Hacker News with Generative AI: Archaeology

A 2k-year-old battle ended in fire, and a tree species never recovered (arstechnica.com)
The buried roots and stumps of an ancient forest in southern China are the charred remains of an ancient war and the burning of a capital city, according to a recent study from researchers who carbon-dated the stumps and measured charcoal and pollen in the layers of peat surrounding them.
Ancient History, Archaeology, Climate Change, Environmental Science
6 points by pseudolus 15 hours ago | 0 comments
Egyptologist in Paris Discovers Secret Messages on the Luxor Obelisk (gizmodo.com)
In 1830, the viceroy of Egypt gifted France a 3,300-year-old Egyptian obelisk—a carved stone pillar with a pyramidal top.
Egyptology, History, Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Paris
20 points by rntn 1 day ago | 0 comments
A Roman Gladiator and a Lion Met in Combat. Only One Walked Away (nytimes.com)
A discovery in an English garden led to the first direct evidence that man fought beast to entertain the subjects of the Roman Empire.
History, Archaeology, Ancient Rome, Gladiators
32 points by diodorus 2 days ago | 49 comments
A Gladiator's Marble-Etched Epitaph Is Found in an Ancient Roman Necropolis (smithsonianmag.com)
Over 2,200 years ago, the Republic of Rome founded a colony called Liternum on Italy’s west coast, just north of present-day Naples.
Archaeology, History, Ancient Rome, Italy
11 points by bryanrasmussen 6 days ago | 0 comments
The Indian explorer who uncovered an ancient civilisation (bbc.com)
An Indian archaeologist, whose career was marked by brilliance and controversy, made one of the world's greatest historical discoveries. Yet he remains largely forgotten today.
History, Archaeology, India, Ancient Civilizations
8 points by ViktorRay 6 days ago | 0 comments
More details for London's new Roman Basilica museum revealed (ianvisits.co.uk)
Following the recent discovery of Roman ruins in the City of London, more details have been revealed about the plans for a new museum of Roman London’s history.
London, Museums, Archaeology, Roman History
51 points by zeristor 7 days ago | 4 comments
British rebellion against Roman legions caused by drought, research finds (theguardian.com)
A series of exceptionally dry summers that caused famine and social breakdown were behind one of the most severe threats to Roman rule of Britain, according to new academic research.
History, Archaeology, Climate Change, Britain, Roman Empire
29 points by pseudolus 8 days ago | 21 comments
New study reveals wealth inequality was never inevitable (archaeologymag.com)
A groundbreaking study published in the journal PNAS is overturning traditional wisdom regarding the origins and inevitability of wealth inequality.
Wealth Inequality, Archaeology, Social Science, Economics
19 points by sparkle_fish 9 days ago | 3 comments
1,700 year old egg never broke (atlasobscura.com)
About 50 miles northwest of London sits a very old wishing well. Romans used to toss objects into the water here, offering items to the gods for good luck. Nearly 2,000 years later, archaeologists are still finding ancient artifacts from what is now a large, muddy pit, including coins, ceramic pots, shoes, and even bones from between 270 and 300 AD.
Archaeology, History, England, Ancient Artifacts, Wishing Wells
100 points by demadog 11 days ago | 35 comments
A Passion for Fruit (archaeology.org)
Archaeology, History, Food
16 points by diodorus 12 days ago | 1 comments
Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands (nature.com)
Humans were not thought to have reached and inhabited such small and isolated islands until the regional shift to Neolithic lifeways, around 7.5 thousand years ago (ka)1.
Archaeology, History, Mediterranean, Human Migration, Islands
44 points by rntn 13 days ago | 15 comments
A Remarkable Newly Deciphered Hittite Tablet Sheds New Light on the Trojan War (anatolianarchaeology.net)
The Hittites, creators of invaluable written records from the Anatolian Bronze Age, have gifted us thousands of cuneiform tablets unearthed at sites like their capital, Hattusa (modern Boğazköy, Çorum).
Archaeology, History, Ancient Civilizations, Trojan War
34 points by bookofjoe 13 days ago | 10 comments
7k-year-old skeletons from the green Sahara reveal a mysterious human lineage (smithsonianmag.com)
Researchers recently sequenced the genomes of two naturally mummified women found in Libya
Ancient History, Genetics, Archaeology, Africa
96 points by pseudolus 14 days ago | 33 comments
Lost City of the Samurai (archaeology.org)
Archaeology, History, Japan
30 points by Thevet 14 days ago | 1 comments
Once lush Sahara was home to a surprisingly unique group of humans (sciencealert.com)
Currently a harsh, arid sandscape, it's hard to believe the Sahara was once studded with sparkling water bodies that nourished lush green savannas. But the remains of human pastoralists and their livestock have been found in the region's rock shelters.
Sahara Desert, Archaeology, History, Climate Change
143 points by gmays 16 days ago | 32 comments
Titanic digital scan reveals new details of ship's final hours (bbc.com)
A detailed analysis of a full-sized digital scan of the Titanic has revealed new insight into the doomed liner's final hours.
Titanic, History, Technology, Archaeology, Shipwrecks
47 points by jnord 17 days ago | 29 comments
Ancient Dagger Up to 2.5k Years Old W Stars/Moons/Geometric Patterns Unearthed (smithsonianmag.com)
After a recent storm, two metal detectorists went searching for treasure at a beach in northern Poland. They discovered a piece of history lodged in a lump of clay: a small ornamental dagger decorated with stars, crescent moons and geometric patterns.
Archaeology, History, Ancient Artifacts, Metal Detecting
144 points by bookofjoe 18 days ago | 35 comments
Mass grave of Roman soldiers found under Vienna sports field (gizmodo.com)
Construction workers have discovered a mass grave from a battle involving ancient Roman legionaries.
Archaeology, History, Ancient Rome, Austria
111 points by speckx 22 days ago | 52 comments
Stone tools discovery suggests Neanderthals migrated as far east as China (cnn.com)
Archaeology, Neanderthals, China, Migration
6 points by zfg 24 days ago | 0 comments
Ukrainian Soldiers Unearth Ancient Greek Burial (archaeology.org)
Ukraine, Archaeology, Ancient Greece, History
84 points by isaacfrond 25 days ago | 8 comments
Cuneiforms: New digital tool for translating ancient texts (sciencedaily.com)
Major milestone reached in digital Cuneiform studies: Researchers present an innovative tool that offers many new possibilities.
Ancient Languages, Archaeology, Digital Tools, Technology, History
31 points by docmechanic 26 days ago | 3 comments
2,200-year-old pyramid filled with coins and weapons found near Dead Sea (livescience.com)
Archaeology, History, Ancient History, Israel
31 points by permo-w 29 days ago | 10 comments
Lost manuscript of Merlin and King Arthur hidden inside another book (bbc.com)
An intriguing sequel to the tale of Merlin has sat unseen within the bindings of an Elizabethan deeds register for nearly 400 years. Researchers have finally been able to reveal it with cutting-edge techniques.
History, Literature, Archaeology, Manuscripts
11 points by rolph 31 days ago | 0 comments
Iron Age hoard found in North Yorkshire could change Britain's history (theguardian.com)
One of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK has been revealed, potentially altering our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago.
Archaeology, History, Britain, Iron Age
6 points by 6LLvveMx2koXfwn 32 days ago | 0 comments
Fragment of a human face aged over one million years discovered (sciencedaily.com)
The discovery of a human facial fragment aged over one million years represents the oldest known face in western Europe and confirms the region was inhabited by two species of human during the early Pleistocene, finds a new study involving a UCL researcher.
Paleontology, Archaeology, Human Evolution, Europe
66 points by docmechanic 33 days ago | 48 comments
The Mystery of the Oldest Writing System Remained Unsolved Until 1856 (smithsonianmag.com)
On a late-summer day in 1856, a letter carrier stepped from a mail coach in front of a three-story townhouse in Mayfair, in central London. Crossing the threshold, the courier handed a wax-sealed envelope to a clerk. The missive was addressed to Edwin Norris, the secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, one of Europe’s leading research institutions.
History, Archaeology, Writing Systems, Ancient Civilizations
80 points by wyclif 34 days ago | 6 comments
The great Hobby Lobby artifact heist (meghanboilard.substack.com)
Around four thousand years ago, in a metropolis called Irisagrig situated between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, a people thrived.
History, Archaeology, Ancient Mesopotamia
171 points by diodorus 34 days ago | 201 comments
Modern humans descended from at least 2 ancestral populations (cam.ac.uk)
Modern humans descended from not one, but at least 2 ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.
Human Evolution, Genetics, Anthropology, Archaeology
6 points by geox 35 days ago | 0 comments
Ancient DNA Shows Stone Age Europeans Voyaged by Sea to Africa (nature.com)
Ancient DNA shows Stone Age Europeans voyaged by sea to Africa
Ancient History, Genetics, Archaeology, Africa, Europe
120 points by gmays 36 days ago | 54 comments
The Race to Decipher Cuneiform in the 19th Century (smithsonianmag.com)
On a late-summer day in 1856, a letter carrier stepped from a mail coach in front of a three-story townhouse in Mayfair, in central London. Crossing the threshold, the courier handed a wax-sealed envelope to a clerk. The missive was addressed to Edwin Norris, the secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, one of Europe’s leading research institutions.
History, Archaeology, Language, Ancient Civilizations
38 points by Petiver 37 days ago | 2 comments