Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass announced today that cooperation with the Louvre Museum in Paris would end until certain antiquities, said to be stolen, were returned. A “French source” is quoted as saying, “there is no real obstacle and a solution should be found soon.”

Argentina’s diplomat to Iran allegedly tried to ship almost six tons of cultural artifacts home.  

Yesterday, a two-room exhibit of artifacts went on display at Afghanistan’s National Museum. The objects were snagged by customs officials in England and were returned to Afghanistan earlier this year. The museum once housed 70,000 items, but much of it is now empty.   

NASA archaeologist Tom Sever and his team used computer simulations to reconstruct how deforestation of the landscape could have led to the collapse of Maya society. “We propose that increases in temperature and decreases in rainfall brought on by localized deforestation caused serious enough problems to push some but not all city-states over the edge,” explained team member Robert Griffin.  

A fortified Roman tower in Bergama, Turkey, has reopened to the public after a three-year renovation project.  

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has released its 2010 World Monuments Watch list of 93 cultural heritage sites deemed at risk. “The 2010 Watch makes it clear that cultural heritage efforts in the 21^st century must recognize the critical importance of sustainable stewardship, and that we must work closely with local partners to create viable and appropriate opportunities to advance this,” said Bonnie Burnham, president of the WMF.  

Mario Resca, Italy’s Director of Museums, wants the country’s monuments to make more money. “I see visitors as customers, clients. When you come to one of my museums, you are a guest and your needs should be satisfied,” he said.  

The Coney Island Dreamland bell has been retrieved from the ocean and unveiled at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The bell was lost when the pier burned in 1911. “Millions would have heard this bell during Coney Island’s heyday,” said historian Charles Denson.  

In 1944, a P-51 Mustang disappeared after taking off from what is now Los Angeles International Airport. The pilot was Gertrude Tompkins Silver, a Women Air Force Service Pilot (WASP). “She is the only one still missing and unaccounted for,” said diver Pat Macha.

 Scholars have created a model using hoards of Roman coins and ancient census data to determine that the population of the Roman Empire declined after the end of the first century B.C. to about 4 to 5 million people. “Hoards are an excellent indicator of internal turmoil. This is a general phenomenon, not just in Rome,” said theoretical biologist Peter Turchin.

Two men have been arrested by Israeli police for allegedly vandalizing the Nabatean city of Avdat, a World Heritage site.  

A 1,500-year-old synagogue has been unearthed on the southwestern tip of Turkey, in the ancient port city of Myra.”Located on a choice spot facing the sea, the temple was likely built following a law instituted in 212 that allowed Jews the right to become Roman citizens,” said Nevzat Cevik of Akdeniz University.  

Here’s another article on the evidence of a small stone circle discovered about a mile away from Stonehenge. “Maybe the bluestone circle is where people were cremated before their ashes were buried at Stonehenge itself,” said Parker Pearson of the University of Sheffield.  

More than 50 pits containing burnt stones, ceramics, metal, and meat remains from the twelfth century have been found in Bulgaria. Archaeologists claim the pits were used for pagan rituals in the Christian era.  

Conservator Dario Fiorentini is restoring 16 table tombs at the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1635.  

An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to illegally digging up and selling prehistoric pottery and other artifacts from the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge.