Archaeology news

• Bear Bone Engraved by Neanderthals Studied

  23-04-2024 01:51 via archaeology.org
  WROCŁAW, POLAND—IFL Science reports that a team of researchers led by Tomasz Płonka and Andrzej Wiśniewski of the University of Wrocław has examined an engraved bear bone with microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. Discovered in the 1950s in southern Poland’s Dziadowa Skała Cave, the bone has been dated to between 115,000 and 130,000 years ago, and is thought to have been engraved by Neanderthals. The researchers determined that the marks on the bone are o
  
  Read more

• Project Maps Possible Path of Lost Nile River Branch

  17-05-2024 01:30 via archaeology.org
  WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA—According to a Cosmos Magazine report, geomorphologist Eman Ghoneim of the University of Carolina Wilmington and her colleagues have found evidence of a 40-mile-long branch of the Nile River that flowed some 4,700 years ago along the western banks of the modern Nile. The evidence was collected through the analysis of soil cores, ground-penetrating radar and tomography surveys conducted by the Egyptian National Institute, and the study of historic maps. The sugges
  
  Read more

• Revolutionary War Barracks Found in Virginia

  17-05-2024 00:58 via archaeology.org
  WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA—WAVY 10 reports that traces of a barracks dated to the Revolutionary War period have been found near the visitor center at Colonial Williamsburg. Historic maps and documents indicate that the barracks was constructed between 1776 and 1777 to house up to 2,000 soldiers and 100 horses on an area of roughly three to four acres. The structures are thought to have been burned down in 1781 by British troops under the command of General Charles Cornwallis. Artifacts re
  
  Read more

• Roman Gold Coin Discovered on Island of Alderney

  17-05-2024 00:57 via archaeology.org
  BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY, CHANNEL ISLANDS—A gold coin has been discovered at a Roman site on the island of Alderney, according to a BBC News report. The coin has been dated to the fourth century A.D., during the reign of the emperor Valens, who ruled from A.D. 364 to 378. Archaeologist Phil de Jersey said the coin will help researchers date the Roman occupation of the site. “It’s all adding to the picture of the intensive Roman settlement that was here,” he said. To read abo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 1,800-Year-Old Tombs Excavated in Eastern China

  16-05-2024 02:46 via archaeology.org
  RIZHAO, CHINA—The Miami Herald reports that three tombs have been discovered inside a partially damaged burial mound near the coast of eastern China by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Each of the tombs, which have been dated to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), has a sloping passageway to its entrance and held two burials. Two of the structures carried the surname Huan, suggesting that the structures belonged to the same family. And while two of the tombs
  
  Read more

• Hair Analysis Hints at Beethoven’s Health Status

  16-05-2024 02:18 via archaeology.org
  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—According to a Live Science report, analysis of two hair samples attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven by a team of researchers including Nader Fifai of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and William Meredith of San José State University has detected high levels of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, and mercury. DNA analysis of the hair samples indicated that they both came from the same person, or from a set of identical twins. The DN
  
  Read more

• New Thoughts on Decline of Roman Town in Egypt

  16-05-2024 01:04 via archaeology.org
  ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN—According to a Newsweek report, Laura Motta of the University of Michigan and her colleagues radiocarbon dated plant remains recovered from the site of Karanis and found that this Roman agricultural settlement in Egypt's Fayum Oasis was probably abandoned later than previously thought. Thousands of people are thought to have lived in Karanis, based upon the residential neighborhoods, production facilities, granaries, temples, and the bath complex that have been unearthe
  
  Read more

• Underground Anomaly Detected in Giza’s Western Cemetery

  15-05-2024 05:32 via archaeology.org
  CAIRO, EGYPT—An L-shaped structure was detected using ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography about six feet beneath Giza’s Western Cemetery by a team of scientists from Tohoku University, Higashi Nippon International University, and Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, according to a Live Science report. During the Old Kingdom period, members of the royal family and high-ranking officials were buried in stone or mudbrick struc
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Indoor Pool Uncovered at Roman Villa in Albania

  15-05-2024 05:03 via archaeology.org
  DURRËS, ALBANIA—According to a Miami Herald report, an indoor pool has been uncovered at a Roman villa located near western Albania’s Adriatic coastline. Researchers from Albania’s National Institute of Cultural Heritage said that the 1,600-year-old rectangular pool is decorated with well-preserved mosaics. Two shallow bathtubs coated with waterproof mortar were also found at the site. In another area of the villa, the excavators also unearthed a large brick floor, several
  
  Read more

• Endurance Running May Have Helped Prehistoric Hunters

  15-05-2024 04:45 via archaeology.org
  ONTARIO, CANADA—Science Magazine reports that archaeologist Eugène Morin of Trent University, behavioral ecologist Bruce Winterhalder of University of California, Davis, and their colleagues reviewed historic accounts written by travelers, explorers, and missionaries for information about persistence hunting, the practice of chasing prey at a run over long distances. The researchers found 391 descriptions of persistence hunting in the more than 8,000 texts written between the sixtee
  
  Read more

• Unusual Ancient Burial in Austria Reevaluated

  14-05-2024 03:02 via archaeology.org
  VIENNA, AUSTRIA—According to a Live Science report, radiocarbon dating and the analysis of DNA samples taken from the remains of two people buried in the same grave with a horse some 1,800 years ago in northern Austria reveals that they were first-degree relatives—either mother and daughter or sisters. It had been previously thought that the two individuals may have been a married couple that lived during the medieval period. The older woman is estimated to have been between the ages
  
  Read more

• 5,000-Year-Old Rock Art in Sudan May Reflect Climate Change

  14-05-2024 02:37 via archaeology.org
  SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—Rock art depicting boats and cattle has been discovered in Sudan’s Atbai Desert, more than 60 miles from Wadi Halfa and the shores of Lake Nubia, according to a Cosmos Magazine report. The images have been dated to 5,000 years ago. “At this early prehistoric period, we have almost no evidence of Egyptians or Nubians going this far into the desert and that’s why it was really unexpected to find this large scene of boats,” said Julien Cooper of Macqu
  
  Read more

• Final Excavation Planned at Scotland’s Ness of Brodgar

  14-05-2024 02:08 via archaeology.org
  ORKNEY, SCOTLAND—According to a report in The Guardian, a final excavation will be conducted at the Ness of Brodgar this summer. Discovered in 2003, the six-acre site is located on an isthmus in the West Mainland of Orkney that separates the Loch of Stenness and the Loch of Harray. “There are more than 100 buildings here,” said archaeologist Nick Card. The monumental Neolithic structures include buildings linked to outhouses and kitchens by stone walkways. Cattle bones, pottery
  
  Read more

• Possible Roman Waystation Uncovered in England

  14-05-2024 02:06 via archaeology.org
  COTSWOLDS, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a Roman settlement was discovered during a road construction project in southwestern England. The settlement was situated along the road that connected Roman Cirencester and Gloucester, said Alex Thompson of Oxford Cotswold Archaeology. “We think that our settlement was being used to help with people that were travelling along the road and probably something to do with horses,” he said. Travelers may have stopped at the site to exchange
  
  Read more

• Audio News for May 5th through the 11th, 2024

  13-05-2024 19:08 via archaeologychannel.org
  
  
  News items read by Laura Kennedy include:Roman shipwreck held fish sauce(details)(details)New linguistic model shows four waves of migration into the Americas(details)(details)Microarchaeology provides new precision for early history of Jerusalem(details)(details)English study shows leprosy could come from Medieval red squirrels(details)(details)
  
  Read more

• 16th- and 17th-Century Fabrics and Shoes Discovered in Poland

  11-05-2024 00:42 via archaeology.org
  TORUŃ, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that fragments of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century clothing and shoes in both eastern and western styles were discovered in a layer of mulch during an investigation conducted ahead of a construction project in the Chełmińskie Przedmieście neighborhood of the city of Toruń, which is located in north-central Poland. Archaeologist Małgorzata Grupa said that the large collection, including fine woolens, silks, and a cloth
  
  Read more

• Face of 4,000-Year-Old Warrior Recreated in Norway

  11-05-2024 00:37 via archaeology.org
  TRONDHEIM, NORWAY—According to a statement released by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), archaeologist Birgitte Skar of the NTNU University Museum and her colleagues have created an image of the human remains known as Hitra Man, which were discovered in 1916 on the island of Hitra, based upon continuing DNA and isotope analysis of his remains. The studies suggest that the man was about 25 years old at the time of his death some 4,000 years ago, that he ate mostly l
  
  Read more

• Traces of a Royal Medieval Church Found in Hungary

  11-05-2024 00:35 via archaeology.org
  VISEGRÁD, HUNGARY—Hungary Today reports that traces of a fifteenth-century Christian church have been found in Visegrád, the site of a fortified medieval castle on a hill on the Danube River in northern Hungary. The Church of the Virgin Mary had been part of a Franciscan monastery founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg, and built next to his palace. Sigismund, the son of Charles IV, ruled as King of Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia, and eventually as Holy Roman Emperor from
  
  Read more

• Head of a Large Statue Unearthed at Cambodia’s Angkor Thom

  11-05-2024 00:32 via archaeology.org
  SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA—An excavation conducted by Cambodia’s Heritage Protection Police and the APSARA National Authority near the Angkor Thom temple complex has uncovered the head of a statue of a deity, according to The Phnom Pen Post. Angkor Thom, built in the late twelfth century by Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1218), was the last capital of the Khmer Empire. The carving, including pieces of its mouth and nose, was found about 330 feet from the city’s Victory Gate, where
  
  Read more

• Roman Lead Ingots From Spain Studied

  10-05-2024 05:21 via archaeology.org
  CÓRDOBA, SPAIN—According to a statement released by the University of Córdoba, recent analysis of three first-century A.D. lead ingots recovered from southern Spain’s site of Los Escoriales de Doña Rama in the twentieth century suggests that ancient Córdoba, the capital of the Roman region of Baetica, was a center for smelting lead. The Romans used the metal to make spoons, tiles, pipes, and other everyday objects. Each ingot is about 18 inches long, trian
  
  Read more

• Possible Algonquian Capital Identified in North Carolina

  10-05-2024 04:38 via archaeology.org
  DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA—According to an IFL Science report, researchers led by Eric Klingelhofer of the First Colony Foundation have uncovered evidence for a palisade and nine houses at the possible site of an Algonquian village within Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Explorers Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlow wrote of their visit to an Algonquian village in 1584, and described it as having “nine houses, built of cedar, and fortified round with sharp trees.” The possible vil
  
  Read more

• Stone Inscribed With Ireland’s Ogham Script Found in England

  09-05-2024 06:03 via archaeology.org
  COVENTRY, ENGLAND—The Irish Times reports that an inscribed rectangular piece of sandstone was discovered by a gardener in his yard in England’s West Midlands. He sent photographs of the rock to a local archaeologist, who identified the markings as ogham, an early medieval alphabet consisting of groups of parallel lines for writing the Irish language. “This particular find has given us a new insight into early medieval activity in Coventry, which we still need to make sense of,
  
  Read more

• Human Remains Unearthed at Historic Church in Iceland

  09-05-2024 05:35 via archaeology.org
  GARðABÆR, ICELAND—An excavation conducted at Bessastaðir church on the west coast of Iceland uncovered the remains of two people, according to an Iceland Review report. Occupation of the Bessastaðir farmstead dates back to the tenth or eleventh century. In the thirteenth century, it was owned by the historian, poet, and politician Snorri Sturluson, before it became a royal stronghold. In the late eighteenth century, Bessastaðir was once again used as a farm until the
  
  Read more

• Iron Age Necropolis Excavated in Italy

  08-05-2024 05:34 via archaeology.org
  AMOROSI, ITALY—A 2,800-year-old necropolis containing 88 pit tombs and two large burial mounds was discovered in southern Italy, according to a Live Science report. The necropolis is thought to have been used by the Iron Age “Pit Tomb” culture of central and southern Italy. The mounds, which measure about 50 feet across, may cover the burials of elite members of the society. Weapons have been found buried with men, while pieces of worked amber and bone, and bronze ornaments suc
  
  Read more

• 400-Year-Old Pottery Workshop Uncovered in France

  08-05-2024 05:09 via archaeology.org
  MONTREUIL-SUR-MER, FRANCE—A pottery workshop has been uncovered near the coast of northern France, according to a Miami Herald report. Researchers from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) found a collection of pots and two kilns at the site. The main kiln, thought to have been in use from the late sixteenth century into the early seventeenth century, was constructed of bricks in an almond shape. Several pots in addition to pottery waste were found in
  
  Read more

• Bronze Age Well Lined With Wood Discovered in England

  08-05-2024 04:51 via archaeology.org
  OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND—According to a statement released by the Oxfordshire County Council, a Bronze Age well lined with wood was uncovered during an investigation conducted by Oxford Archaeology ahead of a road construction project in southeastern England. The well is thought to have been used for agricultural purposes by people living in a nearby settlement. “When investigating what appeared to be a standard pit for the site, the archaeological team started exposing the remains of a
  
  Read more

• New Dates Obtained for Modern Human Remains in China

  07-05-2024 04:47 via archaeology.org
  QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA—Cosmos Magazine reports that remains of modern humans discovered in a cave in southern China’s Liujiang District in 1958 may be much younger than previously thought. It had been suggested that the bones were approximately 227,000 years old, but the new dates, based upon radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and U-series dating, indicate that they are between 23,000 and 33,000 years old. “These revised age estimates align with dates
  
  Read more

• Volunteers Assist Search for 19th-Century Structures in Oregon

  07-05-2024 04:30 via archaeology.org
  SALEM, OREGON—Students from Willamette University and volunteers from the Oregon Archaeological Society assisted City of Salem archaeologist Kimberli Fitzgerald with the search for a parsonage constructed by Methodist missionaries in 1841, according to the Salem Reporter. The Christian missionaries sailed south from the east coast of the United States, around the tip of South America, and stopped in the Hawaiian Islands to resupply before continuing north to the coast of Oregon. The missio
  
  Read more

• Comparison of American Languages Detects Waves of Migration

  07-05-2024 04:28 via archaeology.org
  BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—According to a Live Science report, historical linguist Johanna Nichols of the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues analyzed the structures of 60 languages found in the United States and Canada, and determined that they derived from two main language groups that left Siberia and entered North America in at least four distinct waves of migration. The analysis focuses on 16 features of the languages, including syllable structure, the gender of nouns, an
  
  Read more

• Audio News for April 28th through May 4th, 2024

  06-05-2024 17:41 via archaeologychannel.org
  
  
  News items read by Laura Kennedy include:Ancient Pueblo communicated through conch-shell trumpets(details)Ritual and medicinal plant DNA preserved under ancient Maya ball court(details)(details)Neanderthal woman’s face is reconstructed(details)Paleolithic North African hunter-gatherers ate plant-based diet(details)(details)
  
  Read more

Follow @new_archaeology on Twitter!