Study Investigates Anglo-Saxon Diets Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a major new bioarchaeological study suggests. Its sister study also argues that peasants occasionally hosted lavish meat feasts for their rulers. The findings overturn …

Archaeologists were left baffled by a grim Roman discovery made in Wales: ‘Quite peculiar’ Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a possible Roman mercenary buried with his sword and the skeleton of another Roman-period man whose decapitated head lay at his feet in Wales, in the United Kingdom.  Investigations into these two distinct burials are …

‘Rare’ 14th Century gold coin found in a secret drawer in Derbyshire A 14th-century French gold coin was discovered inside one of three hidden drawers in a bureau inherited by a woman who lives in Derbyshire, England. The mother of three, Amy Clapp, 37, told reporters she had no idea the 650-year-old coin — or …

6000-Year-Old Salt Production House Rewrites Europe’s History Archaeologists in the UK have found an ancient stone age-era salt-production house in North Yorkshire, estimated to be older even than Stonehenge, UK media outlets reported on Wednesday. Dating from the Neolithic period around 3800 B.C.E. the 6,000-year-old find is the latest discovery from the Street House Farm …

Stonehenge served as an ancient solar calendar: New analysis It had long been thought that the famous site of Stonehenge served as an ancient calendar, given its alignment with the solstices. Now, research has identified how it may have worked. New finds about the stone circle’s history, along with analysis of other ancient calendar systems, …

Silver coins unearthed in New England may be loot from one of the ‘greatest crimes in history’ A handful of Arabian silver coins found in New England may be the last surviving relics of history’s most notorious act of piracy — and perhaps one of the most famous pirates who ever lived. Evidence suggests the …

Early Bronze Age Ax Heads Discovered in England Metal detectorists have made a “remarkable” discovery unearthing two Bronze Age axe heads on land owned by a farmer in Wiltshire. Kay Stevenson, from Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire, said the finds could be about 4,000 years old. “I knelt down and dug it up, then realised it …

Skeleton of Roman mercenary and medieval remains found buried in Wales The 1,700-year-old skeleton of a Roman mercenary has been unearthed next to a newly-built road in the Welsh countryside. Archaeologists discovered the mercenary buried with his sword alongside Iron Age farming tools, ancient burial sites, and the remnants of roundhouses. A total of 456 skeletons …

Stolen Darwin journals returned to the Cambridge University library A pair of Charles Darwin’s iconic notebooks have been returned to their rightful home more than 20 years after they were mysteriously stolen. The contents of the notebooks include the naturalist’s first doodle of the “tree of life,” which he sketched out decades before formulating his …