Evidence of early Iron Age settlements and Roman remains have found at Sutton borough, south London. The infant burials and animal remains uncovered across the site are believed to be over 2000 years old. The discoveries were made by workmen laying the foundations for the new Stanley Park High School on the former site of Queen Mary’s Hospital. The site lies less than 100m to the northwest of one of the largest 150m in diameter Late Bronze Age hilltop enclosures in southeast England, discovered in the early 20th century. The archaeological remains are typical of a late Iron Age and…
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This Saturday, as part of the Iron Age Open Days, Cheshire celebrates the opening of its brand new prehistoric Roundhouse at Burwardsley. The replica Iron Age Roundhouse, built by Chris Park from Acorn Education, will act as a teaching aid helping to bring archaeology to life for children. The free event will include demonstrations of Iron Age techniques such as making fire, bread and Iron Age jewellery, with an opportunity to have a go yourself. Round Houses were the dominant building style of late prehistoric Britain and would have been common to Cheshire throughout the Iron Age. Archaeological remains of…
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Tickets go on sale today for “Secrets of the Silk Road” a landmark exhibition from China making its only East Coast stop at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum) in Philadelphia February 5 through June 5, 2011. The exhibition aims to reflect the wide extent of the Silk Road trade and cultural interchange (see some of the highlights in this slideshow). Despite of what its name suggests, the Silk Road isn’t one single route. Rather, it is an extensive interconnected network of maritime and overland trade routes extending from Southern Europe through The Arabian Peninsula,…
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Archaeologists have rediscovered the ‘lost’ tomb an ancient Egyptian priest at the Theban Necropolis in Egypt.It was announced today by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, that the team excavating and conservating the tomb has now cleared the burial shaft of tomb and reached its burial chamber. The tomb is located at Qurnet Murai, south Assasif, on the west bank of the Nile opposite to Luxor, and belonged to a priest named Karakhamun. It dates to the 25th Dynasty (the Reign of Shabaqo, circa 700BC) and is referenced as TT223 (Theban Tomb 223). The el-Assasif area is a well known…
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The ongoing dig at the ancient royal town of Qatna, Syria, has brought some exciting new discoveries to light. Among the skeletal remains, archaeologists have found precious gold jewellery, gemstones, alabaster vases, detailed ivory artefacts, tiny figurines. Since the start of this year’s excavation mid-July, a total of 379 artefacts were recorded in the tomb. The archaeological mission a Syrian-German cooperation between the University of Tubingen and the Syrian governement is further excavating the royal sepulchre that was discovered last year under the northwest wing of Qatna’s royal palace. Among the burial gifts, a number of Egyptian object are of…
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At the ancient city of Sagalassos, Turkey, archaeologists have discovered the oldest Roman baths in Asia Minor known to date. The new find means the Capito Baths in Miletus, built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD),have to concede theirposition as the oldest known Roman bathing complex in Anatolia. Oldest Roman Bathsin Asia Minor The ‘Old Bath’ was discovered at Sagalassos, an ancient city from Hellenistic and Roman times in southwestern Turkey. They were locatedbelow the previously unearthed Imperial Baths, dated to120-165 AD. The newly discovered bathing complex is much older and smaller than the Imperial Baths which have…
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A team of archaeologists has discovered a 2,000 year old burial mound complex on Jacob’s Island in Kawartha Lakes Canada. So far the team has discovered 35 burials, although there could be nearly double that at the site. The deceased include a mix of adult men, women, teenagers and young children. “These are community burials, we’re getting a selection of the community being buried here,” said Professor James Conolly of Trent University, who is leading the team. The mound indicates that people in Ontario were living an egalitarian lifestyle at this time – even though they were constructing more elaborate…
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In a conversation with Heritage Key (HK), Paul Denis (PD), the curator of Fakes & Forgeries Yesterday and Today, a newly announced exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, talks about how fake ancient artefacts are affecting the museum world. Among the things discussed are: -The emergence of ancient Greek coins as a new hot area for fraudsters. -Why the internet is an awful place to acquire artefacts. -How curators (with a little scientific help) pick out fakes. He also shares some interesting news: of the hundreds of Zapotec artefacts his museum has, about 50 percent are forgeries. He explains how they got duped on such a grand scale.…
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‘Myrtis‘ has attracted thousands of people across Greece to see her, has appealed to the world leaders to end the spread of disease and now she earns herself a place amongst historic artefacts in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. All this, and her name isn’t actually Myrtis. It was the name that was given to her by scientists who uncovered her remains, as well as over 150 other skeletons, from an archaeological dig of a ‘plague grave’ at Kerameikos Cemetery dating back between 426-430BC, as reported by ana-mpa. Myrtis’ resurrection some 2,500 years after her death from Typhoid –…
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The sunny, dry spells of May and June over Britain were enjoyed immensely by the populace, but it wasn’t just Brits who were taking advantage of the soaring temperatures. Archaeologists were taking to the skies to observe cropmarks which occur when wheat or barley crops grown over ancient buried sites at a different rate. The aerial surveys have produced many new discoveries, including newly-discovered Roman and prehistoric settlements, representing the most successful summer flights since the drought of 1976. Results of the flight have revealed the Roman fort in Newton Kyme, North Yorkshire to be bigger than previously thought, with…