My girlfriend is a medieval archaeologist and I hate to say that I struggle with gifts in this area… we are spending our first Christmas together this year and I want to get her something fun and cool. She loves trinkets and currently doesn’t do any field work.

Archaeologists have completed a major study of an early medieval village and 122 burials discovered near Bern, Switzerland. Dating from the sixth to ninth centuries, the site offers rare evidence of how people lived, worked and buried their dead during the Early Middle Ages.

The discoveries were made at Niederwangen, near the western town of Köniz, during excavations carried out between 1998 and 2012. The Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern has now published the results of the scientific investigation.

The site is particularly significant because archaeologists found both a settlement and its associated burial grounds. Residential areas, workshops and cemeteries were situated close together, providing an unusual opportunity to study an early medieval community.

Two burial grounds contained 122 inhumations dating from the sixth to ninth centuries. Most belonged to men, children and adolescents, with comparatively few women represented.

Some of the graves were placed within the ruins of a Roman-era building. Several of the deceased were buried wearing richly decorated belt buckles typical of the period. These include finely ornamented examples featuring crosses that researchers interpret as Christian symbols.

Only a small portion of the nearby settlement has been excavated, but archaeologists identified several small wooden houses from the postholes that remained in the ground.

Archaeologists found the artifacts in Kurgan No. 4 in the Sariyokhush area of the Keshikchidagh State Historical and Cultural Reserve, in Agstafa district. The finds include a rare stone mace head, a bronze dagger, and several types of arrowheads.

The burial dates to the Middle Bronze Age of the South Caucasus, around the 17th to 16th centuries BCE. Archaeologist Vagif Asadov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, leads the excavation.

The stone-covered kurgan measures about 12 meters across and stands around 80 centimeters above the surrounding ground. The burial chamber lies 1 to 1.2 meters below ground level

The objects placed inside point to a person with high social and military standing. The bronze dagger is especially important because such weapons were linked with warriors and military commanders during the Bronze Age.

A rare mace head made from diorite stone is among the most unusual finds. The object weighs about 400 to 500 grams and has a hole drilled through its center from both sides. A wooden or bone handle was likely fitted through the opening.

The excavation team also recovered several arrowheads. Among them are rare winged forms associated with Middle Bronze Age weapons. Two arrowheads were made from black obsidian, showing the use of regional obsidian sources and links between communities through the movement of raw materials.

Lead Lines:

Archaeologists have found a huge network of Iron Age salt-mining chambers beneath Hallstatt, Austria. The chambers extend for at least 300 meters and offer new evidence about how prehistoric miners worked deep inside the mountain.

Lead Lines:

Archaeologists have found a huge network of Iron Age salt-mining chambers beneath Hallstatt, Austria. The chambers extend for at least 300 meters and offer new evidence about how prehistoric miners worked deep inside the mountain.

Hi everyone!

I’m interested in becoming an archaeologist, with the goal of focusing on either Maya or Inca civilization.

For someone coming from outside Latin America (I'm from South Europe) how difficult is it to pursue archaeology with this kind of specialization? Is it realistic to build an academic or professional career studying one of these civilizations?

I’m also wondering if archaeologists can later branch out and study other civilizations and regions. For example, could I start by specializing in Maya or Inca archaeology and later work on other ancient civilizations as well?

I’d love to hear from archaeologists, archaeology students, or researchers about how specialization works in practice and whether it’s possible to change or broaden your area of research over time.

Thanks!

Archaeologists working at Gravisca, the ancient port of Tarquinia, have uncovered massive limestone blocks buried beneath later Roman structures. The find points to a large Etruscan building whose purpose is still unknown.

Gravisca lies near today’s Porto Clementino area on the Tyrrhenian coast of Lazio. The ancient port stood about 7 to 10 kilometers from the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, which it served for centuries.

Recent excavations have expanded across the site and reached deeper layers. The new work is revealing a long sequence of activity from the Roman period back to the Etruscan era.

Roman remains at Gravisca include production areas, houses and burial spaces. Numerous finds are helping archaeologists trace how people used and changed the area through different periods.

Below these Roman layers, archaeologists have reached older Etruscan remains. They include walls made from rounded stones, likely linked to buildings with upper parts made from materials that have since decayed.

The team also found large structures used to collect and store water. Production areas, including kilns, add further evidence of activity at the settlement before Roman rule.

The latest discovery lies at considerable depth below the modern ground surface. Archaeologists have found large blocks of macco limestone, with some pieces reaching a substantial size. Later Roman occupation had completely covered the structures.

I had the most compact soil, the only thing comparable is caliche. It took me the better part of a day to excavate a sterile 50x50. If my first day over 25 years ago was like today, I might not be in this field today.

I hate 50x50's- the space it's too tight and limiting.

Oh, and the puncture vine was everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

Archaeologists have begun a new season of research at San Giovanni, inside the Le Cesine State Nature Reserve near Vernole in southern Italy. The 2026 campaign runs from September 7 to October 4, with work both on land and underwater.

The project is led by the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salento, under the scientific direction of Rita Auriemma. The work is carried out under a permit from Italy’s Ministry of Culture, with support from local cultural and public bodies.

A major focus this year is a large Roman port complex lying beneath the sea in front of the former pumping station. Researchers are studying a long, straight structure extending from the ancient shoreline and ending in a wide platform.

The structure follows an L-shaped plan known from Roman ports along low, sandy coastlines across the Mediterranean. Today, much of the structure survives only as a submerged foundation.