david meadows
2021-02-14 16:33:14 UTC
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explorator 23.43 February 14, 2021
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You can read explorator online at:
https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/
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).
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EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Research suggests there won't be a 'single' origin of our species:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/mpif-oto020821.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210210133410.htm
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/11/on-the-origin-of-our-species/
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/on-the-origin-of-our-species/137093
... and a suggestion that it only took one gene alteration to lead to 'modern humans':
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210211144418.htm
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/researchers-engineer-a-neanderthal-gene-into-human-nerve-cells/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/12/966470891/minibrains-with-a-neanderthal-gene-offer-hints-about-human-evolution
cf: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6530/eaax2537
Not sure if we've mentioned this 86 000 years bp finger bone from the Nefud Desert and the rethink of human migration it's causing:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/02/10/new-story-unfolding-ancient-finger-bones-found-in-asia-force-a-rethinking-of-human-migration/
More on the study of Neanderthal 'gut microbiota':
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/oldest-dna-from-poop-contains-a-neanderthals-microbiome/
https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/anthropology/gut-stubborn/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/oldest-dna-from-poop-contains-a-neanderthals-microbiome/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/nehandertals-gut-microbiota-and.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/09/neanderthal-gut-microbiome-recovered-from-fecal-sediments-from-el-salt/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9431-210209-neanderthal-fecal-matter
More on 120 000 years bp symbols on cattle bones from Israel:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-cow-bone-may-have-120000-year-old-symbols-180976933/
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AFRICA
================================================================
Interesting/bizarre anthropomorphic figures in petroglyphs from Tanzania found a couple years ago:
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/tanzanian-rock-art-09332.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/eerie-figures-with-huge-heads-found-painted-in-a-rock-shelter-in-tanzania
cf: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/amakhee-4-a-newly-documented-rock-art-site-in-the-swaga-swaga-game-reserve/E7EACF28F4EA1BEFC3C8142F34353C49
Evidence of a possible epidemic and subsequent population collapse in central Africa 1400 - 1600 years bp:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-epidemic-possibly-population-collapse-central.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/gu-dep020421.php
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/disease-epidemic-possibly-caused-population-collapse-in-central-africa-1600-1400-years-ago/137130
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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
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Remains of a First Dynasty era 'beer factory' at Abydos:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/13/worlds-oldest-known-beer-factory-may-have-been-unearthed-in-egypt
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/2021/02/13/c5501ece-6e3d-11eb-a66e-e27046e9e898_story.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-abydos-75877886
https://www.startribune.com/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/600022806/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/egypt-uncovers-possible-worlds-oldest-214528972.html
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210213-egypt-claims-what-could-be-world-s-oldest-mass-production-brewery
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3121681/archaeologists-egypt-unearth-worlds-oldest-beer-factory
More on the Ptolemaic temple, Roman fort, and Coptic church remains recently found at Aswan:
https://www.livescience.com/fort-church-temple-ancient-egypt.html
More on that 'mud' mummy:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/ancient-embalmers-used-mud-to-hold-a-damaged-mummy-together/
A researcher came across a 1000 years bp Hebrew Bible on a Cairo synagogue bookshelf:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lost-1000-year-old-hebrew-bible-found-on-dusty-cairo-synagogue-shelf/
Egypt's Cabinet responded to rumours of plans to demolish some 'archaeological palaces':
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/98472/Egypt%E2%80%99s-cabinet-denies-rumors-of-plans-to-demolish-archaeological-palaces
Egypt is now punishing theft of antiquities with a life sentence and a huge fine:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/98563/Egypt-punishes-stealing-antiquities-by-life-imprisonment-LE-5M-fine
In Our Time this week was all about the Rosetta Stone:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s2qd
The Bent Pyramid supposedly has a 'real-life Indiana Jones trap':
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1397381/egypt-bent-pyramid-dahshur-archaeology-indiana-jones-trap-hidden-passage-found-spt
Feature on Amenhotep III's Malqata Palace:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/how-did-amenhotep-iiis-malqata-palace-look-like/
Review of Toby Wilkinson, *A World Beneath the Sands*:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/402725.aspx
Another 'announcement of an announcement', centering on El-Wahat:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98513/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Min-of-Tourism-Antiquities-prepares-for-new-archaeological-announcement
Remains of a monumental gateway built by Cyrus the Great near Persepolis:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457936/Ruins-of-majestic-historical-gateway-unearthed-near-Persepolis
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/gate-of-cyrus-great-unearthed-near.html
In case you missed the news of plans to stabilize the arch of Ctesiphon:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/01/aliph-and-iraqi-ministry-of-culture.html
More Iranian sites have been added to the national heritage list:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457992/Other-Iranian-antiquities-added-to-national-heritage-list
Feature on efforts to save sites in Babylon:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-babylon-iraq-archaeology-b1799289.html
... and Palmyra:
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/palmyra-civilisation-syria-islamic-state
Feature on Enuma Elish:
https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/the-myth-of-enuma-elish/
Palestinian roadwork is being blamed for damage to the Mount Ebal altar site associated with Joshua:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/joshuas-mount-ebal-altar-site-harmed-by-palestinian-road-work-658521
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/pa-damages-site-of-yehoshua-ben-nuns-altar-on-mount-ebal/2021/02/10/
... and it was restored:
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/culture/1613074632-jewish-settlers-restore-ancient-west-bank-site-reportedly-damaged-by-palestinians
Feature on the Chalcolithic/EBI megalithic site of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/rujm-el-hiri-the-stonehenge-of-the-levant/137136
More on 6500 years bp evidence of olive (not in oil form) consumption from Israel:
https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2021/02/in-ancient-israel-olives-werent-just-for-oil/
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/olives-for-ancient-eating/
More on the 'rediscovery' of some dolmens in Galilee mention by George V while travelling:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1395159/archaeology-news-israel-dolmen-tomb-galilee-king-george-V-evg
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ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
A Bronze Age cremation burial from Torre Guaceto (Italian):
http://www.meteoweb.eu/2021/02/scoperta-archeologica-riserva-torre-guaceto-necropoli-a-cremazione-eta-bronzo-foto/1546968/
A 2500 years bp 'olive mill' from Matera:
https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/production/2500-year-old-mill-discovered-in-italy/90454
Julio-Claudian burials from the Roman necropolis under Vatican City:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-friends-of-caesars-inside-vatican-city-657802
A hoard of 651 late Republic/early Augustan era silver coins from Aizanoi:
https://www.livescience.com/roman-era-silver-coins-turkey.html
https://www.9news.com.au/national/ancient-roman-coins-bearing-the-face-of-julius-caesar-and-his-killer-brutus-found-in-turkey/af6395d7-7c35-4925-8655-826baca92cff
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/turkey-roman-coins-scli-intl-scn/index.html
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/roman-silver-coins-aizanoi-turkey-09344.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-more-600-roman-coins-180976962/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9432-210210-turkey-roman-coins
Remains of Roman camps in Spain suggest Augustus copied Caesar's strategies in Gaul:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-08/los-40-campamentos-que-permitieron-a-augusto-dominar-el-norte-de-hispania.html
Finds from various periods, including a large 3rd/4th century Roman villa from Wittenham Clumps:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/14/astonishing-dig-reveals-domestic-life-in-the-iron-age
A 2000 years bp or so Cupid figurine among the finds made during A417 bypass construction in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/i-dig-u-2000-year-old-cupid-figurine-among-roman-artefacts-found-on-major-route
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/cupid-figurine-dating-back-2-172458921.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-56041431
Pondering a Boudica-era 'chariot harness' from Norfolk:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-55951598
Evidence of an 1800 years bp amphitheatre (and other finds) at Mastaura (Turkey):
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/arena-similar-to-romes-colosseum-discovered-in-western-turkey/news
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/14/colosseum-turkey-ancient-tralleis/
... and a similar (?) find from Mola Della Corte (Italian):
https://www.gazzettinodelgolfo.it/un-anfiteatro-romano-in-via-mola-della-corte-sensazionale-scoperta-archeologica-a-fondi/
A dining room touted as Hadrian's 'breakfast room' was revealed at Tivoli:
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/02/11/spanish-archaeologists-find-unique-example-of-roman-opulence/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9240253/Archaeology-Room-Roman-emperor-Hadrian-held-power-breakfasts-1-900-years-ago.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/archaeologists-discover-table-where-roman-emperor-hadrian-held-power-breakfasts-at-foot-of-apennines-kwtl86ncv
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hadrians-villa-breakfast-chamber-discovered-1943014
https://www.archeomedia.net/tivoli-roma-a-villa-adriana-scoperto-un-triclinio-acquatico/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/breakfast-nook-fit-emperor-archaeologists-discover-palace-where-hadrian-dined-180976991/
Also from Hadrianic times comes a 'shopping mall' on the Palatine hill:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/early-shopping-centre-gives-a-glimpse-of-life-in-ancient-rome-r6plxtcfv
A coin of Antoninus Pius found by an Israeli soldier on a training exercise:
https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/israelexperience/history/pages/rare-1800-year-old-roman-coin-found-on-southern-carmel-9-february-2021.aspx
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/1800-year-old-coin-found-by-soldier-offers-look-at-ancient-life-in-israel-658327
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-soldier-finds-rare-1800-year-old-coin-during-training-exercise-in-north/
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/02/10/idf-soldier-finds-rare-roman-coin-during-training-exercise/
https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/ByCNoSl1100
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/artifacts-and-the-bible/roman-coin-discovered-on-mt-carmel/
I think we mentioned this 1st-4th century CE Scythian necropolis from the Crimea:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/late-scythian-necropolis-discovered-in.html
A (literally) half Roman gold coin of Constantius II found by a Norfolk metal detectorist has been declared treasure:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk-half-roman-coin-find-declared-treasure-7315900
... as have nine aurei of Augustus, also found by a Norfolk metal detectorist:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk-coroners-court-treasure-inquest-roman-coin-hoard-7323332
Feature on recent work to stabilize and conserve the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/12/restoration-temple-olympian-zeus/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/inspection-of-conservation-works-at-the-olympeion/
Archaeologists have restored the marble flooring of a 1550 years bp church in Stratonikeia:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-1-550-year-old-churchs-base-ground-unearthed/2140674
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/marble-flooring-of-stratonikeia-church-meticulously-restored/news
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9437-210211-turkey-stratonikeia-floor
Some idiot was using the Roman remains at Verulamium as a bike ramp:
https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/verulamium-park-roman-ruins-used-as-bike-ramp-7320796
More on the assorted terracottas unearthed at Demre:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/02/08/greek-gods-and-mortals-come-to-life-in-terracotta-figurines/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dozens-2000-year-old-terracotta-figurines-found-turkey-180976978/
More on Dr Ester Salgarella’s work with Linear A:
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/minoan-linear-a-script-09329.html
The Dorset County Museum has purcased that Dewlish Roman mosaic:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-56001310
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/roman-mosaic-saved-for-nation-after-dorset-museum-digs-in-vzpzhn056
Feature on a wine press excavated at Antiochia ad Cragum:
https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/february-2021/ancient-roman-city-reveals-its-winemaking-secrets
Questioning the provenance of that sensational Sappho papyrus much in the news over the past five years:
https://theconversation.com/lovers-of-sappho-thrilled-by-new-poetry-find-but-its-backstory-may-have-been-fabricated-151176
https://news.umanitoba.ca/lovers-of-sappho-thrilled-by-new-poetry-find-but-its-backstory-may-have-been-fabricated/
Review of Bettany Hughes, *Venus and Aphrodite*:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/venus-aphrodite-review-divine-passion-divine-rage-11613144790
Review of Greg Woolf, *The Life and Death of Ancient Cities*:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n04/michael-kulikowski/a-marketplace-and-a-temple
Review of Natalie Haynes, *A Thousand Ships*:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/a-thousand-ships-book-review/2021/02/08/4885ae7c-60d2-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html
Reviewish of Natalie Haynes, *Pandora's Jar*:
https://www.popmatters.com/natalie-haynes-pandoras-jar-2649873316.html
An interview with Josiah Ober:
https://broadstreet.blog/2021/02/12/how-social-science-history-changes-our-view-of-the-ancient-world-a-conversation-with-josiah-ober/
Feature on Malta's 'Domus Romana':
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/107567/its_a_triple_anniversary_for_domvs_romana
Feature on the ancient (if it existed) disease of phthiriasis:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/insects-swarm-out-of-your-rotting-flesh-the-ancient-disease-that-may-or-may-not-exist/
Feature on Augusta Bilbilis:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/augusta-bilbilis-birthplace-of-the-roman-poet-martial/137096
Feature (in German) on scanning the Herculaneum papyri (not sure if they've found anything new lately:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/verkohlte-woerter-zwei-schriftrollen-aus-der-villa-dei-papiri-17179615.html
Feature on 'tax returns' in the ancient Roman world:
https://www.spearswms.com/ancient-rome-tax-returns/
Feature on Leigh Ann Cowan's translation of the Odyssey into ASL:
https://www.hsvvoice.com/story/special/2021/02/09/fountain-lake-alum-translates-homers-the-odyssey-into-asl/4370411001/
Feature on Othon Rhousopoulos as the 'father of modern conservation' in Greece:
https://www.ekathimerini.com/262047/gallery/ekathimerini/life/the-founder-of-modern-conservation-in-greece
Feature on a Roman soldier's payslip (from Masada ... not a recent find):
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hail-seizure-roman-soldiers-masada-payslip-shows-unfair-wages-go-way-back/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9237493/Roman-soldiers-payslip-1-900-years-ago-reveals-left-BROKE-military-deductions.html?ito=facebook_share_article-top
Feature on ambition in the Roman Republic:
https://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/ambition-in-the-roman-republic-a-guest-post-by-a-david-singh/
Feature on some ancient Greek women scientists and philosophers:
https://greekherald.com.au/culture/history/5-historic-female-greek-scientists-and-philosophers-you-should-know-about/
Feature on garum:
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/07/garum-the-funky-and-fishy-condiment-that-rose-and-fell-with-the-roman-empire/
Feature on damnatio memoriae:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/erasing-donald-trump-impeachment-romans.html
Feature on food in ancient Greece:
https://www.thetravel.com/what-did-the-ancient-greeks-eat/
Feature on the Peloponnesian War:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-greece/peloponnesian-war-facts-guide-athens-when-fought-who-won/
Feature on how chariot factions saved Constantinople from the Huns:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/how-chariot-racing-teams-saved-constantinople-from-the-huns/137070
Feature on ancient Greek connections to Valentine's Day:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/14/greek-mythology-valentines-day/
-----
Roman Archaeology Blog:
http://romanarc.blogspot.com/
Rogueclassicism:
http://rogueclassicism.com/
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EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
Plenty of coverage of an 17 000 years bp conch shell found 80 years ago in Marsoulas Cave being the oldest known manmade wind instrument:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-year-old-seashell-oldest-manmade-instrument.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/c-asr020521.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/aaft-ekc020821.php
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/science/conch-shell-horn.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56017967
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/10/conch-shell-in-french-museum-found-to-be-17000-year-old-wind-instrument
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2021/feb/11/listen-as-a-17000-year-old-conch-shell-is-played-once-more-video
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/oldest-wind-instrument-scli-intl-scn/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966322717/why-a-musician-breathed-new-life-into-a-17-000-year-old-conch-shell-horn
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/2021-02-10/why-a-musician-breathed-new-life-into-a-17-000-year-old-conch-shell-horn
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-seashell-conch-shell-horn-humans-cave-art
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/marsoulas-seashell-horn-09349.html
https://www.wired.com/story/listen-to-an-18000-year-old-instrument-sing-once-more
https://gizmodo.com/after-17-000-years-a-rediscovered-conch-horn-is-played-1846238951
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/listen-to-haunting-notes-from-an-18000-year-old-conch-shell-trumpet/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/ancient-seashell-resonates-after-18000.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/11/ancient-seashell-resonates-after-18000-years/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9438-210211-france-paleolithic-shell
cf: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/7/eabe9510
A 5000 years bp crystal dagger find from a burial in Spain:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9177867/Rare-5-000-year-old-crystal-dagger-uncovered-Prehistoric-Iberian-megalithic-tomb-Spain.html
A possible new 'Skara Brae' from Orkney:
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/have-archaeologists-found-another-skara-brae-orkney-3129649
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/islands/2890255/a-new-skara-brae-orkney/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9469-210212-orkney-neolithic-erosion
Suggestion that Stonehenge was originally in Wales, then dismantled and moved to the Salisbury Plain:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-stonehenge-stones-older-monument.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56029203
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/12/dramatic-discovery-links-stonehenge-to-its-original-site-in-wales
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/science/stonehenge-archaeology-wales-parker-pearson.html
https://abcnews.go.com/International/stonehenge-rebuilt-welsh-stone-circle-research-shows/story?id=75802690
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/12/dramatic-discovery-links-stonehenge-to-its-original-site-in-wales
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/england-s-stonehenge-was-erected-wales-first
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/stonehenge-discovery-rocks-wales
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stonehenges-inner-stone-circle-originally-built-in-wales-1943583
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2021/02/3-ton-parts-stonehenge-may-carried-from-earlier-monuments/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stonehenge-was-moved-wales-new-research-suggests-180977010/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9468-210212-wales-stonehenge-bluestones
cf: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/original-stonehenge-a-dismantled-stone-circle-in-the-preseli-hills-of-west-wales/B7DAA4A7792B4DAB57DDE0E3136FBC33
... a related feature on what Wessex Archaeology has found in various tunnel-related surveys at Stonehenge:
https://www.livescience.com/stonehenge-graves-enclosure-discovered-tunnel-construction.html
https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/a303-stonehenge-evaluation-works-uncover-glimpses-prehistoric-life
https://www.sciencealert.com/tunnel-construction-near-stone-henge-finds-ancient-bodies-and-a-strange-enclosure
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/neolithic-graves-unearthed-at.html
Finds from various Roman and post-Roman eras from a dig in Derbyshire:
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/roman-and-prehistoric-remains-found-after-archaeological-dig-huge-north-derbyshire-new-homes-development-3132226
Iron Age Pottery from Hirta:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-55995799
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/archaeologists-discover-evidence-of-iron-age-inhabitation-on-remote-island-of-st-kilda/137085
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9433-210210-scotland-kilda-archipelago
A 16th century cannonball from in front of a 15th century church in Edinburgh:
https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/cannonball-fired-church-during-16th-century-siege-uncovered-beneath-route-edinburgh-tram-extension-3133817
The British Museum released a report and there was a spate of coverage about 'treasure trove' finds from various UK places in 2019, e.g. Cumbria:
https://www.cwherald.com/news/record-number-of-buried-treasure-troves-found-in-cumbria-in-2019/
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/19083984.cumbria-sees-record-amount-treasure-discovered-one-year/
... Powys:
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19082883.many-people-digging-treasure-powys/
... Swindon and Wiltshire:
https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/19082478.swindon-wiltshire-remain-hotspots-finding-treasure-hundreds-new-discoveries/
... Shropshire:
https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/attractions/2021/02/12/detectorists-really-treasure-shropshire-and-its-rich-history/
... Lancashire:
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/people/buried-treasure-found-lancashire-3133517
... North Yorkshire:
https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/north-yorkshire-uk-hotspot-buried-treasure-hundreds-finds-discovered-3131880
... South Yorkshire:
https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/people/more-half-dozen-buried-treasure-troves-found-south-yorkshire-2019-3133006
... West Yorkshire:
https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/handful-buried-treasure-troves-found-west-yorkshire-2019-3131791
... Berkshire:
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/19084253.nearly-dozen-buried-treasure-troves-found-berkshire-reading-2019/
... Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/numerous-buried-treasure-troves-found-cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-one-year-3133815
... Vale of Glamorgan:
https://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/19086413.vale-glamorgan-treasure-hunters-unearth-half-dozen-hidden-hordes/
Plans to excavate Worlebury Hillfort:
https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/plans-to-uncover-worlebury-hillfort-move-forward-7315380
The Archdiocese of Cyprus appears to have demolished some historically-significant buildings:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/cyprus-icom-condemns-the-demolition-of-listed-buildings-in-nicosia/
Excavation in Tallinn continue, despite the cold:
https://news.err.ee/1608107479/archaeological-excavations-in-tallinn-ongoing-despite-freezing-conditions
More on a metal detectorist's find of a bit of Henry VIII's crown:
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/treasure-hunter-finds-lost-statuette-from-henry-viiis-crown
https://filmdaily.co/news/henry-viii-crown/
Feature on Basil Brown:
https://www.burymercury.co.uk/news/basil-brown-links-with-west-suffolk-7322294
Feature on the disappearance of Norse colonies from Greenland:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-did-greenlands-norse-colonies-mysteriously-vanish-walrus-bones-hold-the
Feature on Sutton Hoo:
https://www.livescience.com/who-was-buried-sutton-hoo.html
Feature on the Avery Stone Circle and environs:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/exploring-the-avebury-stone-circle-landscape/137118
Feature on the British Iron Age:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/iron-age/guide-british-iron-age-what-when-how-live-britons/
Feature on the restoration of the largest Gothic altarpiece (in Poland):
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/worlds-largest-gothic-altarpiece-dazzles-again-after-6-year-restoration-project-84600
Feature on the 'leaning tower of Bristol':
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/story-behind-leaning-tower-bristol-4989550
Another housing-project-might-be-delayed-by-archaeology piece ... near Chesterfield:
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/major-plans-build-150-homes-near-chesterfield-could-be-delayed-archaeological-digs-3125997
----------
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
================================================================
A reexamination/study of some teeth from a site in China suggests they are 16 000 years bp, not 120 000:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-retesting-ancient-teeth-china-years.html
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-when-did-modern-humans-reach-china-later-than-thought-1.9520822
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9434-210210-china-teeth-redated
2700 years bp 'face cream' from a burial at Liujiawa:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-2700yearold-cream-men-chinese-site.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00346-y
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-find-2700-year-old-facial-cream-180976973/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9435-210211-china-cosmetic-jar
On the restoration of the colonial-era Murray House in Hong Kong:
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3119722/colonial-era-murray-houses-resurrection-hong-kong-20-years
A Hoysala-era Jain temple site in Karnataka:
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-asi-unearths-jain-temple-in-hassan-district-karnataka/373856
Excavations have resumed at Keeladi:
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/seventh-phase-of-excavation-begins-at-keeladi-archaeological-site/2029201
... also at Keezhadi:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/feb/14/7th-phase-of-keezhadi-excavation-launched-2263792.html
There are plenty of ancient temple remains along the Mahi river, apparently:
https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/ratlam-treasure-trove-of-ancient-temples-lies-hidden-on-banks-of-mahi-river
Gandhara-era murals from a Buddhist site in Swat:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1606050
Those finds seem connected to a monastic/educational complex dating to the Kushan Empire from Swat:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/2000-year-old-buddhist-complex.html
Illegal dig concerns in Manshera:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1606345/treasure-hunters-warned-against-digging-up-graves
I'm sure we'll hear more about the dating of Ram Setu:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ram-setu-not-an-ancient-monument-former-v-c-tells-sc/article33805549.ece
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
15th century Venetian glass beads (apparently) from a site in Alaska (!):
https://news.uaf.edu/blue-beads-in-the-tundra/
https://www.livescience.com/blue-glass-beads-predate-columbus-in-alaska.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/controversial-study-claims-european-beads-found-in-alaska-predate-columbus
https://gizmodo.com/found-in-alaska-these-blue-beads-could-be-the-oldest-e-1846208780
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/precolumbian-venetian-glass-trade-beads.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-blue-beads-european-artifact-north-america-old-180976966/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9428-210208-venetian-beads-alaska
Bones of six sailors have been found in the remains of the Whydah off Cape Cod:
https://www.wamc.org/post/trove-antique-portraits-including-1-susan-b-anthony-found-attic
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/508/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/508/pub/508/page/70/article/141405
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scholars-discover-six-skeletons-whydah-pirate-ship-180977011/
Studying 'moonshine sites' in South Carolina:
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/booze-for-al-capone-archaeologists-study-sc-illegal-moonshine-sites-near-charleston/article_00b4f422-5745-11eb-adc8-9b04476abb1e.html
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2021/02/archaeologists-find-prohibition-era-still-linked-to-al-capone/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9470-210212-south-carolina-stills
Coverage of the dig in North Greenwood Cemetery in Clearwater (this is pretty much day-by-day, in order):
https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_e3bcd616-6bd8-11eb-a1fb-07cdb7ce661d.html
https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2021/02/11/grave-markers-found-at-the-former-site-of-a-black-cemetery-in-clearwater/
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/special-reports/erased/north-greenwood-cemetery-forgotten/67-40ba74da-71d7-4130-9968-e402b18e8f08
https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/archaeologists-discover-human-remains-at-north-greenwood-cemetery/
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2021/02/12/excavation-complete-at-north-greenwood-cemetery--what-s-next-
Some historically-significant 'antique portraits' were found in a hidden portrait studio in Geneva NY (we may have mentioned this place):
https://www.wamc.org/post/trove-antique-portraits-including-1-susan-b-anthony-found-attic
Feature on Nance Legins-Costley (first enslaved person freed by Lincoln):
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/06/nance-legins-costley-of-pekin-the-first-slave-lincoln-freed/4373306001/
Feature on the Dorsey scrapbooks:
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/02/race-save-black-history-archives/617932/
Feature on Prince Hall (an African-American abolitionist):
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/prince-hall-forgotten-founder/617791/
Feature on Alexander Twilight (first African-American person to get a BA in the US):
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/02/08/complex-history-alexander-twilight-middleburys-first-black-graduate/4094045001/
Feature on the 1690 Schenectady Massacre:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Church-continues-to-remember-victims-of-1690-15944653.php
Feature on Howard Taft:
https://mailchi.mp/dailynutmeg/william-howard-taft-presidents-day-redux-2?e=2c38baa027
More on that Tlingit fortress:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/lost-alaskan-indigenous-fort-rediscovered-after-200-years/
More on Utah's 'Lehi Horse' remains and their implications:
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/02/04/horse-remains-reveal-new-insights-how-native-peoples-raised-horses
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9429-210208-lehi-horse-utah
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
Evidence that ancient Amazonian communities in Brazil developed land over the centuries and eventually protected it with palisades:
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_842215_en.html
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-ancient-amazonian-farmers-fortified-valuable.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uoe-aaf020921.php
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/ancient-amazonian-farmers-fortified.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9436-210211-bolivia-village-palisade
A Chimu culture burial from Peru:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/pre-hispanic-burial-found-near-urban.html
Feature on recent Taino finds from St Thomas:
https://stthomassource.com/content/2021/02/11/taino-today-part-4-recent-discoveries-at-cinnamon-bay-show-presence-of-early-indigenous-culture/
Feature on Chile's Pereira Palace:
https://www.latercera.com/tendencias/noticia/palacio-pereira-una-historia-increible/OIMPFXNT5JAAVMP7QQ4YQOKHTU/
Feature on shark hunting in ancient Brazil:
https://www.theage.com.au/world/south-america/auctioned-pre-columbian-artefacts-seized-by-police-20210213-p5727d.html
More on that colossal mask found in the Yucatan:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/colossal-ancient-maya-stucco-mask.html
-----
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
================================================================
Feature on the popularity of ostrich eggs in the ancient Mediterranean:
https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2021/02/eggstraordinary-objects
Nice feature on Cupid in art over the millennia:
https://hyperallergic.com/621221/cupid-shoots-through-millennia-of-art/
On the revival of Hanfu clothing:
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3121293/hanfu-traditional-chinese-clothing-and-young-people-hong
Assorted history of Valentine's Day items:
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/14-valentines-day-facts-2021-things-you-didnt-know-about-st-valentine-cupid-and-february-day-love-3133713
https://www.grossepointenews.com/articles/valentine-history-not-very-amorous/
https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-valentines-day-2021-who-was-st-valentine-and-why-do-we-celebrate-valentines-day-on-february-14-2875092
http://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/10834/20210213/heres-what-valentines-day-really-is-about.htm
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/1707/men-running-around-after-women-in-nothing-but-goatskin-loincloths-exploring-myths-of-st-valentine
https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/lifestyle/soon-it-will-be-valentines-day-the-story-behind-the-worlds-most-romantic-day/
https://www.themarysue.com/ancient-precursor-to-valentines-day-lupercalia/
https://www.ibtimes.com/valentines-day-2021-history-who-invented-holiday-3144321
'Different' feature on Presidents' Day:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/arts/design/presidents-day-museums-tours.html
On the influence of Japanese design on the West in the late 19th century:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/t-magazine/japonisme-paris-western-design.html
Soldiers killed in Napoleon's 1812 retreat were (re)buried:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56052504
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210213-two-centuries-after-napoleon-defeat-russia-and-france-bury-their-dead
https://nypost.com/2021/02/09/remains-of-napoleons-soldiers-to-be-buried-in-russia/
Feature on 'lingerie' in the 17th and 18th centuries:
https://theconversation.com/i-die-where-i-cling-garters-and-busks-inscribed-with-love-notes-were-the-sexy-lingerie-of-the-past-154645
Feature on turtles in history:
https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-long-history-of-warrior-turtles-from-ancient-myth-to-warships-to-teenage-mutants-152614
Interesting 18th century 'deathbed confession' pamphlet:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/13/highwaymans-1750-confessions-reveal-unusual-ambivalence-about-gay-sex
What the Great Gatsby is really about:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel
Pondering pardoning 2500 witches who were executed in Scotland years ago:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19087966.time-pardon-2500-witches-executed-scotland/
Pondering the 150th anniversary of Darwin's 'Descent of Man':
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/13/how-should-we-address-charles-darwin-complicated-legacy
Suggestion that Alfonso de Zamora was 'secretly Jewish':
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/was-one-of-catholic-spains-most-famous-scholars-secretly-jewish-658235
On the history of the 'nervous breakdown':
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/bring-back-the-nervous-breakdown/617788/
Feature on Rotwelsch language:
https://psyche.co/ideas/how-a-secret-european-language-made-a-rabbit-and-survived
Feature on 'lost' cities:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/incredible-lost-cities-we-ve-rediscovered/ss-BB1dtzF1?li=BBnbklE
On the history of pizza:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pizza-day-history-naples/index.html
Feature on what happened when Brooklyn renumbered its streets 150 years ago:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/incredible-lost-cities-we-ve-rediscovered/ss-BB1dtzF1?li=BBnbklE
Feature on rethinking 'goddess statues':
https://www.popsci.com/story/science/ancient-statues-misinterpreted-by-historians/
Carnival in Venice is tourist-free this year:
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3120930/venetians-keep-magic-alive-tourist-free-carnival-kicks
Feature on the lost continent of Zealandia:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210205-the-last-secrets-of-the-worlds-lost-continent
Another feature on ancient perception of 'blue':
https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2021/02/09/the-curious-case-of-the-missing-color-blue/
Feature on almond milk in the Middle Ages:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/people-went-crazy-for-almond-milk-in-the-middle-ages
Pondering Shakespeare's villains:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/theater/shakespeare-all-the-devils-are-here-review.html
The human eye is apparently better at 'archaeological colour tests' than machines:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-human-eye-machine-archaeological-identification.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/fmon-heb020921.php
Feature on the 10 'greatest movie archaeologists':
https://screenrant.com/netflix-the-dig-best-movie-archaeologists/
The remains of Khaled al-Asaad have been located (maybe) by Syrian authorities:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55977964
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/syria/2021/02/08/syria-remains-of-palmyra-archaeologist-found_ef2e819c-d262-45a8-b1f8-90343696c946.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/body-of-antiquities-scholar-beheaded-by-is-in-2015-believed-to-be-found/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/08/syria-finds-body-famed-archaeologist-beheaded-islamic-state/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-palmyra-khaled-asaad-archeologist-remains-possible-found
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/body-of-archaeologist-who-died-defending-palmyra-from-isis-has-been-found-says-syrian-media
https://hyperallergic.com/620601/khaled-al-asaad-archaeologist-beheaded/
More on children's identity tags being found at Sobibor:
https://www.livescience.com/nazi-death-camp-sobibor-children-id-tags.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9430-210208-children-id-tags
More on evidence that Richard III murdered the princes in the tower:
https://www.livescience.com/richard-iii-nephew-murders.html
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/historian-bolsters-case-that-richard-iii-murdered-the-princes-in-the-tower/
================================================================
CURRENT EVENTS:
================================================================
COVID-19 has contributed to the worst UK economy in 300 years, apparently:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/economy/uk-gdp-record-fall/index.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-economy-suffers-biggest-slump-in-300-years-amid-covid-19-lockdowns-11613118912
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/u-k-recession-risk-averted-as-economy-grows-more-than-forecast
How Florence Nightingale would deal with COVID-19:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/11/florence-nightingale-covid-fresh-air-britain-ventilated
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Pompeii (Houston):
https://www.kvue.com/article/travel/pompeii-exhibit-houston-museum-of-natural-science/269-70c5b62c-e4de-474b-91b2-d8a8db11d546
https://www.houstoniamag.com/arts-and-culture/2021/02/houston-museum-of-natural-science-pompeii-exhibition
Pompeii (Colosseum):
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2021/02/08/rome-and-pompeii-star-together-in-colosseum-show_5f75c2cb-c273-44b4-80ff-2a861526ebf9.html
Galen (online):
http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2021/february/TheEmpirePhysician.html
Goya:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/arts/design/goya-met-museum.html
Kings of the Sun:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98471/Egypt-s-Kings-of-the-Sun-exhibition-in-Prague-extended
Rembrandt and Slavery:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/09/rembrandt-slavery-slave-trade-marten-soolmans-oopjen-coppit
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/slavery
Hokusai:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/these-rediscovered-drawings-by-hokusai-are-extraordinary
https://www.artfixdaily.com/news_feed/2021/02/11/4000-103-lost-drawings-represent-hokusai-at-peak-of-his-powers-in-late
Black Art:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/arts/design/black-art-hbo-review.html
Islamic Art:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1808206/middle-east
Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythoi:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/2600-year-old-ancient-perfume-bottles-go-on-display-for-1st-time/news
The Paphos Museum has (finally) opened:
https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/02/11/after-years-of-delays-paphos-museum-finally-opens-its-doors/
Folks visiting the Troy Museum can watch restorations as they happen:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/events/troy-museum-visitors-to-watch-restorations-live
Feature on the National Museum of African American Music:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/national-museum-african-american-music-opens-nashville-180976960/
Latest transfers to the GEM:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98425/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Grand-Museum-receives-artifacts-from-Egyptian-Museum-in-Tahrir
... and the construction is 98% complete, we are told:
https://www.egyptindependent.com/grand-egyptian-museum-has-finalized-98-of-engineering-work-says-official/
The Louvre has a new storage facility:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/arts/design/louvre-lievin-conservation-center.html
================================================================
AUCTIONS AND SALES RELATED
================================================================
Some auctioned pre-Columbian items in a Rio di Janeiro gallery were seized by police:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-crime-artifacts/pre-columbian-artifacts-auctioned-in-brazil-recovered-by-police-idUSKBN2AC2LU
https://www.theage.com.au/world/south-america/auctioned-pre-columbian-artefacts-seized-by-police-20210213-p5727d.html
================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
A project showing the potential of extracting DNA from remains of owl pellets:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/ancient-owl-vomit-helps-researchers-unpack-prehistoric-bone-secrets/
================================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS
================================================================
Using indigenous oral history to study climate in Alaska:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-indigenous-oral-tradition-is-guiding-archaeology-and-uncovering-climate
================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
Romans in Augsburg:
https://www.prudentpressagency.com/augsburg-art-in-public-on-the-trail-of-the-romans-in-augsburg/
Pangalanes Canal (Madagascar):
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/feb/09/the-fabulous-folly-of-madagascars-pangalanes-canal
Patara:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/cinema/turkeys-ancient-city-patara-to-shine-as-film-set
Provence:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/south-france-painters-cezanne-van-gogh/2021/02/04/1f395836-60bc-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
Milan:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210208-milan-italys-lost-city-of-canals
Baiae:
https://www.king5.com/video/tech/science/amaze-lab/check-out-the-las-vegas-of-the-roman-empire-an-ancient-sunken-city/609-86147394-ca29-404e-9aae-28a04690efc3
================================================================
PERFORMANCES AND MUSIC RELATED
================================================================
Electra:
https://www.twulasso.com/redbud-theatres-electra-revives-greek-classic/
On Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy':
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/arts/music/beethoven-ninth-ode-joy-classical-music.html
================================================================
TV/DOCUMENTARY HYPISH THINGS
================================================================
Lot 448 (on recovering looted Etruscan antiquities):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2021/02/09/lot-448-the-race-to-recover-italys-looted-etruscan-treasures/
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Not sure where to put this story of a Brazilian pensioner being forced by 'raiders' to move after the discovery of 200 years bp coins in her back yard:
https://www.zenger.news/2021/02/08/old-age-pensioner-senior-flees-thugs-after-digging-up-treasure-trove-of-ancient-coins/
Trying to curb increasing looting in Asdrubal in Cartagena:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-10/cultura-investiga-los-trabajos-para-urbanizar-el-yacimiento-arqueologico-de-asdrubal-en-cartagena.html
I think we mentioned this bust in Istanbul:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-71-historical-artifacts-seized-in-istanbul/2131244
----------
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
================================================================
A missing artifact was found and returned to the Temagami First Nation:
https://www.nugget.ca/news/missing-artifact-returns-to-temagami-first-nation
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/missing-artifact-returns-temagami-115513941.html
Another story involving heirs of a collector, this time returning a looted Celtiberian helmet:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-11/los-herederos-de-un-coleccionista-devuelven-uno-de-los-cascos-celtiberos-expoliados-en-aratis.html
A San Francisco museum will be returning some Thai objects:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-Asian-Art-Museum-agrees-to-return-allegedly-15941285.php
Feature on Mwazulu Diayabanza's efforts to recover "pillaged" African artifacts:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/07/mwariches-african-activist-stealing-europes-museums?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
More on guilty tourists returning items to Italy:
https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/sorry-italy-tourists-return-looted-treasures.html
More on dead-art-dealer returns of items to Cambodia:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cambodia-khmer-artifacts-douglas-latchford/index.html
https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/controversial-art-dealers-daughter-will-return-over-100-antiquities-to-cambodia-172091/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9427-210208-cambodia-looted-artifacts
... and a related opEd on Cambodia and repatriation:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/13/cambodia-looted-statues-ancient-khmer-objects
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
Feature on coinage of ancient Numidia:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-coinage-of-ancient-numidia/
Feature on counterfeiting:
https://www.numismaticnews.net/world-coins/counterfeiting-the-oldest-profession
Latest e-Sylum:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n06.html
... and the one which should appear later today:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n07.html
------------------------
Coin Week:
http://www.coinweek.com/
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Herschel Shanks:
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/dead-sea-scrolls-liberator-hershel-shanks-passes-away-at-90-658457
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/died-hershel-shanks-biblical-archaeology-review-dead-sea-sc.html
https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2021/02/remembering-the-man-who-liberated-the-dead-sea-scrolls-and-popularized-knowledge-of-ancient-israel/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/hershel-shanks-dead/2021/02/09/944dbe2c-6a22-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html
https://aleteia.org/2021/02/09/biblical-archaeology-review-founder-dies-at-age-90/
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/hershel-shanks-popularizer-of-biblical-archaeology-dies-at-90
https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jta/hershel-shanks-popularizer-of-biblical-archaeology-dies-at-90/article_5b39b473-afe2-5dfe-87ad-d000e26391ce.html
Robert L Herbert:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/arts/robert-herbert-dead.html
Brenda Ballin:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/obituaries/brenda-ballin-virus-lost.html
Flory Jagoda:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/966942550/remembering-flory-jagoda-who-preserved-sephardic-jewish-music-and-language
================================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
================================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:
https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/3022-audio-news-from-archaeologica-january-31-through-february-6-2021
================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/
About.com Archaeology:
http://archaeology.about.com/
Archaeology Briefs:
http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/
Atlas Obscura:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/
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/
================================================================
EXPLORATOR is a free weekly newsletter bringing you the latest
news of archaeological finds, historical research and the like.
Various on-line news and magazine sources are scoured for news of
the 'ancient world' (broadly construed: practically anything relating
to archaeology or history up to a century or so ago is fair
game) and every Sunday they are delivered to your mailbox free of
charge!
================================================================
Useful Addresses
================================================================
You can read Explorator online at:
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Past issues of Explorator are also available on the web via our
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================================================================
Explorator is Copyright (c) 2021 David Meadows. Feel free to
distribute these listings via email to your pals, students,
teachers, etc., but please include this copyright notice. These
links are not to be posted to any website by any means (whether
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making use of content gathered in Explorator. Thanks!
================================================================
explorator 23.43 February 14, 2021
===============================================================
You can read explorator online at:
https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/
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).
================================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
================================================================
Research suggests there won't be a 'single' origin of our species:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/mpif-oto020821.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210210133410.htm
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/11/on-the-origin-of-our-species/
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/on-the-origin-of-our-species/137093
... and a suggestion that it only took one gene alteration to lead to 'modern humans':
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210211144418.htm
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/researchers-engineer-a-neanderthal-gene-into-human-nerve-cells/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/12/966470891/minibrains-with-a-neanderthal-gene-offer-hints-about-human-evolution
cf: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6530/eaax2537
Not sure if we've mentioned this 86 000 years bp finger bone from the Nefud Desert and the rethink of human migration it's causing:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/02/10/new-story-unfolding-ancient-finger-bones-found-in-asia-force-a-rethinking-of-human-migration/
More on the study of Neanderthal 'gut microbiota':
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/oldest-dna-from-poop-contains-a-neanderthals-microbiome/
https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/anthropology/gut-stubborn/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/oldest-dna-from-poop-contains-a-neanderthals-microbiome/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/nehandertals-gut-microbiota-and.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/09/neanderthal-gut-microbiome-recovered-from-fecal-sediments-from-el-salt/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9431-210209-neanderthal-fecal-matter
More on 120 000 years bp symbols on cattle bones from Israel:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-cow-bone-may-have-120000-year-old-symbols-180976933/
================================================================
AFRICA
================================================================
Interesting/bizarre anthropomorphic figures in petroglyphs from Tanzania found a couple years ago:
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/tanzanian-rock-art-09332.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/eerie-figures-with-huge-heads-found-painted-in-a-rock-shelter-in-tanzania
cf: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/amakhee-4-a-newly-documented-rock-art-site-in-the-swaga-swaga-game-reserve/E7EACF28F4EA1BEFC3C8142F34353C49
Evidence of a possible epidemic and subsequent population collapse in central Africa 1400 - 1600 years bp:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-epidemic-possibly-population-collapse-central.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/gu-dep020421.php
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/disease-epidemic-possibly-caused-population-collapse-in-central-africa-1600-1400-years-ago/137130
================================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
================================================================
Remains of a First Dynasty era 'beer factory' at Abydos:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/13/worlds-oldest-known-beer-factory-may-have-been-unearthed-in-egypt
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/2021/02/13/c5501ece-6e3d-11eb-a66e-e27046e9e898_story.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-abydos-75877886
https://www.startribune.com/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/600022806/
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/science/egypt-archaeologists-unearth-ancient-beer-factory-in-abydos/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/egypt-uncovers-possible-worlds-oldest-214528972.html
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210213-egypt-claims-what-could-be-world-s-oldest-mass-production-brewery
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3121681/archaeologists-egypt-unearth-worlds-oldest-beer-factory
More on the Ptolemaic temple, Roman fort, and Coptic church remains recently found at Aswan:
https://www.livescience.com/fort-church-temple-ancient-egypt.html
More on that 'mud' mummy:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/ancient-embalmers-used-mud-to-hold-a-damaged-mummy-together/
A researcher came across a 1000 years bp Hebrew Bible on a Cairo synagogue bookshelf:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lost-1000-year-old-hebrew-bible-found-on-dusty-cairo-synagogue-shelf/
Egypt's Cabinet responded to rumours of plans to demolish some 'archaeological palaces':
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/98472/Egypt%E2%80%99s-cabinet-denies-rumors-of-plans-to-demolish-archaeological-palaces
Egypt is now punishing theft of antiquities with a life sentence and a huge fine:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/98563/Egypt-punishes-stealing-antiquities-by-life-imprisonment-LE-5M-fine
In Our Time this week was all about the Rosetta Stone:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000s2qd
The Bent Pyramid supposedly has a 'real-life Indiana Jones trap':
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1397381/egypt-bent-pyramid-dahshur-archaeology-indiana-jones-trap-hidden-passage-found-spt
Feature on Amenhotep III's Malqata Palace:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/how-did-amenhotep-iiis-malqata-palace-look-like/
Review of Toby Wilkinson, *A World Beneath the Sands*:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/402725.aspx
Another 'announcement of an announcement', centering on El-Wahat:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98513/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Min-of-Tourism-Antiquities-prepares-for-new-archaeological-announcement
Remains of a monumental gateway built by Cyrus the Great near Persepolis:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457936/Ruins-of-majestic-historical-gateway-unearthed-near-Persepolis
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/gate-of-cyrus-great-unearthed-near.html
In case you missed the news of plans to stabilize the arch of Ctesiphon:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/01/aliph-and-iraqi-ministry-of-culture.html
More Iranian sites have been added to the national heritage list:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457992/Other-Iranian-antiquities-added-to-national-heritage-list
Feature on efforts to save sites in Babylon:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-babylon-iraq-archaeology-b1799289.html
... and Palmyra:
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/palmyra-civilisation-syria-islamic-state
Feature on Enuma Elish:
https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/the-myth-of-enuma-elish/
Palestinian roadwork is being blamed for damage to the Mount Ebal altar site associated with Joshua:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/joshuas-mount-ebal-altar-site-harmed-by-palestinian-road-work-658521
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/pa-damages-site-of-yehoshua-ben-nuns-altar-on-mount-ebal/2021/02/10/
... and it was restored:
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/culture/1613074632-jewish-settlers-restore-ancient-west-bank-site-reportedly-damaged-by-palestinians
Feature on the Chalcolithic/EBI megalithic site of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/rujm-el-hiri-the-stonehenge-of-the-levant/137136
More on 6500 years bp evidence of olive (not in oil form) consumption from Israel:
https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2021/02/in-ancient-israel-olives-werent-just-for-oil/
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/olives-for-ancient-eating/
More on the 'rediscovery' of some dolmens in Galilee mention by George V while travelling:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1395159/archaeology-news-israel-dolmen-tomb-galilee-king-george-V-evg
================================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
================================================================
A Bronze Age cremation burial from Torre Guaceto (Italian):
http://www.meteoweb.eu/2021/02/scoperta-archeologica-riserva-torre-guaceto-necropoli-a-cremazione-eta-bronzo-foto/1546968/
A 2500 years bp 'olive mill' from Matera:
https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/production/2500-year-old-mill-discovered-in-italy/90454
Julio-Claudian burials from the Roman necropolis under Vatican City:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-friends-of-caesars-inside-vatican-city-657802
A hoard of 651 late Republic/early Augustan era silver coins from Aizanoi:
https://www.livescience.com/roman-era-silver-coins-turkey.html
https://www.9news.com.au/national/ancient-roman-coins-bearing-the-face-of-julius-caesar-and-his-killer-brutus-found-in-turkey/af6395d7-7c35-4925-8655-826baca92cff
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/turkey-roman-coins-scli-intl-scn/index.html
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/roman-silver-coins-aizanoi-turkey-09344.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-more-600-roman-coins-180976962/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9432-210210-turkey-roman-coins
Remains of Roman camps in Spain suggest Augustus copied Caesar's strategies in Gaul:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-08/los-40-campamentos-que-permitieron-a-augusto-dominar-el-norte-de-hispania.html
Finds from various periods, including a large 3rd/4th century Roman villa from Wittenham Clumps:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/14/astonishing-dig-reveals-domestic-life-in-the-iron-age
A 2000 years bp or so Cupid figurine among the finds made during A417 bypass construction in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/i-dig-u-2000-year-old-cupid-figurine-among-roman-artefacts-found-on-major-route
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/cupid-figurine-dating-back-2-172458921.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-56041431
Pondering a Boudica-era 'chariot harness' from Norfolk:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-55951598
Evidence of an 1800 years bp amphitheatre (and other finds) at Mastaura (Turkey):
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/arena-similar-to-romes-colosseum-discovered-in-western-turkey/news
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/14/colosseum-turkey-ancient-tralleis/
... and a similar (?) find from Mola Della Corte (Italian):
https://www.gazzettinodelgolfo.it/un-anfiteatro-romano-in-via-mola-della-corte-sensazionale-scoperta-archeologica-a-fondi/
A dining room touted as Hadrian's 'breakfast room' was revealed at Tivoli:
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/02/11/spanish-archaeologists-find-unique-example-of-roman-opulence/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9240253/Archaeology-Room-Roman-emperor-Hadrian-held-power-breakfasts-1-900-years-ago.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/archaeologists-discover-table-where-roman-emperor-hadrian-held-power-breakfasts-at-foot-of-apennines-kwtl86ncv
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hadrians-villa-breakfast-chamber-discovered-1943014
https://www.archeomedia.net/tivoli-roma-a-villa-adriana-scoperto-un-triclinio-acquatico/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/breakfast-nook-fit-emperor-archaeologists-discover-palace-where-hadrian-dined-180976991/
Also from Hadrianic times comes a 'shopping mall' on the Palatine hill:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/early-shopping-centre-gives-a-glimpse-of-life-in-ancient-rome-r6plxtcfv
A coin of Antoninus Pius found by an Israeli soldier on a training exercise:
https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/israelexperience/history/pages/rare-1800-year-old-roman-coin-found-on-southern-carmel-9-february-2021.aspx
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/1800-year-old-coin-found-by-soldier-offers-look-at-ancient-life-in-israel-658327
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-soldier-finds-rare-1800-year-old-coin-during-training-exercise-in-north/
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/02/10/idf-soldier-finds-rare-roman-coin-during-training-exercise/
https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/ByCNoSl1100
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/artifacts-and-the-bible/roman-coin-discovered-on-mt-carmel/
I think we mentioned this 1st-4th century CE Scythian necropolis from the Crimea:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/late-scythian-necropolis-discovered-in.html
A (literally) half Roman gold coin of Constantius II found by a Norfolk metal detectorist has been declared treasure:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk-half-roman-coin-find-declared-treasure-7315900
... as have nine aurei of Augustus, also found by a Norfolk metal detectorist:
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk-coroners-court-treasure-inquest-roman-coin-hoard-7323332
Feature on recent work to stabilize and conserve the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/12/restoration-temple-olympian-zeus/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/inspection-of-conservation-works-at-the-olympeion/
Archaeologists have restored the marble flooring of a 1550 years bp church in Stratonikeia:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-1-550-year-old-churchs-base-ground-unearthed/2140674
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/marble-flooring-of-stratonikeia-church-meticulously-restored/news
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9437-210211-turkey-stratonikeia-floor
Some idiot was using the Roman remains at Verulamium as a bike ramp:
https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/verulamium-park-roman-ruins-used-as-bike-ramp-7320796
More on the assorted terracottas unearthed at Demre:
https://greekreporter.com/2021/02/08/greek-gods-and-mortals-come-to-life-in-terracotta-figurines/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dozens-2000-year-old-terracotta-figurines-found-turkey-180976978/
More on Dr Ester Salgarella’s work with Linear A:
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/minoan-linear-a-script-09329.html
The Dorset County Museum has purcased that Dewlish Roman mosaic:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-56001310
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/roman-mosaic-saved-for-nation-after-dorset-museum-digs-in-vzpzhn056
Feature on a wine press excavated at Antiochia ad Cragum:
https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/february-2021/ancient-roman-city-reveals-its-winemaking-secrets
Questioning the provenance of that sensational Sappho papyrus much in the news over the past five years:
https://theconversation.com/lovers-of-sappho-thrilled-by-new-poetry-find-but-its-backstory-may-have-been-fabricated-151176
https://news.umanitoba.ca/lovers-of-sappho-thrilled-by-new-poetry-find-but-its-backstory-may-have-been-fabricated/
Review of Bettany Hughes, *Venus and Aphrodite*:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/venus-aphrodite-review-divine-passion-divine-rage-11613144790
Review of Greg Woolf, *The Life and Death of Ancient Cities*:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n04/michael-kulikowski/a-marketplace-and-a-temple
Review of Natalie Haynes, *A Thousand Ships*:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/a-thousand-ships-book-review/2021/02/08/4885ae7c-60d2-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html
Reviewish of Natalie Haynes, *Pandora's Jar*:
https://www.popmatters.com/natalie-haynes-pandoras-jar-2649873316.html
An interview with Josiah Ober:
https://broadstreet.blog/2021/02/12/how-social-science-history-changes-our-view-of-the-ancient-world-a-conversation-with-josiah-ober/
Feature on Malta's 'Domus Romana':
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/107567/its_a_triple_anniversary_for_domvs_romana
Feature on the ancient (if it existed) disease of phthiriasis:
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/insects-swarm-out-of-your-rotting-flesh-the-ancient-disease-that-may-or-may-not-exist/
Feature on Augusta Bilbilis:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/augusta-bilbilis-birthplace-of-the-roman-poet-martial/137096
Feature (in German) on scanning the Herculaneum papyri (not sure if they've found anything new lately:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/verkohlte-woerter-zwei-schriftrollen-aus-der-villa-dei-papiri-17179615.html
Feature on 'tax returns' in the ancient Roman world:
https://www.spearswms.com/ancient-rome-tax-returns/
Feature on Leigh Ann Cowan's translation of the Odyssey into ASL:
https://www.hsvvoice.com/story/special/2021/02/09/fountain-lake-alum-translates-homers-the-odyssey-into-asl/4370411001/
Feature on Othon Rhousopoulos as the 'father of modern conservation' in Greece:
https://www.ekathimerini.com/262047/gallery/ekathimerini/life/the-founder-of-modern-conservation-in-greece
Feature on a Roman soldier's payslip (from Masada ... not a recent find):
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hail-seizure-roman-soldiers-masada-payslip-shows-unfair-wages-go-way-back/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9237493/Roman-soldiers-payslip-1-900-years-ago-reveals-left-BROKE-military-deductions.html?ito=facebook_share_article-top
Feature on ambition in the Roman Republic:
https://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/ambition-in-the-roman-republic-a-guest-post-by-a-david-singh/
Feature on some ancient Greek women scientists and philosophers:
https://greekherald.com.au/culture/history/5-historic-female-greek-scientists-and-philosophers-you-should-know-about/
Feature on garum:
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/07/garum-the-funky-and-fishy-condiment-that-rose-and-fell-with-the-roman-empire/
Feature on damnatio memoriae:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/erasing-donald-trump-impeachment-romans.html
Feature on food in ancient Greece:
https://www.thetravel.com/what-did-the-ancient-greeks-eat/
Feature on the Peloponnesian War:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-greece/peloponnesian-war-facts-guide-athens-when-fought-who-won/
Feature on how chariot factions saved Constantinople from the Huns:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/how-chariot-racing-teams-saved-constantinople-from-the-huns/137070
Feature on ancient Greek connections to Valentine's Day:
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/02/14/greek-mythology-valentines-day/
-----
Roman Archaeology Blog:
http://romanarc.blogspot.com/
Rogueclassicism:
http://rogueclassicism.com/
================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
================================================================
Plenty of coverage of an 17 000 years bp conch shell found 80 years ago in Marsoulas Cave being the oldest known manmade wind instrument:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-year-old-seashell-oldest-manmade-instrument.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/c-asr020521.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/aaft-ekc020821.php
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/science/conch-shell-horn.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56017967
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/10/conch-shell-in-french-museum-found-to-be-17000-year-old-wind-instrument
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2021/feb/11/listen-as-a-17000-year-old-conch-shell-is-played-once-more-video
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/oldest-wind-instrument-scli-intl-scn/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966322717/why-a-musician-breathed-new-life-into-a-17-000-year-old-conch-shell-horn
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/2021-02-10/why-a-musician-breathed-new-life-into-a-17-000-year-old-conch-shell-horn
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-seashell-conch-shell-horn-humans-cave-art
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/marsoulas-seashell-horn-09349.html
https://www.wired.com/story/listen-to-an-18000-year-old-instrument-sing-once-more
https://gizmodo.com/after-17-000-years-a-rediscovered-conch-horn-is-played-1846238951
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/listen-to-haunting-notes-from-an-18000-year-old-conch-shell-trumpet/
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/ancient-seashell-resonates-after-18000.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/11/ancient-seashell-resonates-after-18000-years/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9438-210211-france-paleolithic-shell
cf: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/7/eabe9510
A 5000 years bp crystal dagger find from a burial in Spain:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9177867/Rare-5-000-year-old-crystal-dagger-uncovered-Prehistoric-Iberian-megalithic-tomb-Spain.html
A possible new 'Skara Brae' from Orkney:
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/have-archaeologists-found-another-skara-brae-orkney-3129649
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/islands/2890255/a-new-skara-brae-orkney/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9469-210212-orkney-neolithic-erosion
Suggestion that Stonehenge was originally in Wales, then dismantled and moved to the Salisbury Plain:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-stonehenge-stones-older-monument.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56029203
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/12/dramatic-discovery-links-stonehenge-to-its-original-site-in-wales
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/science/stonehenge-archaeology-wales-parker-pearson.html
https://abcnews.go.com/International/stonehenge-rebuilt-welsh-stone-circle-research-shows/story?id=75802690
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/12/dramatic-discovery-links-stonehenge-to-its-original-site-in-wales
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/england-s-stonehenge-was-erected-wales-first
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/stonehenge-discovery-rocks-wales
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stonehenges-inner-stone-circle-originally-built-in-wales-1943583
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2021/02/3-ton-parts-stonehenge-may-carried-from-earlier-monuments/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stonehenge-was-moved-wales-new-research-suggests-180977010/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9468-210212-wales-stonehenge-bluestones
cf: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/original-stonehenge-a-dismantled-stone-circle-in-the-preseli-hills-of-west-wales/B7DAA4A7792B4DAB57DDE0E3136FBC33
... a related feature on what Wessex Archaeology has found in various tunnel-related surveys at Stonehenge:
https://www.livescience.com/stonehenge-graves-enclosure-discovered-tunnel-construction.html
https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/a303-stonehenge-evaluation-works-uncover-glimpses-prehistoric-life
https://www.sciencealert.com/tunnel-construction-near-stone-henge-finds-ancient-bodies-and-a-strange-enclosure
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/neolithic-graves-unearthed-at.html
Finds from various Roman and post-Roman eras from a dig in Derbyshire:
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/roman-and-prehistoric-remains-found-after-archaeological-dig-huge-north-derbyshire-new-homes-development-3132226
Iron Age Pottery from Hirta:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-55995799
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/archaeologists-discover-evidence-of-iron-age-inhabitation-on-remote-island-of-st-kilda/137085
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9433-210210-scotland-kilda-archipelago
A 16th century cannonball from in front of a 15th century church in Edinburgh:
https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/cannonball-fired-church-during-16th-century-siege-uncovered-beneath-route-edinburgh-tram-extension-3133817
The British Museum released a report and there was a spate of coverage about 'treasure trove' finds from various UK places in 2019, e.g. Cumbria:
https://www.cwherald.com/news/record-number-of-buried-treasure-troves-found-in-cumbria-in-2019/
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/19083984.cumbria-sees-record-amount-treasure-discovered-one-year/
... Powys:
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19082883.many-people-digging-treasure-powys/
... Swindon and Wiltshire:
https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/19082478.swindon-wiltshire-remain-hotspots-finding-treasure-hundreds-new-discoveries/
... Shropshire:
https://www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/attractions/2021/02/12/detectorists-really-treasure-shropshire-and-its-rich-history/
... Lancashire:
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/people/buried-treasure-found-lancashire-3133517
... North Yorkshire:
https://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/north-yorkshire-uk-hotspot-buried-treasure-hundreds-finds-discovered-3131880
... South Yorkshire:
https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/people/more-half-dozen-buried-treasure-troves-found-south-yorkshire-2019-3133006
... West Yorkshire:
https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/handful-buried-treasure-troves-found-west-yorkshire-2019-3131791
... Berkshire:
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/19084253.nearly-dozen-buried-treasure-troves-found-berkshire-reading-2019/
... Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:
https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/numerous-buried-treasure-troves-found-cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-one-year-3133815
... Vale of Glamorgan:
https://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/19086413.vale-glamorgan-treasure-hunters-unearth-half-dozen-hidden-hordes/
Plans to excavate Worlebury Hillfort:
https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/plans-to-uncover-worlebury-hillfort-move-forward-7315380
The Archdiocese of Cyprus appears to have demolished some historically-significant buildings:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/cyprus-icom-condemns-the-demolition-of-listed-buildings-in-nicosia/
Excavation in Tallinn continue, despite the cold:
https://news.err.ee/1608107479/archaeological-excavations-in-tallinn-ongoing-despite-freezing-conditions
More on a metal detectorist's find of a bit of Henry VIII's crown:
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/treasure-hunter-finds-lost-statuette-from-henry-viiis-crown
https://filmdaily.co/news/henry-viii-crown/
Feature on Basil Brown:
https://www.burymercury.co.uk/news/basil-brown-links-with-west-suffolk-7322294
Feature on the disappearance of Norse colonies from Greenland:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-did-greenlands-norse-colonies-mysteriously-vanish-walrus-bones-hold-the
Feature on Sutton Hoo:
https://www.livescience.com/who-was-buried-sutton-hoo.html
Feature on the Avery Stone Circle and environs:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/02/exploring-the-avebury-stone-circle-landscape/137118
Feature on the British Iron Age:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/iron-age/guide-british-iron-age-what-when-how-live-britons/
Feature on the restoration of the largest Gothic altarpiece (in Poland):
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/worlds-largest-gothic-altarpiece-dazzles-again-after-6-year-restoration-project-84600
Feature on the 'leaning tower of Bristol':
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/story-behind-leaning-tower-bristol-4989550
Another housing-project-might-be-delayed-by-archaeology piece ... near Chesterfield:
https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/major-plans-build-150-homes-near-chesterfield-could-be-delayed-archaeological-digs-3125997
----------
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
================================================================
A reexamination/study of some teeth from a site in China suggests they are 16 000 years bp, not 120 000:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-retesting-ancient-teeth-china-years.html
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-when-did-modern-humans-reach-china-later-than-thought-1.9520822
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9434-210210-china-teeth-redated
2700 years bp 'face cream' from a burial at Liujiawa:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-2700yearold-cream-men-chinese-site.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00346-y
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-find-2700-year-old-facial-cream-180976973/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9435-210211-china-cosmetic-jar
On the restoration of the colonial-era Murray House in Hong Kong:
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3119722/colonial-era-murray-houses-resurrection-hong-kong-20-years
A Hoysala-era Jain temple site in Karnataka:
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-asi-unearths-jain-temple-in-hassan-district-karnataka/373856
Excavations have resumed at Keeladi:
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/seventh-phase-of-excavation-begins-at-keeladi-archaeological-site/2029201
... also at Keezhadi:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/feb/14/7th-phase-of-keezhadi-excavation-launched-2263792.html
There are plenty of ancient temple remains along the Mahi river, apparently:
https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/ratlam-treasure-trove-of-ancient-temples-lies-hidden-on-banks-of-mahi-river
Gandhara-era murals from a Buddhist site in Swat:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1606050
Those finds seem connected to a monastic/educational complex dating to the Kushan Empire from Swat:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/2000-year-old-buddhist-complex.html
Illegal dig concerns in Manshera:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1606345/treasure-hunters-warned-against-digging-up-graves
I'm sure we'll hear more about the dating of Ram Setu:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ram-setu-not-an-ancient-monument-former-v-c-tells-sc/article33805549.ece
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
15th century Venetian glass beads (apparently) from a site in Alaska (!):
https://news.uaf.edu/blue-beads-in-the-tundra/
https://www.livescience.com/blue-glass-beads-predate-columbus-in-alaska.html
https://www.sciencealert.com/controversial-study-claims-european-beads-found-in-alaska-predate-columbus
https://gizmodo.com/found-in-alaska-these-blue-beads-could-be-the-oldest-e-1846208780
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/precolumbian-venetian-glass-trade-beads.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-blue-beads-european-artifact-north-america-old-180976966/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9428-210208-venetian-beads-alaska
Bones of six sailors have been found in the remains of the Whydah off Cape Cod:
https://www.wamc.org/post/trove-antique-portraits-including-1-susan-b-anthony-found-attic
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/508/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/508/pub/508/page/70/article/141405
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scholars-discover-six-skeletons-whydah-pirate-ship-180977011/
Studying 'moonshine sites' in South Carolina:
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/booze-for-al-capone-archaeologists-study-sc-illegal-moonshine-sites-near-charleston/article_00b4f422-5745-11eb-adc8-9b04476abb1e.html
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2021/02/archaeologists-find-prohibition-era-still-linked-to-al-capone/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9470-210212-south-carolina-stills
Coverage of the dig in North Greenwood Cemetery in Clearwater (this is pretty much day-by-day, in order):
https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_e3bcd616-6bd8-11eb-a1fb-07cdb7ce661d.html
https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2021/02/11/grave-markers-found-at-the-former-site-of-a-black-cemetery-in-clearwater/
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/special-reports/erased/north-greenwood-cemetery-forgotten/67-40ba74da-71d7-4130-9968-e402b18e8f08
https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/archaeologists-discover-human-remains-at-north-greenwood-cemetery/
https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2021/02/12/excavation-complete-at-north-greenwood-cemetery--what-s-next-
Some historically-significant 'antique portraits' were found in a hidden portrait studio in Geneva NY (we may have mentioned this place):
https://www.wamc.org/post/trove-antique-portraits-including-1-susan-b-anthony-found-attic
Feature on Nance Legins-Costley (first enslaved person freed by Lincoln):
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/06/nance-legins-costley-of-pekin-the-first-slave-lincoln-freed/4373306001/
Feature on the Dorsey scrapbooks:
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/02/race-save-black-history-archives/617932/
Feature on Prince Hall (an African-American abolitionist):
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/prince-hall-forgotten-founder/617791/
Feature on Alexander Twilight (first African-American person to get a BA in the US):
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/02/08/complex-history-alexander-twilight-middleburys-first-black-graduate/4094045001/
Feature on the 1690 Schenectady Massacre:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Church-continues-to-remember-victims-of-1690-15944653.php
Feature on Howard Taft:
https://mailchi.mp/dailynutmeg/william-howard-taft-presidents-day-redux-2?e=2c38baa027
More on that Tlingit fortress:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/lost-alaskan-indigenous-fort-rediscovered-after-200-years/
More on Utah's 'Lehi Horse' remains and their implications:
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/02/04/horse-remains-reveal-new-insights-how-native-peoples-raised-horses
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9429-210208-lehi-horse-utah
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
================================================================
Evidence that ancient Amazonian communities in Brazil developed land over the centuries and eventually protected it with palisades:
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_842215_en.html
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-ancient-amazonian-farmers-fortified-valuable.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uoe-aaf020921.php
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/ancient-amazonian-farmers-fortified.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9436-210211-bolivia-village-palisade
A Chimu culture burial from Peru:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/pre-hispanic-burial-found-near-urban.html
Feature on recent Taino finds from St Thomas:
https://stthomassource.com/content/2021/02/11/taino-today-part-4-recent-discoveries-at-cinnamon-bay-show-presence-of-early-indigenous-culture/
Feature on Chile's Pereira Palace:
https://www.latercera.com/tendencias/noticia/palacio-pereira-una-historia-increible/OIMPFXNT5JAAVMP7QQ4YQOKHTU/
Feature on shark hunting in ancient Brazil:
https://www.theage.com.au/world/south-america/auctioned-pre-columbian-artefacts-seized-by-police-20210213-p5727d.html
More on that colossal mask found in the Yucatan:
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2021/02/colossal-ancient-maya-stucco-mask.html
-----
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
================================================================
Feature on the popularity of ostrich eggs in the ancient Mediterranean:
https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2021/02/eggstraordinary-objects
Nice feature on Cupid in art over the millennia:
https://hyperallergic.com/621221/cupid-shoots-through-millennia-of-art/
On the revival of Hanfu clothing:
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3121293/hanfu-traditional-chinese-clothing-and-young-people-hong
Assorted history of Valentine's Day items:
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/14-valentines-day-facts-2021-things-you-didnt-know-about-st-valentine-cupid-and-february-day-love-3133713
https://www.grossepointenews.com/articles/valentine-history-not-very-amorous/
https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-valentines-day-2021-who-was-st-valentine-and-why-do-we-celebrate-valentines-day-on-february-14-2875092
http://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/10834/20210213/heres-what-valentines-day-really-is-about.htm
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/blogs/1/1707/men-running-around-after-women-in-nothing-but-goatskin-loincloths-exploring-myths-of-st-valentine
https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/lifestyle/soon-it-will-be-valentines-day-the-story-behind-the-worlds-most-romantic-day/
https://www.themarysue.com/ancient-precursor-to-valentines-day-lupercalia/
https://www.ibtimes.com/valentines-day-2021-history-who-invented-holiday-3144321
'Different' feature on Presidents' Day:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/arts/design/presidents-day-museums-tours.html
On the influence of Japanese design on the West in the late 19th century:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/t-magazine/japonisme-paris-western-design.html
Soldiers killed in Napoleon's 1812 retreat were (re)buried:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56052504
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210213-two-centuries-after-napoleon-defeat-russia-and-france-bury-their-dead
https://nypost.com/2021/02/09/remains-of-napoleons-soldiers-to-be-buried-in-russia/
Feature on 'lingerie' in the 17th and 18th centuries:
https://theconversation.com/i-die-where-i-cling-garters-and-busks-inscribed-with-love-notes-were-the-sexy-lingerie-of-the-past-154645
Feature on turtles in history:
https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-long-history-of-warrior-turtles-from-ancient-myth-to-warships-to-teenage-mutants-152614
Interesting 18th century 'deathbed confession' pamphlet:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/13/highwaymans-1750-confessions-reveal-unusual-ambivalence-about-gay-sex
What the Great Gatsby is really about:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210209-the-worlds-most-misunderstood-novel
Pondering pardoning 2500 witches who were executed in Scotland years ago:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19087966.time-pardon-2500-witches-executed-scotland/
Pondering the 150th anniversary of Darwin's 'Descent of Man':
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/13/how-should-we-address-charles-darwin-complicated-legacy
Suggestion that Alfonso de Zamora was 'secretly Jewish':
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/was-one-of-catholic-spains-most-famous-scholars-secretly-jewish-658235
On the history of the 'nervous breakdown':
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/bring-back-the-nervous-breakdown/617788/
Feature on Rotwelsch language:
https://psyche.co/ideas/how-a-secret-european-language-made-a-rabbit-and-survived
Feature on 'lost' cities:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/incredible-lost-cities-we-ve-rediscovered/ss-BB1dtzF1?li=BBnbklE
On the history of pizza:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pizza-day-history-naples/index.html
Feature on what happened when Brooklyn renumbered its streets 150 years ago:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/incredible-lost-cities-we-ve-rediscovered/ss-BB1dtzF1?li=BBnbklE
Feature on rethinking 'goddess statues':
https://www.popsci.com/story/science/ancient-statues-misinterpreted-by-historians/
Carnival in Venice is tourist-free this year:
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3120930/venetians-keep-magic-alive-tourist-free-carnival-kicks
Feature on the lost continent of Zealandia:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210205-the-last-secrets-of-the-worlds-lost-continent
Another feature on ancient perception of 'blue':
https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2021/02/09/the-curious-case-of-the-missing-color-blue/
Feature on almond milk in the Middle Ages:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/people-went-crazy-for-almond-milk-in-the-middle-ages
Pondering Shakespeare's villains:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/theater/shakespeare-all-the-devils-are-here-review.html
The human eye is apparently better at 'archaeological colour tests' than machines:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-human-eye-machine-archaeological-identification.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/fmon-heb020921.php
Feature on the 10 'greatest movie archaeologists':
https://screenrant.com/netflix-the-dig-best-movie-archaeologists/
The remains of Khaled al-Asaad have been located (maybe) by Syrian authorities:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55977964
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/syria/2021/02/08/syria-remains-of-palmyra-archaeologist-found_ef2e819c-d262-45a8-b1f8-90343696c946.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/body-of-antiquities-scholar-beheaded-by-is-in-2015-believed-to-be-found/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/08/syria-finds-body-famed-archaeologist-beheaded-islamic-state/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-palmyra-khaled-asaad-archeologist-remains-possible-found
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/body-of-archaeologist-who-died-defending-palmyra-from-isis-has-been-found-says-syrian-media
https://hyperallergic.com/620601/khaled-al-asaad-archaeologist-beheaded/
More on children's identity tags being found at Sobibor:
https://www.livescience.com/nazi-death-camp-sobibor-children-id-tags.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/9430-210208-children-id-tags
More on evidence that Richard III murdered the princes in the tower:
https://www.livescience.com/richard-iii-nephew-murders.html
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/historian-bolsters-case-that-richard-iii-murdered-the-princes-in-the-tower/
================================================================
CURRENT EVENTS:
================================================================
COVID-19 has contributed to the worst UK economy in 300 years, apparently:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/economy/uk-gdp-record-fall/index.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-economy-suffers-biggest-slump-in-300-years-amid-covid-19-lockdowns-11613118912
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/u-k-recession-risk-averted-as-economy-grows-more-than-forecast
How Florence Nightingale would deal with COVID-19:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/11/florence-nightingale-covid-fresh-air-britain-ventilated
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Pompeii (Houston):
https://www.kvue.com/article/travel/pompeii-exhibit-houston-museum-of-natural-science/269-70c5b62c-e4de-474b-91b2-d8a8db11d546
https://www.houstoniamag.com/arts-and-culture/2021/02/houston-museum-of-natural-science-pompeii-exhibition
Pompeii (Colosseum):
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2021/02/08/rome-and-pompeii-star-together-in-colosseum-show_5f75c2cb-c273-44b4-80ff-2a861526ebf9.html
Galen (online):
http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2021/february/TheEmpirePhysician.html
Goya:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/arts/design/goya-met-museum.html
Kings of the Sun:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98471/Egypt-s-Kings-of-the-Sun-exhibition-in-Prague-extended
Rembrandt and Slavery:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/09/rembrandt-slavery-slave-trade-marten-soolmans-oopjen-coppit
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/slavery
Hokusai:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/these-rediscovered-drawings-by-hokusai-are-extraordinary
https://www.artfixdaily.com/news_feed/2021/02/11/4000-103-lost-drawings-represent-hokusai-at-peak-of-his-powers-in-late
Black Art:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/arts/design/black-art-hbo-review.html
Islamic Art:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1808206/middle-east
Attic Red-Figure Squat Lekythoi:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/2600-year-old-ancient-perfume-bottles-go-on-display-for-1st-time/news
The Paphos Museum has (finally) opened:
https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/02/11/after-years-of-delays-paphos-museum-finally-opens-its-doors/
Folks visiting the Troy Museum can watch restorations as they happen:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/events/troy-museum-visitors-to-watch-restorations-live
Feature on the National Museum of African American Music:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/national-museum-african-american-music-opens-nashville-180976960/
Latest transfers to the GEM:
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/98425/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Grand-Museum-receives-artifacts-from-Egyptian-Museum-in-Tahrir
... and the construction is 98% complete, we are told:
https://www.egyptindependent.com/grand-egyptian-museum-has-finalized-98-of-engineering-work-says-official/
The Louvre has a new storage facility:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/arts/design/louvre-lievin-conservation-center.html
================================================================
AUCTIONS AND SALES RELATED
================================================================
Some auctioned pre-Columbian items in a Rio di Janeiro gallery were seized by police:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-crime-artifacts/pre-columbian-artifacts-auctioned-in-brazil-recovered-by-police-idUSKBN2AC2LU
https://www.theage.com.au/world/south-america/auctioned-pre-columbian-artefacts-seized-by-police-20210213-p5727d.html
================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
A project showing the potential of extracting DNA from remains of owl pellets:
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2021/02/12/ancient-owl-vomit-helps-researchers-unpack-prehistoric-bone-secrets/
================================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS
================================================================
Using indigenous oral history to study climate in Alaska:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-indigenous-oral-tradition-is-guiding-archaeology-and-uncovering-climate
================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
================================================================
Romans in Augsburg:
https://www.prudentpressagency.com/augsburg-art-in-public-on-the-trail-of-the-romans-in-augsburg/
Pangalanes Canal (Madagascar):
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/feb/09/the-fabulous-folly-of-madagascars-pangalanes-canal
Patara:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/cinema/turkeys-ancient-city-patara-to-shine-as-film-set
Provence:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/south-france-painters-cezanne-van-gogh/2021/02/04/1f395836-60bc-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
Milan:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210208-milan-italys-lost-city-of-canals
Baiae:
https://www.king5.com/video/tech/science/amaze-lab/check-out-the-las-vegas-of-the-roman-empire-an-ancient-sunken-city/609-86147394-ca29-404e-9aae-28a04690efc3
================================================================
PERFORMANCES AND MUSIC RELATED
================================================================
Electra:
https://www.twulasso.com/redbud-theatres-electra-revives-greek-classic/
On Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy':
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/arts/music/beethoven-ninth-ode-joy-classical-music.html
================================================================
TV/DOCUMENTARY HYPISH THINGS
================================================================
Lot 448 (on recovering looted Etruscan antiquities):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2021/02/09/lot-448-the-race-to-recover-italys-looted-etruscan-treasures/
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Not sure where to put this story of a Brazilian pensioner being forced by 'raiders' to move after the discovery of 200 years bp coins in her back yard:
https://www.zenger.news/2021/02/08/old-age-pensioner-senior-flees-thugs-after-digging-up-treasure-trove-of-ancient-coins/
Trying to curb increasing looting in Asdrubal in Cartagena:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-10/cultura-investiga-los-trabajos-para-urbanizar-el-yacimiento-arqueologico-de-asdrubal-en-cartagena.html
I think we mentioned this bust in Istanbul:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-71-historical-artifacts-seized-in-istanbul/2131244
----------
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
================================================================
A missing artifact was found and returned to the Temagami First Nation:
https://www.nugget.ca/news/missing-artifact-returns-to-temagami-first-nation
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/missing-artifact-returns-temagami-115513941.html
Another story involving heirs of a collector, this time returning a looted Celtiberian helmet:
https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-02-11/los-herederos-de-un-coleccionista-devuelven-uno-de-los-cascos-celtiberos-expoliados-en-aratis.html
A San Francisco museum will be returning some Thai objects:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-Asian-Art-Museum-agrees-to-return-allegedly-15941285.php
Feature on Mwazulu Diayabanza's efforts to recover "pillaged" African artifacts:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/07/mwariches-african-activist-stealing-europes-museums?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
More on guilty tourists returning items to Italy:
https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/sorry-italy-tourists-return-looted-treasures.html
More on dead-art-dealer returns of items to Cambodia:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cambodia-khmer-artifacts-douglas-latchford/index.html
https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/controversial-art-dealers-daughter-will-return-over-100-antiquities-to-cambodia-172091/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9427-210208-cambodia-looted-artifacts
... and a related opEd on Cambodia and repatriation:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/13/cambodia-looted-statues-ancient-khmer-objects
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
Feature on coinage of ancient Numidia:
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/the-coinage-of-ancient-numidia/
Feature on counterfeiting:
https://www.numismaticnews.net/world-coins/counterfeiting-the-oldest-profession
Latest e-Sylum:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n06.html
... and the one which should appear later today:
http://www.coinbooks.org/v24/club_nbs_esylum_v24n07.html
------------------------
Coin Week:
http://www.coinweek.com/
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Herschel Shanks:
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/dead-sea-scrolls-liberator-hershel-shanks-passes-away-at-90-658457
https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/died-hershel-shanks-biblical-archaeology-review-dead-sea-sc.html
https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2021/02/remembering-the-man-who-liberated-the-dead-sea-scrolls-and-popularized-knowledge-of-ancient-israel/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/hershel-shanks-dead/2021/02/09/944dbe2c-6a22-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html
https://aleteia.org/2021/02/09/biblical-archaeology-review-founder-dies-at-age-90/
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/hershel-shanks-popularizer-of-biblical-archaeology-dies-at-90
https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/jta/hershel-shanks-popularizer-of-biblical-archaeology-dies-at-90/article_5b39b473-afe2-5dfe-87ad-d000e26391ce.html
Robert L Herbert:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/arts/robert-herbert-dead.html
Brenda Ballin:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/obituaries/brenda-ballin-virus-lost.html
Flory Jagoda:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/966942550/remembering-flory-jagoda-who-preserved-sephardic-jewish-music-and-language
================================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
================================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:
https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/3022-audio-news-from-archaeologica-january-31-through-february-6-2021
================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/
About.com Archaeology:
http://archaeology.about.com/
Archaeology Briefs:
http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/
Atlas Obscura:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/
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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