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Archaeology

It took a 7.1 magnitude earthquake to unveil one of the pyramid’s oldest secrets: an ancient shrine buried about six-and-a-half feet below Tláloc’s main temple

Cool Finds

Earthquake Reveals 12th-Century Temple Hidden Within Aztec Pyramid

The structure, which lay buried beneath two Aztec temples for centuries, is dedicated to the rain god Tláloc

A Roman fish processing factory in the city of Baelo Claudia

New Research

Romans May Have Hunted Whales to Extinction in Their Home Waters

New analysis suggests that right and gray whales were not only once present in the Mediterranean Sea but likely common in the region

An 8,000-year-old skull found in Gua Cha, Malaysia, provided DNA used in the study

New Research

Ancient DNA Offers Insight on Origins of Southeast Asia’s Present-Day Population

Researchers sequenced 26 genomes using DNA samples dating as far back as 8,000 years

Cool Finds

Oldest Greek Fragment of Homer Discovered on Clay Tablet

The verses come from the ancient city of Olympia and date to the Roman era

The remains of this medieval castle at Castell Llwyn Gwinau, Tregaron, were almost completely plowed over, but they show clearly under parched conditions.

A Heat Wave is Revealing Centuries-Old Sites in Wales

Hot, dry weather creates perfect conditions for crop marks to form above historic settlements

The unusual placement of the victims' limbs (the right humerus, or upper arm bone, in yellow, is tossed across the right femur, or thigh bone, in red) suggests they were strewn haphazardly across the burial pit rather than carefully buried.

7,000-Year-Old German Grave Shows New Side of Neolithic Brutality

The eight men and one woman bear signs of precisely inflicted blunt force cranial trauma, suggesting they were victims of mass execution

Archaeologists discovered evidence of an array of foods, including herring, eel, cod, apples, raspberries, cherries and rye bread

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unseal 17th-Century Danish Latrines to Discover Copenhageners’ Dietary Habits

The Danish finds reveal their owners’ rich diet of fish and meat, fruits, spices—and the presence of parasites, including tapeworms and roundworms

Coming together for a solstice feast in ancient Peru.

How Feasting Rituals Help Shape Human Civilization

These transformative practices—and the cooperation they require—are a cornerstone of societies the world over

Part of the Danevirk wall surrounding Hedeby

Trending Today

Viking Archaeological Site and Others Earn World Heritage Status

The trading center of Hedeby and its surrounding wall are considered one of the most significant Viking sites in Northern Europe

An interactive timeline details about 20,000 of the archaeologists’ finds, complete with images and descriptions of the wide array of objects

New Website Unearths Amsterdam’s History Via 700,000 Artifacts Spanning 5,000 Years

The recovered items span thousands of years, and include coins, cell phones, dentures and more

Neolithic Roadway, Possibly a Ritual Site, Discovered in England

Archaeologists also found the skull of an extinct ox that is 2,000 years older than the trackway

New Research

Germany’s “Stonehenge” Reveals Evidence of Human Sacrifice

Archaeologists uncovered the remains of 10 women and children who may have been sacrificed at the Pömmelte enclosure, a 4,300-year-old Neolithic circle

Cool Finds

New Evidence Smashes Assumptions of Crushing Death for Pompeii Skeleton

Researchers found the intact skull of the skeleton that made headlines for being pinned beneath a giant stone block

Contrary to popular beliefs, Neanderthals lived in complex societies and hunted prey cooperatively.

New Research

Neanderthals Hunted in Groups, One More Strike Against the Dumb Brute Myth

The skeletons of deer killed 120,000 years ago offer more evidence of cooperative behavior and risk-taking among our hominin relatives

The charred papyrus scroll recovered from Herculaneum is preserved in 12 trays mounted under glass. Here is PHerc.118 in tray 8. The scroll was physically unrolled in 1883-84, causing irreparable damage.

Buried by the Ash of Vesuvius, These Scrolls Are Being Read for the First Time in Millennia

A revolutionary American scientist is using subatomic physics to decipher 2,000-year-old texts from the early days of Western civilization

The bones were discovered at a very shallow depth, indicating that they had been disposed of in a hurry, and with little ceremony.

Newly Unearthed Civil War Bones Speak Silently to the Grim Aftermath of Battle

What the amputated limbs and full skeletons of a Manassas burial pit tell us about wartime surgical practices

New Research

Where Did the Aztecs Get Their Turquoise?

New analysis shows the blue-green mineral found in Aztec art was likely mined in Mexico, not the American Southwest as previously believed

Double burial of two plague victims in the Samara region, Russia

Bacteria in Ancient Teeth Push Back Origins of the Bubonic Plague

The deadly disease may have been transmitted to humans at least 800 years earlier than previously believed

New Research

Inca Skull Surgeons Had Better Success Rates Than American Civil War Doctors

Survival rates among later Inca cultures was significantly higher. However, the 19th-century soldiers were facing trauma caused by industrial-age warfare

Cool Finds

Construction Workers Find Rare Intact Roman Tomb

‘The Tomb of the Athlete’ includes four bodies, a coin, offerings of chicken, rabbit and lamb and strigils, the symbol of Roman sportsmen

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