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Ancient Rome

Gold tongues found at Marina el-Alamein (right) and a limestone tombstone showing a man holding a bird (left)

Cool Finds

Ancient Egyptians Believed That These Newly Discovered Gold Tongues Allowed the Dead to Communicate in the Afterlife

Excavations at Marina el-Alamein, an archaeological site west of Alexandria, unearthed about two dozen of the rare artifacts, including one shaped like the Eye of Horus

The Canopus, a pool at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, Italy

How Has Roman Concrete Lasted for Millennia? A 1,900-Year-Old Latrine Offers New Clues About the Material’s Impressive Durability

A chemical process called carbonation, which helps seal cracks, could help explain why many ancient Roman structures are still standing today. Researchers hope that the insights will lead to better modern-day building materials

Archaeologist Andrew Birley found the relief carving while excavating a fourth-century barrack at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern England.

Cool Finds

Ancient Romans Put Their Faith in Guardian Spirits. Archaeologists Just Found a Rare 1,600-Year-Old Carving of One in Northern England

Known as a “genius,” the protective spirit or deity was believed to bring good fortune and prosperity to a particular person, household or place. Archaeologists haven’t found many depictions of them across Roman Britain

The structures were composed of mud bricks.

Cool Finds

See Artifacts That Archaeologists Discovered in This 1,600-Year-Old Byzantine Christian Town Buried in an Oasis in Egypt

The mud-brick village boasts streets, towers and a large church. Researchers unearthed everyday objects like grain grinders, an oven and some 200 ostraca—ancient receipts and notes written on broken pottery

Archaeologist Gino Caspari holds an iron artifact recovered from one of the Menorca shipwrecks.

Take an Exclusive Look at Three Newly Discovered Medieval Shipwrecks in Menorca’s ‘Cove of Mysteries’

Meteorological tsunamis likely sank the 13th-century trading vessels, whose cargo included objects from both Christian kingdoms and Moorish communities on the Iberian Peninsula

The 3D-printed board based on scans of the original game board discovered at Vindolanda

3D Printing Gives New Life to an Ancient Game Board Discovered at a Roman Fort Near Hadrian’s Wall in England

Soldiers and civilians alike enjoyed the strategy game Ludus Latrunculorum in the Roman Empire, especially in Roman Britain

Mastarna (Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome) frees Celio Vibenna from chains in this fresco from the Francois Tomb.

See These Ancient Etruscan Frescoes That Italy Bought for Millions and Put on Public Display in Rome

Found in a burial chamber, the artworks depict battles between ancient heroes in the Mediterranean world

Researchers have virtually unwrapped a nearly five-foot-long segment of PHerc. 1667.

Scientists Have Deciphered the Surviving Fragments of a 2,000-Year-Old Philosophical Treatise Frozen in Time by Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

The papyrus manuscript was part of a vast library preserved by volcanic ash. Now, the remaining passages—which examine ethics, knowledge and human nature—are accessible for the first time since 79 C.E.

Aerial view of excavations at the newly discovered villa in Castel di Guido

Cool Finds

Authorities Investigated Reports of an Illegal Excavation in Rome. Then, They Stumbled Upon an Ancient Villa Adorned With Mosaics

In the second century C.E., Roman emperors such as Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus Pius frequented the area where the residence was found

The two protomes, approximately 1,700 years old, were found laying face-down inside an empty wine vat in a villa near the Mediterranean Sea. 

Cool Finds

Two Well-Preserved Roman Busts Were Discovered Inside a Wine Vat in Israel Near the Capital City of a Roman Province

One is inscribed with the name “Lycurgus,” suggesting the bust may depict the legendary founder of ancient Sparta

Columns found in Ehnasiya

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth a Marble Aphrodite, a Pharaoh’s Cartouche and a Roman Basilica, All in One Ancient Egyptian City

The collection of artifacts represents the layered history of Ehnasiya, an ancient Egyptian capital that became the Roman city of Heracleópolis Magna

The Roman brooch was found near Pathhead.

Cool Finds

This Rare, Intricate Brooch Represents the Roman Empire’s Long, Disjointed Attempt to Conquer Scotland

The “miniature masterpiece” will go on display during an upcoming exhibition focused on the legacy Rome left in the highlands the empire dubbed Caledonia

Graffiti spanning more than a century is scrawled on the walls of the Roman villa.

Cool Finds

These Italian Teenagers Stayed Overnight at Their School. They Found Ancient Roman Ruins Hidden in the Basement

Students at a high school in Rome stumbled upon a well-preserved villa that dates to the mid-second century C.E. Eventually, archaeologists hope to open the sprawling space to the public

The band is gold and the gem is a nicolo, or “little onyx.”

Cool Finds

See the ‘Spectacular’ Gold-and-Gemstone Ring a Roman Likely Buried for Safekeeping 1,700 Years Ago

The ring, discovered in an English field and deemed a “treasure,” has ties to a power grab that a military leader made in Roman Britain

The Roman funerary marker in the custody of FBI New Orleans in November 2025

Cool Finds

Why Was This Ancient Roman Soldier’s Gravestone Hidden in a Louisiana Backyard? Archaeologists Solved the Mystery—and Helped Return the Artifact to Italy

The funerary marker, which surfaced on a New Orleans property last year, once belonged to a Roman soldier who died nearly 2,000 years ago. Officials repatriated the stone in a recent ceremony in Rome

Analysis of a skeleton from an early medieval site

New Research

The Fall of the Roman Empire Was Less a Clash of Civilizations and More an Opportunity to Mix and Mingle, a New Genetics Study Shows

Researchers who analyzed genomes from early medieval graves in modern-day Germany hypothesize that people from the former Roman Empire formed families with Germanic people soon after the empire fell

A virtual reconstruction of the Berlanga Cup

Cool Finds

This Souvenir Bowl May Have Commemorated an Ancient Roman Soldier’s Service at Hadrian’s Wall. It Was Discovered on a Spanish Farm 1,900 Years Later

The artifact is decorated with an illustration of the defensive fortification in northern England, but it was unearthed some 1,200 miles away. A new study suggests the design reflects a soldier’s achievements at the site

A marble bust of Alexander the Great depicted as the sun god Helios

Alexander the Great’s (Marble) Head Turned Up in New York. U.S. Officials Say It Was Stolen—and Just Sent It Back to Italy

As part of a longstanding effort to help Italy track down its missing treasures, the U.S. returned hundreds of ancient archaeological finds this week

The man in his 30s was found just outside Pompeii's gates.

New Research

This Man Fled Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius Erupted. Archaeologists Found Him 2,000 Years Later, Holding a Bowl to Protect His Head and a Lamp to Light His Way

Recent excavations revealed two skeletons just outside the ancient city’s walls. Researchers also created an A.I.-generated reconstruction of one of the victim’s harrowing final moments

A duke in Florence commissioned the fountain in 1559.

A Tourist Damaged Florence’s ‘Fountain of Neptune’ While Attempting to Grope Its Marble Statue on a Dare

Fixing the fountain’s horse sculptures and frieze will cost nearly $6,000. The alleged offender is the latest tourist to harm artwork in response to peer pressure or in pursuit of social media clout

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