Archaeological discoveries

• An exceptional thermopolium, street food stand in ancient Rome, unearthed in Pompeii

  A small street food stall called a thermopolium discovered in Pompeii was shown in its entirety on December 26, 2020 by site management. Wonderfully preserved, it already provides valuable information on the food consumed more than two millennia ago in the Roman Empire. A photo of the thermopolium

• Press review Germany:double burial of twin babies in the Palaeolithic

  The review of the German-speaking press is this time devoted to four archaeological discoveries which reconstruct the past by questioning it. What did twin babies die of more than 30,000 years ago? How did the Jewish community of Cologne live in the Middle Ages? On which continent did pythons appear

• The mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the first English people to land in America, about to be solved?

  Its one of the most enduring puzzles in US history, and its right at its beginning:in 1587, the very first settlers from England vanished without a trace. But new findings suggest they may have taken refuge in native tribes to survive. A map of Roanoke Island, second half of the 16th century. Fou

• The fascinating Tashtyk death masks

  Creators of surprisingly realistic death masks, the Tashtyk are one of the most mysterious ancient cultures of the steppe. A look back at little-known funeral customs. Tashtyk funerary mask (4th century) from the necropolis of Oglakhti, in Siberia. A recent analysis of the coating of a tashtyk sk

• What was the parietal art used for?

  For tens of thousands of years, prehistoric humans adorned the walls of caves and rock shelters. What meaning should be given to these creations that appeared in the Upper Palaeolithic? Some answers with the prehistorian Carole Fritz and the Australian archaeo-anthropologist Bruno David. Bruno Dav

• Oldest prehistoric cave painting found in Indonesia

  More than 45,000 years old according to researchers, a representation of a wild pig has been discovered in a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Possibly the oldest rock art in the world. Figure of a wild pig made with red ocher on the walls of Leang Tedongnge cave, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is the old

• Discovery of a 2,000-year-old child's grave near Clermont

  An exceptional childs grave , 2,000 years old, was discovered under Clermont-Ferrand airport. The burial dates from the Augusto-Tiberian period, i.e. the beginning of the 1st century AD. An exceptional childs grave , 2,000 years old, was discovered under Clermont-Ferrand airport, in Aulnat (Puy-d

• Egypt:major archaeological discoveries at Saqqara

  An Egyptian archaeological mission working in the Saqqara region near the pyramid of King Teti, the first ruler of the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, has announced important discoveries. A recently discovered sarcophagus at the site of Saqqara, Egypt. New archaeological treasures, including a

• Peru:Caral, 5,000-year-old archaeological city, threatened by illegal construction

  Deserted by archaeologists during the lockdown, the Peruvian archaeological city of Caral, cradle of a 5,000-year-old civilization, has been invaded by rural workers claiming land. A precarious dwelling built illegally by peasants at the Caral archaeological site in Supe, Peru, on January 13, 2021

• Is China Rewriting Its History?

  Joint interview with Anne Cheng, sinologist, holder of the Chair of Intellectual History of China, at the Collège de France, and Nicolas Idier, historian and sinologist attached to the Center for Research in the Far East, Paris-Sorbonne. These specialists are coming back on the rewriting of history

• The oldest form of European currency could date back to the Bronze Age

  Bronze objects with standardized weights could have been a form of primitive money 3,500 years ago. These 3,500-year-old Spangenbarren, or curved bar ingots, may correspond to paleo-currencies in Bronze Age economies, according to a new study. The first coins, the ones that weigh down the bottom

• Sacrifices, cannibalism and revenge:archeology reveals a bloody episode in the conquest of Mexico by the conquistadors

  On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec Empire, the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) reveals the results of several decades of excavations in the city of Zultépec-Tecoaque , in the center of the country. It was here, in 1521, that the conquist

• Traces of fort destroyed by Russian settlers in Alaska revealed

  Thanks to advanced technologies, two American researchers have managed to find traces in Alaska of a fort destroyed by Russian settlers in the early 19th century. A map of the fort drawn by the Russians in the 19th century. Two American researchers have found traces of a wooden fort that once sto

• In Reunion, the moving remains of a prison for children

  In the middle of the 19th century, several thousand children experienced forced labor in the penal colony of Îlet à Guillaume, perched 700 meters above sea level on a plateau on the island of Reunion. Today, archaeological excavations are being carried out on the site in an attempt to uncover their

• Back to Sutton Hoo:The Dig, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century

  The exceptional discovery of the ship-grave of Sutton Hoo (United Kingdom), in 1939, is the central theme of the film The Dig currently broadcast on Netflix. An excavation that has upset what we know of the Dark Ages, the British High Middle Ages. Gold belt buckle, a masterpiece of 7th century cra

• Egypt:Greco-Roman burials discovered at Taposiris Magna

  Sixteen burials found in rock-cut tombs have been discovered at the archaeological site of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, Egypt. One of the mummies kept a gold leaf in the mouth. Funerary statues and masks discovered at Taposiris Magna (Egypt). 2000-year-old faces resurrected from Antiquity

• The last secret of the Shaman of Bad Dürrenberg

  8500 years old, the Shaman of Bad Dürrenberg is one of the most exceptional Mesolithic burials encountered in Europe. Discovered in Germany at the beginning of the 20e century, new studies carried out on his burial place have just revealed the ultimate secret... Artistic rendition of the Shaman o

• The body of Khaled Al-Asaad, the martyred archaeologist of Palmyra, was found in Syria

  Syrian authorities have said they have probably found the body of archaeologist Khaled Al-Asaad, who was executed in Palmyra in 2015 by Islamic State terrorists. The portrait of Khaled al-Asaad, former director of Syrian Antiquities, brutally murdered in August 2015, presented during a tribute cer

• Age-old relics discovered at site of future Stonehenge tunnel

  The first excavations carried out on the route of the future Stonehenge tunnel have brought to light traces of human activity, some dating back more than 7,000 years:tombs from the Bronze Age have notably been discovered by archaeologists. These announcements fuel the controversy around the project

• Was the treasure of the Guelphs, a German “national cultural asset”, acquired by spoliation?

  The Germany press review evokes the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States, which considers itself incompetent to decide on the status of the treasure of the Guelphs, a medieval ecclesiastical treasure bought by Germany in 1935 from a group of art dealers jews. Looted art or duly