September 25th News

I'm sorry for the long gap in tracking Classical History and Medieval History news. Unfortunately life got in the way for a while.

There's certainly a lot of news this morning. It ranges from new discoveries in Egypt to more details and information on older stories, including the damage done to the ruins of Babylon and more.

New stories as of 10:35 AM:

Ancient Bronze Statue Finds Peace
Southeast European Times
A Belgian tourist discovered Apoxyomenos in the Adriatic in 1996. Now the restored bronze statue will be displayed in a Losinj museum, for tourists and antiquity admirers...
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/09/25/feature-03

Egypt Unearths Granite Head Of Ramses II
Associated Press
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Egypt's antiquities council says that archaeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old red granite head believed to portray the 19th Dynasty pharaoh Ramses II...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gmlqUI9TuQVibcJRjc95USQoWAwgD93DQU2G0
The story is fairly short on detail, unfortunately. However, there is a good photo of the head.

Ancient Bacteria On Roman Tombs May Help Protect Cultural Heritage Monuments
SmasHits.com
Washington, September 25 (ANI): A new research has led to the discovery of two new species of bacteria found growing on the walls of ancient Roman tombs, which may help protect cultural heritage monuments...
http://news.smashits.com/298791/Ancient-bacteria-on-Roman-tombs-may-help-protect-cultural-heritage-monuments.htm
This shows exactly how little we know about life on this planet. A truly fascinating read, though it is more focused on science and the bacteria than on classical history.

Relief Road Excavation To Start
BBC News
Archaeology work has started ahead of the building of a relief road through protected countryside in Dorset...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7633833.stm

Macedonian Police Seize Stolen Antiquities
Associated Press
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Authorities have seized dozens of stolen ancient artifacts after raiding the homes of two suspected antiquities smugglers in southern Macedonia...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWMgdKapzkyREJE6nHm47h6-VE1AD93D36M00

Rare Silver Viking Coin Found In British Village
Thaindian News
London, September 25 (ANI): A rare silver Viking coin, that was discovered by treasure hunters in the north Bedfordshire village in the UK last year, has been put on display at the British Museum in London...
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sports/rare-silver-viking-coin-found-in-british-village_10099808.html

Ancient Statue Of Ramses II Found Near Cairo

The Hindu
Cairo (Xinhua): Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a granite head statue, believed to be that of the 19th Dynasty King of ancient Egypt Ramses II, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) said in a press release on Thursday...
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200809251711.htm
Also published at:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/25/content_10110675.htm

Experts 'Solve' The Mystery Of Stonehenge
Ladepeche.fr
Après de nombreuses années de supputations, deux chercheurs anglais affirment avoir résolu le mystère de Stonehenge...
http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2008/09/25/477664-Experts-solve-the-mystery-of-Stonehenge.html
The rest of the article is in English.

1000 Year Old Viking Shield Found
About.com
Archaeologists in Denmark have been quite lucky. They have unearthed a shield from the Vikings in very good condition, at a historic site near the town of Slagelse on Zealand...
http://goscandinavia.about.com/b/2008/09/25/1000-year-old-viking-shield-found.htm

Video: Ancient Babylon Damaged
National Geographic News
September 24, 2008—After years of deterioration, the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon is suffering anew in the wake of war...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080924-babylon-video-ap.html

Ramesis II Bust Found In Egypt
Yahoo News
CAIRO (AFP) - Archaeologists have found the bust of pharaoh Ramses II in Egypt's Nile Delta, Culture Minister Faruq Hosni said Wednesday, bringing experts closer to finding a temple belonging to the king...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080924/wl_africa_afp/egyptarchaeologyramses_080924181808;_ylt=Au9QpPvZfPaOHACO_NASY7NFeQoB

Romans 'Brought Leeks To Wales'
BBC News
The Romans gave us roads, plumbing, wine and irrigation and now it seems they may have also introduced Wales' unofficial icon - the garden leek...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7631249.stm

July 12th News

Lots of news today. More reassessing of ancient pieces is being done all the time.

New stories as of 10:50 AM:

Archaeologists Find Marble Love Goddess
Sudbury Star
Macedonian archeologists say they have discovered a well-preserved naked statue of the ancient goddess of love in a ruined Roman city near Skopje...
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1112118

Scholar Declares Greek Phaistos Disc To Be A Fake
Newstrack India
London, July 12 (ANI): An American scholar has declared the Greek Phaistos Disc, which is believed to be 4,000 years old, to be a fake...
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/6282

Phaistos Disc Declared As Fake By Scholar
Times Online
Some say that its 45 mysterious symbols are the words of a 4,000-year-old poem, or perhaps a sacred text. Others contest that they are a magical inscription, a piece of ancient music or the world's oldest example of punctuation...
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article4318911.ece

Greece Regains 2 Ancient Works From US
Forbes.com
ATHENS, Greece -The Greek culture ministry said Friday it has struck a deal with a U.S. collector for the return of two important ancient artifacts that Greece says were looted by antiquities smugglers.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/07/11/ap5206320.html

Mystery Of The Missing Mosaic
This Is Hertfordshire
ARCHAEOLOGISTS re-excavating an ancient roman room were surprised to discover parts of it missing today...
http://www.thisishertfordshire.co.uk/news/stalbans/display.var.2392648.0.mystery_of_the_missing_mosaic.php

Iconic She-Wolf Nurtures A Roman Archaeological Mystery
The Star
ROME–She suckled Rome's legendary twin founders and fed Benito Mussolini's ambitious dreams of renewed imperial glory...
http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/459081
Also published by:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iKRAm-pRb6hO4tk_K7zTDZ_ZwC4wD91RH6NG0

A Second Roman Bath House Found On Northhamptonshire Farm
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Flooding for Northamptonshire residents even affected Roman settlers in the third century, archaeologists in Nether Heyford have discovered.
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/A-second-Roman-bath-house.4282006.jp

Collector To Return Antiquities To Greece
The New York Times
Six months after reaching a similar agreement with Italy, the New York collector Shelby White, right, will hand over two antiquities to Greece that the Greek government says were illegally excavated and exported from the country...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/arts/12arts-COLLECTORTOR_BRF.html?ref=arts

She-Wolf Of Rome a Young Pup
Toronto Sun
ROME -- For centuries, the she-wolf that suckled Rome's legendary twin founders has been one of Rome's most powerful symbols. But now some experts contend the bronze statue in a museum atop the Capitoline Hill might not be so old after all...
http://torontosun.com/News/World/2008/07/12/6136286-sun.html

The Strange Case Of The Young Wolf
Nature.com
It’s being claimed that a cherished Italian myth was shattered yesterday when the final blow was delivered to the origin story of Rome’s most famous statue, the Lupa Capitolina...
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2008/07/the_strange_case_of_the_young.html

Sex Curse Found At Ancient Cyprus Site: Report
AFP
NICOSIA (AFP) — An unexpected sexual curse has been uncovered by archaeologists at Cyprus's old city kingdom of Amathus, on the island's south coast near Limassol, according to a newspaper on Friday...
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gs7KYHLwaf0TeF4bnNkYp1xS6ZvQ

July 10th News

There are a lot of stories today. It took the better part of an hour for me to collect them together. And, there are a lot of big stories. Perhaps the biggest is the news that the Capitoline Wolf isn't of Etruscan make, but is from the 13th century instead.

New stories as of 10:51 AM:

Italian Professors Working To Put Oldest New Testament Online
Catholic News Agency
According to the “L’Osservatore Romano,” a group of Italian professors are working to put online the entire Sinaiticus Codex, the oldest complete New Testament text and “one of the testimonies on which our knowledge of Biblical Greek is based.”...
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13188

Scientists Use MRI At Kadlec To Look At Ancient Roman Scrolls
Tricityherald.com
Ancient scrolls buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in Italy in AD 79 spent some time in a Richland hospital room on Wednesday...
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/235510.html
Hopefully there'll be an article on the results of this. I'd like to know if they find out what the scrolls say.

Egypt Retrieves Looted Stone Relief
Athens News
Egypt said on June 30 that it retrieved a 2,500-year-old limestone relief from London after its sale was blocked by Bonhams auction house there because it had been looted from a pharaoh's tomb...
http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=&t=04&m=A30&aa=3

Let's All Have Tickets To The Universal Museum
Times Online
It's pointless trying to work out who owns ancient art objects. We need to share them around the world...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ben_macintyre/article4304258.ece
Very much an editorial article but very interesting none the less.

Antonine Wall Joins World Greats
Falkirk Today
THE ANTONINE Wall is now on a par with the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge after being given World Heritage Site status...
http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/Antonine-Wall-joins-world-greats.4274467.jp

Iron Age Bodies At Park-And-Ride
BBC News
A team of archaeologists in Leicestershire has uncovered several ancient bodies at the site of a new park-and-ride development...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/7499585.stm

Famed Roman Statue 'Not Ancient'
BBC News
A statue symbolising the mythical origins and power of Rome, long thought to have been made around 500BC, has been found to date from the 1200s...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7499469.stm
If this is the case, it's going to shake up the art history world at universities. Every Roman Art course I've taken studies this piece. There are more articles on the subject farther down.

Ancient Remains Fount At New Leicestershire Park-And-Ride
24dash.com
Archaeological excavations at a proposed park-and-ride site in Leicestershire have found evidence of human burials, the county council has said...
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-07-10-Ancient-remains-found-at-new-Leicestershire-park-and-ride-site

Historic Roman Wall Is 'At Risk'
Horncastle News
MORE than 11 per cent of ancient monuments in the East Midlands – including one in Horncastle – are at risk according to English Heritage...
http://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/news/Historic-Roman-wall-is-39at.4267150.jp

Hadrian: The Man Behind The Wall
The Independent
His conquests were spectacular, his genius for PR unrivalled. But his contradictions were legion. Who was the real Hadrian? As the British Museum prepares for a major exhibition on the life of the Roman leader, Boyd Tonkin looks for answers in the ruins of his imperial retreat...
http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/features/hadrian-the-man-behind-the-wall-863798.html

Multinational Team Creates The First 3-D Model Of Egypt's Oldest Pyramid
eMediaWire
The first "Virtual Step Pyramid" is to be used by architects, restorers, and archaeologists as part of efforts to save and restore the Step Pyramid in the face of threats from centuries of erosion and the fragility of the stone and clay body of the pyramid, exposed after the protective outer casing was removed by stone robbers in ancient times...
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2008/7/prweb1091354.htm

Precious Third-Century Statue Of Venus Uncovered In Macedonia
Balkan Travellers
10 July 2008 | An extremely precious statue of the goddess Venus, dating from the third century, was found recently during archaeological excavations at the Skupi site near Macedonia’s capital Skopje, national media reported today...
http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/671

Radio-Carbon Tests Reveal True Age Of Rome's She-Wolf - And She's A Relative Youngster
guardian.co.uk
It is the very symbol of the glory that was Rome. It figures on the badge of the Serie A side, AS Roma. It was used as the emblem of the 1960 Rome Olympics. For Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator, there was nothing more representative of the might of the empire he hoped to revive than this magnificent, life-size bronze of a she-wolf suckling the city's legendary founders, Romulus and Remus...
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2289905,00.html

Quest To Dig Up Bruce's 'Lost Abbey'
The Scotsman
ARCHAEOLOGISTS are to return to a key historical site to unravel the mysteries of the "lost" abbey where Robert the Bruce is believed to have been crowned on the Stone of Destiny...
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Quest-to-dig-up-Bruce39s.4273509.jp

Symbol Of Rome Found To Be 1000 Years Too Young
The Independent
Mussolini cherished her as a symbol of the "new Rome" he was bringing into being; and 60 years on, the bronze she-wolf with the gaping eyes, heavy udders and mouth half-open in a growl still says "Rome" as eloquently as the Colosseum...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/symbol-of-rome-found-to-be-1000-years-too-young-863937.html

Capitoline Wolf Not Etruscan, Tests Show
ARTINFO
ROME—Rome's legendary Capitoline Wolf is apparently 1,700 to 1,800 years younger than originally thought, the Guardian reports. The life-size bronze statue of a she-wolf sucking Romulus and Remus was, until two years ago, generally recognized as an Etruscan statue from the early 5th century B.C...
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/28070/capitoline-wolf-not-etruscan-tests-show/

Etruscan Tomb Unearthed In Perugia
ANSA
An ancient Etruscan tomb has resurfaced after centuries underground during the course of building work in the central Italian city of Perugia...
http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2008-07-08_108227140.html

Unesco report criticises Skellig work
Irish Times
A UNESCO report on State management of the world heritage site at Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast has found that conservation works have "dramatically altered" the appearance of surviving remains on its South Peak...
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0709/1215537641571.html

May 2nd News

It's been almost a year since I started this blog. The official anniversary is May 7th.

New stories as of 10:54 AM:

Chester's Historic Roman Walls - City Council Update
Chester Chronicle
CHESTER City Council has issued an update on the situation concerning the historic Roman Walls...
http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/chester-breaking-news/2008/05/02/chester-s-historic-roman-walls-city-council-update-59067-20853028/

Macedonia Speeds Up Archaeological Excavations At Skupi Site
Balkan Travellers
2 May 2008 | Work on the archaeological excavations at Skupi, one of Macedonia’s most important sites, is to intensify next week, national media reported...
http://www.balkantravellers.com/en/read/article/534

The Androgynous Pharaoh? Akhenaten Had Feminine Physique
Yahoo News
BALTIMORE - Akhenaten wasn't the most manly pharaoh, even though he fathered at least a half-dozen children. In fact, his form was quite feminine. And he was a bit of an egghead...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_sc/feminine_pharaoh;_ylt=AoCxl6Cl_CYTiOxFHP4quxes0NUE
Also published at:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/02/androgynous-pharaoh.html

More Unique Findings Unearthed In Cybele Temple In Bulgaria's Balchik
Novinite
A total of four antique statues were unearthed in the temple of the Phrygian Goddess Cybele in Bulgaria's coastal town of Balchik on Wednesday...
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=92523

April 30th News

It's been a while, but I should be able to search out the news articles regularly again now. Thank you for your patience.

New stories as of 8:25 AM:

Intensive Archaeological Excavations At Skupi Site
MINA Breaking News
Macedonia's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski visited Tuesday the Skupi site, where systematic research of the former ancient Roman city kicked off a month ago with financial support provided by the Government.
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/1190/2/

Ancient Burial Site Found At Kent's HQ
Your Canterbury News
A HOUSING development on the site of Kent Cricket Club’s St Lawrence Ground headquarters has unearthed body parts from a medieval leper cemetery...
http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk/kent-news/Ancient-burial-site-found-at-Kent_s-HQ-newsinkent12435.aspx?news=local

Roman Ruins Reveal City's Historic Secrets
This Is Gloucestershire
A Roman mass grave discovered in Gloucester has been hailed as one of the rarest finds ever in Britain. Analysis released today of the grave which contained some 91 people - skeletons of men, women and children dumped in what looks like a hurried fashion - reveals that they could have been victims of a mass outbreak of a disease...
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231754&home=yes&more_nodeId1=231776&contentPK=20507372

Plague Killed Roman Grave Dead
BBC News
A study into a mass Roman grave excavated in Gloucester appears to show the dead had been killed by smallpox...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7374836.stm

Gloucester's Roman Mass Grave Skeletons Were Plague Victims
24 Hour Museum
A mass Roman grave, discovered in Gloucester in 2005, may have contained the victims of an acute disease of epidemic proportions, possibly plague.
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART56936.html

Archaeologists To Take Rest Salty Men Out Of Iran's Cherabad Mine
ISNA
TEHRAN, April. 30 (ISNA)-Cultural heritage and tourism institution chief of Zanjan, Iran's central city, declared cooperation between Iranian and foreign archaeologists will pave the way for the institution to find a way to take rest of salty men out of Chehrabad mine located in this province...
http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1123188&Lang=E

Nine-Year-Old Boy Finds Buried Treasure
The Local
Nine-year-old Alexander Granhof and his grandfather Jens have made what is believed to be the largest ever find in southern Sweden of silver coins from the Middle Ages...
http://www.thelocal.se/11410/20080428/

March 6th News

There's news of a lot of fresh discoveries today. Most of it is coming from either Britain or Greece. Hopefully there will be more details tomorrow.

New stories as of 9:17 AM:

An Ancient Apollo Statue Landed In Cleveland And Touched Off An International Outcry
Scene News
After three weeks in Europe, Michael Bennett was ready to come home. The curator had been visiting dealers across the continent, searching for new pieces for the Cleveland Museum of Art...
http://www.clevescene.com/2008-03-05/news/an-ancient-apollo-statue-landed-in-cleveland-and-touched-off-an-international-outcry

Ancient Tomb Found On Greek Island
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Road construction on the western Greek island of Lefkada has uncovered and partially destroyed an important tomb with artifacts dating back more than 3,000 years, officials said on Wednesday...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hKpApRGxT8qBnYKipgBF9jET7xdwD8V7EU480
Also published at:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4394102
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080306/ap_on_re_eu/greece_tomb;_ylt=Au5xnJzxRWFCU4MFvO2oZ4ZvieAA

Rare Minoan Treasures To Be Displayed In New York
The Raw Story
Around 300 priceless artifacts from Europe's oldest civilisation, the Minoans of ancient Crete, will go on display in New York from March 13, the private Alexander S. Onassis foundation said Wednesday...
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Rare_Minoan_treasures_to_be_display_03052008.html

A 3 000 Year Old Tomb Found
IOL
Athens - Greek archaelogists have unearthed a 3 000 year-old tomb from the Mycenaean civilisation on an island never before thought to have connections to the people, officials said on Wednesday...
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=588&art_id=nw20080305200145596C757016
Also published at:
http://cooltech.iafrica.com/science/185615.htm

Medieval Belt Buckle Discovered
BBC News
Archaeologists unearthed a medieval belt buckle in Perth following work to repair a collapsed sewer...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7281338.stm

Restoration At The Temple Of Athena
Turkish Daily News
The Temple of Athena, situated within the border of the ancient Aegean city of Assos in Çanakkale's Ayvacık district, will be the subject of a three-year restoration project starting in July...
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=97680

Large Anglo Saxon Cemetery Unearthed
Kent Online
THE moment archaeologists discovered a series of Anglo Saxon graves in a Kent farmer's field has been relived at a coroner's court...
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=39009

Corn Hall Hides A Roman High Street
Thisisglouscestershire.co.uk
The remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman high street have been found beneath Cirencester's historic Corn Hall...
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231774&contentPK=20076492&folderPk=108867&pNodeId=231888

Recent Finds At Macedonian Site Of Pella Reveal A City Beneath The Citycommunity
Kathimerini
Exciting new finds at the archaeological site of Pella have opened a new chapter in Macedonian history. Beneath the ruins of the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom is a large prehistoric burial ground that has yielded the first evidence of organized life in Pella during the third millennium BC...
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=94026

January 20th News

A slow Sunday morning today in terms of news. The Macedonian article however, looks quite interesting.

New stories as of 7:46 AM:

Promising Projects For Macedonian Archaeology In 2008
Balkanalysis.com
Both tourists and academic experts will want to take note of some intriguing developments in the upper Mediterranean this year. According to Pasko Kuzman, archaeologist and Director of Cultural Heritage Protection in the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, 2008 will be an exciting year for the continued unearthing of unknown treasures from several sites around the country...
http://www.balkanalysis.com/2008/01/20/promising-projects-for-macedonian-archaeology-in-2008/

Hadrian's Wall Gets Huge London Showcase Boost
Hexham Courant
TYNEDALE could be in line for its biggest boost in tourism for decades.
For an exhibition on the Roman emperor Hadrian is to follow the hugely successful Chinese Terracotta Army display at the British Museum in London...
http://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=587755