Found in China, what to find in Iceland, and why we may never find the secret of the Voynich Manuscript

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21TvbtorMZOoI0adZDK2IYLul6Nn9TXTh-343EO4lKw7nPERsv5FqQ_IyaDcW8muQi5OCTwVvkbLnxh7h8dPwVd2Z-4jTsDtFsXuUPNZYeeC5dK3NfALqXNluXL3AqU8NnzNiUVioZCI/s1600/voynich_041113_300px_vertical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21TvbtorMZOoI0adZDK2IYLul6Nn9TXTh-343EO4lKw7nPERsv5FqQ_IyaDcW8muQi5OCTwVvkbLnxh7h8dPwVd2Z-4jTsDtFsXuUPNZYeeC5dK3NfALqXNluXL3AqU8NnzNiUVioZCI/s400/voynich_041113_300px_vertical.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>The Voynich Manuscript has confounded scholars ever since it was revealed by a book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich in the early part of the 20th century. There have been several theories of when this odd manuscript, which contains bizarre images and indecipherable writing, was created, with some believing it dates back to the Middle Ages.<br /><br />In his article Cracking the Voynich Code, Batya Ungar-Sargon takes a look at the history of the manuscript. Radiocarbon dating finds that the manuscript was made between 1404 and 1438, although we do not know when the ink was written on it. Still, some believe the manuscript is really just a hoax, perhaps created in the 17th or even the 20th century.  <b><a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/129131/cracking-the-voynich-code?all=1" target="_blank">You can read the article on Tablet Magazine</a></b>.<br /><br />Icelanders are seeing the potential value of its medieval archaeological sites as tourist attractions, according to an article in the Iceland Review Online. Ólöf Ýrr Atladóttir, director general of the Icelandic Tourist Board, explains that “Nature still has the most attraction but culture, in a broad sense, is gaining popularity. Tourists are constantly seeking new experiences and not least the interplay between daily life and nature through centuries. Strategic development of tourism related to cultural values like archaeological remains plays a big part in that context.”<br /><br />However, she also warns that the her country needs to do a better job protecting archaeological sites from environmental degradation. <b><a href="http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/Archaeology_Unused_Resource_for_Tourism_in_Iceland_0_399434.news.aspx" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Iceland Review Online</a></b>. <br /><br />Meanwhile, Chinese archaeologists report that they might have discovered the tomb of Emperor Yang Guang, who was the last ruler of the Sui Dynasty. The small tomb contains a gravestone that identifies the emperor and relates events about the year he died, 618. However, Shu Jiaping, head of Yangzhou's Institute of Archaeology, warns "we're still not sure whether it was the emperor's final resting place, as historical records said his tomb had been relocated several times." <br /><br />Emperor Yang Shang had a very active rule, ordering major building projects including a Grand Canal and rebuilding large parts of the Great Wall. But his construction work and military campaigns bankrupted the state, eventually leading to a coup in which he was murdered. <b><a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/16/content_16412383.htm" target="_blank">Click here to read the full article from the China Daily</a></b>.

Found in China, what to find in Iceland, and why we may never find the secret of the Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript has confounded scholars ever since it was revealed by a book dealer named Wilfrid Voynich in the early part of the 20...

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Three Kingdoms' Tomb Holding Warrior Discovered

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatZ85ULnNP8bW6H79XqQcNm3WsNiY2NWPcwhkxI_S6-wPCnMjWA9Z0RHz29rnq2iwwivioDY9utP7AkKyALMT6EUHI2fHhEIwv_CXUP880PY-yLnrtKRjwKFSkv9DwwkGKE4mdWByaM8/s1600/three-kingdoms-tomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatZ85ULnNP8bW6H79XqQcNm3WsNiY2NWPcwhkxI_S6-wPCnMjWA9Z0RHz29rnq2iwwivioDY9utP7AkKyALMT6EUHI2fHhEIwv_CXUP880PY-yLnrtKRjwKFSkv9DwwkGKE4mdWByaM8/s320/three-kingdoms-tomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>About 1,800 years ago, at a time when China was breaking apart into three warring kingdoms, a warrior was laid to rest.<br /><br />Buried in a tomb with domed roofs, along with his wife, he was about 45 years old when he died. Their skeletal remains were found inside two wooden coffins that had rotted away. Archaeologists don't know their names but, based on the tomb design and grave goods, they believe he was a general who had served one or more of the country's warring lords, perhaps Cao Cao and his son Cao Pi.<br /><br />His tomb was discovered in Xiangyang, a city that, in the time of the Three Kingdoms, was of great strategic importance. Rescue excavations started in October 2008 and now the discovery is detailed in the most recent edition of the journal Chinese Archaeology.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.livescience.com/21610-three-kingdoms-tomb-holding-warrior-discovered.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from LiveScience</a></b><br />

Three Kingdoms' Tomb Holding Warrior Discovered

About 1,800 years ago, at a time when China was breaking apart into three warring kingdoms, a warrior was laid to rest. Buried in a tomb wit...

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Descendants of Alexander the Great’s army fought in ancient China, historian finds

A recent article is examining the possibility that a contingent of soldiers from the Mediterranean fought at the Battle of Talas River in 36 BC, but instead of being Roman forces, new research suggests they may have been descendants of the armies of Alexander the Great.<br /><br /> Christopher A. Matthew’s proposes this idea in his article, “Greek Hoplite in an Ancient Chinese Siege”, which appears in the latest issue of Journal of Asian History. It re-examines a theory put forward more than 70 years ago by Homer H. Dubs, in which the historian believed that Roman legionaries were serving as mercenaries in a city besieged by Han Chinese nearly 2,000 miles to the east of Roman territory. When the city fell, these men were captured and take east and eventually settled in a town on the fringes to the Han Empire.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2012/07/descendants-of-alexander-the-greats-army-fought-in-ancient-china-historian-finds/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from History of the Ancient World</a></b>

Descendants of Alexander the Great’s army fought in ancient China, historian finds

A recent article is examining the possibility that a contingent of soldiers from the Mediterranean fought at the Battle of Talas River in 36...

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China's earliest wine unearthed in tomb

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hIBvX9BxlZbOLpz-4UmrhiRUyp-MBb8BwDMUhs-4hCRKlFSwMLuHLI4MJqNbm-xYrj75o4QoGxzhrkqg7sc6SSLsCpmWGz9T79O5yMxCSv4jLbqS5PNqHJ8vcjYgRyTTPYvv7MlqUPw/s1600/China_map.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hIBvX9BxlZbOLpz-4UmrhiRUyp-MBb8BwDMUhs-4hCRKlFSwMLuHLI4MJqNbm-xYrj75o4QoGxzhrkqg7sc6SSLsCpmWGz9T79O5yMxCSv4jLbqS5PNqHJ8vcjYgRyTTPYvv7MlqUPw/s200/China_map.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>Liquid inside an ancient wine vessel unearthed in Shaanxi province is considered to be the earliest wine in China's history, archaeologists told Xinhua Thursday. The wine vessel made of bronze was unearthed in a noble's tomb of the West Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 771 BC) in Shigushan Mountain in Baoji city.<br /><br /> The liquid is likely the oldest wine discovered in China, said Liu Jun, director of Baoji Archaeology Institute, who is in charge of the project. The vessel, one of the six discovered in the tomb, could be heard to contain a liquid when it was shaken, Liu said.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-07/06/c_123377142.htm" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from the Xinhua News Agency</a></b>

China's earliest wine unearthed in tomb

Liquid inside an ancient wine vessel unearthed in Shaanxi province is considered to be the earliest wine in China's history, archaeologi...

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Ancient statues of Chinese entertainers unearthed

<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="412" id="flashObj" width="486"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=1684372904001&playerID=34757275001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAB_xxUcE~,TkK9U83iSSqh2YhmbNhifc_APRXJTk_c&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=1684372904001&playerID=34757275001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAB_xxUcE~,TkK9U83iSSqh2YhmbNhifc_APRXJTk_c&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> <br />Statues of entertainers have been unearthed during the third excavation of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.<br /><br />The statues were found in a pit numbered K9901. With an area of 800 square meters, the pit is located in the southeast corner between the walls of the inner part and the outer part of the mausoleum.<br /><br />Up to now, archaeologists have found the relics of more than 30 life-size statues in the pit and successfully restored six of them.<br /><br />Most of the statues in K9901 Pit are shirtless and have "beer bellies" and bare feet.<br /><br />Archeologists estimated that they were statues of entertainers or acrobats in the imperial palace as acrobatics was rather popular during the Qin Dynasty according to historical records. Also found were several giant statues with their heights reaching more than two meters.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/213891/288/Ancient-statues-of-Chinese-entertainers-unearthed" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from THV</a></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrutCg9FPHrCnXXKnw38_sTNI5rgQfdksVIC2XpIFer-z6uaPfkuXe182Wt8y0XYSMXj8d_JlaOeBkj0f9juSJPudfYFec-KbLiwIN5aozuosmewBZZPApVf1hvQCkYHrvJ21t9_YGbpI/s1600/terracotta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrutCg9FPHrCnXXKnw38_sTNI5rgQfdksVIC2XpIFer-z6uaPfkuXe182Wt8y0XYSMXj8d_JlaOeBkj0f9juSJPudfYFec-KbLiwIN5aozuosmewBZZPApVf1hvQCkYHrvJ21t9_YGbpI/s400/terracotta.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><b>China unearths over 100 new terracotta warriors</b><br /><br /><br />Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried for centuries, an official said Monday, part of the famed army built to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor.<br /><br />The life-size figures were excavated near the Qin Emperor’s mausoleum in China’s northern Xi’an city over the course of three years, and archaeologists also uncovered 12 pottery horses, parts of chariots, weapons and tools.<br /><br />“The... excavation on the 200-square-metre (2,152-square-feet) site has found a total of 110 terracotta figurines,” Shen Maosheng from the Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum -- which oversees the tomb -- told AFP.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/11/219933.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Al-Arabiya</a></b><br /><br />

Ancient statues of Chinese entertainers unearthed

Statues of entertainers have been unearthed during the third excavation of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor of th...

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Marco Polo really did go to China, new study finds

<br />It has been said that Marco Polo did not really go to China; that he merely cobbled together his information about it from journeys to the Black Sea, Constantinople and Persia and from talking to merchants and reading now-lost Persian books. But in Marco Polo was in China: New Evidence from Currencies, Salts and Revenues, Hans Ulrich Vogel, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Tübingen, puts paid to such rumors.<br /><br />He begins with a comprehensive review of the arguments for and against, and follows it up with evidence from relevant Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, German and Spanish literature. The result is compelling: despite a few, well-known problems with Marco Polo’s writings, they are supported by an overwhelming number of verified accounts about China containing unique information given over centuries.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2012/05/01/marco-polo-really-did-go-to-china-new-study-finds/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net</a></b><br />

Marco Polo really did go to China, new study finds

It has been said that Marco Polo did not really go to China; that he merely cobbled together his information about it from journeys to the B...

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