Archaeology News

Religious Text on Ancient Stele Reveals Name of Etruscan Goddess

Closeup of text on the Etruscan stele. Image credit: Mugello Valley Project.
Aug 25, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scholars translating a unique inscription on a 2,500-year-old Etruscan stele has discovered the name Uni – an important female goddess. Inscribed surfaces of the 2,500-year-old Etruscan stele have revealed mention of the goddess Uni as well as a reference to the god Tina, the name of the supreme deity of the Etruscans. Image credit: Mugello Valley Project. The discovery indicates that Uni – a divinity of fertility and possibly a...

read more...
Hyperspectral imaging revealed hidden images in the Codex Selden. Image credit: Ludo Snijders et al.

Hidden Images Revealed in Pre-Hispanic Mixtec Manuscript ‘Codex Selden’

Aug 20, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists led by Leiden University researcher Ludo Snijders has used the so-called ‘hyperspectral imaging’ to uncover the...

Callanish on the Isle of Lewis is 43 feet (13 m) in diameter with a long stone avenue running north-southwards (southwards is towards the circle) and single long stone rows radiating outwards towards the other three cardinal points. Image credit: Gail Higginbottom & Roger Clay / RCAHMS.

Britain’s Oldest ‘Great Circles’ Were Built by Ancient Astronomers

Aug 18, 2016 by News Staff

New research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has statistically proven that the earliest standing stone monuments of Britain...

The Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Image credit: Ricardo David Sanchez / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient People of Teotihuacan May Have Bred Cottontails, Jackrabbits

Aug 18, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Humans living Teotihuacan, a sacred pre-Columbian city that flourished between 1 CE and 600 CE and was once the largest in the Americas, may have bred...

Dresden Codex Venus Table Reveals Ancient Mayans Made Major Discovery in Astronomy, Math

Aug 17, 2016 by News Staff

The Preface of the Venus Table of the Dresden Codex, first panel on left, and the first three pages of the Table. Image credit: University of California,...

Mycenaean vessel with fish motifs, c. 1300 BC. Image credit: Peter Fischer.

3,200-Year-Old Tomb with Stunning Artifacts Discovered on Cyprus

Aug 16, 2016 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who are excavating the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke/Dromolaxia Vizatzia on the island...

A 400-year-old petroglyph discovered on Hawaii shoreline. Image credit: Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

400-Year-Old Petroglyphs Found on Hawaii Shoreline

Aug 11, 2016 by News Staff

Two lucky tourists from Texas made an incredible archaeological discovery during a July visit to Hawaii. They found a rare series of petroglyphs on Hawaii’s...

250,000-year-old stone tool that tested positive for rhino protein residue. Image credit: April Nowell.

Hominins Used Stone Tools to Butcher Rhinos, Other Animals 250,000 Years Ago

Aug 9, 2016 by News Staff

New research led by University of Victoria’s April Nowell reveals surprisingly sophisticated adaptations by early humans living 250,000 years ago in...

Emperor Yu controlling the Great Flood.

Scientists Find Geological Evidence of China’s Legendary ‘Great Flood’

Aug 5, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Qinglong Wu of Peking University and Nanjing Normal University, has uncovered geological evidence for...

Councilor Alan Kerr at Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum and the bronze figure of Ceres. Image credit: South Tyneside Council.

Tiny Bronze Figure of Ceres Unearthed at Ancient Roman Fort

Aug 3, 2016 by News Staff

Amateur archaeologist has found a beautifully crafted miniature bronze figure of the Roman goddess Ceres at Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields, UK. Councilor...

Dr. Gosker inside the pottery workshop’s water reservoir. Image credit: Royee Liran / Israel Antiquities Authority.

Roman-Era Pottery Workshop Unearthed in Northern Israel

Jul 30, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a 1,600-year-old (Roman period) pottery workshop at the archaeological site of...

A fragment of a limestone statute of a top Egyptian official from the Middle Kingdom. Image credit: Shlomit Bechar.

Statue Fragment of Ancient Egyptian Official Found in Israel

Jul 26, 2016 by News Staff

Israeli archaeologists have found a large fragment of a limestone Egyptian statue dating to the third millennium BC at Tel-Hazor, site of the Biblical...

Archaeologists Find 40,000-Year-Old Rope-Making Tool in Germany

Jul 22, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists excavating a cave in the Swabian Jura of southwestern Germany have found what they believe is a rope-making tool nearly 40,000 years old. A...

An array of household items, including whole pots. Image credit: Dave Webb / Cambridge Archaeological Unit.

Must Farm: Bronze Age Settlement Sheds Light on Everyday Life

Jul 15, 2016 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge have made remarkable discoveries about everyday life in the Bronze Age during the excavation of ancient...

Archaeological evidence suggests that Brazilian bearded capuchin monkeys have been using stone tools to crack open cashew nuts for at least 600 years. Image credit: University of Oxford.

Brazilian Capuchins Have Used Stone Tools for at least 600 Years

Jul 12, 2016 by News Staff

Wild Brazilian bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) use stones to pound open defended food, including cashew nuts. And this activity dates back...

The cache of silver coins found in the ruins of an ancient estate house in Modi’in, Israel. Image credit: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority.

Hoard of Hasmonean Period Silver Coins Unearthed in Israel

Jul 8, 2016 by News Staff

A hoard of 16 rare silver coins dating to 135-126 BC (Hasmonean period) has been found by a team of Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists in Modi’in,...

Mosaic of the parting of the Red Sea. Image credit: Baylor University.

Mosaics with Old Testament Scenes Revealed in Roman-Era Synagogue in Israel

Jul 7, 2016 by News Staff

Beautiful 1,500-year-old mosaics depicting Noah’s ark, animals, and the parting of the Red Sea have been discovered by archaeologists excavating a synagogue...

The view towards the east from the Carregal do Sal megalithic cluster, at dawn at the end of April around 4,000 BC, as reconstructed using a Digital Elevation Model and Stellarium. Aldebaran, the last star to rise before the Sun, is rising directly above Serra da Estrela, the ‘mountain range of the star.’ Image credit: Fabio Silva.

Iberian Megalithic Tombs: 6,000-Year-Old Lensless Telescopes?

Jun 30, 2016 by News Staff

A team of astronomers from the UK is exploring what might be described as the first astronomical observing tool, potentially used by humans around 4,000...

Left: phytoliths from Poaceae bulliform cells and bi-peaked tubercles from rice husks recovered from Huxi: 1, 2, 3 - rice; 4 - reed; 5 - bamboo; 6, 7, 8 - silvergrass; 9, 10 - bi-peaked tubercles of rice. Right: charred plant remains from Huxi: 1 - self-heal; 2 - cupgrass; 3, 17 - sedge family; 4-6 - carbonized rice; 7-13 - rice rachillae; 14-15 - rice husks fragments; 16 - knotweed/smartweed; 18 - bristlegrass; 19 – crabgrass; 20 - tall fringe-rush; 21, 22 – foxnut. Image credit: Y. Zheng et al.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Domesticated Rice in China 9,000 Years Ago

Jun 23, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

The earliest evidence of domesticated rice (Oryza sativa), one of the world’s most important cereal grains, has been found in China, and it’s 9,000...

Four of the projectile point fragments recovered from Kuumbi Cave: (A, C and G) impact fractures; (B and D) possible retrieval cut marks; (E) rounded tip; (F) post-depositional fracture revealing bone surface; (H) change in surface appearance. Magnification: A, C, G, and H at 65x; B at 85x; D at 100x; E at 200x. Image credit: Michelle C. Langley et al.

Eastern Africans Hunted with Poison-Tipped Arrows at least 13,000 Years Ago

Jun 23, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of archaeologists studying bone artifacts discovered in a cave on the island of Unguja in the Zanzibar archipelago of Tanzania has found evidence...

© 2011-2026. Sci.News. All Rights Reserved. | Back to top