A fourth Christian church was uncovered in Palmyra, Syria. This one is the largest so far, measuring 51 by 30 yards. “In the northern and southern parts of the church there are two rooms that are believed to have been used for baptisms, religious ceremonies, prayers, and other rituals,” said Walid al-Assaad, head of the Palmyra Antiquities and Museums Department.

The controversial cave beneath the third-century church of St. Georgeous has been closed by the Kingdom of Jordan. The cave has been called the first church in the world, and local residents had hoped it would bring tourist dollars to their community. The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities denies the claim that the closure is permanent. “We at the ministry have plans to restore the mosaics in the group of churches unearthed in the area and to publish brochures and booklets concerning the churches discovered,” said Antiquities Department Director General Fawwaz Khreisha.  

Archaeologists digging in Vietnam’s Phia Mun Cave have found more than 1,000 artifacts and 12 burials from the Neolithic Hoa Binh culture.  

A bowl fragment dated 1676, and ceramic decoys used to encourage hens to lay eggs, were unearthed in Northern Ireland. “Because it’s in one of the old areas of Belfast, our discoveries are helping us to build up a picture of what was happening from the beginning of when it first became a town,” said archaeologist Audrey Gahan.  

The 2,500-year-old Greek cemetery near the town of Himera, in northern Sicily, has been found to be much larger than previously thought. “Preliminary estimates indicate the presence of around 10,000 tombs, which gives the site a good claim to being one of the most important discoveries of recent years,” said Antonello Aninoro, Sicily’s regional councilor for culture.  

Here are a couple of additional photographs taken at the Phoenician cemetery discovered in Lebanon.  

Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities, talks to reporters about the pyramid he’s excavated at Saqqara in this video from National Geographic News.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, November 13, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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