===============================================================
explorator 18.41-42 January 24, 2016 ===============================================================
If you're having problems getting 'the whole issue', 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, Bob Heuman, Barbara
Saylor Rodgers, Frank MacKay, Allan Brockway, Karen Crawford, Richard Campbell, Richard C. Griffiths, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always
hoping I have left no one out).


================================================================

EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Two new hominin fossils from Sterkfontein:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-south-africa-sterkfontein-caves-hominin.html http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/uotw-sas021116.php


Latest from Qesem Cave suggests some early hunter-gatherer types were eating turtles/tortoises:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/science/hunter-gatherers-turtle-qesem-cave-israel.ht
ml?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-turtle-soup-perchance-prehistoric-penchant.html


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/afot-tsp020116.php https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160201151657.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/when-cave-dwellers-got-the-mu
nchies-they-turned-to-roasted-tortoise/2016/02/08/4f934736-c9c6-11e5-ae11-57b6aeab99
3f_story.html
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=31523 http://news.yahoo.com/prehistoric-man-enjoyed-roasted-tortoise-appetizers-israeli-archa
eologist-103247188.html


Sediba apparently had a ‘weak jaw’:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-early-human-ancestor-didnt-jaws.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3433594/Early-humans-glass-jaws-cracke
d-simply-biting-nuts-Fossils-dispute-claims-2-million-year-old-species-ate-seeds-tree-bar
k.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline#ixzz3zbpMEHwu




General feature on Neanderthals:


http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/2016/feb/12/human-evolution-under
standing-neanderthals-origins-species-course-masterclass




Suggestion that ‘cultural superiority’ of sapiens led to Neanderthals’ demise:


http://news.stanford.edu/news/2016/february/neanderthals-feldman-culture-0204.html


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-neanderthal-extinction-due-human-cultural.html http://phys.org/news/2016-02-humans-evolved-technology-culture.html http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/tuob-heb020216.php http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3426706/Neanderthals-wiped-modern-hum
ans-ARTISTIC.html


Heidelbergensis was no slouch, apparently:


http://www.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=5210&year=2016&kid=2&id=3895




On the gorilla-human split:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-gorilla-fossil-humans-million-years.html


================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
Timbuktu has ‘recovered’ its mausoleums:


http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=84878


Studying the San people’s hunting tradition:


http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2016/researchers-study-poison-ar
row-hunting-tradition-of-the-san


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/uok-nrs020116.php


================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT ================================================================
A 4500 years b.p. funeral boat find:


http://praguemonitor.com/2016/02/02/czech-archaeologists-find-unique-4500-year-old-bo
at-egypt


http://iforumeng.cuni.cz/IFORUMENG-578.html http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-boat-in-egyptian-
necropolis


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-archaeologists-unearth-unique-egyptian-boat.html


http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archeologists-find-rare-4500-year-old-egypt
ian-funerary-boat-180958020/


http://news.nationalpost.com/news/archaeologists-uncover-4500-year-old-funeral-boat-fro
m-ancient-egypt-and-its-extraordinarily-preserved


http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/4500-year-old-boat-found-near-pyramids-
160202.htm


http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/well-preserved-solar-boat-foun
d-under-egyptian-tomb/news-story/02963385455499a1d163f9d522fa21ea?from=public_a tom


http://www.christianpost.com/news/archaeology-discovery-4500-y-o-funeral-boat-found-n
ear-egyptian-pyramid-156466/


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3426564/Ancient-Egyptian-boat-discovered
-near-pyramids.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490


Some guys were trying to sell pieces of one of the pyramids:


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/186879/Egypt/Politics-/Three-arrested-for-
breaking-off-and-selling-pieces.aspx


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/egypt/12147062/
Three-arrested-for-selling-Giza-Pyramid-stones-for-20.html




… and Egyptian archaeologists called for better security:


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/186973/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egyptian-a
rchaeologists-call-for-tougher-security-.aspx




… and someone claimed a journalist was harming tourism by reporting it:


http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/antiquities-official-blames-journalists-harming-to
urism-through-pyramids-stone-selling-video




Another guy got in trouble for climbing a pyramid and videoing the whole thing:


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/186663/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/German-te
en-faces-life-ban-from-Egypt-after-scalin.aspx




A pile of antiquities are missing from the Saqqara galleries:


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/187462/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Investigati
ons-underway-on-disappearence-of--artef.aspx




People were griping about a Karnak Amun-Re restoration:


http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/186849/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Karnak-Am
unRe-statue-not-recently-restored-as-clai.aspx




Some followup (wrong word) from the Khentkaus III excavations:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3427852/Did-climate-change-end-reign-pha
raohs-Queen-s-tomb-sheds-light-dark-period-ancient-Egypt-4-600-years-ago.html?ITO=14
90&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/02/01/researcher-says-discovery-in-tomb-of-ancie
nt-egyptian-queen-could-be-a-present-day-warning/#038;%23038;%23038


http://www.ibtimes.com.au/discovery-archeologists-bashed-skull-queen-egypt-sparks-en
d-world-speculations-1503238




Recreating Hetepheres’ throne:


http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2016/02/09/throne-fit-for-egyptian-queen-created-harvar
d-years-later/ayNHkuhHvwwSnsMYsacQOL/story.html




On identifying mummies:


http://www.livescience.com/53636-mummy-identification-still-uncertain-science.html


http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-egypt/mummy-identification-still-uncertain-sci
ence-160208.htm


http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-egypt/mystery-mummies-who-are-they-photos-
160208.htm




What Zahi Hawass is up to:


http://www.novinite.com/articles/173005/Egypt's+'Indiana+Jones'+to+Reveal+Details+of
+Tutankhamun's+Death+in+Sofia+Lecture




Looting in Iraq brought to light a fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh:


https://aeon.co/opinions/how-looting-in-iraq-unearthed-the-treasures-of-gilgamesh




A hiker found a seal of Thutmose III in Israel:


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207422 http://www.jewishpress.com/news/hiker-discovers-3500-year-old-egyptian-seal-in-galilee
/2016/02/02/


http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.701007 http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-hiker-discovers-3500-year-old-Egyptian-seal-in-
Galilee-443605#xtor=EPR-1-[Newsletter]


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3431618/Ancient-Egyptian-scarab-seal-exti
nct-volcano-Israel-3-500-year-old-carving-represents-Pharaoh-Thutmose-III-resembles-Mi
llennium-Falcon.html




Feature on the Gath dig:


http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-big-gath-dig-goliath-s-hometown/




… and a Timna dig update:


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3q6x1d


More on Babylonian astronomy:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/science/babylonians-clay-tablets-geometry-astrono
my-jupiter.html


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/babylonians-tracked-jupiter-with-fancy-math-tab
let-reveals/


Pondering Jerusalem’s terraces:


http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/.premium-1.701948


Concerns for the Western Wall:


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/207375 http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Prominent-archaeologist-claims-Western-Wall-constru
ction-will-cause-irreparable-damage-443604




… and it sounds like it might turn into a saga:


http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-Antiquities-Authoritys-campaign-against-religious-plura
lism-at-the-Western-Wall-443519




On Biblical spelling errors:


http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_b9cb2b07-e7e0-5122-8859-566e15c9256
4.html




This new Synagogues website is worth a look:


http://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/


What Aren Maeir is up to:


http://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php?id=33&pt=20&pid=33&level=2&cPath=33&type=1&news
=2594




Nice feature on Khaled al Asaad:


http://www.apollo-magazine.com/one-museums-tribute-to-the-murdered-syrian-archaeolo
gist-khaled-al-asaad/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=201602 04_Weekly_Round_Up_5




An ancient Omani ruler burial:


http://timesofoman.com/article/76572/Oman/Heritage/Archaeological-team-discovers-Anci
ent-Omani-ruler




OpEds on ISIL and cultural heritage:


http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/05/isis-erasing-our-cultural-heritage-in-syria/


http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/02/the-looting-of-syrias-archaeological-treasures/
459996/






================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS) ================================================================
Evidence of silver mining near the Mycenean acropolis at Thorikos, some 5000 years
b.p.:


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210110630.htm http://phys.org/news/2016-02-years-silver-shores-aegean-sea.html http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/gu-s5y021016.php



Tracing the source of marble preserved underwater at Baia:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-manganese-source-submerged-roman-marble.html https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210110802.htm http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/f-sf-lam021016.php http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2016/discovering-the-source-of-m
arble-used-in-roman-buildings




Very interesting Roman fresco found in London:


http://www.mola.org.uk/blog/discovery-ornate-roman-fresco-revealed http://artdaily.com/news/84809/Roman-fresco-hidden-beneath-the-streets-of-London-unco
vered-by-archaeologists-


https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roman-wall-painting-discovered-in-london-419891




Remains of a major temple with a huge arcade at Colchester:



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/12150373/Remains-of-e
xtraordinary-Roman-arcade-found-in-Colchester.html


http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/extraordinary_roman_arcade_found_in_colchester_is_greate
st_find_of_its_kind_1_4412792


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3440402/Enormous-Roman-arcade-Essex-
magnificent-temple-400ft-long-arched-structure-largest-kind-UK.html


http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/14265990.display/


Roman road found during Hadrian Wall car park construction:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-35511868


A Roman canal system near the Dead Sea:


http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/02/03/roman-era-canal-system-unearthed-near-dead-se
a/


http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=31531


A Roman brooch with an interesting palindrome:


http://www.livescience.com/53663-ancient-roman-brooch-contains-lovely-palindrome.htm
l




In case you missed the ‘ancient Greek laptop’ silliness:


http://www.livescience.com/53629-greek-statue-not-using-laptop.html http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/no-the-ancient-greeks-didnt-have-laptops-
160205.htm http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2016/02/04/no-thats-not-a-laptop-on-an-anci
ent-greek-grave-marker/#1ec8c885348a


Feature on finds from Tuva (these seem to be Scythian):


http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0212-focus-on-tuva-stunning-treasu
res-and-macabre-slaughter-in-siberias-prehistoric-valley-of-the-kings/




… while the ‘Ice Princess’ reburial didn’t work out:


http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0574-legal-bid-fails-to-rebury-remains-of-25
00-year-old-tattooed-ice-princess/




Feature on the restored pyramid of Cestius:


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/04/romes-lonely-pyramid-of-cestius-gets-a-ne
w-lease-of-life


http://news.yahoo.com/2-000-old-rome-pyramid-getting-visibility-cleanup-175141163.html


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/2000-year-old-rome-pyramid-getting-visibi
lity-after-cleanup/2016/02/03/317c7338-ca9f-11e5-b9ab-26591104bb19_story.html




Isotope analysis on a pile of 2000 years b.p. burials from Rome suggest there was a
large immigrant population:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-clues-human-migration-imperial-rome.html https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160210165705.htm http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/p-cah020516.php http://www.livescience.com/53674-first-migrants-to-imperial-rome.html http://www.livescience.com/53672-photos-migrants-to-ancient-rome.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3440906/Who-Rome-s-mystery-immigrant
s-Skeletons-ancient-cemetery-travelled-city-North-Africa-Alps-2-000-years-ago.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0211/Who-walked-the-roads-to-Rome-Isotopes-p
rovide-clues http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147585


… related:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-humans-migrants.html


Studying the ‘life cycle’ of Roman pottery:


http://news.uark.edu/articles/33521/u-of-a-researchers-help-capture-lifecycle-of-roman-po
ttery




Plans to restore an important Temple of Augustus in Turkey:


http://www.todayszaman.com/national_ministry-launches-projects-to-restore-ancient-rom
an-temple_411378.html




Very interesting frescoes emerging from a church find in Cappadocia:


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/historic-church-discovered-in-turkeys-nevsehir-could-c
hange-history-of-orthodoxy.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94309&NewsCatID=375




Some ancient school lessons:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/12152081/Ancient-Greek-manus
cript-reveal-Roman-life-lessons.html


http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/10/ancient-greek-manuscripts-reveal-life-les
sons-from-the-roman-empire


Some Cheshire Roman hoards are on display:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35560821


I think we mentioned this new mosaic:


http://www.apollo-magazine.com/this-is-the-best-of-the-roman-tradition-a-new-mosaic-unv
eiled-in-israel/




Nice feature on the Lazarus project:


http://motherboard.vice.com/read/lazarus-project-the-scientists-who-are-deciphering-unre
adable-ancient-texts




Concerns for Amphipolis:


http://www.ekathimerini.com/205895/article/ekathimerini/life/who-will-save--amphipolis




Conservation costs at Rome:


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160202-the-colossal-cost-of-ancient-rome


A Kyrenia ship update:


http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/02/04/project-being-launched-to-protect-kyrenia-shipwreck/


http://in-cyprus.com/bi-communal-kyrenia-shipwreck-protection/


… and a Mazotos shipwreck update:


http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/02/07/a-wreck-of-historic-importance/


LiDAR locates some ‘lost’ Roman roads in the UK:


http://news.yahoo.com/lost-roads-ancient-rome-discovered-3d-laser-scanners-16155939
3.html


http://www.livescience.com/53681-roman-roads-discovered-lidar-maps.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3436936/Britain-s-lost-Roman-roads-disco
vered-2-000-years-Maps-reveal-new-key-route-used-conquer-Northern-England.html?ITO
=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490


On the Greeks and MLK Jr:


http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/how-the-ancient-greeks-contributed-to-martin-luther-kin
g-jr-s-fight-against-racism/


http://news.holycross.edu/blog/2016/02/03/martin-luther-king-jr-in-dialogue-with-the-ancie
nt-greeks/


Plato is still high on college reading lists:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/03/what-ivy-league-students-ar
e-reading-that-you-arent/




A tenure dispute of interest:


http://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/510662929-former-uic-greek-studies-professor-says-
colleagues-torpedoed-tenure-application-demands-4-million




On Alexander the Great’s feeling about beards:


http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/off-with-their-beards/426873/




Pondering Homer:


http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/feb/09/can-homers-iliad-speak-acros
s-the-centuries


The annual Super Bowl and Roman numeral opEds:


http://www.newsweek.com/super-bowl-50-nfl-423478 http://wbt.com/latin-teacher-not-happy-about-super-bowl-not-using-roman-numerals/
http://harrisondaily.com/opinion/david-holsted-thinking-xxiv-vii-ccclxv-about-roman-nume
rals/article_b33b88cc-c9fb-11e5-a6ab-cfe6edb7a8dc.html


Something about the Zeugma mosaics:


http://www.dailysabah.com/history/2016/02/09/anatolian-mosaics-to-be-presented-to-the-
world




On Roman ‘half time’ shows:


http://www.livescience.com/53615-horrors-of-the-colosseum.html


What Nevzat Cevik is up to:


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94890&NewsCatID=37 5


What David Mulroy is up to:


http://wuwm.com/post/local-scholars-translation-aeschylus-agamemnon-makes-classic-
more-accessible




More pondering of what ‘Classic’ should be/is:


http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2016/02/thinking-about-names-and-classics/




More on York ‘gladiator’ DNA and related things:


http://3dprint.com/116934/gladiators-in-britain/


More on Minoan shipwrecks:


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/archaeologists-find-bronze-age-shipwreck-off-turkeys-
southwest-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94665&NewsCatID=375


http://news.az/articles/turkey/104823


Review of Whitmarsh, *Battling the Gods*:


http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2016/02/who-were-first-atheists


Review of Beard, *SPQR*:


http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/spqr-review-mary-beard-explains-why-ancie
nt-rome-still-matters-20160129-gmham3.html


http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/europe-and-the-limits-of-the-
roman-legacy/7148524




-----
Latest reviews from BMCR:


http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html


Visit our blog:


http://rogueclassicism.com/ ================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland) ================================================================
A 9000 years b.p. fish fermentation site from Sweden:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-early-settlement-nordic-region-date.html http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/e-2fb020816.php https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/09/rotten-luck-archaeologists-hail-unique-
mesolithic-fermented-fish-find




Very interesting 8500 years b.p. upright burials from Germany:


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160211-oldest-cemetery-burial-europe-baby
-upright-germany-hunter-gatherer/




Evidence of hunter/gatherers on Skye some 8000 years b.p.:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35533108 http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/nut-eating-hunter-gatherers-lived-on-sk
ye-8-000-years-ago-1-4025200




Bronze Age offerings/burial from Orkney:


http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art546824-orkney-sanday-s
keleton-cist-grave-goods




Studying ‘Ava’s’ burial:


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35558638


More from Britain’s ‘Pompeii’:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35492599


Iron Age finds from near Falkirk:


http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/local-news/find-forges-a-link-to-our-iron-age-1-402392
2




Excitement about a badger-excavated cremation burial near Stonehenge:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35523757 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3438781/Exciting-Bronze-Age-cremation-si
te-unearthed-near-Stonehenge-BADGER-Human-remains-4-000-year-old-artefacts-near-an
imal-s-sett.html




… meanwhile, many of the remains found at/near Stonehenge appear to belong to women:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35461309 http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0207/Stonehenge-bigwigs-included-women-stud
y-suggests http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/powerful-women-buried-at-stonehenge-16
0203.htm


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3430211/Stonehenge-burial-pit-Neolithic-el
ite-contains-surprising-number-women-suggests-females-played-key-role-society-rights-
men.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490


… a nice photogallery:


http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/pictures/Stonehenge-pictures-years/pictures-280785
33-detail/pictures.html




… and they’re still talking about the road:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35539796


Remains of a 7th/8th century village on Anglesey:


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-35539771 http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/medieval-village-discovered-anglese
y-first-10869422




A ‘mysterious’ Anglo Saxon gold mount find:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-35556202


ALS (isn’t that LiDAR?) reveals some medieval Prussian sites in Poland:


http://scienceinpoland.pap.pl/en/news/news,408250,laser-reveals-secrets-of-early-medie
val-prussians.html




A site associated with the Massacre of Glen Coe:


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35558646


Henry VIII’s head injuries may have influenced his martial behaviour:


http://www.livescience.com/53662-king-henry-viii-head-injuries-behavior.html


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-henry-viii-brain-injury-nfl.html


They pulled a 600 years b.p. shipwreck intact out of a Dutch river:


http://www.nltimes.nl/2016/02/10/600-year-old-shipwreck-recovered-intact-from-dutch-rive
r/


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/medieval-trading-ship-raised-to-surface
-almost-intact-after-500-years-on-riverbed-in-netherlands-a6870221.html http://uatoday.tv/society/rare-medieval-shipwreck-brought-to-surface-in-the-netherlands-5
89775.html


Those Viking ‘sun crystals’ are back in the news:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-vikings-crystal-sunstones-america.html


The unfulfilled legacy of London’s Great Fire:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35418272


… meanwhile, they’ve figured out exactly (!) where it started:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12109005/great-fire-of-london-origin.html




Funding for Hylton Castle:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-35461671


Jorvik Viking Centre needs funding after the floods:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-35550226


Concerns for Barnard Castle:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-35536991


Hereford Cathedral is replacing a long-missing cross:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-35512338


Restoring the site of the Battle of Waterloo:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10218931/Rescuing-the-farm-where-Wellington-won-th
e-battle-of-Waterloo.html




Trying to save the tradition of writing Britain’s laws on vellum:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/12150896/MPs-plan-last-ditch-bid-to-save-the-th
ousand-year-old-tradition-of-recording-Britains-laws-on-Vellum.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/world/europe/critics-ruffled-as-parliament-turns-the-p
age-on-parchment.html


The Vynes’ Henry VIII window has been restored:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-35462455


Plans to tear down Folkstone training camp:


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/army-base-where-canadians-trained-in-the-g
reat-war-faces-wrecking-ball/article24012937/




More on Vikings and worms and latrines and stuff:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-genes-latrinesvikings-worms-clues-emphysema.html


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160204085109.htm


-----
Archaeology in Europe Blog:


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


================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ================================================================
Some 1700 years b.p. dumplings excavated from a tomb in Xinjiang:


http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=319752


Some NSFW material (maybe) from a burial in China:


http://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/1908627/sex-toys-or-religious-relics-
wooden-phalluses-found-lost




A study of Chamorros (Guam) migration waves:


http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/02/10/archaeologists-two-waves-chamorro-mi
gration/80097560/


http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/83672-differences-among-ancient-chamor
ro-remains-bolster-two-migrations-theory


http://www.postguam.com/news/local/differences-among-chamorro-remains-bolster-two-
migration-theory/article_2866db78-ceee-11e5-a18a-77c659e335e7.html


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-archaeologists-chamorros-migration.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3442186/Archaeologists-present-findings-Cha
morros-migration.html


… and some pre-migration details:


http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/local/7861


An early Lapita site:


http://fijivillage.com/news/New-early-Lapita-site-discovered-in-Bua-krs529/


Finds from the Shamala river:


http://www.realfarmacy.com/ancient-indian-river/


A 900 years b.p. Buddhist temple from Nilphamari:


http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/900-year-old-temple-found-nilphamari-510211




A 600 years b.p. Ming cup is coming to auction:


http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=85030


A 19th century shipwreck off West Australia:


http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/bunbury-dpaw-site-workers-stumble-across-suspect
ed-19th-century-shipwreck-20160208-gmova3.html




More on that Buddha ‘post hole’ (which apparently isn’t being reported quite accurately):
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/art/arts/2016/02/01/457489/Buddha-post.htm


An interesting ‘Samurai Police Manual’ (for want of a better term):


http://www.livescience.com/53582-samurai-martial-arts-manual-for-cops-revealed.html




On the evolution of the Australian prime minister (sort of):


http://theconversation.com/lacking-a-script-individuals-drove-the-evolution-of-prime-mini
sterial-power-53741






Not sure if we mentioned cat domestication in China:


http://www.livescience.com/53567-leopard-cats-domesticated-ancient-china.html




More on the oldest tea:


http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=84782


-----


Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog:


http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/


New Zealand Archaeology eNews:


http://nzarchaeology.blogspot.co.nz/index.html ================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
I think we mentioned these ancient footprints found near Tucson, Arizona:


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-footprints-discovered-in-arizona/




… there was also some vandalism near Tucson:


http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/31181585/vandals-strike-ancient-archeological-sit
e-near-tucson




Illegal digging at Fort Ellis:


http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/illegal-dig-at-historic-fort-ellis-prompts-arc
haeological-concerns/article_dc044eb1-8aa1-5982-902d-6be71dbb70af.html





Road construction in Illinois reveals a Cahokia site:


http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2016/02/university-archaeologists-uncover-ancient-settl
ement




A pile of sites (12 000 years b.p in some cases) from Nevada:


http://westerndigs.org/nearly-20-stone-tool-sites-up-to-12000-years-old-discovered-in-nev
ada/




Pondering some Kotzebue finds:


http://www.adn.com/article/20160201/kotzebue-construction-workers-stumble-across-arch
aeological-find


http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1605locals_may_provide_clues_to_origins_of




Preserving petroglyphs found on Eagle Mountain (Utah):


http://fox13now.com/2016/02/08/city-officials-developers-work-to-preserve-petroglyphs-di
scovered-in-eagle-mountain/




… related opEd:


http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3504124-155/op-ed-native-american-rock-panels-are




On the implications of Siberian mammoth finds for North America:


http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2016/02/07/01-mammoth-find-in-siberia-
could-change-understanding-of-americas-discovery.html




They’re back at the Erebus:


http://phys.org/news/2016-02-underwater-archaeologists-explore-erebus.html


On urban archaeology in New York:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/nyregion/awakening-the-bowerys-ghosts.html?smid=
tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur




On Mardi Gras’ roots in Alabama:


http://www.npr.org/2016/02/08/465758335/for-mardi-gras-les-bon-temps-rouler-in-mobile-
ala-too




Arguing over Acoma traditions:


http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-11510-the-professor-and-the-pueblo.html#.Vq50
JUk7xb8.facebook




Something about squash:


http://mennoworld.org/2015/11/23/feature/cmu-squashes-false-tale-with-story-of-growing-
relations/




George Washington’s still is back in the news:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/upshot/george-washington-the-whiskey-baron-of-mou
nt-vernon.html




Some Abe Lincoln stuff:


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/12/abraham-lincoln-happy-birth
day-kentucky-illinois-indiana/80280914/




================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA ================================================================

Latest from the Jaguar City:


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160209-honduras-lost-city-archaeology-disc
overy-jaguar-sculptures-photos/




Pre-Conquest remains in Buenos Aires:


http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2405467&CategoryId=14093


90 sites from Arequipa (Peru):


http://www.andina.com.pe/ingles/noticia-90-archaeological-sites-found-in-arequipa-peru-5
96905.aspx




An ‘upgrade’ in UNESCO status of Machu PIcchu:


http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-unesco-machu-picchu-improves-and-leaves-endange
red-heritage-list-108730




There’s a ‘chill’ in the art market:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/arts/international/inklings-of-a-chill-in-the-art-market.
html




-----
Mike Ruggeri's Ancient Americas Breaking News:


http://goo.gl/1VdeA


Ancient MesoAmerica News:


http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/ ================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST ================================================================
Suggestion that Michelangelo was suffering from arthritis when he was doing St Peter’s:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12136831/Michelangelo-battled-t
hrough-painful-arthritis-to-design-St-Peters-Basilica-portraits-show.html


http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/michelangelo-may-have-had-arthritis-18095
8056/ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/science/michelangelo-arthritis-hands-portraits.html


On an 18th century ‘tea cartel’:


http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/02/02/465329683/cuppa-thugs-these-brutal-smu
gglers-ran-an-18th-century-tea-cartel




Interesting Transylvanian theme park:


http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/27/arts/transylvania-subterranean-theme-park/?sr=twCNN02
0316transylvania-subterranean-theme-park0146AMStoryGalPhoto&linkId=20917789




A lost Bosch turns up in a US museum:



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