Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,

John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo,

Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,

Richard Miller, Kris Curry, Rick Heli, Richard C. Griffiths, Frank MacKay,

Don Buck, mata kimasitayo, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week

(as always hoping I have left no one out).

Corrigenda: our mention of a reauthentication of a Rembrandt last week was mistakenly located at the UPenn Museum; it should have bee the Allentown Art Museum. Apologies …

================================================================

EARLY HOMINIDS

================================================================

Evidence suggests a human presence of some sort in India before and after a volcanic eruption 74 000 years bp:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200225114416.htm

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/mpif-hps022020.php

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-human-populations-survived-toba-volcanic.html

https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-human-populations-may-have-survived-one-of-the-biggest-volcanic-eruptions-in-2-million-years

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/when-a-supervolcano-erupted-these-ancient-people-survived-the-blankets-of

https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/humans-survived-volcanic-super-eruption-research-suggests

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/02/people-survived-the-toba-supervolcanos-global-winter-after-all/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-evidence-shows-super-volcano-eruption-was-survivable-180974298/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8486-200226-mount-toba-population

Evidence of a healed fracture in a child’s leg from Israel, 35 000 years bp:

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Was-a-prehistoric-Magen-David-Adom-fixing-legs-35000-years-ago-618249

Daniel Everett was talking about the origins of language:

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/2/27/daniel-everett-origins-language/

Rethinking the evolution of the human foot:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00472-z

================================================================

AFRICA

================================================================

More on evidence of fish consumption in the pre-desert Sahara as a reflection of climated change in Africa:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/19/ancient-fish-meals-chart-sahara-climate-shift-savannah-desert

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8476-200224-libya-takarkori-fish

================================================================

ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT

================================================================

The Dendera Temple will be reopening soon:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/dendera-temple-to-open-after-restoration-work/

Photos from the restored pyramid of Djoser:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/82013/In-Pics-Restoration-works-of-Pyramid-of-Djoser-completed

Greece and Egypt are joining forces to combat smuggling:

https://news.gtp.gr/2020/02/24/greece-egypt-join-forces-against-antiquities-smuggling/

Documentary hype for a program about the finds at Quibbet el-Hawa a while back:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1247698/egypt-treasure-tutankhamun-tomb-aswan-cartonnage-mask-found-spt

On why Egypt is moving assorted monuments around:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/egyptian-government-moving-ancient-monuments/

More on those 5000+ years bp clay coffin burials from Dakahlia:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/11037540/ancient-egyptian-skeletons-clay-coffins/

More on that image of a leopard found inside a 3 000 years bp sarcophagus:

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2020/02/20/leopard-guardian-of-mummy-discovered-in-aswan_2609cbaf-4ade-4d9b-b107-47753572f095.html

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-deity-year-old-coffin.html

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8477-200224-egypt-aswan-leopard

More on ‘Nefertiti’s tomb’ possibilities:

https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/nefertitis-burial-chamber-could-unveil-more-pharaoh-secrets-1341300

https://www.qt.com.au/news/huge-secret-discovered-in-ancient-tomb/3951352/

https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/huge-secret-discovered-in-ancient-tomb/3951352/

Some additional ‘game pieces’ have been found at the Basur Mound in Turkey:

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/missing-pieces-of-ancient-game-set-found-152398

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8484-200226-turkey-game-pieces

A German-Iranian group has started a dig at Kerman:

http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/445684/Iranian-German-archaeologists-experts-start-project-in-Kerman

Last week we mentioned an inscription which was being associated with Midas … there was more coverage:

http://news.uchicago.edu/story/oriental-institute-archaeologists-help-discover-lost-kingdom-ancient-turkey

https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-mound-in-turkey-discovered-to-be-mysterious-ancient-kingdom-lost-in-history

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-inscription-unveils-king-who-may-have-toppled-midas-180974275/

https://www.livescience.com/lost-city-turkey-defeated-midas.html

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8482-200225-turkey-stele-luwian

… and the BIAA released a statement that the finds (from Turkmen-Karahoyuk) don’t have much to do with Midas at all:

https://biaa.ac.uk/news/item/name/biaa-statement-on-media-coverage-of-recent-discoveries-at-turkmen-karahoyuk

More on the Canaanite temple complex found at Lachish:

https://www.livescience.com/canaanite-temple-in-buried-city-israel.html

… and the letter:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-lachish-temple-the-earliest-example-of-the-letter-samekh?source=articles&via=rss

Studying the ink used to create the DSS:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Could-studying-ancient-ink-help-shed-new-light-on-the-Dead-Sea-Scrolls-618933

Feature on Jewish cliff shelters in the Roman period Galilee:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2020/02/cliff-shelters

A confiscation dispute involving the Palestinian Authority:

http://thejewishvoice.com/2020/02/pa-is-confiscating-rare-ancient-archeological-finds/

… and anger at the PA’s use of tel Aruma:

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/palestinian-authority-converts-ancient-hasmonean-jewish-fortress-into-a-palestinian-tourist-site/2020/02/23/

Concerns arising from a planned Western Wall train:

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-planned-western-wall-train-will-threaten-historic-jerusalem-spring-report-says-1.8592985

BAR’s latest issue looks at the various sites claiming to be the biblical Bethsaida:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/first-person-bob-cargill/first-person-where-is-the-real-biblical-bethsaida/

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/excavating-el-araj-a-candidate-for-biblical-bethsaida/

The IAA’s Pnina Shor has retired:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/the-iaas-pnina-shor-retires/

Review of Eric Cline, *Digging up Amargeddon*:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00510-w

New US restrictions on trafficking of Yemeni antiquities:

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2150886/washington-imposes-restrictions-prevent-trafficking-yemeni-antiquities-its-soil

https://yemenonline.info/society/3112

================================================================

ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)

================================================================

A Roman-era horse fibula from Lincolnshire:

https://lincolnshirereporter.co.uk/2020/02/veteran-finds-incredibly-rare-roman-horse-brooch-in-lincolnshire/

https://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/whats-on/entertainment/incredibly-rare-roman-horse-brooch-found-in-lincolnshire-the-leasingham-horse-1-9249387

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/experts-amazed-after-incredibly-rare-3899808

Redevelopment work in Guildhall revealed remains of a Roman road:

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18270651.roman-road-found-guildhall-redevelopment/

Finds from various periods including a Roman road and some tweezers from a home development site near Chesterfield:

https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/people/roman-remains-found-major-development-near-chesterfield-2003750

An interesting inscription once associated with Jesus’ burial has had a bit of a rethink:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/tablet-thought-have-guarded-tombs-after-jesus-s-death-may-not-be-what-it-seems

A 3rd/4th century necropolis from Ragusa:

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2020/02/24/archaeology-necropolis-discovered-migrants-working-on-dig_d142cc90-4a26-41db-84a1-1f0a43b89e63.html

Some coins found where the Albrighton Roman coin hoard was found back in 2005 have been declared treasure:

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/albrighton-and-cosford/2020/02/28/roman-coin-hoard-declared-treasure/

Another Roman hoard is being used as possible evidence of a previously unknown settlement in Cumbria:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-51626126

https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/18270455.barrow-dad-of-five-speaks-rare-roman-coin-discovery/

Plans to restore the Patara lighthouse:

https://www.dailysabah.com/life/history/ancient-patara-lighthouse-to-shine-on-antalya-shores-centuries-later

More on the restoration of that 2000 years bp silver Roman pugio from Germany:

https://www.livescience.com/roman-iron-dagger-sheath.html

More opinons on Oxford’s pondering of dropping Homer and Vergil from part of their classics curriculum:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/02/oxford-should-keep-homer-virgil-on-syllabus/

https://www.theblaze.com/news/oxford-faculty-may-nix-homers-iliad-virgils-aeneid-from-classics-syllabus-to-close-attainment-gaps-among-students

https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2020/02/17/94749/

https://www.thearticle.com/why-oxford-dons-who-want-to-downgrade-homer-and-virgil-are-deluded

https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/02/27/in-defence-of-homer/

Feature on the memorization of epic poetry:

https://daily.jstor.org/how-do-we-know-that-epic-poems-were-recited-from-memory/

Feature on Greek art in not-Greek museums:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/02/23/ten-magnificent-greek-works-of-art-found-in-foreign-museums/

A philosopher pondering some Greek philosophers:

https://neoskosmos.com/en/158997/on-the-trail-of-the-greek-philosophers/

Pondering Plato’s politics (and possible woman problems):

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-01/did-platos-the-republic-have-a-woman-problem-emily-hulme-kozey/12006292

Tom Palaima was among those commenting on the origins of Leap Year this week:

https://news.utexas.edu/2020/02/29/why-do-we-have-a-leap-year-two-ut-austin-experts-explain/

Joel Christensen was pondering Greek notions of ‘alternative facts’:

https://theconversation.com/the-ancient-greeks-had-alternative-facts-too-they-were-just-more-chill-about-it-131815

Louise Hitchcock was revisiting ‘Black Athena’:

https://neoskosmos.com/en/159033/black-athena-and-the-incredible-whiteness-of-being/

Christophe Rico was talking about the importance of ancient languages:

http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2020/02/ancient-greek-language-expert-speaks-with-students-at-lunch-table/

Boris Johnson blocked Mary Beard from becoming a BM trustee:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/01/british-museum-put-mary-beard-on-the-board-despite-downing-st-veto

Cathy Keane was talking about curse poetry:

https://classics.wustl.edu/news/cathy-keane-speaks-langford-conference-classics

Peter Jones on Boris Johnson and ancient brevity:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2020/02/boris-is-taking-an-emperors-approach-to-briefings/

Marcus Aurelius helped someone:

https://aeon.co/ideas/marcus-aurelius-helped-me-survive-grief-and-rebuild-my-life

An AIA award for a UCincy student:

https://www.newsrecord.org/news/uc-classics-graduate-student-third-in-a-decade-to-win/article_29837c4a-5735-11ea-b948-bf83532dcf7c.html

Feature on Nashville’s Parthenon replica:

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/02/27/nashville-tennessee-boasts-a-full-size-replica-of-the-parthenon/

More on that possible shrine to Romulus in the Roman forum:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/rome-shrine-romulus/index.html

https://www.herald-dispatch.com/ap/ap_nation/roman-forum-find-could-be-shrine-to-rome-s-founder/article_60456fbb-283c-518c-90b4-4ba7e0ce0e1e.html

More on the plans for the Faliri mass burial site:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/39093-compromise-between-ancient-necropolis-and-modern-cultural-center-in-athens.html

More opEds on what should or shouldn’t be done with the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-sane-move-is-to-give-greece-back-its-elgin-marbles-pblzmp3dp

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/39085-washington-post-greece-should-be-the-keeper-of-the-elgin-marbles.html

https://www.cityam.com/debate-is-there-a-case-for-britain-keeping-the-elgin-marbles/

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/02/24/major-british-newspapers-side-with-greece-over-parthenon-sculptures/

https://news.gtp.gr/2020/02/25/city-of-athens-joins-call-for-return-of-parthenon-marbles-to-greece/

More on ‘Classical architecture’ demands in Washington:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/29/classical-beauty-rightwing-donald-trump-buildings

—–

Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/

================================================================

EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)

================================================================

A 7300 years bp ‘murder mystery’ from a cave site in the Pyrenees:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/02/20/actualidad/1582220182_932734.html

A 5000 years bp sword from Venice:

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/culture/2020/02/28/archaeology-5000-year-old-sword-discovered-in-venice_bd0e7b77-15fc-4772-bc20-68afa0c4a6d5.html

Some 2500 years bp tools/weapons from Shropshire have been declared treasure:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-51648847

Guanche civilization burials/remains from a cave on the Canary Islands:

https://nypost.com/2020/02/24/drone-finds-lost-tomb-with-72-ancient-skeletons-from-extinct-canary-islands-civilization/

Possible remains of Squire Pope manor from Bluffton:

https://www.blufftontoday.com/news/20200228/archaeologists-find-remnants-of-what-could-be-squire-pope-manor-in-bluffton

Renovations at Westminster have led to the rediscovery of a ‘secret doorway’:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-51630630

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-51634202

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/26/westminster-secret-passageway-discovery-reveals-169-year-old-graffiti

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/28/810345171/long-forgotten-secret-passageway-discovered-in-a-wall-at-u-k-parliament

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/secret-17th-century-passageway-rediscovered-british-house-commons-180974297/

Concerns about detectorists at historical sites in the UK:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gangs-of-detectorists-plunder-nations-historic-sites-at-night-tn7qtmwxj

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/feb/28/illegal-metal-detecting-at-english-heritage-sites-doubles-in-two-years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51669348

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/yorkshires-historic-sites-are-being-targeted-illegal-nighthawking-thieves-2004178

cf: https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/metal-detecting-event-near-kelpies-unearths-ancient-roman-artefact-2001872

Lancaster is trying to bring the Silverdale Hoard back to where it was found:

https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/people/1100-year-old-viking-treasure-silverdale-hoard-set-return-home-2003433

Plans to clear a woodland at Worlebury Hill Fort:

https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/worlebury-hill-fort-group-supports-plans-to-remove-woodland-1-6531706

Feature on Ireland’s literary history:

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/charting-the-evolving-story-of-ireland-s-literary-history-1.4172541

Feature on Spain’s ‘underwater Stonehenge’:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200227-spains-mysterious-underwater-stonehenge

I think we’ve mentioned this ‘mysterious’ French inscription from Plougastel-Daoulas which has now been translated:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-winning-translations-announced-mystery-inscription-french-towns-boulder-180974302/

https://www.livescience.com/mystery-inscription-translated.html

Pondering what to do with the Debod Temple in Madrid (not sure where to put this one)

More on that ‘wall of bones’ found beneath a 17th century cathedral in Belgium:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/walls-made-ancient-human-leg-bones-unearthed-beneath-church-belgium-180974255/

More on that medieval chapel site found at Auckland Castle:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/durham-chapel-prince-bishops-auckland-castle-civil-war-cofe-middle-ages-a9344821.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/site-long-lost-chapel-blown-1650s-discovered-northern-england-180974270/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8479-200224-england-princely-chapel

================================================================

ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

================================================================

Carbon dating confirms that the Sanauli necropolis in UP is 3800 years bp:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-largest-known-burial-site-is-3800-yrs-old-confirms-carbon-dating/articleshow/74254040.cms

Remains of a 4000 years bp (or so) ‘crafts village’ in Varanasi:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/remains-of-3500-yr-old-human-settlement-found/articleshow/74292351.cms

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/bhu-archaeologists-unearth-4000-yr-old-crafts-village-in-varanasi-46075

More evidence of a pre-Harrapan settlement in Kutch:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/lakhpat-throws-up-more-pre-harappan-proof/articleshow/74346621.cms

Vague item on remains of human settlements (date?) in Nepal:

https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/remains-of-ancient-settlements-found-tilaurakot-kapilvastu/

Gold coins found at a temple site in Tiruchirapalli (paywalled possibly):

https://www.opindia.com/2020/02/tamilnadu-jambukeswara-temple-gold-coins-pot-hr-ce-archeology-treasure/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/gold-coins-of-yore-found/article30924975.ece

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8490-200228-india-gold-coins

The tombs at the Taj Mahal were cleaned up prior to Trump’s visit:

https://www.dw.com/en/india-taj-mahals-tombs-cleaned-for-first-time-in-300-years-for-donald-trump/a-52473956

Concerns for Konark temple statues:

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/state-editions/asi-negligence–konark-temple-statues-damaged.html

More on the ‘clachan’ in South Australia:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/fu-oi021620.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200218104731.htm

https://www.irishpost.com/news/old-irish-clachan-settlement-found-south-australia-archaeologists-180362

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8478-200224-australia-irish-clachan

================================================================

NORTH AMERICA

================================================================

Poking around an 18th century Virginia garden:

https://www.dailypress.com/virginiagazette/news/va-vg-cw-excavations-custis-0213-20200226-bta7puorc5bdpa3z33fsacuhoe-story.html

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8487-200227-virginia-custis-square

A metal detectorist in Florida came across a few coins from an 18th century Spanish shipwreck:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/28/spanish-coins-1715-shipwreck-unearthed-florida-beach/4902578002/

An undocumented 19th century African-American cemetery found during home renovations in Georgetown:

https://wjla.com/news/local/undocumented-cemetery-under-georgetown-home

Girl Scouts help dig at the birthplace of their organization’s founder:

https://www.savannahnow.com/news/20200222/girl-scouts-join-in-archaeology-dig-at-historic-savannah-home

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/girl-scouts-join-archaeological-dig-birthplace-founder-juliette-gordon-low-180974279/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8481-200225-juliette-gordon-low

Pondering the burials in Halifax’s Old City:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/jonathan-fowler-halifax-burial-ground-cemetery-archeology-1.5471209

Restoration work on a gun from the USS Monitor:

https://www.dailypress.com/history/dp-nw-monitor-ironclad-gun-boring-mariners-museum-20200226-ksjsfig4uzdxdgdqsnyimjm7jq-story.html

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8489-200227-civil-war-guns

We will soon hear about those possible Revolutionary War burials found beneath a Connecticut home:

https://whdh.com/news/scientist-to-discuss-findings-in-exam-of-18th-century-bones/

Ongoing vandalism concerns at sites in Utah:

https://www.ksl.com/article/46721796/utahs-cultural-heritage-is-under-threat-archeologists-seek-solutions-as-vandalism-grows

Creating ‘digital blueprints’ of sites on the Yukon’s Herschel Island:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/herschel-island-digitzation-project-1.5474338

More African American burials found in Clearwater:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2020/02/28/lost-african-american-graves-discovered-in-clearwater/

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article240761331.html

Interesting feature on an 18th century slavewoman in Massachusetts who sued for her freedom (and won):

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/27/809723362/in-the-1700s-an-enslaved-massachusetts-woman-sued-for-her-freedom-and-won

Feature on the US’s first women voters:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/arts/first-women-voters-new-jersey.html

More on the Erebus:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/erebus-wreck-exploration-franklin-expedition-mystery-artifacts-1.5469843

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8480-200224-arctic-artifacts-erebus

================================================================

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

================================================================

A ‘big data’ approach to archaeology of the Inca Empire is generating interest:

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-big-yield-discoveries-archaeology-scholar.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/bu-bdc022520.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200225154333.htm

A rethink of the relationship between Teotihuacan and Tikal:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/astounding-new-finds-suggest-ancient-empire-may-be-hiding-plain-sight

Vague item on the ‘recovery’ of an ancient monolith depicting a feline of some sort (date?):

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/02/monolith-recovered-by-mexican-archaeologists-in-yucatan/

What LiDAR is revealing about the longest Maya road and why it might have been built:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uom-mtr022420.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200224152707.htm

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-modern-technology-reveals-secrets-great.html

https://newatlas.com/science/archaeology-laser-lidar-maya-road/

https://news.miami.edu/stories/2020/02/modern-technology-reveals-old-secrets-about-the-great-white-maya-road.html

https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/lasers-reveal-secrets-of-an-ancient-maya-highway-and-a-powerful-warrior-queens-empire/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8485-200226-mexico-maya-sacbe

A walled up passage in the governor’s palace at Uxmal:

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2019/12/secret-passage-discovered-in-maya-city.html

Marking the 150th anniversary of the ‘War of the Triple Alliance’:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/27/paraguay-war-of-the-triple-alliance-anniversary

Coverage of a symposium on Teotihuacan:

https://elpais.com/internacional/2020/02/26/la_serpiente_emplumada/1582732365_803086.html

Review of Vincent Brown, *Tacky’s Revolt*:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/29/tackys-revolt-review-britain-jamaica-slavery

—–

Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News:

http://goo.gl/1VdeA

Ancient MesoAmerica News:

http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/

================================================================

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

================================================================

On the ‘slip between the cup and the lip’:

https://www.reporterherald.com/2020/02/27/trivially-speaking-exploring-the-slip-between-the-cup-and-the-lip/

Pondering what ‘Western culture’ is:

https://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2020/02/western-mystery-an-analysis-of-western-culture

A selection of items explaining Leap Year:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-51591171/leap-years-and-why-we-need-them

https://www.livescience.com/45768-gregorian-calendar.html

https://www.readingeagle.com/living/albright-college-physics-professor-leaps-into-facts-about-feb/article_8eeddb80-5810-11ea-9c28-3775f0178693.html

Berlin has renounced von Hindenburg’s honorary citizenship:

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-strips-hitler-kingmaker-paul-von-hindenburg-of-honorary-citizenship/a-52555525

A lost 1000 years bp Hebrew Bible turns up on a Cairo synagogue shelf:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lost-1000-year-old-hebrew-bible-found-on-dusty-cairo-synagogue-shelf/

Feature on St David:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/tnMKjGs1cPKj9GKkHx3xQ1/st-davids-big-life-hack

Marking Beethoven’s 250th birthday:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/travel/vienna-bonn-beethoven-250th-anniversary.html

Feature on turning papyrus into paper:

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/how-to-turn-papyrus-into-paper/

Feature on Animism:

https://aeon.co/ideas/ancient-animistic-beliefs-live-on-in-our-intimacy-with-tech

Haven’t read a claim about the Holy Grail in a while:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/02/24/actualidad/1582544428_484428.html

A new cabinet for Jeremy Bentham:

https://londonist.com/london/jeremy-bentham-s-body-gets-a-new-box

Arguing over the ‘nationality/nationalities’ of Spain:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/02/24/actualidad/1582544863_181774.html

Marking the centennial of ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’:

https://www.dw.com/en/100-years-ago-premiere-of-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari/a-52546831

https://www.deutsche-kinemathek.de/de/besuch/ausstellungen/du-musst-caligari-werden-das-virtuelle-kabinett

Feature on ‘shapeshifting buildings’:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/buildings-that-transform-through-history/index.html

How a Colorado community avoided the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/gunnison-colorado-the-town-that-dodged-the-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic

A feature on a 15th century book of manners:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dont-pick-your-nose-15th-century-manners-book-warns-180974291/

https://www.livescience.com/medieval-manners-manuscript-15th-century.html

Feature on Egyptian cotton:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-end-of-egyptian-cotton

Feature on Rumi:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/opinion/rumi-poems.html

A 46 000 years bp frozen bird from Siberia:

https://www.livescience.com/ice-age-bird-permafrost.html

Something about human seed dispersal and evolutionary responses in plants:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/mpif-asd022020.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200227114450.htm

================================================================

MUSEUM MATTERS

================================================================

Age Old Cities:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/take-virtual-walk-through-these-war-torn-ancient-cities-180974289/

Raphael Tapestries:

https://www.jpost.com/International/Raphaels-tapestries-return-to-the-walls-of-the-Sistine-Chapel-618587

Sinai icons:

http://vrc.princeton.edu/sinai

https://orthochristian.com/128784.html

https://aleteia.org/2020/02/22/sinai-monasterys-icons-now-available-online

Tantric Buddhism:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/feb/23/tibetan-objects-made-of-human-remains-to-go-on-show-at-british-museum-tantric-buddhism

Piranesi:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/architecture/piranesi-paved-way-hogwarts/

Van Gogh:

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/van-gogh-portrait-of-dr-paul-gachet

Belle Epoque Paris:

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/27/809631184/get-a-glimpse-of-labor-leisure-and-everyday-life-in-paris-belle-poque

https://www.nortonsimon.org/exhibitions/2010-2019/by-day-and-by-night-paris-in-the-belle-epoque/

Michelangelo Drawings:

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/rare-michelangelo-drawings-on-view-at-the-getty-center/

Gentileschi:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/feb/29/artemisia-gentileschi-national-gallery-baroque-heroine-female-caravaggio

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/artemisia

Antiquities and the Greek War of Independence:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-03/01/c_138830968.htm

Victorian Radicals:

https://news.yale.edu/2020/02/27/victorian-radicals-art-reflects-and-reacts-industrialization

Documents of Jewish History:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Little-known-Jewish-history-of-Sicily-on-display-centuries-after-expulsion-618527

Staffordshire Hoard at Sutton Hoo:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-51637638

India’s Forgotten Masters:

https://hyperallergic.com/544531/remembering-indias-forgotten-artistic-masters/

Van Eyck:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/arts/design/jan-van-eyck-ghent.html

Celebrating Senhouse Roman Museum’s 30th anniversary:

https://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/18256691.senhouse-roman-museum-maryport-celebrates-30-years/

Hyping the impending opening of the GEM:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/opening-of-grand-egyptian-museum-will-be-biggest-ceremony-in-egypts-history-minister/

… and some ‘heavy artifacts’ are in place:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/82119/22-heavy-artifacts-placed-on-GEM%E2%80%99s-grand-staircase

… and ticket prices were announced:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypt-officially-announces-gem-ticket-prices-denies-rumors-of-le-500-entrance-fee-for-egyptians/

The Met is updating its British Galleries with a slavery connection:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/29/met-new-york-updating-british-galleries-show-wealth-built-slave/

… and adjusted a description of some Nazi loot:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/arts/design/Metropolitan-Museum-Jewish-Owner.html

Dresden has a new gallery for Old Masters:

https://www.dw.com/en/dresden-old-masters-picture-gallery-reopens/g-52556608

Water damage at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (!):

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/02/12/actualidad/1581513354_554926.html

================================================================

AUCTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

================================================================

William Spohn Baker medals:

https://www.inquirer.com/arts/dennis-rodman-former-agent-dwight-manley-buyer-philadelphia-pa-historical-society-baker-collection-medals-20200228.html

================================================================

THE TECHY SIDE

================================================================

Feature on applying virtual and augmented technologies to ancient sites:

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-virtual-reality-ancient-cities-life.html

================================================================

ON THE DNA FRONT

================================================================

A major study of the genetic history of Sardinia:

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/biological-sciences-articles/sardinia-ancient-dna

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-ancient-dna-sardinia-reveals-years.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoc-adf022420.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200224131137.htm

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8488-200227-sardinia-genetic-history

DNA reveals the relationship between farming and DNA:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/farming-gave-us-salmonella-ancient-dna-suggests

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8483-200225-salmonella-genome-analyzed

DNA reveals a complex pattern of prehistoric migration from Africa, Asia, and Europe to the Mediterranean islands:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200226095426.htm

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uov-emi022620.php

DNA connects some folks to slaves at the Belvoir Plantation:

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/belvoir-plantation-dna-ancestors-slaves/31098650#

… in a similar vein:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/25/lost-lineage-quest-identify-black-americans-roots/

Applying DNA research to unmarked burials in Quebec:

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-anonymous-combining-genetics-genealogy-dead.html

================================================================

TOURISTY THINGS

================================================================

Nemrut:

https://www.dailysabah.com/life/travel/world-heritage-in-turkey-nemrut-the-mountain-of-gods-salutes-anatolia

Nile:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/egypt-river-nile-attractions/index.html

Medieval bridges:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/02/27/paco_nadal/1582789937_279648.html

================================================================

PERFORMANCES

================================================================

Conversations with Homer:

https://www.sfcv.org/event/sf-state-center-for-modern-greek-studies/conversations-with-homer

Hadestown:

https://theboar.org/2020/02/hadestown-musical-for-our-times/

Sweet Land:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/arts/music/sweet-land-opera.html

Spanish towns:

https://elviajero.elpais.com/elviajero/2020/02/13/actualidad/1581594728_655008.html

================================================================

CRIME BEAT

================================================================

Some Australian nationals were arrested in Beirut in possession of some ancient artifacts:

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/aussies-held-over-beirut-haul-of-ancient-artefacts/news-story/d5ad08752fbc914698ee6c45f4d67fea

Latest Anonymous Swiss Collector Culture Crime News:

http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/2020/02/culture-crime-news-17-23-february-2020.html

conflict antiquities:

http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/

anonymous swiss collector:

http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues:

http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/

Looting Matters:

http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/

Illicit Cultural Property:

http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/

SAFE:

http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/

================================================================

REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY

================================================================

Historians are calling for the return of the remains of Napoleon III to France:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/29/call-napoleon-iii-part-post-brexit-deal/

More on the Netherlands returning a crown to Ethiopia:

https://theunionjournal.com/netherlands-returns-stolen-18th-century-crown-to-ethiopia/

Suggestion that the Rosetta Stone will never return to Egypt:

https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/rosetta-stone-return-egypt-museum-a4370731.html

Mexico returned a Yoruba sculpture to Nigeria:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-51657151

https://www.courthousenews.com/mexico-returns-ancient-sculpture-to-nigeria/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8491-200228-mexico-nigeria-yoruba

Native American peoples are seeking items back from the British Museum:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/native-tribes-want-mayflower-loot-back-ljw2bbppc

================================================================

NUMISMATICA

================================================================

Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v23/club_nbs_esylum_v23n08.html

… and the one which should appear later today:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v23/club_nbs_esylum_v23n09.html

————————

Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

================================================================

OBITUARIES

================================================================

Katherine Johnson:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/smithsonian-curators-remember-katherine-johnson-nasa-mathematician-dies-101-180974262/

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/katherine-johnson-nasa-mathematician-and-much-needed-role-model

Robert H. Dyson:

https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/robert-h-dyson-jr-archaeologist-hasanlu-golden-bowl-penn-museum-dies-20200225.html

Freeman Dyson:

https://www.livescience.com/freeman-dyson-dead-at-96.html

Clive Cussler:

http://www.startribune.com/clive-cussler-adventure-novelist-dies-at-88-in-arizona/568213962/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/27/clive-cussler-obituary

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/books/clive-cussler-dead.html

Anne Marion:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/us/anne-marion-dead.html

================================================================

AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS

================================================================

Audio News from Archaeologica:

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2948-audio-news-from-archaeologica-feb-16-through-feb-22-2020

================================================================

GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS

================================================================

Archaeology Magazine News Page:

http://www.archaeology.org/news/

About.com Archaeology:

http://archaeology.about.com/

Ancient Digger:

http://www.ancientdigger.com/

Archaeology Briefs:

http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/

Past Horizons:

http://www.pasthorizons.com/

Stonepages:

http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator:

http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/

Time Machine:

http://heatherpringle.wordpress.com/

================================================================

PODCASTS/VODCASTS

================================================================

Archaeosoup:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch

Archaeology Podcast Network:

http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/

The Book and the Spade:

http://www.radioscribe.com/bknspade.htm

================================================================

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