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Alexandria, January 2004. The 2003 joint Aboukir Bay research mission of the Department of Underwater Archaeology of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) led by Franck Goddio has brought to light scientific results of great historic interest. On the site of the sunken city of Heracleion, discovered in May 2001, archaeological excavations performed around the temple of Heracles have enabled to define the topography of the surroundings of the sanctuary. In this monument a cult to the supreme pharaohnic deity Amon and to his son Konshu (respectively Zeus and Heracles for the Greeks)...

A mysterious ancient stone mask from Mexico has spoken but apparently only to say that its people's written language remains undeciphered. BYU's Stephen Houston holds a copy of ancient script from Mexico. He disagrees with claims that "Teo Mask" words have been deciphered.Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News A study by Brigham Young University archaeologist Stephen Houston and his colleague from Yale University, Michael D. Coe, say the mask disproves earlier claims that the language had been cracked. Their paper is to be published in "Mexicon," a journal about news and research from Mesoamerica. The title is "Has Isthmian Writing Been...

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. Jo Butler, the house's owner, described what they found. She said: "The builder was breaking up foundations with a pick...

A Thousand Relics Found in Egypt Jan 28, 04 | 11:57 am A French-Egyptian archaeology team has retrieved more than 1000 artifacts, including statues and busts of pharaonic gods and goddesses, from the Mediterranean Sea floor off Egypt's northern coast of Alexandria, according to the Egyptian antiquities officials earlier this week. The 2003 Abu Qir Bay Department of Archeology Mission under the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archeology unearthed artifacts during archaeological surveys which helped define the topography around the sanctuary site or the temple of Heracles. Dating back to the third and fifth centuries...

Incan Counting System Decoded? By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News Learn how to add 9+7 on the yupana abacus. Jan. 29, 2004 — The Inca invented a powerful counting system that could be used to make complex calculations without the tiniest mistake, according to an Italian engineer who claims to have cracked the mathematics of this still mysterious ancient population. Begun in the Andean highlands in about 1200, the Inca ruled the largest empire on Earth by the time their last emperor, Atahualpa, was garroted by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Long been considered the only major Bronze Age civilization without a...

<p>Two young men, one an artist, the other an archaeologist, crawled over the ancient redwood beams of San Francisco's Mission Dolores earlier this month, opened a trap door, lowered an electric light into a space behind the main altar -- and stared into the 18th century.</p>

BYU-Yale duo disputes decipherment claim for words on old mask They dispute claim that words were decipheredA mysterious ancient stone mask from Mexico has spoken — but apparently only to say that its people's written language remains undeciphered. A study by Brigham Young University archaeologist Stephen Houston and his colleague from Yale University, Michael D. Coe, say the mask disproves earlier claims that the language had been cracked. Their paper is to be published in "Mexicon," a journal about news and research from Mesoamerica. The title is "Has Isthmian Writing Been Deciphered?" The "Teo Mask" may be about 1,600 to...

Bronze Artifacts Found Off Egypt's Coast Sunday January 18, 2004 9:01 PM CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A French archaeological team has retrieved more than 1,000 bronze artifacts, including statues and busts of Pharoanic gods and goddesses, from the site of an ancient port city off Egypt's northern coast, officials said Sunday. The artifacts were found during archaeological surveys near Alexandria last month and date to the 3rd through 5th centuries B.C. Among them are tools and containers used in religious rituals, said Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, a senior official with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The artifacts were found at the...

MUCH ABOUT HISTORYIsrael seeks returnof Temple artifacts Rabbis urge Vatican to permit search of storerooms for treasures Posted: January 16, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com When Israel's chief rabbis meet Pope John Paul II today, they will seek permission to search Vatican storerooms for artifacts such as the huge golden menorah that stood in the Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Vatican officials confirmed to the Associated Press the meeting would take place but declined comment on the rabbis' request. Yehuda Metzger and Shlomo Amar are to have an audience with Pope John Paul, the first by Israel's chief rabbis in...

JERUSALEM - Israel's chief rabbis, who will meet the pope Friday, said they hope to get permission to search Vatican storerooms for artifacts such as the huge golden menorah that stood in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Vatican officials confirmed the meeting would take place but declined comment on the rabbis' request. Yehuda Metzger and Shlomo Amar are to have an audience with Pope John Paul II, the first by Israel's chief rabbis in the Vatican. The pope met Israel's previous chief rabbis in the Holy Land during his visit in 2000. Amar, spiritual leader of Israel's...

Source: University At Buffalo Date: 2004-01-05 Professor Works To Unravel Mysteries Of Khipu: Colored, Knotted Strings Used By The Ancient Incas BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Although the ancient Inca are renowned for their highly organized society and extraordinary skill in working with gold, stone and pottery, few are familiar with the khipu -- an elaborate system of colored, knotted strings that many researchers believe to be primarily mnemonic in nature, like a rosary -- that was used by the ancient conquerors to record census, tribute, genealogies and calendrical information. Because the Inca didn't employ a recognizable system of writing, researchers like...

T hree old friends gathered in the days before Thanksgiving amid a roomful of scattered artifacts, once-mundane objects that have been transformed by trauma. These are relics of the World Trade Center attack; they will be displayed in a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society that opens today. Advertisement Mark down the friends' names: Dennis Diggins, James Luongo and Richard B. Marx. They are the wise men of the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, and they helped save history. "They are responsible for virtually all of the things that any museum has, in terms of objects from the...

Ennis firm brings Gilgamesh back to Iraq Friday, November 21 2003 by Matthew Clark Ennis-based Kestrel 3D is currently working with the British Museum to scan hundreds of Iraqi artefacts in order to fabricate replicas for a museum in Mosul. Kestrel 3D, which holds the rights to a unique scanning technology that captures both colour and dimensions, has been engaged in the project for months, although the current instability in Iraq has put the initiative temporarily on hold. But Kestrel 3D finance director Ken O'Mahony said that once stability is restored to the state, the University of Mosul would begin...

<p>Several hundred ancient artifacts stolen from the Iraqi Museum during the wave of looting that hit Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime have been returned to the museum, officials said Tuesday.</p> <p>Among the most important relics is a 4,300-year-old copper Bassetki Statue that shows the lower part of a man with cuneiform inscriptions commemorating the victories achieved by an Akkadian king.</p>

An Afghan security guard has told of how he prevented a hoard of gold bullion and priceless 2100-year-old treasure falling into the hands of the Taliban. The fate of the Golden Hoard of Bactria, a collection of 20,000 artefacts, has been the subject of fantastic rumours: that it was stolen by Soviet troops or looted by the Taliban to be sold through antique dealers in Pakistan to fund a terrorist network. But the treasure remained safe largely due to the efforts of one man, Askerzai, who has been guardian of the vaults for 30 years. Mr Askerzai, 50, an employee...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In a joint raid, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi policemen recovered two of the most important artifacts looted from the Iraqi National Museum following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, a coalition spokesman said Thursday. Both artifacts have been identified by museum authorities in Baghdad and will be returned in the next few days, Charles Heatly said. One of the two pieces, the so-called Bassetki copper statue, dating back to 2,300 B.C., depicts a man seated on the ground. It was found in a cesspool during a joint raid by U.S. Military Police and Iraqi police. The second...

BLOODY KING LINKED TO SAXON BEACH FIND By Richard Wright A RARE gold sword belt ornament which could have belonged to the seventh century Saxon king, Caedwalla, has been found on an Island beach - and there could be another hidden under the sands. Discovery of the intricate gold decoration encrusted with garnets is regarded as being especially historically significant because it could have belonged to the king reputed to have put a quarter of the Island population to the sword in his attempt to convert them to Christianity. Enthusiast Darren Trickey, 21, had gone out for a few minutes...

PRE-CHRISTIAN RITUALS AT NAZARETH Defleshed human skulls with features modeled out of red-painted plaster are among the unusual finds at the Nazareth cult site. (Courtesy Nigel Goring-Morris) rchaeological investigations near Nazareth--Jesus' boyhood home --have revealed that the area was a major cult center 8,000 years before the time of Christ. Excavations at Kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh, less than two miles from the town center, have so far unearthed strangely decorated human skulls and evidence for unusual, complex burials. "This is the first example in the Levant of a purely religious complex from this remote period," says excavation director Nigel Goring-Morris of...

Last Updated: Monday, 20 October, 2003, 11:11 GMT 12:11 UK Ancient carved 'faces' foundBy Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor If this is genuine, the artist would have been an extinct human species that died out about 150,000 years ago. Cliff face Local inhabitants say that prehistoric human faces are nothing new to the region and point to a rock cliff that they believe has been sculpted. They call it the Face of Borzone. In 2001, in a pile of rubble collected for use as building material, Pietro Gaietto, from the Museum of the Origins of Man, saw...

Battle of Bannockburn stirrups unearthed GEORGE MAIR ARCHAEOLOGISTS claim to have discovered the first physical evidence of the Battle of Bannockburn. A pair of horse stirrups, found earlier this year on a flood plain believed by most historians to be the site of the decisive second day of the battle, have been dated to the 14th century. They were unearthed by Tony Pollard and Neil Oliver, two archaeologists working on the final day of excavations for the forthcoming BBC2 series Two Men in a Trench. The badly-corroded iron stirrups are thought to have belonged to an English knight, probably one...