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Ancient Civilizations

Divers found the Antikythera mechanism in a shipwreck in 1900.

New Research

How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?

Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned

The exhibition includes pieces of ancient pottery.

Hundreds of Looted Ancient Artifacts Confiscated From the Black Market Are Now on Display in Naples

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is showcasing 600 recovered objects, which date to between the Archaic period and the Middle Ages

 An artist's rendering of the altar

New Research

Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Altar That May Have Been Used for Ancient Sacrifices in Guatemala

Discovered in the ruins of Tikal, the altar sheds light on strained relations between the Maya city and Teotihuacán—which was located more than 600 miles away

Digital artist Juanjo Ortega G. created an image of the woman's face based on a clay model created in the 1980s.

See the Face of a Royal Woman Who Lived in Greece 3,500 Years Ago

Created by digital artist Juanjo Ortega G., the digital reconstruction depicts a woman who died in her mid-30s during the late Bronze Age

Tutankhamun's burial mask is made of gold and precious stones.

New Research

Clay Artifacts Found in King Tut’s Tomb May Have Been Part of a Ritual Honoring the Egyptian God Osiris

The four clay troughs were initially thought to have served as stands for gold-plated staffs. Now, a researcher has presented a new theory about their purpose

Archaeologists suspect that as many as 150 individuals may be buried at the site.

Mass Grave From Roman-Era Battle Discovered Beneath a Soccer Field in Vienna

Archaeologists think that as many as 150 individuals may have been hastily buried at the site, likely after a “catastrophic” military event

Jason Sandy mudlarking along the River Thames in London

Cool Finds

History-Hunting Mudlarks Scour London’s Shores to Uncover the City’s Rich Archaeological Treasures

A new exhibition at the London Museum Docklands spotlights hundreds of mudlarking finds, from Bronze Age tools to Viking daggers to medieval spectacles

Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, the metal detectorists who discovered the dagger

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Unearth Ancient Dagger Decorated With Tiny Stars, Crescent Moons and Geometric Patterns

Found at a beach in northern Poland, the nearly ten-inch-long artifact could be up to 2,500 years old. It had been lodged inside a lump of clay

Thousands of years ago, people had been buried both inside and outside of this cist tomb.

New Research

Why Were These Teenagers Chosen as Human Sacrifices at an Ancient Mesopotamian Cemetery?

Researchers previously assumed that some of the graves at the site were royal burials. A new study presents a different theory, which challenges existing ideas about early class structures

The family handed the scarab over to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which plans to display it in an upcoming exhibition.

Cool Finds

Toddler Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Egyptian Amulet While Hiking With Her Family in Israel

The 3-year-old picked up an ancient Canaanite scarab that dates back to the Middle Bronze Age

The figures adorn the wall of a tomb found in a necropolis near one of Pompeii’s city gates.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Two Nearly Life-Size Statues Carved Into the Wall of a Tomb in Ancient Pompeii

The figures appear to represent a married couple. Experts think the woman, who is holding laurel leaves, may have been a priestess

A depas goblet excavated from the ruins of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s

Cool Finds

Who Drank Wine in Ancient Troy? New Research Suggests Just About Everyone

Chemical analyses revealed wine residue on both expensive goblets and common cups unearthed among the legendary city’s ruins

Almost all the buildings at the Buddhist Gounsa Temple complex were destroyed in the fires

South Korea’s Worst Ever Wildfires Ravage Ancient Buddhist Temples and Menace Historic Villages

One monk said his old temple was ‘reduced to heaps of ashes,’ as the fires continue to rage across the country

The Israel Antiquities Authority and volunteers are excavating the site north of the Zohar Valley.

Cool Finds

This Ancient Pyramid Found in the Judean Desert May Have Been a Ptolemaic Tax Collector’s Station

The official structure, stuffed with significant coins and Greek papyri, was likely later transformed into someone’s grave

Researchers spent three months excavating the site.

Cool Finds

Treasure Trove of 800 ‘Exceptional’ Iron Age Artifacts Discovered in England

The collection, which dates to the first century C.E., includes items ranging from elaborately decorated horse harnesses to ornate cauldrons

A granite statue located in Tombos, an ancient Egyptian outpost in present-day Sudan

New Research

Lower-Class Workers May Have Been Buried in Ancient Egyptian Pyramids Alongside Elites

When researchers examined skeletons buried in present-day Sudan, they found evidence that some had belonged to workers who performed hard labor

A wax writing tablet with a stylus

Cool Finds

Discover the 14,000 Ancient Roman Artifacts Just Donated to the London Museum

Among the items are sandals, pottery and Britain’s largest collection of Roman writing tablets, bearing IOU notes and gossip in stunningly well-preserved wax

Tomb of the unknown Abydos dynasty king

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Tomb of Unknown Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh

The king’s mummy and sarcophagus are missing from the royal tomb, which is the second of its kind unearthed this year

This clay tablet sports the name of an Akkadian governor.

Cool Finds

4,000-Year-Old Clay Tablets Show Ancient Sumerians’ Obsession With Government Bureaucracy

The artifacts were excavated from a city dating back to the third millennium B.C.E. by researchers from Iraq and the British Museum

Aerial view of the mikvah site

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth 1,600-Year-Old Jewish Ritual Bath—the Oldest Ever Found in Europe

Located in Ostia Antica, the mikvah dates to the late fourth or early fifth century C.E. Researchers say it’s the earliest discovery of its kind outside the Middle East

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