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A rare, fully intact sword from the 10th century has been found at the bottom of a lake. The sword which is decorated with a cross and has the remains of its leather scabbard, was discovered along with artefacts dating back to the times of the first Piast by archaeologists exploring Lednica Lake, between Poznan and Gniezno... The younger bridge dates back to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, while the older to the beginning of the 10th. The wood used for its construction was cut down in the years 913 and 914... Underneath the bridges' remnants, the...

Archaeologists in the Philippines believe they have discovered evidence of a lost tribe in sacks of broken pottery seized from antiquity smugglers. Twenty-two sacks of pottery, including burial urns sculpted in human form believed to be more than 2,000 years old, were found loaded on a tricycle in Sarangani province on the Filipino island of Mindanao in August. It is thought that they originated in the neighbouring province of Sultan Kudarat, but the precise location remains a mystery and there are fears that the tribe has in effect been lost again because the artefacts were moved by treasure hunters. A...

Artefacts reveal rich history of craftsmanship Emran HossainPublished On: 2008-04-07Wari-Bateshwar Site A few semi-precious stone beads with motifs found at the Wari-Bateshwar archaeological site recently. The findings indicate the spot was a rich trade centre. Photo: STAR Archaeological studies on semi-precious stone beads and other artefacts found in Wari-Bateshwar indicate people of this land have a rich history of craftsmanship as old as around 2,500 years. Plenty of semi-precious stone beads are found and unearthed from Wari-Bateshwar and some of those are even identical to the artefacts found in Southeast Asia and other parts in the Indian subcontinent. This suggests...

Iraqi Archaeologists Excavate New Sites and Find ‘Rare’ Parthian Artefacts 25 January 2008 LONDON, (CAIS) -- Iraqi archaeologists have resumed excavations in southern Iraq uncovering three important ancient sites and collecting magnificent items. The museum’s information officer, Abdulzahara al-Talaqani, said said Iraqi diggers have come across “a very important” Parthian site which has so far yielded “200 rare pieces”. The head of the excavation team of the Parthian site, Mohammed Abbas, said: “Most of the finds are unique. We have a silver statue of a woman, another silver piece representing a cobra, household utensils, legendary animals, incised pots and various...

Archaeologist uncovers 11,000-year-old artefacts in SyriaLatest discoveries in Syria date back to start of Neolithic era in Epipalaeolithic period. By Talal el-Atrache - DAMASCUSA small stone anthropomorphic Neolithic figurine Deep in the heart of northern Syria, close to the banks of the Euphrates River, archaeologists have uncovered a series of startling 11,000-year-old wall paintings and artefacts. "The wall paintings date back to the 9th millennium BC. They were discovered last month on the wall of a house standing two metres (6.6 feet) high at Dja'de," said Frenchman Eric Coqueugniot, who has been leading the excavations on the west bank of...

Archaeologists unearth Roman era artefacts in Kerala From our ANI Correspondent Pattanam (Kerala), Mar 23: What began as exploratory studies in Kerala, has thrown up enough artefacts and structures of two millennia old Indo-Roman trade era to delight archaeologists, who are looking for the lost port of Muziris. Archaeological teams in Pattanam village, near the port city of Kochi have been working on a site, which has yielded pottery, amphora, beads and other artefacts that are reminiscent of the ancient Romans. "The initial studies carried out in this region have amply indicated that there was a Roman presence. The Roman...

Sunday, January 28, 2007 Oldest maritime artefacts found A cave cut in the rock has been discovered in the Pharaonic Port of Marsa Gawasis in Safaga. In December-January, archaeologists found the timbers of sea-going vessels that were over 3,500 years old at Marsa Gawasis, which was a port on Egypt's Red Sea coast in Pharaonic times. The cedar planks, which were imported from Syria, were found in two man-made caves. Among the other finds were rigging and inscriptions about expeditions to the Land of Punt. Marsa Gawasis is located on a coral reef at the northern end of the Wadi...

'Ancient artefacts brought over by Egyptians, not by traders' Natalino Fenech The triad discovered at an abandoned archaeological site in Gozo in 1713. Two members of the Egyptological Society of Malta are promoting the theory that the many ancient Egyptian artefacts unearthed in Malta were brought over by the Egyptians themselves, and not, as commonly thought, by traders. In an article titled Did The Ancient Egyptians Ever Reach Malta?, published in the Egyptian Egyptological journal, Anton Mifsud and Marta Farrugia analysed Egyptian artefacts found here and went through old and recently published material on which to base their conclusions. Dr...

2,300-year-old artefacts may change Ashoka-Buddhist history (FOC) BHUBANESWAR: Orissa Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies (OIMSEAS) has unearthed some 2,300-year-old artefacts at Jajpur district in Orissa, which, it claimed, could change some historical narratives on the Ashokan period. The description of Chinese pilgrim Hieun-Tsang about Ashoka that he had constructed 10 stupas in Odra country where Buddha had preached may come true. Earlier, historians refused to accept the narrative. We have already analysed five stupas and found three more similar structures,” OIMSEAS Director Debaraj Pradhan told mediapersons here. He said a huge inscribed monolithic stupa along with other...

Rare artefacts found T.S. Subramanian Plaque belonging to 2nd century A.D. depicts `kuravai koothu' NEW DISCOVERIES: The terracota plaque with five dancers, and a figurine of Ganesha. (Below) A `vel' found in front of the sanctum sanctorum of the Muruga temple near the Tiger Cave near Mamallapuram. — Photo: S. Thanthoni CHENNAI: Several artefacts have been unearthed from the ruins of a Muruga temple that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been excavating since July 2005 on the beach at Salavankuppam close to the Tiger Cave, near Mamallapuram. The ASI's discoveries this year include a terracotta plaque that depicts...

LONDON: Much of Ancient Persia's history is known to us only through the sophisticated literary culture of the Greeks. They often represented Persians as the barbarian "other," an image formed in the wake of the Greek defeats during the wars of 490 to 480 B.C. Later, the Greek picture of Ancient Persia and its history is drawn from the perspective of the conqueror, following Alexander's capture of Persepolis in 330 BC. The West inherited that Greek narrative as the Persians themselves seem to have been too busy living and creating an empire to write self-consciously about their own history or...

The archipelago is named after Robinson Crusoe, but perhaps it should have been called Treasure Island. A long quest for booty from the Spanish colonial era appears to be culminating in Chile with the announcement by a group of adventurers that they have found an estimated 600 barrels of gold coins and Incan jewels on the remote Pacific island. "The biggest treasure in history has been located," said Fernando Uribe-Etxeverria, a lawyer for Wagner, the Chilean company leading the search. Mr Uribe-Etxeverria estimated the value of the buried treasure at US$10bn (£5.6bn). The announcement set off ownership claims. The treasure...

Customs officials in Florida have seized more than 300 ancient Peruvian artefacts smuggled into the US. The artefacts include a clay vessel thought to be 3,500 years old. The operation was one of the largest of its kind and was launched after officers received a tip-off. One person has been arrested. This pre-Columbian collection will now be returned to Peru, but customs officers say many other artefacts have not been found. Transit point The 322 objects recovered in Florida include decorated pottery, burial shrouds and gold jewellery - all dating from civilisations which flourished hundreds of years before the arrival...

Thracian Gold Found at Tatul Temple 23-carat Thracian gold has emerged from the Tatul sanctuary in the Rhodopes. Photo by sinia-planeta.com Lifestyle: 2 July 2005, Saturday. Archeologists have found a piece of 23-carat Thracian gold in south Bulgaria. The team was examining the Tatul sanctuary near Kardzhali when they picked the precious find. It was discovered in a layer from the Late Bronze Age. Experts believe that the piece was a part of a gold-trimmed stone mask. Tatul, an extremely rich archeological site, is expected to bring to the surface sensational finds, specialists say. They have already discovered a thin...

PARIS -- UNESCO expressed concern on Wednesday about the pillage of archaeological sites in Iraq, part of the ancient region of Mesopotamia described as the cradle of civilization. "Illegal digs on archaeological sites unfortunately are continuing to destroy Iraq's heritage", said UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura at a meeting of an international committee for the protection of Iraq's cultural heritage. "It is totally impossible to evaluate the number of objects illegally removed from archaeological sites, it is an inestimable loss for Iraq and for all of humanity," he said. Matsuura also warned that the installation of military bases on or near...

An ossuary supposedly linked to Jesus was a windfall for a Canadian museum. Now Israel has declared it a fake and jailed its promoter, and the museum has some explaining to do.The man accused of standing at the centre of the greatest forgery ring of our time, perhaps all time, doesn't appear to be holding up so well. In books and movies, criminal masterminds -- the label Israeli police are freely applying to Oded Golan -- are effortlessly suave, or carelessly brutal, confident in the extreme. In real life, this 54-year-old antiquities collector seems as brittle as the Bible-era vases...

Tuesday 8 March 2005 12:40 Maritime And Coastguard Agency (National) DEVON DIVERS FIND 3,000 YEAR OLD BRONZE AGE ARTEFACTS ON SHIPWRECK SITE A group of divers have discovered a submerged hoard of Bronze Age artefacts off Salcombe, Devon. The find includes swords and rapiers, palstave axe heads, an adze, a cauldron handle, and a gold bracelet. The artefacts have been reported to English Heritage and declared to the Receiver of Wreck at the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, as it is believed that these relics come from an ancient shipwreck. The artefacts are currently being studied at the British Museum, which...

TEHRAN (MNA) -- During the latest season of excavations of the northern gate of Takht-e Suleiman, an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple located in northwestern Iran, the stamps of two seals were discovered which indicate that objects entered Takht-e Suleiman from other regions with special tags attached to them which seem to be advertisements. They signify that an early form of advertising was being practiced during the Sassanid era (224-642 C.E.), Yusef Moradi, the head of the excavation team, said on Friday. “The team began its excavations in early August and found the stamps of two seals at the upper levels...

Secrets of an ancient Persian armada sunk off the coast of Greece 2500 years ago are being dredged up by modern archaeologists. A team from Greece, Canada and the United States has just completed a second expedition to retrieve artefacts from 300 ships of the Persian King Darius that were wrecked in a storm off the Mt Athos Peninsula, northern Greece, in 492BC or 493BC. Aucklanders will be among the first to hear the results today when three of the expedition leaders present their findings in a free public lecture at Auckland University. In two trips so far, last October...

Artefact recalls witches' shadow By Greig Watson BBC News Online, Nottingham The bottle contained pins, hair and a leather strap A chilling reminder of our superstitious past has been unearthed from a rural farmhouse. The "witch bottle" was discovered buried in old foundations in the Lincolnshire village of Navenby. Containing bent pins, human hair and perhaps urine, the bottles were supposed to protect a household against evil spells. Dated to about 1830, it is evidence the fear of dark forces persisted far longer than previously thought. Discovered by accident during building work, the artefact initially sat unrecognised in a cupboard....