Earliest evidence of Yersinia pestis? As DNA analysis of human remains continues to expand, evidence is mounting that Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague, has been ravaging human populations for millennia. Now a new study has identified the…
New insights into the Plain of Jars in Laos Xieng Khouang Plateau in northern Laos is dotted with hundreds of ancient stone jars. While they have been the subject of archaeological investigations for over a century, their full use and…
Unusual religious monument uncovered in Egypt Excavations at the ancient Egyptian port city of Pelusium (modern-day Tell el-Farama) have uncovered the remains of a unique 2,000-year-old temple that is believed to have been dedicated to the local deity Pelusius. Archaeologists…
Iron age mining rituals in Germany Evidence of Iron Age ceremonial activity associated with quartz mining has been discovered at the Bruchhauser Steine, a prominent rock formation in the Sauerland region of western Germany. This natural landmark comprises four massive…
Africa’s oldest cremation? Archaeological investigations in the shadow of Mount Hora, in northern Malawi, have revealed the oldest evidence for human cremation yet found in Africa. The burial, which dates to c.9,500 years ago, was discovered at a rock-shelter site…
Mesolithic structures identified off the coast of France A series of 11 submerged structures has been found off the coast of France, near Île de Sein in Brittany. They are believed to date to the Mesolithic period and were first…
New Kingdom fortress found Excavations at the site of Tell el-Kharouba in North Sinai, Egypt, have uncovered the remains of a large military fortress dating to the New Kingdom period, c.1550-1070 BC. The fortification’s southern wall and narrow entrance, as…
Mass graves and migration in Neolithic France Recent isotopic analysis of human remains from Neolithic mass graves found at Bergheim and Achenheim in Alsace, France, have shed new light on the life histories of these individuals. Each pit was found…
Stone tools on Sulawesi Excavations at a site called Calio, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, have found new evidence of the island’s occupation by early hominin species. Carried out between 2019 and 2022 by a joint team from Indonesia…
Large Iron Age settlement found in Czechia Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a large settlement dating to between the 3rd and 1st century BC in the Hradec Králové region of north-east Bohemia, Czechia. First discovered in 2023 during investigations…
‘Venus’ found in Poland The Museum of Polish Arms has conducted new research into a small limestone statuette, which was first discovered in Kołobrzeg in 2022. The team found that the object, which they have dubbed the ‘Venus of Kołobrzeg’,…
‘Dragon Man’ was Denisovan? New palaeoproteomic and DNA evidence suggests that ‘Dragon Man’ – a hominin cranium first discovered in the 1930s near Harbin in north-east China – is not a new species as had previously been hypothesised but is…
Dionysian frieze discovered in Pompeii Ongoing excavations of a grand domus in Pompeii’s Insula 10, Regio IX, have revealed a series of spectacular finds, including a dining room decorated with scenes from the Trojan War (CA 412), a lararium or…
Roman battlefield burial uncovered A mass grave was discovered in autumn last year during construction work being carried out in Simmering, a district of Vienna, Austria. The subsequent excavation of the site uncovered around 150 individuals buried within a 5m…
New light on Danish sun stones Hundreds of stone plaquettes from two Neolithic enclosure sites on the Danish island of Bornholm have been linked to the eruption of a volcano almost 5,000 years ago. The plaquettes, which are commonly engraved…
Earliest archaeological evidence of silk in China Mineralised fabric remnants found in pits at a Bronze Age burial site in the Sichuan Basin, south-western China, have undergone specialist analysis which has identified them as silk. The Sanxingdui settlement is believed…
Neolithic site uncovered in Sweden Archaeologists working in the Swedish village of Hammar have excavated the remains of a unique ceremonial site associated with the Funnel Beaker Culture. A large number of finds from the site, which is located on…
East Africa’s earliest farming Excavations in Kenya have uncovered equatorial east Africa’s earliest evidence for plant farming. Working in Kakapel Rockshelter in the Lake Victoria Basin, archaeologists have discovered remnants of the legume crop cowpea (black-eyed pea) in a hearth,…
Culinary traditions of central Europe A new study in Germany has analysed the fat residues in a collection of over 100 pottery vessels from various sites across Europe, all of which date to between 5450 and 1000 BC. The results…
Mass horse burial in central France The remains of 37 horses have been recovered from 14 pits in Villedieu-sur-Indre. The horses date back 2,000 years, and have all been identified as fully grown stallions. Archaeologists have made various suggestions as…
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…
Ritual practices in prehistoric Poland A considerable number of large Bronze Age and early Iron Age artefacts have been unearthed by archaeologists in a dried-up lakebed at the site of Papowo Biskupie in north-central Poland. It is believed that members…
Rare tomb found in Naples A rare underground funerary chamber was recently found during excavations in advance of the laying of a water pipeline in northern Naples, Italy. Measuring 3m by 4m, the walls of the chamber are completely covered…
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…
Earliest engravings? A series of marks, found in the La Roche-Cotard cave on the north bank of the Loire River in France, could be the earliest examples of Neanderthal engravings yet found. Surveys of the cave walls in 2013 and…
Cooking curries in Vietnam 2,000 years ago Microscopic analysis of plant remains from 12 grinding stone tools found at the site of Óc Eo, in southern Vietnam, has provided new insight into the spice trade in the region between 2,000…
News touching on CT scans of the mummified remains of Pharaoh Seqenenre-Taa-II (c.1558-1553 BC), a mistake uncovered on 800-year-old wall paintings in a cave in China, and a new theory concerning the domestication of dogs by early humans in Eurasia.