May 31st News

All the stories today come from the UK. The Stonehenge story is still going strong, but the majority of today's stories are new (well, all except the last three, which I found that I had missed on previous days).

New stories as of 9:43 AM:

Dig Aims To Uncover Lost Villages
BBC News
A team of archaeologists is hoping to solve a centuries-old mystery and discover the remains of two medieval ancient towns in Carmarthenshire...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7427891.stm

Historic Dig 13 Years After Find
BBC News
Archaeologists are digging for Roman relics in the garden of a Hertfordshire home where the owner discovered medieval pot handles 13 years ago...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7429205.stm

Researchers Solve Stonehenge Secret
eFluxMedia
British archaeologists have finally dug out some really hard evidence to help them solve the mystery surrounding the prehistoric circle of giant stones located in the south west of England...
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Researchers_Solve_Stonehenge_Secret_18335.html

Hunt To Find The Twin Towns Which Vanished
icWales
A HUNT will soon begin for two medieval towns that vanished without trace centuries ago, archaeologists said last night...
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/05/31/hunt-to-find-the-twin-towns-which-vanished-91466-21002147/

Stonehenge: "Domain Of The Dead"
KP.RU
There are many legends about Stonehenge at Salisbury Plain. Some contend aliens placed the hefty stones at the monument, while others credit the wizard Merlin. But after 5 years of research, Mike Parker Pearson, an archeologist at the University of Sheffield in England, has offered a simpler solution Stonehenge was the burial ground for Britain's first royal dynasty...
http://www.tula.kp.ru/daily/24107/332362/

Stonehenge's Royal Burial Roots
United Press International
SHEFFIELD, England, May 31 (UPI) -- British researchers said radiocarbon dating suggests Stonehenge was used as a cemetery for about 500 years after it was built around 3,000 B.C...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/05/31/stonehenges_royal_burial_roots/9752/

Burnt Bones Hint At Stonehenge Story
ABC News
British archaeologists say they are firming up their ideas on the role of the ancient monument, Stonehenge...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/31/2261257.htm

Old Iron Turns Out Golden
BBC News
A solid gold cup dating back to the 4th Century BC could prove rich pickings for a rag and bone man's son...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7422618.stm
The main portion of this page is an embedded video link.

Rag and Bone Legacy Is Pure Gold
BBC News
A metal cup acquired by a rag and bone man from Somerset has been revealed to be a pure gold goblet from the 3rd or 4th Century BC, worth up to £500,000...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7421774.stm
This article also contains an embedded video clip.

Gold Cup From 2500 Years Ago Found Under Bed
Times Online
A 2,500-year-old gold cup that has spent the past 60 years in a box under its owner’s bed is expected to fetch up to £100,000 after being rediscovered during a house move...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4016077.ece

May 30th News

There are a lot of Stonehenge stories again today. Also to be found among the day's news are stories on the Cyprus ship wreck, Chichester's Roman Baths, Chester's Roman Wall, a medieval cemetery, another story on the Viking DNA, Pharaonic ruins, and damage to Greek sites among other stories.

New stories as of 6:04 PM:

Stonehenge Used As Burial Site For Centuries, Study Finds
www.pbs.org
Britain's mysterious Stonehenge site served as a burial ground for more than 500 years, probably for a family of ancient rulers, a group of archeologists announced this week...
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/science/jan-june08/stonehenge_05-30.html

Stonehenge May Be A Royal Burial Ground
France 24
According to British scientists, Stonehenge may have been a burial ground for an ancient British royal family, as new data suggest the famous prehistoric landmark was used as a cemetery from its inception just after 3000 BC...
http://www.france24.com/en/20080530-science-stonehenge-archaeology-united-kingdom-cemetery-royalty-dynasty&navi=SCIENCES

Stonehenge A 'Domain Of The Dead'
Salisbury Journal
STONEHENGE was used as a burial ground for 500 years from when it was first built, according to new research...
http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/journalnewsindex/display.var.2309312.0.stonehenge_a_domain_of_the_dead.php

Cleopatra Bust Among Treasures Found In Egypt Temple
National Geographic News
An alabaster bust of Cleopatra and a mask that might have belonged to her lover Marc Antony are part of a slew of treasures found north of Alexandria, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities announced on Monday...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080530-antony-cleopatra.html

Egypt Planning DNA Test For 3,500-Year-Old Mummy
Yahoo! News
CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt plans to conduct a DNA test on a 3,500-year-old mummy to determine if it is King Thutmose I, one of the most important pharaohs, the country's chief archaeologist said Thursday...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_mummy_dna;_ylt=AgDYsI_Wu2gguFaNGJkhrESs0NUE

New stories as of 8:46 AM:

Cyprus Researches Millenia-Old Wine Jars In Wreck
Reuters
NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) - Archaeologists have started research into what they believe may be the oldest known ancient shipwreck off Cyprus which sank with hundreds of jars of wine on board 2,350 years ago...
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSL3090532320080530

Shipwreck's Treasures See Light Of Day
Cyprus Mail
PROFESSIONAL and amateur divers yesterday began the process of hauling up ancient urns buried onboard the Mazotos shipwreck...
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=39503&cat_id=1

Loud Music, High-Heels Damaging Ancient Sites In Greece
The Earth Times
Athens - Archaelogists have warned that stage productions, loud music, high-heels and chewing gun are inflicting irreparable damage on ancient sites across Greece, media reports said Friday...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/209019,loud-music-high-heels-damaging-ancient-sites-in-greece.html

Stonehenge Was A Royal Burial Site, Researchers Say
Los Angeles Times
Radiocarbon dating of cremated bodies excavated from Britain's Stonehenge appears to have solved part of the ancient mystery surrounding the 5,000-year-old site: It was a burial ground for what may have been the country's first royal dynasty...
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-sci-stonehenge30-2008may30,1,7531037.story

Impossible! Scientists Retrieve Ancient Viking DNA
China View
BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhuanet) -- A team of scientists may have done what was once thought impossible by retrieving strands of ancient, authentic 1,000-year-old DNA from 10 Viking skeletons...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/30/content_8283244.htm

Roman Baths In Chichester Surface After 17 Years
Chichester Today
Chichester's Roman baths have been uncovered for the first time in 17 years...
http://www.chichester.co.uk/chichester/Roman-baths-in-Chichester-surface.4127675.jp

Pharaonic Army HQ Found In Sinai
Afrol News
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed the relics of an ancient Egyptian city named Tharu, dating back to the New Kingdom era (1570-1070 BC) north on the Sinai Peninsula. The ruins are believed to include a fortress that was used as army headquarters for Pharaoh Ramsis II and his successors...
http://www.afrol.com/articles/29147

Study Calls Stonehenge Cemetery
Baltimore Sun
WASHINGTON - The mysterious circular stone monument at Stonehenge was a "domain of the dead," researchers said yesterday, a burial ground downriver from a separate circle of wooden pillars that marked the "domain of the living."..
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.stonehenge30may30,0,2580274.story

Dates For Stonehenge Burials Signify Long-Term Use As Cemetery
Gazette & Herald
New radiocarbon dates of human cremation burials at Stonehenge indicate that the monument was used as a cemetery from its inception just after 3000 B.C...
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.2308002.0.dates_for_stonehenge_burials_signify_longterm_use_as_cemetery.php

Stonehenge Used As 'Royal Burial Site'
News.com.au
ENGLAND'S Stonehenge was used as a burial site from its inception 5000 years ago and remained so for more than 500 years, says a study that may shed some light on the ancient monument...
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23785194-23109,00.html

Human Remains Explain Stonehenge Mystery
NewScientist
Theories have ranged from moon temple, to observatory, and even a UFO landing site. Stonehenge is one of the enduring landmarks of prehistoric times, but the mystery of why it was built has eluded people for centuries...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14012-human-remains-explain-stonehenge-mystery.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news7_head_dn14012

Archaeology Will Delay Walls Repair
Chester Chronicle
HISTORY detectives hope to learn more about Chester’s Roman Walls following the collapse of a 30-metre section...
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2008/05/30/archaeology-will-delay-walls-repair-59067-20993635/

Mystery Unraveled: Stonehenge - Prehistoric Royal Burial Site
eFluxMedia
Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument that has kept archaeologists and historians on a constant quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding it, served as a burial site approximately 5,000 years ago, a new radiocarbon study shows...
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Mystery_Unraveled_Stonehenge_Prehistoric_Royal_Burial_Site_18274.html

Stonehenge Breakthrough
The Star
SCIENTISTS from South Yorkshire uncovered vital evidence that could help solve one of the oldest British mysteries: why Stonehenge was built...
http://www.thestar.co.uk/doncaster/Stonehenge-breakthrough.4136146.jp

Grim Discovery Under Streets Of Reepham
EDP24
A glimpse of medieval life - and death - in the heart of Norfolk has been revealed after more than 60 skeletons were found under a town centre street...
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED29%20May%202008%2020%3A28%3A39%3A813

Stonehenge, Marker For Dead Royalty?
Star Tribune
The circle of stones that has fascinated tourists for decades was a burial ground for nation's first line of kings, researchers say...
http://www.startribune.com/world/19375469.html?location_refer=Travel

Research: Stonehenge Was Burial site For Centuries
China View
BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Prehistoric megaliths Stonehenge was from the beginning a monument to the dead, British media reported on Friday...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/30/content_8282432.htm

Stonehenge Was Burial Ground For Elite Family, Scientists Say
Bloomberg
May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Research shows Stonehenge was probably a burial ground for an elite family who were laid to rest there for longer than previously estimated...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=alaCjb8z18k0&refer=muse

Stonehenge Could Have Been Resting Place For Royalty
Science Daily
ScienceDaily (May 30, 2008) — Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield have revealed new radiocarbon dates of human cremation burials at Stonehenge, which indicate that the monument was used as a cemetery from its inception just after 3000 B.C. until well after the large stones went up around 2500 B.C...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529195341.htm

Mystery Solved? Stonehenge A Religious Complex
6abc.com
May 29, 2008 -- Even after 4,500 years, Stonehenge is bathed in mystery. Was it a temple? An observatory? Something else?
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/technology&id=6173136

Stonehenge May Have Been 'The Domain Of The Dead' For Royals
Times Online
Stonehenge may have been a burial ground for an ancient royal family, British archaeologists said yesterday...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4029449.ece

Stonehenge 'A Long-Term Cemetery'
BBC News
Stonehenge served as a burial ground for much longer than had previously been believed, new research suggests...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7426195.stm

Bodies Reveal Stonehenge's Royal Secret
Sydney Morning Herald
RADIOCARBON dating of cremated bodies excavated from Stonehenge in Britain have solved part of the mystery of the 5000-year-old site: it was a burial ground for what might have been the country's first royal dynasty.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/bodies-reveal-stonehenges-royal-secret/2008/05/30/1211654312152.html

Stonehenge Used As Burial Site For Hundreds Of Years
AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) — England's Stonehenge was used as a burial site from its inception 5,000 years ago and remained so for more than 500 years, says a study that may shed some light on the ancient monument...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUO3TIhS633b5jL6pyqLx8TuNvkg

Grave Matters As Stonehenge Secrets Revealed
Yorkshire Post
DISCOVERING the history of Stonehenge has long been a task to vex even the most committed archaeologist...
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Grave-matters-as-Stonehenge-secrets.4136107.jp

May 29th News

There's lots of news, with two big stories today as well as a number of smaller ones. The two big stories are that of the Viking DNA and also the stories of Stonehenge.

New stories as of 10:47 AM:

Researchers Retrieve Authentic Viking DNA From 1,000-Year-Old Skeletons
E! Science News
Although “Viking” literally means “pirate,” recent research has indicated that the Vikings were also traders to the fishmongers of Europe. Stereotypically, these Norsemen are usually pictured wearing a horned helmet but in a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE this week, Jørgen Dissing and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, investigated what went under the helmet; the scientists were able to extract authentic DNA from ancient Viking skeletons, avoiding many of the problems of contamination faced by past researchers...
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/05/27/researchers.retrieve.authentic.viking.dna.1000.year.old.skeletons

Evidence Of Authentic DNA From Danish Viking Age Skeletons Untouched By Humans For 1,000 Years
PLoS One
Given the relative abundance of modern human DNA and the inherent impossibility for incontestable proof of authenticity, results obtained on ancient human DNA have often been questioned. The widely accepted rules regarding ancient DNA work mainly affect laboratory procedures, however, pre-laboratory contamination occurring during excavation and archaeological-/anthropological handling of human remains as well as rapid degradation of authentic DNA after excavation are major obstacles...
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0002214

DNA Retrieved From 1,000-Year-Old Vikings
LiveScience
Strands of 1,000-year-old DNA from 10 Viking skeletons have been retrieved, a team of scientists claims...
http://www.livescience.com/history/080528-viking-dna.html

Study: For Centuries Stonehenge Was A Burial Site
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — England's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings and for several hundred years thereafter, new research indicates...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iqofgTOoY9jVxd8Vir3t2lq-yfowD90VDFA82

Chichester Roman Baths Unearthed For New Museum Project
24 Hour Museum
Work has begun in Chichester to temporarily uncover the remains of the city’s Roman baths, which are currently buried under a car park...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART57757.html

Ancient Egyptian Temple Entrance Found In Nile River
National Geographic News
Archaeologists have discovered a portico, or covered entryway, of an ancient Egyptian temple beneath the surface of the Nile River...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080527-egypt-temple.html

Video: New View On Stonehenge Burials
National Geographic News
May 29, 2008—Radiocarbon dating of human remains indicate that the mysterious stone monument was used as a cemetery longer than previously thought...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080529-stonehenge-video-vin.html

Stonehenge Was Cemetery First And Foremost, Study Says
National Geographic News
The standing stones of Stonehenge were akin to giant tombstones, archaeologists announced today. The circle of massive stones may mark the cemetery of a ruling prehistoric dynasty, the experts added...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080529-stonehenge-cemetery.html

PHOTOS: Stonehenge Was "Domain Of The Dead"
National Geographic News
May 29, 2008—Stonehenge stands out against night clouds set aglow by nearby Amesbury town in an undated photo...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/photogalleries/Stonehenge-photos/index.html

Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed In Sinai
Yahoo News
CAIRO, Egypt - Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed 3,000-year-old remains from an ancient fortified city, the largest yet found in Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Wednesday...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_ancient_city;_ylt=AuP3J0bS0sSLP9xqjy2NOsFvieAA

Thousand-Year-Old Lombard Warrior Skeleton Discovered Buried With Horse In Italy
Telegraph.co.uk
Italian archaeologists have discovered a perfectly preserved skeleton of a 1400-year-old Lombard warrior, buried with his horse...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2041811/Thousand-year-old-Lombard-warrior-skeleton-discovered-buried-with-horse-in-Italy.html