Free Republic

Archaeologists working near the site of an iron age home near Cambridge were perplexed when they uncovered a vast trove of frog skeletons. Quite why more than 8,000 bones had been piled up and preserved is a prehistoric mystery.They were all recovered from a single 14-metre-long ditch, right next to the site of an iron age roundhouse at Bar Hill, where there was a settlement during the middle and late iron age (400BC-AD43)...It is unlikely that these amphibians had been eaten by the people living at the settlement. The archaeologists say that, while there is evidence of amphibian consumption in...

As many as 8,000 California prisoners could be released ahead of schedule in an unprecedented attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 inside state prisons, with more than half of the releases expected by the end of the month. The announcement on Friday by top advisors to Gov. Gavin Newsom offered stark evidence of the dire health conditions at several California prisons. On Monday, the top medical officer for the state prison system was removed from his position following criticism of inmate transfers that are believed to have led to a much larger coronavirus problem in prisons than existed this...

A new nationwide effort to provide health coverage to uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions is off to a slow start, largely due to high costs and a lack of awareness. As of Nov. 1, only 8,011 people were enrolled in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, numbers from the Dept. of Health and Human Services show. People who have been denied coverage by private insurers because of a preexisting condition and who have been uninsured for at least six months are eligible to participate in PCIP. The idea is to give patients who have no access to private coverage because of...

World’s oldest, 8,000 years old tree found in Sweden April 10th, 2008 - 11:23 pm ICT RIA Novosti Stockholm, April 10 (RIA Novosti) Scientists in northern Sweden believe they have discovered the world’s oldest living tree dating back nearly 8,000 years, local media said Thursday. A Norway spruce, which was found growing at a height of 950 metres above sea level, is more than two metres (6.5 feet) tall and about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in width. Shortly after the discovery, scientists sent samples from the tree to a laboratory in Miami, US, and were amazed to learn that the...

Source: University of Southampton Date: August 5, 2007 Stone Age Site Surfaces After 8000 Years Science Daily — Excavations of an underwater Stone Age archaeological settlement dating back 8000 years took place at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton between 30 July – 3 August 2007. A diver working at the site just off the Isle of Wight coast. (Credit: Copyright Simon Brown 2007) Maritime archaeologists from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (HWTMA) have been working at the site just off the Isle of Wight coast. Divers working at depths of 11 metres have raised sections of the...

Basques were fishermen more than 8,000 years ago 06/13/2006 The Basques that settled 8,300 years ago in the Jaizkibel Mountain near the Basque coast were skillful enough to go fishing two kilometres out to sea. The human beings that lived in the Basque Country in the Mesolithic, more than 8,000 years ago, set sail out to sea fishing, something which meant 50 percent of their diet, Aranzadi society of sciences reported Tuesday after examining archaeological remains found in Gipuzkoa. They did not hunt whales, as their descendants many years after, neither tuna nor anchovy as the current Basque fishermen but...

Prehistoric Milling Site Found in Calif. Fri Mar 3, 6:24 AM ET AZUSA, Calif. - Archaeologists excavating a housing development site found a prehistoric milling area estimated to be 8,000 years old, officials said. Large arrowheads, hearths and stone slabs used to grind seeds and acorns were among the items found at the site at the base of the Angeles National Forest, according to archeologists from Cogstone Resource Management Inc. No human or animal bones were discovered, the company said. The consulting firm was hired by Azusa Land Partners, which is developing 1,250 homes on the 520-acre site. Workers removed...

8,000-year-old drill to make fire found in Zhejiang www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-21 17:54:57 BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese archaeologists said that parts of an instrument to make fire, dating back to 8,000 years ago, have been found in east China's Zhejiang Province. The relics, made of bones and wood, were discovered at the Kuahuqiao Relics Site in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province, according to Qianjiang Evening News. Liu Zhiqing, a retired professor from Zhejiang University, was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the relics were part of an instrument to drill wood to get fire. Some relics in strange shapes were unearthed...

TRENTON, N.J. -- After sifting through nearly 8,000 proposed state slogans that ran the gamut from colloquial _ "NJ: How You Doin'?!" _ to the cynical _ "Most of Our Elected Officials Have Not Been Indicted" _ the acting governor revealed the five finalists of a statewide contest Wednesday. Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey ... The contest prompted some entries that capitalized on stereotypes of New Jersey as the home of mobsters, political corruption, traffic-choked highways and billowing smokestacks. None of those made the final cut. Codey acknowledged that New Jerseyans might prefer an edgier slogan than the choices provided,...

ARCHEOLOGY: 8000 YEAR-OLD PIROGUE FOUND IN LAKE BRACCIANO (AGI) - Rome, Italy, Aug 1 - An 8,000 year-old pirogue was found in Lake Bracciano, in the area of the neolithic village La Marmotta. "It's an exceptional example of ancient ship engineering, which proves the advanced knowledge of the peoples who lived here in 6000 BC" say the archaeologists who made the discovery, of the Prehistoric Museum 'Luigi Pigorini' in ROme. More than 10m long, made out of a single oak trunk, the pirogue was still being made when it was abandoned for reasons we still don't know. It was found...

Professor blows new life into ancient flute (China Daily) Updated: 2004-04-26 08:47 Few Chinese people have heard of the yue, an ancient wind instrument that belonged to the flute family. However, this flute, the name of which is pronounced the same as the word for "music" in Chinese, used to be an important instrument in many ancient ceremonial rituals. In The Book of Songs (Shi Jing), the most ancient collection of Chinese poetry, which was compiled in the 6th century BC, yue is the most frequently mentioned wind instrument. After the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) about 1,700 years ago,...