INTERNATIONAL Experts come together to try to save Tara
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), comprising of 8,000 members, and other international voices are uniting to save the Hill of Tara, Ireland's premier national monument from being bissected by the M3 motorway.
A statement on the AIA web site reads, in part: "The Hill of Tara is one of the most important archaeological sites in Ireland. In use since ca. 4000 B.C., at first as a burial ground and religious center, it was also a center of Irish kingship and a key medieval site. It stands in the midst of a larger landscape containing a wealth of related sites and monuments. Now, Tara and the surrounding landscape are threatened by a proposed major highway (the M3) that will cut through the landscape and divorce Tara from the related sites that surround it.
Mysteries of the East in the Wild Wild West MAGAZINE examines Deadwood's Chinatown
The struggles and successes of Chinese immigrants who lived and worked in the American West are profiled in a special historic preservation issue of "South Dakota History," the official journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Rose Estep Fosha, senior archaeologist with the South Dakota State Historical Society, presents the historical archaeology of the Chinese in Deadwood in "The Archaeology of Deadwood's Chinatown: A Prologue." Fosha's article includes color photographs of artifacts recovered during excavations conducted from 2001 through 2003.
Port Angeles: Archaeology contract still unsigned, tribe reports
Lower Elwha Klallam tribal officials say they are still waiting for a contract to be signed between the state and the archaeologist in charge at the graving yard to begin full-scale recovery of human remains and artifacts.
``We were notified late Friday that the contract has not been signed yet,'' said Frances G. Charles, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council secretary/treasurer.
In Israel, a New Highway Leads to an Ancient Christian Past
ETANYA, Israel — This seaside town had a simple plan to add an interchange to the country's main coastal highway. But in a small land with a long history, almost anyplace one sticks a shovel in the ground, one strikes an ancient civilization.
As is often the case, the earthmovers and cranes are not allowed to churn up a construction site until the state archaeologists first get a peek at what lies beneath.
Sure enough, just a foot below the surface, a Christian community from the Byzantine era, dating from either the fifth or sixth century, presented itself just to the west of bustling Highway 2, and right in the middle of the planned interchange on the southern edge of Netanya.
Question is, will covering it "with a thick layer of asphalt" destroy it? Really, if the whole thing can be covered up without actually destroying things, is that such a bad thing? Let's all say it again: The ground is a very safe place for artifacts.
(China) Over 80 articles unearthed in a newly discovered tomb
Archaeologists claim that they discovered a tomb of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11 century B.C.- 771 B.C.) Tuesday at the Zhouyuan site, Zhuangbai Village in Fufeng County of northwest China' s Shaanxi Province.
Over 80 items were unearthed from the tomb including two bronzeitems, four earthen articles, seven jade articles, and some lacquer ware and shell ornaments.
Jammin' wit' Amun Dialogue with Amun
Siwa Oasis lies on the edge of the Great Sand Sea only 50kms from the Libyan border. It is almost surprisingly beautiful: if one thinks one has already seen all that Egypt has on offer, Siwa proves there is even more. Outcrops of honey- coloured sandstone and crisp white chalk fringe the plateau, which is enhanced with lush palm groves and the still surface of five huge silver lakes.
This Garden-of-Eden appearance, though, is deceptive: the verdant palms are short and squat; they don't grow much taller, and the soil is too salty and barren for most plants except for reeds and olives. The water of the lake is too salty for fish.
This is a nice article. Don't know about the "northern European" angle, that seems a bit. . .errrr. . .inventive. But still, a good read.
Archaeologist works to save Maya legacy from ruin
Deep in the Guatemalan jungle, the battle spirits of an ancient world are reawakening.
Fourteen centuries ago, Maya kings fought for control of Waka, a city on a crucial river route westward out of Maya country. Today the city is the epicenter of a different kind of battle - to preserve some of Central America's last intact rain forest and its treasures.
Chief among the modern warriors is Dallas archaeologist David Freidel, a Maya specialist at Southern Methodist University. Working with Guatemalan colleagues, Freidel has begun the first modern survey of Waka's majestic ruined temples and palaces.