Stone Pages Archaeo News: August 2009 Archives

August 2009 index:

1 August 2009: Digging archaeology along a pipeline in Nebraska; Last April TransCanada Keystone pipeline archaeologists discovered a small village 6-10 feet beneath the surface of one of Dennis Arens Sr.'s farm fields near Hartington in Nebraska (USA). During archaeological...
: New device traces archaeological finds fast; Every object unearthed by an archaeological dig must have its exact position recorded. This is normally a painstaking process involving measuring rods and string, but a device that uses technology...
: 3,000-year-old ax found by an 8-year-old child in Maryland; A strangely-shaped rock that 8-year-old Heather Flaherty of Crownsville (Maryland, USA) picked up in her backyard turned out to be an ancient ax. Heather found the stone implement July 8...
: Findings of hill fort project unveiled in Buckinghamshire; The findings of a major three year long archaeological project examining Iron Age hill forts were put on display at Danesfield Hotel, Henley Road, Marlow (Buckinghamshire, England). An information board...
: Human population expanded during Late Stone Age; Genetic evidence is revealing that human populations began to expand in size in Africa during the Late Stone Age approximately 40,000 years ago. A research team led by Michael F....
: Prehistoric hut gives clues to ancient Alp life; Archaeologists in Switzerland have excavated the ruins of the oldest hut in the Alps, a prehistoric discovery that dates back nearly 3,000 years. The find in the Silvretta mountains near...
: 40,000-year-old human bone found off the Dutch coast; A fishing boat trawling for mussels off the Dutch coast has instead landed a 40,000-year-old human bone, German scientists said after examining the find. Anthropologists from the University of Leipzig...
: Caithness broch centre opened; A new centre focusing on the brochs of the far north of Scotland opened at the weekend. Caithness Archaeological Trust has spearheaded the transformation of the former Northlands Viking Centre,...
: Remains of an ancient paraplegic found in Vietnam; Archaeologists have uncovered the ancient remains of a young man in northern Vietnam who could be the oldest known paraplegic in the world. The discovery has astounded researchers, showing the...
: 5,000 year-old circular site discovered in Northern Ireland; Traces of a Neolithic site near Ballygawley (County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) have been discovered by archaeologists working on the site of the A4 dual carriageway. The three-year long excavation project,...
: In search of prehistoric settlements off the coast of Florida; Andrew Hemmings walked on a Florida (USA) beach that man hasn't set foot on in more than 13,000 years. Not because it isn't a popular stretch of real estate -...
: Welsh hillfort comes to life; Piecing together art and history, pupils from Ysgol Caer Drewyn, Corwen (Denbighshire, north-east Wales), took part in a mosaic project with artist Patricia Jones aimed at promoting the Iron Age...
: Study into hidden history of Pendle Hill in Lancashire; The history of Pendle Hill (Lancashire, England) is to be pieced together for the first time with the help of archaeologists. Pendle Forest History Group is teaming up with staff...
: Ancient warrior's skeleton found near Rome; Italy's police squad for art says an ancient warrior's skeleton has been found floating in a tomb filled with sea water on a beach near Rome (Italy). The bones are...
8 August 2009: 8,000-year-old human skeleton found in Turkey; An 8,000-year-old human skeleton was found during excavations in one of the oldest residential areas in southern Turkey, a media report said. The skeleton was discovered inside a Neolithic-age tomb...
: New study on Flores 'hobbits'; In 2003, archaeologists excavating in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores made a discovery that forced scientists to completely rethink conventional theories of human evolution. They reported the...
: Domestic dog origins challenged; The suggestion that the domestic dog originated in East Asia has been challenged. The huge genetic diversity of dogs found in East Asia had led many scientists to conclude that...
: Skara Brae and other coastal sites threatened by erosion; It is one of the best preserved Stone Age villages in Europe, but Skara Brae in Orkney (Scotland) is just a few metres from the sea and it is a...
: Bronze Age settlement discovered in Hungary; Archaeologists of Debrecen's Deri Museum have discovered 4,000-year-old remains of a settlement during earthworks connected to a local sewage treatment project, leader of the excavations Krisztian Szilagyi said. A team...
: Array of archaeological sites and finds uncovered in Ireland; Inevitable pieces of modern infrastructure for the future, motorways have also opened a window to the past as archaeological digs have revealed a wide ranging number of pre-historic, early medieval...
: Calls for remains to be returned to Stonehenge; A druid protester is calling for remains taken from the Stonehenge World Heritage site to be returned - and has collected thousands of signatures on a petition backing his call....
: Ancient burial ground gets national designation in California; A site that is widely regarded as an ancient American Indian burial ground at the Bolsa Chica Mesa (California, USA) has received national historic designation, exciting preservationists who say the...
: 13 ancient burial sites, temples unearthed in Lebanon; A British Museum delegation uncovered 13 burial sites, temples and personal items dating to the Canaanite period (Bronze Age) in Sidon's Freres archeological site. "We uncovered the biggest number of...
: Engraved map from 14,000 years ago discovered in Spain; A stone tablet found in a cave in Abauntz (Navarra, northern Spain) - which was traditionally thought to be the home of the 'lamias' or mythological bird-footed nymphs - is...
: Cuneiform tablets found in 2,700-year old Turkish temple; Excavations at the site of a recently discovered temple in southeastern Turkey have uncovered a cache of cuneiform tablets dating back to the Iron Age period between 1200 and 600...
: Archaeologists reveal cannibalism link to early Britons; A human bone found in Devon (England) with tool cuts thought to have been made during a ritual ceremony 9,000 years ago may be evidence of cannibalism. Torquay Museum staff...
: Bronze Age burials eroding in Northumberland; An amateur archaeologist, Jim Nesbitt, has discovered that coastline erosion at Low Hauxley (Northumberland, England) has caused a cist containing cremated human bone to be eroded from the cliff face...
15 August 2009: Early Bronze Age artefacts discovered in Prague; When repairing Terronská Street in Bubeneč, Prague (Czech Republic), archaeologists discovered artefacts from the Early Bronze Age. The most interesting is the ceramic mould of the lower part of a...
: Ancient plantations unearthed in Gozo; Archaeologists in Gozo (Malta) have found that troughsand plantations in Mġarr Ix-Xini may date back to about 600 BCE. The Gozo Ministry said excavations, which began four years ago, tried...
: Archaeologist creates stir with new book on Cahokia Mounds; According to a new book by University of Illinois archaeologist and professor of anthropology Tim Pauketat, the mound builders were not always the idyllic, corn-growing, pottery-making, fishing-hunting gentle villagers depicted...
: Discovery of log boat in Yorkshire shows how sea levels rose; The discovery of a prehistoric boat which had been buried for more than 2,000 years beneath a farm field has already provided historians with an insight into Iron Age life...
: Excavation of an earthowrk site in Louisiana comes to conclusion; A major archaeological excavation at Poverty Point State Historic Site (Louisiana, USA) recently concluded, under the leadership and guidance of Diana Greenlee, station archaeologist and adjunct assistant professor in the...
: Paleolithic cave site discovered in China; An important Paleolithic cave site, named 'Water Curtain Cave Site', was discovered in the Huhushui Scenic Area in Heibei Province, north China. This site is located in the steep ridges...
: Prehistoric Czech people had contact with Black Sea area; The finds archaeologists have uncovered in Mikulovice in the Pardubice region (Czech Republic) prove that the local prehistoric people had contacts with the Black Sea area in the 6-5th centuries...
: More info on the prehistoric dwelling discovered in the Isle of Man; As we reported last July 19th, the remains of a 9,000-year-old hunter-gatherers' house, uncovered during construction at an airport, have been unearthed in Great Britain's Isle of Man. The house...
: Bronze Age boat recreated at Scottish loch; A team of history and woodwork experts have teamed up to build a replica Bronze Age logboat at Loch Tay (Perthshire, Scotland). The group will work with the tools and...
: Memorial planned to Bronze Age man; The remarkable story of an early Bronze Age man unearthed on a Howe of Fife (Scotland) farm has been recalled at an event aimed at raising funds to give him...
: Neanderthals didn't like Brussels sprouts; Spanish researchers say they're a step closer to resolving a mystery of evolution - why some people like Brussels sprouts but others hate them. They have found that a gene...
: Unique Bronze Age burial uncovered in Scotland; Archaeologists in Perthshire (Scotland) have unearthed a spectacular early Bronze Age grave containing a gold-banded dagger still wrapped in its 4,000-year-old sheath. The discovery was made by archaeologists from Glasgow...
: Human bones found in Cumbria are 3,000 years old; Human remains found on an isolated shoreline in northern England are more than 3,000 years old. Archaeologists and police discovered the human bones at Hodbarrow Point (Cumbria, England) in February,...
: London's earliest timber structure found; London's oldest timber structure has been unearthed by archaeologists from Archaeology South-East (part of the Institute of Archaeology at UCL). It was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat...
: 5,000-year-old spear point found by a boy in Florida; Jordan Emmett, 8, was walking past a street construction project near his Safety Harbor home (Florida, USA) when he saw something red sticking out of the dirt. At first, his...
: Prehistoric skeleton found near hillfort in Derbyshire; A prehistoric skeleton has been unearthed by archaeologists during a dig at a Peak District beauty spot. The skeleton emerged as volunteers excavated the site of an ancient hillfort near...
: Early humans used fire to engineer tools from stone; Evidence that early modern humans living on the coast of the far southern tip of Africa 72,000 years ago employed pyrotechnology - the controlled use of fire - to increase...
: Neolithic stone axehead discovered in Scotland; A Neolithic stone axehead was among the rare artefacts unearthed during a busy year for Scottish treasure hunters. It forms part of Scotland's annual Treasure Trove, items found by archaeologists...
: Massive Neolithic building unearthed in Orkney dig; Experts have unearthed a Neolithic 'cathedral' - a massive building of a kind never before seen in Britain - which has left them in awe of its scale and workmanship....
: 5,000 year-old sites found in Derry; Archaeologists have unearthed eight neolithic sites in Derry (Northern Ireland), some more than 5,000 years old. The exciting discoveries were made during work on the new Maydown dual carriageway and...
: Student discovers a Neolithic flint dagger in Suffolk; When Lydia Bareham first saw a piece of stone sticking out of the path in front of her, it looked like an ordinary piece of rock. But when the 16-year-old...
22 August 2009: Australia's first astronomers; Aboriginal people have been described as 'the world's first astronomers'. The Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, for example, have dreaming stories that explain tides, eclipses, the rising and setting sun...
: 4,000-year-old tomb found empty on Exmoor; Last week, in the bogs of Exmoor (England) a team of archaeologists started excavating a tomb which had not been opened for the best part of 4,000 years. It was...
: Ground broken for new park at ancient Miami Circle; The Miami Circle, the 2,000-year-old Native American site that taxpayers shelled out $27 million to buy 10 years ago, may finally open to the public under a frugal state plan...
: Additional information on the timber circle found in Tyrone; As we reported in our article published last August 1st, 2009, the remains of a timber circle from more than 4,000 years ago have been uncovered by archaeologists in County...
: Early land-clearing may have altered global climate; Massive burning of forests for agriculture thousands of years ago may have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide enough to alter global climate and usher in a warming trend that continues today,...
: 16,000-year-old figurine unearthed in Turkey; Archeologists unearthed 16,000 year-old mother goddess figurine during excavations in Direkli Cave in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş. Gazi University Archeology Department lecturer Cevdet Merih Erek said that the excavations...
: Ancient stone artwork discovered in Scotland; Prehistoric artwork has been discovered by an amateur archaeologist at a Perthshire mountain range (Scotland). The ancient carvings were discovered by rock art enthusiast George Currie at Ben Lawers, near...
: Clues to Caribbean's earliest inhabitants; A prehistoric water-filled cave in the Dominican Republic has become a 'treasure trove' with the announcement by archaeologists of the discovery of stone tools, a small primate skull in remarkable...
: Did ancient humans cause the extinction of the pygmy hippo?; Thousands of prehistoric hippo bones found in Cyprus are adding to a growing debate on the possible role of humans in the extinction of larger animals 12,000 years ago. First...
: 3,000-year-old butter found in Irish bog; An oak barrel, full of butter, estimated to be roughly 3,000 years old has been found in Gilltown bog, between Timahoe and Staplestown (Kildare, Ireland). The amazing discovery of the...
: Coastal damage by early inhabitants; The idea that primitive hunter-gatherers lived in harmony with the landscape has long been challenged by researchers, who say Stone Age humans in fact wiped out many animal species in...
: China's founding legend may not be true; China's founding dynasty may just be a myth, say archaeologists. In a news report published in Science magazine, writer Andrew Lawler surveys a decade's worth of discoveries suggesting ancient China...
: Earliest image of a human discovered in Scotland; A 5,000-year-old carving discovered in the Orkney Islands is being hailed as the oldest face in Scotland by archaeologists. At first glance, it appears little more than a tiny fragment...
: The mystery of Nigeria's Nok culture; Some 2,500 years ago, a mysterious culture emerged in Nigeria. The Nok people left behind bizarre terracotta statues - and little else. Archaeologists are now looking for more clues to...
: Spanish prehistoric sites in danger; A large number of prehistoric archaeological sites in the Valencia Region (Spain) do not have adequate protection and are open to acts of vandalism and stealing, a report warned. The...
30 August 2009: Land of the Standing Stones; How do you capture the spirit of an area through music? How can one piece of music reflect the diversity of an area such as Aberdeenshire (Scotland)? Aberdeenshire Council's Arts...
: A Celt in China: the mysterious origins of Cherchen Man; Cherchen Man, who died around 1000 BCE, is tall, dark-haired, clad in a red tunic and tartan leggings and sporting a beard as ginger as a burning fox. His DNA...
: Clues to a prehistoric raid from skeletons at a German site; Thirteen people who perished around 4,600 years ago still have something to say about life and death in prehistoric Europe. Analyses of their skeletal remains, found in 2005 in four...
: Spear tip sheds light on ancient people in Arizona; A rare architectural relic discovered in Sahuarita and on its way to the Arizona State Museum in Tucson (USA) could help illuminate the way early humans lived in this part...
: Ancient burial mounds to be razed in Bahrain; Ancient burial mounds in a Bahraini village, which the government hoped to have recognised as a World Heritage Site, will be bulldozed to make way for a new road, houses...
: The enigmatic stone mounds of Alabama; More than 1,000 years ago, people walked the hills of what is now Calhoun County (USA). Most traces of them are gone, but the American Indians who called this land...
: Exploration into how prehistoric Italians made their living; Archaeologists at the University of Bradford will be leading an exploration into how prehistoric people made their living in Italy at the end of the Ice Age. The research aims...
: Tiny ancient shells point to earliest fashion trend; Shell beads newly unearthed from four sites in Morocco confirm early humans were consistently wearing and potentially trading symbolic jewellery as early as 80,000 years ago. These beads add significantly...
: Temple shelters in Malta 'enhance visitors' experience'; Public response to the new shelters at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra has been 'very positive', according to Heritage Malta's senior curator for prehistoric sites. Reuben Grima, who gathered feedback from...
: Unearthing Bronze Age Dartmoor; Simon Hughes and his team are relishing working on the Bellever roundhouse. "It's a great project for us," he says. "It's a chance to really try to find out what...
: Racing against time to save prehistoric Orkney site; The site at the Links of Noltland on the island of Westray on the northern fringes of the Orkney islands (Scotland) is emerging as one of the UK's most important...
: British caves give up more secrets; A new dig to find evidence of Britain's first man starts in Torquay (Devon, England) next week. The team of archaeologists are back at Kents Cavern to continue their major...
: Artefacts uncovered during roadworks give hints on early Irish life; The remains of a 9,000-year-old fishing basket uncovered at Clowanstown in Co Meath (Ireland) and an 'exceptional' raised wooden trackway close to the Dromod-Roosky bypass, were described at an archaeology...