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NEWS ABOUT: archeology

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Stonehenge Began as Cemetery for Bigwigs

Researchers think elite families were buried there around 3000 BC

(Newser) - Observatory? Solar calendar? Add this to the theory on the origins of Stonehenge: Researchers say it began earlier than thought as a cemetery for elite Stone Age families, reports the Guardian . The most extensive analysis yet of remains excavated from the site suggests that men, women, and children were buried... More »

Syrian Rebels' New Cash Source: Stolen Artifacts

Fighters have become 'archeologists': rebel

(Newser) - Short on funds, Syrian rebels have been turning to a new source of income: selling snatched artifacts. "Some days we are fighters; others we are archeologists," says a rebel who counts ancient Sumerian tablets among his finds. Fighters, who control most of the top archeological areas, say a... More »

Yep: Skeleton in Parking Lot Is Richard III

DNA matches sister's descendant

(Newser) - Archeologists have shown "beyond a reasonable doubt" that human remains under a Leicester parking lot belong to a fabled king of England. Researchers had suspected the skeleton was Richard III's —and today they announced that DNA and other testing have confirmed it, the Guardian reports. The skeleton'... More »

Cheesemaking Goes Back 7.5K Years

Earliest pots used in process are found in modern Poland

(Newser) - Residents of what is now Poland figured out how to make cheese about 7,500 years ago, reports the BBC . Archeologists have determined that clay vessels unearthed near a river were used to separate curds from whey, a key step in the process. The finding is the earliest such proof... More »

Vandals Cut Ancient Art From California Cliffs

Petroglyphs hacked from Volcanic Tableland

(Newser) - Thieves hacked at least four large petroglyphs from cliffs near Bishop, California, that had been there for more than 3,500 years, reports the Los Angeles Times . Two others were damaged and left behind. The etchings of animals and symbols in a region known as Volcanic Tableland are sacred to... More »

French Parking Lot Yields Roman Shipwreck

Ship sank in shallow water at ancient port

(Newser) - Archaeologists investigating the site of a proposed parking lot in the French Riviera have found a vessel that has been parked there for nearly 2,000 years. The Roman shipwreck is believed to have sunk just off the ancient port of Antipolis, in an area that gradually filled with sand.... More »

Ancient 'Black Drink' Surprises Archeologists

Beverage suggests America had trade network

(Newser) - It turns out our ancestors liked their caffeine buzz, too. Archeologists studying the ancient city Cahokia have located what they believe is evidence of a likely sacred beverage known as "black drink," which European settlers exploring the southeast US in the 1600s described in writing. What's surprising... More »

Yaarrrr: Shipwreck Might Yield Pirate's Booty

Divers may have found storied sunken ship off Tongan coast

(Newser) - Shiver me timbers! Divers off the coast of Tonga have found what they suspect is an old pirate's ship with a history straight out of Treasure Island, AFP reports . The Port-au-Prince was built by the French, captured by British privateers (read: pirates) in 1805, and then met its end... More »

Phew! This Mayan Calendar Doesn't Stop at 2012

We've got thousands of years left, according to new discovery

(Newser) - Everybody can calm down now: Looks like the Mayans didn't think the world would end this year after all. Researchers have discovered astronomical calculations on the wall of an ancient Mayan site that suggest "dates thousands of years beyond" 2012, reports National Geographic . The find came at the... More »

Ancient Instrument Pushes Music History Back 1K Years

Archeologists find remains of lyre in Scottish cave

(Newser) - Turns out even ancient Europeans liked subtle and complex music. Archeologists have found part of a 2,300-year-old lyre—the oldest instrument ever discovered in western Europe—inside a Scottish cave, the Daily Mail reports. The broken and burnt piece of wood "pushes the history of complex music back... More »

Book Upends Theory About First Americans' Arrival

Visitors may have gotten here thousands of years earlier than thought

(Newser) - Forget what you learned in school about the first Americans: A new theory is turning archeological assumptions upside down. A pair of experts on ancient history assert that the first Europeans arrived in the Mid-Atlantic region 20,000 years ago, during the Stone Age—rejecting the standard theory that North... More »

42K-Year-Old Tuna Dinner Discovered

We've been eating the fish for millennia: archeologists

(Newser) - It gives “leftovers” a whole new meaning: Archeologists have discovered the remnants of a 42,000-year-old tuna meal, they say. They found tuna and shark bones in an East Timor cave, near Australia. The findings suggest that ancient humans were capable of deep-sea fishing, shedding light on questions over... More »

2nd Mayan Tablet Linked to 2012 Apocalypse

But some experts say: Don't worry about it

(Newser) - The bad news is that Mayan ruins make not one but two apparent references to a possible apocalypse in 2012 . The good news—maybe—is that Mexican archeologists say not to worry about it. Experts have finally confirmed that a second suspected reference to 2012 was found at the Comalcalco... More »

Save Sex Pistols Graffiti, Archeologists Plead

Johnny Rotten cartoons 'can be compared to cave paintings'

(Newser) - Graffiti scrawled on the walls of a London flat by the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten in the '70s is worth preserving and can be compared to ancient cave paintings, top archaeologists are arguing. Researchers who studied the graffiti in an apartment once occupied by the punk pioneers call the... More »

Radar Finds Preserved Roman Gladiator School

It's near Vienna, Austria ... but still underground

(Newser) - Archeologists near Vienna, Austria, say underground radar has made a spectacular find: a Roman gladiator school that appears to be in better shape than any found so far, reports Der Spiegel . It even still has the wooden post used to represent an opponent in the arena. Don't bank on... More »

Captain Morgan's Ship Found, Thanks to Rum

Best marketing move ever?

(Newser) - How’s this for marketing genius: Archeologists are reasonably certain they’ve discovered one of the lost ships of infamous privateer Henry Morgan—in an expedition financed in part by Captain Morgan rum. “There’s definitely an irony in the situation,” one archeologist tells Discovery News . Morgan lost... More »

Roman-Era Basilica Unearthed on Egypt's Coast

Structure built on top of Cleopatra-era temple

(AP) - Egyptian officials say archaeologists have unearthed the first basilica erected in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Antiquities authorities say the basilica is dated to the Roman era and was built on the ruins of a temple from the Ptolemaic reign—a period that ended with the death of Cleopatra.... More »

In Blackbeard's Wreckage, Proof of Terror

Cannons fired bags of nails, to maim people but leave ships intact

(Newser) - Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, now being explored by marine archeologists off the coast of North Carolina, is giving up more than just its treasures , it's also revealing the infamous pirate's terrifying tactics. And what researchers are finding are an ingenious array of improvised weapons, designed... More »

Researchers Unearth 'First Gay Caveman'

Position of body suggests 'different sexual orientation,' say researchers

(Newser) - The first known "gay caveman" has been unearthed in a dig outside Prague, researchers believe. Archeological team members based their conclusion on the fact that the male body was interred in a ritualistic way reserved for females. "We know people from this period took funeral rites very seriously... More »

Google Earth Archeologist Finds 2K Potential Sites

Australian researcher 'outflanks' travel restrictions with Saudi Arabia find

(Newser) - It's another example in the growing field of what New Scientist dubs "armchair archeology": An Australian scientist has used Google Earth to identify nearly 2,000 sites of interest in otherwise hard-to-reach Saudi Arabia. More than half appear to be ancient tombs made of stone, though only an on-the-ground... More »

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