2000yearold

The Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Malta, Angela Cervetti, visited the archaeological excavation site to meet USF students and USF IDEx staff members to learn more about the dig and their role in the international research project. Credit: Davide Tanasi A team of researchers and six students from the University of South Florida have discovered a centuries-old house in exceptional condition during an excavation…

Ancient starch grains of ginger (Zingiber officinale), cinnamon (Cinnamomum sp.) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) were identified on the surface of this footed sandstone grinding slab. Credit: Khanh Trung Kien Nguyen, Author provided It's hard to imagine a world without spice today. Fast global trade has allowed the import and export of all manner of delicious ingredients that help bring Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian,…

Researchers from the University of Cordoba have, for the first time, identified the components of a 2,000-year-old Roman perfume discovered in a sealed vessel in Carmona, Spain. Chemical analysis revealed that the perfume, found in an affluent family’s mausoleum, was based on olive oil and contained patchouli, an Indian-origin scent previously unknown in Roman times. Credit: University of CórdobaA small vessel of ointment discovered in a funerary urn from the ancient Roman city of Carmo, present-day Carmona in Seville…

The earliest base for a Southeast Asian curry has been identified on a sandstone slab excavated from the Óc Eo site in Vietnam.In a rare finding, researchers found a range of spices including turmeric, ginger, fingerroot, sand ginger, galangal, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon on grinding tools and the sandstone slab that was originally excavated in 2018.The spices are said to be around 2,000 years old, and are still among the key ingredients used to form the base of these Asian curries today."The spices used today have not…

An amazingly complex computer from over 2,000 years ago has kept scientists on their toes since its discovery. The computer, which has been dubbed the ‘first computer,’ is what we call an Antikythera mechanism. It’s essentially an astronomical calendar that was first discovered in a Greek shipwreck in 1901. The calendar is a hand-powered time-keeping instrument, researchers have determined. It uses a wind-up system that tracks the sun, the moon, and even the planets’ celestial time. Because it tracks the moon,…

MIAMI—For nearly 2 years, bustling teams of archaeologists—totaling more than 120 researchers on some days—have excavated a sprawling waterfront lot here in one of this seaside city’s toniest neighborhoods. The diggers have uncovered ancient human remains and some 1 million artifacts that are providing rare insight into a major Native American settlement, known as Tequesta, which flourished at the mouth of the Miami River some 2000 years ago. “It’s a truly…

In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius lay waste to a library in Herculaneum that was owned by the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. Now, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and some scientists are giving $250,000 away in prizes to the person or team who successfully usesmodern technology to decipher scrolls recovered from the site of the library.It’s called the Vesuvius Challenge and the winners who crack the codes first could receive a $150,000 Grand Prize and $100,000 in Progress Prizes. Those who enter the Vesuvius Challenge will…

Credit: Antiquity (2023). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2022.170 Researchers have recovered and studied archaeological evidence of an ancient stringed musical instrument crafted from deer antler in southern Vietnam. Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from The Australian National University (ANU) said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old—dating from…

Archaeologists have uncovered what could be a rare example of an ancient sex toy carved from wood, found in a Roman fort known for a plethora of phallic motifs.The ruins of Vindolanda fort sit near Hadrian's Wall in England on the borderlands of what was once the great Roman Empire.On this politically tense frontier, where Roman soldiers faced off with 'barbarians' to the north, symbols representing penises were a ubiquitous sign of protection. Imagery of male genitalia can be found on just about anything, it seems;…

Triadic structures in El Mirador: (a) LiDAR image showing triadic structures in the civic center of El Mirador (Tigre pyramid is the largest in this section of the city); (b) LiDAR 3D view showing the pyramidal complex of La Danta, located on the east side of the civic center at El Mirador. Credit: Ancient Mesoamerica (2022). DOI: 10.1017/S0956536122000244 A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S.,…