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Archaeologists involved in a two-year-long excavation project at the site of a planned solar energy plant ancient city of Tarquinia, north of Rome, have unearthed an ancient Roman necropolis containing 67 skeletons buried in 57 ornate tombs.Early testing suggests the tombs and their occupants date back to the second through fourth centuries AD.This cemetery was undoubtedly reserved for wealthy and powerful Roman elites. The well-preserved skeletons were dressed in gold jewelry and fancy leather footwear, and their tombs appear to have been designed to resemble the architecture of their earthly homes (smaller in scale)...Although the region is known for such...

Death traps and mercury poisoning are just some of the concerns facing archaeologists contemplating excavating Qin Shi Huang's tomb, China's first emperor. In 1974, farmers stumbled upon one of the most meaningful archaeological finds in Shaanxi Province, China. While tilling the land, they unearthed a clay figure, only scratching the surface of what lay beneath. Qin Shi Huang's Tomb Subsequent excavations unveiled an array of pits housing thousands of life-sized terracotta army statues depicting soldiers and warhorses. This Terracotta Army seemingly served as protectors of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, who reigned from 210...

Archaeologists working to restore Paris’s fire-damaged Notre Dame cathedral have discovered something remarkable: previously unknown tombs hidden beneath the 850-year-old Gothic church. Workers made the discovery while installing ground-level scaffolding to help rebuild the church’s fallen spire, according to a statement from the French Ministry of Culture. When they realized that there was something buried at the spot where the transept crosses the nave, the cathedral called in the Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research to investigate. What they found were several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus, probably dating to the 14th century. “The floor of the transept crossing has revealed...

Twenty miles south of Cairo, on the Nile's west bank, where riverfed crop fields give way to desert, the ancient site of Saqqara is marked by crumbling pyramids that emerge from the sand like dragon's teeth. Most striking is the famous Step Pyramid, built in the 27th century B.C. by Djoser, the Old Kingdom pharaoh who launched the tradition of constructing pyramids as monumental royal tombs. More than a dozen other pyramids are scattered along the five-mile strip of land, which is also dotted with the remains of temples, tombs and walkways that, together, span the entire history of ancient...

The excavation of the Stone Age rock tombs is near to the place where a Stone Age figure known as the Balıklıgöl statue or Urfa man, dating to 9000 BC, was also found. Experts from the Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality were collaborating with personnel from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, who were investigating the Kizilkoyun Necropolis area, when they discovered the Stone Age rock tombs. They came across the burial site in the Old Town of Şanliurfa, not far from where some stunning mosaics of hunting Amazons were previously unearthed. The rock tombs are believed to have been part of the...

The image of George Washington’s statue facing the ground after being toppled and vandalized in Portland fills my heart with immense sadness. The imagery set forth a wave of baleful nostalgia of a similar incident 54 years ago. During China’s Cultural Revolution, a prominent statue of Confucius was dismantled by militant university and high school students who referred to themselves as the “Red Guards.” It seems, in many respects, 2020 may be a repeat of 1966.What drove Chinese Communist Party dictator Mao Zedong to launch the Cultural Revolution in May 1966 was his unquenchable desire to seize and maintain...

The mystery behind the disappearance of an Italian teen 36 years ago intensified Thursday as the tombs of two 19th-century princesses buried at the Vatican were unsealed. Not only was the body of Emanuela Orlandi not found, but neither were the remains of Princess Carlotta Federica or Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe. “The last thing I expected was to find empty tombs,” said Orlandi’s brother, Pietro Orlandi, 60. Emanuela, the daughter of a Holy See employee whose family lived within the Vatican walls, was last seen leaving a music class at age 15 in 1983.

The same group of petulant Marxist trash that gets its jollies from the vandalization and destruction of Confederate and United States history is upset Saturday, after finding that their beloved namesake’s grave been attacked in the same manner. “This is horrific. I’m at Highgate Cemetery and Karl Marx’s grave has been attacked AGAIN.

Full Headline: Return of the death mound: Neolithic-style tombs are back in fashion after 5,000 years as Britain runs out of space to bury the dead These stunning images show the Milky Way etched across the night sky over a Neolithic burial barrow, which will open this weekend as part of a Stone Age tradition being resurrected across Britain. The Soulton Long Barrow in Shropshire is only the third of its kind to be opened in modern times. The burial chamber is based on ancient solution to the lack of burial space in Britain used by our Neolithic ancestors almost...

<p>Egypt — Egypt on Saturday announced the discovery of two small ancient tombs in the southern city Luxor dating back some 3,500 years and hoped it will help the country’s efforts to revive its ailing tourism sector.</p> <p>The tombs, located on the west bank of the river Nile in a cemetery for noblemen and top officials, are the latest discovery in the city famed for its temples and tombs spanning different dynasties of ancient Egyptian history.</p>

Rome, Italy, Jul 21, 2015 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A recent discovery in the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus, an early Christian series of tombs beneath Rome which once held the bodies of 16 Popes, has been christened the “Orpheus cubicle” after the figure from Greek mythology. The small room, located in front of the Crypt of the Popes, was poorly conserved until a recent excavation by the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology. The “Orpheus cubicle” is named for its painting of Orpheus with a lyre, surrounded by birds, sea monsters, and flowers, representing the whole of creation. Orpheus was...

Feb. 15, 2015 Hundreds Of Jewish Tombs Damaged In Northern France Hundreds of graves have been vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, in what the president called an "odious and barbaric" anti-Semitic act against French values. The vandalism comes at a time of growing insecurity among French Jews and amid general religious tensions in Europe, after Islamic radicals attacked a kosher market and a satirical newspaper in Paris last month and similar attacks hit Denmark this weekend. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement Sunday that a criminal investigation team is at the damaged cemetery in...

Along the ancient trade route known as the Silk Road, archaeologists have unearthed 102 tombs dating back some 1,300 years — and almost half of the tombs were for infants. The surprising discovery was made in remote western China, where construction workers digging for a hydroelectric project found the cluster of tombs. Each tomb contains wooden caskets covered in felt, inside of which are desiccated human remains, as well as copper trinkets, pottery and other items buried as sacrificial items, according to UPI. "The cluster covers an area of 1,500 square meters (1,794 square yards) on a 20-meter high (66...

The Palestinian Authority wants UNESCO to declare the Patriarchs’ Cave and Rachel’s Tomb as its heritage sites while Israel is excluding them from its own list. A government committee headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is meeting Tuesday morning to decide on adding 10 more sites to Israel’s official list of heritage sites, but the Bible-based Patriarchs’ Cave and Rachel’s Tomb are not among them Rabbi-Professor Daniel Hershkowitz, Science and Technology Minister and head of the Jewish Home party, issued an urgent appeal to Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser that the two sites be included. The government committee on heritage sites...

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the official rabbi of the Western Wall in Jerusalem visited the tombs of Eleazar and Itamar in Awarta on Wednesday. The graves of many Biblical figures are located in Awarta such as Eleazar and Itamar who are the sons of Aaron the High Priest as well as Pinchas, and the 70 Elders. Rabbi Rabinovitch reported finding the tombs vandalized and desecrated. Rabbi Rabinovitch's visit was conducted under the auspices of Civil Administration head Brigadier General Motti Almoz and other IDF personnel. The rabbi called upon the proper authorities to renovate the sites. Awarta is today an Arab...

Archaeologists from the Portuguese Association of Archeological Research (APIA) believe to have found in the Azores a significant number of Carthaginian temples, from the fourth century BC, dedicated to the goddess Tanit. The new archaeological sites were found in Monte Brasil, Angra Heroismo, Terceira island. According to APIA archaeologists Nuno Ribeiro and Anabela Joaquinito, "More than five hypogea type monuments (tombs excavated in rocks) and at least three 'sanctuaries' proto-historic, carved into the rock, were found." A monument located at "Monte do Facho" shows inbuilt sink shaped carvings linked to water conduits for libations. "There are 'chairs' carved into the...

A Muslim chaplain for the city’s Department of Correction showed up for work on Wednesday as he routinely does — entering the city jail in Lower Manhattan to minister to some of the roughly 900 male inmates there. But when the chaplain, Imam Zulqarnain Abu-Shahid, flung his shoulder bag onto an X-ray machine at the entrance of the Manhattan Detention Complex, at 125 White Street, officers were alerted to the presence of metal. They found a pair of scissors and three metal blades, the kind used in box cutters, in the bag’s outer flap, the authorities said. Imam Abu-Shahid was...

1,000 Ancient Tombs, Unique Remains Found ColombiaJosé Orozco in Caracas, Venezuela for National Geographic NewsMay 9, 2008 Builders clearing land for a housing project in Colombia have uncovered an ancient burial site containing nearly a thousand tombs linked to two little-known civilizations. The site covers some 12 acres (5 hectares) in the impoverished Usme district in southeast Bogotá (see map) and includes one set of remains that some researchers believe could be a victim of human sacrifice. The possible victim is a young woman who seems to have been buried alive, said Ana Maria Groot, one of the lead anthropologists...

Italian builders uncover 2,000-year-old tombs ARCHAEOLOGISTS were yesterday celebrating the discovery of 27 2,000-year-old tombs in Italy's "Valley of the Dead". The tombs, some dating back to the 7th century BC, were found by chance while builders carried out work. The whole area was sealed off yesterday and put under police guard to prevent anyone from trying to steal artefacts inside the burial chambers. Grave robbers, or tombaroli as they are known in Italy, make a lucrative living from selling such objects to museums or private collectors. Archaeologists say there is also a "good chance" that there may well be...

Japanese Royal Tomb Opened to Scholars for First TimeTony McNicol in Tokyo for National Geographic NewsApril 28, 2008 A rare visit by archaeologists to a fifth-century imperial tomb offers hope that other closely guarded graves in Japan might soon be open to independent study. This month a group of 16 experts led by the Japanese Archaeological Association released results from their February visit inside Gosashi tomb. The event marked the first time that scholars had been allowed inside a royal tomb outside of an official excavation led by Japan's Imperial Household Agency. Archaeologists have been requesting access to Gosashi tomb...