Archaeologists and museum curators say they want to pitch in and help protect Egypt’s archaeological sites and artifacts from the international antiquities trade during the political demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s new Minister of Antiquities, spoke with Michele Norris of NPR about the looting and his new title.  

A 1,500-year-old Byzantine church uncovered southwest of Jerusalem will be reburied next week. Its mosaic floor is made up of images of lions, foxes, fish, and peacocks. “It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation,” said Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Some think its altar may have been the tomb of the Jewish prophet Zechariah.  There are more photographs at NPR.  

While sailing during the summer’s perpetual daylight in the far northern Atlantic, the Vikings navigated by the sun. So what did they do on cloudy days? One Icelandic saga mentions the use of a sunstone to look at the sky. Scientists are testing polarizing crystals to see if it could have been possible.  

A couple remodeling their Tudor home discovered a fifteenth-century mural of King Henry VIII beneath some wallpaper and mortar. The house was once the home of Thomas Cranmer, who helped create the Church of England. “Cranmer could have done it as a tribute to Henry and that would make it an object of great importance and significance. It is a unique image,” said Michael Liversidge of Bristol University.

Zahi Hawass has been appointed Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities by embattled President Mubarak. “I am happy to announce that today everything is safe,” he told reporters.

There’s also a summary of recent events in Egypt at National Geographic Daily News.  

Experts try to assess the damage to Egyptian artifacts at Discovery News. “So far it’s only speculation,” explained Margaret Maitland of the University of Oxford.  

A “henge-like” monument has been discovered near Stonehenge by a team of English and Austrian scientists. “People have tended to think that as Stonehenge reached its peak it was the paramount monument, existing in splendid isolation. This discovery is completely new and extremely important in how we understand Stonehenge and its landscape,” said Vince Gaffney of the University of Birmingham.  

Some 200 volunteers are helping archaeologists learn about a cliff-side Roman villa in Kent, England, before it erodes into the sea.  

High-tech tools are also being used to investigate archaeological sites threatened by climate change and erosion in the Canadian Arctic.  

A poll conducted by The Salt Lake Tribune shows that nearly two-thirds of Utah’s residents think the federal artifact raids in 2009 were justified. “Ancient artifacts are more for the public to view in a museum instead of selling them for a profit,” said one respondent.  

Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Günay announced that the Laodicea Church, an early center of Christianity, has been found in western Turkey.