News From Archaeology and Anthropology

**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 01:15 AM

JULY 12, 2010 -- A tiny clay fragment dating from the 14th century B.C., which was discovered outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, contains the oldest written document found in the city, researchers say.
The 3,350-year-old clay fragment was uncovered during sifting of fill excavated from beneath a 10th century B.C. tower, (…)

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Archaeologists Unveil Oldest Writing in Jerusalem

Archaeologists Uncover Oldest Document Ever Found In Jerusalem

**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 04:20 AM

Tortoise Remains 'Clue To Pet Love'

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The discovery of tortoise remains at an archaeological site has given valuable clues into how the British love of pets developed over the years, an archaeologist said.

Dr Richard Thomas, from the University of Leicester, said the bone, belonging to a late 19th century tortoise, was found among skeletons of cats and dogs in Stafford Castle, Staffordshire. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 11:25 AM

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Archaeologists of Jahan-girnagar University in Dhaka have recently dug out the first Hindu temple from the early Pala period in Bengal at Chandipur village in Birampur upazila of Dinajpur tentatively dating back to the 8th century.
No other Hindu temple of any kind dates from Pala period (eighth eleventh century) in Bengal, according to experts. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 11:42 PM

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Did the ancient Greek inventor Archimedes build a solar-powered steam cannon that fired flaming projectiles? That's the suggestion of an Italian engineer who has come up with a design for such a weapon.
Archimedes is said to have built fantastic machines of war, ranging from catapults to giant claws, that were used against the Romans during their siege of Syracuse, Sicily, in the third century BC. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 11:44 PM

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NEW DELHI — A study of hundreds of ancient Indus Valley civilisation sites has revealed previously unsuspected patterns of growth and decline that challenge a long-standing idea of a solely eastward-moving wave of Indus urbanisation.
Researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMS), Chennai, combined data from archaeology, radiocarbon dating, and river flows to study how settlements around the Indus Valley region had evolved from around 7000 BC till 1000 BC.
Their analysis of 1,874 Indus region settlements has shown that the Indus urbanisation had three epicentres — Mehrgarh in present-day Baluchistan, Gujarat, and sites along an ancient river called the Ghaggar-Hakra in Haryana and Punjab.
The findings, published in Current Science, a journal of the Indian Academy of Sciences, dispute suggestions by international researchers that farming and urbanisation in the region was driven by a "wave of advance" moving eastward. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 11:46 PM

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Some think ancient stone spheres discovered in Costa Rica are evidence of alien visitation. One anthropologist says that while the reason the large spheres were created is not known, they have more in common with pottery than spaceships.

The ancient stone spheres of Costa Rica were made world-famous by the opening sequence of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," when a mockup of one of the mysterious relics nearly crushed Indiana Jones. (…)

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Mysterious Stone Spheres In Costa Rica Investigated

**allison1597** · 07-13-2010, 11:48 PM

Scientists continue to explore details of early visitor ... and whether he was alone

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The dugout canoe made out of cyprus or pine teetered in choppy seas. The lone paddler of this dugout was migrating down the North American continent, and decided to veer off to the mega island, Santarosae, which extended west approximately five to seven miles off the mainland of what is now Ventura. Today he's now known as "Arlington Man," and his two femur bones that are 13,200 years old are the oldest human remains discovered in North America. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-14-2010, 10:12 PM

Archaeologists Begin Excavation Of Transbay Terminal Parking Lot

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Starting Monday, archaeologists will be prodding what lies beneath the surface of grit and grime coating the parking lot behind San Francisco’s current Transbay Terminal.
As part of the $4 billion project to replace the current Transbay Terminal at Mission and Beale streets, archaeologists will literally break ground to conduct testing in the Caltrans parking lot behind the terminal, according to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which oversees the project. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-14-2010, 10:14 PM

Renovated Thassos Archaeological Museum Re-Dedicated

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The archaeological museum on the northern Aegean island of Thassοs was re-dedicated on Saturday in the isle capital of Limena following extensive renovations at the facility. (…)

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**allison1597** · 07-14-2010, 10:15 PM

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SYRIA (DARAA) – Daraa Province is a cradle of the most beautiful Mosaic paintings in Syria. They provide an important reference for researchers interested in Houran Region civilization in southern Syria.

Shedding light on the intellectual, economic, social and cultural development in the region, the number of mosaic paintings unearthed in Daraa Province reaches 25.Most of them are bath floors or murals in churches and royal palaces from Byzantine era. (…)

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