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Ancient Iraqi stone head matched with replica body

A mysterious stone head from ancient Mesopotamia dating back more than 4,000 years has been matched up with a replica body in Iraq after years of delays brought on by sanctions and war. The head from the Akkadian Empire, unearthed by Iraqi archaeologists in 1982, has been united with a replica of a headless torso discovered over a century ago, Baghdad Museum curator Mohsen Hassan Ali told AFP. The replica of the stone torso held in Berlin's Pergamon Museum was handed ov

Germany helps protect Iraqi antiquities

(Translation from Nakhla News) Today under the auspiciousness of the Iraqi Ministerial Cabinet, agreement was signed between the German Federal Republic and the Government of the Republic of Iraq to co-operate in the fields of archaeological research, the conservation of human heritage, which was initiated announcing the protection of antiquities and heritage. Present at the ceremony were, Mr. Ali Muhsin Al-”Allaq Director of the Cabinet Office, Mr Mahir al-Hadithi Minister of Cultu

Piano that survived atomic bomb plays on for peace

A 77-year-old piano that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and has become a symbol for peace is heading to New York next year as the city marks the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. When the United States dropped the bomb on the Japanese city on August 6, 1945, the Yamaha upright piano was in the blast radius. It still retains very low levels of radiation and shards of glass are forever embedded in the black lacquer. "During the bombing of

Presidential Vacations Carry Heavy Baggage

Summer vacations say a lot about a president. Ronald Reagan spent up to a month each season at his beloved Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara, Calif., much of the time on horseback. George H.W. Bush retreated to the family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, while his son, George W. Bush, preferred clearing brush at his ranch in Crawford, Tex. Then there was Bill Clinton, always restless and without a home, who often borrowed the compound of a wealthy Democratic donor on Martha's V

Tomb search could end riddle of Shakespeare's true identity

A sarcophagus in an English parish church could solve the centuries-old literary debate over who really wrote the plays of William Shakespeare Parishioners at St Mary's church in Warwick have sought permission to examine the contents of the 17th monument built by Fulke Greville, a writer and contemporary of Shakespeare who some believe is the true author of several of the Bard's works. In an echo of the blockbuster book and film, The Da Vinci Code, the search has been

Timber Structure Older than Stonehenge Found in London

Archaeologists have unexpectedly uncovered London's oldest timber structure, which predates Stonehenge by about 500 years. The structure, apparently a platform or trackway used to make a boggy area more navigable, was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old, well before Stone

Terracotta army 'may have belonged to empress'

China's famed ancient terracotta army which surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor actually belonged to a female ancestor, a historian told a state-owned newspaper Wednesday. The army of life-sized figures discovered near the northern city of Xi'an is usually thought to be guarding the burial site of Qin Shihuang, who presided over the unification of China in 221 BC and declared himself the first emperor. But historian Chen Jingyuan told the Global Times he be

A gift from 5,000 years ago (US)

Jordan Emmett, 8, was walking past a street construction project near his Safety Harbor home when he saw something red sticking out of the dirt. It was this roughly 5,000-year-old spear point. A striking find by an 8-year-old boy proves this city was an active hunting ground after the last ice age. When a public works crew was replacing a storm sewer line on Joyce Street and First Avenue N last month, Jordan Emmett, a budding archaeologist, went to have a look.

Report: Cheney Felt Bush 'Had Gone Soft on Him'

Former Vice President Dick Cheney believes his old boss, President George W. Bush, gradually turned away from his advice during their second term in the White House, showing a surprising independence as he started taking more flexible positions on a range of issues, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Cheney, often described as the most influential vice president in U.S. history, has been discussing his years in office in informal talks with authors, diplomats, policy experts an

Afghan Banker Who Risked His Life to Save Treasure From the Taliban Finally Gets His Due

Pre-Stonehenge House Reveals Domestic Life

The remains of a 9,000-year-old hunter-gatherers' house, uncovered during construction at an airport, have been unearthed in Great Britain's Isle of Man. The house was surrounded by buried mounds of burnt hazelnut shells and stocked with stone tools, according to archaeologists working on the project and a report in the latest British Archaeology. It is the earliest known complete house on the Isle of Man and one of Britain's oldest and best-preserved houses, according to the report

Grave May Be Found From Deadly Jackson Duel

Archaeologist Says He Found Remains Of Charles Dickinson's Coffin. A discovery in the middle of a west Nashville couple's front yard could mean the chapter to a local legend is closed. Archaeologist Dan Allen believes he's solved the mystery surrounding the grave of Charles Dickinson, who was killed by Andrew Jackson during a duel in 1806. The location of Dickinson's final resting place has been a mystery since the 1860s, when historians in Maryland claimed

4,000-year-old dye found on Egyptian artifact

It’s earliest evidence of extracting dye from plant to get pigment. Four thousand years ago Egyptians had mastered the process of making madder, a red dye, according to a researcher who uncovered the earliest known example of the color still used today. The find is some 700 years earlier than any previously known use of madder, which became highly popular in the Middle Ages and provides many of the red shades and glazes in the work of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

Mystery ends in Australia WWII disaster

The Australian cruiser met the disguised German vessel in the waters off western Australia two years after the two became enemies in World War II. What resulted was Australia's worst naval disaster: the sinking of the Australian ship and the loss of its entire crew of 645. The wreckage wasn't found until last year, leading to decades of conspiracy theories about what actually happened. On Wednesday a long-awaited report on the sinking of the Sydney II ended the mystery

India not to reopen key WWII road

India has abandoned plans to reopen a World War Two road that could connect its remote north-eastern states to China's Yunnan province through Burma. Lawmakers from India's Assam state have been informed of the Indian decision by its ministry for the development of the north-eastern region. This comes days after the 13th round of talks between India and China to resolve their border dispute. The 1,079-mile-long Stillwell Road was built

World's oldest brewery carries on 1,000 years of tradition

Long before the Americans declared independence, centuries before Columbus discovered the new world and before Guttenberg invented movable type, Germans were already perfecting the art of making beer. Even from a distance, the Weihenstephan brewery dominates the area. Perched atop Naehrberg Hill in Freising, a small town just north of Munich, the brewery was originally a Benedictine monastery founded in 740 AD by a monk named Korbinian. It wasn't until the year 1040, when Abb

Documents: Rove involved in US attorney firings

Former White House political adviser Karl Rove was deeply involved in the firing of a U.S. attorney in New Mexico, according to White House e-mails and transcripts of closed-door testimony released Tuesday. The House Judiciary Committee released more than 5,400 pages of White House and Republican National Committee e-mails, along with transcripts of closed-door testimony by Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers. The documents show that staffers in Rove's off

2 U.S. Architects of Harsh Tactics in 9/11's Wake

Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen were military retirees and psychologists, on the lookout for business opportunities. They found an excellent customer in the Central Intelligence Agency, where in 2002 they became the architects of the most important interrogation program in the history of American counterterrorism. They had never carried out a real interrogation, only mock sessions in the military training they had overseen. They had no relevant scholarship; their Ph.D. dissertations

U.S. Bares 'Alien Files' Kept on Immigrants

Immigration files containing a wealth of information collected by American border agents, some of it dating from the late 19th century, will be opened to the public soon and permanently preserved, providing intriguing nuggets about such famous immigrants or visitors as Alfred Hitchcock and Salvador Dalí. But to millions of Americans, the real treasure will be clues about their own families’ histories in the photographs, letters, interrogation transcripts and recordings that reflect

Forerunner for European unity celebrates 60 years of helping to define the continent

The first steps towards European unity in the aftermath of World War II were taken at the Hague Congress in May 1948. Under the chairmanship of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, representatives from 16 countries met to lay the foundations for a European Union, a consultative assembly and a European Court of Human Rights. One year later, in May 1949, the Council of Europe was founded in London. The new organisation was signed into existence by ten states: Belgium, Denmark, F