Archaeorama's New Year's Forecast

December 31, 2008

As I said in my previous post, it's that time of the year when you can find New Year forecasts everywhere.

My last update of 2008 will be no exception. I'll stick with tradition and offer my predictions for the new year.

Looking into my crystal ball, I see three archaeologists who are likely to make the news in 2009:

ZAHI HAWASS. It's an easy guess, I know. Dr. Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is working on a number of exciting projects.

He has announced an ambitious plans for DNA tests on hundreds of Egyptian mummies. In the next months we might  know much  more about Tutankhamun's family lineage, including two mummified fetuses believed to be his offspring.

2009 might also be the year of the discovery of Cleopatra's tomb.

A team of 12 archeologists and 70 excavators is working at the site of a temple, the Taposiris Magna, 28 miles west of Alexandria. So far, they have found  a 400ft tunnel beneath the temple containing clues that the queen and her lover, the Roman general Mark Antony, may lie beneath.

If Hawass is right, this could be the greatest archeological discovery in Egypt since Tutankhamun’s tomb was uncovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

ZEMARYALAI  TARZI. 2009 might be the year of the "Sleeping Buddha", a fabled 1,000-foot-long statue that survived the Taliban.

The giant reclining Buddha was described by a 7th-century Chinese monk but has never been found.

A few months ago, Dr.Tarzi found a 62-foot-long Buddha statue buried within the foundations of an ancient Buddhist temple in the Afghan valley where the Bamiyan Buddhas once stood.

Tarzi  has found signs that indicate that the big lying Buddha is also buried there.

According to Najibullah Harar, head of Bamiyan’s information and culture department, Tarzi "has 70 percent hopes that he will find it."

PAOLA VIRGILI. 2009 might also be the year of the “Golden Villa”.

Dr. Virgili is carrying an exciting excavation project at Rome's Parco degli Acquedotti. So far the dig has revealed the ruins of a 2nd-century multi level villa, known as Villa delle Vignacce.

This was the magnificent home of Quintus Servilius Pudens, a wealthy friend of Emperor Hadrian.

Featuring the largest private bathhouse ever discovered, the house has begun to reveal spectacular ceilings covered with shimmering golden mosaics.

According to Virgili, it might be "the richest villa ever discovered."

Well, my predictions end here. Whether I am right or not, I'm sure  2009 will be a year of exciting archaeological discoveries.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Comments

[J-Jo McGillicuddy]

I'm ready, lay it on me! If none of this stuff comes to pass I will be gravely disappointed. I need an exciting, ground-shaking archeological discovery at least once a month, something that totally destroys our old ways of looking at things and forces the whole planet to reexamine its history and beliefs. I want something spectacular, and no more duds or fakes! Dig! Dig! Dig!

[K. Harris]

Way I heard it - archaeology is a career in ruins.

[Fablous Zee]

Hey@

[Kristin]

Anything that's not related to classical archaeology or famous sculptures? What about significant changes in the world of archaeological theory, which drives the questions that are actually asked by archaeologists who aren't just looking for nice buildings or art?

[Slavica]

As a lover of Archeology expected discoveries make me happy and i am curious on how these works on discoveries shall have been covered./recording/

[Mimi]

This is a fantastic post. Thanks for this!

[Skye]

Thank you for this information. I look forward to following these studies in the weeks to come. It is truly amazing how many areas of study are being impacted by the results of DNA testing.

[Krishan]

middle school world histroy is just as intrasting as t.v.

[Brittenymarie]

I also think there will be great new discoveries in the New World that will dramatically change our understanding of the earliest civilizations in this hemisphere.

It looks as if Cesar Soriano will also be a major player in 2009. He has begun to unearth an ancient city in the North Coast of Peru that might link the Moche and the Wari, two cultures that are separated by almost 1,000 miles of coastline at roughly 600 AD.

Also, Elsa Hernandez is heading an excavation of a long-lost Aztec palace in Mexico City where Montezuma once resided in the 1500s. The palace had been razed by the conquistadores and may yield important information about this time in the city's prehistory.

[Archie]

I've been reading about the Time Team show that will be coming out on PBS this next year. I really do think you are right about 2009 be the year for archeology. The beauty isn't always in these big finds, but learning to appreciate the wonders in your own backyard, city, state, etc.

[Asics Shoes Manufacturer]

Also, Elsa Hernandez is heading an excavation of a long-lost Aztec palace in Mexico City where Montezuma once resided in the 1500s. The palace had been razed by the conquistadores and may yield important information about this time in the city's prehistory.

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Thank you for this information. I look forward to following these studies in the weeks to come.

[شات]

nice
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