Archaeology

Native American use of dice, probability predates known Old World dice by millenia - study

In total, archaeologist Robert Madden observed 659 sets of Native American dice from 57 archaeological sites across 12 different states. 

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A series of Native American dice discovered at archaeological sites in the western US, April 9, 2026.
World's oldest Neanderthal fingerprint found on 43,000-year-old pebble in Spain. Illustration.

Neanderthals who lived in Siberian cave millenia apart were distant relatives, study finds

Further analysis of the genetic similarity showed that Neanderthals in the Altai region likely lived in groups of fewer than 50 people.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
(a) Section of the mosaic showing the leopard and the woman. (b) Section of the mosaic showing the venator with the pole, the leopard, and the woman.

Lost mosaic shows first visual depiction of women fighting beasts in Roman arenas - study

The mosaic, recovered in 1860s Reims, France and dated to the third century CE, shows about 35 different gladiatorial and hunting scenes, each surrounded by diamond or square-shaped decorations.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Excavations of Raknehaugen, Norway, in 1939.

Scandinavia's largest prehistoric mound is not a tomb, but a memorial to a natural disaster - study

Archaeological excavations that have taken place at Raknehaugen, have all failed to discover evidence that would typically indicate a burial mound, such as a grave or human remains.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM

Archaeologists pinpoint Alexander the Great's lost Alexandria on the Tigris in Iraq

Despite the city’s exposure to repeated floods over centuries, the preservation of its walls and urban fabric is described as unexpectedly good.

MARCH 15, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Greece plans world's first Alexander the Great theme park near Amphipolis.

DNA study reveals millenia-old live parrot trade spanning South America

Excavations on Peru's coast reveal pre-Inca parrot husbandry, radiocarbon-dated to 1100-1450, and long-distance transport from the Amazon basin.

MARCH 13, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A parrot. Illustration.

TV murder series rekindles interest in the mysteries of the Nebra sky disc

The real story of its finding unfolded in the late 1990s on the forested crest of the Mittelberg in Saxony-Anhalt, where the object lay concealed for thousands of years.

MARCH 13, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Nebra dky disc

Passenger paid for an English bus ride with a coin dating back two millennia

The coin’s age and iconography identify it with Gadir, a settlement founded by the Phoenicians and considered Carthage’s first colony in Western Europe.

MARCH 11, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A London bus circles Trafalgar Square in London December 16, 2011.

Study: Neanderthal-human interbreeding mostly male Neanderthals, female humans

Most people of non-African ancestry carry about 2% Neanderthal DNA, and researchers report a mirror image pattern with more human DNA on the Neanderthal X chromosome.

MARCH 2, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
World's oldest Neanderthal fingerprint found on 43,000-year-old pebble in Spain. Illustration.

Real-life Indiana Jones: British Museum to hire ‘treasure hunter’ to find stolen artifacts - report

Since the original 2023 announcement of the theft, the museum has recovered 654 of these, the most significant of which was 268 gems returned all at once by the United States.

MARCH 1, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
London, England, General view of the British Museum with visitors, Bloomsbury, March 2025.

Ancient Polish 'princess' burial date revealed after decades of archaeological mystery - study

In 1899, the young woman’s coffin, made of a hollowed-out oak log, had tumbled from an eroding cliff above the Baltic coast village. She was nicknamed by locals as the “Princess of Bagicz.”

MARCH 1, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
The Princess of Bagicz’s wooden coffin, accessed on February 27, 2026.

Israeli researchers crack century-old mystery of cone-shaped vessels found near Dead Sea - study

The fragments had been excavated from the Teleilat el-Ghassul archaeological site near the Dead Sea in Jordan between 1931 and 1938.

MARCH 1, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Cone-shaped clay vessels, known as cornets, found across hundreds of sites in Israel and Jordan, February 27, 2026.

Rare half-shekel coin used in biblical census count discovered by archaeologists in Judean Desert

The survey is an ongoing project by the IAA meant to protect archaeological sites in the Judean Desert from looting and unauthorized excavations.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Rare half-shekel coin discovered in Judean Desert by the Israel Antiquities Authority, February 26, 2026.

‘Secrets of ancient Egypt’: Old Kingdom tombs, artifacts discovered on Nile's west bank

The tombs, discovered in the Qubbet el-Hawa site, were complete with shafts and burial chambers.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
Pottery vessels, discovered alongside jewelry and other artifacts, inside Old Kingdom tombs at the Qubbet el-Hawa site in Aswan, Egypt, February 26, 2026.