Secret HistoryS


Sherlock

Archaeologists unearth Hellenistic Period fortress of Acra

Enrico de Lazaro
Sci-News
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 00:00 UTC
Image
© Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities AuthorityIAA archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of the Hellenistic period fortress of Acra, solving one of Jerusalem’s greatest archaeological mysteries.
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed what they believe are the ruins of Acra - often called the Seleucid Acra - a fortress in Jerusalem constructed more than 2,150 years by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 BC).

The fortress ruins were unearthed from beneath the Givati parking lot in the City of David, Jerusalem.

According to the IAA archaeologists, Dr Doron Ben-Ami, Yana Tchekhanovets and Salome Cohen, a section of a massive wall, a base of a tower (13 by 66 feet, or 4 by 20 m) and a glacis were uncovered at the site.

"The glacis, which was built next to the wall, is a defensive sloping embankment composed of layers of soil, stone and plaster, designed to keep attackers away from the base of the wall," Dr Ben-Ami explained.
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Blue Planet

The First War For India's Independence: 1857

Ashok Tewari
Truth Within, Shines Without
Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00 UTC
Campaign in India 1857-58
The British called its battles of 1857 in the Indian sub-continent, waged by native people, as "Sepoy Mutiny" or terms as dismissive, more or less: rebellion, revolt, uprising or subaltern war ( by sepoy cadres and junior officers in their own military ) ! For long now, after I came across compelling evidence of it being a far more concerted and coordinated affair, the historical lies and half-truths that continue to be taught in our schools and colleges has seemed so shocking and shameful to me. But that streaming propaganda flows unabated over the young minds to this day, despite corrections since suggested by very eminent minds and respectable historians. Why ? Are our people so naive, gullible, stupid or fast brainwashed ? Let me know ...
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Pyramid

Scan of King Tut's tomb points to secret chamber, maybe Queen Nefertiti's mummy


RT
Sun, 29 Nov 2015 11:42 UTC
Sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun
© Mohamed Abd El Ghany / ReutersThe golden sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt
The name Nefertiti means, "the beautiful one has come" in Egyptian. This may actually prove prophetic. Scans of King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings point to a secret chamber, possibly containing the remains of Queen Nefertiti.

Experts are "approximately 90 percent" sure there's a hidden chamber in Tutankhamun's tomb, Antiquities Minister Mamduh al-Damati told a news conference. They are currently trying to gather more information, using hi-tech infrared and radar technology.

The scans were prompted by a study by a prominent British archaeologist, Nicholas Reeves, which claimed Nefertiti's lost tomb may be hidden in an adjoining chamber. Tutankhamun (who died 3,000 years ago at the age of 19) may have been placed in an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb, according to Reeves. Along with her husband, Nefertiti, an Egyptian queen and one of the wives of Tutankhamun's father Akhenaten, played a key political and religious role in the 14th century BC.
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Pharoah

Sarcophagus of 'high priest of God Amun' unearthed in Luxor

Rany Mostafa
The Cairo Post
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 23:50 UTC
Sarcophagus of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
© Antiquities Ministry Facebook pageSarcophagus of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu.
The sarcophagus of Ankh-f-n-khonsu, a high priest of ancient Egyptian god Amun Ra, has been unearthed in the west bank of Luxor, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al Damaty announced Thursday.

The sarcophagus, which dates back to the 22nd Dynasty (943B.C-716B.C.,) was found in the tomb of Amenhotep-Huy, who served as Egypt's viceroy and vizier during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1391 B.C. - 1353 B.C.)

"The sarcophagus is made of wood and covered with a layer of plaster. It represents the deceased wearing a wig and crown with flowers and colorful ribbons along with ceremonial beard and a necklace adorning his chest," Sultan Eid, Director of Upper Egypt Antiquities Department said in a statement Thursday.

The sarcophagus also contains a number of hieroglyphic inscriptions with scenes of the deceased making offerings to several ancient Egyptian deities, he added.
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Pharoah

New evidence suggests King Tutankhamun's gold mask was made for heretic queen Nefertiti

Nevine El-Aref
AhramOnline
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 17:19 UTC
Tutankhanum Mask
© The Independent, UKTutankhanum's famous gold death mask may have been intended for his step-mother, Nefertiti.
Before being published in a scientific journal in December, British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, from Arizona University, sent Al-Ahram Weekly an advance copy of his article on the original name inscribed on Tutankhamun's mask.

Entitled "The Gold Mask of Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten" Reeves relates that an essay was behind his first doubts about King Tutankhamun's possession of his iconic gold mask, now under restoration at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square.

In the paper Reeves wrote several years ago, in an essay which is yet to appear, he sought to demonstrate that the famous gold mask from King Tutankhamun's tomb (KV 62) had been created not for the boy king but for the use of a female predecessor named Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten (Queen Nefertiti) who was King Akhenaten's co-regent.

"The evidence in favour of this conclusion was, and still is compelling," Reeves said, adding that he was able to muster for it no inscriptional support. Detailed scrutiny, both of the mask itself and of photographs, furnished not the slightest hint that the multi-columned hieroglyphic inscription with cartouche might pre-date Tutankhamun's reign.

"Happily, this reluctant presumption of the mask's textual integrity may now be abandoned," Reeves pointed out in the paper, asserting that "a fresh examination of the re-positioned and newly re-lit mask in Cairo at the end of September 2015 yielded for the first time, beneath the hieroglyphs of Tutankhamun's prenomen, lightly chased traces of an earlier, erased royal name."
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Document

Unique ancient manuscripts found in Tibet


XinHua Net
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 12:52 UTC
Tibetan script
© NewsX.comTibetan script.
Historians scouring the ruins of a Tibetan monastery have found 30 ancient manuscripts, including one detailing a kind of musical score never seen before.

The manuscripts, dating from the 13th to 18th century and found in Maizhokunggar County, mostly refer to noted Buddhist sutra "Perfection of Wisdom," said Palbar Tsering, director of the regional ancient books protection center, on Thursday.

The scores, consisting of groups of curves and syllabic symbols, have been identified as the music for chams, religious dances usually staged during important festivals to greet gods and dispel demons.

Experts will try to decipher them so the music can be played to the public, raising awareness of old Buddhist customs, Palbar Tsering said.
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Sherlock

Ancient underground city in Cappadocia will "rewrite history"


Hürriyet Daily News
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 00:00 UTC
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© AA Photos
An underground city found in Turkey's touristic Cappadocia will "rewrite the history of the city", according to the mayor in the Central Anatolian Nevşehir province, adding they had discovered people had permanently lived in the underground city, unlike other cities which were mostly carved into rocks for temporary protection.

Hasan Ünver, the mayor of Nevşehir, where Cappadocia is located, said the new findings at the ancient underground city in the province would rewrite history.

"When the works are finalized the history of Cappadocia will be rewritten," said Ünver, adding the findings found during the excavations dated back as the Hittite era.

"We have reached significant discoveries; new long tunnels and spaces where people lived all together. Places where linseed oil was produced, chapels and tunnels combining various living spaces in the underground city were found," said Ünver.
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Book 2

Archaeologist pieces together story of the mysterious Zhang Zhung people of Tibet

Mark Miller
Ancient Origins
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 21:47 UTC
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© John Vincent BellezzaA repoussé golden death mask dating to before 200 AD; John Vincent Bellezza says it is "perhaps of western Tibet provenance" It measures 15 cm (6 inches) by 12 cm (4.7 inches).
Many centuries ago, high in the mountains of western Tibet, the Zhang Zhung people established a civilization complete with technological advancements, rich art and a pantheon headed by a supreme god with strange and wonderful origins.

John Vincent Bellezza, a senior research fellow with the Tibet Center of the University of Virginia, has been studying the archaeology of the Iron Age people of western Tibet and their gods and cultures for more than 25 years.

His blog states: "Until the author's [Professor Bellezza's] intensive exploration of Upper Tibet in the 1990s and 2000s, very little was known about Zhang Zhung. The Tibetans themselves had forgotten what they had once achieved and the Chinese Communists were unaware of what lay on the extremes of the Plateau."
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Sherlock

Early Native Americans raised turkeys, but not to eat

Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News
Wed, 25 Nov 2015 14:00 UTC
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© Edward CurtisPortrait of "Three Horses," a headdress made of feathers.

There is little doubt that Native Americans at a Utah site appropriately called Turkey Pen Ruins raised turkeys, but new research concludes that they rarely ate them, and instead raised the large birds for their coveted feathers.

The study involved extensive analysis of amino acid signatures resulting from diet that can be detected in human hair. The research, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, represents one of the first analyses of human hair from the American Southwest.

The findings indicate that Native Americans from the Ancestral Pueblo Tradition (also sometimes known as the Anasazi) heavily relied upon corn, showing that "about 80 percent of the calories and protein came from maize," co-author R.G. Matson from the University of British Columbia Department of Anthropology told Discovery News.
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Sherlock

Glastonbury legend was "fabricated by 12th century monks desperate to raise cash"

Victoria Ward
The Telegraph, UK
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 09:15 UTC
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© AlamyGlastonbury Abbey: Not the stuff and myths and legends
Archaeologists find that Glastonbury's links to Jesus and King Arthur were concocted to attract pilgrims

It is a revelation that will strike a blow to the heart of the generations of pilgrims drawn to Glastonbury for its Christian legend and new age myths.

But a four-year academic study has unceremoniously debunked the series of oft-repeated myths that have cemented Glastonbury Abbey's reputation as one of the most romantic religious sites in the UK.

The feet immortalised in William Blake's poem Jerusalem never did walk on its green and pleasant land, King Arthur's grave is little more than a pile of a rubble and the oldest church in England was not built by Jesus's disciples but by monks desperate to raise some cold, hard cash.

The groundbreaking study, by 31 archaeology experts, discovered that the creative monks, faced with a financial crisis when their abbey burnt down in 1184, also dreamt up the legend that Jesus had visited the site as a boy with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, whose walking stick transformed into a tree that flowers every year at Christmas and Easter.
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