Archaeology News Online

Without the proper context, the sight of a staircase leading down into a great hole in the ground might not look like much. But this hole is part of an archaeological dig that has uncovered an enormous building dating back 2,500 years, part of the famed Tartessos culture. The find was made in the western Spanish region of Extremadura, a rural land renowned for its cork oak plantations, its scorching summers, and for being the birthplace of conquistadors. The Tartessian staircase found in Turuñuelo de Guareña (Badajoz) [Credit: S. Burgos/ C. Martinez] In the fifth century before the Christian era, there was a massive two-story building standing here, in the demarcation of Las Vegas del Guadiana, in Badajoz province. The building – the first surviving one of its kind from that era to be discovered – had a monumental staircase rising two-and-a-half meters. And it was made with materials and techniques that researchers thought had not been in use in the Western Mediterranean until much lat...

An excavation in the Dargecit district of the southeastern region of Turkey, which will soon be left under the reservoir waters of the Ilisu Dam, has revealed crucial information about the North Mesopotamian people’s social life 10 millennia ago, particularly about burial rituals and the ancient belief in life after death. Bodies buried in the fetal position, with their knees pulled up to their stomach, were found in the basements of houses in the site, symbolizing the position of a baby in the womb, according to information provided by Nihat Erdogan, the manager of the Mardin Museum who conducts the excavation of the site. The findings point at belief in rebirth after death, Erdogan told the Dogan News Agency. The decades-old Ilisu Dam project, which was first planned under Southeastern Anatolia Project’s investments in the 1960s, was first tendered in 1997. The potential damage caused by the dam’s construction, which is planned to be finalized this year, has been discussed for a quar...

Covered by Tokat's Sulusaray district in the Black Sea region of Turkey, the ancient city of Sebastapolis faces expropriation problems, leading to illegal excavations. Dating back to the first century B. C., the ancient city of Sebastapolis is thought to have been one of the five largest cities  in the Black Sea region about 2,000 years ago. Once visited by Charles Prince of Wales, the site now faces  illegal excavations due to expropriation problems [Credit: AA] Sebastapolis has been looted many times and has seen illegal excavations, as it is located in a town center and excavations to saving the ancient ruins continue with cooperation from Gaziosmanpaşa University (GOÜ) and the Tokat Museum Directorate. An academic from the Department of Art History of the Faculty of Science and Literature at GOÜ and the adviser of Sebastapolis Ancient City Excavation Works, Associate Professor Şengül Dilek Ful, said the excavations are now continuing at the baths section of the city. The b...

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...

Skeletons have been uncovered on-site during redevelopment work at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and are in the process of being exhumed respectfully and sensitively from underneath the area that was formerly the venue’s mini conference room. The human remains, which have now been exhumed and will be analysed to determine more about the deceased,  are thought to be from a Quaker burial ground that existed before the Royal Pavilion Estate was built  [Credit: Brighton Dome/Carlotta Luke] The remains are thought to be from 'Quakers Croft' a Quaker burial ground that existed before the Royal Pavilion Estate was built. The below map from 1803 shows the Quaker Meeting House facing onto North Street. The burial ground isn't marked, but it is likely to have been behind here in what is marked as 'Promenade Grove': Darryl Palmer of Archaeology South-East who is managing the dig on site, says: “This is a significant find that shines a light on an important historical moment in t...

When and how the first humans made their way to Australia has been an evolving story. While it is accepted that humans appeared in Africa some 200,000 years ago, scientists in recent years have placed the approximate date of human settlement in Australia further and further back in time, as part of ongoing questions about the timing, the routes and the means of migration out of Africa. Excavations through many layers at the site [Credit: Dominic O Brien/Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation] Now, a team of researchers, including a faculty member and seven students from the University of Washington, has found and dated artifacts in northern Australia that indicate humans arrived there about 65,000 years ago -- more than 10,000 years earlier than previously thought. A paper published in the journal Nature describes dating techniques and artifact finds at Madjedbebe, a longtime site of archaeological research, that could inform other theories about the emergence of early humans and their coe...

Archaeologists excavating the Viking round fortress “Borgring” close to Køge in Denmark, have made a new discovery, a set of wheel tracks near the north gate of the fortress. The wheel tracks, found at the north gate of the fortress are littered with pebbles to prevent Viking carts  becoming stuck in the ground [Credit: Nanna Holm] “During the excavations we suddenly found long tracks full of small stones. The stones are pressed down into the soil, so we can see that carts have been driven over the top of them. Stones don’t occur naturally in the layers, but are laid down by the Vikings to avoid the carts sinking,” says archaeologist Jonas Christensen. Archaeologists have so far revealed five metres of the small stone-filled tracks, which are approximately 90 centimetres apart. The stones measure approximately five centimetres across, but some are bigger. “The ruts were probably made by four-wheeled carts, which we’ve also found tracks of at other locations from the Viking Age. It ...