===============================================================
explorator 23.14 July 26, 2020
===============================================================
You can read explorator online at:

https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/


Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo, Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley, Robin Helweg-Larsen,
Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay, Bill Kennedy,
Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week
(as always hoping I have left no one out).

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Western Mediterranean Neanderthals did not 'become extinct' because of climate change, apparently:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/udb-now072020.php https://phys.org/news/2020-07-neanderthals-western-mediterranean-extinct-climate.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200720101759.htm

Interesting study of use-wear traces on basalt tools from Olduvai:

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-exhaustive-analysis-use-wear-basalt-tools.html https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/first-exhaustive-analysis-of-use-wear.html

Evidence of a human presence in Atapuerca some 600 000 years bp:

https://elpais.com/ciencia/2020-07-23/hallada-una-nueva-presencia-humana-en-atapuerca-hace-600000-anos.html

A study of a partial foot found in Amud Cave (Israel) 25 years ago has found it belonged to a Late Pleistocene Neanderthal woman:

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-amud-shown-neandertal-woman-kg.html

Study suggests Neanderthals had a lower threshold for pain (and, of course, passed that on to some of us):

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200723115900.htm https://www.inverse.com/science/neanderthals-pain-tolerance-in-modern-humans https://sciencealert.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3996984deafc554c16e8bdad6&id=81039960b2&e=43d87f3b30
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/neanderthals-may-have-had-lower.html

More on that homo erectus handaxe made from hippo bone:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/14-million-year-old-homo-erectus.html

================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
A cll to remove the colonial point of view from textbooks in Africa:

https://www.dw.com/en/colonial-views-in-africas-history-books/a-54303695

================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT ================================================================
Egypt is denying that they destroyed an Islamic cemetery to build a new bridge in/near Cairo:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/89886/Supreme-Council-of-Antiquities-denies-demolishing-Mamluks-Necropolis-in-Egypt
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200721-egypt-denies-destroying-ancient-islamic-cemetery-heritage-site-to-build-bridge/
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707656/middle-east

A wall collapse at the Saint Fana monastery:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/89885/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Monastery-of-Saint-Fana-inspected-after-non-archaeological-wall

Latest on the 'curse of the pharaohs':

https://www.egyptindependent.com/new-facts-about-the-curse-of-the-pharaohs-revealed/

Feature on Tut:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/90073/Facts-you-need-to-know-about-Egypt%E2%80%99s-Golden-King-Tutankhamun

Feature on Egyptian pyramids:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/the-ancient-egyptian-pyramids/134365

More on the Hyksos being 'insiders' from Egypt, and not Israelites:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235414 http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/immigrant-hyksos-dynasty-08646.html https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/enigmatic-hyksos-did-not-invade-egypt-were-not-israelites-scholars-say-635601
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/invasion-ancient-egypt-may-have-actually-been-immigrant-uprising

More on Google's new hieroglyphs tool:

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-unleash-your-inner-pharaoh-with-the-new-google-hieroglyphs-tool-1.9006727
https://www.jpost.com/jpost-tech/send-friends-5000-year-old-emojis-with-new-google-ai-hieroglyphic-app-636101
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/07/google-tool-translate-hieroglyphs-egypt-heritage.html#ixzz6TFBWN8Ns

[see the Techy section for some mummy CT scan news]

Feature on women in early Mesopotamian royal inscriptions:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2020/07/women-mesopotamia-inscriptions

Feature on Babylon (video):

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/videos/iraqs-national-culture-babylon.html

A Parthian-era (possibly female) burial from Isfahan:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450465/Ancient-human-skeleton-unearthed-in-Isfahan

A survey of the Marvdasht plain began this week:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450319/Another-mapping-survey-starts-in-archaeologically-rich-Marvdasht

A study of burnt fabrics found at Persepolis:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/450345/Study-sheds-new-light-on-vestiges-of-burnt-fabrics-found-in-Persepolis

I think we mentioned French archaeologists digging in Syria:

https://menafn.com/1100488201/French-archaeologists-carry-out-confidential-diggings-in-Syria

More on safeguarding heritage in Jordan:

https://menafn.com/1100509385/Safeguarding-heritage-a-national-duty-Jordanian-archaeologist

Plenty of seal impressions from a First Temple era tax collection/storage complex just outside the Old City:

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/key-site-from-biblical-kings-time-unveiled-near-us-embassy-in-jerusalem-635924
https://www.timesofisrael.com/huge-kingdom-of-judah-government-complex-found-stones-throw-from-us-embassy/
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-monumental-building-from-king-hezekiah-s-time-found-in-jerusalem-1.9013067
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/07/23/dozens-of-first-temple-period-seals-unearthed-in-jerusalem/
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/administrative-storage-center-dated-to-kings-hezekiah-and-menashe-era-uncovered-in-jerusalem/2020/07/22/
https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/upi/4a7ecb18285a0b1d431ca06c6816d9eb/Archeologists-Uncover-Ancient-Administrative-Center-From-First-Temple-Period/
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/07/22/Archaeologists-uncover-2700-year-old-storage-center-in-Jerusalem/6761595432418/
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/1595418047-over-120-impression-seals-from-first-temple-period-unearthed-in-jerusalem
http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2020-07/23/content_76301953.htm https://phys.org/news/2020-07-jerusalem-site-reveals-ancient-judean.html

A somewhat strange sequence of reporting ... first, we heard that the IDF had recovered a stolen Byzantine baptismal font in the West Bank:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-ancient-baptismal-font-stolen-20-years-ago-retrieved-in-west-bank/
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/idf-returns-5th-century-stolen-baptismal-font-to-original-site-in-tekoa-635702

... then that IDF had actually stolen it themselves:

https://menafn.com/1100517609/Israel-steals-historical-baptismal-font

... then we read of archaeologists condemning the theft of the font (i.e. by the IDF):

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200723-archaeologists-condemn-israels-theft-of-byzantine-baptismal-font/

... then we had a sort of 'both sides' piece:

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/07/israel-steal-archaeology-relic-west-bank-area-c-palestinian.html

The COVID-19 situation is definitely affecting archaeology in Israel:

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/another-victim-of-the-coronavirus-in-israel-archaeological-excavations-636121

Feature on Nazareth in Jesus' time:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/listen-what-do-we-know-about-nazareth-in-jesus-time-an-archaeologist-explains/

A walk around the Arnona site (Facebook video):

https://www.facebook.com/BreakingIsraelNews/videos/306792193850843/

More on that Second Temple era mikveh in the Jezreel Valley that is in the way of highway construction:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/discovery-of-ancient-ritual-bath-spurs-nearby-kibbutz-to-try-to-save-it/

More on those 4000 years bp dolmens and petroglyphs from the Golan Heights:

https://www.france24.com/en/20200720-ancient-golan-rock-art-sheds-light-on-mysterious-culture
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2404206/massive-basalt-rocks-discovered-occupied-golan-heights

Feature on heritage struggles during the conflict in Yemen:

https://www.france24.com/en/20200724-bombed-and-looted-yemen-battles-to-save-its-heritage
https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/bombed-and-looted-yemen-battles-to-save-its-heritage-864951.html
https://www.gulf-times.com/story/669154/Bombed-and-looted-Yemen-battles-to-save-its-heritage

On the Hagia Sophia front, we learned that the mosaics would be covered for Muslim prayers:

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/hagia-sophia-mosaics-will-be-covered-with-curtains-during-muslim-prayers-635647
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/some-of-hagia-sophia-s-mosaics-will-be-covered-during-muslim-prayers

... although there were calls for them to be removed:

https://www.journalistenwatch.com/2020/07/23/tuerkischstaemmiger-schriftsteller-zaimoglu/

... and it officially opened to worship:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53506445 https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-07-24/miles-de-fieles-aguardan-el-primer-rezo-musulman-en-santa-sofia-tras-su-conversion-en-mezquita.html

... and there were plenty of opeds condemning the change (Western press, of course):

https://www.ekathimerini.com/254913/opinion/ekathimerini/comment/hagia-sophia-how-european-human-rights-laws-are-being-violated
https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/07/24/hagia-sophia-another-step-towards-turkeys-islamification/
https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/hagia-sophia-symbol-universality-goes-exclusivist

... and a feature on assorted conversions of religious buildings in the past:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/coe-cl072420.php

... and Greece continued to protest the conversion in various venues (including UNESCO):

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/politics/41017-greek-foreign-ministry-on-hagia-sophia-s-conversion-a-blow-to-mankind-s-cultural-heritage.html
https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/07/26/greek-national-commission-continues-protest-over-hagia-sophia-conversion-to-unesco/

In case you want a photo of the changes:

https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/head-of-turkeys-religious-affairs-directorate-erbas-visits-hagia-sophia-in-istanbul/

... and a general feature on the edifice:

https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/columns/hagia-sophia-shrine-of-2-empires ================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS) ================================================================
A seafood shop in Spain was found to have a number of Roman amphoras:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/23/roman-amphoras-discovered-in-frozen-seafood-shop-in-spain
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/roman-amphorae-seafood-store-spain-scli-intl-scn/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53511208 https://www.artfixdaily.com/news_feed/2020/07/23/241-police-discover-roman-antiquities-in-a-seafood-store

Latest finds from the Roman villa excavations at Positano (Italian):

https://www.positanonews.it/2020/07/positano-villa-romana-recuperati-nuovi-reperti/3405088/

An imperial era burial in the centre of Aquino (Italian):

https://www.ilpuntoamezzogiorno.it/2020/07/una-tomba-di-epoca-imperiale-scoperta-durante-lavori-in-pieno-centro-ad-aquino/
https://www.iowebbo.it/aquino-scoperta-in-centro-una-tomba-romana/

I think we mentioned this mosaic from Porto Torres (Sardinia) during gasworks construction:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/06/roman-mosaic-floor-discovered-in.html

Roman coins from Aquae Calidae (Bulgaria):

https://sofiaglobe.com/2020/07/21/archaeology-more-than-40-ancient-coins-found-at-bulgarias-aquae-calidae-site/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/8871-200722-bulgaria-aquae-calidae

Excavations at Volterra's Roman amphitheatre are resuming (Italian):

https://www.gonews.it/2020/07/23/anfiteatro-romano-di-volterra-ripresa-la-campagna-di-scavo/

Plenty of coverage for a study suggesting that Greek healing temples had disabled access:

https://www.livescience.com/ancient-greek-temples-disability-ramps.html https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ancient-greeks-had-first-ramps-for-disabled-h6n82f3tf
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-greek-disability-ramps-scli-intl-scn/index.html
https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/07/22/ancient-greeks-built-ramps-for-disabled-in-public-buildings/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8543821/Ancient-Greek-temples-disabled-access.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/new-paper-argues-ancient-greeks-designed-some-temples-for-those-with-impaired-mobility
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/ramps-disabled-people-trace-back-ancient-greece
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ancient-greek-temples-had-the-first-disabled-access-ramps/
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/ancient-greek-sanctuaries-temples-had-disabled-access-thousands-of-years-ago/134326
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-ancient-greeks-design-temples-accessibility-mind-180975392/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8873-200722-greece-ramps-disabilities

In case you missed plans to put up one of those colossal telamons in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/colossal-atlas-statue-to-be-raised.html

The Italian town near Lake Nemi wants compensation for the destruction of Caligula's ships by the Nazis:

http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/300/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/300/pub/300/page/14/article/65332
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/24/italian-town-wants-compensation-nazi-destruction-ancient-roman/

Study suggests women may have been the artisans behind ancient Greek ceramics:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/07/24/researcher-says-female-artisans-may-have-created-fine-pottery-during-archaic-period/
https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/women-greek-pottery/

On genocide and the motive for the Roman invasion of Scotland:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/attempt-conquer-scotland-order-genocide-2923834

A temporary export bar for that Dewlish Roman mosaic:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-53471760

Feature on the Roman road between Manchester and Castleshaw:

https://saddind.co.uk/dont-get-the-hump-its-a-roman-road/

Feature on recent finds from Pompeii:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2020/07-08/pompeii-recent-finds-reveal-new-clues-destruction/

Feature on ancient Roman responses to disasters:

https://www.themarysue.com/ancient-roman-origins-of-government-disaster-response/

Feature on the use of Latin in Palmyra:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/latin-over-aramaic/?mqsc=E4117188&dk=ZE0470ZF0

Feature on Cleopatra:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/cleopatra-legacy-last-pharaoh-ptolemaic-dynasty/

Feature on Titian's 'Death of Actaeon':

https://theconversation.com/art-for-trying-times-titians-the-death-of-actaeon-and-the-capriciousness-of-fate-142815

Feature on the 'Greek Boxer':

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/07/21/sculpture-of-ancient-greek-boxer-still-haunts-viewers-today/

Feature on Lussonium:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/lussonium-the-frontier-fortress/134260

Feature on Herakles as ancient superhero:

https://www.tor.com/2020/07/24/herakles-the-ancient-superhero/

Feature on baking Roman bread:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/making-2000-year-old-roman-bread/

Feature on Roman 'toilet paper':

https://daily.jstor.org/this-is-how-they-wiped-themselves-in-ancient-rome/

Feature (from Christie's) on collecting Roman portraits:

https://www.christies.com/features/Collecting-guide-the-Roman-portrait-10805-7.aspx?sc_lang=en

Feature on Rome's transition from Republic to Empire:

https://medium.com/@tyler_82235/how-the-roman-republic-transformed-into-the-roman-empire-572142c583b4

Marking the birthday of Alexander the Great:

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/07/21/alexander-the-great-was-born-on-this-day-in-356-bc/

A feature on the evidence (or lack thereof) for Atlantis:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/where-is-the-lost-city-of-atlantis-and-does-it-even-exist

Feature on Roman building techniques:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/epic-poem-boewulf-aeneid-faerie-queene.html

Feature on some obelisks in Rome:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/elephant-rome-story-behind-citys-oddest-attraction/

Podcast on Thera:

https://eos.org/articles/podcast-escape-from-thera

Review of Woolf, *Life and Death of Ancient Cities*:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02070-5

Review of a festschrift volume for Lawrence Keppie on the Antonine Wall:

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/review-the-antonine-wall-papers-in-honour-of-professor-lawrence-keppie.htm

OpEddish sort of thing on Roman policing:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/20/romans-violence-power-police-military/

Greece continues efforts to recover the Parthenon Marbles:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/greece-seeks-return-parthenon-marbles-restoration-project-200726142211780.html

Classics is threatened at Carthage College:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/07/19/carthage-college-proposal-lay-off-faculty-draws-student-protest/5468267002/

... and Canisius College seems to be eliminating Classics (among other things):

https://artvoice.com/2020/07/19/crisis-at-canisius-college/ https://artvoice.com/2020/07/19/crisis-at-canisius-part-ii/ https://buffalonews.com/news/local/canisius-college-citing-20-million-deficit-lays-off-numerous-faculty-staff/article_8c5c1780-ca05-11ea-9a5a-fb37c10a4270.html
https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/canisius-college-considering-cuts

In case you missed the 'Naked Athena' protester:

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/07/the-story-behind-the-surreal-photos-of-portland-protester-naked-athena.html

An oped on 'cancelling' Aristotle:

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-are-we-even-contemplating-canceling-aristotle/

More on that Roman statue from Altino:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/roman-statue-discovered-in-venice.html

More on recent Hellenistic finds from the Piraeus during metro construction:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/metro-extension-brings-hellenistic-past.html

More on the Mediterranean being hotter during the Roman Empire:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8555871/Mediterranean-Sea-3-6-F-hotter-Roman-Empire-study-claims.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/mediterranean-sea-was-2-degrees-hotter.html

More on the underwater museum at Alonissos:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/40965-greece%E2%80%99s-first-underwater-museum-opens-to-the-public-in-alonissos-island.html
-----
Roman Archaeology Blog:

http://romanarc.blogspot.com/

Rogueclassicism:

http://rogueclassicism.com/ ================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland) ================================================================
A possible Neolithic 'Venus figurine' from Hungary:

https://hungarytoday.hu/venus-of-egerszeg-lengyel-culture-statuette/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/8863-200720-hungary-prehistoric-figurine

A roundhouse on the Isle of Arran has been dated to 1400 BCE:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/new-light-cast-scotlands-bronze-age-mountain-dwellers-arran-2919062
http://www.archaeology.org/news/8875-200723-scotland-roundhouse

Possible evidence of Iron Age butter from an artifact found in Scotland:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/mysteries-2500-year-old-butter-found-bottom-loch-2919034
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dish-serves-up-a-feast-of-iron-age-knowledge-at-loch-tay-mlhflhhvt
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8870-200721-iron-age-butter

Metal detectorists found a hoard of eight Iron Age gold coins in West Berkshire:

https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/out---about/31343/what-a-find-west-berkshire-hoard-of-8-gold-iron-age-coins.html

More research going on at a site where a 3rd century gold bracelet was found last year in Estonia (I think):

https://news.err.ee/1114787/research-continues-at-site-where-gold-bracelet-was-found-in-saare-county

A Viking 'trading place' found by an archaeology student in Norway:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2020/07/20/viking-trading-place-discovered-in-norway-by-student-archaeologist/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeology-student-finds-viking-trading-post-norway-180975391/

Archaeologists are looking for a lost Viking burial ground near the Truso settlement site in Poland:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/archaeologists-search-for-lost-viking-cemetery/134330

A 9th/10 century fresco find from Venice (Italian):

https://www.finestresullarte.info/attualita/scoperti-piu-antichi-affreschi-venezia-basilica-torcello

An overviewish sort of thing on the Gjellestad ship excavations:

http://www.sfltimes.com/news/who-was-buried-with-1100-year-old-viking-ship-researchers-seek-clues-in-new-excavation

Earliest evidence of smallpox is being found in Viking era burials from assorted sites in Europe:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/sjcu-vhs072120.php https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/science/smallpox-vikings-genetics.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jul/23/researchers-find-earliest-confirmed-case-smallpox-viking-era
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/ancient-teeth-show-history-of-epidemics-is-much-older-than-we-thought/2020/07/24/4f18ed94-b641-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/299/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/299/pub/299/page/50/article/64892
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02083-0 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6502/eaaw8977 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/smallpox-virus-ancient-dna-teeth-vikings-europeans
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/vikings-had-smallpox-and-may-have.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/8878-200724-smallpox-virus-gene

A 1000 years bp jewelry mold from a Swiss site:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/archaeologists-find-1-000-year-old-christian-jewellery-mould/45917948
https://aleteia.org/2020/07/26/swiss-dig-reveals-1000-year-old-christian-jewelry-mold/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/1000-year-old-christian-jewellery-mould.html

Not sure if we've mentioned this medieval mass burial from Dublin:

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/medieval-plague-graves-dublin https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-archaeological-dig-2-5155387-Jul2020/ https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/skeletal-remains-of-12-year-old-found-in-dublin-may-be-part-of-plague-grave-1.4309138
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8874-200723-ireland-mass-grave

More lists of 'greatest finds' made by the British public ... first the top ten:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/anglo-saxon/treasures-greatest-discoveries-britain-public-portable-atiquities-scheme-staffordshire-watlington-hoard/

... then finds from Oxfordshire:

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18606154.oxfordshire-top-county-finding-buried-treasures/

... and Huddersfield:

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/places-hidden-treasure-been-found-18636883

... Bradford:

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/18593637.quern-used-grind-grain-found-garden-near-bradford/

... Coventry:

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/history/five-fascinating-archaeological-finds-coventry-18658631

... Lincolnshire:

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/medieval-bronze-age-relics-among-4353232

... and a feature on things found by folks in their gardens during lockdown:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jul/19/back-garden-archaeology-britons-unearth-artefacts-during-lockdown
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/lockdown-sparks-archaeological-finds-back-230100095.html
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/295/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/295/pub/295/page/14/article/63580
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/19/amateur-archaeologists-dig-rare-finds-lockdown-gardens/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8539465/Treasure-hunters-trove-artefacts-buried-gardens-lockdown.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/uk-residents-make-archaeological-discoveries-lockdown-180975379/

Possible evidence of the site of Europe's first 'atmospheric steam engine' from a site in Slovakia:

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22441000/archaeological-finding-in-house-garden-reveals-unique-mining-engine.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8867-200721-slovakia-steam-engine

100+ 16th century burials from a site in Estonia (I think):

https://news.err.ee/1115749/archaeologists-excavate-more-than-100-skeletons-in-sillamae

Feature on preserving diaspora Jewish heritage in Wales:

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/preserving-heritage-for-jews-and-their-cities-in-the-diaspora-636048

A dig at Nesscliffe Hill Camp has been postponed until next year:

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2020/07/22/archaeological-dig-at-hillfort-put-back-to-next-year/

Much anticipation for finds from a dig at Exeter Cathedral which began this week:

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/dig-exeter-cathedral-could-find-4357958

Remains of a 4000 years bp henge site at Buckinghamshire was removed in anticipation of HS2 construction:

https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/education/archaeologists-safely-remove-wendover-winter-solstice-monument-2918251

Vandalism concerns at Sligo's Neolithic tombs:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/sligo-s-neolithic-tombs-are-being-vandalised-on-scale-never-seen-before-1.4310914
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/5000-year-old-tombs-destroyed-vandals

More on the evidence for massive religious structures at a Navan fort site:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/remote-sensing-archaeology-irish-fort https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/early-kings-of-ulster-and-iron-age.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/evidence-huge-temples-found-irelands-navan-fort-180975364/

More on the human remains found in the Chapelle Expiatore:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/human-remains-chapelle-expiatoire/

More on the Iron Age murder/execution victim from outside London:

https://www.livescience.com/iron-age-murder-victim-england.html

More on the evidence of a tsunami connected to Doggerland some 8150 years bp:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/tsunami-britain-atlantis-6200-bc-archaeology-a9622591.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/scientists-find-new-evidence-of-massive.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/8864-200720-doggerland-tsunami-evidence

... possibly related:

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08lfx9t/the-clues-to-ancient-humans-submerged-under-the-sea
----------
Archaeology in Europe News:

http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/

Medievalists.net:

https://www.medievalists.net/category/news/

Viking Archaeology Blog:

http://viking-archaeology-blog.blogspot.com/

================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ================================================================
I think we mentioned these burials and other Han Dynasty-era finds in Shaanxi:

https://theunionjournal.com/ancient-tombs-and-hundreds-of-objects-dating-back-to-golden-age-in-chinese-history-unearthed-at-silk-road-origin-rt-world-news/

...and these Neolithic and Zhou dynasty tombs from Guangdong:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/neolithic-and-zhou-dynasty-tombs.html

20 Yuan dynasty burials from Guizhou:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/24/c_139237555.htm

250 or so petroglyphs (by nomads?) from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/over-250-petroglyphs-discovered-in.html

A 16th/17th century drawing has been identified as a (local) politician named Tsai Fu-yi:

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/07/20/2003740240

Archaeologists have located the site (maybe) of the 'Dragon City' which was capital of the Xiognu Empire in Mongolia:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/07/archaeologists-discover-the-lost-dragon-city-capital-of-xiongnu-empire/134256
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/archaeologists-discover-capital-of.html

20 000 years bp evidence of human habitation of some caves in Vietnam:

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/traces-of-early-humans-found-in-ba-be-national-park/178847.vnp
http://www.archaeology.org/news/8868-200721-vietnam-stone-tools

A 1000 BCE megalithic site near Kollur:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/megalithic-antiques-said-to-date-back-to-1000-bc-discovered-near-kollur/article32131951.ece
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/antiquities-of-kollur-date-back-to-megalithic-age-863283.html

This seems to be a survey (?) of a site somewhere near Bhatera (India):

https://www.thedailystar.net/archeological-team-visits-moulvibazar-chandrapur-collects-antiquities-1936445

In case you missed the news about vandalism of a Buddha in Pakistan:

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/pakistans-fallen-buddha https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/265838392/pakistan-searches-site-after-undiscovered-buddha-statue-vandalized

... there were four arrests:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-buddha-statue-destroy-suspect-arrests-a9626931.html

Development threats to assorted sites in India:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/development-threatens-indian-archaeology

China's politics have affected the Cao-an Temple:

https://bitterwinter.org/caoan-manichean-temple-subjected-to-sinicization/

Feature on Genghis Khan:

https://medium.com/mens-reads/how-genghis-khan-became-the-most-feared-ruler-in-the-world-3cc6992afd

A study of Aboriginal adaptation in South Australia:

https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/an-ancient-story-of-change-and-adaptation/

Of possible interest is a well-preserved mammoth skeleton from a Siberian lake:

https://www.dw.com/en/reindeer-herders-find-well-preserved-mammoth-bones-in-siberian-lake/a-54313318
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wooly-mammoth-excavation-siberia-muscle-sinew-pechevalavato-lake-global-warming-a9637211.html
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
A 4000 years bp arrowhead find from a site near Kitchener (Ontario):

https://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news-story/10112953-archeologists-unearth-4-000-year-old-arrowhead-at-fischer-hallman-site/

A Choctaw bow from a Mississippi Creek bed:

https://www.thestate.com/news/nation-world/national/article244400197.html https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article244400197.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/8879-200724-mississippi-choctaw-bow

Remains of a 19th century (?) kiln from an Alabama property:

https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Alabama-man-discovers-old-pottery-kiln-on-a-farm-15433359.php

Still no success in the search for remains from the Tulsa Race Massacre (although a pair of shoes caused some excitement):

https://www.newson6.com/story/5f15a57ef7bc0c2fa7ebdd77/2nd-week-of-excavation-begins-at-tulsas-oaklawn-cemetery-

[continued in next message]

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