Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Roman remains could be reburied

One of the greatest archaeological treasures in Sussex - the remains of a Roman bath - may have to be buried unless funds are raised to save it.

The Roman bath is on private land at Beauport Park, East Sussex, and was discovered by the headmaster of a private school in Hastings.

Now finds from the bath house site are stored in an old shed and an iron roof covers the actual structure.

Archaeologists say the Roman bath should be buried or covered properly.


Jerks Vandals Damage Peru's 12-Cornered Inca Stone

Vandals have damaged Peru's famous 12-cornered Inca stone in the Andean tourist city of Cusco by scarring it with a sharp metal object, the National Institute of Culture said on Friday.

The stone, which is both a national symbol and one of Cusco's best-known tourist sites, was damaged on Thursday night with either a nail, a screwdriver or a chisel, the INC said.

"The stone has a scar which is 15 centimeters (6 inches) long and 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) wide," INC spokesman Ramiro Canal told Reuters, adding that the stone was also now marked with seven small holes.


Here's a small picture of it:



Antiquities market update: Score one for the good guys Stolen Peru Artifacts Returned

U.S. officials yesterday returned to Peru 41 pre-Columbian artifacts, including a 1,000-year-old mother-of-pearl knife, an elaborately decorated burial shroud and a gold nose ornament more than 1,700 years old. The items were seized during three investigations.

International agreements and U.S. laws prohibit possession of items that are part of a country's archaeological heritage.

The objects were worth more than $1 million, according to Michael J. Garcia, assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security, but he stressed the prominent place the items hold in Peruvian culture and their importance as archaeological milestones. "The collection cannot be [fully] valued in dollars," Garcia said.


Viking artefacts found on Waterford road route

A suspected Viking settlement has been discovered along the planned route of the €300m Waterford City By-Pass.

The National Roads Authority has confirmed to RTÉ News that it is treating the site as one of 'special interest' and it could demand 'a significant amount' of additional expenditure.

The NRA says this site was located at Woodtown last August, and, following preliminary excavations, several artefacts were located which suggest it was a possible Viking settlement.


Attention dissertation project seekers Unearthing Fremont culture

An ongoing archaeological survey near the Book Cliffs could lead to new discoveries about the way the prehistoric Fremont people lived in central Utah, an archaeologist said Friday at the Utah Museum of Natural History.

The pristine nature of the Range Creek site makes it one of the nation's premier survey sites, said Duncan Metcalfe, curator of archaeology at the museum, who publicly reviewed work at the site for the first time.

"This one hasn't been looted," Metcalfe said. "I used to think of it as a once-in-a-lifetime find. We found about 130 untouched (sites), and I think there are thousands."


MAJOR DIG FOR ROMAN BRIDGE

A BURIED Roman bridge in Corbridge – thought to have been a spectacular representation of the power of the Empire – will be rescued in a major archeological dig.

It is hoped the remains of the largest stone bridge in Roman Britain will uncover vital clues to the movement of the Romans in Corbridge, and reveal more about the origination of the village itself.

The excavation, to the west of the present village bridge towards Corstopitum Roman site, will begin this summer, thanks to a £303,500 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and will include a massive public effort to record the findings and have them displayed.


Ancient Cave in Central Iran Dated to 15 Millennia B.C.

TEHRAN (CHN) -- Iranian scientists have dated a Paleolithic cave in the central Isfahan province at about 15,000 years B.C. biologists in the university of Isfahan arrived at the conclusion after studying some 100 animal bones.

The cave was discovered six months ago during archeological and geological studies west of the city of Isfahan near the Zayandeh River. Stone tools and bones were found in the cave.

An official with the local cultural heritage department Mohsen Khavari said studies suggest the bones belonged to such animals as turtles, gazelle, wild goat and birds from 15 millennia B.C.


More from Iran Iranian Underwater Archaeologists Searching for Lost Treasures

TEHRAN (CHN) -- An Iranian underwater archaeology team will explore four historical areas in search of archaeological evidence, lost cities, and sunken ships.

Iran, considered a rich civilization, had important ports and superior nautical science. References to Iranian ports and sailing in the Straits of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf during the Achaemenid and Sassanid have been detailed in historical books.

Director of the Iranian underwater archaeology team Mahmud Mireskandari explained that this year’s research will be carried out in Siraf and Rig ports, on the wall of Gorgan, and on the historical bridge of Gavmishan in Dareh Shahr.


Now, this is interesting The sky at night ... as seen by the Chinese 1,300 years ago

The oldest known map of the stars will go on display in Britain this week in an exhibition that will demonstrate the supremacy of early Chinese astronomy.

A fresh analysis of the star chart, which was found buried in a desert cave on the ancient Silk Road between China and the West, has dated the manuscript to as early as the 7th century AD.

This makes the chart several centuries older than the first star maps produced in Europe during the height of the Renaissance when astronomy benefited from the invention of the telescope. The chart is written on paper - a Chinese invention - and is a representation of the complete sky with some 1,585 stars grouped into 257 clusters or "asterisms".


Try, try again NHK fails to return medieval Syrian pottery

A research panel comprising the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) and archeologists failed for 17 years to return seven 13-century pots borrowed from the Syrian government in 1985, sources close to the panel said.

Moreover, the panel loaned two of the pots to the Nara municipal and prefectural governments without the permission of the Syrian authorities.

The research panel on relics off the Syrian coast unearthed the seven 13-century pots called amphora from the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in 1985. The panel kept the pots in Japan on a one-year loan contract signed by the then Syrian president, according to Syrian government officials.


And don't miss this story on the same page: Kobe schoolboy fends off attacker with umbrella

Unearthed artifacts give new clues to trade history

HCM City, May 4 (VNA) - Archaeologists have found that many artifacts of great value in Cat Tien in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, which give new clues to the trade history between Viet Nam and other countries as far away as the Middle East.

The findings announced at a seminar in Da Lat City include a statue featuring a victory deity standing on the back of a buffalo, a silver box carved with a reclining lion, a Somasutra water spout, jewelry and lingas among various other items.

Professor Cao Xuan Pho from the Southeast Asia Research Institute said he was surprised at what was discovered at the Cat Tien archaeological site, particularly the statue and variety of lingas reflecting different cultures.


Mudlarks??? River Thames "Mudlarks" Dig Up Medieval Toys

Members of the London-based Society of Thames Mudlarks look very different today from the Victorian street children the group takes its name from. Where ragged waifs once searched for bits of bone and coal to sell, men in overalls, gloves, and rubber boots now comb the River Thames foreshore with metal detectors.

And though these amateur treasure hunters seldom find silver or gold, historians say what they do dig from the mud is transforming our understanding of childhood during the Middle Ages.


Scientists racing time, pirates for secrets of Persian Wars ships

The Persian Wars may be famed in history, but few artifacts and material remains have emerged to shed light on how the ancient Greeks defeated the Asian invaders and saved Europe in what scholars call one of the first great victories of freedom over tyranny.
Science

It is well known that a deadly warship of antiquity, the trireme, a fast galley powered by three banks of rowers pulling up to 200 oars, played a crucial role in the fierce battles. Its bronze ram could smash enemy ships, and armed soldiers could leap aboard a foe's vessel in hand-to-hand combat with swords and spears, an innovation that merged land and sea tactics in a bloody new form of combat.