A 4,000-Year-Old Writing system that finally makes sense to Scholars You could be forgiven for never having heard of the civilization of Elam. Elam flourished in southern Iran, in the modern state of Khuzestan, about four or five thousand years ago. The Elamites had close cultural ties to the Mesopotamian civilizations to the west, like …

Sentence of Canaanite language found in Israel for the first time on the ivory comb The alphabet was invented around 1800 BCE and was used by the Canaanites and later by most other languages in the world. Until recently, no meaningful Canaanite inscriptions had been discovered in the Land of Israel, save only two or …

‘Extremely rare’ Rameses II-era burial cave found in Israel A mechanical digger has uncovered a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II at an Israeli beach.   The square, man-made cave was found last week at Palmahim National Park when the digger hit its roof.  In a video released by the Israel …

1,500-year-old Crypt of Rich Warrior Buried With Wife and Children Discovered in Ancient Russian City An Ancient warrior has been unearthed from a Russian crypt, buried alongside his wife and three children. The discovery has sparked an archaeological mystery, with experts unable to confirm whether the family died from plague – or were butchered by …

Oman has recovered an exceptional collection of silver jewellery from a prehistoric grave From a prehistoric grave dating to the 3rd millennium BC in Dahwa, North Batinah, a team of international archaeologists working under the auspices of the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Tourism have unearthed an extraordinary collection of silver jewellery. The joint Omani-American …

A Christian monastery, possibly pre-dating Islam, found in UAE A Christian monastery has been discovered on the island of Siniyah off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), possibly dating back to the years before the spread of Islam to the Arabian Peninsula. Archaeologists have discovered similar churches and monasteries in Iran and other …

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 …

Rare 2,700-Year-Old Stone Carvings Discovered in Iraq Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed 2,700-year-old stone carvings that were chiselled into a previously undiscovered section of the Mashki Gate, an iconic structure in what was once the ancient ᴀssyrian capital city of Nineveh. The eight intricately carved marble bas-reliefs, which depict war scenes, grapevines, palm trees and …

Drone pH๏τos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands A ground-penetrating eye in the sky has helped to rehydrate an ancient southern Mesopotamian city, tagging it as what amounted to a Venice of the Fertile Crescent. Identifying the watery nature of this early metropolis has important implications for how urban life flourished nearly …