Archaeology - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

1214 Items Tagged

Archaeology

Share Tweet
Carved and painted ostrich egg showing Greek soldiers.
museums

When Ostrich Eggshells Were Luxury Goods

Be careful when you collect them.
Samir S. Patel April 11, 2017
A Wharram Percy bone showing knife cuts.
zombies

Found: First Evidence in England of Burning Dead Bodies to Keep Them From Rising

In medieval times, belief in revenants was widespread.
Sarah Laskow April 3, 2017
The excavation site on the Ness of Brodgar.
Stenness, Scotland

Ness of Brodgar

The discovery of this Neolithic settlement, which contained a Stone Age "cathedral," threw archaeologists for a loop.
Ōyu Stone Circles
Kazuno, Japan

Ōyu Stone Circles

Constructed thousands of years ago, these stone circles offer incredible insight into the lives of the people who built them.
Head of the bust, pulled from the area of King Ramses II's temple, at the ancient site of Heliopolis.
temples

Found: A Colossal Statue of Ramses II Hiding Under a Cairo Street

Egypt's antiquities ministry is calling it one of the most important archaeological finds ever.
Sarah Laskow March 10, 2017
Paphos, Cyprus

The Mosaics of Paphos

The ancient mosaics here are considered among the finest in the world, and serve as a stunning record of Greco-Roman daily life.
Not the actual fence.
rites and rituals

Found: Mysterious, Maze-Like Neolithic Fences

They enclosed a huge area, but for what purpose?
Sarah Laskow February 27, 2017
archaeology

A 17th-Century French Couple Traded Hearts Before Being Buried

Love beyond the grave.
Cara Giaimo February 14, 2017
Researchers believes these pebbles were purposefully broken.
caves

Found: Tiny Pebbles Ritually 'Killed' by Paleolithic People

They used them to color a dead body then broke them in half.
Sarah Laskow February 14, 2017
One blank scrolls was discovered.
archaeology

Archaeologists Discover a 12th Cave Connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls

But no new texts.
Sarah Laskow February 9, 2017
Exploring the ship's ribs.
shipwrecks

Found: A 17th-Century Wreck That Looks Like Sweden’s Most Famous Warship

The Blekinge was launched in 1682 and sunk in 1713.
Sarah Laskow February 6, 2017
East Jerusalem, Israel

Western Wall Tunnel

Descend 2,030 years into the past in an ancient tunnel built to support Jerusalem's most famous wall.
An artist imagines a giant otter in its natural habitat.
animals

Found: The Bones of a Giant Otter

This 110-pound otter also had the teeth of a badger.
Sarah Laskow January 23, 2017
The Colosseum still has secrets.
medieval

Found: A Medieval Horse Head Hidden in the Colosseum

The skull dates back to the 12th or 13th century.
Sarah Laskow January 19, 2017
Templos de dos torres gemelas.
Guatemala

Mixco Viejo (Jilotepeque Viejo)

A ruined Maya city that suffered a years-long case of mistaken identity.
Caves at Crewell Crags
Derbyshire, England

Ice Age Cave Dwellings at Creswell Crags

A gorge full of caverns where early humans lived alongside cave hyenas, giant mammoths and wooly rhinoceroses.
An ancient đàn đá at the Vietnamese Institute of Musicology in Hanoi.
geology

Mysterious Stone Instruments Keep Being Discovered in Vietnam

The country has embraced dàn đá', but no one is quite sure of its exact history.
Cara Giaimo January 13, 2017
The Astoria was hiding historic ketchup underneath its floors.
food

Found: Historic Ketchup, Buried Under a Music Venue for More Than a Century

Also, marmalade, pickle, and mustard jars.
Sarah Laskow January 10, 2017