Archaeology

Archaeology is fundamentally the study of humanity and its past. Archaeologists study things that were created, used or changed by humans. They do this by studying the material remains, in other words, the stuff we leave behind.

Related Topics: Anthropology, Fossils, Human Origins, Shipwrecks

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The skeletal remains of the Marlow Warlord, as he's been dubbed, show he was very tall for the time – about 6 feet, when the average height was about 5 feet 7 inches.

Anglo-Saxon warlord unearthed by metal detector hobbyists

By Tom Metcalfe

Archaeologists have unearthed the rich burial of a sixth-century man thought to be an Anglo-Saxon warlord in southern England, after it was first discovered by metal detectorists.

Archaeologist Arnold Muhl shows early medieval fibulae, a part of women's clothing, that were discovered in the cemetery. This and other artifacts from the excavation are now in the workshop of the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (State Museum for Prehistory) in Germany. 

Germanic lord buried with a harem of 6? Not quite, but the real story is fascinating.

By Laura Geggel

A Germanic aristocrat is just one of 80 newly discovered ancient burials.

The god house was strongly built of beams and walls of wood; some lasted for hundreds of years. It included a central tower, patterned on Christian churches seen in lands further south.

1,200-year-old pagan temple to Thor and Odin unearthed in Norway

By Tom Metcalfe

The remains of a 1,200-year-old pagan temple to the Old Norse gods such as Thor and Odin have been discovered in Norway.

HIeroglyphic writing indicates that many of the people buried in the coffins were priests.

59 priest mummies and statue of unusual god unearthed in Egypt

By Owen Jarus

Archaeologists have now discovered 59 mummy coffins in Saqqara in Egypt. Many of the mummies are likely the remains of priests.

The cleaned cranium of the 15- to 18-year-old teenager, whose face was mutilated in Anglo-Saxon England.

Skull reveals Anglo-Saxon teen's nose and lips were cut off 1,100 years ago

By Laura Geggel

A young woman's nose and lips were cut off in about A.D. 800, likely as a punishment.

Sharp force trauma severed this amputated right ulna and radius, which belonged to a teenage girl and was found still wearing five bracelets.

Decapitated and dismembered skeletons reveal lost Iron Age massacre

By Mindy Weisberger

A once-thriving Iron Age village in Iberia was decimated and likely abandoned after a brutal massacre that left bodies lying in the streets where they fell.

A man, two women and an infant were buried in this grave about 2,500 years ago in what is now Siberia.

Ancient Siberian grave holds 'warrior woman' and huge weapons stash

By Laura Geggel

Four Iron Age people buried with ample weapons may have died of an infection 2,500 years ago.

Archaeologists found two Stone Age skulls in Dehesilla Cave on the Iberian peninsula. One of the skulls (front) showed signs of a type of brain surgery called trepanation.

Failed brain surgery and possible human sacrifice revealed in Stone Age burial

By Stephanie Pappas

A Stone Age adult survived attempted brain surgery before dying more than 7,000 years ago.

The remains of the Stone Age dog. Notice its teeth in the middle of the photo.

Stone Age dog may have been buried with its master

By Laura Geggel

After the dog's burial, rising sea levels flooded the region.

Scientists in Mexico have identified the wreck of La Union, a Mayan slave ship.

Mysterious Mexican wreck was an illegal slave ship

By Stephanie Pappas

Archaeologists have identified the wreck of a Mexican steamer as La Union, an illegal slave ship that smuggled the Maya as cargo to Cuba.

The texts describing the wizard battle are from the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Egypt. This image shows the shrine of St. Macarius in the monastery.

Wizard battles and demon circles revealed in newly translated Christian texts

By Owen Jarus

Newly translated Christian texts tell of wizard battles and demon circles.

The ancient Egyptian boy's "mummy portrait" (left) next to the newly created 3D facial reconstruction (right).

Facial reconstruction reveals Egyptian 'mummy portrait' was accurate except for one detail

By Laura Geggel

A CT scan of an ancient mummy shows that its "mummy portrait" was almost, but not completely accurate.

Volunteer divers from the nonprofit Badewanne team discovered this Dutch fluit ship in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.

Eerily well-preserved 17th-century ship found in the dark waters of the Baltic Sea

By Peter Dockrill

Divers from Finland have made an unexpected discovery while exploring the depths of the Baltic Sea, finding an incredibly well-preserved shipwreck dating back almost 400 years.

The Nebra Sky Disk of bronze decorated with gold is one of Germany's most famous archaeological artifacts. But a new study suggests it dates from the Iron Age, at least 1000 years later than the Bronze Age date which has been assumed.

Study casts doubt on 'sky disk' thought to be oldest representation of the heavens

By Tom Metcalfe

Fierce debate over the Nebra Sky Disk has been reignited by a new study that suggests it is at least 1,000 years younger than previously thought.

The painted coffins found at Saqqara were well preserved.

13 mummy coffins stacked in a well unearthed in ancient Egyptian necropolis

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists have yet to open any of the 2,500-year-old coffins.

Archaeologist Astrid Kviseth is the first person to lift this Viking sword in about 1,100 years. It was buried with a warrior who lived in what is now Trøndelag, Norway.

Viking sword placed on warrior's left side likely prepared him for 'mirror afterlife'

By Laura Geggel

It's possible the Vikings thought the afterlife was a mirrored version of the real world.

The small "bluestones" at Stonehenge were moved around by ancient people over the centuries. But the changes didn't make much difference to the sound, which was dominated by the outer circle of large upright "sarsens."

'Spinal Tap'-size Stonehenge reveals how the ancient monument really sounded

By Tom Metcalfe

It took 9 months to build the perfectly scaled model.

An aerial view of the fortress discovered in central Israel. Notice the rooms that lined its sides.

3,200-year-old Egyptian-built fortress found in Israel

By Laura Geggel

The fortress was built to stop the Philistines, who wanted more land.

an image of etchings that may be Britain's oldest artwork

Britain's oldest artwork may depict mammoths from a drowned land

By Tom Metcalfe

Britain's oldest artworks have been unearthed on the Channel Island of Jersey, showing what apperar to be Ice Age scenes of mammoths in ancient lands now drowned by the sea.

Youths found an 1,100-year-old gold hoard during an excavation in Israel.

Stash of pure, 24-carat gold coins unearthed in Israel

By Laura Geggel

All that protected this jar of gold was a nail and a good hiding spot.