Did Red Squirrels Spread Leprosy in Medieval England?
In a scientific first, an international team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States has found evidence to suggest that at least one species of animal was passing leprosy on to humans in medieval England. The animal in question is the red squirrel, a creature that lived in even closer proximity […]
Cosmic Rays, Tree Rings, and the Real Story of the Building of Jerusalem
A new archaeological study of ancient Jerusalem is forcing experts to reevaluate some of their past assumptions about the history of that holy city. New research has presented evidence that Biblical accounts of that history are more accurate than previously believed, and that Jerusalem was already a growing city even before the reign of the […]
4,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs Discovered on Rock Outcropping in Kazakhstan
While laboring in southern Kazakhstan in the Karatau Mountains as part of a crew involved in an environmental restoration campaign, a group of volunteers were shocked but delighted to discover a set of previously undetected rock carvings that likely date back to the Bronze Age (2,000 BC). There were dozens of images spanning the length […]
Ancient Chacoan Settlements Used Conch-Shell Trumpets to Keep in Touch
A team of archaeologists from universities in New York and Arizona have just published a fascinating new study that reports on the impressive auditory range of conch-shell trumpets used by Native Americans who occupied the lands of modern-day New Mexico more than 1,000 years ago. In an article appearing in the journal Antiquity, the archaeologists present […]
DNA Study Reveals Cultural Truths About Avar Warriors
Based on the analysis of several hundred skeletons, a new genetic study revealed fascinating new information about how the society of the Avars was organized. These formerly nomadic migrants dominated the Carpathian Basin region from the mid-sixth through the early ninth centuries AD. The Avars were an enigmatic culture of warriors who occupied the Great […]
Amputation Found to be Elite Punishment in 550 BC
A team of researchers recently completed a study into the origins of two ancient skeletons from China that were both missing parts of their lower leg at the time they were buried. Based on extensive analysis of these human remains, the researchers concluded that the two individuals were aristocratic men who lived during the Eastern Zhou dynasty […]
Bronze Age German Grave was Built to Hold a “Zombie”
There’s always something new in archaeology, it would seem. In an unexpected development, archaeologists performing excavations in eastern Germany excavated a 4,200-year-old grave containing the skeleton of a man who was apparently believed to be at risk of becoming a “zombie”. The archaeologists reached this conclusion because this individual, who was somewhere between the ages […]
2nd Century Colonnaded Roman Road Unearthed in Turkey
During recent excavations along Turkey’s southwestern Mediterranean coastline in the city of Antalya, archaeologists have found something big. A partial section of a colonnaded road has been excavated which dates back to the Roman era, which for this town began in 133 BC. Originating near the city’s ancient protective walls, the spectacular avenue is estimated […]
Villa Where Augustus Died May Have Been Excavated Near Mount Vesuvius
Archaeologists from the University of Tokyo has excavated what may be the remains of the Villa of Augustus, a first-century grand estate that was built near Somma Vesuviana, a town located in the greater Naples area in southern Italy. This is where the first Roman emperor, the legendary Augustus Caeser, was said to have died in […]
Oldest City Found on a Pacific Island Was Constructed in 300 AD in Tonga
With the assistance of data obtained in 2011 with advanced laser scanning technology, archaeologists have been able to identify the remains of a 1,700-year-old lost city on the island of Tongatapu in the Tonga island chain. Using the LiDAR remote sensing system, a popular tool for archaeologists performing aerial surveys, researchers spotted and mapped nearly […]