Here are some links to recent news from the world of archaeology!
Archaeologists have discovered mysterious stone carvings at an excavation site in Jerusalem. The carvings – which were engraved thousands of years ago – have baffled experts. Israeli archaeologists excavating in the oldest part of the city discovered a complex of rooms with three “V” shapes carved into the floor. Yet there were no other clues as to their purpose and nothing to identity the people who made them.
Three incomplete skeletons have been uncovered in Modena, Italy, and point to a 2000 year old Roman mystery which is being investigated by archaeologists and researchers from the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of the Emilia-Romagna.
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a large statue of king Amenhotep III who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago and who was the grandfather of the famed boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Wooden fragments and iron structures have began to emerge as archeologists excavate the likely resting places of whaling ships the Samuel Wright and North America.
An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought.
A Purdue University archaeologist is studying ancient copper innovation in order to help Alaska’s native youth from the Copper River Basin area to learn how their ancestors made and used copper tools.
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence which they say confirms the site of Henry VIII’s dockyard in Kent. Evidence of Chatham’s Tudor shipyard, along with medieval remains, were found during a four-day dig at the Command House pub on the banks of River Medway.
A huge treasure trove of artefacts including thousands of fragments of pottery provides the first evidence that the sea-faring Lapita people settled in mainland Papua New Guinea. The discovery, by a group of archaeologists from Australia and Papua New Guinea led by Dr Bruno David and Professor Ian McNiven from Monash University, may also give clues about the origin of Torres Strait Islanders.
The piece of porcelain history was discovered in the wreck of the Udine, a light-cruiser which was sunk in the First World War by the Royal Navy, that now lies 28 nautical miles off the German island of Rugen.
Engineers have said they were “stunned” to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a cat skeleton, during a construction project in Lancashire.
French archaeologists have discovered an extremely rare example of a neolithic “earth mother” figurine on the banks of the river Somme.
Bronze Age boats, spears and clothing dating back 3,000 years and described as the “finds of a lifetime” have been discovered near Peterborough. Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge have unearthed hundreds of items at a quarry in Whittlesey.
Part of the ancient fortress wall of Philippopolis was discovered during excavations by EVN Heating in the centre of Plovdiv, Bulgarian National Television said on December 9 2011.
A team working in South Africa claims to have found the earliest known sleeping mats, made of plant material and dated up to 77,000 years ago—50,000 years earlier than previous evidence for human bedding. These early mattresses apparently were even specially prepared to be resistant to mosquitoes and other insects.
Three thousand years ago Britons in East Anglia were skilled boat builders and sailors, enjoyed fishing, and the occasional bowl of nettle stew – and used a method of eel trapping still used today. They even used wooden cutlery. This incredible, detailed picture of life three millennia ago is thanks to a haul of Bronze Age boats, spears, swords and clothing have been unearthed at one of the most significant Bronze Age sites ever found in Britain, on the River Nene, at Must Farm quarry, Whittlesey.