It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, July 07, 2023
SNC-Lavalin to sell Scandinavian division in first big move in its strategic review
The Canadian Press Fri, July 7, 2023
MONTREAL — SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. says it has made a deal to sell its Scandinavian engineering business to a French consulting firm, the first big move under its strategic review.
SNC-Lavalin says the sale to Systra Group, which specializes in public transport, will yield about 80 million pounds, or roughly $136 million.
SNC launched a strategic review in March, eyeing asset selloffs as the company looked to pivot away from cash-draining fixed-price construction contracts and sharpen its game as a pure-play engineering firm in green energy and infrastructure.
As other possible divestitures, CEO Ian Edwards has pointed to SNC's seven per cent stake in the Hwy. 407 toll road near Toronto and to Linxon, a joint venture with Hitachi Energy that focuses on electrical substations.
RBC Dominion Securities analyst Sabahat Khan says the Scandinavian segment generated marginal profits and about $95 million in revenue annually — less than two per cent of SNC's yearly total.
The agreement to sell the division, which employs 750 workers in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, is expected to close in the fall, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SNC)
The Canadian Press
U.S. trade envoy presses Canada on digital services tax, home shopping obligations The Canadian Press Fri, July 7, 2023
WASHINGTON — America's trade envoy is urging her Canadian counterpart to abandon plans for a digital services tax and to allow U.S. home shopping north of the border.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and International Trade Minister Mary Ng met one-on-one in Mexico during two days of meetings in Cancun, which wrap up today.
The annual gathering is a chance for all three countries to take stock of their progress under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
A U.S. readout of Thursday's meeting says Tai pressed Ng on Canada's obligation under the deal to allow American home shopping television channels like QVC.
She also repeated long-standing U.S. concerns about the digital tax, which targets foreign companies that earn revenue from the engagement, content or data of Canadian users.
The three per cent levy would go into effect in January unless an ongoing international effort to establish a multilateral tax regime takes hold before then.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
The Canadian Press
FOR PROFIT MEDICINE Medical Credit Cards Targeted by US for Piling Debt on Patient
Paige Smith Fri, July 7, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Three federal agencies are looking into potentially predatory practices in medical-payment products such as credit cards and installment loans patients use to pay for health care.
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department sent out a request for information Friday, seeking to learn more about how prevalent the products are and whether they can harm consumers with features such as exorbitant deferred interest fees.
“Financial firms are partnering with health-care players to push products that can drive patients deep into debt,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement.
The agencies didn’t single out any banks or others involved in the industry. But top providers of medical credit cards include CareCredit, a subsidiary of Synchrony Financial; Wells Fargo & Co., which offers its “Health Advantage” card, and Comenity, a subsidiary of Bread Financial Holdings Inc.
“CareCredit’s convenient and transparent financing options make health and wellness care more affordable and expand consumers’ access to things like dental work, pet care or audiology,” a spokesperson for CreditCare said in an emailed statement. “Our financing offers have been around for decades, are well understood by consumers, and have saved our cardholders billions of dollars in interest-free financing over the years.”
Representatives for Wells Fargo and Bread Financial didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The products were once primarily used to pay for medical treatments that health insurance didn’t cover, but are now more widely used to manage debt, and may be utilized even when insurers cover the bill, according to the statement. Some include deferred interest offers which, while appealing in the moment, could eventually harm a consumer’s credit if payments are missed, the agencies said.
Medical debt in the US has ballooned in recent years, and is a leading source of consumer credit. After the CFPB said last year that it would examine the impact of such debt on consumer credit, the main credit-reporting companies — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — removed more than 70% of existing medical-debt entries from consumer reports.
In Friday’s statement, the agencies said they are specifically requesting public input on the payment-product market, patient experiences with the products, billing issues and health-care provider incentives.
Tech execs are stressed out. Half are heavy drinkers and 45% take painkillers, a new study says.
Haley Tenore Fri, July 7, 2023 Along with controlled substances, heavy alcohol use was reported by tech executives in a recent survey.Getty/Tetra Images
Half of tech executives reported heavy drinking in a new survey. 45% reported using painkillers.
Layoffs, long hours, and stress have some executives turning to substances to cope, the survey said.
The study polled 501 tech executives at companies with at least 1,000 employees.
Many people go into tech wanting to work in a fast-paced, innovative field, and holding a senior position or C-suite title may seem like an enviable position.
But Silicon Valley and the tech industry has hit choppy waters recently, with a long list of layoffs and executives talking about battening down of the hatches amid concerns of an economic downturn.
Meanwhile, recent research suggests that many leaders working in tech are turning to alcohol and substances to cope with the high stress and uncertainty of their jobs.
All Points North, an addiction treatment center in Colorado, published a report examining the findings of a survey conducted by Censuswide among 501 tech executives working in firms with over 1,000 employees. The survey, titled "2023 Mental Health in Tech Report," was taken between April 27, 2023 and May 15, 2023. The results showed high rates of heavy alcohol use or alcohol use disorder, substance use and misuse, and poor mental health among tech executives.
Many tech leaders also reported being worried about the future of their careers — and whether or not they will have a job. Layoffs and the rise of artificial intelligence make some executives feel insecure in their positions, according to the survey. APN's report showed 77% of executives saying that layoffs have negatively impacted their mental health, and 74% worry that improvements in AI will render their positions obsolete.
Along with long-term fears of job loss, some tech executives reported struggling day to day. Long hours and high stress levels cause executives to turn to substance use. 45% of executives surveyed reported using painkillers like Codeine, Oxytocin, and Vicodin, according to the survey. The use of stimulants and sleeping pills is also common, at 34% and 35% respectively, according to the report's findings.
Many tech executives use painkillers, stimulants, sleeping pills, or prescription medication to cope with poor mental health, long work hours, and stress, according to a recent survey.Steven Tweedie/Business Insider
Along with controlled substances, heavy alcohol use was reported by tech executives. Half of APN's respondents self-identified as heavy drinkers, or those that consume between three and seven alcoholic drinks a day. 51% of respondents report smoking cigarettes or nicotine vapes within the last three months.
During the pandemic, CEOs saw high turnover rates due to burnout, Insider reported in July 2022. During the first quarter of 2022, CEO turnover rose to 29%. This high rate has continued into 2023. According to APN's report, 1 in 3 C-suite level tech executives say they are looking for new jobs.
CRYPTO CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
More than $120 million of a crypto firm's assets were moved to an unknown address - weeks after its CEO disappeared, report says
Zahra Tayeb Fri, July 7, 2023
Multichain, a crypto firm, is missing money and its CEO.
NurPhoto / Contributor More than $120 million of a crypto firm's assets were "abnormally" moved to an unknown address, Bloomberg reported.
Multichain, a cross-channel router, said in early May that it couldn't contact its CEO.
The event has sparked chatter on Twitter of a possible hacking of Multichain wallets.
More than $120 million of a crypto firm's assets have been moved to an unknown address, weeks after the company reported having trouble contacting its CEO, according to Bloomberg.
In a tweet on Friday, Multichain – a crypto app that allows the transfer of assets across different blockchains – disclosed an unusual transfer had occurred, and said it was investigating the matter. It recommended customers suspend their use of its platform.
"The lockup assets on the Multichain MPC address have been moved to an unknown address abnormally. The team is not sure what happened and is currently investigating," Multichain said.
MetaSleuth, a crypto funds visualization and analysis company, replied on Twitter, noting that Multichain's tokens had been divided across six different crypto addresses.
"More than 120M assets were transferred from Multichain: Fantom Bridge and Multichain: Moonriver Bridge and are now distributed across 6 addresses. Additionally, 1.2M ICE (currently worth $1.8M) has been burned from address 0x9d57," it said.
After the news broke, several Twitter users said Multichain was likely hacked, according to CoinTelegraph.
Multichain did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The company's latest headache comes weeks after it had trouble reaching CEO Zhaojun in late May.
"The team has done everything possible to maintain the protocol running, but we are currently unable to contact CEO Zhaojun and obtain the necessary server access for maintenance," it said in a tweet.
In a separate event, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, experienced a $100 million worth crypto hack last October after an exploit on a cross-chain bridge.
Crypto investing clearly has its risks and drawbacks, but there are upsides to digital assets including potentially hefty returns. Bitcoin has rallied about 80% this year to over $30,000, in part because BlackRock recently filed an application to launch its first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Rapidly retreating Arctic glaciers are triggering the release of ancient methane
Here's why scientists are worried.
Marianne Guenot Fri, July 7, 2023 Scientists have discovered springs left behind by melting glaciers that are so full of methane they can be set on fire. They are concerned about how this could impact the climate crisis.
Groundwater springs belching methane have appeared close to Svalbard's retreating glaciers.
Scientists think the glaciers acted as plugs to contain methane reserves.
The springs could add the potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere, exacerbating the climate crisis.
Hundreds of groundwater springs have appeared in the Arctic, and scientists are worried they are belching vast amounts of ancient methane into the atmosphere.
The springs were exposed by retreating glaciers in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge believe the methane is millions of years old, seeping out from a large reserve of underground gas.
This suggests a lot of greenhouse gas could still be released into the atmosphere — something that hasn't been accounted for in existing climate models.
The methane seems to come from ancient rock
A video from the team shows methane bubbling through the groundwater as it pierces the ice in Svalbard.
This isn't the first time scientists have found water spewing methane. In fact, there are lakes in Alaska you can set on fire. These are called thermokarsts and they appear when permafrost thaws.
In the case of thermokarsts, however, the methane comes from microbes that grow in the meltwater. Scientists think the methane in the Svalbard springs comes from somewhere else.
Researchers retrieved water from 123 springs in Svalbard between 2021 and 2022. In 122 of these, they found superconcentrated methane.
Their analysis suggests this methane comes from reserves of gas spawning from shale rock underlying the glaciers. The findings were published in Nature Geoscience on Thursday.
"We have identified this previously unknown methane source up here in the Arctic," Gabrielle Kleber, an Earth scientist at the University of Cambridge and lead author on the study, told Insider.
There's so much gas in the springs, the scientists were able to set them on fire just with a match:
"It's shocking, it's scary," said Kleber.
"We drill into these icings and sometimes we just immediately get a lot of pressurized gas blowing out, very loud, it's a bit ominous," she said.
A lot of methane could seep out if the Arctic continues to melt
Andy Hodson, principal investigator of this study watches as water springs from the ice.
The glaciers had been acting as plugs to trap the methane in ancient rock,. As their weight lifted from the bedrock, methane trapped deep in the ground made its way to the surface.
"We have a very large reservoir of organic carbon that actually is double the size of the current amount of carbon in the atmosphere trapped beneath glaciers and permafrost in the Arctic," said Kleber.
"If these groundwater springs are tapping into that reservoir, they kind of have an infinite supply of methane behind them. If they can grow in number, grow in size, they can just keep supplying more and more methane to the atmosphere," said Kleber.
The researchers estimate springs across the archipelago alone could represent about 2,000 tonnes of methane emissions a year.
As of today, that's a drop in the bucket of global emissions. The global agriculture industry alone released about 141 megatonnes of methane in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency.
The problem is Svalbard may only be the canary in the coal mine.
"There are large regions in the Arctic that we suspect are seeing the same phenomenon. So if we extrapolate or expand this across the Arctic, the emissions could be considerable," said Kleber.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and contributes to a feedback loop
A researcher inside a glacial cave in Svalbard, Norway.
Methane emissions have been a hot-button issue in the fight against the climate crisis. That's because methane is a greenhouse gas, meaning it keeps heat radiating from the ground trapped in the atmosphere instead of letting the Earth cool down.
It doesn't get stuck in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide (CO2). But even if it doesn't accumulate for as long, it can cause a lot of damage because it's about 30 times more effective at trapping heat than CO2.
"Reducing methane emissions is an important tool we can use right now to lessen the impacts of climate change in the near term, and rapidly reduce the rate of warming," Rick Spinrad, the head of NOAA, previously said.
A glacier cave formed by meltwater coursing through a glacier in Svalbard, Norway. Scientists have found springs full of methane bubbling near retreating glaciers in Svalbard.
If confirmed, this could change climate models
It's difficult to know how bad this problem could be because the research is very new.
Climate models are struggling to keep up with the rate of melting of the Arctic, which is surpassing most predictions. Kleber suspects these methane emissions are only one of several "invisible feedback loops that we're just not aware of."
"This feedback loop of melting glaciers, releasing methane could very likely be a contributor to that discrepancy in our, our large uncertainty in methane emissions, particularly in the Arctic," said Kleber
More research is needed to confirm the origin of the methane and understand the scale of the problem across the Arctic, she said,
"Ultimately we need to be addressing our anthropogenic emissions so that we can prevent these kinds of emissions from growing any further to the point where they are a global impact to our methane budget or our methane emissions," said Kleber.
PHOTOS Gabrielle Kleber
Margo reviews methane data from CAMS & NOAA Data for Saturday, 7/1/23. She also shows the current state of the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice and looks at Climate Reanalyzer and earthquakes.
Global Fuels to acquire U.K.-based Greenergy's Canadian gas station network The Canadian Press Fri, July 7, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON — Ontario-based Global Fuels Inc. says it has signed a deal to acquire all of U.K.-based Greenergy's Canadian retail fuel business.
The acquired network is one of the largest in Canada, consisting of 241 retail gas and convenience locations from Nova Scotia to B.C.
The sites are predominantly Mobil-branded and located adjacent to Loblaw grocery stores in larger communities across the country.
Greenergy, which launched in Canada in 2013, says it has chosen to divest its Canadian retail business to focus on renewable energy projects instead.
The companies have not disclosed the dollar value of the deal, which is expected to close later this year.
Global Fuels operates one of the largest chains of gas stations in the country, with a national network of Esso, Mobil, and Esso Cardlock branded fuel locations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
The Canadian Press
St Osyth oyster farmer hopes legal action will reverse sewage rules
BBC Fri, July 7, 2023 The legal challenge aimed to reverse the government's decision to continue allowing water firms to discharge raw sewage into waterways through storm overflows until 2050
An oyster farmer who has taken the government to court over the discharge of sewage by water firms said he hoped to gain some concessions to the rules.
Tom Haward, of Essex-based Richard Haward's Oysters, said the "relentless dumping of sewage into our seas" threatened oysters' breeding waters.
Water firms have been given a deadline of 2050 to stop sewage discharges.
The legal challenge aimed to force the government to bring the deadline forward and introduce tougher targets.
A two-day High Court hearing ended on Thursday, with the judge expected to come back with his decision in writing at a later date.
The action, brought by Mersea Island-based Richard Haward's Oysters, the Marine Conservation Society, and surfer and activist Hugo Tagholm, was supported by the Good Law Project, a not-for-profit legal company.
Mr Haward said: "Mersea produces the best oysters: the water quality is fantastic, our oysters are doing brilliantly, we're not being impacted by sewage discharges like other parts of the UK are.
"But there are shellfish harvesters who've been really impacted by this [sewage]."
He said he decided to get involved with the court case for future generations.
"My daughter is two, and if she wants to be generation nine of the Hawards, there's got to be safeguards there for her to be able to do that," he said.
"It's about protecting her future; it's about protecting the UK's future."
Tom Haward's Oysters have been farming oysters in the estuaries and creeks around Mersea Island since the 1700s
The family business, which has been cultivating oysters since the 1700s, has 14 acres of oyster layings in the creeks surrounding West Mersea - on the island near Colchester.
Mr Haward, who has called for water companies to invest more in their infrastructure, was hopeful of a positive outcome from the court challenge.
"I'd like to think we'll see something that has a major positive impact. Even if it's just shortening time frames," he said.
"Because at the moment government is talking about year 2050 before something significant happens, with storm overflows alone.
"If that just brings it forward to a much shorter timeframe, that for me is a win.
"The big win would be for the water companies to be finally held to account for what they do." A ruling against the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) could set a landmark precedent, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
It would allow others to use an ancient English legal principle called the Public Trust Doctrine, to compel those in power to protect the natural environment.
Defra has been asked for comment.
UPDATE
High-status ancient Spanish tomb held 'Ivory Lady' BBC Fri, July 7, 2023
The highest status individual in ancient Iberian copper age society was a woman, not a man as previously believed, according to a new study.
A treasure-packed tomb outside Seville dating back to around 2,850 BC was thought to belong to a young man between 17 and 25 years old.
But a new technique shows the remains are of a woman, say researchers.
They have named her "Ivory Lady". She was buried with ivory tusks, ostrich eggshell, and a rock crystal dagger.
Marta Cintas‑Peña, an associate professor of prehistory at the University of Seville, along with her colleagues, detected Ivory Lady's sex using a new technique that identifies chromosomal information in tooth enamel.
The research team says that the new procedure is highly reliable even with poorly preserved human skeletons and that this novel method is also much cheaper that DNA testing.
Leonardo GarcÃa Sanjuán, a professor of prehistory at the University of Seville, said the riches in the tomb at the copper age settlement of Valencina de la Concepción were incomparable with those found in others at the time.
"When we compare the Ivory Lady to these people, she stands head and shoulder above all of them," he said. "So we do not hesitate to say that she was the most socially prominent person of her time and this is of course remarkable because it is a female."
Archaeologists say that as well as containing a high number of valuable goods, the grave was also a rare example of a single occupancy burial, another sign that it belonged to someone of very high status.
Lavish tomb in ancient Spain belonged to a woman, not a man, new research shows
Thu, July 6, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — When archaeologists first discovered the 5,000-year-old ornate tomb in Spain, they assumed it was for a man. It held a rock crystal dagger, ivory tusks and other lavish items. But now they’ve determined the remains are those of a woman, and all it took was two teeth.
The researchers used a new method of determining sex that analyzes tooth enamel. This technique, developed about five years ago, is more reliable than analyzing skeletal remains in poor condition, according to their study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
Most details about the life of the “Ivory Lady,” as researchers dubbed her, remain a mystery but there are some clues.
“She was buried alone in a tomb with very special artifacts,” said Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Seville in Spain. “That shows that she was a special person.”
The tomb is located a few miles west of Seville, near Spain's southern coast, and was excavated in 2008. Archaeologists thought it contained a young man based on an examination of the poorly preserved bones and the fact that several precious items found in the tomb — including ostrich eggshells and amber along with the tusks and dagger — indicated that the individual held a high social status.
The new technique detects differences in the chemistry of tooth enamel between males and females and can be used even when full DNA is not available.
“This research provides one more piece of evidence questioning old historical narratives," said Alison Beach, an historian at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, who was not involved in the study. It shows that "it’s not exclusively true that men have always been the most revered or held the most authority.”
Marta Cintas-Pena, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Seville, maintains a database of Copper Age burials found at 21 different archaeological sites on the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain and Portugal. It currently has records for 1,723 individuals.
“The Ivory Lady’s burial stands out, head and shoulders, above everyone else — there is absolutely no known male or female burial that compares to hers,” said Garcia Sanjuan.
For around 250 years after the Ivory Lady's burial, newer graves were built around hers — but always with a 100-foot (30-meter) buffer zone, he said. And around 80 years after her death, people reentered her tomb and placed additional votive objects inside, including the crystal dagger.
Researchers know little about the social or political structure of the society that she belonged to — which was roughly contemporaneous with the rise of the pharaohs in Egypt’s Nile River Valley and with the construction of the first planned city on the banks of the Euphrates in Mesopotamia.
Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, a co-author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria, suspects the same misidentification might be true at other ancient tombs where researchers assumed, “Oh, this is a rich and prominent person, it must be a male.”
Recently other researchers determined through DNA analysis that a decorated Viking warrior buried in Sweden was a woman, upending prior assumptions.
“If we go back and test, we will get a few more surprises,” Rebay-Salisbury said.
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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter at @larsonchristina
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Lurgan archaeologists find evidence of gold and silver production
Cormac Campbell - BBC News NI south-east reporter Fri, July 7, 2023 Evidence of the production of gold and silver ingots has been uncovered at the site The team behind an archaeological dig near Lurgan, County Armagh, believe they have discovered evidence of the production of gold and silver ingots.
They have also found signs of metal and glass working and described it as a "higher status site".
This is the second year of excavations at the site, known as Kilmocholmóg (Church of my little Colman).
David Weir of Craigavon Historical Society said the three-week effort uncovered a greater insight into life at the location in the Kilmore Road area over thousands of years.
"It is looking very exciting," he said.
"After last year's excavation we were thinking it was a farmstead - which would have been great.
"But the finds that are turning up suggest that it is a higher status site.
"There is evidence of metal working, glass working and evidence that gold and silver ingots were being made here."
Archaeologist Stuart Alexander said he believed activity on the site was extensive.
"Last year we only opened up a few very small trenches," he said.
"But we've expanded out on that a lot more and we've found a lot more artefacts and archaeological features.
David Weir of Craigavon Historical Society said it is an exciting development
"We are finding some prehistoric activity and early medieval activity.
"So in pre-history, we're looking at the Mesolithic which is about 8000BC right up to the early Christian period of about 400AD.
"It's not unusual on sites to find that people come back over time to the same places and use the same spots.
"All archaeologists want to find gold and I am no different."
Archaeologist Stuart Alexander believes activity on the site is extensive
Those finds are being discovered by an army of volunteers - with about 300 people taking part this year.
Among them are students Michael Higgins, Zachary McCann and Holly Donaldson.
For Holly, after missing out last year, this was a second opportunity to take part in the dig.
"I saw it posted up last year but I never got around to doing it," she said.
"But then I saw it posted up again this year again and I just decided to come along for a bit of fun to see what I could find."
Students Zachary McCann, Michael Higgins and Holly Donaldson are among those involved in the dig
And there have been major finds.
Michael said the highlight was a discovery by Zachary of an ingot mould.
"In 20 minutes he found the ingot mould where they would have poured in the molten ore and made the ingots," he added.
At the time of his great discovery, this was not completely apparent to Zachary.
"Of course I knew what it was," he joked.
"I definitely didn't put it in a pile and think it was a stone only for five minutes later Michael to look at it and say that it was something very important."
Archaeologist Katy McMonagle says most sites will only yield modest discoveries
Among those on hand to explain what each find means is archaeologist Katy McMonagle.
As well as the ingot mould, Katy is closing guarding a small blue bead she believes was produced on site.
"This is an early medieval blue glass bead which is a lovely find, but also a very personal one as somebody would have been wearing this as part of their jewellery," she said.
It's tempting to think that treasure lies just below every footstep, but before you go digging up your garden, Katy says most sites will only yield modest discoveries.
"In this field it is amazing that we have this archaeology," she said.
"Not everybody's field is going to have something like this.
"But everybody's garden is probably going to have post-medieval pottery, clay pipes - that kind of thing.
"So you never know what you might find."
Katy was impressed by an early medieval blue glass bead that was found at the site
Last year's excavation went ahead after ground penetrating radar surveys carried out by Queen's University Belfast indicated stone features of interest.
The surveys were commissioned by Lurgan Township Heritage Scheme and funded in part by the Department for Communities' Historic Environment Division.
This is the second year of excavations at the County Armagh site
The latest archaeological dig ends on Friday.
Discoveries will then be scrutinised further for their significance.
After that the search for funding to permit a third dig at Kilmocholmóg will begin.
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