammuts auswirkten

Wollnashorn, Mammut oder Riesenhirsch, sie alle starben am Ende der letzten Eiszeit aus. Aber wer war schuld - Mensch oder Klima?
Der Wind fegt über weit ausgedehnte, sich Zentimeter für Zentimeter vorschiebende Gletscher. Es knirscht in den Tiefen, während die eisigen Kolosse langsam und auf den ersten Blick kaum sichtbar die vor ihnen liegende Tundra überrollen. Wir befinden uns am Höhepunkt der Weichsel-Kaltzeit. Durch große Kältesteppen ziehen Herden aus Wollnashörnern, trompeten Mammuts und heben Riesenhirsche witternd ihre Köpfe. Dass sich ihr Lebensraum drastisch verändern wird, ahnen sie noch nicht.[...]
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Ältestes Schmuckstück Amerikas

Das älteste bekannte goldene Schmuckstück Amerikas haben Archäologen am Titicacasee in Peru ausgegraben. Die Kette mit neun Perlen sei etwa 4000 Jahre alt, berichten Mark Aldenderfer von der Universität Arizona in Tucson und Kollegen.[...]
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Wird das Rätsel von Stonehenge gelöst?

Mit den ersten Grabungen seit mehr als vier Jahrzehnten wollen britische Archäologen das Geheimnis um den Steinkreis Stonehenge im Südwesten Englands lüften. Diente die Anlage einst als Heilstätte?
Die Zeiten, als sich Reisende mit kleinen Hämmerchen ein Souvenir aus den Steinen in Stonehenge schlagen konnten, sind lange vorbei. Der bizarre Steinkreis im Südwesten Englands wird heute streng bewacht, Touristen aus aller Welt dürfen sich der Steinformation nur mit Sicherheitsabstand nähern. Umso bedeutender ist es, dass seit Montag wieder Forscher innerhalb des sagenumwobenen Kreises Hammer und Schaufel ausgepackt haben. Mit den ersten Grabungen seit fast einem halben Jahrhundert hoffen die Archäologen, das Geheimnis um Stonehenge nach Hunderten Jahren Rätselraten ein für alle Mal zu lüften.[...]
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3,000-year-old ivory carving depicts whaling scene

Archaeologists working in the Russian Arctic have unearthed a remarkably detailed 3,000-year-old ivory carving that depicts groups of hunters engaged in whaling, which pushes back direct evidence for whaling by about 1,000 years.
According to a report in Nature News, the ancient picture implies that northern hunters may have been killing whales 3,000 years ago and commemorating their bravery with pictures carved in ivory.[...]
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Intact Colossus of Egypt's Queen Tiye Found

This intact statue of Queen Tiye, a powerful queen from ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty, was recently discovered at the site of the mortuary temple of powerful pharaoh Amenhotep III, as seen in this photograph taken March 27, 2008.
The 12-foot-tall (3.6-meter-tall) quartzite figure was found attached to the broken-off leg of a much larger colossus—a 50-foot-tall (15-meter-tall) likeness of Amenhotep III seated at his throne.[...]
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Ancient cliff paintings 'face severe damage'

Cliff paintings in northern China that date back to prehistoric times face severe damage from natural erosion and human destruction, according to a Chinese archaeological expert.
About 80 percent of ancient cliff or rock paintings in Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Qinghai have sustained damage through the forces of erosion and human activity, combined with a lack of protection, said expert Zhou Xinghua.[...]
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Decoded: "The clay tablet that tells how an asteroid destroyed Sodom 5,000 years ago"

A clay tablet that has baffled scientists for more than a century has been identified as a witness's account of an asteroid that destroyed the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 5,000 years ago.
Researchers believe that the tablet's symbols give a detailed account of how a mile-long asteroid hit the region, causing thousands of deaths and devastating more than one million sq km (386,000 sq miles).
The impact, equivalent to more than 1,000tons of TNT exploding, would have created one of the world's biggest-ever landslides.[...]
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Ancient Temple Discovered Among Inca Ruins

A temple thought to have once housed idols and mummies has been unearthed near an ancient Inca site in Cusco, Peru. The temple was discovered outside the ruins of a stone fortress known as Sacsayhuaman, which is thought to have been built by a pre-Inca culture called the Killke around 1100 A.D.
The fortress was later occupied and expanded by the Inca, experts say, and its ruins are now a UN World Heritage site.[...]
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Rock art from 5,000 years ago

Rock paintings created during the Stone Age can still be seen today in dozens of sites around Finland. These awe-inspiring artworks are like windows into the ancient past, revealing tantalising glimpses of long lost cultures.
Finland's rock paintings mainly consist of brownish-red figures and markings painted onto steep granite walls, often overlooking waterways. Scenes feature people, boats, elk, fish and mysterious partly human figures that may be linked to shamanistic beliefs, as well as more abstract shapes and patterns whose meanings will probably remain forever lost in the mists of time.[...]
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Excavation starts at Stonehenge

The first excavation inside the ring at Stonehenge in more than four decades gets under way on Monday. The two-week dig will try to establish, once and for all, some precise dating for the creation of the monument.
It is also targeting the significance of the smaller bluestones that stand inside the giant sarsen pillars. Researchers believe these rocks, brought all the way from Wales, hold the secret to the real purpose of Stonehenge as a place of healing.[...]
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Ältester Goldschmuck Amerikas entdeckt

Vor 4000 Jahren wurde die Kette mit den neun Perlen zusammengefädelt - es handelt sich damit um das älteste bekannte goldene Schmuckstück Amerikas. Archäologen haben es am Titicacasee in Peru ausgegraben. Das Gold stammt direkt aus den Anden und wurde offenbar kalt gehämmert.[...]
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Archäologiemuesum feiert Zehnjähriges mit 1000 Besuchern

Das "Ötzi-Museum" in Bozen feiert zehnjähriges Bestehen: 1000 Menschen waren bei dem runden Jubiläum des Südtiroler Archäologie-Museums dabei, in dem die 5300 Jahre alte Gletschermumie ausgestellt ist.
Seit der Eröffnung Ende März 1998 hätten 2,5 Millionen Menschen aus aller Welt den Mann aus dem Eis bestaunt, der 1991 zufällig von einem deutschen Ehepaar in den Ötztaler Alpen gefunden worden war.[...]
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