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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 published

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

An artist's digital approximation of a Stone Age woman seen from multiple angles.

See the striking facial reconstruction of a Paleolithic woman who lived 31,000 years ago

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Using forensic facial reconstruction, researchers reclassified a Stone Age skull as female.

The Fair Head crannog in Northern Ireland

Artificial islands surrounding British Isles were used for ancient parties, archaeologists find

By Kristina Killgrove published

A high-tech look at crannogs, artificial islands build around the British Isles, reveals that prehistoric to post-medieval people partied on them.

A pink sunset with clouds falls over Stonehenge in England.

Did druids build Stonehenge?

By Owen Jarus published

It's commonly said that the druids built Stonehenge. But is there any truth to this assertion?

Roman Forum at sunrise, from left to right: Temple of Vespasian and Titus, church of Santi Luca e Martina, Septimius Severus Arch, ruins of Temple of Saturn.

Why did the Roman Empire split in two?

By Joe Phelan published

The vast Roman Empire split into the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D.

The skeletal remains of a male buried with ceramic vessels containing opium residue was found in Israel.

Earliest traces of opium use, found in Israel, may have been an 'offering to the gods'

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Researchers in Israel discovered the earliest evidence of opium use at a burial site near Tel Aviv.

Illustration of the Druids of Ole England. In a forest, one druid is sitting down and looks like he's telling a story, whilst four other druids stand around him.

The mysterious history of druids, ancient 'mediators between humans and the gods'

By Owen Jarus published

Reference Druids were revered in ancient Britain. Much about them is a mystery, but we know this: They did not build Stonehenge.

Reference
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.

This pink granite coffin, found near the pyramid of King Unas.

3,300-year-old pink granite sarcophagus of Egyptian 'pyramid keeper' found at Saqqara

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a pink granite sarcophagus crafted for an official who cared for a pyramid built during the time of Ramesses II.

An aerial view of the Vinoř roundel near Prague, showing three separate entrances.

7,000-year-old structure near Prague is older than Stonehenge, Egyptian pyramids

By Kristina Killgrove published

Archaeologists near Prague have unearthed the remains of a 7,000-year-old structure that may have been a Stone Age community center.

Here we see ancient mud brick walls at the archaeological site of Babylon, capital of the ancient kingdom of Babylonia, in a photo taken in 1979.

Are Mesopotamia and Babylon the same thing?

By Owen Jarus published

Mesopotamia and Babylon are often confused. Here's how the two are different and where they overlap.

Pottery found in the cave is shown in this photo. The pottery would have been buried along with the deceased.

3,300-year-old cave 'frozen in time' from reign of Ramesses II uncovered in Israel

By Owen Jarus published

Construction workers in Israel unexpectedly broke into a 3,300-year-old cave that looks like an "Indiana Jones film set."

Detail from the Processional Way in Babylon. Glazed enamel bricks with a lion motif and also some white daisies.

Ancient Babylon, the iconic Mesopotamian city that survived for 2,000 years

By Owen Jarus published

Reference Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, existed from roughly 2000 B.C. to 540 B.C.

Reference
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.

Two silver coins from the Islamic era found behind a temple in Egypt.

Hoard of Islamic era gold and silver coins found behind Egyptian temple

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Researchers in Egypt uncovered hundreds of gold and silver coins.

A 3D CT scan of the skull of one of the South American mummies in the new study.

'Massive trauma' found on 1,000-year-old South American mummies

By Patrick Pester published

South American mummies were likely brutally murdered 1,000 years ago, and the evidence is still preserved today, a new study finds.

A 1,400-year-old iron folding chair found at a medieval burial site in Germany.

Early-medieval woman was buried with a rare item: a metal folding chair

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Researchers in Germany discovered a metal folding chair in a medieval woman's grave.

Dramatic storm cloud above pyramids, Giza, Egypt.

Vanished arm of Nile helped ancient Egyptians transport pyramid materials

By Owen Jarus published

High water levels in a now-defunct arm of the Nile helped the ancient Egyptians transport supplies for the pyramids of Giza, a study of pollen in earthen cores reveals.

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.