December 14th News

A lot of the news these days is coming from the UK, I've noticed.

New stories as of 10:17 AM:

The Thriving Roman Town That Slipped Into Oblivion
Times Online
The Times caused a sensation almost 80 years ago when it revealed the discovery of an extraordinary street grid of a Roman town in Norfolk. It published dramatic aerial photographs that were taken from an RAF aircraft and which showed the pattern left in parched barley fields during the exceptionally dry summer of 1928...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3042722.ece

Review: The Dirt On Clean
International Herald Tribune
The Dirt on Clean An Unsanitized History. By Katherine Ashenburg. Illustrated. 358 pages. $24. North Point Press/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.In 1927, worried that the advent of paved roads, automobiles and electric power would lead to a less dirty citizenry, America's soap manufacturers banded together to create the Cleanliness Institute...
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/14/arts/15idbriefs15C.php
I've glanced through this book myself and it looks like a good read, written in an amusing style.

A Little Pompeii In The Heart Of Rimini
Easier Travel
After 2000 years, the archaeological site of the Surgeon’s Domus opens to the public under an enormous crystal glass covering ’A little Pompei’ in the city centre, which has already become famous in the world owing to its unique archaeological finds...
http://www.easier.com/view/Travel/Attractions_and_Events/article-152358.html

Ancient Roman Glue Sticks Around
Discovery News
Dec. 14, 2007 -- Roman warriors repaired their battle accessories with a superglue that is still sticking around after 2,000 years, according to new findings on display at the Rheinischen Landes Museum in Bonn, Germany...
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/12/14/romans-glue-helmet.html

Ancient Egyptian Glass Making Recreated
EurekAlert
A team led by a Cardiff University archaeologist has reconstructed a 3,000-year-old glass furnace, showing that Ancient Egyptian glassmaking methods were much more advanced than previously thought...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/cu-aeg121407.php

Roman Hoard Placed On Display
UKTV
A hoard of Roman artefacts and vessels is now on show to the public having been unearthed in the City of London...
http://uktv.co.uk/history/news/aid/597286

Norfolk's Roman Site Is Hailed
EDP24
On the morning of July 20, 1928, the crew of an RAF aircraft took photographs over a field at Caistor St Edmund just to the south of Norwich which shed light on one of Britain's most important archaeological treasures...
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED13%20Dec%202007%2022%3A02%3A13%3A070

Stunning Survey Unveils New Secrets Of Caistor Roman Town
Physorg.com
On the morning of Friday July 20, 1928, the crew of an RAF aircraft took photographs over the site of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk, a site which now lies in open fields to the south of Norwich...
http://www.physorg.com/news116766620.html

December 13th News

Finals are over with so I finally have the time to take up the daily search again.

New stories as of 7:36 AM:

Ancient Surgical Instruments Go On Show In Italy
Hostelbookers.com
A complete set of ancient Roman surgical instruments has gone on show in Rimini in Italy.
More than 100 different tools were found at the archaeological site, which is thought to have once been a surgeon's house 2,000 years ago...
http://www.hostelbookers.com/info/news/18392201

Roman Site Will Be Sold Due To Lack Of Funding
Evening Telegraph
ONE of the country's most important Roman town sites will be sold off after being branded "surplus to requirements" by Northamptonshire County Council...
http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/Roman-site-will-be-sold.3576690.jp

Roman Emperor's Home Finally Restored
UKTV
The ancient home of Rome's Emperor Augustus is opening to the public after 30 years of restoration...
http://uktv.co.uk/history/news/aid/597072

Mystery Of Sussex Church Solved By Archaeology Students
24 Hour Museum
A redundant Sussex church has had its own Da Vinci Code moment after a husband and wife historian team dug around in the archives to unravel some of its secrets. As a result, bishops and local dignitaries attended the small church on December 8 2007 for a special ceremony of rededication...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART52481.html

New Light On Roman East Anglia
Evening Star 24
A LEADING archaeologist spoke of his excitement today as it was revealed a collection of extremely rare Roman artefacts of international significance have been secured for the people of Ipswich...
http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED10%20Dec%202007%2011%3A24%3A37%3A650

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Pits
EADT 24
ARCHAEOLOGISTS preparing the ground for a new building at an Anglo-Saxon village have discovered the remains of three pits dating back 1,500 years...
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED11%20Dec%202007%2018%3A54%3A50%3A877

Thousands Of Prehistoric Bear Bones Discovered In Northern Greece
Earthtimes.org
Athens - Greek archaeologists have uncovered more than 15,000 bones of fossilised cave bears on the Iridaias mountain in northern Greece which they hope will shed light on the extinction of other animals in the area, newspaper reports said Wednesday...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/157222.html

Archaeologists Find Unique Baby Skeleton
Prague Daily Monitor
Usti nad Labem, North Bohemia, Dec 11 (CTK) - Archaeologists have uncovered a unique skeleton of a baby, possibly a sacrifice, from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries in a medieval house's foundations near a church in the centre of Usti nad Labem, Lukas Gal told CTK Tuesday...
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/232/life_in_the_czech_republic/15883/

Photo In The News: Throne Found Near Ancient Pompeii
National Geographic News
December 5, 2007—Remnants of the first known surviving Roman throne have been discovered near Naples, Italy, in lava and ash that buried the city of Herculaneum in the first century, archaeologists said Tuesday...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071205-AP-throne-picture.html

November 30th News

Not too much in the news today.

New stories as of 6:00 AM:

Bill Aims To Protect Artifacts
Kathimerini
Culture Minister Michalis Liapis yesterday unveiled a draft law which aims to curb a growing illegal trade in antiquities by intensifying patrols of archaeological sites and appointing a special prosecutor to handle certain cases...
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100014_30/11/2007_90646

Israel Claims Biblical Wall Found
Newsroom America
An Israeli archeaologist says he has discovered a Biblical wall mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah...
http://www.newsroomamerica.com/world/story.php?id=401586

Battle To Keep Artefacts In Region May Head To Commons
The Northern Echo
THE battle to keep ancient Anglo Saxon artefacts in the region could be heading to the House of Commons...
http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.1871784.0.battle_to_keep_artefacts_in_region_may_head_to_commons.php

Biblical Wall May Have Been Located
Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — A wall mentioned in the Bible's Book of Nehemiah and long sought by archaeologists apparently has been found, an Israeli archaeologist says...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hril--Z49Jbni8bMNGi2L8veCbDwD8T7OBH80

November 29th News

A range of old and new stories today. Some of the continuations of older stories are new points of view and controversy.

New stories as of 8:07 AM:

Four Mosaics Returned To Syria Following Restoration In Italy
SANA
Damascus, (SANA) – Minister of Culture Riad Naasan Agha participated in the ceremony held on Wednesday at Damascus National Museum on occasion of delivering four Syrian mosaics restored in Italy...
http://www.sana.org/eng/21/2007/11/28/150745.htm

Ancient Roman Road Map Unveiled
BBC News
The Tabula Peutingeriana is one of the Austrian National Library's greatest treasures...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7113810.stm

Greece Hopes Tougher Legislation Will Stop Illegal Trafficking In Antiquities
PR-Inside
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The Greek government on Thursday revealed the details of a draft law it hopes will choke off the lucrative plundering of its antiquities...
http://www.pr-inside.com/greece-hopes-tougher-legislation-will-r324004.htm

Ex-Getty Curator Cleared
Kathimerini
An Athens court on Tuesday acquitted a former curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles who had been charged with illegally acquiring an ancient Greek golden wreath in the early 1990s...
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100016_29/11/2007_90594

Greece Appeals Court Dismisses Case Against Former Getty Curator
Jurist
[JURIST] A Greek appeals court Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against former Getty Museum [museum website] curator Marion True for her alleged involvement in the looting of an ancient gold wreath from Greece. The Los Angeles museum acquired the wreath in 1993, and Greek prosecutors brought charges against True alleging that the artifact had been illegally removed from the country...
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/11/greece-appeals-court-dismisses-case.php

Is Italy's Spectacular Find Authentic?
Spiegel Online
Italy has been rocked by soccer violence, the government is divided and the economy is sluggish. Now archaeologists have entered the scene to save the country's national pride. On a hill in the center of the nation's capital, they have allegedly found the sacred cave of the founders of Rome...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,520440,00.html

Roman Discoveries At London Olympic Site
China Daily
LONDON - Digs at the London Olympic site have unearthed evidence of Iron Age and Roman settlements, authorities said on Wednesday...
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-11/29/content_6288074.htm

Pottery, Coin Found At Olympic Site
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Roman pottery and a coin from the Iron Age have been found on the site of the aquatics center planned for the London 2012 Olympics...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMSM3pn93XM-5UlIxbJgL40JVc3AD8T6VL5G0

November 28th News

The real November 28th this time. I can see that I wasn't paying attention when I typed in the date the other day. There's tons of news today, what with the Getty smuggling case and the discoveries in London.

New stories as of 6:33 AM:

Ancient Thracian Script Found In Plovdiv
News.bg
Bulgaria is the land of the probably first letter script culture in the world - the one of Thracian- Besses, dated on XIII Century B.C...
http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_1525551866

'Ad Infinitum: A Biography Of Latin'
Los Angeles Times
I spent a bit of Sunday night helping my 14-year-old son study for an upcoming quiz in his Latin class...
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-rutten28nov28,0,2628515.story?coll=la-books-headlines
The article seems to be a cross between an editorial column and a book review. I couldn't easily find the information about the book however.

Greek Court Dismisses Case Against Ex-Curator
The New York Times
ATHENS, Nov. 27 — An appeals court here dismissed a criminal case on Tuesday against Marion True, a former curator for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles who had been accused of conspiring to acquire an ancient gold wreath that Greece says was looted from its soil...
http://nytimes.com/2007/11/28/arts/design/28true.html?8dpc

Charges Are Dropped In Getty Case
Los Angeles Times
A Greek criminal court on Tuesday dismissed charges against former J. Paul Getty Museum antiquities curator Marion True for her role in the purchase of an illegally excavated golden funerary wreath...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-getty28nov28,0,789009.story?coll=la-home-center
Why do so many papers file this in the 'entertainment' section?


Most Charges Dropped Against Curator
United Press International
ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A criminal court in Greece has dismissed the most serious charges against Marion True, the former U.S. museum curator accused of buying looted antiquities...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/11/27/most_charges_dropped_against_curator/8317/

Ex-Curator Acquitted In Case Of Greek Relic
International Herald Tribune
ATHENS: A former curator for the J. Paul Getty Museum was acquitted Tuesday of conspiring to acquire an ancient funerary wreath that Greek officials say was illegally removed from Greece about 15 years ago, judicial officials said...
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/27/europe/getty.php

Court Dismisses Getty Curator Case
CNN
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A Greek court on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against a former curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles accused of illegally obtaining a golden ancient wreath...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/27/getty.court.ap/

Greek Court Throws Out Case Against Former Getty Museum Curator
International Herald Tribune
ATHENS, Greece: A Greek court on Tuesday threw out criminal charges against a former curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles accused of illegally obtaining an ancient gold wreath...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/27/europe/EU-GEN-Greece-Antiquities-Smuggling.php

Case Against Former Getty Museum Curator Dropped In Greece - Summary
Earthtimes.org
Athens - A Greek court on Tuesday decided to drop the case against a former curator of the Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum who was charged with antiquities smuggling. The entire case against former curator Marion True was thrown out of court because a 10-year statute of limitations in the US had expired since the stolen antiquities first came to light...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/148736.html

Former Curator Of Getty Museum On Trial for Antiquities Smuggling
Monsters And Critics
Athens - The former curator of Los Angeles' J Paul Getty Museum, Marion True, will go on trial for antiquities smuggling in Athens Tuesday...
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1376609.php/Former_curator_of_Getty_museum_on_trial_for_antiquities_smuggling

Exclusive Pompeii Exhibition Unveiled At Melbourne Museum
Herald Sun
AN exclusive exhibition of the last dramatic hours of Pompeii is coming to Melbourne...
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22835733-2862,00.html

Russian Archaeologists Find Unique Mummies In Egypt
RIA Novosti
AL-FAYUM, November 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian archaeologists have found well-preserved mummies in Egypt dating to the country's Ptolemaic era, the head of the Russian Academy of Science's Egyptology department announced on Tuesday...
http://en.rian.ru/culture/20071127/89857536.html

Olympic Digs Yield Historic Finds
BBC News
Valuable archeological finds have been unearthed on two Olympics 2012 sites...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7117040.stm

Earliest Chapters In Our National Story
Times Online
Three hundred years ago antiquaries were at the forefront of modernity. This odd paradox is captured in the Royal Academy’s exhibition marking the tercentenary of the Society of Antiquaries. The society is therefore the same age as Britain as a unitary state...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article2956681.ece

Four Adults Found On Roman Site
This Is Wiltshire
THE developer that owns the land in Staverton where Roman remains were discovered has revealed more details about the artefacts...
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1860862.0.four_adults_found_on_roman_site.php

Roman Pottery And Coin Found At London's Olympic Park Site
International Herald Tribune
LONDON: Roman pottery and a coin from the Iron Age have been found on the site of the aquatics center planned for the London 2012 Olympic Games...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/28/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-London-2012-Archaeology.php

Archaeologists Find Roman Remains At Olympic Park
Building.co.uk
The discovery of fourth century pottery and a Roman coin on the 2012 site will not delay the construction programme...
http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3101044&c=0
The article has a number of very good photos of Roman coins.

Clearance Reveals Roman Skeleton
This Is Hampshire
THE skeleton of a man, which was uncovered in Wherwell, dates from the Roman period...
http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/hampshirenews/display.var.1853199.0.clearance_reveals_roman_skeleton.php

1st Century Pool Uncovered On Roman Dig Site
ThinkSpain
A team of archaeologists led by Barcelona Autonomous University professor, Josep Guitart, has unearthed a cold water Roman swimming pool dating from between AD 40-60 during the reigns of Emperors Claudio and Nero...
http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/14117/1st-century-pool-uncovered-on-roman-dig-site

Greece Drops Charges Against Getty Curator Over Looted Golden Wreath
CBC.ca
A Greek court has dropped criminal charges against a former Los Angeles art curator on trial for illegally obtaining an artifact...
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/11/27/true-greece-court.html

Remains Of Ancient Synagogue With Unique Floor Mosaic Found In Galilee
Science Daily
ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2007) — Remains of an ancient synagogue from the Roman-Byzantine era have been revealed in excavations carried out in the Arbel National Park in the Galilee under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071121100831.htm

November 28th News

Some older stories are still going strong today, and there are some new ones as well.

New stories as of 6:27 AM:

Bonkers About Boys
London Review Of Books
For those suffering from millennial panic about the current state of history – all those Postmodernists on the non-fiction bestseller lists, all those fact-deniers occupying important professorial chairs, all those poor students who know what Marie Antoinette had for breakfast but not how she died – classics departments all over the country are offering courses of therapy: Alexander the Great...
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n21/davi02_.html

Archaeologists Identify 'Romulus and Remus Cave'
UKTV
The cave in which Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf has been unearthed by archaeologists in Rome...
http://uktv.co.uk/history/news/aid/596471

Satellite Maps Identify Over 100 Ancient Sites
Thaindian News
London, Nov 26 (ANI): Anthropologists have identified over 100 previously unknown ancient sites in Egypt using satellite images from their laboratory in Birmingham, UK...
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/satellite-maps-identify-over-100-ancient-egyptian-sites_1006649.html

Unique Synagogue From Roman-Byzantine Era Discovered In Galilee
Israel-Times
During recent excavation held by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Arbel National Park in the Galilee, archaeologists have been puzzled with the mosaic floor found among the remains of the synagogue...
http://www.israel-times.com/news/2007/11/israel-unique-synagogue-from-roman-byzantine-era-discovered-in-galilee-3394/

November 25th News

It's a quiet Sunday after a busy week.

New stories as of 7:37 AM:

Rome And Jerusalem
STLtoday
"Rome and Jerusalem have existed for centuries in the Western imagination as opposite ideals of grandeur and sanctity," Martin Goodman writes in the beginning of his new book, a magnificent analysis of the interplay between the two cities and the value systems they epitomized...
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/book/story/4D44BC4A4EDB03CD8625739E00040E5E?OpenDocument