A mummy discovered in Egypt last year is thought to be Queen Seshestet, mother of a Sixth Dynasty pharaoh. Her burial chamber was ransacked in antiquity, but archaeologists found her sarcophagus, linen-wrapped body parts, pottery, and her gold finger wrappings.

Turkey’s Ilisu dam project has been suspended for 180 days by German, Swiss, and Austrian export credit agencies. A joint statement issued by the agencies said that the project has failed to meet the World Bank’s minimum standards. Critics of the dam point out that it will flood the ancient city of Hasankeyf and 300 other archaeological sites, destroy river ecosystems, and displace 65,000 people.  

A visitor to Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland spotted bone fragments and a uniform button near a groundhog hole last fall.  

Human bones discovered last year in a gravel pit in Phelps, New York, have been examined by forensic experts, who have determined they belonged to a woman from the Seneca Nation.  

The World Monuments Fund and Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage will develop a master plan to promote conservation and tourism in Babylon. “In the immense task of caring for its world heritage, Iraq welcomes help from and collaborations with the international preservation community,” said Samir Sumaida’ie, Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S.  

This article from Macedonia describes what the authorities there are doing to combat treasure hunting.  

In a twist to the usual story of plunder, the head of Great Lakes Exploration Group, Stephen Libert, says that the state of Michigan has put what may be the 300-year-old wreck of Le Griffon in danger. “For seven years I kept the site protected and now it’s been breached because the state didn’t take proper security precautions. As soon as the weather changes I can tell you it will happen – it will be looted,” he said.  

A man who discovered a 2,500-year-old vase while gardening in his yard is asking to be paid for the artifact 20 years after he dropped it off at a museum.  

Plans to lengthen an airport runway in Massachusetts have changed, in order to preserve a ceremonial site sacred to the Narragansett Indian Tribe.  

PhD candidate Tom Chandler of Australia’s Monash University has developed a virtual Angkor with input from archaeologists. “In comparison to the research you’d find for virtual Greece, or Rome, or Egypt, what’s out there for Angkor is still pretty thin,” he said.  

Travel to Tikal with Elin McCoy and Bloomberg News.  

ARCHAEOLOGY’s list of Top 10 Finds of 2008 has made news in Turkey.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, January 8, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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