All of the artifacts stolen from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia  last February have been recovered in western Greece. Police arrested an Athens resident at a hotel after he attempted to sell a Mycenaean-era gold ring to an undercover officer. Two of his alleged accomplices were also apprehended, and police are looking for two additional suspects. More than 60 objects had been taken from the museum by masked intruders who overpowered the lone guard and smashed the display cabinets. There was only one guard on duty because of budget cuts and austerity measures.

A black granite statue of a New Kingdom pharaoh  has been unearthed at Monthu Temple in Luxor, Egypt. Archaeologists are searching the temple for additional statues or inscriptions that may help identify the pharaoh depicted in the sculpture. He is shown standing and wearing a short dress with his hands at his sides. Dedicated to the falcon-headed god of war, the temple was also later used for the worship of Apis bulls.

There’s more information on the 700-year-old Hindu temple complex  discovered last summer in a rice field in Bali. Six men would have been needed to move each of the large stones used in the building’s foundations, and its thick walls were made of red brick. “Having this discovery on our property makes me feel really proud and happy, because it is not something you would ever expect. I have lived here all my life and I never knew what history was under my feet. It was just a rice field,” said landowner Chandra Kirawan.

The Archaeological Survey of India ordered the demolition of the more than 300 homes and shops that sprouted up in Hampi Bazaar, a 400-year-old marketplace at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi. Those who lost their homes and tourist businesses will be compensated and moved to land outside of the protected area. “We are only increasing the outstanding value of the monument by removing illegal inhabitants and restoring original character and integrity of the monuments,” said archaeologist M. Nambirajan. Critics of the clean up think the monument was better served by having people using the bazaar. The site is also home to the fifteenth-century Virupaksha temple, which is still used as a place of worship, and the remains of the city of Vijayanagara, the capital of a Hindu empire from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, November 26, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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