Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2012

Olympia: Site of Ancient Olympics

Olympia is an ancient Greek sanctuary in the Peloponnese region in southern Greece where every four years the ancient Olympic games were held. Ruins of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. (Image credit: Vovez Shutterstock)Located at the intersection of two rivers, the Alpheus and the Kladeos, Olympia had a...

Nov 30, 2015

Sunken Treasure Ship Worth Billions Possibly Found After 300 Years

The wreck of a lost treasure ship has been found 307 years after it vanished beneath the waves. The galleon San Jose was found at the bottom of the Caribbean off the Colombian coast on Nov. 27, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia said in a statement on Saturday (Dec....

Aug 31, 2015

Board Game Pieces Found in Settlement Built on Roman Military Fort

The remnants of ancient water wells, pearls and hairpins are proof that a group of villagers set up a settlement on top of a military fort in ancient Roman times. About 1,900 years ago, a group of Roman soldiers lived in a fort in what is now Gernsheim, a German...

Jun 30, 2015

Charred Remains of 1,500-Year-Old Hebrew Scroll Deciphered

A burned 1,500-year-old Hebrew scroll found on the shore of the Dead Sea was recently deciphered, 45 years after archaeologists discovered it, researchers in Israel have announced. The deciphering of the scroll, which was a puzzle for us for 45 years, is very exciting, Sefi Porath, the archaeologist who discovered...

Mar 31, 2015

In Photos: Medieval Graveyard Unearthed in Cambridge

This burial ground from a medieval hospital had been hidden for more than a century in Cambridge, England. Archaeologists recently excavated the graveyard and discovered hundreds of skeletons. [Read the full story here] The Old Divinity School of St. John's College (one of the colleges at the Univeristy of Cambridge)...

Jan 31, 2015

Mystery Over 15th-Century Drilled Skull Solved

Researchers at the University of Pisa, Italy, have solved the mystery over the honeycombed skull of one of the Italian martyrs beheaded by 15th century Ottoman Turk invaders when they refused to give up their Christian faith. Featuring 16 perfectly round holes of various sizes and depth, the skull belonged...

Nov 30, 2016

Ancient Stone Bowl Unearthed in Jerusalem Perplexes Experts

It's unclear whether a mysterious 2,100-year-old stone bowl fragment recently unearthed in Jerusalem belonged to royalty or a commoner, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced late last week. The fragment — made from chalk, a type of limestone — is small enough to fit in a person's hand. But it's...

May 31, 2016

100 Silver Pieces Found in Roman-Era 'Hoard' in Scotland

More than 170 years ago, Scottish laborers clearing a rocky field with dynamite discovered three beautiful silver artifacts: a hand pin, a chain and a spiral bangle. But instead of looking for more treasures, they followed orders to turn the field into farmland, squashing hopes of archaeologists for years to...

May 31, 2016

Andrea Doria: Sub Reveals Images of the 'Mount Everest of Shipwrecks'

Detailed close-up sonar images of the legendary Andrea Doria shipwreck have been captured by a manned submersible for the first time since the ship sank 60 years ago. The images, which are still being processed, show the wreck has decayed more than expected. A large section of the bow has...

Apr 30, 2016

Ancient Bison Bones Discovered at Florida Dig Site

The bones of an ancient bison species that lived some 13,000 to 14,000 years ago have been discovered beneath the ground at Vero Beach, Florida, archaeologists announced. The bones were unearthed at one of the oldest and most significant archaeological digs in North America, the Old Vero Man Site. That...

Apr 30, 2016

Mysterious Mass Graves Hold Prisoners of Bloody 17th-Century Battle

Three years ago, archaeologists at Durham University began excavating a site on campus for a proposed addition to the school's library, but work was unexpectedly halted when the researchers uncovered remnants of two mass graves. The discovery ignited a centuries-old mystery, but now, scientists say clues point back to one...

Nov 30, 2017

China’s First Emperor Ordered Official Search for Immortality Elixir

The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, wanted to live forever. Newly discovered documents reveal that 2,200 years ago, he even put out an executive order to search for a potion that would give him eternal life, China’s Xinhua news agency reported. Qin Shi Huang was born in 259...

Nov 30, 2017

6 Strange Sites Spotted on Google Earth in 2017

Introduction (Image credit: Google)Google Earth is the largest publicly searchable visual catalog of our planet ever assembled, both from the perspective of satellites and the view from the street. And every year, intrepid people digging through that catalog make discoveries (scientific, funny or simply strange) that would never have been...

Oct 31, 2017

Time to Celebrate: Ancient Sundial Made to Honor Roman Politician

About 2,000 years ago, a Roman politician celebrated his victory by commissioning a sundial and putting it on display for all to see, according to archaeologists who just discovered the ancient timekeeping device in Italy. It's incredible the sundial and the inscriptions on it survived intact for two millennia, especially...

Sep 30, 2017

Archaeologists Are Hot on the Trail of These 16 Spectacular Mysteries

(Image credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty)Digging up the past can reveal spectacular artifacts and the tales that go with them. But some discoveries, though impressive on their own, hint at something bigger and more intriguing. Those are the mysteries that keep archaeologists up at night. From the cryptic Sea People who are...