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A Curse Tablet Found Under a Dutch Town Square Carries a Greek Spell in Egyptian Style
A small lead tablet found beneath Heerlen’s town hall square was meant to do harm. Nearly 1,800 years later, its scratched Greek words are revealing how Egyptian-style magic reached Rome’s northern frontier. Researchers at Heidelberg University have deciphered the inscription on the Roman-period curse tablet, discovered in the Dutch municipality of Heerlen. In antiquity, the…
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A 1,000-Year-Old Chamber Grave Prepared for a Young Horse Was Found in Poland
A young horse was buried alone in a chamber grave at Pień in northern Poland about 1,000 years ago. The unusual burial, dated to the late 10th or early 11th century, offers a rare look at how horses could be drawn into elite ritual life during the formation of the Polish state. The grave, recorded…
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Ancient Stone Cup in Bulgaria Reveals a Second Dedication to Heracles the Hunter
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria have uncovered a second inscription naming Heracles Kynagidas, or “Heracles the Hunter,” only days after a similar dedication was deciphered nearby. The new find was made during excavations led by Prof. Ludmil Vagalinski of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy…
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Roman Lime Kiln Found Near Bicske Is Hungary’s Best-Preserved Example in Over a Century
A Roman lime kiln found near Bicske in Hungary has emerged as one of the country’s rarest preserved traces of ancient industrial work. The structure was uncovered during excavations connected to the expansion of the M1 motorway. The work is being carried out under the commission of the National Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian National…
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1,800-Year-Old River God Mosaic Found in Ancient Aspendos
A Roman mosaic uncovered in Aspendos has brought back the image of Eurymedon, the river that once fed the city’s fields, trade, and imagination. Archaeologists discovered the mosaic in the eastern square of Theater Street, the route linking the acropolis of Aspendos with its famous Roman theater in Antalya, southern Türkiye. The decorated structure measures…
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Child Graves Near Lake Baikal Reveal Plague’s Deadly Reach 5,500 Years Ago
A prehistoric Lake Baikal plague outbreak is no longer just a theory drawn from scattered graves. Ancient DNA from children buried near the Angara River in southeastern Siberia shows that Yersinia pestis was killing hunter-gatherer communities around 5,500 years ago, long before the Black Death or the first cities usually linked to epidemic disease. Three…
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4,000-Year-Old Man Found Buried in a Prehistoric Kiln Pit in Germany
A young man buried inside a prehistoric kiln pit in central Germany has left archaeologists with a rare problem: his grave follows some Corded Ware customs, but its setting and possible skull injury do not fit an ordinary burial. The find was uncovered near Gerstewitz in the Burgenland district of Saxony-Anhalt, during archaeological investigations ahead…
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Nearly 5,000-Square-Meter Roman Bathhouse, the Largest in the Netherlands, Unearthed in Nijmegen
Archaeologists in Nijmegen have uncovered the largest Roman bathhouse ever found in the Netherlands, a nearly 5,000-square-meter complex that once served the Roman city of Ulpia Noviomagus. The discovery was made in the Waalfront district, where a former industrial area is being prepared for new housing. According to the Municipality of Nijmegen, archaeologists from RAAP…
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Ancient Temple Found on Hilltop of a Lost Illyrian City in Northern Albania
Archaeologists working in northern Albania have uncovered the stone foundations of an ancient temple on the hilltop acropolis of Bushat, a site increasingly linked to the lost Illyrian city of Bassania. The discovery was made by a joint team from the University of Warsaw and the University of Tirana during the latest excavation season. Bushat…