archaeology

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Statue of Roman Ruler Unearthed in Turkey

Marble Marcus Aurelius discovered amid rubble

(Newser) - A rich archaeological site in southern Turkey has yielded another spectacular find: the head and limbs of an enormous statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Excavators at Sagalassos, who had previously discovered bits of Hadrian and the Empress Faustina, say the new discovery, with its 3-foot head, represents some...

Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery
 Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery 
Aug 15, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

Sahara Yields Ancient Cemetery

Find shows desert was once lush, green, populated

(Newser) - Explorers hunting for dinosaur bones have found a Stone Age cemetery deep in the Sahara desert, National Geographic reports. The team of paleontologists discovered bones from two separate ancient human cultures that lived in the region as long as 10,000 years ago, when monsoon rains turned parts of the...

Dig Finds Washington's Home (No Cherry Tree)

Archaeologists excavate boyhood home of founding father

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found the childhood home of George Washington, the New York Times reports—and despite the popular legend, there's no cherry tree anywhere on the premises. Researchers describe the founding father's Virginia digs as “a very nice gentry house” sporting eight rooms—not the simple cottage pictured in...

Expert Tunes Into Aztec 'Death Whistles'

Sounds from pre-Columbian ceremonies brought back to life

(Newser) - A Mexican engineer has worked for decades to bring the sounds of the Aztecs back to life, reports the AP. Roberto Velazquez has created replicas of the instruments found at many archaeological sites—including the eerie "Whistles of Death" discovered with a skeleton in an ancient temple—and experimented...

New Findings Shatter Old Mayan Theories

Decades of local disasters slowly undermined their cities

(Newser) - Some experts want to drain Mayan history of its high drama—the sudden collapse, and desperate migration—to tell a longer, slower story, USA Today reports. Classic history claims that Mayan cities imploded quickly around 900 AD, and their people trekked north to colonize in the Yucatan—but experts now...

1780 British Warship Found
 1780 British Warship Found 
Jun 14, 2008 6:22 AM CDT

1780 British Warship Found

Extraordinarily well-preserved Revolutionary War sloop located in Lake Ontario

(Newser) - Two intrepid explorers using sonar and a remote-controlled submersible have discovered what may be the oldest shipwreck in the Great Lakes, the AP reports. HMS Ontario, a British warship carrying as many as 130, sank in a storm in Lake Ontario in 1780. Since 1781, when six sailors’ bodies washed...

Jordan Cave May Be World's First Church

Unearthed cavern could be oldest place of Christian worship

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found what might be the world’s oldest Christian church in Rihab, Jordan, the BBC reports. The cavern, located under the also-ancient church of St. Georgeous, dates to between 33 and 70 AD, and doubled as a home.

Stonehenge Reveals Itself: It's a Cemetery

Scientists find remains from 3,000 to 2,500 BC, before the familiar stones went up

(Newser) - Before Stonehenge was Stonehenge, it was a cemetery, the New York Times reports. Around the time the first monumental rocks were installed in 2500 BC, the last of an estimated 240 human burials took place at the English site. Researchers say it was likely the burial ground of a ruling...

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb
Vatican Opens Ancient
Pagan Tomb
May 28, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb

After a year of restoration, public sees necropolis gem

(Newser) - After a year of restoration work, the Vatican has unveiled one of the most luxurious pagan tombs buried in the necropolis beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, the AP reports. Built by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the second century, the once open-air tomb was buried by Emperor Constantine in the fourth...

Archaeologist: I've Found Cleopatra's Tomb

Discovery could be biggest in decades

(Newser) - A leading archaeologist in Egypt has announced he’s found the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, the Times of London reports. Zahi Hawass believes the ancient lovers are buried beneath a temple near Alexandria, where he found a 400-foot tunnel. “We’ve found tunnels with statues of Cleopatra...

US Firm Must Return Sunken Treasure: Spain

'We want it all back,' navy official says of $500M in booty from 19th-century wreck

(Newser) - Spain filed evidence today in support of its claim it is the rightful owner of a shipwreck loaded with $500 million in treasure discovered and looted by a US exploration firm, the AP reports. The Spanish government identifies the wreck, whose identity has been disputed over the past year, as...

Stonehenge Riddle Solved?
 Stonehenge Riddle Solved?  
May 4, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Stonehenge Riddle Solved?

Bluestones may prove site was a healing temple

(Newser) - A British team has excavated Stonehenge in hope of showing it was once a temple used for healing, the Los Angeles Times reports. Archaeologists focused on the site's 4,000-year-old bluestones, a twin circle of huge rocks, for proof of their origins and purpose. Shamans and witch doctors once likely...

Peru Dig Yields 4000-Year Old Gold Necklace

Oldest bling in the Americas shows primitives liked prestige

(Newser) - Researchers have dug up the oldest piece of crafted gold in the Americas, a 4,000-year old gold necklace, LiveScience reports. Found at a pre-Inca burial site in Peru, the bling proves that primitive societies sought displays of wealth. It signals "the social process towards some kind of inequality,...

New Fossil Rocks Human History
 New Fossil Rocks Human History
Mar 27, 2008 8:05 AM CDT

New Fossil Rocks Human History

Indicates man settled in Europe far earlier than thought

(Newser) - An incredibly old jawbone discovered in a Spanish cave could rewrite human history, scientists say. The bone with teeth is 1.2 million years old and belongs to a long-extinct human ancestor called Homo antecessor. It's at least 300,000 years older than any other human fossil found in Europe....

Archaeologists Unearth Pre-Inca Temple

'Sacred ceremonial nature' of site surprises researchers

(Newser) - Archaeologists have dug up a pre-Incan temple that sheds light on a lost Peruvian culture, the AP reports. Nestled in a mountain region, the sprawling site housed the Killke people as they fended off an encroaching Spanish empire around 1200 AD. Evidence of mummies and idols shows that the Killke...

Ancient Plaza Found in Peru
Ancient Plaza Found in Peru
Feb 26, 2008 1:50 PM CST

Ancient Plaza Found in Peru

Site may be oldest urban structure in the Americas

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Peru have unearthed one of the oldest structures in the Americas, Reuters reports. Carbon dating indicates the ceremonial plaza in Casma is 5,500 years old, scientists at the dig say. That's 500 years older than the nearby ancient citadel of Caral, previously thought be Peru’s oldest...

Climate Swing Jump-Started Civilization

El Nino shift 5K years ago led Peruvians to take up farming

(Newser) - An ancient Peruvian civilization may have been kick-started by a climate swing. Five thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers moved inland from the seashore, settling in arid, desolate river valleys where they learned to farm. Archaeologist Jonathan Haas thinks the new settlers were spurred to move by more frequent El Ninos, which...

Newfound Altar Predates Zeus Worship

Archaeologists uncover evidence of ancient pre-Greek diety

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Greece have unearthed the remains of an altar that predates Zeus worship, the New York Times reports. The evidence of animal sacrifices to an unknown deity thousands of years ago turned up during excavation of a temple to Zeus in Greece's Arcadia region. “We went from BC...

Mayans Sacrificed Boys—Not Virgin Girls

Mexican archaeologist brings up surprising new evidence

(Newser) - The human sacrifices offered up to the Mayan gods in Pre-Columbian Mexico were likely boys and young men, not virgin girls, Reuters reports. A Mexican archaeologist has ventured into the sacred sinkholes of Chichen Itza to recover bones from 127 bodies, and discovered that more than 80% of them came...

Pyramid Unearthed in Mexico City
Pyramid
Unearthed
in Mexico City
Dec 28, 2007 10:58 AM CST

Pyramid Unearthed in Mexico City

Newfound Aztec ruins predate known sites by at least a century

(Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of modern Mexico City. The ruins, which are approximately 36 feet high, stand on the former site of Tlatelolco, a center of political and religious power and the twin city of Tenochtitlan. The discovery indicates that the...

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