Feature on assorted apophthegmata from Delphi:

https://aeon.co/ideas/more-than-know-thyself-on-all-the-other-delphic-maxims

Feature on why Augustus wasn't such a good guy:

https://theconversation.com/mark-zuckerbergs-admiration-for-emperor-augustus-is-misplaced-heres-why-108172

... similar:

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/rome-s-augustus-and-the-allure-of-the-strongman

Making connections between the UK and Antigone:

https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/opinion-an-ancient-betrayal-that-still-resonates-t/p06wn6dw

Feature on the Spartans:

http://theconversation.com/curious-kids-who-were-the-spartans-108606

Once again, Rome has banned 'centurions' from the Colosseum area:

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/rome-bans-centurions-from-citys-historic-centre.html

Latest reiteration on the 'truth' of Homer:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/01/ciencia/1546338015_883794.html

Review of David Stuttard, *Nemesis*:

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/erotic-tyranny/

More on that Nikouria inscription from Amorgos:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/12/30/missing-ancient-artifact-stone-of-nikouria-rediscovered-on-amorgos/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7272-181231-greece-resolution-of-nikouria

More on that Roman lamp from the banks of the Thames:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-46753547/roman-era-treasure-found-on-banks-of-river-thames

-----
Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/ ================================================================
EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland) ================================================================
A stone possibly fired from a trebuchet in the 13th century found near Edinburgh Castle:

https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/catapult-ball-fired-at-edinburgh-castle-in-13th-century-siege-discovered-in-hotel-site-dig-1-4849752
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/edinburgh-castle-catapult-ball-flings-archaeologists-back-to-1296-nkn5vjlts
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7271-181231-scotland-siege-trebuchet

Some medieval fishing baskets from Wales:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46730571 https://www.archaeology.org/news/7274-190102-wales-fishing-baskets

Assorted 15th/16th century finds from ore miners burials near Sofia:

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2018/12/31/weird-15th-century-miners-burials-venetian-theriac-cap-found-in-bulgarias-kremikovtsi-monastery-near-sofia/

A 17th century pirate ship wreck off the coast of Cornwall:

https://www.livescience.com/64395-sunken-17th-century-pirate-ship-discovered.html
https://www.livescience.com/64349-pirate-shipwreck-photos.html

Questioning the existence of the Cathars:

https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-france-cathars-20181231-story.html

Slovakia's top ten archaeological finds for 2018:

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22018610/slovakias-top-10-archaeological-findings-in-2018.html

Feature on the Traprain Treasure:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/17337028.piecing-together-the-mysterious-past-of-the-traprain-treasure/

A letter from the last private owner of Stonehenge has turned up:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-46720499

On the roots of the 'Green Man':

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190104-the-surprising-roots-of-the-mysterious-green-man

Studying Madrid's Arab past:

https://elpais.com/ccaa/2018/10/03/madrid/1538583855_122656.html

More hype/expection of finds from the HS2-associated digs:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132110-300-biggest-archaeological-dig-in-europe-will-uncover-uks-buried-history/

More on that London 'ice house':

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/london-archaeologists-unearth-subterranean-georgian-ice-store-180971146/

I think we mentioned this 'murder map' of London a while ago:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/01/addictive-interactive-murder-map-lets-you-explore-medieval-london-crime/

Similarly, with the Domesday Book being compiled later than previously
thought:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/01/study-famed-domesday-book-was-completed-later-than-historians-thought/
-----
Archaeology in Europe Blog:

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

================================================================
ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ================================================================
A 4000 years bp cave site from the Tibetan plateau:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/03/c_137717453.htm http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1134607.shtml

Designs from at a 4000 years bp site at Shimao are being linked to similar Shang and Zhou designs:

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2180389/chinas-beastly-bronze-designs-found-stone-carvings-prehistoric

Evidence of a 3000 years bp settlement of some sort in Shaanxi:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/asia/china-guangdong-tsunami-study-intl/index.html

Plenty of pottery from a 2000 years bp tomb in Shandong:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/03/c_137717391.htm http://www.archaeology.org/news/7280-190104-china-han-dynasty-tombs

Evidence of a tsunami hitting southern China in 1076 or so:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/asia/china-guangdong-tsunami-study-intl/index.html
https://beta.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2180448/scientists-say-tsunami-hit-china-1000-years-ago-and-its-risk
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7276-190103-southern-china-tsunami

Petroglyphs from Andhra Pradesh are suggesting links between Neolithic pastoralists and modern populations:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/aps-second-largest-treasury-of-rock-art-in-kurnool/article25913937.ece

A pair of 16th century red sandstone sculpture from Veerlapalem:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/sculptures-dating-back-to-16th-century-found-in-veerlapalem/articleshow/67340624.cms

Plans to rebury (for time capsule purposes) the Kazakh 'Golden Man':

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-46757349

Struggling to figure out Maori populations at the time of Captain Cook:

https://theconversation.com/250-years-after-captain-cooks-arrival-we-still-cant-be-sure-how-many-maori-lived-in-aotearoa-at-the-time-107707

On the politics of archaeology in India:

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2162694/why-4500-year-old-skull-key-politics-indias-hindu-muslim-divide

Mammoth tusks from Siberia are apparently in demand in China right now:

https://phys.org/news/2019-01-siberia-chinese-demand-prehistoric-tusks.html

... which makes an ivory seizure in Cambodia interesting:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/woolly-mammoth-dna-ivory-illegal-discovery-cambodia-wildlife-conservation-a8711241.html

Feature/TV hype about Empress Fucha (and others):

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2164033/how-one-concubine-rose-become-empress-using

On wealthy Asians in Imperial China:

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2162825/when-being-crazy-rich-asian-could-be-dangerous

Review of David Gilmour, *British in India*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/books/review/david-gilmour-the-british-in-india.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbook-review
-----

Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog:

http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/

New Zealand Archaeology eNews:

https://us14.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=ddab09cab5362c9613318bd92&id=b917a20ae5
================================================================
NORTH AMERICA
================================================================
Searching for an Acadian cemetery in Nova Scotia:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/national-historic-site-fort-anne-acadian-1.4952098
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7275-190102-canada-acadian-cemetery

A site associated with the 'Lost Colony' is now part of a North Carolina
nature preserve:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article223879475.html https://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/a-site-thought-to-be-linked-to-the-lost-colony/article_569d3c47-83fc-537a-a3a9-85de7e6b03a0.html

Feature on mounds in Wisconsin:

https://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/local/in-depth-authors-strive-to-decode-meaning-of-ancient-mounds/article_5a094624-2521-5076-a2bd-5941ad5a4ad6.html

What C. Dean Wilson is up to:

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/decoding-the-clay-archaeologist-c-dean-wilson/article_1aee9ec3-997e-53f4-9a0e-c23d0833b95b.html

Another explanation for Salem 'witch hysteria':

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181221-can-an-auto-immune-illness-explain-the-salem-witch-trials

Review of Delcanco, *The War Before the War*:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/books/review/andrew-delbanco-war-before-the-war.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts
================================================================
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA ================================================================
Three burials from Loma Atahualpa are the oldest human remains from
Ecuador
to date:

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-archaeologists-oldest-burials-ecuador.html

A 5900 years bp burial of a 'muscular' woman from Nicaragua:

https://www.livescience.com/64403-oldest-human-burial-in-lower-central-america.html
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/the-oldest-known-human-burial-was-just-discovered-in-lower-central-america/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-identify-oldest-known-human-burial-lower-central-america-180971166/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7277-190103-nicaragua-ancient-remains

A 2500 years bp Mayan 'bathhouse' from Nakum (Guatemala):

https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-archaeologists-discover-unique-mayan-bathhouse-in-guatemala-4007

Plenty of coverage of the discovery of a temple to the 'Flayed Lord' (Xipe Totec) in Popoloca:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/world/americas/xipe-totec-flayed-lord.html https://www.inah.gob.mx/boletines/7883-descubren-el-primer-templo-dedicado-a-xipe-totec-en-la-zona-arqueologica-de-ndachjian-tehuacan
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/archaeologists-uncover-temple-of-the-flayed-lord/
https://www.livescience.com/64418-flayed-god-temple-mexico.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-46746842 https://phys.org/news/2019-01-archaeologists-mexico-temple-god-skinning.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/mexico-flayed-lord-temple-fertility-god-skinned-human-corpse
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/gruesome-flayed-god-xipe-totec-temple-excavated-in-mexico/news-story/e884b1cc793fc063b89d4a055fd72fff
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/109712112/mexicos-temple-of-the-flayed-lord-discovered
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/02/681799426/mexican-archaeologists-discover-pre-hispanic-temple-of-the-flayed-lord
https://www.france24.com/en/20190103-archaeologists-find-mexico-temple-god-skinning-sacrifices
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/first-temple-discovered-of-ancient-mexican-god-whose-priests-skinned-humans-for-sacrifice/
https://www.newsweek.com/pre-hispanic-mexico-our-lord-flayed-one-temple-xipe-totec-mesoamerica-puebla-1278495
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/temple-flayed-lord-found-mexico-180971165/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/7279-190103-xipe-totec-statues

More on ear bones from Panamanian burials:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bony-growths-ear-canal-plagued-pre-columbian-divers-panama-180971164/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/7281-190104-panama-surfers-ear
-----
Mike Ruggeri's Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/ ================================================================
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST ================================================================
Celebrating Victoria's bicentennial:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/travel/celebrating-the-200th-anniversary-of-queen-victoria.html

On the 'heretical' aspect of frankincense and myrrh:

https://aeon.co/essays/frankincense-and-myrrh-were-not-only-holy-but-heretical-too

Nice feature on what archaeologists actually do:

https://theconversation.com/why-archaeology-is-so-much-more-than-just-digging-108679
https://phys.org/news/2019-01-archaeology.html

On learning Old English:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-old-english.html

On the concept of zero:

https://www.popsci.com/concept-of-zero-invented

On modern technology and the Vedanta:

https://aeon.co/ideas/modern-technology-is-akin-to-the-metaphysics-of-vedanta

Feature on the development of writing:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=10752

... and why we still can't read Indus Civilization writing:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2019/01/04/undeciphered-script-of-the-indus-civilization/

On Ptolemy as the earliest plagiarist:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/12/25/ciencia/1545728197_722721.html

On the origin of cats:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/01/Where-Do-Cats-Come-From

Feature on Petronella Oortman and her giant doll house:

https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-petronella-oortman-and-her-giant-dolls-house-108248

Feature on Elsie Masson:

https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-elsie-masson-photographer-writer-intrepid-traveller-107808

2018's 'most fascinating skeletons':

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/12/31/the-7-most-fascinating-skeletons-of-2018/

The 'wackiest' archaeology finds of 2018:

https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/the-wackiest-and-most-bizarre-archaeological-discoveries-of-2018/

Arthur Conan Doyle's spiritual side:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/books/review/arthur-conan-doyle.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbook-review

Pondering the effects the Spanish flu had on Peace Treaty talks:

https://theconversation.com/the-importance-of-watching-the-health-of-a-u-s-president-the-spanish-flu-and-a-flawed-peace-treaty-109062

... and how a 'queen exchange' was foiled by smallpox in the 18th century:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2018/12/28/actualidad/1546013680_691722.html

An interesting Greek New Year's ritual I wasn't aware of:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/33960-folk-tourism-why-greeks-smash-a-pomegranate-on-new-year%E2%80%99s-day.html

Looking ahead to potential archaeological finds in 2019:

https://www.livescience.com/64385-archaeology-to-watch-2019.html

More on the television approach to archaeology:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/28/how-tv-shows-use-serious-archaeology-promote-bogus-history/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidanderson/2018/12/31/mysterious-ancient-mysteries-and-the-problems-with-archaeology-made-for-tv/

More on the 'Slave Bible':

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heavily-abridged-slave-bible-removed-passages-might-encourage-uprisings-180970989/

Review of a couple of books on the origins of Islam:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/books/review/illuminating-islams-peaceful-origins.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbook-review
================================================================
MUSEUM MATTERS
================================================================
Renaissance Nude:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/getty-exhibition-shows-how-the-naked-body-became-a-subject-for-art/2019/01/03/4137bafc-0ec7-11e9-831f-3aa2c2be4cbd_story.html

Moser:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181228-the-image-that-sums-up-our-anxieties https://www.mak.at/en_kolomanmoser

Ashurbanipal:

http://www.kcwtoday.co.uk/2019/01/ashurbanipal-king-world-british-museum/

A Scottish museum is putting a purported pyramid stone on display:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-46694316

... and Egypt is looking into it:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/321137/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egypt-to-send-official-inquiry-over-alleged-pyrami.aspx

Feature on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Antiquities Museum:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/321141/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Masterpieces-of-the-Bibliotheca-Alexandrina-Antiqu.aspx

The British Museum apparently displayed King Gishakidu of Umma's macehead upside down (i.e. as a vase):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-museum-daftly-displayed-warrior-king-s-relic-as-an-upside-down-vase-60v8x5ttz

================================================================
THE TECHY SIDE
================================================================
Feature on using old spy satellite photos to 'reconstruct' archaeological
sites in the Middle East:

https://www.livescience.com/64404-unbending-classified-spy-satellite-photos.html

Latest CT scan of a mummy is of Ptolemy II's eye doctor:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/01/04/actualidad/1546597801_919162.html

The Chinchorro mummies get the 3d recreation treatment:

https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/quienes-estan-detras-de-las-momias-chinchorro/468132/
================================================================
CLIMATE MATTERS ================================================================
Connecting the collapse of the Akkadian Empire to climate change:

https://phys.org/news/2019-01-climate-world-empire-collapse.html http://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-caused-the-worlds-first-ever-empire-to-collapse-109060
================================================================
ON THE DNA FRONT ================================================================
DNA is causing a rethink of the Aryan invasions of India theory:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46616574

Analyzing horse DNA from some Icelandic Viking burials:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/viking-horses-burials-iceland-1.4966126

Dienekes' Anthropology Blog:

http://dienekes.blogspot.ca/ ================================================================
TOURISTY THINGS ================================================================
Buckingham Palace:

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p06lhy0y/take-a-look-around-buckingham-palace

Venice will have an admission fee (!):

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46721456 https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-tourist-tax-day-trippers/index.html

================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
A Roman-era alabaster statue confiscated at Salloum (apparently stolen?):

http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/62862/Roman-era-statue-confiscated-in-port-of-Salloum

More on those thieves caught at Huqoq:

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5434579,00.html

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 ================================================================
The Uffizi wants some Nazi loot returned:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/world/europe/nazi-stolen-painting-uffizi-gallery.html

The Isle of Man (sort of) wants the Manx Chronicles returned:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-46724338

The Louvre is returning some Benin bronzes:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/01/02/louvre-is-returning-sculptures-west-africa-heres-how-why-emmanuel-macron-made-it-happen/

UK Museums are 'tasking staff' with identifying stolen colonial items:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/01/uk-museums-task-staff-identifying-stolen-colonial-collections/

OpEd on the return of African artifacts:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/rethinking-restitution-african-heritage/

... and French antiquities dealers aren't happy:

http://theartnewspaper.com/news/french-antiquities-dealers-slam-shocking-report-on-restituting-african-art

More on returns to Jordan from Canada:

https://jordantimes.com/news/local/retrieved-jordanian-antiquities-return-home https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1528966/jordan-retrieves-58-smuggled-antiquities-canada
================================================================
NUMISMATICA
================================================================
Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/club_nbs_esylum_v21n52.html

(not sure what the issue for today will be designated as)

------------------------
Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Rosalyn Terborg-Penn:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/obituaries/rosalyn-terborg-penn-dead.html

Nancy Grace Roman:

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/30/680994535/nancy-grace-roman-mother-of-hubble-space-telescope-has-died
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/04/nancy-roman-obituary

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

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2821-audio-news-from-archaeologica-23-december-29-december-2018
================================================================
CONFERENCES
================================================================
Sonoran Desert Food and Lifeways (January 8):

https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/event/sonoran-desert-food-and-lifeways-past-and-present/

Jews and the Americas (February 2019):

https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/1932330/jews-and-americas-68th-annual-conference-center-latin-american

Current Archaeology Live (March 8-9, 2019):

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/live/ca-live-2018

Berkshire Archaeology Day (April 6, 2019) ================================================================
GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS ================================================================
Archaeology Magazine News Page:

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

About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Ancient Digger:

http://www.ancientdigger.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/

Past Horizons:

http://www.pasthorizons.com/

Stonepages:

http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:

http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/

Time Machine:

http://heatherpringle.wordpress.com/ ================================================================ PODCASTS/VODCASTS ================================================================
Archaeosoup:

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

Archaeology Podcast Network:

http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/

The Book and the Spade:

http://www.radioscribe.com/bknspade.htm ================================================================
EXPLORATOR is a free weekly newsletter bringing you the latest
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the 'ancient world' (broadly construed: practically anything relating
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game) and every Sunday they are delivered to your mailbox free of
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================================================================
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Explorator is Copyright (c) 2019 David Meadows. Feel free to
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teachers, etc., but please include this copyright notice. These
links are not to be posted to any website by any means (whether
by direct posting or snagging from a usenet group or some other
email source) without my express written permission. I think it
is only right that I be made aware of public fora which are
making use of content gathered in Explorator. Thanks! ================================================================

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