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explorator 24.47 March 13, 2022
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You can read explorator online at:

https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay,
Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week
(as always hoping I have left no one out).

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EARLY HOMINIDS
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Suggestion that early humans some 500 000 years bp at Revadim (Israel) recycled flint tools to preserve ancestors' memory or something like that:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/half-a-million-years-ago-prehistoric-man-may-have-been-just-as-sentimental-as-us/
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-700535
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323417
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/the-recycling-hominin-new-discoveries-about-ancient-tools-in-israel-1.10650381
https://www.sciencealert.com/prehistoric-people-may-have-collected-and-reused-tools-to-remember-their-ancestors

Early hominids are back on the hook for megafauna extinction in the Israel region som 400 000 years bp:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/did-humans-hunt-the-biggest-animals-to-extinction

Pondering when the first humans arrived:

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/first-humans-on-earth/

An analysis of all the head injuries seen in 400 000 years bp skulls at Sima de los Huesos:

https://elpais.com/ciencia/2022-03-10/veinte-craneos-reventados-desvelan-una-historia-de-violencia-y-asesinatos-en-atapuerca.html

More on the finds in Madrin Cave and its implications for homo sapiens in Western Europe:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/09/neanderthal-pompeii-dig-places-humans-in-europe-earlier-than-thought

More on homo sapiens being innovative in South Africa some 90 000 years bp or so:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/homo-sapiens-humans-culture-creativity-africa-asia-stone-age
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AFRICA
============================================================
A project to digitize endangered manuscripts in Mali:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-60689699
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2022-03-10-malis-endangered-manuscripts-digitised-in-project-to-preserve-them/

cf: https://artsandculture.google.com/project/mali-heritage

War in Ethiopia threatens assorted antiquities:

https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopias-war-endangers-ancient-relics/a-61069797
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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
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More on the 4000 years bp 'administrative structures' excavated at Kom Ombo:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/08/4000-year-old-administrative-center-excavated-at-kom-ombo-egypt/

More on five 13th century BCE (maybe) wells in the North Sinai:

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/03/five-pharaonic-wells-uncovered-sinai

More on that cache of mummification materials from Abusir:

https://hyperallergic.com/715916/archaeologists-uncover-largest-trove-of-mummification-materials-in-egypt/

... and a feature on the origins of mummification in Egypt:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/113580/Archaeologist-reveals-the-roots-of-mummification-in-ancient-Egypt

Egypt and the Louvre are discussing cooperation:

https://dailynewsegypt.com/2022/03/08/775599/

Egypt and the US were discussing ways to recover smuggled artifacts:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/113645/Egyptian-delegation-US-authorities-discuss-in-Washington-ways-to-recover

Feature on one of the Amarna Letters (EA 12):

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/08/when-a-babylonian-princess-wrote-to-the-pharaoh/

Lawrence Schiffman on the accuracy of the Exodus story:

https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-700876

Stone tools found on top of Iran's Gav-Bast Mountain:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/470928/Stone-tools-discovered-on-top-of-southern-Iranian-mount

Iran's Hegmateneh hill site is closer to obtaining Heritage status:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/470807/Hegmataneh-hill-one-step-closer-to-become-World-Heritage

Feature on the Sennacherib-era irrigation system at Erbil:

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/27542-Erbil%27s-ancient-irrigation-system

A study of the use of pigments in burials at Neolithic Catal Hoyuk:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07284-3

Pondering face-to-face royal meetings in the Bronze Age Near East:

https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2022/03/kings-face-to-face

Study suggests a change in crops at Tel Burna reflects 8th century BCE geopolitical changes in the area:

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-700486

Feature/interview on Neolithic Jordan:

https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/jordan-archaeologist-spotlights-neolithic-period-1468737

I think we mentioned this a couple weeks ago ... an American tourist 'stumbled' on an early Bronze Age pottery jug in a Qumran cave:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/american-tourist-stumbles-upon-intact-bronze-age-pottery-jug-in-judean-desert/
https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-700842
https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/03/09/american-tourist-finds-5000-year-old-jug-in-judean-desert-cave/

More on the 9000 years bp shrine/religious structure from the Jordanian desert:

https://www.dw.com/en/jordan-archaeologists-find-9000-year-old-hunting-complex/a-60890284

A (political) call for Jewish sites in the West Bank to be preserved:

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-700516

Pondering rabbinic control of early synagogues:

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-701077

Feature on Karen Britt's work with the Huqoq Mosaics:

https://www.maryvilleforum.com/article_214053b8-9b13-11ec-ae49-23d7c585e5ae.html

Remains of a 5th century CE square fortification site in North al Batinah (Oman):

https://timesofoman.com/article/114165-square-fort-discovered-at-archaeological-site-in-north-al-batinah
https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/oman/oman-discovers-fort-dating-back-to-the-5th-century-1.86390081
-----
This Week in the Ancient Near East Podcast:

https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/

============================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
============================================================
Not sure how recent this find is ... 2500 years bp graffiti of ships from Izmir:

https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/2500-year-old-ship-graffiti-sails-back-to-turkeys-izmir-history/news
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ship-graffiti-reveals-izmir-significant-port-city-in-history-172080

Overviewish thing on recent finds at Halkidiki:

https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1179519/unexpected-archaeological-discoveries-in-halkidiki/

Report on the 2021 excavations at Agios Ioannis/Vretsia-Roudias:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/08/2021-investigations-at-the-site-of-agios-ioannis-vretsia-roudias-completed/

Remains of a hitherto unknown Greek town near Grevena:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/03/12/ancient-greek-town-greece-grevena/

A 1st/2nd century CE Roman cremation burial from a Broadstairs garden:

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2022/03/09/roman-cremation-burial-site-uncovered-in-broadstairs-front-garden/

2000 years bp Roman handprints found in a Hippos cistern:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/20220310/c0b673b4ac76400e82a3ab32b1fc12a8/c.html

More mosaics revealed at Negrar di Valpolicella where some were revealed (again) last year:

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63555
https://mediterraneoantico.it/articoli/archeologia-classica/valpolicella-villa-di-negrar-scoperti-nuovi-mosaici-tra-i-vigneti/
https://www.archeomedia.net/negrar-di-valpollicella-vr-nuovi-mosaici-romani-riemergono-poco-dopo-la-ripresa-degli-scavi/

Road construction in Swindon revealed remains of a couple of Roman farms:

https://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/19977533.ancient-roman-farms-discovered-preparations-southern-connector-road-build/
https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/19977533.ancient-roman-farms-discovered-preparations-southern-connector-road-build/

A 1700 years bp Roman shipwreck off a popular beach in Mallorca:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/08/roman-boat-that-sank-in-mediterranean-1700-years-ago-gives-up-its-treasures
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63562

A section of the via Domitiana was revealed at Pozzuoli (Italian):

https://www.ilmattino.it/napoli/cronaca/pozzuoli_dai_lavori_spunta_un_tratto_inedito_via_domitiana-6554685.html

More on Roman (maybe) burials found during M5 construction in Gloucestershire:

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/m5-archaeological-find-takes-gloucestershires-6787801

More on the Byzantine shipwreck off Fourni:

https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1179200/underwater-survey-of-a-byzantine-shipwreck-in-the-fourni-archipelago/
https://www.newsweek.com/images-show-1500-year-old-shipwreck-greece-fourni-archipelago-1685911
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/underwater-archaeologists-excavate-byzantine-shipwreck-near-samos/143041
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/09/fournoi-2021-results-of-the-underwater-archaeological-research/

More on the survey of that Rutland site where that massive mosaic was found a while ago:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-60603329
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10400-220308-england-large-villa

More on nomads taking over Roman emerald mines in Egypt:

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-700784
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-ancient-nomads-seize-control-of-a-roman-emerald-mine-in-egypt-180979712/

More on the massive mosaic from south London:

https://bigthink.com/the-past/roman-mosaics-london/

More on that Roman military diploma found at Perrhe:

https://the-past.com/news/military-diploma-dating-back-2000-years-discovered-in-turkey/

High hopes for a Roman fort survey near Melrose:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-60602352

Funding to put some Colchester mosaics on display:

https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19983965.roman-mosaics-storage-brought-public/

Funding for repairs at Segedunum Roman Fort:

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2022-03-12/499000-grant-awarded-to-boost-repairs-at-segedunum-roman-fort

Followup to a story from a few months ago ... it seems that 'intact corpse' found in a burial at Pompeii was deliberately mummified:

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63509

Really a techy story, but an interesting use of AI to fill in lacunae in Greek inscriptions:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/09/ai-could-decipher-gaps-in-ancient-greek-texts-say-researchers
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ai-fills-the-gaps-in-ancient-texts-to-clear-pericles-3qccs25fv
https://greekreporter.com/2022/03/10/greek-inscriptions-ai-deep-neural-networks/
https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/03/10/artificial-intelligence-resurrects-ancient-greek-texts/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/03/deepminds-new-ai-tool-helps-resolve-debate-over-ancient-athenian-decrees/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00701-7
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2311657-ai-can-help-historians-restore-ancient-texts-from-damaged-inscriptions/

An interview with Gabriel Zuchtreigel about what's happening at Pompeii these days:

https://www.ekathimerini.com/nytimes/1179514/pompeii-moves-with-the-times/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/arts/design/pompeii-italy-gabriel-zuchtreigel.html

A grant for Rabun Taylor to study ancient plant material:

https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/news/department-of-classics-professor-wins-grant-to-study-ancient-plants

Official approval for the relocation of antiquities found during construction of the Venizelou metro station in Thessaloniki:

https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1179517/unanimous-approval-for-the-relocation-of-antiquities/

Feature on the Phaistos Disk:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/phaistos-disc

Feature on the Library of Celsus in Ephesus:

https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/the-library-of-celsus-profound-structure-in-ancient-ephesus/news

Feature on ancient Athenian responses to the plague:

https://theconversation.com/the-ancient-greeks-also-lived-through-a-plague-and-they-too-blamed-their-leaders-for-their-suffering-176182
https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2022/march/joel-christensen-plagues.html

Feature on prostitution in ancient Greece and Rome:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/a-brief-history-of-prostitution-in-ancient-greece-and-rome-1.10663655

Feature on the caduceus and related things:

https://www.livescience.com/33104-why-is-the-medical-symbol-a-snake-on-a-stick.html

Feature on Cleopatra:

https://hyperallergic.com/715543/who-was-cleopatra-really/

Feature on the Ides of March:

https://www.greensburgdailynews.com/opinion/columns/deciphering-the-ides-of-march/article_f70c8d6e-9e46-11ec-9816-17ac2c4189ac.html

Feature on books inspired by Greek myths:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40826999.html

Feature o Julius Caesar in modern literature:

https://bookriot.com/julius-caesar-in-modern-and-contemporary-literature/

Feature on the city of Chersonesus (Crimea):

https://greekreporter.com/2022/03/10/unesco-ancient-city-chersonesus-ukraine/

Feature on the League of Corinth:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/03/11/league-corinth-greek-people/

Another feature on the modern applications of stoicism:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220308-what-ancient-philosophers-teach-us-about-uncertain-times

OpEddish thing on the importance of Classics:

https://tsl.news/opinion-we-must-keep-the-classics-alive/

Feature on Tacitus and tyrants:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/what-tacitus-knew-about-tyrants

Not sure if we've mentioned this digital reconstruction of 4th century Rome:

https://aeon.co/essays/kalila-and-dimnas-ethically-murky-ancient-parables-on-power

Reviewish of Roosevelt Montas, *Rescuing Socrates*:

https://merionwest.com/2022/03/10/review-roosevelt-montass-rescuing-socrates/

The Labor Party in Australia has called for the return of the Parthenon sculptures:

https://greekherald.com.au/politics/federal-labor-calls-british-museum-return-parthenon-marbles-greece/
https://neoskosmos.com/en/2022/03/10/news/australia/labor-fights-for-return-of-parthenon-marbles/

More on the app/website for the Parthenon frieze:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/46647-athens-parthenon-frieze-pieces-brought-together-and-explained-on-upgraded-site.html
https://www.thenationalherald.com/parthenon-frieze-pieces-brought-together-explained-on-upgraded-site/

OpEddish on Roman imperialism:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/06/videogames-history-rome-expeditions/
-----
Roman Archaeology Blog:

http://romanarc.blogspot.com/

Rogueclassicism:

http://rogueclassicism.com/
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EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
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A possible Neolithic 'crime scene' from Serbia (?) found back in the 1930s:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/a-possible-neolithic-crime-scene-in-serbia/142994

A 5th/6th century CE Pictish stone find from somewhere in Scotland:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/15836/
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-rare-pictish-stone-potential-site.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99jnywwrnlo
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/archaeologists-edinburgh-b2030311.html
https://www.newsweek.com/remarkable-1500-year-old-carved-pictish-symbol-stone-scotland-university-1685879
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/education/4028267/aberdeen-archaeologists-discover-rare-pictish-stone/
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63519
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/rare-stone-with-pictish-symbols-found-in-farmers-field/142989
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/09/rare-pictish-symbol-stone-found-near-potential-site-of-famous-battle/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-stone-with-pictish-symbols-discovered-in-scotland-180979709/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10398-220308-scotland-pict-stone

Remains of a Napoleonic-era barracks in Weeley:

https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/19975388.remains-napoleonic-era-army-barracks-uncovered-weeley/

A project to look for medieval and Roman remains in Ilkley:

https://www.wharfedaleobserver.co.uk/news/19969144.archaeological-project-shed-new-light-roman-medieval-ilkley/

Latest finds from the Hanbury Hall dig:

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/gallery/pictures-hidden-past-dug-up-23325890
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/more-jaw-dropping-hidden-treasures-23324636

Overviewish piece on finds made during tram construction in Edinburgh:

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/history/most-curious-edinburgh-relics-dug-23339845

More on claims of Stonehenge being a solar calendar thing:

http://us.cnn.com/style/article/stonehenge-calendar-study-scn/index.html
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/stonehenge-solar-calendar-10598.html

More on plant remains from a Neolithic site in Switzerland suggesting links with a site near Italy's Lake Varese:

https://www.unibas.ch/de/Aktuell/News/Uni-Research/7000-Jahre-altes-Getreide-verraet-Ursprung-der-Schweizer-Pfahlbauten.html
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10397-220307-europe-pile-dwelling

More on the Bronze Age burial mound found at Oxford:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-60509311

More on the Italian origins of the Venus of Willendorf:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/venus-of-willendorf-origins-study-1234620570/

More on mummification in Europe some 8000 years bp:

https://www.freepressjournal.in/science/study-finds-that-mummification-in-europe-may-be-older-than-previously-known
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/worlds-oldest-mummies-2081946

Study suggests Bronze Age Britons weren't using continental weights to measure/count their gold:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/MAGAZINE-debunked-bronze-age-britons-did-not-use-gold-pieces-as-currency-1.10666756
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/bronze-age-britons-did-not-use-european-weights-to-count-their-gold/143015

Feature/interview on April Nowell's work studying children in the Ice Age:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/why-it-s-important-to-learn-how-children-lived-in-the-last-ice-age-1.6371371

Feature on European places associated with some famous women:

https://www.dw.com/en/exciting-places-in-europe-associated-with-famous-women/g-56783599

Followup feature to the find of a piece of Henry VIII's crown at Market Harborough a little over a year ago:

https://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/retro/striking-gold-has-changed-turned-my-life-upside-down-says-amateur-treasure-hunter-after-his-one-in-a-million-find-near-harborough-3603954

Feature on a gilded wooden falcon associated with Anne Boleyn:

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63527
----------
Archaeology in Europe News:

http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/

Medievalists.net:

https://www.medievalists.net/category/news/

Viking Archaeology Blog:

http://viking-archaeology-blog.blogspot.com/

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ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
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Evidence of 40 000 years bp use of ochre pigment from Xiamabei:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/xiamabei-ochre-pigment-archaeology-1234621253/

Study suggests humans in China contributed to the extinction of a species of crocodile in China some 3000 years bp:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-gharial-china-bronze-age-history.html

cf: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.0085

Latest finds from excavations at China's Forbidden City:

http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2022-03/10/content_78100048.htm
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202203/10/WS622963c3a310cdd39bc8bb3d.html

Feature on Japan's 'seafaring' (pirate) past:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220309-japans-little-known-seafaring-past

Feature on the Kudan site (Nepal):

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kudan-archaeological-site

Not sure about this feature on four 2200 years bp labyrinths found near Kalhapur a couple years ago:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolhapur/2200-yr-old-labyrinths-dating-back-to-indo-roman-trade-route-await-archaeological-conservation/articleshow/90064260.cms

Brief item on the find of a 2nd century structure of some sort in Jhabua:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/2nd-century-structure-found-in-jhabua/articleshow/90111347.cms

Concerns for the Puri Heritage Corridor project:

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bhubaneswar/asi-writes-to-odisha-govt-warns-of-threats-to-puri-heritage-project-7814305/

New/ongoing concerns for sites in the Bamiyan Valley:

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/11/bamiyan-buddhas-taliban-preservation-looting-development

An interesting historical omen/superstition from Japan:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/07/japans-killing-stone-splits-in-two-releasing-superstitions-and-toxic-gases

============================================================
NORTH AMERICA
============================================================
An 11 000 - 13000 years bp 'Paleo-Indian' site from Connecticut:

https://www.wshu.org/connecticut-news/2022-03-07/a-rare-discovery-in-connecticut-offers-a-glimpse-at-the-first-ancient-people-in-the-americas
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10403-220309-connecticut-stone-debris

A Coast Salish war club from a Vancouver Island back yard:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ancient-coast-salish-war-club-discovered-in-vancouver-island-man-s-backyard-1.6380970

A 460 years bp hunting bow found in Alaska's Lake Clark National Park:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/hunting-bow-artifact-alaska/

An intact Civil War shell from Georgia's Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article259048273.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10396-220307-georgia-unexploded-shell

A rusty box dating to1900 or so found in the Arizona desert contained makeup:

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/nation-world/national/article259228980.html

Study suggests a 17th century shipwreck found off the coast of Virginia might be the Sparrow-Hawk:

https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2022/03/reseachers-confirm-plymouth-shipwreck-could-be-400-year-old-colonial-sparrow-hawk/
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-analysis-clues-pilgrim-era-shipwreck.html

More on the cannons pulled out of the Savannah river:

https://the-past.com/news/cannon-from-revolutionary-war-raised-from-savannah-harbour/

Feature on how an early 29th century Adirondack Mountain community handled a Scarlet Fever outbreak:

https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2022/03/scarlet-fever-keenes-struggles-to-contain-an-outbreak-harkens-to-today.html

Feature on efforts to preserve remains of a Native American city in Nashville:

https://www.indianz.com/News/2022/03/10/peoples-world-native-community-stands-up-to-big-developers/

Feature on George Washington:

https://www.livescience.com/george-washington

============================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
============================================================
Possible extinct megafauna depicted in some Ice Age petroglyphs from Colombia:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/07/americas/rock-art-colombia-scn/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/science/ice-age-rock-art.html
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/does-amazon-rock-art-depict-extinct-ice-age-mammals-2082960
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10406-220311-colombia-rock-art

cf: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0496

A pair of pre-Hispanic temples from Puebla (Mexico):

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/archaeologists-have-uncovered-two-pre-hispanic-temples-in-the-tehuacan-el-viejo-archaeological-zone/143038

Study suggests that Monte Alban existed for centuries without extremes in wealth and power:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ancient-mexican-city-centuries-extremes.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/945304
https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vexw/the-secret-to-this-ancient-citys-success-was-collectivism-study-says
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/ancient-mexican-city-endured-for-centuries-without-extremes-in-wealth-and-power/143001
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/08/monte-alban-endured-for-centuries-without-extremes-in-wealth-and-power/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10402-220309-mexico-monte-alban

cf: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.805047/full

More on the 'decipherment' of that Zapotec frieze at Casa del Sur:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-decipher-the-glyphs-on-a-1300-year-old-frieze-in-mexico-180979691/

More on the mummies from Cajamarquilla:

https://www.livescience.com/sacrificed-children-mummies-peru
-----
Mike Ruggeri's Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Mike Ruggeri's Ancient Americas lecture channels on Youtube:

https://mikeruggerisyoutube.tumblr.com/

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/
============================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
============================================================
The wreck of Shackleton's Endurance in the Antarctic was located this week:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-shackleton-lost-shipwreck-antarctica.html
https://www.livescience.com/shackleton-lost-endurance-ship-discovered-antarctic
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-found-shackleton.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60662541
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/ernest-shackleton-wrecked-ship-endurance-antarctic
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/endurance-expedition-finds-ernest-shackletons-lost-ship-frozen-in-time-zwrhptjn8
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/ernest-shackletons-endurance-worlds-best-preserved-wooden-ship/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/hms-endurance-ship-ernest-shackleton-b2031757.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ernest-shackletons-ship-endurance-antarctica-sea-106-years-1915-rcna19264
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-found-scn/index.html
https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/03/09/ernest-shackletons-ship-endurance-lost-1915-found-off-antarctica
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/legendary-shipwreck-of-shackletons-endurance-discovered-in-antarctic-waters1/
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/03/long-lost-endurance-shipwreck-found-off-coast-of-antarctica/
https://slate.com/technology/2022/03/shipwreck-shackleton-archaeology-discovery.html
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63546
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/wreck-of-sir-ernest-shackletons-endurance-found-off-antarctica-coast/143018
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/09/endurance-is-found/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10405-220310-antarctic-ship-endurance

...and a feature on Frank Worsley, the navigator of the Endurance:

https://theconversation.com/endurance-captain-frank-worsley-shackletons-gifted-navigator-knew-how-to-stay-the-course-179045

... and the technology used to find it:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-a-plucky-robot-found-the-long-lost-endurance-shipwreck/

... and a feature on expeditions to the Antarctic:

https://www.livescience.com/famous-antarctic-expeditions

Pondering assorted ancient civilizations' views of the cosmos:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ancient-civilizations-cosmos.html

Feature on the Elder Bruegel's 'The Harvesters':

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2022/pieter-bruegel-elder-harvesters/

Feature on the Cathedral of Valencia and its purported connections to the Holy Grail:

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0bt6xl5/is-this-the-home-of-the-holy-grail-

Nicola Sturgeon has apologized for witch hunts:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/08/nicola-sturgeon-issues-apology-for-historical-injustice-of-witch-hunts

Feature on some early 20th century American influencers:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/14/the-influencers-of-their-day-ruth-brandon-spellbound-by-marcel-duchamp-love-and-art

On the use of copper throughout history:

https://www.livescience.com/29377-copper.html

Study suggests children made a significant contribution to petroglyphs:

https://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/907/reader/reader.html?#!preferred/0/package/907/pub/907/page/44/article/280338

Rethinking the location of Moby-Dick island:

http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/907/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/907/pub/907/page/47/article/288134

I think we mentioned this restoration of a Medici monument with the use of friendly bacteria:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/florence-tomb-by-michelangelo-restored-with-aid-of-bacteria

Feature on Georgette Heyer:

https://www.vox.com/culture/22970932/georgette-heyer-novels-movies-adaptations-folio-venetia

Feature on academic philosophy:

https://aeon.co/essays/how-academic-philosophy-can-become-truly-diverse-and-global

Feature on Kalila and Dimna's parables:

https://aeon.co/essays/kalila-and-dimnas-ethically-murky-ancient-parables-on-power

A pair of Mondrians were identified/found in the Netherlands:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2022-03-03/descubiertos-en-paises-bajos-dos-cuadros-de-mondrian-guardados-en-colecciones-particulares.html

On the threat of pseudoarchaeology:

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pseudoarchaelogists-are-threatening-the-field-2081725

In case you were wondering about ArchaeoCon 2022:

https://www.archaeological.org/from-maya-murals-to-shipwrecks-archaeocon-2022-was-a-resounding-success/

More on how much medieval literature survives:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-much-medieval-literature-has-been-lost-over-the-centuries-180979696/

I think we mentioned the plans to study this 'mermaid mummy':

https://www.livescience.com/mummified-mermaid-in-japan

The British Library needs more storage:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-60668721

Some fish-on-friday humour:

https://www.theonion.com/historians-trace-catholic-practice-of-eating-fish-on-fr-1848611935
============================================================
CURRENT EVENTS:
============================================================
Pi Day is coming up:

https://menafn.com/1103833443/Pi-day-a-brief-history-of-our-fascination-with-this-magical-number-from-pies-to-piems&source=30

More concerns for Ukraine's cultural heritage:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60707531
https://theconversation.com/ukraines-cultural-heritage-faces-destruction-as-russian-bombing-continues-178563
https://fr.aleteia.org/2022/03/07/a-lviv-on-sactive-aussi-pour-proteger-des-oeuvres-dart/

... and Egyptian antiquities in Ukraine:

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/03/egyptian-antiquities-risk-ukraine
============================================================
ANIMAL AND PLANT DOMESTICATIONS
============================================================
Saffron crocus domestication has been traced back to Bronze Age Crete:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ancient-art-genetics-combine-reveal.html
http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/saffron-crocus-domestication-10607.html

cf: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.834416/full

Study suggests geese were domesticated in China some 7000 years bp:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-evidence-goose-domestication-china-years.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2311199-geese-may-have-been-the-first-birds-to-be-domesticated-7000-years-ago/
https://www.zmescience.com/?p=212655
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10404-220309-china-domesticated-geese

More on the breeding of kungas:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/before-horses-hybrid-donkeys-were-once-used-for-battle

============================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
============================================================
Pompeii in Color:

https://untappedcities.com/2022/03/08/nyus-pompeii-in-color-exhibit/

Stations of the Cross:

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-uk-and-ireland/2022/03/scottish-catholic-museum-reopens-highlighting-engravings-of-stations-of-the-cross

Queer:

https://theconversation.com/this-show-exceeds-the-hype-ngvs-queer-advances-a-beautiful-and-challenging-reading-of-the-queer-gaze-in-art-176005

Kubla Khan:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/11/samuel-taylor-coleridge-kubla-khan-poem-manuscript-somerset

Surrealism:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220309-seven-artworks-exploding-the-myth-of-a-movement

Stonehenge:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/explore-the-mysteries-of-stonehenge-at-the-british-museum-180979690/

Feminine Power:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/hindu-london-british-army-metropolitan-museum-of-art-american-b2030988.html
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-museum-london-british-army-american-india-b986729.html

Queen Victoria's silk paintings:

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63532
https://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/904/reader/reader.html?#!preferred/0/package/904/pub/904/page/26/article/279655

Grimani Collection:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/arts/venice-grimani-collection-sculpture.html

Feature/interview on Melbourne's Hellenic Museum:

https://greekherald.com.au/community/1-people-community/interviews/hellenic-museum-about-hellenism-not-just-about-greece-interview-with-sarah-craig/

Feature on Rome's Museo della Cucina

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220307-romes-new-museum-dedicated-to-cooking
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/garum-food-museum

A number of UK museums refuse to take part in a UK-Saudi culture agreement:

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/10/uk-museums-shun-saudi-deal
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220310-prominent-uk-museums-refuse-to-participate-in-saudi-cultural-agreement/

The Hermitage is demanding the early return of some paintings on loan to Italy:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-museums-return-loaned-works-russian-galleries-2022-03-10/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/europe/20220311/ddefa0789ef24fd39ba0d18a468f7316/c.html
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-03-09/card/russia-tells-italy-to-return-loaned-works-of-art-1o1AYUtNTzd4jbkayecD
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hermitage-loans-2083407

... and one from London's National Gallery:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/hermitage-pulls-raphael-loan-national-gallery-1234621700/

Houston's MFA has acquired a long unseen Diego Rivera work:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/mfa-houston-acquires-diego-rivera-christies-1234621739/

The Israel Museum has acquired a 255 scroll of Esther:

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-700664

Feature on the Poe Museum:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/03/11/poe-museum-richmond-virginia/

cf: https://poemuseum.org/

Interview with Neil MacGregor on the purpose of museums:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/museums-can-help-us-interview-neil-macgregor-dg3xljj0w

More on Iraq's National Museum reopening after three years:

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220307-iraq-s-national-museum-reopens-after-three-year-closure
https://thearabweekly.com/iraqs-national-museum-reopens-after-three-year-closure
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/03/11/iraq-museum-baghdad-reopens
============================================================
AUCTIONS AND SALES RELATED
============================================================
Results of a sale of a 14th century gold coin found by a metal detectorist in Norfolk a couple years ago:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-60665067
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/amateur-treasure-hunter-unearths-rare-14th-century-gold-coin-180979703/

Mexico succeeded in having a pre-Hispanic artifact removed from a Vienna auction:

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-mexico-pre-hispanic-artifact-vienna-sale.html
============================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS
============================================================
What a midden from Georgia reveals about how Native Americans adapted to climate change:

https://www.inverse.com/science/mollusk-shells-reveal-striking-details-about-ancient-climate-change
============================================================
TOURISTY THINGS
============================================================
Jordan:

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/03/explore-the-historical-wonders-of-jordan

============================================================
TV/DOCUMENTARY HYPISH THINGS
============================================================
Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed:

https://dailygazette.com/2022/03/12/film-continues-debate-over-benedict-arnolds-legacy/
============================================================
CRIME BEAT
============================================================
A bust at a home in Jerusalem led to the seizure of a pile of 1500 years bp 'incantation bowls' among other items:

https://www.livescience.com/israel-police-seize-looted-artifacts
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-700549
https://www.timesofisrael.com/magic-bowls-among-trove-of-ancient-artifacts-seized-in-raid-on-jerusalem-home/
https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/bjj00hbxb9
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323427
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-60571616
https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/03/07/1500-year-old-magic-bowls-found-in-jerusalem/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/20220307/ebe8737ab3114cf59700f6a7e8e74703/c.html
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/swearing-bowls-among-ancient-artifacts-found-in-raid-on-suspected-illegal-trader/
https://www.newsweek.com/1500-year-old-bowls-magic-spells-curses-seized-raid-jerusalem-israel-antiquities-authority-1685590
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/magic-bowls-among-trove-of-ancient-artefacts-seized-in-raid/143005
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1500-year-old-magic-bowls-seized-in-jerusalem-raid-180979705/

Another major international bust -- dubbed Operation Pandora VI -- recovered close to 10 000 illicit antiquities in 28 countries:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/thousands-of-priceless-artefacts-seized-in-police-operation-across-28-countries
https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/52-arrests-in-operation-across-28-countries-targeting-trafficking-in-cultural-goods
https://norwaytoday.info/news/dozens-of-people-arrested-in-operation-aimed-at-smugglers-of-cultural-objects-norway-participated-in-the-effort/
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/interpol-seizes-looted-art-2083378

Not sure where to put this one on Demi Lovato's 'unboxing' of some questionable antiquities on Instagram:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/demi-lovato-s-egyptian-artifacts-instagram-lose-lose-ncna1291542
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/demi-lovato-ancient-egyptian-artifacts-draw-suspicion-i-thought-it-was-a-joke-1235108041/
https://etcanada.com/news/874836/demi-lovato-called-out-by-art-experts-after-unboxing-supposed-egyptian-antiquities-on-social-media/
https://popcrush.com/demi-lovato-fake-egyptian-artifacts/

Ethiopian artifacts are showing up on eBay:

https://www.dw.com/en/civil-war-to-blame-for-surge-in-online-sales-of-ethiopian-artifacts/a-61069797

----------
conflict antiquities:

http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/

anonymous swiss collector:

http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues:

http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/

Looting Matters:

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/

Illicit Cultural Property:

http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/

SAFE:

http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/

============================================================
REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY
============================================================
Turkey is returning the Siloam inscription to Jerusalem:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-official-turkey-agrees-to-return-ancient-hebrew-inscription-to-jerusalem/
https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-israel/ankara-agrees-return-ancient-hebrew-inscription-israel-report
https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/03/13/turkey-to-return-ancient-hebrew-inscription-to-israel/

The Smithsonian is returning its Benin Bronzes:

https://hyperallergic.com/716122/smithsonian-announces-landmark-decision-to-repatriate-benin-bronzes/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dgq45/smithsonian-benin-bronzes-nigeria
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-museum-faces-pressure-as-smithsonian-returns-benin-bronzes-to-nigeria-5d3qbjmhb
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/pressure-british-museum-smithsonian-gives-back-entire-benin/
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/904/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/904/pub/904/page/63/article/285188
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/smithsonian-benin-bronzes-return-plan-1234621351/

... some background:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-smithsonians-return-of-the-benin-bronzes-comes-after-years-of-relationship-building-180979716/

... and on Oxford and Cambridge returning the ones they had
:
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/908/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/908/pub/908/page/20/article/280935
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oxford-and-cambridge-lead-the-way-in-return-of-benin-bronzes-td7jxfnxp

... and an OpEd on the colonial side of all this:

https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/2022/03/07/how-the-looted-benin-bronzes-are-symbolic-of-colonial-cultural-erasure/

Denmark is returning a rune drum to the Sami people:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/13/three-centuries-on-a-shamans-precious-rune-drum-returns-home

More on the US returning a number of items looted from a shipwreck to France:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-returns-gold-treasure-skull-to-france/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10395-220307-france-repatriation-looted

============================================================
NUMISMATICA
============================================================
Feature on coins of Lydia:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/113533/The-first-currency-in-history-Kingdom-of-Lydia-minted-gold

Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v25/club_nbs_esylum_v25n10.html

... and the one which should appear later today:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v25/club_nbs_esylum_v25n11.html
------------------------

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

============================================================
OBITUARIES
============================================================
Walter Kaegi:

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/walter-kaegi-noted-scholar-byzantine-and-roman-empires-1937-2022

Edmund Keeley:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/books/edmund-keeley-dead.html

Neil Faulkner:

https://the-past.com/comment/in-memoriam-dr-neil-faulkner/

Martha Sharp Joukowsky:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/martha-sharp-joukowsky-1936-2022/

Ghazi Bisheh:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/ghazi-bisheh-1945-2022/

Ramadan B. Hussein:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/03/10/ramadan-b-hussein-has-passed-away/

Stuart Mitchell:

https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituaries-stuart-mitchell-classicist-musician-and-book-lover-3605261

============================================================
AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS
============================================================
Audio News from Archaeologica:

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/3159-audio-news-from-archaeologica-february-27th-2022-through-march-5th-2022
============================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS
============================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:

http://www.archaeology.org/news/

About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/

Atlas Obscura:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Heritage Daily:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/

Sapiens Archaeology:

https://www.sapiens.org/category/archaeology/

Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:

http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/
============================================================
PODCASTS/VODCASTS
============================================================
Archaeosoup:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch

Archaeology Podcast Network:

http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/
============================================================
EXPLORATOR is a free weekly newsletter bringing you the latest
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