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More than 22,000 treasures from the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan, long thought to have been lost in the war against the Soviet Union and the subsequent cultural purge by the Taliban, have been located in bank vaults and other safe places where they were hidden by museum officials.

5,000-Year-Old Artifacts Near Texas Coast By LYNN BREZOSKY The Associated Press Saturday, November 13, 2004; 8:50 PM HARLINGEN, Texas - Archaeologists have discovered a cache of artifacts near South Padre Island that they say could be up to 5,000 years old, potentially providing new clues about early peoples of the Texas coast. Ricklis said the find is significant because so little is known about the ancient Rio Grande Valley. Most early manmade items would have been eroded by sand and sea air, or washed out by the ever-changing course of the waterways of the Rio Grande basin near the Mexican...

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a temporary injunction barring the state from removing thousands of tons of earth and rubble mixed with assorted archaeologically rich artifacts laying on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, just hours after a group of leading Israeli archaeologists and public officials filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against their removal. The swift interim ruling issued by Justice Jacob Turkel - which was handed down the afternoon after the non-partisan 'Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount' took the Government of Israel and the Antiquities Authority to court - bars the state...

CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt's antiquities chief on Thursday revealed a 2,500-year-old hidden tomb under the shadow of one of Giza's three giant pyramids, containing 400 pinkie-finger-sized statues and six coffin-sized niches carved into granite rock. Zahi Hawass, the director of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said archaeologists had been working for three months to clear sand from a granite shaft found between the pyramid of Khafre — also known by its Greek name of Chephren — Giza's second-largest tomb of a pharaoh, and the Sphinx. Under blaring sun Thursday, Hawass said Giza's latest ancient discovery came to light after archaeologists...

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...

What’s THE biggest media myth to come out of the Iraq? War and its messy aftermath? Forget Maureen Dowd’s attempt to trash George W. Bush by altering the president’s words. That kind of "journalism" has become just standard operating procedure at the New York Times. (" All the News Fit to Distort") No, for sheer, long-lasting stamina, we nominate the urban legend about the pillaging of Baghdad’s archaeological museum. Remember how it was supposed to have been emptied by looters? It was THE RAPE OF CIVILIZATION! The anguished comments from distinguished archaeologists sounded more like tabloid headlines. The Death of...

'Lost river' could rewrite history books February 19 2002 at 08:33AM Madras India, - The discovery of an ancient city on the seabed off India's western coast has scientists salivating at the prospect of a fundamental rewrite in the chronology of ancient human society. Preliminary tests have suggested the site in the Gulf of Cambay off Gujarat state could date as far back as 7 500 BC, several thousand years older than what were previously known to be the first significant urban settlements. The discovery was made purely by chance last year as oceanographers from the National Institute of ...

Ancient pottery with plowing design unearthed www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-07 10:57:27 LANZHOU, Aug. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- A 4,800-year-old piece of colored pottery bearing designs of plowing was recently unearthed at Lintao County in northwest China's Gansu Province. Chinese archaeologists believe the pottery, which is 30-cm-talland 34-cm in width, belongs to the Majiayao culture, a historical period in about 3300 B.C. to 2050 B.C.. The picture on the pottery vividly portrays a scene of plowing in simple black lines. Beside the farmland is a river, painted in several zigzag lines. Wang Zhi'an, president of the Gansu Provincial Majiayao Culture Society, said the design...

Jan. 27, 2004 — In a prehistoric battle for survival, Neanderthals had to compete against modern humans and were wiped off the face of the Earth, according to a new study on life in Europe from 60,000 to 25,000 years ago. The findings, compiled by 30 scientists, were based on extensive data from sediment cores, archaeological artifacts such as fossils and tools, radiometric dating, and climate models. The collected information was part of a project known as Stage 3, which refers to the time period analyzed. The number three also seems significant in terms of why the Neanderthals became extinct....

It fell out of use sometime in the Taft administration and was razed to its foundation in 1912. After nearly a half-century of housing the horses that carried presidents, the Executive Stable -- what was left of it -- spent 90 years as part of Washington's paved-over past, joining centuries of foundation stones, bone fragments and other artifacts of everyday life beneath the ground. That is, until three years ago, when plans to improve security around the White House put the area in the hands of archaeologists charged with the task of uncovering the stable. "It's something you hadn't thought...

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Kabul Museum has been closed for some time, but the museum is on the road to recovery. It now has a roof, electricity, running water, and some precious works of art. The Taliban destroyed over 2,000 sculptures, leaving centuries of cultural heritage in fragments. A small portion of the museum's treasures were recently rediscovered in a bank vault located under the presidential palace in Kabul. The pieces, known as the Bactrin gold -- over 20,000 pieces of gold jewelry and ornaments over 2,000 years old -– were hidden by museum staff and sympathetic bank workers.

Keeping up with the empire by Thijs Westerbeek, 24 May 2004 Hard currency: this silver Roman coin (a denarius, front and back shown) from the 2nd century AD indicates trade between the inhabitants of De Bloemert and Rome The Roman Empire has been well documented. Over the years written history and archaeology have brought to the surface, sometimes literally unearthed, a whole society. Thus Roman architecture, religion, military strategy and legal structures hold little mystery. Compared to this depth of knowledge, many of those living outside the boundaries of the Empire are lost in time. But now an archaeological excavation...

Rare artifacts shed new light on Spanish outpost in Panhandle By BILL KACZORPublished Sunday, July 11, 2004 Associated Press Writer SANTA ROSA ISLAND, Fla. A flood of rare artifacts and the rotted remains of wooden buildings offer surprising insights into life at a Spanish presidio, or military outpost, that vanished under the shifting sands of this barrier island 250 years ago. University of West Florida archaeologists and students, aided by public volunteers, last year recovered more than 40,000 artifacts, and they are digging up more this summer. What they've found shows Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa was more than a...

Mysterious giant human remains found in Fiji AFP [ SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2002 10:29:37 AM ] SUVA: Mysterious skeletal remains of what appears to be a 3,000-year-old giant have been unearthed on a South Pacific islands, but the bones' discovery has rattled local archaeologists who say poor treatment of the remains may have lost vital information. Little is known about the highly unusual find, which includes a skull bearing strange holes drilled into its cheekbones, with authorities keen to keep the controversial discovery under wraps. According to sources, the body, found at Lomaiviti, an island to the north of here,...

Christian Designs Found in Tomb Stones of Eastern Han Dynasty [2002-08-02] Studies show that as early as 86 A.D., or the third year under the reign of "Yuanhe" of Eastern Han, Dynasty Christianity entered into China, 550 years earlier than the world accepted time. When studying a batch of stone carvings of Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.) stored and exhibited in the Museum of Xuzhou Han Stone Carvings, Christian theology professor Wang Weifan was greatly surprised by some stone engravings demonstrating the Bible stories and designs of early Christian times. Further studies showed that some of these engravings were made...

Skull Fragment Suggests Evidence of Surgery From Colonial Days Associated Press Jun 17, 2004 JAMESTOWN, Va. (AP) - Archaeologists combing through a dig at historic Jamestown said they have unearthed a human skull fragment that shows markings that could bear evidence of the earliest known attempts at surgery in Colonial North America. Two marks from a saw run along the curved top edge of the 4-by-6 inch fragment, which appears to be from bone at the back and base of the skull. Three small circular markings also seem to suggest attempts were made to drill through the bone. "It's definitely...

Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu By T.S. Subramanian An urn containing a human skull and bones unearthed by the Archaeological Survey of India at Adhichanallur, near Tirunelveli town in Tamil Nadu. Twelve of these urns (below) contain human skeletons. Three of them, which may be 2,800 years old, bear inscriptions that resemble the early Tamil Brahmi script. -- Photos: A. Shaikmohideen CHENNAI, MAY 25. In spectacular finds, the Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, has unearthed a dozen 2,800-year-old human skeletons intact in urns at Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Three of...

May 6 2004 By Carl Butler Daily Post BRONZE Age gold unearthed by metal detectors in North Wales was yesterday officially declared treasure of international importance.It was the metal detectors' equivalent of winning the lottery, a treasure trove inquest heard.Three enthusiasts from Liverpool and the owner of the land at Rossett, near Wrexham, where the hoard was discovered, will be sharing the value of the find.A gold Bronze Age Ringlemere Cup, found in Kent in 2001, was valued at £270,000.The treasure, the first of its kind to be found in Britain, was described as "the find of a lifetime".Fourteen...

Shell Beads From South African Cave Show Modern Human Behavior 75,000 Years Ago ARLINGTON, Va.- Perforated shells found at South Africa's Blombos Cave appear to have been strung as beads about 75,000 years ago-making them 30,000 years older than any previously identified personal ornaments. Archaeologists excavating the site on the on the coast of the Indian Ocean discovered 41 shells, all with holes and wear marks in similar positions, in a layer of sediment deposited during the Middle Stone Age (MSA). "The Blombos Cave beads present absolute evidence for perhaps the earliest storage of information outside the human brain,"...