As reported in several news outlet as well as the Siberian Times, a team of archeologists have uncovered mummies which are believed to have connections to ancient Persia. Archaeologists have resumed excavations at Zeleniy Yar, a remote site near the Arctic Circle known to the indigenous Nenets people as “the end of the earth”.  In a previous excavation, the team had found a dozen mysterious mummies who appear to have been foreign to the region, and whose artifacts can be traced back to ancient Persia, nearly 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) away.  For now, scientists are undertaking genetic testing to determine the actual origins of the mummies.

About a decade ago another team of Russian archaeologists discovered 34 shallow graves and mummified corpses in what appears to be a necropolis dating back 800 years. However, excavations stopped after the local people expressed concerns that the work was disturbing the souls of their ancestors, a plea which has been ignored by the current team of researchers, headed by Alexander Pilipenko, research fellow of Institute of Cytology and Genetics, part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The finding was extremely rare as the team explains that the mummies were found in a well-preserved state, seemingly by accident, and wearing copper masks.  Seven male adults, three male infants, and one female child were discovered, buried among jewelry and other artifacts.  Their skulls are shattered or missing, while the skeletons were smashed. Five mummies are covered in copper, as well as reindeer, beaver, wolverine, or bear fur. One of the mummies is a red-haired male, protected from chest to foot by copper plating. In his resting place, were an iron hatchet, furs, and a head buckle made of bronze depicting a bear.

Researchers believe that the mummification of the bodies was not intentional but was caused by a combination of the copper, which prevented oxidation of the remains, and a drastic change in temperatures in the centuries after the group was buried. The scientists also believe that the condition and orientation of the remains reflect some type of religious ritual. However, such burial rituals are unknown to experts and not typical of others in the region, which suggests that the mummies belong to a foreign race of people. Indeed, the artifacts suggest this possibility.  Some of the items found at the site, including bronze bowls, originated in Persia and dating from the 10th or 11th centuries. The discovery adds to the evidence that Siberia was not an isolated wasteland but a crossroads of international trade and cultural diversity.

A team of Czech archeologists have discovered the tomb of Queen Khentakawess III’s tomb in Egypt.

Archaeologists unearthed the tomb of a previously unknown queen. The tomb was found in Abu-Sir, south-west of Cairo, and is thought to belong to the wife or mother of Pharaoh Neferefre who ruled 4,500 years ago. Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty said that her name, Khentakawess III, had been found inscribed on a wall in the necropolis as reported by BBC. The tomb was discovered in Pharaoh Neferefre’s funeral complex. Abu-Sir was used as an Old Kingdom cemetery for the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.

The archeologists and experts at the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry believe that the discovery could shed light on certain unknown aspects of the Fifth Dynasty, which along with the Fourth Dynasty, witnessed the construction of the first pyramids.

A team of archeologists have found A human skeleton in Tehran suggesting that life in the city dates back to the 5^th millennium B.C. Archaeologists found the 7,000-year-old skeleton in an excavation in Molavi Street in the south of Tehran and they believe that the human bones belong to 5,000 year B.C.

Previously, the oldest archaeological findings ever found in Tehran belonged to city’s Qeytarieh hills, which dated back to the first millennium B.C. Many other historic items, most of them belonging to the previous centuries, have also been excavated in the site, which is located around Tehran’s Grand Bazaar according to several news agencies in Iran.

The excavated skeleton will be on display in Iran’s national museum after some scientific tests are completed.

As reported by several news outlets, a team of Chinese archeologists have discovered a tomb believed to date back 2,800 years ago. The set of elaborate tombs surrounded by 28 chariots and 98 horses in the province of Hubei in China is an incredible discovery dates back to a time when high-ranking nobles demonstrated their power and strength through the ownership and display of horse-led chariots.

The researchers unearthed 30 elite tombs of various sizes in the city of Zaoyang. Researchers believe that the tombs date back to what is known as the Summer and Autumn Period in Chinese history (770 – 476 BC), which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. This period in Chinese history was characterized by the creation of powerful states and the birth of a wealthy merchant class as reported by ancient-origins. Researchers know that during that period a noble’s power was demonstrated through the number of chariots he owned.

Iran continues to rank one of the highest in the world in terms of soil erosion and the destruction of forests. In a recent conference titled “Clean Air Day”, Mohsen Jafari, Deputy Director of Environmental Protection Agency (of Fars province) officially announced the drying of 10 wetlands in the Fars Province. He said that there is no longer opportunity and time for long-term planning and there is urgent need to take immediate actions.

Mr. Jafari talked about the need for land use planning, careful consideration in building dams and finally about his regret in Iran’s soil erosion and loss of forest areas.

For many years, the natural heritage and environmental activists and experts have repeatedly stated the same concerns. However, these concerns and statements have never been taken seriously by the governmental and local agencies.

23rd January – 21st March 2015.

Opening in January 2015 will be an exhibition presenting a selection of Maps – urban plans, topographic maps, and sea charts – taken from the ‘Dr Cyrus Ala’i’s Map Collection of Persia’ of over 250 maps that was gifted to the Centre for Iranian Studies SOAS, University of London in 2013. The collection includes important printed general maps of Persia and more specialist items from the early editions of Ptolemy, at the end of the 15th century, up until the end of the Qajar dynasty in 1925.

Iran or Persia as it was known in the West for most of its long history has been mapped extensively for centuries and many of the maps included in the exhibition will be publically shown together for the first time. These maps illustrate how cartography and the mapping of the region advanced with scientific accuracy in detail, whilst not ignoring their often artistic and design elements.

The maps along with other supporting material are presented within the context of Persia as an important cultural cross-road in southwest and central Asia. Illustrating how the region was viewed, interpreted and recorded by both indigenous scholars and visitors from abroad.

Following 20 years of research the noted scholar, Dr. Cyrus Ala’i produced a monumental cartobibliography in two volumes: General Maps of Persia, 1477-1925 (2005), and Special Maps of Persia 1477 – 1925 (2010).
The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) and Centre for Iranian Studies at LMEI, SOAS.

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As reported by B.B.C Paul Coleman from the Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club discovered more than 5,000 coins buried inside a lead bucket two feet under a field near Aylesbury.

The hoard contains specimens dating back to the 11th Century – the late Anglo Saxon, early Norman period.

The coins will now be examined by the British Museum.

A massive 5,000 year old underground city has been discovered in Turkey by the country’s Housing Development Administration (TOKI), according to reports Sunday.

Erdinç Çelikkan reports on what could potentially be the year’s largest architectural discovery, an underground city located in Turkey’s Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir.

The newly discovered city joins other such ancient cities found in the area, thought his one may end up being the largest of all the cities found so far.

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A bill submitted to the Hungarian Parliament last month by the economy minister would prohibit big supermarkets and discount shops from opening in the area of Budapest’s World Heritage sites. The rules would apply to discount shops and supermarkets. Budapest has two World Heritage sites according to UNESCO: the Banks of the Danube and the Buda Castle Quarter (451 hectares), and the Andrássy Avenue and the Underground, with a property area of 58 hectares and a buffer zone of 240 hectares. The legislation is scheduled to go into effect starting next year and would force existing shops to close in 2018.
SPAR, One of the supermarket chains which has invested greatly in the Hungarian market has confirmed that it would postpone a significant part of the planned investments because of several food supervisory fees and proposed legislation related to retail trade affecting the company’s operations in Hungary and not just because of the latest bill. The company is not planning to leave the Hungarian market where it has invested over 500 million Euros over the last 23-years according to Hungary Today.
For many years now, major food companies have been setting up branches close to Heritage Sites around the world. Companies like Starbucks, McDonald and Pizza Hut have opened branches at the Louvre, Beijing’s Forbidden City, and Peru’s Cusco’s Plaza de Armas.