Tiny flax fibres aged 34,000 years old the earliest examples of their type ever seen have been discovered by archaeologists in a cave in the Caucasus mountains of the Republic of Georgia. Theyre so tiny theyre not visible to the naked eye the team responsible for the find, from Harvard University, only spotted the minute artefacts while examining clay samples from the cave under a microscope. The flax was probably used to make linen or thread, and was collected raw from the wild, rather than being farmed. It could have been put to all sorts of uses from making warm…
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About 30 kilometres directly south of Haifa, Israel, lies a very large tel (an earth mound containing ancient architectural and artefact remains) that tells a story crossing at least eight civilizations. It is there – at Tel Dor – that a rare and surprising archaeological discovery has been made:an engraved gemstone carrying a portrait of Alexander the Great was uncovered at an excavation area in the southwestern part of Tel Dor. It is surprising that a work of art such as this would be found in Israel, on the periphery of the Hellenistic world. It is generally assumed that the…
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Got a metal detector? Into archaeology? Lost your, ahem, manhood? Then the Manhood Search and Recovery Society is for you a newly-formed body promoting conscientious metal detecting in the West Sussex area of England, as well as the important role it can play in archaeology and, with it, local history. In the long term, the society aims to swell its ranks to the point where it can assistant in major archaeological digs. Responsible metal detectorists play a big part in our understanding of the region and our place, organisation founder Steve Lawrence told the Midhurst and Petworth Observer. Our first…
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If you want to keep up with celebrity news a Toronto newspaper is a good place to get it. The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, with its long list of celebrities and accompanying red carpet antics. But theres one story in particular that might be of interest to archaeology fans out there. Michael Moore (of Fahrenheit 9/11 fame) is out with his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. He held a 45 minute press conference in Toronto to publicize it and hes given a number of media interviews about his ideas. The movie, from what Ive read,…
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Three Roman-era figurines of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, have been unearthed at an archaeological site east of the sea of Galilee in Israel. Sussita, known as Hippos to the Greeks on account of the horse’s head-shaped hill on which it was built, was a Greco-Roman town that became one of the 10 cities (the Decapolis) in Coele-Syria that were granted some independence when Pompey conquered in 63 BC. (Other Decapolis cities include Qanawat and Jerash.) It is thought that the figurines, measuring 23cm high, date from the fourth century AD a time when Constantine the Great laid out the…
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One of the most impressive and startling structures in the world is the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, yet the construction of it remains the subject of much debate and discussion to this very day. Dr Mark Lehner, an archaeologist at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and Harvard Semitic Museum, has given an exclusive video interview to Heritage Key in which he explains what he and his team are doing in their latest excavation. Dr Lehner wants to know the answer to a question that rarely gets asked – Where and how did the workers who…
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One of the best preserved and most decorated tombs in the Valley of the Kings is that of Seti I, adorned with hieroglyphics and colourful paintings on every passageway and chamber wall. In this first post on the Seti I tomb, we look at stunning photography by Sandro Vannini taken in the First Pillared Hall section of the tomb. Years of archaeological excavations have damaged the tomb and as a result, it has now been closed to the public. That means the only way to enjoy the beauty of Tomb KV17 is through photography, and who better to send down…
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As if Stonehenge itself wasn’t impressive enough yet – the sarcen stones vary in weight from 20 to 50 tonnes – we are being told over and over it’s part of a bigger whole, a ‘ritual landscape’ including the Avenue, the Durrington Walls, the Stonehenge Cursus, and Woodhenge. Using LiDAR – airborne 3D scanning – data Tom Goskar for Wessex Archaeology has created a stunning 3D animation of Stonehenge’s current day landscape, showing the Winterbourne Stoke Barrows and that the Avenue is still clearly visible today. Add to that a virtual reconstruction of the Amesbury Archer’s skull and a 3D visualisation of…
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Attribution: Mollow2 Anuradhapura Sri Lanka Key Dates Singhalese capital by 380 BC Abandoned after invasion in 993 AD The Sacred City of Anuradhapura was established around a cutting from the “tree of enlightenment” and was the Singhalese capital by 380 BC. At its heart is the Sacred Bo tree which is said to date back to 245 BC. It was a flourishing religious capital for 1300 years until it was abandoned in 993. Anuradhapura is said to be the capital of the Rakshasa King Ravana in the Hindue epic Ramayana. The ruins of Anuradhapura consist of bell-shaped dagobas, monastic buildings and pokunas…
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Heritage Key has posted a new video of Dr. Zahi Hawass by Sandro Vannini and Nico Piazzadiscussing the current excavations in the Central Valley area of the Valley of the Kings,or what we like to call the Quest for KV64.While the photography of Sandro Vannini alone makes the clip worth viewing, lets face itwhat we are looking for is news of the next tomb. Dr. Hawass has been closing in on what he hopes will be the tomb of Ramesses VIII, but regardless of whose name will eventually adorn the entrance, KV64 is the goal.If his team is successful, theevent…