The recent discovery of a 14th century brick oven designed to bake animal bones has caused a buzz among archaeologists in Spain. Evidence suggests the materials burned in the oven were used to make a patina to strengthen the walls of Granada. A new, inexpensive and accurate test was used to identify the components of Granada's medieval walls. Find out more about the discoveries and the new testing method in the article at Newswise Science News.

The chapter house at Westminster Abbey, described by Matthew Paris as "incomparable" during its construction, is showing the sad signs of damage and age. But thanks to a a £2m restoration program funded by English Heritage, repairs for the crumbling stonework are on their way. The restoration will allow visitors to appreciate a splendid exterior facade rarely seen in recent years. The chapter house was the home of England's first parliament and the repository of the national archives, where the Domesday Book and Magna Carta were stored. For more information, check out the article by Maev Kennedy at the Guardian.

In the Middle Ages, manuscripts were commonly hand written on vellum or parchment, which was made from, respectively, calfskin and sheepskin. Since this is animal matter, DNA can be recovered from it. Now NC State Assistant Professor of English Timothy Stinson is using modern advances in genetics to collect DNA from medieval manuscripts. The plan: to create a baseline of DNA markers from the manuscripts of known origin to compare to manuscripts of unknown origin and help find out where they came from, as well as when they were made. This can be no easy task, as vellum and parchment were occasionally scraped of their ink to be used again; but a combination of technological advances and patience may win out. If successfully collected and identified, Stinson's data could be extraordinarily useful in tracking manuscript production and the trade route of parchments. Find out more in the article by Matt Shipman at EurekAlert.

On December 19, 2008, work was halted on a project to expand a school in Toledo, Spain, after the Spanish Foreign Ministry in Madrid met with representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain, the Conference of Spanish Rabbis, the Conference of European Rabbis and the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe. The concern: the building project is in a Jewish cemetery dating to the 13th century, and more than 100 graves had already been exhumed.

The Spanish government has stated the bodies will be reburied elsewhere, but this does not address the concerns of the Jewish community, for whom any unearthing of this sacred ground is a sacrilege. In a joint statement from Athra Kadisha and the Conference of Academicians for the Protection of Jewish Cemeteries, Rabbi Lazar Stern and Dr. Bernard Fryshman explained that "Jewish cemeteries are established with the understanding that they will remain intact forever. This is a covenant with the ground and ensures that those buried there will never be disturbed. " They maintain that the exhumed bodies must be returned to their original places of burial.

The freeze on the building project is set to last until January 15. According to Rabbi Abraham Ginsburg, executive director of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe, the Jewish organizations will meet with government representatives on January 12 and request that the freeze be extended until the issue is resolved.

For more information, read the Asra Kadisha press release, and visit the news item at JTA.