This year’s Top 10 Discoveries reach us from vastly different cultures and across eons. Some raise new questions about what it means to be human and what separates us from our species’ relatives. Others bring us face to face with… Continue Reading
The Ancient Egyptian papyrus Cairo 86637 calendar is the oldest preserved historical document of naked eye observations of a variable star, the eclipsing binary Algol — a manifestation of Horus, a god and a king. This calendar contains lucky or… Continue Reading
Only the bas-relief bull and serpent-dragon gods were present to see the two flak-jacketed German surveyors and their security guards painstakingly moving laser equipment through Iraq’s most famous archaeological site, the ruins of ancient Babylon. Nervous about working in a… Continue Reading
As the terrorist group ISIS is pushed out of northern Iraq, archaeologists are resuming work in the region, making new discoveries and figuring out how to conserve archaeological sites and reclaim looted antiquities. Several discoveries, including new Neanderthal skeletal remains,… Continue Reading
A nationally significant discovery of Viking treasure dating from the 9th century was unveiled yesterday at London’s British Museum. The hoard of silver coins and jewelry found in a farmer’s field by a metal detector hobbyist has the potential to… Continue Reading
A team of geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen’s University Belfast has sequenced the first genomes from ancient Irish humans, and the information buried within is already answering pivotal questions about the origins of Ireland’s people and… Continue Reading
A team of archaeologists, working on the acropolis at the foothills of Feneos have excavated the ruis of an ancient Greek healing temple, which includes several huge statues at an altitude of 750m. The asclepion (a healing temple sacred to… Continue Reading
The sarcophagus of Ankh-f-n-khonsu, a high priest of ancient Egyptian god Amun Ra, has been unearthed in the west bank of Luxor, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al Damaty announced Thursday. The sarcophagus, which dates back to the 22nd Dynasty (943B.C-716B.C.,) was… Continue Reading
About 1,300 years ago, a Jewish sorcerer arrived in the Muslim town of Jerash in Jordan. Local Muslims saw that his magic was old and powerful and that he was desperately in need of their help. ‘Magical’ silver scroll virtually… Continue Reading
An ancient marble altar showing a nude warrior battling a serpent monster has been discovered by villagers near the Akçay River in Turkey. Archaeologists said the altar likely dates to the second century A.D., a time when the Roman Empire… Continue Reading