Rare medieval script discovered on stone carved by Scotland’s ‘Painted People’
Rare medieval script discovered on stone carved by Scotland’s ‘Painted People’ Archaeologists and volunteers have discovered a stone bearing a mysterious inscription and carved birds that the Picts of Scotland crafted more than a millennium ago. The cross slab, found in a small cemetery last month, dates to between A.D. 500 and 700, and sheds …
DNA Study Reveals Human Migration Routes in South America
DNA Study Reveals Human Migration Routes in South America The Americas were the last continent to be inhabited by humans. An increasing body of archaeological and genomic evidence has hinted at a complex settlement process. This is especially true for South America, where unexpected ancestral signals have raised perplexing scenarios for the early migrations into …
Thor’s Hammer Amulet Found in Sweden
Thor’s Hammer Amulet Found in Sweden A 1,000-year-old amulet of Thor’s Hammer discovered in Sweden shows the lasting popularity of the ancient Norse deity, who has now won a new audience with Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of the Viking god of war in Marvel movies. Thor had always been a popular figure, perhaps because he was …
Sensational find in Ephesus: more than 1,400-year-old district discovered
Sensational find in Ephesus: more than 1,400-year-old district discovered During this year’s excavations at Ephesus in Turkey, archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (AW) discovered an incredibly well-preserved early Byzantine business and dining space that had apparently been destroyed suddenly in AD 614/615. The discovery, according to the head of the excavation Sabine Ladstätter, …
Priceless archaeological artefacts found in Norfolk Island National Park by local citizen scientist
Priceless archaeological artefacts found in Norfolk Island National Park by local citizen scientist An archaeological dig on Norfolk Island has uncovered two Polynesian adzes (stone axes) and hundreds of flakes dating back to the pre-European settlement. The adzes were used for woodworking and canoe building and form hard evidence of settlement on Norfolk Island by …
Viking Age Silver Hoard Discovered in Sweden
Viking Age Silver Hoard Discovered in Sweden A 1000-year-old silver hoard containing several beautiful torque-style neck rings, arm rings and coins has been discovered in Viggbyholm, Täby, outside Stockholm. “This is something you probably only experience once in a lifetime”, says Maria Lingström at The Archaeologists, National Historical Museums in Sweden. The treasure was found …
Ancient Trophy Head Child Was High On Psychedelic Cactus Before Ritual Sacrifice
Ancient “Trophy Head” Child Was High On Psychedelic Cactus Before Ritual Sacrifice A child who had the honour of being made into a trophy head by the ancient Nazca culture of southern Peru was drugged up on a mescaline-containing cactus prior to being sacrificed, a new analysis has revealed. The same study also found evidence …
Ancient Snail From 99 Million Years Ago Discovered With Hairs Growing on Shell
Ancient Snail From 99 Million Years Ago Discovered With Hairs Growing on Shell A snail preserved in amber with an intact fringe of tiny delicate bristles along its shell is helping biologists better understand why one of the world’s slimiest animals might evolve such a groovin’ hairstyle. This unusual mollusc fossil, found in the Hukawng …
Crypts, Tunnel Discovered Beneath Knights Templar Chapel in Poland
Crypts, Tunnel Discovered Beneath Knights Templar Chapel in Poland Around 1119, in the midst of Christian Crusades to wrest the Holy Land from Muslim control, a French knight named Hugues de Payens formed a small military order dedicated to defending pilgrims as they travelled from West to East. Known today as the Knights Templar, the …
Revolutionary War Prison Camp Found in Pennsylvania
Revolutionary War Prison Camp Found in Pennsylvania Researchers say they solved a decades-old riddle this week by finding remnants of the stockade and therefore the site of a prison camp in York, Pennsylvania, that housed British soldiers for nearly two years during the American Revolutionary War. The location of Camp Security was thought to have been on …