For a long time, archaeologists have wondered how the Mycenaean civilization could have produced the countless pottery found throughout the Mediterranean world. According to a recent study, this would be thanks to the systematic use of lignite as fuel. A surprising explanation, which indicates that
An extensive genomic analysis has revealed the existence in Great Britain of an unknown migratory wave that came from France during the Bronze Age. A ribcage like wings... This Bronze Age individual unearthed at the archaeological site of Cliffs End Farm, in Kent, could have been part of the impor
A very rare wooden sculpture dating from Roman times has just been found in the London outback. A treasure that adds to the long list of discoveries made in recent years on the huge construction site of a new high-speed train line, the HS2. The wooden statue, carved from a single piece of wood, is
Nearly 5000 years ago, in Mesopotamia, humans were at war with donkeys. But the identity of the most illustrious of them remained unknown...until the work of French researchers. Tomb of horses from Umm-El-Marra (Syria). Several centuries before the advent of the horse in the Fertile Crescent, hum
Buried in the remains of a Bronze Age village, itself located in the desert of Oman, an enigmatic board game engraved on a stone has delighted archaeologists. About 4,000 years old, the game, engraved on a block of stone, has 13 squares in the center of which is a notch. There are archaeological
It is a series of gold and silver tubes found at the end of the 19th century in a famous tomb in the Caucasus. Their function remained unknown, but we have just understood that they would be large straws allowing, in the Bronze Age, to collectively drink beer. Until now, the rods kept in the Hermita
A blue glass Roman bowl has been discovered in a spectacular state of preservation by archaeologists carrying out preventive excavations at a housing site in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It could be 1,800 years old. The bowl discovered among tombs and remains of Roman habitation will probably join a
With the Gribshunden , the first caravel in Northern Europe, King Hans Ist of Denmark displayed vast naval ambitions. But in 1495, an explosion destroyed his flagship off Sweden. The course of history was probably changed, even if the fascination exerted by this unique building continues to be exerc
Australian researchers said on Thursday February 3, 2022 they had found the wreckage of Captain James Cooks famous ship, the Endeavour, which sank off the coast of the US state of Rhode Island more than two hundred years ago. An announcement described by some as premature. A replica of Captain Jam
How were the Nazca lines drawn? , asks a reader on our Facebook page. This is our Question of the Week. One of the famous Nazca geoglyphs. How were the Nazca lines drawn? , asks the editorial staff of Sciences et Avenir Louis Mongrain on our Facebook page. This is our Question of the Week. Thank
On the prehistoric site of Stonehenge, in England, archaeologist Susan Greaney recounts the fates of the hundreds of people who came to build this solar temple 4,500 years ago. An interconnected Europe that will unveil its mysteries in an exhibition at the British Museum. The prehistoric site of S
Excavations at the site of an ancient stalag in Poland have unearthed dozens of mass graves. To identify the first 64 bodies found, a team of researchers will combine genetic analysis and the use of archives. Most of them are soldiers of the Red Army, who probably died of typhus as soon as they arri
The chalk drum unearthed in England and which, despite its name, had no musical vocation, dates from the Stonehenge period. It was accompanied by a chalk ball and a needle made from polished bone. Photo published on February 10, 2022 by the British Museum, London, shows a 5,000-year-old chalk drum
What could the spectacular presence of a decapitated horse in a Merovingian necropolis in southern Germany mean? She is no doubt intended to signal the high rank of her master, a warrior who must also have been a landowner. Burial of a decapitated horse, found in the Merovingian necropolis of Knit
Used for almost 1000 years, the Aswan necropolis in southern Egypt is a gold mine for archaeologists. Because this cemetery at the gates of Africa was the last resting place of cosmopolitan populations, Egyptians, Nubians, Persians, Greek soldiers and even Judean mercenaries. Report from our special
For two years in Cambodia, the former capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor, has not seen any tourists due to a pandemic. An undeniable loss of income for the third economic pillar of the country, but a boon for the conservation and preservation of the sacred temples concentrated in this unique site c
Post-mortem manipulations of human bodies are documented in many parts of the world. Recent work in the Chincha Valley, Peru, looks back on 200 cases of human vertebrae strung on reed stems. An act that could reflect a reaction to the destruction of the colonial period. Examples of vertebra skewe
A very strange figurine, undoubtedly representing a naked woman, was discovered in northeastern Germany, on the site of the oldest European battlefield. What could have been the function of this peaceful statuette made nearly 2,700 years ago, 600 years after the violent conflict that marked the Toll
The statue of the famous pharaoh Ramses II will be illuminated this Tuesday, February 22, 2022, a phenomenon that only occurs twice a year. Like every February 22, during an exceptional alignment, the rays of the sun envelop the statue of the sovereign Ramses II, in the temple of Abu Simbel, in so
After several decades of silence, an ancient printing press with hieroglyphs unique in Egypt has come back to life in the heart of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (IFAO), in Cairo. A workshop visited by Sciences et Avenir. The last plate used in 1990 by the former IFAO printing house,
Doue-la-Fontaine is a commune in the department of Maine-et-Loire located southeast of Angers and southwest of Saumur. The territory has been occupied since the Neolithic era and is at the crossroads of several Roman roads, in particular the Angers-Poitiers road. In Carolingian times, Doué belonged
In the Turkish province of Eskisehir there is a city today called Yazilikaya (literally engraved rock ), but also known as the City of Midas . It is known to have been built by the Phrygians sometime between the 8th and 7th centuries BC, although archaeologists suspect it may be much older. The most
Researchers at University College London (UCL) have solved an important piece of the puzzle that constitutes the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism, a hand-operated mechanical device used to predict astronomical events. Known by many as the worlds first analog
Examining colored fabrics from the Timna Valley - a former copper-producing district in southern Israel - in a study that has lasted several years, researchers were surprised to find remnants of fabric, a tassel and wool fibers dyed with royal purple. Direct radiocarbon dating confirms that the fin