Archaeology News Online

More than 2,500 years ago, an Athenian nobleman named Cylon -- the first recorded Olympic champion -- tried to take over the city of Athens and install himself as its sole ruler. A conservator of archaeological works on a human skull in a lab at the American School  of Archaeology in Athens on July 7, 2017 [Credit: Aris Messinis/AFP] According to Thucydides and Herodotus, Athenian and Greek historians who wrote about the coup, Cylon enticed an army of followers to enter the city and lay siege to the Acropolis. They were defeated, but Cylon managed to escape. Now archaeologists in Athens believe they may have found some of the remains of Cylon's army in a mass grave in Phaleron, four miles (6 kilometres) south of downtown Athens. Bio-archaeologist Eleanna Prevedorou poses in a lab at the American School  of Archaeology in Athens on July 7, 2017 [Credit: Aris Messinis/AFP] The discovery of the 80 skeletons of men is "unequalled" in Greece, said site project director Stella

In the image of Volterra, Italy’s original Etruscan arch, every detail of the facade was clear — the stone arch and three heads chiseled into the rock that watched from overhead. Footage of 3-D models of the historic site, created from drone photography in Autodesk ReCap  [Credit: Autodesk, Inc. and Volterra-Detroit Foundation] But this wasn’t a photo of Porta all'Arco, the highlight of the medieval walled city’s gateway. It was an expertly produced 3D model of the Tuscan town’s architectural darling from the 4th century B.C., known as one of the last standing Etruscan arches in the world. The photo and the model look strikingly alike, which is exactly the purpose of the expedition. Technology and historical preservation collided as part of the International Reality Capture Workshop — a collaboration between Carnegie-based software company Case Technologies , the Volterra-Detroit Foundation, East Liberty-based Autodesk and the municipality of Volterra itself to document the town’

A fragile river god by Michelangelo has been restored after lying neglected in a basement storeroom below Casa Buonarroti in Florence for some 50 years. Restored model of river god by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1526-1527, Casa Buonarroti, Florence  [Credit: Academy of Art and Design] The statue, whose bronze coating was removed and deteriorated earthenware structure was restored to its original marble over three years, will soon be displayed in a major Renaissance show at Palazzo Strozzi before finding a home at Florence's Academy of Art and Design . The restoration was led by Rosanna Moradei and took place at Florence's elite restoration workshop, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. It was funded by some 32,000 euros from the not-for-profit foundation Friends of Florence. Source: ANSA [July 14, 2017]

A joint Greek-American expedition to the Fourni archipelago found eight new shipwrecks, bringing the total number of shipwrecks in the small archipelago to fifty-three. The Fourni Underwater Survey is one of the most exciting projects currently in archaeology. With the identification of 53 shipwrecks and much more coastline and deepwater areas to search, Fourni is among the largest concentrations of ancient shipwrecks in the world. Divers raise a Roman North African amphora for further study and conservation [Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis/ Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities-Hellenic Ministry of Culture/RPM Nautical Foundation] The third season of the Fourni Underwater Survey was conducted during three weeks in June by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities/Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports in cooperation with RPM Nautical Foundation. The research is directed by Dr. George Koutsouflakis from the EUA and Dr. Peter Campbell from RPM Nautical Foundation. An archaeologist systematic ph

An investigation by an architectural researcher from Kumamoto University, Japan has revealed the high possibility that a wooden stage existed in the theatre of the ancient Greek City of Messene during the Greek Classical period (ca. 369 BC). The evolution from the rustic, open theatres of ancient Greece to the magnificent theaters of the Roman times clearly demonstrates the passion that the people had for the theatre. Theatre of Ancient Messene [Credit: © Oleg Znamenskiy/Shutterstock] The ancestor of modern theatre architecture is the theatre of ancient Greece and Rome. The simple and open ancient Greek theatre (around 323 BC -- 31 BC) was composed of a circular orchestra, a stage, and bowl-shaped seating area for the audience. In the Roman times (31 BC -), the stage grew higher and was decorated with marble column pillars which eventually evolved to splendid, closed theatres with integrated audience seating. The development of this theatre construction was thought to involve a change

Greek and Italian archaeologists are collaborating on a program to preserve an ancient villa at the bottom of the sea of Ancient Epidaurus. The underwater conservation activities are part of a pilot training program for the conservation of marine archaeological remains, organized and executed in cooperation between the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and the Italian Archaeological School in Athens. The BLUEMED program is a European project and involves Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Spain. For the first time this year, the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities will be involved in the program that started with theory (July 3-4, 2017) relating to methods for the on-site conservation of marine archaeological sites, to address bio-degradation and degradation problems and to document, restore and maintain the Underwater Cultural Heritage artefacts in the Italian Archaeological School. The project is to conserve a section of a sunken Roman villa in the Ancient Epidaurus sea. On site practicing t

A team of 15 archaeologists and 20 volunteers has worked at the Arenal de la Virgen and Casa Corona archaeological sites in Villena (Alicante, Spain). This fieldwork campaign represents a first excavation phase and have provided relevant data for the research that is being carried out in the scope of the European research project PALEODEM, on climatic and demographic changes developed from the IPHES (Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana i Evolució Social). At both sites, the excavation has yielded evidences of human occupations during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, between 9,000 and 5,000 years ago. Excavation at Casa Corona [Credit: IPHES] This first excavation phase included in this project began on 1 March and ended on 30 June, taken place during 4 months of uninterrupted fiekdwork on these sites. Hearths, small stone-pavings and post-holes have been documented among the  habitat structures. In the Arenal de la Virgen, abundant remains of lithic industry, land snails and