Ancient History (3500 BC – 499 AD)

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Tunic found in one of the Royal Tombs at Vergina identified as Alexander the Great's

https://phys.org/news/2024-10-tunic-roy ... ander.html

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Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city

https://phys.org/news/2024-11-oldest-al ... yrian.html

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4,000 Year-Old Canals Identified in Belize
November 26, 2024

Introduction:

(Archaeology.org) WASHINGTON, D.C.—According to an Associated Press report, a 4,000-year-old network of canals has been spotted in Belize using drones and Google Earth imagery of the Yucatán coastal plain. Eleanor Harrison-Buck of the University of New Hampshire said that the earthen canals zigzag for several miles through wetlands, and would have been used to channel freshwater fish for a period of about 1,000 years. Barbed spearpoints found nearby were likely used to spear fish, added Marieka Brouweer Burg of the University of Vermont. The fish would have helped to diversify the diets of the seminomadic people who lived in the region during the Maya Formative Period, the researchers concluded.

Read the Associated Press report here: https://apnews.com/article/maya-fish-c ... 190cf89ef

Read the original scholarly article about this research as presented in Science Advances here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq1444


Belize

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The Face of Ancient Egypt’s Pharaoh Amenhotep III
December 6, 2024

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Known by his superb nickname "The Magnificent", Pharaoh Amenhotep III oversaw arguably the most glorious period in Ancient Egyptian history, bringing peace and prosperity to the empire while commissioning the construction of some of its most lavish landmarks. Now, more than 3,350 years after his death, the ancient ruler has finally been restored to his former brilliance thanks to a new reconstruction of his mummified face.

Presiding over Egypt for just under 40 years during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, Amenhotep III ascended the throne while still a child and went on to become one of the most famous men ever to walk along the banks of the Nile. Reigning between approximately 1388 and 1351 BCE, the main segment of the temple at Luxor was built under his rule, as well as numerous impressive structures at Karnak and Memphis.

Among the most iconic monuments created in Amenhotep III’s honor was his memorial temple at Kom el-Hettan, which is guarded by two enormous statues known as the Colossi of Memnon.

However, while he may be among the most famous and well-studied pharaohs, Amenhotep III’s mummy is unfortunately in a sorry old state, having been damaged by grave robbers and humidity over the course of several millennia. Lamenting the extent of the decay, the authors of a new study documenting the facial reconstruction explain that “the largely skeletonized head does not allow direct conclusions to be drawn about the individual's facial appearance intra vitam [during life] by mere observation, as is the case for well-preserved mummies.”

The article goes on to describe efforts to recreate the pharaoh’s likeness despite the sorry state of his remains.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-the ... aoh-77116

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DNA Adds New Chapter to Indonesia’s Layered Human History
January 7, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new study from the University of Adelaide and The Australian National University (ANU) has outlined the first genomic evidence of early migration from New Guinea into the Wallacea, an archipelago containing Timor-Leste and hundreds of inhabited eastern Indonesian islands.
The study, published in PNAS, addresses major gaps in the human genetic history of the Wallacean Archipelago and West Papuan regions of Indonesia – a region with abundant genetic and linguistic diversity that is comparable to the Eurasian continent – including the analysis of 254 newly sequenced genomes.

In combination with linguistic and archaeological evidence, the study shows that Wallacean societies were transformed by the spread of genes and languages from West Papua in the past 3,500 years – the same period that Austronesian seafarers were actively mixing with Wallacean and Papuan groups.

“My colleagues at the Indonesian Genome Diversity Project have been studying Indonesia’s complex genetic structure for more than a decade, but this comprehensive study provides confirmation that Papuan ancestry is widespread across Wallacea, pointing to historical migrations from New Guinea,” says lead author Dr Gludhug Ariyo Purnomo, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences.

“By connecting the dots between genetics, linguistics, and archaeology, we now recognise West Papua as an important bio-cultural hub and the launching place of historical Papuan seafarers that now contribute up to 60% of modern Wallacean ancestry.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069775

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Better source from the Times of Israel:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/byzantine ... rn-israel/

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Great Wall of China Could Be Significantly Older Than Previously Realized
by Tom Hale
February 28, 2025

Introduction:

(IFL Science) The Great Wall of China may be even older than we once thought. Newly discovered ruins in Shandong province – home to some of its oldest sections – suggest that parts of the grand structure were built 300 years earlier than previously believed.

The breakthrough emerged from recent excavations near Guangli Village, not far from the city of Jinan, by the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. They used an array of scientific techniques, including optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and carbon-14 dating, that indicate the newly discovered section dates back to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BCE - 771 BCE) and the early Spring and Autumn Period (770 BCE - 476 BCE), according to Chinese newspaper the Global Times.

It was previously held that construction began within the 3rd century BCE, so the latest discovery could push back the wall’s birth by at least 300 years.

"This archaeological discovery pushes the construction date of the Great Wall back to the Western Zhou period, establishing it as the earliest known Great Wall in China," Liu Zheng, a member of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, told the Global Times.

"It marks a significant breakthrough in Great Wall archaeology and is a milestone in clarifying the origins and development of China's Great Wall research," Liu added.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/great-wall- ... zed-78259

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Archaeologists uncover Iron Age hub for prized purple dye in Israel

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-archaeolo ... e-hub.html

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Research reveals first skeletal evidence of gladiator bitten by lion in Roman period
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-reveals-s ... itten.html
by Maynooth University

A study has uncovered the first physical evidence of human-animal gladiatorial combat in the Roman period.

The research, published in PLOS One, presents compelling skeletal evidence of a human victim attacked by a large carnivorous animal, likely within the context of Roman-era spectacle combat. It was conducted by an international team of archaeologists and osteologists, led by Tim Thompson, Professor of Anthropology and Vice President for Students and Learning at Ireland's Maynooth University.

While images of gladiators being bitten by lions have appeared in ancient mosaics and pottery, this is the only convincing skeletal evidence using forensic experiments anywhere in the world of bite marks produced by the teeth of a large cat, such as a lion.

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Ancient DNA reveals Phoenicians’ surprising genetic ancestry

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01283-w

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Depictions of Milky Way's River of Stars Found in Ancient Egyptian Art
by Michele Starr
May 1, 2025

Introduction:

(Science Alert) The glorious river of stars, interwoven with dark dust, that makes up the plane of the Milky Way in the night sky may have been hiding in plain sight in art from ancient Egypt.

Some depictions of the goddess of the sky, Nut, that appear on the sides of elaborate coffins actually contain stylized interpretations of the galactic plane. That's according to an analysis of hundreds of coffins, conducted by astrophysicist Or Graur of the University of Portsmouth in the UK.

These depictions, he argues, are so detailed that they include the thick, sinuous rope of dust threaded through the stream of stars that pours across the night sky.

The goddess Nut is one of the oldest in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, ruling over the sky and all things in it. She is often depicted as a naked woman, her body daubed with cosmic objects such as stars and Suns, protectively arched like the sky itself over figures on the ground below.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/depiction ... ian-art

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We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Lasts Thousands of Years
by Michele Starr
May 13, 2025

Introduction:

(Science Alert) The ancient Romans were masters of building and engineering, perhaps most famously represented by the aqueducts. And those still functional marvels rely on a unique construction material: pozzolanic concrete, a spectacularly durable concrete that gave Roman structures their incredible strength.

Even today, one of their structures – the Pantheon, still intact and nearly 2,000 years old – holds the record for the world's largest dome of unreinforced concrete.

The properties of this concrete have generally been attributed to its ingredients: pozzolana, a mix of volcanic ash – named after the Italian city of Pozzuoli, where a significant deposit of it can be found – and lime. When mixed with water, the two materials can react to produce strong concrete.

But that, as it turns out, is not the whole story. In 2023, an international team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that not only are the materials slightly different from what we may have thought, but the techniques used to mix them were also different.

The smoking guns were small, white chunks of lime that can be found in what seems to be otherwise well-mixed concrete. The presence of these chunks had previously been attributed to poor mixing or materials, but that did not make sense to materials scientist Admir Masic of MIT.

Read more of the Science Alert article here: https://www.sciencealert.com/we-finall ... f-years/

For a presentation of study results as published in Science Advances: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sc ... 638937760

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Mystery of lost civilization revealed by ancient temple ruin discovery
By Pranjal Malewar
July 05, 2025
https://newatlas.com/history/mystery-of ... discovery/

Long before the Inka (commonly known as Inca in English) rose to power, a mysterious civilization bloomed on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Known as Tiwanaku, it began as a humble farming village in the Bolivian highlands and, by around 500 BCE, grew into a sprawling city-state that influenced much of the Andean world.

At its heart stood enormous terraced temples made from massive carved stones like puzzle pieces of a lost world. Though colonial looters later robbed many secrets, early explorers saw Tiwanaku as more than a city; they believed it was a sacred gathering place, built for spiritual ceremonies and spreading religious beliefs.

Long before the Inka ruled the Andes, the Tiwanaku civilization carved out one of the region’s earliest and most influential societies. Then, about a thousand years ago, it vanished, leaving behind stone ruins and swirling mysteries.