Archaeology News Once in a while I like to write about interesting archaeology news. This news is usually not the type one might read about in the regular media. I hear a lot about ancient cities being found, especially in South and Central America. Lidar, a new form of detection, has increased the possibility of making one of these interesting finds much greater as it can see through foliage. Sometimes however the land can be barren and we still make new discoveries on it. Such was the case when the remains of an ancient city were found on an island. The city was found on the Pacific Island of Tongatapu. Archaeologists believe people on the island started building on the island around 300 A.D. Thousands of mounds were found where the city would have been. On another island the remains of a Bronze Age fort have been found. The island is Collanmore near the coast of Ireland. Ramparts have appeared at low tide which were covered with seaweed. An archaeologist stated the locals knew about the ramparts but were not aware of its age significance. It is believed this could have been a very important structure between the years 1100 to 900 B.C. Sometimes archaeology rears its head in some very strange places. This is what happened when an archaeological site was found on Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. A campsite was found. One might initially think so what? This campsite was unusual because it was from 8,200 years ago. It is hard for us to imagine things involving humans going back that far in North America. What was found was a series of hearths, chipped stones and even a ground stone. Charcoal was also found. This might not excite the average person very much, but to archaeologists this is treasure. One thing which seems to catch the interest of non-scientists is the stories of the remains of giants being found. These stories pop up every once in a while. This is a recent one which turned up which states archaeologists found a 15-inch-long sandal which had signs of wear and a boulder with a giant handprint cut into it. This news has stirred up memories of the stories about giant skeletons being found and kept secret. These giants were said to have red hair. A newspaper report from 1911 claimed the giants were between 8.5 to 10 feet tall. As usual, the skeletons were said to have disappeared. As strange as this seems, Robert Wadlow who was born in the United States reached a height of 8 feet 11 inches, so it is not impossible. Another man, John Rogan reached a height of 8 feet 9 inches. There are other reports of extremely tall people but they are unverified. In 2019 archaeologists found something on an island and in a cave that excited them to no end. They found evidence of an unknown branch of humanity. They named these people Homo luzonensis. They were small in stature and are believed to have lived 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. The island was located in the Philippines as is Luzon, an island made famous for the battles in World War 2. It is thought there were primitive humans which might have left Africa earlier than thought and headed for Southeast Asia. An unusual Egyptian tomb was found. It is 4,300 years old and what sets it apart is the fact it has incredible paintings of everyday life. The tomb gives us an great insight to life back then. It is located in Dahshur. It is one of many structures in the area and is only 20 miles south of Cairo. The tomb belonged to a priestess of Hathor named Idet and her husband Seneb-Neb-Af, who held a position in the royal court dealing with administration of tenants. Scientists are looking into ancient construction methods with an eye to finding out if they would be helpful in construction today. There are still unanswered questions about ancient construction, the foremost one being how did the ancients move stones so heavy some of them would be impossible for us to move today? Another is how did they melt some stones together. Things which have been found to be more plentiful than expected are henges. They are groups of arranged stones which are made to create a circle, such as the famous Stonehenge. England seems to be full of them. Archaeologists have found another in England. This one dates back to the Bronze Age and was built somewhere between 2,900 and 1,600 B.C. It measures 250 feet across and has a 16-foot-wide ditch surrounding it. It is in Crowland. It is said to be larger than most other henges which means it was considered very important. It is also located on high land on a prominent feature back then. The henge was uncovered while searching for a hermitage. Archaeologists have made a discovery of five ancient canoes at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The canoes range in age but are approximately 7,000 years old. The largest canoe was about 36 feet long and 4 feet wide. The canoes had transverse reinforcements which was an advanced technique at the time. Different types of wood were also employed. One archaeologist remarked this showed a sophisticated understanding of boat-building and navigation. I am puzzled however how he knew they understood navigation from just finding the canoes? Researchers from the Viking Museum Haithabu and the University of Munster were examining the body modifications of Vikings such as teeth filed to a point and deformed skulls. It turns out they sometimes may have given themselves scars on purpose, had piercings and many tattoos. The skull modifications were only found on women and it is believed that had something to do with beauty. I am not a scientist, but it seems to me the Viking men may have been doing this to themselves to make them look more vicious for attack purposes. We seem to be finding evidence which pushes back the time for modern humans to have existed. How far back will it go? There are even those who believe we may have existed during the time of the dinosaurs.
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