Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2019

Assyrian Tablets Contain Earliest Written Record of Aurora’s Sky Glow

Ancient Assyrian stone tablets represent the oldest known reports of auroras, dating to more than 2,500 years ago. The descriptions, written in cuneiform, were found on three stone tablets, dating from 655 B.C. to 679 B.C. They predate other known historical references to auroras by about a century, researchers reported...

Aug 31, 2019

The 'Spanish Stonehenge' Is Above Water for the First Time in 50 Years

After 50 years out of sight beneath the waters of a manmade lake in western Spain, the 7,000-year-old megalithic monument known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal is finally back on dry land — emphasis on dry. As new imagery taken from NASA's Landsat 8 satellite shows, the reappearance of the...

Jun 30, 2019

Philistines, Biblical Enemies of the Israelites, Were European, DNA Reveals

The ancient Philistines — famous for their appearances in the Hebrew Bible, including the story of David and the giant Philistine Goliath — weren't local to what is now modern-day Israel. Instead, this enigmatic group descended from a group of seafaring Europeans, a new study of ancient DNA finds. After...

May 31, 2019

What Are Rock Cairns?

Rock cairns are human-made stacks, mounds or piles of rocks. They take different forms, and have been built by cultures around the world for many different purposes. Cairns may serve as monuments, burial sites, navigational aids (by land or sea), or ceremonial grounds, among other uses. They may stand alone,...

Apr 30, 2019

In Photos: Ancient Cemetery Near Giza Pyramids

Giza cemetery (Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)Archaeologists working southeast of the Giza Pyramids have discovered part of a cemetery that dates back about 4,500 years. It contains a number of tombs and burials, the oldest of which dates to shortly after the Giza Pyramids were completed. [Read more about...

Mar 31, 2019

Offerings to Supernatural Deities Discovered in Lake Titicaca in the Andes

A team of archaeological divers has uncovered dazzling treasures at the bottom of Lake Titicaca, including a puma carved out of the blue gemstone lapis-lazuli, gold medallions and a turquoise stone pendant. These riches were likely offered to supernatural deities hundreds of years ago by elite people from the Tiwanaku...

Jan 31, 2019

Forgotten Parchments About King Arthur, Merlin and the Holy Grail Discovered in UK Library

The librarian hadn't fallen under a magical spell, but he still felt enchanted when he unexpectedly discovered seven handwritten parchments detailing the legendary adventures of Merlin and King Arthur. For years, the documents had lain hidden at the University of Bristol in England. The parchments were discovered in a book...

Jan 31, 2019

Search for Shackleton's Antarctic Shipwreck Turns Back to Avoid Deadly Ice Trap

The inclement weather and heavy ice also caused the loss of one of two autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that had spent several days searching for the wreck on the seafloor. The AUVs were transported by the South African polar research ship Agulhas II. The expedition team announced today (Feb. 14)...

Jan 31, 2019

England's Oldest Cave-Art Site Is Covered with Signs to Ward off Evil Spirits

There's a cave in England where, during the last ice age, ancient people carved images of their world into the walls. Those renderings of bison, birds and reindeer are the only known examples of ice age rock art in Britain. But those same caves, Creswell Crags, were also the site...

Jan 31, 2019

5,600-Year-Old Human Skull Bone Fished Out of the Thames by Lucky 'Mudlarker'

Humans have lived alongside England's River Thames for thousands of years, and they've left some interesting things behind in its muddy waters: wooden clubs for bashing in heads, a toilet that fits three butts at once and sometimes, even bits of human skulls. Tomorrow (Feb. 20), the Museum of London...

Jan 31, 2019

Inca Ritual Baths Fed by Waterfall Reveals More of Its Secrets

Deep in Peru's Sacred Valley, a ceremonial Inca complex — complete with a stone altar and 14 baths — sits in a jungle clearing. And now, cutting-edge radar and laser scans, and on-the-ground excavations are revealing just how the Inca built and used these structures more than 500 years ago....

Dec 31, 2018

'Ripped' Woman with Massive Forearms Is the Oldest Known Human Burial in Lower Central America

Archaeologists have uncovered the oldest known human burial in lower Central America: the skeletal remains of a mysterious woman who lived 5,900 years ago in what is now Nicaragua, a new study finds. In general, tropical places don't preserve human remains well, but in this case, the ancient women's bones...

Nov 30, 2020

Giant Aztec skull 'tower' unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in Mexico City have discovered 119 human skulls arranged in a trophy tower that the Aztecs built about 500 years ago, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History. The new finding shows just how extensive the tower is; in 2015, researchers discovered part of the tower —...

Nov 30, 2020

The 10 biggest archaeology discoveries of 2020

With the pandemic and accompanying economic recession clouding 2020, it goes without saying that the year will not go down as the happiest for humanity. The archaeology world also felt the effects, as numerous digs were canceled or curtailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the difficult year,...

Aug 31, 2020

3,200-year-old Egyptian-built fortress found in Israel

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a 3,200-year-old fortress built by the Egyptians and Canaanites, the ancient foes of the Israelites in the bible. The fortress was built to keep the newly arrived Philistines out of the region. The military structure, dubbed Galon Fortress, dates to the middle of the 12th...