Latest articles by Tom Metcalfe
Stone Age Europeans mastered spear-throwers 10,000 years earlier than we thought, study suggests
The researchers say their study pushes back the dates for the use of spear-throwers in Europe by more than 10,000 years.
'Magical' Roman wind chime with phallus, believed to ward off evil eye, unearthed in Serbia
Phallic objects like this were common in the Roman world to ward off evil.
500-year-old Hebrew note reveals 'lost' earthquake swarm in Italy
A Hebrew note found in the Vatican Library describes a 1446 earthquake swarm previously unknown to seismologists.
Remains of 2,000-year-old sheep-drawn chariot discovered near 'Terracotta Army' in China
Only the sheep's skeletons remain, but such vehicles appear in Chinese lore.
500-year-old lion drawing in Puerto Rican cave may have been made by an enslaved African
There were no lions in 16th-century Puerto Rico — so was the cave drawing made by someone who'd actually seen one?
Dozens of centuries-old stone grenades from Ming dynasty discovered at Great Wall of China
The weapons are among a variety of explosive devices used in China during the Ming dynasty.
'World-class aquifer' enabled ancient African kingdom to thrive in the Sahara for hundreds of years
The rise and fall of the Garamantes in what is now Libya is a cautionary tale for regions that rely on ancient groundwater.
Cannibalism was a common funerary rite in northwest Europe near end of last ice age
Research suggests cannibalism was a funerary rite for the Magdalenian people in northwest Europe, but others preferred to bury their dead.
2nd-century Alexander the Great statue with lion's-mane hairstyle unearthed in Turkey
The discovery shows the popularity of the ancient ruler hundreds of years after his death.
Norwegian family finds 1,200-year-old Viking treasure while searching for a lost earring in their yard
The discovery includes two roughly 1,200-year-old brooches, made from bronze and once gilded with gold, that may have belonged to an aristocratic woman.
1,400-year-old tomb of emperor in China reveals evidence of royal power struggle among brothers and a warlord
An inscription on the 1,400-year-old tomb shows the dead man, who was posthumously declared emperor, was buried as a duke.
'Ritual text' from lost Indo-European language discovered on ancient clay tablet in Turkey
Researchers are still studying the ancient text of an unknown language, written in cuneiform on a clay tablet.
Cup crafted from prehistoric human skull discovered in cave in Spain
A new study suggests that Spain's ancient peoples shared complex beliefs about death and the afterlife.
Early medieval warrior found buried with his weapons in Germany
Archaeologists think the man died during the Merovingian period, an early stage of the Germanic-speaking empire of the Franks.
14th-century shipboard cannon that fired 'stone shots' may be Europe's oldest on record
An analysis of cloth found inside the cannon suggests that it dates to the 14th century and that the weapon was charged with gunpowder and ready to fire.
Early human relatives purposefully crafted stones into spheres 1.4 million years ago, study claims
The stone spheres were crafted by early hominins who were trying to create symmetry in the objects, a new study suggests.
Who were the first farmers?
Farming fundamentally altered the way humans live, eventually changing people from nomadic hunter-gatherers to sedentary city-dwellers.
Divers recover US airman's remains from WWII bomber wreck near Malta
The remains have been identified as those of a gunner killed when the badly damaged aircraft crashed into the sea in 1943.
Mysterious 17th-century 'cauldron' may be primitive submarine used to salvage treasure from a sunken galleon
The object was found on the seafloor off Florida, near the wreck of a Spanish treasure galleon.
Wreckage from Tuskegee airman's warplane recovered from Lake Huron
The recovered wreck will help tell the full story of America's first Black military pilots.
See the likeness of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who led Scottish clan uprising against the British crown
The new look of Charles Edward Stuart as a young man is based on forensic studies of his death masks.
Synagogue unearthed in Russia may be one of the oldest outside Israel. But not everyone is convinced.
Archaeologists think the temple dates to the first century B.C., before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Europe's oldest known village teetered on stilts over a Balkan lake 8,000 years ago
The village likely dates to the time of Europe's first farmers, who arrived from Anatolia about 8,000 years ago.
