In 1966, archaeologists in France uncovered an ancient 7,535-square-foot building near the town of Auxerre. Remains of furniture in the edifice’s ten rooms led archaeologists to estimate that it was inhabited from the first to the fourth century CE, and evidence of mosaics and floor heating indicated that the inhabitants were members of a wealthy […]
5,000-Year-Old Bread Recipe Recreated in Turkey—and Locals Can’t Get Enough
Scientists have discovered an ancient bread recipe in Turkey—and now the local bakery that recreated it can’t keep up with demand. Some 5,000 years ago, someone buried a piece of charred bread beneath the threshold of a house in what is now Eskisehir in central Turkey. Archaeologists unearthed it in September 2024 during an excavation […]
Did a Neanderthal Spot a Face in This Rock 43,000 Years Ago—and Leave a Fingerprint Behind?
While digging inside a cave in the Spanish city of Segovia, archaeologists uncovered an unusual rock. The hand-sized stone naturally resembled an elongated face, and featured a spot of red pigment made from ochre right on the tip of what may be considered its nose. “We were all thinking the same thing and looking at […]
Archaeological Dig Sheds New Light on the Other Great Wall of China
Practically everyone has heard about the Great Wall of China, but the iconic monument is not the only massive frontier in northern East Asia. An international team of researchers has surveyed a section belonging to the Medieval Wall System (MWS), a little-known and extremely remote network of walls, enclosures, and trenches across China, Mongolia, and […]
An Archaeologist Sailed the Seas Using Only Viking Tech. Here’s What He Learned
Vikings were formidable Scandinavian warriors and sailors who, from around 800 to 1050 CE, raided, traded, and settled throughout northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and even as far as North America. Most of what scholars know about Viking maritime networks, however, has to do with their start and end points. After all, they could have taken […]
Psychedelics Allowed Ancient Peruvians to Consolidate Power, Study Says
In a new study, archaeologists uncovered 2,500-year-old psychoactive drug paraphernalia in an archaeological site in the Peruvian highlands. Ancient Peruvians likely used psychedelics during intricate and exclusive rituals, according to the study’s authors. The study, published May 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the ancient Chavín people, a pre-Incan […]
Egyptologist in Paris Discovers Secret Messages on the Luxor Obelisk
In 1830, the viceroy of Egypt gifted France a 3,300-year-old Egyptian obelisk—a carved stone pillar with a pyramidal top. In 1836, the obelisk found its home in Paris, in Place de la Concorde. One would think that after standing in the center of the French capital for almost 200 years, Parisian Egyptologists would have learned […]
Archaeologists Unearth Roman Horse Cemetery With 100 Skeletons
“The history of mankind is carried on the back of a horse” is a saying that holds true for the Roman Empire, which expanded through the strength of its army, including its cavalry. An archaeological discovery in Germany offers rare insight into the animals that helped carry an ancient civilization. In July 2024, a construction project […]
Prehistoric Hearths Reveal Ice Age Hunter-Gatherers Were Masters of the Flame
Scholars generally agree that fire was crucial to human survival during the most recent Ice Age—yet in Europe, there is surprisingly little evidence of hearths from its coldest years, between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago. By studying three prehistoric hearths in Ukraine, a team of researchers has gained new insight into how fire was used […]
Mass Grave of 150 Roman Soldiers Found Under Vienna Sports Field
Sometime between the mid-first century and early second century CE, Roman legionaries clashed with Germanic fighters near the Danube River in a furious battle. Almost two thousand years later, gruesome evidence of the bloody event has come to light. While renovating a sports field in Vienna in October of last year, construction workers discovered a […]