Previous Weeks

This weekly feature is a place to discuss new developments in fields of history and archaeology. This can be newly discovered documents and archaeological sites, recent publications, documents that have just become publicly available through digitization or the opening of archives, and new theories and interpretations.

• Canaanite rulers liked their wine jars: Vast collection found at Tel Kabri

• Archaeologists have unearthed a 2 thousand years old mosaic

• Catholic Spies in the New World? Relics Pose New Puzzle About Early American Colony: A recently unearthed burial in Jamestown, Virginia, from the early 1600s, shows signs of Catholic rituals that are hard to explain in a colony set against the Pope

• Melting Mummies Are on Thin Ice, Thanks to Climate Change: Glacial archaeologists scramble to save long-preserved specimens thawing out of vanishing ice before they are lost forever

• Mexican officials said Tuesday they have filed a criminal complaint after villagers in the central state of Tlaxcala bulldozed a chapel from the 1700s

• Million-Dollar Find: Shipwreck's Golden Treasure Includes Very Rare Coin

• Abrupt climate change may have helped spur culture change and regime changes in early Near Eastern civilizations. Study finds that cultural transitions in several major Near Eastern civilizations coincided with episodes of high atmospheric dust caused by drier conditions.

• Puebloan archaeological site buried for safekeeping

• What is it?

• Brazilian archaeologists find human presence dating back 4,000 years in Rio

• Identities of Mysterious Jamestown Settlers Revealed

• Antiquities Found on Shipwreck That Carried Elgin Marbles

• Scotland’s Earliest Pictish Fort. Radiocardon dating has revealed that a Pictish fort on a sea stack in Scotland known as Dunnicaer dates to the third or fourth century, making it the oldest-known Pictish fort.

• Archaeologists discover remains of Jamestown colony's earliest leaders

• French student finds tooth dating back 560,000 years - Tooth unearthed by 20-year-old volunteer hailed as major discovery by paleoanthropologist overseeing dig at Arago cave near Tautavel.

• Mass medieval grave found at Aberdeen school—Over 20 skeletons in shallow grave found by crew installing cables. Likely burial from Blackfriars Abbey, destroyed by Protestant reformers in 1560. “Friars were kicked out of the city & abbeys left in ruins.”

• Viking raiding wasn’t just about the booty

• Gruesome find: 100 bodies stuffed into ancient house

• An Archaeological Surprise at Nivin, Peru

• Christian Cemetery From Viking Age Iceland Reveals Strenuous Lives And Early Deaths - Forbes

• Britain’s frontline WWII tunnels rediscovered - Hidden tunnel complex opens to public this week after 6 decades buried as a forgotten time capsule. Abandoned in 1950s, filled in 1970s, only a metal cover plate on a cliff gave any clue as to what lay beneath.

• 'Diggers' Returns For A New Season With Better Collaboration With Archaeologists

• Skeletons Of Napoleon's Soldiers Discovered In Mass Grave Show Signs Of Starvation

• "Very rare" Tudor pane found in chute from toilets to moat at Henry VIII palace - “We were tracing palace outline, once home to Edward VI & ‘Bloody’ Mary, & in the process found this chute full of demolition material from 1657 when the palace was demolished.

• Archaeologists find dozens of medieval shoes in good condition at Greyfriars dig in Oxford - Shoes, bag & "perfectly carved" bowl discovered by archaeologists during early stages

• X-rays and algorithms extract Biblical text from a burned scroll found near the Dead Sea.

• Student finds tool in 8,000 year old layer during local news report on Central Oregon paleo site.

• Stone Age remains of ancient wooden building dating back 5,000 yrs found in Monmouth, Wales - Pre-dates only other known crannog in England & Wales by 2,000 yrs. Part of building set on poles--called a crannog, defended wooden structures found in Ireland & Scotland.

• Evidence for plant cultivation at 23,000-year-old site in Galilee - Earliest-known example of plant cultivation in the Levant is 11,000 yrs before agriculture practices took hold.

• Bronze Age child's skeleton discovered at Pewsey Vale dig

• Ancient mummy, the only one in South India, rotting in state museum

• 18th century village discovered underneath Montreal interchange

• 4,000-Yr-Old Egyptian Reliefs Unearthed—2 carvings uncovered in temple of Serapis in ancient Berenice on Red Sea coast. One is Middle Kingdom (2134-1690 BC) & bears cartouche of 12th Dynasty king Amenemhat IV. They are older than city, built by Ptolemy II in 3rd century BC.

• Fragments found of new female figurine from Hohle Fels Cave - Discovery of 2 fragments shows similarities with well-known Venus from there. Pieces of carved mammoth ivory fit together, date to 40,000 yrs ago & are oldest depictions of humans ever recovered.