Archaeology News: August 17, 2011

Sunken Treasure Found in the Seas Of Sicily

More than 3,000 bronze coins dated between 264 and 241 B.C. were discovered off the coast of the small Sicilian island of Pantelleria. “Since all coins feature the same iconography, we believe that the money served for an institutional payment,” said Leonardo Abelli, director of the excavation.

Archaeology: Finds from work on Bulgaria's Maritsa Highway on display

Archaeological finds uncovered during 14 years of work on the Maritsa motorway have gone on display at the museum in Chirpan, a town in south-central Bulgaria in the Stara Zagora region.

Archaeologists call for funds to save Kabash Road in Luxor

Archaeologists and tour guides in Luxor on Sunday demanded that Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, general secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, launch an international campaign for saving Kabash Road.

Iron Age road link to Iceni tribe

A 2,000-year-old, well-preserved timber road has been found in eastern England. Archaeologists think that the road was built by an Iceni tribe before the arrival of the Romans. “This particular track way is very interesting to us because we have tools… which may actually tie in with some of the tool marks and methods of construction we are turning up in the investigation,” said John Davies of the Norwich Castle Museum.

Co Loa: Fighting the Han in Iron Age Vietnam

Co Loa is an important archaeological site of the Iron Age Dong Son culture of Vietnam. It was the capital of the Bac Bo region, and occupied from the 3rd century BC and into the first century AD.

Human precursors went to sea, team says

Early manlike creatures may have been smarter than we think. Recent archaeological finds from the Mediterranean show that human ancestors traveled the high seas. A team of researchers that included an North Carolina State University geologist found evidence that our ancestors were crossing open water at least 130,000 years ago.

Senseless vandalism of archaeological monument in Polonnaruwa

A team of officials of the Archeological Department has initiated a separate inquiry, in addition to police inquiries into the damages caused by an unidentified group to an archeological site in an islet in the Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa.

Montpelier digs up slaves' stories

NICOLE Esposito had already found one unusual artifact while working as an archaeology intern at James Madison's Montpelier this summer, a button decorated with an eagle and 12 stars.

Native American remains unearthed at Santa Cruz housing development site; protesters rally for halt to construction

The discovery of Native American remains at a site slated for new houses prompted a protest Sunday to demand the developer stop construction out of respect to the area's history.

'Spoonful by spoonful,' Moku'ula slowly returns

The Friends of Moku'ula Inc. hopes to present to Maui County planners next month the first phase of its archaeological restoration and information center along Front Street, said Executive Director Shirley Kaha'i on Saturday.

UMass Lowell, Queen's continue to unearth secrets of settlers

As part of an ongoing study of the Irish who found their way to Lowell, Massachusetts before and after Ireland’s Great Famine, students from Queen’s University, Belfast traveled to Lowell last week to join their UMass Lowell counterparts in continuing to excavate the area around St. Patrick’s Church on Suffolk St.

The St. Michael Line: a Straight Story?

The St. Michael Alignment is arguably the most prominent and intriguing of the many ley lines that criss-cross Britain. It runs in a straight line between Land's End, England's southwestern extremity, and Hopton-on-Sea, on the Norfolk coast.

City celebrates Independence Day

Director of archaeology and museums P Chenna Reddy hoisted the national flag at a function held at the office and appealed to the staff to rededicate themselves to preservation of India’s priceless heritage for posterity. He wanted them to draw inspiration from freedom fighters who did not care for their properties, families or their own lives in their fight for the nation.

Shorne Woods Community Archaeology Project, Gravesend, Kent

From the 9th to the 31st of July, schools, volunteers, members of the public, local archaeology groups and societies worked on the excavations taking place at Randall Manor.

Hercules Statue Found in Northern Israel

A well-crafted, headless statue depicting the Greco-Roman hero Hercules was found this week during a salvage excavation in northern Israel’s Jezreel Valley. Found at the site of Horvat Tarbenet, the finely sculpted, 1.5-foot-tall, white marble statue shows the muscle-bound Hercules leaning on a club with a lion skin draped over his shoulder.