Just in time for the shopping season

A store that operated in the 1800s has been unearthed at what is now Boyds Corner northeast of Middletown. According to transportation department officials, store owner John Boyd, who emigrated from Ireland to Delaware in 1791, bought the site from his father-in-law, Thomas Read, in 1812.



The officials are not sure when he built and began operating the store, but an 1849 map identifies his shop at that location.


In addition to the child's marble, items that workers have uncovered include a suspender buckle, gun flints, a wrought-iron nail, a sleigh bell, shards from a stoneware milk pan, broken pieces of ceramic pottery and a kettle hook.

Prehistoric human skull found at Isle of Man Airport

A PREHISTORIC human skull dating back 5,000 years together with remains relating to a Neolithic house have been discovered during works on the runway extension project at Ronaldsway. Experts from Oxford Archaeology called in to carry out the excavation have described the finds as being of 'national and possibly European significance'.


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Ancient Fort Opens New Chapter In First Nations' History

A fortified village that pre-dates European arrival in Western Canada and is the only one of its kind discovered on the Canadian plains is yielding intriguing evidence of an unknown First Nations group settling on the prairies and is rekindling new ties between the Siksika Nation (Blackfoot) and aboriginal groups in the United States.

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Ancient open-air theatres across Greece are crumbling due to neglect

Ancient open-air theatres across Greece are crumbling due to neglect and need swift government intervention to rescue them.



Greece, where Classical drama was born in the 5th century BC, boasts scores of theatres that form a key part of the country's classical cultural heritage. But while about 30 are in a state to host cultural events, 76 are in need of urgent repair.

The 6th century BC Dionysus theatre

Ancient reptile rises from Alberta oil sands

The fossil was discovered by machine operators Greg Fisher and Lorne Cundal in 1994 during routine mining operations at Syncrude’s Base Mine, about 35 kilometres north of Fort McMurray near the Athabasca River. Amazingly, the specimen was serendipitously exposed by one of Syncrude’s 100-ton electric shovels approximately 60 metres below ground surface. It is complete except for its left forelimb and shoulder blade. It was transported to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where it was prepared for research observations and exhibit and studied by Druckenmiller and Russell.


Nichollsia borealis is one of the most complete and best preserved North American plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous Period and lived approximately 112-million years ago. Although not classified as dinosaurs, plesiosaurs lived in the seas at the same time that dinosaurs roamed the land throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (205 million – 65 million years ago). They were a diverse group of carnivorous aquatic reptiles that reached lengths of over 12 metres. Fossil remains of dozens of plesiosaurs have been recovered around the world since the early 1800s and are among the first fossil vertebrates to be scientifically described. Nichollsia is also very significant because it fills a 40-million-year gap in the plesiosaur fossil record and greatly increases the understanding of the ancient seaway that once split North America in two and whose shores abounded with dinosaurs.


Nichollsia borealis is currently on display in the Discoveries Gallery at the Royal Tyrrell Museum

Paharpur site temple

Archaeologists have found another ancient brick-built structure with floor and artefacts under the basement of the main temple at world heritage site Paharpur.
The structure was found in the northeast corner of more than 1,200 years old main temple "Somapura Maha Vihara", which is locally known as Paharpur Monastery.



More infos. news

It's not often I link music, but this one is Great !

Caribou by British Sea Power

Archeolog

Neanderthal conjunctions

This morning's story is from a Canadian. Evidence from studies of deep-sea sediments indicate that temperatures in Europe dropped by nearly 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the period when Neanderthals were flourishing. Eugene Morin of Trent University in Peterborough, Canada, studied the effects of this temperature decline by examining bones and other artifacts from a Neanderthal site at Saint-Cesaire in southwestern France. As temperatures declined, the proportion of reindeer in their diet increased to 87% from 35%. But reliance on reindeer is risky because their populations fluctuate widely. A decline in their numbers would lead to famine and population decline, according to Morin.

Can we get the two researchers together? Possibly the combination of a drop in temperature, a drop in food supply and lack of implements to make warmer clothes are persuasive reasons for the demise of the Neanderthals. Or there is other evidences for the disappearance of Neandertals ?