An amateur enthusiast has reignited Scotland’s rock art heritage this week, by discovering more than 90 ancient cup marks on a rock in Perthshire. The stunning find was made by George Currie at Ben Lawers, near Loch Tay. Similar discoveries have been made in the area, but Mr Currie’s is the first containing so many marks. Some cups still show the signs of individual blows by their maker’s tools, while others are encircled by a ring. The purpose of the marks remains a mystery, though Derek Alexander, an archaeologist for the National Trust for Scotland, is convinced the area is…
-
-
An ‘amazing’ Neolithic temple has been unearthed on the northern Scottish island of Orkney, which ‘dwarfs’ its more famous prehistoric neighbours. The 7000 – 1700 BC monument was discovered beneath the strip of land dividing Harray Loch and Stenness Loch, and is the latest addition to an area which already boasts an incredible archaeological heritage. The temple may be sandwiched between the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness – but at 65ft long and similarly wide, the newly uncovered temple far eclipses its illustrious company for size. Though the building has remained hidden to this day its…
-
Who likes sprouts? Thought not, and now it seems we’ve got a solid excuse for our parents when they try to force the fetid, vile veg down our throats – we’ve been programmed to hate them since we were Neanderthals! A new study by the Spanish National Research Council claims to have debunked a mystery of evolution this week, by discovering a gene which makes us dislike a bitter taste common in some food. The gene, which causes an adverse reaction to phenylthiocarbamite – or PTC as it’s mercifully known – has been present in hominids for nearly 50,000 years.…
-
There are already three major Tutankhamunexhibitions travelling North America this year and next, with many of his treasures making appearances in San Francisco, Toronto and Indianapolis. Even Zahi Hawass was drafted in to enlighten ancient Egypt fans in the latter city, about the mysteries and legends behind the dripping opulence of the civilization’s greatest discovery. And keen to capitalise on the States’ endless fascination with the boy-king, North Carolina’s Chinqua Penn Plantation is currently showcasing its own collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts – including a replica of King Tut‘s famous golden throne chair. Other objects on display at the event,…
-
The discovery of a 9,000 year-old Stone Age house on the Isle of Man has raised an impromptu debate about the dietary habits of Britain‘s early inhabitants. The discovery, made during construction at Douglas’ Ronaldsway Airport, comprises a 23ft wide pit, dug down 12 inches. The dwelling is encompassed by six postholes which contain carbonised timbers, suggesting the home’s supports were around six inches thick. The building contains some simple stone tools, such as hammers and anvils, and 14,000 fragments which would have once been tools – yet possibly the most intriguing discovery at the site is its large burial…
-
Zahi Hawass has arguably given more than anyone to the field of Egyptology – but now he needs your help, as he aims to raise $2 million to employ the world’s best Egyptologist as professor at Cairo’s American University. The esteemed archaeologist has been Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) for over seven years, and has dedicated most of his adult life to the wonders and mysteries of the ancient civilization. Now he wants to pass the baton to Egypt’s younger generation in style: I always say that to like something is not enough, to love something…
-
Exorbitant taxes, rising bankruptcy and angry protesters. No, not central London today but the ancient Greek city of Rhodiapolis, some 1,700 years ago. A new excavation of the coastal settlement, located in the Kumluca district of the modern Turkish city of Antalya, has revealed much about the previously little-known maritime hub. Yet the most fascinating artefact thrown up by the project is a large stone tablet, on which the city’s inhabitants had etched their dismay at rising taxes to the then-Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. Assistant Professor Isa Kizgut has led the excavations by Akdeniz University’s science and literature faculty. He…
-
He’s been legless for millennia – in fact he’s been missing everything from the neck down. But this week saw an ancient Akkadian statue’s head, dating from between the 21st and 23rd centuries BC, united with a replica of his body in Iraq’s Baghdad Museum (also known as the National Museum of Iraq). The head, discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Ashur in 1982, has been conspicuously bodiless – until Berlin’s Pergamon Museum agreed to send its own replica body, which was itself found in 1905. The deal also sees a copy of the head move in…
-
“Death will come out of it! No-one will escape! I am done!” It may sound like the death-knell of a tragic big screen hero, but it’s actually the desperate pleas for help of an ancient Assyrian leader, as his city awaits destruction at the hands of bloodthirsty Babylonian armies. The words have been discovered inscribed on a cuneiform tablet at the site of Tushan – an Assyrian city near Diyarbakir, SE Turkey. The tragic epsiode was written by Mannu-ki-Libbali in 630 BC, as a final call-to-arms for allies in the region – yet experts believe the tablet never met its…
-
Archaeologists from the Varna Archaeological Museum working near the picturesque Black Sea town of Byala, Bulgaria have rediscovered a late antiquity fortress from the country’s early Byzantine period. A Christian basilica has also been discovered at the site, which is believed to have been a settlement of some importance during the reigns of Anastasius I (491 – 518 AD) and Justinian I (527 – 565 AD). However the settlement has not yet been located. The impressive fortress has in fact been discovered before, by Hermingild and Karel Skorpil – the founders of Bulgarian archaeology – as far back as 1892.…