A secret stash of tsar’s gold worth billions was found in an old rail tunnel near Lake Baikal Royal discovery made after 99-year-old code is broken by Siberian mathematics genius. The former tunnel and at an undisclosed location in the Irkutsk region is today under the protection of the Russian national guard after the sensational …

In Medieval burial ground, a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ was discovered Russian archaeologists have uncovered a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ in a medieval burial ground. 46 graves have been dug up during excavations; one of them contained a woman who was buried with an embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ and John …

When Did Hominins Begin to Produce Tools? Monkeys in southern Thailand use rocks to pound open oil palm nuts, inadvertently shattering stone pieces off their makeshift nutcrackers. These flakes resemble some sharp-edged stone tools presumed to have been created on purpose by ancient hominids, researchers say. Thailand’s long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) produce shards that could …

U.S. Repatriates Looted Artifact to Iraq Atlanta FBI agents started investigating the stolen art last year. The artifact turned up at an Emory University museum in 2006. The FBI announced Thursday that the U.S. has returned a stolen Iraqi artifact that has been missing for 20 years, officials said. The “Furniture Fitting with Sphinx Trampling a Youth” …

Bronze Age Ice Skates Found in China Archaeologists in China have unearthed 3,500-year-old ice skates crafted from animal bone in the country’s western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a mountainous area that some archaeologists think was the birthplace of skiing. These ice skates, the oldest ever found in China,  were made from the bones of oxen …

4,000-Year-Old Lion Jaw Bone Unearthed in Kültepe Excavations continue in Kültepe, the starting point of Anatolian written history. During the excavations, a 4,000-year-old lion jawbone was unearthed. For the first time, a lion’s jawbone was found in Kültepe. Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu of Ankara University’s Faculty of Language, History-Geography, and Archeology Department said that in …

6,000-year-old defensive trench unearthed in China’s Henan A defensive trench dating back around 6,000 years has been discovered at a relics site in central China’s Henan Province, according to the municipal insтιтute of archaeology of Luoyang City. The semi-annular trench, located at the Suyang relics site in Yiyang County, was dug manually, and the shape …

A Rare Inscription in an Ancient Arabian Script Was Uncovered by Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have discovered one of the longest-known plaques baring Musnad, or the pre-Islamic southern Arabian script, at the Al Ukhdud excavation site in the country’s Najran region. Other artifacts, including three gold rings and a bronze bull’s …

Scientists dissect 3,500-year-old bear discovered in Siberian permafrost A brown bear that lay almost perfectly preserved in the frozen wilds of eastern Siberia for 3,500 years has undergone a necropsy by a team of scientists after it was discovered by reindeer herders on a desolate island in the Arctic. “This find is absolutely unique: the …