Lost Treasure Newsletter

Expert: Iraq could rewrite archaeology books

Metal tumblers, like this one, reveal the advanced metallurgy of Mesopotamia.

Iraq, torn apart by years of war and sanctions, remains so rich in hidden ancient wonders that a leading expert believes the world's archaeology books will have to be rewritten over the next decade.

As security improves to allow excavation, evidence may emerge that advanced societies existed in the area much earlier than previously thought, said Dr. John Russell, professor of archaeology at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

"A decade of research in Iraq could rewrite the books of archaeology, no question," Russell, who is currently serving as a senior adviser to Iraq's ministry of culture, told Reuters on Thursday at the opening of new conservation and restoration laboratory at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad.

"There is just a phenomenal amount of history in this country and much of it is yet to be discovered. But over time it will be and we'll have to totally rethink what we know."

In 1989 and 1990, Russell led excavations at the site of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire, which lies on the Tigris river in northern Iraq, near modern-day Mosul.

In each year, he said, his team made discoveries that essentially pushed back the timeline for ancient civilization by a millennium. "It was just absolutely incredible, they were unprecedented discoveries. But Iraq is like that," he said.

Often referred to as the cradle of civilization, Iraq's modern-day boundaries encompass ancient Mesopotamia, the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which was the foundation for the world's earliest societies.

Over the centuries, hugely important discoveries have been made in the area, from the Sumerian city of Ur in southern Iraq with its massive ziggurat, to ancient Babylon south of Baghdad.

Courtesy of CNN

America's Lost Colony: Can New Dig Solve Mystery?

More than four centuries ago, English colonists hoped to carve out a new life—and substantial profits—in the wild and strange land of North America. One group of colonists gave up and returned to England. A second colony, in what is now North Carolina, vanished in the 1580s and became immortalized in history as the "Lost Colony."

Today the prosperous little town of Manteo, North Carolina, surrounds the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, a national park protecting the place where the English tried to establish their first American colony—before Plymouth, before even Jamestown.

Archaeologists know that the colonists spent some time at this spot on the north end of Roanoke Island, but they don't know much more about those unlucky settlers.

That might change soon, however. A group of archaeologists and historians met in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, earlier this month to launch the First Colony Foundation to raise money for new archaeological excavations in the Fort Raleigh park. They plan to start digging into one of the United States' most enduring historical puzzles early this summer.

Courtesy of National Geographic News

Sir Walter Raleigh, historic Roanoke map

English courtier, navigator, and historian Sir Walter Raleigh (above) sponsored the first English colonists in North America. The settlers established a village on Roanoke Island (below), off the coast of present-day North Carolina.

Illustrations courtesy National Park Service

Tangled Old West tale

Most historians agree that Billy the Kid, a.k.a. William Bonney, was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 and buried in Fort Sumner, N.M. But "Brushy Bill" Roberts in Texas, as well as John Miller in Arizona, each went to his own grave decades later claiming that he was the "real" Kid, and that the man shot in Fort Sumner was an impostor. One old-timer even says Garrett's widow told him the sheriff shot an innocent man to cover up the Kid's escape.

Ten months ago, the sheriffs of De Baca County and Lincoln County reopened the investigation, saying that they would take a DNA sample from the Kid's mother, who was buried in Silver City, N.M., then try to match it up with remains from the purported "sons." That idea didn't sit well with the mayors of Fort Sumner and Silver City, who feared the hubbub would do damage to the Old West cemeteries and cast clouds of doubt over the legends that brought tourists to their towns.

The sheriffs started the legal action last November by petitioning a judge for the exhumation of Catherine Antrim, the mother. The judge put that case on hold until August — but signaled that it didn't make much sense to take a sample of the mother's DNA unless other remains were sampled as well.

That's why De Baca County Sheriff Gary Graves, Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Sullivan and his assistant, Steve Sederwall, filed last week's petition for the Kid's exhumation. The three officials were joined by Bill Robins III and David Sandoval, attorneys appointed by N ew Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to represent the Kid's interests.

The sheriffs' investigation could well lead to a posthumous pardon for the Kid — thus, the long-deceased "co-petitioner" has an interest in seeing the DNA tests done, Robins told MSNBC.com.

"Frankly, we did not expect there to be such a resistance in Silver City" to the mother's exhumation, Robins said. "We don’t want to wait, and then go to another court and have that long of a delay in another court. Our thinking is to kill two birds with one stone."

Robins said the legal team was preparing to seek the exhumation of the Kid claimants in Texas and Arizona as well.

"Our effort remains to get to the truth concerning Billy the Kid, and we feel procedurally this is the most effective and timely way of doing it," he said.

Fort Sumner Mayor Ray Lopez has not yet filed a formal response to last week's court filing. Sandy Paul of the Fort Sumner Chamber of Commerce said she was positive town officials would challenge any effort to dig up the Kid.

Opponents of the exhumation say there's no question that the Kid was shot and buried in Fort Sumner. Moreover, they say the graves have been moved over the years, and there's no guarantee that the Kid or his mother are still buried where their gravestones have been placed.

"How can someone who died 120 years ago petition for the removal of his own corpse?" Paul asked.

Robins, who is handling the Kid's case on a pro-bono basis, admitted that he was in an unusual position. "This is a strange case," he said.

Courtesy of MSNBC