NEW DISCOVERY IN LUXOR

More ancient tombs discovered in Luxor.  How exciting!  I am sorry I haven't published more lately (bad health), but I invite everyone to a great read on these 3,500 year old tombs.  Spoiler alert!  There is gold gilding and a mummy!  Here is one link for you to explore http://time.com/5057271/ancient-tombs-luxor-egypt/

Lower Temperatures - Great time to Dig!

There are many places in the United States that can use support with dig staff or even public parks that allow fossil recovery.  I focused on Ohio and was pleased with the number of locations both free and for a small fee where you can dig with permission. 

Here is a site I used to look up some of my information, but look close to home.  This may be a chance under more favorable weather to do a little bit of archaeology "OFF" of the armchair and under very hospitable conditions.

https://www.thoughtco.com/fossil-parks-for-hands-on-digging-1440567

More research specific to your area will also yield some positive results.  Start working with your local historical society and discover the many ways you can re-discover the past!

Early Remains Recovered

This is some great "old" news.  Previously discovered skeletal remains have been recovered giving new interest to the earliest date for man in the Americas.

https://www.inverse.com/article/35987-oldest-americans-archeology-pleistocene

Newly Discovered Mosaic

Here is a great article on a newly discovered mosaic.  I don't know about the best discovery in 50 years, but it is certainly near the top of the list!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/03/exciting-roman-mosaic-50-years-discovered-community-dig-berkshire/

Many great MOOCs have either recently started or are due to start within the next week through the British forum Futurelearn - https://www.futurelearn.com/ .  Of particular interest to me were the course on Archaeology which takes you through an actual site excavation near Stonehenge, a course on Extinction, a course on the Great Powers of the Ancient World, and Rome a virtual 3-D tour of the ancient city.  Sounds like a lot of good material out there for investigation!  See what you find interesting!

CREATING YOUR OWN ARCHAEOLOGY VIRTUAL LIBRARY

For quite a while now I have been interested in expanding my personal library on the specific areas of archaeology that excite me the most, but there have been stumbling blocks.  In particular, finding and affording some of the older, more esoteric out-of-print items can be a daunting task.  However, this is becoming easier as more and more institutions put portions of their libraries online and make them available to the public in downloadable formats (usually .pdf).  

Recently, I discovered the Metropolitan Museum of Arts downloadable books and periodicals website while reading an article on ancient Egypt, 

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/egyptian_art_in_the_age_of_the_pyramids.  I then discovered a two volume out-of-print set I had been looking for was available for download.  Only 500 copies had ever been printed and I was about to get mine for FREE!  This is just one location for free downloads and I will be using my browser to find more and increase my virtual library.  

As my collection of virtual material is growing, I need to protect my data.  It was recommended that I purchase an archival external backup drive.  Wonder what that is?  Well, it is a storage drive so that you don't need to store the data on your computer, but it is also a backup with its own backup.  Inside, it has two drives and as you save to the external source your data will save to both drives so that they mirror each other.  Thus, as you grow your collect, it will be nicely protected against equipment failure.  

The two-volume limited edition set I got for FREE!  The information is priceless!

Two other courses with Ancient Interest

Thanks to Hamish Morrison who provided this information recently in the Coursera Forum:

"There are two other courses soon as well as the one on edx. Both are on futurelearn.

Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ancient-health/1

Superpowers of the Ancient World: the Near East https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/superpowers-near-east/2"

Sharing with others is an excellent way of learning more and is appreciated!