Archeology // Current

Dead Parrot Sketch is 1,600 Years Old

Monty Python's famous Dead Parrot sketch is actually a lot older than thought - 1,600 years older. An ancestor of the comedy... more

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November is Banner Month for News About Past

This month may have seen America change its focus to the future, but it’s also been a banner month so far for big news about... more

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New pyramid emerges from sand

A previously unknown pyramid estimated to be 4300 years old was discovered in Egypt's Saqqara desert, Egypt's Secretary... more

TravG73
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Humans made fire 790,000 years ago: study

A study in Israel has revealed that humans made fires almost a million years ago, which enabled them to migrate north from Africa... more

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Britain's 'most important archeological' discovery found in desk drawer

The artifacts were part of a dagger buried with a warrior chief, near Stonehenge, nearly 4,000 years ago.

Archeologists said they were known as 'the work of the gods'.

The pinhead-sized studs form an intricate pattern on the handle of a dagger, but archeologists failed to realize their significance when they excavated the burial mound in Wiltshire - known as Bush Barrow- in 1808.

Now they are to be re-united with other priceless artifacts unearthed at the site and put on show at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes after Niall Sharples, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University turned out his predecessors' desk and discovered them in a film canister labelled Bush Barrow.

In the 1960s, the gold was taken away for examination by Professor Richard Atkinson, a Cardiff University archaeologist well known for his work at Stonehenge and nearby Silbury Hill.

Wiltshire Heritage Museum director David Dawson said: "We think he recognized what they were but then he died and they were rescued by his successor Professor John Evans who put them in a drawer in his desk. Professor Evans died in 2005 and the gold studs have now been found by Niall Sharples, who is going to return them to us."

The gold pins, thought to come from Ireland, were fashioned by craftsmen in Brittany, France, and inlaid in an intricate herringbone pattern into the handle of the ceremonial dagger, which had an eight inch bronze blade.

It is the richest and most important Bronze Age grave on the Salisbury Plain and in Britain, according to experts.

Stonehenge, which dates from 3000 BC, was a hugely important religious site and the Bush Barrow warrior was one of hundreds of chieftains buried nearby.

They have been united with the other priceless artifacts unearthed at the site, and can be seen at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum.

David Dawson, the Museum director, said: "It's an unbelievable find".

"The gold studs are remarkable evidence of the skill and craftsmanship of Bronze Age goldsmiths - quite rightly described as 'the work of the gods'" The artifacts were part of a dagger buried with a warrior chief, near Stonehenge, nearly 4,000 years ago. Archeologists said... more

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24 days ago

Stone Age man took drugs, say scientists

It has long been suspected that humans have an ancient history of drug use, but there has been a lack of proof to support the... more

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30 days ago

Ancient skulls buried in Manchester returned to Egypt

Two ancient Egyptian skulls which were found buried in a back garden in Manchester have been returned to Egypt. Matthew... more

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1 month ago

Oldest rocks on Earth found in northern Canada

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A pinkish tract of bedrock on the eastern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay contains the oldest known rocks... more

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1 month ago

Stone Age Seafood Fans

A new study has revealed that Neaderthals liked the odd bit of seafood and Medditeranean cuisine along with their mammoth steak,... more

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1 month ago

Trovato su un vaso il primo riferimento a Cristo

Nelle rovine sommerse di Alessandria d'Egitto, l'archeologo francese Franck Goddio ha rinvenuto un vaso recante la... more

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2 months ago

Ancient trees recorded in mines

Spectacular fossil forests have been found in the coal mines of Illinois by a US-UK team of researchers.The group reported one... more

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2 months ago

The Bard woz ere

An archelogical dig has reportedly uncovered the site of the theatre where the Bard is said to have trodden the boards and first... more

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3 months ago

Bodies Found in Tutankhamun's Tomb are Twin Daughters

Two foetuses found buried with Tutankhamun may have been his twin daughters, an expert has claimed.

Professor Robert Connolly, an anatomist who is working with Egyptian authorities to analyse the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh, says that preliminary tests on the mummified remains of the two still-born babies indicate that Tutankhamun may have fathered them both. He will present the new findings at the Pharmacy and Medicine in Ancient Egypt Conference at the University of Manchester today.

Professor Connolly, who first studied the remains of Tutankhamun in the Sixties, said: “The two foetuses in the tomb of Tutankhamun could be twins, despite their very different size and thus fit better as a single pregnancy for his young wife [Ankhesenamun]. This increases the likelihood of them being Tutankhamun's children.”

“I studied one of the mummies, the larger one, back in 1979, determined the blood group data from this baby mummy and compared it with my 1969 blood grouping of Tutankhamun. The results confirmed that this larger foetus could indeed be the daughter of Tutankhamun.
“Now we believe that they are twins and they were both his children.”

Professor Connolly, a physical anthropologist at the University of Liverpool, said: “It is a very exciting finding which will not only paint a more detailed picture of this famous young king's life and death, it will also tell us more about his lineage.”

The foetuses have been stored at the Faculty of Medicine in Cairo University since the archaeologist Howard Carter discovered them in the teenage king's tomb on the west bank of Luxor in 1922. Egyptologists have long debated whether they were his children or if they were placed in the tomb with the symbolic purpose of allowing the famous pharaoh to live on as newborns in the afterlife.

The answer to this hereditary puzzle is closer because the two foetuses are to undergo CT scans and DNA testing to determine possible diseases and their relation to Tutankhamun. The smaller foetus is about five months in gestational age and the larger foetus is estimated to be between seven and nine months. The results of the remaining tests are due in December.

“We are very proud to have Professor Connolly speaking at the conference and are extremely excited about his new findings,” said the conference director Rosalie David, of the University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences.

“Tutankhamun is such an important figure in Egyptology. He was a fascinating character whose tomb and indeed body has given us so much information about life in Ancient Egypt, and it seems that he will continue to do so for some time yet.”

More than 100 delegates from ten countries will be attending the conference. It intends to bring together the two elements of Ancient Egyptian healthcare practices — pharmacy and medicine.

Two foetuses found buried with Tutankhamun may have been his twin daughters, an expert has claimed. Professor Robert Connolly,... more

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3 months ago

The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

From ancient perfectly spherical orbs dated to before the known existence of humans to fossilised spark plugs and ancient Peruvian... more

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3 months ago

Dead Sea Scrolls go from parchment to the Internet

More than 2,000 years after they were written, the Dead Sea Scrolls are going digital as part of an effort to better preserve the... more

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3 months ago

Alpine melt reveals ancient life

"Melting alpine glaciers are revealing fascinating clues to Neolithic life in the high mountains. And, as a conference of... more

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3 months ago

Marijuana and the Bible

1) What is the Word of God concerning marijuana, or cannabis hemp ?

The hemp plant (scientific name: cannabis, slang name: marijuana) is but one of the many useful herbs "yielding seed after its kind" (Genesis 1:12, 29) blessed by God on the third day of creation for people to use in conjunction with our free will. The only place in the Bible where Cannabis was mentioned by name got switched into 'calamus' by the King James translators as part of a holy ointment (described in Exodus 30:23).

The Bible also predicted prohibition: "In the later times, some shall … speak lies in hypocrisy … commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." (Paul: 1 Timothy 1-4) Nowhere in the Bible does it say people cannot grow, possess, use or even smoke cannabis or that hemp is bad. In fact, quite the contrary: "God said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth.…To you it will be for meat.' … And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:29-31)

2) How was the cannabis plant used by people during Biblical times?

Cannabis was widely used throughout the world since earliest times. 'Cana' got its name from the same root word as "cannabis," indicating that hemp was grown there. The Bible also describes a common way of preparing marijuana for medicinal use: "The Lord said …Afore harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks and take away and cut down the branches." (Isaiah 18:4-5)

Cannabis was traditionally used in 12 different ways: as clothing, paper, cord, sails, fishnet, oil, sealant, incense, food, and in ceremony, relaxation and medicine. And it was written, "On either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare 12 manner of fruits, and yielding her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:1-2)

The leaves and flowers of cannabis are well known for their medicinal value, and the Thracians Scythians and Zoroastrians were just a few of the groups that were using cannabis socially during Jesus day.[more]1) What is the Word of God concerning marijuana, or cannabis hemp ? The hemp plant (scientific name: cannabis, slang name:... more