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Archaeology

The finds suggest that the islands off the coast of Abu Dhabi weren't "arid and inhospitable" thousands of years ago, but rather a "fertile coast" ripe for settlement.

The United Arab Emirates’ Earliest Buildings Are 8,500 Years Old

Found off the coast of Abu Dhabi, the structures likely served as houses for Ghagha Island’s Neolithic inhabitants

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A 5,000-Year-Old Human Bone Was Found in the River Thames

Well preserved by mud, the femur dates to Britain’s Neolithic period

Four lead ingots found in a shipwreck off the coast of Israel feature Cypro-Minoan markings but actually originated in Sardinia.

New Research

Imported Lead Ingots Offer Evidence of Complex Bronze Age Trade Networks

A new analysis of shipwrecked metals inscribed with Cypro-Minoan markings suggests the objects originated in Sardinia, some 1,550 miles away from Cyprus

The offering consisted of 164 starfish, chunks of coral, seashells, pufferfish, a resin figurine, animal bones and the skeleton of a female jaguar holding a spear in its claw.

Cool Finds

Trove of Starfish Deposited as Offering to Aztec War God Found in Mexico City

Researchers discovered 164 sea stars placed in the Templo Mayor around the turn of the 16th century

The anthropomorphic carvings represent one of the earliest examples of artistic expression in the Middle East.

Well-Preserved, 9,000-Year-Old Shrine Discovered in Jordan Desert

Researchers uncovered two standing stones featuring anthropomorphic carvings and a model of a “desert kite” used to trap wild gazelles

French culture minister officials visits the site of the discovery where an ancient human-shaped sarcophogus was found, among other objects, including sculptures, carvings and a 13th-century altar screen. 

Cool Finds

Notre-Dame Repair Crews Discover an Ancient Graveyard With a Sealed Sarcophagus

France’s culture ministry describes the finding as being “of remarkable scientific quality”

Ochre, an iron-rich rock, has been used as paint pigment by humans for hundreds of years in various applications, such as body paint, sunscreen and as a component in adhesives.  

Researchers Discover Oldest-Known Ochre Workshop in East Asia

Tools and pieces of the clay earth pigment found in northern China date to about 40,000 years old, and introduce new theories about early human migration

Artist Victor Ehikhamenor posing with his work, Still Standing, a mixed-media depiction of a Benin ruler.

New Artwork in St. Paul’s Cathedral Reckons With the British Attack on Benin 125 Years Ago

Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor’s ‘Still Standing’ sparks conversation about how to deal with colonial monuments

One of the three broken masts from the 1891 wreckage of SS Atlanta. Researchers discovered the ship at the bottom of Michigan's Lake Superior last summer.

Well-Preserved, 131-Year-Old Shipwreck Found in Lake Superior

Researchers discovered the S.S. “Atlanta” last summer while using sonar to map 2,500 miles of the seabed

Further analysis of bones collected from the Bluefish Caves in Yukon is expanding scientists’ understanding of what early Americans were up to

What Were Humans Doing in the Yukon 24,000 Years Ago?

Scientists have examined remains from caves and think the shelters served as temporary camps for hunters who targeted horses

Researchers discovered the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, the team announced this week. The ship was last seen by Shackleton's crew in 1915 before it slipped under the icy surface. 

Cool Finds

Wreck of Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Discovered in Icy Antarctic Depths

Researchers captured stunning photographs of the century-old wreck, still intact almost two miles beneath the waters of the Weddell Sea

Votive offering found at the Sikait site

Did Ancient Nomads Seize Control of a Roman Emerald Mine in Egypt?

Recent excavations suggest the Blemmyes assumed power of the Sikait mining site between the fourth and sixth centuries C.E.

This rare stone covered in carved Pictish symbols is one of just 200 stones like it that have been discovered.

Rare Stone With Pictish Symbols Discovered in Scotland

Unearthed in a farmer’s field, the monument is one of only 200 of its kind known to exist

A 14th-century gold coin found by a metal detectorist in England sold for $185,000 at auction on Tuesday.

Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths Rare 14th-Century Gold Coin

The leopard florin was minted in 1344 and is one of just five of its kind known to survive today

Researchers discovered a 50-foot stucco frieze in the ancient archeological site of Atzompa in Monte Albán, Mexico.

Researchers Decipher the Glyphs on a 1,300-Year-Old Frieze in Mexico

The 50-foot-long limestone and stucco relief contains one of the lengthiest examples of Zapotec writing in the Oaxaca Valley

The largest cache of embalming vessels discovered in Egypt included pots containing resins, oils and myrrh.

These Ancient Egyptian Artifacts Reveal New Details on the Mummification Process

Archaeologists discover a large cache of ceramic pots from the sixth century B.C.E. containing resins, oils and myrrh used for embalming

The mummified remains of eight children, who may have been sacrificed, was found near the tomb of an elite individual of pre-Incan society.

Cool Finds

Eight Mummified Children Found in Peru May Have Been Sacrificed in an Ancient Funeral Ritual

The remains were discovered in the tomb of an elite member of a pre-Inca city buried 1,200 years ago

Crew members of the Endurance enjoy a quick game of soccer while on a three-year Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition in 1915. The 144-foot ship sank in the Anarctic Ocean that same year.

Track Marine Archaeologists Searching Icy Antarctic Seas for Ernest Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’

A team aboard a modern icebreaker will survey the site with state-of-the-art underwater drones in hopes of finding the historic vessel

Archaeologists found a 5,300 year old skull, possibly from an elderly woman, that showed signs of early ear surgery.

Cool Finds

5,300-Year-Old Skull Offers Earliest Known Evidence of Ear Surgery

Bone growth suggests the patient survived the procedure, which was likely conducted to treat an infection

The chamber pot stands about 12.5 inches tall and measures 13.5 inches wide at the rim.

New Research

Parasite Eggs Help Archaeologists Identify Ancient Roman Chamber Pot

The ceramic vessel contained whipworm eggs found in human feces, debunking the theory that it simply served as a storage jar

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