I Thought...

...they were going to say Vodka, but I was wrong:

Workers Accidentally Dug Up These Solid-Gold Artifacts, But They Were STUNNED To Find out What They Actually Were

"Workers unearthed these ancient relics in Russia while digging holes to install power lines along with some other precious items including three gold cups, a finger ring, two neck rings, and a gold bracelet. However, they still had to figure out the mystery about what the artifacts were.

There was only one clue: a strange black substance inside of the items. After hiring a criminologist to determine what it was, they had their answer. These ornate, 2,400 year old artifacts are essentially old world “bongs” and the black residue was remnants of opium and cannabis (Emphasis mine).

Shocked? Don’t be. It’s believed that the Scythian tribes, a race of warriors who ruled much of Eurasia for over 1,000 years, were thought to smoke both substances in order to prepare their minds for battle."

Very, Very Interesting

Archaeologists Discover Remains of Egyptian Army From the Biblical Exodus: Media Ignores

"...a group of scientists lead by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have recovered a total of more than 400 skeletons, hundreds of weapons, pieces of armor and the remains of two war chariots scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters.

They estimate 5000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area – a huge army for it’s day! And not a peep from the mainstream press..."

Very, Very Interesting!!! And Then Some

Archaeologists unearth new tombs in Egypt, identifying unknown queen

Queen Khentakawess III's tomb found in Egypt

I wonder what the phrase "identifying unknown queen" means in the PBS report? Obviously, the BBC knew her name. Perhaps it means this was a queen who was previously unknown, but then again, how did BBC manage to name her? I any case, having been to Egypt many years ago, I have been interested in these ancient tombs and the treasures they contain. I find it more than interesting to compare the status of women in modern Islamic Egypt compared to ancient Egypt. I wonder if al-Sisi knew about this find before he spoke yesterday?

Digging Up New (Er) Old Stuff

Archaeologists discover 1,000,000 mummies in Egypt

Stonehenge Discovery Summary: Prehistory Has Changed Forever!

6,000 year old encampment found at Stonehenge

Very Timely

Synagogue where Jesus likely preached uncovered in Israel

Forbidden Love?

Ancient Skeletons Found Holding Hands in England

Skeletons found 'holding hands' after 700 years

Skeletons discovered holding hands 700 years after being buried

They have to have been buried alive.

Wouser!!

First, there was the discovery of Franklin's ship, some discoveries of ancient ruins underneath Stonehenge, ancient Jewish artifacts in Israel, and now this: a 232.08 carat white diamond. Next thing you know, they'll finally find Harper's hidden agenda.

Don't tell the Pals

Ancient Golden Treasure Discovered by Jerusalem's Temple Mount

"The gold rush has begun at the foot of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. During summer excavations conducted by Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, two bundles of treasures were found. The treasure trove contained 36 gold coins, gold and silver jewelry, and a gold medallion with the menorah (Temple candelabrum) symbol etched into it. Also etched into the 10-cm medallion are a shofar (ram's horn) and a Torah scroll. The extraordinary find is known as the "Ophel Treasure."

The ancient menorah medallion, shown below, is most likely an ornament for a Torah scroll making it the earliest Torah scroll ornament found to date in archaeological excavations. Several other Torah scroll ornaments, including a smaller gold medallion, two pendants, a gold coil and a silver clasp, were found buried with the medallion."

Super Cool

Viking fortress discovered

"Archaeologists in Denmark have found a ring-shaped Viking fortress on the island of Zealand, around 50km south of Copenhagen. It is the fifth circular fortress to be unearthed, and the first in more than 60 years.

Lasse Sonne, a Viking historian at the University of Copenhagen, said: "Although there were Vikings in other countries, these circular fortresses are unique to Denmark. Many have given up hope that there were many of them left."

Like previously discovered ring fortresses, the Vallo Borgring is thought to date back to the late 10th century and the reign of Harald Bluetooth, the King who christianised Denmark and Norway.

Some historians contend the fortresses were constructed by his son Sweyn Forkbeard, the first Danish King of England, as a military training camp or barracks from which to launch his invasions of England.

Forkbeard seized London in 1013 and was declared King of England."

Viking 'ring fortress' discovered in Denmark

"Historians believe distinctive geometric fortresses may have been built by Sweyn Forkbeard as a military training camp from which to launch his invasion of England"

ARRRRGH!

And even more super cool:

Greece unearths two Caryatids at massive Alexander-era tomb

"Greek archaeologists have unearthed two beautiful Caryatids during the ongoing excavation at the massive Alexander the Great era tomb in the ancient city of Amphipolis in northern Greece, the culture ministry announced on Sunday.

The two statues of female figures which are similar to the Caryatids known worldwide from the Acropolis temples in Athens were found on Saturday.

They were made of marble from the nearby island of Thassos and support expectations of experts that the newly discovered burial site at Amphipolis, at a distance of about 550 km north of the Greek capital, was of a high ranking official at the hierarchy of the Macedonian kingdom in the fourth century B.C.

Over the past month, since Greek archaeologists first unveiled the entrance of the tomb, the largest ever discovered in Greece, they have managed to discover two spectacular three-meter-high sphinxes, a sculpted 5 meter high lion, a mosaic and other exquisite findings."

[---]

"Most Greek archaeologists have ruled out the possibility that the tomb could be that of Alexander the Great himself as he is believed to have been buried in Egypt in 323 B.C.

However, Alexander's Persian wife, Roxana, and his son, Alexander IV, were banished to Amphipolis and murdered there in around 310 B.C. and other important figures of the time could be buried at the site."

Stunning Alexander-era statues found guarding ancient tomb in Amphipolis, Greece

"The two female figures in long-sleeved tunics were found standing guard at the opening to the mysterious Alexander The Great-era tomb near Amphipolis in the Macedonia region of northern Greece, archaeologists said.

"The left arm of one and the right arm of the other are raised in a symbolic gesture to refuse entry to the tomb," a statement from the Culture Ministry said.

Speculation is mounting that the tomb, which dates from Alexander's lifetime (356-323BC), may be untouched, with its treasures intact.

Previous evacuations of Macedonian tombs have uncovered amazing troves of gold jewellery and sculptures."

[---]

"Theories abound about who could be buried in the tumulus tomb, ranging from Alexander's Bactrian wife Roxane, to his mother Olympias or one of his generals.

Experts say the chances of Alexander himself being buried there are small, however.

After his death at 32 in Babylon, the most celebrated conqueror of the ancient world is believed to have been buried in Alexandria, the Egyptian city he founded - although no grave has ever been found there."

Al Baby, Is That You?

Mystery over massive Alexander-era tomb unearthed

Alexander The Great's Tomb Possibly Found In Greece

Archeologists in Greece find large, 'extremely important' tomb from era of Alexander the Great

Ancient Macedon Tomb Discovered in Modern Greece

"The tomb, which dates from around 300BC and is thought to be the largest yet discovered in the country, lies in the ancient Kingdom of Macedon, which now forms part of modern northern Greece. Because of the age, size, and form of decoration it has been suggested by some that the complex may belong to one of Alexander's senior generals or a member of his family, although no specific evidence as to the inhabitant has been uncovered yet.

Due to the ravages of time and iconoclasty of the subsequent Roman occupation of Greece, discovering the exact form is like a jigsaw puzzle for archaeologists who have discovered a large stone lion and a pair of sphinx at the site.

In ancient mythology, the Sphinx was an intelligent and dangerous lion with a human head and wings who acted as guardians and sentinels. In the eponymous Greek myth, Oedipus answers the riddle of the Sphinx to free the city of Thebes in Egypt. Protecting this tomb with a pair of protective creatures shows the deceased for whom it was built was revered and deserving of protection."

CBC Has Some "Splainin'" To Do

Haida Gwaii underwater archeological expedition returns

"Underwater archeologists with Parks Canada have returned from an expedition that took them below the surface in B.C.'s Haida Gwaii region.

The team spent two weeks using a combination of high-tech underwater tools and scuba diving to look for historic artifacts in Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve.

Jonathan Moore, one of the archeologists, says they found remains of structures such as piers and wharves that were once connected to mining villages, fish canneries and other industrial sites."

What???? You mean sea levels have risen before?? You better ask your in house expert, David Suzuki, to explain.

Wow!

As you can see, this is making headlines all over the world. But will the CAGW crowd notice the obvious: vis, water levels have been rising for a while now and landscapes and their related flora and fauna do move along with it. The Indian Industry will want to milk this for all it's worth, too, although there is really nothing new about this.

Ancient Hunting Grounds Discovered Beneath The Waters Of Lake Huron


Archaeologists find 9,000-year-old Hunting Drive Lane Under Lake Huron


Ancient Caribou Hunting Site Found Under Lake Huron

Ancient Caribou Hunting Site Discovered Beneath Lake Huron

Ancient Caribou Hunting Maze Discovered Under 120 Feet Of Water At Lake Huron


Ancient hunting camp found beneath Lake Huron


Prehistoric hunting structures found under Lake Huron


Prehistoric hunting structures found in Lake Huron

Ancient caribou hunting site discovered beneath Lake Huron

9k year-old hunting site immersed in 120 feet water found

Ancient Caribou Hunting Maze Discovered Under 120 Feet Of Water At Lake Huron

Lake Huron Found to Be Sitting Atop Ancient Caribou Hunting Structure


9,000-Year-Old Caribou Hunting Site Found underneath Lake Huron

Scientists Find Ancient Hunting Structures and Camps beneath Great Lakes

Researchers Uncover Prehistoric Hunting Site at Bed of Lake Huron


Lake Huron holds 9,000-year-old hunting blinds

The Humble Rat...

...will be seeking reparations:


Black death was not spread by rat fleas, say researchers

Everything you know about the Black Death is wrong, say the bones.

Skeletons reveal secrets of Black Death that plagued Europe 600 years ago – and its unfortunate victims

Black Death victims 'cosmopolitan

660-year-old mystery solved? British experts say they have found lost Black Death graves


London skeletons yield clues to Black Death


Crossrail skeletons ARE plague dead: Remains could form Black Death burial site

Black Death skeletons unearthed by Crossrail project


Skeletons rattle dark secrets about London Black Death

Bottom line. Bubonic Plague was airborne, not spread by fleas. You can go back to being dirty.

Oh!! The Indian Industry...

...is not going to like that!

Don't Blame Columbus for all the Indian's Ills

"Europeans first came to the Western Hemisphere armed with guns, the cross and, unknowingly, pathogens. Against the alien agents of disease, the indigenous people never had a chance. Their immune systems were unprepared to fight smallpox and measles, malaria and yellow fever.

The epidemics that resulted have been well documented. What had not been clearly recognized until now, though, is that the general health of Native Americans had apparently been deteriorating for centuries before 1492.

That is the conclusion of a team of anthropologists, economists and paleopathologists who have completed a wide-ranging study of the health of people living in the Western Hemisphere in the last 7,000 years.

The researchers, whose work is regarded as the most comprehensive yet, say their findings in no way diminish the dreadful impact Old World diseases had on the people of the New World. But it suggests that the New World was hardly a healthful Eden."

[---]

"More than 12,500 skeletons from 65 sites in North and South America -- slightly more than half of them from pre-Columbians -- were analyzed for evidence of infections, malnutrition and other health problems in various social and geographical settings.

The researchers used standardized criteria to rate the incidence and degree of these health factors by time and geography. Some trends leapt out from the resulting index. The healthiest sites for Native Americans were typically the oldest sites, predating Columbus by more than 1,000 years. Then came a marked decline.

'Our research shows that health was on a downward trajectory long before Columbus arrived,' Dr. Richard H. Steckel and Dr. Jerome C. Rose, study leaders, wrote in "The Backbone of History: Health and Nutrition in the Western Hemisphere," a book they edited. It was published in August."

[---]

"Similar signs of deleterious health effects have been found in the ancient Middle East, where agriculture started some 10,000 years ago. But the health consequences of farming and urbanism, Dr. Rose said, appeared to have been more abrupt in the New World.

The more mobile, less densely settled populations were usually the healthiest pre-Columbians. They were taller and had fewer signs of infectious lesions in their bones than residents of large settlements. Their diet was sufficiently rich and varied, the researchers said, for them to largely avoid the symptoms of childhood deprivation, like stunting and anemia. Even so, in the simplest hunter-gatherer societies, few people survived past age 50. In the healthiest cultures in the 1,000 years before Columbus, a life span of no more than 35 years might be usual."

[---]

"'Pre-Columbian populations were among the healthiest and the least healthy in our sample,' Dr. Steckel and Dr. Rose said. 'While pre-Columbian natives may have lived in a disease environment substantially different from that in other parts of the globe, the original inhabitants also brought with them, or evolved with, enough pathogens to create chronic conditions of ill health under conditions of systematic agriculture and urban living.'

In recent examinations of 1,000-year-old Peruvian mummies, for example, paleopathologists discovered clear traces of tuberculosis in their lungs, more evidence that native Americans might already have been infected with some of the diseases that were thought to have been brought to the New World by European explorers.

Tuberculosis bears another message: as an opportunistic disease, it strikes when times are tough, often overwhelming the bodies of people already weakened by malnutrition, poor sanitation in urban centers and debilitated immune systems."

Moving right along....The destruction of The Industry is neigh.

Digging...

...up the past. It's amazing what they find:

One of the oldest cases of tuberculosis is discovered Seven thousand years, or more, and I had the dumb luck to be born just about the time when effective treatment and prevention routines were developed!!

Discovery of 1.4 million-year-old fossil closes human evolution gap

"Humans have a distinctive hand anatomy that allows them to make and use tools. Apes and other nonhuman primates do not have these distinctive anatomical features in their hands, and the point in time at which these features first appeared in human evolution is unknown.

Now, a University of Missouri researcher and her international team of colleagues have found a new hand bone from a human ancestor who roamed the earth in East Africa approximately 1.42 million years ago. They suspect the bone belonged to the early human species, Homo Erectus. The discovery of this bone is the earliest evidence of a modern human-like hand, indicating that this anatomical feature existed more than half a million years earlier than previously known."

Remember that next time you're peeling potatoes.

Why did anatomically modern humans replace European Neandertals 40,000 years ago? They're still trying to figure out what did the Neandertals in. I maintain they are still with us. Some of them are posting comments on SNN's website.

And speaking of creepy-crawly things: Tiktaalik roseae shows signs of rear-leg development

That was long before we began dragging our knuckles.

Hmmmmm.

DNA from a 50,000 year old toe shows Neanderthals were highly inbred

"The DNA studies have now proved that Neanderthals and modern humans interbred, a question that scientists have disagreed over for years. In fact, it is currently estimated that between 1.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent of the genomes of modern non-African people can be traced to Neanderthals."

I've known people who were Neanderthal-like. This could explain some of my observations.

Christmas Roundup

Thank you, Madam:

Sikh MP wishes ‘Merry Christmas’, slams political correctness



First snow in Egypt in 112 years. Well, they said it was "climate change", not global warming, ya know.

Funny, they just had the annual gathering of the warmanistas nearby, too. Pretty soon there won't be any place they'll be able to hold it. Perhaps somewhere along the equator. Maybe Zaire.

I guess it's too late to hold it in Rome:

Study: Earth was warmer in Roman, Medieval times

"A Swedish study found that the planet was warmer in ancient Roman times and the Middle Ages than today, challenging the mainstream idea that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are the main drivers of global warming.

The study, by scientist Leif Kullman, analyzed 455 “radiocarbon-dated mega-fossils” in the Scandes mountains and found that tree lines for different species of trees were higher during the Roman and Medieval times than they are today. Not only that, but the temperatures were higher as well."

RTWT

Nasty, brutish and short, as well as twisted, sick and inbred.

PS: Looks like there was snow all over the Middle East.