November 10th News

Again, it's an interesting mix of old and new stories, some really old as well.

New stories as of 10:14 AM:

'An Incredible Moment'
Al-Ahram
The mummy of Tutankhamun went on public display on Sunday for the first time. Nevine El-Aref reports on the boy king's latest journey, from golden sarcophagus to plexi-glass case...
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/870/eg10.htm

New Insights Into Ancient Catapults And Machines
Spero News
Classical texts show that even without math, ancients engineered sophisticated machines...
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=12061

Ancient Salad Dressing Found In Jars At Bottom Of Mediterranean
Fox News
Genetic analysis has revealed the contents of an ancient shipwreck dating back to the era of the Roman Republic and Athenian Empire. The cargo was olive oil flavored with oregano...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310038,00.html

1623 Antiquities Seized From Treasure-Hunter's Home In Bulgaria
Sofia News Agency
A total of 1623 precious antiques have been seized at a police raid in the home of a treasure hunter in Bulgaria's town of Pleven on Friday...
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=87344

Israeli Institute To Get Medieval Bible Fragment
Fox News
JERUSALEM — The family of man who held a fragment of a more than 1,000-year-old manuscript of the Hebrew Bible for six decades as a good luck charm will present it to a Jerusalem institute next week, officials said Thursday...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310039,00.html
Also published at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071109/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_ancient_bible;_ylt=Aja5i1fblOUw7Ad1uRJU3TtvieAA

Contents of 2400-Year-Old Shipwreck Revealed
Daily India
Washington, Nov 10: Scientists have revealed the contents of an ancient shipwreck dating back to the era of the Roman Republic and Athenian empire using genetic analysis...
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/190227.php/Contents-of-2400-year-old-shipwreck-revealed

How The Times Dug Up A Tutankhamun Scoop And Buried It's Fleet Street Rivals
Times Online
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 was one of the news sensations of the century. But behind that familiar story lies another, untold tale worthy of Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop: a story of newspaper skulduggery in a foreign land, chequebook journalism, feuding, drunken hacks, secret codes and fantastic expenses claims...
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/specials/tutankhamun/article2843877.ece
This article has four of the early photos of the discovery of Tutankhamum.

Plans Underway To Save Ancient City Of Akmonia
Turkish Daily News
The Uşak governor's office has started studies aimed at saving the ancient city of Akmonia in Uşak's Banaz district. The city, known as �upper city� in Ahat Village, has been seriously neglected during the last six years...
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=88188

November 9th News

There's some interesting new stories today, as well as updates on older ones.

New stories as of 6:24 AM:

Two Ancient Maps Stolen From Spain Returned By FBI
Earthtimes.org
Washington, Nov 9 - FBI has turned over to Spain two of the world maps from Ptolemy's 'Geographia' that were stolen from Madrid's National Library in August, the Spanish news agency EFE said...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/139162.html

Lebanon Through The Ages Part II: Medieval Lebanon
Bits Of News
Gone were the days of the mighty Phoenician city-states; by the end of the 600s CE, Lebanon lay shattered by natural disasters and neglected at the outer edges of the slowly-crumbling Byzantine Empire...
http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/6422/

Tron Revamp Unearths 'Treasure Chest'
The Scotsman
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed centuries-old remains of shops, tenements and cobblestones under the Royal Mile...
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1781842007

<> - New Book Tells The Untold Secret Of Egyptian Mummies
Exduco.net
A new book due to be launched tonight (Thursday) tells the untold secrets of Manchester's answer to Tutankhamen: the "Two Brothers" - a pair of 4,000-year-old ancient Egyptian mummies at The Manchester Museum...
http://www.exduco.net/news.php?id=2567

Iraq Asks Britain To Return Hundreds Of Missing Artifacts
Azzaman In English
The government has asked British authorities to hand over to the Iraq Museum 654 priceless archaeological pieces that went missing shortly after U.S. invasion troops landed in Baghdad in 2003...
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2007-11-8%5Ckurd.htm

Royal Seal Indicates Biblical Queen Jezebel's Power
Fox News
Jezebel, the queen whose name became synonymous with all things lewd and wicked, probably wielded a fair bit of power in ancient Israel, suggests a stone document seal newly traced to the Biblical "bad girl."...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,309761,00.html

November 8th News

Today seems to be the day for older stories to be brought back to the top of the heap.

New stories as of 8:30 AM:

Ingredients For Salad Dressing Found In 2,400-Year-Old Ship
Live Science
Genetic analysis has revealed the contents of an ancient shipwreck dating back to the era of the Roman Republic and Athenian Empire. The cargo was olive oil flavored with oregano...
http://www.livescience.com/history/071108-shipwreck-genes.html

Bronze Age Child's Body Found At School
EADT 24
THE remains of young child buried thousands of years ago in a west Suffolk garden have been unearthed by archaeologists...
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED07%20Nov%202007%2017%3A17%3A11%3A737

2,000 Year Old Tunnel Discovered In Jerusalem
The Chaffey Breeze
Technology is taking the world into the future at warp speed and yet the past will not be left behind.
Recently, the Associated Press reported that archaeologists, under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority, discovered a tunnel while looking for ancient Jerusalem's main road...
http://media.www.chaffeybreeze.com/media/storage/paper257/news/2007/11/07/Features/2000-Year.Old.Tunnel.Discovered.In.Jerusalem-3072598.shtml

Did Egyptian King Unleash A Curse On Treasure Seekers?
Bexley Times
THE discovery of a 3,000-year old Egyptian tomb was the greatest day of an archaeologist's life but for those who helped him it was the beginning of the end, writes Marina Soteriou...
http://www.bexleytimes.co.uk/content/bexley/times/news/story.aspx?brand=BXYOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbxy&itemid=WeED07%20Nov%202007%2015%3A56%3A00%3A877

November 7th News

Not too much in the way of stories today.

New stories as of 6:15 AM:

Looted Art Returns To Italy From NY
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Italian authorities claimed another victory in their campaign against the illegal antiquities market Tuesday, unveiling eight Etruscan or Roman artifacts they say were looted from the country and returned by a New York art dealer.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5is_bcmuTOwPCXlYk6aWb_ugCT9RgD8SOC5QO0

Bid To Solve Church Skull Riddle
This is Lancashire
A question of whether an ancient skull is hidden within Chorley's St Laurence Church could soon be solved...
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1815092.0.bid_to_solve_church_skull_riddle.php

Body Of Child From Bronze Age Found
EADT 24
THE remains of a Bronze Age child have been discovered by archaeologists carrying out a dig at a Suffolk school...
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED07%20Nov%202007%2009%3A58%3A33%3A197

November 6th News

I know it's been a few days, but this is mid-term and term paper season.

Regardless, in catching up, with the news, there's been a wide range of stories, from discoveries to more art returns.

New stories as of 10:55 AM:

World Top Archaeological Discovery Of 2006 Is In Egypt
TravelVideo.tv
Discovery of Ptolemaic era tomb in Alexandria
An Italian archaeological mission has discovered a tomb dating back to the Ptolemaic era and containing coins, colorful pottery and other tools used in the ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine times...
http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=12889_0_1_0_M

Greece Inaugurates New Acropolis Museum
Southeast European Times
Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi has designed a 21st-century facility to house the ancient treasures of the Acropolis. But will it help Greece in its campaign to get back the missing Parthenon Marbles?
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/articles/2007/11/05/reportage-01

Art Pieces Relinquished To Italy
Daily Princetonian
The University Art Museum will give the Italian Culture Ministry legal title to eight of 15 disputed art pieces, the two organizations said last week...
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/11/05/news/19189.shtml

DNA Shows Ancient Ship Carried Olive Oil, Oregano
Daily times
DNA scraped from inside clay vessels show that a ship that sank off the coast of Greece 2,400 years ago was carrying a cargo of olive oil, oregano, and probably wine, researchers reported on Friday...
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C11%5C05%5Cstory_5-11-2007_pg6_3

Looted Art Returns To Italy From NY
The News Tribune
ROME -- Italian authorities claimed another victory in their campaign against the illegal antiquities market Tuesday, unveiling eight Etruscan or Roman artifacts they say were looted from the country and returned by a New York art dealer...
http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/world/story/196847.html
Also posted at:
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20071106/API/711060700/Looted_Art_Returns_to_Italy_From_NY
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/06/europe/EU-GEN-Italy-Looted-Antiquities.php
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Nov06/0,4670,ItalyLootedAntiquities,00.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20071106-0928-italy-lootedantiquities.html

Valeria Foll: Written Sources Associate Orpheus With Thrace
Focus Information Agency
Do Macedonians have any grounds to declare mythical Orpheus has Macedonian origin? What is known about Orpheus that gives the Macedonians grounds to make such statements? FOCUS News Agency got in touch with Thracologist professor Valeria Foll to clear out the issue...
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=f1482
This article is in a question and answer formant as the text of the interview, rather than a summary.

Prehistoric Israel Treasures Lost Forever
Travel Video Television
Eights years after the fact, Israeli archeologists still lament the loss of hundreds of stone tools and animal bones excavated along the Jordan River. The scene was straight out of an archaeologist's nightmare...
http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=12891_0_1_0_M

Archaeologists Unearth Rare State Seals From 1st Bulgarian Empire
Sofia News Agency
Archaeologists have made a sensational finding on Saturday, dated back to the first Bulgarian Empire (years 681-1018) in the ancient Bulgarian capital of Pliska...
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=87125

Stonehenge's Huge Support Settlement
BBC News
Archaeologists working near Stonehenge have uncovered what they believe is the largest Neolithic settlement ever discovered in Northern Europe...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7078578.stm

Cultic City And Fortress Unearthed In Southern Turkey
Science Daily
New excavations conducted by the University of Tübingen (Germany) and the Onsekiz Mart University of Çanakkale (Turkey) at the site of Sirkeli Höyük near Adana (southern Turkey) have revealed the remains of a massive bastion fortification dating to the Hittite Imperial Period (ca. 1300 BC)...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030133030.htm

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

November 1 News

It's a new month so let's see what the stories are. Some are going to carry over from last month, such as the Princeton Museum agreement, but there are a number of new stories as well.

New stories as of 11:01 AM:

Princeton University Art Museum And Italy Sign Agreement Over Antiquities
Media Newswire
(Media-Newswire.com) - The Princeton University Art Museum and Italian cultural authorities on Oct. 30 signed an agreement that resolves the ownership of 15 works of art in the museum's collection. The signing took place in Rome...
http://media-newswire.com/release_1056887.html

Etruscan Treasures To Return Home: Italy Signs Deal With Princeton University For Looted Art Pieces
Tandem - Online Magazine
This past Tuesday Italy signed a deal with Princeton University for the return of looted artifacts — its latest coup in a battle against antiquities smuggling...
http://www.corrieretandem.com/viewstory.php?storyid=7817

Rosy Discoloration By Another Name
Spectroscopy Now
Italian researchers have used Raman spectroscopy and genetic fingerprinting to determine whether the red pigments produced by the bacterium Rubrobacter radiotolerans, so-called bacterioruberin carotenoids, are the same pigments responsible for colour changes in ancient frescoes in ancient paintings from the Crypt of the Original Sin, in Matera, Italy...
http://www.spectroscopynow.com/coi/cda/detail.cda?id=17397&type=Feature&chId=6&page=1

Prehistoric Treasures Lost Forever
The Media Line
The scene was straight out of an archaeologist's nightmare. Along the Jordan River, archaeological remains lay in heaps with no chance of ever being dated. The story behind hundreds of stone tools and animal bones was lost, along with whatever mystery slumbered beneath the soil...
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=19435

Building Of Iraqi Police Barracks Threatens World Heritage Site
The Guardian
The construction of a large police barracks close to the Great Mosque of Samarra and its famed spiral minaret is imperilling another of Iraq's precious historical sites, Unesco and senior archaeologists have warned...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2202869,00.html

World Heritage Site Threatened In Iraq
Artinfo
SAMARRA, Iraq—The construction of a training center and barracks for police is threatening the Great Mosque of Samarra, a precious Iraqi historical site added to Unesco’s list of endangered world heritage sites this summer, reports the Guardian...
http://www.artinfo.com/articles/story/25980/world_heritage_site_threatened_in_iraq

Samarra Mosque At Risk From New Police Barracks
The Art Newspaper
LONDON. Barracks which will eventually house over 1,500 Iraqi policemen are under construction at Samarra, close to one of Iraq’s most famous monuments, the Great Mosque of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil with its celebrated 52-metre-high spiral minaret...
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article.asp?id=6352

What's Cooking In Medieval Italy?
Spectroscopy Now
The church of Sant'Antimo in the small town of Piombino in western Tuscany has had a chequered life. Built in the 13th Century, it served the local community for several hundred years until it was converted into a hospital in the 19th Century. Later, in 1994, it was abandoned before plans were submitted to convert the building into residential and commercial space. However, when restoration work began in 2003, it yielded up a surprise, with the discovery of a stash of ceramic vessels buried in a vault of the apse...
http://www.spectroscopynow.com/coi/cda/detail.cda?id=17456&type=Feature&chId=4&page=1

2,000 Year Old Jewelry At Scatness
The Shetland News
A LARGE piece of bronze jewellery found in the wall of a collapsed Iron Age house provides further evidence of the importance of the ancient Scatness settlement in Shetland, it was claimed last night (Wednesday)...
http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_11_2007/2,000%20year%20old%20jewellery%20at%20Scatness.htm