archaeology

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Poet's Long-Lost Body Found in Notre Dame Dig

Joachim Du Bellay died in 1560 but his coffin wasn't found in 1758 excavation

(Newser) - Archaeological digs after the fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019 cracked what the French media calls a centuries-old "cold case." The French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research—INRAP—revealed Tuesday that researchers believe they have found the body of Joachim Du Bellay, a Renaissance poet...

Battle of Waterloo Dig Turns Up 15 Limbs

Along with the remains of horses

(Newser) - At least 20,000 men lost their lives in the battle of Waterloo—and a handful of newly uncovered limbs belonging to a few of them is exposing the "carnage and horror" of the 1815 battle, reports the Guardian . The Duke of Wellington led the defeat of Napoleon, and...

Egypt Wants Its Nefertiti Bust Returned

Zahi Hawass starts a petition to that end

(Newser) - Nefertiti is one of Egypt's most famous queens. An equally famous bust of her resides a continent away—and Egypt is seeking to change that. The 3,400-year-old bust has been on display at Berlin's Neues Museum since 2009; it's been in Germany's possession far longer....

Museum to Kid Who Broke Ancient Artifact: Come Back

Israel's Hecht Museum let the 4-year-old who accidentally smashed jar piece it back together

(Newser) - A 4-year-old boy who accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old jar in an Israeli museum has been forgiven and was even invited back on Friday to help piece the jar back together, as curators hoped to turn the disaster into a teachable moment. Alex Geller, the boy's father, said...

Virginia Colonial-Era Garden Yields Clues to Enslaved Workers

Archaeologists excavating Martha Washington's first father-in-law's opulent Williamsburg garden

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Virginia are uncovering one of colonial America's most lavish displays of opulence: An ornamental garden where a wealthy politician and enslaved gardeners grew exotic plants from around the world. Such plots of land were the 18th-century equivalent of buying a Lamborghini. The garden in Williamsburg belonged to...

Mammoth Hunters Might've Been More Clever Than Thought

Thrown spears? They might have had a more effective strategy, say UC Berkeley researchers

(Newser) - Ice Age hunters who took down mammoths and other large game may not have done so by tossing spears. New research suggests this "would have been less than useless—leaving a hunter with no spear and an angry mammoth," per the Hill . Because no one knows for sure...

We Have More Evidence of Human 'Hobbits'
We Have More
Evidence of
Human 'Hobbits'
NEW STUDY
Aug 7, 2024 4:48 PM CDT

We Have More Evidence of Human 'Hobbits'

Flores island discoveries include smallest known hominin humerus

(Newser) - More remains of "hobbits" discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores lend strength to the theory that these unusual humans descended from an isolated group who experienced dwarfism , researchers say. The 700,000-year-old teeth and upper arm bone, described in a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications , are among...

Pompeii Pair Survived Eruption. Then Came the Quakes
Pompeii Pair Survived Eruption.
Then Came the Quakes
NEW STUDY
Jul 18, 2024 11:13 AM CDT

Pompeii Pair Survived Eruption. Then Came the Quakes

Other deaths may have been wrongly attributed to volcanic activity, researcher says

(Newser) - Scientists can now definitively say they have the first physical evidence that deadly earthquakes accompanied the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Last year, scientists announced they'd discovered the skeletons of two men who appeared to have been crushed to death. They brought in experts in fields including archaeoseismology, the...

Musket Balls From 'Shot Heard Round the World' Are Found

Archaeologists discover five from famed battle of 1775 in Massachusetts

(Newser) - Archaeologists working at a historical site in Massachusetts have made a remarkable find—five musket balls fired by members of a Colonial militia in a battle memorialized by the line "the shot heard round the world." The 250-year-old musket balls were discovered at Minute Man National Historical Park...

Beach Buried for 2K Years Is Now Open to Public

Excavated beach at Herculaneum welcomes first visitors since AD79 Vesuvius eruption

(Newser) - Visitors to Herculaneum, an ancient Roman town devastated by the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, can now walk along its beach just as its doomed inhabitants once did. Careful conservation work has restored the beach to its original level of sand, buried some two millennia ago. It now appears "...

On Island of Crete, an 'Extremely Interesting' Find

Archaeologists unearth 4K-year-old building from Minoan civilization; airport project may be disrupted

(Newser) - A big, round, 4,000-year-old stone building discovered on a Crete hilltop is puzzling archaeologists and threatening to disrupt a major airport project on the Greek tourist island. Greece's Culture Ministry said Tuesday the structure is a "unique and extremely interesting find" from Crete's Minoan civilization, famous...

Exploration Has Begun on 'Holy Grail of Shipwrecks'
Deep in the Caribbean,
an 'Unprecedented'
Mission Is Underway
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 1, 2024 11:40 AM CDT

Deep in the Caribbean, an 'Unprecedented' Mission Is Underway

Colombian government begins exploring Spain's San Jose galleon, the 'holy grail of shipwrecks'

(Newser) - In June of 1708, the Spanish galleon San Jose was attacked by the British Royal Navy and sank in the Caribbean off the coast of Cartagena, resting on the ocean floor with a reputed $20 billion in treasure on board. Only a handful of the 600 or so men on...

When Humans First Treated Cancer Just Got a Big Update

Cut marks around brain lesions in 4K-year-old Egyptian skull suggest surgical intervention

(Newser) - A new study describes a potential awe-inspiring achievement of the ancient Egyptian civilization far apart from the pyramids. According to the research, ancient Egyptians may have been the first to explore and treat cancer. The finding is based on two skulls discovered in Giza and held at the University of...

His Wine Cellar Was a Mammoth Graveyard

Austrian archaeologists call it the 'find of the century'

(Newser) - An Austrian man renovating his wine cellar found something a lot older than any riesling. Winemaker Andreas Pernerstorfer discovered enormous bones that came from at least three woolly mammoths, the BBC reports. He reported the find to authorities, and the cellar was excavated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute, which called...

Site Highlights Early Humans' Mastery of Wood, Largely Lost

Spear Horizon site shows evidence of splitting, carving wood 300K years ago

(Newser) - The Stone Age, launched roughly 3 million years ago, marks the time when tools first appeared. Early humans used stones for hammering, stones for grinding, and sharp stone flakes as knives and projectile points. But the Stone Age might just as well be called the Wood Age, German archaeologist Thomas...

Skeletons Found at Hitler's Most 'Heavily Guarded Complex'

Find made in Hermann Göring's home at Wolf's Lair HQ

(Newser) - "There are many theories" but few answers regarding five skeletons—all without their hands and feet—that were recently unearthed on the grounds of Adolf Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters in Poland's northeastern forests. The bones were unearthed within the brick house that had been occupied by...

In George Washington's Basement, a 'Spectacular Find'
In George Washington's
Basement, a 'Next Level' Find
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 27, 2024 4:25 PM CDT

In George Washington's Basement, a 'Next Level' Find

Bottles containing whole cherries were likely buried 250 years ago

(Newser) - A bottle of 250-year-old cherries likely intended for George Washington has been found in his former home in Virginia—a discovery that's both sweet and distasteful, as enslaved people likely picked and preserved the fruit at Washington's mansion overlooking the Potomac River. Archaeologists working at the Mount Vernon...

In Ancient Pompeii, This Was a Conversation Starter

Newly uncovered frescoes in ancient banquet hall depict Trojan War characters

(Newser) - Archaeologists excavating new sites in Pompeii have uncovered a sumptuous banquet hall decorated with intricately frescoed mythological characters inspired by the Trojan War, officials said Thursday, per the AP . The hall, which features a mosaic floor, was uncovered as part of a project to shore up the areas dividing the...

With Signs of Afghan Looting, 'I Feel As If My Soul Is Dying'

Taliban denies looting at ancient sites despite evidence in satellite images

(Newser) - The Taliban's vow to protect the cultural treasures of Afghanistan may have been little more than lip service, according to researchers, who've uncovered evidence of the widespread bulldozing and looting of ancient sites. The Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation at the University of Chicago used satellite images and...

It Could Be Europe's 'Oldest Man-Made Megastructure'
Beneath the Sea, an Ancient
'Man-Made Megastructure'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 17, 2024 12:10 PM CST

Beneath the Sea, an Ancient 'Man-Made Megastructure'

Stone Age wall found in sea off Germany thought to have been used to hunt reindeer

(Newser) - More than 10,000 years ago, humans constructed a long, low wall, using rocks weighing a combined 150 tons. Discovered by accident in 2021, the Blinkerwall—submerged 70 feet deep in the Baltic Sea, 6 miles off the coast of Rerik, Germany—is now a candidate for the oldest known...

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