Monday, November 01, 2004

Probably spotty blogging for the first few days this week. We'll have last week's EEF news up shortly though. We've been trying to track down some controversy regarding the Homo floresiensis we've been hearing through the grapevine, but haven't come up with anything yet. There are also rumors about native Florensians telling stories 100 years ago about short, pot-bellied people who didn't speak their own language, but we're dubious of such accounts.

Neat website alert Taxonomic Resources and Expertise Directory (TRED)

Okay, maybe "neat" is stretching it a bit. Nonetheless, it would be a great resource for those looking for information on specific taxa or locations. For example, if you enter Prince Edward island as the area of Geographic Expertise, you get several contacts who are experts in that area along with specific taxonomic areas of expertise for each, and contact information.

Well, tell us what it is!!!! Mystery behind Roopkund Lake unearthed

The Roopkund riddle, dating back to the 9th century AD, that haunted scientists, historians and mountaineers from around the world for many years, has finally been cracked. The National Geographic Channel with the help of scientists and anthropologists from India and abroad has cleared many theories and myths surrounding the age-old tragedy.

It all started in 1942, when a forest ranger accidentally unearthed a mass grave in Roopkund Lake, an area 16,000 feet above sea level in Uttaranchal. With hundreds of skeletons strewn on the slopes of the Himalayas this colossal tragedy shook people worldwide.


Grrrr. Mostly an ad for an upcoming National Geographic special. They never say what the answer to this great mystery is, but note that it will be broadcast on the Nat. Geo. Channel November 9, 2004 at 10 pm.

Shake your booty over ancient booty Is Goldiggers hiding proof of castle myth?

EXPERTS are a step nearer solving the mystery of an ancient castle hidden underneath Chippenham town centre, which has baffled experts for two centuries.

Archaeologists have completed their first search for the 900-year-old remains of a medieval fort believed to lie beneath the former Goldiggers nightclub.

The castle has lived in legend for 200 years, since Victorian archaeologists discovered a medieval mound on Timber Street, raising questions about the origin of the town.

Last week an evaluation dig by Wiltshire County Council archaeologists ahead of the proposed demolition of Goldiggers found undisturbed soil and a pot dating back to the 1600s, raising the possibility of the myth becoming a reality.


More mummies in Egypt Ancient tomb containing 6 mummies unearthed in new valley

The French archaeological mission operating in the Al-Deir area in the Kharga oasis unearthed a Ptolemaic-era tomb containing six complete mummies and two limestone sarcophagi.

A source from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Saturday said that large parts of a funerary bed emblazoned with numerous painted shapes with palm-fibre rug beside it were found for the first time inside this discovered tomb.