Monastic complex frequented by the Buddha at Vaishali Museum

Archaeologists in the northern Indian state of Bihar in the city of Rajgir the site of an archeological exploration have exposed the remains of a fifth-century B.C. brick stupa (domed temple) of on Buddhist texts, some believe relics of the Buddha(ashes, bones, hair, and nail clippings) are buried.

The location of this stupa, one of several built over the Buddha's relics, has long been contested, and another structure has been suggested. The holy in the Atta Katha, a book of tales associated with the Buddha's life, seems to better match the excavated stupa in terms of both location and building materials.

Excavations at Vaishali have exposed a monastic complex frequented by the Buddha. The Archaeological Survey of India found a nunnery with attached latrines in this town, at the request of his foster mother and a female disciple, first permitted an order of nuns. A number of terra-cotta latrine pans and an enormous communal bathing tank, that was dug for the Buddha by monkeys attest the Vaishalian concern for hygiene or more interesting topics related to archaeology, visit archaeology excavations

,000-year-old Islamic cemetery dug up in Xeresa

AROUND 150 skeletons and the remains of a farmstead have been dug up in Xeresa. Along with the bodies and the building, archaeologists have found six silos, a mediaeval rubbish bin, a kiln and several wells.

They believe the site was a ceramics factory, which was in use in around the 10th century. Some of the shards of ceramic they found were in almost perfect condition, and varnished with green dye made from plants.

They include pieces of jars, plates, bottles and even a nearly-intact toy horse typical of the Islamic era in Spain.

The fascinating find - the first of its kind in the La Safor district - was uncovered whilst excavating a site destined for an industrial estate.

It includes a cemetery of some 3,000 square metres, the remains of a pavement and the foundations of three houses.

The way the skeletons were lying immediately suggested to historians working on the dig that they dated back to the Islamic occupation of Spain, since they had been placed on their right-hand sides, the head pointing in the direction of Mecca and with no adornments, as dictated by Muslim burial rites.

Only one of the bodies - that of a female - was wearing a bronze ring on her finger, which suggested she was an 'outsider' to the local community.

The first phase of the necropolis dug up is believed to be around 1,100 years old, whilst the second seems to date from the late 13th and early 14th century.

Here, the bodies are lying face up and some inside what is left of wooden coffins, suggesting the Christian re-conquerors had occupied the area by then.

The high number of bodies concentrated in one area is thought to be the result of various breakouts of plague and pestilence, as well as warlike activity, in the mid-14th century.

Wendy dredging

LAMP Field School student Wendy Drennon, an archaeology student from FSU, uses the suction dredge to excavate Unit 5, one of 9 units in a meter-wide trench being excavated across an unknown ballast pile offshore St. Augustine, Florida.


The 2009 LAMP Field School was held from June 8 - June 26, and Wendy and several other students elected to stay longer and continue to assist in archaeology excavations. LAMP stands for the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program and is the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum.


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Living on the Coast Jacques Cousteau Tribute

Cousteau was born on the 11th June 1910. In 1930 he entered the Ecole Navale and graduated as a gunnery officer. After an automobile accident cut short his career in naval aviation, Cousteau indulged his interest in the sea.


In 1950 he founded the French Oceanographic Campaigns (FOC), and leased a ship called Calypso from Thomas Loel Guinness for a symbolic one franc a year. Cousteau refitted the Calypso as a mobile laboratory for field research and as his principal vessel for diving and filming. He also carried out underwater archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean Walt first meet Cousteau when he was involved in promoting the film The Silent World which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956.


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Dor Underwater Excavations 2008

Israel's Channel 2 report on the ongoing underwater archeological excavations at Dor \ Tantura beach in Israel.


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Yenikapı archaeological excavations - Summer 2008

Shot by a tourist, this is a view from the east, looking west from Namık Kemal Cd. over the Yenikapi archaeology excavations. Over 35 shipwrecks have uncovered in the former Theodosian Harbor of Constantinople from the 7th through 11th centuries, including several galleys. Other remains include a Christian Basilica and the oldest occupation yet discovered in Istanbul dating to the Chalcolithic.


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Human cranium-skin preserved since the 4th millennium B.C. found

Today the head of the Armenian side of the archaeological expedition of Areni Boris Gasparyan summed up the archaeology excavations of 2010 and noted that vessels have been excavated that have been used during the funerals and are of a ritual significance; in the vessels were found human residues which have been quite well preserved.


“The children mostly are buried completely, it is a vessel funeral. In one vessel there is buried one or two sometimes even 3 three burring,” said the leader of the expedition and added that the adults are buried fragmented, part by part.


The speaker also reported that the cranium-skin of one of the children is preserved along with the hair in a basket: This discovery allows us to solve the problem of the finding genetically.


“Genetically we can open the whole genetic code of a person who has lived in the 4th millennium B.C. Such a thing has been done just once in Ireland, when a well preserved human skeleton was found in a swamp, and its genetic code was investigated. The preservation of the material would allow us to open the entire genetic code,” archeologist mentioned and noted that the corresponding foreign laboratories demand 60 thousand Euros for such analysis.


“It is difficult for the archeologists to find such sum of money. Now we have to decide together with our entire nation whether or not we want to observe the whole genetic code. I we want we have to pay. This kind of opportunity is given once within the whole history,” stressed Boris Gasparyan.


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Syria: New Archaeological Discoveries in Lattakia

Syria (Lattakia) - New discoveries were unearthed at Tel Siano site in Jableh, Lattakia, adding up to its historical, archaeological and tourist value.


The new discoveries encompass architectural units, animal, clay and earthenware toys and flint stony spindle heads.


Director of Jableh's Archaeology and Museums Department Ibrahim Kheirbek said the archaeology excavations dug up a set of finds dating back to the Iron Age.


He added that the outcome of archaeology excavations proved the importance of settlement at the site during the ancient Bronze Age, adding that its gigantic architectural system started in mid-3rd millennium B.C.


It is one of most prominent sites of Jableh plain whose location has made it a strategic point controlling the plain and the agricultural lands surrounding it.

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Huge wall dated back to Zinki era unearthed in Hama

Hama, Lattakia- A huge wall and two props thought to date back to the Zinki era between 1146 and 1174 were unearthed in the archaeological excavations at Shayzar Castle, 30 km in north-western Hama.


Head of Hama Antiquities Department Abdul-Qader Farzat said the archaeology excavation works of the Syrian-Italian mission this season have focused on studying the western defense line of the castle which goes back to the Saluki period at the end of the 4th century.


The archaeology excavations included opening two probes to the north of the architectural block CA-1 which were chosen depending on an analysis of the aerial photos taken of the site in 1935.


The archaeology excavation aimed at collecting accurate information to get an insight into the nature of the architectural constructions which were uncovered to the south of the site in 2005.


Archaeology Excavations works conducted by Lattakia Antiquities Department during the current season have unveiled architectural collections from the 5th and 6th centuries as well as cemeteries and archaeological finds at different sites inside the province on the Syrian coast.


The Department Director Jamal Haidar said that the works of the national mission for urgent excavation working at the site of Ibn Hani Bay Resort in cooperation with the Qatari al-Diyar Company unearthed a basilica church and a burial place for clergymen.
Archaeological layers dating back to the Middle Ages consisting of dwelling houses were also uncovered at the site, in addition to pottery jars, bronze coins and spindles made of ivory and stone.


Urgent archaeology excavation works at al-Sijn quarter uncovered ten archaeological cemeteries, with one of which having wall drawings.


Old pottery flasks and jars, glass pieces, spindles, bronze coins and stone tablets with Greek letters were found inside the cemeteries.


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Ehud Netzer, archeologist who located Herod's tomb, dies at 76

Netzer, one of Israel's most renowned archeologists, suffered serious injuries after falling down a 6-meter drop at the Herodium site south of Jerusalem.


Professor Ehud Netzer, one of Israel's most renowned archeologists, marked for his discovery of King Herod's tomb in 2007, died on Thursday after succumbing to wounds related to a recent accident at the famed archeological site.


Netzer was seriously injured after falling down a six-meter drop at the Herodium site on Monday, as a wooden banister he had leaned on suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem with a fractured skull and neck vertebrae.


Professor Netzer, considered one of the most senior researchers on Herod, has been archaeology excavating at the Herodium site south of Jerusalem since 1972 in efforts to identify the burial site of the King of the Jews. Netzer continued his active participation in the archaeology excavations following the discovery, despite reaching the age of 76.


The tomb, which Netzer had been searching for the better part of 35 years, had been desecrated and intentionally concealed by rebels at the time of Great Jewish Rebellion against the Roman empire in the first century CE.


Netzer had begun his studies as an architecture student in Haifa's Israel Institute of Technology, moving to archeology after working under Yigal Yadin in the Hatzor excavations. He then studies archeology in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he served as professor until his retirement eight years ago.


In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Netzer's tragic death is a loss for his family, for research into the heritage of Israel and for archaeology."


Professor Netzer's funeral will take place on 10:00 A.M. Friday at the Kiryat Anavim cemetery.

Ancient tombs discovered on school construction site

A group of ancient tombs dating back to the Punic period were discovered during excavation works for the construction of a new primary school at the Archbishop’s Seminary in Tal-Virtù, The Times has learned.

According to Nathaniel Cutajar from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the discovery is of “great scientific interest” and “confirms the archaeological importance” of the Tal-Virtù area in Rabat.

The superintendence is responsible for all scientific investigation of cultural assets, including archaeological excavations. An investigation of the discovery is under way by its team of archaeologists.

The Archbishop’s Seminary has a planning permit to build a primary school extension to its secondary school. Site plans have to be changed after this discovery.

“The superintendence is working in close collaboration with the seminary authorities and with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to redesign the project, allowing it to proceed while ensuring these archaeological discoveries are protected,” Mr Cutajar said.

The discovery of these tombs, he added, was immediately reported to the superintendence by the seminary authorities following the start of construction works on site.

School headmaster Fr David Cilia said the discovery was made on September 21 and the heritage authorities were on site the day after.

“The discovery creates mixed feelings because on the one hand it enriches the country’s archaeological patrimony but on the other hand it complicates our school building plans,” Fr Cilia said.

He confirmed that the seminary had to change its plans and was in the process of submitting fresh designs that would safeguard the Punic tombs. “Work in the area where the tombs were found has been stopped but is continuing in other areas of the construction site unaffected by the archaeological remains,” Fr Cilia said. As is normal practice in such instances, a cultural heritage monitor has been app-ointed to oversee the works.


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Past Preservers - Archaeology Egypt Audition

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New workers' tombs found near Egypt's great pyramid

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a number of tombs of workers who helped to construct the country's largest pyramid.

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Quest for the Tomb of Cleopatra at Taposiris Magna

Dr Kathleen Martinez, a young archaeologist from the Dominican Republic, has been archaeology excavating a site near Alexandria in the search for the tomb of Cleopatra. After being given permission to conduct a dig at the site for 2 months, Dr Martinez's team have discovered two chambers which has won them the right to continue the dig into the next season.

Describing the tomb that was discovered at Taposiris Magna, Dr Martinez remains confident that she will uncover the tomb of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony.

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Discovery of a mummy in Egypt

Archaeologists discover an ancient mummy in Saqqara in Egypt

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Egypt - Abu Simbel archaeological site - Travel - Jim Rogers World Adventure

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan).

The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan dam reservoir.

The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt's top tourist attractions.

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BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY FOR KIDS

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Proving the Bible Through Archaeology

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Archeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico

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DINOSAURS NEVER EXISTED!!! "IF" GIANTS NEVER EXISTED!!

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