This Week in Archaeology

Calling all treasure hunters, museum groupies, paleontologists, ancient alien theorists, history dorks, art historians, ancient anthropologists, and archaeologists! This is a blog for you run by someone just like you. I'll be posting news updates, trivia, little tidbits, all from the prehistorical age up to the Renaissance, and everything in between.

[archaeologicalnews]

OSU archaeology team unearths prehistoric mammoth

In early July, workers for a natural gas service provider were excavating for a routine pipeline when they made a surprising discovery.

As their equipment dug deep into Alfalfa County soil, they hit what appeared to be the remains of a very large animal.

When the Oklahoma Archaeology Survey arrived on site, it quickly became apparent that the remains belonged to a prehistoric mammoth dating back thousands of years.

“They knew it was a mammoth right away because a tusk was jutting out from the side of the ditch,” said Carlos Cordova, a professor in OSU’s department of geography who helped dig up the remains. “Plus, the bones are very large.” Read more.

[archaeologicalnews]

Ancient Magician's Curse Tablet Discovered in Jerusalem

A lead curse tablet, dating back around 1,700 years and likely written by a magician, has been discovered in a collapsed Roman mansion in Jerusalem, archaeologists report.

The mansion, which is being excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Givati Parking Lot, is located in what is known as the “City of David,” an area that holds at least 6,000 years of human occupation. The mansion itself covers at least 2,000 square meters (about half an acre) and contains two large open courtyards adjacent to each other. It was in use between the late third century and A.D. 363, when it was destroyed in a series of earthquakes on May 18 or 19. Read more.

[archaeologicalnews]

Viking parliament found under Dingwall car park

A CAR park in a Highland town has been confirmed by archaeologists as the meeting place of a medieval Norse parliament.

Excavations at the Cromartie Memorial car park in Dingwall uncovered evidence of a mound that archaeologists believe was established in the 11th century as a gathering spot for a Viking parliament, known as a “Thing”.

When it was constructed the “Thing” would have been on a man-made islet in the estuary of the River Pefferey, historians claimed. They believe the mound was built on the instructions of Thorfinn the Mighty, a powerful Viking earl who died in 1065. Read more.

[archaeologicalnews]

Entombed Etruscan Was Expert Embroiderer

Skeletal remains found last month in an untouched Etruscan tomb likely belonged to an aristocratic woman (not a prince, as earlier reported) buried alongside a spear and her sewing needles.

Analysis revealed that a small bronze box found beside the skeleton in Tarquinia contain the needles — and some thread.

"X-rays showed the perfectly sealed box contains at least five needles, some threads remains and perhaps a sewing reel," Alfonsina Russo, Superintendent archaeologist for Southern Etruria, told Discovery News. Read more.

[messoamerica]

Detail of the mural at San Bartolo, a Pre-Classic Maya site containing the oldest known Maya murals, which date to 100 BC. Pictured is a king dressed in ceremonial garb engaging in ritual penile bloodletting. Excavated by William Saturno, BU, from 2003 to present.

[archaeologicalnews]

Dig unearths 4,000 year old tomb of doctor to pharaohs

Archaeologists have unearthed a 4,000 year old tomb outside the Egyptian capital containing what they believe are the remains of a prominent doctor to the pharaohs, officials said on Tuesday.

The tomb, part of a 21 metre (70 foot) by 14 metre (46 foot) plot, with four-metre (13 feet) high walls, was discovered at Abusir, southwest of Cairo, senior antiquities ministry official Ali al-Asfar said.

"This discovery is important because this is the tomb of one of the greatest doctors from the time of the pyramid builders, one of the doctors closely tied to the king," Antiquities Minister Ibrahim Ali said in a statement. Read more.

[archaeologicalnews]

The queen and the sculptor

Egyptologist thinks he has found tomb of artist who created famed bust of Nefertiti

For those of us aging fast, it is nice to know that one the most beautiful faces in the world is more than 3,300 years old.

That face is on the bust of Queen Nefertiti, the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, whose reign in Egypt spanned 1353–1336 BCE. This famous artifact, 44 pounds and life-size, has a layer of painted gypsum stucco over a full-featured limestone core. It was discovered a century ago in the ruins of an ancient artist’s studio in Amarna, south of Cairo. First made public in 1924, it fast became an icon of feminine beauty.

A slender, smooth neck gives way to skin the color of golden sand. Then come full, red lips; a dramatic, sloping nose; almond eyes; and arching, dark eyebrows. Above the face is a colorful, back-sweeping, cylindrical crown. It’s a lot for the eye to take in, especially since the work was likely just an artist’s model, and never intended for display. Read more.

[history101posts]

Mosaics in Naples National Archeological Museum 

[thisweekinarchaeology-blog]

Coming Soon!

Beginning on Friday, October the 25th, I will be creating videos to upload on YouTube about what's happened in archaeology during the past week, from every Saturday to the Friday I post the video. I will not only be including news stories, I will be including an "antiquated word of the week" and a phrase in another language, just for fun.