By Art Daily, Archaeological Daily News

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Gold coins and a gold box lie in situ on the "Black Swan" site. Hundreds of gold coins and more than 500,000 silver coins were discovered on the site.

MIAMI — A U.S. district judge has ruled that U.S. treasure-hunting company Odyssey Marine Exploration should return to Spain a fortune in old coins recovered from the wreck of a 19th-century Spanish warship.

In an order filed in Tampa, Florida Tuesday, Judge Steven Merryday nevertheless directed that the return of the treasure to Spain be stayed until an appeals process in the case was concluded. It was the latest twist in a complex dispute over the treasure involving Spain, Odyssey and Peru.

Merryday’s order backed a recommendation by a U.S. magistrate judge in June that Odyssey should hand over to the Spanish government nearly 600,000 silver and gold coins valued at some $500 million that it recovered from the wreck of the 19th-century Spanish warship Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes.

Spain said the Spanish naval frigate was carrying treasure back from Peru when it was sunk by British gunboats in 1804.

Continue reading this article here: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/12/23/plundered-booty-returning-spain/

Hundreds of bleached bones and skulls found in the desolate wilderness of the Sahara desert may be the remains of the long lost Cambyses' army, according to Italian researchers.

The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology’s biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

Bronze weapons, a silver bracelet, an earring and hundreds of human bones found in the vast desolate wilderness of the Sahara desert have raised hopes of finally finding the lost army of Persian King Cambyses II. The 50,000 warriors were said to be buried by a cataclysmic sandstorm in 525 B.C.

“We have found the first archaeological evidence of a story reported by the Greek historian Herodotus,” Dario Del Bufalo, a member of the expedition from the University of Lecce, told Discovery News.

According to Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun after the priests there refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt.

After walking for seven days in the desert, the army got to an “oasis,” which historians believe was El-Kharga. After they left, they were never seen again.

“A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear,” wrote Herodotus.

A century after Herodotus wrote his account, Alexander the Great made his own pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun, and in 332 B.C. he won the oracle’s confirmation that he was the divine son of Zeus, the Greek god equated with Amun.

Continue reading here: http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/cambyses-army-remains-sahara.html?dtc=dsc-hp-drl-dn-news

The find of four gold torcs, or necklaces, was unearthed on private land in Stirlingshire, England

A rare haul of Iron Age jewelry discovered by an amateur treasure hunter is being unveiled by the Museum of Scotland.

The find of four gold torcs, or necklaces, was unearthed on private land in Stirlingshire in September. They were discovered by David Booth, a chief game warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, who had just taken up the hobby.

The necklaces, which date from between 300BC and 100BC, are thought to be worth in the region of $1.65 million.

Quite how well Mr Booth will be rewarded has yet to be decided. Under Scots law, the Crown has the right to claim any find, with any payments made at their discretion. However, it is thought he could receive somewhere in the region of a six-figure sum.

The 35-year-old had only taken up the hobby five days before and this was his first outing with the newly bought metal detector.

Continue reading here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571985,00.html?test=latestnews

Chemical analysis of the warrior's bones show he was mostly vegetarian

A late Roman period body unearthed in Gloucester has stunned experts after tests suggested it was a Goth warrior from eastern Europe.

The man, aged 25 to 30, who was dug up north of Kingsholm Square in 1972, had always baffled archaeologists.
His elaborate silver belt fittings, shoe buckles and inlaid knife were believed to be from an area between the Balkans and Southern Russia.

Chemical tests now prove he was from east of the River Danube.

This has led historians to suggest he was a Goth mercenary in the Roman Army.

Pirate warden?

The large bones date to about 400AD, just 10 years before Rome itself fell to Visigoth invaders, and tests showed he was mostly vegetarian.

They were discovered in a mausoleum, suggesting he was a man of high social status.

Continue reading here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestershire/8298825.stm

MIAMI — The U.S. is taking legal steps in Miami to return a stolen, 3,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt.

Federal prosecutors filed court papers Thursday seeking forfeiture of the ancient artifact.

It wound up in Miami last year following a series of transactions that began at an antique dealership in Barcelona, Spain.

Continue reading this article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,563183,00.html

He has never discovered a golden statue or any of the other “Steven Spielburg-inspired” treasures.

“Much of what you see at the movies is treasure hunting, not true archaeology,” said Dr. Charles Page, renowned Biblical scholar and archaeologist, while visiting First United Methodist Church Sunday night.

Page has served as the Academic Dean at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Jerusalem, Israel from 1989 until today. Some of the excavation projects he had been involved with include: Tel Arad; Beer Sheva; Kar Karkom (Mt. Sinai); Beth Shean, Bethsaida; The Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem; The Tomb of the Kings, Jordan; and the Bethsaida Excavation in Galilee. He is currently the director of the Kursi Excavation and of the Capernaum excavation.

Before 1954, much of what was discovered was done by treasure hunters.

After that time, Page said a systematic methodology was put in place to help archaeologists trace history.

Page began by saying that it is through Christ that a person is saved and can then have close fellowship with God, not in artifacts and other items people discover. He quoted Paul’s litmus test  for salvation, found in  Romans 10:9 that says “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

While making it clear to not mislead someone in their faith, Page said biblical archaeology is an opportunity to help interpret and understand much of biblical teaching.

Continue reading this article here:  http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/content/view/174191/60/

Caskets were found Tuesday during road work on Mona Terrace off delaware Avenue in Albany. (Michael P. Farrell / Times Union )

This 1891 map provided by archaeologist Michael Werner shows a cemetery off Delaware Avenue in the area where graves were located Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009.

By Jordan Carleo-Evangelist and Humberto Martinez, TimesUnion.com

ALBANY — State historic preservation officials are expected to visit Mona Terrace today after construction crews working on the reconstruction of Delaware Avenue on Tuesday unearthed what appear to be several wooden caskets.

The discovery brought work at the site, part of a much-heralded $14.9 million federal stimulus project, to a halt while an archaeologist working for the city examined the find.

It was not immediately clear how many caskets were unearthed – and as of Tuesday night, no skeletal remains had yet been found, said Albany’s former city archaeologist Michael Werner, who is now a consultant to the city.

Werner said the work crews noticed the discoloration, including the telltale blackish color of deteriorated wood, and stopped work immediately.

“They did a good job of stopping when they did because they’re on top of it instead of halfway through it,” Werner said, stressing that the investigation is only in its earliest stages.

Werner said it’s not yet clear how many caskets are buried at the site, but added that “it’s safe to say there’s multiple burials down there.” He said he will meet this morning with an a representative of the state Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

Because the project is being funded by federal money, a review of the site will be conducted under more exacting federal standards, with the state agency standing in for the federal government, Werner said.

Continue reading here:  http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=847424

Surrounded by excited volunteers, City Archaeologist Carl Halbirt removes dirt from a newly discovered well that dates to the early 1700Õs at a dig at the Cathedral Parish School in downtown St. Augustine Thursday, August 6, 2009. BY DARON DEAN, daron.dean@staugustine.com

Archaeology volunteers sift through material taken from a dig at the Cathedral Parish School in downtown St. Augustine Thursday, August 6, 2009. BY DARON DEAN, daron.dean@staugustine.com

From:  The St. Augustine Record

By:  Marcia Lane

Three wells and burned wooden items probably dating back to a British raid in 1702 British are among the latest items to turn up at an archaeological dig on the grounds of the Cathedral Parish School in downtown St. Augustine.

“You can see the barrel. The barrel’s still there,” Melissa Dezendorf, part of the city’s archaeology staff, told volunteers who were cleaning off and cataloging items found at the dig site off Bridge Street.

The barrel was part of a third well uncovered by city archaeologist Carl Halbirt. The news was exciting enough to cause volunteers to stop working and head over to the rectangular shaped hole where he was working.

A portion of a metal barrel band that once held a wooden barrel together and pieces of burned wood could be seen in the pit. Barrels — placed one atop another — were used to form the shaft of the well and hold back the dirt.

As quickly as Halbirt dug in the hole on Thursday, water seeped in.

The area is below the water level. and that — combined with recent rains, a full moon and high tides — prompted the city to bring in a pump to try and keep the area dry while the dig goes on.

The third well caused Halbirt to slightly change his hypothesis about events that took place at the site. He originally thought what turned out to be the well was a “robbers’ pit,” a sort of dump site.

Each of the wells at the site was dug next to each other and each at different times, he believes. The wells range from the mid-1600s to the early 1700s.

“It’s a fascinating insight into how the Spanish got potable water,” Halbirt said.

The middle well was about eight feet deep and used hogshead barrels – 48 inches across. Hogshead barrels were the type used to ship in items from Europe.

Continue reading here:  http://staugustine.com/stories/080709/news_1828572.shtml

Underwater archaeologist Barry Clifford & the Whydah Sea Lab and Learning Center

From USA Today

By:  Dan Vergano