Egypt’s Meidum pyramid to undergo restoration

The Meidum Pyramid in Beni Suef, Egypt, is set to undergo restoration work to make the site more tourist friendly.

The Meidum pyramid consists of large mud-break mastabas which were originally built for the last third dynasty king Huni. Construction continued during the reign of his successor King Senefru.

The architect who continued Meidum construction was the successor to well-known ancient Egyptian architect Imotep, who built the Djoser step pyramid. However, the modification made Imotep’s design and attempts to extend the structure led to its partial collapse.

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Story: Nevine El-Aref, Ahram Online | Photo: Ahram Online

Prehistoric camps found in Tetons

30 previously unrecorded prehistoric camps have been found on the western slope of the Teton Range.

Archaeological surveys in the Tetons go back to the ’70s, but new technology and new ideas about how prehistoric people might have used the area inspired a new round of inquiry. The result, Stirn said, is 30 previously unrecorded sites probably ranging from 11,000 years ago to “proto-history,” or about when “new Americans” began to enter the picture.

The findings stand to dramatically change archaeologists’ ideas about how ancient residents of the region used the mountains.

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Story: Richard Nderson, Jackson Hole News & Guide | Photo: Jackson Hole News & Guide

Prehistoric barbeque found in Cyprus

A prehistoric barbeque site has been uncovered at the Prastio-Mesorotsos site in Cyprus.

Archaeologists have uncovered what could be a prehistoric barbeque pit used by large bands of hunters at the Prastio-Mesorotsos site in the Paphos district.

According to the antiquities department the team of archaeologists led by a University of Edinburgh professor, examined the prehistoric remains from the site, which was later settled during various other eras in antiquity.

It said the earliest deposits on the site dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period – around 8000 BC to 7000 BC – and revealed storage pits and food preparation areas.

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Story: Jean Christou, Cyprus Mail | Photo: Cyprus Mail

3,300-year-old cult complex found in Israel

A cult complex dating back 3,300 years has been found at Tel Burna in Israel.

While archaeologists have not fully excavated the cult complex, they can tell it was quite large, as the courtyard alone was 52 by 52 feet (16 by 16 meters). Inside the complex, researchers discovered three connected cups, fragments of facemasks, massive jars that are almost as big as a person and burnt animal bones that may indicate sacrificial rituals.

The archaeologists said they aren’t sure who was worshipped at the complex, though Baal, the Canaanite storm god, is a possibility. “The letters of Ugarit [an ancient site in modern-day Syria] suggest that of the Canaanite pantheon, Baal, the Canaanite storm god, would have been the most likely candidate,” Itzhaq Shai, a professor at Ariel University who is directing a research project at Tel Burna, told Live Science in an email.

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Story: Owen Jarus, Live Science | Photo: Professor Itzhaq Shai

Possible Neanderthal remains found near French river

200,000-year-old arm bones that may belong to a Neanderthal have been found in the silts close to the River Seine in France.

Not much can be said about the individual because it is represented solely by the three long bones of the arm – the humerus, ulna and radius.

Their robustness would support a Neanderthal interpretation, says the team, and they could have come from a juvenile or young adult.

One interesting observation is a raised crest, or ridge, on the upper-arm bone that may be the result of muscle damage at the shoulder.

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Story: BBC News| Photo: BBC News

Celtic chariot fittings found at Iron Age fort

Celtic chariot fittings dating back to the Iron Age have been found at a hillfort in Leicestershire.

After cleaning, decorative patterns became visible in the metalwork – including a triskele motif showing three waving lines, similar to the flag of the Isle of Man. It is thought the chariot would have belonged to a high-status individual, such as a “noble” or “warrior”.

One of the students, Nora Battermann, described the moment she and her colleagues found the remains.

“Realising that I was actually uncovering a hoard that was carefully placed there hundreds of years ago made it the find of a lifetime,” she said.

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Story: Richard Moss, Culture24 | Photo: University of Leicester

Viking hoard found in Scotland

A metal-detectorist has uncovered a hoard of Viking artifacts in Scotland.

Among the objects within the hoard is an early Christian cross thought to date from the ninth or tenth centuries. The solid silver cross has enamelled decorations which experts consider to be highly unusual. Derek believes they could represent the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He says “I think they are remarkably similar to the carvings you can see on St Cuthbert’s coffin in Durham Cathedral. For me, the cross opens up the possibility of an intriguing connection with Lindisfarne and Iona.”

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Story: Church of Scotland | Photo: Church of Scotland

Mosaic floor uncovered in Macedonian tomb

A 4th-century B.C. mosaic floor has been uncovered in the antechamber of a Macedonian tomb in Amphipolis, Greece.

Made from small white, black, gray, blue, red and yellow pebbles, the mosaic emerged as archaeologists led by Katerina Peristeri removed dirt and soil filling the tomb’s second chamber behind two colossal female statues known as Caryatids.

The colorful mosaic dates back to the last quarter of the 4th century BC. It covers the whole floor of the chamber — a 14.7-foot wide by 9.8-foot long area — and depicts a chariot in motion famed by a 23-inch-wide border with a double meander, squares and spiral shapes.

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Story: Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News | Photo: Discovery News

Medieval Vampire burial found in Bulgaria

The 13th-century remains of a skeleton with an iron rod plowed through his chest has been unearthed in southern Bulgaria.

We have no doubts that once again we’re seeing an anti-vampire ritual being carried out,” said Professor Ovcharov. He explained that the metal was driven through the corpse to stop a “bad” person from rising from the dead and terrorising the living.

“Often they were applied to people who had died in unusual circumstances – such as suicide.”

The skeleton, thought to be of a man aged between 40 and 50, had a heavy piece of ploughshare – an iron rod, used in a plough – hammered through its chest. The left leg below the knee had also been removed and left beside the skeleton.

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Story: Matthew Day, The Telegraph | Photo: Rex

Artifacts recovered from Antikythera shipwreck

3D-mapping of the Antikythera shipwreck site has lead Archaeologists and divers to recovered a collection of artifacts and cargo.

Greek and international team of divers and archaeologists has retrieved stunning new finds from an ancient Greek ship that sank more than 2,000 years ago off the remote island of Antikythera. The rescued antiquities include tableware, ship components, and a giant bronze spear that would have belonged to a life-sized warrior statue.

The Antikythera wreck was first discovered in 1900 by sponge divers who were blown off course by a storm. They subsequently recovered a spectacular haul of ancient treasure including bronze and marble statues, jewellery, furniture, luxury glassware, and the surprisingly complex Antikythera Mechanism. But they were forced to end their mission at the 55-meter-deep site after one diver died of the bends and two were paralyzed. Ever since, archaeologists have wondered if more treasure remains buried beneath the sea bed.

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Story: ScienceDaily | Photo: Brett Seymour, Return to Antikythera 2014

Remains of Alexander the Great’s father identified

Cremated remains found in a royal tomb discovered in Greece have been identified as belonging to King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.

The anthropological investigation examined 350 bones and fragments found in two larnakes, or caskets, of the tomb. It uncovered pathologies, activity markers and trauma that helped identify the tomb’s occupants.

Along with the cremated remains of Philip II, the burial, commonly known as Tomb II, also contained the bones of a woman warrior, possibly the daughter of the Skythian King Athea, Theodore Antikas, head of the Art-Anthropological research team of the Vergina excavation, told Discovery News.

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Story: Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News | Photo: Theodore Antikas

5,000-year-old Harappan stepwell found in India

A stepwell, dating back 5,000 years, has been found in Dholavira, one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley civilization.

It’s rectangular and 73.4m long, 29.3m wide, and 10m deep. Another site, the ornate Rani ki Vav in Patan, called the queen of stepwells, is already on Unesco list.

“This is almost three times bigger than the Great Bath of Mohenjo Daro that’s 12m in length, 7m in width, and 2.4m in depth,” said V N Prabhakar, visiting faculty at IIT and superintending archaeologist, ASI.

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Story: Ankur Tweari, TNN | Photo: TNN