A Greek fisherman pulled up a section of a 2,200-year-old bronze horseman in his nets last week. The rider wears ornate breast armor over a short tunic and a sheathed sword.

Former Getty Museum curator Marion True has testified for the first time at her Italian trial, in response to testimony given by archaeologist Daniela Rizzo. True has been charged with conspiracy to traffic in antiquities looted from Italy. The trial began in 2005.  

Greg Stemm, CEO of salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration, is continuing his public relations campaign to keep hundreds of thousands of gold and silver coins by appearing on NBC’s Today show. He suggested, “If this is a Spanish shipwreck, we think that the cultural artifacts should go to Spain. We just think we should be properly rewarded for spending the money.” Spain’s American attorney in the case, James Goold, replied, “The ship is the history and national patrimony of Spain, not a site that may be covertly stripped of valuables to sell to collectors. Odyssey was well aware that it is off limits.” 

In Japan, archaeologists want to know if the three small buildings they have found within fortification walls at the Makimuku ruins could have been the third-century palace of Himiko, the legendary queen.  

Across the U.S., construction workers are stumbling upon unmarked, historic cemeteries. “It would certainly be easier to deal with if there were national standards,” said Johna Hutira of the Society for American Archaeology.  

In May, 30 scientists will return to France to try to identify the remains of soldiers buried in a mass grave after the Battle of Fromelles in July, 1916. As many of the Australian and British soldiers as possible will be reburied nearby with headstones bearing their names.  

Here’s an update on the skull fragment discovered by hikers in Toowoomba, Australia. They thought it might be an Aboriginal artifact, but a police expert has determined it is the skull has been exposed to the elements for just ten years.  

Maize was domesticated at least 8,700 years ago, from the wild grass known as teosinte, in Mexico’s Central Balsas River Valley. “We found maize starch in almost every tool that we analyzed, all the way down to the bottom of our site excavations,” said archaeologist Anthony Ranere of Temple University.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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