Silvio Berlusconi sex scandal overshadowed by cave row

A row about the discovery of a series of 2,300-year-old caves has emerged as a potentially greater threat to Silvio Berlusconi than allegations he slept call girl Patrizia D'Addario.

The latest extracts of taped bedroom conversations to be released contained an apparently innocuous remark by the Italian prime minister that he had discovered 30 ancient tombs on one of his estates.

He is heard boasting to Miss D'Addario, 42, about the existence of Phoenician tombs, from the 3rd Century BC on his Villa Certosa estate on Sardinia where guests have included Tony Blair.

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Turkey: Archaeological Remains of Roman Theatre to be Unearthed in Ankara

The remains of an ancient Roman theatre, which are partly buried underneath a building, will be unearthed in Turkey’s capital to become a spot for cultural events.

As a result of the initiative of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a building constructed 15 years ago atop the remains of the Roman theatre will be torn down, the television channel CNN Türk reported today.

The ancient remains were discovered in 1982 in the Ulus quarter of the capital, which used to be the heart of old Ankara.

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Ancient tiles found as Time Team dig reopens

History experts have begun work to explore the remains of an ancient Northamptonshire castle, picking up where Time Team's archaeologists left off eight years ago.

Experts from the Channel 4 programme carried out excavation work at The Mount in Alderton, close to Towcester in 2001.

But because Time Team's digs are limited to just three days, they only scratched the surface of the historic site, where work to build the long-since-vanished castle began soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

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Ancient Theater Masks Rediscovered in Pompeii

A set of 15 mysterious life-size masks, reminiscent of ancient Roman drama, have been rediscovered in Pompeii after being forgotten for more than two centuries, according to Italian archaeologists who have shown them for the first time at an exhibition in Naples, Italy.

Made of plaster, the rather heavy masks were unearthed in 1749 in Pompeii during the excavations promoted by King Charles of Bourbon. They were deposited, along with many other artifacts, in the Royal Palace of Portici, a town on the Bay of Naples.

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4000-year-old paraplegic found

Archaeologists have uncovered the ancient remains of a young man in northern Vietnam who could be the oldest known paraplegic in the world.

The discovery has astounded researchers, showing the long-term survival of a man with a severe disability in a community where almost 50 per cent of people died before they turned five.

The remains, which are between 3500 and 4000-years-old, reveal the man was about 25 and was born with a rare disorder called Klippel-Feil syndrome.

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1000-Year-Old Cowshed Discovered

Archeological research undertaken earlier this summer in Keldudalur in Skagafjördur has brought to light an unusually well-preserved cowshed from the 10th century; the first one to be unearthed in Northern Iceland, archeologist Ragnheidur Traustadóttir told mbl.is.

Remains from man-made structures from the 11th and the 12th century were also discovered.

The cowshed surfaced just west of the living quarters of cow farmers Thórarinn Leifsson and Gudrún Lárusdóttir at Keldudalur. Research has been ongoing there since the year 2002. An ancient burial ground has been found there and it has been known since 2007 that ancient man-made structures existed.

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Archaeologists find graveyard of sunken Roman ships

A team of archaeologists using sonar technology to scan the seabed have discovered a "graveyard" of five pristine ancient Roman shipwrecks off the small Italian island of Ventotene.

The trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the fifth century AD, lie more than 100 meters underwater and are amongst the deepest wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean in recent years, the researchers said on Thursday.

Part of an archipelago situated halfway between Rome and Naples on Italy's west coast, Ventotene historically served as a place of shelter during rough weather in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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Archaeologists Discover Nymph Sanctuary in Central Bulgaria

A sanctuary where the nymph cult used to be celebrated in Antiquity was recently found by archaeologists in the vicinity of the Nicopolis ad Istrum ancient site, located near the town of Veliko Tarnovo in central Bulgaria.

The experts discovered an alley, leading to a spring and covered with limestone tiles decorated in a stand-out relief.

The find is a first of its kind in the region, Pavlina Vladkova, leader of the archaeological team, told national media. Until now, she said, the only testament of the nymph cult in Nicopolis ad Istrum used to be images on coins made in the second century under the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, as well as ancient inscriptions.

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VISITORS to Wanstead Park will be able to see archaeology come to life this weekend as part of the 2009 Festival of British Archaeology.

VISITORS to Wanstead Park will be able to see archaeology come to life this weekend as part of the 2009 Festival of British Archaeology.

The Wanstead Parklands Community Project will be presenting a programme activities in the park on July 25 and 26, in collaboration with the West Essex Archaeology Group and the City of London Corporation.

Activities on show will include digging and finds processing, geophysical testing, and a literature stall.

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Human bones unearthed as tram workers hit ancient graveyard

WORKERS have discovered centuries-old human remains while digging tram works on Leith Walk.

Archaeologists are said to believe that the skeletons, found near Elm Row, may be up to 500 years old, and there could once have been a graveyard on the site.

They began painstakingly removing and cataloguing the bones following the discovery yesterday. The news follows a similar discovery in Constitution Street in May.

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Alter to Mysterious Deity Found at Roman Fort

A massive altar dedicated to an eastern cult deity has emerged during excavations of a Roman fort in northern England.

Weighing 1.5 tons, the four-foot high ornately carved stone relic, was unearthed at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian between 122-30 A.D.

The Romans built the defensive wall across the north of Britain from Carlisle to Newcastle-on-Tyne, to keep out invading armies from what is now Scotland.

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Medieval massacre site found in Dorset

In June archaeologists and workers expanding a road in Dorset discovered the site of a grizzly medieval massacre, which perhaps was the result of Viking raids in the tenth or early eleventh century.

They found the skeletal remains of fifty-one men, all decapitated before their bodies were thrown in a pit. Their heads were also found, stacked to one side.

At first, the bodies were believed to have been from people who lived in ancient or Roman times, but radio-carbon dating revealed that they were killed between 890 and 1034, when the South of England was pillaged by Viking raiders from Scandinavia.

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Vinland Map is authentic, expert confirms

The 15th century Vinland Map, the first known map to show part of America before explorer Christopher Columbus landed on the continent, is almost certainly genuine, a Danish expert said Friday.

Controversy has swirled around the map since it came to light in the 1950s, many scholars suspecting it was a hoax meant to prove that Vikings were the first Europeans to land in North America -- a claim confirmed by a 1960 archaeological find.

Doubts about the map lingered even after the use of carbon dating as a way of establishing the age of an object.

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Jorvik Viking Centre set for £1million upgrade

A MILLION pound redevelopment of the Jorvik Viking Centre is expected to be announced tomorrow by Culture Minister Barbara Follett.

The decision by York Archaeological Trust to revamp the hugely popular attraction will include an underfoot reconstruction of the original Coppergate excavation, state of the art animatronics and the reconstruction of a new Viking-age house and backyard. The Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism said: “This is a major boost for tourism in Yorkshire. “The Jorvik Viking Centre is without doubt one of the region’s flagship attractions.

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Excavation work takes place on Stone Age dwelling

EXCAVATION work was due to finish at the weekend on a Stone Age dwelling unearthed at Ronaldsway.

The 8,000-year-old structure, found during construction of the airport runway extension, is believed to be the oldest house ever found in the Isle of Man.

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When and wear: the prehistory of clothing

Ask Ian Gilligan about his research project, and he’ll begin with a contradiction.

“My great interest is in clothing, because I think it’s our most important invention,” he says. “But the next thing I’m going to say is that I’m not interested in clothing at all.”

Is this the sign of a confused mind, or a rampant contrarian? Far from it.

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Ancient shrine found at Hadrian's Wall fort

A unique religious shrine to a Roman god has been uncovered at a fort along Hadrian’s Wall.

The altar dedicated to Jupiter of Doliche has been discovered next to the north gate of Vindolanda in Northumberland.

Director of excavations Andrew Birley said: “What should have been part of the rampart mound near the north gate has turned out to be an amazing religious shrine with a substantial and exceptionally well preserved altar dedicated by a prefect of the Fourth Cohort of Gauls to an important eastern god, Jupiter of Doliche.

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Neanderthals Were Few and Poised for Extinction

Neanderthals are of course extinct. But there never were very many of them, new research concludes.

In fact, new genetic evidence from the remains of six Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) suggests the population hovered at an average of 1,500 females of reproductive age in Europe between 38,000 and 70,000 years ago, with the maximum estimate of 3,500 such female Neanderthals.

"It seems they never really took off in Eurasia in the way modern humans did later," said study researcher Adrian Briggs of the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

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Archaeology Excavations Start at Bulgaria's Roman City Nikopolis ad Istrum

New archaeological excavations are starting Monday, July 13, 2009, at the ancient Roman city of Nikopolis ad Istrum in Central Northern Bulgaria.

The excavations are a joint undertaking of the Veliko Tarnovo University and the Regional History Museum in Veliko Tarnovo, and are funded by the EU Social Fund through the Ministry of Education with a project for practical student work in a real environment.

30 archaeology students will participate in the work at Nikopolis ad Istrum together with their professors for over a month.

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Archaeology Quiz: Otzi the Iceman

Today's Archaeology Quiz of the Week is on Otzi the Iceman, that poor old fellow discovered eroding out of a glacier in the Europeans Alps.

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Archaeologists search for tomb of Suleiman I in Hungary

An international team of archaeologists started excavations near Szigetvar, S Hungary, to find the tomb of Suleiman I, the Lawgiver, regional daily Uj Dunantuli Naplo said on Monday.

Suleiman (1494-1566), also called as the Magnificent, was the longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire, one of the most prominent monarchs of 16th-century Europe, presiding over the golden age of the empire. He died during the siege of the fortress of Szigetvar after 46 years of rule.

The excavations were initiated by archaeologists of Pecs University. Composed of Hungarian and Turkish experts, the team hopes to find the exact location of Suleiman's tomb at the church of Turbek.

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Did an Ancient Volcano Freeze Earth?

One fine day about 74,000 years ago, a giant volcano on Sumatra blew its top. The volcano, named Toba, may have ejected 1000 times more rock and other material than Mount St. Helens in Washington state did in 1980. In the process, it cooled the climate by at least 10°C, causing a global famine. But could the aftermath have been even worse? A new study puts to rest questions about whether Toba plunged Earth into a 1000-year deep freeze and whether an equivalent event today could jump-start a new, millennia-long ice age.

Giant volcanic eruptions such as Toba briefly cause the opposite of global warming. Although eruptions do emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, volcanoes also spew sulfur dioxide. Combined with water vapor, sulfur dioxide forms sulfate aerosols, which can spread around the globe, blocking solar radiation and chilling the air before becoming acid rain and snow.

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The Turkish Dam That 'Would Never Have been Permitted' in Germany

The German government, along with the Austrians and Swiss, pulled their support for a huge hydro-energy project in Turkey this week. The required dam would have flooded an ancient city and displaced more than 10,000 people. German papers praised the decision, asking why it took so long to make.

It was meant to be one of the most ambitious energy policy programs ever undertaken by the Turkish government, but on Tuesday, Germany, Austria and Switzerland withdrew their backing for the controversial Ilisu dam project. The governments of the countries said they would suspend loan guarantees to European construction companies participating in the mega project.

Construction of the 1,820 meter (1.1 miles) long and 135 meter (443 feet) high dam would have meant flooding the archeologically significant, ancient city of Hasankeyf on the Tigris River as well as the enforced relocation of more than 10,000 people.

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Archaeologists Discover Mesolithic Human Traces in South-Western Romania

Human traces dating from the Early Mesolithic Period were recently discovered at the Schela Cladovei archaeological site in south-western Romania by experts from the University of Edinburgh and of the “Vasile Parvan” Bucharest Institute of Archaeology.

The unearthed finds indicate the beginning of human sedentary life, the transition from the food-gathering, fishing and hunting stage to a primitive civilization dating from 7100 to 5500 BC, Professor Adina Boroneanţ, the archaeological team’s coordinator recently told the Romanian press agency Agerpres.

“It is the first time when, for a period specific to the Romanian Neolithic, we come upon one of a kind traces. These are the ruins of an artisan centre producing malachite beads. We found such pieces in both unprocessed and processed stage. And what is more interesting, we even found the silex tools used to manufacture these ornaments,” Boroneanţ explained.

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New Report Identifies Maritime Archaeology Skills

The Nautical Archaeology Society has published a study into what makes someone a competent maritime archaeologist. The study makes recommendations which seek to ensure that skills competency is a key factor in the development of maritime archaeology in the UK.

The research, funded by English Heritage, was designed to identify the range and level of skills required in maritime archaeology, define competencies and standards, identify and define how training should be developed in order to meet those standards, and to determine how to provide sufficient opportunities in order to maintain those competencies.

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Secrets of 'unlucky' Bradford hill fort under the microscope

Described by one archaeologist as the unluckiest hill fort in Wiltshire, the Iron Age past of Budbury in Bradford on Avon remains to this day shrouded in mystery.

Local historians have been trying to unlock Budbury’s secrets ever since eminent archaeologist GJ Wainwright uncovered evidence of a substantial hill fort in the area, which is now developed into housing, dating back to as early as 600BC.

Wainwright believed he was on the verge of uncovering a burial mound, so the discovery of the hill fort, thought to cover up to six acres of land, came as a complete surprise.

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Archaeologists move on new west Cumbrian hospital site

A major excavation will start next week ahead of a multi-million pound project to transform Cumbria’s once-doomed cottage hospitals.

Cockermouth is the first of nine community hospitals to be developed into a modern health campus, combining inpatient beds with a much wider range of services.

Hoped to start this year, the project will see a complete rebuild on land next to the existing Isel Road building, at a cost of £14.6 million.

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anced VAG Cruck database released.

This resource consists of the tree-ring dates for 2450 buildings in the United Kingdom, ranging from cathedrals to cottages and barns. The database holds period, location and reference information for each record. The database was compiled by the Vernacular Architecture Group and is based on the lists published annually in the journal Vernacular Archaeology.

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Cambridge yields Anglo-Saxon remains

Archaeological excavations in the central offices of Cambridge University have revealed that the area was occupied by Anglo-Saxons.

The finds include Roman pottery, medieval remains and 11th Century dog bones, which indicate Cambridge was established in the final decades of the Saxon era.

"The site has enabled us to prove what we previously had no proof for - that by the time of the Norman Conquest there was a thriving settlement in the middle of Cambridge," BBC quoted Richard Newman of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit as saying.

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Ancient henge may be largest one in county

Remains of a pre-historic henge could be lying just feet below a Lincolnshire field, say experts.

Studies of a large site in Navenby, north of Lincoln, have revealed telltale signs of what could be the county's biggest henge.

The Bronze age place of ritual, worship or community gatherings is thought to be lying on a strip of land which was later turned into a Roman settlement.

Geophysics studies, which are used to detect underground geology and artefacts, have revealed a circular structure.

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World's oldest bible published in full online

The oldest bible in the world was displayed in its entirety for the first time in 150 years today after researchers digitised its four sections kept in cities thousands of miles apart and placed the reunited text in cyberspace.

The Codex Sinaiticus, which was written some 1,600 years ago on more than 800 pages of animal skin parchment, is available on a free website following a collaboration between four institutions in Germany, Russia, Egypt and Britain, which have held different parts of the ancient book after it was bought on behalf of the Russian Tsar in the mid-19th century.

The British Library, which has led the project, has held the largest chunk the bible- some 600 pages - since it bought most of the book from the Soviet Union in 1933 for £100,000 raised by public subscription amid fears that the Communist regime would discard it.

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Medieval finds at university dig

Roman pottery, medieval remains and 11th Century dog bones have been found at the heart of Cambridge University during an archaeological dig.

The dig has been taking place beneath a tearoom in the university's central offices, known as the Old Schools.

It was one of the events marking the 800th anniversary of the university.

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Roman road discovery is ‘missing link’ in Huddersfield history

IT’s a small strip of land, barely six metres long.

But for historians and archaeologists, the patch of earth near Outlane is a remarkable find.

And it is more evidence of how the Romans lived and worked in Huddersfield 2,000 years ago.

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Experts hold summit to unravel mystery of rebel Roman fortress in Norfolk

Last week (June 25 2009) a summit was held at the University of Nottingham to discuss new revelations on the mysterious Norfolk town of Caistor St Edmund.

A buried Roman province which caused sensation when RAF pictures of the site appeared on the front page of The Times in 1929, Caistor was adjudged to have been a densely-occupied urban area, abandoned by the Emperor of the struggling empire in 5AD.

New research, though, suggests such theories could be flimsily inaccurate. Using a Caesium Vapour magnetometer – a virtual grid survey device which resembles a cross between a calculator and an iPod – an expert team discovered a theatre, traces of Queen Boudicca's rebel Iceni tribe and strong signs of activity in the area through the Iron Age and up to 900AD.

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Roman well discovered at hotel site

A Roman well has been unearthed on a Chester development site which will soon house a new hotel.
Just two weeks of digging on Upper Northgate Street and Delamere Street has exposed a rock-cut Roman well and several large quarries.

The quarries were used as medieval rubbish dumps which experts say may prove invaluable to archaeologists.

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Archaeologist warns of threat from development

PRECIOUS archaeological treasures could be destroyed by a proposed 12,000-home development to the east of Swindon.

This is the view of an expert who has been speaking out against the Eastern Development Area (EDA) for more than a decade.

Houses, community facilities, schools and shops are planned for the EDA, on land between Wanborough and South Marston.

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Rare Peek at Riches of Past in Rome

For decades now, excavations in the Roman Forum and on the Palatine Hill have yielded grand halls and imperial residences with fanciful frescoes and graceful stucco reliefs.

Often, after the initial news media fanfare that usually accompanies such finds and their restoration, many of the ancient habitats have returned to the obscurity from which they emerged. There just aren’t enough custodians to monitor these important archaeological sites, and so they are off limits to the public.

But this summer — except in August, when it’s too hot — Rome’s archaeological authority has reallocated money so that it can provide staffs for five monuments in the ancient heart of Rome that are usually closed. The initiative will also allow nighttime visits to the Colosseum and offer free after-hours concerts in the museums that house the state’s collection of ancient Roman art.

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Caution urged on St Paul body find

A recent scientific analysis on a tomb Vatican officials believe belongs to St Paul does not ''confirm or exclude'' that the relics inside are those of the apostle, the head of the Vatican Museums' diagnostics laboratory said Friday.

Speaking at a Vatican press conference Ulderico Santamaria, who is also a science professor at Tuscia University, said the analysis did not offer conclusive proof.

However, Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls where the tomb was found in 2006, said the results made him optimistic.

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No Etruscan link to modern Tuscans

The current population of Tuscany is not descended from the Etruscans, the people that lived in the region during the Bronze Age, a new Italian study has shown.

Researchers at the universities of Florence, Ferrara, Pisa, Venice and Parma discovered the genealogical discontinuity by testing samples of mitochondrial DNA from remains of Etruscans and people who lived in the Middle Ages (between the 10th and 15th centuries) as well as from people living in the region today.

While there was a clear genetic link between Medieval Tuscans and the current population, the relationship between modern Tuscans and their Bronze Age ancestors could not be proven, the study showed.

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Archaeology team get to work at Medieval Village

THIS week, and until the end of July, a team of archaeologists led by Professor John Hines from Cardiff University School of History and Archaeology will be investigating the remains of the medieval manor house at Cosmeston Medieval Village.

Community volunteers will play a key part in these important investigations and are joining the team to look for evidence of the past and find out more about this unique Welsh historical site.

The dig site can be easily viewed from public footpaths in Cosmeston Country Park but FREE guided tours by archaeologists are also available at 11.30am and 2.30pm, Monday to Sunday, excluding Fridays, meeting at the main Visitor Centre.

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British Archaeology to Stand on the Fourth Plinth

Mike Pitts, editor of the CBA’s British Archaeology magazine, will be occupying the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square on 29 July, during the Festival of British Archaeology.

The details of Mike’s performance will remain secret until the day, but given his interests we have every reason to expect he will do something that engages deeply with the past. He will, he says, be posting linked texts on his website at the time of the event, and will welcome comments and suggestions now and afterwards.

The empty Fourth Plinth is being used for 100 days from 6 July by the sculptor Antony Gormley, who is inviting participants like Mike to help create ‘an astonishing living monument’. Anybody can go and view Mike’s plinth performance in person, or events can be followed on the Fourth Plinth website. Further news and information of the event will also take place on the CBA website and Mike Pitts’ website.

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Iron Age coins declared treasure

One of the UK's largest hauls of Iron Age gold coins has been declared treasure at an inquest in Suffolk.

The 840 handmade coins, called staters, were unearthed in a field near Wickham Market, Suffolk, in March last year.

After Michael Dark made the discovery with his metal detector, archaeologists found more coins, which are now at the British Museum in London.

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New Fossil Primate Challenges "Missing Link" Ida

Remember Ida? It's been just a month since the fossil primate made her debut on the History Channel where she was called a "missing link" between humans and primitive primates and a "revolutionary scientific find that will change everything." But Ida may be robbed of her claim to that title by a new fossil primate from Asia, published today. "It shows that Ida is out of the running as a [human] ancestor," says the fossil's discoverer, paleontologist K. Christopher Beard of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Researchers have long searched for the earliest anthropoids, advanced primates that were the ancestors of humans, apes, and monkeys. Until recently, most scientists thought anthropoids arose in Africa, where the oldest widely accepted members of the group lived as early as 37 million years ago in the Fayum province of Egypt.

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Via Aurelia: The Roman Empire's Lost Highway

French amateur archaeologist Bruno Tassan fights to preserve a neglected 2,000-year-old ancient interstate in southern Provence

At first glance, it didn't appear that impressive: a worn limestone pillar, six feet high and two feet wide, standing slightly askew beside a country road near the village of Pélissanne in southern France. "A lot of people pass by without knowing what it is," Bruno Tassan, 61, was saying, as he tugged aside dense weeds that had grown over the column since he last inspected it. Tassan was showing me a milliaire, or milestone, one of hundreds planted along the highways of Gaul at the time of the Roman Empire. The inscription had worn away ages ago, but Tassan, a documentary filmmaker and amateur archaeologist, was well versed in the artifact's history. This particular stone, set in place in 3 B.C. during the reign of Augustus, was once a perfect cylinder, set along the nearly 50 miles between Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence) and Arelate (Arles). "It's one of the last standing," Tassan said.

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Heritage Bill Dropped Again!

There is deep disappointment again that the Heritage Protection Bill for England and Wales does not appear in the Draft Legislative Programme for 2009/10 announced by the Government this week.

The Programme indicates the legislation likely to be included in the Queen’s Speech for the next parliamentary session. Clearly there is now little expectation of the legislative reforms which the 2007 White Paper promised would place the historic environment at the heart of the planning system. The Bill aimed to simplify and strengthen existing legislation and introduce opportunities for people to be more involved in protecting and enhancing their local heritage. It also paved the way for the signing and ratification of the Hague Convention, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Without the Bill, the UK will soon be the only international power not to have signed the convention.

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Archaeological Excavations at Tetovo Fortress in Macedonia Yield Ottoman Period Finds

Several important structures and objects dating to the Ottoman Era were unearthed during last year’s excavations of the fortress of the town of Tetovo, located in north-western Macedonia, near the capital Skopje.

The newly discovered structures included three tunnels with underground corridors that connected them, a kitchen and dining room, a covered and a summer saray and a double well, Lulieta Abazi, Senior Custodian and the Manager of the Project, and Srekko Jovanovski, director of the Tetovo Museum, told the Utrinski Vesnik today.

Among the objects found during excavations were a silver-gilded cigarette box with preserved tobacco, coins from the Turkish period and ceramic fragments of smoking pipes.

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Remains of a medieval castle found at St. Adrian's tunnel in Basque Region

Those responsible for leading excavations into the St Adrian tunnel (between Gipuzkoa and Alava) which started a year ago have been amazed by recent findings.

"This is double what we expected (to find)," said one archaeologist. "Without doubt, what is emerging here is a big surprise."

Remains which have been found inside the tunnel, where today only the old Roman road and an ancient chapel still stand, have lead archaeologists to conclude that there once stool a medieval castle of some magnitude, as well as possibly an inn and a cemetery. All of these are evidence of the importance of the underpass which joins the Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa and Alava.

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Bulgaria: Archaeologists Research Balkans’ Oldest Funeral Site

A team of Dutch archaeologists has come to the village of Dzhulyunitsa in central northern Bulgaria in order to research the oldest funeral site in the Balkans.

The site, discovered by Nedko Elenski, an archaeologist from the Regional History Museum of Veliko Tarnovo in 2004, is a funeral of a person of the age between 12 and 13, which dates to 6300 – 6150 BC.

The Neolithic settlement near the modern-day village of Dzhulyunitsa existed between 6300 and 5700 BC. The settlement flourished around 6000 BC but, 300 years later, life there ceased to exist due to reasons that are still unknown to archaeologists.

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Builder backs preservation of Roman Circus

A DEVELOPER has voiced support for plans to preserve Colchester’s Roman Circus.

Taylor Wimpey is building on part of the site, which was discovered in 2004.

There have been efforts to preserve it, including a failed bid by Colchester Council for £1million of lottery funding to build a visitors’ area.

Since then, Destination Colchester has been set up, with a brief to keep in public ownership as much as possible of the chariot racing circus’ footprint.

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Turkey plans to restart work on controversial dam project

Turkey today announced plans to resume a controversial £1bn dam project in the face of environmental protests that it would displace thousands of people, destroy habitats and drown priceless archaeological treasures.

The environment minister, Veysel Eroglu, said work on the Ilisu hydroelectric dam on the Tigris river in south-east Turkey would restart after a six-month funding suspension ends next week.

The announcement disappointed campaigners who believed that the project had suffered a potentially fatal blow last December, after German, Swiss and Austrian institutions announced they were withholding finance because fears about the dam's environmental and social impact had not been addressed. The governments agreed that 150 World Bank conditions on the environment, heritage sites, neighbouring states and human relocation must be met.

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'Hanging' Judge Jeffrey's privy uncovered at castle

A PRIVY that may have been used by ‘Hanging’ Judge Jeffreys has been discovered at Taunton Castle.

Excavations there have revealed several previously unrecorded features in the castle’#s Great Hall.

As well as the 17th Century toilet, several even older features have been uncovered.

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The Archaeology in Europe Weblog on Twitter

Following Kris Hirst’s very useful article “Twitter and Archaeology”, I have decided to add a Twitter feed from the Archaeology in Europe Weblog. You can find the feed at http://twitter.com/ArchEurope , or use the link in the sidebar.

Feature - Grid makes a SPLASH in underwater archaeology

Submerged beneath the waves lies a large part of human history.

For our ancestors, the ancient coastlines were attractive places to settle and experiment with what became the foundations of civilization. As the major glaciers melted between sixteen and six thousand years ago, these sites — where people first began to make fishing equipment, build boats and create permanent settlements — became engulfed by the rising seas.

But rather than destroying these ancient landscapes, the rising sea level instead preserved many of them, and with them many details in the story of our past.

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Computer Recognizes Archaeological Material And Fake Van Goghs

People find it very easy to recognise a face, even under very different circumstances. For a computer, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult. Dutch researcher Laurens van der Maaten has developed a new analytical technique which enables the computer to better interpret the content of photos and images, but also of data.

The ‘proof of the pudding' of his technique for automatic image analysis is a system for the automatic analysis and recognition of archaeological material such as pottery, Roman coins and glass from the Middle Ages. Van der Maaten has also successfully used the technique to distinguish forgeries and paintings by contemporaries of Van Gogh from paintings by Van Gogh himself.

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Record event numbers announced as Britain gets set for nationwide archaeology bash

Festival: The Festival of British Archaeology, various venues, July 28 – August 2 2009

More than 600 events are set to take place during this year's Festival of British Archaeology, the UK's biggest archaeological extravaganza.

Attractions range from foraging for secrets on the Thames foreshore to opportunities to join the excavation of a Victorian terraced house. There are also guided walks around the archaeological monuments of Cornwall and a visit to the dig of an 18th-century latrine. Many events have limited spaces, so booking is essential.

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Archaeology Quiz of the Week: Middle Paleolithic

Today's Archaeology Quiz of the Week is on Middle Paleolithic, that most exciting period in human history.

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Secrets of Oystermouth to be unearthed

Fascinating discoveries are hoped for as archaeologists today start a dig on the site of Swansea's 12th century Oystermouth Castle.

Volunteers will work alongside experts as the group excavates outside the castle's west tower, explores the knoll area and looks for the outer wall and ditch.

Daily guided tours are being organised within a few days of starting the dig and everyone taking part will have the chance to learn about excavation techniques, how to record discoveries and how to deal with objects that are found.

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Skeleton reveals violent life and death of medieval knight

A 620-year-old skeleton discovered under the floor of Stirling Castle has shed new light on the violent life of a medieval knight.

Archaeologists believe that bones found in an ancient chapel on the site are those of an English knight named Robert Morley who died in a tournament there in 1388.

Radio carbon dating has confirmed that the skeleton is from that period, and detailed analysis suggests that he was in his mid-20s, was heavily muscled and had suffered several serious wounds in earlier contests.

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Hard days for Stirling knight who'd been hit by axe, arrow and sword

WHEN the skeleton was discovered buried beneath Stirling Castle more than a decade ago, archaeologists knew only that the man had been someone important, possibly a priest.

However, new analytical techniques have revealed the 600-year-old bones had a very different past – as they are those of a horrifically injured knight who lived a short but "incredibly violent" life.

Research has shown the man, who was in his twenties, was killed by a sword slicing through his nose and jaw. It also revealed he had previously survived both an axe wound to the forehead and a large arrowhead being embedded in his chest.

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Important historic remains unearthed in Bridlington

REMAINS of some of the earliest houses ever found in the North of England have been unearthed in Bridlington.

Archaeologists have discovered that buildings stood on the site of the current Cottage Farm development more than 5,000 years ago.

In a significant find, a team uncovered remains of houses, fields, kilns and people during excavations of the area, on the north side of town.

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Dig aims to uncover castle past

The first major archaeological dig to take place at a medieval castle near Swansea is underway.

Experts and volunteers are hoping to uncover artefacts along with clues as the original layout of Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles.

They will be on site digging and examining trenches for three weeks.

The ruined castle was recently given a £1.7m restoration lifeline which will pay for conservation works and for a new interpretation centre.

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Acropolis Museum: Athens unveils its bid for the Marbles

Greece’s New Acropolis Museum is a formidable rival to the British Museum and has renewed debate about the Elgin Marbles.

'The opening of the New Acropolis Museum was one of the most emotional experiences of my life” says Tina Daskalantonakis, a Greek hotelier. “It is more than a museum – it is a symbol of national pride and hope for the future.”

The museum in question crouches 300 metres below the Acropolis. An angular behemoth of glass, steel, concrete and marble housing some 4,000 artefacts, it is the culmination of an idea first mooted by Konstantinos Karamanlis’s Conservative government in 1976 and, since the early 1980s, passionately advocated by the Socialist minister of culture Melina Mercouri: the creation of a home in which the Parthenon Marbles can be reunited and displayed to the world.

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Bulgaria: Archaeologists Discover Building Remains in Ancient Town of Marcianopolis

The foundations of an ancient building were recently discovered during archaeological excavations of the ancient Roman town Marcianopolis in north-eastern Bulgaria, representatives of the Mosaics Museum in the town of Devnya told national media last week.

This is the first time in 20 years that the region is being excavated, according to Ivan Sutev, head of the museum. This year’s archaeological research, he added, is to be carried out in two phases – the first one began on May 13 and has already been completed.

The ancient Roman building’s foundations were discovered in the site’s western part, but Sutev declined to speak about them in detail, as more research of the discoveries needs to be carried out first.

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No proof that Vatican bones are St Paul's, says Dutch expert

Responding to the claim by Pope Benedict XVI that the bones of St Paul have been found in Rome, a Dutch expert, Rengert Elburg, said Monday this can never be proven.

Elburg, an expert on archaeological study of old bones and organic remains for the government of the German state of Saxony, told the German Press Agency dpa in an interview, 'It's impossible to establish that it's him.'

Even a genetic analysis of the bones in a sarcophagus marked as Paul's would reveal nothing, because there were no proven descendants whose DNA could be compared.

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Prehistoric European Cave Artists Were Female

Inside France's 25,000-year-old Pech Merle cave, hand stencils surround the famed "Spotted Horses" mural.

For about as long as humans have created works of art, they've also left behind handprints. People began stenciling, painting, or chipping imprints of their hands onto rock walls at least 30,000 years ago.

Until recently, most scientists assumed these prehistoric handprints were male. But "even a superficial examination of published photos suggested to me that there were lots of female hands there," Pennsylvania State University archaeologist Dean Snow said of European cave art.

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Oldest known portrait of St Paul revealed by Vatican archaeologists

Vatican archaeologists have uncovered what they say is the oldest known portrait of St Paul. The portrait, which was found two weeks ago but has been made public only after restoration, shows St Paul with a high domed forehead, deep-set eyes and a long pointed beard, confirming the image familiar from later depictions.

L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, which devoted two pages to the discovery, said that the oval portrait, dated to the 4th century, had been found in the catacombs of St Thecla, not far from the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where the apostle is buried. The find was “an extraordinary event”, said Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

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Students dig Iron Age

TROWELS are at the ready for an annual dig that will uncover new information about an Iron Age settlement.

The annual Silchester dig on the site of Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, near Silchester, begins on Monday for six weeks, until August 9.

The dig is organised by the Field School at Reading University’s Department of Archaeology as a research and training excavation which this year will involve about 70 first year archaeology students and 200 other people learning the ropes of excavation.

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Acle dig finds rewrite history

Two top archaeologists and a group of budding relic-hunters are hoping to rewrite Norfolk's history books by digging up 11 back gardens.

Dr Carenza Lewis and Paul Blinkhorn, both of TV Time Team fame, and a team of high school students have unearthed evidence in Acle that may go on to prove the region's rich past was much more turbulent that thought.

Acle is one of 10 villages in Norfolk and Suffolk to have opened up their gardens to the archaeologists for a new book which is set challenge the traditional view of village life from the Dark Ages and medieval times.

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Pope claims human remains belong to St Paul

Human remains found beneath the Vatican have been identified as belonging to St Paul, Pope Benedict XVI said, apparently laying to rest the mystery of a tomb first discovered in the city in 2006.

Archaeologists found material and fragments of bone dating to the first or second century AD inside the tomb at the basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

Vatican experts claim the tomb's position, underneath the epigraph Paulo Apostolo Mart (Paul the Apostle and Martyr), at the base of the main altar is proof that it belongs to the apostle.

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Castle bones may belong to knight

Archaeologists believe that bones discovered at Stirling Castle may have belonged to a knight killed in battle or during a siege in the early 1400s.

It is thought that despite the warrior's relatively young age of about 25, he may have suffered several serious wounds from earlier fights.

Researchers thinks it is also possible he may have been living for some time with a large arrowhead in his chest.

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Ancient river found beneath the Channel during Olympics survey

An ancient river bed that has lain unseen for 185,000 years has been uncovered by scientists mapping the parts of the English Channel in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

The groundbreaking discovery was made during a two-year £300,000 project to map 500 square miles of seabed off the Jurassic coast in Dorset.

Using new and incredibly accurate mapping techniques, experts traced the river that may have once been used as a watering hole by woolly mammoths that roamed the area.

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Evidence Found of Parthenon Coloring

The iconic pure white of ancient Greek sculptures makes it difficult to picture them in any other way, but new evidence suggests that the Parthenon temple’s statues and friezes were originally colored. Researchers at the British Museum say they have detected tiny traces of blue paint on the building's statues and friezes. Although only a few hints of a pigment called Egyptian blue have been detected so far, experts believe the original coloring would have included red, along with highlights of gold. At the same time, the original marble still showed through white in places.

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Models of Earliest (Camel-Pulled) Vehicles Found

Some of the world's first farmers may have sped around in two-wheeled carts pulled by camels and bulls, suggests a new analysis on tiny models of these carts that date to 6,000-5,000 years ago.

The cart models, which may have been ritual objects or children's toys, were found at Altyndepe, a Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlement in Western Central Asia near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Together with other finds, the cart models provide a history of how wheeled transportation first emerged in the area and later developed.

"Horsepower" is a common term today, but the ancients had bull-power, followed by camel-power, researcher Lyubov Kircho explained to Discovery News.

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Oldest human settlement in Aegean unearthed on Limnos island

The ruins of the oldest human settlement in the Aegean found so far have been unearthed in archaeological excavations by a team of Greek, Italian and American archaeologists on the island of Limnos, headed by Thessaloniki Aristotle University (AUTH) professor of Prehistoric Archaeology Nikos Efstratiou.

The excavation began in early June and the finds brought to light so far, mainly stone tools of a high quality, are from the Epipaleolithic Period approximately 14,000 years ago. The finds indicate a settlement of hunters, food-collectors and fishermen of the 12th millennium BC.

Until now, it was believed that the oldest human presence in the Aegean had been located in the Archipelagos of the so-called Cyclops Cave on the rocky islet Yioura, north of the island of Alonissos, and at the Maroula site on Kythnos island, dating to circa 8,000 (8th millennium) BC.

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Die Kunst der Kelten in in Bern

Zum ersten Mal im deutschsprachigen Raum wird mit der Ausstellung «Kunst der Kelten – 700 vor bis 700 nach Chr.» das Kunstschaffen der antiken Kelten in den Mittelpunkt gestellt. Präsentiert werden rund 450 Meisterwerke aus vierzehn Jahrhunderten. Die ausgesuchten Ausstellungsstücke stammen aus ganz Europa, vom Atlantik bis zu den Alpen und von Schottland bis nach Bulgarien. Die Ausstellung dauert bis zum 18. Oktober und entstand in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart.

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Twitter and Archaeology

Now I know Twitter is not everybody's cup of tea, but I was poking around today and discovered some very interesting projects in Twitter. If you've been interested in seeing what different archaeological groups are up to on Twitter, or contemplating running a Twitter feed for your own group, this blog is for you.

It took me several hours, but I found a lot of professional archaeologists and students who were tweeting about archaeology; and I also found a lot of creative use of Twitter by organizations, archaeological sites, museum, magazines—even a handful of CRM firms to get news out about their organizations. Each of the following links should take you to a Twitter page, where you can cruise at your own pace and see what others are doing.

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Important trade links unearthed

AN archaeological dig in the centre of Worcester has been hailed as the most important excavation of the Roman period in 20 years.

The excavation of The Butts, on the site of the future Worcester Library and History Centre site, has given local historians a major insight into the Roman town of Vigornia – which became Worcester.

Worcestershire County Council’s historic environment and archaeology team can now prove that Roman Worcester was a well-developed town with trade links across the empire.

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Scarborough's Roman coin find

METAL-detecting enthusiasts could soon be coining it in after discovering a hoard of silver Roman cash dating back 1,500 years.

The find of 75 silver coins and 10 bronze, dating back to the year 355, was made on farmland near Filey.

They were issued during the reign of several Roman emperors, including Julian, Valentinian and Valens.

The discovery was officially confirmed as treasure by Scarborough coroner Michael Oakley at a special inquest. That means the British Museum Trust has "first refusal" on the find.

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Controversy arises over ancient stone site

The controversy over Ale's Stones (Ales stenar), a sandstone monument in the form of a ship, in Skåne in southern Sweden has taken a new turn.

The county administrative board has taken a decision to charge amateur archeaologist Bob G. Lind a fine of 20,000 kronor per day if he puts up signs at the popular tourist destination, reports Skånska Dagbladet newspaper.

Lind's previous signs at Ale's Stones, which has been called the "Stonehenge of the Nordic region", have been removed by the county board. They describe Lind's theories about the origins of the monument, which differ from those of professional archaeologists.

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Giving the archaeology buffs a chance to get their hands dirty

A series of training courses will begin next month, aimed at tempting armchair archaeology buffs out of doors and into the field.

As part of the Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme, members of the public can now participate in a series of archaeological excavation courses - ending up working on one of two digs in the county.

The courses centre around the ongoing archaeological work at Cantick and the Cairns, Windwick, South Ronaldsay.

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Huge dig uncovers mill on the Foss

THE remains of one of England's largest flour mills have been uncovered during the biggest archeological dig a Yorkshire city has seen for 25 years.

The Victorian building which once housed a massive steam engine used to power machinery has been discovered during the excavations in York.

While York is normally associated with the chocolate and railways industries, the remains of the flour mill have provided evidence of another facet in the city's history.

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Bronze Age burial ground uncovered

MAJOR roadworks on one of Ulster's main thoroughfares have uncovered items of archaeological significance.

Excavation as part of the upgrade of the A1 Belfast to Dublin road between Loughbrickland and Beech Hill has uncovered a Bronze Age burial ground and a Neolithic settlement site dating back 6,500 years.

The find has been described as "rare and extremely significant".

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Grimsby's secrets set to be revealed by dig

ARCHAEOLOGISTS hoping to uncover the secrets of Grimsby's past are studying their initial findings after carrying out an exploratory dig in Cartergate.


Pre Construct Archaeology, which is carrying out the work on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council, has carried out trial trenching and will now compile a report before deciding which areas require more detailed work and preservation.

The site, soon to be transformed into a £12m residential and retail development, could reveal clues and remains of the town's past dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.


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Fetternear dig set for 15th season

A LOCAL archaeological excavation is about to begin its 15th season
The dig, at Fetternear, is will commence on Monday (June 29).

Since 1995, fieldwork has included the excavation and landscape survey of the medieval Bishop's Palace and the post-medieval mansion. It forms part of the Scottish Episcopal Palaces Project that aims to study the residences of the medieval bishops in Scotland.

Fetternear was the summer place of the bishops of Aberdeen; it was a moated earthwork site, which later became a masonry building. After the Reformation, it became the main seat of the Leslies of Balqauhain. The buildings went through various transformations becoming a towerhouse, hallhouse and finally a mansion, which burned down in 1919.

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Stone Age flutes found in Germany

Prehistoric people made musical instruments out of bone and ivory soon after reaching Europe

The hills may be alive with the sound of music, but so were vulture bones and mammoth tusks for ancient Europeans. Researchers working at two Stone Age German sites have unearthed a nearly complete flute made from a vulture’s forearm as well as sections of three mammoth-ivory flutes.

These 35,000- to 40,000-year-old finds are the oldest known musical instruments in the world, says archaeologist and project director Nicholas Conard of the University of Tübingen in Germany.

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Race to save rare cave carvings

Experts have been trying to find out why ancient carvings in a mysterious chalk cave in Royston town centre are slowly disappearing.

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A Little Flute Music To Warm The Cave

Archaeologists say they have unearthed the world's oldest musical instruments. They are flutes, made of vulture bone and mammoth tusks. They were found in caves in southwestern Germany and date back to the time when modern human beings — who actually looked like us — were first venturing into Europe.

Scientists have little doubt that music is so basic to human nature that it goes back to our earliest days as a species. It's hard not to make music, when you think about it.

"Clap your hands, tap your foot, dance, sing, whistle. There's endless music you can make just with your body," says Nicholas Conard at Tuebingen University.

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35,000-year-old flute is oldest known musical instrument

The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, suggests that the first humans to occupy Europe had a fairly sophisticated culture. The instrument was excavated from a cave in Germany.

The wing bone of a griffon vulture with five precisely drilled holes in it is the oldest known musical instrument, a 35,000-year-old relic of an early human society that drank beer, played flute and drums and danced around the campfire on cold winter evenings, researchers said Wednesday.

Excavated from a cave in Germany, the nearly complete flute suggests that the first humans to occupy Europe had a fairly sophisticated culture, complete with alcohol, adornments, art objects and music that they developed there or even brought with them from Africa when they moved to the new continent 40,000 years or so ago.

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Erstmals seit dem Ende der Antike: Zwei römische Schiffe treffen sich auf der Mosel

Das rekonstruierte Kriegsschiff "Victoria" kommt nach Trier

Römische Kriegsschiffe auf der Mosel? Hat es das seit den glorreichen Zeiten des Kaisers Konstantin jemals wieder gegeben? Die Verleihung des Ausonius-Preises an Prof. Dr. Rainer Wiegels, einen der führenden Varus-Forscher, am 26. Juni 2009 macht es erstmals möglich: Das rekonstruierte Kriegsschiff "Victoria" kommt im Rahmen der Ausstellung "Imperium Konflikt Mythos. 2000 Jahre Varus-Schlacht" nach Trier.

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World's oldest musical instrument 'played Star Spangled Banner'

An ancient flute has been unearthed in Germany, revealing that musical traditions began earlier than previously thought.

The bone instrument, which is almost completely intact, has been dated to around 33,000BC — more than 5,000 years older than the earliest musical instruments on record.

Fragments of three ivory flutes were discovered at the same site, the Hohle Fels cave, near the city of Ulm.

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Stone Age wells found in Cyprus

Archaeologists have found a group of water wells in western Cyprus believed to be among the oldest in the world.

The skeleton of a young woman was among items found at the bottom of one shaft.

Radiocarbon dating indicates the wells are 9,000 to 10,500 years old, putting them in the Stone Age, the Cypriot Antiquities Department says.

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Co Down dig reveals a prehistoric mystery

Prehistoric mysteries uncovered in an archaeological dig at a Co Down road scheme were revealed to the public this morning.

The team behind the dig at the A1 Loughbrickland road scheme has uncovered not just a Bronze Age burial ground but also a Neolithic settlement dating back some 6,500 years.

The settlements, which contained a number of intriguing artefacts, lay on a finger of land which is believed to have been almost surrounded by water in prehistoric times. Three books on the finds have been published, including ‘Digging Down’, a children’s book, and a number of information boards at Loughbrickland lakeside were unveiled by Education Minister Caitriona Ruane this morning.

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Showcasing the secrets of Caistor Roman Town

In December 2007 a team of experts, led by The University of Nottingham, unveiled an extraordinary set of high-resolution images that gave an insight into the plan of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk.

The new research demonstrated that Caistor is a site of international importance — and tomorrow there will be an event to showcase the work and to clarify some of the mysteries of this buried roman town and highlight the impact of the research in developing Caistor as a cultural resource for Norfolk.

The high-resolution geophysical survey used a Caesium Vapour magnetometer to map buried remains across the entire walled area of the Roman town. It produced the clearest plan of the town yet seen confirming the street plan, the town’s water supply system, and the series of public buildings including the baths, temples and forum, know from earlier excavations.

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The first Europeans were cannibals: archaeologists

The remains of the "first Europeans" discovered at an archaeological site in northern Spain have revealed that these prehistoric men were cannibals who particularly liked the flesh of children.

"We know that they practiced cannibalism," said Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro, one of the co-directors of the Atapuerca project, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A study of the remains revealed that they turned to cannibalism to feed themselves and not as part of a ritual, that they ate their rivals after killing them, mostly children and adolescents.

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Prehistoric flute in Germany is oldest known

A bird-bone flute unearthed in a German cave was carved some 35,000 years ago and is the oldest handcrafted musical instrument yet discovered, archaeologists say, offering the latest evidence that early modern humans in Europe had established a complex and creative culture.

A team led by University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard assembled the flute from 12 pieces of griffon vulture bone scattered in a small plot of the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany.

Together, the pieces comprise a 8.6-inch (22-centimeter) instrument with five holes and a notched end. Conard said the flute was 35,000 years old.

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Archaeological dig finds unveiled

The results of a significant archaeological dig in County Down will be unveiled later.

Neolithic and Bronze Age remains were found at the site in Loughbrickland when work began on new roads four years ago.

The results of the find will be announced on Thursday afternoon.

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Marble Head of Emperor Titus Found

Archaeologists have unearthed a hoard of ancient Roman treasures, including a marble head of the Roman emperor Titus, during an excavation outside the southern Italian city of Naples.

The long-term digging effort in Rione Terra, a cliff in the port town of Pozzuoli, has yielded remains of 12 ancient statues, columns and fragments bearing inscriptions from what appear to be monuments from the Republican and Imperial periods of ancient Roman history.

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Facedown Burials Widely Used to Humiliate the Dead

Burying the dead facedown in ancient times didn't mean RIP, according to new research that says the practice was both deliberate and widespread.

Experts have assumed such burials were either unusual or accidental.

But the first global study on the facedown burials suggests that it was a custom used across societies to disrespect or humiliate the dead.

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Construction Destroys Archaeological Sites in Bulgaria's Sozopol

Hotel construction is destroying incredibly precious archaeological sites in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Sozopol.

This was announced by Svilen Ovcharov, a Sozopol lawyer specializing in media, copyright, human rights, and environment law, as quoted by BGNES.

According to Ovcharov, the new hotels in the areas around Sozopol known as Bodzhaka, Kalfata, and Harmanite are being constructed on top of an archaeological layer, which is deep from 2 to 7 meters. It contains a number of ancient graves that have not been excavated and researched.

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Bulgarian Archaeologists Uncover Intact Thracian Settlement

A team of Bulgarian archaeologists has uncovered a Thracian settlement close to the southeast town of Nova Zagora.

The team of Konstantin Gospodinov and Veselin Ignatov from the city of Burgas hope that their finding would be the first Thracian settlement to be uncovered in its entirety.

The settlement is located along the Blatnitsa River. It had a moat around it, and include large buildings rising above the ground, news.dir.bg reported.

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