Ruins of lonely Mesopotamian city still stand
Over 2 000 years ago this thriving Mesopotamian oasis city welcomed caravans of camels carrying travelers between East and West, twice held back Roman invaders, and was famous for its tolerance of different religions.
Now Hatra sits in ruins in a vast desert. Parts of its giant temples, columns and arches are still standing under the incessant sun but its city center is probably visited by more rabbits than people. Around it stands a nation still struggling to heal ancient grievances between feuding religious and ethnic groups, hoping to revisit high points in its history where the roots of civilization once sprouted.
Ancient find unearths history of French city
Remains from the neolithic era (about 5600 BC to 4000 BC) have been found in the southern French port city of Marseille, local archaeologists reported on Wednesday.
Excavations near the city's railway station unearthed flints, shells and fragments of pottery.
According to the regional daily newspaper La Provence it is the first time a neolithic site has been found in the city.
Archaeologists Seek Buried NYC Settlement
Archaeologists are digging with electronic fingers into the soil of Central Park to learn more about Seneca Village, a vanished 19th-century settlement of poor folks — blacks, Irish immigrants and others — that existed before the park landscapers arrived in the 1850s.
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A team of scientists from Barnard College and City College of New York launched the two-day effort Wednesday, using ground-penetrating radar to probe selected areas of the site that once covered roughly two blocks and was home to as many as 260 people.
OOOOOooooo. . . . Fire Temple Discovered in Sabzevar
Archaeologists have discovered Sabzevar second fire temple which dates back to the Sassanid era.
Mir Mozaffar fire temple which is recently registered as a national Iranian heritage is the second fire temple discovered in Sabzevar after Azar Barzin.
When computer geekdom and archaeology collide Inca Accountancy Ties Archaeologists in Knots
Archaeologists believe that mysterious knotted strings used by the Incas may have been ledgers used by accountants to keep track of the ancient civilization's South American empire.
Known as khipu, the strange strings have long confounded academics. Until now, researchers have been unable to decipher the unusual codes of the khipu, which can consist of thousands of complex knotted patterns.
Hmmm. We were kind of expecting some Linux angle on this as it's found on LinuxInsider.com. Well, the Inca were probably Linux types rather than Win- or Mac-heads.
No reason, we just made that up.
Italian archeologists on trail of ancient warships
Italian archaeologists believe they are on the verge of finding the ancient ships downed in the battle of the Aegates Islands more than 2,000 years ago thanks to modern technology and a police tip-off.
"This project has an enormous historical value, but perhaps more important is the relevance for archaeology," Sebastiano Tusa, Sicily's chief of marine culture, told Reuters on Friday.
"What we find will help us understand how wars were waged at that time and how battleships were built."
China strives to cut damage to cultural heritage in water diversion projects
When modernization meets ancient relics, the balance of favors leans to the former in today's China, a country where problems such as poverty and shortages of energy seem more urgent than protecting cultural heritage.
But many insightful Chinese have begun to worry that if current trends persist there will be too little cultural heritage left to future generations.
The debate has attached itself to the on-going massive project of diverting water from the south to the north, which will affecta reservoir of precious Chinese cultural artifacts, as it courses through the hinterland of China's ancient civilization.
Archaeologist digs up the history of Nevada mines
If only Fallon resident Bill Davis' shoes could talk of the sod he's trod.
Davis, a certified archaeologist and world traveler, has turned his interest to historic Nevada mine sites in his third and latest publication, "Historic Site Studies: Spectral Mining Camps." His most recent work, released six years ago, explored historic sites in Churchill County.
The book is an exposé of his decade-long field research across the Silver State's aging mining sites. With layman's language and hand-drawn illustrations, Davis chronicles the few remaining artifacts left behind in once booming mining operations.
Skeletons to be examined
An archaeologist will examine the skeletal remains of up to 15 people found by construction workers in Vaughan, north of Toronto.
The discovery was made Wednesday after the crew dug down about two metres while widening the road. The remains are likely those of native Indians, said professor David Smith, a University of Toronto archaeologist who will not be examining the skeletons. At this point, the ossuary is most likely associated with a Huron group, he said.
If it is a native burial ground, community leaders will be notified and consulted on the proper course of action, Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase said.
Hurons are known to have lived in North York and Vaughan from 1400 to 1550.
That's the whole thing.
Polynesian Californians update Cal Poly, UC Berkeley Experts Link Polynesians and California Indian tribes
A Cal Poly professor has helped lead a discovery of archaeological and linguistic evidence that points to Polynesians landing in Southern California between 400 and 800 A.D. and sharing their boat-building skills with Chumash and Gabrielino Indians in the region.
Social sciences associate professor Terry Jones and UC Berkeley lecturer Kathryn Klar led the project.
Absolutely nothing new there, so no real reason to click. There's a link at the bottom to the older, more detailed story though.