A Buddhist-era site has been found in Pakistan’s Swat valley.

Initial excavations by an Italian archaeology mission at Kandak and Kota in the Barikot area have apparently revealed treasures that include prehistoric rock carvings, paintings of social and hunting scenes and pottery specimens “preserved in good condition,” according to the mission’s director. The Italians deserve kudos for continuing their work under the most trying circumstances during the past many years since Swat became the scene of utter lawlessness because of militancy in the area. Indeed, Italian archaeologists are no strangers to the valley where they have had a presence since the discovery of the riveting Butkara site in the late 1950s in the backyard of the administrative capital, Saidu Sharif.

No doubt, the many foreign archaeologists, particularly the Italians in Swat and the French in Mehrgarh, Balochistan, have played an important role in preserving Pakistan’s historical treasures. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the role of the national archaeology department as the custodian of these and other historical sites. For instance, we have not heard of the fate of the artifacts housed in the Swat Museum at Saidu and the Chakdara Museum on the road to Dir.

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A fourth gate has been found which leades to the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi.

The People’s Daily Online says the north gate is huge, some 93 metres (about 280 feet) tall by seven (21 ft) metres and was built in the north facing wall of the tomb’s outer city, and is more than 400 metres (about 1,200 feet) from the east and west walls.

A platform made of rammed earth has been found at both eastern and western sections of the northern wall, the western one being 4,4 metres long (13,5 ft). The gate itself, presumably made of wood, has collapsed and so far, the archaeologists have found only earth.

Until now, scholars were unsure whether the north gate really existed and the orientation of the tomb was not clear. The report speculated the first emperor’s tomb could run from south to north.

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The skeleton of a mongrel who went down with the Mary Rose on July 19, 1545 has been pieced together.

The dog, now preserved as an almost complete canine skeleton, acquired the nickname Hatch after divers discovered her remains near the sliding hatch door of the Mary Rose’s carpenter’s cabin.

Experts believe the hound, estimated to have been between 18 months and two years old, earned her keep as the ship’s ratter – superstitious Tudor seafarers did not have cats on board ship as they were thought to bring bad luck.

And she was probably very good at her job – only the partial remains of rats’ skeletons have been found on board the Mary Rose.

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Archaeologists in Tasmania have found what they believe to be the oldest, most southerly site of human habitation in the world.

Archaeologists and Aboriginal heritage officers have been removing sediment from eight trenches along the Jordan River levee at the Brighton roadworks site, north of Hobart.

Initial findings suggest the sediment is between 28,000 and 40,000 years old, making it the oldest, most southern site of human habitation in the world.

It is believed up to 3,000,000 artefacts could be buried there.

Dozens of protesters have been arrested and 19 people have been charged over protests aimed at trying to stop the roadwork in recent months.

Fiona Newson from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council says the Tasmanian Goverment needs to take the latest report from archaeologists seriously.

“We’re talking about a worldwide significant site in regards to the scientific values and heritage values,” she said.

“It would be a total waste and not a good look on Tasmania if they were going to destroy it.”

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Researchers in Israel believe they have identified the site of the biblical city of Neta’im, mentioned in 1 Chronicles.

Based on its proximity to another biblical town, and archaeological ruins dating from the time of the biblical King David’s rule, researchers think Neta’im might have been located at the modern site called Khirbet Qeiyafa, in Israel.

Khirbet Qeiyafa contains the ruins of an ancient fortress city on top of a hill overlooking the Elah Valley. Pottery shards and burned olive pits at the site date to about 1,000 B.C. Most scholars think King David ruled during this time.

Archaeologists have previously associated Khirbet Qeiyafa with the biblical city Sha’arayim, which means “two gates,” because of the discovery of two gates in the fortress ruins, and because Sha’arayim was also associated with King David in the Bible. But now researchers claim this site is really Neta’im, a town mentioned in the book 1 Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament.

“The inhabitants of Neta’im were potters who worked in the king’s service and inhabited an important administrative center near the border with the Philistines”‘ said Gershon Galil, a professor of biblical studies at the University of Haifa in Israel.

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