Damage to historic center of Nablus

Robert Bevan visits Nablus to sort out conflicting reports on the extent of damage to its historic buildings. It seems that the most important structures suffered less damage than previously reported. The author accuses the IDF of deliberate targeting of cultural properties, but the argument is clearly one-sided and more dependent on the author's prejudices than on any evidence. It should be obvious that had the destruction of historic buildings been the goal, the damage would have been far, far worse.

UPDATE: More on the occupation of Nablus.

Prosecutorial persecution

No matter what your political persuasion, I bet "denial of due process" wasn't the first thing that came to mind when you read about this trial.

Colossal Statue of Nefertiti Discovered

A statue of Nefertiti in pink granite has been uncovered by Egyptian and German archeologists working at Tel-Basta, to the north of Cairo. It measures some 11 meters in height and 3 meters in breadth.

Slacker's Paradise Lost

Not really news, as Rome hasn't been a cheap place for underachieving foreigners to live well for some time. . . .

Raphael to Getty, Lorenzetti to Met

The Getty Museum has purchased an important early Raphael, the Madonna of the Pinks, from the Duke of Northumberland for a price reportedly just under $50M. London's National Gallery, where the painting has hung in recent years, has launched an appeal for matching funds to preempt the sale.
The Metropolitan Museum has purchased a gold-ground panel by Pietro Lorenzetti from Wildenstein, who had owned it for several decades.

15th-century ship excavation nearly complete

The ship unearthed during construction in Newport, south Wales, is being removed from the find site for study and conservation. Eventual reconstruction and display in situ is planned.

Roman treasure found outside London

A treasure-hunter has made a major find: "after stumbling on a huge signal from under the rich earth, he began digging and found a haul of pottery, bronze, glass vases and bottles in what is now believed to be a Roman grave". At least two silver brooches have also been found, dating to c. 140.

UPDATE: The hoard has been declared treasure trove. It is expected that the British Museum will pass on purchase, leaving the find for the local Verulamium Museum.

"Biblical" ossuary doubts

The ossuary which recently received so much press attention as the putative burial box of James, the brother of Jesus, has been seriously damaged while in transit from Jerusalem to Toronto. The owner apparently contracted with a local moving company instead of making arrangements through a museum, with disastrous results.
The owner of the ossuary has now been publicly identified as Oded Golan, CEO of a Tel Aviv tech company. Questions have arisen whether the ossuary was discovered after 1978, and hence subject to seizure by Israel as state property.
Meanwhile, experts are expressing sharp doubts about the authenticity of the inscription. Rochelle Altman has called it "a poorly executed fake and a later addition", stating that "you have to be blind as a bat not to see that the second part is a fraud..." -- albeit a fraud that may well be ancient.

UPDATE: Here's an article with more on ossuaries and the antiquities trade.

MORE on the various claims of provenance here.

Loaded in the museum

One of the first things antique gun collectors (should) learn is to insure that their weapons aren't still loaded. Apparently the curators at Chicago's Field Museum missed out on this lesson. At least all the loaded muzzleloaders were in storage, but really, a cannon?