Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 8, 2023

'Liquid gypsum' burial from Roman Britain scanned in 3D, revealing 1,700-year-old secrets

About 1,700 years ago, a wealthy Roman family was buried with a bizarre material — liquid gypsum — poured over their corpses. Now, a noninvasive 3D scan of this burial has revealed the insides of their burial cocoon. Gypsum is a mineral and key ingredient in cement and plaster that,...

Jun 19, 2023

'Completely unique' Roman mausoleum discovered in rubble of London building site

A completely unique, 2,000-year-old Roman mausoleum that has emerged from the rubble of a development site in central London is the most intact ever discovered in the U.K. The monumental tomb — of which low walls, entrance steps and interior flooring remain — is bejeweled with two mosaics composed of...

Jun 21, 2023

1st-century coins from Jewish revolt against the Romans discovered near the Black Sea

Decades after fighting Jewish rebels in the Holy Land, a Roman military unit traveled to what is now the country of Georgia, leaving coins minted in what is now Israel at one of their camps there, new research reveals. Archaeologists discovered the Roman-era coins at Colchis, in western Georgia near...

Jun 28, 2023

Silver medal featuring winged Medusa discovered at Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall

A nearly 1,800-year-old silver military medal featuring the snake-covered head of Medusa has been unearthed in what was once the northern edge of the Roman Empire. Excavators discovered the winged gorgon on June 6 at the English archaeological site of Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort that was built in the...

Jun 28, 2023

2,000-year-old 'not a pizza' fresco discovered in Pompeii

Archaeologists in Pompeii have discovered a still-life fresco of a Mediterranean meal that looks good enough to eat. But if you think it looks like a pizza, hold the cheese. Pizzas as we know them today, with tomato and mozzarella, weren't baked in Italy until the 1800s. Instead, the Roman...

Jul 3, 2023

Roman aqueduct and 'luxurious' burials unearthed during construction of underground parking garage in Serbia

Archaeologists have unearthed several Roman tombs and the remains of an aqueduct in the center of Belgrade, the Serbian capital. The finds date to the period when the city was a settlement, known as Singidunum, within the Roman Empire. So far, we have discovered 14 Roman tombs from the third...

Jul 13, 2023

Elite Roman man buried with sword may have been 'restrained' in death

In an isolated field near a Roman villa in Wales, archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a man buried facedown. Adorned with a silver pin and a sword, he may have been a Roman soldier — but large nails near his neck, back and feet offer tantalizing evidence that he...

Jul 17, 2023

Evidence of Roman-era 'death magic' used to speak with the deceased found near Jerusalem

Ancient human skulls, oil lamps and parts of weapons hidden in a cave near Jerusalem are signs the site was used in the Roman era for attempts to speak to the dead — a practice known as necromancy, or death magic — according to a new study. Based on the...

Jul 27, 2023

Ruins of ancient Roman emperor Nero's theater unearthed in 'exceptional' discovery in Rome

Archaeologists in Rome think they may have found the ruins of Nero's theater, a first-century imperial performance space that was widely described in ancient Roman texts but whose whereabouts had remained largely elusive. The theater is named after Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, who served as Roman emperor from A.D....

Aug 2, 2023

'Exceptional' winged Medusa discovered in Roman-era mosaic in Spain

Archaeologists in Spain have unearthed an exceptional mosaic featuring the mythical gorgon Medusa in the remains of a lavish house from the Roman era. The mosaic, found at the Huerta de Otero archaeological site in western Spain, depicts Medusa at the center of a patterned octagon, meant to represent the...

Aug 3, 2023

Rare 'Ides of March' dagger coin minted by Brutus after Julius Caesar's murder goes to auction

Just two years after Julius Caesar's murder in ancient Rome, one of his assassins minted a coin celebrating the would-be dictator's death, with daggers emblazoned on its tails side. Only about 100 of these coins survive today, and now a rare silver specimen is going to auction this month. The...

Aug 4, 2023

Ancient Roman boat from empire's frontier unearthed in Serbian coal mine

Coal miners in Serbia have discovered the remains of a large wooden boat likely used by the Romans to supply a nearby city and military headquarters on the empire's frontier. Archaeologists are waiting for radiocarbon dates of wood from the remains, but they think it may be from the third...

Aug 28, 2023

8-year-old unearths Roman-era silver coin in school sandbox

An 8-year-old boy playing in a sandbox at his elementary school in Germany unearthed an 1,800-year-old silver coin minted during the Roman Empire's Pax Romana. Overwhelmed with excitement for literally finding buried treasure in the schoolyard, the fourth grader — identified only by his first name, Bjarne — rushed home...

Aug 29, 2023

Ancient Roman walls discovered in Swiss Alps are an 'archaeological sensation'

Archaeologists in Switzerland have discovered the remains of 2,000-year-old Roman walls in the foothills of the Alps. The walls, which once protected a Roman building complex, were found during the excavation of a gravel pit in Cham in the canton, or state, of Zug in central Switzerland. So far, archaeologists...

Sep 6, 2023

'It's a dream': 4 Roman swords likely stolen as war booty 1,900 years ago discovered in Israeli cave

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered four well-preserved 1,900-year-old Roman swords lodged in a crevice inside a cave in the Judaean Desert — weapons that rebel Jewish forces likely seized in battle and later hid. Of the four rare weapons, three with iron blades were still protected in their wooden and...