Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have unearthed 3,000-year-old fabric samples that point to the earliest instance of chemical dyeing in history. Discovered at the Timna Valley of Israel’s Arava desert, the cloth fragments likely belong to the period between 13th and 10th centuries BC. The findings of the research, recently published in the PLOS ONE…
Researchers studying Egyptian fossils have discovered an entirely new species of prehistoric carnivorous mammals known as hyaenodonts. According to the study, recently published in the PLOS ONE journal, these fascinating creatures can be regarded as predecessors of modern-day terrestrial carnivores, residing in places across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Hyaenodonts, however, were a group…
Archaeological excavations at China’s Inner Mongolia region have uncovered a series of fascinating finds, including a silk-wrapped body dating back to the era of the Northern Wei dynasty and an ornate silver bowl with engravings of Greek gods. Found at a 1,500-year-old cemetery, the discovery shows how trading of goods and valuables took place along…
Researchers from the University of California, Israel's Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have logged the strength of Earth's magnetic field over a 600-year-long period, using jar handles dating back to ancient times. By analyzing the iron oxide particles in these artifacts, the scientists have successfully determined the planet's geomagnetic field over…
A team of researchers has recently unearthed an ancient city among the hills of Vlochós in Greece. Situated in what was once called the "backwater of the ancient world", the remains of the now-ruined city were found near the village of Vlochós, some 300 km from the capital city of Athens. The evidence, which dates…
The waters off the coast of Antikythera in Greece hold many mysteries of the ancient world that are yet to be uncovered. Site of the largest shipwreck from antiquity, the region boasts a treasure trove of invaluable artifacts as well as the famous Antikythera Mechanism, a 2,000-year-old astronomical calculator that is widely considered the world's…
The unique legacy left behind by late Marcel Mazliah is something to boast about when it comes to a historical scope. Over the years, the electric company worker had made a personal collection of priceless artifacts (with one of the items being around 3,500-years old) that were salvaged from the Mediterranean Sea bordering Israel. And…
Archaeologists have recently discovered what seems to be one of the largest royal Maya tombs found so far. Unearthed in Belize, the ancient tomb housed animal bone fragments, several pieces of obsidian as well as a male skeleton. According to the researchers, hieroglyphs along the walls of the royal tomb could help uncover valuable information…
Little over a month after archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old lump of butter in the Irish peat bog, a team of divers has stumbled upon what seems to be 340-year-old cheese, while surveying a 17th-century shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. Interestingly, the leader of the expedition Lars Einarsson described the centuries-old diary product as having quite a "pleasant"…
Archaeologists working in Mexico have recently discovered the skeletal remains of a woman, with ornate, stone-encased teeth and alien-like skull. Dating back around 1,600 years, the bone fragments were uncovered in the town of San Juan Evangelista, located close to the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan approximately 48 km (or 30 miles) from the country's…