Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Ew. Roman goddess of love found in German canal

Construction workers in the western German city of Cologne have discovered a priceless Roman-era Venus statue, the director of the city's Roman-Germanic Museum said on Monday.

The 1 600-year-old find, unearthed at a depth of five metres during digging for a canal shaft, was "extremely rare for the entire Roman period in Germany", said Professor Hansgerd Hellenkemper.

The figure, which is missing its head and legs, features a nude torso of carrara marble.


Okay: "The delicate breasts indicate this period. Later they tended to have a more robust form," he said.

We are NOT going to post any artists' conceptions of these concepts. Might get us in trouble, donchaknow.

Development vs Archaeology Dept. Rock art rests in development's path

South Mountain is peppered with ancient markings from the area's indigenous residents of yore, and a large number of those markings are on a parcel of Ahwatukee Foothills private property that could be developed.

What is referred to as the "28th Place Site," an 18-acre piece of land near Kyrene Akimel A-Al Middle School, has 89 recorded petroglyphs, or rock artworks. The oldest petroglyphs on the site are believed to date to the ancient Hohokam era, which lasted from A.D. 700 to 1450.

Petroglyphs in the South Mountain region - depicting geometric shapes, concentric circles, lizards, snakes, deer and people, among many other scenes and creatures - contain much information about the desert's prehistoric past and have religious and cultural significance to the tribal communities in the region.


Ancient Artefacts Found in Rock Formations

Archaeologists have discovered ancient remains and buildings in some of the most inaccessible areas in the country, it emerged today.

Members of the Severe Terrain Archaeological Campaign (Stac) have been using climbing equipment to explore sea stacks in Lewis and Shetland.

Since forming in 2003, the Stac team has visited nine stacks and found buildings from the Iron Age and Bronze age, as well as pottery dating back to the Neolithic period.

. . .

A sea stack is a pinnacle of rock which is surrounded by the sea at high tide.


Yet another thing that never, ever occurred to us. Seems like a great place to live if you really want to get away from it all.

Sea stacks:


Not to be confused with Sleestaks:




Let's get a little wider range on the dates, shall we? Ancient Indian camp found
Palmerdale site dates 8000 BC to 1000 AD

State archaeologists have discovered a Native American campground near Palmerdale in north Jefferson County along the route of the proposed northern beltline.

The site dates from 8000 BC to AD 1000 and is about 600 feet long and 180 feet wide, said Alabama Department of Transportation archaeologist Bill Turner.

On the bank of Self Creek, the campground is covered with brush and waist-high weeds. Evidence of Indian fire pits and storage pits was found when the land was recently excavated, Turner said.


News from Castle Anthrax Nunnery site holds huge wealth of secrets

SCOTLAND’s first Cistercian nunnery, founded in a war zone more than 850 years ago, must have been one of the wealthiest religious establishments in the country, its lands alone carrying a modern-day value of up to £1.5 million.

But for all its power and influence, nothing could stop the destruction of St Leonard’s nunnery, which somehow survived for 150 years as battles between the armies of English and Scottish kings raged around its impressive architecture.

An archaeological excavation at the site of the long-abandoned religious house on the outskirts of Berwick-on-Tweed has revealed the importance of St Leonard’s, and has suggested that an ancient community known as Bondington may have existed long before the town became the busiest and most important of all Scottish ports.