The Rijksmuseum has been given a permanent loan of a sculpture of Triton by 17th century sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini from a private collector. This is the only sculpture by the Italian Baroque master in the Netherlands. The sculpture is 28 inches high and made of terracotta. It depicts the mythological son of Poseidon standing on … Read the full post →"The Netherlands gets its first Bernini ..read more

A plaster mold of Medusa has been discovered in the archaeological area of Finziade, modern-day Licata, in southwestern Sicily. The negative impression of the gorgoneion, the face and serpent hair of the gorgon Medusa, was a matrix used to produce masks or decorative reliefs. The matrix was one of several discovered in an excavation of … Read the full post →"Medusa mask matrix found in Sicily ..read more

A mysterious prehistoric statuette from the Hallstatt culture discovered in 2022 during highway construction in Mönchstockheim, Lower Franconia, will go on permanent display at the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) has completed conservation of the figure and it will be officially handed over on January 30th. … Read the full post →"Hallstatt “water goddess” joins Munich state collection ..read more

A fragment from a pre-Viking helmet that is one of the most magnificent ever found in Scandinavia have been discovered in Lejre, in the northwestern of the Danish island of Zealand. The fragment is gold-plated bronze adorned with red garnet gemstones and intricately engraved zoomorphic figure. The design of the animal figure — its pronounced … Read the full post →"Fragment of gilded pre-Viking helmet found in Denmark ..read more

An excavation at the Domus Aurea, the opulent Golden House Nero built on the Oppian Hill in Rome after the great fire of 64 A.D., has uncovered a rare ingot of Egyptian blue. Archaeological examples of the pigment are usually found in small pieces or powder, but the Domus Aurea chunk is six inches high … Read the full post →"Big hunk of Egyptian blue found at Domus Aurea ..read more

A recent analysis of a liquid found in a bronze vessel from the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.) has confirmed that it is distilled liquor, pushing the appearance of distillation technology on the Chinese archaeological record back 1,000 years. This means the distilled liquor appears in China around the same time as it appears in … Read the full post →"Earliest distilled liquor in China found in owl vessel ..read more

An excavation in the ancient city of Metropolis in the western Turkish province of Izmir, has uncovered approximately 2,000 fragments of bronze statues in the equivalent of a scrap yard from late antiquity. The pieces came from statues ranging in date from the Hellenistic period through the Roman imperial period (3rd century B.C. – 4th … Read the full post →"2,000 bronze statue fragments found in ancient Metropolis scrap yard ..read more

Archaeologists have uncovered approximately 1,500 richly-decorated stone blocks that were once part of the Valley Temple of 18th Dynasty pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut. They unearthed near the causeway of her grand mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahari in Luxor, Egypt. The polychrome paint on the blocks is still bright and the reliefs and carvings in excellent condition. … Read the full post →"1,500 painted blocks from Hatshepsut’s temple found ..read more

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