How did a 'divine wind' save Japan from Mongolian invaders 700 years ago?
Kublai Khan was a conqueror of boundless appetite. When Japan refused to obey and pay tribute to the Mongolian ruler, he was outraged. Twice during the 13th century he sent massive fleets to invade Japan, possibly trying to seize its storied gold. Each time, though, the khan's aggression was repelled not by the Japanese military but by sudden storms that killed most of the invaders and destroyed their ships. The Japanese dubbed these storms kamikaze, or divine wind.
That's the myth, but what exactly happened in the high seas more than 700 years ago? Archeologists have been trying for decades to nail down the specifics.
Antiquities Market update Egypt turns attention to domestic suppliers of stolen treasure
Inaugurating his appointment as Egypt's antiquities director, Zahi Hawass fired off letters to museums around the world, warning them not to traffic in stolen treasures. Now, he acknowledges, the problem is as much at home as abroad.
Hawass, who took over the government's Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2002, said he has started to "clean house" by tightening security, improving record keeping and launching programs aimed at convincing Egyptians that it's their job to protect their past.
Every week, it seems, archaeologists report discovering another treasure testifying to Egypt's long, rich history. Almost as often, police report the arrest of an Egyptian trying to sneak out a cache of coins, a mummy, even a stone sarcophagus.
Bingo: Looting of antiquities in Iraq - some straight from museums - following the U.S.-led invasion was a rare instance of the issue seizing the public's attention, Renfrew said.
UNUSUAL DISCOVERIES IN AMPHITHEATRE DIG
ROMAN and medieval artefacts have been discovered in the last two weeks as the excavations at Chester´s Amphitheatre continue to throw up surprises.
Among new finds during the first season of a three-year dig are 18th Century games pieces, a Roman bronze spoon, medieval tweezers, a bone comb, dice and two pottery gaming pieces.
Other more unusual discoveries are fruit seeds, fish bones and parasite eggs, possibly dating back to the 13th or 14th centuries.
Goat horns and leg bones left attached to animal skins when they went to the tanners may help experts learn more about Chester´s important medieval leather industry.
Oh yeah? Did he ever try to cross a Cairo street? Unlocking the Mayan mystery
When he's not lecturing and writing within ivy-covered buildings in the button-down world of academia, Stephen Houston spends weeks and months at a time far from home, playing in the dirt.
Of course, as an internationally renowned scholar, exploring ancient civilizations in remote, primitive areas of Mesoamerica is all part of his job.
. . .
"I've had a lot of close brushes with lethally toxic vipers. I've had to negotiate with guerrillas and left-wing insurgents in Guatemala," he says. "More recently, there have been a lot of problems with bandits in Piedras Negras. Over the years, I've had workers kidnapped by guerillas. I've had pits almost collapse on me. In a certain part of your brain, there's a certain acceptance that you could die tomorrow. I'm probably so stupid, or I've compartmentalized things so well, that it doesn't stop me."
Curses? No.
Terrorists? No.
Booby-trapped tombs? No.
The automobile and gastrointestinal diseases: The bane of 3rd world archaeologists everywhere.
ANCIENT GOTH SETTLEMENT DISCOVERED IN UKRAINE
Near Voitenki village (Kharkov region, Ukraine) archeologists unearthed an ancient Goth settlement. The Goths lived in the Kharkov region alongside of Slavs 17 centuries ago, ICTV channel reported.
According to the archeologists, this is one of the largest settlements of the Kingdom of Germanarika, which was located in modern Ukraine.
A large amount of coins, jewelry and fragments of Roman glass cups prove that Goth aristocrats and their servants lived in this settlement, the archeologists said. In particular, the expedition found a unique potter's wheel covered with bronze drops, Mikhail Lyubichev, assistant professor in the history department of Kharkov University, said in an ICTV interview. There might have been a pottery at the site, he added.
The wheel is so large that it cannot be shown in any museum in Kharkov, ICTV said.
Current conception of what the Goths may have looked like:
