Archeology

A drought revealed a palace thousands of years old submerged in an Iraq reservoir

Excavation of a submerged reservoir leads to the discovery of an ancient palace known as Kemune. 

Pontius Pilate’s Name Is Found on 2,000-Year-Old Ring

The ring was discovered in the late 1960s, but it was not until recently that researchers, analyzing those objects with advanced photography, were able to decipher the ring’s inscription.

Remains of Black People Forced Into Labor After Slavery Are Discovered in Texas

A historic cemetery was discovered on the construction site of a new school outside Houston. 

Of Maize and Men: Humans Have Been Baking Bread for 15,000 Years

Archaeologist Amaia Arranz-Otaegui and colleagues found crumbs in the ancient fireplaces of a Natufian hunter-gatherer site believed to date between 14,600 and 11,600 years ago.

Pompeii excavation project reveals secrets

In the last year archaeologists have made stunning discoveries at Pompeii thanks to a multi-million dollar subvention from the EU.

Sarcophagus Found. Contents Unknown. (‘No Guessing, Please.’)

The discovery of the sarcophagus on a construction site last month was a rare find in Alexandria, a fabled port city where most traces of Egypt’s ancient civilizations have crumbled into the waves or lie buried beneath urban sprawl.

Secrets of the Neanderthals: collaborative, intelligent hunters

With an analysis of prehistoric animal remains from Germany, we can deduce that Neanderthals were capable of sophisticated and collaborative hunting strategies.

Ritual Child Sacrifice Uncovered in Bronze Age Turkey

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that at least 11 children and young people were killed as a result of ritualistic sacrifice between 3100 and 2800 B.C.E.

Newly Discovered ‘Limb Pit’ Reveals Civil War Surgeons’ Bitter Choices

Two skeletons and the remains of 11 amputated limbs are leading to new knowledge of combat injuries and medical practices on long-ago battlefields.

How a Chinese Manuscript Written 2,300 Years Ago Ended Up in Washington

Written 2,300 years ago, it is a Chinese version of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with text that swirls like the stars through the firmament and describes the relationship between humans and heaven.

He Fled the Ash That Buried Pompeii, Only to Be Crushed by a Rock

Archaeologists in Italy found the skeleton of a man protruding from a huge block of stone, almost 2,000 years after he died.

Archaeologists are rewriting the history of Arabia

How strange rocks—and an obscure language—are changing a decades-old academic consensus.

Remains of ancient horse discovered at Pompeii

For the first time ever, archaeologists have been able to cast the complete figure of a horse that perished in the volcanic eruption at Pompeii.

Scrolls found inside statue of Buddha in Nara

Officials from the Nara National Museum conducted a scientific probe of the 73-centimeter-high piece using a CT scanner. They discovered a hollow space stretching from top to bottom.

A Mummy Turned Up in Iran. Could It Be the Former Shah?

Are these the remains of Reza Shah Pahlavi?

Neanderthals May Have Gone Extinct Due to Their Brain Shape

A complicated technique called computational neuroanatomy allowed these scientists to produce detailed 3D models of Neanderthal brains using data from four Neanderthal skulls.

Bone’s Marks Suggest a Cannibal Ritual in Ancient Britain

Researchers have found a zigzag pattern on a human arm bone that might have been engraved as part of a cannibalistic funeral ritual 15,000 years ago.

The lost home of Jesus' apostles has just been found, archaeologists say

Archaeologists believe Julias, the home of Jesus' apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip, was located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Who Gets to Own Iraq’s Religious Heritage?

by Sigal Samuel

An archeologist on cultural preservation in the shadow of ISIS

Tomb Robbing, Perilous but Alluring, Makes Comeback in China

In 2016, China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage reported 103 tomb-raiding and cultural relic theft cases.