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High-resolution imaging of tattoos found on a 2,500 year old Siberian "ice mummy" have revealed decorations that a modern tattooist would find challenging to produce, according to researchers. The intricate tattoos of leopards, a stag, a rooster, and a mythical half-lion and half-eagle creature on the woman's body shed light on an ancient warrior culture. Archaeologists worked with a tattooist, who reproduces ancient skin decorations on his own body, to understand how exactly they were made. The tattooed woman, aged about 50, was from the nomadic horse-riding Pazyryk people who lived on the vast steppe between China and Europe. Credit:...

Scientists diving to astounding depths in two oceanic trenches in the northwest Pacific have discovered thriving communities of marine creatures. Amazingly, these trenches lie at depths greater than the height of Mount Everest, Earth's tallest peak. The deepest one reaches 9,533 metres (31,276 feet) below the ocean surface in the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench. This is almost 25 per cent deeper than such animals had previously been documented anywhere. While most animals get their sustenance by eating organic matter, the researchers were surprised to discover that these creatures get their energy from chemicals. This is a process known as chemosynthesis.

During the Neolithic Revolution, the development of agriculture led to an epic shift in the way human societies lived. As agricultural technology spread out from the Near East, traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles diminished in favor of more sedentary farming communities. This transition was usually accompanied by a dramatic shift in diet. However, according to a statement released by the University of York, this was not necessarily the case in Japan. Agriculture, rice, and millet were introduced to the Japanese islands from the Korean Peninsula around 3,000 years ago. Research conducted by archaeologists from the University of York, the University of Cambridge,...

Russo-Japanese War, (1904–05), military conflict in which a victorious Japan forced Russia to abandon its expansionist policy in East Asia, thereby becoming the first Asian power in modern times to defeat a European power. ...In the 1850s, Russian towns and settlements appeared along the left bank of the Amur (Heilong) River. The Chinese government made repeated protests but, because of its ongoing struggle against Great Britain and France and the internal turmoil of the Taiping Rebellion, was unable to resist Russian pressure. Finally, by the Treaty of Aigun (1858, confirmed by the Beijing Convention, 1860), China ceded to Russia all...

Russian Revolution of 1905, uprising that was instrumental in convincing Tsar Nicholas II to attempt the transformation of the Russian government from an autocracy into a constitutional monarchy. For several years before 1905 and especially after the humiliating Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), diverse social groups demonstrated their discontent with the Russian social and political system. Their protests ranged from liberal rhetoric to strikes and included student riots and terrorist assassinations. These efforts, coordinated by the Union of Liberation, culminated in the massacre of peaceful demonstrators in the square before the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, on Bloody Sunday (January 9 [January 22,...

There is a statue of Harold Bray on the corner of Military and First streets in Benicia. The 7-foot-tall statue — created by Matt Glenn — shows smiling Bray as a teenager in his U.S. Navy uniform. “I wanted to show the sparkle in his eye as if he was saying, ‘Everything is going to be OK,'” said Glenn at the statue’s unveiling in 2023. Eighty years later everything is OK for the statue’s subject, who calls himself “The luckiest man in the world.” But on July 30, 1945, Harold Bray was anything but lucky. Bray was one of 317...

The oldest song to have survived in its entirety is a first-century AD Greek tune known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.” The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found in 1883 engraved on a pillar (a stele) from the Hellenistic town of Tralles near present-day Aydın, Turkey, not far from Ephesus. Although usually referred to as an epitaph, experts say that it is possible that it does not mark a tomb, but was merely a monument erected by Seikilos himself to commemorate his skill. “I am a tombstone, an image,”...

As Will Ferrell’s character Ron Burgundy said in the 2004 movie “Anchorman”: “Leave the mothers out of this. That’s not necessary.” Antifa apparently didn’t get the memo, and went after a monument dedicated to the mother of our first president, George Washington, over the weekend. Leftists have been attempting to tear down monuments and rewrite history for years. But they are no longer satisfied with attacking great historical figures. They now feel the need to turn their attention toward the mother of one of those historical figures. How despicable. The Mary Washington Monument in Virginia was vandalized Saturday night. The...

Selinunte - ancient Selinus - was one of the wealthiest Greek colonies on Sicily. Before its sudden destruction by Carthage, the city built a series of temples, which survive today as some of the Mediterranean's most impressive ruins. Selinunte: More Temples than Athens | 7:20 Scenic Routes to the Past | 42.1K subscribers | 10,799 views | July 25, 2025 0:00 Introduction 1:18 Temple E 2:16 Temple F 3:01 Temple G 4:43 Acropolis 5:26 Temple C 6:21 Temple D

The Irish Times reports that archaeologists from the University of Galway have uncovered a fortress belonging to a noble Medieval family near the shores of Galway Bay. Since preliminary investigation the 1940s, Rathgurreen Ringfort in Maree was suspected of being a high-status settlement during the Middle Ages, which recent archaeological work confirmed, but the team also found evidence that the site may be 1,000 older than previously expected. The 330-foot diameter fort may have been founded as early as the Iron Age in fifth century a.d., before it grew into a major medieval site centuries later and was the seat...

The Deccan Chronicle reports that the Archaeological Survey of India recently recovered an important historical document from a graveyard in Kodad, Telangana, that provides new insight into the genealogy of an important ancient Indian ruling family. Inscribed on three copper plates, the text was written in both the Sanskrit and Telugu languages. According to epigraphy experts, the document is dated to March 6, a.d. 918, the coronation day of Vengi Chalukya King Vikramaditya II. The inscription records that during the ceremony, Vikramaditya II generously granted the village of Kovuru to a woman named Lokamamba, the widow of Gunda II, who...

Mysterious Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions may point to Moses and Joseph as historical figures, sparking global scholarly controversy. A groundbreaking proto-thesis by independent scholar Michael S. Bar-Ron suggests exactly that. After eight years of rigorous epigraphic analysis, Bar-Ron argues that two inscriptions found at Serabit el-Khadim, an ancient turquoise mining site on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, contain the Semitic phrase “This is from MŠ” — a possible early rendering of the name Moses (Moshe). The inscriptions, dated to Egypt’s late 12th Dynasty during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, are written in Proto-Sinaitic, considered one of the world’s earliest alphabetic scripts. According to...

Last year, when winter storms revealed a previously-unknown shipwreck on a beach on Sanday Island, one of the Orkney Islands, it launched an investigation by archaeologists and historians to uncover the mysterious vessel's identity. The Herald Scotland reports that researchers from Wessex Archaeology, Dendrochronicle, Historic Environment Scotland, and other local institutions recently tracked down the ship's origins, believing the wreck to be that of the Earl of Chatham, a 500-ton whaling ship that sank in March 1788. Before it was known by that name, however, it was formerly the HMS Hind, a ship with many years of service in the...

While America grapples with its own dark past of slavery, a massive chapter of history gets buried by academics who fixate on Western guilt. Justin Marozzi’s eye-opening book, Captives and Companions, shines a light on the Islamic world’s slave trade, spanning over a millennium with unmatched scale and savagery. This isn’t ancient news, but it is a wake-up call for historians. Marozzi estimates that from the 7th century to the 20th, up to 17 million Africans and Europeans were enslaved in Muslim lands, dwarfing the transatlantic trade’s 11-15 million.

...a 4,400-year-old ancient Egyptian tomb... which belonged to a previously unknown prince called Userefre, features a large pink granite 'false door' -- the largest ever discovered in Egypt.The door, which measures 4.5 metres high and 1.15 metres wide (15ft by 4ft) resembles a functional door but does not actually open...The door is decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing Prince Userefre's impressive titles, including 'Hereditary Prince, Governor of the Buto and Nekhbet Regions, Royal Scribe, Minister, Judge, and Chanting Priest.'The royal, who also goes by Prince Waser-If-Re, according to the inscriptions, was the son of King Userkaf, who was the founder of...

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, Israeli researchers have unearthed a 5,500-year-old flint blade workshop near Kiryat Gat, southern Israel—the first of its kind ever found in the region. Announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Early Bronze Age site sheds new light on the technological ingenuity and social complexity of ancient Canaanite civilization.The excavation, carried out at the Naḥal Qomem site—also referred to as Gat-Govrin or Zeita—revealed a full-scale production center where highly skilled craftsmen manufactured long, razor-sharp flint blades. This prehistoric workshop marks a major milestone in understanding the early development of urban society and professional specialization in...

Modern reconstruction of the Houfeng Didong Yi. The Chinese Museum Calgary Alberta/Wikimedia Commons ======================================================================== Chinese scientists are exploring the possibility of recreating a modern, more sophisticated version of an ancient earthquake sensor allegedly invented nearly 2,000 years ago. The original, called the Houfeng Didong Yi, was, according to Chinese lore, invented in 132 AD by the famous Chinese polymath Zhang Heng. This is widely considered the world’s first dedicated seismoscope (earthquake detector). However, claims around the existence of this device have been questioned in recent years, with many citing that it was too advanced for the time. The Houfeng Didong...

Michael & Rupert review the prehistoric archaeology news in their own inimitable way and invite you to join in with your own thoughts and questions as they chat about what's been going on in the world of prehistory research. New Prehistoric Archaeology Discoveries May 15TH 2025 - Live Show | 1:51:27 The Prehistory Guys | 101K subscribers | 14,773 views | Streamed live on May 15, 2025

The ancient city of Tripolis, near the town of Baldun, is one of the best-preserved ancient sites in western Anatolia. Over the past 13 years, archaeologists from Pamukkale University have been investigating the city, and have uncovered numerous Roman and Byzantine era ruins, including monumental fountains, a 1,500-year-old church, and colorful mosaics. Türkiye Today reports that the team recently uncovered a luxurious 1,600-year-old villa that is one of the most significant properties yet uncovered. Spreading across 16,000 square feet, the opulent residence contains vibrant frescoes, spacious halls, and a large colonnaded inner courtyard. The highlight of the sprawling estate was...

When the well-preserved body of the famous Ötzi the Iceman was recovered from the ice in the Austrian-Italian Alps in 1991, his remains provided archaeologists with a wealth of information about life in Europe more than 5,000 years ago. Surprisingly, sequencing of his genome indicated that he shared a very high proportion of his ancestry with early farmers who lived in Anatolia. Science News Today reports that a groundbreaking new study analyzed the DNA of 47 other individuals who lived alongside Ötzi in the Austrian Tyrol between 6400 and 1300 b.c. to determine if they shared genomic similarities. The research...