Archaeology News | Sci.News

Europeans Used Spices at least 7000 Years Ago, Study Shows

Aug 22, 2013 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from UK, Denmark, Germany and Spain have found evidence of the use of spices in European cuisine around 5,000 BC. Garlic mustard...

Three iron beads from Gerzeh, Egypt (© Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology / Gianluca Miniaci).

5,000-Year-Old Egyptian Artifacts Made from Meteoritic Iron, Confirms New Study

Aug 20, 2013 by News Staff

A new analysis of ancient Egyptian iron beads found in 1911 in Gerzeh, northern Egypt, has shown that they were hammered from pieces of meteorites, rather...

Left: Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition hand axes, from top to bottom - cordiform hand axe from Le Moustier, France; triangular hand axe from St. Just en Chaussée, France; hand axe from Lynford, UK (Karen Ruebens). Right: Keilmessergruppen Tradition hand axes, from top to bottom - keilmesser from Sesselfesgrotte, Germany; keilmesser from Abri du Musée, France; faustkeilblatt from Königsaue, Germany (Karen Ruebens).

Stone Tools Point to Two Distinct Neanderthal Cultures

Aug 20, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A study of 1,300 stone hand axes found at 80 Neanderthal sites in France, Germany, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands shows that two cultural traditions...

A 2,700-year-old ceramic bowl fragment found in Jerusalem (Clara Amit / Israel Antiquities Authority).

Ancient Hebrew Inscription Dating to 7th Century BC Unearthed in Jerusalem

Aug 19, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) have unearthed thousands of pottery fragments, clay lamps and figurines in the City of David in...

Hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts portray the proximate cause of the collapse of the late Bronze Age civilizations as the invasions of the Sea Peoples. But the new study says the Eastern Mediterranean cultures suffered wars, famine fuelled by climate change. The picture shows Sea Peoples in their ships during the battle with the Egyptians (Drawn by Boudier from a photograph by Beato).

Collapse of Late Bronze Age Civilizations Linked to Climate Change

Aug 15, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a new study reported in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, climate change may have driven the collapse of Eastern Mediterranean civilizations...

Winnemucca Petroglyphs: Oldest Rock Art in North America Dates Back Up To 14,800 Years

Aug 14, 2013 by News Staff

A new study reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science shows Winnemucca petroglyphs, the oldest known petroglyphs in North America, date to at least...

Lissoir unearthed at the Neanderthal site of Abri Peyrony (Abri Peyrony and Pech-de-l’Azé I Projects)

Neanderthals May Have Invented Tools Still in Use Today, Say Archaeologists

Aug 13, 2013 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from Germany and the Netherlands has found evidence that Neanderthals were making leather-working bone tools before modern humans. Lissoir...

Byzantine gold coin found at the archaeological site of the ancient city of Apollonia-Arsuf (Pavel Shargo / Institute of Archaeology / Tel Aviv University)

400 Coins, Lamps, Other Artifacts Found in Byzantine Garbage Dump

Aug 7, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Tel Aviv University have unearthed about four hundred Byzantine coins, two hundred Samaritan...

1,000-year-old hospital found in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem (Yoli Shwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority).

Archaeologists Find Impressive Building of Hospitaller Knights in Israel

Aug 5, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority has discovered a 1,000-year-old Crusader building in the Christian Quarter of the Old City...

This is an artist's impression of a 6000-year-old hall (Henry Rothwell / University of Manchester)

Two 6,000-Year-Old Buildings Unearthed in England

Jul 31, 2013 by News Staff

British archaeologists have unearthed an unprecedented find on Dorstone Hill, near Peterchurch in Herefordshire, England – two large 6,000-year-old halls,...

Palace of King David unearthed at Khirbet Qeiyafa (Sky View / Hebrew University / Israel Antiquities Authority)

Palace of King David Unearthed in Israel

Jul 19, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University and the Israel Antiquities Authority claim to have discovered a royal residence of the legendary King David. Palace...

40,000-year-old lion figurine from Vogelherd Cave, now with the newly discovered head (H. Jensen / University of Tübingen)

Fragment of 40,000-Year-Old Mammoth-ivory Figurine Found in Germany

Jul 19, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

A team of archaeologists from the University of Tübingen, Germany, working in the Vogelherd Cave has unearthed what appears to be a fragment of animal...

Stela 44 (Francisco Castañeda / El Peru Regional Archaeological Project)

New Monument Found at El Peru-Waka in Guatemala, Tells Story of Mayan Cleopatra

Jul 17, 2013 by News Staff

A team of archaeologists from the United States and Guatemala excavating within the ancient Maya city of El Perú-Waka’ has unearthed a carved stone...

Left: Neolithic hulled barley grain from Koufovouno (Amy Bogaard et al). Right: partial ear of naked barley from Hornstaad-Hoernle, south-west Germany (Ian Cartwright / Oxford University)

European Neolithic Farmers Used Fertilizers 8,000 Years Ago, Study Shows

Jul 16, 2013 by News Staff

According to an international team of researchers led by Dr Amy Bogaard from the University of Oxford, Europe’s first farmers manured and watered...

An artist's impression of a fire burning in one of the Warren Field calendar pits around 8,000 BC (V. Gaffney et al)

World’s Oldest Calendar Found in Scotland

Jul 16, 2013 by News Staff

British archaeologists have found what they say is the world’s oldest calendar, dating back to about 8,000 BC. An artist’s impression of a fire...

Jar fragment with inscription found at the Ophel archaeological site near the Temple Mount, Jerusalem (Ouria Tadmor)

Inscription from Time of Kings David and Solomon Found in Jerusalem

Jul 11, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

Israeli archaeologists have discovered what they believe is the earliest alphabetical written text ever found in Jerusalem. Jar fragment with inscription...

Sphinx fragment found at the Tel Hazor site in Israel (Amnon Ben-Tor / Sharon Zuckerman / Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology)

Sphinx Fragment of Pharaoh Menkaure Found in Israel

Jul 10, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has discovered a fragment of a sphinx statue of the pharaoh Menkaure, one of the pyramid-building...

Location of important archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent: 1 - Chogha Golan, 2 - Ali Kosh, 3 - Chia Sabz, 4 - Ganj Dareh Tepe, 5 - Sheikh-e Abad, 6 - Jani, 7 - Tepe Abdul Hosein, 8 - M'lefaat, 9 - Nemrik, 10 - Qermez Dere, 11 - Magzalia, 12 - Körtik Tepe, 13 - Hallan Cemi, 14 - Cayonu, 15 - Cafer Hoyuk, 16 - Asikli Hoyuk, 17 - Can Hasan III, 18 - Nevali Cori, 19 - Göbekli Tepe, 20 - Akarcay Tepe, 21 - Djade, 22 - Halula, 23 - Jerf el Ahmar, 24 - Mureybet, 25 - Abu Hureyra, 26 - El Kowm I and II, 27 - Bouqras, 28 - Abr, 29 - Qaramel, 30 - Tell Ras Shamra, 31 - Kissonerga, 32 - Parekklisha-Shillourokambos, 33 - Tell Ghoraifé, 34 - Tell Aswad, 35 - Tell Ramad, 36 - Yiftah'el, 37 - Iraq ed Dubb, 38 - Gilgal, 39 - 'Ain Ghazal, 40 - Netiv Hagdud, 41 - Dhra, 42 - Jericho, 43 - Nahal Hemar, 44 - Wadi Fidan, 45 - Beidha, 46 - Basta, 47 - Dhuweila, 48 - Azraq 31, 49 - Wadi Jilat 7 (Simone Riehl et al)

Chogha Golan Finds Shed New Light on Origins of Agriculture in Fertile Crescent

Jul 8, 2013 by News Staff

According to a team of archaeologists led by Dr Nicholas Conard from Tübingen University, the transition from foraging to farming took place at roughly...

The siege and destruction of Jerusalem - painting by David Roberts

Scientists Find Archaeological Evidence of Jerusalem’s Siege in 70 CE

Jul 1, 2013 by News Staff

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed four artifacts that they believe date back to the time of the siege of Jerusalem in the 1st century CE. The siege...