Wednesday - January 20, 2010

ARCHEOLOGY - A WOW FIND. TWO IN FACT.  This is neat stuff and exciting

Every once in awhile things like this pop up and I get all kinds of excited over them.  The very idea that so much is still hidden away and then suddenly bingo, a dig in a remote place or someone with a metal detector or a scientific group find antiquity.  Amazing.

I know I’m not the only one here who likes this stuff because some have commented positively on past items of this sort.

So enjoy. And three cheers for the people who find these things.  Wish I could be one of em.  I have read about finds under the city of Alexandria in the distant past.

Cat goddess discovered in ruins of temple

January 20, 2010

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed what is believed to be a Ptolemaic-era temple dating back more than 2,000 years that may have been dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the ruins were discovered in the heart of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the seat of the dynasty founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The dynasty ended with the suicide of Cleopatra 300 years later.

The temple was thought to belong to Berenice, the wife of Ptolemy III, who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century BC. Muhammad Abdel-Maqsood, the lead archaeologist, said that the large number of statues depicting Bastet, right, indicated that it may be the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to the cat goddess. Statues of other Ancient Egyptian deities were also found.

Modern Alexandria was built squarely on top of the ruins of the classical-era city and many of the great temples, palaces and libraries of that time remain undiscovered. (AP)

KITTY SOURCE

AND THEN THERE IS THIS FIND.  OR AT LEAST THEY THINK THEY HAVE FOUND,

Oldest remains of English royalty unearthed

The oldest surviving remains of the English Royal family have been unearthed for the first time in more than 500 years, scientists claim.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 6:50AM GMT 20 Jan 2010

Archeologists believe they have discovered the coffin and skeleton of Queen Eadgyth, the sister of King Athelstan and granddaughter of Alfred the Great, who died in 946.

It was thought that her actual remains were lost when they were last moved in 1510 and that a monument built in Magdeburg Cathedral in southern Germany, was a cenotaph in her honour.

But when the tomb was investigated as part of a wider research project, a lead coffin was found inside bearing her name and inside that the nearly complete skeleton of a woman aged between 30 and 40.

Queen Eadgyth, the old spelling of Edith, died aged 36.

Now the University of Bristol are going to carry out tests on the bones to see if they can prove beyond doubt they are those of England’s oldest regal ancestor.

In particular they will try to match radioactive isotopes embedded in the bones to those found in her birthplace in England.

Professor Mark Horton, of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, who is co-ordinating the research, said: “We know that Saxon royalty moved around quite a lot, and we hope to match the isotope results with known locations around Wessex and Mercia, where she could have spent her childhood.

“If we can prove this truly is Eadgyth, this will be one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years. It is quite a surprise to find them so much in tact. It really is an important discovery.”

Queen was the sister of King Athelstan, generally considered to have been the first King of England after he unified the various Saxon and Celtic kingdoms following the battle of Brunanburgh in 937.

His tomb survives in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, but is most likely empty. Eadgyth’s sister, Adiva, was married to an unknown European ruler, but her tomb is not located. Historical chronicles tell that Adiva was also offered to Otto, but that he chose Eadgyth instead.

Eadgyth was given in marriage to Otto I, the Holy Roman Emperor in 929.

She lived in Saxony and bore Otto at least two children, before her death in 946 at the age of 36. She was originally buried in Monastery of Mauritius in Magdeburg, and her tomb was marked in the Cathedral by an elaborate sixteenth century monument.

However, when the lid was removed in the latter, a lead coffin was discovered, bearing Queen Eadgyth’s name and accurately recording the transfer of her remains in 1510.

Professor Harald Meller, of the Landesmuseum fur Vorgeschichte in Saxony Anhalt, who led the project said: “We still are not completely certain that this is Eadgyth although all the scientific evidence points to this interpretation. In the Middle Ages bones were often moved around, and this makes definitive identification difficult.”

As part of the research project some small samples are being brought to the University of Bristol for further analysis.

Different geographical areas have different radioactive signatures, particularly when it comes to concentrations of the metal strontium.

If they can prove that the concentrations of strontium in the skeleton’s teeth, formed up to the age of 15, match those found in England then it proves she was brought up there and so is most likely Queen Eadgyth.

The discovery of Eadgyth’s remains illustrates the close links between European states in the early medieval period and how in the formation of both England and Germany intermarriage between the emerging royal houses of Europe was commonplace and has left a lasting legacy in the present royal families of Europe.

SOURCE

Posted by peiper     on 01/20/2010 at 09:37 AM   
Filed Under: • Amazing Science and Discoveries • Archeology / Anthropology • International • UK •  
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