Pompeii discoveries shed light on middle class life
Milan, ItalyReuters Archaeologists have discovered four new rooms in a house in Pompeii filled with plates, amphoras and other everyday objects, giving a snapshot of middle class life at the moment Mount Vesuvius’s eruption buried the Roman city in AD 79. The remains of bowls, a hastily emptied trunk, a bed and a crib-shaped terra-cotta […]
Elevator project in Old Jerusalem leads to surprising finds
Jerusalem, IsraelAP Installing an elevator doesn’t normally involve a 2,000-year plunge into an ancient city’s history. But in Jerusalem, even seemingly simple construction projects can lead to archaeological endeavours. Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have made numerous discoveries, including an ornate first-century villa with its own ritual bath, after a project […]
Essay: Has Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour been found? Debate rages, but here’s what’s usually involved in identifying a shipwreck
Amid controversy over claims the ‘HMB Endeavour’ has been found lying off the US coastline, JOHN MCCARTHY, of Flinders University in Australia, looks – in an article published on The Conversation – at what’s usually involved in identifying a shipwreck…
A Sustainable Life: Volunteer on a dig for the thrill of digging up the past (you’ll also learn to hate buckets)
In an article first published on The Conversation, GIL DAVIS, associate professor and director of the ancient Israel program at Australian Catholic University, loos at what’s involved in taking part in an archaeological dig – and the benefits of doing so…
In time for Hanukkah, archaeologists reveal battle-scarred stronghold against Maccabees
Jerusalem, IsraelRNS Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,100-year-old stronghold they believe constitutes physical evidence of the yearslong armed conflict whose crucial battle is celebrated by Jews today during Hanukkah. What the archaeologists have found, they say, was built by the losers of that conflict: the Seleucids, forces of the occupying Greek empire, who were doing […]
Remnant of one of the oldest Black churches in US is unveiled in Virginia
RNS Archaeologists believe they have discovered the foundation of the original building of the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, one of the nation’s oldest Black churches. The announcement, shared first with descendants of First Baptist Church members, was officially made on Thursday by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which runs the well-known outdoor living museum and […]
Anglo-Saxon church found in UK rail project
Archaeologists working with Britain’s high speed rail project HS2 have discovered what they believe to be the remains of an Anglo-Saxon church. The discovery was made underneath a Norman-era church a team of more than 40 archaeologists have been excavating in Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. The team found flint walls forming a square structure underneath […]
Uncovering the past: Descendants of enslaved people join dig on former Jesuit plantation
RENÉE RODEN, of Religion News Service, reports on how the descendents of those enslaved on a Maryland plantation owned by the Jesuit have been able to connect with their family’s past through their participation on an archaeological dig…
Hershel Shanks, who made Biblical archaeology widely available, dies
RNS He was not a household name, but in the sometimes arcane world of Biblical archaeology, Hershel Shanks was a star, and often a rabble-rouser. Shanks, the founder and longtime editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, died on 5th February at the age of 90. Hershel Shanks appears on the Charlie Rose Show in 1992. PICTURE: Video […]
Remains of 1,400-year-old cup – bearing earliest Christian graffiti – found in Britain
Fragments of a “unique” cup or chalice – etched with what is believed to be the earliest Christian graffiti ever found in the UK – have been discovered in the remains of a 6th century church in northern England. The 14 pieces, covered with lightly etched symbols including crosses, fish, ships and a whale as […]