Archaeology

The latest digs, ideas, and discoveries about our past, from ancient cities to our prehistoric ancestors.

Latest in Archaeology

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings

The biggest medieval march in English history never actually happened

A black chess player about to win against a light-skinned cleric. Chess problem 88 in the Libro de axedrez, dados e tablas (Seville, 1283). Credit: Patrimonio Nacional. Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial

Medieval chess was more inclusive than the world around it

Close up of bronze bull head sculpture held in palm

Hiker finds 3,000-year-old bull sculpture in Spain

an illustration showing bronze age women weaaving

3,500-year-old loom tells a revolutionary tale

By Laura Baisas

two pages of an ancient book. one has text while the other has an illustration of a saint

Long-lost page from Greek manuscript discovered in French art museum

By Margherita Bassi

an ice cap in the alps. it is topped with snow, but brown spots show significant melting

Alpine glacier holds history dating back to the Romans. And it’s melting—fast.

By Nidhi Sharma

Bathymetric view of USS Monitor, looking at the stern of the wreck with the boilers and inner framework of the armor belt captured by Northrop Grumman using μSAS™.

Civil War shipwreck remains in ‘fantastic’ shape on ocean floor

two parrots with red, green, and blue feathers sitting in a tree

Ancient Andean parrot trade route stretched over 300 miles

By Laura Baisas

Shattered clay container with 100s of gold coins scattered around it

A buried jar of imperial gold coins resurfaces in Russia

Ancient Mayan water filters stopped a lot—just not mercury poisoning

purple crystals

Humans’ love of crystals goes back at least 6 million years

By Laura Baisas

Aerial photograph of the excavation area for the new fire station building on Lohagenweg in Hüllhorst. The tree cover marks the course of the source stream, which formed the basis for the construction of the former farmstead. Photo: LWL-AfW / A. Koch

2,500-year-old settlement found during fire station construction

An oil painting titled "The Pythia" by Camillo Miola, depicting the Oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece. The Pythia, a young woman in white and gold robes with a heavy gold necklace, is shown in a trance-like state, seated on a tall bronze tripod. Several priests in white tunics surround her, some holding olive branches and one taking notes on a tablet. In the foreground, two figures in ornate blue and gold robes kneel in prayer or supplication before a low stone altar. The scene is set against a deep red wall, with laurel leaves scattered across the floor and a large, dark omphalos stone visible on the left.

Ancient Greece’s most famous oracle was just high on gas fumes

By Andrew Coletti

Oval limestone with line etchings that likely represent a board game played in ancient Rome

Mystery stone is actually ancient Roman board game

an illustration of a woman wearing an ancient headdress made with antler bones, fur, and teeth

7,000-year-old deer antler headdress uncovered in Germany

By Margherita Bassi

a large goat with grey fur and large horns

Ireland’s native goats date back to Bronze Age

By Laura Baisas

Black and white photo of Iron Age mass grave bones in Serbia

One of Europe’s largest Iron Age mass graves contains mostly women and children

The Adorant figurine from Geißenklösterle Cave, approximately 38,000 years old, consists of a small ivory plate bearing an anthropomorphic figure and multiple sequences of notches and dots. The application of these marks suggests a notational system, most notably in the rows of dots on the back of the plate.

Earliest known writing dates back over 40,000 years

bones laid out in a grave

Stone Age burial ground reveals deep family trees

By Margherita Bassi

Clay footprint in Scottish beach sand

Dog walkers find 2,000-year-old footprints on beach in Scotland