Researchers say they have found an intact section of a bow made of yew that is more than 5,000 years old at the La Draga site in Spain. Part of the site is submerged in Lake Banyoles; other sections of the site on the lake’s shores offer anaerobic conditions, which favor the preservation of organic artifacts. Additional bows have been found in fragments.

A 1,600-year-old, high-quality mosaic has been discovered in a synagogue in the Jewish village of Huqoq, located in northern Israel. The village was known for its production of mustard plants during the Roman period. The mosaic depicts a scene from the biblical book of Judges, in which Sampson ties flaming torches to the tails of foxes. Two human faces and an inscription have also been revealed. “It was a surprise that the village was that affluent. I never would have thought that the mustard plant would be that lucrative,” said Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Iraq’s tourism minister has prevented World Monuments Fund officials from visiting Babylon as part of the dispute over the Jewish archives that were removed by American troops from Iraq in 2003. After three rejections from UNESCO due to Saddam Hussein’s building programs and continued urban growth, WMF representatives were assisting with the application to acquire World Heritage status for the city. Last March, an oil pipeline was dug through the grounds of Babylon by Iraq’s Oil Ministry. “It’s a mess and there are a load of problems. A lot of this feeling you get from a major archaeological site is missing from Babylon,” said Jeffrey Allen, a consultant for the WMF.

A collection of Victorian junk, including lone shoes, pipes, bottles, hats, and tennis balls, has been found beneath the steps of the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich. “We were the first people to handle these objects since the space was bricked up 130 years ago. Was somebody just told to get rid of this stuff quickly – and spotted a convenient hole under the steps which was too good to pass by?” asked Nigel Jeffries from Museum of London Archaeology.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Monday, July 2, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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