DNA analysis of human remains from a mass burial at Chichén Itzá in Mexico is revealing new details about the ritual practices of the ancient Maya, as well as their genetic links to modern populations. In 1967, the remains of…
Researchers working in Venezuela and Colombia are documenting some of the largest prehistoric rock engravings in world. Amy Brunskill spoke to Philip Riris, who led the research, to find out more.
REVIEW BY DENNIS B BLANTON This new book from William Kelso is in the tradition of popularised portrayals of archaeological discoveries linked to the ‘Virginia adventure’. Beginning in the 1960s, Ivor Noël Hume published several evocative, book-length accounts of studies…
An exhibition at the Getty Villa Museum brings together painted vessels from three major ceramic traditions to explore these dynamic objects and the stories they tell.
Everyone has a story to tell. So do warships. The saga of the USS The Sullivans, which was launched in April 1943, is still making headlines today. The Fletcher-class destroyer is one of three decommissioned World War II- era naval…
Archaeologists have found the remains of a Revolutionary War-era barracks near the Colonial Williamsburg visitor centre in Virginia. The discovery was made during construction of a new indoor sportsground near to the centre last summer. Colonial Williamsburg is a 300-acre…
Excavations in the highlands of northern Peru have identified a circular plaza that may be among the earliest examples of monumental megalithic architecture in the Americas. The Callacpuma archaeological site, located in the Cajamarca Basin, has been the subject of…
In this image, a diver surveys one of the five cannon found during an archaeological exploration in Dry Tortugas National Park, off the south-west coast of Florida. The cannon played a crucial role in confirming that a nearby wreck, first…
Around 100,000 soldiers lost their lives when two of South America’s poorest countries went to war over a vast area of untamed wilderness. Edmund West goes in search of Paraguay’s heart of darkness.
Roman residence revealed A remarkably preserved domus, dating to the late Republican period, has been excavated in Rome between the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. First discovered in 2018, the site – which has been named the Domus del…
Recent archaeological investigations at the Castle Rock settlement complex, in the Mesa Verde region, have revealed new information about the Ancestral Pueblo community who lived here. Radosław Palonka, who led the research, tells us more.
A 1,700-year-old tomb belonging to a previously unknown Maya ruler has been discovered in northern Guatemala. The site of Chochkitam – a medium- sized Maya city with a monumental centre covering an area of c.1km2 – has been known since…
The existence of Rongorongo, the complex writing system used by the historic inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), was first documented by Europeans in 1864, but by the end of the 19th century the script had fallen out of use,…
Amid the turmoil of the American Indian wars, a tiny band of US Army irregulars held out against a far larger force of Native American warriors. Fred Chiaventone tells the remarkable story of Major George Forsyth’s desperate last stand on an island in the Arikaree River.
In this image, the newly constructed glass noses of several dozen A-20 ‘Havoc’ bombers shimmer under the factory lights at the Douglas Aircraft Company’s production plant in Long Beach, California. The picture was taken in October 1942 by Alfred Palmer,…
Archaeological survey of ice patches in the Mount Edziza Provincial Park, Tahltan Territory, British Columbia, Canada, has identified an array of perishable artefacts associated with ancient obsidian mining dating back thousands of years. Exploitation and trade of Mount Edziza obsidian…
A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York examines
the artistic and cultural relationships between medieval Africa and Byzantium.
Excavations at the archaeological site of Pachacámac, near Lima, have uncovered a remarkable collection of well-preserved burial bundles dating to the time of the Wari Empire (AD 800-1100). Pachacámac, which was occupied from c.200 BC up to the Early Colonial…
David Porter on Military History's doomed inventions.
Reviewing the best Military History Exhibitions with Christopher Warner
REVIEW BY COLIN POMEROY Luck of the Draw, which has just been adapted by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks into the new television series Masters of the Air, is in effect the autobiography of the late Frank Murphy. It tells…
Hundreds of relics from the American Civil War have been recovered from the Congaree River in Columbia, South Carolina. The artefacts, which included some live ordnance, were removed during an extensive clean-up operation of the river which concluded last autumn.…
As the British Museum launches its first permanent display dedicated to the cultures of Peru and the Andes, Carly Hilts visited to find out more.
Ancient Alaskan house uncovered Excavations on the shore of Karluk Lake on Kodiak Island in Alaska have revealed a 3,000-year-old ancestral Alutiiq house, so well preserved that woven grass mats were still present on the floor. The house was found…
Analysis of paper money produced by Benjamin Franklin is shedding new light on the monetary history of Colonial-era America.
Excavations at a site in Alaska have uncovered an ancestral Alutiiq house frozen in time by a fire 3,000 years ago, complete with rarely preserved woven grass mats on the floor. The Nunallerpiaq site sits on the shore of Karluk…
Considered by many the finest cavalry officer of the American Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest was also responsible for one of its worst atrocities. Edmund West examines a troubling legacy.
Taylor Downing reviews two war films linked by a common theme
REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted the appearance of several books, setting the war in its historical context. This is the first study, however, to view the conflict in the long-term perspective of military history since…
Haunting new images have been revealed of shipwrecks caused by one of the most significant naval battles of the Second World War. The Battle of Midway, fought on 4 June 1942, saw the United States Navy inflict a crippling blow…
REVIEW BY META F JANOWITZ Archaeologists who work in New York City often get incredulous looks from people who ask about their careers: You work where? There’s archaeology in NYC? New York City is famous for many things, perhaps especially…
REVIEW BY EMILY C KRACHT Lucayan Legacies evaluates the lives of the early Indigenous peoples in the Bahama archipelago and celebrates their legacy, identity, and descendants today. The book presents one of the most comprehensive discussions of Bahamian archaeology to…
Reviewing the best Military History Exhibitions with Christopher Warner.
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
TAYLOR DOWNING reviews the latest film releases.
Carly Hilts reviews the latest outing of cinema’s most celebrated archaeologist.