The Roman Balneum in Rafina: A monument reveals itself…
What can the excavation of a Roman bath and its surroundings reveal?
Berlin’s Museum Island: mystery attack on 70 artefacts
Egyptian statues and busts of Greek gods, sarcophagi and European paintings: On October 3, the German Unity Day, one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in post-war Germany has been launched.
Inspection of the Fonias Tower in Samothrace
Built by the Gattilusi family in the 15th century, the tower was part of the island’s greater defense programme and survives at a height of 12 m.
Bronze Age herders were less mobile than previously thought
Bronze Age pastoralists in what is now southern Russia apparently covered shorter distances than previously thought.
Εvidence of earliest known dairy production in India
It is the earliest known dairy production in India, and could have helped produce the type of food surplus needed for trade.
Iron Age horse harness found is oldest in Central Eastern Europe
The style of the harness can be traced back to the far north infiltration of nomads, possibly Scythians, in the environment of the Lusatian culture.
Tradition of petrified birds in the Dome of the Rock
Two 19th century accounts by Lievin de Hamme and Ermette Pierotti, respectively, describe the birds as magpies who defied Solomon's orders to contribute to the building of the Temple, and, as a result, were petrified as a punishment.
New evidence found of the ritual significance of a Classic Maya sweat bath
At the site of Xultun, Guatemala, a Maya sweat bath led to new evidence of these beliefs and an early example of the related rituals.
Oldest securely dated evidence for a river flowing through the Thar Desert
Using luminescence dating of ancient river sediments, a new study presents evidence for river activity at Nal Quarry in the central Thar Desert starting from approximately 173 thousand years ago.
Scientists find medieval plague outbreaks picked up speed over 300 years
The disease spread four times faster in the 17th century than it had in the 14th century.
Rheneia, the other Delos
120 years after the first excavations, the Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, with the means offered by modern technology, returns to Rheneia.
Hittite cuneiform scripts will soon be accessible online
The collection will be based on around 30,000 documents, most of which are written in the Hittite language.
World’s greatest mass extinction triggered switch to warm-bloodedness
The ancestors of both mammals and birds became warm-blooded at the same time, some 250 million years ago, in the time when life was recovering from the greatest mass extinction of all time.
New dating results for two Lower Palaeolithic sites in France
Researchers used an unprecedented combination of three different dating techniques to date the two Lower Palaeolithic sites in France.
Machu Picchu opened for a single tourist
The Japanese tourist had to wait almost seven months to enter the ancient Inca city after being trapped in the Andean country during the coronavirus pandemic.
Medieval town discovered in Bulgaria
Surprising discovery: a completely unknown medieval town described as the third satellite town of the city of Pliska, the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire between 680 and 893 AD.
When good governments go bad
History shows that societies collapse when leaders undermine social contracts.
Influences from Gandhara & Interior of Africa in ancient temple
In a temple in the port of Berenice Troglodytica stone heads imitating sculptures from Gandhara and the depths of Africa were found.
Modern humans took detours on their way to Europe
Favourable climatic conditions influenced the sequence of settlement movements of Homo sapiens in the Levant on their way from Africa to Europe.
A ‘patriotic sword’ used during the January Uprising of 1863-1864
The sword, engraved with the words “Vivat Szlachcic Pan i fundator wojska” (Long live the Noble Lord and founder of the army), was discovered near Veliko Tarnovo.
The palace where Alexander the Great was born comes to light
By next summer, it is expected that the palace where Alexander the Great was born in then coastal city of Pella will be able to receive visitors.
Ice Age footprints found in White Sands National Park
Footprints show a female walking for almost a mile, with a toddler’s footprints occasionally showing up beside hers.
First mammals lived more like reptiles
Pioneering analysis of 200 million-year-old teeth belonging to the earliest mammals suggests they functioned like their cold-blooded counterparts—reptiles, leading less active but much longer lives.