Czech archaeologists have excavated remains of a prehistoric settlement in Arbil, north Iraq, which could date back as far back 200,000 years, placing it among the earliest evidence of hominid activity in the region.
The expedition, led by Dr. Karel Novacek from the University of West Bohemia in Plzen, unearthed clusters of stone artifacts at the bottom of a 9-meter-deep pit dug just outside the tell, or citadel, in Arbil.
Novacek recently explained to Heritage Key that the excavated stone tools, comprised of flakes, scrapers and cores, can be traced back to the Late Middle Paleolithic Age (200,000-40,000 years before present). These discoveries align with excavations carried out by Americans in the 1950s in the nearby plains between Kirkuk and Suleymaniya.
With urban life in Arbil starting around the 23d century BC, it is one of the longest continuously inhabited sites in the world, having been occupied by Assyrians, Persians, Sasanians, Arabs and Ottomans. Today, it is the Most recently, Arbil has garnered attention for the Middle Paleolithic stone tools excavated by Czech archaeologist Karel Novacek from a 9-meter-deep pit within the citadel walls.
Last summer headlines were made when a team of archaeologists unearthed a cache of tablets from an Assyrian temple at Tayinat. They were discovered by a team led by Professor Tim Harrison of the University of Toronto. Conservation and translation work is ongoing and it is hoped that some translations will be ready in the months ahead.
Last Friday, at an archaeology research day presentation in Toronto, Professor Harrison shared some news on what the translations are revealing. He said in his remarks that the cache of tablets is “essentially a collection of literary texts” and “is part of a library, loosely defined.” He also commented that the Assyrians may have made use of these texts as part of their efforts at promoting imperial ideology among the populace.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 16:36
Want to star in an Ancient World in London video, and learn about the stars at the same time? Then join Heritage Key and famed astronomy writer Paul Murdin at a cool London restaurant this Wednesday at 6:30pm, as the Secrets of the Universe author gives a special presentation on how ancient civilisations and British astronomers have discovered the cosmos.
The talk, entitled 'Unlocking the Wonders of Astronomy', will show how man's obsession with the heavens has endured for thousands of years, from the first cities of Sumer to the technological breakthroughs of today's most powerful nations. The presentation will be held at Cicada, a hip restaurant in the heart of the City of London.
This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The Archaeology Centre, at the University of Toronto, is holding Archaeology Research Day. It takes place from 10 am to 4 pm at Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave., Room 108.
Fifteen presentations will be given on archaeology research happening all around the world. It’s a free event and there’s no registration. If you’re interested in research involving ancient times, you will not be disappointed. Much of the research that is going to be presented dates to that era. Here are some of the highlights:
This stone relief - in the style of an Assyrian sculpture dating from the 8th to 6th century BC - was together with two others offered to the British Museum. The accompanying 'provenance' was that his grandfather had bought them in 1892 from the Silverton Park sales of property belonging to the Earl of Egremont. The starting point for the fraud was a vague description of lot 731 in the Silverton Park sales catalogue. The lot number stencilled on the back of the relief matches the stencil found at the Greenhalghs' home.
Submitted by Nick Gilbert on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 18:27
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
“Hmm, that bust of Diocletian would look lovely on my fireplace”, or “That middle kingdom Sarcophagus would really set off the dining room wall paper.” Sadly for most of us, in these convalescent economic times, we must make do with Ikea.
Indeed, the recession hit collectors across the board, and unsurprisingly, with big spenders spending less, the recession hit auctioneers hard, and in 2009 Christie's announced significant job cuts.
But let's escape from these times of frugality, back to the days when antiquities were fetching record prices in the glamorous auction rooms of the world, with a this compilation of great sales from the rich history of Christie's auction house:
Over a 17 year period Greenhalgh created fake art pieces that fooled museum experts and sold for sums as high as six figures. Sentenced in 2007 he is currently serving a four year prison sentence. His parents Olive and George Greenhalgh, who assisted in his activities, were given suspended sentences – they were both in their 80s when tried.
About a week back Heritage Key published a story about the discovery of a massive, one ton, statue of Taharqa that was found deep in Sudan.
Taharqa was a pharaoh of the 25th dynasty of Egypt and came to power ca. 690 BC. The pharaohs of this dynasty were from Nubia – a territory located in modern day Sudan and southern Egypt. When Taharqa came to power, he controlled an empire stretching from Sudan to the Levant.
The Nubian pharaohs tried to incorporate Egyptian culture into their own. They built pyramids in Sudan – even though pyramid building in Egypt hadn’t been practiced in nearly 800 years.
Czech archaeologists have excavated remains of a prehistoric settlement in 
Last summer headlines were made when a team of archaeologists unearthed a cache of tablets from an Assyrian temple at 
This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The 
I'm sure, given you're the sort of person who comes to Heritage Key, that like me you've walked around your local or national museum and thought to yourself:
This Saturday the 
About a week back Heritage Key 
