News round-up

Thought I'd pop in this afternoon with a few of latest archaeo-headlines:

• Top archaeologists condemn Israeli plan to rebuild Herod's Tomb. Restoration, as opposed to conservation or preservation, is often a bad idea especially for archaeological sites. This plastic full-scale version of Herod's tomb, which was excavated 5 years ago, seems like a really bad idea. What do the builders hope to gain?
• One man's mission to save Kurdistan's history. While this man's intentions seem good, this sends an awful message to others (ahem: private collectors) who think it is their duty and privilege to "save" antiquities from the rest of the world. It especially doesn't help in this case where he is basically breaking the law. All archaeological objects uncovered in Iraq, whether through licit or illicit means, are property of the State. Look it up.
• Iraq's National Museum recovers lost treasures. This BBC report has a good message (the return of ancient objects back to Baghdad), but it completely fails to credit the millions of U.S. dollars spent to refurbish the museum including many of the 28 galleries that are completed.
• Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt to open at California Science Center in May. For folks in Los Angeles, this should be fun! 
• The fermented cereal beverage of the Sumerians may not have been beer. Buzz kill, man! One scholar thinks there is not enough conclusive evidence that actual alcoholic beer, as we know it, was produced in ancient Mesopotamia.
• Iraq plans historic artifact showcase in mobile fairs around the world. Maybe this is a translation issue, but I think the author meant a traveling exhibition. The article doesn't mention U.S. venues, but be on the lookout I suppose.