Free Republic

Reuters reports that Peruvian authorities announced the discovery of a major lost ancient city in the country's Barranca province. The site of Peñico was founded high in the Andes mountains between 1800 and 1500 b.c. following the collapse of the nearby Caral culture, which is often considered the oldest civilization in the Americas. The site features a monumental central plaza with a large circular structure and walls bearing relief sculptures and depictions of pututus, or conch shell trumpets. Over the past several years, archaeologists have uncovered 18 buildings that include residential complexes and ceremonial temples. Among the objects they recovered...

The Marsoulas conch hasn't been heard since the late Stone Age.The sound of the Marsoulas conch hasn't been heard for 18,000 years. At the entrance to the Marsoulas cave in France's Pyrenean foothills, Henri Begouën and James Townsend Russell stumbled upon an exceptional find in 1931. A conch shell -- the hardened exoskeleton of a predatory sea snail -- lay empty at the mouth of a cave the men knew was once used by human ancestors in the late Stone Age. But, as exceptional as the find was, the researchers filed the conch away, believing it to have no sign...

A conch cacophony, proof that police officers really are getting younger and the deer looking for beer. It's the week's weird and wonderful video news stories in Newsbeat's Odd Box with Dominic Byrne.