Again, I’ve been remiss and did not post my weekly roundup last weekend. Partly due to my mother’s birthday at the end of the month and partly due to the appalling regularity with which I’m suffering migraines this winter in Toronto, I was nowhere near my computer.
So here – yet again – is a consolidated list from the past two weeks of all the interesting bits of news from the archaeological world.
From Archaeology.org:
A tomb has been discovered in Pompeii that dates to before the Roman people took over the town from the Samnites and includes grave goods for a middle-aged woman including beautiful – and intact – vases.
A study of cat remains in China from the fourth millenium BC suggests that the animals were domesticated there much earlier than originally believed.
A specific type of clay from British Columbia in Canada – and long used for medicinal purposes among the area’s indigenous peoples – has been found to counteract otherwise antibiotic-resistant infections.
A 60-foot-long boat has been discovered in the necropolis at Abusir in Egypt by members of the Czech Institute for Archaeology.
Research into the socio-cultural practices of homo heidelbergensis show that these hominid groups existed in close family groups and were able to construct tools considered much more complex than previously thought.
A nearly intact section of Roman painted wall panelling has been discovered near Lime Street in London by archaeologists from the Museum of London. The Smithsonian has also reported on this here.
An Egyptian seal has been discovered by a hiker near the Lower Galilee region of Israel.
And excavations have revealed an underground church in Cappadoccia in Turkey containing some beautiful and very unique frescoes. Work will continue in the spring after the seasonal humidity returns to acceptable levels.
From the New York Times:
A light show intended to demonstrate the colours used to paint the Temple of Dendur is currently on at the Met in New York.
From ASI:
A great read: the archaeological history of the Wendat to 1651.
From the Smithsonian:
A summary of the appalling, botched repair job of the death mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Meggie Macdonald 