Dr. Eilat Mazar, who worked in close cooperation with the group - which promotes the 'Judaization' of East Jerusalem - says excavations carried out in violation of accepted procedures. An archaeologist who worked with the Elad association in Jerusalem's City of David claims that the association and the Antiquities Authority are carrying out excavations "without any commitment to scientific archaeological work."
Dr. Eilat Mazar - a Hebrew University archaeologist who worked in close cooperation with Elad over past years, and who is considered one of the most productive researchers in Jerusalem and in the City of David area in particular - has castigated Elad for the excavation of a large subterranean pit, called "Jeremiah's Pit," at the entrance to the City of David visitors' center complex.
In a sharply worded letter she sent 10 days ago to Prof. Ronny Reich, chairman of the Archaeological Council, Mazar demanded an urgent discussion of the excavations, which she says are being carried out in violation of accepted procedures.
Mazar's claims against Elad are being leveled at a crucial time as a proposed law to privatize public parks is being considered. If approved, the bill will enable Elad, a private association which excavates, maintains and conducts tours of the City of David, to maintain control of the historic site - situated in the predominantly Arab village of Silwan, adjacent to the Old City.
Secret History
The track site, found in southwest Arkansas, covers an area of about two football fields and contains the fossilized tracks of several species and tracks from multiple animals of the same species, some of which have never been previously documented in Arkansas. The site will help researchers learn not only about the creatures that once roamed through the area, but also about the climate during the Early Cretaceous period 115 to 120 million years ago.
"The quality of the tracks and the length of the trackways make this an important site," said Stephen K. Boss, who led the National Science Foundation-funded project. Based on the rock in which the footprints were found, researchers have a good idea of what the climate would have been like.
Gobekli Tepe recreation - just houses?
The buildings at Göbekli, a hilltop just outside of the Turkish city of Urfa, were found in 1995 by Klaus Schmidt of the German Archaeological Institute and colleagues from the Şanlıurfa Museum in Turkey. The oldest of the structures at the site are immense buildings with large stone pillars, many of which feature carvings of snakes, scorpions, foxes, and other animals.
The presence of art in the buildings, the substantial effort that must have been involved in making and erecting them, and a lack of evidence for any permanent settlement in the area, led Schmidt and others to conclude that Göbekli must have been a sacred place where pilgrims traveled to worship, much like the Greek ruins of Delphi or Olympia. If that interpretation is true it would make the buildings, which date back more than 10,000 years to the early Neolithic, the oldest temples ever found.
However, Banning offers an alternative interpretation that challenges some of Schmidt's claims.
He outlines growing archaeological evidence for daily activities at the site, such as flintknapping and food preparation. "The presence of this evidence suggests that the site was not, after all, devoid of residential occupation, but likely had quite a large population," Banning said.
Leather footwear found among jewelry, coins at supermarket construction site.
About 60 pairs of sandals and shoes that once belonged to Roman soldiers have been unearthed at a supermarket construction site in Camelon, Scotland (see map), archaeologists say.
The 2,000-year-old leather footwear was discovered along with Roman jewelery, coins, pottery, and animal bones at the site, which is located at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
The cache of Roman shoes and sandals - one of the largest ever found in Scotland - was uncovered recently in a ditch at the gateway to a second century A.D. fort built along the Antonine Wall. The wall is a massive defensive barrier that the Romans built across central Scotland during their brief occupation of the region.
About 60 pairs of sandals and shoes that once belonged to Roman soldiers have been unearthed at a supermarket construction site in Camelon, Scotland (see map), archaeologists say.
The 2,000-year-old leather footwear was discovered along with Roman jewelery, coins, pottery, and animal bones at the site, which is located at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
© Martin Cook
The site of an ancient fort contains a cache of discarded Roman footwear, archaeologists say.
The site of an ancient fort contains a cache of discarded Roman footwear, archaeologists say.
Sea explorers announced Monday the discovery of a new sunken treasure that they plan to retrieve from the bottom of the North Atlantic.
Off Ireland in 1917, a German torpedo sank the British steam ship Mantola, sending the vessel and its cargo of an estimated 20 tons of silver to the seabed more than a mile down. At today's prices, the metal would be worth about $18 million.
Off Ireland in 1917, a German torpedo sank the British steam ship Mantola, sending the vessel and its cargo of an estimated 20 tons of silver to the seabed more than a mile down. At today's prices, the metal would be worth about $18 million.
© Torquay Museum
The extremely rare Egyptian coffin, possibly belonging to the son of a king.
The extremely rare Egyptian coffin, possibly belonging to the son of a king.
Dr Aidan Dodson, a senior research fellow in Bristol's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology made the discovery while undertaking a long-term project to catalogue every single Egyptian coffin in English and Welsh provincial museums.
Dr Dodson said: "When I walked into Torquay Museum for the first time I realised that the coffin was something really special. Not only was it of a design of which there is probably only one other example in the UK (in Bristol), but the quality was exceptional.
"Cut from a single log of cedar wood, it is exquisitely carved, inlaid and painted. For a child to have been given something like that, he must have had very important parents - perhaps even a king and queen. Unfortunately, the part of the inscription which named the boy and his parents is so badly damaged that we cannot be certain.
© Wikimedia Commons
Seattle's Leif Erikson memorial statue at Shilshole Bay Marina.
Seattle's Leif Erikson memorial statue at Shilshole Bay Marina.
Today is Leif Erikson Day. Or "Leif the Lucky" Day.
In fact, the Norse explorer couldn't have had worse luck when it came to cement his place in history.
Believed to have discovered North America in the year 1000 -- almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus would receive credit for the same feat - - Erikson remained a relatively obscure character until 1837 when Danish literary historian Carl Christian Rafn published the first scholarly analysis of the Pre-Columbian Norse exploration.
Nevertheless, many years passed until Leif the Lucky received the consideration he deserved. It wasn't until in 1964 that President Lyndon B. Johnson designated October 9 an annual American observance in honor of the explorer.
"The intrepid exploits of the Vikings of Erikson's time strike a responsive chord in the hearts of all the American people, who as a nation are today embarked upon an adventurous exploration of the unfathomed realms of space," Johnson said.
Leif Erikson (about 970 - about 1020) was the son of Erik the Red, the first European to land and settle on Greenland after he was exiled from Iceland. Leif launched an even more ambitious expedition, which was recorded in several different sagas.
© The New York Times
Thus was uncovered one of history's most macabre bouts of serial killing. The official victim count was 27; other estimates ranged sharply upward.
The investigation soon centered on the building's owner, Marcel Petiot, a quick-witted, charming doctor with a checkered past. Petiot finagled state reimbursement for unorthodox treatments, often double-dipping by charging patients too, and was implicated in narcotics dealing. He also claimed to be part of a Resistance organization helping people, especially Jews, escape Nazi Europe, for a sizable fee.
© Unknown
Whilst examining a rural Norfolk church, members of the Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey (NMGS) came across an intriguing inscription etched deeply into one of the pillars of the building. The discovery, made in All Saints church, Litcham, was traditionally thought to be the work of a pilgrim travelling to the important shrine of Walsingham in North Norfolk. However, closer inspection of the inscription using new technology revealed that all was not as it seemed.
The Litcham Cryptogram
"The inscription is known as the Litcham Cryptogram", explained Project Director Matthew Champion, "and has been known about for some decades. Indeed, it was the reason that we chose to carry out one of our first surveys in All Saints. We were interested in looking to see if the church contained further graffiti inscriptions that had not been previously recorded".
© Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey
Litcham Cryptogram.
Litcham Cryptogram.
A miniature airborne drone has helped archaeologists capture images for creating a 3-D model of an ancient burial mound in Russia, scientists say.
Archaeological sites are often in remote and rugged areas. As such, it can be hard to reach and map them with the limited budgets archaeologists typically have. Scientists are now using drones to extend their view into these hard-to-reach spots. "There are a lot possibilities with this method," said researcher Marijn Hendrickx, a geographer at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
The machine tested in a remote area in Russia called Tuekta was a four-propeller "quadrocopter": the battery-powered Microdrone md4-200. The fact it is small ? the axis of its rotors is about 27 inches (70 cm) ? and weighs about 35 ounces (1,000 grams) made it easy to transport, and researchers said it was very easy to fly, stabilizing itself constantly and keeping at a given height and position unless ordered to do otherwise.
The engine also generated almost no vibrations, they added, so that photographs taken from the camera mounted under it were relatively sharp. Depending on the wind, temperature and its payload, the drone's maximum flight time is approximately 20 minutes. [Drones Gallery: Photos of Unmanned Aircraft]
Archaeological sites are often in remote and rugged areas. As such, it can be hard to reach and map them with the limited budgets archaeologists typically have. Scientists are now using drones to extend their view into these hard-to-reach spots. "There are a lot possibilities with this method," said researcher Marijn Hendrickx, a geographer at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
© Marijn Hendrickx
A 3-D model of a Scythian burial mound based on images captured by a micro-drone.
A 3-D model of a Scythian burial mound based on images captured by a micro-drone.
The engine also generated almost no vibrations, they added, so that photographs taken from the camera mounted under it were relatively sharp. Depending on the wind, temperature and its payload, the drone's maximum flight time is approximately 20 minutes. [Drones Gallery: Photos of Unmanned Aircraft]
