Subway System Excavations Important for Archaeology

MEXICO CITY.- Construction of the Metro Collective Transport System tunnels have benefited Mexican Archaeology by uncovering vestiges found in Mexico City. In 4 decades more than 20,000 objects from Prehispanic, Colonial, and Modern ages have been recovered, allowing verify information from historical documents. Archaeologist Raul Arana, who worked in the first archaeological salvage tasks conducted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in 1967, when the first 2 Metro lines were being constructed, declared so. Explorations were performed [...]

Colonial Painting Found in Palacio de Bellas Artes Restored

MEXICO CITY.- Specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) restored 40 square meters of a 17th century mural painting discovered in the subsoil of Palacio de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City, during reconditioning work conducted at the building. Fragments of mural painting were located on the rests of a wall of the former convent of Visitacion de Maria Santisima, which existed until mid-19th century in the terrain occupied to present by the Palacio de Bellas Artes. A [...]

Rock Paintings at La Pintada Archaeological Zone Catalogued

MEXICO CITY.- More than 2,000 rock paintings distributed in a natural canyon part of La Pintada Archaeological Zone, in Sonora, are being digitalized by experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). Designs reveal the world vision of ancient groups that dwelled this area 1,200 years ago, as well as at the colonization process. It has been calculated that more than 2,500 graphics are found in the area, from which 70 per cent have already been registered, with [...]

One of the Greatest Archaeological Finds in History Conquers Toronto

TORONTO.- The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) hosts the Canadian premiere of The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army from June 26, 2010. Prior to its embarking on a Canadian national tour, the exhibition will be displayed in the Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall on Level B2 of the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal until January 2, 2011. The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army showcases one of the most significant archaeological finds in history: the 1974 discovery, in Shaanxi province in north-central [...]

Archaeologists and Art Restorers Find Oldest Paintings of Apostles

ROME (REUTERS).- Archaeologists and art restorers using new laser technology have discovered what they believe are the oldest paintings of the faces of Jesus Christ’s apostles. The images in a branch of the catacombs of St Tecla near St Paul’s Basilica, just outside the walls of ancient Rome, were painted at the end of the 4th century or the start of the 5th century. Archaeologists believe these images may have been among those that most influenced later artists’ depictions of [...]

For Sale: One of the Most Significant Archaeological Projects of Recent Times

LONDON.- One of the most significant archaeological projects of recent times – a reconstruction of the great Orpheus pavement – is to be sold by Chorley’s on Thursday, 24th June 2010. Made from 1.6 million pieces of small, hand-cut clay blocks called tesserae, the 2,200 square foot (205 square metre) mosaic took 10 years for brothers Bob and John Woodward to complete. The Roman period was one of great prosperity for Britain and Gloucestershire was no exception. Large settlements were [...]

Archaeological Team’s Radar Reveals Extent of Buried Ancient Egypt City

CAIRO (AP).- An Austrian archaeological team has used radar imaging to determine the extent of the ruins of the one time 3,500-year-old capital of Egypt’s foreign occupiers, said the antiquities department Sunday. Egypt was ruled for a century from 1664-1569 B.C. by the Hyksos, a warrior people from Asia, possibly Semitic in origin, whose summer capital was in the northern Delta area. Irene Mueller, the head of the Austrian team, said the main purpose of the project is to determine [...]

Moctezuma II Exhibition Opens and Experts Hope to Uncover an Emperor’s Tomb Soon

MEXICO CITY (AP).- Archaeologists found some of the richest and most unusual Aztec offerings ever in excavations under a mammoth slab depicting an earth goddess and said Wednesday they hope to uncover an emperor’s tomb nearby. The seven offerings of strange and unparalleled oddities found under the stone slab depicting the goddess Tlaltecuhtli include the skeleton of a dog or wolf dressed in turquoise ear plugs, jadeite necklaces and golden bells on its feet. The 4-meter (13-foot) long carving of [...]

French Engineer Saves Damascus Treasures

DAMASCUS (REUTERS).- When French engineer Jacques Montlucon bought one of the famed, centuries-old courtyard houses of Old Damascus six years ago he had no idea it contained an architectural marvel. But Montlucon, who has restored artifacts from the Titanic and helped rescue goods from a sunken Napoleonic merchant ship, has a knack for uncovering the unexpected. “I was removing the heavy varnish covering the wood-paneled walls in the iwan (reception room) when figures of painted strange birds, monsters and castles [...]

More than 100 Impressive and Intact Ancient Cultic Vessels were Found

JERUSALEM.- A natural hollow in the bedrock that was exposed in archaeological excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority prior to the installation of the northern gas pipeline by the Israel Natural Gas Lines Company, at the foot of Tel Qashish (Tell el Qassis), did not cease to provide ancient surprises. For two weeks archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority excavated the contents of the rock-hollow and removed from it more than 100 intact cultic vessels and other extraordinary items that [...]

Ancient Pottery Tradition Rediscovered & Transformed at Crystal Bridges

BENTONVILLE, ARK.- More than 50 years ago young Juan Quezada stumbled upon ceramic fragments from a lost civilization. Come see how this chance discovery inspired Quezada and the people of Mata Ortíz, Mexico to revive the art of their ancestors and bring new economic life to their tiny village. Both contemporary pottery handcrafted by artists from Mata Ortíz and the centuries-old ceramics that inspired the revival are featured in Transforming Tradition: Pottery from Mata Ortíz, organized by The Field Museum [...]

Mexican Archaeologists will Return to Egypt

MEXICO CITY.- After 5 years of uninterrupted archaeological, restoration and iconographic interpretation work, the Mexican delegation in charge of conservation at the Theban Tomb 39, in Egypt, will begin the 6th field season in September 2010. The goal is to open the site to public in 2013. Exploration at the Theban Tomb 39 continues to the exterior of it, since work at the interior is concluded, informed Dr. Angelina Macias Goytia, researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History [...]

Spain’s Cultural Ministry to Reopen Caves of Altamira Despite Scientists’ Warnings

MADRID (AP).- A cave complex boasting prized prehistoric paintings will reopen after eight years of closure, despite scientist’s warnings that heat and moisture from human visitors damage the site known as the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic Art. The Culture Ministry and the site’s board of directors said Tuesday that visits to the Caves of Altamira in the northern Cantabria region will resume next year, although on a still-unspecified, restricted basis. The main chamber at Altamira features 21 bison painted in [...]

Offerings to Tlaltecuhtli to be Exhibited at Moctezuma II

MEXICO CITY.- Nearly a hundred Prehispanic objects deposited by Mexica as offerings dedicated to Tlaltecuhtli, goddess of the Earth, will be displayed for the first time at the exhibition Moctezuma II. Tiempo y Destino de un Gobernante (Moctezuma II. Time and Destiny of a Ruler), to be open in the second half of June 2010 in Templo Mayor Museum. The pieces exhibited at the show organized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) are part of 16 offerings [...]

Athens’ Parthenon Scaffold-Free for First Time in Years

ATHENS.- Visitors to Athens have a rare window of opportunity to see the showpiece Parthenon temple on the ancient Acropolis without scaffolding for the first time in nearly 30 years as a major restoration work nears completion. The Greek government launched a project to restore the Parthenon and other buildings on the world heritage site in 1975, but it was not until 1983 that work started. Scaffolding has been up somewhere around the ancient temple ever since. But from now [...]