Archaeology

Jan 27th, 2025 - Archaeologists excavating in Ecuador have discovered the rich burial of a pregnant woman and fetus who died around 1,200 years ago. But the woman's bones revealed that she was bludgeoned and dismembered and that another person's head and burnt offering were placed in the grave, which led archaeologists to suspect she was sacrificed. "The fact that it was a woman who was pregnant might indicate that women held important positions of power, and thus their power needed to be 'managed,'" Sara ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Archaeologists hail discovery of very rare hoard featuring 44 gold coins bearing name of Celtic king Cunobelinus A hoard of British coins bearing the inscription of King Cunobelin and found in a Dutch field have been identified as very likely to be the spoils of war of a Roman soldier from the conquest of Britain . The 44 gold coins, known as staters, were discovered alongside 360 Roman coins, by two amateur archaeologists with metal detectors in a field in Bunnik, near Utrecht. The coins are ... [Read More]

Jan 25th, 2025 - Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of gold and silver coins by the remains of a centuries-old synagogue in Israel, near the Sea of Galilee. The hoard of 364 coins, which was unearthed at the archaeological site of Huqoq (also spelled Yaquq), dates to the 15th century. The team found the stash within two jugs under the collapsed wall of the synagogue. Most of the coins are from medieval Venice or the Mamluk sultanate, which controlled the region at the time. It's unclear why the jugs were ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2025 - According to new research, Homo erectus , one of our early ancestors, was able to live and thrive in the tough, desert-like areas of Eastern Africa over a million years ago. As the first hominin species to spread out of Africa, they demonstrated levels of adaptability and perseverance that was previously underestimated by the scientific community. This conclusion overturns the long-standing assumption that only Homo sapiens, modern humans, had the ability to survive and flourish in extreme ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2025 - A hoard of 1,368 coins, most of them silver, has been discovered in a pot by a metal detectorist in Worcestershire, a county in England. The hoard was buried around A.D. 55, a time when the Roman Empire , led by emperor Nero (reign circa A.D. 54 to 68), was struggling to take control of England. His predecessor Claudius (reign A.D. 41 to 54) had invaded Britain and gained control of large amounts of England, but resistance continued into Nero's reign. In A.D. 60, a rebellion launched by ... [Read More]

Jan 23rd, 2025 - Almost five millennia ago, hundreds of engraved, disc-shaped stones were deposited in a giant pit at the Neolithic Vasagård site on the small Danish island of Bornholm. For decades the so-called "sun stones" mystified researchers, but now scientists report in the journal Antiquity reveal that they may have served a very specific purpose: A ritualistic attempt by Neolithic humans to protect themselves from climate change and disease. Climate scientists from the Niels Bohr Institute at the ... [Read More]

Jan 22nd, 2025 - French archaeologists have discovered artifacts and sites spanning multiple centuries, from the Late Bronze Age to the medieval era, in Pacé , Brittany, Popular Mechanics reports . A Roman road dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE was identified during an excavation, and a gold ring with an intaglio of Venus Victrix , a Romanized iteration of the goddess indicative of imperial power and romantic conquests, was found there. Dating to the 2nd or 3rd century CE, the stone in the ring ... [Read More]

Jan 21st, 2025 - Archaeologists in England have discovered a Roman-era cemetery with an unusual burial at its center — a stone coffin holding a deceased individual encased in liquid gypsum. This practice is known from Roman times, but archaeologists still don't fully understand it. The mineral was made into a cement or plaster and then poured over the deceased person to make a hard cast. This process sometimes preserved organic remnants such as clothing or a burial shroud. The gypsum from the newfound ... [Read More]

Jan 21st, 2025 - Skeletal remains and skull fragments of two Bronze Age women were found at a construction site in the U.K. Their remains were found in Kent at a building site slated for 41 homes along with animal bones, pottery and evidence of a Roman road while a required archaeological survey was being conducted,  the BBC first reported . One of the women — estimated to be about 30-35 years old  — was found in a crouch-burial position, the report said. The position has been ... [Read More]

Jan 16th, 2025 - Ancient Egypt was primarily ruled by men, with only a handful of women successfully coming to power. One of them was Hatshepsut , the sixth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, who reigned during the 15th century B.C.E. Hatshepsut was "by far the most successful" woman to rule Egypt as pharaoh, as Smithsonian magazine 's Elizabeth B. Wilson wrote in 2006. She insisted on being portrayed with male features, including "the broad, bare chest of a man and the pharaonic false beard," though scholars don't ... [Read More]

Jan 16th, 2025 - Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient complex of ruined  Byzantine -era buildings in Israel. The structures include a winepress, a large warehouse and what may be a monastery boasting a colorful mosaic floor. The floor features a Greek inscription from Deuteronomy : "Blessed are you when you come in and blessed are you when you go out." The ruins were discovered during excavations ahead of construction for a new neighborhood near the city of Kiryat Gat. According to a  statement ... [Read More]

Jan 8th, 2025 - CAIRO (AP) — Egypt unveiled several discoveries near the famed city of Luxor on Wednesday, including ancient rock-cut tombs and burial shafts dating back 3,600 years. They were unearthed at the causeway of Queen Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir al-Bahri on the Nile's West Bank, according to a statement released by Zahi Hawass Foundation for Antiquities & Heritage. It said it worked in tandem with the Supreme Council of Antiquities on the site since September 2022. Artifacts found at ... [Read More]

Jan 4th, 2025 - Many rare discoveries have been made across the globe over the course of the year 2024. The public was able to view some relics that highlighted historical moments, giving people a better understanding of the time period in which they derived from. See some of the significant pieces below. A team of archaeologists may have unearthed a sarcophagus containing the remains of Saint Nicholas, whose spirit of generosity is still celebrated in the modern world more than 1,600 years later. "We ... [Read More]

Jan 3rd, 2025 - On this day, 101 years ago, archeologists unveiled the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamun after his sarcophagus was discovered in a well-hidden tomb that had been preserved for over 3,000 years, sparking a century of media attention and public fascination. It was Jan. 3, 1924, over a year after Tutankhamun's tomb was found, that British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team of excavators at last found the sarcophagus of the ruler itself . The sarcophagus was among thousands of artifacts ... [Read More]

Dec 28th, 2024 - As humans we are endlessly curious about our past – especially the ancient past. What were our ancient ancestors doing thousands of years ago? Probably not getting hooked on social media platforms like Tik Rock and Twigger (later renamed to Eggs). Jokes aside, the reality of humanity's ancient past continues to throw up surprises as archaeologists continue to uncover more about how our ancestors lived and died. Here are some unexpected findings from this year. Apparent incest prevention A ... [Read More]

Dec 19th, 2024 - Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more . Scientists made a major discovery this year linked to Stonehenge — one of humanity's biggest mysteries — and the revelations keep coming. A team of researchers shared evidence in August suggesting that the Altar Stone, an iconic monolith at the heart of Stonehenge, was transported hundreds of miles to the site in southern England nearly ... [Read More]