Garry Shaw

Ancient Maya city of Ucanal was contaminated with mercury, study reveals

Newly published research shows just how pervasive mercury—an essential element in the red cinnabar pigment favoured by the Maya—is at the site in Guatemala

Ancient Egyptian priestess’s remains found in father’s tomb

Remains from Middle Kingdom era, along with coffins and funerary objects, were found at the bottom of a hidden shaft south of Cairo

Ancient throne room of powerful Moche woman discovered in Peru

The so-called “Hall of the Moche Imaginary” is one of two elaborately decorated spaces archaeologists recently uncovered at Pañamarca

Warnews

Sudan’s cultural heritage is threatened to an 'unprecedented level', Unesco says

Looting by armed groups has been reported at institutions in Sudan, including the National Museum

Voynich Manuscript scans reveal early decoding attempt

Multispectral imaging has uncovered that the baffling symbols in the 15th-century document—dubbed the world’s most mysterious manuscript—were scrutinised by its owner, a Prague doctor

Rare ancient rock art found in Saudi Arabian lava tube

Sixteen panels, thought to have been created 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, include rare depictions of sheep

‘A milestone in the history of medicine’: ancient Egyptian skull shows possible signs of early cancer surgery

Tiny cut marks found on lesions inside the skull suggest that physicians working thousands of years ago may have operated on tumours

Possible Ancient Egyptian structure identified beside the Giza pyramids

The discovery of the L-shaped object was made in an ancient Egyptian elite cemetery beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu

Burned Maya royals' remains discovered in Guatemalan temple-pyramid

The discovery, at the ancient site of Ucanal, is believed to reflect a political regime change in the 8th or 9th century

Stunning frescoes revealed at Pompeii

Depicting scenes from Greek mythology, the works were discovered in the banqueting room of a large house in the ancient Roman city

Lost building discovered in Sicily’s ancient Valley of the Temples

Archaeologists working at a Unesco World Heritage site in Agrigento have revealed the remains of a previously unknown building

Archaeologists in Peru identified one of the oldest megalithic structures in the Americas

The 4,750-year-old circular stone plaza has been under analysis since 2018

Ancient Egyptians kept baboons in captivity—and then mummified them

Archeologists exhumed the primates' skeletons from Egypt's Valley of the Monkeys to discover how they lived 2,500 years ago

Layout of ancient stilt village in the Amazon may have been based on Pleiades star cluster

A village in Brazil that was in use for around 500 years, until the 10th century, may have been laid out on a celestial schematic

‘Thunder floor’ found at ancient Andean site in Peru

Silence of pre-Hispanic past broken with discovery of dance platform that could imitate the rumbling of thunder

Ancient ritual complex uncovered in Peru

The 1,200-year-old complex, which includes a massive platform topped with a temple, is associated with the Wari civilisation that thrived from AD600 to AD1000

Trove of coded letters written by an imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots are cracked

Around 55 messages composed by the monarch reveal her condition under captivity and negotiations for her release

Ancient Pompeii site installs 'invisible' solar panels that look like Roman terracotta tiles

New invisible technology is being used to generate electricity at the archaeological site—and will also be used for other historic buildings in Italy, Portugal and Croatia

'Where the swords met bone': Archaeological evidence found of Ancient Egyptian rebellion mentioned on the Rosetta Stone

Excavations at Tell Timai in northern Egypt has found remains from the failed Great Revolt against the Ptolemaic rulers

Unknown history of 600-year-old, coded Voynich Manuscript revealed by researcher

Stefan Guzy has scoured archives from the Holy Roman Empire and believes he has traced back the ownership of the mysterious cipher book

Climate change is destroying archaeological sites before we can study them, scientists warn

Ancient remains are best preserved in oceans, ice patches and wetlands—which are at risk of rising temperatures

Lost star catalogue found hidden on the pages of a medieval manuscript

An excerpt from the work of ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus had been erased and written over

Book Clubfeature

Four things you probably didn’t know about Tutankhamun’s mask

To mark 100 years since its discovery, Garry Shaw, the author of a new biography of the Egyptian Boy King, reveals some little-known facts about the world’s most famous death mask

The Voynich Manuscript’s mysteries endure more than a century after its discovery

Though scientific research has revealed much about the manuscript’s material properties and trajectory, its meaning remains elusive

Iron Age rock art depicting ancient Gods discovered beneath Turkish home

The ancient inscriptions were in a hidden tunnel complex found by looters before archaeologists carried out a rescue mission

Temple reliefs provide a rare glimpse into how artists made ancient Egyptian art

Less-experienced artists carved body parts, while master sculptors worked on faces among archaeologist's discoveries at the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

Archaeologists have mapped the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire

Little has been know about the city of Karakorum where Genghis Khan once established a camp—until now

'An important chap': archaeologists in Egypt discover the tomb of an ancient royal treasurer

The tomb from the time of King Ramesses II is the latest big discovery at Saqqara, south of Cairo

Napoleonic-era mass grave discovered beneath cellars in the Czech Republic

Skeletons of 12 men believed to have fought in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 have been discovered in Brno

Ancient tomb raider murder mystery discovered in China

Archaeologists find body of young Chinese man stabbed to death and dumped in a robbers' tunnel 1300 years ago