Stone Pages Archaeo News: October 2004 Archives

October 2004 index:

1 October 2004: Massachusetts mystery heads: history or hoax?; The discovery of several carved stone heads along Central Massachusetts (USA) riverbanks has many people, including an archaeologist from Worcester, wondering if they are truly ancient artifacts or simply a...
: Researchers find signs of grain milling, baking 23,000 years ago; Archaeologists have found strong evidence that wheat and barley were refined into cereals 23,000 years ago, suggesting that humans were processing grains long before hunter-gatherer societies developed agriculture. The findings,...
: Vandals strike again at Birkrigg stone circle; Vandals have desecrated an historic ancient monument near Ulverston (Cumbria, England) for the second time in 12 months. One of the standing stones of Birkrigg stone circle has been daubed...
: 40,000-year-old axes unearthed in Syria; A Syrian archaeological team has uncovered two firestone axes dating back 35,000 to 40,000 years and some 6000 BCE stone arrowheads. Mission head Bassam Jamous said he had to dig...
2 October 2004: Archaeologists finds ancient pomegranates; A scientific dig has uncovered four pomegranates believed to be 2,500 years old preserved inside a woven basket nestled in a bronze vessel. The fruits were found at an archaeological...
: Aborigines collect ancestral remains; Aboriginal leaders have called on institutions around the world to return the remains of their ancestors that have been gathering dust in museums for up to 200 years. A delegation...
3 October 2004: Swiss rock-lifter agrees to return megalith; A Swiss gardening enthusiast who took a two-and-half tonne stone from a forest to decorate his garden has pledged to put it back, after local authorities warned he had stolen...
: Ancient stone head found in Hampshire; A retired fisherman has discovered an ancient stone head that experts say could be 24,000 years old — the oldest found in Britain. Arthur Mack, 70, found the 5-inch stone...
5 October 2004: Archaeologists fight to save Scotland's coastal heritage; Archaeologists are warning that coastal erosion threatens to destroy around 12,000 of Scotland’s 35,000 important archaeological sites. Around 500 of these sites are of national or international importance, and may...
7 October 2004: Newgrange solstice draw is made; Schoolchildren in Ireland have made the draw for Newgrange's winter solstice celebrations this year. Only 50 people can fit into the chamber in County Meath, and the winning entries were...
: Ancient pottery found in Iran; Archaeologists working in the southern part of the Cheshmeh-Ali region, south of Tehran, Iran, have uncovered shards of ancient earthenware. The shards were discovered during renovation work on the ancient...
8 October 2004: British students find 4,000-year-old mound; A 4,000-year-old mound has been unearthed by University College Worcester students. The Neolithic monument, near Bredon, south of Pershore (Worcestershire, England), including the cremation pit of a young child and...
: Cosmetics in ancient Iran; Based on recent excavations in northwestern Iran, archaeological now believe that eye makeup has been used Iran since about 4500 BCE. Other archaeological discoveries at Haft-Tappeh in Khuzestan Province indicate...
: The oldest remains of a woman who died in childbirth; In ancient times, female death rates were particularly high and generally related to problems in maternity, such as complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the period of breast-feeding. However, in most...
: Archaeologist investigates lost society of Ionia; An archaeologist from the University of Liverpool is uncovering the secrets of one of the world's oldest civilisations. Dr Alan Greaves is looking at the people of the lost society...
: Coffins shed light on Ancient Greeks; The discovery of two large limestone coffins dating back 3,000 years could indicate that the ancient Greeks may have been more technologically advanced than previously thought. Each of the coffins,...
10 October 2004: Bam ancient body remains reach 36; The upsurge in the number of skeletons found in the surviving walls of the Bam Citadel, southern Iran, has tossed the biggest mystery for local archeologists in recent history. Since...
: Entire ancient village discovered at lochside; Archaeologists announced the discovery of an entire Iron Age village on an until-now unexamined site on the west bank of Loch Lomond (Highland, Scotland). A team from the West of...
: Volunteers cairn builders flock to Scotland; Volunteers have been flocking to Caithness (Scotland) to help reconstruct a modern version of a six thousand year old cairn. The area contains some of the country's best preserved chambered...
14 October 2004: An ancient Ohio quarry; Little-known Flint Ridge may be the most important historical site in Ohio (USA), but it's a place that's unfamiliar to most people. Flint Ridge State Memorial in southeast Licking County...
: Excavations resume at Elamite city of Anshan; A joint team of Iranian and American archaeologists is to begin the third stage of their excavations at the ancient Elamite site of Anshan (Iran) next week. The archaeologists will...
: Expedition fails to settle the Noah flood debate; Four years ago, scientists thought they had found the perfect place to settle the Noah flood debate: A farmer's house on a bluff overlooking the Black Sea built about 7,500...
: Heritage Malta: a monumental agency; The paradox of the Maltese archipelago - five islands lying in the Mediterranean 60 miles south of Sicily - is how so much cultural heritage came to be packed into...
: Excavation of a 6,000-year-old Iranian mound; Iranian archeologists are about to embark on an exploration project in the Marvdasht plateau (Iran) in a bid to discover relics of architecture and recognize its inhabitants’ lifestyles. Rahmat-Abad mound...
: Europe's oldest wooden staircase found in Austria; A 3,000-year-old wooden staircase has been found at Hallstatt in northern Austria, immaculately preserved in a Bronze Age salt mine. "We have found a wooden staircase which dates from the...
: Callanish Stones to star in rare lunar broadcast; The mysterious Callanish Stones in the Western Isles (Scotland) will be the centrepiece of a live broadcast being planned to capture a rare lunar event. The standing stones on...
15 October 2004: Rare finds in Cornwall; Archaeological work in south east Cornwall (England) is uncovering the history of the area. A team from the county council working at Scarcewater near St Stephen-in-Brannel says its finds are...
: Germany's Bronze Age Blockbuster; The 3,600 year old Sky Disc of Nebra - considered one of the world's oldest image of the cosmos - is the centerpiece of the biggest Bronze Age show of...
: Ruins wreck building plans in Romania; Construction workers found neolithic ruins which are more than 6,000 years old while building a highway in Romania. "It is a surprising discovery of great importance for the region," said...
17 October 2004: 4,000-year-old pottery found in Florida; A 4,000-year-old small piece of porous, blackened pottery, the oldest artifact ever found on Hutchinson island (Florida, USA) was discovered as archaeologists surveyed three newly uncovered American Indian graves. Bob...
: Scottish dig throws light on early settlers; Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the first early settlers in Aberdeenshire (Scotland) during an 11-day excavation near Kintore. A Mesolithic, or Middle Stone-Age site, dating back around 8,000 years, was...
: Salisbury Plain sites damaged by badgers; Badgers have been burrowing into prehistoric burial mounds on Salisbury Plain (Wiltshire, England) and disturbing human remains and artefacts. Because the animals are protected, there are limits to what can...
21 October 2004: 5,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Texas; Archaeologists have discovered a cache of artifacts near South Padre Island (Texas, USA) they say could be up to 5,000 years old. The items, found in a protective clay dune...
: Ancient tombs unearthed in northwest China; Chinese archaeologists hope to discover additional important relics from recently uncovered Western Zhou (1046-771 BCE) cemetery to confirm existing findings and reveal new clues about the ancient dynasty. Recently, archaeologists...
: Clay hearths up to 34,000 years old found in Greece; Archaeologists have discovered the oldest clay "fireplaces" made by humans at a dig in southern Greece. The hearths are between 34,000 and 23,000 years old and were almost certainly used...
22 October 2004: Ancient footsteps retraced by henge protestors; A 5,000 year old ceremony is to be recreated this week as campaigners carry an ancient ceremonial axe through Yorkshire's "Sacred Vale" to Thornborough (England). The axe originally came from...
23 October 2004: Neolithic site found near ancient Olympia; Archeologists have discovered ancient graves near Ancient Olympia, the hallowed site where the Olympic games were born in 776 BCE. The 25 limestone graves date back to the Neolithic era...
: Bulgaria dig suggests rich past; Archaeologists in Bulgaria say they have found hundreds of tiny gold jewels dating back 5,000 years, possible proof of Europe's earliest civilisation. The head of Bulgaria's National Museum of History,...
24 October 2004: The Lake District unearthed; The stage is set for a third sell-out archaeology conference to see how thousands of years of the Lake District's (England) rich history are being unravelled. Looking at recent fieldwork...
: Stonehenge: have your say; Salisbury district council is urging people to comment on the Stonehenge visitor centre planning application before the public consultation comes to an end next October 27th. Already, more than 250...
: Project to record all rock art sites in Northumberland; Northumberland County Council (England) is leading an exciting new project to make a comprehensive record of all rock art sites in Northumberland and County Durham. This record will form the...
: Irish Bronze Age artefact on display; Ballymoney (Northern Ireland) fans of the historic are being given a unique opportunity to view an extraordinary artefact on its return to the province. A bronze-age chieftain's instrument of authority...
: Fight against vandals in Somerset; Ancient monuments at Brean Down (Somerset, England) are being protected as part of a national scheme to clamp down on vandalism. Despite being protected by law, Scheduled Ancient Monuments on...
: Pottery shows true face of first Pacific settlers; Staring out from an ancient piece of pottery, the mysterious face of a bearded man has given scientists a unique glimpse of what the first settlers of Fiji may have...
25 October 2004: China unearths ancient Caucasian tombs; Chinese archaeologists have started unearthing hundreds of tombs in an arid north-western region once home to a mysterious civilization that most likely was Caucasian. The researchers have begun work at...
29 October 2004: A tiny species joins human family tree; Scientists have discovered a new and tiny species of human that lived in Indonesia on Flores island until at least 12,000 years ago. Details of the sensational find are described...
30 October 2004: Yellowstone Park dig yields picture of ancient camp; Some of the Yellowstone park's earliest visitors camped on the shores of Yellowstone Lake (Wyoming, USA). While they were there, some 10,000 years ago, they made and repaired tools, hunted,...
: 47,000 treasures found by Britain's amateur archaeologists; Last year an incredible 47,000 historic artefacts were found by amateur archaeologists in Britain and reported, identified and recorded through the Portable Antiquities Scheme. From prehistoric weapons to a Victorian...
: New archeological excavations in Syria; The joint French-Italian archeological excavation mission recently uncovered near Deir El-Zour (Syria) a number of findings in addition to 22 Islamic tombs dating back to the seventh century CE. Among...
: 4,000-year-old tombs unearthed in China; Archaeologists in eastern Fujian Province (China) have unearthed 31 tombs dating back about 4,000 years from the bottom of a reservoir in Fuqing. The 31 prehistoric tombs are scattered in...