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A fragment of marble column dating to the fifth century b.c. unearthed at the site of Casas del Turuñuelo in southwestern Spain is believed to be part of the oldest Greek altar ever found in the western Mediterranean, according to the Greek Reporter. First discovered a decade ago, Turuñuelo was founded by the enigmatic Iron Age Tartessian culture, which flourished in southern Iberia between the eighth and fifth centuries b.c. Analysis of the marble stone indicated that it was quarried from the island of Maramara, in present-day Turkey. Lead archaeologists Esther Rodríguez González and Sebastián Celestino Pérez said that while...

Over 1,000 years ago, Norse explorers reached North America from Greenland, centuries before Christopher Columbus. Join historian Dan Snow as he explores how ancient Viking sagas about the discoveries of legendary Norse explorer Leif Erikson offer clues to where these intrepid adventurers may have landed. This clip is from The Vikings Uncovered (2016). What The Viking Sagas Reveal About Who Really Discovered America | 3:58BBC Timestamp | 853K subscribers | 68,830 views | July 8, 2025

Underwater archaeologists located the remains of a Roman-era breakwater at the site of the ancient harbor of Misenum on the Bay of Naples, according to the Greek Reporter. The team from the Underwater Archaeology Office of the Archaeological Superintendency for the Metropolitan Area of ​​Naples was at first puzzled by the a six-foot-high collection of carved blocks, sculptural fragments, columns, and architectural elements that they found lying on the seafloor. They soon realized, though, that these were not part of a building collapse. Rather, the materials had been recycled and intentionally stacked to form a structure measuring 295 feet long...

Built in the third century b.c., the Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Reaching a height of 330 feet, it was one of the world's tallest man-made structures for centuries until it was toppled by earthquakes around the fourteenth century. Its ruins were rediscovered by underwater archaeologists beneath Alexandria harbor in 1994. Now, according to a statement released by La Fondation Dassault Systèmes, a team from the French National Center for Scientific Research has lifted 22 of the monument's massive submerged blocks from the seafloor. These include monumental door lintels and jambs that...

The ancient city of Arles, once a major commercial hub in the Roman Empire, still holds many secrets. Some of them are buried in the bed of the Rhône. Little by little, working in complete darkness, archaeologists and scuba divers are braving its treacherous currents to uncover the remains of a mysterious Roman shipwreck and its cargo. For fear of looters, they work in total secrecy. Their investigations lead us to the 4th century AD – the golden age of the city of Arles and a time of great upheaval in the Roman Empire. During this period, the Empire switched...

According to a statement released by The Australian National University (ANU), researchers have identified the earliest known evidence of rice in the Pacific Islands. Rice was originally domesticated in central China 9,000 years ago, but it took thousands of years for it to reach the Marianas Island in western Micronesia. Phytolith analysis of microscopic plant debris found on pottery from the Ritidian Beach Cave in northern Guam indicated that rice arrived there at least 3,500 years ago. Previously, the earliest known evidence of rice in the remote Pacific dated to between 1,000 and 700 years ago, so this discovery pushes...

Known by the scientific name Vanilla tahitensis, Tahitian vanilla is found to exist only in cultivation; natural, wild populations of the orchid have never been encountered... "All the evidence points in the same direction," Lubinsky said. "Our DNA analysis corroborates what the historical sources say, namely, that vanilla was a trade item brought to Tahiti by French sailors in the mid-19th century. The French Admiral responsible for introducing vanilla to Tahiti, Alphonse Hamelin, used vanilla cuttings from the Philippines. The historical record tells us that vanilla – which isn't native to the Philippines – was previously introduced to the region...

Human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, reported in 2021, show that human activity occurred in the Americas as long as 23,000 years ago – about 10,000 years earlier than previously thought. A new U of A study supports the 2021 findings. Credit: David Bustos/White Sands National Park ====================================================================== Evidence buried in gypsum dunes suggests humans arrived far earlier than expected. Radiocarbon dates from three materials agree. Vance Holliday quickly accepted an invitation to do geological research at White Sands in New Mexico. The area, located just west of Alamogordo, is known for its surreal landscape—endless rolling...

Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,200 year-old shipwreck in the Mediterranean sea that sank after it was hit by falling blocks as the temple of Amun was destroyed in an earthquake. The wreck was discovered - along with the remains of a funerary area - underneath the ancient city of Heracleion, which fell into the water after it was destroyed by earthquakes nearly 1,200 years ago. Experts have noted that the ship, known as a fast galley, is 25 meters (82ft) long and its body was built with a flat keel, something that was common for navigating the Nile River and...

More ingots of orichalcum, the ancient metal that was purported to be mined at the mythical island of Atlantis, have emerged from the seas of Sicily.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The divers descended 410 feet into the Mediterranean off Italy, shining bright lights on a ship that sank thousands of years ago. A sea-crusted anchor rested amid piles of terra cotta jars traditionally used to carry wine, olive oil and other cargo.

A Greek and international team of divers and archaeologists has retrieved stunning new finds from an ancient Greek ship that sank more than 2,000 years ago off the remote island of Antikythera. The rescued antiquities include tableware, ship components, and a giant bronze spear that would have belonged to a life-sized warrior statue. The Antikythera wreck was first discovered in 1900 by sponge divers who were blown off course by a storm. They subsequently recovered a spectacular haul of ancient treasure including bronze and marble statues, jewellery, furniture, luxury glassware, and the surprisingly complex Antikythera Mechanism. But they were forced...

Travel back 20,000 years into the last Ice Age, to a time when the upper reaches of the Blue Mountains were treeless and the ridgelines and mountain peaks laden in snow and ice. At an elevation of 1,073 meters, you will find Dargan Shelter, an ancient rock shelter resembling a large amphitheater. Looking around, you could easily assume this cold and barren high country was too difficult for people to spend time in. But our new research, published in Nature Human Behaviour, indicates Dargan Shelter was occupied as early as the last Ice Age and repeatedly visited during this cold...

It has long been thought that Australia's Eastern Highlands acted as a barrier to human settlement during the last Ice Age. The treeless and frozen landscape was considered too inhospitable for people to live there, even temporarily. According to a report in The Guardian, however, new research conducted by Australian Museum, the University of Sydney, and the Australian National University in collaboration with First Nations community members indicates that this was not the case. During recent excavations at the Dargan Shelter in the Blue Mountains led by Dharug custodian and knowledge holder Wayne Brennan and archaeologist Amy Mosig Way of...

New research reveals that our extinct Neanderthal relatives were surprisingly savvy navigators who used river valleys to zip across continents in record time. Computer simulations show they could cross from western Russia to Siberia in as little as 1,600 years, a prehistoric speed record that shows the efficiency of their migration skills.A new study published in PLOS One reveals that Neanderthals could have traveled from the Caucasus Mountains to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the blink of an eye in prehistoric terms. Using sophisticated computer simulations that model ancient migration patterns, researchers from New York University discovered that these...

A recent study published last year in the journal Cell has identified the ancient origins of a genetic mutation that confers resistance to HIV, and how it first appeared in an individual who lived near the Black Sea between 6,700 and 9,000 years ago. Named CCR5 delta 32, the uncommon genetic variant disables a key immune protein used by a large majority of strains of the HIV virus to enter human cells and therefore "locks out" the virus in individuals who carry two copies of the mutation.HIV is a relatively new disease. It was only identified in the last century,...

Recent archaeological research at the El Cerrón site in Illescas, Toledo, is reshaping traditional views of ancient Carpetania, a central Iberian region long considered culturally marginal. A study led by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid researcher Pablo Sánchez de Oro, published in the journal Antiquity, introduces firm evidence to propose that Carpetania's local elite were actively involved in Mediterranean trade and cultural networks throughout the Late Iron Age (4th–1st centuries BCE).At the center of this find is a stunning terracotta relief discovered in Structure 2, which has been interpreted by archaeologists as a sanctuary. The artifact depicts a procession that includes...

Last year, Irish archaeologists working at a fort on the Drumanagh promontory north of Dublin uncovered a 2,000-year-old charred fig, the oldest evidence of the exotic Mediterranean fruit ever found on the island. RTE Ireland reports that they recently made another remarkable discovery -- an intact Roman pot. Although the Roman Empire's boundaries enveloped much of Europe, they never reached Ireland. That did not mean, however, that Roman influence and goods did not land on the Emerald Isle. Previous archaeological work at Drumanagh has demonstrated that although there was not a settlement located there, people with a Roman background or...

Whales, as the largest mammals on Earth, have long been an important resource for human societies, whether it be for food, oil, or other materials. According to a report by Popular Science, hunter-gatherers in present-day Spain and France have been crafting essential tools from whale bones for much longer than previously thought. A new study analyzed 83 bone tools found at sites along the Bay of Biscay and 90 additional bones from the Santa Catalina cave in Spain. The investigation relied on mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating to determine that humans living in the region have been making whale-bone tools,...

A medieval port has been discovered in a 2,500m2 building site and archaeological dig surrounding a chateau in Vendée, western France.Among the discoveries are a large number of oak beams that are extremely well preserved thanks to the levels of underground humidity in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, where the dig has been taking place...Archaeologists have already been able to identify a river bank and a gutter on the site.As the Atlantic coastline is only a few kilometres away from the site, an initial hypothesis is that boats and ships could have transported merchandise and people to the chateau from England or even Spain,...