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explorator 24.43 February 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, Nadia Durrani,
Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week
(as always hoping I have left no one out).

============================================================
EARLY HOMINIDS
============================================================
Alternating Neanderthal and sapiens remains in a French cave are suggesting sapiens was in that part of Europe about 10 000 years earlier than previously thought:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-french-cave-story-neanderthals-early.html https://phys.org/news/2022-02-homo-sapiens-europe-earlier-thought.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/09/neanderthal-pompeii-dig-places-humans-in-europe-earlier-than-thought
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60305218 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/science-and-technology/stone-age-western-europe-history-b2011423.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10494933/Archaeology-Fossilised-modern-human-childs-molar-54-000-YEARS-ago-French-cave.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/09/science/neanderthals-cave-france.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/french-cave-tells-new-story-about-neanderthals-early-humans/2022/02/09/f41fe7ac-89da-11ec-838f-0cfdf69cce3c_story.html
https://apnews.com/article/science-europe-france-caves-fossils-642207a40773a229ea65925574eede2b
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/french-cave-tells-story-neanderthals-early-humans-82777617
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220209-study-places-homo-sapiens-in-europe-earlier-than-thought
https://www.timesofisrael.com/homo-sapiens-and-neanderthals-alternately-lived-in-the-same-cave-study-says/
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-696092 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/homo-sapiens-humans-europe-migration-earlier-france-rock-shelter
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/modern-humans-tried-but-failed-to-colonize-europe-54-000-years-ago-1.10601917
https://www.science.org/content/article/did-neanderthals-and-modern-humans-take-turns-living-french-cave
https://www.zmescience.com/science/modern-humans-lived-neanderthal-territory-10022022/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00389-9 https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/scientists-discover-earliest-known.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/discovery-of-a-baby-tooth-places-humans-in-western-europe-10000-years-earlier-than-previously-thought-180979556/
https://the-past.com/news/neanderthals-and-modern-humans-alternately-occupied-a-rock-shelter-in-southern-france/

cf: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj9496

Neanderthal tools from a cave site in Croatia:

https://www.croatiaweek.com/big-discovery-in-croatia-neanderthal-tools-found-in-upper-barac-cave/

More on Neanderthals building fires in Lazaret cave 150 000 years bp:

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/08/1078898515/cave-campfire-neanderthal https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/early-humans-cave-fires/ https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/los-primeros-humanos-ya-sabian-como-construir-y-utilizar-el-espacio-de-manera-optima/7NW3OTFTIBGZNMWP5H63MGIAWI/

More on a 1.5 million years bp vertebra from the Jordan Valley and its implications for 'Out of Africa':

https://www.livescience.com/ancient-human-vertebra-found-israel https://bigthink.com/the-past/out-of-africa-events/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/1-5-million-year-old-vertebra-hints-at-a-story-of-early-human-migration/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10327-220208-israel-migration-evolution

More on the question of whether cooking skills/eating meat 'made us human':

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-02-07/did-eating-meat-really-make-us-human.html
https://elpais.com/ciencia/2022-02-05/comer-carne-nos-hizo-humanos.html

More on human settlement on the Arabian peninsula being less influenced by climate than previously thought:

https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-696323

============================================================
AFRICA
============================================================
Feature on the Benin bronzes:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-60326279 ============================================================
ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT ============================================================
A 6th century BCE 'cachette' of materials used in the mummification process from Abusir:

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1207/460759/AlAhram-Weekly/Heritage/Embalming-cachette-found.aspx
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/112754/Discovery-of-a-cache-of-embalming-materials-in-Egypt%E2%80%99s-Abu
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63328 https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/02/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-egyptian-embalming-cache/142739
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-largest-embalming-cache-ever-found.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/10/the-largest-embalming-cache-ever-found-in-egypt-unearthed-at-abusir/

20 well-preserved 2000 years bp mummies from a necropolis in West Aswan:

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/20-ancient-mummies-discovered-aswan-tomb

Remains of a Roman-era necropolis from the Gaza strip (much looted):

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/ancient-burial-place-uncovered-gaza-construction-site

More on the 18 000 potsherds/ostraka from Athribis:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/112679/Largest-collection-of-ancient-Egyptian-%E2%80%98notebooks%E2%80%99-discovered
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-egypt-athribis-ostraca/index.html https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ancient-egypt-talking-in-class-thats-a-hundred-lines-cleopatra-j7pvwd37l
https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/11/ancient-notepads-greek-egypt/ https://www.newsweek.com/ancient-egyptian-children-did-lines-punishment-bart-simpson-athribis-tell-atrib-1676859
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/huge-discovery-of-egyptian-texts-gives-glimpses-into-ancient-life/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-18000-ancient-egyptian-ostraca-180979543/

How Egypt regulates foreign archaeological missions:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/112815/Look-into-law-How-Egypt-regulates-foreign-archaeological-excavation-missions

Feature on the coffin and mummy of Pa-ankh-en-Amun (in the US):

https://www.artic.edu/interactive-features/coffin-and-mummy-of-pa-ankh-en-amun

Feature on how Nefertiti's bust ended up in Germany:

https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-enigmatic-nefertiti-came-to-be-locked-away-in-germany

Archaeologists have commenced work at Iran's historical port of Najirom:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/469980/Archaeological-survey-begins-on-Persian-Gulf-s-historical-port

A 15th/16th century 'rock-carved' inscription and some stairs from a site in Iran's Marvdasht plain:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/469922/Rock-carved-inscription-stairs-discovered-in-southern-Iranian

Studying an 'orphaned' collection of artifacts from Irans Ganj Dareh site excavated in th 60s and 70s:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-archaeological-archives-rediscover-iran-treasure.html

cf: https://phys.org/news/2022-02-archaeological-archives-rediscover-iran-treasure.html

Feature on the fall of the Hittites:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/02/the-fall-of-the-hittites/142712

Feature on who the 'Sumerians' were:

https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2022/02/were-there-sumerians

Feature on fortifications in the Ancient Near East;

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/biblical-archaeology-topics/biblical-archaeology-basics/bar-jr-five-ways-to-defend-an-ancient-city/

Feature on the tomb of Queen Pu-abi and the textiles found there:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ur-queen-puabi-mesopotamia-textiles

A study of pair of Byzantine-era swords found in the 20+ years ago in Amorium (Turkey):

https://www.livescience.com/rare-byzantine-swords-discovered https://www.archaeology.org/news/10324-220207-turkey-byzantine-swords

A nice photoessay on sites in Jordan:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/travel/jordan-petra-road-trip.html

Analysis of some 3500 years bp lead ingots from Caesarea is pointing to trade relations between Sardinia and Cyprus in the Bronze Age:

https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/hj06bvmjc http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/20220211/a6a3e59acc6243a6ab65256b6ee9353d/c.html

Latest claim that the Vatican has items taken from the Temple:

https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-696068

Evidence of a 3600 years bp settlement site in Qatar:

https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2022/01/evidence-of-3600-year-old-settlement-uncovered-in-eastern-arabian-peninsula/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10326-220208-qatar-desert-settlement https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/09/evidence-of-3600-year-old-settlement-found-in-eastern-arabian-peninsula/

Syria and the UAE have signed an MOU relating to archiving of Syrian artifacts:

https://sana.sy/en/?p=262968

Archaeologist's have confirmed that Al Sayah Island was man-made at least 1200 years bp:

https://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/78694.html

Feature on the Fourth Crusade:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2022-02-07/uno-de-los-episodios-mas-insolitos-de-la-edad-media-la-cruzada-que-se-desvio-para-tomar-a-sangre-y-fuego-la-mayor-ciudad-cristiana.html

-----
This Week in the Ancient Near East Podcast:

https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/

============================================================
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS) ============================================================
Overviewish report on this year's digs at the Mycenean site of Kastelli in Chania:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/08/preliminary-results-of-the-excavation-on-the-hill-of-kastelli-in-chania/

... and similar treatment for this year's work at the long-inhabitied site of Vlochos:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/09/travels-to-the-ancient-city-at-vlochos-palamas/

Remains of a Republic-era Roman bridge on the via Tiburtina (Italia):

https://www.archeomedia.net/roma-scoperto-un-ponte-romano-di-eta-repubblicana-sulla-via-tiburtina/

Storms revealed a stone altar at the Vindolanda site:

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/vindolanda-first-find-2022-altar-22984628
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63322

This week, coverage of the Roman finds at Aylesbury focus more on other things found in the town (more on the beheaded burials below):

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-archaeologists-small-roman-town-excavated.html https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/small-roman-town-excavated-near.html
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10325-220208-england-roman-town

Brief item on the accidental find of a 2nd century CE site in Tripoli:

https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/archaeological-site-dating-back-2nd-century-ad-discovered-tripoli

A 1st/2nd century Roman necropolis from San Severino (all coverage in Italian so far):

https://storiearcheostorie.com/2022/02/08/scoperte-a-san-severino-marche-mc-torna-alla-luce-una-necropoli-romana/
https://www.corriereadriatico.it/macerata/san_severino_ultime_notizie_archeologia_soprintendenza_complesso_funerario_romano-6491245.html

I think we mentioned this Roman mosaic find from Hvar:

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63355

Plenty of attention for the identification of a 1500 years bp Roman chamber pot (from residue of course):

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-portable-toilets-ancient-roman-world.html https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211080609.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211080609.htm https://news.ubc.ca/2022/02/11/identifying-the-portable-toilets-of-the-ancient-roman-world/
https://www.livescience.com/roman-empire-port-o-potty https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-696224 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/10/science/archaeology-rome-toilet.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10499489/Archaeology-Roman-PORTALOO-contains-crusty-material-1-500-year-old-intestinal-parasites.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/11/roman-women-used-private-bathrooms-instead-sharing-men/
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/874/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/874/pub/874/page/35/article/271977
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/this-ancient-roman-ceramic-pot-was-probably-a-portable-toilet-study-finds/
https://www.sciencealert.com/conical-storage-pots-found-near-roman-latrines-held-just-what-you-d-think
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/02/new-research-identifies-roman-jars-used-as-chamber-pots/142742

cf: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X22000128

Study confirms use of gypsum in Greek white ground vases:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/archaeometric-study-confirms-ancient.html

Some damage caused at Bar Hill Fort by illegal metal detecting:

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/roman-fort-damaged-by-suspected-illegal-metal-detecting-41338362.html
https://www.forres-gazette.co.uk/news/national/roman-fort-damaged-by-suspected-illegal-metal-detecting-40778/
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/roman-fort-damaged-suspected-illegal-163303403.html

Concerns that a monument planned at Colchester will harm part of the Roman circus site:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-60310669

Invasive plants apparently are threatening some of Rome's monuments:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/invasive-plants-are-threatening-romes-ancient-monuments

The Roman theatre at Sabratha was officially inaugurated after renovation work:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/europe/20220210/300e6c844e3b49be9da684e93143548f/c.html

Nice followup to that 'Christian' ring found in the waters off Caesarea:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/does-an-ancient-ring-found-in-a-shipwreck-depict-jesus-christ

A study of the Dama de Elche cautions against moving it:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2022-02-10/el-analisis-de-la-dama-de-elche-desaconseja-su-traslado-porque-generaria-danos-en-la-roca.html

More on the burials (many decapitated) from a 2000 years bp necropolis near Aylesbury:

https://www.livescience.com/decapitated-roman-skeletons-uncovered-in-england https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/19903206.skeletons-murder-victims-hs2-finds-near-aylesbury/
https://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/19905241.cotswold-archaeologists-discover-roman-bodies-hs2-work/
http://egypttoday.com/Article/4/112601/Horrific-discovery-of-dozens-of-headless-skeletons-in-Britain
https://www.sciencealert.com/archeologists-find-40-beheaded-roman-skeletons-with-skulls-between-their-legs
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dozens-of-decapitated-skeletons-found-at-roman-cemetery-in-england-180979533/

More on the Chalcidian helmets found at Velia:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/unearthed-ancient-greek-helmets-tell-of-a-naval-battle-2500-years-ago-180979510/

Barbara Graziosi on the myth of Homer:

https://fredericksburg.com/opinion/columns/homer-and-the-perils-of-bad-lecturing/article_5d2afe12-c655-52e0-a23e-23cd96a2e8fd.html

Feature/interview with Edith Hall:

https://www.palatinate.org.uk/edith-hall-if-you-cant-be-a-proper-moral-agent-then-youre-never-going-to-be-truly-happy/

Reviewish piece on John W.I. Lee's biography of John Wesley Gilbert:

https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2022/020542/scholar-ages

Putting Classics in a Black History Month context:

https://www.oakpark.com/2022/02/09/between-virgil-and-dr-carter-g-woodson/

Pondering the 'captain of the Blacks' fresco from Knossos:

https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/captain-blacks-fresco/

Augustus apparently 'cemented over' the site of Caesar's assassination:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2022-02-02/augusto-intento-borrar-bajo-el-hormigon-el-lugar-donde-fue-asesinado-julio-cesar.html

Feature on the recently-auctioned Hamilton Aphrodite:

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/art-and-antiques/in-focus-the-hamilton-aphrodite-the-finest-ancient-sculpture-ever-to-have-resided-in-scotland-and-how-it-smashed-its-3-million-estimate-238587

Latest Antikythera mechanism piece suggests (on what basis?) it was designed by Archimedes:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/11/antikythera-mechanism-archimedes/ https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/46428-experts-antikythera-mechanism-designed-by-ancient-greek-genius-archimedes.html

Feature on the Scythians:

https://www.livescience.com/who-were-the-scythians

Feature on seven inventions credited to the Romans:

https://www.livescience.com/roman-inventions

Feature on Antinous in Victorian times:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/655299/antinous-gay-code-word-victorian-era

Feature on Troy:

https://www.livescience.com/38191-ancient-troy.html

Feature on ancient Greek art:

https://www.artic.edu/highlights/46/ancient-greek-art

Feature on lessons from Thucydides:

https://theliberalpatriot.substack.com/p/ancient-advice-for-modern-foreign

Feature on the Little Theatre of Epidaurus:

https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1177098/resurrecting-the-ancient-little-theater-of-epidaurus/

Feature on pankration:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/02/09/pankration-greek-olympics-ufc-mma/

Feature on the ancient Roman diet:

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/what-did-ancient-romans-eat.html

Feature on ancient paganism and modern religion:

https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/ancient-paganism-and-modern-religion/

Feature on manual labour and Musonius Rufus:

https://psyche.co/ideas/for-the-stoic-musonius-rufus-manual-work-is-philosophy-too

Feature on the site and finds from Dion (Macedonia):

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/07/ancient-dion-macedonia-greece/

Feature on the Furies:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/11/furies-ancient-greek-mythology/

Feature on ancient Greek 'special forces':

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/05/special-forces-ancient-greece/

Feature on ancient Greek timekeeping:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/09/ancient-greeks-measured-time/

Feature on the curse of the House of Atreus:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/09/curse-house-atreus-greek-mythology/

Feature on the Lion of Kea:

https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/07/lion-kea-ancient-greece/

How Zeno's paradox was resolved:

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/zenos-paradox/

Pondering ancient ideas of free speech:

https://bigthink.com/the-past/free-speech-mchangama/

In Parthenon Sculptures news this week, the Greek press liked Charlotte Higgins' Guardian piece last week:

https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/02/06/the-parthenon-marbles-belong-in-greece-the-guardian-says/
https://www.thenationalherald.com/the-guardian-too-says-stolen-parthenon-marbles-belong-in-greece/

... and there were suggestions that returning them would be a 'lovely Jubilee gesture':

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/feb/08/parthenon-marbles-return-would-be-a-lovely-jubilee-gesture

... and that Boris Johnson should arrange the return in his 'final days':

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boris-johnson-british-museum-parthenon-marbles-parkinson-prime-minister-b981475.html
https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/19909027.boris-johnson-in-final-days-arrange-return-parthenon-marbles/

... and plenty of coverage of Greece lending a statue of Athena to the Palermo museum that lent Greece the fragment they had:

https://www.ansa.it/english/news/lifestyle/arts/2022/02/10/athena-in-palermo-as-parthenon-frieze-returned-to-athens_ffa06cf8-2168-4104-a540-08d9c26523cb.html
https://apnews.com/article/travel-europe-greece-palermo-athens-bc982bde3ea92c8016c51273ceaa6729
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/greek-statue-lent-to-italy-in-exchange-for-parthenon-gesture/2022/02/09/12212886-89c9-11ec-838f-0cfdf69cce3c_story.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/greek-statue-lent-italy-exchange-parthenon-gesture-82774418
https://greekreporter.com/2022/02/09/greece-loans-statue-italy/
https://neoskosmos.com/en/2022/02/11/news/greece/statue-of-athena-from-acropolis-museum-to-be-exhibited-in-palermo-for-the-next-four-years/
https://www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1177193/acropolis-museum-statue-lent-to-italy-in-exchange-for-parthenon-gesture/
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/10/the-acropolis-museum-is-travelling-to-palermo/

Latest Pasts Imperfect newsletter:

https://pastsimperfect.substack.com/p/pasts-imperfect-21022
-----
Roman Archaeology Blog:

http://romanarc.blogspot.com/

Rogueclassicism:

http://rogueclassicism.com/ ============================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland) ============================================================
A 5000 years bp chalk sculpture dubbed the 'Burton Agnes drum found in a child burial site in Yorkshire is being hailed as the most important prehistoric art found in the UK in the past century:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-prehistoric-ancient-british-museum.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/10/ancient-sculpture-is-most-important-prehistoric-art-find-in-uk-for-century
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-60341377 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/british-east-yorkshire-stonehenge-b2012724.html
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-the-british-museum-s-prehistoric-art-drum-role-wgdfhm39v
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-museum-british-east-yorkshire-stonehenge-allen-b981999.html
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/the-incredible-story-of-how-a-young-archaeologist-found-a-neolithic-grave-3564249
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/10/chalk-drum-discovered-childrens-grave-important-piece-prehistoric/
http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/874/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/874/pub/874/page/34/article/271988
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220210-prehistoric-drum-is-top-ancient-find-british-museum
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/12/chalk-drum-stonehenge-british-museum/
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/drum-discovery-stone-age-archaeology-grave-scn-scli-intl/index.html
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63342 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/10/british-museum-prehistoric-art-discovery

A late Bronze Age cauldron find from Romania:

https://www.agerpres.ro/english/2022/02/08/cauldron-from-late-bronze-age-discovered-in-gura-vitioarei-prahova-county--861271

Glass beads from Caithness appear to be made from 'recycled' Roman glass:

https://www.northern-times.co.uk/news/pictures-highly-significant-archaeological-find-as-tiny-200-265750/

Recent finds confirm medieval gold mining took place at a site in Slovakia:

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22826254/latest-archaeological-finds-confirm-gold-mining-in-tuzina.html

A study rethinking the mortality rate of the Black Plague:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-black-death-mortality-widespread-believed.html https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/black-death-was-true-horror-but-not-everywhere-says-new-study-1.10604944
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/02/black-death-mortality-not-as-widespread-as-long-thought/142750
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/black-death-mortality-not-as-widespread.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/11/black-death-mortality-not-as-widespread-as-long-thought/

cf: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01652-4

Excavations have commenced at a possible medieval mound site in Newtown (Wales):

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19907214.excavation-begins-newtown-mound/

The 'Bastion of the Seven Winds' in the New Fortress on Corfu is undergoing restoration:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/07/the-bastion-of-the-seven-winds-is-being-restored/

The 8th century York Helmet is returning on loan to the Jorvik Viking Centre:

https://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/880/reader/reader.html?#!preferred/0/package/880/pub/880/page/40/article/272853

Opposition to development plans on the Oswestry Iron Age fort site:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-60300049

Finds from various periods from North Wales have been declared treasure:

https://the-past.com/news/north-wales-finds-spanning-the-bronze-age-to-post-medieval-period-declared-treasure/

Rumours (?) of a significant archaeological find at a Heybridge development site:

https://maldon.nub.news/n/residents-say-significant-archaeological-find-has-been-uncovered-on-heybridge-development-site-and-demand-answers

Interesitng questions arising from finds from various periods from the dig at the Grange Farm site in Kent:

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/riverside-dig-site-reveals-stunning-ancient-mysteries-262304/

More on the find of a 13th century tiled floor from a friary site in Gloucester:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-60233563 http://www.archaeology.org/news/10323-220207-england-whitefriars-floor

Animal bones from medieval Novgorod suggests they were used for skating purposes:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/MAGAZINE-what-did-medieval-russians-do-for-fun-ice-skating-on-bones-1.10604320

More on the medieval cog shipwreck find off the coast of Sweden:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/medieval-ship-found-off-west-coast-of.html
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/08/medieval-ship-found-off-the-west-coast-of-sweden/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10322-220207-sweden-medieval-cog

More on Ice Age faunal remains from a site in Devon:

https://www.livescience.com/ice-age-animal-remains-found-in-devon-england https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/new-discovery-of-ice-age-fossils-in.html

Feature on the history and archaeology of medieval monasticism:

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2022/02/08/the-history-and-archaeology-of-medieval-monasticism/

Feature on what archaeology reveals about children's lives in England some 1500 years bp:

https://theconversation.com/what-archaeology-can-tell-us-about-the-lives-of-children-in-england-1-500-years-ago-171896

Feature on the last queen of Cyprus:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/02/06/the-last-queen-of-cyprus-2/

Feature on Camlet Moat:

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/02/camlet-moat-londons-camelot/142733

A British pub operating since 793 CE is closing because of the pandemic, alas:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/07/uk-ye-olde-fighting-cocks-st-albans-closing-covid/
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ye-olde-fighting-cocks-scli-intl-gbr/index.html
https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/02/08/english-pub-closing-after-more-than-1000-years/

Touristy plans for ancient caves in Nottingham:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-60333290

----------
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/

============================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ============================================================
20 more terracotta warriors have come to light:

https://www.livescience.com/terracotta-warriors-discovered-in-emperor-tomb https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/terracotta-warriors-found-china-1234618856/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/10360-220211-china-pit-warriors

A 4000 years bp Zhukaigou culture site from China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region:

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2022-02/12/content_78044251.htm

A possible new culture has been identified at a Paleolithic site in Tianjin:

https://ukranews.com/en/news/832159-chinese-archaeologists-discover-a-new-culture-in-tianjin

Another feature on the many finds in Beijing in 2021:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/20220213/098877edc9534390a6734da35a796042/c.html

15th century (?) finds from the Fort Feroza in Gulligagh:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1673942/artefacts-found-during-gullibagh-excavation https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/931776-artefacts-discovered-during-excavation-in-mansehra

Excavation at a Ghazi Buddhist site was halted after a 'scuffle' of some sort:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1673932/scuffle-halts-excavation-at-ghazi-buddhist-site

Assorted digs in Tamil Nadu were 'virtually' inaugurated this week:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/stalin-virtually-inaugurates-archaeological-excavations-in-multiple-locations/article38412802.ece
https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/stalin-kicks-off-archaeological-excavations-at-7-sites-1080511.html

... and one of them was at the site of Gangaikonda Cholapuram:

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/schools/tn-archaeology-dept-expects-to-excavate-palace-of-rajendra-chola-369263

Word that the Taliban governor of Bamiyan has been digging around the site looking for 'treasure':

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bamiyan-buddhas-taliban-treasure-2069359

More on studying 2800 years bp food remains from southern India:

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/Penn-archaeology-research-charred-food-lumps-window-past-civilizations

Cambodia is being urged to legislate more regarding 'archaeological crimes':

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501023516/crackdown-on-archaeological-crimes/ ============================================================
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ============================================================
Documenting a couple centuries' worth of ghost towns and whaling stations in Fiordland:

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/02/researchers-document-long-forgotten-ghost-towns-and-whaling-stations-in-fiordland.html

What we can learn from bones from Australian shipwrecks:

https://theconversation.com/how-centuries-old-bones-from-australias-historic-shipwrecks-can-help-us-solve-crimes-174963
https://phys.org/news/2022-02-centuries-old-bones-australia-historic-shipwrecks.html

cf: https://visit.museum.wa.gov.au/shipwrecks ============================================================
NORTH AMERICA
============================================================
A dozen Revolutionary War era cannons were found in the Savannah River where three others were found last year:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/us/savannah-river-cannons-discovery/index.html https://whdh.com/news/a-dozen-more-revolutionary-war-era-cannons-have-been-found-and-raised-from-the-savannah-river/
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63335 http://www.archaeology.org/news/10330-220210-georgia-revolutionary-war

More on the dispute arising over the 'positive' identification of the wreck of the Endeavour:

https://www.theage.com.au/national/endeavour-calling-from-its-murky-waters-time-for-change-20220207-p59ueq.html
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/wreck-of-british-explorer-james-cooks.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-researchers-are-clashing-over-identification-of-captain-cooks-endeavour-180979526/

More on claims of a comet contributing to the demise of Hopewell Culture (skepticism remains):

https://the-past.com/news/near-earth-comet-explosion-may-have-triggered-end-of-native-american-hopewell-culture/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-debris-from-a-comet-airburst-devastate-an-early-native-american-culture-180979523/

More on that 350 years bp Spanish cross found in Maryland:

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2022-02-11/how-did-a-350-year-old-spanish-cross-get-to-the-us-state-of-maryland.html

A 19th century building in Greenwich was torched last week:

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2022/02/08/historic-wilmarth-building-reduced-to-rubble-in-greenwich


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