Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a prehistoric city, buried beneath a reservoir in southern England. The ‘mini-Atlantis’ was unearthed after water levels were lowered at the old Tottiford Reservoir, near Moretonhampstead – and comes complete with a Stonehenge-esque ceremonial site. Archaeologists observing the city are justifiably astonished at its existence. Jane Marchand, of Dartmoor National Park Authority, describes the find and its Avebury-like credentials: “It’s a proper ceremonial site – we’ve also got ten burial cairns there. It was probably a real community centre. There are a lot of earlier recordings in this area of polished stone axes and…
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, of Australian National University, has said that Andean coastal South American Pottery, possibly Incan, has been discovered on the Galapagos Islands. The islands arenearly 1,000kilometers off the coast of South America, and its been widely believed, until now, that the first people to reach the Galapagos were European explorers in 1535. Dr. Haberle, along with Professor Atholl Anderson, is leading a team of scientists who are looking for evidence that people voyaged on the Galapagos Islands before Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Theyve been re-analyzing all the pottery that has been discovered in the Galapagos Islands so far.…
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A fourth skeleton has been unearthed at the site of York University’s proposed new campus at Heslington East, 3.5 km outside the city of York. The skeleton is well preserved and was found laid with feet pointing north to south, rather than the east-west direction common in Christian burials of that time. It was discovered buried next to a less well-preserved skeleton in a separate grave. So far little is known about the individual except that it is male. Cath Neal, Field Officer for the Heslington East archaeological project, hopes that the good condition of this skeleton will enable them…
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Dating work at Uluru Australias most famous ancient landmark is at risk following the revelation that tourists have been scattering the ashes of dead loved ones at the site. Mick Starkey, a spokesman for the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park, told ABCNews that human ashes had been discovered at two separate rock art sites over the past month. He said the practice could contaminate the sites and hinder efforts to date and record ancient art. “Obviously some people (have) been bringing and dropping their ashes off here,” he said, “and it’s going to cause a bit of problem…
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Three ancient settlements, dating back at least 2,000 years ago, have been found on Jaffna Peninsula, an area on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. The settlements were discovered three weeks ago said Dr. Senarath Disanayake, the director general for the countrys archaeology department. Together, the sites cover a piece of barren land about 5 square kilometers. So far, only the black and red ware pottery found on the surface of the site has been studied. Disanayake said the artifacts date back to the Iron Age, putting the settlements roughly around 900 BC and up to the 1st century AD.…
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Heritage Key has just returned from a blustery, biting morning trip to legendary writer John Julius Norwich‘s house, beside the pretty canals of London’s Little Venice. It was a great interview, and one which we’ll be following up with articles, videos and photos right here – see below for tips on how to keep up with our content! A brisk wind whips up dervishes of crooked caramel and crimson leaves; whistling cold signals the city’s slide from autumn to winter. Yet a firm handshake and sincere smile minutes later leaves HK as warm as ever, as we enter Lord Norwich’s…
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The West Semitic Research Project in cooperation with the Oriental Institute are producing very high-quality electronic images of nearly 700 Aramaic administrative documents discovered in Iran. These clay tablets – in which the Aramaic texts were incised in the surface with styluses or inked on the tablets with brushes or pen – form one of the largest groups of ancient Aramaic records ever found. They are part of the Persepolis Fortification Archive, an immense group of administrative documents written and compiled about 500 B.C. at Persepolis, one of the capitals of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Archaeologists from the Oriental Institute…
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Attribution: Informatique Dublin Ireland Key Dates The Museum of Science and Art, Dublin was founded on 14 August 1877. It became The National Museum of Ireland in 1921. The Kildare Street building, which houses the museum’s archaeology collection, was opened in 1890. Key People The current Director of the National Museum is Dr Pat Wallace. The Kildare Street building was designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and his son Thomas Manly Deane. The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland’s state museum. It holds a large collection of artefacts, divided under the areas of archaeology, decorative arts and history, country life and…
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The Staffordshire Hoard has been one of the most staggering and inspirational discoveries in British history. Hundreds of stunning gold Saxon artefacts, all bundled into one stash and found over a thousand years later by a lone metal detecting enthusiast – it’s a story that could have come straight out of an archaeological thriller. While the necessary steps are taken to secure their future, the treasures are being housed in Birmingham’s Museum and Art Gallery. Heritage Key talks to the museum’s resident scholar Dave Simmonds about his thoughts on a momentous breakthrough in British heritage. HK: The Staffordshire Hoard is…
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French archaeologistDr Alain Zivie, Director of Research at the French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), has devoted many years to investigating the 18th dynasty rock-cut tomb of Aper-el an Egyptian New Kingdom high priest and vizier from the Amarna Period, who served both Amenhotep III and the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. Zivie discovered it at Saqqara in 1987. In an exclusive video interview, shot by Nico Piazza, he shows Heritage Key some of the abundant treasures hes found there. As Zivie explains, since the tomb which dates from the latter part of the 18th Dynasty, around 1353-1335 BC is so…