archaeology posts
by Adam Hodge (RSS feed) (3 days ago)
Jun 15th, 2013 at 3:00PM: saturn ♄, Flickr
A 1,200-year-old city has been uncovered by archaeologists in a thick, mountainous jungle in Cambodia, Australia's Fairfax Media has reported. An international team of researchers using helicopter-mounted laser-imaging technology discovered dozens of temples connected by networks of roads, canals and dykes some 25 miles north of the famous Angkor Wat complex.
The city, ...
by Kraig Becker (RSS feed) (20 days ago)
May 29th, 2013 at 8:00AM: Mexican National Institute of Anthropology
Archaeologists have made a startling discovery in a remote region of Mexico that could have an impact on what we've previously known about early inhabitants in North America. While exploring numerous sites in the northeastern region of Burgos, researchers have come across nearly 5000 cave paintings, which would be a remarkable find at any time. But these ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (28 days ago)
May 21st, 2013 at 11:00AM: Desert Island Boy, flickr
The tiny Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain is home to one of the most mysterious ancient civilizations of the Middle East.
Archaeologists have long known about a civilization called Dilmun. It's mentioned in many Mesopotamian texts as a wealthy place of "sweet water." Even the Epic of Gilgamesh mentions it, but all the sources were vague about its location.
It ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
May 17th, 2013 at 3:00PM: Lincolnshire County Council
Archaeologists excavating at Lincoln Castle have discovered the remains of an early Christian community, according to a Lincolnshire County Council press release.
The team, which was digging inside the castle to clear the way for an elevator shaft, found the remains of a church that dates back at least 1,000 years. Inside a sealed niche in the wall they found human ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
May 13th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Since the January 2011 Revolution, Egypt has been suffering social and political unrest, and its tourism industry has been hit hard.
Now the tumultuous situation is affecting one of the nation's main sources of income – its ancient heritage. Al-Ahram Weekly investigated several reports of damage at ancient sites and found a dire situation of neglect and willful destruction. At the ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
May 12th, 2013 at 10:00AM: At the Roman necropolis in Carmona, Spain, visitors are led to the popular "Elephant's Tomb," a large underground chamber that gets its name from a crude sculpture of an elephant found there.
Now archaeologists are saying it may not be a tomb at all, but rather a temple to one of the ancient world's most mysterious religions. A team from the University of Pablo de Olavide, Seville, has analyzed ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (1 month ago)
Apr 20th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Archaeologists working near Stonehenge have found that habitation in the area started at least 3,000 years before the famous monument was built.
The BBC reports that a team of archaeologists working at Amesbury next to a stream a mile from Stonehenge have found evidence that hunter-gatherers were frequenting the site well before Stonehenge was started around 3000 B.C.
The site is the ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Apr 18th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
Ethiopia is the rising star of the adventure travel scene. The country has a great deal to offer those who want to visit Africa beyond the usual favorites. Want to see ancient ruins? North Africa is dodgy at the moment and Europe is expensive. Want to go on a safari? You can see stunning vistas and isolated tribes you won't find in Kenya, Tanzania or Botswana. Ethiopia is one of the safer ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Apr 17th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
The Smithsonian Channel will soon air a documentary about the remarkable discovery of the skeleton of King Richard III in a parking lot in Leicester, England.
"The King's Skeleton: Richard III Revealed" premieres Sunday, April 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The two-hour show was produced by the only team allowed access to the scientists, the excavation and the lab tests used to determine the ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Apr 11th, 2013 at 4:00PM:
A limestone quarrying company operating illegally within the bounds of the Nazca Lines has destroyed some of the enigmatic figures.
The archaeology news feed Past Horizons reports that heavy machinery removing limestone from a nearby quarry has damaged 150 meters (492 feet) of lines along with completely destroying a 60-meter (197-foot) trapezoid. So far the more famous animal figures have ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Apr 11th, 2013 at 1:00PM:
Archaeologists from the Museum of London have uncovered three acres of Roman London, they announced in a press release.
The team was excavating ahead of construction of Bloomberg Place, in the heart of what used to be Londinium, the capital of the Roman province of Britannia. Over the course of six months, archaeologists picked their way through seven meters of soil to find some 10,000 ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Mar 28th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Today the British Museum in London opens what is sure to be the hit exhibition of the year.
"Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" examines the daily life of the Roman world, as it was preserved in two cities buried under volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Through fine art and mundane objects, we get to see what life was like for ordinary Romans.
Romans like ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Mar 27th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Workers at Coventry Cathedral in England have discovered several well-preserved crypts underneath the ruins, the Daily Mail reports.
A maintenance team has been working to repair a crack in the ruins of the 14th century St. Michael's church, which became a cathedral in 1918 and was mostly destroyed by the Luftwaffe in World War II. When the workers investigated the floor of the cathedral, ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Mar 23rd, 2013 at 4:00PM: A bunker intended for the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini has been discovered in Rome, World Crunch reports.
The bunker was found in 2011 by workers restoring the Palazzo Venezia, but its existence wasn't revealed until now. The workers found a trap door in the cellar of a 15th-century building that led to nine rooms fortified with concrete walls up to two meters (6.6 feet) thick.
...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Mar 23rd, 2013 at 1:00PM:
Ancient Egyptian mummies have been an object of fascination. The Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century B.C., visited Egypt and wrote a description of the mummification process. Since no ancient Egyptian text survives, his account forms the basis of many descriptions in modern books and museum displays.
Now a new study by two Canadian scientists suggests Herodotus may have ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (2 months ago)
Mar 21st, 2013 at 9:00AM:
The Field Museum in Chicago is the first venue in North America to host an impressive 3D reconstruction of the famous prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux, France.
"Scenes from the Stone Age: The Cave Paintings of Lascaux" showcases the best-ever full-sized replica of the paintings, including many never before seen by the public. Visitors will feel like they're in the cave itself as they ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
Mar 16th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
An explorer from medieval China may have visited an island off the coast of Kenya, archaeologists say.
A joint expedition by The Field Museum and the University of Illinois at Chicago unearthed a 15th-century Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda, according to a Field Museum press release. Starting around 200 A.D., Manda was a trading hub and home to an advanced civilization.
The ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
Mar 15th, 2013 at 11:00AM: "Bring out your dead!"
If you lived in London in 1348-50, you'd hear that call a lot. All of Europe was swept with the Black Death, a virulent plague that killed an estimated one-third of the population. London, like other congested urban areas, got hit hard.
Now archaeologists working in London have uncovered a mass grave of Black Death victims, a Crossrail press release reports. Digging ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
Mar 12th, 2013 at 1:00PM:
The famous Cyrus Cylinder, a baked clay tablet from the 6th century B.C. that's often called the "first bill of rights," has made its U.S. debut at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The Cyrus Cylinder was deposited in the foundations of a building in Babylon during the reign of the Persian king Cyrus the Great. It commemorates his conquest of Babylon and ...
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) (3 months ago)
Mar 10th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Panther Cave in Seminole Canyon, Texas, has some of the country's best-preserved prehistoric cave paintings. A colorful frieze of leaping panthers, feathered shamans and strange abstract shapes have puzzled researchers for decades. It appears to be telling a story of some sort, but what does that story say?
Now this new 3D video allows you to study it for yourself. Color enhancement brings ...
Next Page →