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Mysteries of Archeology and History, New York, NY (2025)

12/04/2025

A Stunning Taş Tepeler Discovery: 12,000-Year-Old Human Faces Emerge from Sefertepe

A stunning discovery at Sefertepe reveals 12,000-year-old carved human faces and a rare double-sided serpentinite bead, offering new insight into the Taş Tepeler world.

Archaeologists working in southeastern Türkiye have announced a set of discoveries that may significantly reshape our understanding of symbolic expression during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. At a briefing held at the Karahantepe Visitor Center, Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy revealed new findings from the fifth year of the Taş Tepeler project—an ambitious, multi-site research program spanning the ancient uplands of Şanlıurfa.

The new season’s results underscore that the Taş Tepeler landscape, which includes Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, Sayburç, Sefertepe, and several lesser-known mound settlements, represents one of the earliest interconnected cultural zones in the world. Rather than a cluster of isolated ritual sites, the region now appears to be a dense constellation of communities developing complex architectural forms and experimenting with visual language more than twelve millennia ago.

Among the most striking revelations came from Sefertepe, where researchers uncovered two carved human faces on neatly dressed stone blocks—one executed in high relief, the other in low relief. Their contrasting techniques, stylistic choices, and unusual proportions immediately set them apart from previously known representations at Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Sayburç. The subtle differences in cheek curvature, brow structure, and the treatment of the nose suggest that Sefertepe may have cultivated its own local sculptural idiom within the wider Taş Tepeler sphere.

12/03/2025

Rare Medieval Seal of Basel Cathedral Cantor Found From the Rhine in Basel

Rare, well-preserved medieval seal of Basel Cathedral cantor Rudolf Kraft discovered in the Rhine, alongside Roman coins and 19th-century bath remains.

A routine engineering project beneath the iconic Pfalz terrace in Basel has turned into an archaeological sensation. During underwater restoration work along the Rhine, researchers uncovered a remarkably well-preserved late medieval seal stamp belonging to Domkantor Rudolf Kraft—a discovery that is already being hailed as one of the most important finds in recent years.

he highlight of the discovery is a 4.8 cm brass seal stamp bearing the inscription «ECCE(LESIA). BASILIEN(SIS) + S(IGILLVM) RVDOLFI.CANTORI». Its emblem, marked with a distinctive boar spear, identifies it as the personal seal of Rudolf Kraft, who served as a Domkantor—a cathedral cantor of Basel—between 1296 and 1305.

In medieval church structures, a cathedral cantor held a prominent and respected position. Beyond leading liturgical singing, the cantor often oversaw the musical education of clergy, managed parts of the cathedral’s administrative life, and played a key role in organizing religious ceremonies. The office combined musical authority with institutional responsibility, making it central to the spiritual and cultural life of the medieval cathedral chapter.

Finding such a complete and beautifully preserved seal in an underwater context is exceptionally rare. The stamp not only represents a personal artifact from one of Basel’s medieval ecclesiastical officials but also provides a tangible connection to the institutional history of the Basler Domkapitel. Archaeologists consider the discovery a “stroke of luck” that sheds fresh light on the city’s religious and administrative past.

12/03/2025

Ancient DNA Reveals Living Descendants of China’s Mysterious Hanging Coffin Builders

A groundbreaking genomic study uncovers the true origins of China’s mysterious hanging coffins and reveals that the modern Bo people are direct descendants of their ancient builders.

For centuries, the wooden coffins suspended high on cliff faces across southern China have stirred awe, speculation, and mystery. Perched on vertical rock walls, hidden deep within misty river gorges or tucked into narrow caves, these “hanging coffins” represent one of Asia’s most striking and least understood mortuary traditions. Their builders vanished from the historical record centuries ago, leaving behind dramatic archaeological traces but few written clues. Now, a groundbreaking genomic study has illuminated the origins of this enigmatic custom—and revealed that the people behind it may not be lost after all.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and international collaborators have published the first large-scale genomic analysis of individuals associated with the hanging coffin tradition. Their findings point to a direct genetic link between ancient coffin builders and the modern Bo people of Yunnan, a small community long rumored in folklore to descend from the creators of the cliffside burials. For the first time, DNA evidence confirms that this oral memory reflects genuine ancestral continuity.

The study analyzed genomes from 11 ancient individuals recovered from hanging coffin sites in Yunnan and Guangxi, four individuals from log-coffin burials in northwestern Thailand, and 30 whole genomes from contemporary Bo villagers. Through comparative population genetics, the team uncovered a sweeping demographic story that stretches back thousands of years, tracing migration routes, cultural exchanges, and even unexpected long-distance interactions across East and Southeast Asia.

What emerges is a picture of deep-time movement and cultural resilience. The earliest origins of the hanging coffin custom, the researchers argue, lie among coastal Neolithic populations of southeastern China—communities ancestral to today’s Tai-Kadai and Austronesian language speakers. From roughly 3,000 years ago, this tradition spread inland along river corridors such as the Yangtze, eventually reaching the highlands of Yunnan and the rugged landscapes of northern Thailand. Despite occupying regions separated by mountains and thousands of kilometers, ancient coffin users across these sites share notable genetic and cultural threads.

12/02/2025

Radiocarbon Dating of Chatham Islands Waka Points to a Bold Polynesian Voyage in the 1400s

Rēkohu — internationally known as the Chatham Islands, located 800 kilometres east of mainland New Zealand in the South Pacific — has yielded one of its most consequential archaeological discoveries to date. Interim radiocarbon testing on a partially excavated waka suggests the canoe arrived on the remote archipelago between 1440 and 1470 AD, providing rare physical evidence of mid-15th-century Polynesian exploration reaching one of the most isolated island groups in the region.

In Polynesian cultures, a waka is a foundational symbol: a vessel of migration, ancestry and engineering. These ocean-going craft transported people, plants, tools and traditions across thousands of kilometres of open sea. Waka identities also anchor Māori genealogies, forming the basis of tribal origin narratives (waka whakapapa).

A waka found on Rēkohu therefore signals something far greater than the survival of timber — it is the residue of a deliberate voyage, a planned movement of people into a distant and challenging environment.

The waka was discovered by father and son Vincent and Nikau Dix, and analysis has been led by Dr Justin Maxwell of Sunrise Archaeology. While earlier work placed the initial settlement of Rēkohu between 1450 and 1650 AD, the new radiocarbon results sharply narrow this window.

Maxwell notes that environmental studies, including ancient peat analyses, show significant ecological changes only after 1500 AD, consistent with early human land use. The waka’s dating falls just before this threshold — a crucial point in reconstructing the first arrival timeline.

12/02/2025

Archaeologists Reveal Enigmatic Rituals and Extraordinary Discoveries at Europe’s Oldest Salt Production Center, Provadia–Solnitsata

Archaeologists working at the prehistoric complex of Provadia–Solnitsata in Northeastern Bulgaria have uncovered a series of striking new findings, shedding light on mysterious construction rituals, unusual offerings to household spirits, and sophisticated building techniques dating back more than 7,000 years. The discoveries, reported by Academician Vasil Nikolov, head of the excavation team, mark one of the most intriguing archaeological seasons at the site to date.

This year’s fieldwork focused heavily on the massive burial mound that sits atop the prehistoric settlement. Rising approximately 13 meters in height and spanning roughly 80 meters at its base, the mound dates from the early Roman period. According to Nikolov, it likely consists of several smaller mounds that merged into a single monumental structure over time.

Although the team has yet to uncover burial complexes inside the mound, the 2024 season laid essential groundwork for next year’s excavations. Archaeologists plan to investigate two buildings in the northwestern section—structures attributed to a Thracian aristocrat who settled atop the prehistoric remains. These buildings, partly destroyed during Late Antiquity, feature stone foundations and sun-dried brick walls, and appear to have been remarkably luxurious for the time, with light-colored plaster interiors.

Fragments of fine Hellenistic pottery and richly filled ritual pits suggest that the Thracian nobleman was a wealthy figure, possibly involved in the region’s ancient salt-production economy—a hallmark of Solnitsata for millennia.

12/01/2025

Radical New Theory Transforms a 3,500-Year-Old North American Mystery

A groundbreaking reinterpretation of Poverty Point—one of North America’s most iconic archaeological sites—is challenging long-held assumptions about the people who built its massive earthen monuments 3,500 years ago. New research from Washington University in St. Louis proposes that this vast complex in northeast Louisiana was not the work of a rigid hierarchy or a powerful ruling class, but rather a collaborative gathering place for egalitarian hunter-gatherer groups united by shared ritual obligations.

Located along the Mississippi River, Poverty Point is famed for its monumental earthworks, including concentric ridges and towering mounds that still dominate the landscape today. The scale of construction has always astonished researchers. Without horses, wheels, or agricultural infrastructure, ancient builders transported and shaped an estimated 140,000 dump-truck loads of soil—an extraordinary achievement that has puzzled archaeologists for decades.

For many years, scholars believed that only a stratified society—a chiefdom with leaders who could command labor—was capable of organizing such monumental work. This assumption was largely based on comparisons with the later Cahokia Mounds in present-day Illinois, where a clear political hierarchy existed more than a millennium after Poverty Point.

However, new studies led by anthropologist T.R. Kidder dispute this interpretation. Published in Southeastern Archaeology and co-authored with graduate researcher Olivia Baumgartel and archaeologist Seth Grooms, the research argues that Poverty Point was neither a permanent village nor a politically centralized hub. Instead, evidence points to a periodic gathering place where thousands of people came together to trade, build, celebrate, and participate in shared rituals.

According to Baumgartel, the emerging picture is one of a community defined not by social ranks but by collective purpose. “We believe these were egalitarian hunter-gatherers,” she notes. “There is no archaeological indication of chiefs directing their labor.”

12/01/2025

Archaeologists Find Severed Skull of Cantabrian Warrior in Palencia, Exhibited by Roman Troops as a War Trophy

When archaeologists began excavating the fortified Iron Age hilltop of La Loma in northern Spain, they expected to uncover weapons, fortifications, and everyday objects left behind after Rome’s push into Cantabrian territory. What they did not expect was one of the most revealing human remains ever found from the Cantabrian Wars—a fractured skull buried beneath collapsed stones, preserved at the exact spot where Rome’s northernmost campaign reached its violent climax.

The skull, discovered in 2020 and now analyzed in detail, belongs to a local Cantabrian man who fought during the Roman siege of La Loma between 26 and 25 BCE. Scientific evidence from radiocarbon dating, taphonomic analysis, and ancient DNA converges on a striking conclusion: this man’s head had been severed and publicly displayed by Roman soldiers as a symbol of victory before the fortifications were intentionally destroyed. The find offers an unusually vivid window into the tactics, symbolism, and human cost of Rome’s final conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

La Loma, located in the modern province of Palencia, was once a hillfort belonging to the Camarici, a Cantabrian people who resisted Roman rule fiercely. Historical sources describe the Cantabrian Wars, fought from 29 to 16 BCE, as a prolonged and exhausting effort by Emperor Augustus to subdue the last independent Celtic regions of western Europe. The geography of northern Iberia—mountainous, forested, and difficult for large armies to maneuver—made the campaigns notoriously challenging. Yet Augustus mobilized elite generals, multiple legions, and substantial resources to accomplish what had eluded Rome for generations.

Archaeology at La Loma shows how methodically the Roman military approached the task. Excavations uncovered a vast network of structures surrounding the indigenous hillfort: a main camp, secondary castella, and long defensive lines forming both contra- and circumvallation. These works reflected a full-scale siege. Evidence indicates that the final attack was concentrated against the northeastern entrance, where archaeologists recovered dense clusters of arrowheads, caligae nails, broken blades, and debris from hand-to-hand combat. The distribution of this material corresponds to intense fighting on the ramparts, eventually resulting in the Roman capture of the fort.

11/30/2025

Archaeologists Uncover a 2,300-Year-Old Fortress City in Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya Oasis

The windswept hills of Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya Oasis, long known as one of the cradles of human settlement in Central Asia, have yielded a major archaeological discovery: the remains of a fortified city that flourished between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD. A research team from the Samarkand Institute of Archaeology has identified the settlement on a prominent mound near the village of Pasttol in the Kamashi district, revealing new layers of urban history in a region where more than 1,500 archaeological sites have already been documented.

The site, locally known as Baburtepa, lies just south of Pasttol and occupies a strategic position along the historic Langar road, once a vital artery linking Bukhara and Khwarezm. The mound covers more than six hectares and rises 8 to 10 meters above the surrounding landscape—dimensions that immediately suggested to researchers that they were dealing with a major architectural complex rather than an isolated outpost.

Dr. Sanjar Abdurakhimov of the Samarkand Institute, one of the project’s lead archaeologists, reports that the structure was originally mapped by senior scholar Abdusabur Raimkulov but has never been excavated systematically until now. Fieldwork began in 2023, and by 2024 the team had opened trenches in three sectors, uncovering foundations of a rectangular fortress with clear evidence of sustained habitation.

According to Abdurakhimov, the central portion of the complex likely contained a palace or ceremonial building. Excavations revealed a large hall, several adjacent rooms, and fragments of vibrant wall paintings—rare survivals in the region’s archaeological record.

11/30/2025

Archaeologists uncover unique mosaic Patolli board in Guatemala, redefining ancient Maya gaming traditions

Excavations at the ancient Maya city of Naachtun, in northern Guatemala, have yielded a one-of-a-kind artifact: a patolli gameboard that, instead of being made by carving into plaster as all other known examples were, was created by inlaying hundreds of red ceramic fragments into fresh mortar like a mosaic. The find, published by Julien Hiquet and Rémi Méreuze of the French CNRS in Latin American Antiquity (2025), throws new light on how the Maya incorporated games into their architectural spaces and daily life.

Naachtun was a powerful Classic period (ca. CE 250–900) city situated between Tikal and Calakmul. Excavations in one of its grand residential compounds, Group 6L13, uncovered the mosaic board embedded in the floor of Structure 6L-19. The surrounding architecture indicates that this building once belonged to a wealthy or influential household, perhaps even to a local administrative center.

The board, found beneath later construction and partly obscured by a wall, clearly predates the room’s final phase. Unlike the roughly scratched patolli boards documented elsewhere across the Maya lowlands, this one was built intentionally into the flooring, indicating that it was part of the structure’s original design.

The patolli consists of tiny tesserae—1–3 cm sherds of red and orange pottery—set in a rectangular layout crossed by a central axis, the traditional Mesoamerican board pattern. A digitized reconstruction shows that the board probably measured about 80 × 110 cm, with close to 478 tesserae arranged in some 45 squares. Many fragments came from worn household vessels, including Early Classic types such as Dos Hermanos Red and Aguila Orange.

11/29/2025

Early medieval burials in Bavaria reveal traces of migration, conflict, and fading Roman power

Archaeologists in Bad Füssing, a town in Bavaria’s Passau district, have uncovered a story far larger than the routine rescue excavation they expected in 2021. What at first seemed like a standard early medieval cemetery soon turned out to be a very rare window into life, conflict, and movement along the Inn Valley when Roman authority was fading from the region.

The team initially dated the newly discovered burial ground—around 90 graves in total—to the 6th and 7th centuries CE, the era traditionally associated with the rise of the early Bavarians. One burial instantly drew attention: a richly furnished grave belonging to a woman whose array of jewelry and costly accessories led researchers to nickname her the “Bavarian princess.” Her restored grave goods, including fine metalwork and imported materials, reflect the prestige enjoyed by certain individuals during this period.

Yet the deeper the archaeologists looked, the more the narrative shifted. Several burials nearby contained objects that simply did not match the expected timeframe. Glass beakers with pointed bases, early ceramic vessels, and older styles of garment clasps suggested a horizon well before the time of the so-called princess. To settle the question, researchers carried out radiocarbon dating on sixteen graves selected for closer study. The results overturned the initial assumption: the cemetery was already in use by the middle of the 5th century, about 120 years earlier than the cemetery’s most famous burial.

11/29/2025

A 2,000-Year-Old Roman Inkwell Found in Portugal Contains a Technological Recipe That Shouldn’t Exist

A 2,000-year-old Roman inkwell found in Conimbriga reveals an advanced mixed-ink formula, challenging what we know about ancient writing technology and Roman innovation.

The rediscovery of a modest bronze cylinder in Conimbriga, one of Portugal’s best-preserved Roman cities, has turned into one of the most significant breakthroughs in the study of ancient writing. What initially appeared to be a routine inkwell has revealed something far more consequential: microscopic traces of a sophisticated, multi-ingredient ink that upends long-held assumptions about how Romans wrote, produced pigments, and shared technological knowledge across the Empire.

Archaeologists and chemists working together have now demonstrated that the tiny object—classified as a Biebrich-type inkwell from the early 1st century CE—contained an unusually complex “mixed ink,” combining soot, bone black, iron-gall components, wax, and animal-based binders. For a province situated at the far western edge of Roman rule, this level of technical refinement is unexpectedly advanced. And it forces a re-evaluation of how quickly specialist knowledge moved between major administrative centers, frontier zones, and provincial towns.

The inkwell emerged from construction layers related to Conimbriga’s late Roman fortification wall—specifically from deposits associated with the demolition of the city’s amphitheater. The stratigraphy suggests the object slipped from a bag or case during large-scale public works, likely belonging to someone whose daily responsibilities included writing: an architect, surveyor, military scribe, or municipal administrator.

Typological study, however, points to an earlier origin. Biebrich-type inkwells are typically dated to the first half of the 1st century CE and are most common in northern Italy and along the Rhine frontier, where they appear in military and engineering contexts. Their presence so far west in Lusitania indicates that mobility—of tools, of people, of knowledge—was more dynamic than previously assumed.

At 94.3 grams, the inkwell is made from a bronze alloy of copper, tin, and a strikingly high percentage of lead. The lead improved molten metal fluidity, enabling the thin, regular walls and sharply defined lathe-cut grooves visible on the vessel’s exterior. This technical precision places the piece among the higher-quality writing instruments of the period.

11/28/2025

Unprecedented 3,200-Year-Old Fortress Discovered at 611 Meters Above Sea Level in Croatia

A monumental Bronze Age fortress has been uncovered at the summit of Papuk Mountain in northeastern Croatia, reshaping our understanding of prehistoric settlement, defense, and social organization in the Balkans. The discovery was made at a site known as Gradina, located 611 meters above sea level, where a team of archaeologists led by Professor Hrvoje Potrebica from the University of Zagreb has revealed an unexpectedly sophisticated fortification system dating to the Late Bronze Age.

What sets the Gradina fortress apart is its complex, three-layered defensive system. Archaeologists identified an inner core of tamped earth, surrounded by a massive framework made of large stone blocks, and finally an outer shell of compacted soil. This multi-part design demonstrates exceptional engineering skill for its time. In certain sections, the inner surface of the rampart stands two meters high, while the exterior side reaches an imposing seven to eight meters, thanks to the steep natural incline of the mountain slope.

Even more remarkable is the discovery of a second wall inside the exterior fortification. This inner wall, built using dry-stone masonry without mortar, exceeds 1.5 meters in thickness. According to the excavation team, such a structure is highly unusual for Bronze Age settlements in this part of Europe. Its durability and scale indicate that the builders were not only technically skilled but also socially organized and resource-rich.

The Gradina site spans approximately four hectares, making it far larger than an isolated defensive lookout or simple hillfort. The scale suggests a planned settlement, likely supporting a community with a defined social structure and possibly even political influence over the surrounding region. Archaeologists have also uncovered traces of dwellings within the walls, along with fragments of pottery. These everyday artifacts provide a glimpse into the lives of the people who inhabited the stronghold, showing that it was not merely a refuge during conflict but a long-term residential space.

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