2024 in archaeology

This page lists significant events of 2024 in archaeology.

Finds

January

• 4 – A rock-cut tomb dating back to the Second Dynasty was uncovered in Saqqara by a team of Japanese and Egyptian archaeologists. The tomb contained artifacts from various periods, spanning over the Late Period, the Ptolemaic period, and the 18th Dynasty. Among the findings were remains of an adult with a colored mask and a small child, in addition to two terracotta statues depicting Isis and Harpocrates.^[1]
• 11 – The Upano Valley sites are discovered as the oldest known complex Amazonian society, predating other such societies by over a millennium. They are located in the Upano River valley in eastern Ecuador, and are a cluster of archaeological sites in the Amazon rainforest, The sites comprise several cities; they are believed to have been inhabited as early as 500 BC.^[2]
  • Discovered a 1st century A.D. Roman villa in Bacoli during the works for the new public park, likely belonged to Pliny the Elder.^[3]
• 13 – Two Doric Greek temples discovered in Paestum.^[4]

February

• 1 – The discovery of 13 Homo sapiens bone fragments, dating back approximately 47,500 years and identified through ancient DNA, was announced near Ranis, Germany. This research has provided new insights into the arrival of modern humans in Northwestern Europe, indicating they arrived earlier than previously thought.^[5][6][7]
• 20 – Discovery of the ruins of the medieval church of San Geminiano and rectangular stone-lined tombs dated to the seventh or eighth century under Piazza San Marco in Venice during stone paving restoration works was announced.^[8][9]

March

• 4 – A 1,200-year-old tomb of the Gran Coclé culture containing the remains of an elite lord, as many as 31 sacrificial victims, and gold artifacts has been discovered in Panama’s El Caño Archaeological Park.^[10]
  • The top half of a statue of Ramesses II was found in an archaeological site at the ancient city of Hermopolis, now Al-Ashmunin, Egypt.^[11][12]

• 7 – The discovery of approximately seven thousand human bones along with grave goods, as well as a Bronze Age human skull with a hole likely created through a procedure called trepanation, was announced in Cova dels Xaragalls, Spain.^[13]

• 8 – A piece of bread dating back to 6,800 BC was found in Konya, Turkey, at the site of the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük. This is believed to be the world's oldest known bread. It was found in a destroyed oven structure in the "Mekan 266" area. Archaeologists also found wheat, barley, pea seeds, and a round "spongy" residue.^[14][15]
• 20 – A piece of a medieval leaden papal bull was discovered by members of the Saint Cordula Exploration Association near Wysoka Kamieńska, Poland.^[16][17]
• 25 – A 12th-century grave containing 170 silver bracteates are found at the site of the Christian church of Brahekyrkan on Visingsö, Sweden. The excavation also uncovered 24 graves and 20 hearths, dating back to at least the Roman Iron Age.^[18]
• 29 – A partially complete set of 17th century Hussar armor is discovered in the village of Mikułowice, Poland. The set will go on display at the Castle Museum in Sandomierz after inspection and conservation.^[19][20]
• 30 – A mediaeval settlement and Roman furnaces with more than 150 objects were discovered in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia.^[21]

April

• 1 – A submerged late Bronze Age fort was uncovered on an island in Clew Bay, located off the north Mayo coast of Ireland.^[22][23]
• 2 – An 8,200-year-old campsite known as Gomolak Overlook was discovered on Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico.^[24]
• 3 – 640-year-old castle Château de l’Hermine, built by John IV the Conqueror in the 1380s, is discovered under the courtyard of Hotel Lagorce in Vannes, Brittany, France.^[25][26]
• 5 – A 4.5 m (15 ft) by 3 m (9.8 ft) Mycenaean building along with over 30 ceramic vessels were uncovered on the summit of Mount Ellanio on the Greek island of Aegina. The ceramic vessels were dated back to the Mycenaean palatial period, between 1200–1050 BC.^[27]
• 7 – 30 unmarked graves were found outside the William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery, a previously colored cemetery, in Graham, Texas.^[28]
• 8 – Archaeologists found a 7th century hermitage of Guthlac and his sister Pega, which stands on the site of a much older henge dating back to between 1502 and 1323 BCE. ^[29]
• 11 – Roman frescos depicting mythical Greek figures such as Helen of Troy and Apollo and Cassandra are found in a new excavation in Pompeii, Italy.^[30][31]
  • A bronze fitting belonging to a shield, depicting Alexander the Great, was found on Zealand island in Denmark. It is being examined and analyzed at the Museum Vestsjælland [da] on the island.^[32][33]
  • A collection of glassware dating back to the Roman period was uncovered in Nîmes, France. Nîmes was known as Nemausus in antiquity and emerged as a Roman colony during the 1st century BC. The collection includes strigils, ornate glass vases, ceramics, a glass paste cup, lamps, and fragments of funerary monuments and amphorae. ^[34]
• 12 – A shoe buckle, musket balls, and grapeshot were uncovered in Scotland at the site of the 1746 Battle of Culloden. The buckle is thought to have belonged to Donald Cameron of Lochiel, the hereditary chief of Clan Cameron and a Jacobite.^[35]
• 16 – Three ancient Roman graves dating to the 5th or 6th century AD were found in the ancient Roman city of Ossónoba, in what is now Faro, Portugal. The graves were sealed with limestone labs, believed to be reused parts from older buildings in the area. The graves are of a man between the ages of 39 and 45 years old, a woman under the age of 25, and a baby under six months old. Archaeologists also recovered other Roman artifacts near the graves: ceramics, a bone dice, nails, pins, a spoon, evidence of a dye factory, and coins minted between A.D. 306–307.^[36][37][38]
• 18 – Archaeologists discover a horseshoe-shaped monument and a collection of weapons and ornaments dating back to the Neolithic at a site in Marliens, France.^[39]
• 19 – A 2,500-year-old Greek-Illyrian helmet was discovered at the "Gomila" site in Zakotorac, Pelješac Peninsula, Croatia.^[40][41]
• 25 – A papyrologist at the University of Pisa finds information about Plato’s burial place in the Herculaneum papyri.^[42][43]
• 28 – Two glass bottles containing a mysterious liquid are found at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia, United States. Experts believe the bottles were originally filled with cherries and were placed in the ground to refrigerate between 1758 and 1776.^[44]

May

• 1 – A stone sculpture dating back to the 16th or 17th century belonging to a Paulist missionary was found in Panaji, Goa state, India.^[45]
  • A 7,000-year-old Late Neolithic settlement is uncovered near the Timiš River, Banat, northeastern Serbia. The area covers roughly 11 to 13 hectares and is surrounded by up to six ditches. The settlement is associated with the Vinča culture, dating back to between 5400–4400 BC.
• 2 – Five human skeletons missing their hands and feet are found underneath a house that belonged to Nazi leader Hermann Goering, in Gierłoż, Poland. The remains are of a baby, a 10-year-old child, and three adults. One of the skeletons had a deformed jaw and a twisted spine.^[46][47]
• 5 – A medieval village is discovered in Kaiserpfalz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, near the site of the Memleben Abbey monastery. So far, the discovery includes two buildings, a church, and a residential building.^[48]
• 11 – A Roman service station along with artefacts dating back to 12,000 years are found in the Cotswolds, England. The artefacts include a Cupid figurine, a nail cleaner, pottery, coins, and jewelry. The pieces will go on display at an event at the Gloucester Guildhall.^[49]
• 20 – An Egyptian-Japanese archaeological team has discovered a pair of underground structures near the Great Pyramid of Giza. Using ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography, they identified a shallow L-shaped structure measuring 10 meters wide by 15 meters long.^[50][51]
• 22 – Tiburon Subsea CEO Tim Taylor and the Lost 52 Project announce that they have discovered the wreck of submarine USS Harder (SS-257) (sunk 1944) largely intact in the South China Sea near the Philippines' northern island of Luzon.^[52][53]

June

• 11 – The Greek Ministry of Culture announces the discovery of the Papoura Hill Circular Structure, a large Bronze Age-era Minoan architectural construction used between 2000–1700 BC in Kasteli, Crete. ^[54]
• 12 – Discovery of the ship Quest (on which Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton died in 1922) where she sank off Newfoundland and Labrador in 1962 is announced.^[55]
• 12 – The discovery of eight 13th-century stone catapult shots outside the walls of Kenilworth Castle was announced. The stones are believed to date back to the reign of King Henry III.^[56][57][58]
• 13 – A historic settlement and cemetery of at least 52 individuals with more than 18,800 artefacts have been uncovered by Border Archaeology at Calthorpe Gardens, in Bretch Hill, Banbury, Oxfordshire.^[59]
• 15 – Discovery of a large Roman necropolis containing more than 250 burials of infants, stillborn babies and grave goods was announced by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research in Place du Maréchal Leclerc, Auxerre, France. Some remains were buried in ceramic vessels and wooden coffins, while others were wrapped in textiles.^[60][61]
• 19 – Identification of a lost Assyrian military camp from circa 700 B.C which was detailed in the Hebrew Bible was announced by an independent researcher Stephen Compton by creating a virtual map to specify the site of the camp.^[62][63]
• 19 – University of Cordoba announced the discovery of a 2,000-year-old white wine in a glass funerary urn in a tomb in Carmona, Andalusia, Spain. The urn also contained the skeletal remains of two men.^[64][65]
• 20 – Discovery of 3,500-year-old bones of infants and adults, along with a variety of pottery remains, in the Cave of the Dead Man, Spain was announced by the Autonomous University of Barcelona.^[66]
• 20 – Discovery of the remains of a Viking ship with numerous rivets and two horse crampons was announced using a penetrating radar at Jarlsberg Manor in Norway.^[67][68]
• 21 – Discovery of an 18th-century brass ring which is commonly known as  "Jesuit Rings" at historic Michigan fort was announced. The ring was uncovered among 1781 demolition rubble at House E of the museum's Southeast Rowhouse.^[69][70]
• 21 – The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of a well-preserved shipwreck dating back 3,300 years. The wreck, found about 90 kilometers (55 miles) off Israel's Mediterranean coast at a depth of 1,800 meters (1.1 miles), contained hundreds of intact Canaanite jugs used for transporting wine, food oils, fruit, and other goods across the Mediterranean.^[71][72]
• 21 – Archaeologists announce the discovery of six 9,000-year-old stone sewing needles in expeditions near the shore of Lake Xiada Co in western Tibet, making them the oldest stone tools made via grinding on the Tibetan Plateau.^[73]
• 22 – Discovery of a 5,300-year-old burial mound with several graves and grave offerings was announced by the archaeologists from the University of Hradec Králové. This finding was made during a recent highway construction project northeast of Prague, Czechia. The mound measured approximately 190 meters in length and up to 15 meters in width.^[74][75]
• 23 – Discovery of a Golden Primrose flower decoration along with at least seven large wall remains at Auckland Castle was announced by the archaeologists from the Auckland Project.^[76]
• 24 – An archaeological mission combining Egyptian and Italian efforts announced the discovery of 33 Graeco-Roman family tombs, which were uncovered early that month, near the Mausoleum of Aga Khan on the west bank of Aswan.^[77]
• 26 – Discovery of a 1,500-year-old ivory reliquary pyx beneath the marble altar was announced in southern Austria by the University of Innsbruck.^[78]
• 28 – Archaeological Institute of America announced the discovery of a stone wall and Roman defensive ditch in the Dossone della Melia forest, containing numerous broken iron weapons, sword handles and some metal remains. The wall is believed to have been built by Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus to contain the slave rebellion leader Spartacus and his forces.^[79][80]

Events

April

• 3 – A Māori cloak made from the feathers of critically endangered kākāpō goes on display at the British Museum.^[81]
• 17–21 – The 5th Annual World Cultural Heritage Youth Symposium takes place in Athens, Greece, with the theme "This is my living Heritage!". The symposium brings together students and teachers to engage with the Intangible World Cultural Heritage. ^[82]
• 21 – The United Kingdom returns 32 gold and silver treasures taken from the Asante Kingdom in what is Ghana today, on a six-year loan. The treasures were taken in the 19th century. 17 items were held at the British Museum and 17 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The relics will be showcased at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region.^[83]
• 26 – An exhibition honoring the 200-year anniversary of Lord Byron's death opens at at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The exhibition highlights Lord Byron's authentic Sultanic passport and firman, annotated traveler images from the Acropolis and the Parthenon, and excerpts from Byron's poems "The Curse of Minerva" and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage."^[84]

May

• 3 – The Knaresborough Heritage Centre is launched in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. The centre has been worked on for four years by a large group of volunteers, and features artefacts from the region.^[85]
• 5 – Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi is named an ambassador of the Faya Palaeolandscape by the Sharjah Archaeology Authority.^[86]

November

• 4–8 – The 2024 World Neolithic Congress is set to take place in Şanlıurfa, Türkiye. The conference brings together discussion of diverse Neolithic formations and provides a platform for comparing increasing Neolithic social complexity in different parts of the world. ^[87]

Deaths

• May 23 – Sir John Boardman, English classical archaeologist and art historian^[88] (born 1927)

See also

• List of years in archaeology

References