Great Pyramid Robot Finds Hieroglyphs in Tiny Secret Chamber

Where have we heard this before? Yet, it could be something significant. Anything about the Great Pyramid could be significant, actually.

So this robot explorer, named Djedi after a famous historical figure has discovered ancient markings inside a secret chamber. The markings are hieroglyphs done in red paint and lines carved in the stone. The significance is that the pictures are the first taken by the robot as it sidled its way into a chamber too small for a human form — which raises the question of how were the figures and lines created in the first place.

The answer could be that the far wall of the chamber is a door. That's probably the most likely explanation. But the robot and its fabulous "micro-snake" camera haven't shown us the far wall yet and so we wait.

Also on the exploration list were a pair of copper pins set in a door at the end of the tunnel. Were they handles, key rings, part of some higher purpose? Archaeologists have puzzled over the purpose of the pins since they were discovered a couple decades ago.

Scientists are also intrigued by the purpose of the tunnels, which lead away from the King's and Queen's chambers: Did they help with the foundation or mean something to certain people or reflect the Egyptians' religious beliefs in some way? More information is needed.

Eye-in-the-Sky Infrared Reveals Buried Pyramids, City

Well, here's something that the Egyptian caretaker government will definitely cheer right along with the Egyptian people: Tourism income is likely to go up after the announcement of the discovery of 17 "lost" pyramids. Yes, those pyramids were lost to the sands of time, revealed only by infrared scanning from on high.

A group of archaeologists made the announcement after satellite imaging revealed the buried treasure, and then the archaeologists confirmed the findings with evidence at digs on the ground.

The buried pyramids are near Saqqara, site of the famous Step Pyramids, the antecedents of the more traditionally shaped pyramids, like those at Giza.

More exciting for many archaeologists, however, was probably the revelation of images of a street plan for Tanis, the ancient capital. (Indiana Jones fans will remember this city from the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark.) Tombs and other structural ruins of Tunis have been found, but this find would greatly expand the modern understanding of the city's ancient reach.

The images showed thousands of tombs and buildings, which will take the government perhaps years to dig up, providing lots of media releases detailing whose burial site has revealed what hidden treasures.

The scanning searched for mud bricks, which were used to build homes and temples.

George Washington Artifacts Sell Well at Auction

George Washington can still sell.

The nation's first president left behind all manner of items that have become artifacts, mementoes, and treasured possessions over the years since his death. A set of his personal items recently sold at auction for a sum topping $167,000. Not bad for a guy long dead, even if he did confess to chopping down a cherry tree once upon a time.

Among the items were a compass, which would be a hot item because he was a noted surveyor before he ever joined the British Army or rebelled against it. The compass alone accounted for $59,750, more than experts expected. Also selling for big bucks was a collection of hundreds of Washington family papers, which together brought in $50,788.

A group of bits of his silver coffin also sold, for more than $12,000. That would be pieces of his original coffin. His body was moved to a marble sarcophagus in 1837.

The items were sold after the death of Nat Washington, a descendant of George Washington's brother Bushrod, who was named custodian of Mount Vernon after his famous brother's death. The "Father of Our Country," remember, left no direct descendants.

The auction took place in Dallas and was run by Heritage.

Queen Closing in on Top Spot

Well, this could well be one of the reasons that the Queen is still on the throne, relegating Charles to the longest-heir-in-waiting status to which he just ascended (and the only thing to which he is likely to ascend for some time yet): Elizabeth II has now become the second-longest reigning British monarch ever. First, of course, is Victoria (no need to put a number after her name because everybody knows there was only one). Queen Victoria was on the throne for 63 years and seven months. Elizabeth II has now been queen for a mere 59 years. Obviously, she has some catching up to do. But really, she has only to hang on until September 2015, when becomes Number 1. She's only 85 now, so she doesn't even have to make it to 90 before ascending to the top of the pantheon.

She's just past "Mad" King George III, who might or might not have been a bit looney in his later years. He ruled long after the American colonies convinced him to give them up. In fact, those top three (Victoria, Elizabeth II, and George III) are far and away the longest-serving monarchs in Britain/the UK. George V, is a distant fourth with 25 years logged in as head of state.

Of course, we're talking rulers of the United KIngdom here. The Acts of Union, passed in 1800, gave the framework for the U.K. Other rulers, such as the first Elizabeth, certainly served longer than did George V.

Only Thailand's king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, has served a longer term among current rulers. He became king in 1946, six years before Elizabeth became queen.

Royal sources estimate some astounding numbers for the current queen:

• more than 25,000 official engagements
• 400,000 honors and awards bestowed on the rich and famous and the not-so-rich and/or not-so-famous
• a full 1 million garden parties as hostesss
• an estimated 430 engagements a year (remembering that a year has 365 days).

Charles has no chance of succeeding her in anything but hereditary lineage.

Gouge in Fossil Jawbone Suggests War Wound: Scientists

So I wonder whether the midden-searchers of a thousand years from now will encounter this sort of thing with boxers and think, "Hmmm … wonder if they were involved in a knock-down, drag-out?"

Archaeologists have reported finding the remains of an ichthyosaur in Australia. No big deal, right? They find things like this all the time. Well, here's the kicker: This big beastie had a big gouge in its jaw, leading the archaeologists to speculate that the creature had been in a fight during which the creature had sustained a reptilian roundhouse to the mouth, specifically the lower jaw.

The remains were in good enough condition that the researchers were able to determine that the reptile did not die from the wound; rather, the not-so-wee beastie survived and even thrived, with a callus growing over the wound, its body's way of protecting against a repeat performance.

Now, this is fossils we're talking bout this point, since the ichthyosaur was swimming and running around about 120 million years ago, so the wound is definitely on the jawbone. The wound is not of the puncture variety, so the researchers don't think that a predator was behind the gouge. Given that, the researchers' current speculation is that the wound came from a reptile much similar to the one for which they have the remains — and that the fight was over the usual thing(s) — food, land, family.

Double Honors for Astronaut Alan Shepard

Alan Shepard, the first American in space, is getting twin honors posthumously.

Shepard, who rocketed to fame on May 5, 1961, aboard Freedom 7, will be on the face of a Forever stamp issued on May 5, 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of his momentous spaceflight. Forever stamps do not show an amount, so they are good for first-class mail in perpetuity.

Some family members of Shepard have already accepted another award on his behalf. On April 28, NASA named Shepard the winner of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his Freedom 7 flight and for his role in the Apollo missions that landed on the Moon. Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon as part of Apollo 14, of which Shepard was the commander and which lasted form January 31 to February 9 in 1971. The award is a particularly striking piece of crystal that surrounds a lunar fragment, a piece of rock brought by the crew of Apollo 16. NASA has earmarked Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury astronauts as recipients of this award. (The fragments are small enough that they won't cut significantly into the 842-pound stash of Moon rocks that the Apollo astronauts brought back.)

The U.S. stamp featuring Shepard is part of a two-stamp set. The other one celebrates the Messenger mission, which was the first to orbit Mercury.

Television networks carried Shepard's Freedom 7 flight live, and he was feted as a hero when he returned, with parades in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. He was soon named the first commander of a new manned space program, Gemini.

His in-space career was put on hold, however, when doctors diagnosed him with Meniere's disease, a condition that causes fluid buildup in the inner ear, which can be cause extreme symptoms in astronauts in space, who routinely suffer from dizziness and disorientation because of the intense stresses put on them. Shepard accepted the post of Chief of the Astronaut Office and watched as other men walked on the Moon.

After a few years, he was cleared for a slot on an Apollo mission, and he was, at age 47, named the commander of Apollo 14. Among his more famous lunar exploits was an "experiment" in which he struck a golf ball and attempted to track its distance (using only one hand, because of the stiffness of his spacesuit and the thickness of his gloves). He was a skilled pilot, however, and his landing on the Moon was the most accurate of the entire Apollo program. This was also the first mission to send live color TV pictures back to Earth.

Once he was back on Earth, Shepard returned to being Chief of the Astronaut Office, serving for another three years before retiring, in 1974. Among his retirement activities were a stint as a delegate to the U.N. General Assembly and roles on the boards of several corporations. Among his numerous honors were a Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the Langley Award (the Smithsonian Institution's highest honor), and induction into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Alan Shepard died in 1998, of leukemia. He left behind a large family, a bestselling book (Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon), and a legacy that included all manner of things named after him, among them:

• the post office in Derry, N.H., the town of his birth
• a Navy supply ship
• a geodesic dome
• countless streets and parts of several interstate highways
• schools and school buildings in several states
• a Technology in Education award
• and a Discovery Center in Concord, N.H., also named after Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe.