Archaeologists have discovered a stunning, albeit noseless, bust of Alexander the Great, but not from an ongoing excavation located in Alexander's ancient, sprawling empire.Rather, the marble statue was found sitting, "lost in a dark corner of the wa
The amulets include carved gems, etched glass and phallus-shaped charms.The stash of ancient amulets found in Pompeii.(Image: © Copyright Parco Archeologico di Pompei (Archeological Park of Pompeii))A stash of ancient amulets is seeing the light of d
Archaeologists have discovered a stunning, albeit noseless, bust of Alexander the Great, but not from an ongoing excavation located in Alexander's ancient, sprawling empire.Rather, the marble statue was found sitting, "lost in a dark corner of the wa
Getting high on marijuana may not be a modern pastime, as archaeologists have found the earliest clear evidence to date that people were smoking cannabis for its psychoactive properties some 2,500 years ago.They found evidence of burned cannabis with high
The ancient fortress' eastern gate.Credit: Egyptian Ministry of AntiquitiesArchaeologists in Egypt have discovered the ruins of an ancient fortress dating to the 26th Dynasty, the last dynasty in which native Egyptians ruled before the Persians conquered
The pieced together remains of the ninth century B.C. inscribed tablet known as the Mesha Stele.Credit: Wikimedia Commons, the free media repositoryA new reading of a hard-to-decipher ancient tablet suggests that the biblical King Balak might have been a
The newly discovered fresco of the mythical hunter Narcissus.Credit: Parco Archeologico di Pompei (Archeological Park of Pompeii)Excavations in a lavishly decorated house in ancient Pompeii have yielded a Valentine's Day-worthy discovery: a fresco of Narc
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, the volcano's molten rock, scorching debris and poisonous gases killed nearly 2,000 people in the nearby ancient Italian cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.But not everyone died. So, where did the refugees, who could
The face of the Egyptian pharaoh Senwosret III, circa 1878–1840 B.C. Most Egyptian rulers chose to have their likenesses appear youthful and strong, but Senwosret III opted to show a more realistic countenance, showing his heavy-lidded eyes, thin lips and
The ancient deity Bes had bug eyes and a large face.Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of DavidArchaeologists recently found a piece of pottery decorated with the funny face of an ancient deity who is often depicted as a bearded dwarf with a big face and bug eye
A painting of a scantily clad sea nymph graces the storefront of an ancient fast-food joint in Pompeii.Credit: Archaeological Park of PompeiiBefore Mount Vesuvius blasted Pompeii to smithereens in 79, it was possible to grab a bite to eat there at a "
The discovery of a Roman cemetery in England has archaeologists scratching their heads, mainly because about 40 percent of the bodies buried there are missing theirs.Well, not missing, exactly. Of the 52 skeletons discovered in the fourth-century A.D. cem
Danit Levy, director of the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, inspects the inscribed column in the field.Credit: Yoli Shwartz/IAAArchaeologists have uncovered the oldest known instance of the word "Jerusalem" spelled out
This Bronze Age hand has a gold cuff. Next to it, sit a dagger, a bronze pin and a spiraled hair ornament. The two gold flakes likely came from the metal hand.Credit: Copyright Philippe Joner/Archaeological Service of the Canton of BernTreasure hunters in
A servant in his birthday suit holds a silver-colored jug and a vase for wine.Credit: Copyright E. Lupoli/Jean Bérard Centre (CNRS/école française de Rome)A naked man holding a wine jug and a vase is just one of many figures depicted in a 2,200-year-
The researchers used multispectral imaging to reveal the images and text on the map.Credit: Image by Lazarus Project / MegaVision / RIT / EMEL, courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryA 1491 map that likely influenced Christopher Columbus
Why were so many Roman emperors assassinated?Credit: ShutterstockAncient Rome was a dangerous place to be an emperor. During its more than 500-year run, about 20 percent of Rome's 82 emperors were assassinated while in power. So, what led to their downfal
This golden bling dates back to Roman times.Credit: Courtesy of Jason MasseyAn amateur historian just unearthed a treasure that would turn any archaeologist green with envy: an ornate gold ring dating back to ancient Roman times.On the face of the ring —
The excavation of the ancient library in Cologne, Germany.Credit: Roman-Germanic Museum of CologneBeneath the soil in Cologne, Germany, lies a bibliophile's dream: an ancient Roman library that once held up to 20,000 scrolls, according to news reports.Arc
The newly discovered burial of Neko, a woman who lived 1,800 years ago.Credit: Thanos Kartsoglou/Greek Culture MinistryGrave robbers had about 1,800 years to steal the precious gold jewelry buried with a noblewoman on the Greek island of Sikinos. So, what
An ancient mosaic depicting two Biblical spies sent to scout the Promised Land has been unearthed at a nearly 1,600-year-old synagogue in northern Israel.In the mosaic, two spies carry a cluster of grapes on a pole — likely a reference to an episode in th
Archaeologists discovered the skull ofJunzi imperialis, a previously unknown genus and species of extinct gibbon, in an ancient Chinese tomb.Credit: Camuel Turvey/Zoological Society of LondonAbout 2,300 years ago, the grandmother of China's first emperor
The 2,000-year-old mummy, dubbed Sleeping Beauty, was buried in silk clothes and a beaded belt with a jet buckle.Credit: Marina Kilunovskaya/The Siberian TimesAbout 2,000 years ago, during the time Jesus supposedly walked the Earth, people buried a young
The oldest olive oil on record in Italy was found in this textured pot with starfish-like designs.Credit: Courtesy: Sicily Region; Syracuse Regional Park for archaeological sites and museums; Paolo Orsi MuseumAn egg-shaped ceramic jar covered with ceramic
The horse likely swiveled its ears when it heard the deafening roar from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. That was one of the last things the animal ever did: After that, it died, buried in the massive amounts of ash that killed about 30,000 people anddestroyed
Urbano Monte's 1587 mapCredit: Courtesy of David Rumsey Map Collection/DavidRumsey.comAfter poring over a stunning, 60-page Renaissance-era map, a scholar has come to the following conclusion: The cartographer who draw the map in 1587 was both a mastermin
A handful of sprouted cereal grains discovered at a Bronze Age site in Argissa, Greece. The scale bar is 0.04 inches (1 millimeter).Credit: Copyright Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2017The ancient Greeks may have liberally indulged
The 4,000-year-old Assyrian marriage contract.Credit: Turp, AB. et al. Gynecological Endocrinology, 2017Kim Kardashian made headlines recently for using a surrogate to carry her unborn child, but the practice of surrogacy — albeit in a different form — is
The newly discovered Coptic gravestone.Credit: Egypt Ministry of AntiquitiesArchaeologists unearthed an ancient Coptic tombstone during a dig Sunday (Oct. 22), according to Egypt's antiquities ministry.The tombstone is decorated with a cross and Coptic in
Click toVisit the VideoArchaeologists discovered the theater-like structure during a recent excavation beneath Wilson's arch in the tunnels of the Western Wall. The team was hoping to find artifacts that would help them date Wilson's arch — a structure ma
Researchers carefully conserve an Osiris statuette found within the favissa. It's possible the statue of the god Ptah was placed with the Osiris statuettes because Osiris was the god of rebirth.Credit: Copyright J. Maucor/ CFEETK-CNRS-MoA; Copyright Antiq
In the mid-16th century, a bookbinder picked up a piece of parchment — one that was already centuries old — and used it to bind a book of poetry. This parchment's text remained unreadable for nearly 500 years, but now, thanks to state-of-the-art imaging t
However, the citrus fruits that followed in later years weren't as exclusive as lemons and citrons, said the study's lead researcher, Dafna Langgut, an archaeobotanist at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Tiny wooden figurines have stood upright "weaving" at appropriately sized looms for more than 2,100 years in a Chinese tomb containing the remains of a middle-age woman, a new study finds.
An Egyptian mummy named the Gilded Lady may be more than 2,000 years old, but visitors can gaze into her brown eyes and admire her dark, curly hair at "Mummies," an exhibit opening Monday (March 20) at the American Museum of Natural History (AMN
When nautical visitors sailed into the ancient Grecian city of Lechaion, they would have first encountered a monumental entrance leading to several inland canals, all of which were connected to no fewer than four harbor basins, Greek and Danish archaeolog
The mummy of a child discovered in a crypt beneath a Lithuanian church harbors the oldest sample found to date of the virus that causes smallpox, a new report said.
Dairying began with the onset of agriculture, and likely helped early farmers, said the study's lead researcher, Cynthianne Spiteri, a junior professor of archaeometry at the University of Tübingen in Germany, who conducted the residue analysis as part of
About 3,000 years ago, a fire destroyed the Near East city of Tel Megiddo, leaving ash and burned mud-brick buildings in its wake. And according to a new study, the blaze may have leveled the entire city in a mere 2 to 3 hours.
An ancient city gate and shrine that King Hezekiah ordered to be destroyed during the eighth century B.C., according to the Hebrew Bible, are seeing the light of day following an excavation in Israel, archaeologists reported.
An ancient Roman oven has sat undisturbed for the past 2,000 years in Scotland, and curiously, it looks as though it's never been used, according to a new report.Roman ovens — which are composed of two interconnecting pits in the ground that together rese
The 1,600-year-old remains of a middle-age man buried alongside an ornate belt decorated with images of dolphins and dogs have been found in a grave in Leicester, England, archaeologists report.
