Cave fossils are early Europeans

Archaeologists have identified fossils belonging to some of the earliest modern humans to settle in Europe.

The research team has dated six bones found in the Pestera Muierii cave, Romania, to 30,000 years ago.

The finds also raise questions about the possible place of Neanderthals in modern human ancestry.

Details of the discoveries appear in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Read the rest of this article...

Were We All Good Mates?

New evidence has emerged that early modern humans and Neanderthals may have mated.

It comes after scientists re-examined 30,000-year-old fossil bones from a cave in Romania.

They found they had both early modern human and Neanderthal characteristics.

The find suggests the two types of human interbred to produce hybrids with mixed features, the researchers claim.

Read the rest of this article...

A royal tomb has been found in occupied Famagusta

Turkish Cypriot daily KIBRIS newspaper (28.10.06) reports that a royal tomb, the 11th in number, has been uncovered in the occupied Salamis area, close to the Park Hotel after excavations performed by the so-called Antiquities and Museums Department.

According to Hasan Tekel, in charge of the occupied Famagusta District Office of the Antiquities and Museums Department, the tomb which was found belongs to the first Archaic period, that is 800 B.C.

Read the rest of this article...

Viking treasure found on Gotland

Two young men on Gotland have found Viking treasure dating to the 10th century.

The treasure cache consists of silver coins, weighing a total of around 3 kilos. They were discovered by 20-year-old Edvin Svanborg and his 17-year-old brother Arvid, who were working in the grounds of their neighbour, artist Lars Jonsson.

"I just stumbled by chance across an Arab silver coin that was around 1,100 years old," Edvin Svanborg told news agency TT.

Svanborg says he is studying history, and recognized the coin as one that is commonly found on Gotland. He said he had seen pictures of similar coins in the past.

Read the rest of this article...

Viking treasure unearthed in Sweden

In what seems to have been a euphoric week for archaeologists, scientists unearthed both a Viking burial mound in Orkdal, Norway and a Viking treasure on the island of Gotland off the south-east coast of Sweden, last week. The burial mound in Norway, discovered on Tuesday last week, belonged to a wealthy farmer and contained amongst other things a Viking sword, body armour and the tip of a spear according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, (only in Norwegian).

Preben Rønne, an archaeologist from the Museum of Science in Trondheim, Norway, believe the man buried in the mound was of a higher standing, possibly a local chieftain, adding that if a man could afford to slaughter his horse when he is buried he had to have sufficient means. The scientists claim that since the sea level was 5-7 meters above current day sea level, it is highly likely that this burial mound belonged to a settlement close to the sea.

Meanwhile on the island of Gotland off the Swedish east coast, scientists have uncovered a Viking treasure (article only in Norwegian) ranked as the 25th largest treasure ever to be uncovered on the island. The treasure, originally discovered by two amateur archaeologist brothers, soon revealed as many as 1.100 silver coins of foreign origin in addition to a substantial amount of bracelets.

Read the rest of this article...

Swedish Teens Find Viking-Age Silver Treasure

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Archeologists said Monday they found more than 1,000 silver coins in a Viking-age hoard discovered by chance on the Swedish island of Gotland.

The treasure, believed to have been buried in the 10th century, also included several silver bracelets and weighed about 7 pounds, local curator Majvor Ostergren told Swedish news agency TT.

Edvin Sandborg, 20, and his 17-year-old brother Arvid said they found the hoard last week when they were helping a neighbor with some yard work.

Read the rest of this article...

PROVING UP AND SETTLING DOWN: STORIES OF LIFE IN HELLS CANYON

Location: Idaho/Oregon Length: 25 min.

The basalt cliffs of Hells Canyon have witnessed the ebb and flow of Native American tibes, trappers, miners, and homesteaders as each has left a mark on America's deepest river gorge. This film brings Hells Canyon to life through the accounts of historians; Horace Axtell, a descendent of Chief Joseph's band of the Nez Perce; and early Hells Canyon residents, Violet Wilson, Ace Barton and Joe Jordan. These old-timers share stories of work and family, isolation and ingenuity, and a deep respect for the canyon they called home in the first half of the 20th Century

Watch the video....

Stone Age man was at sewage site

Evidence of a Stone Age settlement has been uncovered by a water company planning to extend a sewage works.

Stone Age flint and Roman items were found at the site in Kintbury, near Hungerford, Berkshire.

The find dates back to 8,000 BC and confirms that a nearby Roman bath site probably had a British owner, a local archaeologist said.

Thames Water is now reviewing its plans to improve the sewage treatment works after realising the site's importance.

Read the rest of this article...

Ancient Pyramids Of Bosnia? Many Are Believers

A part-time archaeologist noticed odd mountains in Bosnia, so he started digging. He found cement-like blocks stacked in the shape of massive pyramids. Could ancient Bosnians have built them at a time Europeans were believed to be still living in caves?
Egypt has pyramids, China has a wall and Greece has the Parthenon -- all evidence of ancient and great civilizations.

Ever heard of ancient Bosnians?

Probably not. But some are seeing pyramids towering above a drab Bosnian town -- perhaps pyramids bigger than the Egyptians built.

Read the rest of this article...

Ein zerstörtes Kloster wird wieder erlebbar

Im 16. Jahrhundert wurde das Kloster im thüringischen Georgenthal geplündert und zerstört, seitdem liegen das Gelände und die Gebäude brach. Um das Zisterzienserkloster touristisch für Menschen mit und ohne Behinderung nutzbar zu machen, entwarf das Verbundprojekt "Barrierefreier Tastparcours in Georgenthal", das von Prof. Dr. Ralf Böse vom Fachbereich Informatik der Fachhochschule Schmalkalden geleitet und vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung gefördert wird, einen behindertengerechten Tastparcours. Forscher des Fachbereichs haben auf der Grundlage des vorhandenen Quellenmaterials eine weltweit einmalige 3-D-Präsentation entwickelt, die die Basilikaruine des Klosters durch visuelle und akustische Technik sinnlich erfahrbar macht.

Read the rest of this article...

The Oxford Experience Summer School 2007

Details of the Oxford Experience Summer School 2007 – which includes a number of courses in archaeology and history – are now available on the Internet.

The site includes a link to a PDF version of the complete brochure for the summer school.

This programme is run by University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education and is held in Christ Church, Oxford.

Find further details here…

War of words erupts over sale of ancient texts

Plans by a Geneva museum to sell two ancient manuscripts for millions of dollars have drawn consternation from scholars around the world.

They fear the sale of the papyri, which date back to the 2nd century, could precipitate the break-up of a unique collection of around 50 texts held by the Bodmer Foundation.

The Bodmer, based in Cologny just outside the city, says it needs to raise money to guarantee the long-term future of its museum, which opened only three years ago.

But around 20 academics from Switzerland and abroad are calling for the sale of two manuscripts – gospels of St John and St Luke – to be halted.

Read the rest of this article...

Mastodon tusks tell of brutal battles

Battle scars on male mastodon tusks show these Ice Age giants were not the peaceful creatures once thought, according to new findings.

The scars reveal they fought in brutal combat each year during seasonal phases of heightened sexual activity and aggression.

The discovery, announced at a recent Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Ontario, counters the view that now-extinct mastodons were peaceful, passive creatures that rarely engaged in battles.

Read the rest of this article...

Two Hellenistic-era mausoleums unearthed in western Turkey

Archeologists have unearthed two mausoleums dating as far back as the Hellenistic-era at the ancient city of Antandros in Turkey's Aegean province of Balikesir, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

During the excavations carried out in the necropolis near Altinoluk village of Balikesir, traces signing that the area was used as a residential place in the late Roman period were found, assistant professor Gurcan Polat, head of the excavation team, was quoted as saying.

"The mausoleums were built with rubble and plastered by lime having a facet of marble in the ancient period," said Polat.

Read the rest of this article...

Antike Schätze aus dem Verborgenen befreit

Universitäten sind auch Stätten der Kultur. Ihr begegnet man an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena unter anderem bei den Abgüssen antiker Skulpturen, die Campus, Hauptgebäude und Rosensäle schmücken. Sie gehören zu einem Kunstschatz, dessen Großteil heute nur noch selten für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich ist. Doch einige der Schätze aus dem Archäologischen Museum - Abgüsse wie Original-Objekte - können ab 27.10.2006 betrachtet werden. Im Rahmen der Ausstellung "160 Jahre Archäologisches Museum der Universität Jena" werden bis zum 16.12.2006 ausgewählte Exponate in der Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Jena (Bibliotheksplatz 2) präsentiert. Der Eintritt ist während der gesamten Ausstellungsdauer frei.

Read the rest of this article...

Neandertal Gene Study Reveals Early Split With Humans

A new genetic study bolsters theories of an early human-Neandertal split and is helping scientists pinpoint what makes humans unique.

Controversy has long swirled in the scientific community over how closely the hairy Eurasian hunters resembled modern humans, with some researchers even claiming Neandertals (often spelled Neanderthals) were actually members of our own species, Homo sapiens.

Read the rest of this article...

Seeing the light

WHEN he caught sight of the bright red pentagon glowing above the great rose window of Rosslyn Chapel, Alan Butler almost let out a scream. At that point, he knew beyond doubt that Rosslyn was far more than just another medieval church.

By rediscovering the lightbox, forgotten for hundreds of years, Butler and John Ritchie, co-author of Rosslyn Revealed, moved closer to illuminating their theory that the truth about the chapel is even stranger than the fiction made world-famous by Dan Brown.

"It was a real Indiana Jones moment," recalls Ritchie. "Older inhabitants of Roslin village had told the story of a mysterious light which appeared in the chapel on St Matthew's Day [21 September]. But the story had been ignored by successive histories of the chapel."

Read the rest of this article...

Erotic frescoes put Pompeii brothel on the tourist map

A LUXURIOUS brothel that once entertained wealthy clients in Pompeii has been opened as a visitor attraction after painstaking restoration.

The two-storey structure, which features erotic frescoes that leave little to the imagination, is expected to become one of the ancient city’s top draws. Officials who unveiled it yesterday emphasised that the year-long restoration had been carried out in the interests of archaeology — and to save the frescoes — rather than prurience. The brothel was named the Lupanare — from lupa (she-wolf), the colloquial Latin term for a prostitute. Prices were posted outside the building, which had three entrances, and the frescoes depict the sexual services on offer.

The Lupanare boasted ten rooms, five on each floor, with the upper floor (which had a balcony) reserved for more important and wealthier clients. Sexual activity took place on stone beds, which would have been covered by mattresses.

Read the rest of this article...

900-YEAR OLD JUG FOUND UNDER NEW PRIMARK STORE

THE discovery of a near-complete medieval jug during building work for Doncaster's hottest new store has been described as one of the most important finds in the history of the town.

The 12th century pottery jug was unearthed by chance during the development of Primark in the market place - and went on display in Doncaster museum the same day the store opened.

The jug is of special interest to archaeologists because it is so well-preserved and because it is a rare example of the earliest types of pottery manufactured in Doncaster.

Read the rest of this article...

Europe's oldest child skeleton unearthed in Bulgaria

Archaeologists have unearthed an 8,000 year old skeleton of a child in the village of Ohoden, northwestern Bulgaria, the Sofia News Agency reported on Thursday, citing Darik News.

Archaeologist Georgi Ganetsovski, the leader of the excavation, said the finding had been made at the southern end of a pre-historical funeral facility in a pre-historical village, which was found just two metres below the current ground level and was completely preserved in its original form.

Archaeologists at the site had also discovered a whole skeletonof a woman a year ago, which dated from 8100 year BC and was one of the most ancient in Europe, Ganetsovski added.

Read the rest of this article...