Recently in Archaeology and History Category

Will the real Ark be revealed today?

An Ethiopian church leader says Friday, June 26, marks the right time to unveil the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, which he says has been hidden in his church for centuries.

Abuna Pauolos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, was in Rome this week to meet with Pope Benedict XVI. While there, he told reporters that the time had come to reveal before the world the Holy Ark. He said that the holy container has been in the custody of his church for hundreds of years.

More here. What interesting times we live in!

The spring 2009 issue of American Archaeology reports:

A complaint filed with the [EPA's] Office of Inspector General states that the EPA has routinely ignored cultural preservation laws and destroyed significant archaeological sites at toxic clean-up sites across the country...[the complaint alleges] more than 7000 cubic yards of archaeological deposits [were disturbed]...

Of course, the EPA claims these allegations are untrue. Various groups are investigating. Pick up a copy of the magazine and decided for yourself. Regardless, it is sad how much of this country's archaeological sites have been destroyed and still are in danger. If you want to help change that, check out the Archaeological Conservancy. -D

Touchstone Mag:

An interesting article, two actually, on Gobleki Tepe, an archaeological site in eastern Turkey that was viewed in the 1960s by a team from the University of Chicago and passed over as a "medieval cemetery. It turns out Gobleki Tepe seems to predate Stonehenge by 6,000 years, which is more time than that separting Stonehenge from us.

More here.

All you amateur archaeologists out there, beware:

Subtitle D of the bill called the "Paleontological Resources Preservation Act" would make it illegal to "excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological resources located on Federal land" without special permission from the government.

"Paleontological resource" is defined in the bill as "any fossilized remains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in or on the earth's crust, that are of paleontological interest and that provide information about the history of life on earth." Penalties for violations include up to five years in jail.

Berlau believes picking up rocks could be interpreted as a violation of the law since most would fit the broad definition under the law.

The forfeiture provision is effective before a trial and conviction, making the defendant guilty until proven innocent, Berlau suggests.