DNA from child burials reveals ‘profoundly different’ human landscape in ancient Africa Central Africa is too H๏τ and humid for ancient DNA to survive—or so researchers thought. But now the bones of four children buried thousands of years ago in a rock shelter in the grᴀsslands of Cameroon have yielded enough DNA for scientists to …

Egypt breakthrough: How lost Tutankhamun artefact was found after ‘vanishing for decades’ Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule at the end of the 19th Dynasty during the New Kingdom. Known as “the boy king,” he inherited the throne at just nine years old and mysteriously died less than …

Ancient papyrus holds the world’s oldest guide to mummification The oldest known instructions for the ancient art of embalming mummies were recently discovered on a medical papyrus from ancient Egypt. How-to descriptions of the mummification process are exceptionally rare in the archaeological record — only two other such “manuals” are known. This newest example, found in …

Huge cemetery with at least 250 rock-cut tombs discovered in Egypt About 250 tombs, some with fancy layouts and hieroglyphics, have been discovered cut into a hill at Al-Hamidiyah cemetery to the east of Sohag, in Egypt’s the Eastern Desert, about 240 miles (386 kilometres) southeast of Cairo, Egypt’s antiquities ministry said. The tombs were …

A 5,000-year-old wooden boat used by the pharaohs is discovered by French archaeologists French archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old wooden boat in an expedition in Egypt, it has emerged. The significant discovery was made in Abu Rawash, west of Cairo, the antiquities ministry in Egypt said. Mohammed Ibrahim, the antiquities minister, said: ‘It goes back …

Experts claim material from Tutankhamun’s dagger may have come from outer space A gold-hilted dagger found in the tomb of King Tut surprised archaeologists when they discovered that it was made of a material forged in outer space. Now, two new studies are painting conflicting pictures of the origins of the mysterious weapon, which may …

35 Ancient Pyramids Discovered in Sudan Necropolis Archaeologists excavating a site in Sudan have discovered 35 pyramids revealing fascinating links between the bygone Kingdom of Kush that once existed there and ancient Egypt. The pyramids, which date back around 2,000 years, are smaller than most Egyptian examples with the largest being 22 feet in width …

Archaeologists discover a 2,600-year-old castle on Egypt’s border A former military castle that experts think served as a gate to Egypt’s eastern border protecting it from the Persians 2,600 years ago has been unearthed. Discovered in North Sinai, the fortress is believed to date to 664-610 BC in the Psamtik era – the last before …

How Studying Mummies Could Cure Modern Diseases Earlier this year, scientists published a study of whole-body CT scans of 137 mummies: ancient Egyptians and Peruvians, ancestral Puebloans of southwest America, and Unangan hunter-gatherers of the Aleutian Islands. They reported signs of athero­sclerosis—a dangerous artery hardening that can lead to heart attacks or stroke—in 34 per …