More than 14,000 human skeleton fragments have been unearthed at the Sacred Ridge site in Colorado. Archaeologists think that the bones indicate genocide between different Anasazi Ancestral Puebloan ethnic groups. “All evidence points to a rapid event, which is only possible with coordination and complicity within the community,” said Jason Chuipka of Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants.  

In Israel, an image of the Greek goddess of fortune and another of a maenad were found within the home of a wealthy family in the town of Sussita, located on the Sea of Galilee. “It is interesting to see that although the private residence in which the two goddesses were found was in existence during the Byzantine period, when Christianity negated and eradicated idolatrous cults, one can still find clear evidence of earlier beliefs,” wrote Arthur Segal and Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology.  At Beit Shean, a 1,500-year-old Samaritan synagogue and a farm were uncovered.  And, at the site of Tel Dor, a bronze signet ring bearing the image of Apollo was unearthed. The ring dates to the fourth or third century B.C.  

A planned gold mining project in Romania threatens to destroy the Rosia Montana site, known for its Roman mining tunnels.  

More than 600 Iraqi artifacts that had been stolen, returned, and then misplaced have been rediscovered in a storage area at the prime minister’s office.  

A cache of seventh-century silver coins from the areas that are now Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and northern Africa has been unearthed in northern Germany. “Viking raids there were common at the time, which may be one reason why the treasure was hidden,” said Fred Ruchhöft of the University of Greifswald.  

Ten 2,500-year-old chess pieces are said to have been found in a tomb in China’s Hebei province.  

An administrative seal believed to be 8,000 years old has been unearthed in western Turkey.  

A rare seal from a seventeenth-century bottle of mineral water was uncovered at the site of Fetternear House, a former grand mansion in Aberdeen, Scotland. The bottle had come from the River Weser area of Germany.  

Television personality Bear Grylls claims to have discovered bones, charred wood, and other artifacts on a small, unnamed island in Arctic waters. “If analysis and study end up showing that it is related to Franklin, then it could be important – as would be any find related to this story. However, we will have to wait to get more information,” explained Marc-Andre Bernier of Parks Canada.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, September 20, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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