Vesuvius Turned One Victim’s Brain to Glass
Five years ago Italian researchers published a study on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. that detailed how one victim of the blast, a male presumed to be…
Vesuvius Erupted, but When Exactly?
During the first 17 hours, Dr. Scarpati said, Pompeii was blanketed with pumice lapilli from the column, which fluctuated like a giant fountain through 12 distinct pulses. At 2 p.m.,…
Early Humans Thrived in Rainforests
For generations, scientists looked to the East African savanna as the birthplace of our species. But recently some researchers have put forward a different history: Homo sapiens evolved across the…
Met Museum Returning Ancient Bronze Thought Stolen from Greek Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is returning to Greece the bronze head of a griffin, the mythological creature, after determining that the artifact from the 7th century B.C. was likely…
Archaeologists Find a Pharoah’s Tomb, the First Since King Tut, Egypt Says
Archaeologists have found a pharaoh’s tomb in an Egyptian valley west of Luxor, Egypt’s ministry of antiquities announced this week, in what officials called the first excavation of a royal…
A Boneyard Along the Thames River Reveals London’s Ancient Burials
The banks of the Thames River have hosted human settlements for thousands of years, from Neolithic huts to the soaring skyscrapers of London. Evidence of bygone civilizations has been steadily…
Cleveland Museum to Return Prized Bronze Thought Looted From Turkey
Towering bronzes depicting emperors once graced an ancient shrine in a region of what is now Turkey that was once part of Rome’s extended empire. Installed between around A.D. 50…
Remnants of a Roman Basilica Are Found Under a London Office Building
Archaeologists have unearthed the foundations of London’s first public building. Excavating under the basement of a commercial building in the city’s financial district, they encountered what they believe are the…
Ancient DNA Points to Origins of Indo-European Language
In 1786, a British judge named William Jones noticed striking similarities between certain words in languages, such as Sanskrit and Latin, whose speakers were separated by thousands of miles. The…
Deciphering Ancient Indus Valley Script Could Earn You $1 Million
It is a riddle that has confounded scholars for over a century. And now it carries a handsome cash prize: $1 million for anyone who can decipher the script of…