Viking Burial

A 1,000 year old viking burial discovered in Scotland.

The Cremation of Sam McGee

An interesting article from The Vancouver Sun about phonograph records recovered from a ship that sank almost 110 years ago—Phonograph records recovered from Gold Rush wreck. So what song did Gold Rushers listen to as to as they cruised up the Yukon River? Seems like "Ma Onliest One", "The Harp that Once thro' Tara's Halls" and "Rendez Vous Waltz".

The ship was actually found at the bottom of Lake Laberge—the setting of Robert W. Service's grisly poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee". So after you read the article, you can listen to Johnny Cash's reading of Service's poem below.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Pt. 2

Earlier I posted a video of Werner Herzog discussing his upcoming 3D film, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams". Filmed in the Chauvet Cave near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France, it will travel through one of the earliest palaeolithic rock art galleries know to exist. Here is a trailer for the film.

Amelia Earhart Found?

It appear that—73 years after she went missing—the remains of Amelia Earhart may have been found.

The Antikythera Mechanism

A Lego recreation of an ancient Greek device used to predict eclipses. More videos and information at the guardian.co.uk here.

The Book of the Dead

The link below goes to a video on the British Museum's new exhibit that contains the longest know Book of the Dead. It has great images of the various spells needed to reach paradise.

A rare view of Egyptian Book of the Dead

King Herod's Theater Box

An article and photographs about the excavation of King Herod's theater box. Left out of the article is whether or not he watch beheading from this box.

King Herod's VIP Box Excavated

Rare Roman Helmet

From National Geographic:

A rare Roman helmet dating to the late first to second century A.D. fetched nearly $3.6 million dollars at a London auction on October 7.

The bronze helmet and face mask was discovered in May 2010 by a treasure hunter using a metal detector in a field in Cumbria, a county in northwestern England.

The helmet was described by Christie's auction house as "an extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith."

Both the sellers and winning bidder have remained anonymous.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Roger Ebert's current Journal entry, Men passed this way long ago, is a review of the new Werner Herzog film Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Filmed in 3d, the documentary is about the 30,000 year old paintings discovered inside the Chauvet Cave in France. Here are some clips of Herzog discussing the film, including, at the end of the second video, some interesting comments on the physiology of watching 3d movies.

King Tut’s Family Secrets

If Queen Elizabeth thought she has problems with her family, she should read this article from National Geographic about King Tut's family. Mores might have been different thousands of years ago. Still this family seems a bit dysfunctional to me. Of course the archaeologist haven't determined if any of Tut's relatives every had to declare bankruptcy.

King Tut’s Family Secrets

Archaeology in the News

Two recent archaeological finds. The boat from the World Trade Center site has been brought to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory in St. Leonard, Maryland, for conservation and study. Not sure what has become of John the Baptist.

Earliest Paintings of Jesus's Apostles

It was announced at a press conference in Rome that the oldest known images of the apostles Peter, Andrew and John have been uncovered in one of the city's Christian catacombs.

Paul, Peter, John and Andrew

The Archimedes Palimpsest

Here is a 3 part video about the Archimedes Palimpsest. I saw the Palimpsest several years ago when it was displayed at the Walters Art Museum. I think the restoration has been completed, and I am not sure where it is now.

Old Shoe

A video about the discovery—in Armenia—of the earliest known shoe in the world.

The Missing Link

An article from the AP about the identification of the mummy of King Tut's Father, Akhenaten. Akhenaten is most interesting because of the similarity between his religious beliefs and Christianity. There were 1,300 years between Akhenaten and Jesus, but many believe there is an, as of yet, undocumented connection between them.

Mummy of Egypt's monotheist pharaoh to return home