Ticia Verveer

This magnificent mosaic, with intricate geometric and figural designs crafted from thousands of small stone tesserae, was found during the construction of the Antakya Museum Hotel in Türkiye.

Measuring 9,000 square feet, it is the largest intact mosaic ever excavated.
The mosaic once graced the floor of a large public building in ancient Antioch.
Two earthquakes (526 AD and 528 AD) rippled the mosaic causing the fluctuations in the floor.

📷Museum Hotel Antakya http://www.themuseumhotelantakya.com/mobile/the-museum/index-more.php

A New York State cemetery may be home to nearly 5.6 million ground-nesting bees. The colony is one of the largest ever recorded and likely one of the oldest.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-just-discovered-5-6-million-bees-under-a-new-york-cemetery/

A delicate Minoan gold ornament, in the form of a bee, to celebrate #WorldBeeDay The c. 3,600 year old bee is finely decorated with filigree-work and granulation. Length: 1.9 centimetres, weight: 17 grains
📷British Museum https://media.britishmuseum.org/media/Repository/Documents/2016_2/9_14/1ca1de1c_c246_4960_a7f5_a5a700ef03d1/mid_GAA6163.jpg

A complete Bronze Age loom with carbonized wood found in Alicante reveals how textiles were made 3,500 years ago

https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/03/a-complete-bronze-age-loom-with-carbonized-wood-found-in-alicante-reveals-how-textiles-were-made-3500-years-ago/

A Six-Year-Old Boy On A Field Trip Just Pulled A 1,300-Year-Old Viking Sword From A Field In Norway.

📷Avisen Hadeland/Facebook
https://allthatsinteresting.com/tingelstad-norway-viking-sword

'The detectors never stopped beeping!' Nearly 3,000 coins discovered in field are Norway's largest Viking hoard on record

A Viking Age hoard of nearly 3,000 coins is the largest hoard of its kind ever found in Norway.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/vikings/the-detectors-never-stopped-beeping-nearly-3-000-coins-discovered-in-field-are-norways-largest-viking-hoard-on-record

A new study argues that Vikings may have supplied rare Arctic falcons to the rulers of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. The research traces how dozens of prized white falcons appeared at the court of the caliphs in Baghdad during the late 800s and early 900s. 

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/vikings-traded-falcons-with-medieval-baghdad-study-finds/

Until the 1970s, fellows from the American Academy in Rome were permitted to walk upon the Pantheon's ancient dome, peering into the temple's heart through the open oculus.
https://www.nybooks.com/online/2016/05/13/pantheon-eye-of-god/?utm_source=sumome&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=sumome_share

Native Americans invented dice and games of chance more than 12,000 years ago, archaeological study reveals.

📷Robert Madden
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/americas/native-americans-invented-dice-and-games-of-chance-more-than-12-000-years-ago-archaeological-study-reveals

Robert Madden of Colorado State University identified and examined more than 600 sets of dice, or binary lots, recovered from 45 different archaeological sites in the western United States, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/probability-in-the-pleistocene-origins-and-antiquity-of-native-american-dice-games-of-chance-and-gambling/E38C7B1F4CE7F417D8EFAC5AFEEF20A2

A late Roman burial, discovered at the former Essex County Hospital site in Colchester, will be on public display.

The high-status woman was buried in a decorated lead coffin accompanied by jet hairpins, a group of rare glass flasks, and other grave goods. Residue analysis has identified frankincense and gypsum within the coffin, and exotic resins in one of the glass vessels.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9p05y31p8o

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day🌸🌺
​Just as this Roman masterpiece has preserved its beauty for two millennia, we celebrate the timeless influence and strength of the mothers and maternal figures in our lives.
📷https://kataloget.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk/en/H2901

Happy Maius! The month May is named after the goddess Maia, mother of Mercury, the messenger of the gods.

Roman mosaic from ancient Thysdrus, modern El Djem, Tunisia. 3rd century AD.
Sousse, Musée Archéologique.

Photo credit Ad Meskens https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sousse_mosaic_calendar_May.JPG

Researchers used advanced 3D scanning technology to study large ceramic jars sealed inside the stone counters of Roman taverns in Pompeii, uncovering how the vessels were built and likely used nearly 2,000 years ago.

https://greekreporter.com/2026/05/13/ancient-jars-pompeii-taverns-roman-food-pottery-secrets/

Morphometric Analysis of Roman Ceramic Vessels Embedded in Taberna Counters at Pompeii Using 3D Modelling. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-026-09774-4

Neanderthals used stone drills to treat cavities 59,000 years ago, tooth suggests

Molar found in Siberia features deep hole that appears to show earliest known evidence of dental treatment
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/13/neanderthals-stone-drills-treat-cavities-tooth-siberia-dentist

Archaeologists have uncovered the foundations of the Brno’s monumental Great Synagogue, which was built in 1853-55 and torched by the Nazis in March 17-18, 1939 

📷Institute of Archaeological Heritage Care. Czech Republic
https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2026/05/06/czech-republic-brno-archaeology/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRppSxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR67XluLMek1-EVTCZ4AjYGe46p80EcvfVPTk4ckphjtEzNcOh6BP2v7uHjZew_aem_eKuIbczCE0JaM3n6JUce4Q

The Yorkshire Museum’s brand new exhibition, Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard, presents the unprecedented discovery of the largest hoard of Iron Age metalwork to ever be found in Britain, the Melsonby Hoard.

📷Anthony Chappel-Ross
https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/exhibition/chariots-treasure-and-power-secrets-of-the-melsonby-hoard/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/14/melsonby-hoard-iron-age-metalwork-on-display-exhibition-yorkshire-museum

A residential area surrounded by a moat, which developed in the centre of the town of Denderleeuw (East Flanders) in the 10th century, shaped the village’s appearance well into the 19th century research near the local church has revealed.
https://vrtnws.be/p.xZL1dmq0D

Metal detectorists found two Late Anglo-Saxon coins during routine archaeological surveys in Jutland, Denmark.
📷Søren Greve, Nationalmuseet.
https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/14901832/monter-til-forsvar-mod-vikinger-endte-som-vikingesmykker?lang=da&publisherId=13560791

A hiker discovered a rare 6th century gold sword scabbard fitting in Sandnes, Norway.

https://www.forskning.no/arkeologi/1500-ar-gammelt-gull-beslag-til-sverdslire-man-ser-raskt-en-nese-og-en-hodeprofil/2659424

Archaeologists have uncovered the site of secret, illegal whisky distilling that had likely lain hidden in a remote gully for more than 200 years.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) archaeology team and volunteers made the discovery on Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve near Killin.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx219pg5lpxo

Researchers sequenced the genomes of 54 grape seeds dating from the Bronze Age to the medieval period. A 600-year-old grape seed from northern France is genetically identical to grapes used today to make pinot noir wine.

Roman-era genomes reflect long-distance exchange from Iberian, Balkan, Levantine, and Caucasian domesticated varieties.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-grape-pinot-noir-wine-found-toilet-medieval-hospital-france/

Ancient DNA reveals 4000 years of grapevine diversity, viticulture and clonal propagation in France.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70166-z

The remains of a basilica have been discovered during redevelopment work at Piazza Andrea Costa in Fano, Italy.
The newly-discovered structure matches the detailed description in Vitruvius’ De Architectura.

Photo: Loretta Manocchi.
https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/archaeology/basilica-of-vitruvius-found-in-fano-discovery-of-extraordinary-importance

Maya Site discovered on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula
https://riviera-maya-news.com/ministry-of-culture-registers-new-archaeological-site-discovered-in-quintana-roo/2026.html?cn-reloaded=1

Maritime archaeologists from the Danish Viking Ship Museum say they found the wreck of warship Dannebroge, destroyed by the British Navy during the Battle of Copenhagen.
https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/calendar/events/danish-maritime-archaeologists-discover-flagship-lost-in-the-battle-of-copenhagen-on-2-april-1801

Italian art cops on Wednesday evening unveiled some 337 ancient artifacts that have been returned to Italy from the United States over recent months including a marble head of Alexander the Great from the Roman Forum.

https://www.ansa.it/english/news/lifestyle/arts/2026/04/30/337-stolen-artifacts-return-from-the-us-giuli-says-culture-will_c8af6e71-63e7-488a-b12f-7f47976b7a09.html

Rock-cut tombs dated to Egypt’s Old Kingdom have been discovered in the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis at Aswan

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/562793.aspx

Polish researchers have discovered traces of tapeworms, dysentery-causing parasites and the protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum in Roman chamber pots from present-day Bulgaria dating to the 2nd-4th century AD

https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C112561%2Croman-chamber-pots-bulgaria-reveal-ancient-parasites.html

Almost 800,000 years ago, early humans were likely collecting driftwood from the ancient predecessor of the Hula Lake to regularly fuel fires.
Prof. Naama Goren-Inbar identified a large number of charcoal fragments at Gesher Benot Ya’akov.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-ancient-charcoal-shows-how-prehistoric-israelis-were-already-grilling-780000-years-ago/

When collagen fails: Zinc isotopes unlock Sumerian lifeways in southern Mesopotamia
https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dinner-tooth-enamel-reveals-early.html

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2526276123

A genetic study of the remains of 2,000-year-old dogs recovered from archaeological sites on the Korean Peninsula suggests that the canines belonged to a lineage separate from other dog populations in East Asia.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0346864