archaeology

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New Dead Sea Scrolls Found in 60-Year First

IAA director says they are 'of immeasurable worth for mankind'

(Newser) - "The Cave of Horror" has given up a new wonder: the first fragments of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls found in 60 years. Israeli archeologists have been combing the caves and ravines of the Judean Desert since 2017 in the hope of beating looters to relics preserved in the...

River Dredging Brings Up a Possibly Revolutionary Find

Artifacts discovered in Georgia, including cannons and anchor, could be from late-1700s warship

(Newser) - What was supposed to be a routine dredging in the Savannah River turned up a handful of artifacts that might date back to the Revolutionary War. The AP reports that three barnacle-encrusted cannons, a rusty anchor, and a big piece of wood that could be a piece of a ship...

They Ran Out of Big Game to Hunt. Then Their Brains Swelled

Researchers say shift to hunting smaller game caused early humans' brains to nearly triple in size

(Newser) - In hunting large mammals to near extinction, early modern humans may have prompted an explosion in brain size—in a good way. Humans emerged as big-game hunters in Africa 2.6 million years ago but would ultimately see large animals dwindle as a result of hunting practices, according to Miki...

Pharaoh Who Risked His Life 'to Liberate Egypt' Died Horribly

Study suggests a bound Seqenenre Tao was attacked on all sides

(Newser) - The death of Seqenenre Tao is said to have indirectly led to the reunification of ancient Egypt, which was divided during the pharaoh's lifetime in the 16th century BC. Only now do we know what exactly that death entailed. Researchers studying the mummy of the pharaoh, first discovered in...

Expert's 'Toughest Day' at Nazi Death Camp Involved This Find

Children's identity tags, some burned with their bodies, found at Sobibor

(Newser) - Four children from Amsterdam stepped off a train in Nazi-occupied eastern Poland and into the death camp of Sobibor, the last place they'd ever know. Killed in 1943, 6-year-old Lea Judith De La Penha, 8-year-old Deddie Zak, 11-year-old David Juda Van der Velde, and 12-year-old Annie Kapper left behind...

True Location of Famed Fort Attacked by Russians Is Found

Tlingits used wood structure to repel Russians on Alaska's Baranof Island

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found the site of a 200-year-old wooden fort where native Alaskans battled colonization and cannonballs. The fort helped the Tlingit people hold back Russian invaders for six days in 1804 before they were forced to leave the land their ancestors had occupied for 11,000 years, per NBC...

Coffins Found in Egypt Likely Belong to Thousand-Year Cult

King Teti's rule began in 2323 BC; the remains date to a much later period

(Newser) - A decade of archaeological work at a site near Egypt's Pyramid of Teti has paid off. Leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass on Sunday announced that the temple of Queen Neit—wife of King Teti, whose rule began in 2323 BC—has been uncovered. The AP reports burial shafts measuring...

She Used It as a Step to Mount Horses, Then Took Closer Look

Ancient Greek inscription results in rock going up for auction

(Newser) - For years, a UK woman used the same rock in her stable as a stepping stone while mounting her horses. Then she happened to notice laurel wreaths and some kind of inscription carved into it, reports CNET . Turns out, that humble rock is a Roman marble slab dating back to...

Squatters at Ruins Fight Eviction With Death Threats

Archaeologist who discovered Caral tries to preserve it

(Newser) - It would be understandable if Ruth Shady felt a sense of ownership over the ruins of a 5,000-year-old civilization in Peru: The archaeological discovered the site in 1994. But she says, "The owner of the land is the Peruvian state." And she's sure the squatters at...

Archaeologists Uncover Ancient Pompeii Street Food

Snacks included pork, fish, snails, beef

(Newser) - Archaeologists continue to unearth new findings in the long-buried city of Pompeii and their latest discovery reveals how the doomed ancients liked to snack. Per CNN , an extraordinarily well-preserved hot food and drinks counter called a termopolium has been unearthed in the city, which was buried by an infamous volcanic...

One of 3 Items Taken From Great Pyramid Is Found

The wood, lost for 70 years, was one of 3 items to emerge from the ancient wonder

(Newser) - Just three known objects have been recovered from Egypt's Great Pyramid, and one of those has been missing for 70 years. That is until an Egyptian archaeologist stumbled upon it in Scotland. Curatorial assistant Abeer Eladany was digging through the University of Aberdeen's museum collections late last year...

Family Finds Hoard of Tudor Coins in Backyard

They got a big surprise while weeding their garden

(Newser) - With COVID restrictions in place, a lot of people have been spending more time in their own backyards—and in Britain, that has led to some fascinating historical finds. A family weeding their garden in the New Forest area of Hampshire discovered a hoard of Tudor coins that were worth...

Where Did Oregon's Otters Go? Teeth Suggest an Answer

Oregon repopulation may have failed because the otters were 'northerners' from Alaska

(Newser) - Centuries ago, sea otters were plentiful along the Oregon coast, but the fur trade came along and wiped them out. Wildlife authorities tried to restart the population in the 1970s by transplanting otters from Alaska to southern Oregon, but the population again fizzled out for reasons that have puzzled scientists,...

Neanderthal Thumbs Weren&#39;t Quite the Same as Ours
We Don't Use Our Thumbs
the Way Neanderthals Did
NEW STUDY
Nov 27, 2020 9:51 AM CST

We Don't Use Our Thumbs the Way Neanderthals Did

Fossils suggest they regularly gripped handled tools

(Newser) - If you happen to travel back in time and encounter an angry Neanderthal, be sure to request a thumb war, rather than a full-blown one. According to new research, Neanderthals' hands were different than our own, with a thumb that stuck out at a wider angle than what you see...

You Never Know What May Surface in Greece Construction

Like the head of an ancient Greek god, for example

(Newser) - A bust of the ancient god Hermes, in good condition, was discovered in central Athens during sewage work, per the AP . The Greek Culture Ministry said the head, one of many that served as street markers in ancient Athens, appears to be from around 300BC. It depicts Hermes at "...

Young Woman Made Mark as Early Big-Game Hunter
New Find Upends Thinking
on Early Big-Game Hunters
NEW STUDY
Nov 5, 2020 11:43 AM CST

New Find Upends Thinking on Early Big-Game Hunters

Researchers think up to 50% of such hunters in the Americas were female

(Newser) - Think the women of the ancient Americas were stuck crushing grain into flour while the men went hunting for big game? Researchers say you're wrong. "Early big-game hunting was likely gender neutral," reads a new study in Science Advances . The conclusion stems from a 9,000-year-old burial...

They Found 13 Ancient Coffins in One Well. Then, 14 More

Archaeologists unearth 2,500-year-old sarcophagi near Egypt's Step Pyramid of Djoser

(Newser) - Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed more than two dozen ancient coffins in a vast necropolis south of Cairo, an official said Monday. The sarcophagi have remained unopened since they were buried more than 2,500 years ago near the famed Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, says Neveine el-Arif, a spokeswoman...

Teens Find Buried Treasure: 1,100-Year-Old Gold Coins

Treasure had been hidden in an Israeli hillside

(Newser) - Oz Cohen is glad he took a second look. The 18-year-old was digging around in the dirt on a hillside in central Israel as part of a project with other young people when he spotted a jar holding "what looked like very thin leaves." "When I looked...

Amateur Treasure Hunter Hits It Big in Scotland

'I've just discovered a big part of Scottish history'

(Newser) - A man and his metal detector have uncovered a 3,000-year-old hoard of Bronze Age goods, including a complete sword and horse harness, its leather and wood still preserved. "[I] felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I've just discovered a big part...

'MYSTERY SOLVED!' on Origin of Stonehenge's Megaliths

Scientists say most of the giant sandstone slabs came from West Woods in Marlborough Downs

(Newser) - In the 1500s, a British antiquities expert examined Stonehenge's biggest slabs and said he knew where they came from. Now, more than four centuries later, scientists are saying that William Lambarde was right on the money, solving one of the world's great archaeological and geological mysteries. The New ...

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