Ehud Netzer Dies From Injuries

 The Israeli government has announced that the famous seventy six year old archaeologist Ehud Netzer has passed away from injuries he suffered when a railing gave way at his work site on Monday. Ehud Netzer may be best remembered for his work at the Herodian where in 2007 he believed he had found Herod's tomb at the site.

Mummy in the Post

A Bolivian woman attempted to mail a Peruvian mummy to France but was caught and arrested with the mummy believed to be an Inca mummy of about seven hundred and fifty years of age though this is only an estimate for know.

Photo: AP Agencia

The Hokumburg Goombah

This article is based on a daguerreotype taken in 1838 of Paris which may represent one of, if not the oldest photo of a person? The author goes on to point out other features in the picture including a possible second person and a wagon.

Very interesting!

5000 Year Old Poplar Door

 Finally a picture of the recently found 5000 year old poplar wood door found during a construction project for underground parking for the Zurich Opera house. The door is one of the oldest ever found in Europe and is complete with it's hinges.

Photo: AP – This undated photo provided by the Hochbaudepartment Zurich

Ugly Parade Helmet Sold

That Roman bronze parade helmet with face mask has been auctioned off and it blew away it's auction estimate of L300 000 selling for L2 million. The helmet is only the third one found in England and the first found in more than a century,apparently it is the nicest.

James Son of Joseph Brother of Jesus

As it arrived in Toronto the staff at the Royal Ontario museum opened the crate and to the horror of those present realised that the ossuary had broken on it's journey from Israel. The inscribed ossuary is believed by some to be the only archaeological evidence of Jesus of Nazarath though the three names in the inscription are common.

Back in Israel the police were investigating the ossuary's owner artifacts collector Oded Golan until in 2004 then the police layed their charges and seized the ossuary which they found on a toilet in Mr. Golan's home.

Experts are at odds with the ossuary with some claiming it's inscription as a forgery while other point to a patina within the inscription that proves it is old still others believe that part of the inscription is new. This past week the defense wrapped up its case and after five years a verdict will take time.

Photo:Paradiso, The James ossuary was at the Royal Ontario museum from November 15 2002 to January 5 2003

World Trade Center Ship

At the site of the World Trade Center in New york archaeologists are currently excavating a part of an eighteenth century ship found there. In the late Eighteenth century ground zero was actually the Hudson river so the ship may have sunk or may have been used as fill to create more land for the city.

The archaeologists have found the coin traditionally embedded in the timbers of the ship dating it to the reign of George II c.1727- 1760. The ship that remains is actually the bottom part of the back half of a two masted trade vessel.

The photo says it all and I would hope the ship and related finds would be preserved and displayed in a museum at the site.

Dead Sea Scroll Nightmare Verdict

Two scholars are in a dispute over where the dead sea scrolls were created. Professor Lawrence Schiffman who is Chairman of New York University's Department of Hebrew and Judaic studies believes they were created near the ancient settlement of Qumran while Professor Norman Golb of Chicago University believes they were created in Jerusalem and then taken to the caves near Qumran.

Professor Golb's son Raphael Golb (50) was so angry by Professor Schiffman's position that Raphael Golb is accused of setting up 70 fake email accounts and websites in a smear campaign accusing Professor Schiffman of plagiarism. Raphael Golb has been found guilty to charges of identity theft and criminal impersonation. Raphael Golb will be sentenced in November he could spend up to four years in jail.

The dead sea scrolls were first discovered by a Shepperd in caves near the ancient settlement of Qumran along the dead sea. The two thousand year old scrolls are some of the earliest surviving biblical writings including the Great Isaiah scroll.