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Archaeologists Find Evidence of Origin of Pacific Islanders By Heidi Chang Honolulu, Hawaii 31 March 2008 The origin of Pacific Islanders has been a mystery for years. Now archaeologists believe they have the answer. As Heidi Chang reports, they found it in China. The excavation of the Zishan site (Zhejiang Province) in 1996, where many artifacts from the Hemudu culture have been found China had a sea-faring civilization as long as 7000 years ago. Archaeologist Tianlong Jiao says, one day, these mariners sailed their canoes into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, and stayed. He points out, "Most scientists, archaeologists,...

Russian archaeologists find 15th century griffin jug piece Irish Sun Wednesday 19th March, 2008 Moscow, March 19 (RIA Novosti) Archaeologists near the city of Veliky Novgorod in northwest Russia have discovered part of a centuries-old ceramic jug decorated with a mysterious griffin symbol. 'On the fragment of ceramic, most likely part of a broken jug, we saw an image of an animal with open jaws and wings, like a griffin,' the head of the archaeology team, Oleg Oleynikov, said. The griffin, portrayed as a gigantic bird with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, first appeared...

Iraqi Archaeologists Excavate New Sites and Find ‘Rare’ Parthian Artefacts 25 January 2008 LONDON, (CAIS) -- Iraqi archaeologists have resumed excavations in southern Iraq uncovering three important ancient sites and collecting magnificent items. The museum’s information officer, Abdulzahara al-Talaqani, said said Iraqi diggers have come across “a very important” Parthian site which has so far yielded “200 rare pieces”. The head of the excavation team of the Parthian site, Mohammed Abbas, said: “Most of the finds are unique. We have a silver statue of a woman, another silver piece representing a cobra, household utensils, legendary animals, incised pots and various...

Archaeologists discover largest Kushan City Sites By By our correspondent 11/16/2007 PESHAWAR: A team of archaeologists led by Vice Chancellor of the Hazara University Prof Dr Ihsan Ali has discovered the remains of one of the largest Kushan city sites in Chittar Kot, Mansehra, the NWFP. The site Chittar Kot is located on a high spur overlooking the Biran River, offering one of the most spectacular views of the river and the surrounding area, a press release stated. The site is located at 34" 22.356' N and 73" 08.214' E at an elevation of 945 meters from mean sea level...

Mexican archaeologists begin search for Aztec king's tomb Posted : Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:59:00 GMT Author : IANS Mexico City, Nov 8 - A team of archaeologists has begun exploring a site in the heart of the Mexican capital that might lead to the first discovery of a tomb of an Aztec king, according to Spanish news agency EFE. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said in a communique that a 12-tonne monolith dedicated to Tlaltecuhtli, the Aztec earth goddess, was removed from the site Tuesday. Scientists hope to uncover the tomb of King Ahuizotl, who reigned...

Archaeologists have Discovered the World's Oldest Inscription in Jiroft 05 November 2007 LONDON, (CAIS) -- Archaeologists have discovered the world's most ancient inscription in the Iranian city of Jiroft, near the Halil Roud historical site. "The inscription, discovered in a palace, was carved on a baked mud-brick whose lower left corner has only remained,” explained Professor Yousof Majid-Zadeh, head of the Jiroft excavation team. “The only ancient inscriptions known to experts before the Jiroft discovery were cuneiform and hieroglyph,” said Majid Zadeh, adding that,”the new-found inscription is formed by geometric shapes and no linguist around the world has been able...

Czech archaeologists find 7,000 year-old unique statue www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-19 01:26:14 PRAGUE, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Czech Archaeologists have uncovered a part of a half-meter high statue of a woman nearly 7,000 years old in the country, which was called "a find of the century," the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) reported on Thursday. Experts from Brno's Masaryk University confirmed the unique character of the statue uncovered in Masovice, South Moravia area of the Czech republic, the paper said. The hollow legs and haunch of the female statue, made of ceramic, originate in 4,800 - 4,700 B.C., MfD wrote. Nothing similar...

Archaeologists stumble on sensational find 4 October 2007 Prokuplje -- Serbian archaeologists found evidence of the what could be the oldest metal workshop in all of Europe. According to National Museum archaeologist Dušan Šljivar, experts found a “copper chisel and stone ax at a location near Prokuplje in which the foundation has proven to be 7,500 years old, leading us to believe that it was one of the first places in which metal weapons and tools were made in prehistory.” Archaeologists hope that this find in southern Serbia will prove the theory that the metal age began a lot earlier...

Archeologists find ancient tunnel used by Jews to escape Roman conquest of Jerusalem The Associated PressPublished: September 9, 2007 JERUSALEM: Israeli archeologists on Sunday said they've stumbled upon the site of one of the great dramatic scenes of the Roman sacking of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago: the subterranean drainage channel Jews used to escape from the city's Roman conquerors. The ancient tunnel was dug beneath what would become the main road of Jerusalem in the days of the second biblical Temple, which the Romans destroyed in the year 70, the dig's directors, archaeology Professor Ronny Reich of the University of...

(IsraelNN.com) Top Israeli archaeologists held an emergency press conference on Thursday, warning that a Second Temple courtyard wall is in danger of being destroyed by the Arab excavations there. Members of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities warned that other artifacts could also be endangered by the unsupervised dig. (IsraelNN.com) Top Israeli archaeologists held an emergency press conference on Thursday, warning that a Second Temple courtyard wall is in danger of being destroyed by the Arab excavations there. Members of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities warned that other artifacts could also...

Archaeologists uncover county’s ‘first capital’ By Sean O’Riordan21 August 2007 ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe they have discovered what may have been Cork’s ancient capital, built 3,200 years ago at a time when Rameses III was pharaoh of Egypt. A team of archaeologists from UCC, led by Professor William O’Brien, have carried out extensive research that sheds new light on what is the largest prehistoric monument in Co Cork and the oldest dated ringfort in the country. Their three-year project, funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Royal Irish Academy, shows that huge wooden defence walls once...

Bulgarian archaeologists discover 2,400-year-old golden mask The Associated Press Published: July 16, 2007 SOFIA, Bulgaria: Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,400-year-old golden mask in an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, scholars announced Monday. The mask was discovered over the weekend by a team of archaeologists excavating near the village of Topolchane, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of the capital, Sofia. Its discovery, archaeologists said, indicates a Thracian king was buried in the tomb. It was found together with a solid gold ring engraved with a Greek inscription and with the design of a bearded man in a timber-lined Thracian grave....

Calendar question over star disc Some observers have likened the disc to a winking face Archaeologists have revived the debate over whether a spectacular Bronze Age disc from Germany is one of the earliest known calendars. The Nebra disc is emblazoned with symbols of the Sun, Moon and stars and said by some to be 3,600 years old. Writing in the journal Antiquity, a team casts doubt on the idea the disc was used by ancient astronomers as a precision tool for observing the sky. They instead argue that the disc was used for shamanistic rituals. But other archaeologists who...

Archaeologists hit upon `gold mine' of relics at Hadonahalli Shimoga, May 30: Shimoga;The State Department of Archaeology and Museums has sought the permission of the State Government to take up extensive excavation at a proto-historic site at Hadonahalli in Shimoga taluk on the banks of the Tungabhadra. The department had made a formal proposal to the district administration, asking it to send a proposal to the Revenue Department. The excavation is to be taken up on a 12-acre plot on a mound. Owners of the land, which was lying vacant, had decided to utilise it for areca cultivation. They said...

Greek archaeologists discover rare example of 2,700-year-old weaving The Associated PressPublished: May 9, 2007 ATHENS, Greece: Archaeologists in Greece have recovered a rare section of 2,700-year old fabric from a burial imitating heroes' funerals described by the poet Homer, officials said Wednesday. The yellowed, brittle material was found in a copper urn during a rescue excavation in the southern town of Argos, a Culture Ministry announcement said. "This is an extremely rare find, as fabric is an organic material which decomposes very easily," said archaeologist Alkistis Papadimitriou, who headed the dig. She said only a handful of such artifacts have...

HAVE SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND ROB ROY'S HOME? By Graham Spicer 10/04/2007 The large boulders may be part of the foundations for a 18th century turf-built longhouse. Photo NTS Archaeologists are excavating a house they think may have belonged to legendary Scottish outlaw Rob Roy. The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) dig is examining the lower slopes of Ben Lomond at Ardess, where Rob Roy is known to have lived in early 18th century. “Documentary evidence records that Rob Roy owned land at Ardess in 1710-11 and the Duke of Montrose became his feudal superior,” said Derek Alexander, NTS archaeologist. “However,...

Archaeologists excavate past glories from tombs www.chinaview.cn 2007-04-09 16:16:05 HOHHOT, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have unearthed more than 5,000 items dating back 2,000 years from a complex of 385 tombs uncovered at a construction site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The local cultural relics and archaeology authorities estimate the tombs cover an area of 50,000 sq m and must have been constructed sometime from the Warring States period (475 to 221 B.C.) to the Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368). They believe 285 of the tombs belong to the Warring States period, 43 belong to dynasties of the...

ATHENS, Greece - Archaeologists on a Greek island have discovered a large Roman-era tomb containing gold jewelry, pottery and bronze offerings, officials said Wednesday. The building, near the village of Fiscardo on Kefalonia, contained five burials including a large vaulted grave and a stone coffin, a Culture Ministry announcement said. The complex, measuring 26 by 20 feet, had been missed by grave-robbers, the announcement said. Archaeologists found gold earrings and rings, gold leaves that may have been attached to ceremonial clothing, as well as glass and clay pots, bronze artifacts decorated with masks, a bronze lock and copper coins. The...

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND ETHIOPIA'S LOST ISLAMIC KINGDOM Received Tuesday, 27 March 2007 18:21:00 GMT PARIS, March 27, 2007 (AFP) - French archaeologists said on Tuesday that they had uncovered the remains of three large towns that may have been the heart of a legendary Islamic kingdom in Ethiopia. Ancient manuscripts have long told of the kingdom of Shoa, which between the 10th and 16th centuries straddled key trade routes between the Christian highlands and Muslim ports on the Red Sea. But Shoa's precise place on the map has never been clear. The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said a team...

Archaeologists, scholars dispute Jesus documentary POSTED: 2151 GMT (0551 HKT), February 26, 2007Filmakers and researchers claim these stone boxes may have once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. JERUSALEM (AP) -- Filmmakers and researchers on Monday unveiled two ancient stone boxes they said may have once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but several scholars derided the claims made in a new documentary as unfounded and contradictory to basic Christian beliefs. "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron and scheduled to air March 4 on the Discovery Channel, argues that 10 small...