In Pictures: A Look at the World of the Past

A look at the world of the past, through ancient ruins and archaeological discoveries.

A part of the ancient city of Ptolemais is pictured near the town of Ad Dirsiyah, about 100 km (62 miles) east of Benghazi January 27, 2012.

A pair of binoculars recovered from the RMS Titanic is on display during the Titanic Auction preview by Guernsey’s Auction House in New York, January 5, 2012. The biggest collection of Titanic artifacts is to be sold off as a single lot in an auction timed for the 100th anniversary in April of the sinking of the famed ocean liner.

A pocket watch recovered from the RMS Titanic is on display during the Titanic Auction preview by Guernsey’s Auction House in New York January 5, 2012.

An employee displays clay tablets belong to the Sumerian era at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Baghdad January 30, 2012.

Journalists and policemen enter the Sednaya monastery built in 547 AD, north of Damascus, January 31, 2012, during a tour organized by the Ministry of Information to see the damage caused by a shell fired at the monastery on Sunday. Officials say the shell was fired by rebels causing a one-meter hole in the wall of one of the convent’s rooms.

An archeologist brushes off dust at a burial chamber at the archeological site of Atzompa, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in this undated handout photo released by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) on July 18, 2012.

Gold coins and the ceramic jug in which they were found hidden are displayed at the Arsuf cliff-top coastal ruins, 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv, July 9, 2012. The 1,000-year-old hoard of gold coins has been unearthed at the famous Crusader battleground where Christian and Muslim forces once

Unearthed: Ancient Temple in Bali

Balinese archaeologists work next to discovered stone structure of an ancient temple in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. An archaeologist says a structure that is believed to be the remains of an ancient Hindu temple has been unearthed on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A structure believed to be a Hindu temple in Bali was found. The temple is also thought to be the largest temple ever found in Bali.

Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says that workers were digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali’s capital, when they discovered a large stone about 1 meter underground. So far, the excavation teams have uncovered  57-meter of the temple structure.

A Balinese archaeologist measures a stone of ancient temple structure in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Wayan Swantika of the local archaeology agency says workers digging a drainage basin last week in eastern Denpasar, Bali’s capital, at first discovered a large stone about 1 meter (3 feet) underground. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

The temple is still being analysed but according to its shape and characteristics, Wayan Swantika believes that the temple was built between the 13th and 15th century.

Balinese archaeologists work on the ancient temple structure in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. An archaeologist says a structure that is believed to be the remains of an ancient Hindu temple has been unearthed on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Please click here to read more posts on Archaeology.

Mammoth Found in Russia

Last month, an 11 years old boy, Yevgeny Salinder, found a well-preserved mammoth carcass at his home in Taymyr, Siberia, Russia.

A handout photo provided by The International Mammoth Committee in Russia on Friday Oct. 5, 2012 of the mammoth.

The mammoth carcass is estimated to be 30,000 years old. It is informally named Zhenya, after the boy’s nickname. Its official name is the Sopkarginsky mammoth, according to ABC News. The 16-year-old mammoth was 2 meters tall and weighed 500 kilograms.

Scientists say:

• Could have been “possibly” killed by a human or a rival mammoth.
• The mammoth was pretty small for his age.
• It’s one of the best-preserved bodies of a grown mammoth yet found.

Unearthed: Enormous Roman Mosaic

A giant poolside mosaic featuring intricate geometric patterns was unearthed in the southern Turkey earlier this week under a farmer’s field. The first hint that something stunning lay underground in southern Turkey came in 2002, when Purdue University classics professor Nick Rauh walked through a freshly-plowed farmer’s field near the ancient city of Antiochia ad Cragum. The plow had churned up bits of mosaic tiles.

The mosaic was a decorated floor of a bath complex. The pool was 7-meter long. The find likely dates to the third or fourth century, said Michael Hoff, a University of Nebraska, Lincoln art historian and director of the mosaic excavation. The mosaic composed of large squares, forming unique geometric designs, from starburst patterns to intertwined loops on white background.

Unique geometric patterns on the mosaic floor. (Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska, Lincoln)

The mosaic is 149 square meters. So far, it is the largest Roman mosaic ever found in southern Turkey.  The existence of the mosaic suggests that Antiochia ad Cragum was far more influenced by the Romans than believed.

The largest Roman mosaic ever found in southern Turkey(Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska, Lincoln)

 Only about 40 percent of the mosaic had been revealed so far. The team will return with students and volunteers to complete the mosaic excavations in June 2013. Hoff said, the plan is to construct a wooden shelter over the entire mosaic and open the site to public visits.

Archaeologists cleaning the big mosaic floor. (Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska, Lincoln)

For other posts about archaeology, please click here.

Unearthed:Aztec Human Remains in Mexican Settlement

An unearthed skeleton dating back about 700 years is seen at a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Archaeologists in Mexico Cit have unearthed the remains of 15 people in an ancient Mexican settlement. Most of them are the remains of the children of travelling merchants during the Aztec times.

An unearthed skeleton of a child dating back about 700 years is seen at a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

They also found ceramic flutes, bowls, incense burners, the remains of a dog that was sacrificed to accompany a child in the afterlife and other artifacts of a pre-Columbian civilization.

Pictured is an unearthed flute from a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Pictured is an unearthed ceramic object from a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Pictured is a mask unearthed from a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

According to researcher, Alejandra Jasso Pena, a construction was about to start on five buildings in a Mexico City neighborhood when the National Institute of Anthropology and History asked to carry out an excavation of the site first.

Workers clean an area of a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of the Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Experts suspected the site was an important ceremonial center for the Tepanec tribe between 1200 and 1300. The influential traders living there were called Pochtecas.

Archeologists stand next to a table displaying objects unearthed from a recently discovered archeological site in Mexico City, Friday, July 13, 2012. According to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, the site is about 700 years old and is a neighborhood of Tepaneca merchants. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Unearthed: Ancient Road in Greece…

 

Workers of Metro’s construction company are seen at the ancient ruins in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Archaeologists in Thessaloniki, Greece have recently discovered an ancient road in Greece .

Archaeologists and employees of Metro’s construction company present to the media and public the ancient ruins in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

The 70-meter section road was built by the Romans and is the city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago.

Workers of Metro’s construction company are seen at the ancient ruins in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Several of the large marble paving stones were etched with children’s board games, while others were marked by horse-drawn cart wheels.

Archaeologists and employees of Metro’s construction company present to the media and public the ancient ruins in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Also discovered at the marble-paved road were remains of tools and lamps, as well as the bases of marble columns.

A worker of Metro’s construction company holds a fragment of old pottery in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Monday, June 25, 2012. Archaeologists in Greece’s second largest city have uncovered a 70-meter (230-foot) section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. The marble-paved road was unearthed during excavations for the city’s new subway system that is due to be completed in four years, and will be raised to be put on permanent display for passengers when the metro opens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)