A hoard of gold coins was discovered in a seventh-century building in Jerusalem. “Since no pottery vessel was discovered adjacent to the hoard, we can assume it was concealed inside a hidden niche in one of the walls of the building,” said Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Two-million-year-old tools found in a cavern in the Kuruman Hills of South Africa indicate that the site is the earliest-known home of human ancestors, according to a team of researchers from the University of Toronto and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.   

A man was arrested for looting an ancient tribal village site in a California state park after posting a video of the crime on YouTube. “It was a bragging video,” said park ranger Greg Hall.  

Two South Dakota men have been accused of trafficking in American Indian artifacts stolen from public land.  

Biological anthropologist Jill Rhodes has examined humerus bones in her quest to find out when modern humans began using long-range projectile weapons, which are thrown overhead.  

Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s antiquities council, announced that two 4,300-year-old tombs have been unearthed near Saqqara. “The discovery of the tombs is the beginning of a big, large cemetery,” he added.  

An Egyptian sculpture smuggled to out of the country 20 years ago will be handed over to the Egyptian embassy in London. The artifact was recovered in 1999.  

The German government has suspended its funding of the Ilisu Dam project in southeastern Anatolia because it says the Turkish government has not addressed environmental problems linked to the dam’s construction. Operation of the dam would flood the ancient city of Hasankeyf.  

Germany also reportedly returned artifacts stolen from Didim to Turkey.  

Here’s more information on the 500 miniature pots seized from an Italian farmer’s home.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, December 22, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.