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History & Archaeology

We bring you all the latest historical news and archaeological discoveries relating to ancient human history. Read more history news from around the world here at Ancient Origins.

Archaeologists work from scaffolding to excavate a roundhouse that collapsed into the river after a fire.

Houses from 3,000 Years Ago Are Among Best-Preserved of the Era in Britain

Archaeologists in England are making headway excavating two remarkably well-preserved Bronze Age dwellings that were burned in a fire and collapsed from their stilts into a river below about 3,000...
The prosthesis of the man with a fused knee, femur and tibia helped him walked, which would have been difficult for him otherwise.

Chinese Man with Fused Knee used a Prosthetic Leg with a Horse Hoof Tip 2,200 Years Ago

A man of modest means who lived in China 2,200 years ago had a deformed leg and compensated with a prosthesis with a horse hoof on the end of it. The discovery was made in a tomb in an ancient...
Two examples of Meroitic Hieroglyphs (not found at Abu Erteila)

Archaeologists Find Hieroglyphics That Shed New Light on the Golden Age of the Meroitic Civilization

A team of Italian and Russian archeologists says that they have made one of the most important discoveries connected with the history of Nubia. According to the Sudan Antiquities Service, the...
Bottlenose Dolphin, dolphins jumping at sunset.

Pre-Colombian Seafarers of Panama may have been Dolphin Hunters

Precolombian seafarers left what is now mainland Panama to settle on Pedro González Island in the Perlas archipelago about 6,000 years ago, crossing 50-70 kilometers (31-44 miles) of choppy seas --...
Divers with one of the Nanhai No. I’s artifacts.

More Artifacts from a Song Dynasty Chinese Shipwreck Revealed

A Chinese cargo ship from the Song Dynasty that was salvaged from the depths of the South China Sea in 2007 has revealed more of its rich cargo to archaeologists. Gold, silver, and copper artifacts...
An Elegant Party (detail), painting of a small Chinese banquet hosted by the emperor for scholar-officials from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Leaf Buds Discovered in Tomb of Early Chinese Emperor May Be the Oldest Example of Fine Tea

Archaeologists have identified the oldest known tea in the tomb of Jing Di, a Han Dynasty Chinese emperor who went into the afterlife well-provisioned with food, weapons, a ceramic-animal army and...
Roman baths in Bath, England

Why the Romans were not quite as clean as you might have thought

Prior to the Romans, Greece was the only part of Europe to have had toilets. But by the peak of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD, the Romans had introduced sanitation to much of their domain,...
Royal Maya Burial at El Zotz Ruins in Guatemala

Archaeologists discover Royal Maya Burial at El Zotz Ruins in Guatemala

Archaeologists with the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered a burial chamber in the Five Temples section of El Zotz, an ancient Maya city lying in ruins in Guatemala’s Maya...
Artist’s rendering of the palace of Knossos.

Knossos Thrived Well into the Iron Age and Was Much Larger than Once Believed

Current research on the ancient Greek city of Knossos in Crete suggests that it not only recovered from the Bronze Age collapse that brought down many of the Aegean palaces, but actually flourished...
The outline of the phallus can be faintly seen in the left image. It is from Roman times, was found in Lincolnshire in 1995, and will go on display in a Lincoln, England, museum. The object is also thought to depict a vagina or an evil eye.

Ancient Roman Garden Ornament of a Phallus Revealed to the Public

The ancient Romans were obsessed with phallic images in art and architecture. Now, The Collection , a museum in Lincoln, England, will put on display a Roman phallus carved in stone that a family in...
A “were-jaguar” effigy, likely representing a combination of a human and spirit animal, is part of a still-buried ceremonial seat, discovered in a cache in ruins deep in the Honduran jungle.

Honduras to Begin Investigations of Ancient Jungle Ruins Believed to be the Legendary White City

The President of Honduras has announced that scientists will begin exploring an ancient archaeological site in the jungle where they believe the legendary ‘White City’, otherwise known as ‘City of...
The Bayeux tapestry: Harold swears his oath to William.

Five Missing Kings and Queens – and Where We Might Find Them

As 2016 begins, the recent public interest in hunting for royal burials shows no sign of abating. Hardly has the dust begun to settle on Richard III’s expensive new tomb in Leicester than work is...
A painting titled “Battle of the Cheseapeake” of the Revolutionary War, by V. Zveg; the Potomac River, where the ship was found, empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Remnants of 18th Century Ship May Provide Clues to Revolutionary-era Shipbuilding

Archaeologists preparing for a Potomac riverfront redevelopment project in Alexandria, Virginia, United States, have found the remains of a large, heavy ship dating to between 1775 and 1798 that will...
The Roman sword found just off Oak Island.

Unraveling the Origins of the Roman Sword Discovered Off Oak Island

Last month, we reported on the startling discovery of a Roman ceremonial sword off Oak Island , located on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, radically suggesting that ancient mariners visited...
Cenchrinae starch granules from the Haua Fteah cave and from a modern variety; Cenchrinae is a type of grass used as food in Africa

North African Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers Eschewed Domestic Grains for Wild Plants

A community of cave dwellers in North Africa apparently resisted switching over to pure agriculture and instead continued gathering highly nutritional wild grass seeds and other wild plants for many...
Remains of the citadel, Nahariya, Israel.

3400-Year-Old Canaanite Citadel Will Be Basement of High Rise in Israeli City

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that part of the remains of a recently unearthed Bronze Age citadel will be preserved and become a mini-museum of a high rise building in Nahariya,...
The skeleton of a man believed to have been in his fifties was discovered near a gibbet used to execute criminals.

600-Year-Old Skeleton found beneath Edinburgh School Playground thought to be Executed Pirate

Archaeologists have completed analyses on a 600-year-old skeleton found last year beneath a primary school playground in Edinburgh, Scotland, and believe it is the remains of a pirate or other...
An Inca quipu, from the Larco Museum in Lima, Peru.

Researchers Say New Find of Khipu Strings May Help Unravel the Inca Record-keeping System

Archaeologists have discovered a collection of khipu (quipu) —a system of colored strings and knots people used to record various matters and send messages in the pre- and post-colonial eras in Peru—...
Ivan the Terrible holds court, showing an English ambassador some treasure, in a painting by Alexander Litovchenko.

Cache of military-grade weapons from the era of the Ivan the Terrible found near Moscow

Archaeologists excavating an area for a planned highway expansion near Zvenigorod, Russia, have found the arsenal of a military commander from the 16 th century—the era of Ivan the Terrible. The...
Little is known about the natives with whom the Luna expedition made contact, but they left behind these beads, which were unearthed in Pensacola, Florida.

Lone Archaeologist Discovers First Multi-Year European Settlement in the U.S.

An archaeologist and historian working on his own found the first multi-year settlement by Europeans on U.S. soil, in Pensacola, Florida. The mid-16th century expedition of about 1,500 people led by...
Skeletons unearthed at a 3,000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu.

Ancient Skulls Give Insights into Origins of Polynesians

Due to an analysis of the oldest-known cemetery in the South Pacific, the long-standing debate over the origins and ancestry of Polynesians may finally be resolved. A group of scientists, who studied...
A Viking offers a slave girl to a Persian merchant.

Ruthless Perception of Vikings Returns as Evidence of the Use of Slaves During the Viking Age Comes into Focus Yet Again

Over the last few years the perception of Vikings has been ever sliding on the scale from less to more brutish. Things are getting closer to the “ruthless” end of the scale yet again, as researchers...
One of the two shrines with statues, this one showing a couple who are not identified by inscriptions at the site.

Two 3,400-Year-Old Shrines with Statues discovered at Egyptian Quarry Site

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered some statues of two families in shrines that researchers previously thought were destroyed by an earthquake in ancient times. They made the find at Gebel el...
A scientist investigates the outer part of the entrance canal.

Underwater Ruins of Greek Harbor Are Full of Surprises

University of Copenhagen Researchers have made some surprising discoveries while investigating the underwater ruins of Lechaion, ancient Corinth’s partially submerged harbor town. Lechaion was one of...

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