Indian laborers have unearthed gold bars from a British cargo ship that blew up killing hundreds of people while docked in Mumbai during World War II, a report said on Tuesday.

The Mumbai Mirror newspaper said that workers discovered gold bars from the SS Fort Stikine late on Monday while digging a new dock in the port city. Further dredging would now be conducted to see if more can be found, it added.

The United Nations cultural organization urged Egyptian authorities and protesters Tuesday to protect the country's heritage and respect freedom of expression during the ongoing political crisis.

There have been reports of a looting attempt at Cairo's renowned Egyptian Museum and other historical sites, as well as of citizens taking it upon themselves to set up a cordon to protect their nation's heritage.

Tehran has warned it will cut cultural ties with France if renowned Paris museum The Louvre fails to set up an exhibition of Persian artifacts in Iran as agreed, an official was Monday cited as saying.

"If this museum (The Louvre) fails to fulfill its commitment with the (Iranian) Cultural Heritage Organization in the next two months, then we will cut cultural ties with France," head of the organization Hamid Baghai was quoted as saying by Tehran Emrouz newspaper.

A French architect campaigning for a new exploration of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza said on Thursday that the edifice may contain two chambers housing funereal furniture.

Jean-Pierre Houdin -- who was rebuffed three years ago by Egypt in his appeal for a probe into how the Pyramid was built -- said 3-D simulation and data from a U.S. Egyptologist, Bob Brier, pointed to two secret chambers in the heart of the structure.

The pursuit of wealth and riches can take different forms, but many Andean people place their faith in a tiny, smiling ancient deity who is said to arrive festooned with gifts, food and cash.

If he fails to show though, you can go to an open-air market and buy miniature cars, furniture, food -- pretty much anything -- and then ask a shaman to invoke the gods of civilizations past to make the items real.

A treasure trove of 3,000-year-old giant birds, lions, and goddesses goes on show in Berlin with a past so incredible that it could rival archaeology action film hero Indiana Jones.

The story kicks off nearly 100 years ago when Max von Oppenheim, the son of a rich German banker, fell in love with the Middle East as a diplomat keeping an eye on British empire-building.

Lord Rabbit, a mythical bunny sent down from the moon to bring good health to Beijing, is making a triumphant comeback as the Chinese capital gears up for the Lunar New Year.

Banned during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) when China's communist rulers sought to stamp out customs seen as superstitious, Lord Rabbit has re-emerged as the nation once again embraces its ancient traditions.

A desolate courtyard surrounded by fields of mournful graves is all that remains of an ancient shrine to the Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak inside a sprawling Muslim cemetery in Baghdad.

War, insurgents or looters have wiped any trace of a historical footnote that had preserved the memory of the Indian holy man's 16th-century journey through Arabia and his stay in Baghdad, hailed by Sikhs as an early example of inter-faith dialogue.

Royalty rubbed shoulders with the rump of India's caste system at the Jaipur Literary Festival this year as crowds flocked to India's "pink city" for an annual dose of celebrity and culture.

Bright sunshine and a roster of 220 authors and performers, including a clutch of Nobel, Booker and Pulitzer prize winners, lured tens of thousands of book lovers to the grounds of the Diggi Palace -- a converted 19th century mansion where the event has been held since 2006.

Egypt is officially requesting the return of the 3,300-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti that has been in a Berlin museum for decades.

The bust, dating back to the 14th century B.C. monarch, tops Egypt's wish list of artifacts the country hopes to bring back as part of a campaign to retrieve thousands of antiquities spirited out during the colonial period and afterward.