MUMMIES' IDENTITY MISTAKEN
Ankhesenamon Ptolemy

Recent research and scrutiny has determined that the mysterious mummy in KV55 and the mummy beside the "Elder Lady" and the "Younger lady" suffer misidentification.

Now Erika Lee, a unknown Egypt expert, believes that the bodies are not Smenkhare and Thothmosis at all.

"The identities were on target," Lee said. "But they were
switched. Thothmosis is Smenkhare, and Smenkhare is Thothmosis."

The mysterious body, a man, in the tomb KV55 is tentatively identified as Smenkhare. Smenkhare is the pharaoh who succeeded the famed Akhenaton and very little is known about this minor pharaoh. The other body, also a man, is also thought by scholars to be Thothmosis, the older brother of Akhenaton.

The first clue, Lee pointed out, was the cautious way three bodies had been lined up, nearly side by side. That was very puzzling, the expert admitted. It was as if, she said, they had been buried at the same time and they were cared about.

To understand this, Lee said, you must understand human behavior.

Thothmosis did not die in Akhetaton, the ancient capital of Akhenaton where Tiye, Smenkhare, and Nefertiti most likely died. He instead was buried in Thebes, modern day Luxor.

"It doesn't make sense," Lee said. "The Egyptians didn't rebury bodies unless they found the tombs and their person were robbed. Even reburying was rare. Even then, they were not conscientious, but just threw them together as they collected them."

The same thing had happened with famous royal mummies such as Seti I, Ramesses I and Amonhotep III. They were found in a large cache in the very tomb where the man now thought to be Smenkhare was found in a small room with the two women.

"I believe Tutankhamon brought them from Akhetaton when he decamped the city," Lee replied to the question of what happened.
"After all, all three were his relatives."

Tiye was the boy king's grandmother; the beautiful Nefertiti his stepmother, his father's wife. Smenkhare is thought to be the brother of Akhenaton, thus the boy's uncle.

"He probably wanted them near him," Lee said. "It seems he must have missed them."

ATLANTIS FOUND, AGAIN
ANOTHER IN A STRING OF CLAIMS IS MADE
Charon Harmodios

After nearly 10 years of research an American explorer named Robert Sarmast says he has evidence that Atlantis lies beneath the waters off the southern tip of Cyprus.

He makes these claims in his new book Discovery of Atlantis - The Startling Case for the Island of Cyprus. Using ocean mapping technology collected by a Russian survey vessel in 1989 he shows the location of archaeological remains on a sunken strip of land just off the south coast of Cyprus.

Sarmast now intends to carry out an expedition to explore the seabed to find proof of his theory which he says will vindicated Plato’s account of Atlantis in the dialogues of Timaeus and Critias. He claims to have matched 43 of the 45 clues about what Atlantis was like to the area around the island. He feels it’s just too high a coincidence. He says he’s identified a rectangular plain running east to west with a metropolis in the center.

The heart of his theory is that the Mediterranean basin suffered a catastrophic flood from a dam burst at Gibraltar. This food then drowned the island of Atlantis and its inhabitants.

COLLAPSE OF TEMPLE MOUNT WALL
UNREST IN THE REGION MAY FOLLOW
Kore Harmodios

One side of a wall in the Temple Mount compound collapsed uncovering an area of some 40 square meters of dirt and fill. “The Armageddon Wall”, as Newsweek calls the southern wall, belongs to the Islamic Museum and the rock helps support an enormous stone platform that holds the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

An official of the Islamic Waqf, an Islamic trust which has the day to day administration of the area and the holy shrines on the Temple Mount, accused Israeli authorities of instigating the failure of the wall by preventing maintenance of the wall after the Waqf stated rapid action was needed to prevent a collapse.

Temple Mount expert and Israeli archaeologist Eliat Mazar fears that a series of collapses may occur if something isn’t done.

Last December it was reported that a hug bulge had developed in an outer southern wall. After a dispute between Israel and the Waqf over who would fix the bulge, it was decided to involve Jordanian engineers. They inspected and sampled the wall then issued a report to replace some eroding stones in order to prevent a collapse.

Israeli archaeologists believe the Wall collapse is due to unauthorized construction of an area known as Solomon’s Stables. The Antiquities Authority blamed faulty drainage for the probable cause of the bulge.

The Temple Mount is considered the holiest site for observant Jews. It’s also the third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina, in the Muslim faith.

If more of the wall or even the platform collapses its feared there will be mass rioting throughout the Middle East and charges of Israel being responsible.

THE COLIGNY CALENDAR
NEW INSIGHTS FROM AN OLD DISCOVERY
Vortigern Aedui

In a field near the village of Coligny, France, a local inhabitant found two incredible and strange items. One was a statue of Mars, the Roman god of war. The second, and more important, was a 5 x 3.5 foot bronze tablet with both Roman and Gaulish inREPLACED SCRIPTions on it. The tablet, which is known as the Coligny Calendar, is dated from the 1st-century BC, and has since become an important tool in deciphering the Celtic months, years, as well as the festivals that they celebrated. It has also been an important way of figuring out the dialect of the ancient Celts in Gaul, an otherwise forgotten and unknown language.

Recent studies done on the calendar by two researchers, Dr. Peter Forster of the University of Cambridge in England and Dr. Alfred Toth of the University of Zurich, have uncovered that the Celtic language is in fact older than previously believed. The Celtic language is known to be a part of the Indo-European family of languages that was previously thought to have come to Europe around 4000 BC. The two researchers have come up with a different date than previously thought through the use of a new method of language tracing. The new method developed by Dr. Fortster, a geneticist, uses a tree-drawing technique that has been used to trace the evolutionary relationship among genes. Using this theory, Dr. Forster and his colleagues have come up with the divergence of the Indo-European around 8100 BC. This method has also come up with divergence within the Indo-European language as well, and the two scientists have come up with an earlier date of 3200 BC as being the origin of the Celtic language, which is much earlier then the earlier proposed date of 600 BC. Dr. Colin Renfrew also supports this theory, which was proposed by the archaeological evidence of an agricultural society in Europe.

While the calendar has helped with answering linguistic questions of the Celts, it has also shed light on the Celtic year. It was studied intensively by French archaeologist J. Mounard when first found, and has shown that contrary to earlier belief, the Celtic month began at the full moon, rather than the new moon. It is believed that the reason for this is because the full moon is easier to observe. The months are then divided into two halves, a light half and a dark half with the divide signified by the word Atenoux, which means ‘returning night’, and signifies the new moon phase. The year itself was also divided into two halves by the abbreviations MAT for the ‘good’ months and ANM for the ‘bad’ months. These months were divided using festivals; Beltane which was the coming of the good months, and Lugnasadh which was the coming of the dark, or ‘bad’ months. According to historian Barry Cunliffe, “considerable similarities to the Greek calendar suggest a possible source of inspiration” (p. 189). This is very well quite possible considering the archaeological evidence of trading between the two peoples.

The calendar is also divided up into sixteen columns and each column is subdivided into four months except for the fifth and ninth columns which contain two lunar months and one intercalary month, to make up for the reality of time. The months were also divided alternately into 29 and 30 days, making the year a total of 354 days. This has been studied and in order for this type of calendar to work, there would need to be a leap year inserted every 40 years. Obviously, the year consisted of twelve months much like the Julian calendar we use today, with festivals located every quarter.

The Celtic Months
Month	Period	Meaning
Samonios	Oct/Nov	Seed-Fall
Dumannios	Nov/Dec	The Darkest Depths
Riuros	Dec/Jan	Cold Time
Anagantios	Jan/Feb	Stay Home Time
Ogronios	Feb/Mar	Time of Ice
Cutios	Mar/Apr	Time of Winds
Giamonios	Apr/May	Shoots Show
Simivisionios	May/Jun	Time of Brightness
Equos	Jun/Jul	Horse Time
Elembiuos	Jul/Aug	Claim Time
Edrinios	Aug/Sep	Arbitration Time
Cantios	Sep/Oct	Song Time

The festivals would indicate the seasonal change with the first festival being Samhain, which took place in the Celtic month of Samnios. This was a festival, which celebrated the god of healing and father of all gods, Dagda and the goddess Morrighan in which they came together, and through their intercourse the well being of the tribe was assured. The second festival was Ibolc, which fell in the Celtic month of Ogronios. This festival was mostly associated with the goddess Brigit, a goddess of fertility. It is likely that this festival suggested the time of year when the herds could be moved to the upland pastures. The third festival, Beltane, which fell in the Celtic month of Simivisionios, was an important festival to the Celtic people because it was the fire festival and was the time of planting and fertilization. Cunliffe proposes that the “fires lit on this occasion may have been used to fumigate cattle before they were turned to graze on the summer pastures” (189). Beltane's associated deity was Belenus, the Celtic god of fire. The final Celtic festival that is indicated by the Coligny calendar is the festival of Lughnasadh. This festival is the dedicated to the Celtic god Lugos and was the last festival of the Celtic year. Cunliffe asserts “the timing might suggest that it was when the propriety offerings had to be made to the chthonic deities in anticipation of a fruitful harvest” (189). This festival was also the time when the when the Council of Gauls met in Lugosdunum, ‘the city of Lugos’.

The two festivals indicated as being most important to the Celtic people, according to the calendar, were Beltane and Lughnasadh. This is self-evident from the fact that the Celts were an agrarian society and based their society on the planting of the food, and the harvest of the food. This information learned from the Coligny calendar has opened up a New World of thought concerning the ancient Celts and their customs. Also, through the importance of the festivals, supports the assertions of Dr. Froster and Dr. Toth, as that the indication of the Celts as an agricultural peoples, further proves that their findings might be true as the emergence of the Celtic people.

Sources

Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. Penguin Books, 1999.

Matthews, Caitlin. The Celtic Tradition. Element, 1995.

http://www.roman-britain.org/coligny.htm

http://www.eclectics.org.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=160

ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES
CURRENT NEWS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Aifa Niafer

England – During an archaeological training exercise, evidence of two Mesolithic settlements was found underwater in northeast England off the coast near Tynemouth by a team from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. An arrowhead and cutting implements were found undisturbed on the sea bed. One of the settlements was from the late Mesolithic period, 8500 – 5000 years ago. The other one, further out to sea at the edge of a long rocky outcrop that would’ve been a small cliff face is thought to be from the early Mesolithic, 8500 to 10000 years ago.

Israel – For the first time scholars have matched the dating if a well known biblical structure to events found in the Bible proving conclusively that the Siloam Tunnel was built by King Hezekiah around 700 B.C. The 1749 foot long tunnel runs southwest from Gihon Spring to the Siloam Pool beneath the section of Jerusalem known as the City of David. Researchers from Hebrew University carbon dated a piece of wood and plant taken from the plaster along with uranium thorium dating of cores taken from stalactites which had grown in the tunnel since its construction to establish the tunnels age. These results taken along with an inscription describing the construction that appears to come from Hezekiah’s time tipped the scale in favor the tunnel’s construction 500 years ago.

Egypt – The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has announced that by using scientific methods an attempt will be made to dispel the myth of pharaonic curses by opening unexcavated intact tombs and examining them for dangerous substances, gases or germs concentrating on what might have developed in the tombs over the centuries in mummified human remains.

England – It is believed that Iron Age gold found in Winchester was a gift from Julius Caesar to Commius who was one of the first kings of Britain. He was known to have lived at a large Iron Age settlement in Owslebury. The “Winchester Treasure”, found in 2000 in a ploughed field in Owslebury, Hampshire, includes two gold torcs, four gold brooches and two bangles. This may explain the lack of local opposition to the Roman invasion of 43 A.D.

Borneo – A team of French archaeologists have determined that ancient paintings found in Gua Saleh Cave in southeast Borneo were made at least 9900 years ago. The age of the paintings were established by estimating the age of a calcite coating forming on the pure hematite pigment.

Scotland – The site of an Iron Age hill fort at Traprain Law (Hill of Staves) may have been destroyed by a massive fire. No one knows what started the massive grass fire in East Lothian but now it continues to burn underground. The heat has kept the East Lothian Council and Historic Scotland from assessing the damages of the site which includes a medieval settlement. The area was once known as Dunpender the capital of the Votadini tribe. An emergency meeting was convened to being drawing up a plan of action to salvage the fort.

India – Epigraphists of the Tamil Nadu Archeology Department have discovered a rare 3rd Century BC Tamil Brahmi inscription engraved in a cave used by early Jain monks. The cave near Arttapatti village about 20 km from Madurai contained the 3.1 foot long 33 letter inscription about early Tamil politics.

India – While digging a pit for water in Parmarwali ‘gali’ of Chotila, about 50 km from Rajkot, two idols of Jain Tirthankaras were discovered. The idols of Sambhavnath and Shantinath tirthankaras are believed to be at least 2200 years old.

China – A rare paper painting about 1600 years old was discovered by archaeologists in Yumen City, Gansu Province. The 80 cm long 40 cm wide painting was discovered on a wooden coffin found in a Wei Kingdom-Jin Dynasty period (220-420) tomb. It is believed to be the earliest known example of that medium found in China.

England – A gold Roman tablet thought to date back to the 2nd century AD and engraved with symbols was found in a garden in Dereham Norfolk. The thin plate one inch square tablet in Greek Writing was sent to the museum staff in Norwich.

Lebanon – A temple thought to be of a Roman sun god was discovered by a Japanese archaeological mission excavating at the Bourj al-Shemail Palestinian refuge camp area east of Tyre. The temple was topped with a circle depicting the sun and small cultic figurines were also found at the site. The site, which also contained a Roman cemetery, may be the largest Roman burial ground in the Middle East.

China – For the first time a crucial skull fragment belonging to the 500,000 year old Peking Man is being shown to the public at a museum 48 km southwest of Beijing near where Peking Man was first discovered. Evidence of Peking Man is scarce since five skullcaps were lost during World War II and have never been recovered. Only one small fragment of bone, about the size of a palm, is on display but it forms part of a nearly complete skull unearthed in 1968.

England – A 5000 year old unused polished stone axe head was found during a three week field walk by Wessex Archaeology, along with a leaf shaped arrowhead, at a 90 hectare (220 acres) area of farmland situated within a km of the monument at Stonehenge and the Avebury stone circle. The survey, organized by the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage site officers, was aimed at a plan to improve conservation of the area turning crop land into pasture to avoid it being ploughed and thus disturbing important archaeological remains. The area surveyed include West Kennet Long Barrow, West Overton and Beckhampton Hill near Avebury; and Durrington Down Farm, Normanton Down Barrows and North Kite enclosure near Stonehenge.

England – The site of a massive iron factory believed to have helped produce weapons for the Roman army was discovered by archaeologists at Exmore. It’s believed that the iron produced on the site 2000 years ago may have been not only used nationally but exported for international use as well. After the archaeologists have finished their examination the site will be covered over.

England – Buried two feet under the surface in Lincolnshire a 1500 year old Anglo Saxon female warrior was discovered along with the remains of a man and a woman. The discovery was made by the television program Time Team who carries out three day excavations with the assistance of the Navenby Archaeology Group. The 6ft tall woman was found holding her shield with a dagger at her side. The companion woman had her feet bound with rope and was wearing an amber necklace. A total of four shields were found along with a pot under the hands of the male companion. The remains are being examined by Wessex Archeology and will eventually be brought back to the Lincoln City and County Museum in Friars Lane.

Brazil – A network of 1000 year old towns and villages were found in the Amazon forest. The 15 square mile site is located at the headwaters of the Xingu River and contains at least 19 villages of the Xinguano people were situated at regular intervals and were built in the same circular pattern.

Scotland – Remains 6000 years old have been uncovered by archaeologists digging at the site of the new Stewart Milne Holmes’ scheme at Deer’s Den off Forest Road. Because the Iron Age and Roman finds were so near the surface it most likely won’t prevent development of the area.

Romania – The 35000 year old jaw of the a man was found in a cave in the Carpathian Mountains by cave explorers and the Institurtul de Speologie in Cluj. It is believed to be the oldest such fossil of a modern European. The jaw is similar to “modern human’ specimens found in Africa, the Middle East and Europe but also to those of Neandertal Man. Analysis of the specimen was conducted in the United States before being returned to Romania.

England – The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain was found in a cave at Aveline’s Hole in the Mendip Hills near Burlington Combe. The date on bone fragments have been confirmed to be between 10200 and 10400 years old. The specimens of 21 individuals was originally moved from the cave site in 1914 by the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society and held at their museum but was mostly lost during the bombing raid of November 1940. A report of a sealed cave at Aveline’s Hole first appeared in 1797 when it was recorded that there were between 70 and 100 skeletons lying on the floor. The dating was commissioned by scientist from English Heritage and carried out by Queen’s University, Belfast.

Malta – Part of a Roman olive press has been discovered under a high rubble wall on the outskirts of Nadur. It’s practically identical in size and shape to one on display at the Archaeological Museum in Gozo. A number of potsherds have also been found scattered throughout the area. Nadur is located in the Ramia Valley which also includes the Ggantija temples at Xaghra, Calypso’s cave, the Bronze Age site at in-Nuffara and a Roman villa in the sands of Ramie Bay.

United States – University of Vermont archaeologists have discovered evidence of an ancient Native American settlement that dates back some 10000 years along a small ravine on a farm in Colchester. It was discovered during construction of the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway off-ramp. Findings suggest that the site was a hunting camp where spear points broken during hunting were replaced and removed and the kills were butchered. Fragments of Agate Basin spear points bases were found that date to the Late Paleoindian period and the material came from Mount Jasper, New Hampshire. So far construction of the highway has yielded 79 archaeological discoveries.

Bolivia – Evidence of a pre-Incan silver smelting that is nearly 1000 year old has been discovered from a settlement core from 11 meter deep Laguna Lobato located near the colonial mining center and silver deposits of Cerro Rico de Potosi. This discovery by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States and the University of Alberta in Canada shows that large scale silver ore mining occurred 400 years before the Incans began their silver industry in the area.

Spain – a 1st century Roman amphitheater, the third largest known, has been found in the city of Cordoba formally Corduba provincial capital of Betica (Andalusia) in Imperial Hispania. The 178m by 145m by 20m high structure has an estimated capacity of 30,000 to 50,000 and was built for gladiatorial combat during the reigns of emperors Caludius and Nero. The site was discovered during the construction of a car park at the University of Veterinary Science. Also found was epiographic evidence of gladiator burials and the first reference to a gladitorial school in Hispania.

Egypt – A stone tablet from the 13th century, discovered at Quantir by German archaeologists, describing diplomatic ties between Egyptian and Hittites. It confirms, for the first time in the written record, the location of Remses II’s capital of Pi-Ramses in the Nile Delta. The 11 line letter on the poorly preserved tablet was written in cuneiform REPLACED SCRIPT and was sent from the Central Anatolian Hittite court several years after peace had been declared in 1278 BC.

Norway – In a dig at Ankra outside Molde archaeologists have discovered 100,000 items from the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. Construction of a gas plant at Orman Lange field led to the excavation of NTNU.

Finland – The discovery of 4 large silver necklaces found a rocky crevice Nangunieni in Inari, was the first of its kind in northern Finland. Thought to have been brought to the area by Vikings, the artifacts are being sent to Helsinki before being placed on display at the Sami museum, Siida, in Inari.

Belize – Findings at the Blackman Eddy site by archaeologists from Texas State University – San Marcos have pushed back the date for the rise of Mayan civilization 300 years earlier. Blackman Eddy was a major cultural center located in the Upper Belize Valley. The site was accidentally bulldozed during road construction in the 1980s. Half of the pyramid was destroyed and in danger of collapse prompting Belize authority to allow the unprecedented move of allowing the archaeologists to excavate to bedrock. Thirteen building phases were revealed spanning 2000 years to 100 BC. Very high quality ceramics were found at the lowest level indicated that a rather sophisticated agricultural society existed at the time. The amount of exotic goods, greenstone, obsidian and marine shells pointed to long established trading.

United States – A group of scientists have recently located a spot where native people went to find obsidian for tools and weapons. A large field of the volcanic glass was located on the Indian River near Hughes were evidence was found that 10,000 to 2000 years ago people traded Indian River obsidian throughout Alaska as far north as Barrow, east to the Yukon Territory and south to Homer.

China – While digging traps for field mice a farmer in Macifen village in Neihuang county Henan Province discovered 20 stone figurines with a maximum height of 30 cm and believed to be 2000 years old. Archaeologists arriving at the site then uncovered 24 additional figures. The newer finds ere reburied for protection and the first 20 were sent off for further research.

England – At the Institute of Archaeology in London the Portable Antiquities Scheme announced the discovery of a second century AD bronze pan to in the Staffordshire moorlands. Engraved on the vessel were the names of 4 forts, Browes, Drumburgh, Stanwick, and Castelsteads, located at the western end of Hadrian’s Wall. This was the third such vessel recovered and the first to include the fort of Drumburgh. Between the three, seven forts are named. The vessel is inlaid with colored enamel and elaborately decorated in Celtic-style motifs. The pan may be part of an exhibit at the British Museum in November.

England – Water seeping through a road outside the entrance to Stall Street, Bath in Somerset, is destroying a 1700 year old cold plunge Roman bath. Other Roman remains on York Street, Stall Street and Kingston Parade are also threatened. Work to save the artifacts should be completed in November.

England – Based on a prediction by Trinity Gardens Ulverston Archaeologist English Heritage visited fields in Great Urswick and asked for a more detailed survey and excavation to be carried out on what could be a 2000 year old Roman Fort. It’s hoped a small excavation can be carried out within the next 2 years.

Italy – Recently found under the ruins of Pompeii was a settlement dating back to the 3rd century BC. Archaeologist from Perugia University investigated houses that appeared to have been built over previously existing structures. From what was discovered they were able to trace the history of the town back to the 6th century and found evidence of a 3rd century settlement. The earlier town was built on steps to prevent flooding. Its streets were narrow and could only be traversed by foot or donkey. A nearly intact 3rd century mosaic floor was uncovered under a large house between the Vicolo di Modesto and Vicolo della Fullonica.

MUMMIES' IDENTITY MISTAKEN
Ankhesenamon Ptolemy

ATLANTIS FOUND, AGAIN
Charon Harmonidos

COLLAPSE OF TEMPLE MOUNT WALL
Kore Harmonidos

THE COLIGNY CALENDAR
Vortigern Aedui

ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES
Aifa Niafer