Archaeology news for October 15-November 1

[jeweledeyes]

Hi everyone, so sorry I have been AWOL the last month. And as DW's reading page only goes back 2 weeks, I was only able to catch up on the news from Nov. 1 on, apart from some stuff I'd bookmarked elsewhere throughout October. So here is a somewhat patchy version of the back news items for the second half of October:

Firstly, steorra shared an article from The Guardian following up on one of the previously posted articles about an "ancient" statue of Buddha carved from meteorite. According to The Guardian, there is now some doubt about the antiquity of this carving: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/oct/24/nazi-buddha-statue-space-fake

Study suggests that Alexandria was built to align with rising sun on birthday of Alexander the Great
http://www.livescience.com/23994-ancient-city-alexandria-sun.html

Cat discovers 2,000-year-old Roman catacomb
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/18/cat-2000-year-old-roman-catacomb

Breakthrough in world's oldest undeciphered writing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19964786

Lost Tomb of Nebamun Found?
http://www.kv64.info/2012/10/lost-tomb-of-nebamun-found.html
(Here is the research paper on it, if anyone speaks German:
http://www.dainst.org/sites/default/files/media/abteilungen/kairo/projekte/rundbrief_2011.pdf)

Forensic Science Demonstrates Accuracy of Roman-Era Mummy Portraits
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/10/27/modern-science-unravels-ancient-mummy-mysteries/
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/10/28/68-Early-Egyptians-were-as-talented-in-painting-as-architecture.html

And an animated "Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome"
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-glimpse-of-teenage-life-in-ancient-rome-ray-laurence

Updates for November 2-15 coming right up!

Archaeology news for November 2-15

[jeweledeyes]

Bulgaria claims to find Europe's 'oldest town'
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-11-02/news/34881950_1_stone-walls-excavations-excavation-work

Princess tomb unearthed in Egypt
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-03/princess-tomb-unearthed-in-egypt/4351100
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/5th-dynasty-princess-tomb-discovered-in.html

'Island of Blue Dolphins' Cave Possibly Found
http://news.discovery.com/history/juana-maria-cave-121101.html
(If any of you live in CA, you'll likely have read the book by Scott O'Dell in fourth grade... I'm pretty excited right now)

8,500-Year-Old Murder Mystery Uncovered
http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-murder-mystery-121109.html

Small lethal tools have big implications for early modern human complexity
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/asu-slt110512.php
http://news.discovery.com/human/early-human-tools-121107.html

'Vampire' Skeleton Rediscovered in Britain
http://news.discovery.com/history/vampire-skeleton-rediscovered-121108.html

Humans Caused Historic Great Barrier Reef Collapse
http://news.discovery.com/earth/great-barrier-reef-collapse-121107.html

Mongolia and the Altai Mountains: Origins of genetic blending between Europeans and Asians
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/uadb-mat111212.php

Desecrated ancient temple sheds light on early power struggles at Tel Beth-Shemesh
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/afot-dat111212.php

Early Human Ancestors Ate Grass
http://news.discovery.com/human/early-human-ancestors-ate-grass-121112.html

Mayan Bones Reveal Painful End During Spanish Conquest
http://news.discovery.com/history/mayan-bones-pre-historic-121114.html

Mercury poisoning ruled out as cause of Tycho Brahe's death
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/au-mpr111512.php

'It’s not like CSI': The science of the search for Richard III
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/uol-nl111512.php

Archaeologists identify oldest spear points
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/asu-aio111312.php

Neanderthals May Have Sailed to Crete
http://news.discovery.com/history/neanderthals-sailed-mediterranean-121115.html

Scientists improve dating of early human settlement
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/sfu-sid111512.php

And in somewhat trivial matters, I found it kind of hilarious to see these two headlines on the same page:
'Hobbit' Banned as Name for Hobbit
Dino Named After Lord of the Rings' Sauron
So in other words...one scientist is prohibited for using a Tolkien name for a real-life species, the next day another names a species of dinosaur with a Tolkien name from the same franchise. Why not?