This in-depth article about the FBI’s art crime squad includes some discussion of Iraq, but it is fascinating for what it says about the scale of art theft in general.

Is 58-year-old teacher Manfred Huchthausen’s DNA really a “match” of that extracted from 3,000-year-old skeletons found in the Lichtenstein Cave “a short drive away from Manfred’s village” in the Harz Mountains? Apparently, someone at the University of Goettingen thinks so, but not much by way of specifics here…

The sequel to Bigfoot I: The Gorilla Suit has just opened. Its title—no surprise—is Bigfoot II: The Lawsuit. Looks like William Wald Lett Jr. of Eaton, Indiana, is unhappy after handing over $50,000 in cash for the frozen costume.

The Mexican cement giant Cemex is donating $40 million for construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza (note this report is in Spanish). The Egypt-cement connection continues in the next item.

Scroll down a bit on this page and you can see a photo of the 45-inch cast cement figure of the Egyptian god Horus recently discovered during a routine brush-clearing in Marin County, California. It weighs an estimated 1,200 pounds. If you have any information about it, please call the Mill Valley Police Department.

This brief note says authorities in Iran’s Western Azerbaijan province captures smugglers, closed four illegal excavations, and recovered artifacts including “two 24 carrot gold human statues” of the Sassanid period. Interesting find, that.

This entry was posted by Archaeology Magazine on Friday, August 22, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.