tomb

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

'Incredibly Rare' Tomb Holds Hugging Skeletons

Archaeologists unearthed the 5K-year-old tomb in a field in Scotland

(Newser) - On the surface, "it's just a gently rolling field of grass" in Scotland. But below the ground, archaeologists have discovered an "incredibly rare" 5,000-year-old tomb holding the remains of 14 people, two of whom appear to be hugging and one who appears to be reaching out...

They Used to Come to 'Salome Cave' to Pray. Now, a Big Dig

Inside the 2,000-year-old burial cave said to be for Jesus' midwife: lots of beautiful oil lamps

(Newser) - An ancient tomb traditionally associated with Jesus' midwife is being excavated anew by archaeologists in the hills southwest of Jerusalem, Israel's antiquities authority said Tuesday. The intricately decorated Jewish burial cave complex dates to around the first century AD, but it was later associated by local Christians with Salome,...

Under a Turkish Church, an 'Extremely Important Discovery'

Tomb of St. Nicholas has reportedly been found in Demre

(Newser) - Santa Claus' last stop was southwest Turkey in the age of the Roman Empire. According to archaeologists in the region, the burial spot of St. Nicholas, the Christian saint whose generosity spawned the Father Christmas legend, has been found in the remains of a church in the town of Demre,...

Medieval 'Riches' Found Under Notre Dame's Floor
'Riches' Found Inches Below
Notre Dame's Floor Slabs
in case you missed it

'Riches' Found Inches Below Notre Dame's Floor Slabs

Sarcophagus, fragments of original rood screen are 'extraordinary'

(Newser) - There's an upside to rebuilding after a fire , as archaeologists at France's Notre Dame cathedral have discovered. In preparation for the monument's new spire, to replace the one burned in 2019, workers will build 100-foot-high scaffolding. But before they do, officials asked archeologists to perform a "...

Who Was Buried With Racy Cup? 'Thorny Question' Is Answered

Remains of 3 adults and some animals were found in Italian tomb

(Newser) - An ancient cremation burial site in Italy was only thought to contain the remains of one person. Now scientists say they've found a different answer to a most "thorny question": "Who/what was buried with Nestor's Cup?" Researchers say the clay receptacle by that name—dug out...

They Opened 2 Tombs to Solve One Mystery, Created a 2nd
Vatican Opens 2 Tombs
in Hunt for Long-Missing Teen
the rundown

Vatican Opens 2 Tombs in Hunt for Long-Missing Teen

Remains of Emanuela Orlandi aren't there, and neither are those of original bodies

(Newser) - Emanuela Orlandi is still missing—and now two long-dead princesses are, too. Emanuela was an Italian teenager who disappeared more than 30 years ago, and the Vatican on Thursday opened two 19th-century tombs after the family got a tip she might be buried in one of them. They found nothing,...

Beneath Egypt's Big Find: 5 Hidden Shafts

Hope is that one holds a sarcophagus

(Newser) - Egypt on Saturday announced the discovery of a "one-of-a-kind [find] in the last decades": a private tomb belonging to a senior official from the 5th dynasty of the pharaohs, which ruled roughly 4,400 years ago. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani announced the find at the site of the tomb...

7 Pharaonic Age Tombs Uncovered in Egypt

Along with statues of cats and birds

(Newser) - A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs near the capital Cairo containing dozens of cat mummies along with wooden statues depicting other animals and birds, the AP reports. Mostafa Waziri told reporters Saturday that the discovery at Saqqara also includes mummies of scarabs,...

Tests Back Up Claims About Purported Tomb of Jesus

Old mortar at Church of the Holy Sepulchre goes back to AD 345

(Newser) - Millions of people flock to Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre each year. Many believe it to house the tomb of Jesus Christ, though scientists have thus far been unable to date the tomb to the time when the Romans built a church around it. Now, however, a new...

'Catastrophic' Prediction for Christ's Tomb
Scientists Issue Dire
Warning on Christ's Tomb
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Scientists Issue Dire Warning on Christ's Tomb

There could be a 'catastrophic' collapse if structural issues aren't remedied

(Newser) - Few places are more holy to Christians than what's thought to be Christ's tomb in Jerusalem, but scientists are now warning that there's a "very real risk" of collapse at the site. Researchers from the National Technical University of Athens say the Edicule, a shrine that...

Archaeologists Trying to Find Legendary King's Body

'It's like 'Game of Thrones' and 'Outlander' all rolled into one—except this story is real'

(Newser) - Almost exactly 580 years ago, King James I of Scotland was murdered by a group of conspirators in a sewer tunnel beneath a monastery as he attempted to escape, recounts the BBC . Stabbed dozens of times, he is said to have died in a pool of his own blood. His...

China's Ancient Terracotta Army May Rewrite History

Researchers say they prove that contact with West occurred far earlier than thought

(Newser) - Marco Polo's travels to China in the 13th century are the first well documented record of a European reaching the empire. But archaeologists studying a famous trove of terracotta figures dug up in China now suggest that the first contact with the West occurred much earlier than thought—some...

Archaeologists Make Surprise Find Under Mayan Temple

They find water tunnels, maybe in hope of helping ruler reach the underworld

(Newser) - When researchers grew concerned about underground anomalies detected near the Mayan ruins of Palenque in Mexico, they began a dig to figure out whether the pyramid was in danger of collapse. This week, researchers announced that what they found was no anomaly but rather a small canal system, reports the...

Aristotle's Lost Tomb May Have Finally Been Discovered

The philosopher died 2.4K years ago, but no one knew where he was buried

(Newser) - Nearly 2,400 years after his death, archaeologists believe they've finally found the tomb of Aristotle. Researchers made the discovery during a 20-year dig in the ancient Greek city of Stagira, reports Atlas Obscura . Aristotle was born there in 384 BC, but he died in a different city, Chalcis,...

Historian: Tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent Found

Suleiman the Magnificent died during 1566 siege

(Newser) - The remains of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, who died in 1566 while his troops were besieging the fortress of Szigetvar in southern Hungary, have "in all likelihood" been found, a Hungarian historian says. Norbert Pap says the tomb is believed to have been built over the spot...

Bone-Filled Burial Vaults Discovered in New York City

'You never know what you can find beneath the city's streets'

(Newser) - Workers were just trying to fix an old water main this week in New York's Greenwich Village and ended up with their hands full of old bones instead, Newsday reports. According to WPIX-TV , workers found the roofs of two burial vaults less than 4 feet below the street. The...

Archaeologists Discover Tomb Stuffed With Riches

Inside: a 'griffin warrior'

(Newser) - Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove in the undisturbed grave of a warrior who died some 3,500 years ago in Greece. Found in the ancient city of Pylos in May, the 5-foot-deep grave contained a bronze sword with an ivory hilt; a gold-hilted dagger; four gold rings; a gold...

Israel Thinks It's Cracked Mystery of Maccabees' Tomb

Scholars and archaeologists have pointed to this site for 150 years

(Newser) - For 150 years, scholars and archaeologists have sought the final resting place of the Maccabees, a band of rebels who established a Jewish kingdom in the second century BC, in one of the great mysteries of Jewish history, reports the AP . Now the Israeli Antiquities Authority says that it may...

Archaeologist Heads to Egypt to Find Nefertiti's Tomb

Brit Nicholas Reeves thinks she was buried next to son Tutankhamun

(Newser) - British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, who made news last month with his announcement that the long-lost tomb of Nefertiti is likely hidden behind secret doors in her son Tutankhamun's tomb, is headed to Egypt to put his theory to the test, reports PhysOrg . Nefertiti, the famously beautiful and powerful wife...

Town Thinks Ancient Tomb Is Picnic Table, 'Fixes' It

Archaeologist calls it a "monumental error"

(Newser) - Usually municipal workers taking the initiative to replace a broken picnic table would be heralded as a minor civic victory. However, that's less the case when the "broken picnic table" was actually a 6,000-year-old tomb under government protection. NPR reports the tomb is believed to have been...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>