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UK: Archeology Volunteers Uncover 'Lost' Castle


Past Horizons
Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© North Pennines AONB Partnership
A castle that was once one of the most important buildings in the North Pennines and the gateway to the Bishop of Durham's great deer park of Stanhope, is now revealing its secrets after centuries as a forgotten ruin.

Fifty volunteers from the North Pennines AONB Partnership's Altogether Archaeology and backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage are busy uncovering the ruins of Westgate Castle in Weardale.

From the 13th until the early 17th century, Westgate Castle served as the 'west gate' into the Bishop of Durham's great deer park, and functioned as an administrative headquarters for the Bishop's extensive estate encompassing the Old Forest of Weardale.
Image
© North Pennines AONB Partnership
A wall of the old castle is revealed.

By the mid 17th century it lay in ruins and its masonry was quarried for new buildings.

Paul Frodsham, the North Pennines AONB Partnership's Historic Environment Officer said: "Today, nothing of its masonry survives above ground, but recent geophysical survey suggests that substantial walls survive buried below the surface. We're not aiming to excavate the entire site, but just to uncover a sample of what survives in order to help inform plans for its future".
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Arrow Down

Early Bronze Age Battle Site Found on German River Bank

Neil Bowdler
BBC News
Sun, 22 May 2011 01:38 UTC
Image
© D Jantzen
One of the finds from the site included this human skull with a large fracture
Fractured human remains found on a German river bank could provide the first compelling evidence of a major Bronze Age battle.

Archaeological excavations of the Tollense Valley in northern Germany unearthed fractured skulls, wooden clubs and horse remains dating from around 1200 BC.

The injuries to the skulls suggest face-to-face combat in a battle perhaps fought between warring tribes, say the researchers.

The paper, published in the journal Antiquity, is based primarily on an investigation begun in 2008 of the Tollense Valley site, which involved both ground excavations and surveys of the riverbed by divers.

They found remains of around 100 human bodies, of which eight had lesions to their bones. Most of the bodies, but not all, appeared to be young men.

The injuries included skull damage caused by massive blows or arrowheads, and some of the injuries appear to have been fatal.

One humerus (upper arm) bone contained an arrow head embedded more than 22mm into the bone, while a thigh bone fracture suggests a fall from a horse (horse bones were also found at the site).
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Palette

Maya Blue: Mysterious Color of the Mayan Rain God

Lisa Ruth, Jim Picht and Jacquie Kubin
The Washington Times
Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Ancient-tides.blogspot.com
A Mayan mask with still vibrant blue tiles
Azul Maya, or Maya Blue, is a vibrant color that was created and used by the classic and post-classic Maya civilizations more than 1700 years ago, and which is still evident in Mayan ruins and archeological treasures.

The pigment was used to decorate household items, murals, sculptures and, its best known use, for adorning human sacrifices, held important symbolic value for the ancient Maya. The amazing color was extremely important for ritual.

For the Maya, blue was the color of the rain deities, particularly the god Chaahk, their rain god and the patron of agriculture.
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Magnify

Chile: Archaeologists Uncover Oldest Mine in the Americas


University of Chicago
Thu, 19 May 2011 16:17 UTC
iron oxide mine Chile Taltal
Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in Chile that marks the oldest evidence of organized mining ever found in the Americas, according to a report in the June issue of Current Anthropology.

A team of researchers led by Diego Salazar of the Universidad de Chile found the 40-meter trench near the coastal town of Taltal in northern Chile. It was dug by the Huentelauquen people - the first settlers in the region - who used iron oxide as pigment for painted stone and bone instruments, and probably also for clothing and body paint, the researchers say.
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Blackbox

Scotland: King Arthur's Table - or Knot?

Donald Morton
Stirling Observer
Wed, 18 May 2011 16:09 UTC
Kings Knot Stirling
© TripAdvisor
Archaeologists are using the latest scientific techniques this week in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of the King's Knot - one of Scotland's most enigmatic historic sites.

Many stories have been told about this curious geometrical earthen mound just below Stirling Castle - one being that it was the Round Table where King Arthur gathered his knights.

Others have suggested that it might be partly Iron Age or medieval, or was perhaps used as a Roman fort. Then there are those who think it is a natural feature which was modified as recently as the 1620s, when it is known to have been a grand garden feature, highly visible from nearby Stirling Castle.
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Question

Forgeries in the Bible's New Testament?

Rossella Lorenzi
Discovery News
Wed, 18 May 2011 16:19 UTC
St. Paul
© Mattiasrex / Wikimedia Commons.
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles.

Nearly half of the New Testament is a forgery, according to a provocative new book which charges that the Apostle Paul authored only a fraction of letters attributed to him, and the Apostle Peter just wrote nothing.

Written by Bart Ehrman, a former evangelical Christian and now agnostic professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the book claims to unveil "one of the most unsettling ironies of the early Christian tradition:" the use of deception to promote the truth.

"The Bible not only contains untruths of accidental mistakes. It also contains what almost anyone today would call lies, Ehrman writes in Forged: Writing in the Name of God -- Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are.

According to the biblical scholar, at least 11 of the 27 New Testament books are forgeries, while only seven of the 13 epistles attributed to Paul were probably written by him.
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Wolf

Neanderthals Were Cannibals, Study Confirms

Andrea Thompson
Live Science
Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:58 UTC
Neadnerthals fossile cannibalism

Neandertal fossil bones in block of cemented sand and clay, with foot bones on left, and ribs and vertebra on right, from El Sidrón cave site, Asturias, Spain.
Neanderthals suffered periods of starvation and may have supplemented their diet through cannibalism, according to a study of remains from northwest Spain.

Paleobiologists studied samples from eight 43,000-year-old Neanderthal skeletons excavated from an underground cave in El Sidrón, Spain since 2000. The study sheds light on how Neanderthals lived before the arrival of modern humans in Europe.

Researchers found cut marks and evidence that bones had been torn apart, which they say could indicate cannibalism.
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Wolf

Neanderthal 'Family' Possibly Victim of Cannibal Attack

Jeanna Bryner
Live Science
Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:52 UTC
eanderthal family cannibalism
© Lalueza-Fox Lab.
A cave system in El Sidron, Spain, preserved remains of at least 12 Neanderthals who may have been a group of relatives.
The remains of a possible family group of Neanderthals, including an infant, were discovered in a cave in Spain, researchers reported. The bones of the 12 individuals show signs of cannibalism, suggesting another Neanderthal group came along and chowed down on the meat.

This group of Neanderthals died some 49,000 years ago, the research suggests. Shortly after, a violent storm or other natural disaster likely caused the cave to collapse and bury their remains at the El Sidron site.

The finding, detailed last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals for the first time genetic evidence of a social kin Neanderthal group. Analyses suggest the group included three adult males, three adult females, three adolescents (possibly all male), two juveniles (one 5 to 6 years old and the other from 8 to 9), and an infant. [The Many Mysteries of Neanderthals]
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Magnify

Stone Age Toolkit Found in Siberia

Steve Connor
The Independent
Sat, 14 May 2011 12:48 UTC
Image
© Agence France-Presse
The region was not covered by massive glaciers, but it was considerably colder than today.
Neanderthals may have lived as far north as the Arctic Circle up to 33,000 years ago, say scientists who found a Stone Age toolkit at a prehistoric archaeological site by Russia's northern Ural mountains.

The collection of more than 300 stone tools at Byzovaya in Siberia were made by Neanderthals living at what must have been one of the most northerly outposts of their range, which extended to western Europe and the Rock of Gibraltar.

The region was not covered by massive glaciers, but it was considerably colder than today. Neanderthals, who had short limbs, thick-set frames and strong jaws, disappeared about 25,000 years ago. They would have hunted game, including mammoth, woolly rhino and musk ox.
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Sherlock

Was the 2010 Discovery of Noah's Ark For Real?


Top Secret Writers
Sat, 14 May 2011 20:31 UTC
Noah's Ark
© n/a
The alleged Noah's Ark discovery
A year ago, the world was a buzz with stories that Noah's ark was found in 2010 - a research expedition claimed to have actually found Noah's Ark.

According to a team of evangelical Christian explorers from Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI), they discovered the biblical boat in 2007.

They also claimed to have filmed portions of their find before they went public. That was in April 2010. Now, more than a year later, very little can be found on the "discovery" beyond the initial announcement.

Is it because the location and the find is being kept secret to protect the artifacts or is it because it was an elaborate hoax that fizzled out before it even took off?
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