Site May Be 3rd-Century Place of Christian Worship

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, November 7, 2005; Page A14

MEGIDDO, Israel, Nov. 6 -- Israeli state archaeologists have discovered mosaics, pottery and other remains of a Roman-era Christian building on the grounds of a high-security prison here. They say the site could be the oldest public place of Christian worship ever uncovered in Israel and perhaps one of the earliest such sites in the world.

The mosaic floor of the structure, buried beneath rock, soil and asphalt, was discovered Oct. 30 by an Israeli prisoner working on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The agency has been excavating the compound for more than a year to ensure that nothing of historic value is lost during an ongoing renovation project. At a news conference Sunday, Yardena Alexandre, a spokeswoman for the authority, called the discovery "one of the most important finds for the history of early Christianity."

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Site May Be 3rd-Century Place of Christian Worship

Indian art rediscovered in upstate New York

The Canadian high school archaeology teacher had rediscovered a rare example of Indian rock art long thought to have been erased by centuries of weathering. Scardera reported his find for the first time this fall at the Conference on Iroquois Research at The Rensselaerville Institute Conference Center.

The red ochre-streaked rock face was last recorded in a 1920 photograph kept by the New York State Museum in Albany.


Indian art rediscovered in upstate New York

"French, Canadians to explore Mazandaran caves"

LONDON, November 20 (IranMania) - Scholars from Lyon and Toronto Universities have asked to carry out excavations in the ancient caves of Mazandaran province in Iran, CHN reported.

Previous studies and excavations in the caves indicate that human settlement in Mazandaran province dates back to 40,000 years ago.

Mazandaran province, in the southern coastal line of the Caspian Sea, enjoys several unique caves such as Kushiman. Mazandaran is one of the most historical provinces of Iran, the inhabitants of which have lived in urbanized societies from the 5th millennium BC. Until now a lot of mysteries of the 5,000-year-old life of the people of the region have been revealed.


Iran News - French, Canadians to explore Mazandaran caves:

Digging into the past

Once a monastery, later Army barracks, and today the site of a future shopping mall, the northeast quadrant of what is now námestí Republiky has always reflected the changing face of Prague. During the initial stages of the ongoing construction of the 7.5 billion Kc ($303 million) Palladium shopping center project, archeologists have discovered the remnants of yet another era: the foundations of a 12th-century Romanesque palace.

The European Property Fund (EPF), the project's investor, has spent 100 million Kc on the archeological excavation. This is a requirement stipulated by law: Any investor planning construction in a historical area must first do an archeological survey of the site, and if archeological artifacts are found, he must finance further fieldwork.

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The Palladium site yields an unexpected bounty of archaeological treasure