Three objects described as resin embedded with aluminum foil and quartz crystal  have been recovered from the Ohio earthworks known as Serpent Mound. Authorities suspect that hundreds of these objects may have been buried in the ancient earthworks. Those responsible for the crime could face 90 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

A collection of jewelry and female figurines crafted by early famers in Serbia and known as the Belica Hoard  will soon go on display for the first time in Germany. The 8,000-year-old female figurines were carved from rock that had been worn smooth by water. Other items in the hoard are made of clay and bone. The hoard was found in the middle of an Early Neolithic settlement earlier this year. The artifacts will go on display in Germany because Serbia’s National Museum in Belgrade has been closed since the country’s civil war.

Scientist Brent Alloway of Victoria University in New Zealand planned a free lecture on the discovery of Homo floresiensis, the tiny hominid from the Indonesian island of Flores that is often referred to as “the hobbit” in the press. Titled “The Other Hobbit,” the lecture is scheduled to coincide with the release of the highly anticipated new movie of JRR Tokien’s novel. But a lawyer for the Saul Zaentz Company/Middle-earth Enterprises says that “it is not possible for our client to allow generic use of the trademark HOBBIT.” Alloway decided to rename the event. “Certainly, this name change won’t diminish the curiosity of the New Zealand public nor our collective enthusiasm for the Hobbit – whichever form you might be interested in knowing more about – the movie/book fantasy version or the fossil version found in Flores,” he said.

On the island of Jersey, archaeologists have uncovered a rare medieval priory  that was run by the Abbey of Mont St Michel in France. Scholars knew that the priory existed from documentary evidence, but its location had been lost because the priory and its slate-roofed chapel were probably dissolved by King Henry V in 1413. “All the houses in Jersey and even the court house in town were known to have been thatched in the medieval period. Slate was only imported for the most important buildings,” said Neil Molyneux of the Societe Jersiaise.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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