Archaeology, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2022

Cleopatra: Biography of the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt

Cleopatra VII, often simply called Cleopatra, was the last of a series of rulers called the Ptolemies who ruled ancient Egypt for nearly 300 years. Cleopatra ruled an empire that included Egypt, Cyprus, part of modern-day Libya and other territories in the Middle East. Modern-day depictions of Cleopatra VII tend...

Jan 31, 2022

Astronauts spot an ancient heart-shaped oasis in Egypt just in time for Valentine's Day

Soaring 250 miles (400 kilometers) over Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) looked down on our planet last May and saw a heart-shaped oasis blooming in the Egyptian desert. Today (Feb. 14), our friends in space are sharing the striking image as a special Valentine for the whole...

Dec 31, 2021

5 archaeological 'digs' to watch in 2022

There are a number of archaeological finds and stories we might hear about in 2022. These include discoveries from Egypt's lost golden city, new finds from Qumran — the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in nearby caves — as well as finds that may shed light on...

Dec 31, 2021

Child mummies in Sicily's Capuchin Catacombs to be X-rayed

The mummified and skeletal remains of more than 160 children lie preserved in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo in northern Sicily, and soon, scientists hope to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding their lives and deaths using X-ray technology. The catacombs contain at least 1,284 mummified and skeletonized corpses of...

Dec 31, 2021

Pendants from Holocaust victims found near gas chamber in Poland

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered three pendants that belonged to people who were murdered at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in eastern Poland. The researchers discovered two of the pendants in places where Holocaust victims were forced to undress before guards herded them into gas chambers; they discovered the third...

Nov 30, 2023

Temple linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great discovered in ancient megacity in Iraq

Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed twin temples built on top of each other. The newer, Hellenistic temple dates to the fourth century B.C. and may have a link to Alexander the Great. The temple contained a fired brick with an Aramaic and Greek inscription that references the giver of two...

Nov 30, 2023

2,200-year-old tiles found in Jerusalem provide direct link to the history of Hanukkah

A pile of ancient ceramic roofing tiles found at a national park in Jerusalem may be linked to the history of Hanukkah. Archaeologists made the discovery during excavations at City of David National Park, located outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, according to a Facebook post by...

Nov 30, 2023

'Unique' cave art discovered in Madagascar hints at connections with ancient Egypt and Borneo

Unique, prehistoric rock art drawings have been discovered in the Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar. I was part of a team that discovered and described these ancient treasures. They’re the first truly pictorial art, depicting images of nature with human-like and animal-like figures, to be seen on the island. Until...

Nov 30, 2023

Discovery of 'calendar' rock carvings from Ancestral Pueblo in US Southwest surpasses 'wildest expectations'

While investigating a site in the US Southwest, archaeologists discovered a series of ancient rock carvings that early Native Americans may have used as a calendar. The site, known as the Castle Rock Pueblo, is on the Mesa Verde plateau straddling the Colorado-Utah border and is best known for the...

Nov 30, 2023

Skull with 'execution-style wounds' suggests woman died due to enslavement or suspected sorcery in colonial Indonesia

A possibly enslaved woman may have been executed with a sharp weapon in what is now the Papua province of Indonesia, a new study finds. Only the skull of the victim is available for analysis, but it revealed that the woman was between 26 and 42 years old when she...

Nov 30, 2023

2,000-year-old 'celestial calendar' discovered in ancient Chinese tomb

Archaeologists in China have unearthed a mysterious set of rectangular wooden pieces linked to an ancient astronomical calendar. The artifacts were discovered inside an exceptionally well-preserved 2,000-year-old tomb in the southwest of the country. Each of the 23 wooden slips is about an inch (2.5 centimeters) wide and 4 inches...

Oct 31, 2023

1,000-year-old skeleton of noblewoman with hollowed-out skull found buried next to 'husband' in Germany

The skeletal remains of a man and a woman buried in Germany caught archaeologists off guard when they discovered that the skull of one of the skeletons was completely hollowed out. Archaeologists made the unusual finding during ongoing excavations near a 1,000-year-old former royal palace built by Roman Emperor Otto...

Oct 31, 2023

Nearly 8,000 medieval coins and 7 Bronze Age swords unearthed in Germany

A bounty of centuries-old artifacts in Germany — including seven swords, thousands of silver coins, jewelry and pottery — were unearthed by a group of volunteer conservationists. The excavators discovered the items last year at three separate locations dotting the German countryside, according to a translated statement. Officials from Germany's...

Sep 30, 2023

1,400-year-old gold figures depicting Norse gods unearthed at former pagan temple

Archaeologists have discovered 35 miniature gold-foil depictions of Norse gods tucked inside the remnants of a pagan temple in Norway. The gold foils, which are flat and as thin as a piece of paper, contain etched motifs depicting the god Frøy and the goddess Gerd and date to the Merovingian...

Sep 30, 2023

Debate settled? Oldest human footprints in North America really are 23,000 years old, study finds

Paleo-human footprints dotting White Sands National Park in New Mexico are 23,000 to 21,000 years old, making them the oldest known fossilized trackways left by people in North America, a new study finds. However, not everyone agrees with the results. The study, which used two dating techniques to verify the...