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Lao Phonsavan Plain of Jars. Source: flu4022/Adobe Stock

Five Unique Burial Sites of the Ancient World (Video)

Across the ancient world, a mosaic of burial practices unveils the diversity of human cultures and their beliefs. Chambered cairns , scattered throughout the UK, intrigue scholars with their...
New research helped identify Carraig á Mhaistin, the Rostellan dolmen, more definitively as a Stone Age megalithic tomb.         Source: Howard Goldbaum / CC BY NC 4.0

Cork Harbor Rock Structure Declared A Stone Age Tomb

Ever since the discovery of a stone dolmen on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in southern Ireland many years ago, archaeological opinion has been divided over the exact nature of the Carraig á...
Artist’s impression showing what the exterior of the Neolithic tomb cairn at Hazleton North may have looked like. Courtesy of Corinium Museum, copyright Cotswold District Council.		Source: Courtesy of Corinium Museum, © Cotswold District Council / Nature

‘World’s Oldest Family Tree’ Revealed in Neolithic Tomb in England

Genome sequencing of 35 individuals from the best-preserved Neolithic tomb in B Tomb in England ritain has revealed that 27 of the individuals were the children of 4 women – and just one man! This...
Part of the Upper Tote Cairn that has been destroyed by the landowner.	Source: Crown Office

Scottish Farmer Fined For Destroying Prehistoric Burial Cairn

A Scottish island farmer has been charged for ripping apart a Neolithic burial tomb to build a new shed. You might think the judge’s £18,000 fine sounds quite stiff, but the cairn is damaged beyond...
5,000-Year-Old Deer Carvings Discovered In A First for Scotland!

5,000-Year-Old Deer Carvings Discovered In A First for Scotland!

Lost for around 5,000 years, an amateur archaeologist has discovered deer carvings inside Kilmartin Glen’s Dunchraigaig Cairn in the west of Scotland. The Neolithic or Early Bronze Age carvings...
Some of the stone structures found in the Northeastern United States appear man-made.

Did Stone-Age Giants Live in the Champlain and Hudson Valleys?

In the serene woodlands of the Northeastern United States, the Champlain Lake Valley meanders through the landscape, dividing the Adirondack and Green Mountain ranges. As the Champlain Basin ends,...
The Iron Age “Game of Mercenaries” likely inspired the popular Viking age board game called ‘Hnefatafl.’ Source: Olga Makukha /Adobe Stock

Researchers Find Relics from an Iron Age ‘Game of Mercenaries’

Archaeologists excavating a burial in Norway have made a discovery that is offering a unique insight into Iron Age games and pastimes. They found evidence of a board game that was modelled on a...
The Bridestones, several large stones            Source: Peel, M / CC BY-SA 4.0

Unveiling the Bridestones Cairn of Cheshire

The British landscape is dotted with the remains of its Stone Age past. We are all familiar with Stonehenge , one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world, but few people are familiar...
When the couple removed the floor, they discovered a Viking grave. Source: Nordland County.

Viking Grave Found Under the Floorboards of a Home in Norway

A Norwegian couple made an unusual historic discovery during renovations of their home. First they found a number of Viking era artifacts, and then archaeologists declared that they had found a...
These horse-related finds from Lendbreen indicate the route of a Nordic mountain trail: top left) mandible; top right) horseshoe; bottom left) horse skull; bottom right) horse dung. Source: J.H. Barrett & Glacier Archaeology

Tracking Artifacts Reveals Lost Nordic Mountain Trade Route

In pre-history, many of the world's mountain ranges blocked long distance travel and trade, but mountain passes provided routes through ranges and over ridges, facilitating human and animal migration...
The visibly arched portal of Cairn 2 in Maulbronn, Germany. Source: Author provided

Two of Europe’s Biggest Cairns are About to Be Buried in Trash

Two of the biggest European cairns are facing destruction in the World Heritage city of Maulbronn, Germany. If it happens, the prehistoric monuments would be lost and scientific investigation...
Reconstruction of the stone circle. Source: Anne Leaver

Bronze Age Stone Circle Found Hidden in British Forest

An archaeologist has announced the discovery of a 4000-year-old stone circle. It was found in one of the most famous forests in England. The find is the first of its kind in this part of Britain and...
The prehistoric megalith Rujm el-Hiri.

Wheel of Giants: Prehistoric Rujm el-Hiri Puzzles Archaeologists

Sitting in plain sight but unnoticed for centuries, Rujm el-Hiri - an unusual megalith near the Sea of Galilee - has stumped experts. An ancient monument comprised of enormous stone circles dating to...
Rounded stone blocks forming an arc (in the foreground), cairn and monolithic alignment at Veyre-Monton, France.   Source: Denis Gliksman, INRAP

Prehistoric Monolithic Monument Unearthed in France

Archaeologists in France have unearthed a series of monolithic stones and a cairn burial which most likely date back some 6000 years. These monuments known as ‘menhirs’ are the first to be found in...
Bryn Celli Ddu

4,000-Year-Old Burial Revealed on Welsh Island Linked to Mysterious Druid Sorcerers

Excavations are underway on the 4,000-year-old Bronze Age burial cairn known as ‘Bryn Celli Ddu Bach’ on the British island of Anglesey, located off the north coast of Wales. Anglesey is famous for...
Pulemelei Mound

The Perplexing Purpose of the Gigantic Pulemelei ‘Pyramid’ Mound of Samoa

One of the most important archaeological sites in Polynesia is the Pulemelei mound - the largest ancient monumental structure, not only in Samoa, but in the South Pacific. This monument, commonly...
Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery.

Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery: Passage Tombs and An Astronomical Roofbox

Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery is a passage tomb complex dating to the Neolithic period. This cemetery is located in the south of County Sligo, in the western Irish province of Connacht. In...
Creevykeel Court Tomb.

Creevykeel Court Tomb: Giants and Little People Meet at a 4,500 Year Old Irish Tomb

With its prominent and central open court, Creevykeel Court Tomb is one of the finest court tombs in Ireland. The earliest usage of the site goes back around 4,500 years, but it is a multi-epoch and...
British Block Cairn

The British Block Cairn in Canada: A Sacred Site of the Niitisitapi People

The British Block Cairn in Alberta is of great archaeological and historical importance and is one of the most noteworthy First Nation Sites in the west of Canada, recognized nationally as well as...
The hide constructed on top of the Neolithic cairn.

Scotland’s Longest Neolithic Cairn Destroyed by Bird Watchers

A 5000-year-old stone burial structure in northern Scotland has been deliberately ripped apart to make way for an unsightly red-neck bird hide, constructed from a wooden pallet and the canopy for a...
The alignment of the rising sun on the winter solstice with the Saywas in the Atacama desert, Chile.

Sun and Earth Aligned: Ancient Andean Calendar is Illuminated on the Atacama Desert

On the winter solstice of 2017 a dedicated historian at Chile’s Pre-Columbian Art Museum in Santiago, Dr. Cecilia Sanhueza, was following a hunch in the Atacama Desert, Chile. She observed “a row of...
Mynydd Preseli hills and Waldo Williams memorial stone. The famous hills from where the bluestones of Stonehenge originated, pictured with the memorial monolith to poet Waldo Williams, 1904-1971

Millennia-Old Quarry Site for Stonehenge Stones Damaged and Looted

BBC reports that archaeologists and conservationists have been extremely concerned lately and keep reminding visitors to the Preseli Hills located in Wales to leave ancient sites and monuments as...
Hundreds of Tombs Found in Jordan Suggest Unexplained Cycle of Abandonment and Re-Habitation

Hundreds of Tombs Found in Jordan Suggest Unexplained Cycle of Abandonment and Re-Habitation

Hundreds of ancient tombs lay in the Jebel Qurma desert region of Jordan close to the border with Saudi Arabia. There are simple graves from the Early Bronze Age to more elaborate tower tombs and...
Stones arranged into a Native American medicine wheel pattern.

A Glimpse into the Intuitive Medicine of the Native American Tradition

Many centuries ago, in a land that is quite familiar to the modern American (in some forgotten, ethereal way).... A native boy scurries through a thicket of bramble bushes. His mouth stained with...

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