Free Republic

Phrygians were brewing with barley before it was cool. Resurrecting ancient beers and wines is a subtle alchemy, but Patrick McGovern knows all the tricks. He directs the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Many of his ancient brews are sold by Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware. How did you start making ancient drinks? One of the first we made was the Midas beverage, based on residues in bronze vessels recovered from the Midas tomb in Turkey, which dates from 700 B.C. These pointed to an unusual drink combining wine, barley...

...in the necropolis of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, on the West Bank at Thebes, Egypt... According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the tomb embodies all the features of the tomb of Osiris, as told in ancient Egyptian legends, and is a smaller version of the design of the Osireion, built under Egyptian pharaoh Seti I in the city of Abydos, Luxor. Researchers believe the tomb complex dates back to the 25th dynasty (760-656 BC) or 26th dynasty (672-525 BC), based on a comparison to similar tombs that contain Osirian elements. The complex consists of a large hall supported by five...

37 shipwrecks from the Byzantine Empire have been discovered as part of archaeological excavations that began in Turkey in 2004. The shipwrecks were discovered in Yenikapi, Istanbul, a port of the ancient city which was called Constantinople during the Byzantine period. The ships are in exceptionally good condition say the archaeologists, especially since they date back to between the fifth and eleventh centuries. Cemal Pulak, a study author from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, stated, "Never before has such a large number and types of well preserved vessels been found at a single location." Eight of...

New details have been revealed about the massive ancient underground city discovered in Turkey's Central Anatolian province of Nevsehir. The tunnels of the underground city are located under a conical-shaped hill and are wide enough for a car to pass through. Ozcan Cakir, associate professor at the Geophysics Engineering department of the 18 March University and involved in the excavations of the underground city, said they believe the tunnels were used to carry agricultural products. "We believe that people, who were engaged in agriculture, were using the tunnels to carry agricultural products to the city. We also estimate that one...

The suspect, an unidentified man in his 50s, was nabbed by Border Police officers at Khirbat Marmita, an archaeological site near the town of Naham, equipped with a metal detector and digging tools. The man had several bronze pieces in his possession, but he initially denied illegally searching for antiquities and knowing anything about ancient coins, the IAA said in a statement. Khirbat Marmita is the site of a Roman and Byzantine-era Jewish town, from which recent limited excavations have yielded wine presses, stone vessels, a ritual bath and burial caves. The Judean Highlands around Beit Shemesh are home to...

A new examination of ninth-century A.D. burial sites in the central Norwegian region of Trondelag has revealed they contain many more artifacts from Britain, such as brooches, drinking horns, and swords, than had been previously believed. "These graves are some of the earliest proof that we have of contact between Norway and the British Isles," archaeologist Aina Margrethe Heen Pettersen told Science Nordic. She argues that Vikings from Trondelag were among the first to voyage across the North Sea, and emphasizes that they were not simply bent on raiding. "Contact with the Anglo-Saxons means more than just violent pillaging. Drinking...

Lady Godiva was married to Leofric, the 'grim' Earl of Mercer and Lord of Coventry, a man of great power and importance. The chronicler Florence of Worcester mentions Leofric and Godiva, but does not mention her famous ride, and there is no firm evidence connecting the rider with the historical Godiva. In 1043 the Earl and Countess founded a Benedictine house for an abbot and 24 monks on the site of St Osburg's Nunnery, which had been destroyed by the Danes in 1016... Earl Leofric laid his founding charter upon the newly consecrated altar, which not only granted the foundation,...

Search teams scouring the Java Sea for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 have found "two large objects", Indonesian officials say. Search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo said a remotely operated underwater vehicle was being lowered to take pictures. However, bad weather and heavy seas continue to hamper operations. The jet disappeared with 162 people on board while flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore last Sunday. So far 30 bodies have been recovered in the search. No survivors have been found and the main sections of the Airbus A320 have not been retrieved. Most bodies are thought to...

Amateur treasure hunters armed with metal detectors unearthed the rare Anglo Saxon coins near Aylesbury, Bucks., during a Christmas dig. The stunning find is one of the most significant in Britain in recent years, say experts. The perfectly preserved pieces, which feature the faces of Anglo Saxon kings, were in a lead bucket which was buried two feet underground. The extremely rare coins could be worth more than £1million and Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club leader Pete Welch said the find was "very significant". Pete, 56, said: "...It looks like only two people have handled these coins. The person who made...

During excavations conducted in conjunction with the restoration of the Tver State Museum in western Russia, archaeologists discovered a medieval silver hoard lying just six feet below the office of the museum's general director. Buried in a small hole covered with ceramics sometime during the Mongol invasions of the mid-thirteenth century, the hoard contained silver headdresses, chains, beads, and pendants, among other items. According to RU Facts, archaeologists believe the jewelry may have belonged to a Tver noblewoman who died in the assault on the city or was otherwise unable to retrieve her precious cache. The hoard narrowly missed being...

The settlement was inhabited around 100 B.C. and is one of the most significant Late La Tene sites in Central Europe. The team found the durable eggs of roundworms (Ascaris sp.), whipworms, (Trichuris sp.) and liver flukes (Fasciola sp.). The eggs of these intestinal parasites were discovered in the backfill of 2000 year-old storage and cellar pits from the Iron Age. The presence of the parasite eggs was not, as is usually the case, established by wet sieving of the soil samples. Instead, a novel geoarchaeology-based method was applied using micromorphological thin sections, which enable the parasite eggs to be...

Ancient Buddhist sculptures have been found in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during an excavation work, a media report said Saturday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa archaeology and museum director Abdul Samad said the sculptures and heads, dating back to second to fifth century BC, had been discovered during excavation at Bhamala Buddhist Complex in Haripur district, Dawn online reported. He said during excavation, precious coins of Kushana period were also found around the stupa. The official said the Bhamala archaeological site had been declared national and world heritage site located near Khanpur dam, located on the Haro river. "The ruins are situated near...

Nasty weather conditions have sparked accidents on I-93 in New Hampshire: Injuries have been reported:

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, spent the first night of the new year at Vintage Cave, an upscale restaurant in Hawaii. "At Vintage Cave Honolulu, one can enjoy exceptional food and wine at the hands of gifted masters of the culinary arts. ‘Chef’s recommendation’ commands a gravitas guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning palate. Seasoned sommelier’s conduct the process of pairing wine and food with true finesse and style. Secure in the natural embrace of the cave-like environment, guests are encouraged to relax, ‘hit reset’ and escape the ordinary," Vintage Cave's description reads on its website. As...

Actor Liam Neeson’s Taken series is known for its high-octane and suspenseful approach to handling international kidnappers. However, the first two chapters of what has now become a trilogy are not known for portraying Europe in a very positive light.

Most galling, perhaps, is the fact that this unit is enrolled in a federal program that keeps rents affordable for low-income residents. The apartment in question rents for $1,017 per month — almost $2,000 per month less than the unit would fetch at market rate. EXCLUSIVE: East Harlem landlord vows to shutter illegal hostel inside low-income unit where nightly rates are $199 per bed An East Harlem landlord is taking steps to shutter an illegal hostel that has been operating in the Lexington Ave. building since the summer, the Daily News has learned. A three-bedroom apartment in the building at...

The reported rise in Swedes asking for money in other countries comes as the number of foreign beggars in Sweden continues to rise. As hundreds of thousands of Swedes head for sunshine over the winter holidays, police in Australia have reported a rise in young Scandinavians posing as bogus beggars. Sweden and Romania to discuss begging surge (17 Dec 14) Swedish teen caught stealing beggar's money (19 Jun 14) Stockholm launches 'beggar hotline' (13 Jun 14) Swedish tourists are begging on the streets of Melbourne in order to help fund their trips during the holiday season, with the region’s police...

Miami businessman Gino Bertuccio is one of the world’s luckiest flyers – and one of the most thoughtful as well. The 52-year-old became the first person to fly in Etihad Airways’ £14,000 ‘penthouse in the sky’ at the weekend, and he shared the one-of-a-kind experience with friends and strangers. While flying from London's Heathrow Airport to Abu Dhabi Mr Bertuccio opened the three-room private suite to first-class passengers, who were in an adjacent cabin, and invited a traveller from economy into the exclusive cabin, which boasts the world’s first in-flight butler.

Usually, all telemetry data is stored in the flash memory, so that when the rover powers down during the Martian night or reboots, the data remains stored — like when you turn off your digital camera, the photos remain saved to the camera’s flash card. Any data stored in the rover’s RAM, however, is lost as it shuts down. Flash memory may be great for storing data when the rover’s electronics are powered down, “but flash memory has a limitation on how many times you can read and write to it,” Callas told Discovery News. “It ‘wears out’ with use.”

A young computer whiz from New York City has launched a site to help people buy cheap plane tickets. But an airline company and its travel partner want to shut him down. United Airlines and Orbitz filed a civil lawsuit last month against 22-year-old Aktarer Zaman, who founded the website Skiplagged.com last year. The site helps travelers find cheap flights by using a strategy called “hidden city” ticketing. The idea is that you buy an airline ticket that has a layover at your actual destination. Say you want to fly from New York to San Francisco — you actually book...