archaeology

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Piles of Old Shells Are Important, Endangered History Lesson

Behind the effort to save the middens of Maine

(Newser) - "They were eating oysters like crazy," an archaeologist says of Native Americans who visited what is now the coast of Maine for thousands of years. And it's a good thing they did. The piles of discarded oyster shells created by hungry Native Americans over centuries are an...

From Viking Clothing Fragments, a 'Staggering' Find

The word 'Allah' opens the possibility that some Vikings were Muslim

(Newser) - Is it possible some Vikings were Muslim? That's a question the National Post is asking following the discovery of Viking funeral garb embroidered with ancient Arabic characters spelling "Allah." Annika Larsson of Uppsala University tells the BBC she was examining fragments of clothing discovered in 1,000-year-old...

'Tomb of Santa Claus' Found Under Church

Archaeologists may have found St. Nick's final resting place

(Newser) - Archaeologists believe they have found the final resting place of jolly old St. Nick—and it's nowhere near the North Pole. According to accounts in the Turkish media, researchers think "Santa Claus" is buried under an ancient church near the saint's birthplace in Antalya, southern Turkey, Newsweek...

Archaeologists on the Hunt for Paul Revere's Poop

They're searching for Boston outhouse that patriot may have used

(Newser) - No. 1 if by land, No. 2 if by sea? Archaeologists are excavating what they believe was the site of an outhouse next door to Paul Revere's home—and the "privy," as the colonists politely called their potties, could be flush with artifacts. Historians say people typically...

Hunters Find Ancient Sword Still Ready for Action

Viking artifact, found on mountain, is just a little rusty

(Newser) - A Norwegian archaeologist says a well-preserved, if rusty, iron sword dating to the Viking era has been found in southern Norway. Lars Holger Piloe says the nearly 3-foot-long sword was found slid down between rocks with the blade sticking out, and may have been left by a person who got...

High-Ranking Viking Warrior's Remains Yield a Big Surprise

'Ultimate' grave was long thought to have held a man, but belonged to a woman

(Newser) - Ancient tales of fierce female Vikings fighting alongside men appear to be rooted in truth, according to archaeologists in Sweden. One of the most impressive graves in a burial ground near Birka, a major Viking settlement, has turned out to be that of a woman believed to have been a...

Tomb of Ancient Goldsmith Found in Egypt

Site in Luxor includes a burial shaft with mummies

(Newser) - Egypt has announced the discovery in the southern city of Luxor of a pharaonic tomb belonging to a royal goldsmith who lived more than 3,500 years ago during the reign of the 18th dynasty. The tomb is located on the west bank of the river Nile in a cemetery...

Girl Pulls Sword From Excalibur's Fabled Resting Place

Her dad says it's 'probably an old film prop'

(Newser) - Legend has it that King Arthur ordered a faithful servant to throw his sword , Excalibur, into a lake after he was mortally wounded in battle. A British 7-year-old has just pulled a sword from that very spot. While on holiday in Cornwall on Aug. 29, Matilda Jones asked her dad...

Skeleton Found in Underwater Cave One of Oldest in Americas

Too bad thieves stole it

(Newser) - Back in 2012, divers in Mexico discovered a human skeleton submerged in a cave on the Yucatan Peninsula and posted photos to social media, drawing the attention of scientists. "I immediately knew that we had something special," paleontologist Wolfgang Stinnesbeck tells Inverse . But by the time researchers arrived...

They Ate Their Friend. Then They Made Art
They Ate Their Friend.
Then They Made Art
NEW STUDY

They Ate Their Friend. Then They Made Art

15K-year-old human radial bone shows signs of ritual cannibalism

(Newser) - The radius and the ulna bones of the forearm were separated at the joint, cleaned, and chewed. But that was only the start of a cannibalistic ritual taking place in England some 15,000 years ago, scientists say after analyzing a bone with unusual markings found in a cave in...

Civil War-Era 'Corduroy Road' Uncovered in Michigan

The road is made of logs

(Newser) - Before the days of asphalt, Americans got around on "corduroy roads" made of logs, which were particularly useful for traversing swampy stretches of land. In a welcome blast from the past, Michigan's own versions have resurfaced after more than a century. Workers digging for a construction project in...

'Exceptional' Roman Site Dug Up in France

It's a 'real little Pompeii,' says lead archaeologist

(Newser) - Archaeologists are calling an ancient Roman neighborhood discovered in southeast France a "real little Pompeii" dotted with well-preserved mosaics, shops, and noble homes. "We're unbelievably lucky. This is undoubtedly the most exceptional excavation of a Roman site in 40 or 50 years," lead digger Benjamin Clement...

Archaeologists Find Tomb With Possible Ties to King Tut

It could belong to his wife, Ankhesenamun

(Newser) - The two daughters King Tut is believed to have had with wife Ankhesenamun were stillborn, their mummified fetuses found in Tut's tomb nearly a century ago, the Telegraph reported in 2008. But what of Ankhesenamun, who was also Tut's half sister? It's possible her grave has just...

Ancient Text by Father of Medicine Unearthed

Scientists say medicinal recipe attributed to Hippocrates revealed in Egyptian monastery

(Newser) - Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine, and now researchers in Egypt have found what they say is one of his original texts, reports National Geographic . The discovery came during restoration of the library at the ancient St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, and it took some sleuthing....

The Wreckage Was Found in 2010. Now, Bones

Discovery made near wreckage of the Tulsamerican off Croatia

(Newser) - Divers have located human bones near the wreckage of a US bomber that crashed in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia in 1944. The discovery was made last week at the site of the crash of the Tulsamerican, the last B-24 Liberator bomber built in Tulsa, Okla., near the end of...

Archaeologists Find Tunnel That May Emulate Underworld

The passageway was discovered under the Pyramid of the Moon

(Newser) - What would make the discovery of a secret passageway under Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Moon even more intriguing? A theory that the tunnel was used to emulate the underworld, to start. CT scans performed by archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History in June indicate that...

This Crocodile Once Terrorized the Dinosaurs

Its head was the size of a washing machine; its teeth the size of bananas

(Newser) - Meet Razanandrongobe sakalavae, the giant dinosaur-killing crocodile that roamed what is now Madagascar 165 million years ago. Razana, as it's known for short, was first discovered a decade ago, but due to limited fossilized remains, little was known about the creature until recently. Thanks to research published Tuesday in...

Deep Beneath Mexico City, a Chilling Find

A tower of Aztec skulls includes the remains of women and children

(Newser) - A chilling find deep under old Mexico City has experts rethinking the Aztec practice of human sacrifice, Reuters reports. Archaeologists who discovered a tower of more than 650 skulls and fragments were stunned to see the crania of women and children. The new find is believed to be part of...

At 12K Feet, Humans Did the Unimaginable
At 12K Feet, Humans
Did the Unimaginable
new study

At 12K Feet, Humans Did the Unimaginable

Researchers find evidence of permanent residency some 7K years ago

(Newser) - Researchers call it one of the "last frontiers of human colonization": very high elevations where the oxygen is sparse and the temperatures are icy. Now research out of the Andean highlands of South America suggests the humans who braved such conditions more than 7,000 years ago did so...

'Pompeii-Like Scene' Found During Digging for New Subway

Charred ruins of an early 3rd-century building are unearthed

(Newser) - Digging for Rome's new subway has unearthed the charred ruins of an early 3rd-century building and the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a crouching dog that apparently perished in the same blaze that collapsed the structure. Archaeologists on Monday said they made the discovery on May 23 while examining a...

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