Archaeologists unearth cache of ancient artifacts in Egypt

September 25th, 2009 CAIRO - Ancient coins bearing the name and image of biblical Joseph have been found from the Museum of Egypt, contradicting claims made by some historians that coins were not used for trade in olden Egypt. Archaeologists provided by MEMRI show that the coins were discovered among a multitude of unsorted artifacts stored at the Museum of Egypt, The Jerusalem Post reports.

August 20th, 2009 ISTANBUL - A team of archaeologists has discovered the ancient port city of Bathonea, located in Istanbul's Kucukcekmece basin in Turkey, which is estimated to be 1,600 years old. According to a report in Today's Zaman, Dr.

August 14th, 2009 SOFIA - A team of archaeologists has discovered over 7,500 fragments of frescos during excavations in the church of the monastery complex in the Karaach Tepe area near the town of Varna in north-western Bulgaria. According to a report in Balkan Travellers, in addition to the fresco fragments, the archaeologists discovered parts of saints' clothes and letters with their names, national media reported today.

August 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Italian archaeologists have found the summer villa of Roman Emperor Vespasian in the Sabine hill country northeast of Rome. Titus Flavius Vespasianus is known for rebuilding the Roman Empire following the tumultuous reign of Emporer Nero.

August 4th, 2009 SOFIA - A team of archaeologists has discovered the tomb of a Bulgarian princess in the northern Bulgarian town of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria's medieval capital. According to a report in The Sofia Echo, archaeologists Nikolai Ovcharov and Hitko Vachev have excavated on August 2 what has been described as the grave of a Bulgarian princess, buried in the courtyard of the St St Peter and Pavel church in Veliko Tarnovo.

July 27th, 2009 SOFIA - A team of archaeologists has found a sanctuary in Central Bulgaria where the nymph cult used to be celebrated in ancient times. According to a report in the Balkan Travellers, the sanctuary was found by archaeologists in the vicinity of the Nicopolis ad Istrum ancient site, located near the town of Veliko Tarnovo in central Bulgaria.

July 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Egyptian archaeologists digging near the Suez Canal have discovered the remains of what is believed to be the largest fortress in the eastern Delta. According to a report in Discovery News, the remains, located at the site of Tell Dafna, between El-Manzala Lake and the Suez Canal, remains reveal the foundation of a military town about 15 kilometers northeast of the city of western Qantara.

July 6th, 2009 Israeli archaeologists discover ancient quarryJERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists have uncovered an ancient quarry where they believe King Herod extracted stones for the construction of the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday. The archaeologists believe the 1,000-square-foot (100-square-meter) quarry was part of a much larger network of quarries used by Herod in the city.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of archaeologists, in eastern Snohomish County, US, has found a treasure trove of artifacts from the Olcott period, 4,500 to 9,000 years ago, which even predates the first known pyramids in Egypt. "The developer accidentally bought himself one of the most significant sites in Washington State," Allyson Brooks, the state's historic preservation officer told The Herald.

June 17th, 2009 ROME - Archaeologists have unearthed a number of ancient Roman treasures during excavation outside the southern Italian city of Naples. Twelve ancient statues, columns and fragments bearing inscriptions from what appear to be monuments from the Republican and Imperial periods of ancient Roman history have been uncovered.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Archaeologists have unearthed more than two tonnes of ancient coins dating back to as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907) on a playground of a primary school in Shaanxi Province, northwest China. According to Zhao Aiguo, director of the cultural relics protection and tourism bureau in Liquan County, Shaanxi, the coins were found when workers were excavating the grounds for construction of another building.

April 26th, 2009 Egypt unveils ancient necropolis south of CairoILLAHUN, Egypt — Egyptian archaeologists on Sunday unveiled mummies, brightly painted sarcophagi and dozens of ancient tombs carved into a rocky hill in a desert oasis south of Cairo. The 53 tombs — some as old as 4,000 years — were discovered recently on a sandy plateau overlooking farming fields in the village Illahun, located in the Fayoum oasis about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the Egyptian capital.

April 21st, 2009 New ancient Egypt temples discovered in SinaiCAIRO — Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed four new temples amidst the 3,000-year-old remains of an ancient fortified city that could have been used to impress foreign delegations visiting Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Tuesday. Among the discoveries was the largest mud brick temple found in the Sinai with an area of 70 by 80 meters (77 by 87 yards) and fortified with mud walls 3 meters (10 feet) thick, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

March 16th, 2009 CAIRO - An international team of archaeologists has reconstructed an ancient Egyptian ship of the first quarter of the second millennium BC called "Min of the Desert", in order to find how the ancient Egyptians sailed to the fabled Land of Punt. Until a few years ago, there was a widely held belief that the ancient Egyptians did not travel long distances by sea because of their poor naval technology.

February 11th, 2009 CAIRO - Archaeologists in Egypt discovered a 'perfectly preserved' mummy inside a 2,600-year-old lime sarcophagus north of Cairo Wednesday, Egypt's antiquities authority said. Scientists said they believed the mummy, one of 30 discovered in a previously forgotten tomb near the step pyramid of Saqqara, could have been a nobleman from the time of the 26th Dynasty.