Archaeology

It was revealed that in the Besni district of Adıyaman province, located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, the Romans dug a 150-meter-long water tunnel into the mountain 1,700 years ago to irrigate their lands with the water flowing from the river.

A team of student and professional archaeologists have unearthed dozens of burials near Nauheim, a town southwest of Frankfurt in the west central German state of Hesse. The grave goods indicate the deceased were immigrants with Gallic funerary customs who settled in the area in the middle of the 1st century A.D.

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a painted ancient vault lid, decorated with a depiction of a serpent. Ek' Balam was occupied from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic, although it ceased to thrive as a major city past the Late Classic.

Archaeologists from Koç University have uncovered an Imperial Hittite archive from the reign of Ḫattušili III during excavations at Kayalıpınar, located in the Yıldızeli District of Turkey’s Sivas Province.

About 9,000 years ago, an influential and respected woman was put to rest in a burial in Bad Dürrenberg, Germany. She was buried in a sitting position with a child of about six months in her arms. Her spectacular clothes and lavish burial offer evidence she was a woman of high social status. A recent study may provide more information about her.

The discovery reveals some astounding hidden history.

Archaeologists have found a spectacular statue of the Roman sea god Triton while excavating a Roman Mausoleum in Kent, UK. Several Roman and possibly later burials were identified during the excavation both within and immediately adjacent to these enclosures, some of which contained grave goods.

Scientists have studied what might be Europe's oldest shipboard cannon. The cannon was found in the sea off Marstrand on the Swedish west coast.

Most ancient civilizations believed in the practice of magic to heal diseases and ward off the evil eye, and there were sorcerers one could contact and ask for assistance with problems that needed to be solved.

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have unearthed a burial mound of a Bronze Age girl surrounded by a variety of grave goods.

The mummified remains were found alongside preserved textiles, ceramic vessels, and other objects at the Huaca Pucllana monument.

A new study seeks to shed light on these mysterious objects, offering insights into the intentions and skills of early hominins.

Schooner Trinidad hailed as ‘significant shipwreck’ after successful sonar search reveals well preserved vessel

A scarab seal at Tel Gerisa, depicting a walking lion can be dated to the Middle Bronze Age IIB (beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE).

A group of impressive monumental ancient structures have been unearthed by archaeologists excavating at Garibin Tepe in Van, Turkey. Scientists say the large building complex is from the Urartian period. At present, the purpose of the ancient buildings remains unclear.

Archaeologists with the German Mining Museum Bochum have unearthed a child’s leather shoe that is more than 2,000 years old and in excellent condition. It is complete to an exceptional degree, even preserving a section of the flax laces and showing how the shoe was originally tied. The design of the shoe dates it to around the 2nd century B.C.

Archaeologists from the University of Exeter have used laser scans to reveal a Roman road network that spanned Devon and Cornwall.

The diversity of family systems in prehistoric societies has always fascinated scientists. A groundbreaking study by anthropologists and archaeologists now provides new insights into the origins and genetic structure of prehistoric family communities.

Archaeologists have discovered an outstanding unfinished ancient marble carving of a lion's head in Sicily. During excavations led by Professor Dr. Jon Albers, archaeologists from the Ruhr University in Bochum made the spectacular find on a street in the immediate vicinity of the ancient eastern harbor of Selinunte, which was intended to drain off rainwater as a detail of a temple roof.

Archaeologists have discovered an intricately carved Maya nose ornament made of human bone at the Archaeological Zone of Palenque in southern Mexico.

A study proposes that the population that gave rise to modern humans may have been reduced to roughly 1,300 reproducing individuals

A stone offering box containing a ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines has been unearthed at the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City.

Sarsina is a sleepy, rural town of barely 3,000 residents straddling the pristine Apennine mountains in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region, surrounded by stunning views and grazing sheep.

While it has a glorious past, as a strategic defensive outpost for the Roman Empire and the birthplace of the famed playwright Plautus, today there’s not much to do beyond hiking and birdwatching.

And though both locals and holidaymakers would agree that a rustic, slow-paced lifestyle is part of Sarsina’s charm, its residents were nonetheless excitedly awaiting the construction of a development including a new supermarket, fitness center and playground. But it was not meant to be — at least, not as originally planned.

That’s because workers at the site on the outskirts of town in December 2022 unearthed the ruins of an ancient Roman temple — or ‘capitolium’ — dating back to the first century BC.

In early July, a first look at the underground treasure came to light: a single imposing structure of horizontal sandstone blocks and marble slabs, 577 square meters wide, which researchers have identified as the podium above which the columns and walls of an ancient temple were built.

And what has come out of the ground so far could be just the tip of the iceberg.

“We have unearthed three separate rooms, likely dedicated to the triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva,” lead archaeologist at the excavation site Romina Pirraglia told CNN. “The excavations are still underway… and we have already identified an older, deeper layer of ruins dating back to the 4th century BC, when the Umbrian people (an ancient Italic tribe who predated the Romans) lived in the area. The entire temple could be even larger than what we now see.”

According to Pirraglia, the discovery of a capitolium — the main temple in an important Roman city, and a hub for trade as well as religious and social interactions — further confirms the strategic role Sarsina played during the Roman Empire. The town was built in a key mountainous area close to the Tuscan border and overlooking the Savio river, an important waterway connecting central and northern Roman cities.

The discovery of the temple has pushed local authorities to revise their building plans. Federica Gonzato, superintendent of archaeology, fine arts and landscape for the provinces of Ravenna, Rimini and Forlì-Cesena, which includes Sarsina, is adamant in wanting to preserve the ruins and further research its great past.

“We will not tear it down to make room for modern structures, this must be very clear. Previous urban plans will be changed, we will find new construction sites for recreation and sports,” Gonzato said. “The temple is an incredible finding that sheds light on how ancient Roman towns rose and fell across time.”

What makes the discovery exceptional is the temple’s unique state of preservation. “The marvelous quality of the stones have been spared from sacks, enemy invasions and plunders across millennia thanks to the remote location of Sarsina, a quiet spot distant from larger cities,” Gonzato added. “Temples such as this one (were) regularly plundered, exploited as quarries with stones and marble slabs taken away to be re-used to build new homes. But Sarsina’s capitolium podium structure is practically untouched, with its entrance staircase well-preserved, and this is extremely rare.”

Gonzato believes the discovery will further research on demography and urban transformations in ancient times. And there’s more to the site than just the temple’s podium. Pirraglia said there are signs that the building was reused in medieval times. An ancient water drainage system was found alongside medieval tombs and hearths indicating that locals likely inhabited it, or used the site for other social purposes.

“This is the beauty of Italy: wherever you dig, some hidden treasure comes out of the ground. Wonders never cease to amaze us,” said Gonzato.

Archaeologists can still decode the secrets of the past with burned prehistoric remains, but only with the help of other fields.

Modified skulls found in an ancient burial site in Japan were deliberately reshaped in both men and women as an expression of collective identity, a new study suggests.