Photo source: Mick Ellison (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31dino.html?_r=1)
English Heritage senior investigator Dave MacLeod said: "It's hard to remember a better year.
"Cropmarks are always at their best in dry weather, but the last few summers have been a disappointment.
"This year we have taken full advantage of the conditions. We try to concentrate on areas that in an average year don't produce much archaeology."
A Roman camp near Bradford Abbas, Dorset, was revealed in June after three sides became visible in rain-parched fields of barley. The lightly built defensive enclosure would have provided basic protection for Roman soldiers while on manoeuvres in the first century AD and is one of only four discovered in the south west of England.
"There is a temple, stupas, beautiful rooms, big and small statues, two with the length of seven and nine meters, colorful frescos ornamented with gold and some coins," said Mohammad Nader Rasouli, head of the Afghan Archaeological Department.
"Some of the relics date back to the fifth century (AD). We have come across signs that there are items maybe going back to the era before Christ or prehistory," he said.
"We need foreign assistance to preserve these and their expertise to help us with further excavations."
Archaeology students learning how to use mapping equipment have stumbled across the site of large Roman buildings on the banks of the river Usk in Wales, right by one of the best-known and most-studied Roman sites in Britain. The structures have yet to be excavated, but one is enormous, possibly a granary or warehouse – or a palatial riverside villa.
The students located the previously unknown buildings as they were learning to use geophysical tools, which can reveal the outlines of buried structures, in fields by the Roman fortress at Caerleon – claimed by some romantics as King Arthur's Camelot. The area has been excavated and studied for two centuries.
The buildings lie outside the fortress walls, where archaeologists believed there was nothing except a few outbuildings and stores.
More answers may emerge in the next weeks, as the students join staff and a team from University College London, in a six-week dig.
The dig, which will continue until mid-September, will be open to the public with daily tours, and displays of finds. The excavation will be updated regularly at the Council for British Archaeology's website.
A Virginia University student found a gold coin buried in Bethsaida, Israel on July 3rd.
And she's not even an archaeology major.
Alexis Whitley was on the trip to Israel to sate her interest in religious studies, which she described as hobby-like, and to grab some credit hours. At 9 a.m. that day, she and a friend were sent by their teacher, Dr. Aaron Gale, to help with efforts on another side of the excavation site.
As Whitley and her friend David Levine began to clear away dirt and rocks, complaining to themselves, she found the coin in the ground.
"I was loosening up dirt to be moved on the side of the wall with my pick when I noticed a small circular object glide down a mound of dirt," she said. "I reached down and picked up the brown and dirty object and looked to David and said, 'Dude, did I just find a coin?' and threw it at him."
Arav described the coin as a discovery of biblical dimensions. On one side is the portrait of Antonius Pius, Roman emperor from 138-161 CE.
According to Arav, the coin was issued in celebration to Pius' designation of consul for a second time, which history cites took place in the summer of 138.
In January of 139, Pius was consul and emperor, though at the time 'emperor' was more of an honorary title. The other side of the coin should display an announcement about his ascension to consul, but instead shows a portrait of the Goddess Pietas.
Arav believes that this coin is a misprint, and a very rare one.
