Evidence of a 600-year-old Maori settlement, including ovens, food remains, a shell bead, and a small fired clay ball, has been unearthed during excavation of a waste-water pipe near Christchurch, New Zealand.

A metal detector enthusiast found a medieval coin in Gloucester, England, that fills in a knowledge gap. “The discovery of this coin therefore proves that the mint was in operation throughout the whole reign of William I,” according to a report from Portable Antiquities Scheme.

An analysis of fossilized pollen from the royal gardens of Ramat Rahel, which sits on a hilltop overlooking Jerusalem, has allowed scientists from Tel Aviv University to identify the native and imported plants that grew there. The pollen had been trapped in the plaster that lined the garden’s advanced irrigation system.

Nearly 30 Buddhist statues at the Maldives National Museum were destroyed by vandals. Officials say the attack was motivated by religious extremism. “The collection was totally, totally smashed. The whole pre-Islamic history is gone,” said Ali Waheed, director of the museum.

Greek officials announced that the cost of permits for filming and photographing ancient monuments would be reduced, and they now are attempting to streamline the process of securing those permits. “We need a fast-track treatment so that interested parties do not have to wait for months for a response from KAS [the Central Archaeological Council] officials,” said Markos Holevas, former director of the Hellenic Film Commission.

Take a quick trip to the 3,000-year-old site of Mycenae, Greece, with writer Jim Eagles.

A lack of funds has prompted Albania’s government to consider leasing its monuments to private businesses for commercial activities. “Albania is a country of [hundreds of thousand] of buildings built without permits, where neither the state nor the law punishes people who build illegally,” said archaeologist Gjergj Frasheri, a critic of the plan.

A sandstone statue depicting a seated “mother goddess”  has been found near the 1,200-year-old Bheemeswara Swamy temple in southern India. The badly eroded carving dates to the third century B.C.

A Viking sword, complete with bits of wood and fabric, has been discovered at a construction site in central Norway, according to Anne Haug of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.