Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Cool site of the day The Tomb of Ramesses I. OsirisNet's site got an addition of photographs and 3D reconstructions of this tomb, plus explanatory text on the reign of R-I.

Also check out Theirry's translation of his paper AKHENATEN AND THE RELIGION OF THE ATEN.

Space dust to unlock Mexican pyramid secrets
Muon detector could point scientists to hidden burial chambers

TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico - Remnants of space dust that constantly shower the world are helping unlock the secrets of a 2,000-year-old Mexican pyramid where the rulers of a mysterious civilization may lie buried.

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Deep under the huge Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City, physicists are installing a device to detect muons, subatomic particles that are left over when cosmic rays hit Earth.

The particles pass through solid objects, leaving tiny traces which the detector will measure, like an X-ray machine, in a search for burial chambers inside the monolith.

Since there are fewer muons in an empty space than in solid rock or earth, scientists will be able to spot any holes inside the pyramid, a sacred site in the city of Teotihuacan, which rose and fell around the same time as ancient Rome.


Archaeologists blast Antiquities Department

THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS’ Association yesterday launched a scathing attack against the Antiquities Department, accusing them of being unorganised, after recently discovered finds in Paphos were dug up and left exposed.

In a news conference yesterday, the chairman of the Association of Cypriot Archaeologists, Andreas Demetriou, said the area had been dug up without the presence of an archaeologist, disturbing the finds’ original location and leaving them in heaps next to the holes.

“They went there and dug up holes to construct a shelter for the dig,” he said.
“But they dug more than 50 holes and there was no archaeologist present on the site at the time.


Check out Cypriot archaeology when you get the chance. It's beautiful work and has a quality different from either classical Greek or Mesopotamian.

Flyover might uncover long-lost villages

During an aerial tour Friday, thermal-imaging photographers might have found two German villages settled in Taft around 1719 and abandoned a few years later, St. Charles Parish history buffs and a thermal photographer say.

"It went off pretty good," said Luling resident John Polk, who is president of the Louisiana Archaeological Society.

An early look at the thermal-imaging photos showed some "anomalies" at the area where historians say one of the villages was located, Polk said.

"We don't know for sure," Polk said, "but history tells us this is where it's at."


Syracuse investors help raise sunken treasure

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A group of investors from Syracuse are helping raise a 242-year-old shipwreck off the northern coast of Nova Scotia, a find that's yielded gold and silver coins, jewelry and silverware.

More importantly, says Norman Miles, a dramatic episode in North American history is being fleshed out.

"Our duty is to teach the world what happened there," Miles said. "And as we teach the world, this collection will grow in value because it will become sought after by those that have an interest in this time and place in history."

The sinking of the Auguste de Bordeaux during a vicious November storm in 1761 was the starting point for one survivor's remarkable journey.


In Las Vegas, Looting Ring Unravels (Free registration required)

LAS VEGAS -- It happened by chance: An alert park ranger saw a pair of men loading things into their car in Death Valley National Park. The ranger questioned the men. One of them said he had "Indian rocks" in his car for his personal collection. And from there, the plot began to unravel.

What the ranger had stumbled upon was a ring of thieves who looted Native American artifacts, and authorities are calling it one of the largest operations of its kind.


Tim Canaday was in grad school at the same time as me at the University of Washington. Good archaeologist and getting the Death Valley position was his absolute dream come true.

Guard wants land combed for artifacts

A National Guard training center near the Normanskill Creek should be explored for possible evidence of past settlement by early Native Americans, according to a draft report by the New York National Guard.

The 241-acre site, located off a bend in the creek on Grant Hill Road, is among four Guard-owned local properties worth examining for historic artifacts, according to the Guard's draft Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan.