Archaeology

It's discovery season in Egypt. Archaeologists have unearthed the upper part of a statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III at Luxor. The statue is around 3,400 years old. Amenhotep III is believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun. The find – part of a double statue featuring King Amenhotep III with the falcon-headed sun god Re-Horakhti – was made on Thursday at the pharaoh's funerary temple on Luxor's west bank. The team also found a granite colossus featuring Thoth, the god of wisdom...

The spectacle of Vesuvius's explosion over Pompeii spawned legends that gradually became myths over time ― like the belief that people died of ash suffocation. But scientists now have refuted this widely accepted contention. Recent research found that people didn't suffocate; they died of heat surges. Pictures of the lifelike poses of many victims at Pompeii—seated with face in hands, crawling, kneeling on a mother's lap—have left a lasting impression on many, giving rise to speculations...

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a 3400-year-old enclosure wall around Giza's Sphinx, presumably erected to protect the celebrated landmark from desert winds. It was probably one of the earliest tries at architectural conservation. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Culture, two sections of the enclosure wall were discovered, one 86 metres long and 75 cm high and the other 46 metres long and 90 cm high. In the statement, Supreme Council for Antiquities Secretary-General...

As sea levels rise due to global warming, thousands of archaeological sites in coastal regions around the world could be lost due to erosion, a team of archaeologists have warned based on the findings of a recent study. Torben Rick from the Smithsonian Institution, Leslie Reeder of Southern Methodist University, and Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon have issued a call to action for scientists to assess the sites most at risk in a paper published in the latest edition of the Journal of...

Over 200 of the world's most significant cultural heritage sites are at risk and in need of immediate intervention to stem irreparable loss and destruction, says a new report, Saving Our Vanishing Heritage. These damages can cost developing nations over $100 billion in lost revenue. The years spanning 2000 to 2009 have been highly destructive—one of the most damaging decades in recent history except for periods of major war and conflict, the report says. Five manmade threats are the cause of 90...

Google and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have announced a joint venture to document the entire collection of the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls and make it freely accessible on the Internet. The IAA and Google and said that the collection ― 30,000 fragments comprising 900 manuscripts ― will be photographed in its entirety for the first time since the 1950s. The $3.5 million project will be funded by Leon Levy Foundation, Arcadia Fund and Yad Hanadiv Fund, according to Haaretz. The...

Archaeologists have discovered a 4400-year-old tomb, south of the cemetery of the pyramid builders at Giza, Egypt. The discovered tomb belongs to a priest named Rudj-Ka (or Rwd-Ka), and is dated to the 5th Dynasty - between 2465 and 2323 BC. The Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny said in a statement that the ancient Egyptian tomb was unearthed during routine excavations supervised by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) near the pyramid builder's necropolis. Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary...

Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed part of a 3,000-year-old granite double statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun. The statue has been excavated at Kom El-Hittan on the west bank of Luxor. "The statue is one of the best new finds in the area because of its expert craftsmanship, which reflect the skills of the ancient Egyptian artisans," Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), announced on his...

Some 400 years ago in North Peru, a Spaniard had jotted down numbers on the back of a letter. The small piece of paper has now been excavated by archaeologists and it has revealed traces of a lost language. A combined research team of US–Peruvian archaeologists at Santa Mar´ıa Magdalena de Cao in the Chicama Valley of North Peru found this document that lists a few but important words that serve as keys to unlocking the intricacies of a native language that was spoken in prehistory and into the...

Scientists have long tried to understand how the ancient Egyptians erected their giant pyramids. Now, a Norwegian architect and researcher says he has the answer to this ancient, unsolved puzzle. Ole J Bryn, an architect and associate professor the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Faculty of Architecture and Fine Art, believes researchers were needlessly preoccupied with the weight of the stones. In the bargain, they overlooked two problems: How did the Egyptians know...