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Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw discovered evidence of destruction and capture of the ancient city of Metsamor, one of the most famous archaeological sites in the vicinity of Yerevan. "In the entire area of research we found layers of burning and ash. The city was probably captured by the army of Argishti I, the ruler of Urartu," told PAP Krzysztof Jakubiak, head of the project. Argishti I was the king of Urartu, the biblical Kingdom of Ararat in the Armenian Highlands. During his reign, the boundaries of the state expanded to the Caucasus, the area of...

A study of a rock engraving discovered within Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar finds that the cross-hatched impression was likely created by Neanderthals and excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin, would represent Neanderthals' capacity for abstract expression. Previously-discovered cave art has been exclusively attributed to modern humans, who arrived in Western Europe around 40,000 years ago. In July 2012, researchers discovered the abstract pattern engraved in the rock of Gorham's Cave which is located on the southeast face of the Rock of Gibraltar. The cross-hatched pattern was overlain by undisturbed sediment in which Neanderthal artefacts had previously been...

Members of the Arad Rescue Unit, undergoing early morning routine training, noticed suspicious activity in the northern cliff of Nahal Ze'elim, in the region of the Leopard's Ascent (Judean Desert). After alerting the authorities a group of antiquity thieves searching for Dead Sea scrolls and other potentially valuable artefacts, were caught red-handed. The "The Cave of the Skulls", which is located in the side of a cliff, can only be reached on foot via a narrow goat path on top of rock fall, that passes upright bedrock walls and is extremely precarious. The robbers, who had used climbing gear to...

<p>Gotta have a new car to block for the truck? A speedy car?</p> <p>A 1978 Pontiac Trans Am once owned by Burt Reynolds will be rumbling across the block at the Mecum Auctions event in Kissimmee, Fla., in January. It’s not one of the cars featured in the “Smokey and The Bandit” films, but was Reynolds’ personal car from 2005-2009.</p>

Flight 623, bound for Phoenix, had just taken off from San Francisco when an unidentified woman went into labor.

The United Auto Workers gained a partial and unconventional recognition from Volkswagen AG after proving to the company that it represents at least 45 percent of workers at the company’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a company spokesman said on Monday. The union on Monday said membership at its Local 42 in Chattanooga “exceeds a majority of workers at the plant.” It is the first time the UAW has been recognized at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the South, but it is short of the UAW’s goal of attaining exclusive bargaining rights for all of the plant’s 1,500 blue-collar workers....

'Tis the season to see the family, which means you're probably about to spend some quality time -- maybe too much time -- in an airport. The following are the worst airports for holiday flight problems on arrivals, according to a Bankrate analysis. Bankrate determined the frequency of holiday flight problems -- delays, cancellations and diversions -- at the United States' 100 most active airports, using Bureau of Transportation Statistics data for the months of November to January over the past 10 years. The rankings for busiest airports are based on total arrivals over the same time period.

...for tens of thousands of years, the Khoisan's ancestors were members of "the largest population" on the planet, according to a new study. The Khoisan have long stood apart from other groups within Africa. They look distinct, speak in "click" languages, and have also maintained the greatest genetic diversity known among human populations. Usually, big populations harbor the most diversity. But census counts show that the 100,000 Khoisan speakers in Africa today are far outnumbered by other groups, such as the 45 million Bantu speakers and their 180 million descendants who now speak Swahili and other languages. Researchers have thought...

A hoard of Roman and Pictish silver has been unearthed by archaeologists working in a field in Aberdeenshire. The find, which contains more than 100 pieces including coins and jewellery, has been hailed as the most northern of its kind in Europe. The discovery was made earlier this year by archaeologists from National Museums Scotland and the University of Aberdeen's Northern Picts project at an undisclosed location. It will now become the subject of a programme of research involving detailed analysis and cataloguing through the Glenmorangie Research Project - a three-year sponsorship of National Museums Scotland to support the study...

Dr. Greg Stanton of Genocide Watch Warns of Crime in South Africa At a press conference at the Transvaal Agricultural Union today, Dr. Gregory Stanton, Founding President of Genocide Watch, warned that early warnings of genocide are still deep in South African society, though genocide has not begun. Dr. Stanton was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, worked against Apartheid with the United Democratic Front in 1989 – 1990 as a Fulbright Professor of Law at the University of Swaziland, and was the author of the UN Resolutions that created the International Criminal Tribunal for...

In June 2012 metal detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles uncovered a hoard of a staggering 70,000 late Iron Age and Roman coins. They were searching in Grouville in Jersey when they came across their incredible find that has since turned out to be the largest hoard ever found in the island. The Hoard The coins, which had fused into one solid mass, were found using a deep-scanning metal detector. They were searching the area after Reg and Richard had uncovered a smaller hoard of 120 coins the previous year. As soon as they realised the size of their find,...

<p>We’ve all built up a trip in our minds, only to find it’s not remotely like the brochures.</p> <p>1. Los Angeles: ‘The whole city is a lie’</p> <p>LA was one of the biggest let-downs for holiday-makers.</p> <p>Travelers expecting Hollywood glitz and glamour were shocked to find what they called a run-down, dangerous and dirty urban sprawl.</p>

The surge in domestic-energy production that has created millions of new jobs and abundant natural gas and oil is now facing a potential setback, cities across the country imposing bans on the widely-used deep-drilling process known as fracking. At least three U.S. cities and two counties in the November elections voted in favor of such a ban. And courts in Pennsylvania and New York have recently ruled in favor of letting cities have some control over the drilling. There is little surprise that Texas is at the forefront of the fight between energy companies and other fracking supporters and critics...

US Airways plane grounded by sick crew, passengers The Philadelphia-bound flight from Israel made an emergency landing in Rome after all 14 crew members, including four pilots, were affected by a mysterious smell. Vomiting crew members and passengers forced a Philadelphia-bound flight to make an emergency landing in Rome, airline officials said. The US Airways Flight US797 was en route from Israel when an odor in the cabin began to sicken the people aboard, NBC News reported. All 14 crew members, including the four pilots, were affected, and the mysterious smell made two passengers ill as well, an airline spokeswoman...

Most people misunderstand life. November 17, 2014 What we can all learn from a 75-year-old sailor building a 10 ft boat to circumnavigate the globe. (nonstop) Sven Yrvind, a 75-year-old Swedish boat builder, designer, sailor and writer, has something to say about life.  He’s chosen to communicate this philosophy through taking on tough challenges. Faced with a future of scraping by on a crap pension, surfing channels in a retirement home, Sven had different ideas.“TV is not for me. I must have something to live for, problems to solve. Most people misunderstand life. Money does not make you happy. Comfort...

It’s the end of an era as the last car rolls off the production line at Opel’s Bochum factory, making Friday a bitter day for the city and the factory’s 3,000 workers. […] The last vehicle made in Bochum, an Opel Zafira compact van, will not be sold but will be dedicated to social work with details expected to be announced by the company on Friday. Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors, is shutting down its former flagship factory due to overcapacity. In its heyday, the Bochum plant employed 22,000 people. Now, it will only employ 700 to make auto...

New York LaGuardia has been named as the most frustrating airport in the US and Canada. Taking into account the time it takes to get there, the security processes, the quality of the terminals and facilities, and how many flights get delayed, LaGuardia takes the crown it doesn't want. Around 3,000 frequent flyers gave their opinions on 36 airports in the US and Canada; the 25 busiest US airports are listed as well as six of the seven busiest in Canada.

When looking for the perfect hotel, its Wi-Fi service is the most important factor, according to new research. A survey on important factors when searching for accommodation revealed that 67 per cent of travellers are most concerned with Wi-Fi, above any other factor. The internet connection ranked higher than the hotel's location, a good night's sleep and friendly staff.

A re-dating of mastodon bones reveals that the extinct mammals, related to the modern day elephant, disappeared from the area during a glacial period more than 50,000 years earlier than previously thought. Existing age estimates of American mastodon fossils indicate that these extinct relatives of elephants lived in the Arctic and Subarctic when the area was covered by ice caps—a chronology that is at odds with what scientists know about the massive animals' preferred habitat: forests and wetlands abundant with leafy food... Over the course of the late Pleistocene, between about 10,000 and 125,000 years ago, the American mastodon (Mammut...

I think Mickey Mouse is adorable. But let me tell you, that little guy no longer holds the entire Disney empire in his white-gloved little hands. It's simply gotten too big, too commercial, too regimented. As a result, to quote Anna from Frozen, "For the first time in forever..." I did not enjoy my vacation to Disney World. Just so we're clear, I've been a humongous Disney fan ever since I was a kid. I've probably visited Mickey's playground three dozen times in the past several decades, and for so long it really did seem like the most magical place...