Archaeology News Online

Three vehicles have been earthed from the Zheng State No 3 pit in Xinzheng city, Central China's Henan province, after five months' excavation. One of the vehicles included a large carriage for ancient high officials or nobles. Archaeologists excavate the Zheng State No 3 pit in Xinzheng city,  Central China's Henan province, on July 12 [Credit: VCG] The structure of the vehicles unearthed has been clearly outlined after being cleaned by archaeologists, even though each discovery has been buried for more than 2,400 years. The shaft, coach and wheels of the vehicles are easy to recognize, and a horse skull was located nearby. Bronze components in the shape of chopsticks have also been found at the site, which archaeologists believe may have been used to fix the rooves of the vehicles. A 2.5-meter-long, 1.6-meter-wide vehicle unearthed from the pit was uncovered sporting brown colored chips and mat debris at the vehicle's canvas top, and replicates the largest, most luxur...

Two Eastern Roman gold coins were found in a 1,500-year-old Chinese tomb in Northwest China's Xian City, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (SPIA) said on Thursday. The tomb's owner, Lu Chou, died in 548 and the burial artefacts excavated include intact  coloured pottery figurines, camel figures and, most importantly, two gold coins from the  Eastern Roman Empire and a silver coin from Persia [Credit: hsw.cn] Chinese archaeologists believe that one of the gold coins was minted during the reign of Anastasius I who was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 491 to 518. The other gold coin however is a more rare one and bears stylistic similarities to coins minted during the reigns of both Anastasius I and Justinian I, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565. Two Eastern Roman gold coins and silver coin from Persia found in a 1,500-year-old  Chinese tomb in Xian, Shaanxi Province [Credit: China News Service] The Chinese tomb also included a silver coin minted ...

Scientists from UCL have used the UK's synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, to document for the first time the rate of evolution of seed coat thinning, a major marker of crop domestication, from archaeological remains. A slice through image of horsegram seed [Credit: Diamond Light Source] Writing in the journal Scientific Reports , the authors present evidence for seed coat thinning between 2,000 BC and 1,200 BC in the legume horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum), a bean commonly eaten in southern India. By using the high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (HRXCT) technique on Diamond's I13-2 beamline, the researchers were able to measure for the first time the coat thickness throughout the entire seed. "Seed coat thickness is a great indicator of domestication, as thinner coats will mean faster germination of a seed when it is watered," explains Dorian Fuller, co-author on the paper. "But conventional methods of looking at the seed coat require breaking and...

A Dutch court Friday will hear arguments involving ownership of a 1,000-year-old mummified monk in a case brought against a local collector by Chinese villagers who claim their ancestor was stolen. The human-sized sitting Buddha statue called the “Zhanggong Patriarch,” disappeared from a temple in Yangchun  in late 1995 after being worshipped for centuries [Credit: Reuters] The small eastern Chinese village of Yangchun will square off against a Dutch collector, whom they said bought the stolen Buddha statue containing the remains of a monk in Hong Kong in 1996, a lawyer representing the village said. The human-sized sitting Buddha statue, called the "Zhanggong Patriarch," disappeared from a temple in Yangchun in late 1995 after being worshipped for centuries, Jan Holthuis said. "We are going to present our arguments to a judge to explain why the villagers want their statue back," he told AFP. Missing for two decades, the Buddha statue resurfaced when villagers in 20...

Carbon dating has recently confirmed the age of a 3,800-year-old red pottery bird statue, unearthed in central China's Henan Province. A staff member of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows a pottery bird statue in Xinmi, central China's  Henan Province [Credit: Xinhua/Feng Dapeng] The statue, 16 cm long and 7 cm tall, was painted red with cinnabar, which suggests it may have been an item of worship, according to archaeologists. The item was found at the ruins of the city of Xinzhai, discovered in 1979 and believed to be founded by Qi, king during the Xia Dynasty, as early as 2050 BC. Carbon dating has recently confirmed the age of the 3,800-year-old red pottery bird statue, unearthed at the ruins  of the city of Xinzhai in Henan Province [Credit: Xinhua/Feng Dapeng] Zhao Chunqing, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the statue indicates totemistic bird worshiping in prehistoric China. A large number of pottery utensils and stone tools have been discovered...

A massive archaeological excavation underway at Beijing's Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan Park, has uncovered more than 50,000 cultural relics so far. The ongoing archaeological excavation in the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan, also known as the Old Summer Palace,  has made substantial progress, with more than 50,000 pieces of relics discovered so far  [Credit: CGTN] The excavation, which was started in 2013 and will be completed in 2020, is the biggest in the ruined Yuanmingyuan Park so far, and has already covered 7,000 square meters. Bronzeware, jadeware and chinaware have been unearthed, and a gilding elephant head is the most precious among all items, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the Yuanmingyuan Park. All of the excavated relics will be exhibited in the park until October, it said. The project is aimed at building a visible, three-dimensional platform for archaeological achievements and protecting the remains of the palace. "A few sections of the palace...

Three vehicles have been earthed from the Zheng State No 3 pit in Xinzheng city, Central China's Henan province, after five months' excavation. One of the vehicles included a large carriage for ancient high officials or nobles. Archaeologists excavate the Zheng State No 3 pit in Xinzheng city,  Central China's Henan province, on July 12 [Credit: VCG] The structure of the vehicles unearthed has been clearly outlined after being cleaned by archaeologists, even though each discovery has been buried for more than 2,400 years. The shaft, coach and wheels of the vehicles are easy to recognize, and a horse skull was located nearby. Bronze components in the shape of chopsticks have also been found at the site, which archaeologists believe may have been used to fix the rooves of the vehicles. A 2.5-meter-long, 1.6-meter-wide vehicle unearthed from the pit was uncovered sporting brown colored chips and mat debris at the vehicle's canvas top, and replicates the largest, most luxur...

Two Eastern Roman gold coins were found in a 1,500-year-old Chinese tomb in Northwest China's Xian City, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (SPIA) said on Thursday. The tomb's owner, Lu Chou, died in 548 and the burial artefacts excavated include intact  coloured pottery figurines, camel figures and, most importantly, two gold coins from the  Eastern Roman Empire and a silver coin from Persia [Credit: hsw.cn] Chinese archaeologists believe that one of the gold coins was minted during the reign of Anastasius I who was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 491 to 518. The other gold coin however is a more rare one and bears stylistic similarities to coins minted during the reigns of both Anastasius I and Justinian I, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565. Two Eastern Roman gold coins and silver coin from Persia found in a 1,500-year-old  Chinese tomb in Xian, Shaanxi Province [Credit: China News Service] The Chinese tomb also included a silver coin minted ...

Scientists from UCL have used the UK's synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, to document for the first time the rate of evolution of seed coat thinning, a major marker of crop domestication, from archaeological remains. A slice through image of horsegram seed [Credit: Diamond Light Source] Writing in the journal Scientific Reports , the authors present evidence for seed coat thinning between 2,000 BC and 1,200 BC in the legume horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum), a bean commonly eaten in southern India. By using the high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (HRXCT) technique on Diamond's I13-2 beamline, the researchers were able to measure for the first time the coat thickness throughout the entire seed. "Seed coat thickness is a great indicator of domestication, as thinner coats will mean faster germination of a seed when it is watered," explains Dorian Fuller, co-author on the paper. "But conventional methods of looking at the seed coat require breaking and...

A Dutch court Friday will hear arguments involving ownership of a 1,000-year-old mummified monk in a case brought against a local collector by Chinese villagers who claim their ancestor was stolen. The human-sized sitting Buddha statue called the “Zhanggong Patriarch,” disappeared from a temple in Yangchun  in late 1995 after being worshipped for centuries [Credit: Reuters] The small eastern Chinese village of Yangchun will square off against a Dutch collector, whom they said bought the stolen Buddha statue containing the remains of a monk in Hong Kong in 1996, a lawyer representing the village said. The human-sized sitting Buddha statue, called the "Zhanggong Patriarch," disappeared from a temple in Yangchun in late 1995 after being worshipped for centuries, Jan Holthuis said. "We are going to present our arguments to a judge to explain why the villagers want their statue back," he told AFP. Missing for two decades, the Buddha statue resurfaced when villagers in 20...

Carbon dating has recently confirmed the age of a 3,800-year-old red pottery bird statue, unearthed in central China's Henan Province. A staff member of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows a pottery bird statue in Xinmi, central China's  Henan Province [Credit: Xinhua/Feng Dapeng] The statue, 16 cm long and 7 cm tall, was painted red with cinnabar, which suggests it may have been an item of worship, according to archaeologists. The item was found at the ruins of the city of Xinzhai, discovered in 1979 and believed to be founded by Qi, king during the Xia Dynasty, as early as 2050 BC. Carbon dating has recently confirmed the age of the 3,800-year-old red pottery bird statue, unearthed at the ruins  of the city of Xinzhai in Henan Province [Credit: Xinhua/Feng Dapeng] Zhao Chunqing, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the statue indicates totemistic bird worshiping in prehistoric China. A large number of pottery utensils and stone tools have been discovered...