Tom Metcalfe

Live Science Contributor

Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.


Articles by: Tom Metcalfe

Archaeologists think this was a temporary campsite on the shore of an ancient lake that has now silted up; it was used for roasting hazelnuts and for spearing fish, and the bones were probably from someone who died nearby.

Human 'bog bones' discovered at Stone Age campsite in Germany

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists in northern Germany have unearthed 10,000-year-old cremated bones at a Stone Age lakeside campsite that was used for spearing fish and roasting hazelnuts.

The archaeological site at Rendlesham consists of a royal compound from the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. that was added to a larger Anglo-Saxon settlement founded in the fifth century.

Anglo-Saxon hall where kings and warriors dined discovered in England

By Tom Metcalfe published

An excavation has revealed an elaborate hall in the east of England of early Anglo-Saxon kings, which was used for feasting by monarchs and their warriors roughly 1,400 years ago.

A previously unpublished note by Galileo refers to criticism by the Italian scholar Ludovico delle Colombe, who had suggested that the "new star" seen in 1604 was always there, but had only recently been seen.

Forged Galileo manuscript leads experts to controversial book he secretly wrote

By Tom Metcalfe published

A manuscript attributed to Galileo Galilei found to be a forgery in August has led to the discovery that a different, controversial book was authored by the celebrated Italian astronomer.

The wreck of SM U-111 lies on the seafloor about 40 miles off the coast of Virginia, at a depth of about 120 feet. It was rediscovered in July after being deliberately sunk over 100 years ago.

WWI German U-boat discovered off US coast 100 years after it sank

By Tom Metcalfe published

The wreck of a WWI German U-boat sunk by the U.S. Navy in 1922 has been discovered off the East Coast of the United States, about 40 miles off Virginia and at a depth of about 400 feet.

The archaeologists have discovered about 35 skeletons, almost all missing their heads, in a mass grave that dates from about 5000 B.C. at Vráble in western Slovakia.

7,000-year-old mass grave in Slovakia may hold human sacrifice victims

By Tom Metcalfe published

The mass burial had about 35 decapitated skeletons.

Archaeologists have been excavating a site known as Slaves Hill in the Timna Valley, which was a major center for copper production from the 11th to the ninth centuries B.C.

King Solomon's mines were abandoned and became a desert wasteland. Here's why.

By Tom Metcalfe published

Copper mines in southern Israel that may have inspired the legend of King Solomon's mines of gold were abandoned 3,000 years ago. Now we may know why.

One of the archaeologists excavating the Gribshunden, led by Sweden's Lund University, explores some of the ship's timbers.

15th-century Baltic warship served as a 'floating castle' for an intrepid king

By Tom Metcalfe last updated

Archaeologists exploring the wreck of a 15th-century royal warship off the coast of Sweden have revealed how it functioned as a "floating castle."

The gold funeral mask was found in the tomb of an ancient noble of the Shang Dynasty. It is thought to be more than 3,000 years old.

3,000-year-old gold funeral mask unearthed in noble's tomb in China

By Tom Metcalfe published

A gold 'funeral mask' thought to be more than 3,000 years old has been discovered in the tomb of an ancient noble in the city of Zhengzhou, central China.

The tomb includes the shrouded remains of an elite male, dubbed the "Lord of Huarmey," and six other people, some of whom may have first been buried elsewhere and brought to the tomb later.

Gold and silver treasures discovered with 'elite craftspeople' burials near powerful Wari queen's tomb

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists excavating a site north of Lima have unearthed a 1,300-year-old ornate tomb from the Wari era of Peru.

Cross section of white, milk, dark and darker chocolate bars

Who invented chocolate?

By Tom Metcalfe published

Although it's now familiar as candy, the origins of chocolate are much deeper.

Here we see a restored temple, known as a ziggurat, from ancient Ur in what is now Iraq. A blue sky is in the background.

What's the world's oldest civilization?

By Tom Metcalfe published

There are a few contenders for the world's oldest known civilization.

17 victims were discovered in 2004

17 people found in a medieval well in England were victims of an antisemitic massacre, DNA reveals

By Tom Metcalfe published

The remains of 17 people, mainly children, found in 2004 during a construction project in an English city are probably those of medieval Jews massacred for their religion, according to a new study.

One of the 526 standing stones unearthed at the site of La Torre-La Janera, near Huelva in southwestern Spain.

7,500-year-old Spanish 'Stonehenge' discovered on future avocado farm

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have unearthed one of the largest complexes of Neolithic standing stones near the city of Huelva in southwestern Spain, ahead of a plan to grow avocados there.

A black-and-white photo shows Nazi minesweeper watercraft on a river with a bridge ahead of them.

Nazi warships revealed as Danube River levels drop

By Tom Metcalfe published

The falling levels of the Danube River have revealed wrecks from a Nazi German fleet of warships.

Illustration of deceased young woman lying in a wampos (ceremonial canoe). There is a pot next to her head.

1,000 years ago, a woman was buried in a canoe on her way to the 'destination of souls'

By Tom Metcalfe published

A young woman buried in Patagonia up to 1,000 years ago was placed in a ceremonial canoe to represent her final journey into the land of the dead, according to a new study.

Members of the Gruppo Storico Romano, (Roman Historical Group) take part in the re-enactment of Julius Caesar's assassination more than 2,000 years after it happened, on March 15, 2017 in Rome, Italy.

Sacred chickens, witches and animal entrails: 7 unusual ancient Roman superstitions

By Tom Metcalfe published

Here are seven unusual superstitions of the ancient Romans and what they may have meant.

A fragment of transparent quartz crystal found at Neolithic burial site.

'Magical' rock crystals found at Stone Age ceremonial site in England

By Tom Metcalfe published

Neolithic people sprinkled the crystals over burials.

A statue of Roman emperor Augustus. He has short hair and is wearing a decorated breast plate with his cape draping around from his back, around his waist, and then over his left arm. He has one pointed finger in the air and in his other hand he is holding a rod.

The 5 craziest ways emperors gained the throne in ancient Rome

By Tom Metcalfe published

Being the emperor of Rome was a risky business. But merely gaining the imperial throne could be difficult, too.

A scuba diver in deep dark water inspecting a sunken vessel.

Rare 400-year-old ship found in German river is a stunningly preserved 'time capsule'

By Tom Metcalfe last updated

The ship didn't capsize, but "sank almost standing."

A black and white photograph taken in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943 during World War II. It shows Jews, both adults and children, held at gunpoint as SS troops look on.

What is genocide?

By Tom Metcalfe published

Acts of genocide — trying to partially or completely destroy an entire people or group — have been committed countless times throughout history.

This image shows the remains of an ornate villa. Two small doorways can be made out amongst the broken walls of stone.

Ancient 'ritual bath' and elite villa unearthed by Jerusalem's Western Wall

By Tom Metcalfe published

The installation of a new elevator led to the ancient finds.

Here we see a scuba diver underwater using a flashlight to illuminate a gravestone found on the seabed.

13th-century 'Mortar Wreck' is England's oldest-ever preserved sunken ship

By Tom Metcalfe published

Divers are racing to save the shipwreck from seafloor decay.

The ring is just visible here near the center of the jewelry bundle. Archaeologists have tracked the items to a man who said he'd bought them at an antique shop in Norway.

Gold Viking ring unexpectedly found in stash of 'cheap jewelry' from online auction

By Tom Metcalfe published

A woman in Norway discovered a large, gold Viking ring in a pile of cheap jewelry she bought in an online auction.

A World War II-era Higgins boat rests on its side near the shore of the dwindling Lake Mead waters in California.

Lake Mead dwindles, and a WWII-era 'swamp boat' emerges

By Tom Metcalfe published

A World War II-era landing boat — the same type used on D-Day in 1944 — is the latest object to emerge from the receding waters of Lake Mead near Las Vegas.

Two archaeologists unearth a votive altar dedicated to the god Mercury at the temple sanctuary site. The Latin inscription just visible on its side names the Roman soldier, probably a senior officer, who had it built.

Ancient sanctuary used by Roman soldiers nearly 2,000 years ago found in the Netherlands

By Tom Metcalfe published

The complex had altars for Mercury, Jupiter and Hercules.

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