Communism left toxic legacy in Eastern Europe

[Fox]  The flood of toxic sludge in Hungary is but one of the ecological horrors that lurk in Eastern Europe 20 years after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, serving as a reminder that the region is dotted with disasters waiting to happen.  More...

Discovery of ancient Roman village slows water plant construction

[Water Tech Online]  The construction of a new $22 million water purification plant was halted in Turgovishte, Bulgaria, after it was discovered the project had partially destroyed an ancient Roman village and burial ground, The Sofia Echo reported.  More...

Painting that sat behind sofa for 30 years might be a Michelangelo

[USA Today]  An unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary that sat behind a family's sofa near Buffalo for almost 30 years might be a lost Michelangelo worth a fortune, the New York Post reports.  More...

Black Death’s Daddy Was the Bubonic Plague

[Wired]  Piles of bones and historical records tell us the Black Death pandemic wiped out as much as half the population of Europe during the Middle Ages. But how and what, exactly, caused the grisly scourge has sparked a boxing match of sorts within the pages of scientific journals.  More...

Hidden medieval village discovered by students

 [BBC]  Amateur archaeologists in the Vale of Glamorgan believe they have uncovered a lost medieval village.  More...

Nazi bomb under Britain's Olympic stadium?

[Britain News net]  There may be an unexploded Nazi bomb under the Olympic stadium in Britain, a media report said Sunday. The device is feared to be near the surface of the main stadium where the Queen and other world leaders will gather in 2012.  More...

Excavation shines light on ancient Eskimo village

[AP]   What's being called the first large-scale excavation in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta has yielded a treasure trove of ancient Eskimo objects, and sparked a race against global warming along the eroding Bering Sea coast.  More...

Giant mosaic unveiled for Jericho's 10,000th birthday

[UK Guardian]  Visitors to ancient Jericho got a rare glimpse yesterday of a 1,200-year-old carpet mosaic measuring nearly 900 square meters, one of the largest in the Middle East.  More...

Roman helmet sold for £2m

[UK Guardian]   The man who found it last May, using a metal detector on farmland on the outskirts of the Cumbrian hamlet of Crosby Garrett, a currently unemployed graduate in his early 20s from the north-east, will share the price with the landowner, but is now a millionaire.  More...

Ancient tree helps turn Palestinian town into tourism hub

[AP]  With a giant trunk and boughs towering 18-meters high, a gnarled gemmayzeh (sycamore) near the main square of the town some call Jericho has long been touted as the very tree that, according to Christian mythology, a hated tax collector climbed to get a glimpse of Jesus.  More...

Flat containing $3m painting untouched for 70 years

[The Age:Australia] The woman who owned the flat had left for the south of France before the Second World War and never returned. ...Entering the untouched, cobweb-filled flat in Paris' 9th arrondissement, one expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900.  More...

Judge Mulls Verdict in Jesus Forgery Trial

[AOL News]  The discovery in 2002 of a limestone burial box with the Hebrew inscription "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus" electrified the world of archaeology. If genuine, the burial box, or ossuary, would be the only archaeological artifact yet found with a possible direct link to Jesus of Nazareth.  More...

Shipwreck may yield secrets of antiquity

[Live Science]  The examination of a Mediterranean shipwreck from the 4th century B.C. could shed light on ancient sea routes and trade, researchers say.  More...

Oldest Evidence for Dinosaurs in Tiny Footprints

[Discovery]  Footprints found in 250-million-year-old rocks suggest dinosaurs evolved a few million years after Earth's most severe extinction event to date.  More

"Hidden" Language Found in Remote Indian Tribe

[National geographic]  "This is a language that had been undocumented, completely unrecognized, and unrecorded," said researcher Gregory Anderson....What's more, the newly identified Koro tongue may be endangered: Only about 800 people are speakers—most of them older than 20—and the language hasn't been written down.  More...

Mystery skeleton found at ancient Cypriot site

[Reuters]  The discovery is reminiscent of three skeletons found embracing in the same area back in the 1980s, the likely victims of a strong earthquake which hit the area around 365 AD.  More...

Neolithic tomb found in garden 'extremely significant'

[Scotsman]  "There is a big slab of stone about eight foot by eight foot and I had always wondered what was underneath it. I had a bit of time at the end of the summer and I thought I would take a look."  More...

Neanderthals Had Feelings Too, Say Researchers

[Science Daily]  Pioneering new research by archaeologists at the University of York suggests that Neanderthals belied their primitive reputation and had a deep seated sense of compassion.  More...

Petain toughened up anti-Jewish law in Vichy France

[Reuters]  The head of the French government which collaborated with the Nazis during World War II personally made harsh anti-Jewish legislation even tougher, a leading Nazi hunter said Sunday, citing a newly unveiled document.  More...

BRONZE Age cities archaeologists say could be the precursor of Western civilisation is being uncovered

[The Australian]  Twenty of the spiral-shaped settlements, believed to be the original home of the Aryan people, have been identified, and there are about 50 more suspected sites. They all lie buried in a region more than 640km long near Russia's border with Kazakhstan.   More...