A basilica built by the pioneering Roman architect Vitruvius has been rediscovered in the city of Fano, in the Le Marche region of Italy. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was born in Fanum Fortunae (modern-day Fano) in the 1st century BC and…
Analysis of quartz arrowheads from South Africa reveals that they may represent the earliest use of poison arrows in hunting. Researchers from Sweden and South Africa carried out gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of ten microliths discovered in the Umhlatuzana…
Singapore’s first shipwreck Underwater excavations have uncovered the first ancient shipwreck to be found in Singapore. The vessel, known as the Temasek Wreck, underwent several stages of investigation between 2016 and 2019, and the results of the research have now…
This Viking Age figurine depicts… a man with a shrewd expression. What is it? This Viking Age figurine, which is just c.40mm tall, depicts the head and torso of a man with a shrewd expression and a distinctive hairstyle featuring…
The walls of Pompeii are littered with messages left behind by the city’s inhabitants two millennia ago. Recent research is shedding new light on one of the richest concentrations of these ancient inscriptions.
Archaeologists from Swedish National Historical Museums have uncovered an unusual and remarkably well-preserved dog burial believed to date to c.5,000 years ago at a site in Logsjömossen, near Järna, south-west of Stockholm. Excavations revealed the remains of a large male…
Archaeologists have revealed that humans were making fire 350,000 years earlier than previously known. Opportunistic use of wildfire, usually created by lightning strikes, is likely to have developed over a million years ago, but – until now – the earliest…
Investigations at Aguada Fénix, in the lowlands of Tabasco, south-east Mexico, are uncovering evidence of a vast ritual complex constructed c.3,000 years ago. The site was first discovered via LiDAR in 2017, and initial explorations uncovered a large artificial platform…
A collection of undersea constructions dating to the end of the Mesolithic period has been discovered off the coast of France near Île de Sein, Brittany. A total of 11 submerged structures were identified through analysis of a LiDAR survey…
An intriguing woman’s grave has been discovered in Bjugn, in Trøndelag County, Norway. Researchers were alerted to the burial by a metal-detectorist who came across an oval brooch of a style typical for the Viking Age and the centuries before.…
A changing Rome Maria Barosso is an unsung heroine in Rome’s archaeological story. An extraordinary new exhibition in the Museo Centrale Montemartini provides a flavour of her work as a functionary in the Direzione Generale Antichità e Belle Arti. Born…
Across 7 Name given to human fossils discovered in Indonesia in the late 19th century (4,3)8 Culture of coastal communities in Peru from c.900-100 BC (7)10 Semi-precious stone used since the Neolithic (4)11 Chalcolithic to Roman site east of Ankara…
The ewer is the largest surviving bronze vessel made in medieval England. What is it? This medieval vessel, known as the Asante Ewer, is a large bronze jug with a pear-shaped body, long neck, and triangular spout; it has a…
The world’s most comprehensive collection devoted to ancient Egyptian civilisation has opened its doors in full. Tony Field reflects on his visit to the new museum in Giza.
The ruins of ancient Phaselis occupy a striking setting on the Mediterranean shore. Matthew Symonds visited to find out more.
REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH The Altai region of western Mongolia has long been considered marginal in broader Eurasian archaeological narratives. In this book, William Fitzhugh and Richard Kortum build a compelling case for the region’s centrality in the evolution of…
REVIEW BY ANDREW SELKIRK The Roman province of Africa was famed as being the ‘breadbasket’ of the ancient city, for Africa produced the huge quantities of grain needed to feed the plebs of Rome. But why was this region so…
REVIEW BY ADAM KLUPS Are Muslims native to Europe? Should Islam, in a historical and cultural sense, be considered an indigenous European religion? Readers who believe they already know the answers to these questions may find themselves reconsidering after accompanying…
The art and artefacts of ancient Egypt are still familiar around the world, but how much do we know about the people who created these objects? Matthew Symonds spoke to Helen Strudwick about the makers of ancient Egypt.
Aarhus offers a fascinating example of how university museums can reflect research agendas, as Vinnie Nørskov and Rubina Raja explain.