Archaeology

Slaves in Pompeii may have been better fed than many free Romans

The slaves lived on the ground floor, in rat-infested 16-square-meter cells that contained up to three people, but archaeologists think their nutrition was enhanced to keep up their productivity.

Was it autumn or spring? Pompeii excavations.
The Civil Administration seizes dozens of archaeological artifacts from the Burj Lasana site north of Ramallah in the West Bank, December 4, 2025.

Civil Administration recovers dozens of looted artifacts from West Bank site

A microscopic magnetite fossil discovered in sediment below the North Atlantic, seen using X-ray microscopy

Ancient magnetite fossils may be remnants of a natural GPS used by marine creatures

A Chinese flag flies with tourists hiking along the Great Wall, near Beijing, China, November 10, 2025; illustrative.

Archaeologists find record-size Ming Dynasty cannon at Great Wall of China


Scientists solve the mystery of the prehistoric 'Burtele Foot'

The Burtele Foot showed that this species was bipedal but still had an opposable big toe, a feature useful for tree climbing - evidence that it walked upright.

The 3.4 million-year-old bones of the "Burtele foot", which belonged to the ancient human relative Australopithecus deyiremeda and were discovered in the Afar Rift region of Ethiopia, in their anatomical position and with the foot bones embedded in an outline of a gorilla foot; illustration.

Archaeologists uncover 15,000 unexpected artifacts beneath Tulsa cemetery

A routine search for unmarked graves at Oaklawn Cemetery has instead uncovered 15,000 artifacts that reveal a vivid, unexpected picture of early Tulsa.

The Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Are mummies responsible for NJ Devils' string of injuries? Archaeologists, players weigh in

The strange tale of two mummies discovered beneath the Prudential Center collides with the Devils’ run of bad injury luck this season.

 A cameraman films the only known example of a pregnant Egyptian mummy, displayed at an exhibition in National Museum in Warsaw, Poland May 4, 2021

Possible double-burial of pharaohs in Osorkon II’s tomb, newly discovered statues show

Archaeologists uncovered 225 inscribed funerary statues beside an unmarked sarcophagus in Osorkon II’s tomb, strengthening the case for two royal burials at Tanis, Egypt.

Shabti figurines inscribed with the name of Pharaoh Shoshenq III, found inside Osorkon II’s tomb at Tanis, northern Egypt.

Saudi Arabia opens Ancient Kingdoms Festival 2025 in AlUla

The event is part of the AlUla Moments schedule, a government-supported initiative aimed at expanding cultural tourism and encouraging deeper engagement with the area’s archaeological heritage. 

 3D reconstruction of the Late Iron Age western enclosure in Dumat al-Jandal walled oasis

Fisherman digging for worms uncovers lost hoard of medieval coins

Sofia Andersson, an antiquarian at the County Administrative Board of Stockholm, said the discovery is “one of the largest silver hoards from the early Middle Ages ever found in Sweden.”

Ett unikt föremål bestående av tre myntkedjor av vikingatida engelska mynt, sammanfogade med silverringar och hängande på en kopparplatta. Fyra mynt längst till vänster sitter löst, och det är oklart om de har ingått i kedjan. Alla mynten är av de engelska Crux- och Long Cross-typer.

Agile and vicious Nanotyrannus was not just a teenage T. rex

Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus both were members of a lineage of meat-eating dinosaurs called tyrannosaurs, but were not the same genus, the researchers said.

The skeleton of a Nanotyrannus lancensis is displayed as part of the "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs & Distinguished Fossils" collection at Bonhams auction house in New York, November 14, 2013. The "Montana Dueling Dinosaurs", a Nanotyrannus lancensis and a Chasmosaurine Ceratopsian which experts believe

Egypt hopes vast new museum by the Pyramids will accelerate tourism revival

Officials believe the Grand Egyptian Museum, or GEM, alone could draw as many as 7 million additional visitors annually after it opens on Saturday.

Cars drive past the site of a new tourist walkway bridge project, which will connect the archaeological area of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids with the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), scheduled to officially open on November 1, 2025, following a partial opening last year, in Giza, Egypt, June 2, 202

Open House: A behind-the-scenes look at Jerusalem

There are 164 tours to prominent buildings, public institutions, private homes, and quaint hideaways nestled in obscure spots around town unbeknownst to the majority of us.

The Talbiyeh neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Rare Assyrian inscription unearthed near Temple Mount reveals communication with the King of Judah

The finding provides “direct evidence of official correspondence between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah," according to an excavation expert.

 Dr. Ayala Zilberstein, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, holding the rare sealing.

Enigmatic Jurassic reptile looks like a mix of snake and lizard

If it was not part of the snake lineage, Breugnathair may have been an evolutionary dead end, with snake-like predatory habits emerging separately in a group that ultimately went extinct.

A handout illustration shows a reconstruction of the Jurassic species Breugnathair elgolensis, which possessed characteristics both of lizards and snakes, and lived 167 million years ago, based on fossils discovered in Scotland.