Jusat today it was reported that a wall mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Nehemiah and long sought by archaeologists apparently has been found, an Israeli archaeologist says. A team of archaeologists discovered the wall in Jerusalem’s ancient City of David during a rescue attempt on a tower that was in danger of collapse, said Eilat Mazar, head of the Institute of Archaeology at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based research and educational institute, and leader of the dig.

Artifacts including pottery shards and arrowheads found under the tower suggested that both the tower and the nearby wall are from the 5th century B.C., the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said this week. Scholars previously thought the wall dated to the Hasmonean period from about 142 B.C. to 37 B.C. The findings suggest that the structure was actually part of the same city wall the Bible says Nehemiah rebuilt, Mazar said. The Book of Nehemiah gives a detailed description of construction of the walls, destroyed earlier by the Babylonians.

“We were amazed,” she said, noting that the discovery was made at a time when many scholars argued that the wall did not exist. “This was a great surprise. It was something we didn’t plan,” Mazar said.

As a confirmed chocoholic, I took a great interest in hearing today that chocolate had its origins at least 3,100 years ago in Central America not as the sweet treat people now crave but as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol. Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant — the source of chocolate — in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido in the Honduras.

This pushed back by at least 500 years the earliest documented use of cacao, an important luxury commodity in Mesoamerica before European invaders arrived and now the basis of the modern chocolate industry. <read more>

On the first play of the fourth quarter, a 14-yard pass from Tom Brady to Randy Moss, the crowd noise is heard before and during the play, then immediately cuts out when Moss is tackled. In addition, there appeared to be a vibration in the sound, like a CD was skipping, while the crowd was cheering.

A published report on yahoo.com said Patriots president Jonathan Kraft complained to NFL vice president of security Milt Ahlerich afterward. Kraft is the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Any enhancement of crowd noise would violate NFL rules, and Patriots spokesman Stacey James denied the team either filed or intended to file a formal complaint with the league. YOU DECIDE….WATCH BELOW THEN LEAVE A COMMENT:

It’s not the first time Indianapolis has been accused of such tactics. The Pittsburgh Steelers complained about the same thing after a 26-7 loss at the dome in November 2005. Since then, other teams have informally contended there is artificial noise pumped into the dome. Sports writer Vic Ketchman: said “I was surprised when I read a story that said the NFL is satisfied that the Colts aren’t piping noise into the RCA Dome and that they’re not going to investigate. It’s especially surprising since media people have cited microphones on poles and reported accusations that those microphones are used to capture crowd noise and amplify it when the visiting team comes to the line of scrimmage. ESPN’s Ed Werder also reported that the Colts pumped up the volume at the RCA Dome this past Monday. The Colts issued a statement denying the charge. I’ve talked to people who have no doubt that the Colts have been piping in crowd noise. I’m really starting to believe the Colts are being favored by the league.”