Thanks to a dedicated crowdfunding campaign and the generosity of 742 donors, Turin’s Civic Museum of Ancient Art has acquired five precious Limoges enamel brackets missing from a unique 13th century casket. The ornaments, believed to have been stolen in the late 18th century, were being sold by a Paris antiques gallery for 50,000 euros, … Read the full post →"Museum acquires stolen Limoges enamels for 13th c. casket ..read more

One of the largest bath complexes ever discovered in a private home at Pompeii has been unearthed in Insula 10 of the Regio IX neighborhood. Very few households in Pompeii were wealthy enough to have their own private baths, and only three villas have bathing complexes comparable in size and complexity. Unique to this domus … Read the full post →"Lavish private baths found in Pompeii villa ..read more

A metal detectorist has discovered the seal stamp of a 14th century archbishop in a field in West Jutland. The inscription identified its owner as Esger Juul, Archbishop of Lund, who died on January 17th, 1325, so exactly 700 years ago. The seal it a pointed oval with a central image of St. Francis of … Read the full post →"Rare seal stamp of 14th c. archbishop found in West Jutland ..read more

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Ptolemais on the Mediterranean coast of Libya have discovered a sophisticated water management system in a house dating to the late 2nd century, early 3rd century A.D. Part of the system is a cistern that was found to contain an anonymous human face made of the hydraulic mortar that … Read the full post →"Mysterious mask found inside Libyan cistern ..read more

The royal funerary regalia of rulers of Poland and Lithuania has been discovered in the underground vaults of Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania. The regalia includes three funeral crowns, a scepter, an orb, rings, chains and coffin plaques that were secreted in a niche in the wall of the crypt shortly after the outbreak of World … Read the full post →"16th c. royal funerary regalia found hidden in Vilnius Cathedral wall ..read more

A series 13th century wall paintings covering seven bays in the apse of Angers Cathedral that have been hidden behind Baroque wooden choir stalls since the 18th century have been documented and photographed for the first time. A team of researchers and conservators from the University of Cambridge’s Hamilton Kerr Institute dedicated years to taking … Read the full post →"Hidden 13th c. murals of Angers Cathedral documented for the 1st time ..read more

Restorers working at St. Andrew’s Church in Eisleben in the east-central German state of Saxony-Anhalt, discovered four bags of coins from around 1640 in the cavity of the leg of a statue of a kneeling count. They were hidden in the count’s leg during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) when Swedish occupying troops wreaked havoc … Read the full post →"Money bags found in leg of statue in German church ..read more

A late Roman-era limestone coffin containing a rare gypsum burial has been discovered during expansion of the A47 highway outside of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, southeastern England. The coffin was cut out of a single massive block of limestone. The deceased was clothed and shrouded, put inside the coffin and liquid gypsum poured over them. Capping … Read the full post →"Roman gypsum burial in stone coffin found during highway construction ..read more

An exceptional deposit of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the late 4th century has been unearthed near Holzthum in northern Luxembourg. The coins are gold solidi struck during the reigns of nine emperors who reigned between 364 and 408 A.D. Three of the 141 solidi were issued by Emperor Eugenius whose coins are rare … Read the full post →"141 Roman gold coins found in Luxembourg ..read more

A unique red-painted dog penis bone has been discovered in a Romano-British ritual shaft deposit at a quarry in Ewell, Surrey, southeast England. There are no other published examples of ochre-stained bones from Roman or Iron Age Britain, and given the context from which it was recovered, it seems probable that this bone represents some … Read the full post →"Dog penis bone stained red found in Roman quarry shaft ..read more