Road construction in northern Afghanistan threatens an archaeological site from the sixth to fourth century B.C. in the narrow Cheshma-e-Shafa gorge. “It is a site which controlled an old route by which people could come from Central Asia to India, a place completely strategic for controlling traffic,” said Philippe Marquis of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan.

Scientists have examined the skeleton of a young man that was unearthed in a chapel at Scotland’s Stirling Castle in 1997. His injuries and wear and tear on his bones suggest that he was a knight.  

Evolutionary biologist George Beccaloni is looking for sites in Malaysia associated with nineteenth-century scientist and spiritualist Alfred Russel Wallace, who described evolution in 1855 as a branching tree.  

The oldest image of the Christian St Paul the Apostle has been found on the walls of the Catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome, according to Vatican archaeologists. The image dates to the late fourth century.  Here’s a photograph of the painting.   In addition, Pope Benedict announced that bone fragments had been found in a tomb in the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. Paul in Rome, along with traces of linen cloth laminated with gold, red incense, protein, and limestone. Church tradition holds that Paul was first buried in a catacomb on the Via Appia and then later moved to the basilica.   

Excavation of an early American Indian village continues at the site of a runway at the Macon County Airport in North Carolina. This article also offers updates on other archaeological sites in the area.  

A replica balangay, or ancient Philippine boat, was launched in Manila Bay over the weekend. Such wooden-hulled boats were sailed about 1,700 years ago. “The boat is a time capsule that carries the history of our people,” said expedition leader Art Valdez.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, June 29, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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