A reconstruction of the altar illustrates the painted panels of red, black and yellow which would have depicted a person wearing a feathered headdress and flanked by shields or regalia.
Heather Hurst
Mysterious altar found in ancient Mayan city contains bodies – and wasn’t made by the Maya
Archaeologists working in an ancient Mayan city have unearthed a mysterious 1,700-year-old altar whose bright decorations and grim contents may hold the key to unraveling the complex geopolitics of the time.

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Reconstruction of a late Maastrichtian (~66 million years ago) palaeoenvironment in North America, where a floodplain is roamed by dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, Edmontosaurus annectens and Triceratops prorsus.
Davide Bonadonna
Were dinosaurs headed for extinction even before massive asteroid strike? Scientists offer new clues
Jawbone dredged up from the seafloor expands the range of a mysterious species of ancient human
3D scan of Titanic sheds new light on doomed liner’s final moments
Archaeologists uncover an ancient Egyptian tomb belonging to a mystery king
Mass grave of Roman soldiers tells gruesome tale of military disaster
Ancient DNA sheds light on origins of 7,000-year-old Saharan mummies
Footprints show giant carnivorous dinosaurs and their plant-eating prey drank from same Scottish watering hole
A funerary relief of a couple, a man and a woman - almost life-size - belonging to a monumental tomb in the Porta Sarno necropolis, has emerged during an archaeological excavation, as part of the research project “ <em>Investigating the Archaeology of Death in Pompeii</em> ” conducted by the Universitat de València in collaboration with the Archaeological Park (scientific direction of Prof. Llorenç Alapont).
Pompeii Archaeological Park
Rare, near-life-sized statues discovered in Pompeii tomb
Did Neanderthals make it as far east as China? Discovery of stone tools suggests it’s a possibility
Qi-Jun Ruan/Hao Li
Archaeologists unearthed a cache of stone tools. Neanderthals may have made them, study finds
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ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute
Scientists spot mesmerizing creatures after iceberg snaps off ice shelf 0:54
Australian Museum © Salty Dingo 2020 CG
Salty Dingo/Australian Museum
Fossilized fish up to 16 million years old found in Australia, with last meal still intact

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Shutterstock (515009di) The skull of a newly discovered species of human - Homo Floresiensis. Believed to be living 18,000 years ago, barely a metre tall with a skull the size of a grapefruit. The partial skeleton was discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores - 27 Oct 2004 VARIOUS
Shutterstock
The remarkable fossil that radically changed our understanding of the human story
Sue the T. rex strikes a pose in its old location at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. (Antonio Perez /Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images
What is a mass extinction, and why do scientists think we’re in the middle of one?
DTGN0M Megalosaurus jaw
Natural History Museum/Alamy Stock Photo
Megalosaurus, the first ever dinosaur discovery
Babylonian clay model showing a nude couple engaged in kissing. Date: 1800 BC
The Trustees of the British Museum
Humanity’s earliest recorded kiss adds new twist to the history of locking lips

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Holotype of Sirenobethylus charybdis
Qiong Wu
Bizarre creature preserved in 99 million-year-old amber was ‘beyond imagination,’ scientists say
Ethernal-Literature-fake-fossil-colour-copy.jpg
Sarah Gabbott
These discarded objects will form humanity’s lasting geological footprint, paleontologists say
Duonychus Hand reconstruction
Masoto Hattori
Largest fully preserved dinosaur claw unearthed in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert
Dated: 18/09/2024 In September 2022, a metal detectorist searching a field – with the landowner’s permission – near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire, discovered what is thought to be one of the biggest Iron Age hoard found in the UK. A team of archaeologists from Durham University were working in a separate field, close by, and he asked them to take a look. Experts from Durham University have been involved from the beginning – leading on the excavation and conservation of the items Historic England provided emergency funding for the excavation, assessment and conservation of the finds. The British Museum has also been involved from the beginning, providing specialist advice. The discovery is highly significant in terms of what it can tell us about Iron-Age society, technology and the wealth and power of communities at the end of the Iron Age. Over 800 objects have already been excavated and taken to Durham University, where they have been stabilised and are conserved. These items were buried deliberately and date from around 1st Century BC – 1st Century AD.
Durham University
‘Exceptional’ Iron Age hoard unlocks secrets of life in Britain 2,000 years ago
IMAGE-spreading silicon for mould on Specimen 1.jpg
Courtesy The University of Queensland
‘Unprecedented snapshot’ of Early Jurassic dinosaurs has been hiding in plain sight at a school, scientists say
Original fossil (ATE7-1) of the midface of a hominin assigned to Homo aff. erectus recovered at level TE7 of the Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos).
Maria D. Guillén/IPHES-CERCA
Cave discovery reveals previously unknown prehistoric human population in Europe
Italian authorities to present the discovery of an "extraordinary" Jewish ritual bath (mikveh) found during archaeological excavations in the ruins of the ancient Roman port city of Ostia Antica, in Rome, Italy, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Remo Casilli/Reuters
Discovery of ritual bath sheds light on Jewish life in ancient Rome
Bone-tools-1.jpg
CSIC
Archaeologists uncovered a cache of 1.5 million-year-old bone tools. They’re trying to determine who made them
Aerial view of the Sforza Castle, Milan, Lombardy. Italy, 14th-15th century.
De Agostini/Getty Images
Mysterious tunnels sketched by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 1400s may have been found
A fragment of the organic glass found inside the skull of the deceased individual in Herculaneum.
Pier Paolo Petrone
A young man’s brain turned to glass during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Scientists say they have figured out how
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George Alexis Pantos/Kristel Zilmer
World’s oldest rune stone has more pieces that contain mysterious messages, researchers say
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock (13098717a) Mummy of Tutmes II (Thutmose II), Illustration from the Book, "From Pharaoh to Fellah" by C.F. Moberly Bell with Illustrations by Georges Montbard, engraved by Charles Barbant, Wells Gardner, Darton, & Co., London, 1888 Various
Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock
Tomb of ancient Egyptian king unearthed in ‘remarkable’ discovery
Hyaenodonta
Courtesy Hesham Sallam
An apex carnivore was ‘king of the ancient Egyptian forest’ then mysteriously went extinct. A fossil could offer clues
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Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo/IAM/Francesc Marginedas/IPHES-CERCA
Early Europeans may have eaten their enemies’ brains, archaeologists say
Remains of the first Roman Basilica have been found in London. The site is believed to be the location of the Tribunal, where officials would have made important decision regarding Roman London.
MOLA
Roman basilica remains uncovered in office block basement
PHerc.172, showing the word disgust
Vesuvius Challenge
‘Disgust’ among first words decoded in 2,000-year-old charred scroll