================================================================
explorator 7.43                                February 20, 2005
================================================================
Editor's note: Most urls should be active for at least eight
hours from the time of publication.

For your computer's protection, Explorator is sent in plain text
and NEVER has attachments. Be suspicious of any Explorator which
arrives otherwise!!!
================================================================
================================================================
Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Bill Kennedy, Adrian Murdoch, Croman
mac Nessa, Dave Sowdon, Dave Stephens, Francis Deblauwe, Donna
Hurst, Glenn Meyer, Nancy Jenner, Gina Salapata, John Hall,
John Hill, John McMahon, John Keough, Joseph Lauer, Louis A.
Okin, Mata Kimasitayo, Maurice O'Sullivan, Tom Lewis, Michael
Oberndorf, Mark Morgan, Richard C. Griffiths, r.m. howe, Rick
Pettigrew, Sally Winchester, Tony Jackson, Mike Ruggeri,
W. Richard Frahm, Trevor Watkins, and Yonatan Nadelman for
headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one
out).

... sorry we're a bit late this a.m. ... it was a very busy
week!

================================================================
================================================================
AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA
================================================================
Some skulls found in 1967 have been redated, making them the
oldest homo sapiens skulls ever found:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/science/17human.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1487266,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4269299.stm
http://tinyurl.com/47m9p (Seattle PI)
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050214/full/050214-10.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6976946/
http://tinyurl.com/69rh8 (Eurekalert)
http://tinyurl.com/3whc3 (National Geographic)

The Neanderthal-Homo Sapiens relationship gets the John Noble
Wilford treatment:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/science/15nean.html

Some Akkadian cuneiform tablets have been found in Iran:

http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=4822

Some commentary on the recent dating of Edom:

http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/soc/EDOM.asp
http://tinyurl.com/4bt3k (Tribune)
http://tinyurl.com/3nucv (City Herald)
http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=4818

Assorted Egyptian updates:

http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/4/

A very brief item on the discovery of a 'Bronze Age complex'
on Cyprus:

http://tinyurl.com/6zgcf (Kathimerini)

Plenty of coverage of the discovery of remains of a large
building (dubbed a palace) in Rome's forum dating to the 8th
century B.C.:

http://tinyurl.com/5lsev (AP via Yahoo)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/science/AP-Romes-Origins.html
http://tinyurl.com/49ejl (Seattle Times)
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-rome15.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6969426/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6993255/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6969268/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1414799,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/6ua4h (Reuters)
http://www.tgcom.it/cronaca/articoli/articolo243183.shtml
(Italian)
http://www.studenti.com/site/news_detail.aspx?Sez=UN&;IdNews=1611
(Italian)

... extended articles (in Italian) at:

http://www.fastionline.org/docs/2004-20.pdf
http://www.fastionline.org/docs/2004-27.pdf

Remains of a Roman brothel were found during construction of
an Ikea store:

http://tinyurl.com/5fvmk (Daily Record)

Another suggestion for the site of the battle of Mons Graupius:

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=169512005

A couple of Roman coffins were found in the UK this week ...
one had a mummified (in gypsum) body in it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4265899.stm
http://tinyurl.com/65o3t (Leeds Today)
http://tinyurl.com/4zcs5 (Yorkshire Post)

... and a wooden one (which may have been found a while ago,
actually):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1473382,00.html

A tomb containing a lituus was found (all Italian coverage):

http://www.basilicatanet.it/news/article.asp?id=306042

I thought there'd be more coverage in English of this one ...
maybe next week ... they've discovered what was touted (in the
4th century) as the tomb of St. Paul:

http://www.cathnews.com/news/502/107.php
http://tinyurl.com/48hgm (AdnKronos ... Italian)

A metal detectorist found a rather large torc this week:

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4145935
http://tinyurl.com/3ula3 (Guardian)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/4275065.stm
(photo)

... while another in Norfolk found a hoard of Roman coins:

http://tinyurl.com/5gzza (EDP24)

Plenty of coverage of the discovery of an ancient city
uncovered by the recent tsunami:

http://tinyurl.com/6u4xr (AP via Yahoo)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6993215/
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&;ObjectID=10010991
http://tinyurl.com/4e7zo (JPost)
http://tinyurl.com/4gs2h

The capital of the founder of the Xia Dynasty may have been
found:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/15/content_2579598.htm

12,000 b.p. cultivated rice?:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/16/content_2583267.htm

Interesting item from Al-Ahram on the discovery of some Coptic
manuscripts in Al-Gurna:

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/730/he1.htm

A big dig is getting under way in Cologne:

http://tinyurl.com/4w9nv (IOL)
http://tinyurl.com/4wmtc (Expatica)

================================================================
THE AMERICAS
================================================================
Recent discoveries are pushing back the date of human occupation
in Kansas:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/509818/
http://tinyurl.com/5coz8 (AP via Yahoo)
http://tinyurl.com/3jfn7 (Rocky Mountain News)

A Pueblo site in downtown Santa Fe:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6986684/

Early hunters in Baja:

http://tinyurl.com/6tk39 (Union-Tribune)

A Mi'kmaq site in Nova Scotia:

http://tinyurl.com/4zlea (CBC)

Pottery is presented as proof that the Olmecs were a 'mother
culture':

http://tinyurl.com/48jco (Washington Post)

Recent droughts are minor compared to those in the past:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6970736/

A dig is just getting under way in Chattanooga:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6965474/

A general overviewish thing on the Hunley:

http://tinyurl.com/4dzxx (Myrtle Beach Online)
================================================================
ALSO OF INTEREST
================================================================
Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?:

http://tinyurl.com/6mgxn (Toronto Star)

The Chaworth Roll is coming up for auction:

http://tinyurl.com/3usrb (Telegraph)

Nice preview of the OI's forthcoming 'Margins of Writing,
Origins of Cultures' conference:

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/050217/language.shtml

A German archaeologist/anthropologist is the latest to be the
center of a 'falsifying evidence' controversy:

http://tinyurl.com/5jbn9 (Guardian)

Is that DaVinci's fingerprint?:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6974551/

Interesting piece on Diego Velazquez' "Kitchen Scene with
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary":

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/33679.html

Restoring the lustre to Iraqi monochrome artifacts:

http://www2.cnrs.fr/presse/communique/620.htm
(French)

Xanadu:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,61-1487129,00.html

Turns out English national hero Hereward the Wake wasn't
English:

http://tinyurl.com/4wh86 (Independent)

The ancient Egyptians apparently hoarded bitumen and other
petroleum products:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050214/egyptoil.html

We'll be finding out about the Tut catscan in March:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6985849/
http://tinyurl.com/52e59 (Reuters)

Did the invention of cooking cause bad teeth?:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7035

An update on various dam projects in Iran:

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11719

They're putting the 'DaVinci Code' on trial (sort of):

http://tinyurl.com/5g5ct (NYT)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6997686/
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4149934

Some fallout from the Kennewick Man thing:

http://tinyurl.com/44ykw (Seattle PI)

St. Patrick was an "astute operator":

http://tinyurl.com/635g5 (Reuters)

Coloring ancient sculptures (again):

http://tinyurl.com/3rd3l (Discovery.com)

This one's a bit old but interesting ... an interview about the
homo floresiensis discovery:

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1250924.htm

... and here's the latest about the little guy:

http://tinyurl.com/5n9ff (SMH)

Did Oetzi have perfect shoes?:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4506204

... while there was also a good feature on Oetzi:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6983084/
http://tinyurl.com/6gm6h (Reuters via Yahoo)

Nice article all about the search for the 'real' Troy:

http://tinyurl.com/52t6p (Saudi Aramco World)

What have the ancients done for us?:

http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=171532005

Looking for Thule:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/14/news/edkavenna.html

Haven't heard about the Benin Bronzes for a while:

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11720

... while Ethiopia is seeking the return of a pile of
artifacts from Italy:

http://tinyurl.com/5b6pk (METimes)

In case you're wondering about Vesuvius:

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg18524875.800

A Valentine's Day piece:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/opinion/14coontz.html
================================================================
MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS
================================================================
The Digger (February 2004):

http://www.bajr.org/DiggerMagazine/Latest/index.html
================================================================
ON THE WEB
================================================================
Nice History of Medicine site (in French):

http://www.bium.univ-paris5.fr/histmed/medica.htm
================================================================
ON  THE ARCHAEOLOGY CHANNEL
================================================================
A Chinook site on the Columbia:

http://www.archaeologychannel.org/
================================================================
CRIME BEAT
================================================================
Quite a bit of coverage of a Marine who brought back some
'trinkets' he bought from a vendor, which turned out to be
5000 b.p. cylinder seals:

http://tinyurl.com/6fa22 (NYT)
http://tinyurl.com/475c7 (Seattle PI)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/14/news/artifacts.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6981933/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6975403/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/16/fbi.looted.artifacts.reut/

... and the looting of Iraq continues:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-14-voa54.cfm

A major antiquities haul in Greece this week:

http://tinyurl.com/4rzoq (JPost)
http://tinyurl.com/6tef3 (Kathimerini)

A smuggling gang in Yemen was arrested:

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Jordan/180266

A different sort of antiquities theft ... from the trunk of a
car:

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4140840
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4270351.stm

A man is facing extradition to Russia for alleged theft of
antiquities:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/539007.html

Not sure where to put this one ... a video game just released
in Ireland is based on the theft of an antiquity:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prwebxml208213.php
================================================================
BOOK REVIEWS
================================================================
Stephen Pressfield, *Virtues of War* (fiction):

http://tinyurl.com/6pgmu (Flint Journal Review)

Elisheva Baumgarten, *Mothers and Children: Jewish Family Life
in Medieval Europe*:

http://tinyurl.com/4dph8 (JPost)

================================================================
PERFORMANCES AND THEATRE-RELATED
================================================================
Singing for Henry VIII:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/arts/music/15orla.html

Coriolanus:

http://tinyurl.com/4uujg (NYT)

Last Days of Judas Iscariot:

http://tinyurl.com/3mths (NYT)

Ismene:

http://tinyurl.com/4xamv (Tribune)

Oedipus Rex:

http://tinyurl.com/6hhde (Rocky Mountain News)

Nero Project:

http://tinyurl.com/6grrn (Cornell Daily Sun)

Rage of Achilles:

http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=2260

Trojan Women:

http://www.examiner.net/stories/021805/new_021805004.shtml

An update on the forthcoming Beowulf flick:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1412240,00.html
================================================================
EXHIBITIONS, AUCTIONS, AND MUSEUM-RELATED
================================================================
The Armored Horse in Europe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/arts/design/20gran.html

Ancient Peru Unearthed:

http://tinyurl.com/3oy52 (Globe and Mail)

New Kifissia museum:

http://tinyurl.com/5umvb (Kathimerini)
================================================================
CLASSICIST'S CORNER
================================================================
The Pro Roscio and its modern implications:

http://tinyurl.com/6oa6l (Telegraph)

Students play Mythology Jeopardy (with what I hope is a typo):

http://tinyurl.com/6uh68 (Daily News)

Classics grad students at Princeton want support in their
sixth year:

http://tinyurl.com/4to37 (Daily Princetonian)

They're talking about merging Classics with Modern Languages
at UA:

http://tinyurl.com/5q88k (Crimson White)

Roman Festival coverage:

http://www.timesbeacon.com/story/0,21731,1204746,00.html

Have you visited our Classics blog yet?

http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism/

================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Barbara Craig (Classical Archaeologist):

http://tinyurl.com/5vpmg (Guardian)
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/obituaries.cfm?id=178972005

Frederick Douglass (historial, obviously):

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0207.html

Geronimo (ditto):

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0616.html

Peter Ackroyd (Old Testament Scholar):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1484627,00.html
http://www.sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleId=369
================================================================
REPEATS
================================================================
Early Diamond Use in China:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/17/content_2586965.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050213135123.htm

Searching for Johor:

http://tinyurl.com/5uwbl (TorStar)

Statue of Hermes Earthquake-proofed:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050205105724.htm

Swedes Return Piece of Erechtheion:

http://tinyurl.com/4ldhc (Swedish)

TB v. Leprosy:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050212184622.htm
================================================================
OTHER SOURCES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS
================================================================
About.com Ancient History (blog):
http://ancienthistory.about.com/

About.com Archaeology (blog):
http://archaeology.about.com/mbody.htm

Archaeologica:
http://www.archaeologica.org/NewsPage.htm

Archaeology in Europe (blog):
http://archaeology.eu.com/weblog/

Archaeology Magazine's Newsbriefs:
http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0305/newsbriefs/index

Bible and Interpretation Breaking News:
http://www.bibleinterp.com/news.htm

CBA Newsfeed:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/newsfeed/index.html

CBA Archaeoblog:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/archaeoblog/

Classics in Contemporary Culture (blog):
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mhooker/ccc.html

Cronaca (blog):
http://www.cronaca.com/

Egyptology News (blog):
http://www.egyptology.blogspot.com/

Francis Deblauwe's 'Iraq War and Archaeology' site:
http://cctr.umkc.edu/user/fdeblauwe/iraq.html

Maritime Underwater Archaeological News:
http://www.munarchaeology.com/munarchaeology/news/main.htm

Megalithic Portal
http://www.megalithic.co.uk

Michael Ruggeri's Ancient America and Mesoamerica News:
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISANCIENT

Mirabilis.ca (blog):
http://www.mirabilis.ca

Paleojudaica (blog):
http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com

Stone Pages Archaeo News:
http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Texas A&M Anthropology News Site:
http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/news.html

================================================================
EXPLORATOR is a weekly newsletter representing the fruits of
the labours of 'media research division' of The Atrium. Various
on-line news and magazine sources are scoured for news of the
ancient world (broadly construed: practically anything relating
to archaeology or history  prior to about 1700 or so is fair
game) and every Sunday they are delivered to your mailbox free of
charge!
================================================================
Useful Addresses
================================================================
Read the latest Explorator on the web at:
http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism/categories/explorator

Past issues of Explorator are available on the web at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

To subscribe to Explorator, send a blank email message to:
mailto:Explorator-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, send a blank email message to:
mailto:Explorator-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To send a 'heads up' to the editor or contact him for other
reasons, reply to this message.
================================================================
Explorator is Copyright (c) 2005 David Meadows. Feel free to
distribute these listings via email to your pals, students,
teachers, etc., but please include this copyright notice. These
links are not to be posted to any website by any means (whether
by direct posting or snagging from a usenet group or some other
email source) without my express written permission. I think it
is only right that I be made aware of public fora which are
making use of content gathered in Explorator. Thanks!
================================================================

::Sunday, February 20, 2005 9:43:00 AM::