Scientists have been excavating the intact grave of a high-status Celtic woman that was removed whole from the ground, encased in concrete, and transported to the archaeological offices of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Wet soil preserved the tomb’s wooden floor, in addition to fine gold and amber jewelry. 

Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado, Boulder, has analyzed isotopes from the teeth of Paranthropus boisei. The results suggest that this early hominid may have preferred to eat grasses and soft fruit over nuts, as had been thought. 

Three people have pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen artifacts in a federal court in Utah. They were among the 26 indicted by federal prosecutors after the widespread undercover sting operation that was completed in 2009. 

In northern Scotland, traces of a 1,000-year-old roundhouse have been uncovered at the site of Nybster. “We have dug down to what might be the earliest wall on the site and this wall may have been used to seal off the site as a territory, as if someone was saying ‘this land is mine,’” explained archaeologist Andy Heald. 

Residents of Whitewater, Wisconsin, want to protect an effigy mound located in their neighborhood. The mound was built near a natural spring and an oak savanna. “My concern is if the city is going to develop a more complete plan for the site, including trails and how visitors interact with that site, I’d like to see a lot more thought put into the archaeological resources that are there,” said state historian Rob Nurre. 

Egyptologist Kent R. Weeks has written about the state of archaeology in post-revolution Egypt for Newsweek.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, May 2, 2011. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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