Recent archaeological discoveries made by accident in Mexico are shedding light on the country’s pre-Hispanic era, Ancient Origins reported. Last month, workers at a site in Janitzio in Lake Pátzcuaro, Mexico unearthed a traditional boat, known as a tepari. It’s believed that this vessel sank as it carried a load of firewood from Erongaricuaro to […]
Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. In the early 1900s, Antarctica became a hot spot for explorers undertaking intrepid but dangerous expeditions. Polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 men set off aboard the […]
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The University of Cambridge has repatriated more than three dozen traditional artifacts to Uganda in a major act of restitution welcomed by the local officials who sought them. Some of the objects were shown exclusively to AP journalists on Wednesday. The British university returned the 39 items, which range from tribal […]
ROME (AP) — Italy on Tuesday celebrated the return of around 600 antiquities from the U.S., including ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and manuscripts valued at 60 million euros ($65 million), that were looted years ago, sold to U.S. museums, galleries and collectors and recovered as a result of criminal investigations. U.S. Ambassador Jack […]
At the Royal Łazienki Museum, a package arrived from Canada. The sender was unknown, and the box was accompanied by a letter. When the package was opened, the museum curators were shocked by what was inside. One dozen preserved tiles — missing since World War II — were packed neatly in the box. One dozen […]
BOSTON (AP) — Twenty-two historic artifacts that were looted following the Battle of Okinawa in World War II have been returned to Japan after a family from Massachusetts discovered them in their late father’s personal items, the FBI said Friday. The 22 artifacts, some of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, represent […]
While exploring an ancient Catholic church in France, archaeologists discovered a trove of 230 tombs. Further analysis revealed that the tombs were holding much more than just ancient remains: Inside, archaeologists found collections of rare jewelry and religious devotional objects, according to a March 4 news release from the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives […]
Hundreds of historic artifacts were recovered when Florida wildlife officers caught relic hunters illegally digging in Withlacoochee State Forest, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In all, 224 “indigenous artifacts” were found, the commission said in a news release. A detailed inventory has not been revealed, but the piles included pottery shards […]
The United Kingdom will send back gold and silver artifacts looted from Ghana in the 19th century after a long-term loan agreement was struck. Both the British Museum and the V&A will send items related to the Asante royal court to Ghana, where they will be displayed at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, according […]
LONDON (AP) — Two British museums are returning gold and silver artifacts to Ghana under a long-term loan arrangement — 150 years after the items were looted from the Asante people during Britain’s colonial battles in West Africa. The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, together with the Manhyia Palace Museum […]
Workers were just starting construction on a new apartment complex in northeastern Brazil when they began finding human bones and pottery shards, their edges worn smooth by time. Soon, excavations at the site in the coastal city of Sao Luis had uncovered thousands of artifacts left by ancient peoples up to 9,000 years ago — […]