All posts by Archaeology World Team

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

A 2,300-year-old Punic tomb was discovered during work in a car park near Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta.

The archaeological discovery was made during trenching works near Mater Dei Hospital while preparing the site for the installation of a new potable water line.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) has been overseeing the site since the start of the project, ensuring the protection and study of any potential discoveries during development works.

An excavation revealed a chamber hewn out of solid natural rock. After additional examination by the SCH’s on-site archaeology monitors, it was found that the chamber was a component of a larger burial complex.

The discovery consists of three burial chambers, each accessed through a central shaft, characteristic of Punic and Roman tombs. It is thought to have been used for multiple inhumations during the Punic and Roman periods. Remarkably, the entrance to each chamber was sealed with original slabs, and the contents inside included human remains and grave goods.

The burial chambers were meticulously excavated over two weeks by a committed team of SCH archaeologists and osteologists. The human remains were primarily inhumations, with some cremated remains stored in urns.

The fact that many of the bones were arranged in a methodical manner raises the possibility that earlier remains were moved to make room for later burials. There were several inhumations in each chamber, with at least six in Chambers 2 and 3 and at least two in Chamber 1. A small collection of grave goods and cremation urns were also discovered, offering important new information about the burial customs of the time.

A team of experts, has been working on site to excavate, document, and interpret the remains, some of which have been transferred to the laboratory of the superintendence for further analysis.

Researchers will examine the remains for evidence of the age, sex, and health of the individuals, and conduct DNA analysis.

“The findings, which include skeletal remains, cremation urns, and other funerary artifacts, provide valuable insight into the ancient community that once inhabited the region.

Preliminary analysis indicates a Punic timeline, although some artifacts suggest an extended period of use into the early Roman era,” the Foundation for Medical Services and SCH said.

Efforts are underway to ensure the tomb is retained in its entirety, with plans for permanent controlled access to allow for continued study and preservation of this significant archaeological site.

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

Tulane University researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in  Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city with stone pyramids.

The ability to examine large regions from the comfort of a laboratory thanks to Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) technology has revolutionized the way archaic researchers study ancient civilizations in recent years.

The research project, led by doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas alongside his advisor, Professor Marcello A. Canuto, both affiliated with Tulane’s Middle American Research Institute (MARI), used Lidar technology to study an area of 130 square kilometers in Campeche.

As part of a “non-archaeological” survey, the 50-square-mile area was mapped in 2013 using lidar, a remote-sensing technology, according to a study published today in the journal Antiquity. Examining this “found” dataset, the researchers discovered the ancient city concealed in plain sight in a region teeming with Maya settlements. They found evidence of over 6,500 structures in all.

The research focuses on a part of Campeche that had previously been overlooked in traditional archaeological research.

The core of the Valeriana site contained a ballcourt and an architectural arrangement that indicated a construction date before 150 C.E.

“The government never knew about it; the  scientific community never knew about it,” says lead author Luke Auld-Thomas, an archaeologist at Tulane University, in a statement.

Researchers found not only rural areas and small communities but also a large city with pyramids, close to the only road in the area, near a village where farmers have been working among the ruins without the government or scientific community being previously aware of its existence.

The larger of the two “monumental precincts” that comprised the city “has all the hallmarks of a Classic Maya political capital,” according to the researchers. It included temple pyramids, a freshwater reservoir, several enclosed plazas that were connected, and a ball court where the Maya played games with rubber balls.

According to the study, Valeriana’s architectural layout indicates that some of the town was constructed before 150 C.E. It thrived during the Classic era, which roughly spanned 250–900 C.E. and was the Maya Empire’s golden age.

This discovery is particularly striking, as it underscores how much remains unknown about the Maya and that there is still much to uncover.

An annotated scan of Valeriana shows ruined platforms in purple and other ruined structures in black.

The researchers intend to visit Valeriana and the surrounding settlements in person to learn more about the ancient rural population of the Maya lowlands.

This study not only reveals previously unknown cities, but it also contributes to ongoing debates about the true extent of Maya settlements and their population density.

It has been contended, that prior research has mostly concentrated on sizable, well-known locations like Tikal, which may have skewed impressions of the Maya lowlands.

According to some critics, the majority of the Maya region may have been rural, with big settlements being the exception rather than the rule.

This perspective is called into question by the discoveries made in Campeche, which demonstrate how the Maya civilization created a network of communities in a vast tropical environment that varied in size and complexity.

“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” Canuto said. “While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities. Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”

Mystery of the World’s Oldest Map on a Nearly 3,000-year-old Babylonian Tablet Finally Solved

Mystery of the World’s Oldest Map on a Nearly 3,000-year-old Babylonian Tablet Finally Solved

Mystery of the World’s Oldest Map on a Nearly 3,000-year-old Babylonian Tablet Finally Solved

A recent British Museum video reveals that the “oldest map of the world in the world” on a clay tablet from Babylon was deciphered to reveal a surprisingly familiar story.

The oldest globe ever found is the Imago Mundi, a Babylonian map of the world.  This map is a Babylonian clay tablet with a schematic world map and two inscriptions written in the Akkadian language.

The probably seventh century BC is when this map was created. It shows a small part of the world as the ancient Babylonians knew it, and it was found in the southern Iraqi city of Abu Habba (Sippar).

The ancient artifact was acquired by the British Museum in 1882 but remained a mystery for centuries until curators found a missing part and transcribed its cuneiform.

The cuneiform tablet from the 6th century BC shows an aerial view map of Mesopotamia — the land “between the rivers” in modern-day Iraq— and what the Babylonians believed lay beyond the known world at the time.

After centuries of deciphering, the ancient tablet provides insight into the Babylonians’ beliefs about the known world at the time.

The tablet has several paragraphs of the cuneiform on its backside and above the map diagram describing the creation of the Earth and what its writer believed existed beyond it.

Researchers confirm the circle around Mesopotamia suggests that Babylonians believed the area was the center of the world. There also shows the river Euphrates cutting through ancient Mesopotamia.

The map depicts a double ring encircling Mesopotamia, which the ancient scribe called the “bitter river.” This river formed the boundaries of the Babylonians‘ known world.

Small circles and rectangles inside the Bitter River stand in for various Mesopotamian cities and tribes, such as Babylon, while another rectangle symbolizes the Euphrates River.

“You have encapsulated in this circular diagram the whole of the known world in which people lived, flourished, and died,” British Museum curator and cuneiform expert Dr. Irving Finkel said in the video. “However, there’s more to this map than that.”

“When it comes to operating beyond the limits of the known world into the world of imagination, [the tablet] is indispensable,” Finkel added.

Aside from mapping out what they thought existed outside of their world, the Babylonian scribe also included references to a well-known story (basically the Babylonian version of the biblical story of Noah’s Ark) and mythical animals and lands.

The ancient Babylonians thought that the remains of the enormous ark that their version of Noah, named Utnapishtim, had constructed in 1800 BC at God’s command were located on the backside of a mountain, the same mountain that the Bible says Noah’s Ark crashed on, beyond the bitter river.

“That’s quite a meaty thing, quite an interesting thing to think about because it shows that the story was the same, and of course, that one led to the other,” Finkel concluded.

The tablet also confirms the Babylonian’s belief in the God of creation Marduk and other mythical monsters such as scorpion-man and a lion-headed bird called Anzu.

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

Archaeologists have found a sacred chiton (tunic) in a 2400-year-old royal tomb in the Macedonian city of Vergina in northern Greece, and it could belong to Alexander the Great!

Archaeologists have known for decades that Alexander the Great’s family has a close connection to the three royal tombs located in Vergina. However, it has been more than fifty years since they were able to agree on who they belonged to.

The inhabitants of the 4th century BC Royal Tombs were the subject of another study earlier this year. According to the results of the research, the tombs contained the remains of Alexander’s father, stepmother, half-sisters, and son.

Under the direction of Antonis Bartsiokas of Democritus University of Thrace, a team of archaeologists identified a purple-dyed cotton cloth that corresponds to historical accounts of the sarapis, a ceremonial garment worn by the great Persian kings that Alexander took after defeating Darius III of Persia.

The sacred “chiton” was found in the golden ossuary of Tomb II alongside the remains of a man and a gold wreath.

Through in-depth analysis of the tunic, the tombs, and historical records, researchers have finally been able to link this royal garment to Alexander the Great.

Additionally, huntite, a bright white mineral used in ancient Persia, was found between the layers of the textile, reinforcing the idea that this garment has an eastern origin.

The remains of a royal cloak discovered in Tomb II may have belonged to Alexander the Great, according to a study published in The Journal of Field Archaeology.

An international team of archaeologists and osteologists set out to identify the tomb’s occupants after it was found inside a golden ossuary that contained male remains that were initially thought to be those of Philip II.

Façade of Vergina’s Tomb II.

This finding has significant ramifications because it may indicate that many of the items discovered in Tomb II belonged to Alexander the Great rather than Philip II, as was previously thought.

Research suggests that Tomb II, located in the Great Tumulus of Vergina, does not house the remains of Philip II, Alexander’s father, but rather those of his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus, who inherited several symbols of power from Alexander after his death.

A golden diadem, a scepter, and a golden oak wreath are among the items discovered in the tomb; these items are all referenced in historical accounts as being a part of Alexander’s royal attire. But because the sarapis had such symbolic meaning in the Persian court, their discovery is especially significant.

The sarapis was a purple tunic with a white stripe down the center, reserved exclusively for Persian kings, and Alexander’s adoption of it marked his dominance over the vast Persian Empire.

A figure, most likely Alexander, is shown hunting in a purple sarapis with two white stripes on a frieze in Tomb II. The conclusion that the tunic belonged to Alexander the Great is further supported by the fact that it matches historical accounts, as do other relics, such as a golden oak wreath discovered in Tomb II.

A garment of such immense value would likely have been inherited by a close family member. After Alexander’s death, the Macedonian army crowned his half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus, as king. According to The Greek Reporter, he most likely brought Alexander’s belongings back to Greece, including the royal scepter and tunic.

This new study provides answers to lingering questions surrounding the Royal Tombs of Vergina. It confirms that Alexander the Great was not buried there. Instead, Tomb I holds the remains of Philip II, his wife Cleopatra, and their newborn child.

Based on royal symbols and osteological data, Tomb II contains the remains of King Philip III Arrhidaeus and his wife Adea Eurydice, while Alexander IV is buried in Tomb III.

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

In early 2019, seven metal detectorists found a cache of 2,584 silver coins dating to the Norman Conquest that had lain in the ground for almost 1,000 years in a field in the Chew Valley in southern England.

Now, the silver pennies have sold for $5.6 million—making them the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom.

Adam Staples and the other detectorists reported their “unprecedented” discovery to officials using the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, a record of archaeological finds made by members of the public, according to a statement from the museum.

“It’s fantastic, unbelievable,” said Staples. “It has definitely changed my life. It was like holding history in your hand. And, obviously, the financial side of it is brilliant as well.”

The coins are a mix of Saxon and Norman currency, showing a turning point in English history and covering the transition from Saxon to Norman rule (between 1066 and 1068).

Experts believe that the coins were likely buried for safekeeping during the turmoil of the conquest.

Michael Lewis, head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, said in the statement that the find is “incredible.”

Lewis said the coin hoard will help deepen understanding of the most famous date in English history: 1066, the year William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, replacing England’s Saxon monarchs with Norman French rulers.

Amal Khreisheh, curator of archaeology at the South West Heritage Trust, with some of the conserved coins.

Though the invasion marked a historic schism, the coins in the hoard are remarkably similar whether they were minted before or after the conquest.

Just under half the coins depict Harold II of 1066, the last crowned Saxon king of England. Just over half feature William I (also known as William the Conqueror), the first Norman king. Other than the ruler they depict, the two types of coins are quite similar.

The AP notes that each has an emblem on one side and a picture of a king’s head in profile on the other, while Harold’s has the word “peace,” which is written as “pax,” and William’s has an ornate cross.

“The hoard symbolizes a pivotal moment in English history, and we are delighted to have made this acquisition so that it may be enjoyed by generations to come,” Sam Astill, chief executive of the South West Heritage Trust, said in the statement.

Named for the rural region in which it was discovered, the Chew Valley Hoard was purchased for the country using funds from the charitable division of the British National Lottery. It will have a permanent home at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, 130 miles southwest of London, after being on exhibit at the British Museum and other museums across the United Kingdom.

Oldest evidence of animal butchery in India found from extinct elephant fossil

Oldest evidence of animal butchery in India found from extinct elephant fossil

Scientists studied stone tools, bone flakes and rare elephant remains.

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence of animal butchery in India, dating back 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 years.

The findings, published in two recent studies, shed light on the activities of early humans in the region and provide valuable insights into an extinct elephant species.

The fossils were first discovered in 2000 near Pampore in the Kashmir Valley, but their significance remained unclear until now.

A team led by Advait Jukar, a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, has revealed that the remains belong to at least three ancient elephants of the genus Palaeoloxodon, which were more than twice the size of modern African elephants.

The researchers identified elephant bone flakes at the site, suggesting that early humans struck the bones to extract marrow. This discovery pushes back the earliest known evidence of butchery in India by nearly 2,90,000 years.

Oldest evidence of animal butchery in India found from extinct elephant fossil
Since it was first unearthed in 2000, the giant elephant skull has been stored, mounted in cement, in a glass box

Alongside the elephant remains, 87 stone tools were found, likely used for marrow extraction. These tools, made from basalt not native to the area, indicate that early humans transported raw materials to the site for tool-making.

The most complete skull belongs to a mature male Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus, a rare species previously known only from a partial skull fragment found in Turkmenistan. This specimen provides crucial information about the evolution and migration of the Palaeoloxodon genus.

While the evidence clearly shows human exploitation of the elephant carcasses, there are no signs of hunting. The elephants may have died naturally, possibly weakened by chronic sinus infections evident in their skull remains.

This discovery not only provides insights into early human behavior but also fills gaps in our understanding of elephant evolution in South Asia. As Jukar notes, “The specimen could help paleontologists fill in the story of how the genus migrated and evolved”.

The findings highlight the need for more comprehensive archaeological surveys in the region. As Jukar suggests, future excavations should focus on collecting all bone fragments, not just intact specimens, to uncover more evidence of early human activity.

These studies, published in Quaternary Science Reviews and the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, mark a significant advancement in our understanding of prehistoric life and human activity in the Indian subcontinent.

Archaeologists Discovered a Luxury Roman Village in Southeastern Sicily

Archaeologists Discovered a Luxury Roman Village in Southeastern Sicily

Archaeologists Discovered a Luxury Roman Village in Southeastern Sicily

In the province of Catania, archaeologists have excavated the remains of a Roman house with a mosaic floor dating from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD.

The house was part of a whole Roman village and was situated close to the town of Vizzini in southeastern Sicily, at an elevation of almost 500 meters above sea level.

Archaeologists from the University of Göttingen have been researching how people lived and traded in ancient times in Sicily. for more than 20 years. Now, they have made another significant discovery: a Roman village with an area of about 15 hectares.

Since 2022, the Göttingen team has been conducting research here under the direction of Prof. Dr. Johannes Bergemann from the Archaeological Institute.

First, possible ancient archaeological sites were inspected throughout the Vizzini region. In 2023, a geophysical survey was carried out following surface investigations of the sites that were identified.

This survey detected anomalies in the Earth’s geomagnetic field and created detailed images of the subsurface without the need for excavation.

These geophysical measurements led the research team to the remains of the buildings that have now been excavated.

The building extended 30 by 13 meters, and its remains are just below the current surface. Inside, there is a representative room of nearly 100 square meters, with a floor covered in mosaics. Unfortunately, parts of the mosaic were destroyed by plowing, says Bergemann.

Göttingen excavations in Sicily in the province of Catania near the town of Vizzini.

There were other comparable structures nearby, according to the geophysical measurements. Between the 2nd and around the 6th century AD, people lived here at a high level: there were columns built with rounded bricks, coated with stucco, and probably painted, similar to what you see in Pompeii, says Bergemann. We have found remains of fountains with marble ponds, as well as luxury Roman ceramics known as Terra Sigillata.

It is a Roman village that is roughly 15 hectares small. Large rural settlements and villas, as well as Roman agricultural production facilities that frequently produced significant yields, replaced the ancient Greek cities during the Roman era. Long-distance trade in the globalized Roman Empire made this possible.

Numerous small storage sites emerged along the southern coast of Sicily for this purpose. ‘This new settlement system, which was connected to the interior by long-distance roads, only existed for a few centuries. The house we discovered near Vizzini is an important testimony to this era,’ says Bergemann.

The archaeology team presented its findings for the first time on 16 October 2024 in Vizzini Town Hall. At the University of Göttingen, Bergemann and other members of the research team will present their findings on 3 February 2025 as part of the public archaeological lecture series in the Old Auditorium.

Excavations revealed a bronze age settlement, shedding light on the organized society that once existed in Northern Vietnam

Excavations revealed a bronze age settlement, shedding light on the organized society that once existed in Northern Vietnam

Excavations revealed a bronze age settlement, shedding light on the organized society that once existed in Northern Vietnam

Archaeologists have uncovered a pre-Dong Son settlement in northern Vietnam dating back nearly 3000 years.

Researchers from the Institute of Archaeology have uncovered important Bronze Age finds at the Vuon Chuoi Archaeological Site in Lai Xa Hamlet, Kim Chung Commune, Hoai Duc District, Hanoi. These findings shed light on the organized society that once existed in northern Vietnam.

Dong Son culture is named for a village in northern Vietnam (named for the modern village Đông Sơn, a village in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam) where many of its remains have been found. It was a Bronze Age culture centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD.

The excavation on the western side of the Vuon Chuoi site spanned 6,000 square meters, according to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quy, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology. Numerous pits, each measuring roughly 100 square meters, were dug up, yielding important preliminary results.

“The initial discoveries revealed a settlement area from the pre-Dong Son period,” said Dr. Quy. “The site is situated on the highest point of the Vuon Chuoi mound, featuring a basin-like structure with the outer edges elevated by about 0.5 meters compared to the center.

It appears that ancient people took advantage of both natural elevated and lower terrain to create a settlement, surrounded by a protective moat about 10 meters wide and 2.5 to 3 meters deep.”

Funerary objects in early Dong Son burial mounds.

Based on observations, the building material was probably yellow-brown clay that was taken from nearby natural mounds. The site’s outer slopes contain burial sites, while the interior displays remnants of pre-Dong Son cultural periods.  A dense burial area that formed a necropolis from at least two overlapping periods was found in the northwest corner in particular.

“These discoveries are pivotal for understanding the Bronze Age in Northern Vietnam,” Dr. Quy noted. “They provide deeper insights into how ancient communities managed their living spaces to address challenges posed by both natural and social environments.

The scale of construction at this site also indicates a well-organized society with a high level of labor division.

Despite these important results and the near completion of the excavation at Vuon Chuoi, conservation work is progressing very slowly.

To guarantee the site’s protection, the Institute of Archaeology and other pertinent organizations have been submitting paperwork to authorities since 2019. The only portion of Vuon Chuoi that has been designated as a heritage site under inventory is the eastern portion, which was permitted to be preserved.

Hanoi Museum representatives have promised, that the Heritage Management Department will collaborate closely with the Hoai Duc District’s Cultural Department to expedite the process of recommending Vuon Chuoi’s designation as an officially recognized archaeological site.