A legendary collection of gold objects from ancient Troy that was seized by Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 should become Russian government property, a top cultural official said in an interview published on Saturday.
Anatoly Vilkov, deputy chief of the Russian agency that preserves the nation's cultural legacy, stopped short of ruling out the possibility the objects could return under certain conditions.
The gold collection - named after Hermann Schliemann, the amateur German archaeologist who excavated it - will be made Russian federal property after it is inventoried, Vilkov said, according to Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. The gold then could be exhibited in Germany.
Yum yum ticky porridge used to cement ancient walls
The legend that ancient Chinese craftsmen used glutinous rice porridge in the mortar while building ramparts has been verified by archaeological research in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
In a recent maintenance to the ancient city wall of Xi'an, the provincial capital, workers discovered that the plaster remnants on the ancient bricks were quite hard to remove, said Qin Jianming,a researcher with the Xi'an Preservation and Restoration Center ofCultural Relics.
A chemical test showed that the mortar reacted the same as glutinous rice to the reagent. And infrared spectral analysis alsoshowed that the mortar displayed similar molecule structure to glutinous rice.
Traces of a Lost People
Deep inside Utah's Horseshoe Canyon, the eight-foot-tall "Holy Ghost" hovers above a sandy wash, shimmering against the relentless sun. Ancient nomads created the larger-than-life image, reports author Kurt Repanshek, by filling their mouths with red-ocher-tinted paint and spraying it out with a mighty burst onto the sandstone.
The "Holy Ghost" is the focal point of the Great Gallery, a vast mural running some 300 feet in length and featuring more than 80 figures. David Sucec calls the Great Gallery the "Sistine Chapel" of Utah's Barrier Canyon—as this style of rock art is called—and says the men and women who painted it were true artists.
But unlike Michelangelo's ceiling, the Great Gallery and other Barrier Canyon paintings, which are exposed to the elements, are slowly vanishing.
And speaking of Erich von Daniken (which we were yesterday) we seem to recall some of these paintings were used in one of his books as "evidence" of aliens contact, specifically that the big guy in the center of this picture was one. Note the helmet he's wearing.
SECRETS OF PAST REVEALED BY DIG
Archaeologists working on a dig at an Augustinian priory in Taunton have discovered a range of finds, including skeletons, which have helped to cast light on the key role the building played in the history of the town.
The dig, at the corner of Priory Avenue and Gyffarde Street, is being carried out before a block of flats is built.
It was already known that parts of the priory were under the site of the flats, but the dig team were particularly pleased to discover the priory's church, which was built about 1250.
A new controversy blows over Sigiriya
Sigiriya is an archaeological masterpiece, a national inheritance left to us by a master builder – Kasyapa.
Lately, this treasure has also been the focus of much controversy as various parties with different opinions clash over its future. Unfortunately, the ship seems to be sailing into yet another storm, this time blowing in from the east.
Defeating hot competition from thirty other countries, Sri Lanka recently won a US$ 3 million grant from Japan to develop a museum and information centre at Sigiriya. The award was based on Sri Lanka’s submission: A design for a 35,000 square-foot museum created by well-known architect, Chandana Ellepola, in discussion with experienced local names in archaeology and architecture.
New Acre dig to open this summer
In a major historical find, sections of an 800 yearold Crusader city uncovered beneath the Old City of Acre will be opened to the public this summer.
The 12th-13th century quarter which housed the Compound of the Knights of St. John, was discovered virtually intact underneath an Ottoman era citadel which was later used by the British as a prison.
Apparently, there are quite a few very devoted enthusiasts of Crusader archaeology. Probably an interesting field, but obviously fraught with political baggage in that region.
More on Aussie finds at Saqqara Discovery of 'Egyptian stuff' stokes excitement
Mysterious mummies, beautiful beads - it's all Aunt Ethel's fault these things keep David Silverman awake at night.
Beginning at age 5, he accompanied his intrepid aunt to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to see her favorites, postimpressionist art and "Egyptian stuff." Who could have guessed those frequent forays into Manhattan from his home in Bayonne, N.J., would light a fire for "Egyptian stuff" that burns still?
More construction finds Diggers find oven at Roman hotspot
A ROMAN oven and pieces of pottery have been uncovered beneath the site of a new shopping arcade.
Developers are building a £120 million centre, the Grand Arcade, in Wigan but because of the town's rich Roman heritage they have asked a team of archaeologists to carry out a dig on the site.
As a result the team of experts has uncovered the first Roman remains to be found in the town for more than 20 years.
Fight! Fight! Ancient sky map or fake? German experts row over star disc
One of Germany's most acclaimed archaeological finds - a 3,600-year-old disc depicting the stars and the planets - is at the centre of a dispute following claims that it is a modern forgery.
According to Germany's museum establishment, the Sky Disc of Nebra is the oldest depiction of the heavens discovered and offers an insight into the Bronze Age mind.
But the authenticity of the disc has been challenged by one of the country's leading archaeologists, Peter Schauer of Regensburg University. He told a court in Halle that the artefact was nothing more than an amateurish forgery.
Now, this is interesting 'Atomic Paring Knife' Will Help Probe Ancient Civilizations
Mississippi State researchers are acquiring a high-tech laser instrument described as an “atomic paring knife” that will be used, among other things, to probe the mysteries of ancient civilizations.
Hailed as the first such unit of its type in the Southeastern United States, the university’s Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer will provide organizations across Mississippi—academic, non-profit and industrial—with unique capabilities for quantitative surface analysis and depth profiling.
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“The instrument provides a complete, rapid and accurate compositional analysis of almost any materials—stone, glass, ceramics, metals—with no sample preparation and minimal damage to the original sample,”
Excellent! Quick and accurate compositional analysis of just about anything -- couple with the ability to do several assays at different locations and depths -- ought to revolutionize source analyses.