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This #Roman potsherd discovered in Tuscany has a very unique design #FindsFriday Whilst most terra sigillata pottery was decorated with small, standardised stamps, this example is large and ornate, hinting at an unseen side of Roman craft production. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Illustration, photograph and 3D model of a fragment of pottery. On its surface is stamped an image of a rectangular altar with a projecting cornice and base, which both appear to be decorated. Across the main body of the altar runs a horizontal garland with perhaps a left-facing songbird perched on top of a twig, and possibly a piece of fruit to its immediate right. Underneath this are stamped initials reading 'AV(in ligature)IL'.

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In 1958, a former colonial battery was repurposed into a detention centre and used by Cuba's Batista dictatorship to torture revolutionaries. Archaeological study of the site uncovered physical remains of authoritarian violence, but also resistance. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Excavation and interior of a stone cistern, containing demolition debris.

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Were fish transported to Scandinavia's remote mountain lakes by birds carrying their eggs upstream? #WorldEggDay New research suggests they were instead introduced by prehistoric humans, pointing to early animal management by hunter-gatherers. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Diagram displaying the elevation of large watercourses in the Jotunheimen mountain area in relation to sea level. Many lakes are very high up.

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NEW Over 1500 instances of Coptic graffiti and 163 Christian structures have been discovered on Luxor’s West Bank. By examining routes between them, new research sheds light on connectivity between Christian communities in Late Antique Egypt. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Section of a sandstone brick wall in a desert, engraved with Coptic Christian symbols.

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Carloman I and Charlemagne were crowned kings of the Franks #OnThisDay in AD 768. Charlemagne in particular had a profound influence on the Middle Ages and much coinage across north-west Europe was made of Carolingian silver due to his economic reforms. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Two silver coins of Charlemagne viewed from both sides.

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If you love #archaeology, why not take a trip back in time through the #AntiquityArchive, containing all of our issues going back to the journal's foundation in 1927! Explore almost 100 years of archaeological research: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🏺

Black-and-white photo of a stone tower with the text 'Antiquity Archive'.

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Spectacles were invented in northern Italy in the late 13th century AD. Beyond correcting sight, they were also seen to provide moral vision, as visual perception and the cognition of God’s light were linked in late medieval philosophy #WorldSightDay 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Pair of glasses with wooden frames and no arms, the lenses joined at the centre with a hinge.

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On the banks of the Nile, #RockArt hints at the origins of Egyptian kings. Analysis of one panel indicates it depicts an elite individual from the First Dynasty, shedding light on the formation of the ancient Egyptian state. 🔗 from 2025 (£) doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Above: rock panel engraved with an image of a reed boat, dragged by several individuals on the shore pulling a rope and propelled by an individual on the boat with an oar. In the centre, an individual possibly wearing a headdress and false beard appears to sit on a palanquin-like structure. Below: an illustration of the engraving, making these features clearer.

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Cast of rock art from Fossum, Sweden: a segment of a wider panel. Made by Nazi scholar Herman Wirth, he selected the section to support ideas of an ancient Aryan religion, showing how prehistory was manipulated to push ideological goals #FolkloreThursday 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Rectangular plaster cast depicting two feet, a ship, two discs of different sizes with irregular lines protruding from them, and several cup marks.

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NEW As the world increasingly adopts artificial intelligence, are we obliged to embrace this 'technological revolution' or get left behind? The latest #AntiquityEditorial evaluates 'the good, the bad and the ugly' of #GenerativeAI in #archaeology 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Three rusted metal fragments of a mechanical device in a museum display.

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Atop El Castillo, Chichen Itza's largest pyramid, stand two ruined columns that once portrayed the feathered serpent deity K’uk’ulkan. 3D-imaging has now identified scattered fragments of the columns, enabling their digital reconstruction. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Front of a stone temple with two fragmented columns, alongside a 3D scan of the damaged pillars and a black-and-white photo of the temple front, partially overgrown.

3D reconstruction of one of the pillars, reconstructed with fragmented elements to reveal its snake design.

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NEW How did past people sleep comfortably? Preserved fragments of pillows, mattresses or linings from graves in Roman period Poland may reflect practices of furnishing not just burials, but also domestic bedding during the early first century AD. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Microscopic images of the seeds of the cattail plant, the fluff of which was historically used as a natural filling material for pillows and bedding.

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Despite the long tradition of Assyrian #archaeology, most research has focused on palaces, temples and other elite buildings #WaybackWednesday A new project takes a different approach, exploring the lives of everyday people in Assyrian cities. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Map of northern Iraq annotated with a dotted line outlining a triangle, in which are located five major Assyrian capitals.

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Plan of a bath complex from Roman Veii, Italy for #NationalBathtubDay 🛁 Bathing was very important to the Romans and bath complexes were centres of therapeutic and social activities, even taking advantage of natural thermal springs for heated bathing. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Plan of several structures, such as basins and channels, built around natural hot springs.

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Registration is now open for #TAG2026! Head over to tag2026.square.site/registration to book your place now, we can't wait to see you there! 🏺 #Archaeology

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Greenstone funerary mask of #Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk', born #OnThisDay in AD 649. Greenstone funerary masks were a symbol of political power in the Maya world, placed in the graves of rulers. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 📷 Estela Parra / CC BY-SA 4.0 🏺 #Archaeology

Mask made up of many pieces of greenstone, arranged like a mosaic to form a face with piercings wearing a headdress.

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Stone structures from Late Archaic (6500–4000 cal BP) Caleta Huelén 42, Chile. Under their floors, many human burials, complete with rich grave goods, were found, indicating high social complexity among the hunter-gatherers living here #TombTuesday 🏺 #Archaeology 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Above: three photos of excavated, circular stone buildings. Below: diagrams of the buildings from above and as cross-sections, showing the locations of burials underneath them.

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Fragments of an antler tool from the 4th millennium BC copper mine of Curak, Serbia. Stained green from digging in the copper-rich earth, it indicates Balkan copper mining was thriving almost 6000 years ago! 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Green-coloured fragments of antler, partially buried.

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Fancy some glass noodles this #NationalNoodleDay? Often made from mung beans, they have been made in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Mung beans were introduced from India by the 2nd century BC, pointing to ancient trade across the Indian Ocean. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Map of South and Southeast Asia c. 230 BC-AD 220, annotated with the locations of three major trade centres in Thailand in relation to the extents of India's Mauryan Empire and China's Han Empire.

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NEW Stone tools from a newly-excavated site in China. 70–100,000 years old, their small sizes indicate substantial technological shifts during the Late Pleistocene, hinting at early hominin adaptation in the Lower Yangzi River basin. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

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Map of the area around Port-Vendres, France, showing the locations where ancient shipwrecks have been uncovered #MaritimeMonday There is a dense anchorage zone outside the formal harbour, indicating ancient port capacity was much larger than observed. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Map of a coastal region, annotated with locations of shipwrecks.

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NEW Archaeological survey on Italy's Murgia plateau traces 6000 years of human activity, revealing how people interacted with the environment from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and shedding light on the origins of fortified hilltop settlements. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Three landscape photos of the survey region, highlighting the locations of various features such as quarries and walled hilltops.

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From some of the first attempts at pottery to the origins of writing, our Middle East and North Africa collection contains the latest and most-exciting #archaeology research taking place in the MENA region! 🏺 Check it out: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Side-view of Petra, with the text 'Middle East & North Africa, Antiquity' overlaid.

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Experimental #archaeology of Bronze Age tin smelting. South-west Britain was a major source of tin for bronze production, with British tin reaching as far as the major Bronze Age civilisations of the Eastern Mediterranean 🏺 🔗 from 2025 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Archaeologist recreating tin smelting using tin ore in a crucible, surrounded by charcoal powered by a simple skin bellows plus insets of tin ore used and a sectioned crucible showing the tin metal produced.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 04/10/2026

What makes impressive ancient buildings truly 'monumental'? Rooted in the modern discipline of architecture, the term may not reflect objective characteristics but rather oversimplify our interpretations of ancient construction #WorldArchitectureDay 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Diagram of an oscillating line with black circles located along its length, representing the long narrative of architectural history that views construction as a linear process from design to use of the building.

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This #WorldAnimalDay, spare a thought for some often less-appreciated animals: insects! Incredibly useful to archaeologists, preserved insect remains can teach us how spaces were used in the past, from food storage to burial. Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

24 segments of insect carapaces, alongside illustrations of the insects they come from.

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Antiquity Journal @antiquity.ac.uk · 03/10/2026

NEW Remains of a huge pottery kiln from the Chalcolithic (5th-4th millennia BC) settlement of Ursoaia, Romania. The largest known kiln of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, it points to an early shift towards craft specialisation in south-eastern Europe. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Rectangular pit containing the remains of three earthen channels, partially obscured by rubble.

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How did the first people to migrate to islands adapt to the new environments? Isotope analysis at #Neolithic Haitan Island on the south-east China coast reveals how early humans adapted their diets to maritime environments remarkably quickly. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Map of island Southeast Asia, highlighting the locations of sites mentioned in the article from the Pacific to Sri Lanka. The study site of Xiying, on Haitan Island, is pinpointed, just off the south-east coast of China.

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Today is #WorldFarmAnimalsDay Even before the introduction of farming, people were shaping their ecosystems. New evidence suggests hunter-gatherers in Scandinavia introduced fish into mountain lakes as a form of early food production! 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Aerial view of a dried-up lake in an icy environment. In the foreground, dotted circles highlight trenches in which fishing traps were discovered. In the background, the remains of a Stone Age settlement are annotated.

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King Richard III of England was born #OnThisDay in AD 1452. In 2012, archaeologists famously discovered the king's remains under a car park in Leicester. The results of the excavation were published in Antiquity 👇 🔗 from 2013 🆓 doi.org/10.1017/S000... 🏺 #Archaeology

Excavated trench, containing a stone coffin and stone remains of a church.

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For this week's #FindsFriday here is a sherd of a ceramic vase from a villa in Roman Spain, decorated with a two-headed snake. This iconography is associated with the god Sabazios, who was worshipped privately in domestic settings. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Fragment of the lip of a vase, with the remains of a two-headed snake design on its rim.

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NEW Whilst assessing the preservation of a 13th century AD cathedral, a local historical society uncovered the 6th century monastery of Lios Mòr: a significant centre during the spread of Christianity in Scotland! Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

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Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 1000–1450) hilltop fortifications called pukaras are common in the Andean highlands. Built following the fall of the Wari and Tiwanaku states c. AD 1000, they suggest a period defined by factionalisation and conflict. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Four satellite photos of stone fortifications on top of hills.

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Our October issue is out now! Featuring great #archaeology such as: Identifying the name of a #Maya mathematician Inequality in the Indus Valley Civilisation Ancient Japanese painted tombs & more 🏺 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Cover of the October 2026 issue of Antiquity, featuring a photo of the remains of a brick city.

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Iron Age iron bars from Austria, likely lost in a shipwreck in the Danube #IronworkThursday The complete assemblage weighs over a tonne, highlighting the large-scale inland shipping capabilities of later prehistoric Central European societies. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Three iron bars, wide in the centres and tapering to points at either end, with varying levels of gravel adhering to them.

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Archaeologist and trumpet player Miquel López-Garcia plays a shell trumpet from Neolithic Catalonia. The sound would have been useful for long-distance communication, and they may have also been effective musical instruments #InternationalMusicDay 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

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#OnThisDay in 331 BC, Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. It is generally considered the final blow to the Achaemenid Empire, solidifying the empire's conquest by Alexander 1/2 🏺 #Archaeology

Oil painting of a chaotic battlefield, on which soldiers fight and horses run panicked. Alexander the Great, depicted in a plumed helmet and red cape, rides triumphantly on horseback towards Darius III, who wears a golden crown and cowers from his chariot.

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Translating an ancient mathematical formula revealed the name of a #Maya mathematician for the first time! #InternationalTranslationDay Sak Tahn Waax (‘White-chested Fox’) was likely responsible for many advanced astronomical calculations. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

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Stone and bone tools from c. 5375 cal BC Eilsleben, Germany. Whilst the stone axes clearly reflect #Neolithic traditions, the flint and bone tools point to contact with local #Mesolithic foragers on Europe's Neolithic frontier. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Three polished stone axes, three flint tools (an arrowhead, drill and scraper) and two bone awls.

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NEW Standing stones, rock art and burial mounds all in one monument. Hagbard’s Gallows, Sweden is unique in northern Europe, and new scientific dating evidence is uncovering its Bronze Age chronology, revealing it is much older than expected. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Standing stones, engraved with rock art, stood atop mounds. Excavations are visible in the background.

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Many ancient Mediterranean cities have undergone periods of rapid expansion since the 20th century, obscuring millennia-old agricultural landscapes under urban sprawl. New research uncovers this culturally important 'green heritage' #WednesdayWisdom 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

1826 map of land use in Zadar, Croatia depicting an organically arranged mosaic of agricultural green space classifications around Zadar that include cultivated fields, gardens, grasslands, vineyards and olive groves.

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From the 16th-18th centuries AD, the coastal city of Mokha, Yemen was a centre of the international coffee trade #NationalCoffeeDay Threatened by land reclamation and shoreline modification, aerial photography helps record the city's lost archaeology. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Aerial photograph (left) and satellite imagery analysis (right) of a coastline, annotated with changes to the shoreline between 1967 and 2016. The shore extends much further into the sea as of 2016 than in 1967, and much of the city's coastal heritage was lost in this development.

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Cave in Gran Canaria, used for burial by the island's Indigenous people #TombTuesday Analysis of insect remains indicates it began life as a granary, shedding light on life in the Canary Islands before Spanish colonisation. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Archaeologist crouched in the mouth of a cave, looking out over a mountainous landscape.

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NEW How did Nazi archaeologists try to prove a mythical Germanic past? New research explores the Ahnenerbe’s meticulous casts of Nordic rock art, used in attempts to legitimise racist origin myths and construct a fabricated Germanic prehistory. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

Person brushing a rock art carving with soapy water in preparation for its casting in plaster.

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Wu Weishan’s "Socrates and Confucius: an encounter" imagines the two philosophers in dialogue. Whilst Confucius died a decade before Socrates was born and the worlds in which the two men lived were separated by 7500km, it is striking to imagine their conversation #ConfuciusDay

Statue of two robed men in conversation, with an ancient Greek temple (the Temple of Hephaestus) in the background.

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