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Jay Silverstein with an Olmec head he helped discover in Mexico in 1994. 	Source: Jay Silverstein, Author provided

Has the Archaeologist’s Spade Been Replaced By Modern Technology?

Jay Silverstein /The Conversation A valley of lost cities has been discovered in the Ecuadorian Amazon. When you hear of such a discovery you might think of archaeologists with chisels and brushes or...
The new study reveals that there are thousands of previously unknown earthworks in the Amazon hidden under the forest canopy.	 Source: © Mauricio de Paiva/ Max Planck Institute

Over 10,000 Earthworks in the Amazon Revealed By LiDAR

An international team of researchers has completed an extraordinary study that reveals the presence of thousands of undetected earthworks hidden beneath the dense cover of the Amazon rainforest in...
LiDAR technology has helped archaeologists identify a lost Maya city in Mexico. Source: Ivan Ṡprajc / INAH

Huge Lost Maya City Has Emerged From the Jungle in Mexico

Mexican archaeologists harnessed the potential of LiDAR drones to undertake an extensive survey of the Yucatan Peninsula, yielding the remarkable discovery of a once-forgotten city. This...
Lost City Revealed: The Mysteries of Nan Madol Uncovered (Video)

Lost City Revealed: The Mysteries of Nan Madol Uncovered (Video)

Step into the past and uncover the mysteries of Micronesia’s Nan Madol , one of the most ancient and enigmatic lost cities in the world. Built over 800 years ago from massive basalt rocks, this lost...
Northeastern view of the remains at Castro Valente, where the medieval fortress has been uncovered thanks to LiDAR technology. Source: Fernàndez-Pereiro & Sánchez-Pardo / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

LiDAR Reveals Medieval Fortress in Spain, Rewriting History

An ancient 25-acre (10-hectare) fortified settlement found on a hilltop in Galicia was long ago identified as an Iron Age village, meaning it was dated to the period between 1,500 and 500 BC. But a...
Complex of pyramids identified at Maya site using LiDAR technology. Source: Hansen et. al - Cambridge University Press / CC BY 4.0

LiDAR Reveals Massive Mobilization of Labor Needed to Build Maya Site

Scientists have uncovered a massive 2,000-year-old Maya site hidden under a Guatemalan rainforest, comprising of nearly 1,000 urban settlements interconnected by 160 km (100 miles) of causeways...
Image of the effigy mound found near Lebanon, Wisconsin. Source: Chuck Werth

Retired Historian Uncovers Native American Effigy Mounds in Wisconsin

In a patch of woods on a homestead in southeastern Wisconsin, a recent aerial survey revealed the presence of a pair of hidden historical gems. These were two Native American ceremonial (burial)...
Looking over the jungle in Peten, Guatemala. Source: Adobe Stock / Xavier

New Discoveries At Guatemala's “Last” Maya City

Archaeologists have been digging at “the last” Maya city in Guatemala. Pre-Hispanic graves and artifacts have been found peppered with the shot from conquistadors’ rifles. The lush forests of...
: Images resulting from the Calakmul LiDAR survey performed in Mexico. Source: INAH

Astonishing Scale of Ancient Maya Metropolis Revealed by Laser Scans

Using a scanning and imaging technology with broad applications in the archaeological field, an international team of researchers discovered fresh and eye-opening details about a famous Maya...
An ancient burial mound in Poland, Tumuli in Wesiory (representational image). Artur Henryk / Adobe Stock

Over 800 Ancient Monuments Found in Polish Forest with LiDAR!

One of the last primeval forests in Europe, Białowieża forest in Poland , is the subject of a fascinating new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey. It has yielded a vast and incredible array of...
Screenshot from a 3D animation of the Crotoca site where evidence of the lost Amazonian civilization has been found.	Source: Heiko Prümers DAI / CC BY-NC-ND

LIDAR Identifies Vast Complexes Of A Lost Amazonian Civilization in Bolivia

Researchers in northern Bolivia have used lidar to identify a series of raised platforms and pyramids. Interwoven by a complex hydrological network, these abandoned sacred sites are relics from a...
Representational image of an underwater temple. Source: Vitalis Arnoldus / Adobe Stock

Have Researchers Found Fabled Temple of Hercules Gaditanus in Cadiz?

A famous temple of the Phoenician-Punic deity Melqart, located near the ancient city of Gadir (now Cádiz), became a temple dedicated to Hercules Gaditanus under the Romans. Now experts believe they’...
Olmec and Maya architecture have more than a few things in common as has been recently revealed by a massive LiDAR survey project in southern Mexico. The Olmecs came first but the Mayas copied their approach to ritual architecture. This image shows a Maya building in the Lamanai archaeological reserve in Belize.		Source: vadim.nefedov / Adobe Stock

Aerial Survey Reveals Hundreds of Olmec and Maya Sites in Mexico

Researchers from the University of Arizona recently completed a groundbreaking and breathtaking aerial survey of large areas of southern Mexico that were once occupied by Olmec and Maya civilizations...
A view of the Tikal jungle landscape from Temple IV. It was in this dense forested area that LIDAR amazing found the Teotihuacan replicas hidden from archaeologists working at the famous site for more than 60 years.  Source: JuanLuis / Adobe Stock

Precise Teotihuacan Replicas Found With LiDAR at Maya City of Tikal

High-tech scanning around the ancient Maya city of Tikal in northern Guatemala has revealed the presence of some previously undiscovered ruins, dating back to the early first millennium AD. Using...
Lost ‘Cosmic’ Amazonian Villages Discovered in Brazilian Rainforest

Lost ‘Cosmic’ Amazonian Villages Discovered in Brazilian Rainforest

Helicopter Lidar scans have revealed an ancient Amazonian “cosmos” of circular settlements, all connected by straight roads. Acre is an Amazonian rainforest state in northwestern Brazil known for...
A closeup of one of the underwater AI robot cameras at the shipwreck site in the Aegean Sea, Greece             Source: NOUS

Ancient Greek Shipwreck Is Now Protected By Underwater AI Robots

Only 15 years ago scientists dreamed of a future in which new technologies would enable us to peer through tree canopies and see beneath the ground in our search for ancient lost cities, temples, and...
Oldest And Largest Pre-Maya Sacred Site Discovered In Mexico

Oldest And Largest Pre-Maya Sacred Site Discovered In Mexico

The largest and oldest monumental pre-Maya structure has been identified in Mexico revealing an ancient culture that thrived without a centralized government or elite classes. A team of...
A probable Iron Age or Roman enclosed settlement (red arrows) and associated field system (blue arrows) revealed by LiDAR data but hidden today beneath woodland.       Source: University of Exeter

Armchair Indiana Joneses Find Ancient Sites Using LiDAR During Lockdown

Volunteer archaeologists working from home are revealing hitherto uncharted prehistoric burial mounds, Roman roads and medieval farms, using LiDAR technology. An innovative project is underway...
Built at the turn of the 7th century, the white plaster-coated Maya road began in Cobá ended at Yaxuná. Source: Traci Ardren and Dominique Meyer / University of Miami.

1,300-Year-Old Maya Road Reveals Insights Into Warrior Queen’s Reign

Researchers using breakthrough technology have been studying a 1,300 year-old Maya road in Mexico . This ancient highway once connected two important Maya cities . The find is allowing researchers to...
Representation of Tocobaga Indians at a pre-Columbian settlement in Florida, USA. Source: pinellascounty.org

Unprecedented Find of Shell-Enclosed Settlement in Florida

Archaeologists using the latest drone and radar technology have identified a major pre-Columbian settlement in Florida. They have discovered what appears to have been a significant settlement on the...
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...
One of many star mounds now revealed on American Samoa.            Source: Tagata Pasifika / Youtube Screenshot

Samoan Star Mounds Baffle Archaeologists

Detection of scores of ancient ‘Star Mounds’ baffle archaeologists on Samoa. Samoa is in the South Pacific Ocean, and it has a tropical climate with thick rain forests and almost impassable volcanic...
Maya ruins.  Source: Byron Ortiz / Adobe Stock

Dozens of Ancient Maya Farms Revealed by Laser Scanning

Ancient Maya civilization thrived for thousands of years beneath the cover of tropical forest in Central America, but once their civilization disappeared, so did much of the evidence of it. For a...
An island in Scotland (supakit / Adobe Stock)

1000 Ancient Sites Revealed by Aerial Scan of Scotland’s Arran Island

Archaeologists in Scotland have concluded a cutting-edge archaeological project which has revealed around 1,000 previously unknown archaeological sites on the Isle of Arran. There is an island off...

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