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 cave of Els Trocs in the Spanish Pyrenees, indicated here by an arrow, was the scene of a brutal massacre about 7,300 years ago.

Bones of Neolithic immigrants killed in massacre found in Spanish cave

By Tom Metcalfe

Vicious attack has the hallmarks of a "xenophobic" clash between enemy groups.

This individual had a number of grave goods. It appears that the red pigment ochre covered part of the grave when the deceased was laid to rest.

Dozens of ancient Egyptian graves found with rare clay coffins

By Laura Geggel

Archaeologists have found 83 graves filled with the bones and artifacts of ancient Egyptians, not too far from the Mediterranean Sea.

No Syndication for wall of bones photos.

Bone walls made of human limbs and skulls discovered under church in Belgium

By Laura Geggel

Almost no children's bones were found in the walls.

The Tulloch stone depicts a spear-holding ancient warrior.

Ancient engraving of warrior with 'elaborate hairstyle' and 'pronounced butt' discovered in Scotland

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

"The warrior is an essential part of society, the central part of power."

A close-up shows part of the mass grave at Thornton, where the deceased were carefully positioned and placed in an organized manner without any overlapping.

Plague victims in medieval mass grave were arranged with care by 'last chance' hospital's clergy

By Mindy Weisberger

New analysis of a mass grave in medieval England reveals a bleak glimpse of a community overwhelmed by the Black Death.

Researchers looked at a never-before-studied senet board from the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California

Ancient game board could be a missing link tied to the Egyptian Book of the Dead

By Stephanie Pappas

A game board bridges the gap between old and new in ancient Egypt.

The spiral patterns that appear prominently in the rock carvings are thought to be a symbol among ancestral Pueblo peoples for the sky or the sun.

800-year-old spiral rock carvings marked the solstices for Native Americans

By Tom Metcalfe

The Pueblo people created rock carvings in the Mesa Verde region of the Southwest United States about 800 years ago to mark the position of the sun on the longest and shortest days of the year.

A bird's-eye view of the temple, taken at the end of the 2013 excavation season.

Ancient 'outlaw temple' discovered in Israel

By Laura Geggel

According to the Jewish Bible, there was just one temple in the ancient Kingdom of Judah: the First Temple, which sat in Jerusalem. However, a new discovery just upended that perception.

The 1,200-year-old glass game piece.

1,200-year-old 'gumdrop' might have belonged to elite gamer at UK monastery

By Laura Geggel

Whoever owned this piece was undoubtedly elite.

One artifact was said to show the earliest depiction of the Christian crucifixion, but experts said its iconography was much later than its supposed date in the third century A.D.

Trial begins for archaeologist accused of forging earliest portrayal of Jesus' crucifixion

By Tom Metcalfe

Divers discovered the ancient woman's remains in the Chan Hol cave, near Tulum, Mexico. The underwater survey was led by Jerónimo Avilés, a speleologist (cave explorer and researcher) at the Museum of the Desert of Coahuila.

9,900-year-old skeleton of horribly disfigured woman found in Mexican cave

By Laura Geggel

This woman, whose remains were found in an underwater cave in Mexico, lived about 9,900 years ago, just as the last ice age was ending.

A satellite view of Aylesbury-Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England shows the site where the skeletons were found, at a farm near a graveyard (top center).

Mystery deepens over 42 oddly buried skeletons found on UK farm

By Mindy Weisberger

Skeletal remains of 42 people were recently unearthed at a farm in December 2019, but the construction company that found the bodies has yet to release a report.

Yamashita's buried hoard of gold and other valuables, if it exists, is reported to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars today.

Treasure hunters search for fabled gold on Philippines island. Hoard may not even exist.

By Tom Metcalfe

Excavations by treasure hunters searching for a hoard of gold in the Philippines, said to have been hidden by a Japanese World War II general, are threatening to cause landslides in a remote village.

This skull and mandible, rumored to belong to Pliny the Elder, prompted new research to assess that claim.

Pliny the Elder died in the Mount Vesuvius eruption of A.D. 79. Is this his skull?

By Laura Geggel

These bones were found in the early 1900s near Pompeii, but it wasn't until now that they were assessed with modern science.

Several skulls were found in the burial ground. These would likely be from mummies that have not survived intact.

Mummies of ancient Egyptian priests found buried with thousands of afterlife 'servants'

By Owen Jarus

A massive burial ground holding the remains of several high priests of ancient Egypt, along with their assistants, has been discovered in the northern part of the site of Tuna el-Gebel.

Inscriptions on religious artifacts could reveal the identities of Jewish people who donated the objects to the synagogue.

Trove of Jewish artifacts discovered beneath a synagogue destroyed by Nazis during WWII

By Mindy Weisberger

In a historic Polish synagogue dating to the 18th century, restorers found a secret stash of Jewish ritual objects, concealed under the floor.

The Abbey at Bath has a spectacular facade.

'Lost' Anglo-Saxon monastery discovered. It might be where England's first king was crowned.

By Laura Geggel

Newly unearthed remains may come from the monastery where England's first king, Edgar the Peaceful, was coronated more than 1,000 years ago.

The remains of Takabuti, a woman who was murdered 2,600 years ago in Egypt.

Egyptian mummy cold case closed: 'Takabuti' was stabbed to death

By Laura Geggel

This cold case is finally cracked; the mummified woman was murdered with a knife.

Archaeologists found the bottle at a Civil War-era site on the median of Interstate 64 in York County, Virginia.

'Witch bottle' found in Virginia dates to the Civil War

By Mindy Weisberger

A Civil War artifact found in Virginia could represent a type of talisman that was popular for protection against evil: a so-called witch bottle.

This image shows a close-up of one of the engravings on the monolith that was scanned and shown here in green contrast. The engraving appears circular with a hole in the center and lines radiating from the circle.

Engraved with fangs, ornate swirls, Peruvian monument lay hidden for 2,000 years

By Owen Jarus

A sprawling, stone monument decorated with swirls, circular patterns and godly fangs has been hiding in a remote jungle in northern Peru for around 2,000 years.