What is Happening in Archaeology? It is always thrilling for archaeologists when they find something which was dated so far back it becomes the oldest of its kind ever found. This is what happened in Turkey at a dig. Carvings with inscriptions were found which are the oldest ever found. They were found in the ancient city of Tieion which is located in Northern Turkey. Interestingly the ancient city is in the town of Filyos. It just amazes me how towns and cities were built all over the world on top of each other. The archaeologists had previously found the remains of residential homes in that city which were dated to the 7th century B.C. The ancient city was the only one at the time on the shores of the Black Sea. Remote sensing equipment was mounted on helicopters and flown over the Amazon and the discoveries from these probes was amazing. One of the things which was found was a group of ancient villages which were laid out in a circular pattern which resembled the face of a clock. Why would ancient Amazon dwellers choose to build this way? Mounds were found which contained villages and they have been dated to from 1300 A.D. to 1700 A.D. It seems there could have been human life in the rain forest which predates anything we though we could find. There may be far older habitation than just discussed, but because we are talking about huts and such, ruins may no longer exist. Recently a new find at Stonehenge has changed the minds of experts about the people who built it. They now feel the builders were more advanced than first thought. Why did they change their minds? It was because they discovered Stonehenge was built on a slight slope and the east side is lower than the west side. The builders were able to account for this and level it by using stones with different heights to make everything look level. A huge ring of ancient shafts near the monument has been discovered. It is felt when they are explored, clues may be found which help to let us know about the structure and why it was built. So far about 20 shafts have been found. The shafts form a circle. You never know what you might find under your building when you live in an ancient area. You also don’t know what might be under ancient ruins and sites. Researchers have found an enormous building under the archaeological site of Monte Alban. It is being called a ritualistic building and it is right under the main plaza. The city was occupied until about 850 A.D. The plaza had been remodeled about 1000 years before that date and the building covered by the plaza. A mound was found in a prehistoric city in northwest Iran. As Americans it is hard to imagine what I am going to tell you about the age since our country is so young compared to Iran. The city is under the modern town of Gerd Ashvan which is near Lake Urmia. In the mound there are potteries, and relics which have been found so far. Brace yourself, it has been dated back to 4000 B.C. One find was huge clay urns containing human bodies which were used for funerals. You just never know what you might find when you start digging in a country like Turkey because it is such an old civilization and so many armies from other countries have conquered it over the centuries. A 2400 year old mask of the Greek god Dionysus was found made of clay and it is incredibly beautiful. The mask was almost completely intact. It was found at the acropolis of the ancient city of Daskyleion. An archaeological dig has been going on in that city for over 32 years. One mystery which was never able to be solved, until now, is why a large complex was built at Uyghur but was never used. It looks like a fortification and was built about 777 A.D. It is 705 feet by 531 feet. The structure is on an island in a lake and was built by the Uyghurs who were a Turkic ethnic group who lived in Russia, Mongolia and China. The structure was named Por-Bajin. So why was it abandoned and never used? That is a question which has been asked by archaeologists for years. It turned out the people who built the structure were killed in a religious rebellion because they didn’t accept Manichaeism. We have all seen the representations of cave men armed only with spears hunting and yet is that the only weapon they had? It turns out the bow and arrow is at least 48,000 years old even though it may not have been used everywhere. The evidence was found on Sri Lanka and seems to outdate bow and arrow evidence in Europe by 20,000 years, but maybe we just haven’t found the proof yet. It turns out there is a debate going on about when the technology did come to Europe and the dates are hotly contested. Archaeologists couldn’t believe their luck when they found what they believe to be the Mythical Pharaoh city preserved in the Nile. The city had been mentioned many times in ancient records but was never found, until now. It was said Helen of Troy visited there as did Alexander the Great. The scientists believed the existence of the city was just a myth. Years ago, a pilot claimed to see strange shapes under the water, but that was not investigated at the time. Years were spent plotting the area before something was found. I think it gives researchers a lot of satisfaction to find something from history which turns out to be real. It was almost like finding Atlantis. The walls around Jerusalem are considered holy by some and very respected by others. Jerusalem is very important to three major religions, Jews, Catholics and Muslims. Chambers have been found in an archaeological site in the West Wall. It is a chamber with three rooms but its function is yet to be discovered. Archaeologists are saying they found key proof of the origin of the Chinese civilization. It is said relics were found from the Yangshao culture dating back to as far as 7,000 years. The estimates of age vary from 5000 years to 7000 years. The area where the relics were found in was named the Heluo area and Chinese archaeologists are now convinced this is where the Chinese civilization got its start. As with everything in life, this will be true unless an even older site is found.
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