Antiquities and Ancient Art

British Gardner Uncovers Large Bronze Age Trove of Weapons

A Norfolk, England, man digging in his garden has uncovered one of the largest ever hoards found in Britain of Bronze Age tools and weapons, according to press reports.  The hoard is said to contain more than 145 spear and axe heads, swords, and metal working tools.

Evidence suggests the hoard belonged to someone engaged in the metal working craft as it contained bronze items from a variety of different periods, including a Viking brooch!  In addition, some of the swords were broken, suggesting that the ancient owner may have been involved in re-using the material. Archaeologists said the latest find in the group dated to around 800 BC.

The Bronze Age is generally considered to run from about 2500 BC to 700 BC, which then gives way to the Iron Age.

According to a BBC report, the objects are all in good shape and it is hope that the cache will soon be on public display.

Egyptian Archaeologists Find Cache of Rare Pharaonic Seals

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a number of rare Pharaonic seals of soldiers sent out on desert missions in search of red paint to decorate the pyramids, Egypt's culture minister said Thursday.

The 26 matchbox-sized seals belonged to Cheops, who ruled from 2551 to 2528 BC, in whose honour the greatest of the great pyramids of Giza southwest of Cairo was built, and show Pharaonic soldiers' ranks, the MENA news agency quoted Faruq Hosni as saying.

Read the full article in SIFY...

Fact or Fiction: Antiquities Authority Warns of 'Unprecedented Archaeological Crime"

From the Jerusalem Post comes a report in which the head of Israel's Antiquities Authority proclaims the recent excavations conducted at the Temple Mount under the auspices of Islamic Wakf officials "unprecedented archaeological crime."  We quote excerpts from the article:

"On the grounds of a Jerusalem national park with a view of the Temple Mount, a small group of Israeli archaeologists and volunteers sifting through piles of rubble discarded by Islamic Wakf officials from the Temple Mount into a city garbage dump have recently uncovered a series of history-rich artifacts dating back to the First and Second Temple periods.

"The five-month old privately-funded project underway at the site, which is being directed by Bar Ilan University archeology professor Dr. Gabriel Barkay, is being called virtually unprecedented since archaeological excavation has never been permitted on the Temple Mount itself."

"Six years ago, following the Islamic Wakf's unilateral construction of a mosque at an underground area of the Temple Mount known as Solomon's Stables, Wakf officials discarded more than 10,000 tons of rubble with history-rich artifacts, at a municipal garbage dump in the Kidron Valley and other locations outside the Old City."

Frankly, judging from the photos in the Jerusalem Post of some of the relatively minor artifacts found in the dump heap, this hardly seems to compare to the "archaeological crime," of say, the Taliban destruction of the destroyed two large statues of the Buddha outside of the city of Bamiyan in 2001. But judge for yourself.....full story click here.