Archaeology

Nov 15th, 2025 - Ancient Maya monument discovery rewrites the history books For a long time, archaeologists believed that large buildings required large bosses. The idea was simple: only societies with strong hierarchies (kings, priests, and planners) could organize massive construction projects. But recent discoveries in the Maya region are rewriting that script. Archaeologists previously pictured early Maya life as simple and small-scale: people making pottery, living in scattered villages from 1000 to 700 ... [Read More]

Nov 14th, 2025 - Reading time 3 minutes Egyptian alabaster vessels may have been the ancient world's hookah. In a study published in September in the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, researchers identified traces of opiates—natural compounds from poppies such as opium, morphine, and heroin—in an ancient alabaster vase in the Yale Peabody Museum's Babylonian Collection. The team argues that, to date, their work represents the clearest comprehensive evidence of ... [Read More]

Nov 12th, 2025 - This ancient structure remarkable lasted through the millennia. "Megaliths represent the earliest form of monumental stone architecture," write the authors of the new study, and the Menga Dolmen is a fantastic example. This prehistoric megalithic structure near Antequera in southern Spain stands as one of the most impressive and enigmatic monuments of Europe's distant past. This ancient burial mound was made using massive stone slabs during the Neolithic period. It's remained intact for a ... [Read More]

Nov 11th, 2025 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. The Jomon people living in prehistoric Japan had "little to no" Denisovan DNA , suggesting their ancestors may not have been in contact with this now-extinct group of Eurasian humans, a new study reports. The finding was part of an investigation into hundreds of ancient and modern genomes to ... [Read More]

Nov 9th, 2025 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. While excavating near the ancient city of Armageddon in Israel, archaeologists unearthed a 3,300-year-old Canaanite "tea set," a dollhouse-sized temple, and one of the oldest known winepresses in the world. The tea set includes a teapot shaped like a ram and a few small bowls that were buried ... [Read More]

Nov 4th, 2025 - After two decades and an estimated cost of $1bn, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, just a few days after the official opening ceremony on Saturday. Regarded as the world's largest archaeological facility for a single civilisation, the museum is located 2km (1.2 miles) from the pyramids of Giza and 8km (5 miles) from the capital, Cairo. The complex spans nearly 500,000sq metres (5,381,900sq ft) and will house more than 100,000 ancient artefacts from the ... [Read More]

Nov 2nd, 2025 - More than two decades in the making, the ultra-modern museum anticipates five million visitors annually, with never-before-seen relics on display. Sarah Kingdom covers travel, with a focus on sustainable luxury. A 3,200-year-old towering statue of the warrior king, Ramses II, standing 36ft high and weighing in at 183,000lbs, stands in the entrance way of the new Grand Egyptian Museum , GEM. Beyond it, the Grand Staircase, lined with the statues of other ancient Egyptian kings and queens, leads ... [Read More]

Oct 31st, 2025 - Near one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza - Egypt is officially opening what it intends as a cultural highlight of the modern age. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), described as the world's largest archaeological museum, is packed with some 100,000 artefacts covering some seven millennia of the country's history from pre-dynastic times to the Greek and Roman eras. Prominent Egyptologists argue that its establishment strengthens their demand for key ... [Read More]

Oct 30th, 2025 - For the first time since the boy king's tomb was discovered in 1922, all the items will stored in one place, a museum director told NBC News. GIZA, Egypt — They're the crown jewels of the Grand Egyptian Museum — two galleries devoted to the ancient pharaoh Tutankhamun . Showcasing more than 5,300 objects from the young king's tomb, including his iconic death mask and glittering royal regalia, the new section of the vast museum here on the outskirts of Cairo is expected to draw ... [Read More]

Oct 5th, 2025 - CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian antiquities officials on Sunday said a Pharaonic painting has disappeared from the famed Saqqara necropolis just outside of Cairo, becoming the latest artifact to disappear in a country known for its rich history. Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the limestone painting was in the tomb of Khentika in the Saqqara necropolis. The mastaba tomb, which housed the painting, was found in the 1950s, and hasn't opened since 2019, he ... [Read More]

Oct 5th, 2025 - Egypt on Saturday opened a tomb of a pharaoh for visitors after more than two decades of renovation in the southern city of Luxor, as it prepares for the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The huge tomb of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., is located on the western side of the famed Valley of the Kings. It was found in 1799 by two people and its contents were looted, including the sarcophagus, Egyptian antiquities authorities said. It ... [Read More]

Oct 5th, 2025 - CAIRO (AP) — A limestone pharaonic painting has gone missing from Egypt's famed Saqqara necropolis, becoming the latest artifact to disappear in a country known for its rich and lengthy history. The painting was in the tomb of Khentika in the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo, Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Sunday. The mastaba tomb was found in the 1950s and hasn't been opened since 2019. Ismail's statement said prosecutors were investigating ... [Read More]

Oct 4th, 2025 - One of the largest tombs in Egypt 's Valley of the Kings reopened to visitors after more than 20 years of renovation. The huge tomb of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., is carved into the hillside on the west bank of the Nile River near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor. It was discovered in 1799 by two people, and its contents were looted, including the sarcophagus, Egyptian antiquities authorities said. It has been under a Japanese-led, three-phased ... [Read More]

Oct 4th, 2025 - LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — Egypt on Saturday opened a tomb of a pharaoh for visitors after more than two decades of renovation in the southern city of Luxor, as it prepares for the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The huge tomb of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1390 B.C. and 1350 B.C., is located on the western side of the famed Valley of the Kings. It was found in 1799 by two people and its contents were looted, including the sarcophagus, Egyptian ... [Read More]

Sep 26th, 2025 - You can now listen to Fox News articles! Egyptian archaeologists recently uncovered a hidden harbor at an ancient temple connected to Cleopatra VII – an unexpected find for historians.  The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of the harbor on Sept. 18. It was found at the Temple of Taposiris Magna, about 30 miles west of Alexandria. The temple, built in the Ptolemaic era, was dedicated to Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife. Though the temple ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2025 - It all used to be so simple. The story of how we – that is Homo sapiens , today's humans – emerged from Africa and spread across what's become Europe and Asia was a neat, straightforward narrative. It began around 50,000 years ago when our brains experienced a lightbulb moment of advancing cognition and creativity, stimulating our ancestors to journey beyond our cradle continent. When they reached Eurasia, around 40–30,000 years ago, they encountered another group of humans, a ... [Read More]