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PERSIAN GULF (NNS) -- USS Ogden (LPD 5), the Navy’s oldest active amphibious ship, is currently serving as the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) for the multinational maritime coalition operating in the North Persian Gulf. As the AFSB for Commander, Task Group (CTG) 158.1, the 41-year-old amphibious transport dock is providing logistical support for the various forces that are protecting Iraq’s territorial waters and oil platforms, as well as serving as a training platform for Iraqi sailors and marines. “The crew is having a wonderful time,” said Cmdr. James Hruska, Ogden’s commanding officer. “Everyone understands the importance of keeping these...

Discovery of Oldest Known Art and Agriculture Calendar in New World MU Researcher Unearths Earliest Known Western Sculptures and Astronomical Alignments in Peru's Temple of the Fox. Andeans Used Myth and Astronomical Markers to Determine Agricultural Calendar. Project Buena Vista unearths a personified disk flanked by foxes at the Temple of the Fox in Peru. Newswise — In one of the most significant archaeological and anthropological finds in recent history, Robert Benfer, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has discovered the earliest astronomical alignments and sculptures in the round, which is a sculpture designed to be viewed...

This could be your oldest relative . . . April 29, 2006 By Anna Cox They lived more than two million years ago and almost 700 000 years apart. They belonged to the same species and they have finally been reunited at Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind. In what has been described as an historic and important event by academics, the skull of Mrs, Mr or Ms Ples (the gender has not been agreed on) and the bones of the Taung child - a fossilised child's skull found in a quarry at Taung, in the North Western province -...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- The streets here are a far cry from the corner of 8th and I streets in Washington, D.C., and yet for an infantryman who joined the Marine Corps to travel the world and do his part in the War on Terrorism, it is the only place he wants to be. Corporal Jared St. Clair, an infantryman with 4th Platoon, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, has finally made it to Iraq and is making the most of his opportunity. He’s serving in the city that many experts and officials are calling the...

German paper reports world’s oldest temple is in Þanlýurfa Saturday, January 21, 2006 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News One of Germany's leading newspapers, Die Welt, reported this week that the world's oldest temple, dating back around 12,000 years, is located on Göbekli Hill in Turkey's province of Þanlýurfa, said the Anatolia news agency. According to an article titled “Holy Hill of the Hunters,” the temple was discovered by German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, standing around 15 meters in height and located on a hill upon which a single tree stands. Defining the area as the “cradle of civilization,” the paper said...

MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON, Washington D.C. (Jan.19) -- Morning colors started the day on a historical note here at Marine Barracks Washington, Jan. 19. Sgt. Clint Owens of Arlington, Tx. rang the bell and sounded the familiar tune using a valveless bugle - the first time the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps has used this traditional type of horn since after the Korean War. "We've reinstated these straight bugles for the same reason we still fly the 1801 flag at Evening Parades here at the 'Oldest Post of the Corps,'" said Chief Warrant Officer Brian Dix, D&B director. "The...

Oldest hominid skull in Australia found near Bega Friday, 13 January 2006 THE endocast of a primitive hominid-like skull was recovered from among the rubble of a volcanic plug in the Bega district in May 2005 The find could suggest that a race of ancestral hominids had evolved in Australia from tree-dwelling primate ancestors by seven million years ago. This is well before our primate ancestors supposedly left the trees for a terrestrial existence in Africa around six million years ago! The fossil was discovered by noted prehistory researcher Rex Gilroy of Katoomba NSW, where he operates the 'Australian-Pacific Archaeological...

WASHINGTON - Archaeologist William Saturno said Tuesday he was awe-struck when he uncovered a Maya mural not seen for nearly two millennia. Discovered at the San Bartolo site in Guatemala, the mural covers the west wall of a room attached to a pyramid, Saturno said at a briefing. In brilliant color, the mural tells the Maya story of creation, he said. It was painted about 100 B.C., but later covered when the room was filled in. "It could have been painted yesterday," Saturno said in a briefing organized by the National Geographic Society, which supported his work and will detail...

CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq (Nov. 18, 2005) -- The UH-1 Huey helicopter is one of the oldest aircraft in the Marine Corps’ war arsenal. Like its counterpart, the AH-1 Cobra, Hueys have been around since the days of Vietnam, and in Iraq, the helicopters named for utility are living up to their title. At Camp Al Qaim, Iraq, a detachment from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 provides the rotary wing close-air support for the ground forces in the area. They know firsthand the importance of the less glorified cousin of the Cobra. Hueys fly with crews of four, two...

Archaeologists find western world's oldest map By Hilary Clarke in Rome (Filed: 18/11/2005) The oldest map of anywhere in the western world, dating from about 500 BC, has been unearthed in southern Italy. Known as the Soleto Map, the depiction of Apulia, the heel of Italy's "boot", is on a piece of black-glazed terracotta vase about the size of a postage stamp. It was found in a dig led by the Belgian archaeologist Thierry van Compernolle, of Montpellier University, two years ago. But its existence was kept secret until more research was carried out. "The map offers, to date, for...

'Saipan may be Pacific's oldest archaeological site' By Marconi Calindas Reporter Thursday, November 10, 2005 Sediment cores taken from Saipan's Lake Susupe in 2002 have yielded a continual record of plant pollen and other materials for the past 8,000 years that could make the island one of the oldest archaeological site in the Pacific, according to the Historic Preservation Office. HPO director Epiphanio E. Cabrera said that scientists who have been working with the CNMI recently announced new evidence that could push the date for the earliest human settlement in Micronesia back to nearly 5,000 years ago. Cabrera said researchers...

Archaeologists find oldest Chinese dragon totem www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-31 18:43:01 ZHENGZHOU, Oct. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A 3,700-year-old antique in the shape of a dragon, made up of over 2,000 pieces of turquoise, is believed by many Chinese scholars as the oldest Chinese dragon totem. The antique was discovered in the Erlitou relics site in YanshiCity of central China's Henan Province. Many Chinese scholars believe that Erlitou is the site of the capital of the Xia Dynasty(2,100 BC-1,600 BC), China's first dynasty. "Although some dragon-shaped relics older than the antique in Erlitou have been uncovered in other places, such as the 7,000-year-old...

Chinese archaeologists find one of world's oldest observatories Sun Oct 30, 8:45 AM ET BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese archaeologists claim to have found one of the world's oldest observatories, dating back 4,100 years ago. The observatory was uncovered at the Taosi relics site in Shanxi province, He Nu, a research follow with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Sunday. The observatory "was not only used for observing astronomical phenomena but also for sacrificial rites", said He. The remains, in the shape of a semi-circle 40 meters...

Experts excavate oldest worked metal in Europe SOFIA (bnn)- Archaeologists found the oldest worked metal in Europe while excavating an early Neolithic village near the village of Dzhulyunitza in central Bulgaria, state TV reported Sunday. The 3 metal finds are 8,000 years old. The experts found signs of cold treatment during which the metal pieces were transformed into beads. The extraordinary find gives a new direction in the research of the prehistoric people who lived on Bulgarian territory. Only the worked metal pieces found in Anatolia, which is the Asian part of Turkey, is older (11,000 years) than the find...

WURZBURG, Germany (Army News Service, Sept. 16, 2005)–-The 1st Infantry Division held an inactivation ceremony Sept. 15 at Leighton Barracks for the 4th Batallion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, the oldest air defense battalion in the active Army. During the ceremony, the colors of 4-3 ADA were sheathed to signify the inactivation, while the colors of the Air and Missile Defense Detachment were presented to the command. The Air and Missile Defense Detachment was created in order to serve as the 1st ID commanding general’s advisor on all matters related to air and missile defense, as well as provide early...

WASHINGTON -- Retired 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews, 111, one of the last of the nation's legendary Buffalo Soldiers, died of pneumonia Sept. 6 at Fox Chase Nursing Home in Washington. ---snip--- Fort Huachuca, Ariz., where he was first stationed, was still using local Indians as guides.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers said on Monday they have detected a cosmic explosion at the very edge of the visible universe, a 13-billion-year-old blast that could help them learn more about the earliest stars. The brilliant blast -- known as a gamma ray burst -- was probably caused by the death of a massive star soon after the Big Bang, but was glimpsed on September 4 by NASA's new Swift satellite and later by ground-based telescopes. The explosion occurred soon after the first stars and galaxies formed, perhaps 500 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang explosion that...

At 105, Herbert Brown is impeccably dressed in a crisp blue shirt that brings out the color of his eyes but belies the strain of time on his frail frame. Given his time spent in a Nazi concentration camp and his run-in with the notorious Adolf Eichmann, it's a wonder Brown has survived. But here he is, in the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his wife of 74 years, the former Magda Fritz, who is 100. Together, on July 15, their ages totaled 205 years and 293 days, making them — according to the Guinness Book of World Records —...

LONDON (AFP) - Europe's oldest civilisation has reportedly been discovered by archaelogists across the continent. More than 150 large temples, constructed between 4800 BC and 4600 BC, have been unearthed in fields and cities in Germany, Austria and Slovakia, predating the pyramids in Egypt by some 2,000 years, The Independent newspaper revealed. The network of temples, made of earth and wood, were constructed by a religious people whose economy appears to have been based on livestock farming, The Independent reported. (snip) The most complex centre discovered so far, beneath the city of Dresden in Saxony, eastern Germany, comprises a temple...

Korea's Oldest Artificial Pond Discovered By Kim Ki-tae Staff Reporter The nation¡¯s oldest artificial pond was found in Andong, North Kyongsang Province. The pond¡¯s construction dates back to the Bronze Age. Museum of Dongyang University yesterday announced that the artificial pond was created at least 2,600 years ago, after examining the site where the pond used to be, a swampy place in Chojon-ni, Sohu-myon in the region. It said the rectangular pond was formed in the valley area by digging paths from nearby streams. The artificial lake is estimated to be 50 meters long and 15 meters wide, with a...