Archaeology News | Sci.News

1,900-Year-Old Boxing ‘Gloves’ Unearthed at Vindolanda

Mar 27, 2018 by News Staff

Two very unusual pieces of leather have been uncovered during the excavation of a pre-Hadrianic cavalry barrack (c. 100 CE) at the Vindolanda Roman fort...

2,200-year-old liquor. Image credit: Li Yibo, Xinhua.

2,200-Year-Old ‘Rice Wine’ Found in China

Mar 21, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology in China has unearthed a bronze kettle with liquor dating back to the Qin Dynasty...

Retoucher from the early hominin Lingjing site, China; white brackets indicate the areas where impact scars are present. Scale bars - 1 cm. Image credit: Doyon et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194318.

Archaeologists Unearth 115,000-Year-Old Bone Tools in China

Mar 19, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers led by Université de Montréal’s Dr. Luc Doyon has found seven bone soft hammers at the early hominin Lingjing...

The 700-year-old bronze ring depicts St. Nicholas. Image credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Rare Byzantine-Period Ring Uncovered in Israel

Mar 12, 2018 by News Staff

A 700-year-old bronze ring engraved with a portrait of St. Nicholas — the 4th century Orthodox Christian saint who inspired the iconography of Santa...

The 1,800-year-old Roman mosaic uncovered in Caesarea, Israel. Image credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Colorful Roman Mosaic Unearthed in Israel

Feb 27, 2018 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered a 1,800-year-old beautiful mosaic in the Caesarea National Park, Israel. The...

La Pasiega Cave, section C, cave wall with paintings: the ladder shape composed of red horizontal and vertical lines (center left) dates to older than 64,000 years and was made by Neanderthals. Image credit: P. Saura.

Iberian Peninsula’s Earliest Cave Paintings Were Made by Neanderthals: Study

Feb 23, 2018 by News Staff

A new study shows that paintings in three cave sites on the Iberian Peninsula — a red linear motif in Cave of La Pasiega, a hand stencil in Maltravieso...

The ancient Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala. Image credit: Comenius University.

LiDAR Survey Reveals Numerous Ancient Maya Structures in Guatemalan Jungle

Feb 22, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

An ambitious LiDAR (light detection and ranging) survey of forested areas in Guatemala has revealed more than 60,000 previously undetected ancient structures,...

Israeli Scientists Decode One of Last Encrypted Dead Sea Scrolls

Jan 24, 2018 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the Department of Bible Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel, has deciphered one of the last obscured parts of the Dead...

Easter Island, known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Image credit: Yerson Retamal.

Study: Easter Island Had Supportive and Inclusive Community

Jan 8, 2018 by News Staff

An analysis of so-called pukao — colossal stone hats of monumental statues (moai) on Easter Island — provides evidence contrary to the widely...

Aerial photograph of monumental Cerro Pintado petroglyphs. Image credit: Philip Riris, doi: 10.15184/aqy.2017.152.

2,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs Mapped in Venezuela

Dec 28, 2017 by News Staff

Dr. Philip Riris from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London and colleagues have mapped a series of rock engravings (petroglyphs), some...

An archaeology student uncovering the mosaic floor of a church at Beth Shemesh, Israel. Image credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Byzantine-Era Monastery and Church Uncovered in Israel

Dec 27, 2017 by News Staff

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists digging at the site of Beth Shemesh have discovered the spectacular remains of a 1,500-year-old monastery...

Clay seals from the archive of Doliche. Image credit: University of Münster.

German Archaeologists Find Collection of Ancient Clay Seals in Turkey

Dec 27, 2017 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the University of Münster, Germany, have unearthed a large collection of 1,800-year-old clay seals, or bullae, at the ancient city...

Kisar cave painting of figures gesturing to sundrum. Image credit: Australian National University.

Archaeologists Discover Cave Paintings on Small Indonesian Island

Dec 18, 2017 by News Staff

A total of 28 rock art cave sites have been discovered on the Indonesian island of Kisar, which measures just 81 km2 and lies north of Timor-Leste. A paper...

Icon of St Nicholas, unknown icon painter, 13th or 14th century.

Could Ancient Remains Suggest Santa Claus was Real?

Dec 6, 2017 by News Staff

New research by University of Oxford scientists has revealed that bones long venerated as relics of Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Orthodox Christian...

Three iron beads from Gerzeh, Egypt, are the oldest known example of metalworking. Image credit: Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology / Gianluca Miniaci.

Bronze Age Iron Artifacts Likely Made from Meteoric Iron: Study

Dec 4, 2017 by News Staff

The production of iron from its ore only started in the 2nd millennium BC, but a number of iron artifacts from the preceding Bronze Age are known to exist....

Professor Smith (left) and Professor Landau take a closer look at the Greek fragment identified as the First Apocalypse of James. Image credit: Geoffrey Smith, University of Texas at Austin.

Biblical Scholars Find Copy of Jesus’ Secret Revelations to His Brother James

Dec 1, 2017 by News Staff

Biblical scholars from the University of Texas at Austin have found the first-known original Greek copy of a heretical Christian writing describing Jesus’...

An aerial shot of the Glenfield Park roundhouse. Image credit: University of Leicester Archaeological Services.

Rare Collection of Iron Age Metal Artifacts Discovered in England

Nov 27, 2017 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the University of Leicester have unearthed a rare collection of Iron Age metal artifacts, including decorated cauldrons, a complete...

Huge Trove of Medieval Gold and Silver Coins Unearthed in France

Nov 15, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A hoard of 21 Islamic gold dinars, 2,200 silver coins, and gold artifacts dating to the 12th century CE has been unearthed by archaeologists digging at...

Early Neolithic jar, circa 6000-5000 BC, from Khramis Didi-Gora in the Republic of Georgia. Note the probable grape cluster motives encircling the mouth of the vessel, and the small base, which would have been inadequate for a free-standing vessel. The latter feature suggests that the jar was once partly or wholly buried underground, like modern qvevris (Georgian, ‘large jars’). This specimen is nearly a meter (3.3 feet) tall and a meter (3.3 feet) broad, with a volume exceeding 80 gallons. Image credit: Mindia Jalabadze / National Museum of Georgia.

Ancient Georgian Pottery Reveals World’s Oldest Wine

Nov 14, 2017 by News Staff

8,000-year-old pottery fragments from two sites in the Republic of Georgia, South Caucasus, have revealed the earliest biomolecular archaeological and...