ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists Discover Tomb of 'Chinese Shakespeare' Tang Xianzu

Just like the English Bard, Tang died in 1616, and he also penned dramatic works and romances.

Archaeologists Find Italy's Earliest Wine—And It's Thousands of Years Older Than We Thought

File drinking Italian wine under "ancient tradition." Really, really ancient.

Royal Institution of Cornwall. Photo taken by Anna Tyacke, Cornwall Finds Liaison Officer, Portable Antiquities Scheme, British Museum

English Hobbyists with Metal Detectors Discover Roman Coin Hoard in Farmer's Field

The currency, which dates from 253 CE to 274 CE, consists of bronze and a small amount of silver.

Researchers Find 100-Year-Old Antarctic Fruitcake in 'Excellent Condition'

Yum.

Jim Forest, Flickr Creative Commons // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Scientists Devise Clever Way to Test Old Manuscripts’ DNA

Barred from taking parchment samples, researchers resorted to analyzing the crumbs left behind after archivists cleaned the paper.

Oblique cuts in the bottom third of the legs of a medieval skeleton found in Portugal.

Archaeologists Make Rare, Gruesome Find in Portugal

A team recently excavated three graves located at the edge of a medieval cemetery.

Archaeologists Uncover 'Little Pompeii' Buried Beneath Ash in France

A whole neighborhood has been preserved in a pristine state for nearly 2000 years.

Did the Romans Ever Conduct Archaeological Expeditions In Search of Ancient Artifacts?

They were interested in learning about the past, but the idea of systematically looking around for the unknown wasn’t really on their radar.

Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern

A 3500-Year-Old ‘Lunch Box’ Discovered in Switzerland Once Contained Bronze Age Cereal

The find could help experts learn more about how farming developed in Europe during the Bronze Age.

A Chinese Museum Is Offering Cash to Whoever Can Decipher These 3000-Year-Old Inscriptions

The National Museum of Chinese Writing will pay about $15,000 for each unknown character translated, and $7500 for a disputed character’s definitive meaning.

8 New Ancient Ships Found at the 'Shipwreck Capital of the World'

There are now 53 known shipwrecks off the coast of Fourni, Greece.

Watch Conservationists Disassemble World's Largest Known Celtic Coin Hoard

Experts spent three years dismantling the pile of 70,000 coins piece by piece.

The Discovery of a Skull Tower Has Archaeologists Rethinking Aztec Human Sacrifice

Experts were surprised to find that the structure contained the bones of women and children.

Dogs Join the Search for Amelia Earhart’s Remains

The National Geographic Society has paid to send forensic dogs to the island of Nikumaroro.

Archaeologists May Have Unearthed the Oldest Toilet in Denmark

Something is poopy in the state of Denmark.

6 Archaeological Finds Made by Badgers

Archaeology badger don’t care if it's mucking up our knowledge of the ancient past.

Medieval Sword Discovered in Polish Peat Bog

Long ago, an unlucky knight lost either his weapon or his very life.

Michael Cordonsky and Noa Evron, Tel Aviv University

Archaeologists Uncover an Ancient Soldier’s Request: 'Send Wine'

The text remained invisible until this year, even though the clay was on display in the Israel Museum.

Three Viking Boat Burials Discovered in Three Days in Iceland

On day one, the archaeologists excitedly announced the discovery of a ship. And then came days two and three.

4 Amazing Archaeological Discoveries Spotted by Satellite

The view from above—sometimes way above—has revealed lost cities, forgotten pyramids, and ancient trading routes.

100 Years After It Sank, This Coast Guard Ship Will Remain in Its Watery Grave

The USCGC McCulloch was part of the Asiatic Squadron, a group of U.S. Navy warships that fought in the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay.

The front (left) and back (right) of a 3000-year-old copper mask. Small holes near the edges suggest the mask could have been attached with threads. Someone tried to repair the fracture near the left eye—note the holes near it.

Rainy Season in the Andes Reveals the Oldest Known Copper Death Mask

Its discovery complicates the long-standing idea that metalworking began on the continent in Peru.

The Enduring Mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism

A strange calculation machine from an ancient Roman shipwreck is still unlocking its secrets.

Two views of an adult Homo naledi cranium found in the Lesedi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the remains of 15 individuals were discovered in a different cave in 2013.

Puzzling Human Relative Homo Naledi May Have Lived at the Same Time as Our Ancestors

Scientists date the intriguing hominin remains to 335,000–236,000 years ago—and find three more bodies.

PREV NEXT