For Those Interested in Archaeology

Australia also still has some jungle that dinosaurs would recognise...secret places not on maps for obvious reasons....this years massive fires have also reached forests that have been moist for millions of years : (

 

Fascinating start to the New Year.
"The Russian RIA news agency has reported a remarkable find of an ancient Greek Corinthian helmet. The discovery was made in the Taman Peninsula in the southwest of Russia. The helmet was unearthed during the excavation of a Greek necropolis in the area by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IA RAS). The helmet is one of the most remarkable discoveries yet made at this site. The helmet now raises questions as to the nature of Greek society in the ancient Black Sea area and its contacts with the wider Greek world.
Russian archaeologists have been excavating a necropolis of 600 burial mounds in the Taman area for over two years. The burial mounds are related to Greek colonies in the locality and especially that of Phanagoria. The helmet, which has been dated to the 5th century BCE, comes from an era when the Greeks were establishing a kingdom in the area. This was known as the Bosphoran Kingdom which had Panticapaeum as its capital and it lasted for over a thousand years. The kingdom was rich and powerful because of trade with nomadic tribes such as the Sarmatians and the Scythians and developed a culture which was influenced by both Greek civilization and the cultures of the Steppes."
Greek Asia: FIRST GREEK HELMET DISCOVERED NORTH OF THE BLACK SEA IN RUSSIA

 

Secret mission saves ‘dinosaur trees’

 

Some good news then.

 

Nothing short of amazing.
"Archaeologists have discovered a 7,000-year-old Neolithic well in eastern Europe, which they believe is the oldest wooden structure in the world.
The square well was built with oak by farmers around 5256 B.C., according to researchers who pinpointed its origin after analyzing the tree rings in the wood, which is the scientific method known as dendrochronology. The well's age makes it the oldest dendrochronologically dated archaeological wooden construction worldwide, according to the researchers in the Czech Republic.
"The well was only preserved because it had been underwater for centuries. Now we cannot let it dry out, or the well would be destroyed," Karol Bayer of the University of Pardubice's Department of Restoration said in a press release.
Researchers are developing a process to dry the wood and preserve it without deformation using sugar to reinforce the wood's cellular structure.
"It is interesting that the corner posts were made of previously felled trunks, namely from the trunk which had been cut in the autumn or winter 5259 B.C. or the winter of early 5258 B.C.," said Michal Rybníček of the Department of Wood Science at Mendel University.
Measuring 140 cm (56 inches) in height and with an 80 by 80 cm (32 by 32 inches) square base, the well was found last year during construction of the D35 motorway near Ostrov, Czech Republic. Researchers published their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Its design shines a light on technical skills that researchers didn't think Neolithic people possessed."
This 7,000-year-old well is the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, archaeologists say - CNN

 

Visited the island a few years ago, one of the most atmospheric places in Britain. Been fascinated with the period since watching a two part "For schools" programme on Guthrum and the Great Heathen Army at Primary school.
"It is not large – the shape and size of a chocolate sweet – and might easily have been discarded as a pebble by a less careful hand.
But a tiny piece of worked glass unearthed during an excavation on Lindisfarne has been revealed to be a rare archaeological treasure linking the Northumbrian island with the Vikings, from the very beginning of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.
Archaeologists believe the object, made from swirling blue and white glass with a small “crown” of white glass droplets, is a gaming piece from the Viking board game hnefatafl (“king’s table”), or a local version of the game.
Whether dropped on the island by a Norse raider or owned by a high-status local imitating their customs, the gaming piece offers a rare tangible link between Lindisfarne’s Anglo-Saxon monastery and the culture that eventually overwhelmed it.
Lindisfarne is arguably best known for its spectacular illuminated gospels, which were created in the early eighth century in the island’s first monastery. But to historians, “Holy Island” also has immense significance as the site, in AD793, of the first major Viking raid in Britain or Ireland, launching almost three centuries of destruction and occupation that dramatically shaped English history."
www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/06/boardgame-piece-first-viking-raid-found-lindisfarne-archaeology?CMP=share_btn_tw&fbclid=IwAR3ly9TzMm8bFyskvZrGeIxXqkbja9jHxLoTiKaTgus2JCP7Q2ubrmumUsg

 

I'm sure I've heard "ghost DNA" mentioned before?
"An extinct branch of human ancestry has been discovered lurking inside the DNA of modern-day West Africans which evolved around 500,000 years ago.
Traces of this so-called 'ghost population' were located in modern-day people and did not match the genetic fingerprint of Homo sapiens, Denisovans or Neanderthals.
Exactly what species the hominids belonged to is unknown, but humans mated with them around 50,000 years ago, researchers discovered.
No physical evidence — DNA from ancient bones, for example — was found, but a computer model indicates this mysterious species must exist.
Scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles say the unidentified species accounts for up to 19 per cent of the genetic ancestry of four populations in three countries: two from Nigeria, one from Sierra Leone and one from the Gambia. "
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7997861/New-study-shows-ghost-DNA-modern-day-population-west-Africa.html

 

They say "just discovered", but I remember seeing a tv programme on the discovery a while back.|
"The lost city of Heracleion (Egyptian and Greek) was city that existed before the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC. The city saw its golden days as it served as the main port of entry to Egypt for all ships arriving from the Greek world.
It was also of religious importance because of the temple Amun. The city most likely was formed around 8th century BC and fell victim to natural catastrophes causing the entire city to sink into the Mediterranean in the 8th century AD.
Thanks to the unique discovery by Franck-Goddio and his team from the IEASM, along with the cooperation of the Egyptian Supreme Council, Thonis-Heracleion has now been found after being completely invisible beneath the Mediterranean for nearly 2,000 years.
On Frank Goddio’s website, an in depth explanation of the incredible discovery explained, “The city is located within an overall research area of 11 by 15 kilometres in the western part of Aboukir Bay. Franck Goddio has found important information on the ancient landmarks of Thonis-Heracleion, such as the grand temple of Amun and his son Khonsou (Herakles for the Greeks), the harbours that once controlled all trade into Egypt, and the daily life of its inhabitants.”
The Lost City Of Heracleion Discovered Deep Underwater After 1,200 Years

 

Volcanoes in Victoria reveal fresh evidence of eruptions 37,000 years ago
Study dates Victorian volcano that buried a human-made axe

 

First clachan outside of Ireland and Britain found under a field near Kapunda in South Australia

Unique Irish farming settlement found under South Australian field

 

Just...stunning.
"Ancient human remains held at a church in Kent were today confirmed as those of one of England's earliest saints in a 'stunning result of national importance' that has brought 'forgotten history back to the surface'.
Bones dating back to around the seventh century are those of St Eanswythe, the daughter and granddaughter of Anglo-Saxons who is venerated in Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.
The relics survived the major upheavals of the Reformation, during which Henry VIII's agents seized and plundered the Folkestone church, before smashing the shrine of St Eanswythe.
Her remains, however, remained squirrelled away in the north wall of the church, and were discovered in a 12th-century reliquary in 1885, after church workmen stumbled upon a niche which had been plastered up.
The patron saint of Folkestone, Eanswythe is believed to have founded one of the earliest monastic communities in England, most likely around 630 on the Bayle, the overlooked historic centre of the town. She is thought to have died in her late teens or early 20s, though currently the cause of her death is unknown.
Now, over 1,300 years after her death, Kent archaeologists and historians, working with Queen's University in Belfast, have confirmed the human remains kept at the Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe are those of the saint."
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8083387/Scientists-confirm-skeletal-remains-church-belong-St-Eanswythe.html

 

"Diamond-encrusted rock samples that have been found on a Canadian island fill ‘a piece in the puzzle’ to reconstruct an ancient part of Earth's continental crust.
A fragment of the North Atlantic Craton (NAC) was found by geologists who were sifting through diamond exploration samples from the southern Baffin Island, Canada.
The NAC is an ancient part of Earth’s continental crust that reaches around the top of the northern hemisphere, from Scotland to the Canadian region of Labrador, deep underground.
Researchers believe the NAC is up to 2.7 billion years old before its continental plate broke up around 150 million years ago.
Evidence of the ancient crust – which has previously been found in Scotland, Greenland and Labrador – is much sought after.
The new sample of kimberlite, a type of igneous rock, showed unmistakable properties similar to other portions of the NAC, the researchers said."
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8135975/Geologists-diamond-bearing-rock-fragment-ancient-continent.html

 

Interesting...Kimberlite, named after the Kimberley in South Africa...was once attached to the north Western Australia...as such it has the same country, even plants and yes diamonds...not surprising then we call the north of WA ‘the Kimberley...’

 

Never knew that.

 

"A new species of spike-toothed flying reptile that lived 100 million years ago in the Sahara that caught fish with its teeth in the air has been discovered by scientists.
The fossil remains of the toothed pterosaurs were identified in Africa by an international team of scientists led by Baylor University in Texas.
The reptiles had a wingspan of up to 13 feet and soared above the river ecosystem that existed in the Sahara at the time and used their long wings to scoop up fish.
Experts were able to identify three new species from chunks of jaws with teeth obtained from fossil miners in a small village called Beggaa in southeast Morocco.
Pterosaurs lived in an African ecosystem that was teeming with life including fish, crocodiles, turtles and predatory dinosaurs.
'Pterosaur remains are very rare, with most known from Europe, South America and Asia,' said lead author Megan L. Jacobs, from Baylor University.
'These new finds are very exciting and provide a window into the world of pterosaurs in Cretaceous Africa,' she said.
In a new study, published in Cretaceous Research, the Baylor team worked to uncover the poorly known evolutionary history Africa during the Cretaceous.
The research found that the African pterosaurs were similar to those found on other continents but not identical - they preyed on a 'superabundance of fish'"
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8152183/New-species-flying-reptile-spiked-teeth-discovered-scientists.html