January 15th News

There's a lot of news this morning, with the big story being the discovery of the identity of the Mona Lisa.

New stories as of 10:48 AM:

Manuscript Reveals True Identity Of Mona Lisa
Spiegel Online
The Mona Lisa's true identity has been revealed at last. Experts at Heidelberg University library say a manuscript they unearthed reveals that she was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine merchant Franceso del Giocondo...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,528664,00.html

Three Spectacular Vases Lent By Italy To Metropolitan Museum For Four Years
Taxi Design Network
As a result of the agreement negotiated by Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Ministero per I Beni Culturali e Ambientali, the Republic of Italy is lending the Metropolitan Museum three outstanding ancient Greek vases for a period of four years...
http://www.designtaxi.com/news.jsp?id=14804&monthview=0&month=1&year=2008
On a completely unrelated note, I'm cringing at the colour scheme of this site. Half the page is on a bright yellow background.

Experts Identify The Woman In Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa Painting
Cleveland Leader
The identity of the woman featured in Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" portrait, which has long been a mystery, may have finally been solved. German academics believe that they now know for certain just who the woman is...
http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/4346


Ancient Wine Artefact Returns To Rome
Decanter.com
Hundreds of museum goers said a last-day farewell Sunday to the most famous wine artefact in the vast Metropolitan Museum of Art - and perhaps America...
http://www.decanter.com/news/174012.html

German Experts Crack Mona Lisa Smile
Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters) - German academics believe they have solved the centuries-old mystery behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait...
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1179689520080114

Scribbles Identify Mona Lisa Painting Model
AHN
Heidelberg, Germany (AHN) - Marginal notes on a book at the Heidelberg University library were the keys that identified the Italian model who sat for Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa painting. She was Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo...
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009723288

Dunwich Secrets To Be Revealed
EDP24
It was consigned to its watery grave hundreds of years ago, but now state-of-the-art underwater cameras could reveal a lost city off the north Suffolk coast for the first time...
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED15%20Jan%202008%2017%3A36%3A34%3A263

Tudor 'Correspondent' Text Online
BBC News
A 16th Century Welsh chronicle charting the history of England and Wales between 1066 and 1552 is now online...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7189408.stm

Rathmolyon Residents In Bid To Halt Local Quarry Expansion
The Meath Chronicle
RATHMOLYON residents have stepped up their campaign against the proposed expansion of a quarry at Trammon following the discovery of two medieval graveyards during archaeology works...
http://www.meathchronicle.ie/story.asp?stID=1879

Wessex Archaeology Releases It's First Online Excavation Video
24 Hour Museum
Wessex Archaeology has released its first online video showing the remarkable excavation of a rare Roman coffin...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART53188.html
The video is embedded at the top of the article.

Ancient Tomb Art Found In Path Of Irish Highway
Kazinform
NEW YORK. January 15. KAZINFORM. Tomb engravings dating back 6,000 years are among the latest discoveries unearthed on the route of a controversial highway under construction in Ireland...
http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=159276
Also published at:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080114-tara-ireland.html

Archaeological Collection Discovered After Relic Hunter's Death
Radio Praha
An unusual collection of over 3,000 archaeological items was discovered two years ago in a Prague apartment whose owner died in a fire. Archaeologists who have examined the collection say it contains some unique artefacts – with very little scientific value because vital information about their origin is missing...
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/99630

Lindisfarne Gospels
The Northern Echo
ARCHAEOLOGISTS always want to know the provenance of any discovery - where it was found, its relation to other objects found on the site and so on. That is why they decry mere treasure seekers, knowing that an article loses half its significance if divorced from its context...
http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/features/leader/display.var.1965824.0.lindisfarne_gospels.php

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

October 22 News

I apologize for not posting over the last couple of days, but there was some 'interesting' weather keeping the computer turned off.

New stories as of 6:18 AM:

Acropolis Treasures Moved To New Museum
New Europe
Three cranes lifted on October 14 a 2.3 tonne marble block, which originally stood on the northern side of the Parthenon temple and carried it safely 400 metres to a new concrete-and-glass museum in just over an hour...
http://www.neurope.eu/articles/78962.php

Israeli Archaeologists Overseeing Contested Jerusalem Dig Find Link To First Jewish Temple
International Herald Tribune
JERUSALEM: Israeli archaeologists overseeing a contested dig at Jerusalem's holiest site for Muslims and Jews stumbled upon a sealed archaeological level dating back to the era of the first biblical Jewish temple, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/21/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Holy-Site.php

Archaeologists Unearth 7000-Year-Old Statue
UKTV
A 7,000-year-old statue of a woman has been discovered by archaeologists in the Czech Republic...
http://uktv.co.uk/history/news/aid/595025

Link To Fist Temple Found
The Jerusalem Post
Archeologists overseeing contested Islamic infrastructure work on Jerusalem's Temple Mount have stumbled upon a sealed archeological level dating back to the First Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1192380615840&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

A 3000-Year-Old Mystery Is Finally Solved: Tutankhamun Died In A Hunting Accident
The Independent
The mystery behind the sudden death of Tutankhamun, the boy king who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, may have been finally solved by scientists who believe that he fell from a fast-moving chariot while out hunting in the desert...
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article3084330.ece