Archaeology & Arts

11/09/2026

Mosaic and Cupid's head testify to the Christianization of the Roman Empire

A massive mosaic and the head of Cupid (Eros) were revealed during the latest excavation season in an ancient basilica in Pompeiopolis, an ancient site on the Black Sea in modern-day Turkey. The mosaic adorned a Roman basilica as its use changed from a public building to a Christian church (4th c. CE), according to a common Late Antiquity practice reflecting the needs of the ever-growing size (in numbers and status) of Christian communities. The cupid's head also belongs to the Christian-era layer. Yet it was made at least two centuries earlier, which raises questions about what survived the religious-cultural shift and why.

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/09/10/large-roman-mosaic-uncovered-at-pompeiopolis/

09/09/2026

Many archaeo-fans haven't realized that a discovery is rarely a one-time process! Sites, no matter how impressive, can be lost, discovered, and lost again, and rediscovered, or even revisited, even if they are not lost. This was the case of the last viral archaeological discovery from Egypt - the tomb of Iunmin and his father, Ity. The tomb, in the type known to Egyptologists as a "mastaba" (table-shaped, with a richly decorated, extensive funerary cult-related ground area and a smaller underground burial area), was located by the iconic French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but it was never excavated or documented.

But now, it was about time! Archaeologists from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona turned their attention to the ignored tomb; they found not one but two chapels to serve the funerary cultic needs of a father, Ity, and his son, Iunmin, who most definitely commissioned the tomb for both. Their titles, the son's being more flamboyant than the father's, probably tell a family story of positive social mobility, with the father doing well but the son even better, so that he commissions a grand tomb for himself but also for his father.

They both lived in interesting times. The reigning pharaoh was Djedkare Isesi, a late 5th Dynasty ruler who, despite his obscurity, is one of the earliest Egyptian kings whose intact body survives to this day. This king's vizier was the wise man Ptahhotep, whose legacy lived across the millennia through a set of moral instructions he addressed to his son. Among them are the earliest words we can find against greed and jealousy, and about teaching by character.

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/09/08/a-tomb-from-the-late-fifth-dynasty-in-the-saqqara/

07/09/2026

A Bronze Age settlement in Cyprus is rewriting its own boundaries! Excavations at Erimi Pitharka have revealed that the 14th–12th century BC complex was far larger than previously believed—and was a busy center of everyday life and production.

The finds point to a community engaged in pottery making, grape processing and winemaking, weaving, and other domestic and agricultural activities. But the site has another surprise: archaeologists have also uncovered evidence of a much earlier, Neolithic phase, pushing the history of human activity at Erimi Pitharka considerably further back in time!

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/09/07/completion-of-the-2026-fieldwork-at-erimi-laonin-tou-porakou/

07/09/2026

The Tomb of Hippolytus at Troezen

Ancient Troezen is a landscape where one of Greek mythology’s most powerful tragedies was believed to have unfolded — and where myth became cult, ritual and, now, archaeology.

At the site of ancient Troezen, in the Peloponnese, the Greeks honored the hero Hippolytus, who, having caused the wrath of Aphrodite due to his indifference to all things love, died in the last act of a sequence of events that saw his stepmother, Phaedra, fall in love with him and commit su***de due to being rejected.
Died? Not exactly...

Rumor had it that the gods granted him redemption and took him up to the sky. Another version says his patron goddess Artemis and Asklepius, god of healing, resurrected him. Either way, the people of Troezen didn't want to accept his death. In fact, they hinted that Hippolytus had a grave, but only they knew where it was; it was a secret never revealed to strangers. Nevertheless, the city boasted a sanctuary of Hippolytus, where the tragic young hero was worshipped alongside Artemis and Asklepius. Here, people would seek to restore their health, in and out. Beyond that, though, they would seek proof of potential immortality: a grave whose inmate had escaped death. A grave that remained a secret... possibly up to now....
As the secrets are set to be revealed.
And this one has possibly been revealed - thanks to archaeology!
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Our new archaeological guide takes you into the Sanctuary of Hippolytus at Troezen, exploring its monuments, its traditions, and the place identified as the hero’s grave.
Find more
https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/archaeological_site/ancient-troezen-sanctuary-of-hippolytus/

03/09/2026

Three short-lived kings—previously erased from official records—ruled during periods of political turmoil in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. A new study presented here supports this (first comment). Their findings suggest that the traditional king list presents an idealized version of Assyrian history, deliberately omitting rulers with brief reigns or those who were politically inconvenient.

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/08/05/three-lost-kings-rewrite-assyrian-history/

02/09/2026

Due to a human receptor variant inherited by Neanderthals, which is particularly common in South and East Asia (populations there carry it at a frequency of 24 percent). The difference appears to emerge only after childhood.

Scientists describe increased activity of the Neandertal growth hormone receptor and how it shapes the bodies of people who carry it today.

31/08/2026

Eight cross-shaped fibulae surrounded her head. Who was this woman buried some 1,300 years ago?
Archaeologists excavating the Zvygino II cemetery in Russia uncovered an extraordinary female burial with an elaborate headdress decorated with eight fibulae—an adornment documented only a handful of times. But there is more, which brings them closer to uncovering details about the woman's still-enigmatic cultural group...

Early Muroma burials shed new light on the emergence of one of Eastern Europe's early medieval Finno-Ugric cultures.

31/08/2026

What can a grave tell us about the person buried inside?

An elaborate burial can reveal much more than how someone was laid to rest. Its construction, location, and archaeological context can offer clues about the deceased's status, identity, and the society they belonged to.

What makes archaeologists believe this was the final resting place of a member of the elite? Read what is going on with the Medieval Cemetery at Naumburg Cathedral in Germany and see...

An 11th-century cemetery discovered at Naumburg Cathedral may have been the burial place of a medieval elite.

25/08/2026

Cannibalism is “biologically non-viable.”

Cannibalism did not disappear by accident. It became too costly for the societies that practiced it, a new study says.

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/07/27/a-new-study-about-cannibalism/

19/08/2026

Complete Bathing Complex Discovered at Tell Nasser Archaeological Site in Port Said

The excavations also yielded an exceptional assemblage of archaeological finds, including Rhodian amphora stamps bearing Greek names, locally produced and imported amphorae, cups, jugs, Ptolemaic and Roman terracotta oil lamps, and a variety of tableware and serving vessels. These finds have played a key role in dating the archaeological layers and establishing the sequence of occupation at the site.

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2026/07/31/complete-bathing-complex-discovered-at-tell-nasser-archaeological-site-in-port-said/