Explorator 22.17 ~ August 18, 2019

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay,
Don Buck, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Plenty of attention for possible evidence of ‘swimmer’s ear’ in Neanderthals:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-neanderthals-commonly-swimmer-ear.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/p-ncs080719.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190814140503.htm
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/health/neanderthal-surfers-ear-scn-trnd/index.html
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=37789
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7939-190815-neanderthal-surfer-s-ear

Features on the recent Neanderthal finds from Wezmeh Cave (Iran):

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/439349/Iran-among-countries-with-Neanderthal-discoveries
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/08/17/2077177/neanderthal-tooth-unearthed-near-iran-s-zagros-mountain

Revising the date (again?) for the arrival of homo sapiens in Mongolia to ca 45 000 years BCE (that seems late):

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/humans-migrated-mongolia-much-earlier-previously-believed
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-humans-migrated-mongolia-earlier-previously.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/uoc–hmt081619.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190816191447.htm

Pondering the fate of the Denisovans:

https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/denisovans-podcast/

A somewhat rambling piece on finds made in Turkana over the years:

https://allafrica.com/stories/201908150098.html

Explorator 22.16 ~ August 11, 2019

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Evidence of the earliest human occupation of North Africa:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-documents-human-occupation-north-africa.html

350 000 years bp axe from Antalya’s Karain Cave:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/07/worlds-2nd-oldest-axe-found-in-turkeys-antalya
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/ancient-axe-found-in-antalya-excavation-3497612

Feature on homo naledi:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=12610

Feature on Kenya’s ‘fossil treasury’:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-hidden-mysteries-kenya-fossil-treasury.html

================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
A study suggests humans were living at high altitudes in Ethiopia some 45 000 years bp:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-humans-africa-fled-mountains-ice.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/mh-nsi073019.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/aaft-ers080519.php
https://www.livescience.com/earliest-evidence-human-mountaineers.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/science/humans-high-altitude-ethiopia.html
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/high-altitudes-_-earliest-high-mountain-settlement-identified-in-ethiopia-/45148620
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/09/c_138297080.htm
https://gizmodo.com/this-rock-shelter-in-ethiopia-may-be-the-earliest-evide-1837104167
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/ethiopia-provides-the-earliest-evidence-of-people-living-at-altitude/
https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/living-the-high-life-in-the-stone-age
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2019/08/09/ancient-human-ethiopia-mountains-high-altitude/
https://www.newsweek.com/oldest-human-settlement-high-altitude-1453268
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/found-earliest-evidence-high-altitude-home-humans-180972878/

On music making in South Africa in the ‘Stone Age’ (broadly defined):

https://theconversation.com/how-our-african-ancestors-made-sound-in-the-stone-age-121142
================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
Restoration of Tut’s golden sarcophagus has commenced:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/342157/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/In-Photos-Restoration-starts-on-King-Tutankhamun-g.aspx
https://www.egyptindependent.com/first-ever-restoration-work-for-tutankhamuns-coffin-filmed/
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73541/Zeidan-to-ET-Tutankhamun-coffin-restoration-process-to-last-for
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2019/08/05/archeology-egypt-starts-restoration-on-king-tuts-coffin_afd058c4-60f0-4742-9788-b227c158e416.html
https://www.dw.com/en/egypt-puts-restoration-of-king-tuts-golden-coffin-on-display/a-49889779
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/05/c_138283438.htm
https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/04/egypt-begins-restoration-on-tutankhamuns-golden-coffin
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/handle-with-care-king-tut-s-coffin-on-the-move-6827tc7k6
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/king-tut-s-coffin-undergoes-first-ever-restoration
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/tutankhamuns-giant-gold-coffin-has-left-his-tomb-for-first-time-since-its-discovery/
https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-king-tutankhamun-coffin-1452527

… and the Ministry of Anitiquities had to explain why it and other things were being moved:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73584/Min-clarifies-reasons-of-transferring-King-Toto%E2%80%99s-tomb-Ramses%E2%80%99s-Obelisk

The ‘other things’ mentioned above include the Rameses II obelisk being moved from Cairo to El Alamein:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73709/In-Pics-King-Ramses-II-obelisk-to-be-transferred-to
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/342506/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/In-Photos-Ramses-II-obelisk-moved-from-Cairos-Anda.aspx

… and a Ptolemaic burial chamber from Sohag:

https://dailynewsegypt.com/2019/08/07/relocation-of-ptolemaic-burial-chamber-from-sohag-to-new-administrative-capital-faces-heavy-criticism/
https://menafn.com/1098858316/Egypt-Relocation-of-Ptolemaic-burial-chamber-from-Sohag-to-New-Administrative-Capital-faces-heavy-criticism

Plans to develop the site of Saqqara:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73776/Saqqara-archaeological-site-to-be-developed-Min-of-Antiquities

Latest use of ancient yeast is of the 4500 years bp Egyptian variety being used to bake bread:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49262255
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/yeast-from-ancient-pottery-used-bake-bread-1618093
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bread-was-made-using-4500-year-old-egyptian-yeast-180972842/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7885-190807-egypt-yeast-bread

… and a recreation of an Egyptian perfume is also making news:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cleopatras-ancient-perfume-recreated
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/may-be-what-cleopatra-smelled-180972854/

Nice feature on assorted pyramids at Giza:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/ancient-egypt-pyramids-shapes/

Brief item on a pair of 5000 years bp burials at the Kulluoba site (Turkey):

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/04/5000-year-old-human-skeletons-unearthed-in-central-turkey

A cache of 6000+ years bp copper from Nahal Mishmar might be the earliest form of writing (or not):

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-earliest-form-of-writing-may-have-been-found-in-israel-researcher-says-1.7619705

Possible evidence of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 587/586 BCE from the Mount Zion excavations:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-evidence-babylonian-conquest-jerusalem-mount.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/uonc-eot080819.php
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/archaeological-dig-jerusalem-unearths-evidence-040036759.html
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-rare-jewel-found-on-mt-zion-reveals-babylonian-destruction-of-jerusalem-1.7658563

Feature on Gazans trying to protect their antiquities from looting and neglect:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-gazans-struggle-antiquities-neglect-looting.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/gazans-struggle-protect-antiquities-neglect-looting-64821245
https://www.timesofisrael.com/gazans-struggle-to-protect-antiquities-from-neglect-looting/
https://www.apnews.com/03b997d4565b4db799c6d0fe4a1fc263
https://www.thenationalherald.com/255916/gazans-struggle-to-protect-antiquities-from-neglect-looting/

Questioning (sort of) the identification of the House of Peter at Capernaum:

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/capernaum-and-the-house-of-peter-what-we-can-and-cant-say-about-it/132985.htm

A security checkpoint at an archaeological site in Kurdistan isn’t being welcomed:

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/10082019

Feature on crucifixion:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/08/Crosses-and-Crucifixions

The Oriental Institute is marking its centennial:

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/oi-marks-100-years-discovery-ancient-middle-east

More on the so-called ‘Church of the Apostles’ find:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/36405-archaeologists-claim-to-have-unearthed-the-church-of-the-apostles-in-israel.html

More on recreating a reed boat for Black Sea theory purposes:

https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/05/explorers-to-sail-ancient-black-sea-route-on-reed-boat-abora-iv
https://www.dw.com/en/german-stone-age-sailor-to-cross-seas-in-reed-boat/a-49860938
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Latest 6th century BCE finds around the Temple of Apollo on Despotiko:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/36446-new-impressive-finds-by-excavation-on-despotiko-island-in-greece.html
http://www.ekathimerini.com/243440/gallery/ekathimerini/in-images/apollos-other-home-on-despotiko

A number of inscriptions and statues from Greece’s ‘Classical Age’ from Xobourgo:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/08/09/trove-of-stunning-classical-age-antiquities-discovered-on-tinos-island/
https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/36458-exquisite-classical-era-grave-steles-discoverd-at-cemetery-on-greek-island-of-tinos.html

An ‘intact’ 1st century BCE burial from Kozani (Greece):

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/08/06/archaeologists-discover-intact-tomb-from-first-century-bc-in-kozani-greece/
http://www.ekathimerini.com/243355/article/ekathimerini/news/tomb-dating-to-1st-century-bc-found-intact-in-kozani

An underwater survey off Levitha has identified a number of shipwrecks from various periods:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/08/05/ancient-shipwrecks-off-greek-island-of-evitha-yield-treasure-trove-of-discoveries/
https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/05/ancient-shipwrecks-discovered-in-the-sea-near-small-greek-island
https://www.argophilia.com/news/ancient-aegean-shipwrecks-give-up-secrets-from-the-time-of-cleopatra/223389/
https://neoskosmos.com/en/143167/five-major-ancient-shipwrecks-discovered-off-small-greek-island-in-the-aegean/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7889-190808-greece-aegean-shipwrecks

A lost/forgotten statue of Alexander the Great turned up in a warehouse belonging to the Museum of Veroia:

https://www.livescience.com/66103-lost-alexander-the-great-statue-found.html
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/alexander-the-great-sculpture-found-museum-storage-room-1621348
https://greekcitytimes.com/2019/08/05/forgotten-alexander-great-sculpture-greek-museums-storage-room/

A pair of eagles from a Hellenistic temple site at the Kinik Mound (Turkey):

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/09/ancient-eagle-sculptures-found-in-anatolian-hellenistic-temple-1565292184

Remains of Serdica’s northern fortification walls have been revealed:

https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/08/08/archaeology-bulgarian-team-finds-parts-of-serdicas-northern-fortification-walls/

Controversy over a wellhead bought by the Met and not preserved for the UK:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/05/roman-sculpture-dismissed-british-museum-finest-bought-new-york/

Plans to excavate York’s Roman gate:

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage/plans-to-reveal-roman-gateway-buried-for-800-years-under-york-s-walls-1-9919480
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage/porta-decumana-everything-we-know-about-the-hidden-roman-gateway-in-york-that-could-soon-be-revealed-1-9927225

Yeroskipou council is trying to negotiate a land swap to protect a development site with a significant archaeological presence:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/08/10/yeroskipou-wants-to-swap-land-to-save-ancient-site-from-development/

In case you missed the find of a Roman ‘senate building’ in Pelusium:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/remains-of-graeco-roman-senate-building-uncovered-in-north-sinai/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7875-roman-senate-building-unearthed-in-egypt

… and the finds from Heracleion:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/heracleion-treasure-trove-discovered-at-egypts-atlantis

The Hollyhurst Hoard/Haul (as it is now called) from Shropshire has been declared treasure:

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/north-shropshire/whitchurch/2019/08/08/hoard-of-roman-coins-found-near-whitchurch-is-declared-treasure/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-49267837
https://www.whitchurchherald.co.uk/news/17828107.39-hollyhurst-haul-39-declared-treasure-inquest/

Interesting Roman site under a restaurant in Puglia:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190807-a-trattoria-with-a-hidden-ancient-underworld

I think we mentioned this possible evidence of trepanation from the site of Euromus:

https://neoskosmos.com/en/142972/ancient-greek-skull-found-in-turkey-shows-evidence-of-neurosurgery-performed-2200-years-ago/

Feature on the Losinj Apoxyomenos:

https://www.timeout.com/croatia/art/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-losinj-apoxyomenos

Plans for Lisbon’s underground Roman galleries to be open year-round:

https://www.portugalresident.com/2019/08/06/underground-roman-galleries-of-lisbon-to-become-year-round-attraction/

Funding to continue the dig at Heraclea Sintica:

https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/08/07/archaeology-bulgaria-grants-100-000-leva-to-continue-dig-at-heraclea-sintica/
https://www.novinite.com/articles/199151/Bulgaria%E2%80%99s+Government+Allocates+BGN+100%2C000+for+Excavations+at+Ancient+City+Heraclea+Sintica

Feature (by Edith Hall) on some ‘working class’ Classicists:

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/making-history/classics-working-masses

What Natalie Haynes is up to:

https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/henley-college/142306/broadcaster-backs-colleges-classics-course.html

What Joe Romero is up to:

https://eagleeye.umw.edu/2019/08/08/romero-contributes-essay-to-volume-on-ancient-greek-epigram/

What we owe Homer:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/08/09/what-we-owe-homer/

Feature on the location of Troy:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/asia/112872388/searching-for-the-real-troy-story-in-turkey

… and Homer’s Greeks (paywalled):

https://www.thenationalherald.com/255690/homers-greeks-bronze-age-mycenaeans-or-gang-lords-from-the-steppes/

Feature on Antony and Cleopatra:

https://www.biography.com/news/cleopatra-mark-antony-love-story-death

… and non-fiddling Nero:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/did-emperor-nero-fiddle-while-rome-burned-true/

Feature on ‘carpe diem’:

https://daily.jstor.org/how-carpe-diem-got-lost-in-translation/

Pointing out that there’s no such thing as a ‘Roman salute’:

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/nazi-salute-furore-there-is-no-such-things-as-a-roman-salute-20190810
https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/society/2165681/nazi-salute-furore-there-is-no-such-things-as-a-roman-salute/

Latest ‘America is not Rome’ piece:

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/08/06/america-is-not-rome-it-just-thinks-it-is/

… and another [probably paywalled]:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/seven-days-in-august-tell-us-were-not-rome-cmfz29cf7

… and another:

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/is-there-hope-for-the-american-republic-after-trump.html

How it’s okay to like Sparta:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/just-because-you-like-sparta-doesnt-mean-youre-a-fascist

… in a similar vein:

https://newrepublic.com/article/154685/defense-sparta

How Athenians would have handled Brexit:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/08/how-athenians-would-have-broken-the-brexit-deadlock/

Kevin Spacey was doing things near the Boxer:

https://www.thenationalherald.com/255571/kevin-spacey-reads-a-tribute-to-a-greek-statue-poem-at-rome-museum/

Analyzing Socrates’ methods:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-doughnut-dilemma/201908/why-socrates-methods-are-so-important

More on Rome banning McDonald’s from building near the baths:

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/08/no-mcdonalds-cannot-build-next-to-an-ancient-roman-site/

More on connections between Greeks and the Terracotta Army:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/36431-experts-ancient-greeks-may-have-guided-creation-of-china%E2%80%99s-terracotta-army-video.html

—–
Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/953723/archaeological-dig-unearths-12000-year-old-artefacts-at-perthshire-farm/

A survey has revealed a number of ‘unknown monuments’ near Newgrange:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-archaeologists-monuments-newgrange.html
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/unknown-monuments-identified-close-to-newgrange-in-exceptionally-successful-survey-942120.html
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/40-new-ancient-irish-monuments-newgrange
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/spectacular-monument-aligned-with-the-winter-solstice-found-near-newgrange-38381720.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7881-190806-ireland-monuments

A ‘race against time’ at a Neolithic beach site in Orkney:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage/archaeologists-in-race-against-time-at-site-of-vanishing-ancient-village-in-orkney-1-4978867

Czech archaeologists using an interesting preservation method on a 7000 years bp well:

https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/restorers-use-sugar-to-preserve-7000-year-old-prehistoric-well

Remains of Anglo Saxon ‘king’s feasts’ from beneath a pub garden in Kent:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/anglo-saxon-royal-manor-faversham-kent-pub-beer-garden-archeologists-pre-roman-era-a9040241.html
https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2019/08/06/Archaeologists-unearth-Anglo-Saxon-manor-in-pub-garden

A Viking ‘drinking hall’ find from Orkney:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49250718
https://www.livescience.com/viking-drinking-hall-scotland.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/viking-drinking-hall-orkney-norse-history-archaeology-a9043971.html
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage/ancient-viking-drinking-hall-unearthed-in-orkney-1-4977857
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17819769.orkney-discovery-viking-chiefs-drinking-hall/
https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/national/17819041.viking-drinking-hall-unearthed-orkney-archaeologists-claim/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/114874281/viking-drinking-hall-discovered-in-scotland
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/norse-period-hall-skaill-07479.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7883-190807-scotland-viking-hall

Latest finds from Auckland Castle (especially the garbage heap):

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17824911.see-latest-discoveries-made-auckland-castle-dig-site/
https://www.newtonnews.co.uk/74430-2/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7890-190809-england-castle-trash
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7890-medieval-trash-reveals-the-habits-of-england-s-prince-bishops

Medieval finds from a Reading housing development site:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-49248984

A huge 13th century catapult stone find at Hay Castle:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49269127
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7887-190808-wales-catapult-stone

86 burials from a medieval graveyard in Wales:

https://www.livescience.com/66104-medieval-cemetery-wales-skeletons.html

Very interesting Cistercian site from Co Meath:

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/falling-window-leads-to-big-archaeological-find-1.3977912
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/cistercian-monastery-beamore-meath

I think we mentioned this ‘pristine’ Renaissance shipwreck from the Baltic Sea:

https://estonianworld.com/life/scientists-find-a-pristine-renaissance-era-shipwreck-between-estonia-and-sweden/

A thousand 17th century silver coins beneath a church floor in Poland:

https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/thousands-of-17th-century-silver-coins-found-buried-in-teutonic-knights-church-7042
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7884-190807-poland-coin-stash

Finds from various periods coming from the recently-resumed dig at Draper’s Hall:

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-news-drapers-hall-dig-16689995

Assorted sites on Kos damaged during an earthquake in 2017 are still awaiting repairs:

https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/2019/08/05/mosques-graveyards-on-greek-island-of-kos-await-repairs-since-2017-quake

Some Venetian walls in Nicosia collapsed:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/36452-cyprus-department-of-antiquities-on-latest-collapse-of-venetian-walls-of-nicosia-section.html

Nice feature on some of the digs going on in Scotland:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage/the-archaeologists-adding-to-scotland-s-history-one-dig-at-a-time-1-4977744

Latest on the Tintagel footbridge:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/08/controversial-and-late-tintagel-footbridge-in-cornwall-to-open
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-49280060/cornwall-english-heritage-builds-tintagel-castle-footbridge

They’re looking for the remains of the HMS Beagle:

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/history/search-royal-navy-warship-carried-3193954

… and plans to look for assorted ‘lost’ buildings at Hampton Court Palace:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/10/anne-boleyns-nursery-male-child-never-born-explored-first-time/

More on Sutton Hoo, with a focus on its ‘revamp’:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/aug/05/national-trust-brings-sutton-hoo-alive-with-4m-revamp
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/revamp-breathes-life-into-saxon-burial-site-of-sutton-hoo-cfjg8z987
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-49196625
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/05/sutton-hoo-gets-4m-transformation-field-bumps/
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sutton-hoo-lottery-project-feature-1-6197464

… and crowdfunding to build a replica Anglo-Saxon ship:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-49270515
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2019/08/08/crowdfunding-campaign-launched-to-build-replica-of-sutton-hoo-ship/

Review of Jula Blackburn, *Time Song*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/review/books-review-time-songs-julia-blackburn.html

More on possible pig grease use at Stonehenge:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/did-stonehenge-builders-use-pig-grease-to-help-slide-megaliths-into-place/

More on the HS2 folks preventing metal detectorists from poking around:

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/hs2-archaeological-dig-metal-detectors-16637142

================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
A pair of Spring and Autumn period ‘couple burials’ from Hebei:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/07/c_138290955.htm

A pair of Han Dynasty burials from Shandong:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/07/c_138290706.htm

This seems to be a ‘final report’ sort of thing on a Song Dynasty shipwreck found over a decade ago:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/07/c_138290706.htm

Latest finds from Manujan in Iran’s Kernan province:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/439017/Archaeologists-shed-light-on-early-settlement-eras-of-Iran-s

Excavations are underway at the Damjili cave site in Azerbaijan:

https://www.azernews.az/nation/154527.html
https://menafn.com/1098851223/Japanese-archaeologist-carries-out-excavation-in-ancient-Damjili-cave

A Bronze Age burial from Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region:

https://astanatimes.com/2019/08/bronze-age-grave-and-gold-items-found-in-karaganda-region/

Not sure if this is the same site:

https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhs-unearth-iron-age-lovers/30096345.html

Not sure of the dating of this ‘Turkic Stamp’ from Mongolia:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/10/ancient-turkic-stamp-statues-discovered-in-mongolia

A site dating to 1400 BCE or so from Odisha:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/radiocarbon-dating-says-odisha-delta-site-is-3600-years-old/article28809302.ece
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7880-190806-india-copper-age-village

A 1st century BCE Buddhist cave from Andra Pradesh:

https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/1st-century-bc-buddhist-cave-found-at-dhanamkonda-hill-551989
Tracking Maori ‘social networks’ with obsidian:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/114646271/mori-social-networks-revealed-by-obsidian

Remains of a 12th century ‘princely residence’ in Belarus:

https://eng.belta.by/society/view/fragments-of-12th-century-polotsk-princely-residence-unearthed-in-belarus-123220-2019/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7893-190809-belarus-princely-residence

Drought exposed a temple in a Thailand reservoir:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-49248504/thailand-hidden-temple-emerges-from-drought-hit-landscape
https://www.livescience.com/66118-drought-reveals-lost-temple.html

Feature on Harappan script:

https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/deciphering-harappan-script-most-mysterious-writing-in-the-world/1671060/

================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
A Native American site of some sort found during stadium construction in Indian Valley:

https://www.wksu.org/post/artifacts-found-stadium-site-reflect-indian-valley-history#stream/0

An abalone shell found during excavations of a Chumash-associated mission site in California:

https://www.edhat.com/news/la-purisima-mission-excavation-unearths-chumash-artifacts
https://syvnews.com/news/local/excavation-at-la-purisima-mission-unearths-chumash-artifacts-teaches-aspiring/article_82fc04fe-aed8-5380-905b-35f5b1e0fb26.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7888-190808-california-chumash-abalone

An 18th century sideplate from Mackinaw City Fort:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/1770s-sideplate-unearthed-at-historic-Mackinaw-14279297.php
https://www.sentinel-standard.com/news/20190806/1770s-artifact-unearthed-at-mackinaw-city-fort/1
https://apnews.com/7281430c01d146b3b6e4c807f9c86676
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7876-190805-michigan-gun-sideplate

Digging an 18th century trading post site in Niles (Michigan):

https://wwmt.com/news/local/a-little-bit-of-digging-brings-an-18th-century-trading-post-to-life

Finds made prior to highway construction near Alberta’s Cochrane Ranch:

https://www.cochranetoday.ca/local-news/archeologists-peer-into-cochranes-past-1621442
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7892-190809-canada-cochrane-ranche

A hermit cabin in Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest has been restored:

https://www.postregister.com/news/local/cabin-fever-forest-service-restores-old-hermit-s-historic-cabin/article_1a5b4196-8b88-5ee4-9798-b8808661e0bd.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7891-190809-idaho-hermit-cabin

Native Americans are trying to get the site of the Alamo declared an ‘unknown cemetery’:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-native-americans-declare-alamo-grounds.html
https://www.timesunion.com/news/texas/article/Native-Americans-seek-to-declare-Alamo-grounds-14293199.php

Feature on a dig at Fort Joseph:

https://wmich.edu/news/2019/08/54551

Feature on shipwrecks in Mallows Bay:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jagged-remains-of-more-than-100-ghostly-ships-rest-forever-in-mallows-bay/2019/08/07/5f65030c-b919-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html

What Matthew Liebmann is up to:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-archaeologist-tribe-explore-history-historic.html

What Nancy O’Malley is up to:

https://www.weku.fm/post/excavating-fort-boonesborough-archaeologist-nancy-omalley

Feature on the Franklin Expedition:

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2019/08/1845-explorers-sought-the-northwest-passage-then-vanished

UGA is funding a study of its connections to slavery:

https://news.uga.edu/uga-funds-research-role-slavery/
https://www.onlineathens.com/news/20190807/uga-to-fund-research-on-role-of-slavery-at-university

A website to explore Lake Erie shipwrecks online:

https://www.cleveland19.com/2019/08/06/explore-shipwrecks-off-northeast-ohio-coast-lake-erie-without-getting-wet-interactive-website/

More on the identification of that Connecticut ‘vampire’:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/31/vampires-remains-were-found-about-years-ago-now-dna-is-giving-him-new-life/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/10/new-england-vampire-identified-using-dna-evidence/1879081001/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-englands-mystery-vampire-was-likely-farmer-named-john-180972815/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7878-190805-connecticut-tuberculosis-vampire
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
A study of the remains of the Maya city of Witzna is suggesting they were rather more warlike earlier than previously thought:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-maya-warlike-previously-thought.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/uoc–mmw080519.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805143527.htm
https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/08/annihilation-of-ancient-maya-city-an-act-of-warfare/
https://www.livescience.com/66102-maya-civilization-was-ultraviolent-before-collapse.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/science/mayan-warfare-archaeology.html
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-maya-warfare-flared-surprisingly-early
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/08/ancient-maya-practiced-total-war-before-drought/
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2019/08/05/maya-warfare-city-burned-witzna/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/bahlam-jol-maya-warfare/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/warring-maya-kingdoms-razed-enemy-cities-to-the-ground/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7877-190805-maya-witzna-total-war

A LiDAR study elsewhere seems to have similar conclusions:

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/08/lasers-reveal-maya-war-ruins/

A Taino burial site from Jamaica:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20190807/taino-find-israeli-miner-turns-over-artefacts-remains-found-hellshire
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7886-190808-jamaica-taino-burial-site

Latest on the Macchu Pichu airport proposal:

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/aug/09/machu-picchu-airport-unesco-demands-answers-from-peru-government

More on Mesoamerican interest in magnetism:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mesoamerican-sculptures-reveal-early-knowledge-magnetism-180972820/

—–
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/
================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
================================================================
Using medieval texts to study comets and other celestial phenomena:

https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/how-medieval-monks-are-revealing-our-universes-sec/p07jljv5

Feature on underwater archaeology:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/how-underwater-archaeology-reveals-hidden-wonders.aspx

Nice restoration of a Louis Charon painting:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-49109447

Reflecting on Magellan’s voyage:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-years-magellan-voyage-world.html

Feature on trepanation:

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160826-why-our-ancestors-drilled-holes-in-each-others-skulls

Protesting a telescope on Mauna Kea:

https://www.livescience.com/66101-hawaii-jason-momoa-dwayne-johnson-telescope.html

Feature on the Holy Roman Empire:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/early-modern/holy-roman-empire-facts-what-when-how-long-name-called-emperors/

Buying a Rembrandt in a bar … what could go wrong?:

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rembrandt-painting-bar-belgium-1617904

Reviewish sort of thing on the beginnings of cultural anthropology:

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/05/748128240/gods-of-the-upper-air-traces-the-birth-of-cultural-anthropology

Feature on the five most powerful empires in history:

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ranked-5-most-powerful-empires-history-america-not-1-72046

The roses were falling at Santa Maria Maggiore:

https://catholic-sf.org/news/white-roses-fall-inside-roman-basilica-to-mark-4th-century-marian-miracle

On the history of the metal detector:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49089803

The cochlea can be used to differentiate sex of a skeleton:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-depths-ear-cochlea-indicator-sex.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/c-iti080519.php

Victor Nuovo’s latest is on the rule of law:

http://addisonindependent.com/opeds/victor-nuovo-establishing-rule-law

Rising interest in the Shroud of Turin:

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-shroud-of-turin-latest-study-deepens-mystery

Feature on the invention of synthetic purple dye:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/perkin-mauve-purple/index.html

On the role of mosquitoes in human history:

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/748002281/a-history-of-the-mosquito-our-deadliest-predator
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/out-for-blood-530571311.html

What Scots reveals about the development of language:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/lsoa-gs080819.php

An interview with Ian Hodder:

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/podcast-the-changing-field-of-archaeology-with-ian-hodder/

Kafka’s papers have landed in Israel:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/books/kafka-archive-jerusalem-israel.html

Folks seem interested in this giant parrot:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/giant-parrot-1.5238617

A 2000 year old optical problem has been solved, apparently:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-physicists-year-old-optical-problem.html

Review of Robert Wilson, *Barnum*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/review/robert-wilson-barnum.html

Review of Shlomo Avineri’s biography of Karl Marx:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/review/shlomo-avineri-karl-marx.html

================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Last Supper in Pompeii:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/arts/design/rome-food-last-supper-in-pompeii.html
http://mentalfloss.com/article/592556/new-oxford-exhibition-shows-what-and-how-ancient-romans-ate
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17828885.last-supper-pompeii-ashmolean-museum-brings-roman-treasures-oxford-unique-show/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/11/ancient-menus-archaeology-modern-tastes

Manet:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/arts/design/manet-modern-beauty-review-chicago.html

Inspired by the East:

https://themedialine.org/mideast-streets/british-museum-unveils-new-exhibition-depicting-islamic-worlds-influence-on-west/

Although the article seems to have math issues, some 7000 years bp figurines are on display in the Guray Museum:

https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2019/08/08/ancient-religious-figurines-displayed-in-underground-cappadocia-museum

Codes and Codebreaking:

https://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/6321140/the-case-of-the-secret-cipher-unes-new-exhibition-challenges-codebreakers/

Explorator 22.15 ~ August 4, 2019

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
More on that possible ‘oldest artistic carving’ found at the Linjing site:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/07/oldest-carving-east-asia-maker-mystery/

================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
The restoration of Tut’s sarcophagus is under way:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/342157/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/In-Photos-Restoration-starts-on-King-Tutankhamun-g.aspx
https://elpais.com/internacional/2019/07/18/mundo_global/1563472450_277028.html
https://www.egyptindependent.com/first-ever-restoration-work-for-tutankhamuns-coffin-filmed/

… and it’s going to take eight months:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73541/Zeidan-to-ET-Tutankhamun-coffin-restoration-process-to-last-for

… and there are apparent concerns for the safety of his tomb in Luxor:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/king-tuts-tomb-is-not-safe-in-luxor-source/

A project to see if an Egyptian reed boat could travel to the Black Sea:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-ancient-egypt-to-black-sea-route-adventurers.html
https://au.news.yahoo.com/ancient-egypt-black-sea-route-adventurers-test-theory-024921720–spt.html

Feature on Shelby Justl’s work with Egyptian gemstones:

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/through-gemstones-glimpse-ancient-egyptian-civilization

Feature on Neolithic Egypt:

https://phys.org/news/2019-08-mysterious-neolithic-people-enabled-ancient.html
https://theconversation.com/who-were-the-mysterious-neolithic-people-that-enabled-the-rise-of-ancient-egypt-heres-what-weve-learned-on-our-digs-121070

Feature on ‘birth and rebirth’ in ancient Egypt:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/08/Birth-and-Rebirth-in-Ancient-Egypt

Egypt plans to spend a lot on antiquities projects:

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/business/story/Egypt_to_complete_1511mln_antiquities_project-SNG_150800797/

More on the finds from Heracleion/Thonis this year:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/heracleion-treasure-trove-discovered-at-egypts-atlantis
https://www.livescience.com/66045-underwater-ancient-egypt-city-temple.html
https://www.egyptindependent.com/heracleion-the-mysterious-city-under-the-mediterranean/
https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/divers-find-temples-and-treasure-in-egypt-s-ancient-city-of-heracleion-1.892938
https://www.sciencealert.com/diving-archaeologists-uncover-an-ancient-temple-in-the-egyptian-atlantis
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7858-190729-egypt-heracleion-excavation

More on that Greco-Roman ‘senate building’ from the site of Pelusium:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/73401/Learn-about-the-archaeological-building-discovered-in-Sinai
https://www.egyptindependent.com/remains-of-graeco-roman-senate-building-uncovered-in-north-sinai/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/31/c_138272868.htm

Excavations have commenced at the Bronze/Iron Age site of Sirkeli Hoyuk:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/02/sirkeli-hoyuk-seasonal-excavations-begin-in-bronze-and-iron-age-settlement-in-adana-southern-turkey

I think we mentioned these 2800 years bp Uruartian burials from Cavustepe Castle:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/07/29/burial-site-of-urartian-nobles-unearthed-in-eastern-turkeys-van
https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/turkey-discovers-almost-three-millennia-old-urartian-burial-ground-28621
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/burial-site-of-urartian-nobles-revealed-in-e-turkey/1544256
https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/archaeologists-unearthed-burial-ground-belong-9th-century-royals-turkey-1300470
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7857-190729-turkey-uratian-necropolis

Finds from various periods (including Hittite) from the Inonu Cave site:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/black-sea-province-offers-millennial-old-artifacts-145471

Evidence of 2200 years bp trepanation from the site of Euromus (Turkey):

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/02/skull-found-at-ancient-site-in-southern-turkey-shows-neurosurgery-performed-2200-years-ago
https://eu.greekreporter.com/2019/08/04/skull-found-at-ancient-greek-city-shows-neurosurgery-performed-2200-years-ago/

Possibly earliest form of writing found at a site in Israel:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-earliest-form-of-writing-may-have-been-found-in-israel-researcher-says-1.7619705

I think we mentioned this Canaanite staircase find from Hazor:

https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2019/07/an-enormous-staircase-from-a-canaanite-palace-found-in-northern-israel/

Latest on efforts to preserve the site of Tel Bet Shemesh:

https://www.shemesh.co.il/en/explore/highlights/the-end-to-the-struggle-over-tel-beit-shemesh/details

Nice feature on the students helping dig at the Tel es-Safi/Gath dig:

https://blogs.yu.edu/news/unearthing-goliaths-hometown/

… and one on some of the students digging at Huqoq:

https://chapelboro.com/news/unc/unc-journalism-students-return-from-israel-dig

More on the find of the purported ‘Church of the Apostles’ at one of the sites identified as Bethsaida:

https://www.livescience.com/66074-church-of-apostles-found-sea-of-galilee.html
https://www.livescience.com/66073-photos-biblical-church-of-the-apostles.html
https://www.ibtimes.com/archaeologists-excited-about-new-biblical-find-church-apostles-sea-galilee-2809867
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/church-apostles-israel-trnd/index.html
https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/36405-archaeologists-claim-to-have-unearthed-the-church-of-the-apostles-in-israel.html
https://world.greekreporter.com/2019/07/31/archaeologists-believe-they-have-found-the-church-of-the-apostles/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/01/c_138273459.htm
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11934/church-of-the-apostles-found-say-archaeologists-

Feature/oped on evangelical college digs in Israel:

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/digging-in-the-holy-land-evangelicals-are-excavating-occupied-soil-to-help-their-cause-and-israel-s-1.892323

More on that 1200 years bp mosque find from Rahat:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/1200-year-old-mosque-uncovered-in-Bedouin-city-in-southern-Israel-596063

Feature on the Al0ULa site:

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1532711/saudi-arabia

Feature on the historical evidence for Jesus:

https://www.livescience.com/3482-jesus-man.html

================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Some major finds from the Neolithic site at Koutroulou Magoula:

https://www.greecehighdefinition.com/blog/2019/8/2/huge-archaeological-discovery-made-at-a-neolithic-site-in-greece

Plenty of press attention for an inscribed (with a joke?) 70 CE stylus find (made a few years ago) from London:

https://www.livescience.com/66066-ancient-roman-pen-was-joke-souvenir.html
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/27/joke-on-roman-souvenir-bloomberg-building-site-city-of-london
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/28/uk/roman-stylus-london-scli-gbr-intl/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/stunning-london-archeological-dig-090000737.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidanderson/2019/07/30/ancient-roman-pen-shows-cheap-souvenirs-are-nothing-new/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/a-2000-year-old-stylus-makes-a-point-about-ancient-roman-humor/
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/novelty-stylus-pen-from-ancient-rome-is-proof-that-weve-always-had-a-goofy-sense-of-humor/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-roman-souvenir-stylus-inscribed-corny-joke-180972792/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7859-190729-roman-inscribed-stylus

Evidence of a Roman bath found during renovations to a 15th century building in Colchester:

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/17810192.roman-bath-house-discovered-former-jack-39-s-store-colchester/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7872-190802-england-colchester-roman-bath

A 3rd/4th century CE bronze horse statuette from near Burgas:

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/07/30/bronze-horse-statuette-found-in-bulgarias-rusocastro-fortress-deemed-evidence-of-roman-shrine/

A ‘forgotten’ sculpture of Alexander was located in storage in a museum in Veria:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/08/02/forgotten-sculpture-of-alexander-the-great-found-in-greek-museums-storage/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7874-190802-greece-alexander-sculpture

Hyping potential for Roman finds at an upcoming dig at York:

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/17795564.romans-beneath-feet-can-archaeologists-expect-find-start-digging-rougier-street/

Latest claim of identifying Circe’s cave:

https://www.ilmessaggero.it/viaggi/news/grotta_ulisse_circeo_odissea_omero-4651669.html

In case you missed the major Roman finds from a site in Alexandria:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/41/338516/Heritage/GrecoRoman/Alexandria-Important-Romanera-finds.aspx

Feature on Aphrodisias:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/08/01/city-devoted-to-aphrodite-draws-increasing-interest

… and Kyme:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kyme-needs-to-be-rediscovered-145386

… and the ongoing dig at Assos:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/assos-excavations-have-been-going-on-since-1800s-145438

Questions about that Roman-era sarcophagus from Karpos:

https://english.republika.mk/news/culture/the-karpos-roman-sarcophagus-find-was-excavated-carelessly-and-workers-were-quick-to-re-bury-the-site/

The suggestion that ancient Greeks were involved in the creation of China’s terracotta army is making the rounds again:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/china-terracotta-army-ancient-greek-sculptors-alexander-the-great-marco-polo-a7357606.html
https://world.greekreporter.com/2019/07/30/ancient-greeks-likely-to-have-guided-the-creation-of-chinas-famous-terracotta-army-video/

Plans to restore some collapsed sections of Exeter’s Roman wall:

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/roman-wall-exeter-collapsed-pub-3153059

Controversy over the site of Yeroskipou:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/07/31/mep-files-complaint-over-churchs-planned-development-on-paphos-archaeological-site/

Plans for a McDonald’s near the Baths of Caracalla were shut down:

https://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/europe/mcdonalds-banned-from-site-near-ancient-rome-baths/news-story/51a970d7f83b409772785d0aa7e917a5
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mcdonalds-rome-ruins-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.thelocal.it/20190731/italy-rome-mcdonalds-terme-di-caracalla-cancelled
https://www.thedailybeast.com/italy-declares-war-on-mcdonalds?source=articles&via=rss

Not really ‘classical’ but it involves a mysterious ancient Greek (?) poem:

https://www.metro.news/riddle-of-greek-love-poem-uncovered-on-hidden-grave/1657770/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-you-solve-the-puzzle-of-greek-poem-on-grave-of-cecil-headlam-hhkkl278v

Feature on Thaumgadi:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2019/07-08/thamugadi-roman-outpost-ruins/

What pirates learned from Euclid:

https://aeon.co/essays/how-european-sailors-learned-celestial-navigation

Pondering whether the Odyssey was the first Greek Novel:

https://lithub.com/was-the-odyssey-the-first-greek-novel/

Nice feature on the obsession with Sparta among various political groups:

https://newrepublic.com/article/154563/sparta-myth-rise-fascism-trumpism

Matthew Sears was writing about the ‘creation’ of the image of Crete:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-cast-in-crete-how-history-in-greece-and-beyond-is-forged/

An interview with Armand D’Angour about his Socrates book:

https://kpfa.org/episode/letters-and-politics-august-1-2019/

What Mark Miner is up to:

https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2019/jul/31/golden-mark-miner-celebrates-gender-fluidity/

Honours for Sheila Dickison:

http://classics.ufl.edu/2019/07/31/sheila-dickison-recognized-by-the-american-classical-league/

What Ian Worthington is up to:

https://neoskosmos.com/en/142413/free-lecture-about-the-fall-of-athens-to-rome/

Madeline Miller’s Circe will be coming to HBO soon:

https://www.engadget.com/2019/07/30/hbo-max-orders-greek-mythology-series-circe/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/31/20748573/warnermedia-odyssey-hbo-max-greenlight-retelling

What Jennifer Wallace is up to:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/243137/article/ekathimerini/life/cambridge-academic-stresses-importance-of-classical-education

Some NJCL coverage:

https://www.inforum.com/community/events/4046495-1100-Latin-and-Greek-students-from-30-states-come-together-for-the-National-Junior-Classical-League-Convention

Feature on Claudius:

https://www.courthousenews.com/a-hero-for-our-times/

They were commemorating Thermopylae in Brooklyn:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tornos/events/36376-historic-ancient-greek-battle-of-thermopylae-commemorated-in-brooklyn-video.html

Some woman was splashing about in the baths at Bath:

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/hippy-takes-three-hour-dip-3152145
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/in-your-area/woman-swimming-roman-baths-video-3146306
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/moment-hippy-went-three-hour-3147020

… and why it probably isn’t a good idea:

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/swimming-roman-baths-bath-bad-3147163

Not sure if folks are interested in Kevin Spacey’s ‘classical’ attempt at getting positive attention:

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/kevin-spacey-reads-poem-dejected-boxer-rome-museum-64751409

On Greek origins of cheesecake:

https://southfloridareporter.com/cheesecakes-were-served-to-athletes-at-the-first-olympic-games-in-776-b-c-to-give-them-energy/

More on the ‘clash’ between volcanologists and archaeologists at Pompeii:

https://www.wbaa.org/post/volcano-experts-and-archaeologists-are-clashing-over-access-study-pompeii
https://www.wuwm.com/post/volcano-experts-and-archaeologists-are-clashing-over-access-study-pompeii

—–
Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
A half dozen aligned ‘standing stones’ from Neolithic site in Switzerland:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/neolithic-find-_standing-stones-uncovered-near-important-archaeological-site-/45123782
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7862-190731-switzerland-standing-stones

Bronze Age burials from Porkil (Scotland):

https://thelochsidepress.com/2019/08/01/bronze-age-childrens-cemetery-uncovered-near-kilcreggan/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7873-190802-scotland-bronze-age-cemetery

I think we mentioned this earliest evidence of an Iberian structure (Bronze Age) from Spain (of course):

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/31/inenglish/1564581392_334041.html
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2019/08/02/archaeologists-discover-largest-ancient-iberian-ruins-ever-found-in-spain/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7869-190801-iberian-building

A very interesting tree-trunk coffin Iron Age burial of a woman from Zurich:

https://www.livescience.com/66056-iron-age-celtic-woman-burial.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/iron-age-lady-who-had-a-sweet-tooth-and-loved-lazing-around-9ctc8tfjt
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/2200-year-old-remains-of-iron-age-celt-show-she-was-a-vip-who-dined-richly-and-endured-little-physical-labor/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/iron-age-celtic-woman-was-buried-hollowed-out-tree-trunk-180972773/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7860-190730-zurich-tree-trunk

Roman and Anglo-Saxon finds from a pub site in Faversham:

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/dig-volunteers-raise-a-glass-to-saxon-finds-209809/

86 stone lined burials (4th-8th century CE or so) from Wales:

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/nearly-100-roman-era-skeletons-16674912
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7865-190731-wales-cist-graves

French medieval (Cistercian) finds in Ireland (Co Meath):

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/hugely-significant-finds-rare-french-18807968
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7867-190801-ireland-cistercian-farmstead

Medieval Venetian coins from the Rusocastro Fortress (Bulgaria):

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/08/01/silver-medieval-venetian-coins-discovered-in-rusocastro-fortress-in-southeast-bulgaria/

… and 359 Ottoman cannonballs were fished out of the Danube at Ruse:

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/08/02/359-ottoman-turkish-cannonballs-from-danube-river-bastion-found-by-accident-in-bulgarias-ruse/

They’ve figured out where St Aethelthryth’s ‘lost’ 7th century monastery probably is (paywalled):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/st-thelthryth-s-lost-abbey-is-traced-to-ely-cathedral-jwlmh6g96

Street repairs reveal a late Ottoman wall in Sofia:

https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/07/31/archaeology-street-repair-in-sofia-uncovers-late-ottoman-wall/

A 300 years bp ‘guide stoop’ from Derbyshire:

https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/ancient-guide-stoop-is-the-first-to-be-discovered-in-derbyshire-for-decades-1-9904640

Latest from the Shrewsbury Castle dig:

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2019/07/30/dig-reveals-more-about-shrewsbury-castle/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7856-190729-shrewsbury-castle-road

An 18th century (maybe) pub site from Achtriochtan/Glencoe:

https://www.scotsman.com/heritage/pub-remains-found-as-lost-village-of-glencoe-is-unearthed-1-4973774
https://stv.tv/news/highlands-islands/1439674-archaeologists-discover-ancient-pub-in-lost-township/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/lost-village-of-achtriochtan-and-its-pub-unearthed-in-glencoe-0wj0fb0kz

Assorted 19th century finds (mostly) from Draper’s Hall:

https://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/excavations-at-coventrys-historic-core-drapers-hall-reveal-hidden-treasures/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7871-190802-england-coventry-drapers-hall

Assorted coverage marking the 80th anniversary of the finds at Sutton Hoo:

https://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/british-museum-home-to-suffolk-treasures-1-6188068
https://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/how-anglo-saxon-treasure-was-found-in-suffolk-1-6187032
https://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/basil-brown-was-sidelined-by-archaeology-experts-1-6188174
https://www.eadt.co.uk/ea-life/sutton-hoo-improvements-unveiled-august-2019-1-6188306

… and remembering some other significant finds in the UK:

https://www.thetfordandbrandontimes.co.uk/news/ancient-treasure-finds-in-norfolk-and-suffolk-1-6187237

Feature on the Spanish Inquisition:

https://m.jpost.com/Diaspora/Spanish-Inquisition-527-years-ago-Jews-in-Spain-made-impossible-choice-597298

Feature on the ‘lost’ city of Eblana:

https://www.irishcatholic.com/the-lost-city-of-eblana/

Feature on Victoria Cave:

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage/victoria-cave-the-underground-dales-cavern-that-changed-history-1-9912883

More on that female Viking warrior’s origins:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/08/01/axe-reveals-the-surprising-truth-of-female-warrior-in-viking-grave/
================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
A very interesting 4000 years bp ‘facing couple burial’ from Kazakhstan:

https://www.livescience.com/66077-ancient-couple-burial-kazakhstan.html
https://www.livescience.com/66076-photos-kazakhstan-couple-burial.html
https://www.ntd.com/young-couple-buried-face-to-face-4000-years-ago-unearthed-in-kazakhstan_365277.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7870-190801-kazakhstan-bronze-age-couple

A site being excavated in the Odisha delta has been dated to 3600 years bp:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/radiocarbon-dating-says-odisha-delta-site-is-3600-years-old/article28809302.ece

Remains of a 2nd century BCE ring well from Keeladi:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/part-of-ring-well-found-intact-at-keeladi/articleshow/70461639.cms
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7864-190731-india-ring-well

Hype for a Turkey/Russia dig of some sort in Siberia:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-russia-dig-deep-to-study-siberian-pre-history-145307

China is touristifying the Forbidden City:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/world/asia/beijing-forbidden-city-museum.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts

================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
A team from Aberdeen is digging a 400 years bp site in Alaska:

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/1809660/aberdeen-researchers-uncover-400-year-old-alaskan-secrets-with-archaeology-expedition/

They’ve ‘shut down’ the Boston Chinatown dig already because of water levels :

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-80s-tape-toy-dino-chinatown.html
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/City-of-Boston-Archaeology-Program-Shuts-Down-Chinatown-Dig-513400401.html
https://www.wcvb.com/article/chinatown-dig-ends-prematurely-after-archaeologists-hit-water-table/28554023
https://www.wral.com/80s-tape-toy-dino-chinatown-archaeological-dig-cut-short/18540626/
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/07/30/archaeological-dig-in-bostons-chinatown-shuts-down-early

On the people ‘shoved aside’ by Jamestown’s settlers:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/08/03/powhatan-his-people-american-indians-that-jamestowns-settlers-shoved-aside/?utm_term=.cf2c336fed30

Latest find from the Colonial Michilimackinac dig:

http://upnorthlive.com/news/local/archaeologists-find-serpent-side-plate-at-colonial-michilimackinac
https://www.mlive.com/life/2019/07/1770s-serpentine-treasure-unearthed-at-historic-mackinaw-city-fort.html
https://www.cheboygannews.com/news/20190801/historic-find-at-colonial-michilimackinac

Feature on archaeology in the Agassiz-Harrison Valley (BC):

https://www.agassizharrisonobserver.com/opinion/history-uncovering-agassizs-buried-secrets/

Plans for/latest about the Clotilda:

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Alabama-claim-another-layer-of-protection-for-14202200.php
http://www.startribune.com/last-slave-ship-alabama-files-federal-claim-of-ownership/513365532/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/the-future-and-the-past-of-americas-last-slave-ship/

On the slave-owning activities of the Georgetown Visitation sisters:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/an-elite-dc-girls-school-thought-its-founding-nuns-taught-slaves-to-read-instead-they-sold-them-off-for-as-much-as-they-could/2019/08/02/1b2c44d2-b551-11e9-951e-de024209545d_story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/opinion/sunday/nuns-slavery.html

An 18th century burial site at Lake George:

https://poststar.com/blogs/gwendolyn_craig/blog-state-gives-update-on-th-century-lake-george-burial/article_6336ab81-3eed-5d86-9450-412d12893164.html

An update on the Fort Saint Joseph dig:

https://www.wmuk.org/post/wsw-fort-saint-joseph-revealed

Feature on a dig associated with an unknown Native American group in Will County:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-midewin-archaeology-st-0731-20190729-kks47gk7zzdbtiiqgfoy2kcndm-story.html

They’ve identified at 200 years bp Connecticut ‘vampire burial’:

https://www.livescience.com/66087-vampire-connecticut-dna.html

A fisherman pulled a 200 years bp flintlock rifle out of Lake Winnebago:

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/fisherman-pulls-200-year-old-flintlock-rifle-lake-winnebago-video/?t=Fisherman+Pulls+200-Year-Old+Flintlock+Rifle+Out+of+Lake+Winnebago

Feature on students doing underwater archaeology off Alpena, Michigan:

http://www.wbkb11.com/indiana-university-students-diving-for-shipwrecks-with-noaa

Feature on Nelly Bly:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/28/she-went-undercover-expose-an-insane-asylums-horrors-now-nellie-bly-is-getting-her-due/

Feature on the Hunley:

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/nightlife/james-hunter-on-the-hl-hunley/11376874

Interesting feature on Sing Peak in Yosemite:

https://america.cgtn.com/2019/07/29/new-chinese-contributions-discovered-in-yosemite

Still waiting to hear about a possible Native American burial site in Flint:

https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2019/07/state-waiting-for-response-from-flint-about-digging-in-native-american-burial-area.html

Putting Confederate monuments in Atlanta in context:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-markers-atlanta-aim-put-confederate-monuments-context-180972767/

More on that ‘face sculpture’ found by a farmer in North Carolina:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article233079322.html

================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
9300-12000 years bp tools from a pair of rock shelters in Belize:

https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2019/07/29/ancient-tools-found-in-belize-reveal-clues-about-ancient-times-archaeologists-say/

Remains of Maya fortifications in northern Guatemala:

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/08/lasers-reveal-maya-war-ruins/

A really chatty piece on the find of a Moche/Lambayeque figurine from San Jose de Moro:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-archaeology-student-unusual-peruvian.html

Similar sort of account of UVU involvement in a Maya dig in Belize:

https://www.heraldextra.com/news/community/higher-education/uvu-column-uvu-students-dig-belize/article_9a944b25-32ec-50f2-b87b-2524c6a5702d.html

Geologists working in Freeport came across some middens (date?):

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/amerindian-middens-found-in-freeport-6.2.900546.1e2a866ef2

I think we’ve mentioned this Mesoamerican fascination with magnetism before:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/07/harvard-study-reveals-ancient-mesoamericans-knowledge-about-earths-magnetism/
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-mesoamerican-magnetism.html

Feature on Maya sacrifice participants:

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/08/03/who-did-the-maya-sacrifice

—–
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

https://btn.com/2019/08/01/a-peek-inside-michigans-extensive-collection-of-papyri-btn-livebig-book-club/

Interesting feature on human overeating:

https://aeon.co/essays/are-we-eating-ourselves-and-our-planet-to-extinction

Feature on Cesare Beccaria’s brand of socialism:

https://aeon.co/essays/cesare-beccarias-radical-ideas-on-crime-and-punishment

I think we mentioned this newly-identified fragment of ‘The Rose Thorn’:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/medieval-talking-vulva-poem-dates-1300s-180972775/

Tracking down a statue that disappeared from Zamora in the 19th century:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/07/30/actualidad/1564499131_485095.html

Feature on underwater archaeology:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/archaeology/underwater-archaeology/

On the history of the semicolon:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/books/review-semicolon-cecelia-watson.html

Trying to revive some 5000 years bp Egyptian yeast (paywalled):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scientist-discovers-an-ancient-yeast-that-stretches-back-to-pharaohs-5nwpgsr9t

Features (different focuses) on P.T. Barnum:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/what-p-t-barnum-understood-about-america
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/pt-barnum-biography-robert-wilson/592780/

Plans to burn a Mayflower replica:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-devon-49144207/replica-mayflower-built-to-be-burned-in-great-torrington

The Mona Lisa is on the move:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49004223

Studying the domination of male academics in archaeological publishing:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/wsu-wdt072919.php
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-dominates-discourse.html

Feature on the archaeology of the ‘99%’:

https://www.knowablemagazine.org/article/society/2019/archaeology-of-everyday-people-life

Interview with Sarah Parcak about her various archaeological activities:

https://wamu.org/story/19/07/29/looking-back-at-human-history-archaeologist-suspects-were-51-good/
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/29/746288727/looking-back-at-human-history-archaeologist-suspects-we-re-51-good

On the death of Antoine de Saint-Exupery:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-48513729

Pondering how the US is marking the 400th anniversary of slavery:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-49181264

Marking Herman Melville’s 200th birthday:

https://www.dw.com/en/how-herman-melvilles-moby-dick-anticipated-modernist-writing/a-49787307
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/books/review-gods-of-upper-air-charles-king.html

On history’s ‘most popular tune’:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190726-could-la-folia-be-historys-most-enduring-tune

On the invention of money:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/the-invention-of-money

On mosquitoes and human history:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/how-mosquitoes-changed-everything
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mosquitoes-deaths-new-book-details-history-battle-between-man-and-mosquitoes/

On the history of the socks and sandals look:

https://www.dw.com/en/germans-socks-and-sandals-an-exploration-of-the-clich%C3%A9/a-49689654

Some negative hype about the search for Amelia Earhart:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/explorer-who-discovered-titanic-searching-amelia-earharts-plane-smithsonian-curator-doesnt-think-hell-find-it-180972762/

They’ve suspended the restoration of Notre Dame while they figure out how to deal with lead levels:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/07/26/actualidad/1564137851_448640.html

… and a feature on the guy behind the restoration efforts:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/07/24/actualidad/1563983712_313498.html

Some relics of St Peter were given to ‘Constantinople’:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2019/08/03/sacred-mysteriesst-peters-relics-given-away-constantinople/

On the impact of Islamic philosophy on ‘western’ philosophy in the Middle Ages:

http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/438901/Islamic-philosophy-had-immense-impact-on-western-philosophy-during

On the far right’s use of the Middle Ages:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/19/ideas/1563535022_261422.html

On the history of wine:

https://m.jpost.com/Israel-News/Once-upon-a-time-597264

Feature/reviewish on Joris Hoefnagel’s insect drawings:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/aug/03/drawn-to-nature-insect-art-of-the-16th-century-in-pictures

Review of Charles King, *Gods of the Upper Air*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/books/review-gods-of-upper-air-charles-king.html

Reviewish of James Turner, *Eros Visible*:

https://aeon.co/ideas/italys-erotic-revolution-in-art-joined-the-lusty-to-the-divine

Hype for Robert Spendler, *Fruit from the Sands*:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/mpif-ff073019.php
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Last Supper in Pompeii:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jul/24/baked-dormouse-and-other-roman-delicacies-come-to-oxford
http://theartnewspaper.com/preview/ashmolean-museum-show-unearths-pomepii-s-last-supper
https://www.ft.com/content/da37a79a-b1f5-11e9-b2c2-1e116952691a

Picasso:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/asia/china-beijing-picasso-art.html

Manet:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/arts/design/manet-modern-beauty-review-chicago.html

Inspired by the East:

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1533046/lifestyle

Roman Mosaics:

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2019/08/01/National-Gallery-Roman-mosaics/2147836

Monasterevin Discs:

https://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/home/434469/seven-bronze-age-monasterevin-discs-on-display.html

Petroglyphs:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/arts/design/prehistory-pompidou-center.html

Freud (I think this is an exhibition?):

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/19/icon_design/1563538806_369521.html

Feature on the Kallinikio Museum’s Athienou excavation artifacts:

https://www.themayor.eu/en/discover-the-rich-history-of-athienou-at-kallinikio-municipal-museum

The Chelmsford Museum has reopened after a major refurbishment:

https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/look-inside-chelmsford-museum-reopens-3147922

Feature on Leiden’s Rikjksmuseum’s Egyptian collection:

https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/08/02/a-dutch-dabble-in-antiquities-the-egyptian-collection-at-leidens-risjksmuseum/

A British Museum feature on ‘collecting histories’:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/collecting-histories/

================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
Using isotope analysis on the Blick Mead dog’s tooth:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X18301871

Feature on Lidar:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/archaeology/lasers-lidar-driving-revolution-archaeology/

Interesting use of ‘non contact’ photogrammetry in Ignatievka Cave:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-non-contact-photogrammetric-capture-digital-image.html

On AI and reconstruction of ancient texts (possibly paywalled):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/computer-reveals-lost-secrets-of-ancient-texts-epic-of-gilgamesh-zztx0cr03

Sara Parcak on tech in archaeology:

https://onezero.medium.com/the-high-tech-future-of-the-ancient-science-of-archaeology-391bf290efde
================================================================
ON THE DNA FRONT
================================================================
Studying the genetic diversity of Amazonia:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/mpif-hgd080119.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190801104106.htm

… not sure if this study of the populations of Patagonia is related to the above:

https://www.elmostrador.cl/destacado/2019/07/24/analisis-paleogenomicos-evidencian-continuidad-genetica-de-mil-anos-en-el-poblamiento-de-la-patagonia/

The RNA of the ‘Turmat puppy’ is being isolated and studied:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/p-gtf072219.php

================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
Kedah:

https://www2.nst.com.my/lifestyle/jom/2019/08/508926/jom-go-emerald-rivers-oysters-and-archaeology

Bagan:

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/07/bagan-myanmar-photos/594985/

Gragnano:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190728-italys-city-that-revolutionised-pasta
================================================================
PERFORMANCES
================================================================
Clouds:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/243170/article/ekathimerini/whats-on/the-clouds–epidaurus–august-2-3
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Assorted antiquities seized in a bust in southern Iran:

https://ifpnews.com/exclusive/ancient-coins-antiquities-seized-in-southern-iran/
http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/438760/Antiquities-recovered-from-illegal-diggers-in-western-Iran

A major bust in Romania:

https://balkaninsight.com/2019/07/29/romania-seizes-hundreds-of-stolen-greek-roman-treasures/

General feature on antiquities theft:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidanderson/2019/07/31/rampant-antiquities-theft-threatens-cultural-heritage-around-the-world/

conflict antiquities:

http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/

anonymous swiss collector:

http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues:

http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/

Looting Matters:

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/

Illicit Cultural Property:

http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/

SAFE:

http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-iraq-stolen-artifacts-recovered-uk.html
https://www.apnews.com/6ef1e70f321846f3956b8c40ca9838be
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/30/c_138267965.htm
http://www.aina.org/news/20190730175600.htm
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7861-190730-iraq-artifacts-repatriation

================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v22/club_nbs_esylum_v22n30.html

… and the one which should appear later today:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v22/club_nbs_esylum_v22n31.html

————————
Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Fergus Millar:

https://www.thearticle.com/sir-fergus-millar-1935-2019-a-tribute#
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/30/sir-fergus-millar-obituary

================================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
================================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2869-audio-news-from-archaeologica-21-july-27-july-2019
================================================================
CONFERENCES
================================================================
European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Conference (August 2019):

https://www.eabs.net/EABS/Conferences/Warsaw_2019/EABS/Abstract_system/Call_for_papers_Warsaw.aspx

CBA Wessex Annual Conference (November 2019):

https://www.cba-wessex.org.uk/product-category/conference/

================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:

http://www.archaeology.org/news/

About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Ancient Digger:

http://www.ancientdigger.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/

Past Horizons:

http://www.pasthorizons.com/

Stonepages:

http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:

http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/

Time Machine:

http://heatherpringle.wordpress.com/
================================================================
PODCASTS/VODCASTS
================================================================
Archaeosoup:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch

Archaeology Podcast Network:

http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/

The Book and the Spade:

http://www.yahoogroups.com/neo/groups/Explorator/conversations/topics

To subscribe to Explorator, send a blank email message to:

Explorator-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, send a blank email message to:

Explorator-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To send a ‘heads up’ to the editor or contact him for other
reasons:

Posted on August 4, 2019 by David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist 0

Explorator 22.14 ~ July 28, 2019

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay, Nick Lowe,
Don Buck, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Feature on floresiensis:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2019/07/25/homo-floresiensis-hobbits-hominins-indonesia/

More on diet and its effect on human evolution:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-human-diet-evolution.html
================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
Studying the hunter-gatherer human remains in Sibudu Cave (64 000 years bp):

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-archaeologists-anthropologists-peer-homes-today.html
Feature on German colonialism and the Dibobe Petition:

https://www.dw.com/en/german-colonialism-and-the-long-forgotten-dibobe-petition/a-49737470
================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
Roman-era finds from Alexandria:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/41/338516/Heritage/GrecoRoman/Alexandria-Important-Romanera-finds.aspx

Coverage of this year’s underwater finds at Herakleion and East Canopus:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/archaeological-mission-concludes-work-in-alexandria-sunken-greek-cities/
https://www.egyptindependent.com/new-findings-excavated-in-submerged-ancient-cities-heracleion-and-canopus/
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/9/339580/Heritage/Fruitful-archaeological-season-for-underwater-exca.aspx
https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-underwater-cities-sunken-cities-temple-coins-jewelry-archaeology-1450695
https://www.ibtimes.com/heracleion-ancient-temple-ruins-treasure-ships-found-egypts-sunken-city-2808689
https://www.9news.com.au/world/ancient-egypt-news-underwater-archaeologist-discovery-treasures–subaquatic-temple-city-of-heracleion/265ba5c2-d31d-4e80-9487-d4475f86b8a3
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/gold-temples-and-even-more-gold-have-been-found-in-two-of-egypts-sunken-cities/

Officials are investigating a tourist who apparently spat on a mummy in the Egyptian Museum:

https://dailynewsegypt.com/2019/07/22/ministry-of-antiquities-to-investigate-video-of-algerian-fan-spiting-on-egyptian-museum-mummy/

I think we mentioned this (tv hype?) for a 3500 years bp find at Gebel el-Silsila:

https://www.ibtimes.com/archaeologists-exploring-city-dead-stumble-upon-3500-year-old-tomb-2807914

Explorator 22.13 ~ July 21, 2019

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
A study of Australopithecine breastfeeding and childraising patterns produced multiple spins (!):

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/tmsh-ehs071019.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/nksn-ehs071119.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/mu-mso071319.php
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-extinct-human-species-breast-fed.html
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-maternal-secrets-earliest-ancestors.html
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-teeth-capsule-reveals-million-years.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190715114241.htm
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/health/2019/07/16/ancient-teeth-reveal-our-ancestors-breastfed-up-six-years/1744193001/
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=36802
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7827-190715-breastfeeding-australopithecus-africanus

DNA was successfully extracted from some Gibraltar Neanderthal specimens:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-ancient-dna-neanderthal-fossils-gibraltar.htmlj

If you want to keep score, genetic analysis suggests modern humans interbred with at least five different groups as they moved out of Africa:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190715094918.htm

… this seems related to the above:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-southeast-asia-crowded-archaic-human.html
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-africa-archaic-human-pot.html

On the role of cooking on the way to being human:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=12423

Neanderthals appear to have been mostly right-handed:

https://www.sapiens.org/column/field-trips/handedness-neanderthals/

Some possibly Denisovan marks from China are being touted as possibly the world’s oldest art:

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/lingjing-engraved-bones-07409.html
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-bone-art-discovered-china-1605106
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/deadthings/?p=3591

Possible homo antecessor (?) footprints from a Happisburgh beach:

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/tech/homo-antecessor-footprints-discovered-at-happisburgh-beach-1-6162072

A study of a skull (probably homo sapiens) from western Iran is under way:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/438123/Preliminary-studies-start-on-fossilized-skull-found-in-western

================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
Restoration work has commenced on Tut’s golden coffin for the first time:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/338149/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Large-coffin-of-King-Tutankhamun-under-restoration.aspx
http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/72905/Min-1st-restoration-works-of-King-Tut%E2%80%99s-golden-coffin-start
https://egyptindependent.com/egypts-ministry-of-antiquities-start-restoration-of-king-tutankhamuns-coffin/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49047475
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-archaeology-tutankhamun/tutankhamun-golden-coffin-under-restoration-for-the-first-time-idUSKCN1UC27L
https://abcnews.go.com/International/king-tuts-golden-coffin-restored-time/story?id=64398697
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/king-tut-coffin-restoration-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.dw.com/en/egypt-begins-restoring-golden-coffin-of-tutankhamun/a-49624867
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7830-190717-egypt-tutankhamun-coffin

Remains of an ‘enormous’ residential area from Roman-era Kom El-Dikka:

http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/72948/The-remains-of-residential-settlement-was-uncovered-at-Kom-El
https://egyptindependent.com/egyptian-polish-mission-unearths-remains-of-ancient-city-roman-mosaic/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/18/c_138238250.htm

… including some nice mosaics:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/41/338223/Heritage/GrecoRoman/Decorative-ancient-mosaic-discovered-in-Alexandria.aspx
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7834-190718-egypt-alexandria-mosaic

Latest folks taking inappropriate photos at the pyramids:

https://egyptindependent.com/tourist-arrested-for-taking-pornographic-photos-at-pyramids-released-on-bail/

More on bent pyramid openings and other tourist-related announcements:

https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/07/14/after-84-years-dahshours-bent-pyramid-open-to-visitors/
https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egypt-pyramids-mummies-bent-pyramid-cairo-archaeology-1449226
https://www.livescience.com/65944-bent-pyramid-egypt.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/14/bent-pyramid-egypt-opens-ancient-oddity-for-tourism
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egypt-bent-pyramid-dahshur-cairo-sneferu-pharaoh-a9003906.html
https://www.dw.com/en/egypt-opens-bent-pyramid-to-tourists-unveils-new-archaeological-finds/a-49582817-0
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/bent-pyramid-egypt-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/egypt-opens-its-bent-pyramid-first-time-50-years-180972673/

Remains of a ‘huge’ 9000 years bp settlement site west of Jerusalem:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/vast-and-developed-9000-year-old-settlement-uncovered-near-jerusalem/
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Scientists-unearth-Prehistoric-9000-year-old-city-near-Jerusalem-595820
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-MAGAZINE-turkish-egyptian-syrian-artifacts-found-in-9-000-year-old-neolithic-city-by-j-lem-1.7531494
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5551345,00.html
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266038
https://hamodia.com/2019/07/16/dig-outside-yerushalayim-reveals-ancient-city/
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/enormous-prehistoric-settlement-exposed-in-roadwork-near-jerusalem/2019/07/16/
https://www.livescience.com/65956-largest-neolithic-settlement-in-israel.html
https://www.livescience.com/65955-photos-israel-neolithic-excavation.html
https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/07/16/ancient-city-discovered-near-jerusalem-sheds-light-on-stone-age-civilizations
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-archaeology-israel/prehistoric-city-offers-glimpse-of-ancient-living-near-jerusalem-idUSKCN1UB1CY
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49002046
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ancient-metropolis-jerusalem-israel-motza-middle-east-a9008591.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/prehistoric-city-offers-glimpse-of-ancient-living-near-jerusalem/11315532
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/neolithic-settlement-jerusalem/
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/reuters/prehistoric-city-offers-glimpse-of-ancient-living-near-jerusalem/45100082
https://www.sciencealert.com/huge-prehistoric-city-from-10-000-years-ago-unearthed-in-foothills-of-jerusalem
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/ancient-city-discovered-near-jerusalem-is-the-largest-neolithic-settlement-ever-found-in-israel/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7828-190716-israel-neolithic-settlement

A Byzantine-era church from one of the sites identified as Bethsaida and associated with Peter and Andrew:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266212
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-galilee-church-unearthed-said-to-be-home-to-apostles-peter-and-andrew/
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-archaeologists-claim-to-have-found-the-church-of-the-apostles-by-sea-of-galilee-1.7538758
https://www.yahoo.com/news/shrine-apostle-peter-unearthed-israeli-archaeologist-105122931.html
https://aleteia.org/2019/07/19/archaeologists-believe-they-have-found-the-church-of-the-apostles-by-sea-of-galilee/

First archaeological evidence (a moat!) of the 1099 siege of Jerusalem near the Old City walls:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/first-evidence-of-crusader-siege-from-july-15-1099-uncovered-at-old-city-walls/
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/07/16/archaeologists-find-fabled-crusader-moat-outside-jerusalems-old-city-walls/

… this seems related:

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/magnificent-gold-jewel-excavated-in-mount-zion-national-park/2019/07/15/

Remains of a 1200 years bp mosque from Rahat:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/1200-year-old-mosque-uncovered-in-Bedouin-city-in-southern-Israel-596063
https://www.timesofisrael.com/one-of-the-earliest-mosques-in-the-holy-land-unearthed-in-bedouin-city-of-rahat/
https://www.dw.com/en/israel-archaeologists-uncover-1200-year-old-mosque/a-49631458
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/266147
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-one-of-the-earliest-rural-mosques-in-the-world-found-in-israel-1.7539392
https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/07/18/one-of-worlds-oldest-mosques-discovered-in-israeli-desert
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-unearths-remains-of-rare-ancient-mosque-145075
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-archaeology-israel-mosque/archaeologists-find-mosque-from-when-islam-arrived-in-holy-land-idUSKCN1UD21Z
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49036815
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ancient-mosque-israel-intl-scli/index.html
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/18/c_138237590.htm
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7832-190718-israel-mihrab-mosque

A couples of nice features on the Huqoq mosaic dig:

http://www.irvingweekly.com/s/2897/Austin-College-digs-up-stunning-mosaics-in-ancient-Galilean-synagogue.php
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/07/unc-students-abroad-in-israel-share-findings-of-archaelogical-dig-with-unc-school-of-media-and-journalism-heels-abroad

Feature on the restoration of the Mar Behname monastery in Iraq:

https://fr.aleteia.org/2019/07/16/en-irak-le-monastere-de-mar-behnam-retrouve-sa-splendeur/

Feature on Babylonian rituals:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/07/What-Rituals-Inside-Late-Babylonian-Temples

Feature on Babylonian astronomy:

http://www.aina.org/ata/20190720135324.htm

Feature on religion at Gobekli Tepe:

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1528386
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Remains of a large Hellenistic ‘temple complex’ from Yeroskipou:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/07/18/large-hellenistic-complex-found-in-yeroskipou/

A ‘major’ Roman shipwreck from Majorca:

https://divernet.com/2019/07/21/another-roman-wreck-found-in-majorca/

A Roman coin hoard from Suffolk might be associated with the Boudiccan revolt:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-48968933

Excavating a possible Roman amphitheatre in Anavarza (Turkey):

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/07/15/gladiator-arena-found-at-ancient-city-in-turkey-to-shed-light-on-regions-history

Interesting identification of ‘oldest handwriting by a Christian’ in a papyrus at UBasel:

https://www.newsweek.com/researcher-handwriting-christian-ancient-papyrus-letter-roman-egypt-1449281
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/christian-with-a-taste-for-fish-sauce-rewrites-roman-history-k06hh5zql

Roman glass found by a kayaker possibly suggests there’s a shipwreck off the coast of Kent:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/17/kayaker-finds-rare-roman-glass-and-pottery-off-kent-coast
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7837-190719-underwater-roman-artifacts

Studying sediments and their implications at Portus:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/ltu-arp071419.php
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-ancient-roman-port-history-unveiled.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190715094844.htm
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/portus-harbor-technologies-07402.html

Excavations at the ‘tetrapylon avenue’ of Aphrodisias are almost complete:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/07/20/excavations-on-tetrapylon-avenue-of-aphrodisias-ancient-city-in-western-turkey-near-completion

Latest recreation of Roman marine concrete:

https://aleteia.org/2019/07/16/scientist-believes-shes-found-the-recipe-for-ancient-roman-concrete-used-2000-years-ago/
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/ammin/article/102/7/1435/353606/phillipsite-and-al-tobermorite-mineral-cements

I think we mentioned this Dionysiac inscription from Plovdiv:

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/07/18/huge-roman-inscription-of-dionysus-cult-secret-society-after-251-goth-invasion-found-in-early-christian-great-basilica-in-bulgarias-plovdiv/

… and the Tas-Silg site in Malta:

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/excavation-reveals-complex-story-of-ancient-tas-silg-site.722080

… and this burial and Roman dwelling from Plovdiv:

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2019/07/12/30-year-old-roman-womans-grave-found-in-bulgarias-plovdiv-near-discovery-site-of-tomb-with-jesus-christ-murals/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7829-190716-bulgaria-roman-grave

Some columns were restored in Plovdiv’s Roman forum:

https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/07/18/bulgarias-plovdiv-erects-columns-at-ancient-roman-forum-site/

What Kathleen Coleman is up to:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/07/harvards-general-education-curriculum-encourages-broad-and-deep-examinations-of-big-questions/

In case you missed it, there was an earthquake at Athens (I haven’t found any reports of damage to sites):

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/19/athens-earthquake-greek-capital
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49047793

… and Etna’s erupting again:

https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/20/watch-mount-etna-erupts-spewing-lava-and-ash-into-the-sky

Geologists aren’t happy with digs at Pompeii, apparently:

https://www.newsweek.com/popmpeii-archaeologists-vandalism-vesuvius-eruption-1449676

In case you were wondering about the Apollo of Gaza (very interesting video included in this one):

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2019/07/apollo-gaza-190714100536528.html

How Roman plebs would have dealt with Jeremy Corbyn:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/content/uploads/2019/07/AM-1.jpghttps://www.spectator.co.uk/content/uploads/2019/07/AM-1-140×91.jpg

Some protester dressed as a Roman jumped into the Trevi fountain:

https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/18/watch-protester-dressed-as-ancient-roman-jumps-into-trevi-fountain

On ‘mermaids’ in Greek mythology:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-greek-mythology-tells-mermaids-shades

Feature on assorted women bringing the ‘western male canon’ to the world:

https://www.wvnews.com/newsfeed/women-are-bringing-ancient-male-canon-to-modern-world/article_83ce771b-58f5-580a-a948-e67c6dc984e5.html

There’s an archaeology festival going on in Laconia:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/242647/article/ekathimerini/whats-on/archaeology-festival–laconia–july-19-21

I think we mentioned this feature on Eva Palmer Sikelianos:

https://usa.greekreporter.com/2019/07/17/eva-palmer-sikelianos-the-artist-who-lived-like-an-ancient-greek/

More on Dhaskalio and the (non) pyramid that the island is:

https://www.livescience.com/65981-ancient-greek-pyramid-island.html
https://www.livescience.com/65980-photos-ancient-pyramid-shaped-island-settlement.html
https://news.gtp.gr/2019/07/17/daskalio-finds-may-carry-secret-to-origins-of-ancient-greece/
https://neoskosmos.com/en/141538/aegean-keros-site-in-greece-reveals-marble-buildings-that-transform-what-we-know-about-bronze-age-culture/

—–
Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49030379

Bronze age items from Baradia Cave (Hungary):

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/16/c_138232072.htm

Bronze age copper alloy objects found in the environs of Rainham:

https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/coroner-opens-inquest-into-rainham-bronze-age-treasures-1-6162904

Column bases from the Great Synagogue of Vilna were revealed this week:

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-pillars-and-mikveh-discovered-at-lithuanian-synagogue-destroyed-during-holocaust-1.7545436
https://ftnnews.com/other-news/37446-archaeologists-uncovered-one-of-two-most-sacred-parts-of-great-synagogue-of-vilna-in-vilnius
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7824-190715-lithuania-great-synagogue

Digging has commenced at an Anglo-Saxon church site in Lyminge:

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/archaeological-dig-starts-at-church-208661/

Remains of a medieval wall at Breclav Castle:

https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/remnants-of-medieval-wall-dating-back-to-1041-unearthed-in-breclav
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7825-190715-fortification-duke-of-bohemia

An update on those medieval ships being excavated in Oslo:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/07/16/an-archaeological-fairytale-medieval-ships-found-in-the-heart-of-oslo/

A 13th century coin find from Perperikon:

https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/07/20/archaeology-coin-from-time-of-bulgarias-13th-century-tsar-found-at-perperikon/

Archaeologists have completed their excavations of the 14th century Paisley Abbey drain:

https://www.the-gazette.co.uk/news/17781969.archaeologists-discover-end-paisley-abbey-drain-centuries-mystery/
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage/experts-solve-mystery-of-medieval-tunnel-beneath-paisley-abbey-1-4968152
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7836-190719-scotland-great-drain

Earliest record of a whisky still comes from 1505 Aberdeen:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49032195
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7839-190719-scotland-scotch-whisky

A metal detectorist will likely cash in on this 17th century gold ring found at Loch Lomond:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49021682

Limbs and musket balls are among the finds from that battle of Waterloo field hospital dig:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49022033
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/17/excavation-of-waterloo-field-hospital-unearths-limbs-and-musket-balls
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/17/veterans-unearth-amputated-leg-bones-musket-balls-waterloo-field/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-waterloo-excavation/cannonball-highlights-how-close-napoleon-came-to-victory-at-waterloo-idUSKCN1UC1TC
https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/17/cannonball-highlights-how-close-napoleon-came-to-victory-at-waterloo
https://news.yahoo.com/veterans-unearth-amputated-leg-bones-150038046.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/limbs-and-cannonballs-unearthed-waterloo-field-hospital-180972685/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7831-190717-belgium-field-hospital

Suggestion that pig lard may have played a role in moving the Stonehenge stones into place:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-stonehenge-built-lard.html
https://www.livescience.com/65974-stonehenge-stones-moved-with-lard.html
https://www.newsweek.com/stonehenge-rocks-moved-pig-fat-grease-1449415
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/ancient-people-may-have-used-pig-fat-build-stonehenge
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/stonehenge-greased-sled-theory-07398.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Stonehenge_construction_may_have_been_aided_by_lots_of_pig_fat_999.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-stonehenges-builders-use-lard-move-stonehenge-boulders-place-180972662/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7826-190715-pots-pig-fat

Apparently Notre Dame came very close to collapsing during the recent fire:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/notre-dame.html

An 800 years bp church of St George in Macedonia has been restored:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/world/europe/macedonia-church-of-st-george-restoration.html

Suggestion that Bannockburn was an overrated victory (probably paywalled):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/victory-at-bannockburn-overrated-says-english-academic-kdj269p6l

Feature on the history of brown bears in Britain:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44699233
================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
Finds from various periods (Warring States and earlier) in almost 700 burials found in Zhaotong City:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/13/c_138223928.htm

A number of small Baekje era burial mounds at Songsan-ri:

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190717000568
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7835-190718-korea-baekje-tombs

Iron Age finds from the Malampuzha dam region of Kerala:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/remnants-of-iron-age-in-malampuzha/article28524082.ece

A pair of very large Nandi statues from Arasnakere:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/centuries-old-nandi-statues-unearthed-near-mysuru/article28451937.ece
https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/ancient-statue-of-lord-shivas-bull-nandi-found-near-mysuru/1645808/

Construction seems to be regularly turning up Hoysala era finds in Halebid, but the ASI seems unconcerned:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/antiques-found-lying-by-the-roadside-in-halebid/article28528238.ece

Encroachment concerns for 300+ monuments in India:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/321-protected-monuments-sites-encroached-upon-rajya-sabha-told/article28493369.ece

================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
Cannabis pollen near L’Anse aux Meadows is being speculatively tied to the Vikings:

https://www.livescience.com/65940-were-vikings-smoking-pot-in-newfoundland.html
https://news.yahoo.com/were-vikings-smoking-pot-while-143500184.html

… and an account with a somewhat broader focus:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/new-data-may-extend-norse-occupancy-in-north-america/

Transcribing some Cherokee writing from Alabama:

https://wtkr.com/2019/07/17/centuries-old-alabama-cave-may-contain-secrets-of-cherokee-tribe-on-the-trail-of-tears/
https://whnt.com/2019/07/16/the-cherokee-writings-in-northern-alabama-have-been-transcribed-after-more-then-150-years/

Interesting find of possible west African pottery techniques on fragments from South Carolina:

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/pottery-fragment-tells-a-story-often-overlooked-in-charleston-history/article_d930b630-a1af-11e9-af9f-532129dd847a.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7838-190719-south-carolina-colonoware

A high school football stadium construction site in Ohio reveals a prehistoric village:

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190719/prehistoric-village-found-on-site-for-football-stadium

Evidence of a ‘lost’ mound at Grand Village:

https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2019/07/20/archaeologists-unveil-evidence-of-lost-mound-at-grand-village/

Finds from various periods from a site in downtown St Augustine (we may have mentioned this one):

https://www.staugustine.com/news/20190717/centuries-old-ceramics-other-artifacts-found-at-st-augustine-construction-site
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/ceramics-dating-back-to-the-settling-of-st-augustine-unearthed-in-archaeological-dig/968230478
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7833-190718-florida-st-augustine

Assorted 19th century finds at a construction site in Annapolis:

https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ac-cn-middling-midden-20190716-20190715-33nh5lxjkvfbvin4a4fwpjtxqm-story.html

A study suggests Chaco Canyon could not have produced enough food to support its population:

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/07/10/food-may-have-been-scarce-chaco-canyon

Feature on tools produced by various Paleo-Indian cultures:

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190721/archaelogy–more-than-spear-point-ancient-paleo-indian-cultures-uncovered-through-tools

Latest coverage of the guardhouse dig on Parliament Hill:

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/former-guardhouse-fascinating-artifacts-being-revealed-by-parliament-hill-dig

Overviewish sort of thing on past digs at Cahokia:

https://www.pawhuskajournalcapital.com/lifestyle/20190717/archaeological-digs-at-cahokia-mounds

On ‘nativist rhetoric’ in the early 19th century US:

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742000247/with-latest-nativist-rhetoric-trump-takes-america-back-to-where-it-came-from

… somewhat similar, but earlier roots:

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/15/741827580/go-back-where-you-came-from-the-long-rhetorical-roots-of-trump-s-racist-tweets
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
Evidence of a ‘lost’ pre-Columbian civilization on Puerto Rico (probably paywalled):

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-ancient-trove-may-attest-to-lost-civilization-in-puerto-rico-1.7501553

Feature/talk on the Slave Wrecks Project (Virgin Islands):

https://stjohnsource.com/2019/07/16/nps-hosts-slave-wrecks-project-research-presentation/

—–
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-highlights-importance-female-roles-matrilineal.html

Not sure where to put this account of Cortez’ attempted rescue of Elcano:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/07/12/actualidad/1562933139_946767.html

Nice opinion piece on myths of the ‘stone age’:

https://www.sapiens.org/column/curiosities/stone-age-myths/

Feature on Rembrandt:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/rembrandt-the-storyteller/

Feature on the guy who gave Chauvinism its name:

https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/who-was-the-original-chauvinist/p07gybpm

On imaginary animals in the Middle Ages:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/colorful-fantastical-and-divine-how-real-and-imaginary-animals-reveal-the-christian-faith-of-the-middle-ages/2019/07/11/82bcf644-a32e-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html

Feature on Byron’s Don Juan:

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/isnt-it-byronic-don-juan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1563213354

On the semicolon:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/comma-queen/sympathy-for-the-semicolon

Feature on Gottfried Keller:

https://www.dw.com/en/gottfried-keller-at-200-an-enduring-literary-legacy/a-49652919

The guy who fake the Amarna princess apparently feels badly now:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-49043368
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/how-council-duped-paying-440000-16610167

On the history of dental hygiene:

https://theconversation.com/how-did-people-clean-their-teeth-in-the-olden-days-119588

Feature on the looting of art ‘by Hitler’, then the looting of that looting:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/arts/design/hitler-looted-the-art-then-they-looted-hitler.html

On the importance of the moon in various cultures:

https://www.dw.com/en/the-mesmerizing-moon-an-astrophysicist-unravels-its-pull-on-people/a-49539218

Debating what was the greatest debate in history:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/q-what-was-the-greatest-debate-in-history/592813/

Features revolving around Sarah Parcak’s recently-released tome:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2019/07/18/speed-reading-archaeologist-digs-catch/8DzacEsWIv07gzBMZoo3OP/story.html
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Last Supper in Pompeii:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/art-diary/last-supper-in-pompeii/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/winged-hares-stuffed-pigs-decorative-penises-party-like-pompeian/

Inspired by the East (Islamic Art):

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/how-did-the-islamic-world-influence-western-art/
https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/islamic-art-british-museum-exhibition-a4190816.html
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jul/16/british-museum-explore-islamic-world-impact-western-art
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/british-museum-examine-east-west-132421178.html
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/british-museum-to-examine-eastwest-relationship-in-art-with-new-exhibition-38317900.html

Love and Angst (Munch):

https://hyperallergic.com/509860/edvard-munchs-vampiresses-and-whores/

Forgotten Workers: Chinese Migrants:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jul/18/forgotten-by-society-how-chinese-migrants-built-the-transcontinental-railroad
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/feb/06/the-transcontinental-railroad-at-150-in-pictures
https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/forgotten-workers-chinese-migrants-and-building-transcontinental-railroad-event-exhib-6332

Russian icons:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/world/europe/russia-icons-miniatures-art.html

Caravaggio:

https://www.dw.com/en/masterpieces-of-the-baroque-caravaggio-on-show-at-museum-barberini/a-49591397

Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba are going on exhibit:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-homo-naledi-australopithecus-sediba-perot.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/uotw-hna071819.php

A German businessman donated a pair of paintings to the Prado:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/07/15/actualidad/1563211676_009449.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/19/icon_design/1563538489_516368.html

More Sackler-related fallout at the Louvre:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/17/louvre-removes-sackler-name-from-museum-wing-amid-protests
https://hyperallergic.com/509655/louvre-removed-sackler-name/
http://theartnewspaper.com/news/louvre-removes-sackler-name
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/7/17/20697901/sacklers-louvre-opioid-crisis-philanthropy-donors-protests
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/louvre-covers-up-sackler-name-on-plaques-after-opioid-protests-2725x79vq

Ahdaf Soueif resigned from the British Museum board over BP sponsorship and repatriation issues:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49006976
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jul/16/trustee-resigns-from-british-museum-over-bp-sponsorship-and-artefacts-repatriation
https://hyperallergic.com/509404/british-museum-trustee-resigns/
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/trustee-resigns-from-british-museums-board-over-bp-sponsorship-38318539.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-museum-trustee-ahdaf-soueif-quits-with-attack-on-bp-sponsorship-lxwttqr9g
https://www.egyptindependent.com/ahdaf-soueif-resigns-in-protest-from-british-museum-trustees-board/
http://www.artnews.com/2019/07/19/british-museum-workers-bp-ahdaf-soueif/
================================================================
AUCTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
================================================================
Bonhams withdrew a kantharos which was identified as having been illegally-excavated:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/20/bonhamswithdraw-ancient-greek-drinking-vessel-sale-amid-accusations/

Overviewish thing on the controversy around that Tut’s head sculpture auction:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/king-tut-head-sold-at-christies-auction-embroiled-in-controversy

… and an oped on same:

https://intpolicydigest.org/2019/07/17/christie-s-intractability-on-tutankhamun-statue-lays-bare-auction-houses-greed/
================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
Digitally-documenting some Byzantine-era churches on Cyprus:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/07/17/cyprus-institute-digitally-documents-churches-in-north/

Using 3d scans to replicate stolen antiquities:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/07/15/athienou-receives-3d-scans-of-stolen-antiquities-will-make-replicas/

I think we mentioned this muon-radiography identification of a possibly early church site in Russia:

https://www.livescience.com/65967-oldest-church-world-cosmic-rays.html

Using AI to decipher (almost) lost languages:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=36889

Explorator 22.12 ~ July 14, 2019

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
mata kimasitayo, Bill Gebhardt, Don Buck, Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli,
Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay, Don Buck, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses
this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).

================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Plenty of press coverage for the identification/find of a 210 000 years bp homo sapiens skullbone from Greece:

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-oldest-africa-reset-human-migration.html
https://www.livescience.com/65906-oldest-modern-human-skull-eurasia.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/science/skull-neanderthal-human-europe-greece.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/07/10/enigmatic-skull-suggests-our-human-species-reached-europe-years-ago/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48913307
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/10/piece-of-skull-found-in-greece-is-oldest-human-fossil-outside-africa
http://www.ekathimerini.com/242445/article/ekathimerini/life/greek-find-called-earliest-sign-of-our-species-out-of-africa
https://www.dw.com/en/oldest-human-remains-outside-africa-found-in-europe-researchers/a-49543548
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/greek-skull-oldest-human-homo-sapiens-outside-africa
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/apidima-greek-skull-oldest-human-fossil-outside-africa/593563/
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/07/10/the-oldest-known-homo-sapiens-was-greek
https://gizmodo.com/ancient-skull-fragment-pushes-back-date-of-earliest-hum-1836244660
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/07/10/ciencia/1562769513_603529.html
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/deadthings/?p=3569
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7819-1190711-greece-modern-human

… and a related oped:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/14/ancient-bones-should-rewrite-history-but-not-the-present

This week it’s a molar that is being touted as evidence for interbreeding of various hominids in Asia:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/nyu-amp070819.php
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-ancient-molar-interbreeding-archaic-humans.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190708154036.htm
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/a-rare-dental-trait-lives-on
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7815-190710-denisovan-three-roots

… and a feature on the various hominids that may have coexisted:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=12363

Remains of a ‘Neanderthal-era’ horse (possibly hunted) from Iran:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/437843/Remains-of-a-Neanderthal-era-horse-found-in-Iran
https://ifpnews.com/exclusive/remains-of-ancient-neanderthal-horses-found-in-irans-qazvin/

Suggestion that human intelligence may have peaked, evolutionary-wise:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190709-has-humanity-reached-peak-intelligence
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AFRICA
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Feature on the excavations at Old Dongola (Sudan):

https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/archaeologists-uncover-secrets-of-18th-century-city-on-banks-of-the-river-nile-6719

Explorator 22.11 ~ July 7, 2019

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay,
Bill Gebhardt, Michael J. Connor, Trevor Watkins, Nigel Hetherington,
Don Buck, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).

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EARLY HOMINIDS
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Pondering the connection between diet and hominin evolution:

https://greatlakesledger.com/2019/07/03/ancient-humans-dietary-habits-reflected-in-bonobo-aquatic-greens-diet/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7802-190703-hominin-evolution-iodine

I think we’ve had some form of this study on Neanderthal migration through Eurasia:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/neanderthals-history-is-as-complicated-as-ours/
https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/neanderthal-groups-more-closely-related-than-we-thought

Explorator

The Archaeological News of the Week

Explorator

Author: David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist

Explorator 22.17 ~ August 18, 2019

Explorator 22.16 ~ August 11, 2019

Explorator 22.15 ~ August 4, 2019

Explorator 22.14 ~ July 28, 2019

Explorator 22.13 ~ July 21, 2019

Explorator 22.12 ~ July 14, 2019

Explorator 22.11 ~ July 7, 2019