Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2009

Ancient Mummy's Face Recreated

The face of a long-dead mummy has been brought back to life through forensic science. Based on CT-scans of the skull of the ancient Egyptian mummy Meresamun, two artists independently reconstructed her appearance and arrived at similar images of the woman. Meresamun, a temple singer in Thebes (ancient Luxor) at...

Jun 30, 2010

Ancient Hunting Weapon Discovered in Melting Ice

What looked like a small branch that blew off a tree during a storm turned out to be an ancient wooden hunting weapon wielded by Paleo Indians. The 10,000-year-old atlatl dart was discovered in a melting patch of ice high in the Rocky Mountains close to Yellowstone National Park. The...

Jan 31, 2010

Do Technology and Romance Mix?

This Valentines Day, technology will allow couples to express their feelings for each other in more ways than ever before – but that's not necessarily a good thing, love experts say. Services such as instant messaging (IM), text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), Blackberry messaging (BBM) are a convenient way...

Oct 31, 2011

Sex of Egyptian Child Mummy Remains a Mystery

A 2,000-year-old child mummy visited an Illinois hospital earlier this year so researchers could use imaging technology to look for clues to the child's life and death. A computed tomography, or CT, scan, conducted in March, revealed a few tantalizing tidbits: a delicate facial structure; the wads of cloth that...

Oct 31, 2011

Pocahontas Drank Here (But You Wouldn't Want To)

This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. It's the Year of Our Lord 1609. John Smith has left the Virginia Colony's two-year-old settlement at Jamestown to return to England. The natives have only enough food to feed their own population and...

Aug 31, 2011

Dead Sea Scrolls Get New Life Online

The oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, the Dead Sea Scrolls, are now online to everyone in the world with the aid of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and Google. The Dead Sea Scrolls were written between the first and third centuries B.C. They were hidden in 11 caves in...

Jun 30, 2011

A Lost World? Atlantis-Like Landscape Discovered

Buried deep beneath the sediment of the North Atlantic Ocean lies an ancient, lost landscape with furrows cut by rivers and peaks that once belonged to mountains. Geologists recently discovered this roughly 56-million-year-old landscape using data gathered for oil companies. It looks for all the world like a map of...

Dec 31, 2010

USS Revenge Shipwreck Reportedly Discovered

A dive team has discovered what they believe to be the remains of the USS Revenge, a famous U.S. Navy ship. Commanded by Navy hero Oliver Hazard Perry, the ship wrecked and sank in 1811 off the coast of Rhode Island. The shipwreck was discovered by a Connecticut dive team...

Oct 31, 2012

Masada: Fortress of the Zealots

A bird's-eye view of Masada, in Israel near the Dead Sea. (Image credit: Meoita Shutterstock)The cliff-top fortress of Masada, located in Israel near the Dead Sea, contained a series of palaces and buildings built by King Herod (74 B.C. – 4 B.C.), a ruler of Judea who was under the...

Jul 31, 2012

2,000-Year-Old Roman Ship Is Nearly Intact

An almost intact Roman ship has been found in the sea off the town on Varazze, some 18 miles from Genova, Italy. The ship, a navis oneraria, or merchant vessel, was located at a depth of about 200 feet thanks to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) following tips from fishermen...

Jul 31, 2012

Teotihuacan: Ancient City of Pyramids

Located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of modern-day Mexico City, Teotihuacan was one of the largest urban centers in the ancient world. No one knows who built it. The city flourished between 2,100 years ago, when construction began, and about 1,400 years ago, when it went into a period...

Jul 31, 2012

Grave of King Richard III May Be Hidden Under Parking Lot

King Richard III of England had the honor of being memorialized in a William Shakespeare play after his death in battle in 1485. Now, modern-day archaeologists are on the hunt for the medieval king's physical resting place. The University of Leicester, Leicester City Council and the Richard III Society have...

Apr 30, 2012

Israeli Seal Reveals Bethlehem Existed Long Before Jesus

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 2,700-year-old clay seal with the name of Bethlehem, showing that the town existed centuries before it was revered as Jesus' birthplace. Discovered during the sifting of debris removed from archaeological excavations near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, the coin-sized clay seal, or...

Feb 29, 2012

Titanic Wreck Site Mapped for First Time

The first comprehensive map of the Titanic wreck site has been created as researchers pieced together some 130,000 photos taken by underwater robots in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean. Resembling the moon's surface, the map shows debris and parts of the ship scattered across a 15 square-mile patch...

Dec 31, 2011

Mysterious 'Winged' Structure from Ancient Rome Discovered

A recently discovered mysterious winged structure in England, which in the Roman period may have been used as a temple, presents a puzzle for archaeologists, who say the building has no known parallels. Built around 1,800 years ago, the structure was discovered in Norfolk, in eastern England, just to the...