Jewish pilgrims traveled to the Temple Mount 2,000 years ago where they lit a ritual burial offering to pray for good fortune, and this specific lamp has been uncovered in the City of David. The rare oil lamp, shaped like a grotesque face, was formed from bronze and still includes the original wick made of … Read more
Ancient marble head discovered under Italian town’s 2,000-year-old city walls is identified as Rome’s first emperor Augustus by his big ears and unusual ‘swallow-tail’ hairstyle The head was discovered during renovations to the historic city walls in Isernia It bears Augustus’ iconic ‘swallow-tail’ haircut and comma-like locks Rome took Isernia in 295BC but briefly lost control to … Read more
Ancient marble head discovered under Italian town’s 2,000-year-old city walls is identified as Rome’s first emperor Augustus by his big ears and unusual ‘swallow-tail’ hairstyle The head was discovered during renovations to the historic city walls in Isernia It bears Augustus’ iconic ‘swallow-tail’ haircut and comma-like locks Rome took Isernia in 295BC but briefly lost control to … Read more
The Dead Sea Scrolls were most likely penned by multiple scribes who mirrored one another’s writing styles 2,000 years ago, AI-powered analysis has revealed. First found in 1946 in the Qumran Caves of the Judaean Desert, near the Dead Sea, the scrolls comprise some 972 ancient manuscripts in thousands of fragments. The texts were mainly … Read more
Scientists have been working for more than a century to decipher the Antikythera Mechanism, which is a 2,000-year-old device used by ancient Greek’s to calculate astronomical positions. Now researchers at University College London (UCL) believe they have solved the mystery of the ‘world’s oldest computer’ by building a digital replica with a working gear system … Read more
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered what they believe to be the world’s oldest known pet cemetery. Nearly 600 cats, dogs and monkeys were found carefully laid in individual graves in Berenike, a remote seaport on the western coast of the Red Sea. Some of the animals were still wearing collars and other adornments, and others … Read more
A stunning fresco in the garden of Pompeii’s Casa dei Ceii (House of the Ceii) has been painstakingly laser-cleaned and touched up with new paint by expert restorers. The artwork — of hunting scenes — was painted in the so-called ‘Third’ or ‘Ornate’ Pompeii style, which was popular around 20–10 BC and featured vibrant colours. In … Read more
Archaeologists digging at the ancient Egyptian site Taposiris Magna unearthed 16 burials in rock-cut tombs, with one containing a mummy bearing a tongue made of gold. The team speculates that after the person’s tongue was removed during embalming it was replaced with the object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife. The … Read more
Archaeologists digging at the ancient Egyptian site Taposiris Magna unearthed 16 burials in rock-cut tombs, with one containing a mummy bearing a tongue made of gold. The team speculates that after the person’s tongue was removed during embalming it was replaced with the object so the deceased could speak to Osiris in the afterlife. The … Read more
A birdwatcher has stumbled across a hoard of 2,000-year-old Celtic gold coins worth £800,000 that date back to the time Boudicca was at war with the Romans. The keen metal detectorist, who has not been named, spotted a glint of gold while looking at a buzzard in a recently ploughed field in eastern England. Having … Read more