Book 'em, Dano. What to do when you stumble onto a Roman 'city of the dead'? Call in the antiquities cops
Over the past 10 years, reconstruction efforts in the city of Beirut have swung, pendulum-like, between the ultra-modern and the ancient. Every time a developer breaks new ground for a corporate-style, high-rise office building or towering luxury residential complex, there is an inevitable moment of tension - will construction proceed without incident or will archaeological remains be discovered down in the deeper layers of earth, stone, and soil? That tension gets weirder still when what's found are burial sites, funeral buildings and a score of perfectly preserved, but nonetheless ancient, skeletons.
Archeologists explore early Doukhobor village
Archeologists and volunteers have launched a dig in Saskatchewan in the hopes of learning about the early life of pacifist refugees who fled Russia in 1899.
The Doukhobors came to Canada to escape persecution. This week, about 24 people began searching for one of the first places they settled in Western Canada, a site with historical and religious significance for the group.
"When they came here, there was absolutely nothing here," said Alex Strlioff of the Blaine Lake Doukhobor Society.
The Vikings are coming! Modern-Day Vikings Retrace Sailing Trip Through The Caucasus
A group of modern-day Vikings is currently sailing the Black Sea en route to the Caspian via the Rioni and Kura rivers in the Caucasus. They are retracing part of a trip that Scandinavian explorers might have made nearly 1,000 years ago.
In 1036, the Viking chief Ingvar den Vittfarne, or "Ingvar the Far-Traveled," is believed to have led an expedition from Sweden to the far-flung Caspian Sea.
Almost a millennium later, a crew of nine modern-day Vikings -- sailing in a replica Viking ship -- is retracing part of what was believed to have been the original route.
"We are [tracing the path] of the Viking king named 'Ingvar the Far-Traveled,' and we are trying [to find out] which way he went from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea," said Hakan Altrock, the expedition's leader. "There are several ideas about how he managed to get [there]."
Titanic revisited Scientist Returns to Survey Titanic Decay
The undersea explorer who found the wreck of the Titanic 19 years ago has returned to the North Atlantic site to find out why the luxury liner is decaying more quickly than expected.
Robert Ballard and other researchers hope their two weeks of surveying and researching will lead to efforts to preserve the Titanic and other wrecks and protect them from looters and thrill-seekers.
In live broadcasts from the federal vessel Ronald H. Brown, researchers said Friday they have noticed that many of the Titanic's structures have collapsed and many items seen years ago are now gone.
It was unclear whether the items — including the ship's bell and an ornate light from the mast — have decomposed, fallen or been stolen.
We are somewhat torn on the salvaging of the Titanic. In some respects, we see the wreck as no different than tens of thousands of other ancient sites where a number of people are buried or lost their lives. And as long as any artifacts are properly mapped and conserved, we see no reason why some should not be brought up and displayed. Seeing the actual objects is far more powerful emotionally than pictures on a TV screen; this is why we have touring exhibits of archaeological items, and why people travel to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa itself.
On the other hand, simple looting and negligent destruction of the wreck is intolerable.
Oops
Ancient jewels missing from Egyptian museum
A collection of 38 pieces of ancient Roman jewellery unearthed in 1905 are missing from the National Egyptian Museum, the secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawwas announced on Sunday.
Hawwas said the 36 bracelets and two rings, all made of gold and dating back to the Roman period, were unearthed in 1905 in an area known as Apollo's Hill in the Beheira governorate, 160km north of Cairo.
The announcement comes after two weeks of unconfirmed media reports that 38 gold pieces from King Tutankhamun's treasures had gone missing.
Hawwas strongly denied that any of Tutankhamun's treasures were missing.
And speaking of which. . . . Egypt to Catalog Artifacts in Neglected Basement
Egypt is about to begin the painstaking five-year task of cataloguing and restoring some 90,000 pharaonic and other artifacts which have lain almost forgotten for decades since they were dug from ancient ruins.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, said Sunday that work started about three weeks ago to move the artifacts, now in the basement of the country's main museum, into storage elsewhere.
From there the artifacts will be recorded, photographed and restored if necessary -- a job that will take about five years.
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo boasts a stunning array of antiquities, including the death mask and other artifacts of the boy king Tutankhamun. But visitors are also confronted by a vast quantity of dusty and poorly labeled showcases.
We'd never heard of Hindustan either 3rd century sculpture unearthed near Kota
A unique stone sculpture dating back to the third century has been unearthed from the banks of Chambal river in Rajasthan's Kota district on Friday.
This will throw light on the cultural history of the state, a research scholar said.
The stone sculpture depicting "Shalbhanjika", an icon of 'Yakshini' or a beautiful woman, has been found for the first time in the state, Ambika Dhaka, a research scholar of Indian Council of Historic Research said.
The idol was discovered on the right bank of river Chambal in vicinity of Keshoraipatan and opposite to historic Rangpur, about 10 kilometers from Kota.
Must have been poached Ancient map shows egg-shaped England
It is known as a catalogue of 'marvel for the eyes' and tomorrow the public will be able to judge for themselves at last.
A previously unknown medieval Arabic map with the earliest representation of an identified 'England' - a tiny, egg-shaped lump - is to go on public display in Oxford. The unique and, until now, unseen map is part of a manuscript called the Book of Curiosities of the Sciences and Marvels, which was originally put together, probably in the Nile Delta region, at some point before AD1050 and was then copied around 150 years later in Egypt. It reflects the achievements of the classical age of Islamic civilisation and gives an unrivalled picture of the relationship between east and west in that period.
Yet another update on those wacky Shaanxi tombs Experts: `Tomb a significant find'
The recent discovery of the Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) cemetery has made a stir in Chinese archaeological circles, and is being heralded by top archaeological experts as a find of great significance.
Over the weekend, a group of high-ranking archaeologists and experts from Beijing led by Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, inspected the cemetery excavation located in Qishan County of Shaanxi Province in Northwest China.
"This cemetery ruins should be treated in accordance with State regulations and requirements of a historical ruins by first-class State protection, and should be protected with best measures," Shan said.
Call Antiques Roadshow! Ancient bowl found in second-hand shop (Subscription or registration may be required)
A Norwegian archeology student found an ancient Roman glass bowl in a second-hand shop and was able to buy it for less than 1 percent of its real value.
Espen Kutschera saw the bowl, which is about 1,900 years old and from the Roman Empire, at a store called Fretex and bought it for $15, the Bergensavisen newspaper reported Friday.
Experts put the bowl's real value at $7,500.
Update on the 4,533rd finding of Atlantis Lost City of Atlantis Found in Spain?
The fabled lost city of Atlantis might lie in a salt marsh region off Spain's southern coast, according to research reported online by the archaeology journal Antiquity.
The study, not yet peer-reviewed by archaeologists, is based on satellite images showing ancient ruins that appear to match descriptions made by the Greek scholar Plato.
Resembling two rectangular buildings, the structures are hidden in a muddy region known as Marisma de Hinojos near the port of Cadiz.