At http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/prehistorc-tablet-c… … the consensus view is that ancient Greeks came into possession of their alphabet by way of the Phoenicians – in around 800BC. However, scholars have a problem according to a Greek professor. How is it possible for the Greek language to have 800,000 word entries while the others have only 250,000 word entries? How is it possible for the Homeric poems to have been produced at 800BC which is just when the Greeks are supposed to have learnt to write? Adding to the puzzle is a wooden tablet having inscribed markings, looking very much like an early alphabet – but dating, wait for it, 5260BC (C14 dated). The markings challenge the idea Greeks received their alphabet from the Levant. Although found a few years ago it has been necessary to concentrate on preserving the wooden tablet rather than scholars getting down to making sense of it. The wooden object was found buried in wet mud at an ancient settlement by a lake shore, and is a book awaiting to explode in academic cloisters.
At www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528743.500-pharaohs-playground-revealed… … concerns the Dahshur royal necropolis 30km south of Cairo, where the pyramids were built. It seems there was considerable landscape modification in order to enhance the appearance of the monuments.
The idea of a temple dedicated to a Sun of the night is intriguingf – the Sun doesn't shine at night. A bright comet might be inferred. However, the Sun clearly played a role in Meso American, including Maya, belief, and the consensus is that the temple was dedicated to the Sun at various stages – at dawn, midday, and at dusk. Quite where the Sun at night is involved is unclear from the press releases but there are images to see at National Geographic – see http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120720-maya-temple-el-zo… … as in one guise he appears as a shark. The temple was endowed with giant face masks of the Sun god – not only as a shark but as a blood drinker and a jaguar. See also http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2012/07/masks … Brown University released news of the Mayan temple by way of their team of archaeologist which uncovered the building entangled in undergrowth and buried in fill.