Popular Archaeology magazine is a 100% online periodical dedicated to participatory, or public, archaeology. Unlike most other major magazines related to archaeology, no paper copies will ever be produced and distributed, so it will always be "green", and it will always be less costly to produce and therefore far less costly to purchase by premium subscribers (although regular subscriptions are always free). Most of our writers and contributors are either professionals or top experts in their fields, or are individuals relating first-hand experiences; however, the magazine is unique among other archaeology-related magazines in that it makes it easy to invite and encourage members of the public (YOU) to submit pertinent articles, blogs, events, directory listings, and classified ads for publication. As a volunteer or student, do you have a fascinating story to tell about an archaeological experience? As a professional archaeologist, scholar, educator, or scientist, do you have a discovery, program or project that you think would be of interest to the world? Do you have an archaeology-related service or item for sale? Would you like to have your archaeology-related blog post featured on the front page? ( Ad and specially featured item prices are lower than what you will find in any other major archaeology magazine). Through Popular Archaeology, you can realize all of these things. Moreover, because the content is produced by a very broad spectrum of contributors, you will see more feature articles than what you would typically find in the major print publications, with the same content quality.
As a community of professionals, writers, students, and volunteers, we invite you to join us as subscribers in this adventure of archaeological discovery. It could open up a whole new world for you.
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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Pictures: Ancient Roman Spa City Reburied in Turkey
The second-century Roman ruins at the city of Allianoi once stood tall under the blue Turkish sky, as seen in a file photo. But like the rest of the site's archaeological treasures, these structures are now covered back up with sand.
Discovered in 1998 and only partially excavated, the nearly 2,000-year-old city of Allianoi was home to baths and natural springs favored by the Romans for their health benefits. (See related pictures of King Herod's royal theater box, recently excavated in the West Bank.)
Today, however, the well-preserved ruins lie in the path of a proposed dam that would flood the region to create an artificial reservoir. The Yortanli Dam will provide water for thousands of acres of agricultural land, and farmers living near Turkey's Aegean coast strongly support the project.
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Discovered in 1998 and only partially excavated, the nearly 2,000-year-old city of Allianoi was home to baths and natural springs favored by the Romans for their health benefits. (See related pictures of King Herod's royal theater box, recently excavated in the West Bank.)
Today, however, the well-preserved ruins lie in the path of a proposed dam that would flood the region to create an artificial reservoir. The Yortanli Dam will provide water for thousands of acres of agricultural land, and farmers living near Turkey's Aegean coast strongly support the project.
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Mosaics found in SE Turkey lead to unearthing of ancient Roman city
The ancient city of Germenicia, which has been underground for 1,500 years, is being unearthed thanks to mosaics found during an illegal excavation in 2007 under a house in Southeast Turkey. Excavations are ongoing in the area, with authorities aiming to completely reveal the mosaics and the city, and then turn the site into an open-air museum
Mosaics found during an illegal excavation in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaraş have led to the unearthing of an ancient city called Germenicia, which remained underground for 1,500 years. The mosaics, found under a house in the Dulkadiroğulları neighborhood, are expected to shed light on the history of the city.
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Mosaics found during an illegal excavation in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaraş have led to the unearthing of an ancient city called Germenicia, which remained underground for 1,500 years. The mosaics, found under a house in the Dulkadiroğulları neighborhood, are expected to shed light on the history of the city.
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Archaeologists to probe Sherwood Forest's 'Thing'
A team of experts hope to shed new light on one of Nottinghamshire's most mysterious ancient monuments.
A 'Thing', or open-air meeting place where Vikings gathered to discuss the law, was discovered in the Birklands, Sherwood Forest, five years ago.
In January 2011 experts plan to survey the hill and see if they can detect signs of buried archaeology and the extent of the site.
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A 'Thing', or open-air meeting place where Vikings gathered to discuss the law, was discovered in the Birklands, Sherwood Forest, five years ago.
In January 2011 experts plan to survey the hill and see if they can detect signs of buried archaeology and the extent of the site.
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German Archeologists Uncover Celtic Treasure
Archeologists in Germany have discovered a 2,600-year-old Celtic tomb containing ornate jewellery of gold and amber. They say the grave is unusually well preserved and should provide important insights into early Celtic culture.
German archeologists have unearthed a 2,600-year-old Celtic tomb containing a treasure of jewellery made of gold, amber and bronze.
The subterranean chamber measuring four by five meters was uncovered near the prehistoric Heuneburg hill fort near the town of Herbertingen in south-western Germany. Its contents including the oak floor of the room are unusually well preserved. The find is a "milestone for the reconstruction of the social history of the Celts," archeologist Dirk Krausse, the director of the dig, said on Tuesday.
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German archeologists have unearthed a 2,600-year-old Celtic tomb containing a treasure of jewellery made of gold, amber and bronze.
The subterranean chamber measuring four by five meters was uncovered near the prehistoric Heuneburg hill fort near the town of Herbertingen in south-western Germany. Its contents including the oak floor of the room are unusually well preserved. The find is a "milestone for the reconstruction of the social history of the Celts," archeologist Dirk Krausse, the director of the dig, said on Tuesday.
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Celtic noble's tomb discovery is a 'milestone of archaeology'
Stuttgart - Scientists have discovered a 2,600 year-old aristocratic burial, likely of a Celtic noblewoman, at the hill fort site of Heuneburg in southern Germany.
The discovery has been described as a “milestone” in the study of Celtic culture.
The dig leader and chief of the Baden-Württemberg State archaeology, Dirk Krausse, referred to the discovery as a “milestone of archaeology,” according to The Local.
One reason for the claim is likely the manner of excavation, which is new. In the past, such burial chambers have been dug up piece by piece locally, but now the team lifted the entire burial chamber, measuring four by five square metres (12 by 15 square feet) as one block of earth and placed it on a special truck to be transported to the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Stuttgart.
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The discovery has been described as a “milestone” in the study of Celtic culture.
The dig leader and chief of the Baden-Württemberg State archaeology, Dirk Krausse, referred to the discovery as a “milestone of archaeology,” according to The Local.
One reason for the claim is likely the manner of excavation, which is new. In the past, such burial chambers have been dug up piece by piece locally, but now the team lifted the entire burial chamber, measuring four by five square metres (12 by 15 square feet) as one block of earth and placed it on a special truck to be transported to the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Stuttgart.
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Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Neanderthals may have feasted on meat and two veg diet
Scientists have upgraded their opinion of Neanderthal cuisine after spotting traces of cooked food on the fossilised teeth of our long-extinct cousins.
The researchers found remnants of date palms, seeds and legumes – which include peas and beans – on the teeth of three Neanderthals uncovered in caves in Iraq and Belgium.
Among the scraps of food embedded in the plaque on the Neanderthals' teeth were particles of starch from barley and water lilies that showed tell-tale signs of having been cooked.
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The researchers found remnants of date palms, seeds and legumes – which include peas and beans – on the teeth of three Neanderthals uncovered in caves in Iraq and Belgium.
Among the scraps of food embedded in the plaque on the Neanderthals' teeth were particles of starch from barley and water lilies that showed tell-tale signs of having been cooked.
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Neanderthals ate their greens
It just goes to show what can happen if you don't brush your teeth: some anthropologist can tip up thousands of years later and start making disparaging remarks about your diet.
A study of Neanderthal teeth from Iraq and Belgium has indicated that they didn't, as previously believed, have a diet consisting almost entirely of meat.
Scientists from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington have found specks of fossilised vegetable matter - some of it cooked - between the teeth, indicating that they were actually pretty good about getting their five a day.
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A study of Neanderthal teeth from Iraq and Belgium has indicated that they didn't, as previously believed, have a diet consisting almost entirely of meat.
Scientists from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington have found specks of fossilised vegetable matter - some of it cooked - between the teeth, indicating that they were actually pretty good about getting their five a day.
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The earliest evidence of modern man?
Israeli archaeologists claim that they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man.
A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in Rosh Ha'ain in central Israel say they have found teeth that are approximately 400,000 years old. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half that old.
Archaeologist Avi Gopher said further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "that means that we have to rethink the basic reconstructions we have for human evolution."
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A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in Rosh Ha'ain in central Israel say they have found teeth that are approximately 400,000 years old. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half that old.
Archaeologist Avi Gopher said further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he says, "that means that we have to rethink the basic reconstructions we have for human evolution."
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Homo sapiens lived in Eretz Yisrael 400,000 years ago
Long before the land was called Israel and the residents Jews, Homo sapiens lived here twice as long ago as was previously believed, the researchers wrote in the latest (December) edition of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
The cave was uncovered in 2000 by Prof. Avi Gopher and Dr. Ran Barkai of TAU’s Institute of Archeology. Later, Prof. Israel Hershkowitz of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and an international team of scientists performed a morphological analysis on the teeth found in the cave.
The examination included CT scans and X-rays indicating the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man. The teeth found in the cave are also very similar to evidence of modern man dated to around 100,000 years ago that had previously been discovered in the Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel and the Qafzeh Cave in the Lower Galilee near Nazareth.
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The cave was uncovered in 2000 by Prof. Avi Gopher and Dr. Ran Barkai of TAU’s Institute of Archeology. Later, Prof. Israel Hershkowitz of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and an international team of scientists performed a morphological analysis on the teeth found in the cave.
The examination included CT scans and X-rays indicating the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man. The teeth found in the cave are also very similar to evidence of modern man dated to around 100,000 years ago that had previously been discovered in the Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel and the Qafzeh Cave in the Lower Galilee near Nazareth.
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The Study of Human Remains: What does it really tell us? Part 1
The study of human remains can tell us a great deal about a society; status, wealth, religion and others.
When an archaeologist studies one set of human remains, he is seeking specific information about that one person. For what purpose is he looking for this individual’s information? The likely reason why he is looking for that information is to add to the body of knowledge about the society from which the individual has come.
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When an archaeologist studies one set of human remains, he is seeking specific information about that one person. For what purpose is he looking for this individual’s information? The likely reason why he is looking for that information is to add to the body of knowledge about the society from which the individual has come.
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Did the Scots visit Iceland? New research reveals island inhabited 70 years before Vikings thought to have arrived
It is now thirty years since clerics, who live on the island [Thule] from the first of February to the first of August, told me that not only at the summer solstice, but in the days round about it, the sun setting in the evening hides itself as though behind a small hill in such a way that there was no darkness in that very small space of time... – Dicuil, an Irish monk, writing in AD 825, translation by J.J. Tierney.
New archaeological discoveries show that Iceland was inhabited around AD 800 – nearly 70 years before the traditional dating of its Viking settlement.
One possibility is that these early inhabitants may have been related to Irish monastic communities found throughout the Scottish islands at that time, and described in Viking-Age and medieval texts.
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New archaeological discoveries show that Iceland was inhabited around AD 800 – nearly 70 years before the traditional dating of its Viking settlement.
One possibility is that these early inhabitants may have been related to Irish monastic communities found throughout the Scottish islands at that time, and described in Viking-Age and medieval texts.
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Swedish scientists study ice man bacteria samples
A team of scientists are currently examining specimens of stomach bacteria from Ötzi the Iceman, who lived about 5,300 years ago, at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute (KI).
Ötzi was discovered by two Germans tourists in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch in Italy close to the Austria border.
His body is usually kept frozen, but he has been thawed recently to allow experts to examine him, among them Swedish infectious disease control professor Lars Engstrand at KI.
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Ötzi was discovered by two Germans tourists in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch in Italy close to the Austria border.
His body is usually kept frozen, but he has been thawed recently to allow experts to examine him, among them Swedish infectious disease control professor Lars Engstrand at KI.
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Ancient Bone's DNA Suggests New Human Ancestors
DNA taken from a pinkie bone at least 30,000 years old is hinting at the existence of a previously unknown population of ancient humans. It's just the latest example of how modern genetic techniques are transforming the world of anthropology.
The pinkie bone in question was unearthed in 2008 from what's called the Denisova Cave.
"The Denisova Cave is in southern Siberia in the Altai Mountains in central Asia," says David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "This bone is the bone of a 6- to 7-year-old girl."
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The pinkie bone in question was unearthed in 2008 from what's called the Denisova Cave.
"The Denisova Cave is in southern Siberia in the Altai Mountains in central Asia," says David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "This bone is the bone of a 6- to 7-year-old girl."
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Weder Neandertaler noch moderner Mensch
Das Genom eines ausgestorbenen Urmenschen liefert neue Erkenntnisse über die Ursprünge des modernen Menschen
Ein internationales Forscherteam unter der Leitung von Svante Pääbo vom Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie in Leipzig hat das Kerngenom eines mindestens 30.000 Jahre alten Fingerknochens sequenziert. Dieser stammt von einem ausgestorbenen Urmenschen, dessen Überreste von Archäologen der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 2008 in der Denisova-Höhle im südlichen Sibirien ausgegraben wurden. Demnach war der Mensch aus Denisova weder Neandertaler noch moderner Mensch, sondern eine neue Homininenform.
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Ein internationales Forscherteam unter der Leitung von Svante Pääbo vom Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie in Leipzig hat das Kerngenom eines mindestens 30.000 Jahre alten Fingerknochens sequenziert. Dieser stammt von einem ausgestorbenen Urmenschen, dessen Überreste von Archäologen der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 2008 in der Denisova-Höhle im südlichen Sibirien ausgegraben wurden. Demnach war der Mensch aus Denisova weder Neandertaler noch moderner Mensch, sondern eine neue Homininenform.
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Greek archaeological finds among 10 most important in 2010
The latest archaeological findings unearthed in Greece over the past year are in the top 10 discoveries of 2010 list, published in the latest issue of Archaeology Magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America.
The findings in question are Palaeolithic tools discovered in Plakias (Rethymno prefecture) on the large south Aegean island of Crete.
According to the magazine, “the discovery of stone tools at two sites on the island of Crete that are between 130,000 and 700,000 years old was announced by a research team led by Thomas Strasser of Providence College and Eleni Panagopoulou of the Greek ministry of culture. The tools resemble those made by Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus, showing that one of these early human ancestors boated across at least 40 miles of open sea to reach the island, the earliest indirect evidence of seafaring.
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The findings in question are Palaeolithic tools discovered in Plakias (Rethymno prefecture) on the large south Aegean island of Crete.
According to the magazine, “the discovery of stone tools at two sites on the island of Crete that are between 130,000 and 700,000 years old was announced by a research team led by Thomas Strasser of Providence College and Eleni Panagopoulou of the Greek ministry of culture. The tools resemble those made by Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus, showing that one of these early human ancestors boated across at least 40 miles of open sea to reach the island, the earliest indirect evidence of seafaring.
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Monday, December 20, 2010
Archaeological finds discovered during electric rail line's maintenance
Αrchaeological finds were located during maintenance works on the electric train (ISAP) line tracks in the eponymous Thission district of central Athens, which lies on the boundary of the Acropolis archaeological site and near the ancient Agora and Forum.
An announcement on Friday informed passengers that the Monastiraki-Thission section of the line will open after the conclusion of the Archaeological Service's excavations.
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An announcement on Friday informed passengers that the Monastiraki-Thission section of the line will open after the conclusion of the Archaeological Service's excavations.
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Crowds expected to gather to witness magical winter solstice light ceremony at Newgrange
Despite the weather, it’s expected that like last year, crowds will gather to witness the winter solstice light ceremony on December 21. Last year the World Heritage site in Newgrange drew a large audience.
The 5,000-year-old Stone Age tomb is older than the pyramids, and over 32,000 people worldwide applied to witness last year’s magnificent winter solstice.
The tomb’s chamber lights up when the sun rises on a winter solstice morning. It is the only time of the year when the tomb lights up with natural sunlight.
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The 5,000-year-old Stone Age tomb is older than the pyramids, and over 32,000 people worldwide applied to witness last year’s magnificent winter solstice.
The tomb’s chamber lights up when the sun rises on a winter solstice morning. It is the only time of the year when the tomb lights up with natural sunlight.
Read the rest of this article...
Archaeology studies begin at proposed wind farm site near Oldbury
ARCHAEOLOGY studies at the potential site of a new wind farm have started.
Wind Prospect Developments Ltd, the company behind plans to build four 127-metre high wind turbines on land near Oldbury, has started work on the proposed site.
The archaeology studies at Stoneyard Lane, off Hill Lane, are to establish whether the site has any archaeological potential.
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Wind Prospect Developments Ltd, the company behind plans to build four 127-metre high wind turbines on land near Oldbury, has started work on the proposed site.
The archaeology studies at Stoneyard Lane, off Hill Lane, are to establish whether the site has any archaeological potential.
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Saturday, December 18, 2010
Nine investigated over Pompeii collapses
Nine people are under investigation for two collapses in the famous ancient Roman city of Pompeii that shocked the culture world last month, judicial sources said on Thursday.
An ancient training centre for gladiators collapsed into rubble in Pompeii on November 6 and a wall protecting a home known as the House of the Moralist fell down on November 30, causing widespread international outrage.
Among the people under investigation by prosecutors in nearby Torre Annunziata are the former director of the site and the current head of excavations, ANSA news agency reported. The two declined to comment.
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An ancient training centre for gladiators collapsed into rubble in Pompeii on November 6 and a wall protecting a home known as the House of the Moralist fell down on November 30, causing widespread international outrage.
Among the people under investigation by prosecutors in nearby Torre Annunziata are the former director of the site and the current head of excavations, ANSA news agency reported. The two declined to comment.
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