The World’s oldest and first swords ever discovered The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound are the oldest swords in the world. Many archaeologists believed that the earliest swords only dated to around 1600 or 1500 BCE before the discovery of a …

Skeleton Study Tracks Europe’s First Equestrians Archaeologists accidentally discovered the world’s earliest horseback riders while studying skeletons found beneath 5,000-year-old burial mounds in Europe and Asia, a new study finds. The ancient riders were part of the so-called Yamnaya culture, groups of semi-nomadic people who swept across Europe and western Asia, bringing the precursor to …

Genetic Study Examines Europe’s Hunter-Gatherers A previously unknown lineage of Europeans survived the coldest parts of the last ice age, only to vanish when Europe went through a warm spell starting about 15,000 years ago. The discovery comes from the largest study yet to look at the genetic makeup of ice age European hunter-gatherers. For …

Were Steel Tools Used in the Late Bronze Age? A study by an international and interdisciplinary team headed by Freiburg archaeologist Dr. Ralph Araque Gonzalez from the Faculty of Humanities has shown that steel tools were already in use in Europe around 2900 years ago. Using geochemical analyses, the researchers were able to prove that …

The 1,000-year-old Church was found under a cornfield in Germany The foundation walls of the large church of the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta in Eisleben in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt have been unearthed by archaeologists. The church was discovered earlier this month, and the foundation walls are now completely exposed. According to the …

Ruins of the 700-year-old wharf, possibly used by royalty, were found in Oslo An excavation by NIKU archaeologists in Oslo’s seaside neighborhood of Bjørvika has uncovered the remains of a long section of a medieval wharf believed to have been built by a medieval king of Norway. Under the dense clay of the Oslofjord seabed, …

Minoan civilization may have used celestial navigation techniques According to a study done by an American researcher at the University of Wales, ancient civilizations may have used celestial navigation methods to travel. Alessandro Berio, a skyscape archaeologist, discovered new evidence that the ancient Minoan civilization developed significant nautical technologies to aid in international sea trade, …

800-Year-Old Hoard Unearthed in Northern Germany A trainee metal detectorist in northern Germany recently hit on something his mentor never expected: an 800-year-old hoard of gold jewelry and silver coins that hints at the area’s trade connections. The large hoard contained a dazzling collection of artifacts. “The hoard consisted of two very high-quality gold earrings …

Signs of Surgery Examined on Medieval Woman’s Skull The skull of an early medieval woman found in Italy shows signs of two trepanations –  surgeries for making holes in the head. There were several reasons for trepanation, but in this case, the procedures seem to have been attempting to remedy an illness, researchers reported in …