It seems that every month we get news of a new ancient ruin or city being found. Personally I love it, I was always fascinated by these finds. This time it is a city that was found in Yunnan Province in China. The city is well over 2,000 years old. Even though we are hearing about this discovery now, it actually took place in 1981. It is believed that the city was built about 109 B.C. by the Han Dynasty Emperor Wu-di. It's purpose was administrative and it did this for about 400 years until finally it was deserted. This city is the most ancient one ever found in Yunnan Province

And if the above city isn't old enough for you, another much older city, is reported as being in Mesopotamia. The city is so old that it was destroyed in a battle that took place in 3,500 B.C. How do researchers even know that it ever existed? They found out by the artifacts that they have been finding in one area. Not only is this an ancient city find, but it indicates one of the first instances of large scale battle. The site of the city was the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys in Syria. It may have been settled as far back as 8,000 B.C. The researches know that a battle took place because they found over 1,200 oval stones that had been slung at the walls and the collapsed parts of the wall that have been found show the areas where the stones hit it. There had also been a fire.

Back to the Chinese. Researchers are trying to find how the Chinese nation came into being. One of the things that they would like to find an answer to is whether Huangdi and Yandi ever existed. It is said that this is where the Chinese Nation originated from. Ancient Chinese characters have been found that are over 3,000 years old. They were inscribed on bones in a tomb. The researchers feel that it is important to see if older inscriptions of Chinese characters exist anywhere. Six Large prehistoric towns in China were designated as major sites of cultural heritage. Researchers have found that even as far back as 2,300 B.C. there was a differentiation in social class and they believe that even state sovereignty also existed. Scientists believe that one city, a very ancient one, was destroyed by a war that took place about 4,100 years ago. The city was located at Taosi. As you can see this city may have been even older than the one in Syria. While the Syrian city is said to be the first found to show the effects of large scale battle, we have the same with this Chinese city which was destroyed 600 years earlier. One of the fascinating things about China is that it has the world's second largest moving sand dune desert and from time to time ruins are uncovered.

Artifacts have been found in Jerusalem that date back more than 3,000 years. Israeli archaeologists have been screening tons of rubble from the Temple Mount and have made rich discoveries. Some of the items found have been coins and jewelry. A seal was found that was thought to have been used on sacks of silver. The seal had the name Gedalyahu Ben Immer Ha-Cohen and it is thought that he might have been the brother of Pashur Ben Immer who was described in the bible in Jeremiah 20:1. For those interested parties here is the verse: "Pashur, the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the House of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things." This team has actually found objects that span 10,000 years. The technique that is being used is wet sifting, when seen, it reminds one of prospectors looking for gold.

Many graves have been found in the ancient city of Sobessos, Turkey. The strange thing is that so far, all the graves have been those of men. Three to five skeletons were found in each grave. So far 72 graves have been found.

A funerary complex was found in Upper Egypt that dates back over 5,000 years. The tomb is located in Kom al-Ahmer near Edfu. That is about 60 odd miles from the famous city of Luxor. It is believed that this tomb was the resting place for one of the first rulers of the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna which happens to be the ancient name for Edfu, this was the capitol of the second nome (Horus) of Upper Egypt. The temple of Horus is located here and is the one of the best preserved temples in Egypt.

Ancient ruins can be found anywhere. Witness the recent findings in Marseille, France. Ruins have been found dating from 5,600 B.C. to 4,000 B.C. The excavations took place near the city's railway station. To the surprise of everyone, the dig turned up pieces of ancient pottery, shells and flints. No one dreamed that a neolithic site would be found in the city. The old city of Massalia was founded about 600 B.C. and this suggests that people lived here way before that. The discoveries came about because a new building was being built near the railroad station for the university.

Central Bulgaria has yielded some very interesting artifacts. Graves have been found in that country that date back over 4,500 years. In those graves were many tiny gold objects. Found were beads, earrings and other objects that were buried with someone believed to be a king or chief that lived sometime around 2,400 B.C. The find was made in Debene which is located about 75 miles east of Sofia. It is now believed that the village of Debene had a rich upper class and was in contact with many other cultures. It is said that this find will rewrite the history of the Balkans.

Iran is a country rich in ancient ruins. Farmers plowing their field have come across an ancient Sassanid pillar. The farmers were plowing near the ancient city of Gour. Plowing this field was an illegal act according to the government.

Peruvian archaeologists have found a "quipu". That is a rope that uses knots and strings to convey messages. It is over 5,000 years old, far older than anyone had suspected possible. It was found with many different offerings. It seems that the Incas were using quipus thousands of years earlier than previously known. Before this the old quipu found was from 650 A.D.

The long lost temple of Musair may have been discovered. A temple has been found at the 3,000 year old site of Rabat, near Sardasht in Iran. The temple was formerly believed to have existed in Iraq or Turkey. The objects that have been found at the dig were glazed bricks, a carved brick that had four winged goddesses on it and some geometrical shapes along with concentric circles inside square frames. There were also clay inscriptions by the Assyrian king Sargon II which indicate that this was indeed the Musasir temple.

A grisly site was discovered when archeologists found the site of a massacre of 31 Maya nobles. The remains were found in a sacred cistern at the entrance to the royal palace ruins in Cancuen. The skeletons of the king and queen were found about 80 yards away. Apparently the kingdom was attacked. There were spear and axe wounds on the bones and unfinished defensive walls were uncovered. The killing occurred about 800 A.D. The nobles that were slain included men, women and children.