Tom Metcalfe

Live Science Contributor

Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.

Articles by: Tom Metcalfe

We see four oil lamps and one human skull against a black background.

Evidence of Roman-era 'death magic' used to speak with the deceased found near Jerusalem

By Tom Metcalfe published

Researchers think the morbid practice originated with pagan people who settled in the region after the Romans drove out the Jews.

We see a pure gold headband close up with the image of a bull with horns.

Elite Bronze Age tombs laden with gold and precious stones are 'among the richest ever found in the Mediterranean'

By Tom Metcalfe published

The obvious wealth of the tombs was based on the local production of copper, which was in great demand at the time to make bronze.

We see a man in a hat in a dirt hole and holding onto part of a rusty, decayed plane.

Metal detectorists find buried WWII aircraft in Ukraine while disarming wartime bomb

By Tom Metcalfe published

The aircraft were sent to the Soviet Union in 1941 to help the Allied war effort, but they were dumped to avoid payment.

A woman in a pink coat holds a rusty sword next to her toddler son and husband, who is wearing a red jacket. They are in a construction area next to an archaeologist in a green shirt.

Viking sword from warrior's grave unearthed in family's yard in Norway

By Tom Metcalfe published

The Viking Age weapon was discovered by a homeowner clearing land for an extension.

We see Victorian buildings in the background and a large dig site in the foreground.

Roman aqueduct and 'luxurious' burials unearthed during construction of underground parking garage in Serbia

By Tom Metcalfe published

The finds in Belgrade date from the period when the city was a regional center of the Roman Empire.

A bronze mask against a gray background.

Complete Bronze Age town with elite tombs discovered in northern China

By Tom Metcalfe published

The site is one of the largest ever discovered dating from China's early Shang Dynasty.

We see the skeletal remains of a woman in a dirt grave. A magnified image box shows an ivory ring around her thigh.

Enigmatic Anglo-Saxon ivory rings discovered in elite burials came from African elephants 4,000 miles away

By Tom Metcalfe published

Hundreds of elite Anglo-Saxon women were buried with mysterious ivory rings. Now, researchers know the ivory came from elephants living about 4,000 miles away from England.

We see a bird's-eye view image of the sandy and rocky desert of northern Peru. Running diagonally in the photo is a high stone wall.

1,000-year-old wall in Peru was built to protect against El Niño floods, research suggests

By Tom Metcalfe published

The research found flood sediments only on the eastern side of a desert wall built almost 1,000 years ago.

We see a dirt field with a flattened barrow (mound) that has cut marks in it like rays from a sun. There are workers and an excavator.

Vast cemetery of Bronze Age burial mounds unearthed near Stonehenge

By Tom Metcalfe published

The cemetery was built at the same time as most of Stonehenge.

We see an underwater wreck of a submarine. The hatch is closed and sea life is growing on the metal of the sub.

Top-secret special-ops submarine from World War II discovered after 20-year search

By Tom Metcalfe published

A veteran Greek diver announced that he'd discovered the wreck of HMS Triumph after searching for more than 20 years.

We see the front of white marble Pan statue against a dark background. It includes his head and torso. He is playing the pipes.

Broken pagan statue of Greek god Pan unearthed at early church ruins in Istanbul

By Tom Metcalfe published

A marble statue of the Greek god Pan was found in "backfill" at an archaeological site in Istanbul that probably came from elsewhere in the ancient city.

Here we see a Nazca line in gray of a bird, with its wings spread out wide.

AI identifies 3 more 'Nazca Lines' figures in Peru

By Tom Metcalfe published

The deep-learning system is 21 times faster than a human at finding ancient "geoglyphs" in aerial photographs of Peru's Nazca Desert.

We see the stone-carved statue of an elephant with its trunk curved downward toward the ground. It is in a dirt-covered area of a grass field.

2,300-year-old Buddhist elephant statue from India is one of the oldest known

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists in eastern India have unearthed an elephant statue thought to date to the third century B.C., when the region was mainly Buddhist.

Here we see a hand clenching around the end of a wooden spear, with the forefinger in the "open ring" finger loop.

150-year-old mystery of strange half-circles from Paleolithic site in France finally solved

By Tom Metcalfe published

Hurling spear-thrower projectiles at archery targets revealed that these loops may have been finger grips.

Here we see an underground chamber with brick-lined walls.

Hidden tunnel and rooms unearthed under 1,500-year-old church in Istanbul

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have excavated subterranean rooms and a tunnel under an early church in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

An ancient Egyptian painted relief depicting Pharaoh Ramesses III with Isis.

What was the longest-lasting civilization?

By Tom Metcalfe published

Is the longest-lasting civilization China, ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia? Here's a look at the evidence for each of these enduring cultures.

Here we see an ancient leather saddle against a white background. It is brown and kind of heart shaped and looks like a pillow with hand stitching.

2,700-year-old leather saddle found in woman's tomb in China is oldest on record

By Tom Metcalfe published

The elaborate leather saddle is dated from between roughly 700 B.C. and 400 B.C. and may be the earliest ever found.

A fresco from Herculaneum shows prayers to Isis in a temple of the cult, while a priest dressed as the Egyptian god Bes performs a ritual dance. What seem to be two ibises — sacred Egyptian birds — can be seen near the foot of a burner in the temple.

Ancient Romans sacrificed birds to the goddess Isis, burnt bones in Pompeii reveal

By Tom Metcalfe published

The ancient remains of at least 10 birds have been found at a temple of Isis in the Roman city of Pompeii, indicating that birds were a key feature of worshipping the goddess.

Archaeologists found the 5,400 year-old stone tomb in the "neck" area of a prominent mountain that looks from some angles like the head of a sleeping giant. In the foreground we see the opening on a tomb. In the background we see the prominent mountain known as La Peña de los Enamorados (the Rock of the Lovers) found in Spain.

5,400-year-old tomb discovered in Spain perfectly captures the summer solstice

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have discovered a 5,400-year-old stone tomb beside a prominent lone mountain in southern Spain, indicating it was a local focus for the prehistoric people of the region.

We see the stony ground with a prehistoric half moon-shaped burial.

7,000-year-old tomb in Oman holds dozens of prehistoric skeletons

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have found the remains of dozens of people in a roughly 7,000-year-old stone tomb in Oman.

The archaeologists speculate that the physician may have been travelling beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire to treat someone when he died. Here we see an old human skull on a table.

1st-century burial holds Roman doctor buried with medical tools, including 'top-quality' scalpels

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists in Hungary have unearthed a 2,000-year-old collection of medical tools, including forceps and scalpels. They think the tools belonged to a physician from the Roman Empire who had traveled beyond its frontiers to treat patients.

The sites each have the classic "playing card" shape of temporary Roman military camps. The defensive walls were made by piling up rocks; small fortifications called tituli were built in front of its entrances.

Ancient Roman camps from secret military mission spotted using Google Earth

By Tom Metcalfe published

An archaeologist using Google Earth has spotted the traces of three Roman military camps in the southern Jordanian desert, prompting a rethink of the region's history.

A close-up of a wooden Tlingit totem pole. A single bone from a cave in Alaska was found to have come from a Native American woman who is related to today's Tlingit, a new study finds. It's a close-up view of the face of a totem pole. It has 2 large eyes, heavy black eyebrows, a snort snout complete with red lips and fanged teeth.

3,000-year-old 'bear' bone from Alaska isn't what it seems

By Tom Metcalfe published

A bone found in a cave in Alaska and thought to from a bear is actually from a human, casting new light on the genetics of Native American peoples.

A silver coin with Arabic writing on it.

Double hoard of Viking treasure discovered near Harald Bluetooth's fort in Denmark

By Tom Metcalfe published

A metal detectorist has unearthed two hoards of Viking silver in a field in Denmark, including coins made during the reign of the powerful Danish king Harald Bluetooth.

Here this photo shows an aerial view of two people digging on the burial ground (a grassy area free of trees or shrubs).

Seemingly 'empty' burial mound is hiding a 1,200-year-old Viking ship

By Tom Metcalfe published

Ground-penetrating radar has revealed the outline of a Viking ship in a mound in southwest Norway that was once thought to be empty.