#archaeology

#archaeology

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a stunning reimagining of the 1996 genre-defining game.

Below, we examine how it carried the torch of the classic films to create the best new piece of Indy fiction in decades. Indiana Jones is one of the most revered blockbuster stories of the 1980s. Spielberg and Lucas' work on the original trilogy stands alongside Jaws and Star Wars as timeless classics that are worth revisiting regularly. The more recent entries--the Crystal Skull and the Dial of Destiny--do little to live up to the standard that the first three set.

The mystery of when, how and perhaps most importantly why a giant naked figure was carved into a dizzyingly steep hillside in the English West Country has been a source of wonder and intrigue for centuries. Future generations may come closer to solving the puzzle of the Cerne Giant after the National Trust stepped in to buy 340 acres of land around the 55-metre (180ft) figure. The planned purchase is expected to clear the way for more archaeological investigations around Britain's largest chalk hill figure, which looms over the rolling Dorset landscape.

In that job, the 73-year-old Parkman used artifacts found in old ruins or the chemistry of rocks and layers of soil to piece together possible narratives about life in the Bay Area as far back as tens of thousands of years ago or as recently as the late 20th century. More than being a scientist or historian, Parkman has always seen himself as a storyteller with an innate curiosity about other worlds and a desire to imagine the people who lived in them.

Laurent Davin, an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who made the finding, called it 'extraordinary on multiple levels'. 'The depicted scene relates to the imaginary mating of a gander spirit with a woman,' he told the Daily Mail. 'Such imaginary mating between animal spirits and humans are very common in animistic societies across the world in specific situations such as erotic dreams, shamanistic visions and myths.' Although the detail is hard to make out, scientists have recreated the scene in a new illustration.

The face's features-"deep-set eye sockets, a flat nose, and lips marked by a cleft that also emphasizes the chin"-suggest that the face belongs to "an elderly man." The INAH statement describes that when the 18-inch-tall carving was uncovered, it was attached to the remains of the foundation of a building with an ovoid floor plan and an entrance facing west, to maximize sunlight.

About 15 years ago, Philippa Langley set out on a mission to find the remains of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England. Almost everyone regarded this as an impossible task. His remains had gone undiscovered for more than 500 years. It was a folly, a fool's errand. She was out of her depth, an amateur. No letters after her name. But Philippa diligently did the work and did her research. She had an inner conviction that she would find him, and she

A massive stone water basin of unknown purpose has been discovered in the ancient site of Gabii, 11 miles east of Rome. Most of it dates to around 250 B.C., but there is evidence that some parts were built at an earlier date. It is one of the earliest examples of Roman monumental architecture that isn't a temple or a defensive wall.

Around 10,000 years ago, a paradigm shift in human history began to unfold. Prior to this transitional period, which archaeologists refer to as the Neolithic Revolution -the final phase of the Stone Age-small societies were organized around hunting and gathering for sustenance. During the Neolithic period, the gradual adoption of agricultural practices forever changed the way we live. Over the next few thousand years, humans began domesticating plants and practicing animal husbandry in different parts of the world.

Towering plateaus dotted with sage brush and roaming wild horses surround the desert town of Rock Springs, Wyoming, with a population of about 23,000. A short drive from Main Street, two rectangular holes form a checkerboard pattern in a grassy lawn connecting a Catholic church with a nearby schoolyard. Six Grinnell College researchers spent the summer here digging, scraping and screening the soil, most of whom have never been to Wyoming before.

While Rubio was on this tour of ancient Jerusalem, Israeli planes bombed the most important storage depot of ancient artefacts in Gaza City, pulverising three decades of archaeological work. The battle over history has long been part of the broader Israeli-Palestinian struggle. Officials from the Israel Antiquities Authority have followed Israeli troops into occupied zones in search of artefacts. But that struggle has seldom been as conspicuous as in the past month.

A forgotten royal castle that is believed to have once been home to kings who ruled parts of Scotland has been discovered in a major archaeological project. In a recently released book, archaeologists reveal the existence of a castle at Finlaggan, on the isle of Islay, which is unnamed and previously unknown from the 12th and 13th centuries. Archaeologists have spent nearly 30 years analysing research that was undertaken at the historical site on Islay from 1989 to 1998.

The newly discovered tombs are believed to date back to the Hellenistic or Hellenistic-Seleucid period. Archaeologists in drought-hit Iraq have discovered 40 ancient tombs after water levels in the country's largest reservoir declined, according to an antiquities official. The tombs, believed to be more than 2,300 years old, were unearthed at the edges of the Mosul Dam reservoir in the Khanke region of Duhok province in the country's north.

Archaeologists have unearthed ancient structures in Turkey that could represent the world's earliest human settlement. The discovery was made at Mendik Tepe, near Göbekli Tepe, the 12,000-year-old site known for its monumental stone pillars and early rituals. Experts noted that the new structures may predate Göbekli Tepe and are likely nearly 7,000 years older than Stonehenge, placing them at the very cusp of the Neolithic Revolution.

Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark have uncovered an ancient Viking figurine from the 10th-century with an immaculate hairstyle. The 'very well-groomed' figure, just 1.2 inches (3cm) tall, has a middle parting, fancy imperial moustache and a long braided goat beard. Peter Pentz, curator at the National Museum of Denmark, described the figure as 'the first thing that comes close to a portrait from the Viking period'.

Archaeologists in Kiryat Gat, about 40 miles south of Tel Aviv, uncovered the first-ever Canaanite workshop in the region. The factory contained long flint blades and massive stones used to shape and mold weapons with precision. Researchers also discovered hundreds of underground pits, some lined with mud bricks, that served as storage areas, dwellings, workshops and even ritual spaces. The scale and sophistication of the site reveal that the Canaanites had organized settlements, specialized crafts and thriving trade networks.

The cesspit was found at the outflow of the 13th/14th century garderobes (toilets that were basically niches built into castle walls with open holes over a shaft that disgorged waste into a ditch or moat). Rebecca Nichols, a senior project manager from Pre-Construct Archaeology, which is overseeing the works, said the team were very surprised when they made the discovery. Ms Nichols said the team had found a cesspit or soakaway, capped with a worn millstone but added we're not quite sure which one yet.

'I couldn't believe I'd found something so quickly into my first ever excavation. It was actually quite overwhelming,' Souza said.