Archaeology News Online Magazine

Intense wildfires in the ancient southern Levant might have helped Neolithic people develop pottery, according to a new study. The fires burned wide areas, stripped hillsides of plants and soil, and sent clay-rich earth into valleys. Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem compared evidence from two periods of major environmental change. One was […]

More than 40 vertical ovens have been found inside a medieval castle at Aruch in central Armenia. Known as tonirs, the ovens were built and rebuilt over several centuries as the castle changed into a place for daily life and work. Archaeologists studied the ovens during excavations from 2022 to 2025 in Area 3, inside […]

Ancient builders hauled 25-ton stones 18 kilometers across Yorkshire to build Britain’s tallest surviving prehistoric stone row, a new study finds. The stones form the Devil’s Arrows near Boroughbridge in northern England. Three giant gritstone pillars still stand there, with the tallest rising about seven meters above the ground. Their source has been debated for […]

A joint Spanish-Egyptian archaeological team has uncovered a tomb dating to the late Fifth Dynasty at Saqqara, Egypt. The tomb dates to the reign of King Djedkare Isesi, who ruled near the end of the Fifth Dynasty. The team found the tomb during its 2026 excavation season in the area known as the Mariette Cemetery, […]

Excavations at Prado Vargas Cave in northern Spain have recovered more than 1,500 animal remains and stone tools from a Neanderthal occupation dated to about 46,000 years ago. The cave lies near Cornejo in Burgos Province, within the Ojo Guareña karst complex. This summer’s work focused on the cave entrance and expanded excavation of Neanderthal […]

Archaeologists have begun a new season of research at San Giovanni, inside the Le Cesine State Nature Reserve near Vernole in southern Italy. The 2026 campaign runs from September 7 to October 4, with work both on land and underwater. The project is led by the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salento, […]

A new study of nearly 1,000 human bones from three Neolithic caves in southern Spain has found evidence of cannibalism at different times and under different social conditions. The research focused on Malalmuerzo, Carigüela and Majolicas caves in Granada, sites long known for human remains linked to cannibalism. Until now, researchers lacked direct radiocarbon dates […]

Archaeologists have found a medieval cemetery beneath the Vlasmarkt in Ghent, Belgium, where as many as 240 people could be buried. The discovery came during a trial excavation by archaeology firm BAAC Vlaanderen. The work took place as the city was renovating the market and replacing its traditional cobblestones with tarmac. A small test pit […]

Ancient Mediterranean harbors are often judged by the structures still visible today. Quays, jetties and moles form the clearest traces, so they often shape estimates of how many ships a port once handled. A new study argues for a wider view. Ancient harbors worked as larger systems, with ships also using nearby bays, open coastal […]

Roman amphitheaters hosted far more than gladiator fights. Animal hunts, known as venationes, drew large crowds across the empire. A new study from Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) examines the laws and state systems behind these shows. The research focuses on two imperial constitutions from Late Antiquity, preserved in the Theodosian Code and later […]

Archaeologists working at the Libisosa Archaeological Park in Lezuza, Albacete, have recovered a rare stone sculpture more than 2,000 years old. The near life-size head was carved from limestone and recovered from the ruins of a large Roman building in 2025. The head preserves both sides and much of the back, but the face is […]

Ancient Etruscan tombs may have been designed to shape how people saw, heard and felt during funeral rites, according to a new study of two painted tombs in Tarquinia, Italy. The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, examines the Tomba del Gallo and the Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri, both built during […]

A 5,000-year-old burial mound found near Wrocław in southwestern Poland has given archaeologists a rare look at people linked to the Corded Ware cultural circle. The grave held an almost complete male skeleton, parts of two adult skulls, a necklace made from 42 animal teeth, amber and bone beads, flint tools, and a stone battle […]

Archaeologists working at Vrelo-Šarkamen in eastern Serbia have uncovered a lavish Roman bath built inside a palace tower. The bath belonged to an imperial residence linked to Maximinus Daza, a Roman emperor who ruled from 310 to 313. The find comes from the lowest level of the palace’s massive southwest corner tower. Researchers say they […]

A study of nearly 4 million Roman coins shows how money moved across the Republic as Rome expanded. The pattern points to roads, cities, ports, and institutions as key forces behind economic ties. Researchers Eduardo Amaral Haddad of the University of São Paulo and Inácio Fernandes Araújo used spatial models and digital archaeology databases to […]

Medieval England’s cattle and sheep economy changed in step with rising populations, trade, and demand for food and materials. A study of animal remains from 460 archaeological sites shows when those changes took place between CE 400 and 1400. The study, published September 2, 2026, in PLOS One, uses data from the Feeding Anglo-Saxon England […]

A new carbon dating study places the Tonalámatl de Aubin, an Aztec divination manuscript, in the late 15th century. Researchers propose 1494 as the most likely year when the manuscript was made. The result comes from a joint study by Mexico’s National Library of Anthropology and History and the University of Colorado Boulder. Researchers report […]

Ancient Mellaria in southern Spain was known for mining, but nearby rivers also helped support daily life. A new study of 17 lead fishing weights points to small-scale river fishing as part of the local economy. The objects were found during excavations at the Mellaria site near Fuente Obejuna, Córdoba. Researchers studied their shape, metal […]

Medieval manuscripts preserve genetic traces of a sheep disease that has threatened herds across Eurasia for more than 3,700 years, according to a new study. Researchers recovered ancient DNA from sheeppox virus, or SPPV, in animal skins used to make parchment. The team studied manuscripts from Britain and mainland Europe, along with older remains from […]

A 2,000-year-old ring found at Herodium in the Judean desert likely links a local worker to the administration of Pontius Pilate, according to a new study. The small copper-alloy signet bears six Greek letters, ΠΙΛΑΤΟ, beside an image of a pottery vessel. Researchers first published the ring in 2018, but its meaning and owner have […]