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3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewels Found on Aegina May Unlock a Mystery in the British Museum
A group of 3,500-year-old gold jewels unearthed on the Greek island of Aegina may offer something that one of the British Museum’s most enigmatic Bronze Age collections has lacked for more than a century: a reliable archaeological context. The 32 gold and semi-precious stone objects were discovered during the 2025 excavation season at Kolona, a…
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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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The Ancient Egyptian Shipwreck That Showed Herodotus Got a 2,500-Year-Old Detail Right
For centuries, one of Herodotus’ most detailed passages about ancient Egypt presented historians with a problem. The Greek writer described an unusual Nile cargo boat built from short pieces of acacia wood arranged “like bricks,” yet no surviving vessel seemed to match his account. That changed when an ancient Egyptian shipwreck was examined beneath the…
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Excavations Begin at Hadrianoi, the Hidden Roman City in Türkiye
A monumental building has begun to emerge at Hadrianoi, a hidden Roman city on the southern slopes of Mount Uludağ in northwestern Türkiye. Archaeologists say the structure may have served as an agora or gymnasium, although its identity will remain uncertain until they reach the original floor. The excavation is being conducted by the Bursa…
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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 2,400-Year-Old Etruscan Tomb Echoed Like a Cathedral and May Have Altered the Senses
Anyone descending into the Etruscan Tomb of the Blue Demons would have left daylight behind and entered a chamber of flickering illumination, distorted voices and painted supernatural figures. At the rear of the tomb, low-frequency sounds could reverberate for more than seven seconds, making their source difficult to locate and allowing the echoes to be…
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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…
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3,000-Year-Old Stone Grave Shaped Like a Ship Discovered in Sweden
Archaeologists in southern Sweden have uncovered a prehistoric burial site where stones were arranged to form the outline of a small ship. No actual vessel was found, but the approximately three-metre-long stone setting contained one of four remarkably well-preserved cremation urns recovered at the site. The burial complex was discovered near Domsten, north of Helsingborg,…
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Ancient Greeks Were Eating Cheesecake Long Before New York
More than 2,000 years before New York cheesecake became famous, ancient Greeks were already preparing cheese-rich cakes sweetened with honey. A related Roman recipe recorded by Cato the Elder called for the cake to be covered with honey and scattered with poppy seeds before serving. These early creations would not have looked or tasted exactly…