Archaeology on ZME Science

Stunning cave findings show Neanderthals made fire way before humans

Deep inside the Bruniquel Cave in France, a set of man-made structures 336 meters from the entrance lie as evidence to the former populations which inhabited the cave. These are among the oldest structures created by humans, and they have quite a story to tell about some of our ancestors. Until now, the earliest dated structures go back to […]

Oldest beer making tools found in China are 5,000-years-old

Ancient Chinese villagers already mastered beer making more than 5,000 years ago, according to archaeologists who found beer-making equipment in the Shaanxi province.

Chinese scientist finds earliest known fossil of complex life, paper met with heavy criticism

A new discovery may place the first appearance of complex life on Earth a full billion years earlier than previously thought. The scientific community is divided on the value of the find, some hailing it as rock-solid evidence while others dismiss it as inconclusive.

Here's why there's almost certainly no hidden chamber in Tutankhamun's tomb

The entire world of archaeology was electrified by recent announcements of a hidden chamber in Tutankhamun’s tomb. The story had it all – maybe even too much – false walls, hidden riches, even a mummy, Nefertiti’s mummy. But while the whole situation is still in the air, more and more doubt is being cast on the […]

Ancient recipes: Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken)

Perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects of archaeology is cooking. We know surprisingly little about how people used to cook in ancient times, although a few delicious recipes managed to slip through the cracks and remain recorded. Such is the case with Pullum Numidicum (Numidian Chicken), a simple, delicious and authentic Roman recipe. The dish […]

A 15 year old may have discovered a hidden Maya city by studying Maya constellations... or not

A teenager from Quebec might have discovered a hidden Maya city simply by looking at the stars.

2,000-year-old horseracing rules found in Turkey

Gentlemanly rules for an ancient sport.

Israeli archaeologists uncover roman-period glass factory underpinning trade throughout the empire

Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a 1,600 year-old complex of glass kilns in the Jezreel Valley. Their size indicates that Israel was one of the most important glass manufacturing center in the ancient world, says Dr. Yael Gorin-Rosen, IAA's Glass Department head curator.

Fossil Friday: Helicoprion

Helicoprion is an extinct genus of shark-like, cartilaginous fish that lived from the early Permian (~290 m.y. ago) all through to the massive Permian-Triassic extinction episode (roughly 250 m.y. ago.)

Archaeologists unearth what looks like the 2nd Viking Settlement in North America

If confirmed, the findings could rewrite history.

Scientists may be able to read scrolls burned by lava in AD 79

In the year 79, the Vesuvius volcano erupted, wiping out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing at least 1,500 people. But while Pompeii usually takes the spotlight, it's Herculaneum that may provide us with key information.

Shakespeare's head appears to be missing from his grave, new study finds

What was once discarded as a myth or an urban legend may actually be true – geophysical studies seem to indicate that Shakespeare’s head may be missing from the grave, possibly stolen by graverobbers in the 19th century. The bard is buried in the beautiful Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Shakespeare was buried in his home-town church, […]

Viking treasure pot, opened more than 1,000 years after it was hidden in modern Galloway

The first images of Viking treasure, stashed in a pot more than 1,000 years ago and buried in a field in Galloway, have been made public by the conservators working to preserve them. The items, including six silver disk brooches, a gold ingot and Byzantine silk, are not currently on display.

Israeli hiker finds extremely rare coin, second of its kind

Whenever I see a glint in the grass, it’s either a penny or nothing at all. But when Israeli hiker Laurie Rimon found a coin, it was such a rare find that archaeologists only found a single one similar to it. Israeli scientists believe the coin is part of a series made by the Roman Emperor […]

400,000-year-old fossils from Spain provide earliest genetic evidence of Neandertals

Researchers working in Spain have made a surprising finding: Neanderthals emerged much earlier than previously believed, perhaps as far as half a million years ago.

Complete wheel from the Bronze Age found in the UK

Archaeologists have uncovered one of the biggest and best-preserved wheels from the Bronze Age, dating from nearly 3,000 years ago. The wheel holds a special place in human culture – even though we rarely give wheels a second thought, they basically revolutionized our world, allowing us to redefine transportation. After all, there’s a reason why something […]

Human teeth got smaller or missing due to tool use

Alistair Evans of Monash University in Australia took a refreshing look at hominid teeth evolution. He found human evolution was much simpler than previously thought, but also that wisdom teeth considerably shrank around the time complex tools began to be used.

The original haute couture: archaeologists unearth fabrics from King Solomon's time

Recent archaeological findings in the Timna region in Israel's southern Arava Valley showcase the surprising variety and quality of the clothes worn some 3,000 years ago.

UK Archaeologists find 5 long-lost Roman roads

British archaeologists have uncovered five Roman roads built over 2,000 years ago using a technology called LIDAR - a mix between LASER and RADAR.

3,000 year-old fingerprints found on Egyptian coffin

When archaeology meets forensics - a team of British researchers has found three thousand year old fingerprints on the lid of an Egyptian coffin.

Cultural-heritage-protection task force created by Italy and the UN

Following ISIS's attack and destruction of the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, Italy and the United Nations have joined forces to protect cultural heritage sites in conflict zones.

Easter Island populations were not destroyed by warfare, reseach finds

The Easter Island is one of the biggest mysteries in human history. How people got there and where they came from, how they built the huge moai statues and why, and what brought their demise are still unsolved questions. But at leas for the latter, we may be getting a bit closer to the truth. The previously […]

Mysterious, ancient cemetery found in Germany

It all started when archaeologists working in Germany made a surprising discovery, uncovering the bodies of children and of one adult man who was buried, strangely, standing upright. The cemetery was dated to 8,500 years, being one of the oldest – if not the oldest – ever found on the continent. The cemetery dates from the […]

Stunning church discovered in underground city in Turkey

A surprising finding could change the history of orthodoxy.

Archaeologists uncover 4,500-year-old 59-foot boat at a site in Egypt

Archaeologists from the Charles University in Prague have made a stunning discovery in Egypt: they found a stunningly well preserved long boat, buried for four and a half millennia. The discovery was made at Abusir, “the House or Temple of Osiris” and an extensive necropolis with many well documented findings. But Egypt still has a story to […]

3,000 jars of ancient Roman fish sauce discovered in shipwreck

Archaeologists working off the coast of Italy have found a Roman shipwreck containing three thousand fish sauce vessels.

Babylonians used advanced geometry 1,400 years before Oxford

A German astrophysicist decoded ancient Babylonian tablets stuffed with computations. His analysis reveals that these were used by the ancient scholars to predict where and when Jupiter would show up in the night's sky based on abstract computations so advanced they're indispensable to modern science. It's thought analytical geometry was invented at Oxford in the 14th century, but it seems the Babylonians had it covered more than 1,400 years earlier.

10,000 Year Old Hunter-Gatherer Massacre Uncovered

War may have emerged even before humans settled down.

A lost city has been discovered in Honduras - maybe even a new civilization

Archaeologists have reported the stunning discovery of a new (old) city discovered in Honduras.

Cosmic particles might finally explain how Egypt's Pyramids were built

Using cutting edge technology, scientists are now surveying the Great Pyramids of Giza to unravel new clues and maybe find hidden chambers.

"Cave of Forgotten Dreams" may be earliest painting of volcano eruption

Volcanic eruptions have fascinated and frightened people for millennia, and many have tried to describe them in different ways. Whether it was through paintings, text or documentaries, we’ve all seen volcanoes described in one way or another. But for people 30,000 years ago, that was a much more difficult challenge. Now, researchers believe they have […]

Ancient people survived the Arctic 45,000 years ago

Archaeologists working in the arctic have found evidence that ancient humans made it to the arctic some 45,000 years ago.

Archaeologists unearth stunning evidence of prosthetic use in dark age Europe

Austrian archaeologists said on Thursday that they've uncovered Europe's oldest prosthetic implant -- a wooden foot dated from the sixth century AD.

Archaeologists discover Bronze Age "British Pompeii"

Archaeologists have discovered something as valuable as the Roman Pompeii.

Mysterious Russian idol is the oldest wooden object in the world

More than twice the age of the Stonehenge, the Shigir Idol has been recently dated to 11,000 years ago, which makes it the oldest wooden object in existence by far. The idol is also covered with some drawings which may actually be a written language that no one understands.

Prehistoric Art - The Trois Frères Cave

In a cave in France, three bisons stand next to each other, modeled from the clay from the walls of the cave. They’ve been standing there alone for 14,000 years, propped against a small boulder in the darkness. The craftsmanship and durability is remarkable, up to the point where you’d almost think they’re modern; one can […]

144-year old whaling ship found thanks to global warming

Archaeologists working at NOAA made a surprising discovery - they found the remains of a century-and-a-half old whaling ship

3,200-year-old papyrus contains astrophysical information about the Algol star

Many ancient civilizations made astronomical notes, but according to researchers, this is the earliest historical document of naked eye observations on a variable star – Algol. Variable stars are stars with a varying brightness (as seen from Earth), and they probably held a special place in Egyptian astronomy – they made careful notes on these […]

Red Deer Cave bones point to unexpected survival of human ancestors

Partial femur bones found in the renowned Red Deer Cave seems to show that other species of humans overlapped with our own species during the ice age.

There is no 'Nazi Train', Polish geophysicists find

This summer in Poland, two treasure hunters discovered what they believe was a WWII Nazi train filled with treasure, in a buried tunnel. Poland’s Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said authorities were led to the spot and that he was 99% convinced that the treasure had been located. But according to scientists Krakow’s AGH University of Science […]

Forensic Expert creates the most accurate Jesus you've seen so far

Christianity is currently the world's largest religious movement, with an estimated 2.2 billion followers. And because he plays such a huge role in christian mythos and practice, and because of the influence he's had on the course of history (we even date our years after his birth), we all know how Jesus Christ looks like. We've seen it in paintings. on tv, in church, on Christmas; he's white, long haired and wears something thorny. Right?

Archaeologists close in on Suleiman the Magnificent's tomb

Archaeologists believe they have found the he tomb of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled over the Ottoman empire from 1520 to 1566, near the fortress of Szigetvar in southern Hungary.

Stonehenge might have been built in Wales, new evidence suggest

Despite it being studied for many decades, there are still many things we don’t understand about the Stonehenge. Scientists have now identified the original quarries where the bluestones were mined: 225 km away in Wales, and 500 years before the Stonehenge was built! This could indicate that perhaps a proto-version of the Neolithic monument could […]

It's the Motherload: $17 Billion in Loot Found on Sunken Galleon off Colombian Coast

A ship missing for over 300 years has been rediscovered, according to Colombian authorities – a boat with an estimated $17 billion in loot. San José was a 60-gun, 3-masted galleon of the Spanish Navy. It was launched in 1698, and was sunk in the battle off the coast of Cartagena in 1708, during a […]

Archaeologists reveal 5,000 year old Babylonian recipes

While many people are probably consulting Google these days with searches for “easy turkey dinner” or “last minute side dishes”, it’s pretty safe to say there’s no shortage of websites offering answers to those queries. But there is a shortage of recipes thousands of years old. The Yale Babylonian Collection now allowed us to take dinner as humans did […]

800 Year Old "Extinct Big Squash" Revived With Ancient Seeds

Archaeological diggings at the First Nations in Canada unearthed, among others, a small, 800 year old pot - and inside it, squash seeds!

Thermal scans reveal interesting anomaly in Great Pyramid

Even inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, outside of Cairo, researchers have found something interesting.

Fossils of huge rats found in Asia

Archaeologists have discovered fossils of rats 10 times bigger than modern rats. Working with the Australian National University (ANU), the team made the findings in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony in south-east Asia. Dr Julien Louys of the ANU School of Culture, History and Language said these are the largest rat fossils ever to be found, and by […]

Treasure trove of Permian fossils discovered in Brazil

The fossils were discovered in the Parnaiba Basin of north-eastern Brazil, and are some 278 million years old, corresponding to the Permian period, when all the continents we know today were still fused together.

Hiker finds 1,200-yr-old Viking sword in Norway

It could only happen in Norway: a hiker traveling a historic route found a 1,200 year old Viking sword in excellent shape.

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