A journey of wonder

Classical Studies and Ancient History at the University of Auckland, New Zealand

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Ancient Roman farm women made wine, oil and profits. Historians dismissed them as 'housekeepers'

Female farm managers are hidden in plain sight in ancient Roman texts, mentioned in laws, literature and grave inscriptions across five cent

This re-examination of ancient history's many perceived realities is one of the most important trends in the field.

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5 'extremely rare' iron shackles discovered in France highlight Celtic slave trade 2,300 years ago

Archaeologists were surprised to find evidence of shackles in a pre-Roman settlement in France.

This kind of find, that reveals the hard reality of ancient life for the majority of people, are always sobering.

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3,400-year-old gold diadems and mouth-pieces from Cyprus blend the art of Egypt, Greece and the Near East

Buried in the rubble outside an ancient city, archaeologists have discovered golden diadems and mouthpieces stamped with sun-crowned bulls a

This kind of borrowing of iconography is the best evidence of how busy the ancient world was.

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18 ancient Egyptian tombs with dozens of gold 'tongues' discovered along the Mediterranean coast

Archaeologists have found 18 tombs at an ancient Egyptian site by the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.

Love those gold tongues.

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2,500-year-old tomb of a 'warrior prince' with chariot and helmet discovered on Italy's Adriatic coast

Archaeologists have excavated a royal burial ground of the Piceni, a mysterious pre-Roman civilization in Italy that is not well-known histo

Extraordinary find.

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6,000-year-old broken ribs discovered in Syria may be one of the oldest known cases of child abuse in the world

Around 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, an infant suffered severe injuries in what might be the Middle East's earliest documented case of chi

Depressingly, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

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Archaeologists In Bulgaria Just Unearthed An Ancient Roman Surgical Tool That’s Only Ever Been Found Once Before

Archaeologists excavating the ruins of Heraclea Sintica found an 1,800-year-old bronze lithulkos, a tool used to remove bladder stones.

I mean, glad they had something to get rid of bladder stones, but oh my word, just the thought of this being used without anaesthesia

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Archaeologists Just Unearthed A 2,500-Year-Old Ceremonial Bronze Chariot In Southwestern Spain

Archaeologists exploring Tartessian ruins at Casas del Turuñuelo have uncovered a ceremonial bronze chariot from the 5th century B.C.E.

Is this really a chariot? I mean, I can see it being used for ceremonial purposes, but isn't the body too shallow to be a chariot? Willing to be schooled in this.

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A goat's tooth may have solved a 100‑year debate about ancient Greek farming

The agricultural economy was the backbone of wealth in ancient Greece. Food brought people together, whether in smaller groups at a wine-dri

Another answer to a question I hadn't thought of to ask.

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The oldest evidence of mourning rituals reveals Paleolithic communities grieved like we do

Roughly 27,500 years ago, a 15-year-old boy was brutally mauled by a bear in Arene Candide in what is now Liguria, Italy. The attack tore th

Of course they did.

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Archaeologists discover tombs more than 5,000 years old that rewrite the history before pyramids

Scientists are investigating whether the funerary architecture of these tombs served as the foundation for the development of Egypt's pyrami

Fascinating. And perhaps give us insight into why tombs were built the way they were.

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The previously unknown rock inscriptions are some of the oldest — and largest — signs from the formative stages of the hieroglyphic script.

Very interesting find. I'm not sure that, that early, we can actually call them hieroglyphs, as part of an entrenched writing system, but they certainly are on the road to being hieroglyphs.

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Ancient curse tablet bears rare Greek inscription with binding spell intended to harm enemies

Heidelberg University researchers have deciphered the inscription on an ancient curse tablet, which was once used to invoke deities and demo

So much can be learned from this kind of artefact about the government or the society

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An 1,800-Year-Old Roman Mosaic Depicting A River God Surrounded By Fish And Reeds Was Just Unearthed In Turkey

Archaeologists unearthed an 1,800-year-old Roman-era mosaic depicting the river god Young Eurymedon among the ruins of ancient Aspendos.

Beautiful mosaic

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Lavish Roman villa discovered outside Rome's walls may have been frequented by Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius

The villa, which came to light because it was illegally excavated, was found in an area frequented two millennia ago by the emperors Hadrian

Wonderful find, but infuriating illegal beginnings. Why go in with a backhoe? If they're looking for antiquities, sure that's a bull in a china shop.

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Archaeologists uncover 4,000-year-old evidence of siege warfare in ancient Mesopotamia

At Kurd Qaburstan, an ancient site in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, archaeologists have uncovered the first substantial group of cuneiform a

Interesting. I was told ages ago that 80% of the untranslated cuneiform texts are administrative or business texts.

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A kohl bottle from York may hint at an ancient Egyptian in Roman-Britain

Ancient Egyptians are often depicted wearing black eyeliner, known as kohl, which was stored in small containers. While kohl containers are

Unexpected and unexpectedly cool find.