Smooth, polished blocks on the eastern side of Giza’s Menkaure Pyramid may hide an entrance. Researchers have used georadar, ultrasound, and ERT to try to figure out what, exactly, is behind those blocks … archaeology.org/news/2025/11/13/scientists-scan-egypts-menkaure-pyramid-with-high-tech-tools/

Historians knew the Hungarian Duke Béla of Macsó was assassinated in 1272. But new analysis of bones buried in Budapest proves the skeleton belonged to the duke—and lays out, blow by blow, how the murder was committed. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/12/medieval-dukes-remains-identified-in-hungary/

A sculpture so big, architects had to raise the roof of the temple where it would sit: The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, 42 feet tall, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/statue-of-zeus-at-olympia/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/

"All roads lead to Rome," but how many is that? About 186,000 miles’ worth, according to a massive new project mapping all routes across the empire. Researchers drew on historic maps, milestone markers, satellite imagery, and more. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/11/network-of-roman-roads-mapped/

The intact burial of a Saka warrior, dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C., has been discovered in Kazakhstan. The deceased was found holding a 12-inch-long bronze sword, or akinak, in the right hand. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/11/2700-year-old-warriors-grave-discovered-in-kazakhstan/

When the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, tumbled to the seafloor, it was lost for some 500 years. https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/lighthouse-of-alexandria/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/

Archaeologists have many questions about Peru’s mysterious mile-long "Band of Holes." Now, they've analyzed the soil and mapped the monument with drones, for new ideas about what this place may have been. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/11/drone-mapping-offers-insight-into-perus-band-of-holes/

A monumental building thought to be at least 5,000 years old has been discovered at a site in Iraq. Archaeologists think it may have been a temple; it was decorated with wall cones similar to ones at Sumerian Uruk. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/04/5000-year-old-monumental-building-excavated-in-iraq/

In June 1942, Japan occupied two remote Alaskan islands, and after air, sea, and land campaigns, Allied forces retook them. In the wrecks left behind, archaeologists are now untangling a year of complicated operations. archaeology.org/issues/july-august-2021/letters-from/alaska-wwii-battle/

Recent excavations at Pompeii’s thermopolium—snack bar—have uncovered a first-floor apartment, a bathroom, and now, an Egyptian vase thought to have been repurposed as a food container. Next up for researchers: find out what was inside! archaeology.org/news/2025/11/10/pompeii-snack-bar-revisited/

Excavations at a 3,000-year-old Maya site in Mexico have revealed jade artifacts arranged in the shape of a cross, and pigments that may have been linked to the four directions. “It’s like a model of the cosmos,” says one archaeologist. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/07/early-maya-monument-examined/

Archaeologists have found murals at Vichama, a city founded after severe drought in ancient Peru. They depict starvation victims, ritual dancers, and a surprising scene involving a toad-man. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/06/ancient-murals-in-peru-reminded-residents-of-climate-crisis/

From the earliest grains of wheat cultivated in prehistoric China to the opulent Roman baths of Stabiae, the need to harness and manage water was a catalyst for many of the most innovative engineering solutions created by people of the past. archaeology.org/collection/the-ancient-promise-of-water/

Some 15 million Rapa Nui palm trees are estimated to have covered Easter Island before the arrival of Polynesians around A.D. 1200. By 1722, there were just a few. What happened? A new study says: rats. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/07/invasive-rats-may-have-contributed-to-deforestation-of-rapa-nui/

The Umm an-Nar people thrived in Oman’s Bat Oasis some 5,000 years ago, but evidence of their everyday lives is scarce. Recent excavations, however, are yielding an increasingly clear picture of these Bronze Age people! archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/features/oasis-makers-of-arabia/

Researchers at Ďáblice Cemetery in Prague are working to identify three Czechoslovak soldiers who fought against the Nazis, then were later executed for their resistance to the Communist regime. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/06/archaeologists-in-prague-search-for-remains-of-political-prisoners/

The Sogdians were the masters of the Silk Road in their heyday. In independent city-states such as Panjakent, in modern Tajikistan, they lavished palaces with fabulous murals of banquets, hunts, and battles against demons! archaeology.org/issues/july-august-2020/features/a-silk-road-renaissance/

It’s well known that the Maya practiced dental modification, but scholars thought such procedures were only performed on adults. A new study of three teeth inlaid with jade, however, determined that they belonged to children. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/world/?location=guatemala-2

Known as “rainbow cups,” coins such as this were minted by the Celts. This particular gold coin circulated 2,200 years ago, and was probably used in trade between Celtic and Germanic people! archaeology.org/news/2025/11/04/gold-rainbow-cup-unearthed-in-eastern-germany/

Sharp-edged tools made 2.75 million years ago and discovered in Kenya’s Turkana Basin indicate remarkable resilience in early hominins. For 300,000 years, they engineered them and passed the knowledge on. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/05/oldowan-stone-tools-from-the-turkana-basin-analyzed/

Join the Archaeological Institute of America for a free lecture, "The People's Arena." Colosseum expert Alison Futrell will dig into power, spectacle, and bloodsport in Rome next Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern! https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1817588184161/WN_obR16xWNSO6l2B2JHgfShg

In an auto-da-fé of 1562, Diego de Landa inflicted tactics of the Spanish Inquisition on the Maya in Mexico. More than 150 prominent Maya people were punished for acts of heresy. Historians have now produced a video reenactment of the savage event: archaeology.org/mani

Fought in 1746, the Battle of Culloden marked Britain’s defeat of the Jacobite army, and archaeologists are examining a previously unstudied area of the battlefield. More than 100 projectiles were retrieved. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/31/projectiles-recovered-at-scotlands-culloden-battlefield/

Archaeologists analyzed hair from 22 mummified individuals in Peru and found the earlier remains had traces of the plants used for mescaline and ayahuasca, while later ones show a shift in preference to coca. archaeology.org/issues/online/collection/digs-peru-nazca-ayahuasca/

Shipwreck alert: A wooden ship between 160 and 230 feet long has been discovered on Malaysia's Malacca Island. Analysis so far suggests that the vessel was made of saga wood and dates to the thirteenth century. archaeology.org/news/2025/11/03/historic-shipwreck-discovered-in-malaysia/

Excavation of a tomb in Hungary has yielded an iron saber, silver belt fittings, and earrings made of glass beads. Archaeologists think the tomb, dated to around A.D. 670, was built by a group known as the Pannonian Avars. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/31/1300-year-old-saber-unearthed-in-hungary/

New investigations of the burial of the shaman—a woman, with dozens of grave goods—are helping archaeologists in Germany understand the rituals she performed as a supernatural intercessor 9,000 years ago. archaeology.org/issues/march-april-2023/features/germany-mesolithic-shaman-burial/

An all-marble building, 450 feet long, with 60-foot-high columns—the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the great engineering feats of antiquity. Scholars are looking at it anew. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/temple-of-artemis-at-ephesus/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/

Neolithic people loved a potluck. Archaeologists at a site in Iran have discovered 19 wild boar skulls in a pit, the remains of a communal feast 11,000 years ago. The animals were brought from as far as 40 miles away. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/digs-discoveries/byoboar/

What happened to the seven men found in a well in Croatia? New analysis suggests they were Roman soldiers, and their injuries indicate they likely died in battle. Other new details suggest that the men were already living rough before they met the well. archaeology.org/news/2025/10...

It has long been thought that the “Plague of Akhetaten” led to the abandonment of the ancient Egyptian capital of Amarna around 1332 B.C. But surprising archaeological research gives a new picture of what happened there … archaeology.org/news/2025/10/23/study-revisits-egypts-plague-of-akhetaten/

New analysis of an Inca recordkeeping device known as a khipu has challenged archaeologists’ understanding of them. One khipu was woven from human hair, and isotope analysis revealed its maker had a surprising diet … archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/digs-discoveries/a-knotty-problem/

Archaeologists in Siberia have recovered daggers and other artifacts from a ninth-century B.C. Scythian burial mound. A closer look shows many featured animal representations—rams, felines, birds, snakes, and horses. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/30/researchers-examine-scythian-animal-artifacts/

In 1781, during the Revolutionary War, the Loyalist Doan Gang robbed Pennsylvania’s Bucks County Treasury, making off with 1,200 Spanish silver dollars. Archaeologists have now found the foundation of the treasury. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/28/revolutionary-war-era-site-explored-in-pennsylvania/

Archaeologists have found an intaglio carved from red stone at the Roman site of Bremenium Fort in England, north of Hadrian’s Wall. The jewel bears an image of two cupids picking grapes. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/29/carved-jewel-uncovered-at-roman-fort-in-northern-england/

Did you miss Justin Leidwanger’s special #IAD Archaeology Hour lecture? 🌊 A recording of “Shipping Stone for Justinian’s Empire?” and all our other AIA Archaeology Hour talks is now available on ArchaeologyTV, the AIA’s official YouTube channel! youtu.be/ErBOL4Xi7gU?...

It had been previously suggested that Egyptian alabastron vases held perfumes or cosmetics for royal elites. Researchers analyzing a sticky, dark-brown residue in one fifth-century B.C. vessel, however, found something quite a bit stronger … archaeology.org/news/2025/10...

The ancient people of Venezuela’s Canaima highlands may not have climbed Angel Falls, but newly discovered rock art indicates they considered peaks such as the one hosting the falls sacred. Check out photos of their pictograms! archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/#canaima-slideshow

A cuneiform tablet has been deciphered to reveal a lost Sumerian myth. The rain god Ishkur was captured in the underworld, causing chaos on Earth, and a lone fox set out to free him. But the ending of the story remains unknown. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/world/?location=iraq-3

A marker pole in the ancient North American city of Cahokia probably stood 60 feet tall and weighed 11,000 pounds. One surviving piece has now been dated to A.D. 1124, and the tree probably had to be floated to the city! archaeology.org/news/2025/10/27/wooden-marker-post-from-cahokia-analyzed/

Ancient Romans were fascinated by trilobite fossils. Yet none had ever been found at a Roman site until now. Archaeologists determined the fossil has seven facets; it may have been made to fit in a pendant as an amulet! archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/digs-discoveries/fossil-force/

When Cromwell routed the Scottish army at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, the Scots' ordeal was just beginning. An excavation at Durham Cathedral revealed a mass grave of captives. Others were sold into servitude in the Americas. archaeology.org/issues/may-june-2017/features/scotland-dunbar-battle/

Traces of a 2,400-year-old village were unearthed in the Czech Republic during a recent investigation. Archaeologists found that the settlement was semicircular in shape, and that it had a small square and a well. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/24/3000-year-old-village-excavated-in-czech-republic/

One of the mystifying aspects of the Great Pyramid is how builders excavated its huge footprint and created a base. “Nobody ever built a platform like that before,” says one Egyptologist. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/collection/great-pyramid-of-giza/secrets-of-the-seven-wonders/

In hnefatafl, Viking chess, the game pieces were tiny, and the king was the most stylish. This piece, carved in the tenth-century A.D., sports a wavy coiffure, a braided goatee, and a distinguished curled mustache. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/artifacts/viking-chess-piece/

Archaeologists have discovered six tombs from Korea’s Silla Kingdom. One chamber held battle gear, including pieces of a gold-bronze headpiece. Another may indicate evidence of sunjang, the live burial of subordinates. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/23/silla-kingdom-tomb-excavated-in-south-korea/

Elderly and ailing, a French looter penned a six-page letter to local archaeological authorities. “I wanted to do this while I was still alive,” he wrote. His confession led archaeologists to the discovery of a lost Celtic sanctuary. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/#cobannus-slideshow

In Poland's Lake Lednica, underwater archaeologists are now finding fantastic medieval sculptures of animals and people, such as this guy, carved in A.D. 967. This carving likely depicted a god or hero. archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2025/digs-discoveries/a-familiar-face/

The possible foundation of a monumental Roman tomb—40 feet in diameter!—has been unearthed in southern Germany, in what was once the province of Raetia. Archaeologists think the foundation supported an earthen tumulus. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/22/monumental-roman-tomb-uncovered-in-germany/

A 3,500-year-old Egyptian fortress has been uncovered at a site in the Sinai Desert. Archaeologists have found 11 towers, pottery stamped with the name of Thutmose I, and an unusual wall built in a zigzag pattern. archaeology.org/news/2025/10/22/ancient-fortress-located-on-egypts-way-of-horus/