Night metal detectors 'looting Britain' Archaeologists have warned that Britain's historical artefacts are being looted by unscrupulous metal detector enthusiasts. They believe "nighthawking" - illegal searches at protected historical sites, the removal of items without permission from landowners or the failure to declare valuable finds - is being fuelled by the internet, which allows criminals to make thousands of pounds selling jewellery and ancient coins.
A Herefordshire Councillor is leading a surge of anger against Herefordshire Council both locally and nationally for the secretive way in which it has made a decision to concrete over the now famous 'Rotherwas Ribbon' something the council's own archaeologist has described as having international significance. Supporters are urged to visit The Rotherwas Ribbon Campaign site to register their support.
A councillor is leading a surge of anger against Herefordshire Council for the 'secretive' way in which it has made a decision to concrete over the now famous 'Rotherwas Ribbon'. Green Councillor Gerald Dawe, whose ward includes the now world-famous 'Rotherwas Ribbon', has described the proposal to concrete over this hugely significant find as cultural vandalism of the highest order.
Most historians, educators and others now celebrating `Archaeological Week', seem to be exclusively preoccupied with the Sri Lanka's agro-based inland civilization. But a deeper understanding of our society and the island's past is not possible without knowledge of her maritime heritage. While saga of the ill-fated Titanic has mesmerised the world for decades, at least 100 wrecked ships lie at the sea bottom all around Sri Lanka although no proper records of these ill-fated vessels have been kept. A large number of these are legacies from the colonial past. They have to be retrieved scientifically without detriment to their archaeological status. Around the Bay of Galle alone there are over 20 shipwreck sites some dating possibly to the 10th Century.
Baronstown Monument destroyed The huge archaeological monument of Baronstown, a possible candidate for a National Monument, was destroyed in the early hours of Wednesday 4th. July when machinery moved onto the site at 4am. When protesters arrived at 6am the entire site had been completely razed to the ground. This was an extraordinary site described recently by archaeologist Joe Fenwick as a "multi-period, archaeological complex" that was much more extensive than the declared National Monument of Lismullin.
A team of archaeologists, led by Walter Alva, have discovered the wooden tomb of another member of the Mochica culture's elite - older than the "Señor de Sipan" (Lord of Sipan). These findings belong to the Moche civilization, which ruled the northern coast of Peru from the time of Christ to 800 AD, centuries prior to the Incas. Alva has stated that he and his team are investigating and within the next few days will know the role of this noble in the Mochica society.
Diggers constructing a new access road have uncovered a mysterious serpent-shaped feature, dating from the early bronze age. The 60m long ribbon of stones, found in Rotherwas, near Hereford, is thought to date from the same period as Stonehenge, roughly 2000 BC. County archaeologist Dr Keith Ray said as far as he is aware the stone feature is unique in Europe.
3,000 year-old artefacts found in Dak Lak Vietnamese archaeologists have unearthed a significant cache of 3,000 year-old artefacts in Krong Pach district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Thousands of ceramic pieces, hundreds of stone tools, including various axes and jewellery, and four tombs were found during an excavation conducted at the Rau village archaeological site in La hamlet, Hoa Tien commune - Tran Quy Thinh from the Vietnam Archaeology Institute.
A ribbon of fire-cracked stones carefully laid to form a surface and dating back to the same period as Stonehenge has been uncovered during the construction of a road in Herefordshire. Archaeologists believe this major find may have no parallels in Europe, with the closest similar artefact being the 2,000-year-old serpent mounds of the Ohio river valley in America. Dated as being constructed during the Early Bronze Age (2,000BC), it runs broadly at right angles (north to south) to the new Rotherwas access road, being constructed by Alfred McAlpine to the south of Hereford City and which prompted the archaeological dig which uncovered the find.
Chinese researchers say they have found a strange pyramid-shaped chamber while surveying the massive underground tomb of China's first emperor and theorise it was built as a passageway for his soul. Remote sensing equipment has revealed what appears to be a 100-foot-high room above Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb near the ancient capital of Xi'an in Shaanxi province. The room has not been excavated. Diagrams of the chamber are based on data gathered over five years, starting in 2002, using radar and other remote sensing technologies. According to Archaeologist Liu Qingzhu of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences the room is unlike any ever found in a Chinese tomb. Archaeologists theorize that because the room was built on top of Qin's mausoleum and seems to have ladder-like steps leading up, it was intended as a passageway for his spirit.