Stone Pages Archaeo News: August 2006 Archives

August 2006 index:

6 August 2006: Fighting to save Californian prehistoric sites; When wildfires put prehistoric sites at risk, archaeologists work with crews to help protect centuries of California's heritage. As nearby hillsides were covered with orange flames and thick black smoke,...
: Roads threatening 6000-year-old mound in Iran; Road construction and railroad development are threatening the 6000-year-old Yaqut-Tappeh mound near Behshahr in Iran's northern province of Mazandaran. A team of archaeologists recently began excavations at Yaqut-Tappeh to save...
: Ancient fishing village unearthed in Vietnam; Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a fishing village believed to be 3,500 years old in the central province of Khanh Hoa (Vietnam). The archaeological site is believed to be...
: Stonehenge photo shoot rained off; Rain grounded an airborne celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the first aerial photographs of Stonehenge. A balloon carrying photographers was due to fly over the ancient Wiltshire landmark...
: Search for writing at 6000-year-old Iranian site; A team of Iranian archaeologists plans to search for signs of writing at the 6000-year-old Qoli Darvish Tepe site near the city of Qom (Iran) during their next phase...
: 30,000-year-old engraved bone found in Moravia; Archaeologists have unearthed a pair of tiny bone fragments dating back almost 30,000 years and featuring minute designs carved by some of earliest Europeans. The thumbnail-sized bone fragments are engraved...
: Archaeologists ponder Iron Age burial ritual in Orkney; After four weeks of excavation at the Knowe o' Skea in Westray (Orkney, Scotland), archaeologists Graeme Wilson and Hazel Moore can boast a remarkable statistic. The burials they have unearthed...
: New details on prehistoric causeway in Suffolk; As we already reported, evidence of a prehistoric causeway has been uncovered during flood defence work on the Norfolk-Suffolk border (England). Now we have some more details about this find....
: Bronze Age family relish chance to 'rough it'; A German family are set to move into the Bronze Age for 10 days as part of a museum exhibition. The Borngraeber family, from Goeppingen, will wear the same clothes,...
: Peru link to Indian archaeological find?; Geologists have discovered a striking archaeological feature on a hillock in the Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat. This feature is shaped like the Roman numeral VI....
: Spy pics reveal ancient settlements in Syria; Australian researchers studying declassified spy satellite images have found widespread remains of ancient human settlements dating back 130,000 years in Syria. The photographs were taken by United States military surveillance...
: Prehistoric discovery may delay Lewis development; A Neolithic cairn discovered on Lewis (Western Isles, Scotland) could force a controversial wind-farm plan to be redrawn. Leisure tycoon Nicholas Oppenheim plans to build a 53- turbine wind farm...
: Neolithic site confirmed at Orcadian Bronze Age cemetery; Questions surrounding an 'unusual' building at the Knowes o' Trotty Bronze Age cemetery (Harray, Scotland) have been answered – at least partially. The structure has turned out to be an...
: Markings on stone tablet may be an ancient inscription; An almost 7,000-year-old stone tablet found in Bulgaria bears carvings that might turn out to form one of the world's oldest inscriptions, a prominent archaeologist said. "These signs are unique...
: Cat drags in new theory on Scottish cairns; The actions of a domestic cat have thrown up a new theory about ancient stone burial cairns in Caithness (Scotland). Archaeologists built a mock-up of the structures as part of...
: Heather and Hillforts Project in Wales; Denbighshire's Heather and Hillforts Landscape Partnership Project has arranged a series of free training days on archeological surveying techniques to en-courage people to learn more about their landscape. Run by...
: Welsh Iron Age site dig open to public; Archaeologists excavating an Iron Age farmstead in west Wales say the site may have been home to 'several families' as early as 200 BCE. After two weeks' digging at the...
8 August 2006: 5000-year-old dagger found in Bulgaria; Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved golden dagger dated to about 3,000 BCE in a Thracian tomb in the centre of Bulgaria. It is the latest find from one of many...
: New light on prehistoric Bosque County man; In the late 1960s, archaeologists Albert Redder and Frank Watt began carefully uncovering an ancient burial site that slowly gave Bosque County (Texas, USA) a glimpse into its distant past....
9 August 2006: Major excavation started at Church Hole cave; Experts are searching a northern beauty spot for clues about Ice Age artists who etched pictures of animals on to cave walls some 13,000 years ago. The engravings of animals...
: Drought unearths prehistoric monuments in Wales; The summer drought has unearthed a treasure trove of finds for historians taking a birds eye view of Wales. Heatwave conditions, which have parched the Welsh countryside, proved ideal for...
10 August 2006: Bolaghi Gorge prehistoric ovens to be relocated; Archeologists of Parse-Pasargadae Research Center have started transferring of clay baking ovens found in Bolaghi Gorge (Iran) during archeological excavations to the nearby Palace of Persepolis, hoping to take them...
: China's earliest handicraft workshop discovered?; One of the world's oldest handicraft workshops, dating back more than 3,600 years, may have been discovered by Chinese archaeologists in Henan Province. Covering about 1,000 square meters the workshop...
: Vietnamese farmer uncovers Neolithic music instrument; A farmer has discovered a 10,000-year-old musical instrument called the dan da (lithophone) in the central province of Binh Thuan (Vietnam). The instrument, comprising eight stone slabs, was unearthed in...
12 August 2006: Prehistoric Moroccan skeleton on view in Germany; The skeleton of a man belonging to an ancient prehistoric culture, found recently by a team of Moroccan and German archaeologists in a cave in the province of Nador, is...
: Doorstop in USA turns out to be an archaic axe head; A rock that has been propping open doors in a household for decades is actually a 4,000-year-old Native American axe. "My mother used it as a doorstop," said Kathy (Johnston)...
: Iron Age village unearthed in Ireland; A significant archaeological find has been unearthed in the village of Two-Mile-Borris (co. Tipperary, Ireland). The find centres around the site of the original ancient village settlement of Two-Mile-Borris close...
: Bill would allow study of ancient American remains; A federal law governing protection of American Indian graves would be amended to allow scientific study of ancient remains discovered on federal lands if the remains have not been tied...
: Flying back in time over Stonehenge; A hot air balloon pilot from Petworth has recreated history by flying over one of the UK's most famous landmarks – Stonehenge. Richard Ashford followed in the footsteps of the...
: BBC on location at Scottish Crannog Centre; The Scottish Crannog Centre by Kenmore, Loch Tay, is to feature in a new primetime television series later this month. Aimed at a wide audience, History Hunters will run on...
: Artefacts support theory man came from Africa; Fragments of ostrich eggs, perforated beads and finely shaped arrowheads have provided the first firm archaeological evidence for the 'out of Africa' origins of the world's human population. Scientists have...
18 August 2006: 3000-year-old Scottish boat’s journey; A remarkable find recovered from the River Tay (Perthshire, Scotland) is undergoing the first stages of a painstaking preservation process. In the culmination of a meticulous rescue plan, already reported...
: Boyle Heritage Week tunes in to prehistory; You can find out what instruments were played in prehistoric times as part of Heritage Week in Boyle (Co Roscommon, Ireland). There will be a presentation of instruments from Ireland’s...
: Neolithic stone carving of Big Dipper found in Mongolia; A neolithic stone carving of the Big Dipper (namely Ursa Major) constellation has been found on Baimiaozi Mountain near Chifeng City in northwest China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to experts. The...
: 2,500-year-old figures may be terracotta army models; Archaeologists have unearthed two 2,500-year-old terracotta figurines that are possible predecessors to the statues buried with China's first emperor Qinshihuang. The rough-hewn, 10-centimeter tall statues might be the oldest terracotta...
: Grant puts Seahenge in the spotlight; Museum visitors will be able to experience more of the history of a remarkable Norfolk (England) monument next year - thanks to a cash windfall from the government. An exhibition...
19 August 2006: Mummy with fur coat unearthed in Mongolia; Research workers of the German archaeological institute have discovered a mummy in permafrost at excavation work in Mongolia of approximately 2,500 years old. At the 'sensational find' of a burial...
: Amazing chariot and horses find in China; Archaeologists digging at Luoyang, in China’s central Henan province, were stunned by an astounding discovery - a chariot and its team of horses. The mysterious find was preserved perfectly, with...
: Archaeologist disputes ancient village claim; Claims that an ancient village settlement has been uncovered in Two-Mile-Borris (Co. Tipperary, Ireland) - and that we reported last 12 August - have been discounted by an archaeologist. Deputy...
: Spanish forest fires char Stone Age art; Priceless art dating from the Stone Age has been damaged in forest fires, some deliberately set, in northwestern Spain, officials said. Color paintings and carvings on rocks, known as petroglyphs,...
25 August 2006: 'Hobbit' was a disabled caveman?; The remains of a fossilised stone age pygmy, hailed as a new species of human when it was found two years ago, probably belonged to a disabled but otherwise normal...
: Evidence of prehistoric site found in Virginia; An archaeologist has uncovered clues about prehistoric ancestors of Indians, including evidence that they likely had a campsite near the future home of a planned elementary school at Williamsburg (Virginia,...
: Heatwave reveals Scotland's past; A heatwave has revealed fleeting traces of early settlements to historians taking a bird's eye view of Scotland. The conditions this summer have proved ideal for aerial archaeologists who document...
: Lost secrets revealed at Stonehenge; Visitors to Stonehenge over the August Bank Holiday weekend will have the chance to catch a glimpse of life in Britain more than 4,000 years ago. A team of archaeologists from...
: TimeWatch urges the UK Government to protect henges; Timewatch campaign group have appealed to the UK Government to ensure the protection of the Thornborough henge complex. Quarry company Tarmac Northern, part of global aggregates concern Anglo American, has...
: Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed; An international team of scientists has found that the second largest volcanic eruption in human history, the massive Bronze Age eruption of Thera in Greece, was much larger and more...
: Ancient waterworks found in Israel; Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed an ancient water system which was modified by the conquering Persians to turn the desert into a paradise. The network of reservoirs, drain pipes and...
: Visit a prehistoric site at Moray; A view of life in Moray (Scotland) more than 2,000 years ago is to be unveiled by archaeologists who have spent the summer digging into the area's rich history. Unprecedented...
: Woodhenge bluestone discovery; A member of an archaeological team working under the direction of Josh Pollard made an exciting and significant find at the most recent excavation at Woodhenge (Wilthsire, England). The discovery...
: Another cash boost for Seahenge; The archaeological unit working on the Seahenge discovery is to receive a cash boost from a good causes fund. Flag Fen at Peterborough is to receive £10,000 from the Peter...
: Bronze age canoe stops pipeline in Wales; Archaeologists working on a gas pipeline near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire (Wales) have unearthed what they believe to be a 3,400-year-old canoe. Work has stopped on a section of the...
27 August 2006: Scythian mummy shown in Germany; An international group of archaeologists has shown photos of a well-preserved 2,500-year-old mummy of a Scythian warrior found in Mongolia. The president of the German Archaeological Institute, Hermann Parzinger, hailed...
: Blair urged to act over Stonehenge; British Prime Minister Tony Blair should intervene in the 'disgrace' of the Stonehenge road saga, the RAC Foundation has said. The foundation favours putting the A303 at the Wiltshire site...
: Neolithic men in Greece had their own sheds; The discovery of a neolithic complex of caves in Greece suggests not all cavemen were club-wielding, nomadic hunter-gatherers, but included some farmers and shepherds. They even had the Stone Age...
: Over 70 ancient settlements discovered in Turkey; Archaeologists working at the ancient settlement of Tavium located in Yozgat province in central Turkey have discovered more than 70 previously unknown ancient settlements. The central province, best known for...
: 6000-year-old kiln transferred to safe haven in Iran; One of the five 6000-year-old kilns discovered at an ancient site in the Bolaghi Valley in Fars Province (Iran) has been safely transferred to the Pasargadae Research Center, which is...
: Vandals destroy ancient Arctic petroglyphs; Canada's only major Arctic petroglyph site - a 1,500-year-old gallery of mysterious faces carved into a soapstone ridge on a tiny island off of Quebec's northern coast - has been...
: 3,000-year-old hoard of treasure found in England; Three amber beads, two bronze rings, a bugle-shaped fitting and a fragment of a spearhead, found six inches below ground in a field near Sedgefield, County Durham (England), are thought...