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.
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7 centuries-old suits of battle armor from around the worldCountdown From Roman "fish scale" armor to Japanese samurai suits, these examples of battle armor were designed to protect and impress.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Pazyryk Swan: A 2,400-year-old plush swan from Siberia tied to the 'creation of the universe'Archaeologists think the felt figurine was used as a symbol of life by the Iron Age people of the region.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
archaeology -
DNA analysis of medieval man thrown into a well suggests story in Norse saga really happenedA new analysis indicates the human remains found in a well in Norway are from a 1197 raid described in a royal history.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
archaeology -
Mask of Agamemnon: A gold death mask once thought to be evidence of the Trojan WarThe archaeologist who discovered the mask believed it showed the Trojan War was real.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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WWII British sub that sank with 64 on board finally found off Greek IslandThe discovery of the WWII wreck solves an 81-year-old mystery about the submarine's fate.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Phaistos Disk: 3,000-year-old inscriptions from Crete that have never been decipheredNone of the many interpretations of the Phaistos Disk's inscriptions are universally accepted.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
archaeology -
Basement renovation in home near Paris unearths cemetery spanning 700 years, with Roman-era gravesA homeowner doing a basement renovation project near Paris unexpectedly found a skeleton, which later led to the discovery of nearly 40 burials, some of them dating to Roman times.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Nabta Playa: A mysterious stone circle that may be the world's oldest astronomical observatoryNabta Playa in Egypt is an ancient stone circle that researchers suspect was used to determine the summer solstice, which signaled rain was on the way.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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'Ghost Ship of the Pacific,' which fought on both sides in WWII, discovered near San FranciscoThe newfound wreck could help maritime archaeologists better understand how 20th-century warships were designed.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Medieval gold coin unearthed in ruined fortress in Bulgaria may depict Byzantine emperorArchaeologists think the coin dates to the first years of the region's rule by the Ottoman Empire.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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50 Viking Age burials discovered in Denmark, including a woman in a rare 'Viking wagon'Finding a Viking Age burial ground of this size is rare, in part because Scandinavian soil doesn't preserve skeletons well.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Razed city that rebelled against Rome 'remained uninhabited for over 170 years,' excavations revealThe ancient city was besieged and destroyed in 125 B.C., probably in a dispute over the rights of Roman citizenship.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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When was steel invented?No one knows for sure when steel was invented, but some of the earliest examples crop up in the first millennium B.C. in Central and South Asia.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Man buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from 'rising from the grave' unearthed in GermanyArchaeologists in Germany have unearthed a "revenant" grave where a man was buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from rising from the dead.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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2,300-year-old Celtic helmet discovered in PolandArchaeologists think the ancient helmet indicates that Celts settled in the region to protect their supplies of precious amber.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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16,000-year-old skeleton, crystals and stone tools discovered in Malaysian cavesArchaeologists think the earliest skeleton from the Malaysian excavation may be up to 16,000 years old.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Why doesn't stainless steel rust?The special chemistry of this shiny iron alloy creates a protective layer on its surface that prevents it from rusting.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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1,700-year-old 'barbarian' burial discovered along Roman Empire's frontier in GermanyArchaeologists think the man was buried in the first half of the fourth century.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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Roman coin trove discovered on Mediterranean island may have been hidden during ancient pirate attackThe silver coin discoveries date to the Roman Republic and are from the island of Pantelleria, between Sicily and Tunisia.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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World War I British warship that sank in a surprise U-boat attack 110 years ago discovered in North SeaHMS Hawke sank after an explosion caused by an enemy torpedo, with the loss of more than 500 of its crew.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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3 shipwrecks from 'forgotten battle' of World War II discovered off remote Alaskan islandThis is the first time that wrecks from the almost-overlooked conflict in WWII have been studied scientifically.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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3,000-year-old goddess figurine found in an Italian lake still bears the handprints of its makerArchaeologists think the figurine was a homemade representation of an ancient goddess.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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17th-century pirate 'corsair' shipwreck discovered off Morocco's Barbary CoastThe wreck is the first time the remains of a pirate corsair have been found in the region known as the Barbary Coast.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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32 important scientists you've probably never heard ofThese scientists may be lesser known than Einstein and Newton, but they made giant contributions to science, including astronomy, physics, chemistry and medicine.
By Tom Metcalfe Published
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