'Exceptional' archaeological discoveries were made in Cookham

Archaeologists this summer found a big common building, a well with timber walls, and a cemetery at an 8th or 9th century monastery near Cookham, Berkshire.

Over the course of the past month, University of Reading employees and students have been excavating the Anglo-Saxon site next to Holy Trinity Church in Cookham.

Key discoveries include:

• One of the primary buildings inside the monastery was a sizable timber building with a hearth and internal floor.

• A well with other wooden artifacts inside of a preserved wooden barrel-lined shaft.

• A sizable, walled monastery enclosure with the River Thames in its front

• A cemetery with more than 50 departed people, including children and adults of both sexes, spanning three generations.

The project's director, Professor Gabor Thomas of the University of Reading, stated:

“The discoveries we have made at Cookham in 2023 will help us to paint a much clearer picture of daily life at the monastery. We will need to carry out more detailed analyses of what we have found, but the artefacts unearthed at this year’s dig again show the exceptional quality of preservation at Cookham."

In a test excavation conducted in 2021 by members of the University of Reading's Archaeology Department and volunteers from nearby archaeological societies, the monastery's ruins were first uncovered.

Professor Gabor Thomas

Excavators found an industrial and craft zone that would have provided nuns with food and helped to move imported goods along the River Thames in the summer of 2022, sparking a full-scale dig.

The dig for this season began in early August and ended on September 2. Next summer should see the return of the dig.

An ancient primate discovered in Turkey casts doubt on the origins of humans

Long-held beliefs about the origins of humans are being called into question by the discovery of a new fossilized ape at an 8.7 million-year-old site in Türkiye. This discovery lends support to the theory that African apes and humans originated in Europe before moving there between nine and seven million years ago.

A new face and partial brain case of Anadoluvius turkae, a fossil hominine—the group that includes African apes and humans—from the Çorakyerler fossil site located in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. Credit: Sevim-Erol, A., Begun, D.R., Sözer, Ç.S. et al.

With the help of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Türkiye, a newly identified ape named Anadoluvius turkae was recovered from the Çorakyerler fossil locality near Çankırı. Analysis of this ape's remains has revealed that it is a diverse member of the first known radiation of early hominines, which includes the African apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas), humans, and their fossil ancestors.

The results are detailed in a paper co-authored by an international team of academics led by Professor David Begun at the University of Toronto (U of T) and Professor Ayla Sevim Erol at Ankara University, which was published today in Communications Biology.

According to Begun, a professor in the Department of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T, "our findings further suggest that hominines not only evolved in western and central Europe but spent over five million years evolving there and spreading to the eastern Mediterranean before eventually dispersing into Africa, probably as a consequence of changing environments and diminishing forests." This is most likely due to shifting environments and disappearing forests. Currently, only Europe and Anatolia have members of this radiation that Anadoluvius is a part of identified.

The finding is based on study of a partial skull discovered at the site in 2015 that is remarkably well-preserved and has the majority of the facial anatomy and the front section of the brain case.

Excavation of the Anadoluvius turkae fossil, a significantly well-preserved partial cranium uncovered at the Çorakyerler fossil site in Türkiye in 2015. The fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the brain case. Credit: Ayla Sevim-Erol

According to Begun, "the completeness of the fossil allowed us to do a broader and more detailed analysis using many characters and attributes that are coded into a program designed to calculate evolutionary relationships. The face is mostly complete, after applying mirror imaging. The new part is the forehead, with bone preserved to about the crown of the cranium. Previously described fossils do not have this much of the brain case."

According to the researchers, Anadoluvius lived in a dry woodland environment, was around the size of a giant male chimpanzee (50-60 kg), was unusually huge for a chimp, and was close to the typical size of a female gorilla (75-80 kg), and probably spent a lot of time on the ground.

"We have no limb bones but judging from its jaws and teeth, the animals found alongside it, and the geological indicators of the environment, Anadoluvius probably lived in relatively open conditions, unlike the forest settings of living great apes," said Sevim Erol. "More like what we think the environments of early humans in Africa were like. The powerful jaws and large, thickly enameled teeth suggest a diet including hard or tough food items from terrestrial sources such as roots and rhizomes."

The species that coexisted with Anadoluvius included those that are now typically seen in African grasslands and dry woodlands, including giraffes, wart hogs, rhinos, various antelope, zebras, elephants, porcupines, hyaenas, and carnivorous mammals that resemble lions. According to research, the biological community appears to have moved from the eastern Mediterranean into Africa sometime after eight million years ago.

The ancestors of the African apes and humans can now be added to the list of participants, according to Sevim Erol. "The founding of the modern African open country fauna from the eastern Mediterranean has long been known and now we can add to the list of entrants the ancestors of the African apes and humans," he stated.

According to the research, Anadoluvius turkae sprang from the same evolutionary branch of the tree as chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and humans. The authors of the study—which also included colleagues at Ege University and Pamukkale University in Turkey and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in The Netherlands—conclude that despite the fact that modern African apes and the earliest known humans are only known from Africa, both species' common ancestors originated in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

Çorakyerler excavation site. This vertebrate fossil settlement near Çankırı, Türkiye, is one of the most important humanoid settlements in Eurasia. As a result of nearly 20 years of excavations, Çorakyerlar has taken its place among the important Late Miocene reference localities of Anatolia and Europe with 8 mammalian orders, more than 10 families and 43 species. Credit: Ayla Sevim-Erol

Anadoluvius and other fossil apes from adjacent Greece (Ouranopithecus) and Bulgaria (Graecopithecus) make formed a group that most closely resembles the first known hominins, or humans, in terms of anatomy and ecology. The new fossils offer the strongest proof to date that this group of early hominines originated in Europe before dispersing into Africa since they are the best-preserved examples of this group of early hominines.

The in-depth analysis of the data demonstrates that the Balkan and Anatolian apes originated from relatives in western and central Europe. The study's more complete data show that these other apes were also hominines, making it more likely that the entire group evolved and diversified in Europe rather than the alternate hypothesis in which distinct ape branches first independently moved into Europe from Africa over the course of several million years, went extinct without a hitch, and then disappeared.

"There is no evidence of the latter, though it remains a favorite proposal among those who do not accept a European origin hypothesis," said Begun. "These findings contrast with the long-held view that African apes and humans evolved exclusively in Africa. While the remains of early hominines are abundant in Europe and Anatolia, they are completely absent from Africa until the first hominin appeared there about seven million years ago.

"This new evidence supports the hypothesis that hominines originated in Europe and dispersed into Africa along with many other mammals between nine and seven million years ago, though it does not definitively prove it. For that, we need to find more fossils from Europe and Africa between eight and seven million years old to establish a definitive connection between the two groups."

Unusual Ancient Footprints and an Ice Age child's shoe were discovered in Austria

Scientists in Austria have found unusual prehistoric footprints and an ice age child's shoe.

Archeologists found ancient footprints and ice age shoes in Austria. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Footprints from the past and a shoe

In Austria, archaeologists found an unusually well-preserved child's shoe from the Iron Age.

Archaeologists from the German Mining Museum in Bochum made the discovery while digging at Dürrnberg near Hallein, a site where rock salt was previously extracted during the Iron Age.

A news statement states that the newest discovery, a "extremely well-preserved" child's shoe, is believed to be more than 2,000 years old.

It is believed that the salt present in the area contributed to its preservation. It is still possible to make out the shape of the entire shoe, as well as the rope that held it to the child's foot.

It is made of leather and is the same size as a contemporary 12.5 child's shoe.

Thomas Stoellner, head of the research division, claims that for decades, their work at Dürrnberg has provided them with important discoveries that have allowed them to conduct a scientific investigation into the first mining operations.

The found shoe is in incredible condition.

According to Stoellner, organic molecules normally degrade with time.

Extremely rare findings like this child's shoe can provide insight into the daily lives of Iron Age miners. They provided pertinent information for scientific study.

Iron Age Way of Life

It was kept so beautifully that the discovery is extremely unusual. The child's shoe is particularly interesting because it demonstrated that children resided or worked underground during this time period, according to the press release, even though Iron Age shoes had already been found.

Based on its design, archaeologists can date the shoe to the second century BC.

It is thought that the Iron Age began in Central and Western Europe around the beginning of the first millennium BC and came to an end with the Roman conquests in the first century BC.

During this time, iron tools and weapons were created to replace their bronze equivalents.

Along with the shoe, the archaeologists made other important finds. A wooden shovel and what seemed to be a fur hood were also found nearby.

In order to inform academics about the lives of Iron Age miners, excavations in the area will continue in the upcoming years.

Additional Ancient Footwear Finds

Prior to this discovery, two footprints left by young Neanderthals in a Greek cave 130,000 years ago were the earliest indication of footwear use.

Other Neanderthal traces have been considered to be evidence of shod feet in France, despite the fact that these cases are debatable.

The authors of the paper point out the difficulty of such investigations by citing traces discovered in Nevada in the 1880s that were initially thought to have been formed by a person wearing sandals but later revealed to have been made by a massive sloth.

According to the researchers, since non-hominin sloth tracks differ significantly from those of barefoot hominins, expert paleontologists initially confused them for those of shod hominins in this case.

The authors avoid making any meaningful claims about their findings because they don't want to make such flimsy ones.

However, based on their research, they speculate that humans may have worn footwear when crossing dune surfaces during the Middle Stone Age.

Historians were puzzled when a sizable time capsule at West Point that was approximately 200 years old only contained a few coins

Only a few coins were extracted from a sizable, nearly 200-year-old time capsule that was concealed within a campus monument by US Military Academy West Point officials.

Paul Hudson holding up the coins that were found inside the time capsule.US Military Academy West Point

And historians are perplexed by the mediocre discovery.

West Point officials were perplexed as they opened the sizable metal box, thought to be a time capsule buried in 1828 or 1829, and discovered particles of dust inside during a livestreamed event on Monday.

However, the next day, West Point archaeologist Paul Hudson did discover things hidden inside the one-square-foot box: six coins and a medal honoring the Eerie Canal's 1826 completion.

Earlier this year, during repairs, the box was found inside a monument on campus honoring the Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko. It was expected by historians to include additional artifacts of historical significance.

The nearly 200-year-old box, which was discovered inside the base of a monument on West Point's campus.The US Military Academy West Point

The coins, including a Liberty dollar coin from 1800, a 50-cent coin from 1828, a 25-cent coin from 1818, an 18-cent coin from 1827, a 10-cent coin from 1827, a 5-cent coin from 1795, and an 18-cent coin from 1827, according to Hudson, helped determine when the time capsule was buried in the monument.

Despite being happy that the box wasn't entirely empty, Hudson admitted that discovering only pennies perplexed him.

"So it is a little perplexing again that we have this enormous box even with the coins in it," Hudson told Insider. "It answers one question for us, which is when was this put in, but it also raises a lot of other ones."

One of the coins, a liberty dollar coin from 1800, that was found in the box.US Military Academy West Point

Why place such small stuff in such a large box, he asked? What else could there possibly have been in the box? Why did they select coins made in these specific years? Were there any papers or letters in the box that disintegrated? Was the Eerie Canal medal just a "random memento," or did they believe it somehow embodied Kosciuszko?

"My best guess at this point is that [the coins were] just simply supposed to be representative of their time, representative of what was important to them at that time," Hudson told Insider.

He claimed that he is still testing the silt present inside the box in an effort to find any traces of paper or other organic materials that may have decomposed over time.

"I would say anything is possible," Hudson said. "There's a little bit more of this story that we can tell."

Chinese archaeologists find well-preserved Chime Bells (Bianzhong) dating back 2,000 years

In the ruins of the Ancient Capital City of the Zheng and Han States in Xinzheng, Central China's Henan province, a total of 24 perfectly preserved Chinese bianzhong (chime bells) from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) were discovered in two sets.

This unusual find, which has major scholarly importance, was made next to some palace ruins in a sacrificial pit.

An antique Chinese musical instrument called a bianzhong is made up of a series of melodically rung bronze bells. They were utilized as polyphonic musical instruments, these sets of chime bells. They were hammered with a mallet after being hung in a wooden frame.

Despite the fact that tuned bells have been developed and employed by numerous societies for musical performances, Bianzhong cast bells stand out from all other varieties in a number of ways. They have an unusual "cutaway" profile on the bell mouth, a lens-shaped (rather than circular) section, and 36 studs or bosses symmetrically arranged around the body in four groups of nine on the outside surfaces of the huge bells.

Bianzhong bells are unique in that they can produce two distinct melodic tones depending on where they are struck thanks to their unique design. "One bell, two sounds" is another name for them.

According to Guan Ping, a historian based in Beijing, "he bianzhong symbolizes rank and power, and represents a high achievement in both the art and culture of ancient China."

"The bianzhong were used at the kingdom palace as part of the ritual system. The discovery will help experts to examine cultural development in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period", Guan continued.

According to Guan, "music is strongly linked to rituals, and in ancient China, it played an important part in the ritual and music system to maintain social order."

Photo shows bronze chime bells excavated from a tomb of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) in Suizhou City, central China’s Hubei Province. Photo: Xinhua

The bianzhong sacrificial pit at the location measures 0.8 meters deep, 2.6 meters wide, and 1.4 meters long, according to Yu Jie, a member of staff at the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

“There are three rows of bell frames in the pit, with a total of 24 chime bells. The chime bells are well preserved, without any signs of looting, and the wooden frame is clearly visible,” Yu explained, adding that the frame can be “dated back to the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period”.

With sets of these instruments being employed in rituals, galas, and concerts, the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC) was the first to establish laws for rites and music.

Bianzhong have been discovered in numerous places across China in recent decades. The discovery of bianzhong in the aristocrat Yi of Zeng's tomb in Suizhou, Hubei Province, became well-known throughout the world in 1978. The 3,755 characters on the bells are inlaid with gold. Another bianzhong set was found in the area of Yi's tomb in 1981.

The recently discovered ancient city remains span an area of 16 square kilometers. In addition, two tombs were also found by researchers close to the palace ruin area. Complete metal ceremonial vessels were discovered when the graves, which are shaped like vertical pits, were excavated.

The crew's belongings and a fairly complete ship from 1881 are discovered in Lake Michigan

A schooner that drowned in Lake Michigan in 1881 has been found intact miles from Wisconsin's coast. Its last resting place is so well-preserved that it still retains the crew's belongings.

The 140-foot-long (43-meter-long) schooner was built at Grand Island, New York, in 1867, and was used primarily in the grain trade between Milwaukee, Chicago and Oswego, New York.

The 156-year-old Trinidad was discovered in July off the coast of Algoma by Wisconsin maritime historians Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck at a depth of roughly 270 feet (82 meters). Based on testimonies from survivors found in historical documents, they focused on its position using side-scan sonar.

According to a news statement on Thursday 31st of August revealing the Trinidad's discovery, "the wreck is among the best-preserved shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters with her deck-house still intact, containing the crew’s possessions and her anchors and deck gear still present."

156-year-old Trinidad's ship wheel.

Shipbuilder William Keefe constructed the 140-foot (43-meter) schooner on Grand Island, New York, in 1867. It was largely utilized in the grain trade between Milwaukee, Chicago, and Oswego, New York.

But early on May 13, 1881, after passing through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, it developed a catastrophic leak while transporting a shipment of coal destined for Milwaukee. According to a news release, it sank around 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) off the coast of Algoma, "taking all the crew’s possessions and the captain’s pet Newfoundland dog with her."

After eight hours of rowing in the ship's yawl boat, Captain John Higgins and his crew of eight made it to Algoma, which is located about 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Milwaukee. A few days prior to sinking, Higgins thought the Trinidad's hull had been harmed while it was traveling through ice fields in the Straits of Mackinac.

156-year-old Trinidad.

According to a news release, after finding the Trinidad in July, Baillod and Jaeck informed an underwater archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society of their discovery. The underwater archaeologist then arranged for the site to be surveyed with an underwater vehicle that verified the Trinidad's identity and recorded historical artifacts.

To enable virtual site exploration, a three-dimensional ship model has been made. In order to add the location to the National Register of Historic Places, Baillod and Jaeck intend to collaborate with the Wisconsin Historical Society.

What are the pits of Grimes Graves, near Thetford, Norfolk?

In Norfolk, there is a field with 400 pits; what is this field, which resembles the moon's surface?

Inside Neolithic flint mine Grime's Graves, near Thetford (Image: Newsquest)

Grime's Graves, originally known as Grim's Graves, is a Neolithic flint mine and Site of Special Scientific Interest that serves as a refuge for endangered plant species.

One of the pits was discovered to be a network of flint mines that had been dug more than 5,000 years earlier when it was unearthed in 1870.

English Heritage looks after a grassy environment with more than 400 shafts, pits, quarries, and spoil dumps on the property, which also houses Britain's sole accessible prehistoric flint mine.

It was discovered in 2011 during a dig that the region was larger than first believed. While this does not necessarily mean there are new sites to find, it may point to a greater area of archaeological importance.

The Stone Age archaeological site is currently closed for conservation work, however it is frequently open to visitors when they can descend nine meters by ladder to observe black flint.

Up to nine persons could have participated in the pit digging at once during the seasonal Neolithic villages.

They would fill the mineshaft back up with the materials they were taking out to make the next pit once they had completed digging the first one.

Canon William Greenwell conducted the first excavations at the location between 1868 and 1870, confirming that it was a flint mine. Greenwell's Pit was once more excavated in 1971–1972 and by the British Museum in 1974–1976; it has since been abandoned.

The hole contained a greenstone axe from Cornwall, antler picks, and a bird's skull.

Archaeologists are astounded by the 2,000-year-old computer that was discovered

An 'astonishing' computer that dates to roughly 2,000 years ago has been found by archaeologists.

At 2,000 years old, the Antikythera mechanism is a hand-powered orrery — a mechanical model of the Solar System (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

In Greece, archaeologists are accustomed to discovering antiquities. After all, the nation formerly served as the home of the Ancient Greeks, who flourished thousands of years ago and had a significant impact on math, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy.

They were responsible for a number of world-changing discoveries, including the fact that the planets revolve around the Sun, the size of the moon, the circumference of the Earth, and the development of the first astronomical calculator. Now, this most recent discovery has once more astounded specialists.

The Antikythera mechanism, the first known analog computer, is a hand-powered orrery that depicts the solar system in mechanical form. It is 2,000 years old. It is thought that the ancient civilization would have utilized it to foretell eclipses and astronomical locations decades in advance.

In order for the Olympics to take place every four years, they also used it to keep track of the Olympic cycle. The Antikythera mechanism was discovered in 1901, long before analog computers were invented. It was discovered among the debris that was recovered after a shipwreck off the coast of the identical Greek island.

It was discovered to have a hidden piece of gear by archaeologist Valerios Stais a year later. Professor Tony Freeth of University College London (UCL), who has conducted in-depth study on the system and revealed its secrets and complexities, was contacted by the BBC.

Along with the Antikythera mechanism, researchers discovered marble statues, vases, exquisite jewelry, and ancient money. According to Prof. Freeth, "no one knew quite what to do with" the peculiar artifact at the time. He said: "It was not recognized as being anything interesting when it was discovered, it was just a corroded lump about the size of a large dictionary."

However, there was much excitement when Mr. Stais discovered gear wheels inside because of what it indicated for the object's significance and social position. Anything from Ancient Greece shouldn't contain gear wheels, thus this was the first surprise, according to Prof. Freeth. These gears were precise and had millimeter-long teeth. And the whole thing was simply shocking.

It's currently on display at a museum in Athens ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

But why exactly did the Greeks of antiquity require such a thing? According to Professor Freeth, the Greeks' fixation with astrology holds the key to the solution. It was really amazing back then to think that your scientific theories might be automated, he remarked.

The Antikythera mechanism, which is split into 82 pieces and has a large portion missing, is currently on display at an Athens museum. But because of advances in technology, Professor Freeth and his team were able to collect data from every item using an eight-ton X-ray machine.

"When we first looked at the results it was astonishing because it showed us not only all the gear wheels in three dimensions so we could separate them, but it showed us all these new inscriptions in the fragments as well," he remarked.

They have been able to compile a wide range of data and create the first-ever image of the device's front. To further investigate how technologically proficient the Ancient Greeks were and whether any other secrets are concealed within the Antikythera mechanism, Prof. Freeth plans to take his study and construct a full-scale physical model of the device.

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Researchers learn that neanderthals used psychedelics to get high millions of years ago

A recent study discovered that after a long day of hunting and gathering, Neanderthals enjoyed relaxing by using psychoactive substances.

We now have proof that people used drugs in prehistoric times because to the finding of human hair strands at a burial site in Menorca, Spain.

A recent study that was presented sheds new information on drug use throughout history and was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The research revealed numerous distinct alkaloid compounds that originated from nightshade plants.

They contain ephedrine, a stimulant, as well as scopolamine and atropine, which can both lead to hallucinations and out-of-body experiences.

Additionally, there were boxes in the cave that had psychedelic patterns on them; these could have been made by neanderthals while they were high.

The study's principal author, Elisa Guerra-Doce, is an associate professor of prehistory at the University of Valladolid.

People occasionally assume that using drugs is a modern practice. These outcomes reveal a distinct narrative.

Giorgio Samorini, an ethnobotanist who was unrelated to the study, added to the article: "This was not a profane purpose of'searching for a high' but rather more generally the search for existential meaning that has been largely lost to time."

Mahbubnagar has rock art from the Neolithic era

Neolithic axes and megalithic tombs had previously been found in the hills surrounding Thatikonda town in the Moosapet mandal.

The rock bruising of a bull appears dull because of exposure to sun and rain.

On Sunday, a bull's bruises were discovered on a 4,000-year-old Neolithic rock that was discovered atop a hill in the Moosapet mandal headquarters of the Mahbubnagar district. Archaeologist and Buddhavanam consultant E Sivanagireddy discovered ruins of temple architecture from the Rashtrakuta, Kalyan Chalukya, and Vijayanagara periods while he was studying the Ramaswamy Gutta temple.

He discovered a bull's rock bruise and a few figures of men and animals below it while inspecting the brick-built superstructure over the Ramalingeshwara temple. These figurines had been marked with neo-stone instruments. The 400-foot-high rock carving, which was formed through thousands of years of exposure to rain and sunlight, had a lifeless appearance.

In order to avoid animals, Neolithic humans sought to live at higher altitudes, and they used to cultivate rainfed crops in tiny soil patches on the hillocks. They used to use their stone axes and other tools to continuously strike the rock until they ultimately created the imprint of the animal on the rocks to display their artistic talent because they had lots of free time while living on the hillocks.

Neolithic axes and megalithic tombs had previously been found in the hills surrounding Thatikonda town in the Moosapet mandal. Between the Raichur road and the Bangalore national highway, the mandal's entire terrain is ornamented by rocky hills. He asked the villagers to keep the rock bruising since it is an important archaeological site.

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Inside the Walls of Carthage - The Rome of Africa

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We begin with a brief history of the origins and rise of Carthage. Then we layout the landscape of the city of Carthage with a tour of its major districts. This includes its massive triple walls, the byrsa hill acropolis, the Hannibal quarter, the agora, the Cothon naval harbor, and more.

The 14 Most Interesting Lost Cities and Structures Reclaimed by Nature

Although humanity has built magnificent and important cities in the course of history, there are many examples of cities lost to nature. For various reasons, humans left the towns they spent a lot of effort building, and nature reclaimed what it is its after some time. Consequently, empty buildings covered in greenery, sand, or water fill these cities.

But what happens when a city is left eerily abandoned, its homes and buildings still standing without anybody to call them home? Nature takes over. Moss coats crumbling buildings, sand dunes swallow up whole houses and trees and animals clamber over once busy walkways.

From a former mining town swallowed up by the Namib desert to a rabbit-infested Japanese island, here are 14 historic cities and settlements that have been reclaimed by nature.

Every Time Things Have Evolved Into Turtles

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Predynastic Egypt - Early Egyptian History Before the Pharaohs and Pyramids (5000-3000 BC)

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Where Legend Places King Arthur's Birthplace, a Palace Was Discovered

Geoffrey of Monmouth, a historian, published History of the Kings of Britain about the year 1138, which is the first comprehensive documented chronicle of King Arthur. Many other academics of his day did not at the time believe Monmouth's account. But even if concrete proof of the reality of Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, and Guinevere has proven elusive throughout the years, their story has come to dominate public imagination.

Excavations of a Dark Ages palace on the Tintagel Peninsula in Cornwall Emily Whitfield-Wicks/English Heritage

However, a recently discovered building on Cornwall's Tintagel peninsula lends a tiny bit of credibility to the Arthur narrative. Archaeologists are reportedly seeking to find a sizable palace with three-foot wide stone walls and flagstone floors in the region that Monmouth claimed was Arthur's birthplace (or at least where he was conceived), according to David Keys of the Independent. The palace is the largest edifice from the dark ages discovered in Britain so far, and it was most likely constructed in the 6th century.

The palace is just one of a dozen buildings discovered on the Tintagel peninsula by ground penetrating radar studies, some of which probably housed laborers, warriors, and artists. However, since it was the middle centuries, whoever resided in the main building led a quite opulent existence. The researchers have proof that these people consumed wine from what is now Turkey and used olive oil from Tunisia and the Greek Isles. They ate off plates from North Africa and drank from French painted glass cups.

The worldwide feast demonstrates that even though the Romans left Britain in 410, they probably resumed trading with the country, particularly with Cornwall, to gain access to Cornish tin a century later. "The discovery of high-status buildings ― potentially a royal palace complex ― at Tintagel is transforming our understanding of the site," Winn Scutt of English Heritage, the government organization financing a five-year excavation at the site, tells Keys. "It is helping to reveal an intriguing picture of what life was like in a place of such importance in the historically little-known centuries following the collapse of Roman administration in Britain."

Could the palace be related to a real-life King Arthur? The complex most likely belonged to the Dumnonian kings who, throughout the Dark Ages, ruled over that region of Cornwall. Those buildings may have been deserted at the time Monouth penned his tale, but their history may have been passed down orally.

According to Graham Phillips, author of "The Lost Tomb of King Arthur," the evidence "is showing there could indeed be some truth behind the earliest stories about King Arthur’s birth at Tintagel. If nothing else, it means the legend about where Arthur was born isn’t so fanciful after all and deserves further investigation. It is going to start a whole new line of investigation by historians."

According to Rowley and Harley, Geoffrey Ashe, a historian who thinks the Arthur account is probably a synthesis of legends about a number of early British rulers, feels the new discovery may lend Geoffrey of Monmouth more credibility. "Hollywood versions of Arthur never happened. But behind it, I would certainly say there is more and more evidence that there was a British ruler at about the right time and in about the right place. It is not the Arthur of the manuscript, but it is not wishful thinking either."

Scutt, though, cautions against making snap judgments and claims that the researchers aren't seeking for Arthur-related signs. He explains to Rowley and Harley, "we don’t know what Geoffrey of Monmouth was drawing on: his was a work of fact and fiction and disentangling the two is fraught with difficulties."

We might begin to believe if the researchers find a staff that reads "Merlin," though.

Hittite Tunnel Discovered With 3,000-Year-Old Wooden Structure Mentioned On Cuneiform Tablets

In a deep, lengthy tunnel that the ancient Hittite civilisation used, archaeologists have uncovered wood buildings that are 3,000 years old.

The fact that the tunnel is described on old cuneiform tablets is among the most intriguing aspects of this discovery.

Oymaağaç mound. Image credit: Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, Rainer Czihon - Public Domain

The 8-meter-deep, 22-meter-long Oymaağaç Tumulus tunnel at the Hittite city of Nerik in the Vezirköprü neighborhood of Samsun, Turkey, has been being excavated by scientists since 2009. Numerous intriguing ancient artifacts have been discovered at the site over the years. "A previously unknown group of Late Bronze Age painted pottery, which obviously existed besides the dominating Hittite pottery" is one of them.

According to research, "ceramic group belonged to an independent regional pottery tradition of the Central Black Sea region and it is likely that it can be associated with the so-called Kaška people."

In the most recent excavations, archaeologists entered the mound, climbed 52 steps, and looked at the old tunnel.

The tunnel was used by the Hittite civilization. Image credit: İlyas Gün/AA

A significant discovery is the spring at the end of the tunnel.

"The spring at the end of the tunnel is mentioned in the cuneiform texts during the Hittite period as the spring that the air god loved very much. There is water at the end of the tunnel, as you can see. This water is high now. During the Hittite period, water flowed more regularly from a gutter. We can say that it was an important source of water for the Hittites, especially for their rituals", according to Dr. Mehmet Ali Ylmaz, lecturer and deputy head of the carvings association at Uşak University's archeology department.

The wood finds are 3,000-year-old. Image credit: İlyas Gün/AA

Archaeologists discovered wooden buildings in mud and water. The wooden constructions' function is still a mystery. Although it is not yet known why, it is possible that the Hittites placed them there on purpose. They might have been a component of a spring-related installation. Scientists will investigate it by constructing three-dimensional models.

What is known is that the wooden constructions discovered submerged in the tunnel's water were regarded as being of utmost significance in the literature.

"The radiocarbon dates of these wooden finds pointed to the Iron Age. In other words, these woods date to the end of the 10th century BC and are 3,000 years old," Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Ali Yılmaz added.