The main road entering Jerusalem during the Byzantine era has been uncovered in the Old City. The street’s location corresponds to a mosaic map of the ancient city on the floor of a church in Madaba, Jordan.   Google News offers more photographs of the stone road.

Another section of the Great Wall was discovered in a remote section of northwestern China during a nationwide survey. “The remains of the wall were well protected without being destroyed by human activities. They were only partly destroyed by flood and sandstorm,” said Liu Yulin of the Jinta Museum. This section of the Great Wall was constructed during the Western Han Dynasty (465-221 B.C.).   

Customs officials in Dubai stopped an attempt to smuggle Iraqi artifacts that they found hidden inside some chair cushions. The artifacts included bronze figurines, pottery, and coins.  

In England’s Leicesershire County, community archaeologist Peter Liddle has organized an exhibit of medieval religious objects uncovered by metal detectorists. The objects were probably carried by pilgrims to Christian shrines. “The relics are like a kind of code which helps us to piece together the history of people’s lives not recorded in many history books. They are absolutely invaluable in bringing this history to life,” he explained.    

Peru’s transportation minister has announced that Machu Picchu will reopen in three weeks. Temporary bridges are being installed in order to restore train service to the Inca citadel.  

A gun stolen from the West Seneca Historical Museum in western New York State has been recovered in a pawn shop. The gun is said to have belonged to William Shepard, the last known survivor of the Jessie James gang. The brothers who stole the gun are themselves notorious for stealing historical artifacts from local museums.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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