The New Issue of Archaeology Magazine

There are a number of interesting items in the latest issue of Archaeology Magazine.

1) A short blurb mentions the discovery of cuneiform tablets at Tell Tayinat, a Neo-Hittite site that was sacked by Tiglath-Pileser III in 738 B. C. Some links related to the excavations of Tell Tayinat are:

http://www.utoronto.ca/tap/
http://chattahbox.com/science/2009/08/12/cuneiform-tablets-uncovered-in-2700-year-old-turkish-temple/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2312618/posts

2) An experiment has been done which attempts to replicate the rib injury found on a Neanderthal skeleton found in Shanidar Cave (in Iraq). The findings indicate that "modern humans" may have injured the Neanderthal with a long range projectile.

3) A temple of the storm god is being excavated in Aleppo. This temple has levels covering the Hittite Empire and the Neo-Hittites and is accompanied by some good photos. One interesting orthostat that is pictured shows a "fish-man" carrying a pine cone and a bucket (symbols of purification) like those found in Assyrian reliefs.

4) Salvage archaeology is being done in the Sudan to save some sites that will be flooded by a dam being built on the Nile north of Khartoum. The site described in this report is now under water.