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The Ancient Greeks were active travelers, despite the dangers of land travel and the fear of highwaymen. Sea travel required ample supplies and means. A fascinating archaeological find exhibited in the Agora Museum in Athens is rectangular clay tablets with inscribed names and occupations that purportedly served as travel documents in antiquity. Most travelers were aristocrats and well-to-do citizens who traveled to witness and experience the wonders of the ancient world, and other famous places and sights. Others traveled for pilgrimage; healing in sanctuaries such as the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Olympia, the Sanctuary of Apollo on Delos Island, or...

WITH A PUEFACE BY THE BISHOP OF OXFORD. ' And the august abode from whence they came.' Speculations as to an Eastern emigration are scarcely more than glanced at here; and it may appear almost superfluous to refer to two groundless hypotheses which have been formed—the first, that Greek remains have been discovered in South America, and that faint vestiges of Greece are also traceable in the islands of Hawaii. The other supposition is that of the Hawaiian race being of Hebrew origin, and that these islanders represent the lost tribes of the house of Israel.

AP News reports that ocean swells and shifting coastal sands exposed ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs on a beach in Oahu. The carvings were first seen almost a decade ago near a U.S. Army base in Waianae, an hour outside Honolulu, but were quickly swallowed back up again by the sand. Although sections of the artwork have occasionally become visible, said U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii archaeologist Laura Gilda, this is the first time the entire panel has been exposed. The scene consists of 26 petroglyphs -- 18 of which depict anthropomorphic stick figures -- carved across a 115-foot stretch of sandstone. Experts...

An ancient Egyptian rock engraving may have been carved at the dawn of the first dynasty, up to 5,100 years ago, a new study suggests...The engraving is stylistically similar to ancient Egyptian rock panels from the protodynastic period and early first dynasty -- periods that aren't well known to archaeologists. These similarities hint that the newfound carving may hold clues about the formation of the Egyptian state, according to the study...The "intriguing new" rock engraving was found on the west bank of the Nile River near Aswan in November 2022, during a survey that was documenting rock art in the...

The Irish Times reports that archaeologists from the University of Galway have uncovered a fortress belonging to a noble Medieval family near the shores of Galway Bay. Since preliminary investigation the 1940s, Rathgurreen Ringfort in Maree was suspected of being a high-status settlement during the Middle Ages, which recent archaeological work confirmed, but the team also found evidence that the site may be 1,000 older than previously expected. The 330-foot diameter fort may have been founded as early as the Iron Age in fifth century a.d., before it grew into a major medieval site centuries later and was the seat...

A newly discovered 2,000-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Adrasan in southern Turkey is offering a rare glimpse into ancient sea trade, with remarkably well-preserved ceramics still in their original arrangement. Experts date the vessel to the Late Hellenistic to Early Roman period, a time when Greek cultural and economic influence remained strong across the eastern Mediterranean.The ship was found between 120 and 150 feet below the surface. What makes the discovery especially significant is the state of the cargo. Archaeologists recovered dozens of ceramic items -- bowls, plates, trays, and pots -- still stacked as they were when the...

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...