Friday, October 9, 2026
Source of Megalithic Monument in Yorkshire Identified
Ancient Engineering

Source of Megalithic Monument in Yorkshire Identified

YORK, ENGLAND—According to a SciNews report, Anthony Clarke of Curtin University and his colleagues analyzed zircon and apatite crystals in the Devil’s Arrows—three megaliths standing in alignment in North Yorkshire—in an effort to trace their origins. The stones, each of which weighs more than 25 tons, are thought to have been erected around 2000 B.C.…

Indonesian Hunter-Gatherers May Have Treated Toothaches with Betel Nuts
Ancient Engineering

Indonesian Hunter-Gatherers May Have Treated Toothaches with Betel Nuts

Betel nut fruits with a dehusked betel nut in foreground QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA—Betel nuts, a type of palm seed (Areca catechu) containing a neuroactive substance called arecoline, were repeatedly sucked by hunter-gatherers living on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, Live Science reports. Adam Brumm of Griffith University and his colleagues examined grooves in the heavily damaged…

Ancient Melon Seeds Studied
Ancient Engineering

Ancient Melon Seeds Studied

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI—According to a statement released by Washington University in St. Louis, analysis of DNA recovered from ancient melon seeds recovered in southeastern China suggests that the fruit originated in South Asia and its flesh was not as sweet as that of modern melons. The melon seeds, which was conducted by Susanne Renner and…

Neolithic Bones From Spain Show Evidence of Cannibalism
Ancient Engineering

Neolithic Bones From Spain Show Evidence of Cannibalism

Skull of a child and forehead of an adult from the Malalmuerzo Cave with injuries and flaying marks GRANADA, SPAIN—Phys.org reports that Palmira Saladié of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA) and her colleagues analyzed some 1,000 human bones and teeth unearthed in three caves in southern Spain for evidence of…

Medieval Pottery Workshop Uncovered in Tbilisi

TBILISI, GEORGIA—According to a report in The Independent, roadwork in central Tbilisi has revealed a 1,000-year-old pottery workshop. Founded in the fourth century A.D., Tbilisi had become a stop on the Silk Road by the tenth century. Over the course of the medieval period, the city was ruled by the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, the…

Burial Platform Excavated at Peru’s Chan Chan
Ancient Engineering

Burial Platform Excavated at Peru’s Chan Chan

TRUJILLO, PERU—Andina News Agency reports that a funerary platform where 38 Chimú individuals were buried some 600 years ago has been discovered at the site of Chan Chan on the northern coast of Peru. The central chamber and two side chambers were uncovered at the Gran Chimú Palace. Archaeologist Jorge Meneses said that an eight-foot-long…

Another Unusual Burial Found at Ancient Polish Cemetery
Ancient Engineering

Another Unusual Burial Found at Ancient Polish Cemetery

Necklace made of teeth WROCŁAW, POLAND—A second Neolithic burial was discovered in a Roman-era cemetery in southwestern Poland, according to a Live Science report. The man had been buried with two human heads, amber beads, a flint blade, a necklace made of 42 animal teeth, and a battle ax made of serpentinite, a greenish rock.…

Roman-Era Mosaic Floor Unearthed in Northern Turkey
Ancient Engineering

Roman-Era Mosaic Floor Unearthed in Northern Turkey

Sculpture head of Eros KASTAMONU, TURKEY—Türkiye Today reports that mosaic flooring and a sculpture of the head of Eros, the god of love, have been uncovered in the basilica in the ancient city of Pompeiopolis, which is located in northern Turkey’s Black Sea region. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said that the basilica was…