LONDON – An 11th-century bronze Viking die that was discovered in a field in Norfolk, England by a metal detectorist achieved a hammer price of £15,000 (about $19,300) at the Noonans Mayfair auction house on July 18 in its Ancient Coins and Antiquities sale. It was bought by a collector in the UK.
Two looted 8th-century Indian stone idols recovered in the UK
LONDON – “There’s a lot of loot in the United Kingdom and we aim to shake it loose,” said CEO and Founder of Art Recovery International Christopher A. Marinello after the successful recovery of two eighth-century stone idols that had been illegally removed from a temple in Lokhari, India in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The recovery of a Yogini Camunda and a Yogini Gomukhi (aka Cow-headed One) brings the number to three important Yogini idols recovered by Marinello in the past two years.
Newly discovered stone tools drag dawn of Greek archaeology back by a quarter-million years
ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Deep in an open coal mine in southern Greece, researchers have discovered the antiquities-rich country’s oldest archaeological site, which dates to 700,000 years ago and is associated with modern humans’ hominin ancestors. The find, announced June 1, would drag the dawn of Greek archaeology back by as much as a quarter of a million years, although older hominin sites have been discovered elsewhere in Europe. The oldest, in Spain, dates to more than a million years ago.
Oldest reference to Norse god Odin identified on Danish gold disc
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Scandinavian scientists said March 8 that they have identified the oldest-known inscription referencing the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed in western Denmark in 2020.
Roman shrine uncovered beneath graveyard in central England
LONDON (AP) – Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be a Roman shrine beneath a former graveyard in the grounds of a cathedral in central England. Experts from the University of Leicester said March 7 that they found what appears to be the cellar of a Roman building and a fragment of a 1,800-year-old altar stone during excavations in the grounds of Leicester Cathedral.
Vatican, Greece ink deal for ‘donation’ of Parthenon marbles
ROME (AP) – The Vatican and Greece finalized a deal March 7 for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution.
New photographs of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising found in family collection
WARSAW, Poland (AP) – On Jan. 18, Warsaw’s Jewish history museum presented a group of photographs taken in secret during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, some of which have never been seen before, that were recently discovered in a family collection. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews described the discovery of negatives with some 20 never-seen images as an important discovery.
Norwegian archaeologists find ‘world’s oldest runestone’
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Archaeologists in Norway said Jan. 17 that they have found a runestone which they claim is the world’s oldest, saying the inscriptions are up to 2,000 years old and date back to the earliest days of the enigmatic history of runic writing.
Looted ancient sarcophagus returned to Egypt from US
CAIRO (AP) – An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Science was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said January 2.
New law restricts export of sacred Native American items from US
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Federal penalties have increased under a newly signed law intended to protect the cultural patrimony of Native American tribes, immediately making some crimes a felony and doubling the prison time for anyone convicted of multiple offenses. President Joe Biden signed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act on Dec. 21, a bill that had been introduced since 2016. Along with stiffer penalties, it prohibits the export of sacred Native American items from the U.S. and creates a certification process to distinguish art from sacred items.