STONES, BONES, AND WRECKS

Archaeologists Uncover 'Little Pompeii' Buried Beneath Ash in France

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

Tackney os, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Telegraph From the 'Lusitania' Has Been Recovered From the Ocean Floor

The ship sank off the Irish coast 102 years ago.

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.

9-Year-Old Boy Trips Over the Bones of a Long-Extinct Elephant Relative

"I just knew it was not something that you usually find."

Melting Glacier Reveals Bodies of Swiss Couple Missing Since 1942

They were perfectly preserved down to their 1940s attire.

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.

Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

10 Fascinating Facts About the La Brea Tar Pits

There’s a gooey time capsule in the heart of Los Angeles, left over from an era when saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, camels, and giant sloths prowled southern California.

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.

Watanabe. 2017. The Auk: Ornithological Advances.

A New Way to Tell If a Dead Duck Could Fly

One fossil expert developed a new system for classifying extinct ducks and geese.

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.

Up to 7000 Former Mental Institution Patients are Buried Beneath a Mississippi Medical Center

Academics at the University of Mississippi want to construct a new lab to study the remains and build a visitor's center and a memorial.

Archaeologists Need Your Help to Study 100+ Graves in Philadelphia

With enough funding, they will analyze—and then reinter—the remains of people buried between 1707 and 1859 in a Baptist cemetery—and mental_floss will be in the lab with them.

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