Along Fort Lauderdale Beach, archaeologists have found wooden posts from the third Fort Lauderdale, constructed in the 1830s. “It would be amazing if you could find the footprint of the fort,” said Christopher Barfield of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. The city does not have the money for further excavation at this time, but human remains may be buried nearby, so archaeologists are urging that the site be protected.

The remains of one person were recovered from a Maori shaft burial in the cliff tops of Back Beach, New Zealand, that had been exposed by erosion. Artifacts associated with the burial are between 200 and 800 years old. Archaeologist Ivan Bruce thinks there could be additional burials in the area.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced a 105 million euro project intended to preserve the residential areas of Pompeii, including the reconstruction of the House of the Gladiators, which collapsed 18 months ago. “We want to ensure that this is accomplished through honest and capable workers and companies while keeping away the organized crime this is still strong in this area,” he said.  You can watch a clip of the prime minister’s speech and view footage of Pompeii at BBC News.

A team of scientists conducted a genetic study of 1,600-year-old cotton samples discovered in Egypt’s Upper Nile region, and cotton from ancient sites in Peru and Brazil. They found that the genome of the Egyptian cotton underwent a burst of rapid change, while the South American cotton remained stable. “It’s possible that cotton at the Qasr Ibrim site has adapted in response to extreme environmental stress, such as not enough water,” said Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick. The researchers were also able to determine that Egyptian domesticated cotton was an African variety, and had not been imported from India.

After April 15, the wreck of the Titanic will be 100 years old, and eligible for UNESCO protection under the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. “There are thousands of other shipwrecks that need safeguarding as well… We do not tolerate the plundering of cultural sites on land, and the same should be true for our sunken heritage,” explained Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO.

U.S. District Judge Henry Autry has ruled that the St. Louis Art Museum may keep the 3,200-year-old funeral mask of Lady Ka-Nefer-Nefer, saying that the federal government, which requested that the museum return the mask to Egypt, failed to prove that it had been stolen. The St. Louis Art Museum purchased the mask from an art dealer in 1998.

Last year, Sotheby’s withdrew a tenth-century statue from auction at the request of the Cambodian government, but the auction house still has the statue, known as the Duryodhana, in its possession. Scholars believe the statue was stolen from the Prasat Chen Temple in Koh Ker sometime during the 1960s or 1970s and then sold into a private collection. Now, federal agents have threatened to seize the five-foot-tall sculpture.

In 1985, Robert Ballad, founder and president of the Institute for Exploration, and oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel, discovered the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. Ballard continues to advocate treating the wreck site with the respect due to a historic battlefield. “You don’t go to Gettysburg with a shovel. If we cannot protect the Titanic, what can we protect?” he asks.

Hiba al-Sakhel, director of museums in Syria, announced that the pace of looting has increased at Apamea, Palmyra, and other archaeological sites during the fighting and unrest over the past year. “In Apamea, we have a video showing looters removing mosaics with drills,” she said. Museums have also been robbed. Last month, UNESCO director general Irina Bokova urged member states to be on the lookout for artifacts smuggled out of Syria. “Damage to the heritage of the country is damage to the soul of its people and its identity,” she added.

In northwestern Peru, a team of archaeologists led by Regulo Franco has found an altar cut into the rock 3,250 feet up on Campana Hill. It is thought to have been constructed by the people of the Moche culture 1,500 years ago for human sacrifices, as depicted in Moche ceramics. The altar sits on a small platform accessible by three steps.

A small excavation at England’s York Minster hints at the many layers of area’s history, including two large post holes that may be traces of an early Christian church. Scholars know that King Edwin of Northumbria and his family were baptized in a wooden church in the seventh century, but the location of this first minster has never been identified. “I think they’ve got to be evidence for a significant structure – from a period when any evidence is incredibly rare and precious,” said Jim Williams, one of two archaeologists from York Archaeological Trust who are working at the site.