Archaeological News

[X-Files]

DETROIT — Police divers have discovered a cannon that could be more than two centuries old in the Detroit River. The Detroit Police department says its dive team found the 6-foot-long cannon near the Cobo Center downtown during a training session in July. It's the fifth cannon found in the area in three decades.

The department and the U.S. Coast Guard plan to raise the cannon from the river on Wednesday. It's expected to be restored and preserved by the Detroit Historical Society.

 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44424094/ns/us_news/

 

Must have been Indians ditching it after doing a ride-by.

[BansheeOne]

One Ring to rule them all.

 

Sapphire ring 'belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty'

 

By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent

 

Friday, 29 July 2011

 

A unique gold and sapphire finger ring, found by a metal detectorist and just purchased by the Yorkshire Museum, almost certainly belonged to Anglo-Saxon or Viking royalty, very senior clergy or a leading member of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, say historians.

 

[...]

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/news/sapphire-ring-belonged-to-anglosaxon-or-viking-royalty-2328242.html

[DADI]

Today is the 9th (Tisha) in the Hebrew Month of Av. On this date many calamities fell upon the Jewish people and is considered a sad day with fasting and mourning (I am getting hungry....). The 2 Temples were destroyed on this date besides many other calamities.

 

Recent excavations discovered tunnels where the Jews were fleeing the Romans (with video).

 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4106700,00.html

 

A few contributors of this forum have spent some time there, recently...

Amazing findings done there every day..

[Michael Eastes]

A few contributors of this forum have spent some time there, recently...

Amazing findings done there every day..

 

Indeed.

 

We ( a team from the Soldier's Bible Ministry ) just returned from an intense week in Israel, during which we participated in a dig in the City of David in Jerusalem.

 

The area in which we worked contained strata that went from pre-Jebusite bronze-age dwellings up to late Byzantine, and everything in between. It was estimated that some of the artifacts being found went back as far as 3000 B.C.. On one day that we were there, a discovery was made that had all of the professional archeologists on-site very excited- it was a signet seal of Hebrew origin, but including Egyptian symbols ( scarab and ankh ), which is another link with Old Testament history- these people had come out of Egypt. Everyone was shown the artifact- it was in incredibly good condition, with the symbols clearly visible. It appeared to be carved from some sort of gem stone, a dark blue-gray in colour, at least to my poor eyesight.

 

Discoveries are being made every day on that dig, re-confirming and helping to cement the Biblical accounts of the eras that Jerusalem has passed through. It was a very exciting thing to be a part of, even in a small way ( I was a mere pottery washer, but enthusiastic ). My son found two Roman coins himself, which made his day. I got to meet and interact with a variety of young Israeli people working there, with a wide range of backgrounds. Just our pottery washing group included native Israelis, and new citizens from the UK, US, Rumania, the Sudan, and Yemen. All were friendly, helpful, and frankly a little puzzled as to why American Christians would be willing to come all the way to Israel to volunteer on such a project.

 

I left with n even stronger faith, a whole new appreciation for the people of Israel, and for one family in particular. ( Thanks, Dadi! )

[Rick]

Indeed.

 

We ( a team from the Soldier's Bible Ministry ) just returned from an intense week in Israel, during which we participated in a dig in the City of David in Jerusalem.

 

The area in which we worked contained strata that went from pre-Jebusite bronze-age dwellings up to late Byzantine, and everything in between. It was estimated that some of the artifacts being found went back as far as 3000 B.C.. On one day that we were there, a discovery was made that had all of the professional archeologists on-site very excited- it was a signet seal of Hebrew origin, but including Egyptian symbols ( scarab and ankh ), which is another link with Old Testament history- these people had come out of Egypt. Everyone was shown the artifact- it was in incredibly good condition, with the symbols clearly visible. It appeared to be carved from some sort of gem stone, a dark blue-gray in colour, at least to my poor eyesight.

 

Discoveries are being made every day on that dig, re-confirming and helping to cement the Biblical accounts of the eras that Jerusalem has passed through. It was a very exciting thing to be a part of, even in a small way ( I was a mere pottery washer, but enthusiastic ). My son found two Roman coins himself, which made his day. I got to meet and interact with a variety of young Israeli people working there, with a wide range of backgrounds. Just our pottery washing group included native Israelis, and new citizens from the UK, US, Rumania, the Sudan, and Yemen. All were friendly, helpful, and frankly a little puzzled as to why American Christians would be willing to come all the way to Israel to volunteer on such a project.

 

I left with n even stronger faith, a whole new appreciation for the people of Israel, and for one family in particular. ( Thanks, Dadi! )

 

Have to put this on my bucket list. Any evidence of the Red Sea crossing?

[Michael Eastes]

Have to put this on my bucket list. Any evidence of the Red Sea crossing?

 

I saw some film footage a few years back of wreckage of Egyptian chariots somewhere in the Red Sea- Sea of Reeds area. I'll look around and see if I can find a link.

[rmgill]

I left with n even stronger faith, a whole new appreciation for the people of Israel, and for one family in particular. ( Thanks, Dadi! )

 

I'm not religious but I do see the wonder you describe here. Sounds like it was a good trip!

 

If but for a time machine to actually visit these eras and see what was then.

[DADI]

I'm not religious but I do see the wonder you describe here. Sounds like it was a good trip!

 

If but for a time machine to actually visit these eras and see what was then.

 

It can give you a good sense of what life was, in Jerusalem up until 70 AC.

Huge, really massive buildings , halls, stairways, gates, fresh water systems, drains...

All found underground, leading to the Temple mount.

Fortifications, huge, 2500 years old.

350 ton stone, carved and put to place in the great wall surrounding the Temple.

History was never so clear...

[DB]

"Fully Intact" Viking Burial found.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-15333852

 

The term "fully-intact", used to describe the find, means the remains of the body along with objects buried with it and evidence of the boat used were found and recovered.

 

The Ardnamurchan Viking was found buried with an axe, a sword with a decorated hilt, a spear, a shield boss and a bronze ring pin.

[X-Files]

The UK mainland's first fully intact Viking boat burial site has been uncovered in the west Highlands, archaeologists have said.

 

The site, at Ardnamurchan, is thought to be more than 1,000 years old.

 

Artefacts buried alongside the Viking in his boat suggest he was a high-ranking warrior.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-15333852

[DB]

Now isn't that strange?

[Ivanhoe]

Now isn't that strange?

 

Like parallel universes or something.

 

Or the brain control lasers assigned to you two accidently received the same command sets.

 

-----

 

Not news, but an interesting article I ran across;

 

http://io9.com/5805358/the-story-behind-the-worlds-oldest-museum-built-by-a-babylonian-princess-2500-years-ago

[Corinthian]

Now isn't that strange?

 

?

 

I do not understand....

[Ivanhoe]

?

 

I do not understand....

 

Compare and contrast posts 77 and 78, and note the post times.

[Corinthian]

Ah. I did not see DB's post, saw X-Files' post instead because latter was shorter and so missed it completely.

[X-Files]

Now isn't that strange?

 

*

 

Pat Croce founded the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum in 2010, and left last week to find Drake. According to Croce's blog entries, he and his team found Drake's sunken ships late last week in Portobelo Bay, on the north shore of Panama, where Drake met Davy Jones and has been entombed ever since.

 

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/article/223922/483/Sir-Francis-Drakes-Shipwrecks-Found-by-St-Augustine-Man

 

 

*

 

 

 

Divers find 13th century wreck from Kublai Khan's Mongol invasion fleet that was destroyed by 'divine' typhoon

Japanese legend claims two 'divine winds', known as The Kamikaze, destroyed Mongol invasion fleets

Hundreds of vessels were destroyed by two separate typhoons off the coast of Japan

Defeat for Kublai Khan halted the expansion of the Mongol empire in the Far East

36ft section of keel discovered under seabed using ultrasound equipment

4,000 artefacts including cannonballs and stone anchors also found

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053656/Divers-13th-century-wreck-Kublai-Kahns-Mongol-invasion-fleet-destroyed-divine-typhoon.html#ixzz1bzzDkkkA

 

 

Archaeologists lifted a 300-year-old cannon from the pirate Blackbeard's ship off the coast of North Carolina today.

 

The eight-foot-long cannon was covered in sand and ocean debris called "concretion," which will take archaeologists and students at East Carolina University as many as eight years to crack through before getting to the metal cannon, according to Jennifer Woodward, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, which oversees the project.

 

"It was perfect. It's a beautiful day, the crews were out earlier this morning, several boats out there witnessed it," Woodward said. "It looks like it's covered in concretions, with cement all around it, and there will be lots of things attached to it."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/blackbeards-cannon-lifted-sea-north-carolina/story?id=14818314

 

http://news.yahoo.com/salvage-nc-aims-recover-blackbeards-cannon-082543016.html

Edited October 27, 2011 by X-Files

[Colin]

Archeologists have unearthed a coin more than 300 years old northwest of Carmacks, Yukon, which provides a link between 17th-century China, Russian traders and First Nations people.

 

The find came in July as a team checked the route of a proposed mining road for the Western Copper and Gold Corporation’s planned Casino gold mine.

 

The Chinese coin, which is round with a square hole in the centre, helps fill in the blanks on some pre-Gold Rush history.

 

James Mooney, from Ecofor Consulting Ltd., and his team were doing the heritage impact assessment for the proposed mining road.

 

"I was less than a metre from our archeologist Kirby Booker when she turned over the first shovel of topsoil and I caught sight of something dangling from the turf. It was the coin — the neatest discovery I've ever been part of,” Mooney said.

 

Mooney believes there’s a logical explanation for how the coin found its way deep into the Yukon interior hundreds of years ago.

 

“The first documented accounts of foreigners getting into Tlingit territory were in the mid-1700s. Russian traders [were] coming in and they were collecting sea otter pelts and some of the inland furs, and they would trade things like glass beads, silks and coins,” he said.

 

Evidence Chinese market connected with Yukon First Nations

Heritage Canada says the coin was minted between 1667 and 1671. It says the coin adds to the body of evidence that the Chinese market connected with Yukon First Nations through Russian and coastal Tlingit trade.

 

Ecofor Consulting archeologist Kirby Booker made the find of a lifetime when she dug up the coin. (James Mooney/Ecofor Consulting)This trade happened throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and possibly as early as the 15th century.

 

The Tlingit tightly controlled direct trade with the interior First Nations through the Chilkoot Pass, which is one of the few entry points through the Coastal Mountains to the interior.

 

Mooney said the location of the find, on a bluff overlooking a river and creek source, is a likely place for a traveller to have rested or camped between Dyea and Fort Selkirk.

 

The coin is different from others of its type because it has four additional small holes above each corner of the central square.

 

“The extra holes could have been made in China. Coins were sometimes nailed to a gate, door or ridgepole for good luck. Alternatively, First Nations might have made the extra holes to attach them to clothing,” said Mooney.

 

The coins could have been used as decoration or sewn in layers like roofing shingles onto hide shirts to protect warriors from arrows.

 

3rd ancient coin found in Yukon

The coins are more common along the coast, but only three have been found in Yukon.

 

A matrix archeologist found another one in the Kwanlin Dun region this past summer. That was dated between 1724 and 1735. An even older coin was found in 1993 by Beaver Creek, which was dated between 1403 and 1424.

 

The most recent find will be held with the Yukon archeological collection. Mooney and his team are recommending the road builders avoid the site and that further study be done there.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/11/01/north-acient-coin-found.html

[X-Files]

BLUFFTON, Texas -- Johnny C. Parks died two days before his first birthday more than a century ago. His grave slipped from sight along with the rest of the tiny town of Bluffton when Lake Buchanan was filled 55 years later.

 

Now, the cracked marble tombstone engraved with the date Oct. 15, 1882, which is normally covered by 20 to 30 feet of water, has been eerily exposed as a yearlong drought shrinks one of Texas' largest lakes.

 

Across the state, receding lakes have revealed a prehistoric skull, ancient tools, fossils and a small cemetery that appears to contain the graves of freed slaves. Some of the discoveries have attracted interest from local historians, and looters also have scavenged for pieces of history. More than two dozen looters have been arrested at one site.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/texas-drought-ghost-towns-graves_n_1104563.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%7C114417

[X-Files]

What has been hailed as one of the most significant recent UK Iron Age finds is going on display after a nine-year conservation project. The decorated Roman cavalry helmet was discovered at a site in Leicestershire. Experts said its date, close to the Roman invasion of 43 AD, meant it could be evidence of Celtic tribes serving with the Roman army.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-16475224

[X-Files]

Porn yesterday: Roman brothel tokens and the rise of erotic art

 

Bronze discs depicting sex acts, like the one discovered in London, were used to hire prostitutes – and directly led to the birth of pornography during the Renaissance

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2012/jan/04/porn-roman-brothel-tokens-erotic-art/print

[X-Files]

Archaeologists from Egypt and Switzerland have unearthed the 1,100-year-old tomb of a female singer in the Valley of the Kings.

 

It is the only tomb of a woman not related to the ancient Egyptian royal families ever found there, said Mansour Boraiq, the top government official for the antiquities ministry in the city of Luxor,

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-discover-tomb-of-female-singer-in-valley-of-the-kings-6290273.html

 

Straight lines below:

Edited January 16, 2012 by X-Files

[BansheeOne]

[X-Files]

 

 

Very goood. Would have also accepted

[Dame Karmen]

Indeed.

 

We ( a team from the Soldier's Bible Ministry ) just returned from an intense week in Israel, during which we participated in a dig in the City of David in Jerusalem.

 

The area in which we worked contained strata that went from pre-Jebusite bronze-age dwellings up to late Byzantine, and everything in between. It was estimated that some of the artifacts being found went back as far as 3000 B.C.. On one day that we were there, a discovery was made that had all of the professional archeologists on-site very excited- it was a signet seal of Hebrew origin, but including Egyptian symbols ( scarab and ankh ), which is another link with Old Testament history- these people had come out of Egypt. Everyone was shown the artifact- it was in incredibly good condition, with the symbols clearly visible. It appeared to be carved from some sort of gem stone, a dark blue-gray in colour, at least to my poor eyesight.

 

Discoveries are being made every day on that dig, re-confirming and helping to cement the Biblical accounts of the eras that Jerusalem has passed through. It was a very exciting thing to be a part of, even in a small way ( I was a mere pottery washer, but enthusiastic ). My son found two Roman coins himself, which made his day. I got to meet and interact with a variety of young Israeli people working there, with a wide range of backgrounds. Just our pottery washing group included native Israelis, and new citizens from the UK, US, Rumania, the Sudan, and Yemen. All were friendly, helpful, and frankly a little puzzled as to why American Christians would be willing to come all the way to Israel to volunteer on such a project.

 

I left with n even stronger faith, a whole new appreciation for the people of Israel, and for one family in particular. ( Thanks, Dadi! )

 

I'm completely envious of you and your son right now Michael! Lucky you guys. What I'd give to be a part of serious digs when things are first found and seen

 

If I had a bucket list (gave up dreaming a whole lot of years ago) I'd love to go to Egypt to all the major archealogical sites AND museums holding finds and see it all (and FEEL the presence of them!) Especially the pyramids and those finds of course ... but it's all good. I'd be in my glory just to have a metal detector to fart around with and go treasure hunting locally, Canada ground. Who knows what I'd find, or how old, or from what part of the world originally

 

God, I wish I were young and free with my whole life ahead of me as I'd go exploring the world like I've always wanted to. Join some digs. Yada yada.

 

I'm glad you and your son had that experience ............................

Edited January 16, 2012 by Dame Karmen

[X-Files]

There are plenty of drumlins in County Down - but have you heard of the Mound of Down?

 

If not, that is probably because it has been hidden from public view by trees and gorse for decades.

 

But work is now under way to expose this fortification which could be about 1,000 years old.

 

Tim Campbell, director of the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, said it was one of the largest megalithic hill forts in western Europe.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-16757999