An temple dating to 1500 BC has been found in Jordan which falls into the Late Bronze Age category.

Towering 3 meters above the heads of the excavators, the walls of the temple created four rooms. In the largest room, about 5 by 8 meters in size, was a whitewashed niche with a smooth, dome-shaped standing stone in the center flanked by four smaller stones, two on each side.

The major deity of the region at that time was a god named Il (or El). It is the same word as the Arabic word for God, Allah. To an ancient, Il was the father of the gods, but, stress the excavators, “we do not know for certain who the standing stones represent or the beliefs associated with them. Within the niche and above the stones to the right the excavators found several ceramic vessels, probably containing votive gifts for the gods. [3500-year-old Bronze Age temple discovered in Jordan]

There are “some pictures”:http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/25/stories/2004072500421100.htm from “Adichanallur”:https://varnam.org/archives/000431.html, near Tirunelveli where 2800 years old human skeletons were found in urns.
bq. The series of motifs show a tall, majestic looking woman; a swathe of standing paddy next to her; a crane; a deer; a crocodile and a lizard too. These motifs resemble prehistoric cave paintings found in Erode and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle, made the discovery this month in one of the six trenches it dug at Adichanallur. The woman who is standing holds what looks like an oval-shaped anklet in her right hand. The deer has long, straight horns and an upturned tail. The crane is perched on some vegetation. The crocodile looks as if it is crouching. It is virtually a pictorial ode. A small, thin rope was obviously used to bring about a serrated effect on the deer’s horns, the sheaf of paddy, etc.
bq. The ASI has also discovered two urns, fully intact, with beautiful decorations on them. One has a garland-like impression running below its rim, created by a thumb impression. Another urn has two necklace-like ornamentation, cutting each other. A flat, thin knob protrudes from one of these decorations. A third broken pot has a leaf-like design running all round its middle.
bq. The “engineering marvel” at the Adichanallur burial site is its three-tier system. The earliest generation buried the dead in urns at a depth of about 10 feet. The next two generations buried them in urns in two tiers above. Urns were inserted by cutting a rocky hillock. Agriculture land was not used. Mr. Thirumoorthy said: “The three-tier system of burial shows their intention, with foresight, to accommodate future burials. Adichanallur shows the importance given to the dead in the early Tamil society in the mode of burial practice, and that society’s socio, economic and religious beliefs.” [“The Hindu”:http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/25/stories/2004072500421100.htm]

It seems human beings made their first steps in farming 23,000 years ago, as opposed to 13,000 years ago as previously believed. That would make the date approx 21,000 BC.
bq. Stone Age people in Israel collected the seeds of wild grasses some 10,000 years earlier than previously recognised, experts say. These grasses included wild emmer wheat and barley, which were forerunners of the varieties grown today. A US-Israeli team report their findings in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [“BBC”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3826731.stm]
But then how do you explain this news from Sri Lanka ?

One of the most priceless relics here is a female body remains in Bulathsinhala, in Kalutara district in the Western province, which testifies to the consumption of rice, maize and salt. This body remains embedded in a rock dates back to 30,500 BC and is considered the world’s oldest proof of consumption of rice, maize and salt. The rock cave is named after the famous Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-Hien who travelled in India and Sri Lanka from AD 399 to 414. He stayed in this cave for the major part of his sojourn in Sri Lanka. [“One World South Asia”:http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/88629/1/]

This means that the US-Israeli team which came up with the date of 21,000 BC is not aware of the history of Sri Lanka.

Last month there were reports of a “spectacular archaeological discovery”:https://varnam.org/archives/000399.html in Adichanallur, near Tirunelveli when 2800 years old human skeletons were found in urns. These urns also contained writing resembling early Tamil Brahmi.
Now six more such burrial urns have been found in Tirunelveli, in a farm near Kuvalakarai village
bq. The villagers were taken by surprise as one urn brought to the surface contained, among other things, some smaller earthen pots and ?very fragile skeletal bone pieces?, a source said over telephone.
bq. Kuvalakarai village is close to another archaeologically significant site, Girivalamvandha Nallur, in the same district where a ?treasure trove? of Roman and Chinese coins and medallions was unearthed several years ago, the sources said. Sources in the archaeology department said it was common for ?burial urns? to contain smaller earthen pots of grain and food kept there when the dead were interred. The practice was linked to a strong belief in life after death because ?neolithic man believed in the concept of the spirit surviving a man?s death?, they added.
bq. In his book Archaeology of South India ? Tamil Nadu, Ramachandran has said these monuments displaying the ?mode of disposal of the dead and the furnishings within these burials are known to archaeologists as ?Megaliths?, on account of the use of huge stones involved in the construction of these graves?. ?Megalithic graves? are scattered in peninsular India and there is a ?heavy concentration? of these in Tamil Nadu, ?urn burials? being one category of such monuments, Ramachandran said.
bq. The latest find is noteworthy because it lends credence to archaeologists? view that the main mode of prehistoric burial in Tirunelveli was urn burial. The urn burials were not necessarily ?delimited? by a ring of stones, but their distinguishing feature ?is the interment of a big urn in a pit of size just enough to receive the big urn?, he said. ?These urns are huge, varying in size up to 172 cm in height and 272 cm circumference at the belly,? Ramachandran said. According to the archaeologist, ?urn burial sites? in the district include Courtallam, Valiankottai hills and Korkai. [“Telegraph”:http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040621/asp/nation/story_3395697.asp]

There was considerable excitement when Marine Archeologists discovered “proof of Dwaraka”:http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/11/20/stories/2002112000450200.htm in the Gulf of Cambay. But now it seems the exploration has come to standstill. “The article”:http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=28&page=2 in the Organizer has lot of details on the discoveries.
bq. The layout of the excavated city, the spread and the location of fort walls and bastions match the descriptions mentioned in Harivamsha, a prologue to Mahabharata. Harivamsha described the city of Dwarka in minute details. According to it, the area of Dwarka was 12 yojnas. It was connected to the mainland by a strip, which is visible even now, in low tide. The city excavated is of the same size.
bq. Harivamsha, detailing the security arrangements, says that there were seals, without which one could not enter the city. Seals of a particular description were found on the seabed. A stone image of Vishnu, chert blades and pottery are all part of the recovered objects. [“Organizer”:http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=28&page=2]

bq. In spectacular finds, the Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, has unearthed a dozen 2,800-year-old human skeletons intact in urns at Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Three of these urns contain writing resembling the early Tamil Brahmi script. The dozen urns containing the skeletons form a part of about 100 fully intact urns unearthed in various trenches at the site, where excavation is under way. The urns were found at a depth of two to three metres. The finds may revolutionise theories about the origin of ancient culture in Tamil Nadu and the origin of writing in South Asia.
bq. Dr. Sathyamurthy said that the Brahmi script of around 500 B.C. had been found in Sri Lanka. Dr. S.U. Deraniyagala, former Director-General and now Consultant to the Archaeological Survey Department, Sri Lanka, called the discovery of the writing on the urns at Adichanallur “fantastic” and “very, very important.” The evidence of writing on more than 75 pieces of pottery had been found in Sri Lanka and radio-carbon dating had established that they belonged to the period between 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. This discovery “sheds a completely new light on the origin of writing in South Asia,” said Dr. Deraniyagala. Interestingly, there has been no evidence of habitation close to the cemeteries (burial sites) discovered there. [“The Hindu”:http://www.hindu.com/2004/05/26/stories/2004052602871200.htm]
This discovery gives us more information on life in Tamil Nadu, about 3 centuries before the time of Buddha.

Most of us think that Lumbini in Nepal is the birthplace of Siddhartha. But was Buddha born in Kapileshwar in Orissa ?
bq. A team of archeological experts from Orissa say their recent findings at the Kapileshwar village may help establish the small hamlet as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, instead of Lumbini, in Nepal. Officials at the Orissa State Museum, which conducted the excavation, said that the new findings, which included artefacts dating back to 6th century BC, supported the claims of Kapileshwar being Lord Buddha’s birthplace.
bq. “These fossilised specimen will be tested in the Institute of Physical Laboratory, where we will be doing collaborative work, so the dateline will be determined and comparative study of potteries recovered with that of potteries recovered form other parts of the country will be conducted. Because many materials are there, literary and other evidence are there about the bath of Buddha and Kapileshwar, but solid archaeological materials like pottery with correct dateline was not available to us till date. There is an excavation, now there are archaeological material, so identification of this bath place of Buddha is getting more prominent now,” said Dr. C.B. Patel, the Superintendent of Orissa State Museum. [via “WebIndia”:http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=38819&cat=India]

The BBC Reports on the finding of the “Library of Alexandria”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3707641.stm
bq. Archaeologists have found what they believe to be the site of the Library of Alexandria, often described as the world’s first major seat of learning. A Polish-Egyptian team has excavated parts of the Bruchion region of the Mediterranean city and discovered what look like lecture halls or auditoria.
bq. Announcing their discovery at a conference being held at the University of California, Zahi Hawass, president of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the 13 lecture halls uncovered could house as many as 5,000 students in total. A conspicuous feature of the rooms, he said, was a central elevated podium for the lecturer to stand on. “It is the first time ever that such a complex of lecture halls has been uncovered on any Greco-Roman site in the whole Mediterranean area,” he added.
bq. “It is perhaps the oldest university in the world.”
The Library of Alexandria was sanctioned by Ptolemy I Soter, the successor of Alexander of Macedonia. But by then “Takshashila”:https://varnam.org/archives/000281.html had established itself as a place of learning. Too bad, Dr David Whitehouse, the BBC News Online science editor does not know about Takshashila.

If someone is looking for “Noah’s Ark”:https://varnam.org/archives/000366.html, then you would think someone should look for “Atlantis”:http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/30/1083224579144.html.
bq. A quest for the lost island of Atlantis has begun off the southern shores of Cyprus. After a decade of intense study an American, Robert Sarmast, claims to have evidence to prove that the fabled island lies 1.5 kilometres deep in the sea between Cyprus and Syria. He says he has detected “around 48” of the 50 geographical features described by Plato before it was “swallowed up by the earth”. Mr Sarmast hopes by August to have proved that Atlantis was not simply a figment of the imagination but a real empire with stone temples, bridges, canals and roads. “What we have discovered is a hidden landmass that fits Plato’s famed description almost exactly,” he said in the Cypriot port of Limassol. [via “The Age”:http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/30/1083224579144.html]

bq. American and Turkish explorers are hoping to discover traces of Noah’s Ark on the slopes of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. A joint expedition of 10 explorers from both countries intends to trek up the 5,346m (17,820ft) mountain in July. They will spend a month searching for a large structure exposed in part by melting snow last summer. Recounted in the Bible, Noah and his ark are said to have alighted on Mount Ararat after the Great Flood. [via “BBC”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3664093.stm]
Three religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam believe in Noah and his ark. Hinduism too has a “flood story”:http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=396523