Every year on 1 April, the staff of CA eagerly scan as many news sources as we can get our hands on, searching for the best archaeological April Fools’ Day pranks that we can spot (while keeping everything crossed that we don’t laughingly pass up a genuine scoop!).
This year we weren’t disappointed – here is a round-up of our favourite finds, let us know in comments if you saw any more!
Hold the front page…
… Nottingham archaeologists find Robin Hood’s bones!
…Boudicca’s grave finally located under King’s Cross station!
… Ancient Egyptian teddy bear to go on display at Dorset museum!
…plans revealed to rebuild Hadrian’s Wall to its full height, should Scotland vote for independence!
… hippocampus skeleton found in MOLA’s Roman Walbrook excavations!
… exclusive photo of National Trust staff putting the clock forward at Avebury stone circle!
… a popular myth is confirmed, as archaeologists find the skeleton of a hanged monkey in Hartlepool!
… coin issued by a previously unknown Roman emperor found in Llanelli!
… Stonehenge will be moved closer to the new visitor centre, to improve accessibility!
… newly-published letters reveal that Henry VIII had a secret 7th wife!
… a couple of dinosaur and animal-bone related ones… in fact, lots of dinosaur ones… not strictly archaeology, but too good to ignore! The story about dinosaur bones inside the Great Pyramid is a particular highlight…
And some international offerings sent in by our sharp-eyed friends further afield:
… former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is set to buy Pompeii for 7million euros!
… the world’s oldest noodles found during construction work at Stuttgart station!
… extraordinary 14,500 year old Rock(y) art found beneath the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art!
There were a couple of other goodies, with Medieval graffiti from a Welshman shot in Chester, and ‘Roman sunglasses‘ from Beachy Head, but alas, they seem to have been taken down now – we’ve included the links just in case it’s a temporary glitch, though.
Did you see any more?
You seem to have missed by favourite about the discovery of Hartlepool’s most famous hanging victim…
http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/monkey-business-skeleton-of-hartlepool-legend-is-april-fools-prank-1-6532860
That’s brilliant, Calum – many thanks! We’ll add it to the list.
A brilliant collection of stories – hilarious thanks for sharing them!
Yep, saw another one: dinosaur bones found inside the great pyramid of Giza: http://egyptianstreets.com/2014/04/01/dinosaur-bones-discovered-in-the-great-pyramid-of-giza/
🙂
Thanks, Ursula! A lot of dinosaur stories this year!
This one went down well… Mermaids, “Homo-Dorudon”, verified via PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
https://www.facebook.com/ancientwisdomcouk/posts/660245504011081
🙂