2008 in Review: Diggin' Archaeology

I'll happily admit that archaeology itself isn't truly a Pagan or Wiccan issue, but the fact is that a lot of us (a) have a strong sense of kinship to our ancestors and (b) try to educate ourselves about cultures of days past so we can learn from them. Because of this, I try to always share important archaeological discoveries with everyone, because I do think they're important. The year 2008 saw a lot of really cool finds.

First, experts speculated that the findings of the Cave of the Lupercale might indeed confirm some of the legends surrounding the city of Rome, and its founders, Romulus and Remus.

There were some neat finds in Great Britain, as well, including the discovery of evidence that Pagan rituals probably took place in Cornwall -- and not that long ago, either. An Anglo-Saxon burial find may have been that of royalty, and perhaps even a priestess of a Pagan cult. Near Manchester, a Roman centurion left a gift for us with inscriptions honoring his gods. If you'd like to have your own temple, you can buy a slightly used one over in Bulgaria, that honors the goddess Cybele.

In Northumberland, some Neolithic stone works were found, and in Russia, a selection of stone age carvings were unearthed. Viking bras were deemed too naughty for incoming Christianity, and new discoveries helped scholars integrate the concept of ritual theatrics into religious worship.

The road to hell -- good intentions not included -- was discovered beneath a Mayan cave, and a spider god's temple was discovered high on a Peruvian mountain. Finally, in one of the most interesting stories we saw, an ancient sex curse was dug up in Cyprus, where some unfortunate soul was doomed to suffer penis pain every time he tried to get lucky.

. What a year it's been! Thanks to all of you readers for your wonderful contributions, your insightful comments, and the good humor that you have brought to this blog. May you all have a joyous and happy 2009!