Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, - Digital Library - National Library of Scotland Also from Scotland, this beautiful atlas from 1654 has been digitised and placed on the web.

The Scotsman - Scotland - World heritage site faces quarry threat: A Quarry close to Skara Brae on the Orkneys plans to expand, against the wishes of local campaigners.

BBC NEWS: Complete mammoth skull unearthed:
"The skull seems to have belonged to an elderly female mammoth
A complete mammoth skull has been unearthed in southern England, only the second to be found in Britain.
The specimen was discovered in a gravel pit in the Cotswolds and is estimated to be about 50,000 years old.
The only other complete specimen found in the UK is displayed in the Natural History Museum. "

Egyptian Lion Mummy Found in Ancient Tomb: National Geographic informs me of the first mummified lion ever found in an Egyptian tomb. "The animal was preserved and buried in the tomb of Maia, the wet-nurse of King Tutankhamen."

January is not a good time to be in the field in northern europe. It's even worse for those whose fieldwork is conducted underwater!
Marine Archaeology - show some respect

Badgers are being blamed for digging up neolithic graves around stonehenge. Please examine your morals closely before signing up to the inevitable cry to move the badgers off this sacred monument. Archaeology is interesting, wonderful exciting and rewarding, but is it MORE important than the current inhabitants? Are we in danger of failing in our stewardship of the present in an attempt to fullfil our stewardship of the past?

New series of Time Team on Channel 4 (UK) starts in half an hour.
Happy New Year