Verschollenes Relief zurück im Halberstädter Domschatz

Ein mehr als 50 Jahre verschollenes Alabasterrelief kehrt am 4. Juni an seinen angestammten Platz im Halberstädter Domschatz zurück. Wie ein Sprecher des Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt am Donnerstag in Halle sagte, haben die Kulturstiftung der Länder und das sachsen-anhaltische Kultusministerium den Ankauf des bisher fehlenden Kunstwerks aus amerikanischem Privatbesitz finanziert.[...]
ad-hoc-news.de

Welzow wird Zentrum für Holzarchäologie

Mit der Übergabe eines Fördermittelbescheids stellte Ministerpräsident Matthias Platzeck heute die Ampeln für den Aufbau eines Archäotechnischen Zentrums in der Lausitz auf Grün. „Welzow wird durch dieses Projekt zu einem internationalen Zentrum für Holzarchäologie und erhält ein touristisch attraktives Ausstellungs- und Mitmachzentrum“, sagte Platzeck. Archäologie und technische Industriekultur würden durch das einmalige Konzept miteinander verbunden. Besucher könnten Archäologie in der Lausitz erleben.[...]
niederlausitz-aktuell.de

Islander unearths Buddhist relics

A pre-Islamic stupa was discovered by an islander beneath his house in Raa atoll Agolhitheemu on Monday while digging to build a well. Yoosuf Adam, 50, from Gulhaam House, found the coral stupa divided into three parts, according to the Island Chief Mohamed Yoosuf. "It looks like a pawn on a chess board," said Yoosuf, the island chief. "The Indian teachers here believe parts were destroyed when Islam came to the Maldives."[...]
minivannews.com

Italians to help Iranians restore tomb of Cyrus the Great

Italian experts will help Iran restore the tomb of Cyrus the Great (580-529BC), considered one of the most magnificent monuments of antiquity, Culture Minister Sandro Bondi said on Wednesday.
An agreement signed in Tehran on Wednesday will see Italian archaeologists working with their Iranian colleagues for at least two years.[...]
italymag.co.uk

5 ancient tombs of Song, Ming Dynasties discovered

Five ancient tombs were discovered recently in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province, by the archaeological team of Huai'an Municipal Museum.
The burial sites were originally accidentally discovered by workers of local electricity supply department when they made the ground work to set up a power-supply tower, a member of the archaeological team said.[...]
shanghaidaily.com

Vikings visited Canadian Arctic

One of Canada's top Arctic archeologists says the remnants of a stone-and-sod wall unearthed on southern Baffin Island may be traces of a shelter built more than 700 years ago by Norse seafarers, a stunning find that would be just the second location in the New World with evidence of a Viking-built structure.[...]
canada.com

Billion-Pixel Pictures Allow Ultra-Zooming for Science

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a thousand-megapixel picture worth? Such "Gigapixel" pictures allow viewers to zoom in from say, a panoramic view of President Obama's inauguration to the solemn expression on his face—as in one of the new technology's most famous applications.[...]
news.nationalgeographic.com

Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Maya River Port in Southeast Mexico

The finding of 23 archaeological pieces from about 600 BC has strengthened the historic importance of the Maya city of Moral-Reforma, a river port located in the current Mexican state of Tabasco which was almost unknown until a group of experts began excavating it three months ago.[...]
artdaily.org

Marsupial lion found in Aboriginal rock art

Ancient rock art depicting the extinct marsupial lion has been found in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, says a study in the journal Antiquity. The first convincing example of a marsupial lion found in rock art to date, the find suggests that early Australians and marsupial lions co-existed.
It also hints at what marsupial lions may have looked like. Painted in red ochre, the image depicts a large four-legged animal, with a strong, prominent front limb poised for action, protruding claws and stripes running the length of its back.[...]
cosmosmagazine.com

Gypsum Cave holds important glimpses of the past

When he excavated Gypsum Cave in the 1930s, archeologist Mark Harrington concluded that humans and Late Pleistocene animals used the cave around the same time.
It was an astounding theory, because it would have made the cave, which is in the Frenchman Mountains east of Las Vegas, one of the oldest human habitation sites in North America.[...]
thespectrum.com

Oldest Evidence Of Leprosy Found In India

A biological anthropologist from Appalachian State University working with an undergraduate student from Appalachian, an evolutionary biologist from UNC Greensboro, and a team of archaeologists from Deccan College (Pune, India) recently reported analysis of a 4000-year-old skeleton from India bearing evidence of leprosy. This skeleton represents both the earliest archaeological evidence for human infection with Mycobacterium leprae in the world and the first evidence for the disease in prehistoric India.[...]
sciencedaily.com

Älteste Keilschrift aus Ägypten

Es brach ein dunkles Kapitel der ägyptischen Geschichte an, als Einwanderer aus dem Norden im 17. Jahrhundert v. Chr. das Land eroberten. Über 100 Jahre währte die Fremdherrschaft der Hyksos – dann wurden sie vertrieben. In den Ruinen einer prächtigen Palastanlage im östlichen Nildelta sind Archäologen jetzt auf das Fragment einer Tontafel gestoßen, das vermutlich aus der ursprünglichen Heimat der Hyksos stammte: Aus Mesopotamien.[...]
epoc-magazin.de

Acheulian human remains found in Morocco

A Moroccan-French archaeology team has discovered the rear part of a human mandible that dates back to the prehistoric Acheulian phase, local MAP news agency reported on Monday. The mandible, which belongs to a young human, holds a premolar and a molar, the report said.[...]
news.xinhuanet.com

Ship Over 2,000 Years Old Found in Novalja

In the Caska Bay on the Island of Pag, near Novalja, an ancient sewn ship over 2,000 years old was found. This is the result of research done by the city of Novalja and the Zadar University, in cooperation with the French institute for scientific research (CNRS-CCJ University in Marseille) and numerous other foreign associates.
Archaeologists have found a ancient sewn ship more than 2000 years old in Pag’s Caska Bay, reports ezadar.hr.[...]
javno.com

Älteste Keilschrift aus Ägypten

Das Skelett eines bestatteten Pferdes, ein Täfelchen mit königlicher Korrespondenz: Wiener Forscher melden aufregende Funde aus der Hyksos-Zeit.
Zwischen 1640 und 1530v.Chr. herrschten Einwanderer aus dem Norden über Ägypten: die Hyksos, von altägyptisch „heka-chasut“, Herrscher der Fremdländer. Eine dunkle Periode der ägyptischen Geschichte: Wiener Ägyptologen um Manfred Bietak haben viel dazu beigetragen, sie zu erhellen.[...]
diepresse.com

Älteste Pfahlbausiedlung mit Verteidigungsanlage

Die Pfahlbausiedlung am Schweizer Bielersee ist über 5000 Jahre alt – und war einst von einer mächtigen Palisade umgeben. Irgendwann versank der steinzeitliche Ort im Wasser – jetzt wurde er im Schweizerischen Sutz-Lattrigen von Archäologen entdeckt.[...]
epoc-magazin.de

Artificial Eye Blinks Again After 4800 Years of Winks

The National Museum of Iran plans to debut the 4800-year-old artificial eye of the Burnt City during a showcase that opens next week.
Over 600 other artifacts discovered at Iranian archaeological sites over the past four years will also go on display during the exhibit entitled Symbols of Our Country, the Persian service of CHN reported on Wednesday.
The eyeball was discovered by an archaeological team led by Mansur Sajjadi in December 2006 at the 5200-year-old Burnt City, located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province.[...]
cais-soas.com

UK computer scientist hopes to 'read' 3,000-year-old scrolls

79 A.D., Italy's Mount Vesuvius exploded, burying the Roman towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii under tons of super-heated ash, rock and debris in one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history.
Thousands died. But somehow, hundreds of papyrus scrolls survived -- sort of -- in a villa at Herculaneum thought to have been owned at one time by Julius Caesar's father-in-law.
The scrolls contained ancient philosophical and learned writings. But they were so badly damaged -- literally turned to carbon by the volcanic heat -- that they crumbled when scholars first tried to open them centuries later.[...]
tmcnet.com

Mayan underworld filled with gifts, sacrifices to gods

Xibalba was a Maya name for the underworld, home of the gods of death and disease. Caves, not the lofty pyramids left behind by the ancient Maya, were the entrances to Xibalba. And here, in caves like this one, they left sacrifices — plates, bowls and captive's remains — as offerings to the gods.[...]
usatoday.com

Mystery footprints restore warring scene

Newly discovered footprints of different sizes, apparently left by men, women and children, on an ancient military route, have helped recreate a war scene that occurred at least 2,000 years ago, an archaeologist said Friday.[...]
china.org.cn

Calling the Queen's Authenticity into Question

For decades, people have marvelled at the bust of Nefertiti. Now, some scholars say it's a fake -- made to hold a necklace. Museum scientists are eager to prove these theories wrong, but the mysterious statue might not be ready to reveal her secrets yet.[...]
spiegel.de

U.S. and Polish archaeologists successful at Berenike

Fragments of pottery with inscriptions in one of pre-Islamic languages have been found by a U.S-Polish team of archaeologists near Berenike, a Greco-Roman harbour on the Egyptian Red Sea coast.[...]
naukawpolsce.pl

Neue Methode macht Keramik datierbar

Eine neue Methode könnte es künftig ermöglichen, das Alter ausgegrabener Keramikscherben kostengünstig und ohne größeren Aufwand zu bestimmen. Wie die Wissenschaftler um Moira Wilson von der University of Manchester berichten, eigne sich das Verfahren, um Fundstücke aus Ton zu datieren, die vor maximal 2000 Jahren gebrannt wurden.[...]
epoc-magazin.de

Climate Change Did Not Doom The Anasazi

Eric Skopec demonstrates that global warming did not destroy the Ancestral Puebloan civilization. Although some authors bolster their warnings with historical references, many misrepresent the archeological record. According to Dr. Skopec, "much of what popular authors say about the Ancestral Puebloans is incomplete, misleading, and just plain wrong.[...]
media-newswire.com

Authorities turn blind eye to artefact thefts

Many of the small temples located at Mrigasthali inside the premises of the Pashupatinath temple area are without their crowns (gajurs) and idols, thanks to security lapses. Locals say the authorities have turned a blind eye to the massive theft of the priceless idols and historic artifacts at the World Heritage Site.
Over two dozen temples (some seen in the pictures) have neither their copper-plated and granite crowns nor the idols. Some monuments are in dire need of renovation, with temple artifacts scattered all about the place.[...]
kantipuronline.com

Early skeleton sheds light on primate evolution

The nearly complete and remarkably preserved skeleton of a small, 47 million-year-old creature found in Germany was displayed Tuesday by scientists who said it would help illuminate the evolutionary roots of monkeys, apes and humans.
Experts praised the discovery for the level of detail it provided but said it was far from a breakthrough that would solve the puzzles of early evolution.[...]
yahoo.com

2,000 year-old megalith uncovered in Tam Dao

Researchers from the Vietnam Archaeology Institute and the Hanoi University of Culture have discovered a megalith of nearly 2,000 years old in Tao Dao district, Vinh Phuc province.
The megalith of over three metres long, over one metre wide, and nearly 0.5 metres thick looks like a boat. It is propped up on four big rocks which are buried deep in the earth, which are also megaliths.[...]
vietnamnet.vn

Ausstellung: "Verwandelte Götter"

Antike Skulpturen des Museo del Prado zu Gast in Dresden.
Japanisches Palais, Palaisplatz 11, Dresden
20. Mai bis 27. September 2009
Eine Ausstellung in der Reihe ‚Zu Gast im Japanischen Palais‘.
Zwei der ältesten Antikensammlungen außerhalb Italiens begegnen sich in einer spektakulären Ausstellung: antike Skulpturen aus dem Museo Nacional del Prado werden mit Werken der Dresdner Skulpturensammlung vereint.[...]
skd-dresden.de

Forscher finden in Hessen Vorfahren von Mensch und Affe

Ein 47 Millionen Jahre altes Skelett aus Hessen hat Wissenschaftler auf die Spur des gemeinsamen Vorfahren von Mensch und Affe gebracht. Das kleine Fossil aus der Grube Messel bei Darmstadt könnte von dem bislang unbekannten Wesen stammen, aus dem später die Menschen, Affen und andere Primaten hervorgegangen seien, sagte der norwegische Altertumswissenschaftler Jorn Hurum bei der Vorstellung in New York. "Das ist das erste Bindeglied zum Menschen - ein Fossil, welches das Welterbe verbindet", sagte Hurum, der Leiter des Forschungsprojekts.[...]
de.news.yahoo.com

Who was the 'Menachem' whose ancient jug was found in Jerusalem?

Israeli archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered a biblical-era handle of a water pitcher with an ancient Hebrew inscription of the name "Menachem," marking the first time such a handle bearing this name has been found in Jerusalem.
The discovery was made at the footprint of a new girls' school being constructed in the Ras al-Amud neighborhood in the eastern part of the capital. The handle is estimated to originate somewhere between the Canaanite era (2200 - 1900 B.C.E.) and the end of the first Temple period (the 7th - 8th centuries B.C.E.).[...]
haaretz.com

First Temple period bone seal with engraved name found in Jerusalem excavations

A bone seal, engraved with the name Shaul, from the time of the First Temple, was found in the IAA excavations in the walls around Jerusalem National Park, in the City of David.[...]
mfa.gov.il

Frescoes among recovered treasures

Two medieval frescoes looted from a tomb near Naples in 1982 and recently returned by Greece were among recovered treasures presented by Italy's art cops Tuesday. The frescoes of two saints were recovered by Greek antiquities police in a raid on Greek art traffickers on the Aegean island of Schinoussa in 2006.[...]
ansa.it

Antiquities returned to Greece

Greece got back more than 200 classical and medieval antiquities from European countries, a step it hopes will help bring back the Parthenon marbles from Britain.
Greece's Culture Ministry Tuesday presented the artifacts -- from ancient coins and vases to parts of a Byzantine church -- at a special ceremony in Athens.[...]
reuters.com

Fossil "Ida" soll Aufschlüsse über Entstehung der Menschen geben

Rund 30 Jahren nach seinem Fund soll nun ein 47 Millionen Jahre altes Fossil Aufschluss über die Entstehung des Menschen geben. Das Fossil wurde in der Grube Messel bei Darmstadt gefunden und soll jetzt in New York ausgestellt werden.[...]
focus.de

Ancient City in Hamedan Prov. to Be Converted into Site-Specific Museum

The Hamedan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department plans to convert a part of an ancient city into a site-specific museum.
Covering over three hectares in area, the city was discovered about four years ago by chance during a construction project by the Hamedan Telecommunication Department in the city of Samen near Malayer in southeast Hamedan Province.[...]
chnpress.com

Venus aus Elfenbein ist 35.000 Jahre alt

Es ist eine Sensation: Auf der Schwäbischen Alb ist die bisher älteste figürliche Darstellung eines Menschen aufgetaucht. Die weibliche Figur aus Elfenbein ist mindestens 35.000 Jahre alt. Sie beweist, dass diese altsteinzeitliche Kunstform älter ist als bisher gedacht.[...]
epoc-magazin.de

Laetoli Ancient Footsteps to Get 'Facelift'

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism expects to spend Tsh.600 million on an excavation and preservation project of the famous ancient Laetoli footsteps in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
The Laetoli footsteps in Ngorongoro were discovered in 1979 on rocks and were expertly "sheltered" by researchers from Getty Foundation of the United States of America.[...]
allafrica.com

Himmelsscheiben-Erlöse für Archäologie-Projekte

Mit Erlösen aus dem Verkauf von Produkten rund um die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra werden in diesem Jahr 22 Archäologie-Projekte gefördert. "Insgesamt stehen 61 000 Euro zur Verfügung", sagte der Schatzmeister des Fördervereins des Landesmuseums in Halle, Gerhard Woehe, in einem dpa-Gespräch. Das Geld komme aus dem Verkauf von Himmelsscheibenprodukten und anderen Souvenirs sowie Archäologiebüchern des Vorjahres.[...]
volksstimme.de

Rare burial ritual identified in Iran's Sialk

Archeologists have discovered a mysterious burial ritual performed 9,000 years ago in Iran's Sialk Mound located in the center of the country. Iranian and Polish archeologists' investigations have revealed a specific burial ritual in Sialk Mound.[...]
presstv.ir

US returns Ur to Iraq

The US military on Wednesday handed control of ancient Ur, the biblical birthplace of Abraham, back to Iraqi authorities, who hope now to relaunch it as a major tourism site.
"We officially announce the taking over of Ziggurat of Ur from our friends the Americans," Talib Kamil al-Hassan, governor of Dhi Qar province, said at a ceremony to mark the return of the site six years after the American invasion.
"We are pleased with this great success for the nation," he added while the Iraqi flag was hoisted atop the temple.[...]
google.com/hostednews/afp

Menschen könnten Neandertaler gegessen haben

Möglicher Hinweis auf eine schreckliche Tat: Auf dem Kieferknochen eines Neandertaler-Kindes haben Wissenschaftler Spuren von Schneidwerkzeugen entdeckt. Sie vermuten, dass moderne Menschen es vor 30.000 Jahren aßen oder seinen Kopf als Trophäe benutzten.[...]
spiegel.de

New threat to Iraq's antiquities - tourism

When Ayad Tariq paces the dusty ruins of the ancient citadel towering over the disputed city of Kirkuk he sees a dazzling new tourist attraction just waiting to rise from the ruins.
"We are going to make this a tourist citadel. So a house like this could be a museum," the city's antiquities director explained as he strode through the ruins of a 19th century mansion that belonged to a wealthy Christian family.
Tariq wants visitors from around the world to see the splendours of the 4,600-year-old citadel, but the isolation imposed by Iraq's turmoil has left him working largely alone.[...]
zawya.com

Raubgrabung an Römerschanze Zerstörung an besonderem Kulturdenkmal

Raubgrabungen auf der "Römerschanze" bei Regglisweiler haben die Denkmalpflege auf den Plan gerufen. Der Täter hat sich strafbar gemacht, sollte er einen Fund in die eigenen Tasche gesteckt haben.[...]
suedwest-aktiv.de

Schelklinger Ur-Venus sorgt für Wirbel

Sensationsfund im Hohle Fels: Wenn sich die Gerüchte bestätigen, dann hat der Hohle Fels eine archäologische Sensation frei gegeben. Das Grabungsteam soll dort eine kleine Frauenfigur aus Elfenbein gefunden haben. Alter: ungefähr 35 000 Jahre und damit die älteste der Welt. Das Achtal und seine Nachbartäler sorgen nicht das erste Mal für Aufsehen.[...]
szon.de

Prehistoric man's cave found in southwest China

A group of construction workers have accidentally stumbled upon a prehistoric man's cave underneath a Buddhist temple in southwest China's Guizhou Province, archaeologists said here Friday.
The stone structure, containing hundreds of mammal fossils and stone implements, was between 10,000 and 40,000 years old and presumably dated back either to the end of the Old Stone Age or the start of New Stone Age, said Cai Huiyang, a top archaeologist with the Guizhou Provincial Museum.[...]
news.xinhuanet.com

"Fake" claims over Nefertiti bust

The famous bust of Queen Nefertiti believed to be 3,400 years old could be a fake, according to an art historian. Henri Stierlin, who has studied the subject for 25 years, claims the bust of the Egyptian beauty is a 1912 copy. He suggests it was made on the orders of German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, who is credited with finding the treasure on the banks of the Nile.[...]
Source

"Viking ship" discovered in Sweden's largest lake

Marine archaeologists in Sweden have discovered what they believe to be the wreck of a Viking ship at the bottom the country's largest lake. A team of 50 divers from the Swedish coastguard happened upon the 20-metre long wreck by chance on Wednesday afternoon. "Never before has a Viking shipwreck been found in Swedish waters," marine archaeologist Roland Peterson from the Vänern Museum told The Local.[...]
Source

Tote Germanen in römischem Ofen

Das germanische Triumphgeheul nach der legendären Varusschlacht klang den Römern wahrscheinlich noch in den Ohren, als sie sich im heutigen Haltern am See einer Gruppe wilder Angreifer gegenüber sahen. Doch das Glück war auf Seiten der Legionäre: Sie schlugen die Attacke der 24 Männer blutig nieder und warfen ihre Leichen in einen Töpferofen.[...]
Quelle

Joseon dead found perfectly preserved in air-tight tombs

People usually associate mummies with ancient Egypt, but mummification was also seen in Korea, although the process of creation was different. Unlike in Egypt several hundred years back, Korean mummies were a naturally occurring consequence of the way Koreans used to bury their dead.
During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the upper classes placed their dead in hoegyeok, a type of tomb. The corpses were put in double-sided coffins and covered with a layer of a limestone mixture, or hoe. This process completely isolated the body from water and air, which cause decay.[...]
Source

Ancient spear tip found

Slovenian archeologists have found a wooden spear tip believed to be between 38,000 and 45,000 years old, in a river near the capital Ljubljana, newspapers reported Thursday.
'A spear tip made of wood is something absolutely new for that period,' the head of Slovenia's Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (ZVKDS), Ms Barbara Nadbath, was quoted as saying.[...]
Source

Sinai fort may hold clues to ancient Egypt defenses

A military garrison of mud-brick and seashells unearthed in Egypt's Sinai desert may be key to finding a web of pharaonic-era defenses at the northeast gateway to ancient Egypt, archaeologists said on Thursday.[...]
Source

Landschaftsverband ließ Skelette analysieren

Ihren Übermut bezahlten 24 Germanen mit dem Leben. Die Römer verscharrten die kampfeslustigen Eindringlinge im Töpferviertel. 2000 Jahre später nahm der Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) Skelett-Teile unter die Lupe.[...]
Quelle

Kann diese Nofretete gefälscht sein? Ja, sie kann

Ist die berühmteste Büste der Welt eine Fälschung? Gleich zwei Buchautoren sind sich sicher. Ihnen zufolge hat sich der Nofretete-Finder Ludwig Borchardt im Jahr 1912 nur einen Scherz erlaubt und ihn hinterher nicht aufgeklärt. Zudem gibt es weitere gute Argumente, die für eine Fälschung sprechen.[...]
Quelle

In Milet graben heute die Enkel

Das Pergamonmuseum trägt derzeit Bauplanen, im Inneren hingegen hat sich das Markttor von Milet bereits seit einigen Monaten "freigemacht" - vom Baunetz.
- Zu Zeiten des Kaisers Hadrian stand diese Prachtanlage in Form einer imposanten Theaterkulisse als Symbol für die Macht der alten Handelsstadt, die an der türkischen Ägäis liegt. Der damalige Direktor der Antikensammlung, Theodor Wiegand, begann mit den Grabungen in Milet vor über 100 Jahren, im Jahr 1899. Die Grabungshoheit heute hat das DAI, das Deutsche Archäologische Institut, Kooperationspartner der neuen Ausstellung "ZeitRäume", die in drei Sälen - mit Zentrum im Miletsaal - in die laufende Präsentation integriert ist.[...]
Quelle

Picking up the pieces after catastrophe

The world cried in the spring of 2003, during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But perhaps archaeologists cried the hardest.
Iraq, known as the “cradle of civilization,” is home to thousands of ancient cultural heritage sites. It is the birthplace of the world’s first cities, writing and the wheel. It was the center of world civilization, where the Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires were spawned.[...]
Source

Relic with traces of Jainism discovered

Archaeologists involved with excavations at historic Talakad village have found an inscribed stela which authenticates the existence of Jainism in the region.
According to a press release issued by the archaeology department here, this inscribed stela with a Jain image dated to 978-79 AD was unearthed from already excavated Basadi site at Talkad. The inscription reads that sage Balachandramuni known for his unblemished character and quality attained heaven in 978 AD, the release says , adding that this "nishidige" was created by Kundana Somidevi.[..]
Source

"Ancient text" seized in Israel

Israeli authorities say they have recovered a papyrus document which appears to be nearly 2,000 years old. The document measures 15cm by 15cm (6in by 6in), and contains 15 lines of ancient Hebrew script.[...]
Source

Iraq Setting Up Special Forces To Guard Historical Sites

The Iraqi Interior Ministry is creating a special force to guard archaeological and historical sites, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports.
Tourism and Antiquities Ministry spokesman Abdul-Zahra al-Talaqani told RFI that the ministry has 1,400 guards deployed at thousands of archaeological sites, a number he says is extremely inadequate.[...]
Source

Ancient Egypt Temples Found at Gateway Fortress

Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II (right) offers gifts to Geb, god of earth, in a 3,000-year-old carving discovered in the largest mud-brick temple yet found on northeastern Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula (map).[...]
Source

Famed Nefertiti bust a fake: expert

The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in a Berlin museum and believed to be 3400 years old in fact is a copy dating from 1912, an expert says.
Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin, author of a dozen works on Egypt, the Middle East and ancient Islam, says in a just-released book that the bust currently in Berlin's Altes Museum was made on the orders of Germany archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt on site at the digs by an artist named Gerardt Marks.
"It seems increasingly improbable that the bust is an original," Mr Stierlin said.[...]
Source

Egypt finds 5,000-year-old tomb near Lahun pyramid

Archaeologists have found a nearly 5,000-year-old tomb near Egypt's mud brick Lahun pyramid, in a sign that the site held religious significance a millennium before previously thought, the site head said Tuesday.
The find, down crumbling steps in sand covered desert rock, debunks a prior understanding by archaeologists that the site dates back only to 12th dynasty pharaoh Senusret II who ruled 4,000 years ago, archaeologist Abdul Rahman Al-Ayedi said.[...]
Source

Tomb of the ancients saved for the future

It may look like little more than a pile of rubble today, but these stones are the remains of an iconic monument which once possessed as much cultural and religious importance as the Merry Maidens, Hurlers or Perran Round.
Caerwynnen Quoit – also known as the Giant's Frying Pan and Pendarves Quoit – is situated in a field outside Camborne.[...]
Source

Iraqi archaeologists studying in Chicago

Iraq is often called the cradle of civilization because there is evidence of advanced cities going back at least 5,000 years. But during the reign of Saddam Hussein, and with the Iraqi war still in progress, archaeology has been at a standstill. A new program at the Field Museum hopes to change that.[...]
Source

Das rätselhafte Volk der Torreaner und die Turmbauten von Cucuruzzu

In der Bronzezeit um 1600 vor Christus wurden Teile Südkorsikas von einem rätselhaften Volksstamm bevölkert. Die so genannten Torreaner sind nach einer Ausgrabungsstätte in Torre bei Porto Vecchio beziehungsweise nach ihren markanten Turmkonstruktionen (vom Italienischen „torre“, zu deutsch Turm) benannt.[...]
Quelle

China to excavate Peking Man site again, in hopes of more findings

Chinese scientists will soon launch an excavation at a cave where the first Peking Man skull was found with an aim to find more relics of ape men who were believed to live as early as 770,000 years ago.
The excavation will start in mid May and last two months at the western slope of the Peking Man Site, said Gao Xing, deputy director and a research fellow of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Palaeoanthropology, in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.[...]
Source

Graves from 8,000 Years Old Found in Iran

The archeologists discovered the 8,000-year-old graves, caves and stone tools in Iran+s eastern provinces of Lorestan and Ilam, across Samireh Dam. The burials practiced by these people involved the dead placed in a fetal position.
“Archeological studies at Samireh Dam pave the way for archeologists to determine the process of Neolithic and human transition from cave dwelling to village dwelling,” said Hojjat Darabi, head of the archeological team along Samireh Dam.[...]
Source

Archaeologists keen to trace origins of Roman skeleton

A roman skeleton which was found in Kingsholm is being investigated by archeologists who are keen to trace his origins.
The male skeleton was discovered in 1972, north of Kingsholm Square and ever since experts have wondered where he came from. Now, the Gloucester City Museum has had funding for the analysis of the skeleton using new technology to work out where he originated. Member and former president of The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Carolyn Heighway, said: "We believe he was a special person in the late Roman period in Gloucester, judging by his grand belt and buckles and that sort of thing.[...]
Source

Morpeth historians told of Neolithic finds

NEW Thoughts on Ancient Northumberland was the title of Paul Frodsham's lecture at Morpeth Antiquarian Society. Mr Frodsham was the Northumberland National Park archaeologist for 15 years until 2007. His talk concentrated on a small but incredibly rich area of the Breamish valley on and around Ingram Farm, where amazing archaeology has survived years of agricultural work. Twelve years of research from 1994 revealed evidence of occupation from the Neolithic to the present-day.[...]
Source

7th century Buddhist structures facing destruction

It's not only official neglect but official complicity too that has brought the seventh century Buddhist structures at Parihaspora in Pattan on the verge of obliteration.
The extraction process has been going on here without any respite for past many years and now the situation is such that the monuments might cave in any time.[...]
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Mummified Puppy Found in Egyptian Tomb

A small bundle found at the feet of an ancient Egyptian mummy whose tomb was inscribed with the phrase "Hapi-Men" contained the remains of a young dog, according to University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology staff that have named the canine "Hapi-Puppy."[...]
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Iran's Ancient Story Preserved Digitally

Scholars are using modern technology to digitally record thousands of tablets that, as they are being pieced together, tell an unusually detailed story of the Persian Empire. These ancient tablets from the palaces of Persepolis include pieces of language and art from the center of the empire, all made when it extended from India to the Mediterranean.
The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago is using modern technology to digitally record thousands of tablets that, as they are being pieced together, tell an unusually detailed story of the Persian Empire.[...]
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"Dark Age" Temple Found in Turkey

An ancient temple in Turkey has been found filled with broken metal, ivory carvings, and stone slabs engraved with a dead language. The find is casting new light on the "dark age" that was thought to have engulfed the region from 1200 to 900 B.C.[...]
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Babylon Ruins Reopen in Iraq, to Controversy

After decades of dictatorship and disrepair, Iraq is celebrating its renewed sovereignty over the Babylon archaeological site — by fighting over the place, over its past and future and, of course, over its spoils.
Time long ago eroded the sun-dried bricks that shaped ancient Babylon, the city of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, where Daniel read the writing on the wall and Alexander the Great died.[...]
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Prächtige Glasschale in Römergrab

Vor 2000 Jahren, als Britannien römische Provinz war, starb in Londinium, der heutigen Hauptstadt des Königreichs ein wohlhabender Römer. Er wurde eingeäschert und erhielt für seine letzte Reise wertvolle Grabbeigaben aus Glas – darunter auch eine kostbare Schale, gefertigt aus hunderten durchscheinender blauer Glasblumen.[...]
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Bowl may offer Roman Britain clues

A bowl thought to be 1,700 years old has been discovered in London and may hold clues to life in ancient Roman Britain, researchers say.
Liz Goodman, archaeology conservator at the Museum of London, said the bowl called millefiori, which means "one thousand flowers," may represent the first of its kind to be discovered in what was once the western Roman Empire, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.[...]
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Egypt Retrieves 454 Ancient Artifacts From Eton’s Myers Museum

Egyptian authorities have recovered 454 ancient Egyptian artifacts, including pharaonic pottery and bronze coins, from the U.K.’s Myers Museum. They had been removed from the country more than 30 years ago.
The pieces have been returned to Egypt, the Cairo-based Culture Ministry said in a statement today, citing the country’s chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass. The Myers Museum is part of Eton College, in Windsor, west of London. No one at the museum was immediately available for comment.[...]
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Kastell Karls des Großen nachgewiesen

Archäologen haben ein frühmittelalterliches Kastell aus der Zeit Karl des Großen (747 - 814) in Hohenwarthe bei Magdeburg mit großer Sicherheit nachgewiesen. Serien sogenannter C14-Untersuchungen hätten die im vergangenen Jahr geäußerten Vermutungen bestätigt, sagte Grabungsleiter Joachim Henning am Donnerstag in Magdeburg. Danach konnte die Wehranlage des karolingischen Herrschers jetzt lokalisiert werden.[...]
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