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Seeds of Ankara’s Endangered Flower Found in 4,000-Year-Old Hittite Vessel
Seeds linked to Ankara’s endangered Sevgi Flower have been found inside a 4,000-year-old Hittite vessel at Külhöyük in central Türkiye. The discovery places a plant now confined to a small area south of the capital within the region’s Bronze Age landscape. Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism described the remains as the earliest known evidence…
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New Excavations Beneath Rome’s Baths of Trajan Reveal a Roman Port Scene
Archaeologists working beneath the Baths of Trajan in Rome have uncovered a previously unseen section of a monumental wall mosaic. The Roman port scene shows buildings arranged beside the sea, adding a coastal landscape to an artwork that may be the largest wall mosaic yet found in the Roman world. The discovery emerged during the…
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210-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Found in Zimbabwe Had Survived a Serious Injury or Infection
A 210-million-year-old dinosaur found in Zimbabwe carried evidence of a difficult episode in its short life. Before dying at roughly eight years old, Musango matusadonaensis had recovered from a serious injury or infection, leaving traces that researchers could still recognize in its fossilized bones. Nearly fully grown when it died, the animal now represents the…
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4,300-Year-Old Saqqara Tomb Preserves the Careers of a Father and Son
A 4,300-year-old Saqqara tomb has brought the careers of two Egyptian officials back into view. One managed agricultural records and offerings; the other rose to become a judge responsible for courts, petitions and complaints. The adjoining funerary chapels belonged to Yunmin and his father, Iti, who served the Egyptian state during the late Fifth Dynasty.…
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Thousands of Viking Age Silver Coins Unearthed in Finland’s Largest Hoard
A metal detectorist has uncovered Finland’s largest known Viking Age coin hoard, revealing thousands of silver coins buried near the town of Sysmä. The coins have a preliminary total weight of approximately 4.5 kilograms, more than twice that of the country’s previous record-holding find. The discovery is still largely concealed beneath soil and corrosion. Because…
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A Vast 1,700-Year-Old Mosaic Is Still Emerging at Pompeiopolis in Anatolia
Archaeologists at Pompeiopolis in northern Anatolia have uncovered approximately 105 square meters of a fourth-century mosaic, but the number comes with an important qualification: it is not the total size of the floor. Part of the decorated pavement remains buried beneath the central nave of a monumental basilica. Until excavation reaches its outer limits, archaeologists…
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Ancient Cave Paintings in Thailand Reveal Monkeys, Wild Cattle and a Child’s Handprint
A newly documented group of ancient cave paintings in Thailand depicts monkeys, wild cattle and the handprints of an adult and a child. Overlapping images suggest that people returned to the rock wall during at least three separate phases, repeatedly adding new marks to those left by earlier visitors. The paintings were identified at the…
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2,400-Year-Old Iberian Statue Head Found Built Into a Roman Granary in Spain
The nearly life-size limestone head may once have belonged to an Iberian funerary monument associated with elite identity. Centuries later, it was stripped of its original meaning and reused as an ordinary building stone. Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Libisosa in southeastern Spain have discovered the head of an exceptional Iberian statue dating to…
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A Second 4,600-Year-Old Game Found at Iran’s Burnt City Has No Surviving Board
Archaeologists at Shahr-i Sokhta, Iran’s ancient Burnt City, have uncovered a second 4,600-year-old game, but unlike the famous gaming set discovered there nearly half a century ago, this one has no surviving board. The discovery was made during the 21st excavation season at the Bronze Age city in southeastern Iran. Excavation director Rouhollah Shirazi says…