http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/archaeology/ Archaeology News. Read about the latest archaelogical finds including Roman coins, Egyptian pyramids and more. Articles and photos. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:05:01 EST Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/archaeology/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106110557.htm Archaeologists excavating the former Radcliffe Infirmary site in Oxford have uncovered evidence of a prehistoric monumental landscape stretching across the gravel terrace between the Thames and Cherwell rivers. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106110557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121119.htm The remains of a Minoan-style wall painting, recognizable by a blue background, the first of its kind to be found in Israel, was discovered in the course of the recent excavation season at Tel Kabri. This fresco joins others of Aegean style that have been uncovered during earlier seasons at the Canaanite palace in Kabri. "It was, without doubt, a conscious decision made by the city's rulers who wished to associate with Mediterranean culture." Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Hernando de Soto's 1540 journey through the Southeast. No evidence of De Soto's path from Tallahassee to North Carolina has been found until now, and few sites have been located anywhere. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm Three-dimensional computer graphics is moving into museums. Works of art are being digitally archived in 3-D, simplifying research into related artifacts and providing the public with fascinating three-dimensional displays. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101537.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105742.htm The Batavians, who lived in the Netherlands at the start of the Christian era were far more Roman than was previously thought. After just a few decades of Roman occupation, the Batavians had become so integrated that they cooked, built and bathed in a Roman manner. A Dutch researcher discovered this during recent archaeological research. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029113756.htm Spanish researchers have confirmed that the largest bat in Europe, Nyctalus lasiopterus, was present in north-eastern Spain during the Late Pleistocene. The Greater Noctule fossils found in the excavation site at Abric Romani prove that this bat had a greater geographical presence more than 10,000 years ago than it does today, having declined due to the reduction in vegetation cover. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029113756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm Europe's southern-most skeletal remains of a mammoth were unearthed in a moor on the 37 degree N latitude. This is considerably south of the inhospitable habitat than one usually imagines for mammoths, and for the characteristically dry and cold climate that prevailed during the ice ages in the north of Eurasia. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709132057.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014210431.htm Norwegian scientists have found "mummified" pine trees, dead for nearly 500 years yet without decomposition. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014210431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101809.htm Archaeologists surveying the world's oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the Final Neolithic. Their discovery suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, was occupied some 5,000 years ago -- at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014111547.htm New findings from the Qesem Cave archaeological dig in Israel indicate that during the Lower Paleolithic Period people prepared and shared meat differently than in earlier times, providing new clues into our evolutionary development, economics and social behaviors. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091014111547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005161122.htm Using a mathematical model to predict population trends based on ancient coin hoards, a biologist and a historian have concluded that the population of ancient Rome was smaller than sometimes suggested. Although the first century BC in Italy has been extensively studied, and much is known about the great figures of the era, including Cicero, Caesar, Virgil, and Horace, some basic facts -- such as the approximate population size of the late Roman Republic -- remain the subject of intense debate. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005161122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124827.htm Experts working at the Fishbourne Roman Palace in the UK are preparing to scan the damaged statue of a boy’s head to reveal if it is a rare depiction of Roman Emperor Nero as a youngster. They will run 3D scans on the head to recreate the damaged parts of the face. If their theories are correct, the marble head would be the third surviving piece of its kind in the world and particularly rare in Britain where all images of Nero were believed to have been completely destroyed following his suicide in AD68. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091002124827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930194337.htm Archaeologists leading a major excavation of Portus, the ancient port of Rome, have uncovered the remains of an amphitheatre-shaped-building, solving a mystery which has puzzled experts for over 140 years. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930194337.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141049.htm Today's Scandinavians are not descended from the people who came to Scandinavia at the conclusion of the last ice age but, apparently, from a population that arrived later, concurrently with the introduction of agriculture. This is one conclusion of a new study straddling the borderline between genetics and archaeology. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924141049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915101147.htm A gemstone engraved with the portrait of Alexander the Great was uncovered during excavations by an archaeological team in Israel. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915101147.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921173412.htm The archaeological excavations at the royal palace in the ancient city of Qatna, north east of the Syrian city of Homs, have once again unfolded a remarkable archaeological discovery. The summer excavations, a German-Syrian collaboration located a rock tomb-cellar underneath the palace containing hundreds of artifacts as well as human bones from the period 1600-1400 BC. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921173412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140924.htm A skeleton, found at one of the most important, but least understood, Roman sites in Britain is puzzling experts. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909095100.htm The largest cache of rare coins ever found in a scientific excavation from the period of the Bar-Kokhba revolt of the Jews against the Romans has been discovered in a cave by researchers in Israel. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909095100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914111003.htm An ancient treasure comprising three figurines of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, which was buried for over 1,500 years, was uncovered recent excavations in Israel. The hidden figurines were discovered when the researchers exposed a shop in the southeastern corner of the forum district of Sussita, which is the central area of the Roman city that was built in the second century BCE, existed through the Roman and Byzantine periods and destroyed in the great earthquake of 749 CE. According to the researchers, it was clear that the followers had wished to hide the figurines, as they were found complete. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914111003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911134624.htm A giant African lake basin is providing information about possible migration routes and hunting practices of early humans in the Middle and Late Stone Age periods, between 150,000 and 10,000 years ago. Researchers have documented thousands of stone tools on the lake bed, which sheds new light on how humans in Africa adapted to several substantial climate change events during the period that coincided with the last Ice Age in Europe. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911134624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142352.htm Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fiber materials that could have been used by humans for making clothing, shoes, and other items for domestic use. The fibers are flax, and are over 34,000 years old. The fibers were discovered in a cave in the Republic of Georgia. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142352.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110816.htm The discoveries continue to surprise for a team of students digging in Ohio's Shawnee Lookout Park, with a major new mound being located and a rare kiln used to fire pottery excavated in recent weeks, along with even more evidence emerging to support the theory that the site could be the largest continuously occupied hilltop Native American site in the United States. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831224601.htm How do you tell when, where and how a Picasso or a Matisse sculpture was cast? Could bronze sculptures have their very own DNA? Researchers have completed the first comprehensive survey of the alloy composition of a large number of cast bronze sculptures by major European artists from the first half of the 20th century. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831224601.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831131402.htm In an expedition for submerged evidence of early Americans off Florida's Gulf Coast, archaeologists traced two ancient river systems in what they believe is the most extensive delineation of submerged prehistoric river systems ever done. They also identified chert, a stone used by prehistoric peoples in toolmaking, at three sites. Scientists believe they are on the threshold of delivering evidence of human habitation along those inundated rivers. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831131402.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161131.htm Recent archaeological discoveries from far-flung corners of China are forcing scientists to reconsider the origins of ancient Chinese civilization -- and a new crop of young archaeologists are delving into the modern nation's roots. Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818083228.htm A prehistoric water-filled cave in the Dominican Republic has become a "treasure trove" with the announcement by archaeologists of the discovery of stone tools, a primate skull, and the claws, jawbone and other bones of several species of sloths. This rare find is expected to offer insight into both the earliest inhabitants of the Greater Antilles and an issue of worldwide concern -- the extinction of native birds and animals when humans arrive. Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818083228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142506.htm An anthropologist has discovered that humans living at a Paleolithic cave site in central Israel between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago were as successful at big-game hunting as were later stone-age hunters at the site, but that the earlier humans shared meat differently. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090812104141.htm London's oldest timber structure has been unearthed by archaeologists. It was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old and it predates Stonehenge by more than 500 years. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090812104141.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142137.htm New evidence has been found showing that early modern humans living on the southern coast of Africa 72,000 years ago employed pyrotechnology -- the controlled use of fire -- to increase the quality and efficiency of their stone tool manufacturing process. This technology required a novel association between fire, its heat, and a structural change in stone with consequent flaking benefits; findings ignite notion of complex cognition in these early engineers. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142137.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727130600.htm The Cheddar Gorge in Somerset was one of the first sites to be inhabited by humans when they returned to Britain near the end of the last Ice Age. According to new radio carbon dating humans were living in Gough's Cave 14,700 years ago. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727130600.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810122133.htm Archaeological excavations at the site of a recently discovered temple in southeastern Turkey have uncovered a cache of cuneiform tablets dating back to the Iron Age period between 1200 and 600 BCE. Found in the temple's cella, or "holy of holies," the tablets are part of a possible archive that may provide insights into Assyrian imperial aspirations. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810122133.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131437.htm Archaeologists are now establishing a discipline devoted to the history of tool use in non-human primate species in order to better understand human evolution. Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090730074336.htm Alloying elements in bronze sculptures give clues about artist, date, origin and authenticity. How do you tell when, where and how a Picasso or a Matisse sculpture was cast? Could bronze sculptures have their very own DNA? By linking data from the alloy composition of modern sculptures with parameters from art history, researchers have classified the unique composition profiles of cast bronze sculptures by major European artists of the first half of the 20th century, profiles which could be used as another method to identify, date and even authenticate sculptures. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090730074336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624111021.htm New investigations have shown that rather than simply being a provincial Roman town, Caistor may represent the development of a major settlement from the Iron Age until the 9th century AD. Crucially, however, the site was ultimately superseded by medieval Norwich and reverted to green fields. This is quite unlike other Roman towns that have the same long occupation sequence which now lie buried beneath the modern towns of Britain and Europe. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624111021.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727205901.htm New, micro-images of strange, worm-like structures uncovered inside a dissected molar might have been held in ancient times as proof that gnawing tooth worms were the cause of tooth decay, a theory widely believed in many cultures before modern times. The structures are not worms, but what they are is still in question. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727205901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721091822.htm Researchers have recovered significant DNA information from a lost form of ancient barley that triumphed for over 3,000 years seeing off: five changes in civilization, water shortages and a much more popular form of barley that produces more grains. This discovery offers a real insight into the couture of ancient farming and could assist the development of new varieties of crops to face today's climate change challenges. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721091822.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710092230.htm A British archaeologist has just returned from a period of fieldwork in Iran, working on the first archaeological project in the country to explore the very recent past. The project looks at the effects the Iranian White Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s had on the ancient ‘Landlord Villages’ of the early Islamic period of the country’s history. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710092230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710092526.htm On July 11, public celebrations will mark the 800th anniversary of the completion of London Bridge. Now, a new study has uncovered a tale of corruption, mismanagement, financial crisis and a property crash that resulted in the downfall of the Old London Bridge -- the capital’s last ‘living bridge’. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090710092526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714103526.htm In the French cave of Arago, scientists has analyzed the dental wear of the fossils of herbivorous animals hunted by Homo heidelbergensis. It is the first time that an analytical method has allowed the establishment of the length of human occupations at archaeological sites. The key is the last food that these hominids consumed. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714103526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706171544.htm Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an important part of the year-round diet for early humans. A new study shows it may have happened in China as far back as 40,000 years ago. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090706171544.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709120654.htm Where the first Americans came from, when they arrived and how they got here is as lively a debate as ever, only most of the research has focused on dry land excavations. Last summer's pivotal underwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico yielded evidence of inundated terrestrial sites that may have supported human occupation more than 12,000 years ago, paving the way for another expedition July 23. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709120654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622103831.htm An artificial underground cave, the largest in Israel, has been exposed in the Jordan Valley in the course of a new survey. Archeologists reckon that this cave was originally a large quarry during the Roman and Byzantine era. Various engravings were uncovered in the cave, including cross markings, and it is assumed that this could have been an early monastery. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622103831.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163529.htm People find it very easy to recognize a face, even under very different circumstances. For a computer, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult. Researchers have developed a new analytical technique which enables the computer to better interpret the content of photos and images, but also of data. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163529.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622200028.htm Thanks to the skills of artists who work on cold case investigations, people have a chance to see what the mummy Meresamun may have looked like in real life. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622200028.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604124023.htm Researchers have devised a more accurate method of dating ancient human migration -- even when no corroborating archaeological evidence exists. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604124023.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608125103.htm Rushing to salvage fossils from the Panama Canal earthworks, a paleontology intern unearthed a set of fossil teeth. Experts identified the fossil as Anchitherium clarencei, a three-toed browsing horse. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608125103.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608182543.htm More than 100 feet deep in Lake Huron, on a wide stony ridge that 9,000 years ago was a land bridge, researchers have found the first archeological evidence of human activity preserved beneath the Great Lakes. Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608182543.htm