Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2022

Buried treasure of 44 Byzantine gold coins found in nature reserve in Israel

Excavators in Israel have discovered a trove of 44 Byzantine gold coins and other valuables. Coins from the hoard were minted by the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Phocas (A.D. 602 to 610) and Emperor Heraclius (A.D. 610 to 641). All of the pieces of money were gold...

Aug 31, 2022

Hoard of Islamic era gold and silver coins found behind Egyptian temple

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a nearly 1,000-year-old cache of gold and silver coins behind a temple in Esna, a city located along the Nile River. The hoard, which was discovered by a team of researchers from Egypt's Supreme Council for Archaeology, includes coins minted throughout different parts of the...

Aug 31, 2022

Artificial islands surrounding British Isles were used for ancient parties, archaeologists find

Just as waterfront mansions are status symbols for today's rich and famous, ancient artificial islands in the British Isles known as crannogs may have been used by elites to display their power and wealth through elaborate parties, a new study finds. A crannog is an artificial island within a lake,...

Jun 30, 2022

Lost city, a real-life 'Helm's Deep,' possibly discovered in Iraq

Nestled in a valley shadowed by mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan sits an ancient fortress that archeologists think may be the lost, royal city of Natounia, based on the discovery of intricately carved rock reliefs depicting an ancient leader, a new study finds. The stronghold, known as Rabana-Merquly, was once part...

May 31, 2022

Silver coin featuring famous Viking king unearthed in Hungary

A metal detectorist has discovered a small silver coin marked with the name of a famous Viking king. However, it was unearthed not in Scandinavia, but in southern Hungary, where it was lost almost 1,000 years ago. The find has baffled archaeologists, who have struggled to explain how the coin...

Apr 30, 2022

Largest known cave art images in US by Indigenous Americans discovered in Alabama

Archaeologists in Alabama have discovered the longest known painting created by early Indigenous Americans, a new study finds. Indigenous Americans crafted this 1,000-year-old record-breaking image — of a 10-foot-long (3 meters) rattlesnake — as well as other paintings, out of mud on the walls and ceiling of a cave, likely...

Apr 30, 2022

Fertility cult complex discovered under Turkish home dates to the Iron Age

A bungled looting scheme has led archaeologists to an underground Iron Age complex in Turkey that may have been used by a fertility cult during the first millennium B.C., a new study finds. The ancient complex, which has yet to be fully investigated due to the instability of the structure,...

Apr 30, 2022

Stonehenge builders ate parasite-infested meat during ancient feasts, according to their poop

In addition to a Neolithic monument, the builders of Stonehenge left behind something a little less celebratory: fossilized clumps of poop. A new analysis of these so-called coprolites suggests that during epic winter feasts, the ancient workers and their dogs ate undercooked meat littered with the eggs of parasitic worms....

Apr 30, 2022

What did ancient Egypt's pharaohs stash inside the pyramids?

When British archaeologist Howard Carter cracked open King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, he reported seeing wonderful things. Tut's tomb was filled with extraordinary treasures, including the golden death mask of Tutankhamun, a golden throne and even gold sandals. But did all royal tombs in ancient Egypt have such plush grave...

Mar 31, 2022

Stonehenge was a hunting hotspot long before the monument was built

Long before Neolithic people erected Stonehenge's majestic bluestones and sarsen stones, Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age hunter-gatherers frequented the site, using it as a hunting ground. Later, farmers and monument builders moved into the region, a new study finds. Earlier research had suggested that before Stonehenge was built, the surrounding...

Feb 28, 2022

Cleopatra: Biography of the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt

Cleopatra VII, often simply called Cleopatra, was the last of a series of rulers called the Ptolemies who ruled ancient Egypt for nearly 300 years. Cleopatra ruled an empire that included Egypt, Cyprus, part of modern-day Libya and other territories in the Middle East. Modern-day depictions of Cleopatra VII tend...

Jan 31, 2022

Astronauts spot an ancient heart-shaped oasis in Egypt just in time for Valentine's Day

Soaring 250 miles (400 kilometers) over Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) looked down on our planet last May and saw a heart-shaped oasis blooming in the Egyptian desert. Today (Feb. 14), our friends in space are sharing the striking image as a special Valentine for the whole...

Dec 31, 2021

5 archaeological 'digs' to watch in 2022

There are a number of archaeological finds and stories we might hear about in 2022. These include discoveries from Egypt's lost golden city, new finds from Qumran — the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in nearby caves — as well as finds that may shed light on...

Dec 31, 2021

Child mummies in Sicily's Capuchin Catacombs to be X-rayed

The mummified and skeletal remains of more than 160 children lie preserved in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in northern Sicily, and soon, scientists hope to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding their lives and deaths using X-ray technology. The catacombs contain at least 1,284 mummified and skeletonized corpses of...

Dec 31, 2021

Pendants from Holocaust victims found near gas chamber in Poland

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered three pendants that belonged to people who were murdered at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in eastern Poland. The researchers discovered two of the pendants in places where Holocaust victims were forced to undress before guards herded them into gas chambers; they discovered the third...