'Someone digs up an ancient relic every day in Britain'

[Daily Mail]   It’s the stuff of fairytales. Small boys find golden treasure that holds a sacred secret. Farm labourers uncover riches in muddy cow fields. An unsung hero stumbles on a pot of gold that will rewrite history. But this is no fantasy. Every year the British public discover no fewer than 90,000 archaeological artefacts, some up to half a million years old. They are enthusiasts, collectors – or simply members of the public who happen upon something unexpected while building a patio.

Did Tito Kill Stalin? A New Book on the Theory

[The Daily Beast]  A new book by a Slovenian historian suggests that Stalin might have been killed by an assassin sent by former Yugoslavian dictator Tito.

Lost Viking Military Town Unearthed in Germany?

[National Geographic]   A battle-scarred, eighth-century town unearthed in northern Germany may be the earliest Viking settlement in the historical record, archaeologists announced recently. Ongoing excavations at Füsing (map), near the Danish border, link the site to the "lost" Viking town of Sliasthorp—first recorded in A.D. 804 by royal scribes of the powerful Frankish ruler Charlemagne

Ancient Pre-Inca Tomb found

[France24]  Archeologists said Friday they have discovered a tomb about 1,200 years old, from the pre-Inca Sican era, in northern Peru. Human remains and jewelry were found July 4 along with the tomb, likely that of a member of the aristocracy of the Sican or Lambayeque elite, head researcher Carlos Wester La Torre told AFP.

'First' Americans Were Not Alone

[Discovery]  Stone points found in an Oregon cave suggest a whole group of people existed at the same time as the Clovis.

Recovery of most complete skeleton of human ancestor to be streamed live

[Christian Science Monitor]  Archaeologists will stream live footage online as they recover significant parts of an early human skeleton that's nearly two million years old, the first time the public can participate in the discovery process from their homes, a South African scientist said.

'UFO' at bottom of Baltic sea may be a top-secret Nazi anti-submarine defence lost since World War 2

[Daily Mail]  Former Swedish naval officer and WWII expert Anders Autellus has revealed that the structure - measuring 200ft by 25ft - could be the base of a device designed to block British and Russian submarine movements in the area. The huge steel-and-concrete structure could be one of the most important historical finds in years.

Archaeologists unearth temple to Demeter in Sicily

[Ansa Med]  Archaeologists have discovered what may be among the oldest remains at the ancient site of Selinunte: an ancient temple. Inside, fragments have been found that help explain the site's significance: an offering to Demeter, the goddess of grain and agriculture; a small flute, made of bone and dating to 570 BC; a small Corinthian vase.

    

Most complete skeleton of ancient relative of man found

[Telegraph UK]  The remains of a juvenile hominid skeleton, of the newly identified Australopithecus (southern ape) sediba species, are the "most complete early human ancestor skeleton ever discovered," according to Lee Berger, a paleontologist from the University of Witwatersrand.

"We have discovered parts of a jaw and critical aspects of the body including what appear to be a complete femur (thigh bone), ribs, vertebrae and other important limb elements, some never before seen in such completeness in the human fossil record," said Prof Berger.

Treasure trove of baseball cards may be worth millions

[LA Times]  The find is one of the biggest, most exciting finds in the history of sports card collecting, a discovery worth perhaps millions. The cards are from an extremely rare series issued around 1910. Up to now, the few known to exist were in so-so condition at best, with faded images and worn edges. But the ones from the attic in the town of Defiance are nearly pristine, untouched for more than a century. The colors are vibrant, the borders crisp and white. "It's like finding the Mona Lisa in the attic," Kissner said.

Gold coins from time of Crusades found in Israeli ruins

[Fox News]  Israeli archaeologists have found buried treasure: more than 100 gold dinal coins from the time of the Crusades, bearing the names and legends of local sultans, blessings and more -- and worth as much as $500,000.

Ancient wine discovered in Chinese tomb

[CBC]  Archeologists have unearthed what they believe is the oldest wine in China, according to a report in the state-controlled news agency Xinhua. While excavating a nobleman's tomb in the northwest Shaanxi province, the archeologists found a sealed bronze wine vessel. When they shook it they heard a liquid, but they have yet to identify it. The tomb is believed to be from the West Zhou Dynasty, which the report said dates back to between 1046 BC and 771 BC.

Ancient "New York City" of Canada discovered

[CBS News]  Today New York City is the Big Apple of the Northeast but new research reveals that 500 years ago, at a time when Europeans were just beginning to visit the New World, a settlement on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Canada, was the biggest, most complex, cosmopolitan place in the region.

Archaeologists dig up clue to early Irish independence bid

[Independent]  ARCHAEOLOGISTS have made a landmark discovery that could help answer the question that has puzzled Irish historians for over 200 years. Could an invasion of Ireland by Napoleon's French forces have succeeded and triggered Irish independence more than century earlier than it was actually won?

6th century Christian monastery discovered in Gulf

[Business Standard]  Recent archaeological excavations in the Gulf have discovered remains of a sixth century Christian monastery, abandoned by monks in about 750 AD following advent of Islam in the region, Senior Metropolitan of the Universal Assyrian Church Mar Aprem said here today. Aprem, who visited the Nestorian Monastery's ruins in Sir Bani Yas Island at Abu Dhabi on June 21, said the discovery is of historical significance as it was the only early Christian site in the Gulf region.

De Soto discovery could change history books

[The Gainesville Times]  An archaeologist has found what his contemporaries deem rarer than the gold De Soto was seeking — physical evidence of the explorer's precise journey through Marion County and enough information to redraw Florida De Soto maps and fuel many more archaeological digs based on his findings.

Viking’s Most Powerful City Unearthed in Northern Germany

[Smithsonian]  According to Niels Ebdrup reporting at ScienceNordic, archaeologists working in northern Germany may have found one of the most important cities in Viking history—Sliasthorp, where once sat the first Scandanavian kings.

Crusaders' Gold Worth $100K Discovered in Israel

[Jewish Daily Forward] A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in Israel’s Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said. The diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in particular. Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.