Thursday, October 8, 2026
Aqueduct Uncovered at Roman Army Camp in Slovakia
Ancient Engineering

Aqueduct Uncovered at Roman Army Camp in Slovakia

Excavation of Roman aqueduct, Rusovce, Slovakia BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA—The Slovak Spectator reports that a second Roman aqueduct was discovered in the Rusovce section of southern Bratislava during renovations at the Rusovce Chateau. A Roman camp housing some 1,000 soldiers stood on the site from the second century to the fourth century A.D. “We can now speak…

Roman Emperor Identified on Karnak Stele
Ancient Engineering

Roman Emperor Identified on Karnak Stele

Stele engraved with depiction of Tiberius and the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu LUXOR, EGYPT—Restoration work on a gate to the north of the Karnak temple complex has uncovered a 2,000-year-old stele depicting the Roman emperor Tiberius, according to a Live Science report. The emperor, who ruled from A.D. 14 to 37, is shown with…

Squishy Photonic Switches Promise Fast Low Power Logic

Photonic devices, which rely on light instead of electricity, have the potential to be faster and more energy efficient than today’s electronics. They also present a unique opportunity to develop devices using soft materials, such as polymers and gels, which are poor conductors of electricity, but are easier to manufacture and more environmentally friendly. The…

Tracking Neanderthal Turtle Hunters
Ancient Engineering

Tracking Neanderthal Turtle Hunters

This Illustration shows a European pond turtle crawling next to the foot of a European straight-tusked elephant. NEUMARK-NORD, GERMANY—A new analysis of turtle shell fragments unearthed at the Paleolithic site of Neumark-Nord in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt suggests Neanderthals regularly hunted the diminutive European pond turtle. A team led by archaeologist Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser from…

Lost Ancient Automatic Weapon Fired at Pompeii?
Ancient Engineering

Lost Ancient Automatic Weapon Fired at Pompeii?

Digital reconstruction of hypothesized polybolos bolt impacts AVERSA, ITALY—The polybolos has long been a legendary weapon of Roman military might, both in the sense that it could inflict tremendous damage and that it may never have existed. But archaeologists and engineers from the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and the University of Bologna have identified…

Sacred Water Complex Unearthed in North Sinai
Ancient Engineering

Sacred Water Complex Unearthed in North Sinai

Aerial view of ritual complex, Tell el-Farama, Egypt TELL EL-FARAMA, EGYPT—Archaeologists have unearthed a religious complex with a central pool dedicated to water rituals at the ancient city of Pelusium in northeastern Egypt, Ahram Online reports. In antiquity, the circular basin, which measures 115 feet in diameter and is enclosed by red brick walls, was…

Black Gold: Sumerian Bitumen Recipes Worked Like Asphalt, 4,000 Years Ago

Black Gold: Sumerian Bitumen Recipes Worked Like Asphalt, 4,000 Years Ago Sumerian craftspeople in Mesopotamia didn’t simply scoop up natural bitumen and slap it on boats or bricks. A new materials study suggests they followed repeatable “recipes” that controlled strength, flexibility, and waterproofing in ways that look surprisingly familiar to modern asphalt engineering. The research focuses…

Roman Forum Found Beneath Barcelona Hotel Rewrites Barcino

Roman Forum Found Beneath Barcelona Hotel Rewrites Barcino What started as a routine elevator shaft installation in a Barcelona hotel basement has turned into one of the most significant Roman archaeology discoveries in Spain in decades. Excavations beneath the Gran Hotel Barcino in the city's Gothic Quarter have uncovered a monumental stone pavement dating to…