Past Horizons Archaeology Equipment

The Garden That Never Grew: William Adam’s Lost Vision for Duff House - Historic Environment Scotland Blog Explore the lost vision of William Adam for a Duff House garden — a forgotten Scottish landscape and early 18th‑century vision.

blog.historicenvironment.scot/2026/02/the-...
This intended garden was once drawn in surveys, sketched in letters, but is now lost to time apart from its two surviving follies.

The Black Death's counterintuitive effect: As human numbers fell, so did plant diversity Between 1347 and 1353, Europe was gripped by the most catastrophic pandemic in its history: the Black Death. Killing many millions, the plague wiped out between one-third and a half of Europe's popula...

phys.org/news/2026-03...
By plotting patterns of biodiversity changes from sites with different Black Death land use histories, scientists discovered that biodiversity collapsed in landscapes where arable was abandoned, whereas landscapes with growing or stable arable farming became more biodiverse.

Did the first human ancestor originate in the Balkans? New fossil shows evidence of bipedalism Walking on two legs has long been considered a milestone in human evolution and one of our most defining characteristics. Until now, researchers assumed that the first humans originated in Africa and ...

phys.org/news/2026-03...
An international team discovered a 7.2 million-year-old Graecopithecus femur in Bulgaria. The owner of the thighbone was likely a female weighing about 24 kilograms. She lived beside a river in what was then a savanna landscape similar to that of present-day East Africa.

York leads £550,000 heritage science initiative to unlock digital innovation and protect ‘at-risk’ data The University of York-based Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS) has today announced a major £550,000 investment to transform how the UK preserves and accesses its cultural past.

www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
The funding is designed to help with the rescue of "at-risk" data, harnessing cutting edge technology to protect the datasets from historic sites ranging from 15th-century shipwrecks to Antarctic explorers' huts.

Arrowhead points found in Central Asia could prove the presence of ‘Homo sapiens’ 80,000 years ago Tiny triangular-shaped flints from arrowheads found in Uzbekistan shed light on how the first settlement of ‘Homo sapiens’ – our modern human ancestors – came to Europe.

theconversation.com/arrowhead-po...
Depending on climatic conditions, Central Asia has served as a corridor facilitating movement between the western and eastern parts of the continent or as a refuge zone. The archaeological record in this region includes several significant Palaeolithic sites.

I just talked to a Stone Age priestess and it could change everything « Archaeology# « Cambridge Core Blog In our new, game-based dissemination experiment, you can enter a mysterious Stone Age world with megalithic graves where life and death are more fluent concepts than today. But whatever you do, don’t ...

www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...
The real game changer is that archaeologists and heritage specialists control the narrative by feeding curated knowledge to the characters, which they can update as new insights appear.

Witches of Dirleton Castle YouTube video by Historic Environment Scotland

A dark chapter in Dirleton Castle’s history. As witch trials in Scotland escalated during the 16th and 17th centuries, Dirleton and the wider region became embroiled in false accusations, interrogations and executions – with women being disproportionately targeted.
music.youtube.com/watch?v=iCbE...

Stone Age boy in Sweden was buried in deerskin and a woodpecker headdress, archaeologists discover A new method of studying the contents of soil samples has revealed Stone Age people in Sweden were buried in decorated fur-and-feather clothing.

www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
The researchers analysed 139 soil samples from Skateholm graves. First, they identified fragments of bone, flint, charcoal and seeds in the soil. Then, they sieved and centrifuged the samples and looked at the remaining microparticles — fibres, hair and feathers.

Here's the first Viking high seat crafted in central Norway in 1,000 years The wealthy farmer's carved chair, the high seat, was a clear status symbol.

partner.sciencenorway.no/history-ntnu...
Among the sources of inspiration were the Oseberg Chair from 834 CE, a gift chair from 875 CE located in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the myth of ‘Thor’s fishing trip,’ and a decorated bone tube from a cave in Nordmøre.

Jersey Heritage to launch online 'finds' system after 'treasure law' passed - Jersey Evening Post THE grant-funded charity responsible for the Island’s major historic sites, museums and public archives has welcomed the passing of Jersey’s first ‘treasure law’ and said it will set up a system to al...

jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2026/03...
Progress towards the new law gained momentum after the discovery of a Celtic coin and jewellery hoard in Grouville in 2012, which started a complex series of negotiations which took almost a decade to resolve.

Life and death in Late Bronze Age Central Europe An international research team reconstructs the lifeways of Late Bronze Age communities

www.mpg.de/26205607/022...
By focusing on rare inhumation burials from Germany, Czechia and Poland, an international team was able to provide new insights into patterns of ancestry, mobility, diet, physiological stress and mortuary practices of LBA communities.

Viking-Age Woman Buried with Her Dog in Norway - Medievalists.net A Viking-Age grave containing a woman buried with her dog has been identified as one of the most intriguing archaeological discoveries in Norway from 2025.

www.medievalists.net/2026/03/viki...
The grave contained the skeleton of a woman placed inside a boat measuring about 5.5 metres in length.

Excavating Armageddon and the art of imagining the end A program hosted by UChicago's ISAC Museum explored how a biblical battleground, a doomsday clock and a looping film each translate existential risk into something real

news.uchicago.edu/story/excava...

Discovery challenges long-held beliefs on early human technology in East Asia  - Griffith News Study reveals early hominins in China were far more inventive and adaptable than previously believed.

news.griffith.edu.au/2026/01/28/d...
The research team said the Xigou findings reshaped our understanding of human evolution in East Asia, proving early populations possessed cognitive and technical abilities comparable to their counterparts in Africa and Europe.

Six newly discovered Bronze Age mines in Spain - May explain the origin of Scandinavian Bronze During an archaeological survey conducted in February, researchers from the Maritime Encounters programme at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, identified six previously unregistered Bronze Age min...

www.gu.se/en/news/six-...
In total, six Bronze Age mining sites were documented. Particularly remarkable was one mine where approximately 80 grooved stone axes were discovered—tools used to crush and process ore.

Ancient Jordan mass grave reveals human impact of first known pandemic "A plague is upon us'' may have been a common phrase in ancient Jordan, where countless people perished from a mysterious malady that would shape both a society and an era of civilization.

phys.org/news/2026-01...
During the Plague of Justinian, the people affected lived in diverse and often unconnected communities. But the plague brought them together in death, with countless bodies deposited rapidly atop layers of pottery debris in an abandoned civic space.

Winter in Jorvik - York Archaeology - Research What was life like during Winter for the inhabitants of Jorvik? Let's have a closer look at some artefacts to find out.

research.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/winter-in-jo...
What was the reality of winter in Jorvik (York)?

Mass killing uncovered at ancient burial site | News | The University of Edinburgh An Iron Age burial site has revealed evidence of an unusual mass killing event of women and children, and a detailed plan to bury the victims together.

www.ed.ac.uk/news/mass-ki...
The majority of the remains of more than 77 individuals found in the grave located in the south Carpathian Basin were of women and children.

Discovery links Medieval Mosque to Roman Temple - Medievalists.net An Ancient Greek inscription newly discovered at the base of a column inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria is strengthening a long-running argument that the medieval mosque may stand on the remain...

www.medievalists.net/2026/02/disc...
Homs, located in western Syria north of Damascus, was known in antiquity as Emesa.

Ichthyosaur snout and Roman farm found in Melton bypass digs Archaeological digs unearth a rich seam of discoveries dating back to prehistory.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Investigations found traces of Mediterranean-style plantation agriculture, including vineyards and orchards, as well as Roman roundhouses and burial trenches.

Bronze Age Breakthrough in Anatolia: 3,900-Year-Old Indigo Textile and Single-Needle Knitting Unearthed at Beycesultan - Anatolian Archaeology Excavations at Beycesultan Höyük in Anatolia reveal the earliest indigo-dyed textile and the first evidence...

www.anatolianarchaeology.net/bronze-age-b...
Microscopic and chromatographic analyses revealed something extraordinary. The textile was not woven on a loom. Instead, it had been constructed using nålbinding, a technique in which yarn is looped with a single needle to create a dense, durable fabric.

Early Medieval Burial Ground Discovered in Scotland - Medievalists.net Archaeologists working alongside a sewer upgrade project in the Scottish Highlands have uncovered a burial ground thought to date to the 6th century AD, along with two Iron Age roundhouses that may be...

www.medievalists.net/2026/02/earl...
Archaeologists have uncovered a burial ground thought to date to the 6th century AD, along with two Iron Age roundhouses that may be up to 3,000 years old.

Signs on Stone Age objects: Precursor to written language dates back 40,000 years Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Du...

www.uni-saarland.de/en/news/stei...
Using a computational approach, the team examined over 3,000 signs found on 260 objects to reveal insights on the origins of writing.

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First known case of intentional mummification of Inca child sacrifice Children sacrificed in Inca capacocha rituals may have been reburied and deliberately modified after death, according to new research led by Dagmara Socha from the University of Warsaw.

scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news...
According to the researchers, the findings suggest that the ritual significance of the children continued after death.

Appeal to save Bronze Age torc found in Leicestershire It is hoped the golden torc can be kept in a Leicestershire museum rather than being sold.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The public appeal has been launched by the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, which said the item was possibly originally worn around its owner's waist, and was later modified to be worn around the neck.

Family relationships identified in Stone Age graves on Gotland – Uppsala University

www.uu.se/en/press/pre...
DNA analyses suggest that the people were well aware of family lineages and that relationships beyond the immediate family played an important role.

Neanderthals Mysteriously Collected Horned Skulls in a Cave, But Why? A new investigation of ancient horned animal skulls found in Spain's Des-Cubierta Cave deepens the mystery of when and why Neanderthals put them there.

www.sciencealert.com/neanderthals...
According to multiple lines of evidence, the skulls weren't all placed there at the same time but were likely carried into a narrow gallery repeatedly over a prolonged period during the late Middle Palaeolithic, between around 70,000 and 50,000 years ago.

The Vikings’ ancestors may have raided the North Sea coasts as early as the 3rd century The Roman Empire's naval bases probably gave them the idea for similar structures in southern and western Norway.

www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-...
Archaeologists have now found traces of many large boathouses – ship houses – along the Norwegian coast facing the North Sea and Skagerrak. These have been dated to between the years 180 and 540. What would people in Norway need so many large ships for?

Early human innovation: Was climate really the cause? A new study challenges the idea that climate change was the main reason early humans developed new technologies and ideas.

partner.sciencenorway.no/climate-clim...
The study presents the first large-scale reconstruction of how ecosystems in southern Africa changed between 180,000 and 30,000 years ago. This was a period when the environment and human culture were changing side by side.