Archaeology

Ancient wildfires in the Levant may have inspired Neolithic pottery-making, Israeli study suggests

Pottery appeared in the region during roughly the same broad period in which fires, erosion and clay deposition reached their peak. 

A Yarmukian juglet found in a cave in Samaria.
Obsidian convergent scraper found in Ararat-1 cave, Armenia, in 2019.

Israeli researchers use ancient stone tools to trace hunter-gatherer migrations

Ararat-1 Cave, Armenia.

Prehistoric hunter-gatherers stayed connected across 200 kilometers, Israeli study finds

‘Macbeth’ (see Sunday).

Jerusalem highlights: October 23-29


Hidden in Jerusalem's Old City, collector stumbles upon rare Jewish treasure from Morocco

Isn’t it remarkable to find a unique object that made the journey from Marrakesh to Jerusalem a few hundred years ago?

The exceptional treasure, a mortar dating back to around 1805, had oxidized; the shopkeeper found it among his household goods.

Ancient stone at Tel Eton may provide new proof of King Hezekiah’s religious reform, study suggests

The stone, known also as a massebah, was discovered during excavations of the First Temple era site, inside a large residence named by archaeologists as "Building 101," or the Governor's Residency.

Composite Aerial Photo of Building 101, Tel Eton, June 23, 2026.

AI helps recover complete text of Herculaneum scroll burnt by Mount Vesuvius

The blackened, fragile scrolls cannot be physically opened without severe damage. Researchers have instead used high-resolution scans and computational techniques to "virtually unwrap" them.

FILE PHOTO: Fragment of Herculaneum scroll is fixed in place at a Diamond Light Source experimental station after it was scanned using bright x-rays in Didcot, Britain, September 30, 2019.

USS Herring’s final resting place confirmed 82 years after being lost in WWII

Herring and her 83 crew were presumed lost after failing to report to Midway on July 13, 1944. She was stricken from the Navy Register four months later.

The submarine USS Herring (SS-233) passes Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco on October 12, 1943.

New identification technique pushes back timeline of fire use to over a million years ago - study

Researchers explained that when bones exposed to high levels of heat are illuminated with specific light wavelengths, they light up with a distinctive glow.

Stages of Burning on Bones – white (#5 on right) is the most burnt while yellow-beige (on left #1) is unburnt.

Archaeologists find over 3,000 artifacts from Stone Age to WWII in Netherlands valley

The stream valley lies between the villages of Sleen and Oosterhesselen, and is currently under redevelopment to make space for nature and water. 

One of the 3,000 artifacts discovered in Drenthe, the Netherlands, June 19, 2026.

Greece returns over 1,000 coins to Turkey in joint effort against antiquities smuggling

The two ministers held several talks regarding future cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture and the fight against antiquities trafficking.

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy sign agreement at first Turkey-Greece Culture Forum, ,June 19, 2026.

US family returns four artifacts to Egypt, including statue head thought to depict female pharoah

The artifacts were received in Cairo on June 5 before being transferred to the Egyptian Museum for further examination, documentation and restoration ahead of their display in the museum. 

Three artifacts returned by American family to Eygpt, June 18, 2026.

Remains of medieval European Queen Elisenda, 24 others unearthed in Barcelona

The work, which includes genetic analyses, dating, and material studies, began in 2024 and will continue until May 2027 as part of the monastery’s 700th anniversary celebrations.

The sarcophagus of Queen Elisenda in the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria Pedralbes.

WATCH: Two Roman-era statues unearthed during infrastructure dig for Israel Railways near Haifa

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” added Oren and Reiss. “It was very unexpected, but somehow, the really big discoveries always turn up on the excavation’s very last day.”

Roman statues uncovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority excavation, June 15, 2026.