A small bronze figurine preserved at the Hierapolis Archaeology Museum in southwestern Turkey is shedding new light on how Egyptian religious beliefs changed as they spread through the Greek and Roman worlds nearly 2,000 years ago.
The figure depicts Harpocrates,...
A study of 500-year-old Ottoman tax records suggests Greek and Albanian villages in southern Greece grew more alike in their farming decisions as expanding trade and mounting tax demands made local resources more important than inherited traditions.
In the northwestern...
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Troy in present-day northwestern Turkey have discovered musical instruments including a 2,800-year-old bone flute and a 4,500-year-old human-shaped idol head. The finds offer new evidence of music and cultural traditions at the historic...
An ancient Greek tribe called the Prasaiboi may have gained political standing by invoking ties to the Thesprotians, a people of Epirus mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, according to a new study. Once a little-known community, the Prasaiboi gave their...
Fossils unearthed in northern China are revealing what the mysterious Denisovans may have looked like, including heavy brow ridges, low foreheads and broad, relatively flat faces. Researchers say ancient proteins recovered from two bones identify the remains as Denisovan,...
Ancient DNA has revealed that Roman rule changed Spain's genetic makeup far more than the Visigoths and other Germanic groups that arrived centuries later.
A new study of 243 ancient genomes shows that migration during the Roman period introduced substantial...
Archaeologists have dated a nearly 180-foot-long stone tomb with unusual "antennae" in Western Sahara to more than 4,000 years ago. The ancient burial monument contains the remains of a young adult buried with four ostrich eggshell beads. The discovery...
Scientists have reconstructed an elaborate water system at a Greek monastery on Mount Athos, showing how monks used underground tunnels, aqueducts, and watermills to secure supplies without pumps. The earliest part of the network appears to date to the...
Archaeologists in China have reconstructed three buildings near a 5,000-year-old burial site and royal tombs, offering new clues about how the ancient Liangzhu civilization honored its rulers. Researchers believe the largest structure may have served as a ceremonial hall...
A 2,000-year-old gold plaque discovered at a Roman fort in Georgia has revealed new evidence of an ancient religious cult that spread across the Roman Empire. Researchers say the artifact offers clues about the worship of Jupiter Dolichenus, a...
Greece’s Central Archaeological Council (KAS) has unanimously approved plans to transform the iconic Agios Athanasios site on Ithaca into a modern archaeological park.
The monumental decision green-lights the development of accessible visitor infrastructure amid the island’s historic landscape of terraced...
A Bronze Age axe discovered in Crete may carry a dedication to a mother goddess described as a "Sidian (and) Asian Mother," according to a study offering a new reading of 15 ancient signs carved into it. The interpretation...
Human sacrifice and jade offerings may have been part of rituals to protect an ancient Chinese city's entrance nearly 4,000 years ago, according to a new study of excavations at Shimao. Archaeologists found six deposits of human skulls beneath...
An ancient monument in Norway has revealed a connection between Roman-era burial practices and Viking mythology. New research shows how five standing stones at Avaldsnes, known as the "Five Foolish Virgins," became associated with the Norse god Thor and...
A new study finds that Saint John Chrysostom used Greek mythology to challenge pagan gods, retelling familiar stories in ways that undermined the beliefs they supported. Writing in fourth-century Antioch, the future Christian preacher portrayed Greek god Apollo and...
