Moon Maps & The International Year of Astronomy Welcome to 2009 – The International Year of Astronomy. I am having a tough time thinking of a subject with more intrigue, hope and optimism than Astronomy (star-gazing is such a romantic and ancient pastime), so this is a great match for humanity’s big, hope-filled year ahead… ‘English Galileo’ maps on display By Christine McGourty Science correspondent, BBC News Experts hope the maps will give Thomas Harriot the credit he deserves “Moon maps” created by a little-known Englishman 400 years ago are to go on display to mark the launch of the International Year of Astronomy. Experts say they prove their creator…

Archive for December, 2008 The Pyramids Never Cease to Amaze My first thought after reading this article was that perhaps, just maybe, the pyramids were created to store vast quanities of WATER for emergencies or for some otherwordly purpose? Read this and let us know what you think. We would love to hear your own theories. The Concave Faces of the Great Pyramid Aerial photo by Groves, 1940 (detail). In his book The Egyptian Pyramids: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference, J.P. Lepre wrote: One very unusual feature of the Great Pyramid is a concavity of the core that makes the monument an eight-sided figure, rather than four-sided like every other Egyptian…

A Toy for the Afterlife? Prehistoric child is discovered buried with ‘toy hedgehog’ at Stonehenge This toy hedgehog, found in a child’s grave at Stonehenge, is proof of what we have always known – children have always loved to play. The chalk figurine was probably a favourite possession of the three year old, and placed next to the child when they died in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago. Archaeologists who discovered the grave, where the child was laying on his or her side, believe the toy – perhaps placed there by a doting father – is the earliest known depiction of a hedgehog…

3rd Century Afghani Buddha Statue Discovered My heart still breaks when I think of the Buddha statues that were destroyed back in 2001, but this recent find does make me feel just a little bit better.. Buddha statue find at Afghan site [BBC News] The seat of Bamiyan Buddhas: The Taleban dynamited the Buddha statues in 2001 A giant statue of a Buddha has been discovered in central Afghanistan, near to the ruins of the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas. Archaeologists say the 19m (62ft) statue is in a sleeping position and dates back to the Third Century. Other relics such as coins and ceramics were also found. The Taleban blew up…

Mystery of Ancient Egyptian Funerary and Afterlife Revealed Keep an eye out in your city for this exhibit. It sounds incredible… INDIANAPOLIS. (Art Daily dot org)- The Indianapolis Museum of Art will be the first venue to host To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum, which will be on view July 13 – September 7, 2008. Featuring approximately 120 objects dating from 3600 B.C. to 400 A.D. from the world-renowned Egyptian art collection of New York’s Brooklyn Museum, the exhibition will illustrate the range of strategies and preparations the ancient Egyptians developed to defeat death and to achieve success in the afterlife. “The IMA is pleased to be…

Secret Cave Under Mexican Pyramid Researchers open secret cave under Mexican pyramid (Yahoo News) By Miguel Angel Gutierrez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Archeologists are opening a cave sealed for more than 30 years deep beneath a Mexican pyramid to look for clues about the mysterious collapse of one of ancient civilization’s largest cities. The soaring Teotihuacan stone pyramids, now a major tourist site about an hour outside Mexico City, were discovered by the ancient Aztecs around 1500 AD, not long before the arrival of Spanish explorers to Mexico. But little is known about the civilization that built the immense city, with its ceremonial architecture and geometric temples, and then torched…