Recent CT scans of an Egyptian mummy discovered in the nineteenth century show that the young man suffered from terrible abscesses and cavities in his teeth at the time of his death in his 20s or early 30s. Earlier scans had shown a mass in his mouth, but the new higher-resolution scans allowed scientists to see that the mass was a piece of linen placed as a protective barrier between two molars. It had probably been soaked in pain-killing medicine. “The technology’s come a long way in the last 20 years,” said Andrew Wade, who recently finished his doctorate at the University of Western Ontario.

Two teachers from Missouri have applied for a permit to excavate a wood and iron shipwreck they found exposed in the low water levels of the Mississippi River. In order for their application to be approved, they need a qualified archaeologist to oversee the project. “As the wood is drying out, it’s curling back and deteriorating. We just don’t have a lot of time. It’s in much worse shape now that it was just a few weeks ago,” said Randy Barnhouse, a salvage diver involved in the project.

Archaeologist Vassil Nikolov claims that the 6,500-year-old walled settlement his team unearthed in Bulgaria is the oldest town in Europe. Its massive stone walls protected an estimated 300 to 350 people, who grew wealthy from mining salt. Pottery and copper items were found in the town’s necropolis.

Archaeologist Jannie Loubser and his team are restoring rock art at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southeastern Alberta in an attempt to qualify for World Heritage status. The pictographs and petroglyphs have been damaged by many years’ worth of graffiti and carving. “There are definitely some panels where it’s very complex, where you might have significant rock art with a lot of vandalism scratched over top or in between,” commented Aaron Domes, an employee of Alberta Parks.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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