An N.C. Wesleyan College professor is packing up his educational knowledge and using it to help rebuild Iraq's ailing university system.
Tom O'Connor, associate professor of justice studies at N.C. Wesleyan College, will accompany instructors from across the nation to Sulaymania, Iraq, this summer to lead faculty development seminars for Iraqi teachers.
"I've never done anything like this before," O'Connor said. "It's amazing."
The professor was appointed by the Institute of International Education to teach for three to four weeks at the University of Sulaymania. He will teach a seminar on forensic archaeology to professors from universities, technical institutes and colleges from across Iraq. The program also is being sponsored by the Lounsbery Foundation and the Iraq Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Lost city found! Baalbek identified as ancient city of Tunip
After years of controversy, one Lebanese archaeologist believes he has finally located the ancient city of Tunip, a town mentioned in various Egyptian texts, as the "sun city," Baalbek.
Presenting the results of his latest discovery at the Lebanese Heritage Center at the Lebanese American University on Wednesday, Ibrahim Kawkabani explained exactly how he determined that Tunip was in fact Baalbek, located in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
Kawkabani began excavations in the city in June 1986 in the great hall in front of the Temple of Jupiter.
"I had two ideas in mind, that the Romans erected their temples on an archeological hill and second, that they leveled part of the hill's conical top to widen the building space," he said.
SEE A ROMAN VILLA - BEFORE IT IS BUILT ON
Archaeologists yesterday revealed they have unearthed a huge Roman villa and may have even identified who owned it. They believe the villa, in the heart of the Dorset countryside, was owned by a rich and important native Roman called Anicetus.
He was mentioned by Roman historian Tacitus who said that he possibly donated money to the Roman army.
The archaeologists have identified he lived there by using an eighth century transcription of a Roman map which listed all villa estates.
Because they know the names of places and people who lived in the area, they can make confident suggestions about who owned the villa.
As lake recedes, relics revealed
As Lake Mead continues to drop in the midst of a drought, the National Park Service is asking the public for ideas on how to protect historical treasures emerging from the deep.
There are bound to be surprises hidden in the depths of the man-made reservoir, experts say.
As the lake level declines, the park service and the public may see sites that have been underwater for decades.
"We're just beginning to discover what is down there," park service archaeologist Rosie Pepito said.
This happens every so often. Since lake levels fluctuate over time, what was once dry land can now be covered with water even within natural bodies of water. Droughts provide a way to locate many of these sites, despite the other problems they cause people.
Go pigeons! Pigeons find hidden Spain fresco
A Renaissance fresco hidden for 300 years has been rediscovered in Spain - thanks to nesting pigeons.
Art restorers working in Valencia's cathedral spotted the birds flying through a hole in what turned out to be a false ceiling and were intrigued.
They stuck a digital camera in the gap and shot pictures that showed a well-preserved 15th century Italian fresco.
It is one of the earliest and most important examples of such Renaissance art in Spain, experts say.
The fresco, which depicts four angels against a starry blue background, was painted by two Italians, Francesco Pagano and Paolo de San Leocadio, in the late 1400s.
"Give her back!" Egypt steps up calls on Germany to return Nefertiti bust
Egypt staked a fresh claim to the priceless ancient bust of Queen Nefertiti, which has spent the last century in Berlin after its discovery by a German archaeologist.
The director of the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo, Wafaa Seddiq, told a German newspaper that the elegant limestone figure was removed from the country illegally and that it should at least be loaned back to its home country.
"We know that we will not be able to bring Nefertiti back for ever but an exhibit for a few months would be possible," Seddiq told the Bild am Sonntag.
"It is even our right to have it for such an exhibition because the bust was smuggled to Germany back then."
There is apparently a woman named Eva Christensen who has been engaged in a process of numerous plastic surgeries to make herself look exactly like the famous bust of Nefertiti. Short story here. We believe she has succeeded more in looking like a burn victim than the Queen of the Nile. We have no photos to demonstrate this, so you, gentle reader, must trust our judgement.