This year had no shortage of archaeological discoveries, and ARTnews reported on the most notable and exciting of them.
While there were some new finds like the oldest blue pigment discovered in Europe, a rare hieroglyphic decree identified in Egypt, and an elite Moche residence unearthed in Northern Peru, a number of archaeological studies took a deeper dive into previously known sites and artifacts like the excavations at England’s Palace of Westminster, a digital reconstruction of Pompeiian homes, and AI analyses of the Dead Sea and Herculaneum scrolls.
Below is a look at the 20 archaeological finds that are likely to have an impact on our understanding of human history for years to come.
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6,000-Year-Old Artifacts Discovered Below The Palace of Westminster
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Evidence of human activity dating back almost 6,000 years has been discovered by archaeologists working at the Palace of Westminster in England. In November, experts unearthed more than 60 struck flint flakes, including one worked tool, likely dating to the late Mesolithic or early Neolithic period (around 4300 BCE). They were previously undisturbed in sand deposits that once formed part of Thorney Island, where prehistoric communities are believed to have fished, hunted, and gathered food. These finds offer a closer look at early human life in present-day central London.
Additionally found were a Medieval leather boot, shoe soles, and straps; fragments of decorated clay tobacco pipes dating to the reconstruction of the Palace of Westminster after the 1834 fire; a Roman altar fragment believed to be over 2000 years old; a lead flowering heart badge from the 14th to 15th century; a 19th-century five-pint beer jug inscribed with “Geo Painter”, a tavern owner of the historic Ship and Turtle Tavern in London’s Leadenhall area; and decorated Medieval Westminster floor tile.
In August, archaeologists also discovered substantial remains of the Medieval Lesser Hall, a two-story dining space dating back to 1167.
MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), commissioned by the Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, has been working at the site in phases as part of a three-year program led by the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority.
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573 Stone Forts Found in Northwest China
Image Credit: Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
Researchers in northern China uncovered a network of 573 stone forts, the earliest of which date to approximately 2800 BCE, in the mountains near Yulin, in China’s Shaanxi province. Since the structures were built over several thousand years, they show the evolution of how fortified communities were constructed in ancient China. The oldest date from the Yangshao period, a time when the first agricultural villages were forming in present-day China, and earlier than previously thought.
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Ancient Artifacts Help Archaeologists Determine When Egyptian Pharaoh Ruled
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Two scholars used radiocarbon dating to determine when Pharaoh Nebpehtire Ahmose reigned over Egypt. The pair conducted analyses on artifacts associated with Ahmose from collections at the British Museum and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology at University College, London, and seeds and branches that were charred in the Thera-Santorini volcanic eruption, before comparing the results. According to their analysis, the Thera-Santorini eruption occurred 60 to 90 years earlier than previously thought and Pharaoh Ahmose ascended the throne in the second half of the 16th century BCE. This research marks the first radiocarbon dating comparison between these two timelines.
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Egyptian Ceramic Vessel Found in Pompeiian Canteen
Image Credit: Archeological Park of Pompeii.
A nearly 2,000-year-old ceramic vessel from Egypt has been found in Pompeii, the Roman city buried beneath volcanic ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. The vessel is a bucket-shaped container called a situla that was uncovered during the conservation of the Thermopolium of Regio V, a fast-food restaurant in a working- and middle-class area of the city where Romans could purchase drinks and hot meals.
This particular thermopolium, which was fully excavated and restored in 2020, is well-preserved and notable for its painted depictions of birds and other animals that adorn its walls. Decorated with reliefs of hunting scenes in the Egyptian style, the faience or self-glazing ceramic pot, typical of those produced in Alexandria under Roman rule, was considered a luxury item that underscores the Greco-Roman world’s integration of Egyptian cultural and religious forms.
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Peru’s ‘Band of Holes’ May Have Been an Ancient Marketplace
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikimedia
Speaking of eateries, new research suggests another kind of marketplace may have also been popular among the Inca. The “Band of Holes,” a nearly one mile stretch of more than 5,000 circular depressions carved into the desert hills of Peru’s Pisco Valley, may have functioned as a large pre-Inca trading center that was later adapted by the Inca Empire into a sophisticated accounting system. Using high-resolution drone mapping and soil analysis, archaeologists identified geometric patterns in the holes that mirror the structure of khipus, knotted-string recording devices that the Inca used to track goods and tribute. Soil samples revealed traces of maize and reeds—materials used in food and weaving—indicating the holes once held plant products. Experts believe this points to a pre-Hispanic marketplace frequented by traders, farmers, and fisherfolk, who exchanged regional goods such as corn and cotton. The is the most detailed scientific study of Monte Sierpe since the 1930s.
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King Tut’s Tomb Is at Risk of Collapse
Image Credit: Courtesy Sayed Hemeda, Nature
The tomb of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamen, located in the Valley of the Kings, has experienced instability and damage from flash flooding and major faults that has worsened over time. One expert outlined methods for reinforcing the underground tomb using innovative technology. The tomb sits in a low-lying position in the valley’s floor that has made it more vulnerable to geostatic loading from overhead rocks and rock bursts. A prominent fault line, along which earthquakes can reach a magnitude 6 on the Richter scale, also runs through the tomb. Water damage from recent flash floods due to climate change has caused further damage to the tomb’s support pillars and walls, along with changing moisture levels. The study suggests “reducing moisture fluctuations” throughout the tomb to further stabilize the structure and reduce further deterioration “which can be achieved by limiting air circulation inside and around the tomb”, as well as implementing “a well-focused strengthening and retrofitting program” to address further concerns. This research can be applied to help with preservation efforts at other notable sites suffering from similar or related issues.
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Pompeii Was Once Home to Lavish Villas with Towers for Elite Citizens
Image Credit: Courtesy Pompeii Reset
Three-dimensional reconstructions of Pompeii revealed that the ancient Roman city was once host to multilevel buildings that were more impressive than previously realized. The project used the House of Thiasus in the Regio IX district in Insula 10 as a case study. The exquisite residential-commercial complex was named for the sacred procession of Dionysus found in the megalography, or large-scale paintings that were uncovered in its banquet hall. Until now, it has been a long-held misconception that upper floors were used as rental units or quarters for enslaved people. These reconstructions, however, not only demonstrate that the Pompeiian elite had a high level of wealth and power but also reveal that these structures may have served as precursors to later Medieval structures found in Italian cities like Verona, Siena, and Bologna.
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Easter Island Moai Statues Were Once “Walked” to Their Platforms
Image Credit: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Many questions about the famous moai statues on Easter Island, Chile, have long eluded scholars—from their cultural significance to how they were made and transported. Two scholars pose the theory that the 92-ton statues were transported in a vertical position, with movers using ropes to “walk” the moai across the island and onto their ahu, or platforms. The study uses three-dimensional modeling of the statues’ physics, along with new field tests that recreate the “walking” motion. The use of this method by the Rapa Nui ultimately “suggests a sophisticated understanding of resonance principles,” a technique that utilizes a gradual increase in amplitude, the study explained.
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The Oldest Blue Pigment Found in Europe
Image Credit: Courtesy Antiquity
The color blue has a long, elusive history often due to its rarity in nature and sometimes toxic qualities. Analyzing a stone from the Paleolithic site Mühlheim-Dietesheim in Germany, however, researchers identified the earliest known use of blue mineral pigment in Europe. As part of the study, experts examined traces of blue residue found by archaeologists on a roughly 13,000-year-old stone artifact. Through scientific analyses, the team determined that the residue is the blue mineral pigment azurite. Until now, this mineral pigment had not been detected in Europe’s Paleolithic art.
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“Forgotten” Castle on Scottish Isle Revealed
Image Credit: Courtesy Open Virtual Worlds at University of St Andrews
A new book published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland revealed the existence of a previously unknown castle on the Scottish isle of Islay, dating to the 12th or 13th century CE. The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay, is the culmination of major archaeological research conducted on Islay from 1989 to 1998. It details the archaeological site of Finlaggan as a center of power during the Lordship of the Isles, an independent kingdom covering Argyll, Islay, Bute, the Isle of Man, Skye, Ross, Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and Kintyre peninsula. Among the archaeological evidence found at Finlaggan are a palace complex with a large stone tower, as well as several mounts and keys that opened caskets where important documents and valuables were kept.
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Rare Hieroglyphic Decree Identified in Egypt
Image Credit: Photo DeAgostini/Getty Images
Egyptian archaeologists identified a complete and previously unknown copy of the Canopus Decree, a royal edict issued by King Ptolemy III Euergetes, dating back to 238 BCE. The decree was issued as part of a convocation of high priests in the ancient city Canopus, from which the name is derived, that sanctified the king, his wife, Berenice II, and their daughter, and also outlined religious reforms and royal donations across Egypt. The sandstone stela stands at 50 inches tall, 33 inches wide, and 19 inches deep. It has a rounded top, featuring a winged sun disk surrounded by two uraei or royal cobras wearing Egypt’s dual crowns in white and red for Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. The inscription “Di Ankh” or “He who gives life” is written between them, with the decree inscribed below in hieroglyphs across 30 lines. Of the six previously discovered versions of the decree, some were trilingual in hieroglyphics, demotics, and Greek inscriptions, and most were incomplete. This hieroglyphic iteration may provide further insight into ancient Egyptian linguistics, as well as social, political, and religious structures.
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Elite Moche Residence Unearthed in Northern Peru
Image Credit: Programa Arqueológico Chicama
Archaeologists excavating the Moche site Licapa II in Peru’s La Libertad region in the Chicama Valley uncovered the remains of a 1,400-year-old residence thought to have housed members of the local elite. Described by researchers as a “small palace,” the residence is a five-room yellow adobe structure separated by walls from surrounding areas used for craft and domestic work. Inside, they found high-quality Moche ceramics decorated with warrior imagery, alongside imported vessels from Cajamarca, textile fragments, and food remains; bones of capuchin monkeys from the Amazon, Andean camelids, and coastal birds indicate that exotic goods and animals were brought in as offerings or tribute; there was additional evidence of lucuma and other fruits, suggesting the residents enjoyed a diet richer than that of ordinary Moche communities. The building dates to the Late Moche Period (ca. 600–700 CE), a time of growing regional interaction during the Middle Horizon, when the Wari Empire was beginning to expand its influence.
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Ancient Roman Bathhouse May Have Once Belonged to Cicero
Image Credit: Courtesy Italian Ministry of Culture, Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park
A well-preserved Roman bathhouse in the underwater ruins of Baiae may be host to the first-known physical evidence of Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero’s renown villa. A mere ten feet below the water’s surface, the bathhouse includes an intact mosaic floor supported underneath by small brick pillars. This would have been part of an advanced Roman heating system known as a suspensura, wherein hot air flows beneath the floor and through hollow wall tiles, or tubuli, to create a sauna-like space called a laconicum. This type of system is in keeping with elite Roman bath complexes. The spaces would have been lavishly decorated, as indicated by traces of ancient wall paintings. The team is continuing to examine ceramic fragments from the site in an effort to learn more information about the bathhouse.
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Ancient Egyptian Inscription Sparks New Debate About Moses
Image Credit: De Agostini via Getty Images
A new reading of 3,800-year-old inscriptions found in an Egyptian turquoise mine has reignited questions about whether or not Moses was a historical figure. After nearly a decade of study using 3D scans and high-resolution photos, an independent researcher claims to have deciphered two phrases in early Hebrew: zot mi’Moshe (“This is from Moses”) and ne’um Moshe (“A saying of Moses”). If this reading is correct, these would be the oldest known extra-biblical references to the leader of the Exodus, predating even the earliest known Hebrew texts and the Phoenician alphabet. The inscriptions are part of a larger group of Proto-Sinaitic writings first uncovered by famed archaeologist Flinders Petrie in the early 1900s. Scholars believe they were etched by Semitic-speaking laborers during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III (around 1800 BCE), making them some of the oldest alphabetic writings on record. The research, however, has not yet been peer-reviewed and is still considered a work in progress.
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Ancient Mayan Tomb of Caracol’s Founding King Unearthed in Belize
Image Credit: Getty Images
Archaeologists in Belize uncovered the 1,600-year-old tomb of Te K’ab Chaak, the founding ruler of Caracol, one of the most powerful Maya cities of the Classic Period. Te K’ab Chaak assumed the throne in 331 CE. His tomb dates to around 350 CE and is one of three recently unearthed in the area. It was located in the city’s Northeast Acropolis, a ceremonial and residential complex just beyond the urban core. Inside, experts found jade beads, carved bones, seashells, a mosaic jade death mask, and pottery vessels featuring Maya deities and rulers receiving offerings. While previous finds at Caracol suggested influence from Teotihuacán, these earlier tombs appear to belong to native Maya royalty, predating that contact by a generation. The discovery marks the first time a clearly identified royal tomb has been found at the site in over four decades of excavation and sheds new light on the city’s early rulers.
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AI Found That The Dead Sea Scrolls Are Much Older Than Previously Thought
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Researchers from the University of Groningen combined AI and radiocarbon dating to find that many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are older than scholars previously estimated. Some could date to the time of the biblical authors themselves. A fragment from the Book of Daniel, for instance, long thought to be a later copy, now appears to be contemporary with the author. Meanwhile, writing styles previously believed to belong to distinct eras, such as Hasmonean and Herodian scripts, were being used simultaneously for far longer than expected. The findings could force a larger reassessment of where and when these scrolls were produced.
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Ancient Greek Author of Oxford’s Charred Herculaneum Scroll Revealed
Image Credit: Courtesy the Vesuvius Challenge
The title and author of a charred scroll recovered from Herculaneum have been identified as part of ongoing research fostered by an international competition known as the Vesuvius Challenge, which awards monetary prizes to those who can help decipher the scrolls using AI technology, as the charred scrolls cannot be unfurled. This particular scroll is thought to be part of an influential multivolume work, titled On Vices, by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus from the 1st century CE. Earlier this year, some words from the scroll were discovered, but further work located the title and author of the text in the innermost section of the scroll. A book number on the scroll suggests that it could be the first installment of more works. On Vices is known to contain at least 10 volumes across such topics as arrogance, flattery, greed, and home management.
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Ancient Egyptian Prince’s Tomb Discovered at Saqqara
Image Credit: Courtesy Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The tomb of Prince Waserif Re, son of King Userkaf who founded ancient Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty and reigned from 2465 BCE to 2458 BCE, was excavated by archaeologists at the Saqqara necropolis, just southwest of Giza in Egypt. The multi-chamber tomb was sealed with a 15-foot-tall pink granite false door inscribed with Waserif Re’s name and titles, including “heir prince.” A red granite table, measuring 36 inches in diameter, was found in front of the door and lists offerings made to him at the time of burial. Additionally, the team discovered statues of Third Dynasty pharaoh Djoser, with his wife and ten daughters, and a nearly four-foot-tall black granite statue with hieroglyphic inscriptions of the name and titles of its owner. The inscriptions date back to the 26th Dynasty, also indicating that the tomb may have been reused nearly 2,000 years after Waserif Re’s interment.
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Frescoes Linked to the Cult of Dionysus Discovered at Pompeii
Image Credit: Courtesy of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.
A massive bacchanalian frieze spanning three walls were discovered in a banquet hall in the ancient Roman city Pompeii. The frescoes depict a procession of bacchantes, female followers of the wine god, as hunters and dancers; satyrs playing flutes and drinking wine; and a woman with a torch flanked by Dionysus’s mentor Silenus. Snakes and other sea creatures appear among the figures. It dates back some time between the 40–30 BCE. The frieze is located within the Casa del Tiaso or House of Thiasus in Regio IX in Pompeii. Thiasus is associated with the presence of Dionysus and followers. To become part of the ancient cult of Dionysus, initiates were required to participate in secret rituals—perhaps not unlike those depicted.
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First Royal Tomb Since King Tutankhamun Unearthed in Egypt
Image Credit: Courtesy the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The tomb of ancient Egyptian King Thutmose II was found near the Valley of the Kings in West Luxor, Egypt. When archaeologists first discovered the entrance and main passage into the tomb in 2022, however, they thought that it belonged to one of the wives of the Kings, based on its proximity to Queen Hatshepsut’s tomb and the tombs of King Thutmose III’s wives. Internal excavations confirmed the site as a royal burial chamber. The location is atypical for its purpose, given its proximity to major sources of water, which left the tomb badly damaged from flooding not long after Thutmose II’s death. Inside, there is a corridor with a layer of white plaster covering the floor, which lead to a burial chamber in the main section of the tomb, measuring four-and-a-half-feet higher than the chamber floor. Alabaster vessels inscribed with “deceased king”, along with the name of Thutmose II’s primary wife and half-sister Hatshepsut were also found in the tomb. This is the first royal burial chamber to be discovered since 1922, when King Tutankhamun’s tomb was found by British archaeologist Howard Carter. The tomb provides an opportunity for further insight into the history of the region and Thutmose II’s reign, with archaeological work expected to continue at the site for another two years.
