Archaeology

Researchers are particularly excited about the newly discovered chess piece, which is about an inch and a half tall.

Medieval Game Pieces Unearthed Beneath a Castle in Germany

The "excellently preserved" chess knight, six-sided die and several other pieces are all about 1,000 years old

A reconstruction of the central grave in the burial mound of Eberdingen-Hochdorf, located in southwestern Germany

Ancient Celtic Elites Inherited Wealth From Their Mothers' Sides

A genetic analysis of opulent burial mounds in Germany sheds new light on how power passed through family lines

Archaeologists found amphorae, bronze jugs, bronze lamps and construction materials inside the room.

See the Stunning Shrine With Rare Blue-Painted Walls Unearthed at Pompeii

The 86-square-foot space is adorned with artworks depicting female figures and agricultural imagery

Sue O'Connor (left) and Shimona Kealy (right) study some of the artifacts found in Timor-Leste, which offer clues that early humans took a more northern path from Southeast Asia to Australia tens of thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists Discover Clues to Ancient Migration Route That Brought Humans to Australia

New research offers evidence that humans did not inhabit the island of Timor until around 44,000 years ago, suggesting it was not part of the original migration route from Southeast Asia to Australia

The 14.5-inch artifact was likely made between 900 and 1050 C.E.

Norwegian Farmer Stumbles Upon 1,000-Year-Old Viking Sword

The well-preserved artifact may belong to a special class of high-quality, engraved weapons

Components of Seahenge, or Holme I, were displayed at the British Museum in 2022.

England's Mysterious 'Seahenge' Monument May Have Been Built to Prolong Summer

One researcher thinks the structure was used for ancient rituals during a period of bitter cold

A researcher stands with a measuring tape, next to a large rock with multiple animal engravings.

130-Foot Snake Carving Slithers Through 2,000-Year-Old Rock Art Found in South America

The conspicuous reptile renderings spotted along the Orinoco River likely functioned as territorial markers, akin to pre-Colombian road signs

A 3,000-year-old canoe at the bottom of Lake Mendota

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Canoes Hidden Beneath a Wisconsin Lake

One of the vessels dates back around 4,500 years, making it the oldest ever found in the Great Lakes region

The graves were found in central France during an excavation of a site containing mostly fifth- and sixth-century development.

These 28 Horses Were Buried in an Ancient Mass Grave. How Did They Die?

Archaeologists are puzzled by the 2,000-year-old burial site uncovered in central France

American authorities rounded up all 600 of the artifacts in a single year.

Trove of 600 Looted Italian Artifacts Worth $65 Million Comes Home

The collection includes artifacts spanning the ninth century B.C.E. to the second century C.E.

Measuring more than five and a half feet long and three inches thick, the fragment represents almost an entire wall of the sarcophagus.

Ramses II's Long-Lost Sarcophagus Has Finally Been Identified

An Egyptologist recently concluded that a fragment of an overlooked granite coffin bears the great pharaoh's name

Researchers found cut marks related to cancer surgery on this ancient Egyptian skull dating back more than 4,000 years ago.

Groundbreaking Research Shows Ancient Egyptians Were Conducting Cancer Surgery Over 4,000 Years Ago

By putting an ancient skull under the microscope, scientists are proving that cancer research is about 1,000 years older than previously thought

This charcoal sketch of gladiators was drawn from memory, not imagination, researchers say.

The Children of Pompeii Saw Gladiators Fight to the Death—and They Drew Graffiti About It

Researchers recently discovered bloodshed-themed stick-figure sketches in a cluster of houses in the doomed ancient city

Marc Händel, an archaeologist with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, excavates rib bones in the wine cellar.

Austrian Man Discovers Hundreds of Mammoth Bones While Renovating His Wine Cellar

Owner Andreas Pernerstorfer thought he'd found a piece of wood, but then he remembered something his grandfather had said about finding teeth in the cellar decades ago

While two of the tombs were robbed, one was left untouched, and it contained a box full of glazed pottery, among other goods.

This Ancient Chinese Couple Was Buried in a Miniature Home

The tomb, composed of two chambers connected by a tiny door and windows, was found in a family gravesite on China's east coast containing four other burials

The soldiers fought in replicas of a suit of armor found near the ancient site of Mycenae in Greece.

Soldiers Put an Ancient Greek Suit of Armor to the Test, and It Passed

Researchers outfitted Greek marines in replicas of a Mycenaean suit and simulated combat to see if the armor was usable in its day

View of Jiigurru, where the pottery fragments were found

Oldest Known Aboriginal Pottery Discovered in Australia

Found on the island of Jiigurru, the 82 shards predate the arrival of Europeans by centuries, dating to between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago

Color-enhanced transmission electron microscope images of adenovirus, which is a common cause of respiratory illnesses. Researchers identified adenovirus remnants, as well as herpesvirus and HPV, in Neanderthal remains in a new study.

50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Bones Have Remains of Human Viruses, Scientists Find

The preliminary analysis is a first step in testing the theory that infectious diseases played a role in Neanderthals' extinction

This page from the Madrid Codex depicts the Maya honey harvest.

Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in the Yucatán Peninsula found several stone lids used by the pre-Columbian civilization to collect honey from stingless bees

This gold earring found at an Iron Age archaeological site had been stashed inside a pottery jar, which sits behind it.

Did Hannibal's Army Burn Down This Ancient Mountain Settlement?

In a scorched village in Spain, archaeologists discovered a hidden gold earring that suggests residents foresaw a coming attack around the time of the Second Punic War

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