In a few weeks, the police would be able to analyse crime patterns in any given locality; traffic police would know the precise reasons for traffic jams and find solutions; and construction agencies would be able plan a flyover or a tunnel without any risk of running into a maze of old waterlines or an ancient structure.The reason: the Delhi government's Information Technology (IT) Department has mapped every inch of Delhi using 3-D imaging. The mapping will benefit various government departments while planning infrastructure development projects.Police, fire, transport, DTC, MCD, NDMC, Archaeological Survey of India, PWD, Chief Election Office and Disaster Management Authority are some departments that will be able to use the data. According to IT officials, they have data of everything both above the ground as well as 10-meters below the ground. The data were collected through aerial photographs. Sophisticated systems were used to study the underground system. [...]

An ancient chapel has revealed a new mystery with the discovery of a 600-year-old hive built into the stones. Builders renovating Rosslyn Chapel, which was made famous in The Da Vinci Code, found the "unprecedented" hive while dismantling a rooftop pinnacle. The bees entered the hive through a hole in a carved flower crafted by the chapel's master stone masons. The 15th Century Midlothian building is undergoing a £13m conservation and site improvement project. The discovery was made when two pinnacles, which had been made unstable by nesting jackdaws, had to be taken down stone by stone and rebuilt. Malcolm Mitchell, of Page Park Architects, said: "It was a big hollow about the size of a gas cylinder and the hive had obviously been abandoned." [...]

Ancient graves were found in the Urbnisi village of the Kareli region during the construction of a highway. About 20 sarcophaguses were discovered dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries. Road department representatives invited a group of archaeologists from the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University to the area to examine the findings. The relevant activities are being implemented by the group chaired by Vakhtang Licheli. According Licheli, 20 Christian sarcophaguses were found. "Investigation of this area alone is not enough because many graves have been destroyed in the Urbnisi village and all of them require further study. So this requires funding," Licheli said. Several months ago, an ancient stamp was found in the yard of an Avlevi village resident. [...]

Replicas of Christopher Columbus' ships the Nina and the Pinta will be docked at the Fort Myers Yacht Club from Wednesday, April 7, through Monday, April 11. The Nina, built completely by hand without the use of power tools, was described by Archaeology magazine as "the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built." The Pinta was built in Brazil to accompany the Nina on all its travels. The two ships are touring as a new and enhanced "sailing museum" to educate the public and school children about the Caravel, a Portuguese ship used by Columbus and many early explorers to discover the new world. While in port the general public can take a walk-aboard, self-guided tour of the boats. The cost is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children. Youngsters 4 and under can board for free. The ship will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. [...]

Update | Mise à jour

A mysterious, 1,700-year-old coffin made from a 360-kilogram slab of lead — bizarrely folded over its ancient corpse like a "burrito" — has been unearthed on the outskirts of Rome by a team of archeologists that includes a visiting professor at Hamilton's McMaster University. The gravesite at Gabii, a once-thriving city-state located about 20 kilometres from the centre of old Rome, is prompting speculation by experts that a great gladiator, beloved bishop or some other notable figure from the 3rd century AD was given the rare honour of a sheet-metal burial. "All we can say so far about the contents is that the lead wrapping contains a human skeleton — or at least a portion thereof — as there is visible bone at the open, foot-end of the sarcophagus," McMaster University archeologist Jeffrey Becker, managing director of the U.S.-led dig at Gabii, told Canwest News Service. "Once we assess the contents, we will make a plan of how to study them, but we are interested in studying any human remains inside." Gabii is located due east of Rome, along the ancient road once known as the Via Gabina, in the central Italian region that was called Latium around the time of Christ. The historian Plutarch named Gabii as the birthplace of Romulus and Remus, the mythic twin founders of Rome. [...]

The transitory exhibition room from the La Real Fuerza Museum Castle is welcoming an important selection of objects found in an archaeological context dated between the second half of the 18th century and 1830 The transitory exhibition room from the La Real Fuerza Museum Castle is welcoming an important selection of objects found in an archaeological context dated between the second half of the 18th century and 1830, approximately- of everyday life in the convent of Santa Teresa de Jesús, an institution founded on January 28, 1702 by the very important bishop Diego Evelino de Compostela, to welcome the religious order of the Carmelitas Descalzas, who lived there until 1928, when they moved to their new seat in El Vedado. The pieces come from historic-archaeological researches made since the year 2005 by the Archaeological Team from the Monument Restoration Company from the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. [...]

A series of archaeological digs are to take place prior to work commencing on a new Forth Bridge. Transport Scotland has revealed it has called in Historic Scotland to identify areas which could be of historic importance on both the north and south sides of the estuary. A team of historians and archeologists will set about excavating parts of government-owned land at St Margaret's Hope and Echline Fields to ensure any important objects are found and not buried under the foundations of the major new crossing. Negotiations with other private land-owners are also under way. The work is expected to begin this summer in a bid to avoid any delays to the start of construction. The £2.3 billion project is still to be granted parliamentary approval but work is scheduled to begin next year and end in 2016. Steven Brown, Transport Scotland's roads team manager, said: "The archaeological work involves scraping away topsoil, trench excavation of the subsoil and then inspecting the area. Further investigations may take place if historical features are identified. [...]

Underwater archaeologist Dr. George Fletcher Bass, professor emeritus, Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University, and former curator, Penn Museum Mediterranean Section, was awarded the Museum’s Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal honoring exceptional achievement in excavation or publication of archaeological work. Dr. Bass is the 30th recipient of the award, established in 1889 and given by the Museum Director in consultation with past medal recipients and archaeological curators of the Museum. After receiving the award, Dr. Bass gave the Museum’s annual Petersen Lecture, “The Million Piece Jigsaw Puzzle: Excavating a Cargo of Medieval Glass.” Dr. Bass received his PhD at Penn in 1964, staying on as professor until 1972. While at Penn, he developed techniques for underwater research while excavating Byzantine, Late Roman and Ottoman shipwrecks. [...]

A series of finds in 1980s completely changed the perception of the effect the Romans had on Guernsey. Tanya Walls, La Société Guernesiaise archaeology secretary, said before the finds it had been thought they had little influence. However, when evidence of settlements, trade and industry came to light it told a different story. The island became a centre for trade, most obviously shown by the wreck of a Roman trading ship found off Guernsey. Before the Romans, Guernsey had been well-known as a trading point for wine in the Iron Age as ships made their way north from Bordeaux. The Romans capitalised on this settling in St Peter Port following their occupation of Gaul (modern day France). In the 1980s a site was discovered at La Paladerie, in St Peter Port, where Roman artefacts and the remains of buildings were uncovered.[...]

Archaeologists and artists have completed restoring an archaeological Fresco painting at al-Azem Palace in Hama (209 kms north of Damascus). Artists used earth colours and natural substances, mixing glue with acids and plant dyes to restore the drawings to their previous state. The Euro-Mediterranean-style fresco painting is 5-meters high and 3,5-meters wide, dating back to 245 years ago. The painting includes plant ornaments drawn with earth colours such as blue, turquoise, pink and brown. It consists of a large hall with stone-made roof. A star-shaped pendant is fixed at the center of the roof. In the middle of the hall, there are three windows overlooking a spacious meadow. Pillars, crowns, arches and embellished curtains pierce the windows. Poetry and floral shapes are inscribed on the walls. [...]