More news on the Rhine princess from the golden woods

This is turning out to be a pretty exciting day. The news about the excavations in the golden woods along the Rhine river has been spreading like wild fire. I guess a lot of people are as amazed as me that an entire ancient civilization could exist 10,000 years ago in the Black Forest region and we're only now just finding evidence about it.

Here are a few more excerpts from news stories:

Now this week Dr. Voorst has announced a follow up investigation reveals that the western culture apparently lived in trees but — probably at the end of the war — it simply packed up its homes, buried them, and then left. No one seems to know where they went, but one grave has finally been located. The nearly complete remains of a woman dubbed the Princess of the Golden Wood have been exposed for scientific scrutiny.

Source: Scourings

Earlier this week Dr. Voorst and his new team announced they had excavated the grave of a wooden princess in a small forest they call the “golden wood”, a region of the Black Forest that takes on a soft golden hue in the afternoon sunlight. Releasing pictures of the princes and her grave, Voorst and his colleague — French scientist Felecia Bonnet — have rebutted many critics’ doubts about Voorst’s earlier work.

Source: This Press

Now Dr. Voorst is gambling everything — his reputation and the credibility of his and Van Gelder’s institute — on what is sure to be a controversial new report about a “woodland princess” whose grave site led researchers to uncover nearby carefully preserved wooden artifacts — remnants of a prehistoric “city in the trees”.

Source: Cutting Edge

However, members of the expedition team say they have not yet decided whether to make part of the remains available for DNA analysis, which would answer many questions. The notion that a prehistoric war has been confirmed elicits extreme skepticism in the scientific community. “Where are the graves of the warriors?” one archaeologist who has spent 30 years digging around Europe asks in an anonymous news group posting. “Why has no one else documented these finds?”

Source: Eigen Decomposition

Critics of Dr. Voorst’s work suggest he may have overlooked significant information but Voorst’s team are adamantly insisting they have conducting a thorough and trustworthy investigation. The lone grave’s single occupant has been dubbed the “Princess of the Golden Wood” because her remains were so well-preserved. The scientists have not yet decided whether to submit a sample of the nearly perfectly preserved remains for DNA analysis.

Source: The Outlet Detector

As you can see, some controversy has already been stirred up. This makes for good, healthy science. Skeptics have not only a right to be heard, they have an obligation to make themselves heard. But I think it looks like the preponderance of the evidence is on the side of Dr. Voorst and his colleagues.

This could turn out to be another big find like the discovery of Homo Florienensis, the "hobbit" from Indonesia. What do you think?

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