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).

… I hope everyone is having a happy festive season! It appears to be

‘top discoveries’ of the year/decade week …

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

EARLY HOMINIDS

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

The Apidima 1 skull made a ‘top discoveries of 2019’ list:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/scientists-find-the-oldest-human-skull-outside-of-africa

… as did the discovery of homo luzonensis:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/new-species-of-ancient-human-found-in-philippines

Further studies on Otzi’s ‘hunting kit’:

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8313-191223-otzi-bow-quiver

In case you missed the reconstruction of ‘Denise’ last September:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Hebrew-U-researchers-win-Peoples-Choice-Award-for-breakthrough-research-611837

More on the ‘last stand’ of homo erectus in South East Asia:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50827603

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/12/when-did-homo-erectus-die-out-a-fresh-look-at-the-demise-of-an-ancient-human-species-over-100000-years-ago/

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AFRICA

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

More on that settlement found at Aksum:

https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-site-buried-under-ethiopia-was-once-a-pillar-of-the-powerful-aksum-empire

More on what ostrich shell beads tell us about assort ancient peoples:

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001354578/the-tiny-ostrich-eggshell-beads-that-tell-story-of-africa-s-past

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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT

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Some ‘top ten’ lists of Egyptian finds from 2019 (not necessarily the same):

https://www.ibtimes.sg/10-archaeological-discoveries-egypt-that-stunned-researchers-2019-36668

https://www.cairoscene.com/Buzz/Egypt-s-Top-10-Archaeological-Discoveries-of-2019

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79149/Egypt-amazes-the-world-with-its-discoveries-part-1

… and the Ministry of Antiquities had a couple of lists:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/78946/Min-of-Antiquities-discoveries-of-2019

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/78975/More-on-Min-of-Antiquities%E2%80%99-achievements-of-2019

I think we mentioned this colossal Horus statue found at Luxor:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/9/358052/Heritage/A-granodiorite-colossus-of-Horus-unearthed-in-Egyp.aspx

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8317-191226-egypt-horus-statue

Egypt is moving four sphinxes (sphinges?) from Karnak Temple to Tahrir Square:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79106/Four-sphinxes-to-be-transferred-from-Karnak-Temple-to-Tahrir

https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypt-begins-moving-luxor-sphinxes-to-tahrir-square/

Feature on Khaled al-Anany:

https://egyptindependent.com/profile-khaled-al-anan-the-first-minister-of-antiquities-and-tourism/

Feature on one of the ‘celestial’ gems found in Tut’s tomb:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2019/12/04/gemstone-found-in-king-tuts-tomb-formed-when-a-celestial-body-collided-with-earth/#6bb6997e47dd

A renovated 19th century synagogue will be reopening soon; more renovations to synagogues in Egypt are planned:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/historic-synagogue-in-alexandria-set-to-be-reopened-following-major-renovation/

More on explaining hieroglyphs with emojis:

https://www.dw.com/en/emoglyphs-emojis-reminiscent-of-ancient-egyptian-writing-says-museum/a-51770895?maca=en-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-html-newsletter

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-museum-exhibit-explores-the-emojis-of-ancient-egypt/

https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2019/12/22/museum-in-jerusalem-explains-the-emojis-of-ancient-egypt

More on those ‘head cones’:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5406801/scientists-find-1st-physical-evidence-of-head-cones-often-depicted-in-ancient-egyptian-art-1.5397740

A cuneiform tablet depicting the Assyrian demon responsible for epilepsy:

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/cuneiform-tablet-shows-demon-that-assyrians-believed-caused-epilepsy/

An Achaemenid Pool from Pasargadae:

https://ifpnews.com/achaemenid-pool-discovered-in-irans-pasargadae

A 2800 years bp Phoenician family burial from Achziv:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-tomb-of-phoenician-father-mother-and-child-found-in-israel-1.8315668

https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-discover-phoenician-family-tomb-in-ancient-city-of-achziv/

Nice feature on recent 9000 years bp finds at Motza (from another ‘top stories’ list):

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/excavations-at-motza-reveal-the-9-000-year-old-town-was-mega-huge

The ‘Gabriel stone’ made another list:

https://www.ibtimes.sg/archaeological-finding-hebrew-text-near-dead-sea-lands-new-controversy-36750

More on that stone being connected by some to the Ark of the Covenant at Beit Shemesh:

https://aleteia.org/2019/12/22/unusual-stone-discovered-near-jerusalem-might-be-connected-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/

More on that Neolithic breakwater (?) off the Carmel Coast:

https://www.sciencealert.com/discovery-of-wall-built-to-hold-back-rising-oceans-7-000-years-ago-tells-a-bleak-story

The top ten discoveries of 2019 in ‘Biblical archaeology’ (two different lists):

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/december/biblical-archaeologys-top-10-discoveries-of-2019.html

https://www.ibtimes.sg/biblical-discoveries-2019-archaeologists-made-these-amazing-findings-linked-jesus-36520

Feature on childhood in Biblical times:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-rethinking-childhood-in-biblical-times-1.8320142

Feature on the ‘manners’ section of Hammurabi’s Code:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/30/hammurabis-code-of-manners

Feature on what Jesus looked like:

Feature on a project to return ancient plants to Israel:

https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/293833/biblical-plants-israel

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/12/Jesus-Look-Like

Not sure where to put this one: interesting feature connecting underwater volcanism to the rise of Islam:

https://www.juancole.com/2019/12/undersea-volcanoes-easternhtml

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

ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)

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

A 4th century BCE Scythian ‘Amazon’ with an interesting headdress found near the Middle Don River:

https://phys.org/wire-news/338286244/archaeologists-found-the-burial-of-scythian-amazon-with-a-gold-h.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/arsc-aft122519.php

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8315-191226-russia-scythian-women

Roman and later artifacts found in burials near an airport in Baginton:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-50809706

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1221916/archaeology-news-roman-empire-UK-coventry-airport-anglo-saxon-history

More on those most-recently found pair of Bronze Age tombs from Pylos:

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/pylos-artifacts-07956.html

The ‘most important’ Greek discoveries of 2019:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/12/28/the-most-important-ancient-greek-archaeological-discoveries-of-2019/

The ‘Roman Wall’ of Iran made a top discoveries list:

https://ifpnews.com/roman-wall-of-iran-among-top-2019-discoveries-live-science

Turkey is focusing on Patara in 2020:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2019/12/24/turkey-declares-2020-as-year-of-ancient-city-of-patara

Feature on the Gosford Wellhead:

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2020/gosford-wellhead-ancient-roman-masterpiece

Interesting statistical pattern found in the deaths of Roman emperors:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/s-tor121819.php

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-time-to-death-roman-emperors-distinct-pattern.html

Reviving a suggestion that a Jewish author may have been first to record the destruction of Pompeii:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/could-a-jewish-author-have-been-first-to-record-destruction-of-ancient-pompeii/

Suggestion that Mortimer Wheeler ‘made up’ the Dorset Maiden Castle massacre (43 CE):

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7826865/Archaeologist-accused-inventing-AD43-battle-digging-skeletons-ancient-tribe.html

A London restaurant plans to recreate ancient Pompeiian menus:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dine-doomed-pompeiian-upscale-eatery-180973859/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/t-magazine/heston-blumenthal-pompeii-dinner.html

Feature on that possible evidence for crucifixion found in Italy a while ago:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2019/12/23/heel-bone-from-italy-is-only-second-example-of-crucifixion-ever-found/

A statue of Diana ‘appeared’ in a Roman canal:

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/statue-of-goddess-diana-appears-in-rome-canal.html

Feature on Bernini’s ‘Apollo and Daphne’:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-berninis-apollo-daphne-unnerving-depiction-unwanted-desire

Talking about Madeline Miller’s *Circe*:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/in-circe-this-witch-is-more-artist-than-immortal

Documentary hype for a feature on Vindolanda letters (it seems):

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1214367/archaeology-news-roman-empire-mystery-vindolanda-tablets-hadrians-wall-spt

Feature on colors originally on Roman statuary:

https://www.vox.com/2019/12/23/21013071/colorful-roman-statues-white-marble

Classicists weigh in on some misappropriation of Classics at Wake Forest:

https://www.journalnow.com/opinion/columnists/t-h-m-gellar-goad-and-caitlin-hines-classics-displays/article_b890d751-7b82-54ef-b9b7-22cfe647c802.html

Fighting to keep Latin alive at an Australian school:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/severe-backlash-school-community-fights-to-keep-latin-classes-20191220-p53lxi.html

On past damage to the Parthenon Marbles:

https://www.thenationalherald.com/276658/parthenon-marbles-damaged-by-vandals-british-museum-cleaning/

Some changes to tickets to the Colosseum (which may or may not be accurate, I’m told):

http://www.ansa.it/english/news/lifestyle/travel/2019/12/24/colosseum-tickets-to-include-roman-forum_de443d7a-b915-42d6-868d-50fd7b90c92a.html

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2019/12/24/colosseum-tickets-to-include-roman-forum_d1fc8fd0-aaaf-48d0-89a2-381c7c8f2d74.html

More on plans to open the Kasta Tomb at Amphipolis to the public:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/38275-greek-government-preparing-kasta-tomb-in-amphipolis-to-receive-visitors-from-2022.html

https://www.argophilia.com/news/kasta-tomb-to-open-by-2022/224758/

More on the shipwreck off Kefalonia:

https://www.thenationalherald.com/276612/largest-ever-roman-shipwreck-found-in-the-eastern-mediterranean/

More on the controversy arising from plans to move finds from the Thessaloniki metro construction:

https://neoskosmos.com/en/154799/new-discoveries-derail-metro-plans-again-in-thessaloniki/

… a sort of related ‘virtual tour’ of Thessaloniki:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/12/22/virtual-tour-of-ancient-thessaloniki-reveals-the-citys-magnificent-past-video/

More on Boris Johnson’s recitation of a bit of the Iliad:

https://www.indy100.com/article/boris-johnson-iliad-greek-poem-labour-twitter-watch-video-9259991

https://ricochet.com/708375/boris-johnson-speaks-and-it-isnt-all-greek-to-me/

—–

Latest reviews from BMCR:

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

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/

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

EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)

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

Very interesting feast-related finds from bone analyses at the Iron Age site of Navan Fort:

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-large-scale-feasts-ancient-capital.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/cu-lsf121919.php

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8319-121926-ireland-iron-age-feasting

Remains of a 16th century shipwreck in ‘downtown’ Stockholm:

https://www.thelocal.se/20191219/archaeologists-uncover-16th-century-shipwreck-in-central-stockholm

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8312-191223-sweden-stockholm-ship

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/16th-century-shipwreck-discovered-beneath-stockholm-180973854/

English Heritage’s list of the top finds of the decade:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/dec/28/richard-iii-and-a-roman-rabbit-the-finds-of-the-decade

Historic England has a slightly different list:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-50895746

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/people/historic-england-names-whittlesey-bronze-age-settlement-must-farm-in-top-10-discoveries-of-the-decade-1-9186002

Feature on some of the sites protected by National Heritage in the UK over the past year:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50851709

Remember those Gallic carnyxes found over a decade ago at Tinignac? They’ve been restored:

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/culture-loisirs/les-carnyx-et-les-casques-gaulois-de-tintignac-sont-de-retour-en-correze-1576852794

Study suggests some Neolithic spoons found years ago might be ‘teething’ tools:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2019/12/24/prehistoric-parents-let-their-babies-teethe-on-these-bone-spoons/

The medieval Paphos Castle has reopened to the public:

https://cyprus-mail.com/2019/12/23/paphos-castle-re-opens-after-more-than-two-months/

A crowdsourcing attempt to save a French castle:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/own-french-castle-chateau-de-vibrac-france/index.html

A ‘hidden’ ninth century mosque in Malaga:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/12/18/actualidad/1576698493_798053.html

Feature on the soon-to-retire John Oxley:

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage/the-york-archaeologist-stepping-down-after-30-years-talks-about-his-career-highlights-1-10173720

More on the use of birch bark tar in Medieval Britain:

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uob-nad121919.php

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8320-191227-england-birch-tar

More on a lightning strike possibly being related to a 4000 years bp stone circle on the Isle of Lewis:

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-ancient-secret-stone-circles-revealed.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-50891787

https://www.archaeology.org/8318-191227-scotland-lightning-strike

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

ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

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

Evidence of Neolithic mixed farming in Tibet:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/28/c_138663747.htm

Li Song’s Tang Dynasty mausoleum in Shaanxi has revealed building components and assorted other items:

http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2019-12/26/content_75550859.htm

Plenty of finds from seven different dynasties from Hebei:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/24/c_138654803.htm

http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2019-12/25/content_75547691.htm

A 3rd century CE (I think) Sanskrit inscription from Andhra Pradesh:

https://www.ibtimes.sg/archaeologists-unearth-earliest-sanskrit-inscription-found-southern-india-36596

A project to document unprotected monuments in Mysrurs taluk is having great success it appears:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/over-100-sculptures-recovered-from-two-hoblis-in-mysuru/article30404983.ece

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

NORTH AMERICA

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

I think we mntioned this possible slave burial ground on a Tallahassee golf course:

https://www.riverbender.com/sports-news/details.cfm?id=290181

https://www.wfmj.com/story/41494812/slave-cemetery-poses-questions-for-florida-country-club

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-florida-country-club-slave-cemetery-20191226-zb3lymhbc5ge5gjikwm4ts3c6q-story.html

There’s an argument going on over the 1619 project:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians-clash-1619-project/604093/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/12/22/five-professors-say-project-should-be-amended-we-disagree-says-new-york-times/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/20/magazine/1619-intro.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/magazine/letter-to-the-editor-historians-critique-the-1619-project-and-we-respond.html

Feature on David Moore’s work in North Carolina:

https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2019/12/27/david-moore-guides-berry-site-joara-and-fort-san-juan-western-nc/2697072001/

Irvin Peithmann’s collection of artifacts has landed at SIU for further study:

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/southern-illinois-archaeologist-s-finds-return-to-siu-shedding-light/article_115814f2-6ad2-521e-bd52-84d9314ac063.html

Commemorating the mass execution of Native Americans in the wake of the Dakota War of 1862:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/28/us/dakota-38-anniversary-trnd/index.html

Feature on Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who mailed himself to freedom:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/12/28/slavery-cost-him-his-family-thats-when-henry-box-brown-mailed-himself-freedom/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

More on the bodies recently found at the Alamo:

https://www.livescience.com/bodies-at-alamo-cathedral.html

More on possible mass burial sites for Tulsa Race Massacre victims being identified:

https://www.livescience.com/tulsa-race-massacre-mass-grave-discovered.html

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8316-191226-tulsa-race-massacre

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CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

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

Remains of a 1000 years bp ‘vast’ Mayan palace at Kuluba:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-50920236

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/archaeologists-discover-remains-of-vast-mayan-palace

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2019/dec/27/ancient-mayan-palace-unearthed-in-south-east-mexico-video

https://www.dw.com/en/ancient-mayan-palace-discovered-in-mexico/a-51803785

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/12/new-mayan-palace-discovered-in-yucatan/

https://news.yahoo.com/archaeologists-discover-mayan-palace-ancient-160152971.html

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/archaeologists-discover-palace-at-mayan-city-of-kuluba/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/archeologists-discover-ancient-1000-year-21168144

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/12/27/Archaeologists-find-ancient-Mayan-palace-at-least-1000-years-old/1641577448804/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-archeology/archeologists-discover-ancient-mayan-palace-in-eastern-mexico-idUSKBN1YU17I

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/art-and-culture/2019/12/27/Archeologists-discover-ancient-Mayan-palace-in-eastern-Mexico.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-maya-palace-was-discovered-yucatan-state-180973866/

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8321-191227-maya-palace-discovered

Feature on Aztec moral philosophy:

https://aeon.co/essays/aztec-moral-philosophy-didnt-expect-anyone-to-be-a-saint

Feature on Carlos Castano Uribe and the Chiribiquete petroglyphs in Colombia:

https://elpais.com/sociedad/2019/12/19/actualidad/1576788556_815362.html

Mexico doesn’t know what to do with those recently-found mammoth traps:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/24/ciencia/1577148347_090897.html

More on evidence that ‘life on the periphery’ of Teotihuacan was pretty good:

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/12/multi-ethnic-migrant-communities-settled-teotihuacan-after-two-volcanic-eruptions/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-archeology-teotihuacan-feature/stylish-suburbs-how-ancient-mexican-metropolis-dodged-inequality-trap-idUSKBN1YN0J2

http://www.archaeology.org/news/8314-191223-mexico-teotihuacan-periphery

—–

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

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

A top 11 list of assorted finds (mostly art-related):

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/11-biggest-art-and-archaeology-discoveries-2019-1736265

A ‘biggest discoveries’ list from LiveScience:

https://www.livescience.com/biggest-archaeology-discoveries-2019.html

This is apparently part 5 of a ‘finds of the decade’ series:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-archaeological-discoveries-decade-2010s-god-jerusalem-evolution-homo-sapiens-neanderthals-king-tut-1.8316553

A dozen ‘fascinating finds’ list:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/twelve-fascinating-finds-revealed-2019-180973837/

Interesting feature on the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam:

https://aeon.co/ideas/how-the-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam-inspired-victorian-hedonists

Feature on assorted digs around the world you might want to join:

https://matadornetwork.com/read/archaeological-digs-around-world/

Feature on Ida Tarbell:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/review-stephanie-gorton-citizen-reporters/603055/

What they hid in secret tunnels beneath a Welsh library:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/national-library-secret-tunnels-war-17451332

Interesting freature on Watkin’s ‘London Eiffel Tower’ project that never happened:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-50628714

There was no Christmas mass at Notre Dame this year:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50883013

… and they are still concerned about the structure:

https://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/Notre-Dame-rector-Fragile-cathedral-might-not-be-14930861.php

https://apnews.com/48fee6c01627bca5f212c0f2e35d81cf?stream=top

Suggestion that shepherds in some Nativity scenes have goiter issues:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/24/788915889/why-certain-poor-shepherds-in-nativity-scenes-have-huge-misshapen-throats

The Venice floods did a lot of damage to St Mark’s Cathedral:

https://apnews.com/f4862779f508b3a54192e583dab892a9

High school paleographers are helping the Vatican digitize a pile of stuff:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vatican-documents-made-more-accessible-with-help-of-high-school-students-and-ai/

Feature on how religions change:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190801-tomorrows-gods-what-is-the-future-of-religion

The Victorian roots (?) of the anti-vax movement:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-50713991

Pondering the fate of Walt Whitman’s house:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/nyregion/walt-whitman-house-brooklyn.html

Feature on the Periodic Table:

https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-histories-hidden-in-the-periodic-table

Some Hanukkah-related features:

https://theweek.com/articles/885296/meaning-hanukkah

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24950

Pondering the motivations for the first petroglyphs:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/21/ciencia/1576930926_725975.html

Feature on mistletoe:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/dec/25/mistletoe-the-christmas-tradition-we-show-no-sign-of-kissing-goodbye-to

How railroads created modern Christmas:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/how-railroads-created-modern-christmas/604126/

On the ‘forgotten’ Christmas of 1918:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/25/opinion/christmas-world-war-i-1918.html

Another possible (?) spin on the Santa Claus story:

https://aeon.co/videos/are-mushrooms-shamans-and-ancient-rituals-at-the-root-of-the-santa-claus-story

Feature on the Buddha:

https://aeon.co/essays/was-the-buddha-an-awakened-prince-or-a-humble-itinerant

Interesting detail revealed during the Ghent altarpiece restoration:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ghent-altarpiece-restorations-reveal-alarmingly-humanoid-face-famous-mystical-lamb-180973846/

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/conservators-ghent-altarpiece-1741722

A hat in a museum might not be Lincoln’s after all:

https://www.timesunion.com/news/education/article/Study-No-evidence-museum-s-stovepipe-hat-was-14930408.php

On the Victorian tattoo craze:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/victorian-tattooing-craze-started-convicts-and-spread-royal-family-180973865/

Suggestion that many Goyas aren’t by Goya:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/28/goya-paintings-many-not-work-of-spanish-master-studio-assistants

Feature on Harold Bloom:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/23/magazine/harold-bloom-death.html

An historian rethinks El Cid:

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/12/12/actualidad/1576165498_790106.html

Feature on a trove of Jewish recipes dating back to the Inquisition:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/12/22/789864201/trove-of-recipes-dating-back-to-inquisition-reveals-a-familys-secret-jewish-root

Opeddish sort of thing on the increasing pace of finding archaeological sites:

http://theconversation.com/archaeological-discoveries-are-happening-faster-than-ever-before-helping-refine-the-human-story-128743

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-archaeological-discoveries-faster-refine-human.html

Feature on 19th century Islamic revivalism:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/the-art-of-imitation-19th-century-islamic-revivalism/

A lost portrait of Charles Dickens is on display:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20191220-the-lost-portrait-of-charles-dickens

On Christianity’s ‘problem with sex’:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/24/christianity-sex-nativity-virgin-mary

Apparently folks have eaten frozen woolly mammoth meat:

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/12/permafrozen-dinner/604069/

Latest interesting find from permafrost is a 41000 years bp lemming:

https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/schoolgirl-finds-the-worlds-oldest-lemming-preserved-in-permafrost-and-dating-back-41000-years/

Reviving African slave cuisine in Brazil:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-latin-america-50856961/quilombo-cuisine-rescuing-the-ancient-cuisine-of-african-slaves

Plans in the works to mark the 850th anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/dec/28/thomas-becket-in-1170-to-be-marked-with-year-of-events

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/thomas-becket-the-murder-that-shook-the-middle-ages/

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/british-museum-to-host-major-exhibition-on-life-and-death-of-thomas-becket/

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/thomas-becket-death-archbishop-of-canterbury-british-museum-exhibition-2020-a9262496.html

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MUSEUM MATTERS

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Tinos and Cyclades in the Mycenean Age:

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tornos/events/38264-%E2%80%9Cfrom-homer%E2%80%99s-world-tinos-and-cyclades-in-the-mycenaean-age%E2%80%9D-at-athens-benaki-museum.html

Troy:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/247887/opinion/ekathimerini/comment/troy-power-of-the-image-triumph-of-the-word

Last Supper in Pompeii:

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18119860.chris-gray-ashmolean-exhibition-brings-pompeii-dead-life/

Nabis:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/these-painters-found-calm-in-an-age-of-distraction–more-than-a-century-ago/2019/12/19/388031ec-210d-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html

https://www.phillipscollection.org/events/2019-10-26-exhibition-bonnard-to-vuillard

Some photos from the GEM:

https://www.egyptindependent.com/photos-antiquities-ministry-offers-sneak-peek-of-the-new-grand-egyptian-museum/

Feature on the Museum of the Royal Atarazanas (Dominican Republic):

https://elpais.com/cultura/2019/12/20/actualidad/1576843564_115665.html

Egypt’s Museum of islamic Art was marking its 115th:

https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/79042/Celebrating-115th-anniversary-of-Museum-of-Islamic-Art

Hyping some ‘hot’ exhibitions coming in 2020:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50822699

https://fadmagazine.com/2019/12/28/the-top-5-exhibitions-to-see-in-london-in-the-new-year/

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AUCTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

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Export of a Gainsborough recently sold at auction is on hold for a while at least:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-50893118

… and France blocked the export of that Cimabue piece that recently came to auction:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/24/france-blocks-export-of-24m-cimabue-artwork-found-in-kitchen

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50901497

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-26/christ-mocked-painting-barred-from-export/11827684

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THE TECHY SIDE

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I think we mentioned this hidden Nativity scene found under a painting of John the Baptist:

https://www.livescience.com/hidden-nativity-scene-painting-detected.html

Scans of a trio of 500 years bp Inuit mummies reveal possible heart disease:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/surprise-ancient-inuit-mummy-scans-reveal-possible-heart-disease

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CLIMATE MATTERS

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Tracking climate change in Chile via larch evidence:

https://www.latercera.com/que-pasa/noticia/como-era-la-temperatura-en-chile/945117/

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TOURISTY THINGS

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European cave art:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/12/20/ciencia/1576847895_903519.html

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PERFORMANCES

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Little Women:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/little-women-and-the-marmee-problem

An Iliad:

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/12/27/an-iliad-article/

Monteverdi:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/arts/music/monteverdi-tenet.html

Feature on Beethoven:

https://www.dw.com/en/the-abcs-of-beethoven/g-51722000

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CRIME BEAT

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Greek police seized a 6th century BCE statue head in Corinth:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/247884/article/ekathimerini/news/antiquities-police-seize-rare-6th-century-bc-statue-fragment-in-corinth

https://greekcitytimes.com/2019/12/25/man-arrested-after-attempting-to-sell-off-ancient-artefact-for-500000-euros/

https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/society/38244-kouros-head-confiscated-by-greek-police-as-man-tries-to-sell-it-for-e500-000.html

https://www.thenationalherald.com/275943/ancient-kouros-head-confiscated-by-police-as-man-tries-to-sell-it-for-500000-euros/

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/12/26/man-arrested-for-attempting-to-sell-head-of-ancient-greek-kouros-statue-video/

https://neoskosmos.com/en/154894/man-seeking-500-000-euros-for-kouros-head-arrested/

A smuggling attempt in Iraq save a Torah, among other things:

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/bec11967-0d74-4ef0-841c-8d22b0c51e38

Arrests in the Piraeus involving a Neolithic figure and an ampnora:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/247889/article/ekathimerini/news/two-arrested-in-piraeus-over-neolithic-statue-classical-amphora

Some guy was arrested after smashing things at the Denver Art Museum:

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/denver-teenage-vandal-1418611?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=news&utm_content=everyday-news

Feature on a scandal involving looted Cypriot mosaics (this was a while ago):

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2019/12/26/art-crime-doesnt-pay-looted-cypriot-mosaics-once-led-carmel-art-dealer/2708874001/

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/

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REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY

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

Alberta is trying to repatriate some Chief Crowfoot items from the UK:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alberta-tries-to-clear-the-way-for-chief-crowfoots-relics-to-come/

On reclaiming India’s stolen cultural heritage:

https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/reclaiming-indias-stolen-cultural-heritage/

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NUMISMATICA

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Feature on silver coinage of Ptolemaic kings:

https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/ngc-ancients-silver-coinage-of-the-greek-kings-of-ptolemaic-egypt/

Feature on sea beasties on ancient coins:

https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/sea-creatures-on-ancient-coins/

Latest e-Sylum:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v22/club_nbs_esylum_v22n51.html

… and the one which should appear later today:

http://www.coinbooks.org/v22/club_nbs_esylum_v22n52.html

————————

Ancient Coin Collecting:

http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/

Ancient Coins:

http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/

Coin Week:

http://www.coinweek.com/

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OBITUARIES

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

Karl E. Meyer:

http://art-crime.blogspot.com/2019/12/journalist-karl-e-meyer-has-died-at-91.html

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AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS

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Audio News from Archaeologica:

https://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-guide/audio-news/2906-audio-news-from-archaeologica-december-15-through-december-21-2019

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GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS

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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/

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PODCASTS/VODCASTS

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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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