* Astronomy

It if looks like a rose, and smells like a rose, and feels like rose, it's probably a rose.
The same can't be said for an arrowhead. If it looks like an arrowhead, and smells like an arrowhead, and feels like an arrowhead, it might not be a bona fide, 5,000-year-old killing tool crafted by the hand of ancient man at all. It might be nothing more than a hunk of rock.
Woody Blackwell is something of a legendary figure among flintknappers. Those are the folks who can take a piece of flint and beat it into the likeness of an 11,000-year-old mammoth-stabbing Clovis point, or a sleek and graceful Agate Basin.
The trouble starts when a flintknapper forgets to tell someone who might be interested in buying his semi-translucent, Knife River Flint beauty that it was not actually made 11,000 years ago. That's when a reproduction becomes a fake.

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King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland:

'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.'

A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that maybe Christianity arrived in Denmark six centuries earlier than previously believed.
Peter Pentz, a curator and archaeologist at the National Museum, examined the 3cm sphere of crystal and noticed that it was unlike anything found in Denmark.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed what seemed to be an upside arrow. Drawing upon his knowledge of early Christian imagery, Pentz began to wonder: could this arrow in actuality be an anchor? A sign used by early Christians?
Pentz discovered another etching on the amulet - the word ABLATHANALBA. Such a word was believed to have mystical powers in early Christian ceremonies, suggesting that its owner had a connection to early Christian beliefs.

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A 2,200-year-old statue of the goddess Hera has been found in a wall of a city under Mount Olympus, mythical home of Greece's ancient gods, archaeologists announced Thursday.
The headless marble statue was discovered last year during excavations in the ruins of ancient Dion, some 50 miles southwest of Thessaloniki.
Archaeologist Dimitris Pantermalis said the life-sized statue had been used by the early Christian inhabitants of the city of Dion as filling for a defensive wall.
He said the 2nd century-B.C. find appeared to have originally stood in a temple of Zeus, leader of the ancient Greek gods, whose statue was found in the building's ruins in 2003. The statue of Hera stood next to that of Zeus in the temple, said Pantermalis, a Thessaloniki University professor who has headed excavations at Dion for more than three decades.
Pantermalis said that, if confirmed, it would be the first time two statues of different gods have been located from a single temple in Greece. He said it was also possible that a statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom, could have stood in the temple of Zeus. He said he was hopeful that it might be found during future excavation.
Dion was a major religious centre of the ancient Macedonians. Alexander the Great offered sacrifices there before launching his victorious campaign against the Persian Empire in the 4th century B.C.
Excavations so far have revealed temples, theatres and a stadium, city walls, a hotel, baths and streets with an elaborate drainage system, as well as many statues.

Recent discoveries and excavations have shown that the UAE lies on a treasure of archaeological and historical sites, which prove that man lived along coastal areas thousands of years ago. By examining the findings of the excavations, archaeologists have discovered that the UAE has witnessed the settlement of human inhabitants dating back to the civilisations of Old Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The country's coastal regions are considered to be of the most significant areas populated by humans, because they have archaeological and historical treasures that span the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. The historical study of those areas also provides important information about the environment of the UAE's coastal areas and is a crucial link to understanding patterns of human settlement thousands of years ago.
 Although some areas are subject to extensive surveys and deep excavations, there are others that have still not received enough attention. More excavations and research are needed in order to put together a clearer picture of the country's rich history.
Among the areas needing more attention is Al Fisht village, which lies on the coast, one mile northeast of Sharjah. According to stories and tales told by forefathers to their children, this village sank into the sea more than 30 years ago after it was hit by strong Shamal winds and high sea waves, causing its residents to move to Kalba, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman after their houses and farms were flooded. This is an indication that there are many archaeological ruins that have sunk deep into the Gulf waters. Hence, Al Fisht village is just as important as other areas in which archaeologists have been tracing the earliest human settlements and historical sites.
This is important to consider since the absence of detailed information is often interpreted as a lack of history. Those sunken treasures need to be unearthed by archaeologists and researchers who can help shed more light on the UAE's history and civilisation

Source: Gulf News