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Sometimes you stumble upon remarkable pieces of long-forgotten history when you live in an area that was home to ancient civilizations. According to Smithsonianmag, that is what happened to one Greek farmer living in Crete, not far from the town of Ierapetra. The farmer was parking his truck on his property under some olive trees when the ground underneath him began to give way. He saw that a four-foot-wide hole had opened up in the ground after the farmer moved his vehicle to a safer location. He realised this was no ordinary hole when he peered inside. The farmer informed...

The severely elongated head of a preserved skeleton found in Peru's Atacama Desert in 2003 is so unusual that it initially prompted people to suggest that the diminutive body was that of an extraterrestrial. Since then, DNA testing confirmed that the remains — which measure about 6 inches (15 centimeters) long — belonged to a human fetus that researchers named Ata. But the scientists who conducted that investigation and published their findings in March have recently come under fire for their methods. ...Their investigation, which did not include any Chilean researchers, may have sidestepped protocols that typically monitor the ethics...

Much more important than Hershel’s numerous individual campaigns was his uncanny understanding of the American public’s endless fascination with old-fashioned “biblical archaeology.” And that was at the very time when many of us professionals were trying to separate the two disciplines of archaeology and biblical studies. Our purpose, of course, was to create a more serious dialogue, to move beyond the old amateur and sterile monologue. In time, we professionals accomplished our agenda, at least in part. But Hershel also accomplished his agenda. And he did it brilliantly, popularizing our complex excavations and esoteric research for a mass audience that...

Ancient embalmers likely placed the tongue-shaped, gold foil amulet in the deceased’s mouth to ensure they could speak in the afterlifeArchaeologists conducting excavations at the temple of Taposiris Magna in western Alexandria, Egypt, have unearthed a 2,000-year-old mummy with a gold tongue. As Nihal Samir reports for Daily News Egypt, researchers from a dual Egyptian-Dominican mission discovered the golden-tongued mummy while surveying 16 poorly preserved burials encased in rock-cut crypts—a popular form of interment during Egypt’s Greco-Roman period. Crafted out of gold foil, the tongue-shaped amulet was likely placed in the deceased’s mouth to ensure they’d be able to speak...

The Bible is a dynamic book, peopled with characters who have a tremendous immediacy. That immediacy just got a boost over the weekend when Israeli researchers announced that they'd found scraps of purple cloth dating back to the time of Kings David and Solomon.I didn't grow up in a religious family, so I first read the Bible as a college freshman when I took a "Bible as Literature" class. For me, it sparked a lifelong fascination with Old Testament history. I've listed at the bottom of this post the books I've found most fascinating, as well as a video I...

Hamilton, ON - A gigantic ape, measuring about 10 feet tall and weighing up to 1,200 pounds, co-existed alongside humans, a geochronologist at McMaster University has discovered. Using a high-precision absolute-dating method (techniques involving electron spin resonance and uranium series), Jack Rink, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at McMaster, has determined that Gigantopithecus blackii, the largest primate that ever lived, roamed southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago. This was known as the Pleistocene period, by which time humans had already existed for a million years. “A missing piece of...

A 1,500-year-old Greek inscription bearing the name “Christ, born of Mary” was unearthed in northern Israel, the Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday. The archaeologists discovered the inscription engraved at the entrance of an impressive building from the Byzantine or early Islamic period, featuring mosaic pavements decorated with a geometric design. The finding was unveiled in a salvage excavation directed by Tzachi Lang and Kojan Haku ahead of the construction of a road inside the village of Taiba in the Jezreel Valley. “We did not know what to expect ahead of the work, but we knew that this was an area...

For example, a 17th-century Persian textile contains fibers of silk thread that were individually wrapped with thin strips of metal. And the microstructure of a needle from Cyprus retains the touch of the person who shaped it, in traces of dark corrosion that emerged as the needle was rotated and hammered. In another striking image, a bit of basalt glitters in a ceramic roof tile from Gordion, a site in Turkey that was inhabited from at least 2300 B.C., during the early Bronze Age (the tile dates to the first half of the sixth century B.C.). Basalt, a volcanic rock,...

Frontal and lateral view of a Muna-type (AD 750-900) paneled flask with distinctive serrated-edge decoration. Credit: WSU ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scientists have identified the presence of a non-tobacco plant in ancient Maya drug containers for the first time. The Washington State University researchers detected Mexican marigold (Tagetes lucida) in residues taken from 14 miniature Maya ceramic vessels. Originally buried more than 1,000 years ago on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, the vessels also contain chemical traces present in two types of dried and cured tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum and N. rustica. The research team, led by anthropology postdoc Mario Zimmermann, thinks the Mexican marigold was...

These are unique and rare stone axes from the Stone AgeA Saudi scientific team from the Heritage Authority discovered stone tools used by the inhabitants of Assyrian civilization in the Paleolithic period that date back to 2,00,000 years. The Heritage Authority said in a press statement that the discovered stone tools from the Shuaib Al-Adgham area, located east of the Al-Qassim region, are stone axes from the Middle Paleolithic period. These are unique and rare stone axes that were characterised by the high precision in manufacturing that these human groups used in their daily life. The abundance of stone tools...

When Jesus strode through the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem, his feet met hewn-stone, earth-tone tiles that were geometric in design and cool, dappled and scuffed to the touch. Such is the understanding of Israeli archaeologists and masons who, drawing on relics and historical texts, have recreated the sacred flooring so it can be experienced today. “We even made the scratches and all kind of marks that created the same appearance as it used to look like at the time,” archaeologist Assaf Avraham told Reuters near the one- metre square, ankle-high replica on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem’s Old...

Melting glacier sheds light upon hidden Viking era artifacts in Norway dated back to 300 AD The tremendous melting of the glaciers resulted in some recent archaeological discoveries revealing several well preserved historical objects, and one of these remarkable finds is the discoveries of artifacts from the Viking era on the hills that were once used for transportation purposes dated back to 300 A.D. as per the study. More glacial melt, although a disturbing factor of a much larger global warming effect, has provided ample shreds of evidence and remains of the age-old objects for today’s generation advantageously. Artifacts from...

Beit Nattif lamps. Photo: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority. One of the largest ceramic oil-lamp workshops in Israel has been discovered by Israel Antiquities Authority excavations in Beit Shemesh. Hundreds of ceramic oil lamps, two bearing symbols of the menorah and stone lamp molds for their production were found along with terracotta figurines which were made about 1600–1700 years ago. In the past few months, the Israel Antiquities Authority excavations aided by dozens of pre-military program students. The large-scale archaeological excavations are being carried out prior to the establishment of a new neighborhood by the Ministry of Construction and Housing....

In South Africa, about 150 km west of port Maputo, Mozambique, a giant stone city has been discovered. It became possible to determine the age of the site by measuring the erosion rate of the dolerite. The 1500 square kilometre metropolis was believed to have been built between 160,000 and 200,000 years ago!

ARCHAEOLOGY magazine reveals the year’s most exciting finds:Top 10 Discoveries of 2020ARCHAEOLOGY magazine reveals the year’s most exciting finds:Mummy Cache - Saqqara, EgyptCarbon Dating Pottery - WorldwideLargest Viking DNA Study - Northern Europe and GreenlandThe First Enslaved Africans in Mexico - Mexico City, MexicoLuwian Royal Inscription - Türkmen-Karahöyük, TurkeyA Shrine to Romulus - Rome, ItalyOldest Chinese Artwork - Henan, ChinaEnduring Rites of the Mound Builders - Georgia, USAOldest Maya Temple - Tabasco, MexicoFirst English Playhouse - London, England

At 277 miles (445 kilometres) long, up to 18 miles (28 kilometres) wide, and 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) deep, the Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places in the United States. The Hopi Indians believe it is the gateway to the afterlife. Its sheer immensity and mystery attracted more than 6 million visitors in 2016.

A British ist thinks he has found the childhood home of Jesus in Nazareth. Ken Dark began surveying the site about 14 years ago when he was studying the Israeli town’s history as a Byzantine Christian pilgrimage center, the Jerusalem Post reported.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL clues predating the birth of Jesus Christ can "pinpoint the exact location" where the Ark of the Covenant once stood, a scripture expert has claimed. The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testament, is believed to have held the 10 Commandments God gave to Moses in Exodus. The ornate chest with two cherubim atop was treated with the utmost reverence by the Israelites and was interned in Solomon's Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. According to the Biblical account, the Ark with its two stone tablets was held in a special chamber within the temple,...

Explanation: Three very different -- and very famous -- objects were all captured in a single frame last month. On the upper left is the bright blue Pleiades, perhaps the most famous cluster of stars on the night sky. The Pleiades (M45) is about 450 light years away and easily found a few degrees from Orion. On the upper right is the expansive Andromeda Galaxy, perhaps the most famous galaxy -- external to our own -- on the night sky. Andromeda (M31) is one of few objects visible to the unaided eye where you can see light that is millions...

A 2,000-year-old mikvah (ritual bath) was recently uncovered in the Lower Galilee. Most people probably would never have heard about the discovery if not for the dramatic photos of the entire structure being carried by truck to a nearby kibbutz for preservation. The remarkable sight of a truck-borne mikvah, however, also makes one pause and reflect on the remarkable implications of the archeological find. It means that 2,000 years ago, the residents of the Lower Galilee were practicing the exact same religious rituals that Orthodox Jews throughout the world practice today. Those Galileans, in other words, were Jews. They weren't...