Cancer in Ancient Egypt / Ancient champagne

Cancer did occur in Ancient Egypt

A Manchester United Egyptologist has recently stated that cancer did occur in ancient Egypt. One of the researchers working on this study has evidence of a handful of tumors in ancient human remains. However cancer was rare in antiquity.

More on this: 

http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-88864.html

Ancient bubbly 

Bottles of champagne have been popped open in Finland, after nearly 200 years under water. Experts and enthusiasts gathered at an event in Mariehamn to grab a glass of the ancient bubbly which was rescued from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. (Source)

The vintage treasure included bottles of both Veuve Clicquot and the now defunct Juglar brands of champagne. Swedish wine connoisseaur Richard Juhlin had the honour of taking the first sip, which he described as 'wonderful.' (Source)

He noted that after nearly 200 years beneath the ocean the bubbly had lost its fizz, but not its flavour. The expert found hints of chanterelles, honey, orange and peach in the Juglar, and linden blossoms and lime peels in the Veuve Clicquot. (Source)

Source:
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2010/11/22/Cork_pops_on_ancient_bubbly_542193.html

Big Amber Find / Vampires / Ancient Roman Shipwreck

Prehistoric creatures discovered in huge Indian amber haul

Fossil hunters find 150kg of amber in Gujarat province containing over 700 arthropod specimens

 

Photographs: University of Bonn/David Grimaldi/AMNH

 

Hundreds of creatures have been found in amber (150kg) excavated in western India. These creatures include ancient bees, spiders, termites and ants etc. More than 700 arthropods have been identified.

"They are so well preserved. It's like having the complete dinosaur, not just the bones. You can see all the surface details on their bodies and wings. It's fantastic," Rust told the Guardian. The remains of two praying mantises were also found.

Michael Engel, curator of entomology at the University of Kansas, said: "What we found indicates that India was not completely isolated, even though the Cambray deposit dates from a time that precedes the slamming of India into Asia. There might have been some linkages."

Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/25/prehistoric-creatures-indian-amber-haul
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101025/sc_afp/usindiapaleontolgyasia_20101025230555;_ylc=X3oDMTEwODNhcGlyBF9TAzIwMjM4Mjc1MjQEZW1haWxJZAMxMjg4MDUwNjc4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11618809

Demystifying the history of vampires

The Penn Museum hosted a discussion on monsters in the Ancient World.
See article here: http://thedp.com/article/demystifying-history-vampires

Ancient Roman shipwreck

Just for illustration

 

A sunken warship has recently been found in the Mediterranean Sea. It might point to a major ancient battle in which Rome trounced Carthage.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39727737/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Fossil discovered / Pirates booty / Aryan city found

 7 year old finds dinosaur jaw bone

A 7 year old boy found a dinosaur jaw fossil from a juvenile meat-eating dinosaur at a dinosaur park. The fossil dates to around 116 million years ago. It is also significant because it is the first jawbone to be found in Maryland from a meat-eating dinosaur.
  
More on the subject:
http://times-news.com/local/x1618820098/7-year-old-finds-fossil-at-dinosaur-park
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Theres-Dino-Gold-in-Them-Thar-Hills-104309514.html

Artifacts to be recovered from Blackbeard's flagship

The Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1718

Archaeologists are continuing an effort recover artifacts from the wreck believed to be Blackbeard's flagship. The flagship is called Queen Anne's Revenge and was believed to have sunk in 1718 near Beaufort, N.C.

There are cannons, anchors and other artifacts that can be removed. This expedition marks the first serious excavation in two years on this ship.

More info:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/04/archaeology-blackbeard-pirate-ship/

Aryan city discovered in Russia  

Russian archaeologists have found 20 spiral-shaped settlements that they believe was built by the original Aryan race about 4,000 years ago. They found this in southern Siberia bordering Kazakhstan.

These settlements could house up to 2000 people, and tons of artifacts, including pottery and make-up equipment has been found.

Evidence of ritual horse burials were found at the site which ties in with ancient Aryan texts that describe the animals being sliced up and buried with their masters.

Hughes, a visiting research fellow at King's College London, said that "ancient Indian texts and hymns describe sacrifices of horses and burials and the way the meat is cut off and the way the horse is buried with its master".

"If you match this with the way the skeletons and graves are being dug up in Russia, they are a millimetre-perfect match." (Source)

More info:
http://hindu.com/2010/10/05/stories/2010100557652000.htm

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/4000-year-old-aryan-city-discovered-in-russia-56951?trendingnow&cphttp://www.ndtv.com/article/world/4000-year-old-aryan-city-discovered-in-russia-56951?trendingnow

Musing Mondays

Should commercial archaeologists have a role in exploring our marine heritage?

Long story short, this is an argument whether or not Archaeologist should get involved in Marine Heritage in England. Some argue yes and some no.

It has been argued that underwater sites/shipwrecks should be handled the same as land sites. And i agree. These sites should be protected and preserved.

But one should note that:

Much of the archaeological work in the UK is conducted by commercial archaeologists. This work is often funded by a developer, whose project is impacting on the archaeological resource, under the “polluter pays” principal of environmental policy. There is, however, another group who describe themselves as commercial archaeologists, who are more controversial. (Source)

This is the section of the commercial salvage community whose interest is in the commercial exploitation of historic shipwrecks. Their work involves the salvage of maritime archaeological sites with the aim of profiting from the sale of material recovered, although it is often justified as “saving” the material from imminent destruction or for “archaeological investigation”. (Source)

Archaeology is an applied science, and like any other scientific process conducts work in an objective way to recognised standards, documenting, archiving and sharing the data so that it is available for peer review and use by other researchers, now or in the future. Archaeological sites are a finite and non-renewable resource, and there is a fundamental expectation to preserve them for the benefit of the community as both a physical resource to be enjoyed and a means of learning more about the past. (Source)

The commercial sale of archaeological material is fundamentally incompatible with these aims. Rather than preserving the resource for the community, commercial salvage removes the resource from that community and places it in private hands, thus preventing public enjoyment of archaeological sites and further research into and understanding of the past. (Source)

So i agree that maybe its best if these commercial Archeologist stay away.  

What do you think?

Source of question and quote:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/eureka/article7075435.ece