Ted Dan Gardiner, 52, was the informant who helped federal officials in the Utah artifact sting. He reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday.  “He had a passion for Southwestern archaeology and Native American culture. It was something he didn’t want to see destroyed or disrespected,” said his son, Dustin Gardiner. 

The 4,000-year-old burial chamber of an Egyptian queen has been unearthed in Saqqara. The mummy of Queen Behenu has been destroyed, but hieroglyphics in her tomb are well preserved.   There’s more on Queen Behenu and her burial chamber at Reuters.  

Swiss archaeologist Charles Bonnet has been working at forgotten kingdoms in Sudan since 1965. “At the time I was told: you are wasting your time, there is nothing in Sudan. Today, no one says that anymore,” he said.  There’s more on Sudan from the AFP.   

A bronze box containing some 250 silver Hellenistic coins has been discovered in northern Syria. The man who dug them up handed them over to the authorities, who passed them to the Aleppo Department of Archaeology and Museum.   

Plans are being made for the permanent display of the Anglo-Saxon treasure known as the Staffordshire Hoard at two English museums connected by a heritage trail. “We are confident this would become a major tourist attraction, allowing visitors to learn not just about the hoard itself, but also about the historical background and the area from which it originates,” explained Rita McLean, head of museums and heritage at Birmingham city council.   

Deb Bennett, an authority on fossil and living horses, examined the saddled, skeletal remains of a small horse discovered in California’s Samuel P. Taylor State Park last fall. “I can’t specify a cause of death. But, however it occurred … the poor horse,” she said. State parks senior archaeologist Breck Parkman wants to identify the remains and figure out what happened.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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