Biggest ever Roman shipwreck found in the eastern Mediterranean

Dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE the find is the largest classical shipwreck found in the eastern Mediterranean. The wreck of the 110-foot (35-meter) ship, along with its cargo of 6,000 amphorae, was discovered at a depth of around 60m (197 feet) during a sonar-equipped survey of the seabed off the coast of Kefalonia -- one of the Ionian islands off the west coast of Greece. Most ships of that era were around 50 feet long. Retrieving the wreck is a "very difficult and costly job." Instead, researchers want to recover an amphora and using DNA techniques find what it contained, wine, olive oil, nuts, wheat or barley.

Featured coins at Heritage

SICILY. Syracuse. Agathocles (317-289 BC).  NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style THRACE. Byzantium. Ca. 250-200 BC. AR tetradrachm NGC Choice AU★ 5/5 - 5/5 Ancients: C. Cassius Longinus, Assassin and Imperator (died 42 BC). AR denarius NGC MS 5/5 - 3/5

Australia: Victoria gold Sovereign 1860-SYDNEY AU58 PCGS Brazil: João VI silver Proclamation Medal 1820-Dated MS64 NGC Ethiopia: Menelik II gold Proof Fantasy Talari EE 1889 (1897) PR64 NGC

German States: Stolberg-Stolberg. Wolfgang Georg Taler 1625-CZ MS62 NGC Great Britain: George III gilt-copper Proof Penny 1807-SOHO PR62+ Ultra Cameo NGC Italy: Piedmont. Subalpine Republic gold 20 Francs L'An 9 (1800/1801) MS62 NGC

Hoard of golden Russian rubles found

Treasure dating back to the reign of Tsar Nicholas II has been unearthed in Moscow. A tin chest containing 60 gold coins was discovered in the basement of a dilapidated building. Experts believe the trove may have been stored there during the Russian Revolution (March - November 1917) or the Russian Civil War (November 1917 - October 1922). Nicholas and his family – Tsarina Alexandra, Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana, Grand Duchess Maria, Grand Duchess Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei – were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

200-year-old set of false teeth go under the hammer

Peter Cross has found many objects during his 40 years of metal detecting. His find of upper dentures, made out of gold and possibly hippo ivory goes under the hammer in Derbyshire with an estimate of £3,000-£7,000. They would have belonged to an extremely wealthy person and date to between 1800 and 1850. The dentures would have cost a fortune at the time. The only other slightly similar set of false teeth belonged to American president George Washington and date back to the late 1700s.

Looted ancient coins, bracelets returned to Romania

In 2018 coins and bracelets from the 1st century that were looted from western Romania and smuggled out of the country were put on display after a joint investigation with Austria brought them back home. The hoard of gold and silver artifacts was presented at Romania's National History Museum.

473 coins and 18 bracelets were taken from archaeological sites in the Orastie Mountains that had been inhabited by Dacians, who fought against the Romans in the early 2nd century.

See ----->http://psjfactoids.blogspot.ca/2016/11/ancient-gold-of-romania.html

Boba Fett J-slot action figure - $500k

Less than 30 of the Boba Fett J-slot action figures are thought to exist in the world. The Boba Fett bounty hunter persona first appeared in the Star Wars film franchise developed by George Lucas in 1980’s Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, and was also resurrected for Return of the Jedi.

£15 Early American teapot makes £460k

Last year the bidding for the sixth known surviving piece from the John Bartlam factory in Cain Hoy, South Carolina opened at £10,000. It rose quickly in increments of £5000 up to £200,000. Then bids continued in increments of £10,000.

The teapot was estimated at £10,000-20,000. It was found at a flea market.

20 ancient wooden coffins uncovered in Egypt - Update

Archaeologists have uncovered at least 20 ancient wooden coffins in the southern city of Luxor. The ministry says archaeologists found the coffins in the Asasif Necropolis. The necropolis is located in the ancient town of West Thebes and includes tombs dating back to the Middle, New Kingdom and the Late Periods (1994 B.C. to 332 B.C.).

Researchers have cracked open the spectacular wooden coffins and have found perfectly preserved mummies. The find is being described as the most important in a century. The coffins are estimated to be 3,000 years old.

The coffins were found sealed and intact, featuring vibrant color inscriptions and well-preserved engravings, both inside and out. Inscriptions suggest the coffins were for children and priests.

Nasa admits 'missing' rogue space rock

Known as 2019 TW1, the 52ft wide object is currently powering towards Earth at roughly 26,000 mph. First spotted 2 days ago it's estimated it will careen past this morning. TW1 will pass by at a distance of around 351,000 miles, which is nearly one and a half times the distance from Earth to the Moon. That is alarmingly close in space terms. Near Earth Objects fly past us regularly. The largest, 2019 RK, is only slightly smaller than the famous Chelyabinsk meteor that detonated over Russia in 2013.

Rare Viking gold found in Northern Ireland

In 2013 a very rare piece of Viking gold was discovered by an amateur treasure hunter in Northern Ireland. The 86 per cent gold ingot was found at Brickland in Co Down, a short distance from Loughbrickland. Records say the Vikings plundered Loughbrickland in 833 AD.

The gold may be a result of contact between locals and Vikings. The ingots were used as currency. Gold is extremely rare in the Viking period, while there are vast quantities of silver. There are very, very few parallels to the clearly very valuable ingot.

This gold ring was lost by a Viking in Essex

Grave of Celtic Prince reveals gold

In June 2015 French archaeologists completed excavations of an ancient burial site revealing the decorated skeleton of a Celtic prince. The tomb dating back some 2,500 years was discovered in an industrial area of Lavau, a village near Troyes, about 150km southeast of Paris. The finding was described as "extraordinary" by experts. Buried with a two-wheeled chariot, the body is believed to be a high-ranked aristocrat from the Hallstatt culture that dominated central Europe during the Early Iron Age.

The skeleton sported ancient pieces of jewellery including a richly decorated gold torque weighing more than half a kilogram and gold bracelets. Remains of the deceased's clothes, such as shoe parts, finely worked amber beads that formed a necklace, and iron and coral hooks that attached to a piece of clothing were also found.

Roman shipwreck yields intact amphorae

An ancient Roman shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Mallorca in Spain with 93 sealed amphorae inside. Believed to be the wreck of a merchant ship, it was likely carrying a shipment of oil, salt and wine in amphorae from the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The ship was relatively small, measuring just 33 feet long and 5 feet wide, with amphorae stowed in the hold. Many of the vessels remain intact and sealed, meaning their contents may have been preserved. Experts estimate the ship was dated to the third century A.D

Green rock of Hattusa a mystery

A giant ancient green rock located in the capital of the Hittite Empire in central Turkey is a centuries-old mystery. Visitors to Hattusa, the capital of the empire which lies near modern Boğazkale in Çorum province, admire the beauty of the rock.

Called a "wish stone" by locals, the rock's purpose has yet to be revealed. The rock is different from all others found at the site and is serpentine or nephrite. Researchers believe the stone was used by all civilizations after the Hittites.

The Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age was one of the civilizations that played an important role.

Golden Man arrives in Malaysia

The "Golden Man" is a Kazakhstani warrior costume and dates to approximately 500BC. It is believed to have been worn by a high status Scythian Prince who was killed during a battle. It was found in 1969 in a Scythian tomb about 60km east of Almaty, near Yesik. It is made out of more than 4,000 separate gold pieces, many of them finely worked with animal motifs.

See ----->Siberia's Valley of the Kings