Archaeology News

New X-Ray Imaging Technique Reveals Hidden Beauty of Ancient Roman Wall Painting

An iron element map (right) made with new X-ray technology reveals the underlying craftsmanship hidden beneath a damaged portrait of a Roman woman (left). Image credit: Roberto Alberti.
Aug 22, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by Pratt Institute researcher Eleonora Del Federico has used a novel imaging technique, called high-resolution portable Macro-XRF scanning, to study a highly degraded portrait of an ancient Roman woman, still on site in its original setting — at the ‘House of the Mosaic Atrium’ in the ancient city of Herculaneum, Italy. An iron element map (right) made with new X-ray technology reveals the underlying craftsmanship hidden...

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Aerial view of the excavation area, with Rosh Ha-Ayin in the background. Image credit: Yitzhak Marmelstein.

Israeli Archaeologists Unearth 2,700-Year-Old Water System

Aug 18, 2017 by News Staff

A team of Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists and students has discovered an Assyrian-period water system near Rosh Ha-Ayin, a city in the...

Still life with glass bowl of fruit and vases. Roman painting from the House of Julia Felix in Pompeii, 63-79 CE.

Citrus Fruits Were Symbols of High Social Status in Ancient Rome

Aug 18, 2017 by News Staff

Citrus fruits such as citrons and lemons were clear status symbols for the ancient Roman ruling elite, according to new research from Tel Aviv University. Still...

The Roman villa of Durrueli is located off the southern coast of Sicily. Image credit: University of South Florida.

Archaeologists Excavate Large Ancient Roman Villa in Italy

Aug 16, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of archaeologists led by the University of South Florida is the first to successfully excavate the 5,000 m2 Roman villa of Durrueli...

Artist’s reconstruction of an Asian caveman. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Anatomically Modern Humans Arrived in Southeast Asia Far Earlier than Previously Thought

Aug 14, 2017 by News Staff

New excavations of a cave site in western Sumatra called Lida Ajer indicate modern humans reached Southeast Asia between 73,000 to 63,000 years ago —...

This female statue was uncovered at a citadel gate complex in Turkey by archaeologists from the Tayinat Archaeological Project. Initial speculations are that the figure is a representation of either Kubaba, divine mother of the gods of ancient Anatolia, or the wife of Neo-Hittite king Suppiluliuma, or Kupapiyas, who was the wife -- or possibly mother -- of Taita, the dynastic founder of ancient Tayinat. Image credit: Tayinat Archaeological Project.

3,000-Year-Old Female Statue Unearthed at Neo-Hittite Citadel in Turkey

Aug 14, 2017 by News Staff

A beautifully carved head and upper torso of a female figure have been found within a monumental gate complex near the upper citadel of Kunulua, the capital...

The Huntley and Palmer’s fruit cake from Cape Adare. Image credit: New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Century-Old Fruit Cake Found in Antarctic Hut

Aug 10, 2017 by News Staff

A well-preserved 106-year-old fruit cake has been found in a hut on Cape Adare, Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The Huntley and Palmer’s fruit cake...

The solar eclipse petroglyph in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Image credit: J. McKim Malville, University of Colorado.

Strange Petroglyph in Chaco Canyon May Represent Ancient Total Solar Eclipse

Aug 10, 2017 by News Staff

A petroglyph on the south face of Piedra del Sol, a free-standing rock in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, may depict the solar corona observed during the...

Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian’s Wall. The fort was founded in 85 CE by Belgian auxiliary soldiers and was inhabited in various forms and layouts until well after 410 CE. It was garrisoned at different times by several units, most importantly the First Cohort of Tungrians and the Third and Ninth Cohorts of Batavians. Image credit: Vindolanda Trust.

25 Ancient Writing Tablets Unearthed at Roman Fort of Vindolanda

Jul 31, 2017 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found a collection of 1,900 year old ink documents at the Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumberland, northern England, one of the most...

The Grapes of Canaan, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot. Image credit: Jewish Museum, New York.

Lebanese are Direct Descendants of Biblical Canaanites, Study Suggests

Jul 27, 2017 by News Staff

In the first study of its kind, a Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute-led team of researchers has uncovered the genetics of the ancient Canaanites and a firm...

Geographic and local position of the artifact at the summit of the Lötschenpass. Image credit: Rolf Wenger, Marcel Cornelissen & Badri Redha / Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern.

Archaeologists Find Frozen Bronze Age Wooden Container with Cereal Remains in Swiss Alps

Jul 26, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have found a well-preserved Early Bronze Age wooden vessel in the Swiss Alps. The artifact could help researchers shed new light on the...

Photograph of the Madjedbebe rockshelter during the 2015 excavation. Image credit: Clarkson et al, doi: 10.1038/nature22968.

New Evidence Pushes Back Aboriginal Occupation of Australia to 65,000 Years Ago

Jul 20, 2017 by News Staff

New evidence from a rockshelter in northern Australia shows human occupation of the continent for at least 65,000 years — much longer than other...

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.

Easter Islanders Didn’t Cause Ecological Disaster on Their Island, New Research Finds

Jul 12, 2017 by News Staff

New research provides evidence contrary to the widely-held belief that the prehistoric population of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) caused an ecological disaster...

This image shows the Trelleborg-type Viking fortress of Fyrkat. Image credit: Heritage Agency of Denmark.

Borgring Fortress Discovery: Dendrochronological Dating Results

Jul 7, 2017 by News Staff

In September 2014, archaeologists from Aarhus University and the Museum of South East Denmark announced the discovery of a Viking ring fortress at Borgring,...

Portus Cosanus pier, Orbetello, Italy. Image credit: J.P. Oleson.

New Research Shows How Natural Chemistry Strengthened Ancient Roman Marine Concrete

Jul 4, 2017 by News Staff

While modern marine concrete structures crumble within years, ancient Roman piers and breakwaters endure to this day, and are stronger now than when they...

Dr. Louderback stands behind large stone metates, the grindstones on which ancient Native Americans processed their food. Image credit: University of Utah.

Researchers Discover Earliest Evidence of Wild Potato Use in North America

Jul 3, 2017 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists and anthropologists, led by the University of Utah, has discovered potato starch residues in the crevices of a 10,900-year-old...

Monumental round-oval buildings with their characteristic T-shaped monolithic pillars at Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. Image credit: Nico Becker, Göbekli Tepe Archive, German Archaeological Institute.

Modified Skulls from Gobekli Tepe Provide Evidence of Neolithic ‘Skull Cult’

Jun 29, 2017 by News Staff

Three carved skull fragments uncovered at Göbekli Tepe, a Neolithic site in southeast Turkey known for its impressive megalithic architecture with characteristic...

Prof. Darnell examines the hieroglyphs from atop a tall scaffold. Image credit: Yale University.

Archaeologists Find Earliest Monumental Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Jun 26, 2017 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from Belgium, the United States and Egypt has uncovered some previously unknown rock inscriptions, which include 5,200-year-old...

The ruins of a 12th-century mosque in Harlaa, eastern Ethiopia. Image credit: Timothy Insoll, University of Exeter.

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient, Forgotten City in Eastern Ethiopia

Jun 19, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by University of Exeter archaeologists has discovered the ruins of an ancient city — once thought to be...

The recto (upper image) and the verso (lower image) of the ostracon Arad 16: color images, multispectral images and manual drawings of the proposed reading. In red: team’s alterations and additions with respect to the original publication. Image credit: Faigenbaum-Golovin et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178400.

Advanced Imaging Technology Reveals 2,600 Year-Old Hebrew Inscription

Jun 15, 2017 by News Staff

Using multispectral imaging, a team of Israeli researchers has discovered a hitherto invisible text on the back side of an ostracon (ink-inscribed pottery...

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