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Archaeology

A copy of a Greek inscription, made by laying wet paper or plaster over carved stone to create a mirror-image impression.

How an Unorthodox Scholar Uses Technology to Expose Biblical Forgeries

Deciphering ancient texts with modern tools, Michael Langlois challenges what we know about the Dead Sea Scrolls

Our ten-most read stories of the year featured the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey, mischievous felines, J.R.R. Tolkien and more.

Our Top Ten Stories of 2022

From a teen inventor to invasive fish to lost cities of the Amazon, these were our most-read articles of the year

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2022 ranged from a 2,000-year-old statue of a dog to colorful sarcophagi at Saqqara to a Qing dynasty vase.

Cool Finds

Ninety-Six Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2022

The year’s most exciting discoveries included hidden portraits by Cézanne and van Gogh, sarcophagi buried beneath Notre-Dame, and a medieval wedding ring

A team led by Laurits Skov and Benjamin Peter from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology sequenced nuclear, mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA of 13 Neanderthal individuals. From these sequences, they determined that two of the Neanderthals represent a father-daughter pair and that another two are cousins.

Fourteen Discoveries Made About Human Evolution in 2022

Smithsonian paleoanthropologists reveal the year’s most riveting findings about our close relatives and ancestors

The cave once belonged to a wealthy Jewish family before becoming a Christian pilgrimage site

What’s Within the Burial Cave Dedicated to Jesus’ Midwife?

Archaeologists in Israel are excavating the site that was popular among pilgrims more than a millennium ago

Microwear traces on a Bronze Age tool used for smoothing or polishing

New Research

Unearthed Near Stonehenge, This Toolkit Was Used for Goldwork 4,000 Years Ago

The toolkit was discovered in 1801—but until recently, researchers didn’t understand its purpose

After 30 years of research, a Greek archaeologist can tell today’s fishery biologists how bountiful the Mediterranean Sea once was.

Unearthing the Original Mediterranean Diet

An archaeologist works to find out how much fish ancient Greeks ate

Archaeologists discovered the sarcophagi beneath the floor of the Notre-Dame cathedral's transept.

Unraveling the Secrets of the Sarcophagi Found Beneath Notre-Dame Cathedral

Archaeologists are learning more about the two men buried under the iconic Paris landmark

The five-button work pants recovered from the S.S. Central America

Cool Finds

These Pants Were Pulled From an 1857 Shipwreck. Are They the World’s Oldest Jeans?

After more than a century at the bottom of the ocean, the garment fetched $114,000 at auction

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass is leading a push to repatriate the Rosetta Stone, the Dendera Zodiac and the bust of Nefertiti to Egypt.

History of Now

Who Gets to Tell the Story of Ancient Egypt?

On the eve of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, some of the country’s artifacts, from the Rosetta Stone to the bust of Nefertiti, remain overseas

Volunteers and archaeologists dug a trench to reveal more about the mysterious wooden structure emerging from the sand.

Cool Finds

Hurricanes Reveal 19th-Century Shipwreck Hidden Beneath Florida Beach

After two recent storms, a mysterious structure began to emerge

Israel isn’t the first country where fingerprints found during archaeological research have elicited curiosity and spurred questions about who left them behind.

What Fingerprints Tell Us About Jerusalem’s Ancient Artisans

In an unusual collaboration, archaeologists in Israel are working with police to analyze prints left on fifth- or sixth-century pottery shards

A photo of the necklace discovered in England, alongside a depiction of what it may have once looked like

Cool Finds

Necklace Unearthed in Medieval Woman’s Grave Is a ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime Discovery’

Researchers say the woman may have been an early Christian leader with a large fortune

Archaeologists found fruit, nuts and other snacks in the sewers beneath the Colosseum.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 1,900-Year-Old Snacks in Sewers Beneath the Colosseum

Spectators at Rome’s ancient amphitheater enjoyed olives, figs, nuts and more

Inside the wedding ring's band is an inscription in French that translates to "I hold your faith, hold mine.”

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Finds Medieval Wedding Ring in Near-Perfect Condition

Discovered five inches underground, the rare 14th-century artifact could sell for $47,000

An autonomous underwater vehicle surveying Lake Mjøsa has discovered shipwrecks, dumped ammunition and other historic artifacts.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Norway May Have Found a 700-Year-Old Shipwreck

The vessel is located 1,350 feet below the surface of Lake Mjøsa

Modern imaging technology suggests a collection of Roman coins discovered in 1713 may be authentic.

New Research

Roman Coins, Long Considered Forgeries, May Be Authentic After All

Using modern imaging technology, researchers argue that the coins were once in circulation

Police set up barrier tape in the exhibition room of the Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching.

Thieves Stole Hundreds of Celtic Coins From a German Museum

The gold coins date back to 100 B.C.E. and are worth approximately $1.7 million

The Henry VI quarter noble was minted in London between 1422 and 1427.

Cool Finds

How Did This 600-Year-Old English Coin End Up in Newfoundland?

Minted under Henry VI, it may be the oldest English coin discovered in Canada

The monkey's skeletal remains

1,700-Year-Old Monkey Skeleton Suggests Diplomatic Ties Between Mesoamerican Powers

Researchers believe the Maya gave the sacrificial female spider monkey to Teotihuacán as a gift years before relations soured

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