Archaeology in Europe

Location: China Length: 12 min.

The 1,200-year old Foguang Temple in Shanxi Province, China, is one the most important remaining wooden architectural jewels of Chinese civilization. Built during the Tang Dynasty, the temple is a tribute to the peak of Buddhist art and architecture from the 9th century AD. Without regular maintenance and conservation by successive Chinese dynasties, the structure has fallen into dangerous state of disrepair. Global Heritage Fund (GHF) will provide funding and expertise for the investigation, planning and scientific conservation of the site.

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ARCHAELOGICAL investigations have started in Neston looking for evidence of an ancient settlement.

The results of the investigation will be used in connection with a planning application submitted for a major retail development in the present car park.

The dig, between Brook Street and Raby Road, will establish whether more extensive archaeological work would be needed, if planning permission was granted.
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Fragments of memorial stones from the parish church suggest that there has been a settlement at Neston for at least 1,000 years and examination of early maps and other documentary evidence indicate that the western part of the car park, behind the High Street, lay within the original settlement area.

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The secret of Silbury Hill, the most enigmatic prehistoric monument in Europe, isn't the monument but the monumental effort which went into building it, according to the archaeologist who has spent most of the last year slipping around on wet chalk deep in the heart of the hill.

On a sunny morning last week a local druid scattered Wiltshire grass and wild flower seed on the summit of Silbury, to mark what engineers and archaeologists devoutly hope is the completion of a project to prevent the 4,500 year old hill from collapsing - 10 months and £1m over budget.

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Archaeologists excavating an enigmatic burial mound in Sussex believe that grave robbers beat them to the prize of finding the remains of a Bronze Age chief.

Racing against time to date a burial mound on the cliffs at Peacehaven Heights in East Sussex before it collapses into the sea, they have found evidence of human occupation of the site spanning back to 8,000 years BC.

But the prize was to find the remains of the warrior chief who was placed there in the Bronze Age, when the burial mound was built some 2000-3000 years ago, around the same time as the famous stones were erected at Stonehenge.

Many such mounds were built in the Bronze Age, often in high places, to mark the burial of a local chief.

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A LONG-TERM strategy is planned to protect one of Europe's most important archaeological sites from erosion.

A consultation was launched yesterday into a future management plan for the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site (WHS), which aims to protect, conserve and improve understanding of the historic area.

The WHS comprises six sites: the Skara
Brae settlement, Maeshowe chambered tomb, the Stones of Stenness, the Watch Stone, the Barnhouse Stone, and the Ring of Brodgar and associated monuments. The monuments, dating from 3000-2000BC, are regarded as outstanding testimony to the cultural achievements of the Neolithic people of northern Europe.

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An archaeological dig is taking place in the planned site of a supermarket car park after it was found it could be part of an ancient settlement.

Historians moved into Neston, Cheshire, after investigations revealed it may be part of a 1,000-year-old settlement.

Fragments of memorial stones from the parish church suggest that there has been a settlement there for at least 1,000 years.

The work is being carried out to establish whether remains are present.

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The legend goes something like this: after the disastrous Battle of Mohács in 1526, the twenty-one-year-old Queen Mary of Hungary fled the encroaching Ottoman army on a caravan of ships headed to Vienna. But, on her way up the Danube a few ships sank along with their valuable cargo. It is said that to this day they remain hidden in the murky depths of the river. Soon, any truth to this story may soon be discovered, or disproved.

According to inforadio.hu, a team of Hungarian archaeologists are launching an underwater excavation of the Danube to find ships identified by American radar technology.

The investigation is bound to be interesting, says Attila J. Tóth, departmental leader of the Hungarian Alliance Archeology and History of Art (Magyar Régészeti és Művészettörténeti Társulat), but whether or not the remains of the submerged sunken ships actually belong to the Hapsburg Queen's caravan can only be determined with intensive scuba diving.

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ARCHAEOLOGISTS were yesterday celebrating the discovery of 27 2,000-year-old tombs in Italy's "Valley of the Dead".
The tombs, some dating back to the 7th century BC, were found by chance while builders carried out work.

The whole area was sealed off yesterday and put under police guard to prevent anyone from trying to steal artefacts inside the burial chambers.

Grave robbers, or tombaroli as they are known in Italy, make a lucrative living from selling such objects to museums or private collectors.

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Christine Bruns-Özgan, a German native and archaeologist, has made the unearthing of Knidos her life project over the last 20 years. With teams from the University of Konya she has made dozens of trips to the southern peninsula to find the traces of its history

Christine Bruns-Özgan, head of the archeology department at Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Universitesi, knows the historical value of a Turkish stone all too well.

Having lived in the heart of Turkey, Konya, for 26 years and having attended dozens of excavations in her lifetime, Bruns-Özgan, a German native, told the Turkish Daily News that Turkey holds a new surprise for her and the country's cultural collective history every year.

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BURIED for more than a 1,000 years, these beautifully cast fragments of a Viking sword could be a once-in-a-lifetime find for two metal detector enthusiasts in the Isle of Man.
Only the 13th recorded Viking sword found in the Island, it was unearthed by Dan Crowe and Rob Farrer while metal detecting in the north west of the Island.

The two Manx Detectorists Society members have found many interesting artefacts over the years, so they knew the importance of what they had found.

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One of the Vikings' most important trading centres has been discovered in Ireland.

The settlement at Woodstown in County Waterford is estimated to be about 1,200 years old.

It was discovered during archaeological excavations for a road by-pass for Waterford city, which was founded by the Vikings.

The Irish government said the settlement was one of the most important early Viking age trading centres discovered in the country.

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Police in Bavaria have confiscated a trove of ancient Latin American artefacts from the Mayan, Aztec and Incan cultures worth an estimated $100 million.

The collection of cultural treasures is thought to have been smuggled to Munich from Costa Rica by way of Spain, according to the Bavarian state police. Several countries including Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador lay claim to various items that were in the possession of a 66-year-old Costa Rican art collector.

According to the Munich-based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, the man, identified as Leonardo Augustus P., claims to be a former diplomat who properly obtained the artifacts. The man, now a resident primarily of Geneva, is reportedly well-known to police dealing with smuggled art and exotic animals on several continents. He has even picked up the unflattering nickname “The Thief of the Treasures” in his native Costa Rica.

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