August 2nd News Stories

Well, the one day with no internet has spread into it's third. I have the internet back now and I'm playing catch-up for the last two days or so of news. And there's lots of it. I ended up being rather picky when there were multiple articles on a single story this time.

New stories as of 9:24 PM:

Italy Drops Legal Battle Against Getty After Deal
Reuters UK
ROME (Reuters) - Italy has dropped a legal suit against the Getty Museum after the richest U.S. art institution agreed to return 40 items Rome believes were stolen and smuggled out of the country, the culture minister said Thursday...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKL0273796320070803
Also published at:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/242736

Getty To Return Treasures To Italy
The Standard
In a sweeping deal to end years of controversy, the J Paul Getty Museum has agreed to return to Italy 40 antiquities from its collection, including several masterpieces and its prized fifth-century BC statue of the goddess Aphrodite...
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=20&art_id=50418&sid=14769958&con_type=3

Italy Calls Agreement With Getty Museum to Return Ancient Artifacts 'Historic'
Voice Of America News
Italy's culture minister is calling an accord reached with the J. Paul Getty Museum for the return of 40 ancient artifacts "historic" and a victory for artistic ethics. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome that Francesco Rutelli also says it is a blow to looters and art traffickers worldwide...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-02-voa27.cfm
This article also contains a link to an audio version of the report in MP3 format.

Getty Museum Agrees To Handover Of 40 Artifacts To Italy
CBC.ca
The Italian government and the J. Paul Getty Museum have reached an agreement on the return of 40 artifacts to Italy, including a statue of the goddess Aphrodite...
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/08/02/getty-italy-artifacts.html

Alexander's Colony To Be Excavated
iafrica.com
Greek archaeologists plan to excavate an ancient colony founded by Alexander the Great in the Gulf of Kuwait in the fourth century BC, officials said on Wednesday...
http://cooltech.iafrica.com/science/319659.htm
Also published at:
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070801-021350-9158r

Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Tannery
ABC News
Archaeologists excavating an ancient tannery believed to be the largest ever found in Rome said Tuesday they might need to move the entire work site, which is being threatened by railroad construction....
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3431881

Revealed: The Minster's Secrets Carved In Stone
Yorkshire Post
FOR more than 600 years, it has remained one of Britain's most iconic buildings and a towering tribute to the endeavours of an army of medieval craftsmen...
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features?articleid=3074994
This article has a video link about the restorations as well as the text.

Stone Age Site Surfaces After 8000 Years
PressZoom
Excavations of an underwater Stone Age archaeological settlement dating back 8000 years are taking place at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton this week (30 July - 3 August 2007). Maritime archaeologists from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (HWTMA) have been working at the site just off the Isle of Wight coast...
http://presszoom.com/story_138467.html

Beyond Mesopotamia: A New View Of The Dawn Of Civilization
Science Daily
Science Daily — For decades, school children have learned that human civilization emerged about 5000 years ago along the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, along the Nile, and along the Indus River...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070802182042.htm

Egypt Discovers 2,500-Year-Old Grave Of Royal Guard
People's Daily Online
The grave of a royal guard of the 26th dynasty, which dates back to about 2,500 years ago, was unearthed by an Egyptian-Czech archaeological mission in the south of Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said on Thursday...
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6230743.html
Also posted to:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/03/content_6467403.htm

Shop Assistant Wore Ancient Necklace
Daily Times
Archaeologists have found a valuable ancient gold necklace being worn by a cashier in a Bulgarian grocery after it was dug up by her husband. Boris Todorov, 43, from Karlovo in Bulgaria dug up hundreds of fine gold rings from a field on his farm and put them together to make a gift for his wife...
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C03%5Cstory_3-8-2007_pg9_12

"Gentrified" Egyptian Burial Chamber Discovered
National Geographic News
A recycled burial chamber with unusual decorations has been discovered just south of Cairo, archaeologists announced today...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070802-egypt-burial.html

Beyond Mesopotamia: A Radical New View Of Human Civilization Reported In Science
EurekaAlert
A radically expanded view of the origin of civilization, extending far beyond Mesopotamia, is reported by journalist Andrew Lawler in the 3 August issue of Science...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/aaft-bma080107.php

3500 Year Old Frescos Discovered In The Region Of Batna
Echoruouk Online
An important archaeological discovery has been made recently in the region of Batna (east of Algeria) which consists in prehistoric frescos that date back to some 3500 years...
http://www.echoroukonline.com/english/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7063

Researchers Find Evidence Of Hidden City
ZeeNews
Cairo, Aug 03: Alexander the Great founded Alexandria to immortalize his name amid his quest to conquer the world — but his was apparently not the first city on the famed site on Egypt's Mediterranean coast...
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=386617&sid=FTP&sname=&news=Researchers%20find%20evidence%20of%20hidden%20city