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A Faulty Headset Led Detectorists to a 700-Year-Old Gold Ring Linked to an English Countess
A frustrating morning in a Suffolk field took an extraordinary turn when two metal detectorists uncovered a medieval gold seal ring. Its inscription and proximity to two religious houses have raised an intriguing possibility: the ring may once have belonged to Matilda of Lancaster, Countess…
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Anglo-Saxon Girl Was Buried with Garnets from India and Sri Lanka 1,400 Years Ago
A teenage girl buried in eastern England around 1,400 years ago wore a necklace containing garnets that had travelled thousands of miles from India and Sri Lanka. Her grave, the richest in a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Lincolnshire, reveals how even a small rural…
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New Fragment of the Kadesh Peace Treaty Discovered at Hattusa
A newly identified cuneiform tablet fragment from Hattusa belongs to the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the agreement that established peace between the Hittite and Egyptian empires more than 3,200 years ago. The fragment preserves lines concerning people who fled from one kingdom to the other, including…
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A Woman Buried Face Down in Medieval China May Reveal Evidence of a Brutal Punishment
When archaeologists excavated a medieval cemetery in central China, one burial immediately stood apart. The woman had been placed face down, and the bones around her nose showed evidence of a severe injury unlike anything found among the cemetery’s other graves. A new study suggests…
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Workers Split Up a Byzantine Gold Hoard. Only 150 Coins Were Saved
A hoard discovered during construction work in northwestern Bulgaria may originally have contained as many as 600 Byzantine gold coins. Instead of being reported to archaeologists, however, the find was concealed and divided among the workers who uncovered it. Only 150 coins remained together. They…
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A 3,000-Year-Old Village Beneath an Italian Lake Is Revealing Its Bronze Treasures
Archaeologists working beneath the murky waters of Lake Mezzano have uncovered collapsed wooden structures surrounded by pottery and bronze objects, opening a new window onto a village occupied in Italy more than 3,000 years ago. The position of the finds at different depths may now…
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Three Children Left Their Footprints at Stratonikeia 1,900 Years Ago
The monumental ruins of Stratonikeia preserve the names of rulers, the decisions of civic officials and the ambitions of wealthy builders. Its latest discovery records something far quieter: the footsteps of three children who lived nearly 1,900 years ago. Archaeologists uncovered the footprints during excavations…
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11-Year-Old Girl Finds a 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Gold Coin Within Ten Minutes
An 11-year-old metal detectorist named Darcey made a discovery she is unlikely to forget when she uncovered a Celtic gold coin just ten minutes into a weekend rally at Cirencester, England. The small coin has been provisionally identified as a Selsey Dahlia gold quarter stater,…
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LiDAR Reveals Hidden Inca Road Network Across the River from Machu Picchu
More than 2.5 kilometers of previously undocumented roads have emerged from beneath the rainforest surrounding Machu Picchu, revealing human activity in an area long overshadowed by the famous Inca citadel. The roads were identified on the slopes of Yanantin Mountain, across the Urubamba River from…