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snip...Tens of thousands of skeletons that lie hidden beneath the streets, houses and offices of London have been revealed for the first time on a map, in a collaboration between the Museum of London and The Times. snip...Another skeleton was found with a metal spike lodged in its spine. Its owner, a man who was buried in Smithfield, East London, in about 1350, was probably hit with an arrow or spear, but the attack did not kill him. He survived only to catch bubonic plague in his late thirties or early forties. “Somehow the injury didn't cause an infection,” Mr...

Ramhormoz graves may be Elamite royal burials: experts TEHRAN, May 20 (MNA) -- A team of archaeologists studying two graves discovered in the city of Ramhormoz in southern Iran said that they bear their remains of a girl and a woman who were most likely members of an Elamite royal family. The team led by Arman Shishegar was assigned to carry out a series of rescue excavations in the Jubji region of the city in Khuzestan Province in May 2007 after the Khuzestan Water and Waste Water Company stumbled on two U-shaped coffins containing skeletons of a girl and a...

HARTLAND, Vt. (AP) — The 130-acre property was exactly what Michel Guite and his family wanted: an old Vermont farm with mountain views, rolling hills and meadows. There was, however, one wrinkle: The property included a small family cemetery — with the grave of a War of 1812 veteran — surrounded by a fence on a scenic knoll. His proposal to move the graveyard so he can build a house and barn has set off protests. The town has passed a resolution aimed at blocking the move, a descendant of one occupant of the graveyard is trying to fight him...

Exodus 3 1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. 3 So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." 4When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more...

Archaeologists uncover unique cremation graves By ÄŒTK / Published 20 March 2008 Prostejov, South Moravia, March 19 (CTK) - Czech archaeologists have uncovered unique cremation graves in Prostejov that date back to the Neolithic period of the Linear Pottery culture and that indicate that people believed in human soul's existence 7,000 years ago already, daily Mlada fronta Dnes wrote Wednesday. The graves were uncovered during construction of a new industrial zone on the eastern edge of the town. "This is the first cremation burial site of the Linear-Pottery-culture to be uncovered on Czech soil. Below it there are skeleton graves...

Irish and Dutch vessels found in Scottish graves Evidence that some of our prehistoric ancestors travelled considerable distances has come from two graves in Upper Largie, near Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute. One grave contained three distinctive beakers which Alison Sheridan, of the National Museums Scotland, describes as belonging to an early, international style, best paralleled by finds from the lower Rhine region of the modern-day Netherlands. Radiocarbon dates of 2500-2280 BC from hazel charcoal from within the grave confirms an early Bronze Age date. Though no bone was found because of the acidic nature of the local soils, the...

Greek workers discovered around 1,000 graves, some filled with ancient treasures, while excavating for a subway system in the historic city of Thessaloniki, the state archaeological authority said Monday. Some of the graves, which dated from the first century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., contained jewelry, coins and various pieces of art, the Greek archaeological service said in a statement. Thessaloniki was founded around 315 B.C. and flourished during the Roman and Byzantine eras. Today it is the Mediterranean country's second largest city. Most of the graves — 886 — were just east of the city center in what...

Dig at homes site uncovers skeletons of eight monks By Nicola Fenwick BURIAL SITE: Mark Randerson, of Durham University's archaeology department, with two of the monks uncovered at the site in Northallerton ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered the complete skeletons of eight Carmelite monks. The excavation in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, also revealed that the town's priory is unique, because its layout differs from all other known Carmelite priories and monasteries in Europe. Housing developer Castle Homes owns the site and will be building a residential development there. But it has given assurances that the design of the building will ensure the preservation...

Dozens of gravestones at a Jewish cemetery near Norridge were desecrated with anti-Semitic graffiti in an attack that Cook County authorities are calling a hate crime. The vandalism caused an estimated $100,000 damage to 57 tombstones scarred with spray-painted swastikas, other symbols and slurs that included "Aryan Power" and "white power." "To see the physical damage and the disrespect for people who are dead, it's so sad," said Phil Ferkel, executive director of Westlawn Cemetery. Several vandals -- described as "cowards who ply hate" by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart -- apparently invaded the cemetery last weekend. "What they did...

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 16, 2007 – They came from around the country, some with tears in their eyes, putting holiday demands on hold to honor veterans most never knew. In a few hours in freezing temperatures, about 3,000 volunteers yesterday placed more than 10,000 balsam fir wreaths with blazing red bows on graves at Arlington National Cemetery here. “I wish I could lay one on all of them,” said Charles Wright, a Vietnam War Marine veteran and commander of the Kansas City Composite Squadron, a civil air patrol unit. “This is a tribute I’ll remember forever.” Morrill Worcester, owner...

Mass Plague Graves Found on Venice "Quarantine" Island Maria Cristina Valsecchi for National Geographic News August 29, 2007 Ancient mass graves containing more than 1,500 victims of the bubonic plague have been discovered on a small island in Italy's Venetian Lagoon. Workers came across the skeletons while digging the foundation for a new museum on Lazzaretto Vecchio, a small island in the lagoon's south, located a couple of miles from Venice's famed Piazza San Marco (see a map of the Venetian Lagoon). The island is believed to be the world's first lazaret—a quarantine colony intended to help prevent the spread...

Graves of Ancient Russian Rulers Discovered at Altai 30.08.2007 Rurik, legendary Russian rulerArcheologsts have recently discovered graves of ancient Russian family of Ruriks (“Rurik” means “famous ruler”) in the town of Zmeinogorsk, reports famous Russian historian. The discovery was totally unexpected – fellows of local historical centre have taken children from historical society to perform diggings on the city’s cemetery, and among other pre-revolutionary burials they found graves of Ruriks. Now scientists start enormous research – they are going to identify the graves and bodies in them.

The riddle of Afghan graves By Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Kabul On a dusty desert plain a few kilometres north of Kabul, Afghan security officials recently revealed to reporters the latest mass grave discovered in the country. Some of the bodies were still in a sitting position in rooms built underground the former weapons depot in the Shomali plain. Others were in a lying position. Some still had clothes on. What is known is that the bodies are of victims of Afghanistan's war-torn past. But what is not known is - from which war? Afghanistan is no stranger to such...

Arial photo of what could be traces of Viking graves. PHOTO: NORD-TRØNDELAG LOCAL AUTHORITIES New Viking graves discovered 120 graves and traces of Viking houses discovered near the city of Trondheim.Traces of what could be a Viking Chief's hall. PHOTO: Ørn E. Borgen A reconstructed Viking Chief's hall in the cultural monuments park near the town of Hønefoss. What may be a Viking Chief's hall is among the new findings. PHOTO: Ørn E. Borgen A total of 145 antiquities have been found at 32 different places around Stiklestad in the county of Nord-Trøndelag. PHOTO: JON A. FOSSEIE While most parts...

Fifty Six Pre-Islamic Graves Discovered behind Salman-e Farsi Dam 03 July 2007 LONDON, (CAIS) -- The first season of archaeological excavations in the Parto-Sasanian city behind Salman-e Farsi dam in Iranian Fars province has been wrapped up with unearthing fifty six graves belonging to post Achaemenid period (333-248 BCE), Parthian (248 BCE-224 CE) and Sasanian (224-651 CE) dynastic eras, as well as a number of Sasanian industrial centres in the eastern side of the city. Announcing this Alireza Jafari Zand, head of excavation team behind Salman-e Farsi Dam told Persian service of CHN: “A number of these graves have already...

Mass grave of Quakers uncovered A meeting of the Society of Friends in its early days A mass grave believed to contain the bodies of followers of the Quaker religious movement has been uncovered in Cambridgeshire. Environment Agency workers found the rare Quaker burial site while carrying out work for flood defences at St Ives. Sixteen bodies were in the unmarked grave dating back to the late 1600s. Archaeologists described the find as "remarkable and unusual" as it gave an insight into Quaker burial practices just after the movement started. Pipe facet The Society of Friends was still emerging and...

Bodies to be stacked double in old graves By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent Last Updated: 2:33am BST 06/06/2007 Graves are to be reopened to allow bodies to be stacked one on top of another in a controversial move announced by the Government yesterday. A consultation last year found that most people would accept 'double-decker' graves Bodies buried for as little as 75 years could be dug up and re-buried in deeper ground to allow another coffin to be interred above. The name of the newly-buried person could even be added to the headstone. This follows Government research which found that...

The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on government-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday. A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief" allowed on VA grave markers. Eleven families nationwide are waiting for grave markers with the pentacle, said Selena Fox, a Wiccan high priestess with Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The settlement calls for the pentacle, whose five points represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit,...

Mayor's office in northern city of Lille says it is 'shocked' and 'disgusted' by weekend attack, which it describes as a 'hateful anti-Semitic act' More than 50 tombstones were damaged in an attack at the weekend on a Jewish cemetery in the northern French city of Lille that the mayor's office described as a "hateful anti-Semitic act". The Lille mayor's office said it was "shocked" and "disgusted" by the desecration of 53 tombstones overnight Saturday to Sunday in the Lille-Sud cemetery. New Interior Minister Francois Baroin issued a statement condemning the attack and pledging to mobilise "all means necessary to...

Debris that may have contained bits of bone from victims of the World Trade Center attacks was used to fill potholes and pave city roads, according to court papers filed on Friday. The charge was made in an affidavit filed in Manhattan federal court in an ongoing case filed in 2005 by family members of those killed in the attacks against the city. They say the city did not do enough to search for remains, denying victims a proper burial. Eric Beck, a construction worker employed at the Fresh Kills landfill in the borough of Staten Island, where the rubble...

New Viking treasures found Archaeologists have made a major discovery in Western Norway, unearthing well-preserved Viking graves from the 9th century full of riches.Glass beads covered with gold are among the items found in the Viking graves. PHOTO: JONAS HAAR FRIESTAD Workers at the excavation site are awed by what they've found. PHOTO: JONAS HAAR FRIESTAD The Viking treasures were found at Frøyland in Rogaland County. Local newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad reported Monday that items recovered from the graves indicate they belonged to wealthy Vikings of the time. In one of the graves, belonging to a woman, archaeologists found jewellery, many...

Kurdish victims found in three mass graves included more than 230 women and children along with dozens of adult men, who were lined up and gunned down by troops and buried where they fell, an American forensic expert testified today in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein. Michael Trimble described a number of the bodies his team analysed from the graves: a pregnant woman shot through her abdomen, killing the foetus; a young girl wearing little green boots whose leg had been shattered by bullets and an infant who had no bullet wounds and apparently smothered under the body of...

Graves hint at contact with Romans Published: 8th November 2006 19:18 CET Archaeologists excavating ancient graves in western Sweden have found shards from ceramic vessels made in the Roman Empire, in a find that could challenge assumptions about contacts between people in Sweden and the Romans. The graves in Stenungsund, around 45 kilometres north of Gothenburg, have been dated to between the years 1 and 300 AD. The remains of burned bones from two people were found, along with the pieces of ceramic. "There are pieces from four or five vessels in each grave, and we have never previously found...

GRAVES SMASHED: ROCKET HITS ISRAELI CEMETERY... Awaiting more info....

For sale: old, second-hand graves. £3,000 each, many careful owners By Stephanie Condron (Filed: 04/07/2006) A cemetery is offering second-hand graves, with "refurbished" monuments including headstones, obelisks and crosses, to be used again. Recycled burial plots, complete with the original memorials, still contain the remains of those who died at least 75 years ago - the names of the dead are simply scoured from the monuments to allow new inscriptions. The City of London cemetery is selling 1,000 such plots advertised as "traditional-style graves" to be "adopted" by families willing to pay £3,000 to lease them for 50 years. The...

ON THE EDGE OF THE ASH SHAM DESERT, Iraq, June 3 — Among experts on the American-led team investigating Iraq's mass graves, the skeletal remains lying face-up at the rear of the tangled grave here have been given a name — the Blue Man — that speaks for a sorrowful familiarity developed by some of those who work with victims of mass murder. But more than his blue shirt, and his blue-striped trousers, what distinguishes the remains is the way they speak for the terror of death under Saddam Hussein.

Manny Loya has a bond with Tucson's war dead. In the hot sun, he gazes at their headstones, imagining how they lived, whom they loved and how they died. "At first, I used to dream about them," said Loya, a volunteer grave tender at Holy Hope Cemetery, the final resting place of thousands of departed military personnel. For the past week or so, the retired city sanitation worker has performed his annual labor of love, sprucing up the cemetery for the national holiday honoring fallen troops. It's a time of year that leaves him feeling sentimental. "Look at all these...

Graves of the Pacific's First Seafarers Revealed Richard Stone INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION CONGRESS, 20-26 MARCH 2006, MANILA Little is known about the Lapita peoples, the first settlers of the Western Pacific, other than their ubiquitous calling card: red pottery fragments with intricate designs. But in what's being hailed as one of the most dramatic finds in years, researchers at the meeting offered a glimpse of the first-known early Lapita cemetery. "This is the closest we're going to get to the first Polynesians," says archaeologist Matthew Spriggs of Australia National University (ANU) in Canberra, a member of the excavation team. Face...

Mass graves planned if bird flu pandemic reaches Britain By Adam Stones (Filed: 02/04/2006) Mass burials are being considered by the Home Office as part of contingency plans for a possible avian flu pandemic. A "prudent worst case" assessment suggested that 320,000 could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious between humans, according to a confidential report. The paper - said to have been discussed by a Cabinet committee - said that the huge number of deaths would lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims. It warned that the...

Polish archaeologist unearths Europe's most ancient graves Mar 2, 2006, 14:15 GMT Warsaw - Five of Europe's most ancient graves, dating back 10,000 years, have been unearthed in the village of Dwreca, central Poland. Archaeologist Marian Marciniak found the graves on the site of ancient post-glacial dunes, the Rzeczpospolita daily reported. In them, a young woman, believed aged 18 to 21, was put to rest with a baby, a child aged 5 to 7 and another aged 7 to 11. An adult male found at the site was buried sitting upright, as if on a throne or chair. The bodies...

As Baku newspaper “Real Azerbaijan” informs, Mayor of Baku Hajibala Abutalibov decided to destroy the old Christian cemetery in the center of the city, near Montino. The territory will be used for construction of elite residencies. Newspaper called it “barbarity” and “Abu-Fascism.” When angered Russian resident came to Baku, Abutalibov said that the destruction is ordered by the President Ilham Aliyev, who decided to construct a new highway here.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have prepared a long-range plan to excavate mass graves in Iraq and prepare forensic evidence of crimes against humanity, according to Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in May 2003, more than 270 mass graves in Iraq have been reported, Natsios told reporters March 17 at the State Department's Foreign Press Center in Washington. Some of the graves are relatively small, containing a few dozen remains, while other graves are hundreds of meters long, according to a report distributed at the briefing. There are 300,000-400,000...

The men went to explore the Ahora Gorge on the north-west slope of Ararat It has become some sort of a tradition to make sensational statements about discovery of Noah's Ark every year in October - November. As a rule, the exact place is not mentioned at that for two reasons. Either these people know the exact location of Noah's Ark and try to keep it secret, or make such sensational statements having no grounds at all just to have their names made public in connection with the sacred mystery. Noah's Ark This year, legendary mountain-climber President of Russia's...

VIENNA, Austria — The Vienna cemetery where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is believed to have once been buried will undergo partial restoration, cultural officials said Friday [August 19] as the city prepares for next year's celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Although the memorial marking Mozart's traditional burial site at St. Marxer Cemetery remains in sound condition, hundreds of other tombstones and statues in the surrounding park have suffered centuries of neglect. Authorities plan to restore a few of those graves — at a cost of 260,000 euros($316,758) — and use knowledge gained from the task for further...

THE bodies of 30 people, including two women, were discovered in a mass grave south of Baghdad today, and police have made several arrests in connection with the grisly find, security sources said. "A grave containing 30 mutilated bodies, of which two were women, was discovered at Awerij," about 20 km south of the Iraqi capital, said police lieutenant Muthanna al-Shumari. Shumari said the grave, located in Babylon province whose capital is Hilla, dated back around around six months. Iraqi forces conducted house searches in the region and arrested 13 suspects, including a Sudanese and an Egyptian, Shumari said, adding...

Her gravesite may be festooned in flowers, but "Rest in Peace" is something Terri Schindler has been deprived of in death. Date of birth and date of death are often the last things written for those who have departed this Earth, a timeworn testimony to the conventional practice that leans on societal respect for the dead left on untold scores of graves the world over. Convention and respect for the dead seem to fly out the window when it comes to widower Michael Schiavo and his flamboyantly bizarre attorney, George Felos.

The Mojave Desert (search) is not the kind of hard-scrapple place you'd expect to find the latest battle in the culture wars. But that's exactly where the ACLU is battling with locals to tear down a cross that was erected as a tribute to World War I veterans.

FORT HUACHUCA - Fort Huachuca's historic cemetery has introduced 21st century technology in a bid to help visitors. Gone are the days when someone visiting a loved one's grave would have to waste precious time wandering around to try and find it. Now they can visit a purpose-built kiosk located at the cemetery's entrance, where a touch-screen computer will give them the information they need. It will even print out a map telling the inquirer in which sector a grave can be found. The $51,500 project was brought to the cemetery, which has been at its current location since 1883,...

THE rich Roman heritage of Britain's oldest recorded town has been enhanced by the discovery of a “beautifully preserved” room from a bathhouse. A single 2,000-year-old room was discovered beneath Colchester Sixth Form College during work to build a fire access road near the college's information technology block. A leading archaeologist said yesterday it was one of the finest finds of its kind. The room from the bathhouse may now be preserved as an attraction. Philip Crummy, of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, said he and colleagues had been on a “watching brief” as work at the college was carried out....

FBI investigates allegations of false Boy Scout numbers Thursday, December 30, 2004 The FBI is investigating the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America to see if membership numbers have been inflated, board members said Wednesday.Exaggerating membership numbers could lead to greater financial support, board members said.The council is said to serve 50,000 youngsters in 22 counties in central and northern Alabama. This includes 30,000 enrolled in traditional scout units and 20,000 elementary school students receiving in-class character education using resources provided by the Boy Scouts, said Randy Haines, vice chairman of the council, which is led...

Graves become shrines to Taliban, al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan By James Rupert Newsday MATA CHINA, Afghanistan — Standing before the rows of graves, Afghan men open their hands to the sky. Their lips move in silent prayer to honor the dead. These dead are fighters of the Taliban and al-Qaida, killed in 2001 when an American bomb crushed the mosque nearby where they had mustered outside the eastern Afghan city of Khost. Since then, U.S. officials have paid for the mosque to be rebuilt. It stands freshly painted, but empty, a few hundred yards down the road. There has been...

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Researchers studying DNA from 500-year-old bone slivers said Friday that preliminary data suggests Christopher Columbus might be buried in Spain, rather than in a rival tomb in the Dominican Republic - but for now they cannot be sure. The team insisted it had reached no conclusion and more research was needed. But it said some DNA samples taken from bones that Spain says are the explorer's matched DNA from a body widely believed to be that of his brother, Diego. Both were unearthed in Seville over the past two years as part of a pioneering experiment...

LYON, France (Reuters) - Vandals daubed swastikas and slogans on 56 graves and a war memorial in a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, the latest in a spate of attacks on Jewish, Muslim and Christian property that have shocked France. The attackers also used black paint to scrawl slogans glorifying Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and declaring "Resistance to the Islamist invasion" on some of the graves on Monday evening in a cemetery in Lyon, France's second city. President Jacques Chirac, the government, opposition and Jewish leaders on Tuesday condemned the attack, which prompted calls for tougher action to prevent such...

On the hunt for grave sites By TRACY MOSS © 2004 THE NEWS-GAZETTE Published Online July 12, 2004 CLICK TO SEE PHOTO CATLIN – Stan Pentecost doesn't believe in ghosts, or UFOs, because he's the kind of guy who needs to see something to believe it. So, when he read that dowsing – using two rods to find underground water – could also be used to locate graves as well as determine the size and gender of the deceased, he had to try it. "I still can't explain it, but it works," said Pentecost, a member of the Illiana Genealogical...

Ancient graves found on cliffs Archaeologists used ropes to access the cliff-face graves A 1,250-year-old cliff-face cemetery has been found in Pembrokeshire revealing the county's early Christian past. Two skeletons dating from the Dark Ages of around 750AD have been recovered and a stone with a carefully chiselled cross has also been found. Archaeologists had to work using ropes to reach the site at Longoar Bay, near St Ishmaels. The graves were discovered by chance by Steve Brick who works for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. "The site was impossible for us to reach but from our researches we realised...

The Defense Ministry announced Thursday that it has organized a special service that will make it easier to locate the graves of the fallen. The new service, which the MOD said is the first of its kind in the world, not only will provide the block and parcel of a fallen soldier's grave, but also give a map on the best route to take from the gates of the military cemeteries. The service is available on a special website sponsored by the Defense Ministry's Department for Commemorating Soldiers and programmed by a civilian firm. The site can be reached at:...

Police charged two men with desecrating graves at a Jewish cemetery in eastern Slovakia, authorities said Tuesday. The two unemployed men, whose names were not released, are accused of damaging the graves at the cemetery in Dobsina, an eastern Slovak town some 330 kilometers (220 miles) from the capital, Bratislava, police spokeswoman Jana Demjanovicova said. The men are also accused of stealing the fence which surrounded the graves, she said. Most of Slovakia's Jews perished in concentration camps during World War II. After the conflict, many of the country's 620 Jewish cemeteries were left unattended, and at times have become...

Australia probe 'looting' of Boer War graves March 07 2004 at 02:33PM Canberra, Australia - Australia will investigate claims that century-old graves of soldiers who died during the Boer War in South Africa have been looted, the government said Sunday. Veterans' Affairs Minister Dana Vale ordered the probe after receiving reports that valuable stones, plaques and crosses had been taken from the graves. Vale didn't say where the reports originated. More than 600 Australians died fighting alongside British and other Commonwealth forces in the 1899-1902 conflict against the Boers in what is present day South Africa. Vale said the protection...

Viking graves in Pskov, North-Western Russia 02/24/2004 13:56 Archaeologists are examining the items found in the ancient burial place of a Viking woman in downtown Pskov. In the last days of 2003 in Pskov during archaeological research of the construction site, burial place related to X century, was discovered. At the depth of 4 meters in the burial chamber the remains of a woman were found along with decoration of bronze and silver, bronze scales, glass beads and several dozens of other items. According to Dr. Of History, Head of Department of Slavic and Finnish Archaeology of Institute of History...

BAGHDAD -- They were killed in their hospital beds and buried in the hospital flower gardens, some with their arms still wrapped in bandages or IVs still connected. And they were killed on long death marches in northern Iraq--Kurdish women and children, separated from their families and carrying the few household items they could drag with them. Wherever they were killed, many were blindfolded and shot in the forehead. Saddam Hussein's whole country became a killing field. Mass graves "are everywhere," said Sandy Hodgkinson, a U.S. State Department attorney who has been working with Iraq's Human Rights Ministry, the agency...