Read a review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor by Samir S. Patel, associate editor of ARCHAEOLOGY. He was a little disappointed with this summer blockbuster.

In 1772, a chapel of the Royal Presidio was built in Monterey, California, where the San Carlos Cathedral now stands. Its wall footings, foundations, and basalt floor were uncovered by archaeologist Ruben Mendoza of California State University. “This is a critical historic structure that should be preserved or documented,” he said.  

Portions of a nineteenth-century settlement, including brick foundations, a stone-lined well, small artifacts, and food remains, were unearthed in New Jersey. “It’s sort of cool during a roadway project to discover so much history because there’s nothing left of Creesville,” said archaeologist Barbara Chi Hsiao Silber.  

An anchor that turned up in a North Sea fisherman’s net will be difficult to link to a ship, according to English archaeologist Gary Green. The anchor is partly made of wood, and could date back to the early nineteenth century.  

Two Egyptians were given cash rewards from the Supreme Council of Antiquities for turning in pieces of pink granite engraved with the name of Ahmose.   

Two fragments of documents written on wood were unearthed at an iron mill from the Baekje period in South Korea. The Baekje period ended in 660 A.D.

The 2,000-year-old grave of a wealthy man was unearthed on the southern coast of England. He had been buried with grave goods including three large pots, an iron knife, a helmet, and a shield. This first article features a photograph of the skeleton.   A second article has a photograph of the grave before the pots have been removed.   Finally, an unidentified archaeologist on the team speaks in a video about the find, and how the artifacts were placed in the now empty grave.

The standoff at Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia continues. Thai Army chief Anupong Paochinda told reporters, “When the government says withdraw, we will immediately do so.”  

A new DNA study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences challenges the recent claim that chickens were first introduced into South America by Polynesians, before the arrival of the Spanish.  

A large ancient Greek ship, discovered by scuba divers in 1988, was lifted from the waters off the southern coast of Sicily yesterday. The pine planks of its hull are still held together with hemp ropes. The ship will be conserved and reconstructed at the Mary Rose Archaeological Service in England.  

In 2004, government officials in Laos received a warning from UNESCO that the World Heritage status of its 700-year-old capital, Luang Prabang, was endangered by development. Plans for new hotels in the city’s center have now been halted. “UNESCO has given us until next year to fulfill its recommendations, otherwise they will issue a red card warning to the government,” said Luang Prabang’s heritage chief, Manivone Thoummabouth.  

Thousands of murals in temples across south India are suffering from neglect, poor conservation practices, or they were simply removed. “The paintings have been ruined by overpainting. This is quite a common thing in Tamil Nadu. If you repaint it instead of conserving it, the subtlety will be lost, the old colors will be lost. This is a disaster,” said David Shulman of Hebrew University.   This much shorter article in the same publication tells conservation success stories.  

Here’s another article on the state of emergency declared at Pompeii.  

An Italian company continues its work to raise the Axum Obelisk at its original site in Ethiopia. The base of the monument is in place, and it is expected that the tower will be completed in early August.  

China’s terra cotta warriors have traveled from Xi’an to Beijing for an exhibition at the Capital Museum for the Olympic Games this summer. Other important artifacts from the country’s provincial museums are also showcased.  

Manchester Museum will uncover its unwrapped mummies. The mummies had been modestly draped two months ago in response to a complaint.