Free Republic

The secrets of the Roman Empire's ancient and 'luxurious' harbour of Corinth have been revealed in a series of new underwater excavations. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of 'large-scale engineering' at the port of Lechaion, which was mostly destroyed in the 6th or early 7th century AD by a massive earthquake. Wooden foundations preserved so well they look new have been found at the site, as well as a host of Roman artefacts including fishing lines and hooks, wooden pulleys and ceramics imported from Tunisia and Turkey. These discoveries are helping researchers understand the infrastructure and layout of an ancient port...

...Ms Howard, otherwise known as 'Indiana Joan', volunteered on archeological digs for around 11 years with British and American archaeologists in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel from around 1967... Her collection includes neolithic axe heads more than 40,000 years old, pottery and weapons from the Phoenicians and the Romans, coins and seals and jewellery from the time of the pharaohs, and a precious funerary mask from Egypt. She said a favourite was a Roman dagger she found buried with the skeletal remains of its owner. Another was the wrappings of a mummy's remains and a cat claw wound...

...Experts said the well-equipped washrooms, dating back about 2,300 years, were a part of an imperial palace. They were once fitted with exquisite tiles and sophisticated sewage system. ... The remains of the luxurious facilities were discovered more than two metres below the ground on the archaeological site of the Ancient Liyang City near modern-day Xi'an, reported People's Daily Online, citing Xi'an Evening News.

Shuwaymis is an area about 370 km southwest of the city of Ha’il, near the town of al-Ha’it, in southern Ha’il province. The petroglyphs were known by local Bedouin for centuries, but only drawn to the attention of authorities by a local school headmaster, Mamdouh al Rasheedi, in 2001. Professor Saad Abdul Aziz al-Rashid, calls Shuwaymis “a unique and very important find.” The setting differs significantly from Jubbah in being surrounded by striking lava flows that impede travel, especially by camels and horses. Wadis are therefore important avenues for herders, and it is in these valleys that Neolithic and later...

Archaeologists have discovered an 'exceptional' treasure trove of precious objects at the Abbey of Cluny, a former Benedictine monastery in France's Saône-et-Loire More than 2,000 objects have been found, including silver deniers - or pennies - Islamic gold coins, a signet ring and several gold items. The discovery is the first time that gold coins from the Arab lands, silver French deniers and a signet ring have ever been found together in a single, enclosed complex. Researchers from the Universite Lumiere Lyon discovered the items as part of an archaeological dig at the Abbey of Cluny, which started in 2015....

Human remains buried by a pair of monks in China over a millennia ago are claimed to belong to Buddha. Believers say the 2,000 pieces of cremated bones belonged to Siddhartha Gautama, whose teachings became the foundations of the Buddhist religion. The cremated bones were found in an ceramic box with an inscription claiming they belong to Buddha, who is believed to have died 2,500 years ago. The box was found in Jingchuan County, China, alongside more than 260 Buddhist statues.

One day around 2,000 years ago, a Roman named Marcus Novius Tubula ordered an elaborate sundial, University of Cambridge researchers report after finding it intact two millennia later during excavation in the Roman town of Interamna Lirenas, near Monte Cassino, in Italy. Carved in limestone and 54 centimeters in width, the sundial's concave face was engraved with 11 hour lines intersecting three day curves. Thus the device could give indicate the season: the winter solstice, equinox and summer solstice, the archaeologists say. Its gnomon (pointer) was mostly gone, but a bit of it survived under lead fixing.

The structure, also known as Khufu's Pyramid, is the sole survivor of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. ... The scientists made the discovery using cosmic-ray imaging, recording the behaviour of subatomic particles called muons that penetrate the rock. Detectors were set up inside the pyramid, including in the so-called Queen's Chamber. This allowed the pyramid's insides to be seen without physically disturbing it, as the results showed empty space differently from rock. The presence of the space, dubbed the ScanPyramids Big Void, was confirmed using three different detection technologies over several months after first being spotted, the paper...

Freeper SunkenCiv used to regularly post fascinating and learned articles on archeologicy and history topics. But no posts from SunkenCiv that I can remember for many months. Does anyone here know what happened?

In Matthew 11, Jesus expresses his frustration with the people in his native region who, despite witnessing his mighty works, refused to repent and believe the Gospel. He singled out the residents of Bethsaida, the home town of Peter, Andrew and Philip. “Woe to you, Bethsaida!” he declared. “For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.” Other mentions of Bethsaida in the...

In 1943 and 1944, thousands of Polish soldiers were stationed in the Middle East to prepare for a possible Nazi invasion. Many soldiers collected artifacts during this period, mostly coins but also clay lamps, figurines, glass vessels and even clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions. Some of these finds were excavated by the soldiers themselves. Evidence of this can be seen in the Polish Cave at Tel Maresha, in Beit Guvrin National Park in central Israel, where a soldier evidently carved the Polish army emblem on a wall. Other parts of the collection were purchased at antiquities markets as souvenirs from...

A new settlement has been discovered by researchers from the Hakai Institute, University of Victoria and local First Nations members, and it changes everything scientists thought they knew about early civilization in North America. The 14,000-year-old village contains artifacts that date all the way back to the Ice Age and is believed to be one of the oldest human settlements ever uncovered in North America. It’s even suspected to be older than the Giza pyramids! As IFL Science reports, the discovery lines up with the oral history of the Heiltsuk Nation. For generations, stories have been handed down that tell...

One archeologist was quoted as saying that ISIS's act of “destruction has actually led us to a fantastic find.” A find that shows the Bible to be correct once again. ...snip So here's how it happened. In 2014, ISIS destroyed a site believed by many to be the burial site of Jonah in Mosul because...that's what ISIS does. They destroy. For some reason they went to town on the place, even using dynamite to destroy it. But a few weeks ago, the area was liberated by Iraqi forces from ISIS. But because the site was blown to smithereens, what was...

Israeli and French researchers to excavate ancient site of Kiryat Ye’arim, outside Jerusalem, one of the few unstudied biblical tels One of the few remaining unstudied major biblical sites, where according to the Bible the Ark of the Covenant was kept for two decades, will be excavated by archaeologists this summer for the first time. Organizers hope the anticipated study of Kiryat Ye’arim (also transliterated as Kiriath Jearim) will shed light on the site’s significance during the Iron Age, the period associated with the biblical account of King David. Kiryat Ye’arim is mentioned over a dozen times in the Bible...

The nature of the societies that filled the chasm left by the demise of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD remains one of the relative unknowns of history. While there has been focus on the ways in which famous kingdoms such as those of Anglo-Saxon England or Frankia emerged, there has been little study of how the societies that lived beyond the limits of the Roman world were similarly transformed in this period.

A vessel containing meat soup, prepared more than 2,000 years ago, was discovered during archaeological excavations in China's Henan province, authorities said on Thursday. The stew, containing beef bones and other ingredients, was discovered on Monday at an archaeological tomb site in Chengyang district near the city of Xinyang, Efe news reported.

2016 has revealed an amazing array of archaeological discoveries, pushing the boundaries of scientific research and our understanding of the past. The following list represents 10 of the most exciting announcements across the year. 1 – Bronze Age stilt houses unearthed in East Anglian Fens Archaeologists have revealed exceptionally well-preserved Bronze Age dwellings during a series of excavations throughout the year at Must Farm quarry in the East Anglian fens that is providing an extraordinary insight into domestic life 3,000 years ago.

Archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg have begun exploring a previously unknown ancient city at a village called Vlochós, five hours north of Athens. The archaeological remains are scattered on and around the Strongilovoúni hill on the great Thessalian plains and can be dated to several historical periods

Is this the first written mention of Jesus? 2,000-year-old lead tablets found in a remote cave ARE genuine, claim researchers The lead pages, bound like a ring binder, were first discovered in 2008 The tablets suggest that Christ was not starting his own religion, but restoring a thousand-year-old tradition from the time of King David They also suggest the God he worshipped was both male and female New testing said to confirm their age, say authors who have been campaigning since 2009 for the tablets to be recognised and protected An ancient set of lead tablets showing the earliest portrait...

Scientists in Italy’s Dolomite mountains have unveiled what they believe to be the world’s oldest snowshoe. Carbon-dating has shown that the rudimentary snow shoe, made of birch wood and twine, was made in the late Neolithic age, between 3,800 and 3,700 BC. “It is the oldest snowshoe in the world so far discovered, dating to around 5,800 years ago,” scientists said in a statement. It was discovered by chance at an altitude of 3,134 metres (10,280ft) on the Gurgler Eisjoch glacier, close to Italy’s border with Austria. The ice and freezing temperatures of the glacier had provided “ideal conditions for...