Archeology

Israel digs up the West Bank – and reignites a battle over history

As Israel expands excavations in the West Bank, ancient ruins become entangled in a modern political struggle over land, history, and identity

Workers and volunteers on an archaeological dig sift through dirt at Alexandrion/Sartaba in the Jordan Valley.
Blois, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv. 73.7.52.

Rare Archimedes text resurfaces in a French museum, researchers confirm

Human skeleton from a flooded cave along Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

Rare 8,000-year-old human remains found in Mexican underwater cave

150-year-old bottle unearthed in Utah may contain alcoholic apple cider

Hundred-fifty-year-old bottle unearthed in Utah may contain alcoholic apple cider


National Geographic team finds Andrew Irvine's boot on Mount Everest after 100 years

Discovery may help solve the mystery of whether Irvine and Mallory reached the summit in 1924.

 Mount Everest. Image by Dnor licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Grand Egyptian Museum opens 12 exhibition halls in trial operation

On Wednesday, the museum opened its doors to visitors as part of a trial run, with plans to welcome 4,000 visitors per day, both local and international.

 Grand Egyptian Museum.

DNA analysis links medieval skeleton found in well to events in the Sverris Saga

The saga recounts that during a raid on Sverresborg Castle near Trondheim, attackers threw a dead man into the well to poison the main water source.

 Sverresborg. Image by Cato Edvardsen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient purple fabric found in Vergina tomb may be Alexander the Great's sacred tunic

The findings, published in the Journal of Field Archaeology, have the potential to rewrite history by challenging previous beliefs about the contents of Tomb II.

 "Scene inspired by the Battles of Alexander the Great," attributed to Panayiotis Douxaras (1662-1729).

Discovery reignites search for Noah’s Ark in Turkey’s mountains

The Durupinar formation closely resembles the biblical description of Noah’s Ark: “A length of three hundred cubits, a width of fifty cubits, and a height of thirty cubits.”

 The boat-shaped mound lies just two miles from the Turkey-Iran border

Pass the breadsticks: Ancient humans loved carbs, study finds

Ancient humans' craving for carbohydrates may have deeper roots than previously thought.

Bread

Archaeologists unearth ruins of 4th-century church, oldest in Armenia

The church, an octagonal structure with cross-shaped extensions, is the first building of such form to be unearthed in Armenia.

 Mount Ararat in Armenia. October 6, 2017.

Archaeologists uncover evidence of continuous 6,000-year settlement in England

The oldest finds uncovered in the archeological excavation of a quarry date back to the Neolithic Age.

 Ruins from the villages of Ashopton and Derwent in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. November 6, 2018.

Archeologists find 12 hidden tombs with intact skeletons beneath Petra treasury

The tombs are believed to be older than the Treasury itself and features walls that haven’t been seen before in the area.

The Treasury room in Al Khazneh, Petra, Jordan, 24 March 2011.

Archeologists discover Viking-era skeletons in central Denmark

“This opens a whole new toolbox for scientific discovery,” said Lundø, the archeologist who led the dig.

 A skeleton from excavation in Åsum