Shakespeare’s true identity may be hidden in a tomb

August 14th, 2009 LONDON - Archaeologists in Scotland have discovered a potentially high-status royal tomb, dating back 4,000 years, hidden beneath a four-ton slab of rock and surrounded by ancient carved symbols of prehistoric power. According to a report in The Independent, the excavations at Forteviot, near Perth, have yielded the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler buried on a bed of white quartz pebbles and birch bark with at least a dozen personal possessions - including a bronze and gold dagger, a bronze knife, a wooden bowl and a leather bag.

August 3rd, 2009 ANKARA - A team of archaeologists has discovered an 8,000-year-old human skeleton in tomb during excavations in one of the oldest residential areas in southern Turkey. The skeleton was discovered inside a Neolithic-age tomb unearthed in Yumuktepe Hoyuk of the southern Mersin province by archeologists from the Italian Lecce University and Turkish Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

August 2nd, 2009 ANKARA - An 8,000-year-old human skeleton was found during excavations in one of the oldest residential areas in southern Turkey, a media report said. The skeleton was discovered inside a Neolithic-age tomb unearthed in Yumuktepe Hoyuk of the southern Mersin province by archeologists from the Italian Lecce University and Turkish Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

July 31st, 2009 Ancient warrior's skeleton found near RomeROME — Archaeologists have found the skeleton of a warrior from up to 5,000 years ago floating in a tomb filled with sea water on a beach near Rome, Italy's art squad said Friday. The bones — believed to date from the 3rd millennium B.C.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Mohan Nilekani formally takes over as the chairperson of the newly formed Unique Identity Authority at Yojana Bhavan, the headquarters of the Planning Commission, here Thursday. Nilekani, 54, will enjoy the rank of a cabinet minister.

July 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With the discovery of a richly decorated canine skeleton near a sealed entrance near Mexico's Templo Mayor (Great Temple), an archaeological team might be on the verge of discovering the only known tomb of an Aztec king. According to a report in National Geographic News, the animal was found wearing wooden earflaps mounted with turquoise mosaic, a collar of greenstone beads, and golden bells around its four feet.

July 14th, 2009 BUDAPEST - An international team of archaeologists has started excavations near Szigetvar, South Hungary, to find the tomb of Suleiman I, the Lawgiver. Suleiman (1494-1566), also called as the Magnificent, was the longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire, one of the most prominent monarchs of 16th-century Europe, presiding over the golden age of the empire.

June 18th, 2009 LIMA - Archaeologists at the National Institute of Culture (INC) have found a pre-Inca tomb in the Salapunku archaeological site, located inside the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park in Cusco, southeastern Peru. Resident archaeologist Francisco Huaycaya Quispe said that these remains would belong to a woman from the Quillke culture, an indigenous which flourished before the Inca Empire.

June 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Archaeologists have found ancient jade vessels in a tomb dating back five thousand years in China, which represents the last Neolithic jade culture of Yangtze River Delta of the country. The tomb, found in the cities of Haining and Xiaoshan, is the deepest tomb ever found in Zhejiang province.

June 11th, 2009 LONDON - Archaeologists, exploring a site opened up by earthquake damage, believe that they have found the first tomb of an Aztec ruler in Mexico City, which promises to yield one of antiquity's great treasures. According to a report in The Times, if archaeologists are right, the site may yield one of the great treasures of antiquity, the sort of haul that fires the imagination of people far beyond academic circles.

May 29th, 2009 SHANGHAI - An archaeological team has discovered five ancient tombs of the Song and Ming dynasties in Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province. According to a report in Shanghai Daily, the burial sites were originally accidentally discovered by workers of local electricity supply department when they made the ground work to set up a power-supply tower, a member of the archaeological team said.

May 29th, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that Italian experts will help Iran restore the tomb of Cyrus the Great (580-529BC), considered one of the most magnificent monuments of antiquity. According to a report by Poundbury Publishing, an agreement signed in Tehran will see Italian archaeologists working with their Iranian colleagues for at least two years.

May 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Kenneth Branagh, who has been Oscar nominated three times for his work on Shakespearian films, has cast doubt on true identity of the author of the plays to which the star has devoted his career. While speaking at the US premiere of his BAFTA-winning Swedish detective series, Wallander, Branagh confessed that he is beginning to be influenced by the theory that the true author was not William Shakespeare but the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere.

April 20th, 2009 LONDON - Zahi Hawass, Egypt's top archaeologist, has claimed that the tombs of legendary Queen Cleopatra and her Roman lover Antony have been found. According to a report in the Telegraph, Hawass has claimed that the tombs of the two lovers are located at the Toposiris Magna temple in Egypt, where significant findings have been made.

January 10th, 2009 LONDON - 'James Bond' star Daniel Craig has revealed he has a hidden tattoo, which only those closest to him can identify. The actor has two often-photographed tattoos - one on his shoulder and one on the inside of his right leg but he confessed that this one's beneath his swimming trunk area, reports dailymail.co.uk.