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Abstract Background The use of human braincases as drinking cups and containers has extensive historic and ethnographic documentation, but archaeological examples are extremely rare. In the Upper Palaeolithic of western Europe, cut-marked and broken human bones are widespread in the Magdalenian (~15 to 12,000 years BP) and skull-cup preparation is an element of this tradition. Principal Findings Here we describe the post-mortem processing of human heads at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Gough's Cave (Somerset, England) and identify a range of modifications associated with the production of skull-cups. New analyses of human remains from Gough's Cave demonstrate the skilled post-mortem...

Semi-detached houses with gardens, clothes drying in the courtyards, walls and well-made streets - Pavlopetri epitomises the suburban way of life. Except that it's a Bronze Age port, submerged for millennia off the south-east coast of Greece.This summer it became the first underwater city to be fully digitally mapped and recorded in three dimensions, and then brought back to life with computer graphics. The result shows how much it has in common with port cities of today - Liverpool, London, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo or Shanghai - despite the fact that its heyday was 4,000 years ago. Covering an...

HE has flown warplanes, shot at tigers and ridden bare-chested on horseback, but Russia's macho prime minister Vladimir Putin is now preparing for his next challenge - diving for Russia's version of Atlantis. Putin, 58, traveled to the Taman Peninsula in the southwest of the country to publicise archaeological work at the ancient Greek city of Phanagoria, Ria Novosti news agency reported. Putin was expected to put on diving gear and head to the bottom of Taman Bay, part of the Kerch Strait leading into the northern edge of the vast Black Sea. Phanagoria was a major Greek colony in...

Today, early this morning at 5:56 AM, EDT, today, the United States NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida, marking the end of an era in space travel, exploration, and discovery. I was able to watch online the shuttle land, with brilliant early morning warm weather just before the sun was getting ready to make its appearance. Also had down a standing ovation and said THANKS for the memories of thirty years of space shuttle flight. The sad thing though about this las space flight is that it now has made me grow a bit older and much more sadden...

Well this is it folks.. It has been a fun ride. It is a shame that I didn't get to see those birds launch in person. Oh well should have moved to Florida.

Buried deep beneath the sediment of the North Atlantic Ocean lies an ancient, lost landscape with furrows cut by rivers and peaks that once belonged to mountains. Geologists recently discovered this roughly 56-million-year-old landscape using data gathered for oil companies. "It looks for all the world like a map of a bit of a country onshore," said Nicky White, the senior researcher. "It is like an ancient fossil landscape preserved 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) beneath the seabed." So far, the data have revealed a landscape about 3,861 square miles (10,000 square km) west of the Orkney-Shetland Islands that stretched above...

The last Space Shuttle just took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission – crewed by NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson (commander), Doug Hurley (pilot), and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus – will “deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station.” Along with bringing stuff up for the space station, Atlantis will be bringing the first iPhone into space to help with some experiments during the 12 day mission.

When the NASA space shuttle Atlantis lifts off, either today or on the make-up day of July 16, 2011, it will mark the END of an era in space flight. For 30 years, the NASA space shuttle program blazed a path for increased scientific interest in out space. Even with the tragic endings to both the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles, it did not discourage interest of space related exploration. Where should NASA go from here? NASA should look at with interest in working with private space-related development companies and also branch out into other science tech areas. Work also...

A high school buddy of mine is in town for a while and we're headed for the cape to watch tomrrow's launch, or get rained on! I've never watched a launch when I had a good camera, maybe I'll get lucky.If we get rained out I want to try for some shots in the wildlife refuge.

2000x1330 pixels, 3000x1996 pixels. Via photo 22 at http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20051129.htm

Retired German math teacher Joachim Rittstieg says ancient Dresden Codex and Mayan priests guided him to the legendary Atlantis in eastern Guatemala. A retired German math teacher has spurred a national hubbub in Guatemala by claiming to have discovered an ancient underwater city laden with treasure. Joachim Rittstieg grabbed headlines in March with his visit to Lake Izabal in eastern Guatemala. Buried there, he claims, are eight tons of gold tablets in Plato’s legendary Atlantis. Instead of being dismissed, Mr. Rittstieg has garnered a lot of interest. Guatemalan newspapers called him a “German scientist” and followed his expedition with enthusiasm....

NORTHAMPTON, Mass (Reuters) – A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain. "This is the power of tsunamis," head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters. "It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that's pretty much what we're talking about," said Freund, a University of Hartford, Connecticut, professor who lead an international team searching for the true site of Atlantis. To solve the age-old mystery, the team used a satellite...

Dr. Richard Freund to be featured in a National Geographic Channel film; public invited to preview on Wednesday. Spend a little time with Dr. Richard Freund of the University of Hartford, and you might be convinced that the lost city of Atlantis is buried deep within a swamp in southern Spain. Freund, who directs the university's Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, worked with a team of Spanish, American and Canadian scientists to examine a muddy swamp in Spain that was first noted as a possible location for Atlantis by a German scientist looking at satellite photos in 2003. Freund's 2009...

Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed Media Contact: Todd McLeish, 401-874-7892 Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed; likely had significant impact on civilization KINGSTON, R.I. – August 23, 2006 – An international team of scientists has found that the second largest volcanic eruption in human history, the massive Bronze Age eruption of Thera in Greece, was much larger and more widespread than previously believed. During research expeditions in April and June, the scientists from the University of Rhode Island and the Hellenic Center for Marine Research found deposits of volcanic pumice and ash 10 to 80 meters thick...

Two olive branches buried by a Minoan-era eruption of the volcano on the island of Thera (modern-day Santorini) have enabled precise radiocarbon dating of the catastrophe to 1613 BC, with an error margin of plus or minus 10 years, according to two researchers who presented conclusions of their previously published research during an event on Tuesday at the Danish Archaeological Institute of Athens. Speaking at an event entitled "The Enigma of Dating the Minoan Eruption - Data from Santorini and Egypt", the study's authors, Dr. Walter Friedrich of the Danish University of Aarhus and Dr. Walter Kutschera of the Austrian...

HAVANA (Reuters) - Explorers using a miniature submarine to probe the sea floor off the coast of Cuba said on Thursday they had confirmed the discovery of stone structures deep below the ocean surface that may have been built by an unknown human civilization thousands of years ago. Researchers with a Canadian exploration company said they filmed over the summer ruins of a possible submerged ``lost city'' off the Guanahacabibes Peninsula on the Caribbean island's western tip. The researchers cautioned that they did not fully understand the nature of their find and planned to return in January for further analysis, ...

A truly spectacular find. This will probably re-write history as we know it. See link for details.

NASA's space shuttle orbiters may not be destined for a museum in five months, after all. Agency officials are conducting a "what-if budget exercise" that could keep the orbiters potentially flight-worthy for several more years, NASA says. The option may offer a tantalizing alternative to the space shuttle workforce, who now must find new jobs before mid-year. Currently, NASA plans to retire all three orbiters - including Discovery after a scheduled flight in February, Endeavour after a planned trip in April and finally Atlantis after it returns from a scheduled launch in June. Meanwhile, NASA has asked the space industry...

NASA doesn't know yet where it will get the money, but on Thursday the space agency officially added another space shuttle launch to its schedule — the final one for the fleet. The space agency set a target launch date of June 28 for shuttle Atlantis and started preparations for the 135th and last shuttle flight. The four-member crew will take up supplies to the International Space Station and return a faulty pump that has bedeviled engineers. Now three missions remain before NASA retires its shuttle fleet this year. Shuttle Discovery's last mission is slated for Feb. 24, Endeavour's in...

WASHINGTON, DC (Herald de Paris) - EXCLUSIVE - Researchers have revealed the first images from the Caribbean sea floor of what they believe are the archaeological remains of an ancient civilization. Guarding the location’s coordinates carefully, the project’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, says the city could be thousands of years old; possibly even pre-dating the ancient Egyptian pyramids, at Giza. The site was found using advanced satellite imagery, and is not in any way associated with the alleged site found by Russian explorers near Cuba in 2001, at a depth of 2300 feet. “To be...

USAF Lt. Col. Gabriel Green and USAF Capt. Zachary Bartoe patrol the airspace in an F-15E Strike Eagle as Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-132) launches May 14, 2010, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Colonel Green is the 333rd Fighter Squadron commander and Captain Bartoe is a 333rd Fighter Squadron weapons system officer. Both aircrew members are assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, USA. The Photographer Capt. John Peltier, United States Air Force   Notable Quote From the May 21, 2010 article "4th FW Strike Eagles assist shuttle launch" by 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs  http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123205663   CONR members ensured...

Landing opportunities at 8:48am and 10:22am today.

As the Space Shuttle Atlantis closed in on the International Space Station, they were briefly visible to an earthbound photographer with the Sun as backdrop. Thierry Legault, a French astro-photographer, travelled to Madrid to capture this astonishing image, which took him weeks to plan. Atlantis and the space station can be seen in the top right-hand corner, milliseconds before disappearing from the shot. -Excerpt- Mr Legault had to position himself within 500 metres of the centre of a visibility band just five miles wide to have a chance of capturing the shot.

It was picture perfect! Space Shuttle Atlantis leaped from her launch pad on a bright sunny day here in Central Florida. I grabbed my camera and headed for the beach, as you can see here. The Space Coast is teeming with visitors from around the country who have come to watch the final mision for Atlantis. Two shuttle missions remain in the program which began in 1981. Congratulations to the NASA team and its affiliated contractors. *** [gallery orderby="ID"] From NASA's website:Space shuttle Atlantis is embarking on its final planned mission. During the 12-day flight, Atlantis and six astronauts will...

Skywatchers across the continental United States will get a fine opportunity this weekend to watch as the space shuttle Atlantis — on its final scheduled mission into space — chases and ultimately docks with the International Space Station (ISS).

The U.S. Space Shuttle program may not come to an end this year, Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said in a statement, citing International Space Station (ISS) manager. According to Michael Suffredini, the space shuttle Atlantis may be launched to the ISS in summer 2011. "In this case, additional scientific equipment and components for system of water regeneration from condensate could be delivered to the U.S. segment of the station," the statement said. "However, funding for this flight has not been provided so far." The U.S. flights program was planned to be closed this year. The final flight to the...

German scientists announced on Monday they believe they have discovered sunken islands in the Caribbean Ocean following a deep sea expedition in April. During their six weeks in the waters north of Venezuela and west of the Antilles, the experts from the University of Greifswald analysed rock samples from depths of more than 1,000 metres. The “Meteor” crew then used echo sounding to measure the ocean floor, an exercise which revealed significant differences in depth compared to current marine charts. In fact, some of the underwater mountains listed on charts did not exist at all, while other areas thought to...

Portuguese scientists have found a depression on the Atlantic Ocean floor they think may be an impact crater. The roughly circular, 6km-wide hollow has a broad central dome and has been dubbed the "Fried Egg" because of its distinctive shape. It was detected to the south of the Azores Islands during a survey to map the continental shelf. If the Fried Egg was made by a space impactor, the collision probably took place within the past 17 million years... It lies under 2km of water about 150km from the Azores archipelago. The depressed ring sits roughly 110m below the...

Herald de Paris: Guarding the location’s coordinates carefully, the project’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, says the city could be thousands of years old; possibly even pre-dating the ancient Egyptian pyramids, at Giza.

1. NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A, 15 November 2009 2. NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis and the blackness of space, 18 November 2009 3. NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis flying above a blue and white Earth, 18 November 2009Photos and Captions Excerpted From http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200911.htm(where links to the huge versions of the photos reside) 

The volcanic explosion that obliterated much of the island that might have inspired the legend of Atlantis apparently triggered a tsunami that traveled hundreds of miles to reach as far as present-day Israel, scientists now suggest. The new findings about this past tsunami could shed light on the destructive potential of future disasters, researchers added. The islands that make up the small circular archipelago of Santorini, roughly 120 miles (200 km) southeast of Greece, are what remain of what once was a single island, before one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human antiquity shattered it in the Bronze Age...

UNDERWORLD - Graham Hancock Posted by Greg at 12:09, 30 Apr 2004 Let's get this straight, right from the outset - UNDERWORLD is not FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS. I say this, because I know that fans of Graham Hancock's work like to compare his latest efforts with the monolithic benchmark that is FOTG. And this simply isn't a valid comparison - FOTG smashed its way into our consciousness in the main because it introduced us to (or re-introduced to some) the amazing mysteries that were present in what we thought was a mundane old world. A decade or so on,...

FTL writes "While in orbit a metal knob floated between a window and the dashboard of Atlantis. Once back on Earth, the shuttle contracted, wedging the knob firmly in place and damaging the window. Initial attempts to free the knob have failed and engineers may need six months to disassemble that section of the orbiter. Given that the shuttle program will probably end next year anyway, such a delay might mean scrapping Atlantis early rather than repairing it. Efforts to remove the knob using less invasive techniques continue."

Meetings have been taking place on Wednesday into evaluating damage to the pressure pane on Atlantis’ number 5 window, after a work light knob was observed to be embedded between the pane and the dashboard panel. The damage can only be fully assessed once the knob is removed, with the threat of a six month schedule impact to STS-129 noted, should the damage prove to be unacceptable for flight. STS-129/Atlantis Processing Latest: Recently returned to the home comforts of her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF 1) after the successful STS-125 mission, Atlantis is being processed for the November 12 NET (No...

Franco 'collaborated with Nazis' to prove Canary Islands were home to Aryan race By Fiona Govan in Madrid Last Updated: 7:12pm BST 11/04/2008 Spanish archaeologists collaborated with the Nazis in their attempts to prove the theory of Aryan supremacy and justify their claims of racial superiority over the Jews, according to a new book. Spain wanted to promote the idea that the Aryan race could be traced to the Canary Islands, amid claims they were all that remained of the lost continent of Atlantis. Archaeologists appointed by Franco were asked to look into claims the Canary Islands were the remains...

Lets try it again.. I still stand that Humans can do a superior job than robots when it comes to space exploration.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew has completed its equipment replacements and repairs of the Hubble Space Telescope. Tomorrow they will release the Hubble back into open space.

Greg and I have just returned from our most recent expedition to Bimini in the Bahamas where we were filmed by the History Channel for a show about the search for Atlantis (tentatively scheduled to air in August 2009). They had filmed some footage for the Atlantis show during a trip with us back in January of 2009 while also filming with us for an upcoming Bermuda Triangle show.

Space Shuttle Damaged After Lift-Off Updated 2:47 PM EDT, Tue, 12, 20 May09 The space shuttle Atlantis suffered damage to the exterior two minutes after take-off. Astronauts discovered a 21-inch stretch of nicks over four or give of thermal times on the right side of Atlantis.

The Atlantis astronauts have uncovered a long stretch of nicks on their space shuttle, the result of launch debris. They were inspecting their ship Tuesday for signs of launch damage when they came across the nicks. Mission Control informed the crew that it's a 21-inch stretch of nicks over four to five thermal tiles on the right side of Atlantis. The damage is where the right wing joins the fuselage. Mission Control says it could be related to debris that came off the fuel tank almost two minutes after liftoff. NASA says the damage does not appear to be serious,...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After months of delay, NASA cleared space shuttle Atlantis for a Monday launch to the Hubble Space Telescope. Mission managers concluded Saturday that Atlantis is ready to take off on the long-awaited Hubble repair mission, the fifth and final one. Shuttle Endeavour is also in good shape at the other launch pad; it's on standby in case Atlantis is damaged during the flight and its seven astronauts need to be rescued. Weather forecasters gave good odds for launching Atlantis: 80 percent. What's more, things were looking more encouraging at the emergency landing site in Spain, where...

Tracking device reveals for the first time how eels migrate 4,500 miles from European waters to the mid-Atlantic Every November, when the Moon is at its darkest, there’s a stirring on riverbeds, lake bottoms and marshlands around Europe. Countless silver serpents respond to an ancient urge and turn towards faster-moving water, beginning a perilous, 4,500-mile journey down deep ocean trenches and across undersea mountain ranges. Anguilla anguilla elvers resting Until now nothing has been known about their incredible journey, only that the smallest larvae of the European eel are found in the mid-Atlantic Sargasso Sea. How the spawning adults get...

Marine archaeologists have just discovered evidence of a large submerged landmass southeast of Sri Lanka. They believe it could be a legendary lost island closely linked to the culture and history of Sri Lankan people. The landmass is estimated to be between 450,000 and 475,000 square kilometres, which is about seven times the total land area of Sri Lanka. "This could well be the long lost island of Irisiyawa, which is euphemistically mentioned in our chronicles and hinted at in the writings of Greek historians," said Dr Godwin Samarawickrama, a maritime historian at the Indian Ocean Institute based in Melacca,...

Legendary commander tells story of shuttle's close call BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSIONPosted: March 27, 2009 The exhaustive attention NASA now devotes to making sure shuttle heat shields are damage-free and safe for re-entry is a direct result of the 2003 Columbia disaster. But a blacked-out military flight 21 years ago still stands out as a warning to astronauts, engineers and managers, a frightening "close call" that had the potential to bring the shuttle program to an early end. It was that close. Extensive tile damage is visible on the...

The bizarre markings spotted using Google Earth’s new underwater search tool last week unleashed a tsunami of theories and speculation across the Web about the origins of the grid-like pattern. The most popular theory was that the markings were signs of the lost city of Atlantis. But Bits readers also wondered if the maze of lines could be anything from the mystical island featured on the television show “Lost” to an underwater lair inhabited by former Vice President Dick Cheney. According to Google, it’s time to shelve those tinfoil hats. In an interview, Steve Miller, product manager for Ocean in...

THIS is the amazing image which could show the fabled sunken city of Atlantis. It shows a perfect rectangle the size of Wales lying on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean nearly 3½ miles down. A host of criss-crossing lines, looking like a map of a vast metropolis, are enclosed by the boundary. They seem too vast and organised to be caused naturally. And last night the possibility of an extraordinary discovery had oceanographers and geophysicists captivated.

Hope you all had a good Christmas!!! This weeks Sci-Fi thread: (Final Post of 2008!) Fri: 9/8 - Stargate Atlantis - SciFi 10/9 - Sancutary - SciFi Also on New Years Eve, the Twilight Zone Marathon on the Sci Fi Channel.

This weeks Sci-Fi thread: Mon: 8/7 -- Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- Fox 9/8 -- Heroes -- NBC

This weeks Sci-Fi thread: Mon: 8/7 -- Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- Fox 9/8 -- Heroes -- NBC Tues: 9/8 -- Fringe -- Fox Fri: 9/8 - Stargate: Atlantis 10/9 -- Sanctuary -- SciFi

This weeks Sci-Fi Thread 11/02/08: Mon: 8/7 -- Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- Fox 9/8 -- Heros -- NBC Tues: 9/8 -- Fringe -- Fox Wed: 8/7 -- Knight Ridger -- NBC Thurs: 10/9 -- Life on Mars -- ABC Fri: 9/8 -- Stargate Atlantis -- SciFi 10/9 -- Sanctuary -- SciFi