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Unearthed: the humble origins of world diplomacy By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent 19 January 2003 Archaeologists have discovered evidence of an invasion of the Middle East by one of the world's first superpowers, which destroyed much of the region 33 centuries ago. Under the ruins of a 3,800-year-old royal palace in western Syria they have found part of an ancient diplomatic and administrative library, the most important archaeological discovery of its kind for more than 20 years. Accounts on clay tablets describe the region's conquest by one of the Bronze Age's superpowers, the Hittite Empire, in 1340BC. This helped to...

     CHONGQING, Feb. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese government launched an unprecedented "underwater palace" project Thursday in a bid to protect Baiheliang, the world's oldest water survey device which will be submerged once the Three Gorges reservoir is filled. ¡¡¡¡Shan Jixiang, director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, said that Baiheliang, an 1.6 km-long massive reef important for observing water level changes, will be covered by an elliptical transparent shield so visitors in the future can still see it. ¡¡¡¡The massive project, which will cost 140 million yuan (16.9 million US dollars), is expected to be completed in 2005....

Unearthed: the humble origins of world diplomacy By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent 19 January 2003 Archaeologists have discovered evidence of an invasion of the Middle East by one of the world's first superpowers, which destroyed much of the region 33 centuries ago. Under the ruins of a 3,800-year-old royal palace in western Syria they have found part of an ancient diplomatic and administrative library, the most important archaeological discovery of its kind for more than 20 years. Accounts on clay tablets describe the region's conquest by one of the Bronze Age's superpowers, the Hittite Empire, in 1340BC. This helped to...