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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Archaeological Mission in the Sahara/Sapienza University of Rome
Ancient DNA pulls back curtain on the Sahara Desert’s greener past
Archaeologists uncover an ancient Egyptian tomb belonging to a mystery king
Mass grave of Roman soldiers tells gruesome tale of military disaster
View of Takarkori rock shelter from west
Archaeological Mission in the Sahara/Sapienza University of Rome
Ancient DNA sheds light on origins of 7,000-year-old Saharan mummies
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
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

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George Washington, 22 February 1732-14 December 1799, from 1789 to 1797 the first President of the United States of America, Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860), Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a historic original. (Photo by: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
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Cambridge Archaeological Unit
‘Britain’s Pompeii’ reveals Bronze Age village frozen in time
The cranial remains of Vittrup Man, who ended up in a bog after his skull had been crushed by at least eight heavy blows.
Stephen Freiheit
‘Vittrup Man’ violently died in a bog 5,200 years ago. Now, researchers know his story
An illustration of project number 92 ('Wat') based on the osteobiography generated through analyses of remains excavated from the main cemetery of the hospital of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge. 'Wat' as an older man, likely born between 1316-1347 and died between 1375-1475. He lived through the Black Death, perhaps ending up in St. John the Evangelist after becoming impoverished in old age. He died in the hospital while sick with cancer. The full osteobiography can be viewed on the After the Plague website. Credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague
Mark Gridley/After the Plague
‘Bone biographies’ reveal what life was like for Black Death survivors in medieval England

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Family Photos/WPVI
Video ‘Horrible incident:’ Pallbearers plunge into burial hole in front of grieving family 1:29
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
New Jersey woman returns her grandfather’s library book 99 years overdue
WPVI
New Jersey woman returns her grandfather’s library book 99 years overdue
KYIV, UKRAINE - SEPTEMBER 2: Ukrainian historian and activist Leonid Marushchak holds picture depicting the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko writing the poem "My thoughts, my thoughts" and a Ukrainian woman in an embroidered shirt on September 2, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, Marushchak often visited museums in frontline cities evacuating local works of art and items of historic value. Several times he was under shelling, the front glass of his van was shattered due to the Russian drone strike. Still, he even managed to rescue stone statues from the Museum of Local Lore in then-encircled Bakhmut. In all, Marushchak managed to take away from the war zone to safer places more than 2 million works of art and historical value. (Photo by Oleksandr Kuzmin/Babel/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Oleksandr Kuzmin/Babel/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
The hunt for Ukraine’s stolen artworks
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CSIC
Archaeologists uncovered a cache of 1.5 million-year-old bone tools. They’re trying to determine who made them
Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro, Steatite seal depicting a zebu.
DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini Editorial/Getty Images
No one knows what this ancient script says. Now there’s a $1 million prize to crack the code
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Silvia Vacca/Pompeii Sites
Newly discovered Pompeii frieze shows wild Bacchanalian rituals
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Getty Images
Video CNN10: The big stories of Tuesday 2/25, explained in 10 minutes 10:00
DRESDEN, GERMANY - AUGUST 29: Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party gather with German flags at the final AfD Saxony election rally prior to state elections on August 29, 2024 in Dresden, Germany. The AfD is currently leading in polls in both Saxony and Thuringia ahead of state elections scheduled for Sunday in both states. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Young voters are powering the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party
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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
A photo of a person on a swing on a beach in Mexico
Mystockimages/iStockphoto
Had enough of the cold weather? Book a last-minute winter vacation in these top 10 warm destinations
Derrick Adams Sweetening the Pot, 2024
Courtesy the artist and Gagosian
In Derrick Adams’ paintings, Black history collides joyfully with the present
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CNN
Video See lavish spa unearthed in Pompeii 1:59
In this undated photo provided by Abdelrazek Elnaggar, Emma Paolin, PhD researcher at University of Ljubljana, background and Dr. Cecilia Bembibre, lecturer at the University College London take swab samples for the purpose of microbiological analysis at the Krakow University of Economics.
(Abdelrazek Elnaggar via AP)
The scent of a mummy: Research discovers ancient Egyptian remains smell nice
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Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo/IAM/Francesc Marginedas/IPHES-CERCA
Early Europeans may have eaten their enemies’ brains, archaeologists say