The Carabinieri in Palermo seized 500 looted archeological treasures

Italian police say they have seized more than 500 looted archaeological treasures that a man was trying to sell on online auction site eBay.

The Carabinieri police in Palermo, Sicily, said that most of the artifacts were coins and jewelry made by various civilizations that dominated the island in antiquity: Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs.

From: sicilyguide.com

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Peru archeologists inaugurate new museum at Sipan

By Pilar Olivares

LAMBAYEQUE, Peru (Reuters Life!) - The newest display of Peruvian archeology opened on Thursday -- just a few feet from where the golden tomb of the Lord of Sipan, dubbed the "Tutankhamen of the Americas," was discovered in 1987.

The museum, called Huaca Rajada, includes finds made at the sprawling archeological dig since 2007.

Flanked by ancient pyramids that now look like dusty mounds, the new museum showcases masks, ceramics and jewelry that historians say are from the ancient Moche culture, which flourished on Peru's coast from about 100 AD to 600 AD.

The new museum, which officials hope will draw 35,000 visitors this year, is about an hour's drive from a larger museum, called the Royal Tombs of Sipan, which opened in 2002 and contains the biggest pieces of the original finds made 20 years ago.

Walter Alva, an archeologist credited with the Sipan find, started digging at the site after hearing that tomb robbers were selling artifacts they stole from the area on the black market to private collectors.

Peru is a country rich in ancient treasure. It has hundreds of sites that date back thousands of years and span dozens of cultures, including the ancient Incan empire that was in power when Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s.

Luis Chero, the director of the Huaca Rajada museum, said only 10 percent of the site has been excavated and that more finds are expected.

(Writing by Maria Luisa Palomino; Editing by Terry Wade)

From: www.reuters.com

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Archeological sites in Bani Hushaish suffer from vandalism

Twenty-nine year old Nabil Ahmed Noman said “it is not easy for the simple layman to be aware of the archeological value of these monuments, saying he cannot differentiate them from similar jewelry. The average man cannot identify their historical value; all he thinks about is their material value. A man who places an old stone as a decoration at the front of his house is a good example of such mentality. Yet, if people become aware of their value, they will think only of the financial return, forgetting about their historical value. However he corrected himself by saying that a newspapers seller once put a historical monument on his papers to keep them from being dispersed by the wind, not knowing that the piece is more valuable than his papers. He concluded by saying that the relevant archeological authorities should facilitate opportunities to interested persons and researchers to allow them to increase their historical knowledge concerning these sites. He also added that relevant authorities should exert appropriate efforts to promote awareness regarding the value of history through different media outlets.

Read the whole story at: Yemen observer

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Jewelry (joias) is a fascinating fashion accessory that has been

Jewelry (joias) is a fascinating fashion accessory that has been popular from ancient times. It has played a variety of roles including political, religious and ornamental, and jewelry artifacts have helped modern historians shape pictures of the daily lives of ancient civilizations.

Jewelry in ancient Rome is no exception. There are literary accounts and pictorial depiction such as in the Regina tombstone, plus an abundance of other artifacts available that help us to understand the role jewelry played during this fascinating time.

Jewelry (joias) was worn by men and women though it was subject to conventions of the time; particularly with regards to the appearance of men. Male jewelry was typically practical in nature. Men usually wore a single ring. The ring would serve a functional purpose. Typically a signet ring, the male jewelry item was used to seal official documentation. The male signet ring was initially iron but was later produced in gold as it displayed status and wealth more clearly.

Read the whole story at: jewelry.krysblog.com

More info on archaeological jewelry

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A fresh look at the Dark Ages

Through a glass lightly

That image of the Dark Ages as a time when nothing significant happened and barbarians ran wild comes to us from a few Rome-friendly writers of the time, says Wells. Instead of barbarians, the period was dominated by artisans and tradesmen who may not have written much, but produced a culture rich in material wealth. (The angels of the title come from one shining example of artistic achievement in the Dark Ages: the illumination, or illustration, of biblical texts. Upon seeing such texts in Ireland, the 12-century writer Gerald of Wales pronounced them "the work of angels.")

The evidence for this view of the Dark Ages comes not from written material, but from tangible objects like personal ornaments, belt buckles, combs, jewelry, pottery, and swords found in graves and sites of ancient settlements. The Dark Ages acquired their name because we haven't been able to "see" into them, thanks to the dearth of written material compared to the Roman period, Wells says. The few surviving texts tend to deal with elites and "are by writers bemoaning the weakening of Roman political power."

Read the whole story at: www.minnpost.com

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