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, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week(as always hoping I have left no one out).
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there.
================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Remains of nine Neanderthals from a cave near Rome:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/08/remains-of-nine-neanderthals-found-in-cave-south-of-rome
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-archaeologists-neanderthals-rome.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/world/europe/italy-neanderthal-fossils-guattari-cave.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57044002
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/archaeologists-discover-remains-of-9-neanderthals-near-rome/2021/05/08/2dac5fe0-b020-11eb-82c1-896aca955bb9_story.html
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Archaeologists-discover-remains-of-9-Neanderthals-16162232.php
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/entertainment-pmn/archaeologists-uncover-neanderthal-remains-in-caves-near-rome
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/archaeologists-discover-remains-neanderthals-rome-77576317
https://www.thelocal.it/20210508/evidence-of-nine-neanderthals-found-in-italian-cave/
https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-archaeologist-grotta-guattari/archaeologists-uncover-neanderthal-remains-in-caves-near-rome-idUSL8N2MV08T
https://www.dw.com/en/archaeologists-discover-neanderthal-remains-in-caves-near-rome/a-57470987
Earliest human (homo sapiens?) burial in Africa is from Kenya and dates to 80 000 years bp:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-oldest-human-burial-africa-uncovered.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/mpif-toh042821.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/c-aoh050321.php
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/may/oldest-human-burial-in-africa-discovered-in-kenya.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210505111340.htm
https://www.livescience.com/oldest-human-burial-africa-discovered.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56986457
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/science/earliest-human-burial-africa.html
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/05/archaeologists-uncover-oldest-human-burial-in-africa
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/africa-scientists-nature-max-planck-institute-germany-b933468.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-05-06/oldest-human-burial-site-in-africa/100065050
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/05/africa/burial-scn-africa-child/index.html
https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/oldest-human-burial-in-africa/
https://scitechdaily.com/africas-oldest-human-burial-site-uncovered-78000-year-old-remains-reveal-how-stone-age-populations-interacted-with-the-dead/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/scientists-unearth-africa-s-oldest-burial-small-child-laid-rest-78000-years-ago
https://www.salon.com/2021/05/07/what-a-78000-year-old-child-buried-in-a-kenyan-cave-tells-us-about-ancient-humans/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/childs-grave-is-the-oldest-human-burial-found-in-africa
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03457-8
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/05/this-is-what-we-can-learn-from-the-oldest-human-grave-in-africa/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-oldest-human-burial-site-in-africa.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientists-discover-oldest-known-human-grave-africa-180977659/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9676-210506-africa-oldest-burial
… and a sort of explainer piece based on the find:
A new look at human origins from fossil evidence:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/amon-rmh050521.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210506142133.htm
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/most-human-origins-stories-are-not.html
New study suggests early hominids’ arrival on uninhabited islands doesn’t always lead to mass extinctions:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-humans-werent-agents-destruction-uninhabited.html
https://www.livescience.com/early-humans-island-extinctions.html
cf: https://www.pnas.org/content/118/20/e2023005118
… although it does appear early humans did significantly alter ecosystems (in Africa) with fire:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-earliest-evidence-humans-ecosystems.html
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-archaeologists-earliest-anthropogenic-landscape-earth.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/yu-so050321.php
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/05/05/lake-malawi-fire-ecosystem-engineers/7851620243020/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-may-have-used-fire-to-clear-forests-more-than-80-000-years-ago/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-humans-shape-landscape-fire-85000-years-ago-180977669/
More on the study of ‘Little Foot’:
More on that ‘crystal collection’ from the Kalahari mentioned a few weeks ago:
================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
The first Khufu solar boat is on its way to the GEM:
Plans to repair the 175 years bp Cairo Citadel clock:
More on those 110 tombs from various dynasties in the Nile Delta:
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/05/egypt-discovers-110-ancient-tombs-spanning-three-civilizations
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/archaeologists-discover-110-ancient-egyptian-tombs-in-the-nile-delta/
More on that study revealing a pregnant Egyptian mummy:
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-a-first-researchers-discover-a-pregnant-egyptian-mummy/
https://www.rawstory.com/mummy-archeology-fetus-found/
Feature on how Napoleon’s invasion revealed Egypt to the world:
Interesting feature on Lapis Lazuli:
https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2021/05/glass-lapis-lazuli/
Feature on a 1500 years bp Christ Pantokrator image on a gem in a museum in Turkey:
Finds from various periods (including iron production sites) identified in a survey of a district in Iran’s Yazd province:
Plans for a survey of Sassanid-era Sirvan in Iran’s Ilam province:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/460686/Sassanid-era-Sirvan-to-undergo-archaeological-survey
Evidence of Paleolithic-era sewing activity in western Iran:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/460703/Paleolithic-sewing-evidence-comes-to-light-in-western-Iran
Feature on the Iranian ‘saltmen mummies’:
Feature on kings in Mesopotamia:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/how-to-be-king-in-mesopotamia/
Feature on Akkadian poetry and medical texts:
https://psyche.co/ideas/ancient-akkadian-poems-and-medical-texts-reveal-griefs-universals
Suggestion that an epidemic led to the collapse of the Nabataeans’ trade empire:
13th century CE burials from the ongoing excavations at Kusadasi:
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/history/13th-century-skeletons-unearthed-in-turkeys-kadikalesi-site
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/human-skeletons-found-in-kusadasi-excavations-164543
An interesting Roman-era ‘grotesque’ lamp from Jerusalem’s Pilgrimage Road:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/second-temple-period-lucky-lump-found-on-jerusalems-pilgrimage-road-667255
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/jerusalem/lucky-bronze-oil-lamp-uncovered-in-city-of-davids-pilgrimage-road-excavations/2021/05/05/
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/archaeologists-find-grotesque-foundation-deposit-in-jerusalem-1.9776035
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9546127/2-000-year-old-oil-lamp-shaped-like-grotesque-face-discovered-City-David.html
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/rare-roman-era-face-shaped-bronze-oil-lamp-found-in-jerusalem-1234591916/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/2000-year-old-lucky-lamp-found-jerusalem-180977671/
An overview of excavations in the City of David:
Followup to the AI identification of scribes who wrote the DSS … one scribe appears to have written eight scrolls:
Some pushback on claims about Solomon’s mines in Spain, thalassocracy, etc.:
https://www.livescience.com/king-solomon-mining-expedition-claim.html
https://aleteia.org/2021/05/08/experts-divided-on-accuracy-of-study-into-king-solomons-trade-habits/
Pondering the claimed burial site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai:
Reviewish of Yoel Elitzur, *Biblical Geography and its Meaning*:
Feature on the Black Stone of Mecca:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/saudi-arabia-black-stone-scli-intl/index.html
More on those 7000 years bp ‘mustatils’ from Saudi Arabia:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-archaeological-mustatils-reveals-complexity-assumed.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/mysterious-stone-structures-saudi-arabia-are-older-pyramids-rcna805
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mustatils-saudi-arabia-older-egyptian-pyramids-1964376
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01158-w
Latest threat to ancient marches in Iraq is sewage:
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/5/5/iraq-ancient-mesopotamian-marshes-threatened-by-sewage
—–
This Week in the Ancient Near East Podcast:
https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
Studying an infant burial ground on Astypalea:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/03/ancient-cemetery-for-infants-discovered-on-greek-island/
An archaic Latin inscription for Fortuna from Itri (Italian):
Possible identification of an imperial fleet member from Herculaneum (Italian):
A head from a statue identified as Augustus from a dig in Isernia:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/archaeologists-just-unearthed-ancient-bust-190000795.html
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/rome-emperor-marble-head-scli-intl-scn/index.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9546041/2-000-year-old-bust-Romes-emperor-Augustus-identified-telltale-hairstyle.html
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roman-emperor-augustus-head-statue-archaeology-1234591397/
https://boingboing.net/2021/05/08/archaeologists-unearth-2000-year-old-marble-head-of-augustus-caesar.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-marble-bust-augustus-italy-180977655/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9673-210505-italy-augustus-sculpture
Work on a home in Toledo revealed some vaulting believed to be associated with a Roman amphitheatre:
Nice followup piece on those burials from Bitonto found a few weeks ago (Italian):
https://www.bitontolive.it/news/attualita/1033542/tomba-in-piazza-caduti-primo-identikit-dei-defunti
Byzantine (?) sarcophagi from a cave in Irbid:
https://en.royanews.tv/news/27660/2021-05-05
Plenty of press coverage for plans for a new floor for the Colosseum:
https://www.livescience.com/Rome-Colosseum-new-floor.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/02/rome-colosseum-to-gain-hi-tech-arena-floor
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56966365
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/02/world/europe/italy-colosseum-floor.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/03/993184621/roman-colosseums-new-floor-will-give-visitors-a-gladiators-point-of-view
https://wskg.org/npr_story_post/roman-colosseums-new-floor-will-give-visitors-a-gladiators-point-of-view/
https://www.dw.com/en/rome-colosseum-stage-to-give-visitors-a-gladiators-view/a-57405755
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-unveils-new-hi-tech-floor-design-colosseum-area-2021-05-02/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56966365
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gladiators-view-colosseum-rome-1963926
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/New-stage-in-Rome-s-Colosseum-will-restore-16145370.php
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rome-s-colosseum-get-22-million-new-floor-give-tourists-n1266235
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/rome-s-colosseum-restored-plans-for-new-floor-are-a-step-towards-rebuilding-the-arena-1.1215672
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/02/business/22-million-upgrade-romes-colosseum-will-restore-majestic-view/
https://whbl.com/2021/05/02/italy-unveils-new-hi-tech-floor-design-for-colosseum-area/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/new-stage-in-romes-colosseum-will.html
A roundup of finds (mostly Roman) made in Bulgaria last month:
More photos of that interesting Roman site in Scarborough:
More on that statue of Constantine being reunited with its finger:
https://www.euronews.com/2021/05/02/emperor-constantine-s-hand-reunited-with-finger-after-more-than-500-years-apart
https://hyperallergic.com/643885/roman-emperor-finger-reunited-louvre/
More on the finds from Ptolemaida, including that ‘bed burial’:
https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1160632/rare-funerary-bed-discovered-in-lignite-mine/
https://www.thenationalherald.com/food_travel_travel/arthro/archaeologists_find_ancient_houses_tombs_in_abandoned_greek_town-2353818/
More on objections to renovations on the Acropolis:
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/992846093
Review of Shadi Bartsch’s translation of the *Aeneid*:
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/new-aeneid-translation-channels-vergils-pure-latin
Review of Geoff Bailey’s book on the Antonine Wall:
Review of Robert Kanigel, *Hearing Homer’s Song*:
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-darwin-of-the-classics/
Review of a couple of recent Catullus translations:
Review of Aaron Poochigan’s Aristophanes translation:
Honours from the Greek government for Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker:
https://www.archaeological.org/president-of-greece-honors-two-aia-members-with-order-of-phoenix/
An interview with Peter Brown (Spanish):
An interview with Molly Swetnam-Burland:
https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2021/ancient-is-modern-wm-professor-talks-teaching-classics.php
Assorted items on the threat to Classics at Howard:
https://www.thenationalherald.com/opinions_columnists/arthro/african_americans_defend_greek_classics-2361552/
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/06/howa-m06.html
Feature on recreating the bread found at Pompeii:
Feature on a Roman domus (complete with mosaic floors) on the Aventine:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210507-ancient-roman-domus-with-mosaic-floors-tucked-under-modern-flats
https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/culture/2021/05/07/ancient-roman-039domus039-with-mosaic-floors-tucked-under-modern-flats-in-rome
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/ancient-roman-domus-with-mosaic-floors-tucked-under-modern-flats-1.5418234
Feature on eight ancient (mostly) hoards found in Herefordshire over the years:
Feature on the phrase ‘Sic Semper Tyrannus’:
https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2021/ancient-is-modern-wm-professor-talks-teaching-classics.php
Feature on Livia Drusilla (really TV hype):
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210506-the-truth-behind-ancient-romes-most-controversial-woman
Feature on ancient Greek shields:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/07/ancient-greek-shields-showed-allegiance-struck-fear-into-enemy/
Feature on Mother’s Day in ancient Greece:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/09/mothers-day-ancient-greece/
Feature on the Greek and Roman pantheon:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/03/ancient-cemetery-for-infants-discovered-on-greek-island/
Feature on Roman Britain after the Romans left:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/fall-roman-britain-empire-what-happened-why/
Feature on what Knossos originally looked like:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/05/09/knossos-palace-before-ruins/
Feature on quotes from Greek Stoic philosophers:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/07/greatest-quotes-ancient-greece-stoic-philosophers/
Feature on Talos:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/06/talos-the-ancient-greek-humanoid-robot/
Feature on the Versace Medusa logo:
https://www.crfashionbook.com/culture/a35217668/true-story-versace-medusa-head/
Feature on the Roman temple in Mersin:
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/roman-temple-in-mersin-waits-to-serve-tourism-164484
Tips on being excellent from Plato and Aristotle:
https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-become-excellent-with-tips-from-plato-and-aristotle
Feature comparing plans to return the Benin Bronzes to the Parthenon Marbles:
A giant Roman soldier’s head sculpture will be adorning the Antonine Wall:
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/towering-roman-soldiers-head-sculpture-20522455
The Peristera shipwreck site has received some funding from Microsoft:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/05/05/peristera-shipwreck-microsoft-funding/
Plans to better touristify Perge:
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ancient-city-of-perge-to-regain-its-former-glory-164454
More on what the Greeks and Romans knew about the spread of disease:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/04/how-ancient-greeks-romans-controlled-the-spread-of-disease/
More on the lessons of Homer relating to isolation:
https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2021/april/homer-christensen-conversation.html
—–
Roman Archaeology Blog:
Rogueclassicism:
http://rogueclassicism.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
A hiker found a hoard of bronze jewellery (750-500 BCE) from near Alingsas (Sweden):
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-unique-bronze-age-south-alingss.html
https://phys.org/visualstories/2021-05-unique-bronze-age-south-alingss.amp
https://www.livescience.com/bronze-age-hoard-sweden.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9538489/Mapmaker-discovers-trove-Bronze-Age-jewelry-western-Sweden.html
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61290
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/swedish-mapmaker-stumbles-trove-bronze-age-treasures-180977644/
Not sure if we’ve had this item on use of bronze ‘scrap’ as currency in Bronze Age Europe:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-scrap-cash-bronze-age-witnessed.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210506174103.htm
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/uog-sfc050621.php
https://elpais.com/ciencia/2021-05-08/el-euro-de-la-edad-de-bronce.html
A hoard of 1500 years bp gold pendants from a site in Norway:
https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology/seven-rare-gold-pendants-were-sacrificed-1500-years-ago-in-ostfold-county-of-norway/1854637
https://www.lifeinnorway.net/gold-pendants-found-in-norway/
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/rare-1500-year-old-pendants-found-in-norse-ritual-hoard-1234592171/
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61322
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9675-210505-norway-gold-pendants
Not sure if we’ve mentioned this 9th century hoard from Poland:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/05/archaeologists-uncover-carolingian-treasure-hoard/138900
A possible Viking village site in Teesdale:
https://www.teesdalemercury.co.uk/news/unearthed-remains-hint-at-viking-village
A study of remains in a mass grave in France are likely soldiers killed during the siege of Rennes in 1491:
https://media.uottawa.ca/news/last-battle-anne-brittany-isotopic-study-soldiers-1491
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-anne-brittany-isotopic-soldiers.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/uoo-tlb050521.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210505174946.htm
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-last-battle-of-anne-of-brittany.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9677-210506-france-war-of-brittany
cf: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248086
The River Hunters came across a 400 years bp gun in Colchester:
https://www.essexlive.news/news/celebs-tv/river-hunters-river-detectorists-find-5360521
A study suggests the Mary Rose had an ethnically-diverse crew:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-human-mary-rose-diversity-tudor.html
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/05/mary-rose-ship-multi-ethnic-crew-tudor-england
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9541787/King-Henry-VIIIs-favourite-ship-Mary-Rose-multinational-crew.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-56985084
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/shipwreck-reveals-surprising-racial-diversity-henry-viii-s-england-n1266366
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/human-remains-from-tudor-warship-mary.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crew-tudor-warship-mary-rose-was-diverse-study-finds-180977662/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9679-210507-mary-rose-crew
HS2 preliminaries include excavating 3000 burials from an (abandoned) medieval Buckinghamshire churchyard:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/07/unique-opportunity-hs2-unearths-history-medieval-church
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/church-hs2-buckinghamshire-norman-b933303.html
An excavation in a Hull cemetery reveals practices to prevent bodysnatching:
A melting glacier in Italy revealed some WWI artifacts:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/04/europe/italy-melting-glacier-war-artifacts-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/world/europe/italy-glacier-wwi-artifacts.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9680-210507-world-war-i-italy
A museum in Denmark ‘rediscovered’ some Viking remains which were missing for over a century (due to a labelling issue):
https://www.livescience.com/lost-bones-viking-noble.html
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-museum-finds-missing-viking-over-a-century-after-losing-his-remains-1.9766628
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61309
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/05/lost-viking-elite-rediscovered/138877
A mast from the HMS Victory is going on display:
A ‘lost squirrel’ has been restored to a 17th century Enghien tapestry:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-56969237
Plans to ‘rehouse’ Parliament’s vellum records:
A project to map illegal whisky making sites in Scotland:
More on that 3000 years bp submerged settlement in Lake Lucerne:
More on that Bronze Age tomb found by a farmer on the Dingle Peninsula:
https://www.newsweek.com/ireland-farmer-accidentally-discovers-tomb-dating-back-bronze-age-1588852
More on cancer rates in medieval Britain:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210430093218.htm
https://gizmodo.com/scans-of-medieval-skeletons-show-cancer-has-been-common-1846798227
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cancer-was-common-medieval-britain-180977660/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9670-210503-medieval-disease-cancer
More on that 700 years bp child burial from the Real Alcazar of Seville:
https://english.elpais.com/arts/2021-04-30/the-700-year-old-child-found-in-southern-spain.html
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61316
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9674-210505-spain-medieval-burial
Feature on Ireland’s oldest burial:
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/ireland-oldest-grave-9k-years-old
Feature on the history of the Irish border:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56806404
… and an incident of sorts relating to a stone marking the border between Belgium and France:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/belgium-farmer-moves-french-border/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/04/beligum-farmer-france-border/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56978344
Feature on Henry VIII’s links with Leicestershire:
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/henry-viiis-links-leicestershire-include-5385734
Using old photos to restore a Tudor manor parkland:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-57009271
Funding to reopen the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/sharp-dig-site-to-reopen-ncc-grant-7943030
———-
Archaeology in Europe News:
http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/
Medievalists.net:
https://www.medievalists.net/category/news/
Viking Archaeology Blog:
http://viking-archaeology-blog.blogspot.com/
================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
================================================================
Feature on the influence of Islamic astronomers on China’s astronomy:
7th century sutras from a site in Tibet:
Study suggests Angkor had a population of some 900 000 before it was abandoned in the 15th century:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-archaeologists-population-greater-angkor-region.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/uoo-app050721.php
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9554981/Angkor-Wat-900-000-inhabitants-abandoned-1431-AD-study-suggests.html
https://gizmodo.com/ancient-city-of-angkor-was-jam-packed-with-people-1846845408
Feature on Sri Lanka’s ‘stargate inscription’:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210502-the-unsolved-mystery-of-sri-lankas-stargate
Not sure where to put this study of Siberian evidence for whale-hunting by ‘paleo-Eskimos’:
================================================================
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
================================================================
Plans for a study of sites on Australia’s Ningaloo coast:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-06/ningaloo-research-will-tell-60-000-year-old-story/100116262
140 years after it was ‘lost’, an Aboriginal ceremonial ground in East Gippsland has been ‘rediscovered’:
More fallout for Rio Tinto over their destruction of sites:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/06/business/rio-tinto-shareholder-revolt/index.html
More on the population of the first Australians:
More on the ‘superhighways’ used by the first Australians to cross the continent:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/dnl-phf050321.php
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/ancient-australian-superhighways-suggested-massive-supercomputing-study
https://scitechdaily.com/first-human-inhabitants-of-australia-followed-superhighways-across-the-continent/
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
A study of fecal remains from a privy site on the Dartmouth campus reveals the parasites folks were dealing with in the early 19th century:
https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2021/05/studying-200-year-old-material-old-privy-campus-0
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/dc-2op042921.php
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-year-poop-rural-elites-england.html
https://source.wustl.edu/2021/05/wealth-status-could-not-shield-19th-century-families-from-parasitic-infection/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/200-year-old-poop-shows-rural-elites-in.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9672-210504-privy-parasite-infection
Feature on the importance of the year 1788/the US constitution:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/what-made-the-constitution/618756/
… review of the above author’s book:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/books/review/the-words-that-made-us-akhil-reed-amar.html
A First Nations burial on Hornby Island is in the way of pub construction:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/archaeology-undrip-permits-hornby-1.6012109
Some reaction to the vandalism of the Moab petroglyphs:
https://www.ksut.org/post/crisis-destructive-behavior-petroglyphs-near-moab-vandalized
https://www.moabsunnews.com/get_out_and_go/article_2c9bf630-ae9d-11eb-ba18-fbb9763d12ab.html
On New England and slavery:
https://aeon.co/essays/new-england-kept-slavery-but-not-its-profits-at-a-distance
Feature on the history of the Beech-Nut corporation:
https://dailygazette.com/2021/05/02/bacon-to-baby-food-beech-nut-had-a-big-local-impact/
More on that 17th century shilling from the colonial fort at St Mary’s:
https://www.unionleader.com/news/back_page/archaeologists-find-rare-nearly-380-year-old-english-coin-during-maryland-dig/article_41e6a630-162d-5e47-8d71-88696d9cfc3c.html
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-wp-md-rare-380-year-old-coin-found-maryland-20210503-ip5e3rsdebfx3a74rryl2cvjhm-story.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/03/rare-coin-dropped-first-english-settlers-us-found-maryland-fort/
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/590/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/590/pub/590/page/16/article/170163
More on that 14 000 years bp horse fossil from Las Vegas:
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
A LiDAR survey of Mexico’s Puuc region has revealed plenty of Maya sites:
https://www.livescience.com/lidar-maya-yucatan.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9669-210503-maya-lidar-puuc
More on the 1200 years bp children’s handprints found in a Mayan cave site:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mexico-mayan-cave-hand-prints-b1841703.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-archaeology-idUSL1N2MO0AN
https://news.yahoo.com/ancient-mayan-cave-reveals-mysterious-085206450.html
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ancient-maya-cave-reveals-1200-year-old-childrens-handprints-1234591703/
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/kids-handprints-found-yucatan/
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/mysterious-handprints-cover-walls-of-ancient-maya-cave-in-mexico
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1200-years-ago-maya-children-decorated-hidden-cave-handprints-180977663/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9671-210503-maya-hand-prints
—–
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:
Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas lecture channels on Youtube:
https://mikeruggerisyoutube.tumblr.com/
Ancient MesoAmerica News:
http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/
================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
================================================================
Feature on Phoebe:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/who-was-phoebe/
… and Tabitha:
Feature on the samurai rulebook:
Some folks working in their yard in Montana found a live WWII era Japanese bomb:
Some features on Mother’s Day (first one is a bit of a rant):
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/not-so-happy-mother-s-day-i-hate-holiday-daughter-ncna1266694
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/05/09/history-of-mothers-day-2/
Feature on Cinco de Mayo:
On the history of wishing on a star:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/06/world/why-wish-on-a-star-scn/index.html
Trying to preserve a dying language in a Swedish village:
Marking the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death:
https://www.cranbrooktownsman.com/opinion/the-200th-anniversary-of-napoleons-death/
Pondering the legacy of Napoleon:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56978344
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/05/france-still-split-over-napoleon-as-it-marks-bicentenary-of-death
https://elpais.com/babelia/2021-05-05/relatos-de-la-ocupacion-napoleonica.html
… and his role in slavery:
https://www.dw.com/en/remembering-that-napoleon-reinstated-slavery-in-france/a-57408273
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/napoleon-commemoration-macron/2021/05/05/db35b72a-ada4-11eb-82c1-896aca955bb9_story.html
https://lavillette.com/programmation/napoleon_e1073
… and how he benefitted from the French Revolution:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/napoleon-gain-power-french-revolution/
… and his heroes:
… and a history of his life in ten objects:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/napoleon-life-objects-hat-compass-crown/
Feature on the first serial killer in the US:
Feature on Tiffany glass:
https://www.wshu.org/post/path-breaking-tiffany-glass-ceiling#stream/1
Feature on the art in the Oval Office:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/05/arts/design/oval-office-art.html
Feature on the Amber Room:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210506-russias-eighth-wonder-of-the-world
Feature on Scottish Tartans:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210504-tartan-the-misunderstood-icon-of-scottishness
Feature on Hakka culture:
There are plenty of famous sculptures and artifacts to be 3d printed now:
https://mymodernmet.com/3d-print-sculptures-scan-the-world/
On the connection between architecture and archaeology:
https://www.archdaily.com/960912/the-link-between-archaeology-and-architecture
Feature on Isabel’s deodorant:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-05-07/agua-de-murta-el-desodorante-de-isabel-la-catolica.html
Feature on the history of transformers:
https://www.wired.com/story/brief-history-transformers-not-robots/
Feature on coffee jelly:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/coffee-jelly
On some desserts invented by nuns:
Feature on personal ads in the American West:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/personal-ads-american-west
A Dorak Treasure hoax manuscript has turned up:
Pondering a purported message in a bottle from the Titanic:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/titantic-passenger-uqar-message-bottle-1.6019434
Not sure where to put this item on ancietn food webs:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ancient-food-webs-sustainable-futures.html
Feature on the game of Warri:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56814500
Unframing revealed some original paint on a Botticelli:
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61304
Feature on Mehmed II:
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/540-years-on-commemorating-the-conqueror-of-istanbul-46417
Feature on the Nebra Sky Disk:
Feature on the Cornish hut that determines mean sea level:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56935097
Feature on Timur the Lame/Tamerlane:
Review of a book on Durer:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/books/review-albert-whale-albrecht-durer-philip-hoare.html
Review of Annette Gordon-Reed’s *On Juneteenth*:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/books/review/on-juneteenth-annette-gordon-reed.html
Review of Julian Sanction, *Madhouse at the End of the Earth*:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/books/review/madhouse-at-the-end-of-the-earth-julian-sancton.html
Review of a pair of books on the battles raging within the humanities right now:
More on that portrait of Catherine Howard actually being of Anne of Cleves (maybe):
More on the ‘worst year to be alive’:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worst-year-to-be-alive-in-human-history-is-probably-not-the-one-you-think
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/alpine-icecore-evidence-for-the-transformation-of-the-european-monetary-system-ad-640670/0727B4230C5DA92634B6251B9FBD3898
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Last Supper in Pompeii:
The Wanderer:
Epic Iran:
http://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/epic-iran-london-art-exhibit
Van Gogh:
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/new-discoveries-about-van-gogh-s-olive-grove-paintings
Romanticism in Russia and Germany:
https://www.dw.com/en/dreams-of-freedom-romanticism-in-russia-and-germany/g-57289529
OpEd on decolonizing museums:
Feature on the British Museum:
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1894128195708
More on upgrades to various Greek museums during lockdown:
https://neoskosmos.com/en/197978/greek-museum-upgrades/
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/04/greek-museums-reinvent-themselves-during-lockdown/
================================================================
AUCTIONS AND SALES RELATED
================================================================
A letter documenting one of the earliest American diplomatic voyages to Palestine is coming to auction:
Assorted Napoleonic items are coming to auction:
A high price is expected for a da Vinci drawing of a bear:
================================================================
ON THE DNA FRONT
================================================================
Latest DNA study revealing the origins of Bronze Age civilizations in Europe:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ancient-dna-reveals-bronze-age.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/cfgr-adr050521.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210505102025.htm
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/ancient-dna-reveals-origin-of-first.html
DNA has been used to identify the remains of one of the Franklin Expedition members:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-member-ill-fated-franklin-dna-analysis.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/uow-fmo050521.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210506105418.htm
https://www.livescience.com/franklin-expedition-dna-analysis-member-identified.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/science/hms-erebus-sailor.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/dna-analysis-franklin-expedition-1.6017100
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/593/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/593/pub/593/page/48/article/171381
https://gizmodo.com/for-the-first-time-archaeologists-identify-sailor-from-1846838875
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/first-member-of-ill-fated-1845-franklin.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/doomed-arctic-explorer-idd-dna-180977678/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9678-210507-franklin-expedition-dna
There’s a new (almost) non-destructive technique for obtaining archaeogenetic samples:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-non-destructive-archaeogenetic-sampling-method.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/elu-nan050521.php
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/05/new-almost-non-destructive.html
The genome of some resurrected date palms has been worked out:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/plants/genome-of-resurrected-plant-is-sequenced-for-the-first-time-ever/
================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
Feature on Muon Tomography:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/how-scientists-are-using-cosmic-radiation-to-peek-inside-the-pyramids/
================================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS
================================================================
Pondering the influence of the Amazon rainforest on the ‘Little Ice Age’:
On how archaeology can contribute to the study of climate change:
https://www.varsity.co.uk/science/21268
================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
Cyrene:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/05/cyrene-the-impressive-ancient-greek-city-of-libya-video/
Patara:
Bartlow Hills:
https://www.mylondon.news/whats-on/family-kids-news/ancient-roman-burial-ground-just-20474501
Peru beyond Machu Picchu:
https://matadornetwork.com/read/best-hiking-in-peru-beyond-machu-picchu/
Ring of Brodgar:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19281286.ring-brodgar-orkney-travel-history-scotland/
================================================================
PERFORMANCES AND MUSIC RELATED
================================================================
Feature on choral music:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/arts/music/five-minutes-classical-music-choral.html
================================================================
TV/DOCUMENTARY HYPISH THINGS
================================================================
Domina:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/sex-swords-togas-tvs-eternal-dodgy-fascination-ancient-rome/
Underground Railroad:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/arts/television/the-underground-railroad-barry-jenkins.html
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Kim Kardashian (and/or Kanye West) is at the center of a case involving a purportedly looted Roman statue:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-05-04/kim-kardashian-roman-statue-italy-government
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roman-statue-seized-kim-kardashian-us-government-1234591643/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kim-kardashian-ordered-to-turn-over-looted-roman-statue
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-9543883/Kim-Kardashian-caught-ancient-Roman-statue-smuggling-row.html
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roman-statue-seized-kim-kardashian-us-government-1234591643/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/feds-seek-forfeiture-ancient-roman-statue-was-headed-kim-kardashian-n1266347
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/05/06/kim-kardashian-statue/
… and the ‘bigger picture’ of antiquities theft:
Spanish police recovered a stolen 16th century bronze cannon possibly associated with the Spanish armada:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/05/missing-16th-century-spanish-armada-cannon-recovered-by-police
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/61327
Some books by Galileo are missing from Spain’s National Library:
Spanish police recovered a looted 8th century gold dinar being sold on the internet:
Sentencing for a man who stole some Bronze Age axe heads from Beeston Castle:
Feature on recent petroglyph vandalism:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/04/rock-climbing-native-american-indigenous-people
Interview with Christopher Marinello on how they search for stolen art:
Interpol has created an app to help in the fight against art and artifact theft:
https://www.jpost.com/international/interpol-creates-new-app-to-combat-art-artifact-theft-667561
———-
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/
================================================================
REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY
================================================================
The Gweagal Spears are being returned at last:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-05/gweagal-spears-repatriated-from-united-kingdom/100117932
Pressure on a Canterbury museum to return a Nigerian taonga:
Harvard is being asked to return Standing Bear’s tomahawk:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/07/harvard-ponca-chief-standing-bear-tomahawk-lawyer
Feature on various items returned to Australia:
Feature on repatriation efforts by various countries:
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
Feature on the double-headed coins of Istros:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-mystery-of-the-double-headed-coins-of-ancient-istros/
Latest e-Sylum:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n18.html
… and the one which should appear later today:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n19.html
————————
Coin Week:
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Pierre Amiet:
Lyn Maconald:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/books/lyn-macdonald-dead.html
David Raeburn:
Ahmad Kabiri Hendi:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/460564/Iranian-archaeologist-Ahmad-Kabiri-Hendi-dies-at-76
Faye Schulman:
Bob Abernethy:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/obituaries/bob-abernethy-dead.html
================================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
================================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:
================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/
About.com Archaeology:
Archaeology Briefs:
http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/
Atlas Obscura:
Heritage Daily:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/
Sapiens Archaeology:
https://www.sapiens.org/category/archaeology/
Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:
http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/
================================================================
PODCASTS/VODCASTS
================================================================
Archaeosoup:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch
Archaeology Podcast Network:
http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/
================================================================
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