January 3rd News

Now that the holidays are over, I'm returning to a more or less regular daily posting here.

New stories as of 8:32 AM:

Satellites Build A Picture Of The Past
Cosmos
Gone are the days of a fearless Indiana Jones battling through the jungle in search of ancient treasures. Today's archaeologists are using high-tech tools, from NASA satellites to Google Earth, do the hard work for them...
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1764

Race To Save Lascaux Cave Art, Prehistoric 'Sistine Chapel'
Wired
It was discovered by a dog called Robot, and has survived 17,000 years of climate change and human history. But the world's most famous cave art at Lascaux, France - dubbed prehistory's "Sistine Chapel" - could end up on a World Heritage in Danger list...
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/01/race-to-save-la.html

France Racing To Save Lascaux Cave Paintings From Fungus
CBC.ca
The French government is taking emergency action to rescue the celebrated cave paintings of the Lascaux caverns from a fungus...
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/01/02/lascaux-caves.html

Ancient Civilization Found
CFP
Reported at the end of last year, but missed pretty much everywhere, Russian archaeologists working in Kyrgyzstan have discovered the remains of, what must have been at its time, a thriving metropolis. Estimated to be from 2,500 years ago, they were found at the bottom of Lake Issyk Kul, in the Kyrgyz mountains...
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/1194

Four Years Work - But There's A Silver Lining...
Leicester Mercury
Archaeologists have begun a four-year restoration of a piece of history that could unravel Leicestershire's Roman past...
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132935&command=displayContent&sourceNode=132702&contentPK=19431090&folderPk=77465&pNodeId=132393

Irish Split On Road Near Sacred Site
Marketplace
The Hill of Tara, northwest of Dublin, has a great deal of archaeological and religious significance. Now, the Irish government wants to build a four-lane highway near it. Stephen Beard reports many are protesting...
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/02/road_near_hill_of_tara
The story contains an audio version as well as the text of the audio.

Can Ice Age Art Survive Man's Attempt To Save It?
Times Online
The survival of the most important cave paintings in the world is in doubt because of a severe fungal infection that spread after an air-circulation system was installed to protect them, archaeologists say...
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article3118897.ece

December 28th News

Posting is likely to continue to be irregular until the New Year. At any rate, things seem to be quite quiet today.

New stories as of 9:39 AM:

Campaign To Save Cave From Damage
BBC News
An ancient cave in Herts - thought to have been used by the Knights Templar during their quest for the Holy Grail - is under threat, according to an MP...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7162571.stm

Bob Hecht: Fragments Of An Antiquities Conspiracy
Scoop
Hugh Eakin’s recent "Treasure Hunt" story in The New Yorker profiling Marion True, the former Getty curator on trial in Rome for conspiracy to traffic in ancient art, devotes a column to True’s 1991 paper on the destruction of ancient cultural sites, giving the impression that the Italian government is to blame for looting half of that country’s Greek and Roman history...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0712/S00321.htm
This is obviously only one side of a two (or more) sided debate.

The Children's Crusade
Bits of News
In Chartres, amidst the calls for knights and noblemen to go to Spain to fight against Islam, a group of shepherds led by Stephen of Cloyes one of their number, got up and started marching to deliver a letter from Christ to the King of France...
http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/6632/

December 21st News

The news for the day of the Winter Solstice.

New stories as of 9:30 AM:

Bulgaria Plagued By 'Grave Robbers'
Spiegel Online
From an archaeological point of view, Bulgaria has some of the richest digs around. The problem is, plunderers are aware of the valuable treasure as well. And they often get there first...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,524976,00.html

In Pictures: Ancient Roman Paintings
BBC News
A unique exhibition of 2,000-year-old paintings called Pompeian Red has opened at the National Museum of Rome...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/europe_ancient_roman_paintings/html/1.stm
A slide show of ten images of the Roman frescoes on display. Each painting also has a description with dates and other information.

Ancient Houses Excavated And Restored In Italy
CCTV.com
Two houses of ancient Rome are unveiled, reborn to grace the basement of a government office building in Italy's capital. They are two upper-class homes, located, excavated, then restored to their ancient grace with the aid of high technology...
http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20071221/107620.shtml

Masterpieces From The Ruins Of Pompeii
The Independent
The wall paintings that first brought the civilisation of ancient Italy home to modern Europeans went on show in Rome yesterday, for the first time in decades...
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3273187.ece

Ancient Villas Restored In Rome
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — The restored ruins of two opulent Roman villas and private thermal baths will open to the public Saturday, along with a 3-D reconstruction that offers a virtual tour of the luxurious residences discovered in downtown Rome...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hH_6aifHIo6zRXuDR2Ua1SXfvahQD8TLCVK80

Top Ten Archaeological Stories Of 2007
National Geographic News
The founders of Rome, the builders of Stonehenge, and ancient Egypt's "female king" were among the stars of this year's most popular archaeology stories from National Geographic News...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071220-archaeology.html

Gaulish Haul Discovered
NZ Herald
Asterix and Obelix, had they existed, might have paid for their mead and other magic potions with gold-silver-copper coins stamped with elaborate images of men and horses...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10483630

Ancient Egyptian Glassmaking Recreated
Science Daily
ScienceDaily (Dec. 21, 2007) — 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.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071214094026.htm

December 20th News

Not too busy a day as of this morning, but there's an interesting range of stories.

New stories as of 8:00 AM:

Italy To Show Off Repatriated Artifacts In New Exhibit
CBC.ca
Italian cultural officials say they're offering art and history lovers an early "Christmas present" this week with the opening of a new exhibition showcasing priceless artifacts recently repatriated to Italy...
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/12/19/rome-lootedart-exhibit.html

Second Temple Palace Remains Uncovered
Jerusalem Post
Israeli archeologists have uncovered a monumental Second Temple structure opposite the Temple Mount that was likely Queen Helena's palace, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1196847260218&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
This one's a bit late really for Early History News (December 5th), but it popped up anyway, and today seems to be a bit slow.

Skeletons Give Clue To Origins Of Priory
icSurreyOnline
THE remains of a chapel and graves dating back 600 years, including parts of four skeletons, have been unearthed in Priory Park...
http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/reigate/tm_headline=skeletons-give-clue-to-origins-of-priory&method=full&objectid=20270421&siteid=50101-name_page.html

Archaeologists Find Mysterious Neolithic Structure In Orkney Dig
24 Hour Museum
The sands of time have been rapidly eroding at the Orkney Bronze Age site, the Links of Noltland. Before everything is lost to the sea around the island of Westray, Historic Scotland have been carrying out a thorough excavation to learn everything they can...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART52775.html

Record-Breaking Haul From Gaul Discovered At Farm In Brittany
Belfast Telegraph
Asterix and Obelix, had they existed, might have paid for their mead and other magic potions with gold-silver-copper coins stamped with elaborate images of men and horses...
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article3266841.ece

Study Of Shipwreck Reveals Valuable Data
Financial Mirror
A study of a shipwreck, off Cyprus’ southern coast, is expected to provide valuable information about the nautical and economic history of the Eastern Mediterranean as it is one of very few shipwrecks of the Classical period, found in the Eastern Mediterranean in such a good state of preservation, according to the Department of Antiquities...
http://www.financialmirror.com/more_news.php?id=9368&nt=Politics

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/

December 18th News

To be honest, this is the Christmas season, which in combination with work and the weather leaves me with little time. I will guarantee regular posting will begin again in January. Until then, I'll try to gather the news regularly, but may not succeed.

And, of course this is the time when the news is coming in, thick and fast.

New stories as of 8:01 AM:

Italian Antiquities 'Going Home'
Spiegel Online
Italy has been waging a campaign to reclaim its antiquities from museums around the world. On Friday it will celebrate the return of almost 70 masterpieces from the Roman, Greek and Etruscan eras with an exhibition in Rome...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,524061,00.html

Italy: New Exhibit Showcases Stolen Treasures
AKI
Rome,18 Dec. (AKI) - Dozens of ancient treasures, believed to have been looted from archaelogical excavations, have been returned to Italy, where they are on display for the first time...
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/CultureAndMedia/?id=1.0.1682985489

Recovered Antiquities Go On Display In Italy
Artinfo
ROME—Greek, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities will go on display Friday in an exhibition of illegally trafficked ancient masterpieces that Italy has recovered, the AP reports...
http://www.artinfo.com/articles/story/26404/recovered-antiquities-go-on-display-in-italy

Italy Exhibits Its Recovered Masterpieces
Los Angeles Times
ROME -- Italian authorities Monday triumphantly unveiled an exhibition of dozens of ancient artworks returned by American museums in recent months, the symbolic conclusion of their decade-long campaign to repatriate objects looted from Italian soil...
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-getty18dec18,0,7195492.story?coll=la-home-center

'Nostoi: Recovered Masterpieces'
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/12/17/arts/20071218_TREASURE_SLIDESHOW_index.html
A slide shown of eleven images of the recovered art objects. Descriptions of each image are included.

Stolen Treasures To Be Star Draw
Times Online
ROME An Etruscan antefix with Sileno and Menade dancing, is among 68 stolen or illegally exported treasures that Italy is to put on display after they were returned by American museums...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3066469.ece

Looted Art Displayed In Rome
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Dozens of treasures from the Greek, Etruscan and Roman civilizations will go on display Friday in an exhibition featuring many of the ancient masterpieces recovered in Italy's campaign against illegal trafficking in antiquities.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5is_bcmuTOwPCXlYk6aWb_ugCT9RgD8TJE4D01

Looted Antiquities Return To Italy From Getty, Other US Collections
AFP
ROME (AFP) — Dozens of antiquities returned to Italy under hard-won accords with US museums, notably the Getty, were unveiled here Monday in what Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli called a new "season of cooperation."...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDmDJuzySwFI614dIah46BD5igRA

British Museum Snubs New Greek Call For Elgin Marbles
AFP
LONDON (AFP) — The British Museum snubbed a new call for the return of the so-called Elgin Marbles to Athens Monday, saying its position over the disputed artefacts remains unchanged...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jd_4xMxZl6wT2ZwRIvzYRLB2zf1A

New Acropolis Site 'Ripe' For Marbles Return: Greek PM
Khaleej Times
ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis said during a visit to the new Acropolis Museum construction site Monday that conditions are ‘ripe’ for Britain to return the Elgin, or Parthenon Marbles...
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/December/theworld_December583.xml&section=theworld&col=

New Details Of Ancient Roman Town Uncovered
MSNBC
New details of a buried ancient Roman town in England are being revealed for the first time using the latest technology...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22298156/

Ancient Racetrack At Risk From New Homes
EADT 24
ONE of the most important archaeological finds in Britain's oldest recorded town could still be encroached on by a housing development - despite receiving special recognition by the country's leading conservation organisation...
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED16%20Dec%202007%2021%3A52%3A50%3A080

Mesoptamia Was A Vital Link On Roman-Indian Trade Routes
Times Online
More than 60 years ago Sir Mortimer Wheeler proved that Roman pottery had made it all the way from Italy to India: the characteristic bright red of Samian ware, bearing the stamp of the Vibieni of Arezzo, showed up in his trenches at the ancient port of Arikamedu, on the southeastern coast near Pondicherry...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article3053057.ece

After Legal Odyssey, Homecoming Show For Looted Antiquities
The New York Times
ROME — In Greek, the word nostos means homecoming; the plural is nostoi. Hence the title of an exhibition that Italy has organized to trumpet the return of dozens of ancient artifacts that until recently adorned showcases in American museums and private galleries...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/arts/design/18trea.html?hp

Remains Of Medieval Bishops Identified
UKTV
The bones of six Scottish bishops from the Middle Ages have been idenfied using the latest techniques...
http://uktv.co.uk/history/news/aid/597422

The Nile Once Flowed Near Ancient Egyptian Temple At Karnak: Experts
Daily India
Washington, Dec: A series of discoveries at the foot of Egypt's famous Temple of Amun at Karnak have led archaeologists to believe that the river Nile once flowed near the temple. ..
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/200711.php/The-Nile-once-flowed-near-ancient-Egyptian-temple-at-Karnak:-experts

Surprise Find At Egypt Temple "Change Everything"
National Geographic News
A series of surprising discoveries has been made at the foot of Egypt's famous Temple of Amun at Karnak, archaeologists say...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071217-egypt-temple.html

December 15th News

It's a weekend so there's fewer stories, however they are just as interesting, particularly the two on Egyptian glass making.

New stories as of 7:48 AM:

[Sacred Sites] Abraham's Forgotten City, Harran
Today's Zaman
According to legend, Harran is the place Adam and Eve first stepped foot on Earth and tilled the soil after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. If you happen to visit this southeastern province of Turkey, lying in a district of Şanlıurfa, you will not be able to help but feel that you are on a film set as you stand in front of the ancient town of beehive houses, entirely constructed with mud bricks...
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=129418

Spectacular Roman Stone Coffin To be Displayed At Salisbury Museum
24 Hour Museum
Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum is to take delivery of a spectacular Roman stone coffin unearthed by Wessex Archaeology in 2007...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART52638.html

Secrets Of Roman Town Unearthed
BBC News
New hi-tech investigations of a Roman town in Norfolk have revealed it to be one of international importance, leading archaeologists have said...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7142414.stm

Ancient Egyptian Glass Making Recreated
Science Daily
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2007) — 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.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071214094026.htm

Ancient Glassmaking Furnace Rebuilt
United Press International
CARDIFF, Wales, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Archaeologists say the reconstruction of a 3,000-year-old glass furnace shows the sophistication of ancient Egyptian glass making techniques...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2007/12/14/ancient_glassmaking_furnace_rebuilt/9614/