August 7th News

I'd thought there wasn't going to be much in the way of news this morning, but I was wrong. The big story of the day is from a period a little later than I usually post in here: the possible discovery of the first theatre where Shakespeare's plays were first shown.

New stories as of 7:50 AM:

Unveiling The Secrets Of the Ancient Olympic Computer
Infopackets.com
Researchers have discovered that the ancient Greeks used a primitive 'computer' to set the dates of the Olympic Games...
http://www.infopackets.com/news/technology/it/2008/20080807_unveiling_the_secrets_of_the_ancient_olympic_computer.htm

Bulgarian Archeologists Unearth 1900-Year-Old Thracian Chariot
Visit Bulgaria
A team of Bulgarian archeologists has discovered a unique, fully preserved four-wheeled Thracian chariot, which is more than 1900 years old...
http://www.visitbulgaria.net/en/yambol/news/20080807/thracian_chariot.html

Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover Ancient Chariot
Associated Press
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,900-year-old well-preserved chariot at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Thursday...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCV8iXXy_l-nAPuadPyq-5RCMVOQD92DEKT80

Shakespeare's 1st Theater Unearthed
UPI.com
LONDON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- An excavation in England has uncovered the brick foundations of the 16th century theater where William Shakespeare's plays were first performed, officials said...
http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/08/06/Shakespeares_1st_theater_unearthed/UPI-30401218063847/
Yes, this one's strictly a little late for this journal, but I found it interesting enough that I had to include it. Besides, things seem so quiet, that more articles are a good thing.

Possible Shakespearean Theater Found In London
Physorg.com
(AP) -- The theater where "The Merchant of Venice" and "Romeo and Juliet" likely debuted and where William Shakespeare himself may have trodden the boards has likely been discovered in east London, archaeologists at the Museum of London said Wednesday...
http://www.physorg.com/news137261623.html

DNA Tests To Study Mummy Fetuses In King Tut Tomb
Physorg.com
(AP) -- Egyptian scientists are carrying out DNA tests on two mummified fetuses found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun to determine whether they are the young pharaoh's offspring, the antiquities authority said Wednesday...
http://www.physorg.com/news137258291.html

Wine Presses Yield More Secrets
DI-VE
The fields in the locality have turned out to date back to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC – as old as the wine-presses...
http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=53479&newscategory=36

Shakespeare's Shoreditch Theatre Unearthed
Guardian.co.uk
A shiver of excitement rippled around the theatrical globe as news spread of some grubby red bricks uncovered in a muddy pit off a nondescript street in east London...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/aug/07/shakespeare.shoreditch

King Tut's Kids
inthenews.co.uk
Foetuses found in the tomb of Tutankhamun are to be tested in an attempt to determine who their parents were...
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/infocus/features/in-focus/king-tuts-kids-$1235395.htm

Egypt To DNA Test Mummies To See If Tutankhamun Was A Father
Telegraph.co.uk
Egyptian scientists will carry out DNA tests on two mummified foetuses found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun to determine their link to the young pharaoh, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has announced...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/2515379/Egpyt-to-DNA-test-mummies-to-see-if-Tutankhamun-was-a-father.html

Tutamkhamuns Mummified Fetuses To Get Paternity Test
Thaindian News
London, August 7 (ANI): Egyptian scientists are doing DNA tests on stillborn children found in Tutankhamuns tomb in the hope of confirming if they are the pharoahs offspring and confirming his family tree...
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/tutankhamuns-mummified-fetuses-to-get-paternity-test_10080906.html

Large Olive Press Discovered In Northern Israel
Scoop
6 August 2008 - An ancient olive- oil production complex dating from the 6th-7th Centuries CE – one of the largest ever exposed in Israel – was discovered at Ahihud, in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0808/S00097.htm

The Truth About The Picts
The Independent
The Picts have long been regarded as enigmatic savages who fought off Rome's legions before mysteriously disappearing from history, wild tribesmen who refused to sacrifice their freedom in exchange for the benefits of civilisation...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-truth-about-the-picts-886098.html

German Scientists Dig for Their Own Stonehenge
Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters Life!) - Archaeologists have discovered traces of a Bronze Age place of worship in Germany in what they say might be the country's answer to Stonehenge...
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSL623035920080806

June 23rd News

There've been a few new stories over the week-end to post today.

New stories as of 8:37 AM:

Egypt, Spain To Use Underwater Robot To Search For Ancient Egyptian King Sarcophagus
Mathaba.net
A underwater robot will be used to search for the sarcophagus of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure of more than 4,500 years ago off the Spanish coasts, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Saturday...
http://mathaba.net/news/?x=596150

Ancient Fenland 'Treasure' To Tell Story of Flooding
Innovations Report
New research at the University of Leicester is seeking to use a ‘treasure trove’ in the English Fenlands in order to decipher the ancient history of flooding in the region...
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/geowissenschaften/bericht-112841.html

Excitement At City Roman Baths Site
Mid Sussex Times
Archaelogists have descended on a Chichester city-centre car park to check the condition of the Roman baths buried underneath...
http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/Excitement-at-city-Roman-baths.4198298.jp

New Dig Shows Neanderthals Were 'Sophisticated' Hunters
The Argus
Tools thought to have once belonged to Neanderthals have provided new insight into their lives, suggesting they were "sophisticated" huntsmen, it was revealed today...
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/generalnews/display.var.2358540.0.new_dig_shows_neanderthals_were_sophisticated_hunters.php

'Neanderthal Tools' Found At Dig
BBC News
Dozens of tools thought to have belonged to Neanderthals have been dug up at an archaeological site called Beedings in West Sussex...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7466735.stm

Ancient Mummy Opened: Scythian Cavalier Had Bone Disease
CAIS News
An autopsy on the body of an ancient Scythian cavalier found in the Altai Mountains shows he had a degenerative bone disease for several years before he died, German scientists said Friday. The 2006 find of the preserved body and the man's rich possessions on the Mongolian side of the mountains was a scientific sensation. The Scythians were a nation of horsemen in central Asia...
http://www.cais-soas.com/news/2008/June2008/23-06.htm

February 8th News

There's more information coming up on a number of earlier stories, such as the altar of Zeus, today. The big story however, is the return of the Albanian statues.

New stories as of 6:03 AM:

Greece Returns Stolen Ancient Statues To Albania
Balkan Travellers
8 February 2008 | Greece returned on Thursday two ancient marble statues that were stolen from Albania, as part of a broader campaign against the illegal acquisition of antique objects...
http://www.balkantravellers.com/read/article/348

New Discoveries At The Ash Altar Of Zeus
Spero News
Discoveries offer insights into early origin of ancient Greece's most powerful god, indicating the altar is much older than believed...
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=14290&tag=

Ancient Statues Returned To Albania
United Press International
ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Two ancient marble statues of Artemis and Apollo stolen from Albania in the '90s were officially returned in an Athens ceremony Thursday...
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/02/07/ancient_statues_returned_to_albania/9666/

Greece Returns Stolen Statues To Albania: Ministry
AFP
ATHENS (AFP) — Greece returned to Albania on Thursday two headless marble statues stolen from the museum of Butrint in 1991 and located by police near Athens six years later, the Greek culture ministry said...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVG5wk3k7rwqwzxQvTQeGIj1wJVA

Greece Returns Stolen Ancient Statues To Albania
PR-Inside
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece handed back two stolen ancient statues to Albanian authorities on Thursday, saying it hoped the gesture boosts international cooperation in repatriating looted antiquities...
http://www.pr-inside.com/greece-returns-stolen-ancient-statues-to-r427289.htm

Greece Returns Two Stolen Marble Statues To Albanian Museum
Bloomberg
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Greece's government returned two ancient statues stolen from Albania almost two decades ago...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=apbICdWyflic&refer=muse

Portsmouth Museums' Saxon Skeletons To Help Find Cure For TB
24 Hour Museum
Saxon age skeletons in Portsmouth's Museums collection could potentially pave the way for the development of new drugs to tackle the scourge of tuberculosis (TB) according to new research...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART54099.html

Experts Unearth Medieval Berlin Under Car Park
US Daily
BERLIN (Reuters) - A team of experts has unearthed an 800-year-old cellar under a central Berlin car park which they say dates the city back to the 12th century, earlier than previously thought...
http://www.theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=294502&type=ScienceArch

February 4th News

There's quite a bit of news this morning. I'm wondering though, what is it that has the articles about Greek and Roman statues having been painted that makes it such big news today? That knowledge has been around long enough to make it into a number of my textbooks.

New stories as of 6:16 AM:

Australia Hands Back A Stolen Ancient World To Spain
The Age
AUSTRALIA has returned to Spain the world as it was known in 1482.
The handing over of a precious 526-year-old map, stolen from the National Library of Spain last year, has been described as the conclusion of a "very unhappy case".
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/australia-hands-back-a-stolen-ancient-world-to-spain/2008/02/04/1202090323428.html

Antiquity Had More Than A Monochrome Palette
Times Online
We are so used to the white purity of ancient marble sculptures that we imagine the Greeks and Romans felt the same: certainly the artists and patrons of the Renaissance and later centuries believed that white was right...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/court_and_social/article3299711.ece

Ancient Greek And Roman Sculptures Were Multi Coloured
Thaindian News
Washington, Feb 4 (ANI): A new research has revealed that many ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were painted in a variety of colours other than white...
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/ancient-greek-and-roman-sculptures-were-multi-coloured_10016191.html

Discovery Of Hunting Tools Turns Back Clock For Ancient English City By 10,000 Years
Thaindian News
London, Feb 4 (ANI): Archaeologists have found hunting tools at the site of a new shopping centre in the ancient town of Bath in England, that extends the history of the city thousands of years further back...
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/discovery-of-hunting-tools-turns-back-clock-for-ancient-english-city-by-10000-years_10016161.html

Motorway Excavations In UK Reveal Prehistoric Relics
Daily India
London, Feb 4: A motorway dig at Merseyside in UK has resulted in the discovery of more than 3,000 objects ranging from prehistoric to Roman times...
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/212976.php/Motorway-excavations-in-UK-reveal-prehistoric-relics
Also published at:
http://www.topnews.in/motorway-excavations-uk-reveal-prehistoric-relics-218371

Norfolk Skeleton Unearthed
EDP24
A skeleton, believed to be several hundred years old, has been found during archaeological excavations...
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED03%20Feb%202008%2018%3A42%3A49%3A713

Germany And Nordics To Claim Viking Towns As Heritage Sites
Earthtimes.org
Kiel, Germany - A string of Baltic sites where bloodthirsty Vikings moored their longboats, hoarded slaves and booty and held off ethnic rivals are to be claimed as UNESCO world heritage sites. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein said Monday its items for the collection would be Haithabu, which was the Viking trading capital and original site of the city of Schleswig, and the Dannevirke...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/182537,germany-and-nordics-to-claim-viking-towns-as-heritage-sites.html
Also published at:
http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1126966&lang=EN

Early Burial Ground Discovered By Archaeologists In Doncaster
24 Hour Museum
Archaeologists have discovered a cemetery dating back 1,500 years at the site of a new school near Doncaster...
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART53743.html

January 31st News

Lots of news today, and nearly all of it completely new stories.

New stories as of 10:21 AM:

Builders Dig Up 35 Skeletons
Doncaster Free Press
BUILDERS working on the site of a new school have stumbled across what could be one of the most historic finds ever unearthed in Doncaster...
http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/free/Builders-dig-up-35-skeletons.3731149.jp

Acquisition Of Greek Coins Enriches Study Of Medieval History
Princeton University
A recent acquisition by the University Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections of more than 800 coins from medieval Greece will help researchers deepen their knowledge about a period of Middle Age history that has been little understood by scholars...
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S20/17/36K39/index.xml?section=topstories

Experts Unearth Medieval Berlin Under Car Park
Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters) - A team of experts has unearthed an 800-year-old cellar under a central Berlin car park which they say dates the city back to the 12th century, earlier than previously thought...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKL3188793720080131

Viking Burial Site Found
The Star
ONE of South Yorkshire's most significant archaeological finds ever has been unearthed during work to build a multi-million pound special school...
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Viking-burial-site-found.3730140.jp

"Beautiful" Mummies, Gilded Caskets Found In Egypt
National Geographic News
January 30, 2008—Four ancient tombs containing well-preserved mummies and ornate painted coffins have been unearthed at El Faiyum, an oasis about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Cairo (see map)...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/photogalleries/fayoum-pictures/
The article has a five image slide-show included with some spectacular photos.

Surprise Egypt Tombs Yield Ornate Coffins, Dog Mummies
National Geographic News
Four ancient tombs containing well-preserved mummies, ornate painted coffins, and mummified dogs have been unearthed in El Faiyum, an oasis about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Cairo (see map). (See photos of the tomb treasures.)...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080130-egypt-mummies.html

Thirty-Five Bodies Found At Ancient Burial Ground
The Star
AN ANCIENT burial ground has been unearthed on a South Yorkshire construction site...
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/BREAKING-35-bodies-found-in.3727130.jp

Find May Shed Light On Roman Era
BBC News
A team of archaeologists from the University of Exeter has found a Roman fort dating from the 1st Century AD in fields in Cornwall...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7217173.stm

Video: Treasure Beneath My Home
National Geographic News
January 22, 2008—Egyptian homeowners who find ancient artifacts buried on their land sometimes sell them to smugglers. Lisa Ling goes undercover to show how it's done...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080130-smuggling-video-tw.html

Berlin Dig Finds City Older Than Thought
Yahoo News
BERLIN - An archaeological dig in downtown Berlin has uncovered evidence that the German capital is at least 45 years older than had previously been established, authorities said Wednesday...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_sc/germany_aging_berlin_3;_ylt=AkM5vyY4LYzk8yE3Jj9NVUhFeQoB

November 2nd News

It's a relatively slow day, but the stories are interesting. They range from Egypt to Rome to Germany, and from ancient to Medieval times.

New stories as of 6:30 AM:

Library Garners Famous Egyptologist's Collection
The Stanford Daily
Students interested in ancient Egyptian artifacts and temples now have a treasure trove of material to explore at Green Library...
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/11/2/libraryGarnersFamousEgyptologistsCollection

Heavy Rains Destroy Rome's Ancient Wall
Pravada.ru
A 6-meter (20-foot) section of Rome's ancient Aurelian wall collapsed into a pile of bricks because of heavy rains, no victims were reported. Italy’s officials are drawing up restoration plans...
http://newsfromrussia.com/news/world/02-11-2007/100098-aurelian_wall-0

Part Of Ancient Wall Ringing Rome Collapses After Heavy Rain
PR-Inside
ROME (AP) - Italian officials were drawing up restoration plans Friday for a 6-meter (20-foot) section of Rome's ancient Aurelian wall that collapsed into a pile of bricks after days of heavy rain. No one was hurt in the incident...
http://www.pr-inside.com/part-of-ancient-wall-ringing-rome-r280114.htm

Video: Medieval Church Rolls 7 Miles
National Geographic News
November 1, 2007—A flatbed trailer hauled a medieval church to its new home in eastern Germany. The technically ambitious move has cleared the original site for mining...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071101-church-video-ap.html

October 5th News

It's an early and slow start this morning.

New stories as of 1:16 PM:

New Discoveries in Ebla
SANA
DAMASCUS, ( SANA) _ Italian renowned Archaeologist Paulo Mattieh on Thursday shed light on the most important archaeological discoveries that the Italian expedition team at the ancient site of Ebla Kingdom had discovered.
http://www.sana.org/eng/21/2007/10/04/142322.htm

New stories as of 6:33 AM:

Underwater Archaeologists Find Mediaeval Artefacts In German Lake
EUX.tv
Arendsee, Germany (dpa) - Archaeologists have made significant mediaeval finds in the northern German lake, the Arendsee, that reveal fishing activities linked to a nearby monastery...
http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=15628

Ancient Stone Egyptian Carvings Were Made By Shepherds
New Kerala
Warsaw: Ancient carvings in the Dakhla Oasis in Egypt were made by shepherds, who lived about 5000-8000 years back, a recent study by Polish archaeologists has revealed...
http://www.newkerala.com/oct.php?action=fullnews&id=8886

Italy's Presidential Palace To Host 40 Artifacts Returned From Getty Museum
Herald Tribune
ROME: Italy's presidential palace will host an exhibit of 40 antiquities the J. Paul Getty Museum is returning as Rome reclaims treasures it says were looted from Italian territory, officials said Wednesday...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/03/europe/EU-GEN-Italy-Looted-Antiquities.php