Saturday, June 9, 2007

Website Resource Review

News as of 4:06 PM:

Viking 'Mickey Mouse' Brooch Found
Earthtimes.org
LUND, Sweden, June 9 Swedish archaeologists say a women's brooch found at a Viking site bears an image of an animal head looking remarkably like Mickey Mouse...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/71152.html

There's a distinct lack of news today, at least as of 1:30 in the afternoon. So, it's time for another website recommendation.

The Internet Medieval Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
This site is made up of translations of the original source texts. As said translations are taken from the public domain, they are not the newest translations, but still good. Translations at the Medieval Sourcebook date from a range. Examples for different documents include 1917 and 1890. Very often, the site links to other full-text sites and universities.

The site is broken down into several sections:
- Selected Sources
- Full Text Sources
- Saints Lives

And, it's also set up by region or by time period.

My first introduction to the site was when one of my college teachers used it for one of the course textbooks. As a result, I tend to assume good things about all of the Sourcebooks on the site. I still use it for references and recommend it to others.

The fact that it's hosted by Fordham University is, in my mind another way to assume it's reliability.

Friday, June 8, 2007

June 8th News

Yes, I'm a bit late off the mark today. I have no excuse other than that I just got an incredible book on Tolkien, the Hammond and Scull Reader's Guide And Chronology. Looks like there's lots of history news though.

New stories as of 9:22 PM:

Bodies From Viking Ships To Be Exhumed

ScienceDaily
OSLO, Norway, June 8 (UPI) -- Scientists in Norway plan to exhume three bodies found in the country's most famous Viking ship burials because they fear the remains may be disintegrating...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070608-22370100-bc-norway-vikings.xml

Global Warming Is The New Threat To History
Telegraph.co.uk
Human activity has become the greatest threat to our cultural heritage, according to the World Monuments Fund (WMF), which this week released its list of the world's 100 most endangered monuments...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/06/09/etthreats109.xml

Archaeologists Reconstruct Life In The Bronze Age At Site of Southern Spain
ScienceDaily
Researchers of the Group of Recent Prehistory Studies (GEPRAN) of the Universidad de Granada, from the department of Prehistory and Archaeology, have taken an important step to determine how life was in the Iberian Peninsula in the Bronze Age...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605121009.htm

New stories as of 12:38 PM:

Ancient Bronze Fetches Record 28.6M US At Auction
CBC.ca
A 2,000-year-old bronze sculpture depicting Roman goddess Artemis fetched more than $28 million US in New York Thursday afternoon, setting several new records in the process...
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/06/08/auction-bronze-artemis.html

Monuments Threatened By Global Warming
Casper Star Tribune
For centuries, Europe's monuments have withstood earthquakes, fire and plundering. Now cultural treasures from the Colosseum to Westminster Abbey could face new threats from climate change, a study says...
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/06/08/ap/international/d8pkpk7o2.txt
Also posted at
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/89-06082007-1360041.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/08/europe/EU-GEN-Climate-Change-Threatened-Monuments.php
http://www.centredaily.com/news/world/story/119736.html

Life In Late Antiquity Featured In June Lecture Series At UW
University Of Wyoming
June 8, 2007 -- A free public talk by a visiting Yale University professor, "Romans, Greeks, Barbarians and Christians: Approaching the Late Roman Empire," is the first presentation in a June lecture series supported by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities (WCH) and the University of Wyoming Department of Modern and Classical Languages...
http://www.uwyo.edu/news/showrelease.asp?id=15561

Viking Graves To Be Re-opened
Aftenposten
The Viking graves that contained the famous ships Oseberg and Gokstad will be re-opened in September, in an effort to gain new knowledge from the remains of the two women and one man buried in them...
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1826974.ece

Archaeologists Discover Iron Age Mickey Mouse
The Local
Swedish archaeologists have uncovered signs of a Viking precursor to Mickey Mouse. Among the objects found during excavations at Uppåkra in southern Sweden is an iron age figure bearing a strong resemblance to the classic cartoon character...
http://www.thelocal.se/7544/20070608/

Thursday, June 7, 2007

News articles for June 7

Seems to be rather a slow news day so far. Maybe it will pick up later. Some interesting articles this evening.

New stories as of 10:30 PM:

Herculaneum Group Continues Quest To Uncover Ancient History
Town Crier
Mackinac Island has always been a place known for its rich history, but at a conference at Grand Hotel from Saturday, June 2, to Wednesday, June 6, the Island welcomed in a team of classicists to continue efforts in uncovering an even greater history, papyrus texts from the ancient Greek and Roman world...
http://www.mackinacislandnews.com/news/2007/0609/News/009.html
Subscription only for the next few weeks, unfortunately. This means that I haven't read it fully either.

Freshwater Crabs Thrive In Roman Ruins
Cosmos Magazine
Throughout the rise and fall of Rome's emperors, monarchs and politicians an inconspicuous crab has reigned supreme in the ruins...
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1375

Bronze Artemis Sells For 28.6 Million, Sets Records
Bloomberg.com
An important, 2,000-year-old Roman bronze of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, brought $28.6 million this afternoon at Sotheby's in New York, becoming both the most expensive antiquity and piece of sculpture from any period to sell at auction...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=agaewu8u95EE&refer=muse

In Iraq's Four-Year Looting Frenzy, The Allies Have Become The Vandals
The Guardian
British and American collusion in the pillaging of Iraq's heritage is a scandal that will outlive any passing conflict...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2098057,00.html

New stories as of 12:45 PM:

Ancient Sites Found In Central Iran
Press TV
Archeological excavations near Sialk Mound in central Iran have led to the discovery of several historic sites dating back to 3000 year ago...
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=12362&sectionid=351020105

Torrenueva Archaeological Find Is Roman, Not Phoenician
Typically Spanish
Ceramics found at the site are believed to be from the 1st and 2nd centuries BC
Experts from the Junta de Andalucía say the archaeological find unearthed in Torrenueva on Tuesday is Roman and not Phoenician, as was first put forward as a possibility...
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_10855.shtml

Ancient DNA Traces The Woolly Mammoth's Disappearance
EurekaAlert
Some ancient-DNA evidence has offered new clues to a very cold case: the disappearance of the last woolly mammoths, one of the most iconic of all Ice Age giants, according to a June 7th report published online in Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/cp-adt053107.php

New Archaeological Site in Solin
Javno
A new, according to archaeologists, very valuable site was found in Solin, once Salona, at the depth of one metre: a wall 15 metres long and parts of at least three top-processed marble sarcophaguses, dating from the second half of the 3rd century A.D.
http://www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=50689

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

June 6th News Stories

Quite a range of new stories.

New stories as of 7:00 PM:

What Gladiators Were Really Like
Cosmos
The discovery of the first confirmed collection of gladiator remains has allowed scientists to apply forensic analysis - such as seen in television dramas like CSI, except with real science and not just fluorescent sprays and swabs - to bones, providing startling new evidence of just how gladiators lived and died...
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1369

Travel Agents Association To Restore Ancient Theater At Telmessos
Today's Zaman
The Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB), responding to concerns of its members and local government, has agreed to take steps to preserve the ancient theater at Telmessos, which has fallen into a state of disrepair.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=113374

82,000-Year-Old Beads Found In Morocco
MSNBC
RABAT, Morocco - Perforated shells discovered in a limestone cave in eastern Morocco are the oldest adornments ever found and show humans used symbols in Africa 40,000 years before Europe, the kingdom’s government said...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19071731/

New stories as of 11:33 AM:

Satellites Reveal Site of Ancient Egyptian City
ChinaView
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Recent digging has confirmed the site of a 1,600-year-old metropolis 200 miles south of Cairo that was first spotted by satellites hovering over Egypt, archaelogists say...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-06/06/content_6205605.htm


Tablets Tell All: Ancient Atheletes Flogged For Sins
The Age
AN ANCIENT training manual for Roman athletes — carved in marble almost 2000 years ago — prescribes far worse punishments than a sending off or a week's docked pay if they performed badly in the Colosseum...
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/ancient-athletes-flogged-for-sins/2007/06/06/1181089151990.html

Mystery of 5,000 Year Old Glacier Mummy Solved
EurekaAlert
An Italian-Swiss research team, including Dr. Frank Rühli of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Zurich in Switzerland proved the cause of death of the Iceman (“Ötzi,” 3300 BC) by modern X-ray-based technology...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/e-mo5060607.php

Hill of Tara in World's Top 100 Endangered Heritage Sites
u.tv
Ireland's ancient Hill of Tara, once the seat of the high kings, was today named one of the world's 100 most endangered heritage sites...
http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=82750&pt=n

Archaeologists Reconstruct Life In The Bronze Age At A Site of Southern Spain
Science Daily
Researchers of the Group of Recent Prehistory Studies (GEPRAN) of the Universidad de Granada, from the department of Prehistory and Archaeology, have taken an important step to determine how life was in the Iberian Peninsula in the Bronze Age...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605121009.htm

Iceman Bled To Death
Cay Compass
More than 5,000 years after the prehistoric hunter known as Oetzi drew his last breath on a snow–covered Alpine mountain, scientists said Wednesday they have determined how he died...
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1022699

Spanish Archaeologists Reconstruct Bronze Age Life In La Mancha
Daily India
Archaeologists from the Group of Recent Prehistoric Studies (GEPRAN) of the Universidad de Granada, Spain, have reconstructed for the first time, in a scientific and systematic way, life in the Bronze Age in the site of La Motilla del Azuer, La Mancha (Spain)...
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/147161.php/Spanish-archaeologists-reconstruct-Bronze-Age-life-in-La-Mancha

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

News Stories for July 5th

The crabs have yet to scuttle back under a rock. There's lots of other news as well.

New stories as of 11:52 AM:

Discovery Of Oldest Human Decorations -- Thought To Be 82,000 Years Old
Physorg.com
Archaeologists have discovered shell beads believed to be 82,000 years old – making them the oldest dated human decorations...
http://www.physorg.com/news100272567.html

New stories as of 11:10 AM:

"Ancient" Crabs Live On in Roman Ruins
Kazinform
The Roman crabs—of the species Potamon fluviatile—were discovered in in 1997. Recent findings from an ongoing genetic study suggest the animals may have been around for more than a thousand years before the ancient complex was completed, around A.D. 112...
http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=152247

Robot Scans Ancient Manuscript in 3-D
Wired
After a thousand years stuck on a dusty library shelf, the oldest copy of Homer's Iliad is about to go into digital circulation...
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/06/iliad_scan

Ancient Egyptian City Spotted From Space
LiveScience
Satellites hovering above Egypt have zoomed in on a 1,600-year-old metropolis, archaeologists say...
http://www.livescience.com/history/070605_satellite_egypt2.html

History Goes High Tech
The Berkshire Eagle Online
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Museum's mummy was placed under wraps yesterday to take a trip to the hospital...
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_6063034
This story includes several good photos of the mummy.

Beads Confirm Ancient Jewelry Making
Natural History Museum
Ancient beads dating to about 82,000 years ago have been uncovered in a limestone cave in Morocco...
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2007/june/news_11808.html

Pembroke Medieval Walls Safeguarded
NewsWales
Pembroke's town walls are to be safeguarded for the future.
Sections in a poor state are to be repaired and protected in a programme of work likely to last several years...
http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Environment&F=1&id=11532

Ancient Egyptian Tomb Discovered
Afrol News
A Dutch mission from Leiden Museum last week came across a huge tomb that dates back to the era of King Akhenaton, the 19th dynasty of Ancient Egypt, some 3,400 years ago...
http://www.afrol.com/articles/25623

Bridging London's Lost Centuries
BBC News
Two very different finds, dug up close to each other by Trafalgar Square, shine new light on the greatest puzzle of London archaeology - the "silent" centuries after Roman rule...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6700149.stm

Monday, June 4, 2007

June 4th News stories

Sorry the first posting for today is so late. Lots of stories though today.

New stories as of 8:05 PM:

More Viking Treasure Discovered on Gotland
The Local
A Viking treasure trove found by two brothers on Gotland last year is larger than originally believed, archaeologists say...
http://www.thelocal.se/7505/20070605/


New stories as of 7:07 PM:

Walter Reich: King Herod Blocks Road To Peace
Star Tribune.com
After 2,000 years of indignity and ignominy, Herod the Great finally has gotten his revenge...
http://www.startribune.com/commentary/story/1225106.html

New stories as of 3:30 PM:

Israel Museum Displays Rare Manuscript
Monterey County Herald
JERUSALEM- A rare Old Testament manuscript some 1,300 years old is finally on display for the first time, after making its way from a secret room in a Cairo synagogue to the hands of an American collector...
http://origin1.montereyherald.com/ci_6058367
Also printed in the following papers:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/219/story_21962_1.html
http://www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_6058367

Photo In The News: "Ancient" Crabs Live On In Roman Ruins
National Geographic News
A freshwater crab haunts the ruins of Trajan's Forum in Rome late last month.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070604-crabs-picture.html
I'd say this story has legs. Six of them. It seems to keep popping up.

Stories since last night:

Acropolis Sculptures Headed To New Site
GreekNews
The Acropolis sculptures survived on the ancient hill in Athens for 2,500 years despite war, weather and looting. But their remaining days there are numbered...
http://www.greeknewsonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6941

Greece To Reclaim Stolen Artifacts From U.S. Museum
Middle-East Times
Culture minister George Voulgarakis Sunday said that he was seeking the return of three ancient stolen artifacts to Greece, which are on display at an Atlanta museum in the United States...
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070604-075311-7651r

Israel Museum Unveils Rare Biblical Manuscript From 'Silent Era'
Haaretz.com
A rare Old Testament manuscript some 1,300 years old is finally on display for the first time, after making its way from a secret room in a Cairo synagogue to the hands of an American collector...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/867003.html

Quirinale May Hold Temple
Wanted in Rome
A new exhibition at the Palazzo del Quirinale demonstrates how the ancient temple of the Roman god Quirinus may be buried under the current seat of the president of the republic...
http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=3244

The Romans Were Masters Of Mendip's Lead Mines
Weston & Somerset Mercury
Life was always hard for the lead miners who toiled on the uplands of Mendip, but probably never more so than when the Romans were their masters...
http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/RoundAbout/story.aspx?brand=Westonmercury&category=RoundAbout&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=zRoundAbout&itemid=WeED04%20Jun%202007%2010%3A21%3A09%3A090

82,000 Year Old Jewelry Found
Oxford Mail
Archaeologists from Oxford have discovered what are thought to be the oldest examples of human decorations in the world...
http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1445722.0.82_000_year_old_jewellery_found.php

Astronomer Traces Zodiac's Time and Place of Birth
The Register
An astronomer has traced the origins of the earliest known descriptions of what would become the constellations of today's Zodiac to the region which once held the Assyrian cities of Ninova and Asur...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/04/zodiac_horoscope/

Who Knew? Freshwater Crabs Thrive in Roman Ruins
Yahoo News
ROME (AFP) - Who could have guessed that throughout the rise and fall of Rome's emperors, monarchs and politicians a lowly creature has reigned supreme in the ruins of Trajan's mighty empire?...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070603/lf_afp/italyarchaeologynatureoffbeat_070603064336;_ylt=AnxbEUitcaYM9GiEbzZ8lnfPOrgF

MP's Fury Over Stonehenge Funding
BBC News
A former Transport and Heritage minister is calling for Stonehenge to be removed from the list of World Heritage sites...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/6717063.stm

Sunday, June 3, 2007

News from June 3rd

Things seem to be a bit crabby this morning.

News as of 8:33 PM:

Basic Dimensions of The Hagia Sophia Deciphered
The American Surveyor
Square/circle dual module was the design principle of the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Almost one and a half thousand years since its construction in the center of ancient Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia has divulged the secret of its design principle...
http://www.amerisurv.com/content/view/1626/28/

News as of 1:45 PM:

Historic Ceremony
Rye and Battle Today
THE ruins of Winchelsea's ancient Greyfriars Friary are to provide the setting for an historic ceremony and mass...
http://www.ryeandbattletoday.co.uk/news?articleid=2924875

Egypt Says No Pyramids Photo On Portuguese Stamps
Scotsman.com
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has refused to allow images of its Pyramids to be used on a Portuguese postal stamp featuring sites in a competition to name the new seven wonders of the world, the state-run news agency said on Sunday...
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=868962007

Witness Fingers Japanese Museum In Italian Art-Trafficking Case
Daily Yomiuri Online
The expert witness for the prosecution in a trial in Italy over the trafficking of stolen art objects to the United States has claimed a Japanese museum is housing items unearthed illegally in Italy...
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070604TDY02001.htm

Bronze Age Cemetery Find On Barra
The Herald
A bronze Age cemetery has been uncovered on the Hebridian island of Barra...
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1444240.0.0.php


News as of 10:10 AM:

Who Knew? Freshwater Crabs Thrive In Roman Ruins
Khaleej Times Online
ROME - Who could have guessed that throughout the rise and fall of Rome’s emperors, monarchs and politicians a lowly creature has reigned supreme in the ruins of Trajan’s mighty empire?...
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/todaysfeatures/2007/June/todaysfeatures_June5.xml§ion=todaysfeatures&col=
Also at:
http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html?id=070603064336.unvwie9p&cat=null

Age Of Empire
Jerusalem Post
History, with the apparent wisdom of hindsight, seems inevitable. Certainly traditional Jewish explanations of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE speak of it as something that had to happen...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180527992168&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Book review of the book: Rome & Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations.