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Archaeologists who have been digging for more than a year at the villa of Roman Emperor Hadrian in Tivoli have unearthed a monumental staircase, a statue of an athlete and what appears to be a headless sphinx. The findings were presented Tuesday by government officials who described the discoveries as extremely important for understanding the layout of the ruins. The staircase is believed to be the original entrance to the villa, which was built for Hadrian in the 2nd century A.D. So far, 15 steps, each 27 feet wide, have been identified and archaeologists did not rule out uncovering more....

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Photo of the fossil (Source: CRIENGLISH.com) The legendary "Sphinx" eventually found its counterpart version in archeological fossil. Chinese and American paleontologists found two distinct kinds of bone characteristics in the fossil of a sharp-mouthed mammal excavated in China's Liaoning province. The mammal's upper part makes people believe it was viviparous while its lower part looks like oviparous, reports Wen Hui Daily. continued...

The legendary "Sphinx" eventually found its counterpart version in archeological fossil. Chinese and American paleontologists found two distinct kinds of bone characteristics in the fossil of a sharp-mouthed mammal excavated in China's Liaoning province. The mammal's upper part makes people believe it was viviparous while its lower part looks like oviparous, reports Wen Hui Daily. The latest issue of the British magazine Nature reports the unprecedented discovery. The magazine editor as well as paleontologists marveled at the discovery and believed it might change the traditional theory on mammals evolution. Li Gang, one of the coauthors of the paper, said the...

No, this is not a blonde joke. If you want one of those, go to this week’s Humor File. Cleopatra was in fact a blonde. That’s because she was not Egyptian. She was a Macedonian Greek, with hair as blonde as Alexander’s. Alexander conquered Egypt in 332 BC, then went on to subdue all of the Middle East. When he died nine years later, his just-conquered empire was fought over and carved up by his generals. The one who ended up running Egypt was Ptolemy (367-283 BC). Declaring himself Pharaoh, he founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty, with twelve Ptolemies in succession,...

I have solved riddle of the Sphinx, says Frenchman By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent (Filed: 14/12/2004) Archaeologists, who are able to tell us who built the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, have puzzled over the riddle of the Sphinx for generations. The identity of the ruler who ordered the building of the 65ft high, 260ft long limestone half-human statue that has guarded the Giza Plateau for 4,500 years has been lost in the sands of time. Workers on the Sphinx in a television reconstruction Now, following a 20-year re-examination of historical records and uncovering new evidence, Vassil Dobrev, a French Egyptologist,...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A pair of French Egyptologists who suspect they have found a previously unknown chamber in the Great Pyramid urged Egypt's antiquities chief to reconsider letting them test their theory by drilling new holes in the 4,600-year-old structure. Jean Yves Verd'hurt and fellow Frenchman Gilles Dormion, who has studied pyramid construction for more than 20 years, are expected to raise their views during the ninth International Congress of Egyptologists in Grenoble, France, which starts Monday. They also published a book about their theory this week. Standing in their way is Zahi Hawass, the director of Egypt's Supreme...

Robot made in Singapore to reveal secrets of pyramids August 07, 2004 The Supreme Council of Antiquities SCA Secretary-General Dr. Zahi Hawwas said the secrets of the pyramids will be revealed next year, noting that the council agreed with a Singaporean University to manufacture a robot for revealing what are behind the secret doors inside the pyramid, especially the second and the third ones. He added that work is underway in the radar project that will be used in revealing what is inside the ground between the second Pyramid and the Sphinx. This came during the meeting that was held...

Drought that destroyed a civilisation MARTIN WILLIAMS November 11 2003 IT is one of history's biggest mysteries and has confounded experts for hundreds of years. But a team of scientists believe they have discovered why the world's first great civilisation, established in Egypt nearly 5000 years ago, crumbled and plunged into a dark age that lasted for more than 1000 years. The researchers, including one academic from St Andrews University, have produced new evidence linking the demise of the Egyptian Old Kingdom with decades of drought after a study of layers of sediment at the source of the Blue Nile...

British, Egyptian archaeologists map out regions beneath Pyramids CAIRO, Sept 28 (KUNA) -- A team of British and Egyptian archaeologists are excavating beneath the three Pyramids of Giza to find more about the mystery of the Pyramids and their builders. "The British team, which hails from the University of Birmingham, is using the latest and most up-to-date equipment to seek the mystery of the Pyramids," said Zahi Hawwas, Secretary General of the Higher Council for Antiquities in Egypt. The team is employing a special radar that would help create an archaelogical map of the subterranean region beneath the three Pyramids...

Tonight I was admiring the sharp satellite topographical map of the Middle East included in the new October issue. Then I flipped it over to see what was printed on the other side. It is a typical map, but much more zoomed in than the usual ME maps. It is cropped almost in the same manner as the ME beast/sphinx map image which I have been posting here for a couple of years. The title of the NG map is "Heart of the Middle East". Click above map link for reference. Sinai ("thorny") = crownJordan = head and long neck...