German scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have completed mapping the genome of a 38,000-year-old Neanderthal. The team is now working on the DNA from five other individuals in order to create a library of Neanderthal genomes.

An amulet made of green chrysocolla was found in the wrappings of a 4,700-year-old mummy of a toddler. The Egyptians associated the color green with health and “flourishing,” such as the growth of new plants. “Clearly this was an amulet that was interred with the child in an effort to ensure its safety in the afterworld – a pity it did not protect the infant in this one,” commented Salima Ikram, of the American University in Cairo.  

A police raid in Cyprus yielded a gilded Bible written in Syriac. Experts suspect the book to be less than 1,000 years old, but some claim it is 2,000 years old. “One very likely source (of the manuscript) could be the Tur-Abdin area of Turkey, where there is still a Syriac speaking community,” said Charlotte Roueche, of King’s College London.  

Ten jar burials from the Parthian era have been uncovered at Nakhl-e Ebrahim in Iran, in a cemetery that has been damaged by looters and pools dug for shrimp farming.  

A small hole has opened up in Scotland’s Broughty Castle green. Archaeologists will investigate the World War I military buildings and pits beneath the green, and try to improve the safety of the area for visitors.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Friday, February 6, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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