A Swiss court has ordered that a rare silver coin minted in the fifth century B.C. must be confiscated from an unidentified collector. The coin may have been illegally excavated in northern Greece before it was sold at auction in Switzerland.

In the Netherlands, archaeologists are excavating the trash pit associated with Westerbork, a Nazi detention and transit camp where Jews were imprisoned during World War II. “At first I thought it was an insane and stupid idea, but now I think there should be a permanent collection,” said camp survivor Micha Schliesser.

Members of the public were asked if they knew about any possible ancient sites along the shorelines of Scotland’s Western Isles. Archaeologists are now working on confirming and dating previously unrecorded Neolithic pottery, a complex of fish traps, and a possible medieval fishing village. “We’re relying on the knowledge of people who live and work on or near the sea, and who might have noticed something out of the ordinary,” said Jonathan Benjamin of WA Coastal and Marine.  And don’t miss these beautiful aerial photographs of those archaeological sites along the coasts of Scotland’s Western Isles.

The charred remains of a 3,500-year-old structure were unearthed in Texas along the banks of the San Antonio River, where archaeologists were looking for a Spanish mission. The building is the third oldest to be found in the state of Texas.

A piece of ceramic urn bearing the image of a Thracian horseman carrying a sword has been unearthed in Bulgaria, at the ancient site of Perperikon.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, January 12, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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