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explorator 21.19 September 2, 2018
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If you're having problems getting 'the whole issue', read Explorator
online at:

https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis,
John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan
Astudillo,
Richard Campbell, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, David Critchley,
Ian Tompkins, Dan Kiernan, Suzan Mazur, Richard C. Griffiths, and
Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left
no one out).

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EARLY HOMINIDS
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Latest theory had climate change leading to the demise of the
Neanderthals:

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-cold-climate-shifts-linked-neanderthal.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/nu-ccc082918.php
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829115529.htm
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-we-didn-t-kill-the-neanderthals-climate-change-did-new-stud-1.6414271
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/modern-humans-didnt-kill-neanderthals-weather-did-180970167/
http://www.archaeology.org/news/6927-180828-europe-neanderthal-disappearance

Pondering the feeding habits of Paranthropus robustus:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/mpif-gtt082818.php
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AFRICA
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The activities of ancient nomadic herders contributed to the biodiversity
of the Serengeti:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829133234.htm
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/wuis-ald082718.php
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=26787
http://www.archaeology.org/news/6936-180830-serengeti-herders-biodiversity

Feature on Benin's female warriors:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180826-the-legend-of-benins-fearless-female-warriors
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ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT
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I think we mentioned this Ptolemaic necropolis find in Alexandria:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/310340.aspx
http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/56654/Archaeological-team-discovers-Ptolemaic-cemetery-in-Alex
https://www.egyptindependent.com/archaeological-team-uncovers-ptolemaic-cemetery-west-of-alexandria/
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2018/08/27/ptolemaic-necropolis-for-poor-discovered-in-alexandria/
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/27/c_137420928.htm

A student in a museum course found some hitherto unseen writing on a mummy
case:

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-student-pieces-ancient-egyptian-mummy.html

The survey of the Lisht necropolis is completed:

http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/56868/Documentation-of-archaeological-site-%E2%80%9CLisht%E2%80%9D-completed

More on translating medical papyri:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/31/health/ancient-egypt-medical-knowledge/index.html

Structures in the Jordan Valley are speculated to have been built by
Israelites crossing into Canaan:

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/MAGAZINE-have-camps-built-by-the-ancient-israelites-migrating-to-canaan-been-fo-1.6432817

Latest Israeli-child-finds-archaeological-artifact story centres on an 11
500 years bp fertility figurine from the Upper Galilee:

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-child-unearths-rare-11500-year-old-fertility-figurine-566143
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/8-year-old-israeli-boy-finds-11-000-year-old-fertility-figurine-1.6432552
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/251323

Hopes that Palmyra will reopen next year:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-city-palmyra-gravely-damaged-isis-may-reopen-next-year-1-180970160/

There still seems to be confusion about that chunk of the Western Wall
that
fell out:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/still-no-budget-for-conservation-at-western-wall-section-where-boulder-fell/

Feature on ancient perceptions of eclipses:

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2018/08/Eclipses-As-Omens

Feature on Herod's palace at Masada:

https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/2018/08/herods-masada-pleasure-palace/

Feature on the Dar Al-Kilafa palace:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/08/medieval-artisans-built-a-glass-walled-palace-in-the-desert/

More on that 6500 years bp migration (according to DNA) into the Levant:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/6500-year-old-dna-ancient-migration/
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ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS)
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Coins lead to the discovery of a large Roman settlement in Yorkshire:

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/yorkshire-excavation-reveals-first-century-roman-settlement-1-9320876
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/coins-found-by-metal-detectorists-may-point-to-high-status-settlement-dating-back-to-founding-of-york-1-9321411
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/aug/26/silver-coins-detectorists-yorkshire-reveal-early-roman-settlement
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/silver-coins-lead-one-earliest-roman-sites-yorkshire-180970138/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/25/hoard-2000-year-old-silver-roman-coins-unearthed-group-friends/
https://nypost.com/2018/08/26/treasure-hunters-find-trove-of-roman-coins-in-england/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/6924-180827-yorkshire-roman-coins

A Roman coin from Ellesmere is being announced and declared treasure:

http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/16608055.man-finds-finds-roman-coins-on-farmland-near-ellesmere/
http://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/16608054.man-finds-finds-roman-coins-on-farmland-near-ellesmere/
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/16608055.wrexham-man-finds-finds-roman-coins-on-farmland-near-ellesmere/
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/north-shropshire/2018/09/01/first-century-silver-roman-coin-found-in-shropshire-is-declared-treasure-trove/

I think we mentioned this huge Broughton Roman Villa site in Oxfordshire:

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/24/roman-villa-the-size-of-buckingham-palace-discovered-in-britain-7879276/
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/ancient-roman-villa-nearly-the-size-of-buckingham-palace-discovered-on-british-farm/
https://www.archaeology.org/news/6928-180828-england-oxfordshire-roman-villa

More on evidence of an imperial visit to Carlisle:

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Discovery-points-to-a-Roman-emperors-visit-to-Carlisle-53d05cad-51b9-41d2-9d83-c10f2bc032ae-ds

Some stones fell off the Tarpeian Rock:

http://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2018/08/31/stones-fall-off-tarpeian-rock-in-rome_59453943-924a-4192-ba7e-d7ad3dbcefda.html

Tooth analysis of some early Bronze Age skeletons near Naples suggests
they
were processing hemp, among other things:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/08/30/ancient-italian-skeletons-had-hemp-in-their-teeth-archaeologists-discover/

Plans to resume/continue the dig at 'Odysseus' Palace' on Ithaca:

https://www.argophilia.com/news/odysseus-palace-archaeological-dig-on-ithaca-to-continue/220877/

Funding for Heraclea Sintica:

https://www.euscoop.com/en/2018/8/29/additional-funding-archeology

A tunnel built under Vespasian/Titus in Turkey is open to the public:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2018/08/29/ancient-roman-vespasianus-titus-tunnel-worlds-largest-man-made-tunnel-awaits-visitors-in-turkey

.... and Priene is a popular tourist destination, apparently:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pompeii-of-anatolia-becomes-more-popular-after-unesco-recognition-136270

A study suggests the 'Minotaur's labyrinth' never existed in reality:

https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/labyrinthine-investigation-concludes-the-minotaur-s-lair-never-existed

Feature on frescoes at Pompeii:

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-frescoes-pompeiis-lavish-villas-reveal-fabulous-lives-ancient-romans

Feature on garum:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/garum-ancient-roman-fish-sauce

Feature on the Venus de Milo:

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/in-search-of-the-venus-de-milo-on-milos-and-in-paris/

On the misuse of SPQR by white supremacist groups:

https://hyperallergic.com/457510/the-misuse-of-an-ancient-roman-acronym-by-white-nationalist-groups/

Haven't had a gladiator school piece in a while:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/article-why-gladiator-school-is-better-than-fortnite/

Ancient Greeks ate fish:

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/08/28/ancient-greeks-were-gourmands-with-a-preference-for-fish/

Review of Pat Barker, *The Silence of the Girls*:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/aug/26/pat-barker-silence-of-the-girls-michael-hughes-country-reviews-homer-iliad

-----
Latest reviews from BMCR:

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html

Visit our blog:

http://rogueclassicism.com/
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EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland)
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The source for Late Paleolithic amber in the Iberian peninsula was
apparently Sicily: