Europe

These are the decorated boxes into which the wrapped body of the deceased was placed before it was put in a tomb. They are made from scraps of papyrus which were used by ancient Egyptians for shopping lists or tax returns. The technology is giving historians a new insight into everyday life in ancient Egypt. The hieroglyphics found on the…

A monumental gate and dedicatory inscription in Latin are among the finds unearthed at the vast Roman military encampment discovered at Legio, near Tel Megiddo in northern Israel. The huge gate led to the principia, or headquarters. The existence of the camp categorically proves the assumption, which had been based on multiple sources, that ancient Rome maintained a massive military…

Thousands of years ago, the Greek physician Hippocrates, widely considered to be the father of modern medicine, wrote about diseases he and his students observed and treated, including intestinal parasites. Modern scholars suspected that parasitic worms described in the medical text “Hippocratic Corpus” were actually roundworms, pinworms and tapeworms, but there was no physical evidence to back that up. However,…

When Mount Vesuvius in southwestern Italy erupted in A.D. 79, it engulfed the city of Pompeii so quickly that residents barely had time to react to the impending disaster before it killed them. Their final moments were frozen in time as people were buried in layers of hot ash, their lives snuffed out in moments. But even before the volcanic…

Researchers from the University of Cambridge made the find during an excavation in the Roman town of Interamna Lirenas, near Monte Cassino. Inscribed on the sundial is the name Marcus Novius Tubula, an unknown plebeian tribune to Rome, in Latin. It is claimed this sheds new light on Rome’s relationship with other regions. Interamna Lirenas, founded in 312 BC and…

Two years ago, archaeologists excavating an ancient grave at Pylos in southwestern Greece pulled out a grime-encrusted object, less than an inch and half long, that looked like some kind of large bead. They put it aside to focus on more prominent items, like gold rings, that also were packed into the rich grave. But later, as a conservator removed…

In proper storybook style, in a disintegrating cardboard box shoved to the very back of a drawer, in a castle where every nook and cranny is still stuffed with the possessions of generations of hoarding owners, a cache of valuable antique coins, some extremely rare, has been discovered. Scotney Castle in Kent was left to the National Trust in 1970,…

Archaeologists in Greece have uncovered rare jewels, coins and other artefacts while excavating tombs near the ruins of the classical city of Corinth dating to between the fourth and first centuries A.D. The team of experts, working with the Greek Ministry of Culture, made the discoveries in eastern Corinthia, at the site of the ancient village of Tenea, while excavating…

The town of Jelling in Denmark is a unique archaeological treasure trove, with sites such as Jelling Church, the Jelling runic Stone, and two large burial mounds. Now, archaeologists have excavated an entire Iron Age (early Medieval) village. “We have had the opportunity to excavate almost 400 houses over six hectares. I think it’s truly special to find a village…

Archaeologist Martin Horvat from the Ljubljana Museums and Galleries (MGML) told the STA that a total of seven sarcophagi had been found during the works on the street, which connects Tivoli Park and Slovenska Street since September, but the one found today was the best preserved. Under the watchful eyes of numerous bystanders and photographers, the 4th century sarcophagus was…