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Archaeology

All members of the community interviewed for this story say the indigenous groups of the region have always known about the murals and recognize them as part of their cultural heritage.

When Claims of ‘Discoveries’ in the Amazon Ring False

When news broke worldwide of an incredible find in Colombia, local experts and guides say their knowledge was misrepresented

Tollund Man was likely the victim of a human sacrifice.

What Did Tollund Man, One of Europe’s Famed Bog Bodies, Eat Before He Died?

The enigmatic, 2,400-year-old mummy’s last meal consisted of porridge and fish

The trove included around silver coins, jewelry, and other artifacts.

Amateur Metal-Detectorist Finds Viking ‘Piggy Bank’ Filled With 1,000-Year-Old Silver Coins

Unearthed on the Isle of Man, experts suspect Vikings most likely added money to the stash over time

An Egyptian-French mission found the 80-foot-long ship beneath roughly 16 feet of hard clay.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Ancient Military Vessel in Submerged Egyptian City

Prior to the foundation of Alexandria, Thônis-Heracleion served as Egypt’s greatest Mediterranean port

This fragment of the Egyptian Book of the Dead depicts the god Osiris. Two segments of a different Book of the Dead were recently reunited digitally.

Cool Finds

Fragments of Ancient Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ Reunited After Centuries

Researchers in Los Angeles realized that a linen wrapping housed in the Getty’s collections fit perfectly with a piece held in New Zealand

Researchers previously thought the cave was an 18th-century folly, or decorative structure constructed to enhance the natural landscape.

Cool Finds

Deposed Ninth-Century King May Have Called This Cave Dwelling Home

New research suggests Eardwulf of Northumbria lived in the modified structure while in exile

Known as potins, the 2,000-year-old coins were crafted out of a copper, tin and lead alloy.

Cool Finds

London Rainstorm Reveals Trove of 300 Iron Age Coins

The “once-in-a-lifetime find” includes 2,000-year-old potins featuring stylized images representing Apollo and a charging bull

The inscription represents a rare and valuable clue to the development and spread of writing systems in the region.

Cool Finds

This 3,100-Year-Old Inscription May Be Linked to a Biblical Judge

A pottery fragment found in Israel bears the name Jerubbaal—a nickname for Gideon ben Yoash, who appears in the Book of Judges

The sandstone relief is the first of its kind found at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall.

Cool Finds

Rare Carving of Nude Horseman Found at Roman Fort May Depict Mercury or Mars

A pair of amateur archaeologists discovered the sandstone relief at Vindolanda in northern England

The elaborate construction of the pool, along with artifacts discovered inside of it, points to a ceremonial purpose.

Cool Finds

3,400-Year-Old Artificial Pool in Italy May Have Hosted Religious Rituals

New research dates the wooden basin’s construction to a time of immense social change for Bronze Age people

Researchers analyzed the Sudanese landscape with a model originally created to analyze the spatial patterns of stars and galaxies.

These Medieval Islamic Tombs in Sudan Were Laid Out Like Galaxies

Some of the burials appear to be clustered around “parent” funerary mounds of seeming cultural significance

The church may be the largest ever found in Nubia.

Cool Finds

Ruins of Monumental Church Linked to Medieval Nubian Kingdom Found in Sudan

The building complex was likely the seat of Christian power for Makuria, which was once as large as France and Spain combined

Researchers say the incisors' removal may have served as an indicator of social status or membership in a specific group.

Why Are These Medieval-Era Skulls Found in Gabon Missing Their Front Teeth?

Intact, 500-year-old upper jaws discovered in an African cave bear evidence of deliberate facial modification

The opulent public building dates to between 20 and 30 A.D.

Cool Finds

Palatial, 2,000-Year-Old Public Building Revealed in Jerusalem

The grand structure, which once hosted events near the Temple Mount, will soon open to tourists

Costa Rican Minister of Culture and Youth Sylvie Durán (right) examines some of the newly returned artifacts.

Brooklyn Museum Returns 1,305 Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Costa Rica

The NYC cultural institution sent the objects to the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica as an “as an unrestricted gift”

View of the dig site in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Sand Dunes in Wales Preserved This Medieval Cemetery for Centuries

Erosion threatens to destroy the historic burial ground at Whitesands Beach in Pembrokeshire

The north-facing orientation of the grave suggests it was a pagan burial.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Sarcophagus Found in England Reveals Roman Burial Practices

A limestone coffin unearthed in Bath contains the remains of two individuals. Possible offerings to the gods were discovered nearby

A close-up image of the snake carving.

4,000-Year-Old ‘Snake Staff’ Discovered in Finland

A Stone Age shaman may have used the carving during special rituals

Ancient DNA and proteins gathered from the specimen's bones and teeth revealed the presence of Yersinia pestis.

New Research

Oldest Strain of Plague Bacteria Found in 5,000-Year-Old Human Remains

Unlike the ‘Black Death’ in the 14th century, the ancient infection probably did not spread quickly between people

Though researchers recovered most of the person's remains, experts were unable to find some portions of his skeleton.

Archaeologists Uncover a 3,000-Year-Old Shark Attack Victim

Researchers found the skeletal remains at a prehistoric hunter-gatherer cemetery in Japan

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