December 19th News

Most of the news today is Roman themed. And, like yesterday, there's lots of it.

New stories as of 9:59 AM:

A Pharaohship To Forget
Bits of News
He thought he knew better than his people; thought he could, through sheer force of will, change a public mindset centuries in the making. He was an iconoclast (literally) 2000 years before the term would be coined by medieval Byzantines, but within a couple of decades after his rule, the enemies he'd created had obliterated nearly every trace of his reign, as well as the monotheistic religion he had promulgated as a state faith...
http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/6616/

There's No Place But Home For This Stolen Italian Art
Washington Post
ROME -- An unusual exhibit of archaeological treasures opens this week here with a very clear message: Italy will no longer sit back while its artistic patrimony is spirited out of the country by grave robbers, traffickers and unscrupulous art dealers...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121802182.html

Italian Antiquities Going Home
Business Week
On Friday, nearly 70 ancient masterpieces will go on display in Rome's Quirinale Palace. The exhibition is more than a celebration of the wonders of Roman, Greek and Etruscan art: it's the payoff for a long campaign the country's cultural authorities have waged against museums it accuses of illegally acquiring its antiquities...
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2007/gb20071218_724526.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories

Sisters Stumble Upon Remains Of Roman Soldier On Beach
Jerusalem Post
A woman walking on the beach with her sister near Caesarea stumbled upon the 2,000 year-old bones of a Roman soldier, police said Tuesday...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847374885&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Rome Exhibition Showcases Looted Ancient Art
Reuters Canada
ROME (Reuters) - Nearly 70 ancient artifacts that Italy says were looted and sold to galleries abroad have been retrieved will now go on public display in a Rome exhibition, the minister of culture said on Tuesday...
http://ca.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idCAL1818942620071218

Frescoes From Pompeii On Display In Rome For The First Time In Years
The Canadian Press
ROME - Scenes of Roman life, myths and decorations buried nearly two millennia ago by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius go on display for the first time in years in an exhibit opening Thursday in Rome...
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5imfIdc7Tp-SlFqK2_nZBBvZW7aiQ
Also published at:
http://www.pr-inside.com/frescoes-from-pompeii-on-display-in-r355842.htm

Treasure Hunting Sisters Find Roman Era Human Remains
Haaretz
Human remains believed to be 2,000 years old were found this week by two sisters near the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/936002.html

Return Of The Viking Sword
The Press
A 900-year-old Viking sword is coming home to Yorkshire after being kept behind closed doors for more than 50 years...
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknews/display.var.1912380.0.return_of_the_viking_sword.php

Magna Carta Copy Sells For $21.3M
CNN
(CNN) -- The only copy of the Magna Carta in the United States, regarded as the earliest declaration of human rights, will be returned to the National Archives by the man who purchased it for more than $21.3 million...
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/19/magna.carta/