News about archaeology: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
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Archaeologists have discovered remains of silk about 3,000 years old on bronze masks from the sacrificial pits of the Sanxingdui complex in Sichuan province. The fabric was found on 101 objects, and the study results have been published in the journal Antiquity.
Otabek YusupovItalian archaeologists beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem have discovered a quarry, cultivated plots, a garden and rock-cut tombs. The finds correspond to the Gospel descriptions of the place of Jesus' burial, but they do not constitute scientific proof.
Aziz KarimovDuring October archaeological work in the Nurata Range on the territory of the Koshrabad district of the Samarkand region, petroglyphs from the Mesolithic and Neolithic were discovered, as well as a Bronze Age settlement with a cultural layer 60 cm thick. This was reported by the Yahyo Gulyamov Samarkand Institute of Archaeology.
Otabek YusupovAn international team led by Takumi Tsutaya used paleoproteomics to extract eland collagen from ochre 60,000 years old, found at the Klipdrift complex in the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The find is rare for Africa and confirms the method works in hot climates.
Aziz KarimovThe Royal Commission for AlUla announced the start of the 2026–27 archaeological season in AlUla and Khaybar. The program includes excavations, digital documentation, heritage protection and training of Saudi specialists, while research will cover Hegra, Dadan, the Khaybar oasis and historic pilgrimage and trade routes.
Sevara AzamovaScientists have established that the white-stone blocks from the base of the Dmitry Donskoy monument on Kulikovo Field come from the locks of the Ivanovsky Canal, built from 1701 according to Peter the Great's design. The stones now adorn the facade of the museum in Mokhovoye.
Sevara AzamovaWestminster Abbey archaeologist Warwick Rodwell has established that the remains from a limestone sarcophagus found in 1869 belong to a high-ranking monk who lived in the late 10th to mid-11th century. The main candidates are Abbot Elfwig, who died around 1020, and his successor Wulnoth, who died in 1049.
Javlon TursunovScientists from Moscow State University and Chinese specialists examined two chalk objects from the Tompakasar and Altyn-Asar burial grounds, belonging to the Jetyasar culture. Analysis showed that the base of the ancient product was natural chalk with plant additives, presumably cinnamon, wormwood and mint.
Javlon TursunovA €1.46 million restoration has begun in Pompeii of one of the most luxurious houses of the ancient Roman city — the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus. The work aims to preserve the frescoes and decorative interiors of the four-storey residence, believed to have belonged to a wealthy Roman magistrate. The restoration was preceded by structural stabilization and excavations completed in 2021–2023.
Sevara AzamovaThe international Arabiancairns project, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), has been documenting protohistoric funerary monuments on the Arabian Peninsula since 2022. In the Bisyah area of central Oman, about 5,500 tombs have been mapped over an area of 4,700 sq. km. The finds point to trade ties with Mesopotamia, Iran and Baluchistan, as well as similarities in funerary traditions with monuments in the UAE.
Sevara AzamovaEgyptian farmer Khaled Khalil discovered a stone with ancient carvings on his plot in the village of Behbeit El-Hagar and reported it to the authorities. Rescue excavations by the Supreme Council of Antiquities uncovered a 1.6-meter-tall head of Ramesses II, a fragment of a second statue, and a granite block with hieroglyphs. The full height of the statue is estimated to have reached 8.5 meters.
Madina UsmonovaIn September, archaeologists worked on the Dnipro near Khortytsia Island close to Zaporizhzhia, despite hostilities roughly 45 km away. Among the finds are a Bronze Age deer antler, ceramics presumably Scythian, a fragment of a Byzantine amphora, an 18th-century anchor, and a wooden dugout boat about a thousand years old. After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023, the territory of Velykyi Luh was exposed, with monuments from the Neolithic to the 20th century. More than 100 organizations are advocating for the territory's inclusion on the UNESCO list.
Madina UsmonovaAn expedition of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has discovered in the village of Behbeit El-Hagar fragments of two monumental statues of a pharaoh and pink granite with hieroglyphs associated with Ramesses II. Excavations began after a local resident reported an inscription found on a stone.
Madina UsmonovaExcavations have begun at the Jarkutan archaeological site in Surkhandarya region under the leadership of Komil Rahimov. Mud-brick structures, a hearth 70 cm in diameter, a child burial, ceramic vessels and household pits dating to the 3rd–2nd millennia BCE have been found.
Madina UsmonovaCambridge scientists described a 15 mm diameter hole in the left shoulder blade of a Neanderthal from Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. In their view, the spear passed through the chest, likely damaging the lung and major vessels. This may be the earliest evidence of lethal violence with a wooden spear, although a hunting accident cannot be ruled out.
Madina UsmonovaDuring excavations at the 'Steigäcker IV' development site in Großköllnbach (Lower Bavaria), a burial of a young person of the Linear Pottery culture, about 7,000 years old, was discovered. The skeleton lies in an atypical position, and deformation of the cervical spine was noted. About 150 settlement features were also documented, including longhouses and clay ovens.
Madina UsmonovaArchaeologists have discovered the remains of a Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Turkey. The vessel is between 4,400 and 4,700 years old and was built around the same time as the Great Pyramid of Cheops.
Madina Usmonova
