Archaeological news from around the world: new discoveries, excavations, dating results and research, with links to the original sources.
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Help Right to Roam campaign open up access to Ancient Sites in England and Wales
Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 20 December 2024 (1741 reads)
EventsAround 28% of England’s ancient monuments have no legal public right of access. The Right to Roam campaign are calling for an extension to access to bring England in line with Scotland where, since 2003, there has existed a right of responsible access to most land and water.
New Mineral analysis indicates Stonehenge’s Altar Stone originated from Scotland
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 14 August 2024 (6729 reads)
DiscoveriesBy Dr Rob Ixer and Prof. Peter Turner, two key Altar Stone researchers. A new analysis of Stonehenge’s central six-tonne Altar Stone indicates that it is likely to have come from north east Scotland,…
Anger as homes to be built inside Avebury's circle
Submitted by coldrum on Monday, 19 February 2024 (13123 reads)
Neolithic and Bronze AgeWorld Heritage officials have lost their bid to prevent a clutch of "incongruous and unattractive" houses from being built next to Europe's largest prehistoric stone circle. They say the plan to…
Welcome to the New Improved Megalithic Portal Web Server
Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 27 January 2024 (1946 reads)
EventsYou won't really see any difference apart from a very welcome speed improvement. It doesn't look like we have done much but the operating system we were running on was due to go to 'end-of-life' in…
Welcome Back to our original server for now
Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 02 January 2024 (3317 reads)
EventsMigration to our new server has been postponed due to an unforseen character formatting issue. We are working to fix this but need to be sure to do this properly with plenty of time for testing. Now…
New website - 101 Facts About Newgrange
Submitted by mythical_ireland on Tuesday, 05 December 2023 (6098 reads)
Neolithic and Bronze AgeA new website all about Newgrange has been unveiled. It's called 101 Facts About Newgrange. It contains 101 pieces of information about this fascinating Stone Age monument. You'll find facts on its…
Cartoonist Tony Husband dies, view the wonderful cartoons he contributed
Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 21 October 2023 (4608 reads)
EventsI'm sad to relay the news of the untimely death of Tony Husband - legendary cartoonist and friend of the Portal. Tony's son Paul Husband told us of his memory of exploring megalithic sites with Tony…
Our New Megalithic Portal Responsive Design is Live!
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 19 April 2023 (1356 reads)
EventsOur new responsive, mobile friendly layout and design is now live as you will see around us. The new design adapts automatically to different page sizes including mobile screens, so we no longer need…
Women Have Played a Major Role In History
Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 27 August 2019 (2468 reads)
Reviews"The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Roles of Women in History" (Smithsonian Books/Collins) is a roller coaster ride through Homo sapiens' unsteady past. No stone tool is left unturned to bring us…
The Old Stones wins Current Archaeology Book of the Year!
Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 09 March 2019 (2876 reads)
EventsI'm delighted to say we have won Current Archaeology Book of the Year with our book 'The Old Stones', which so many of you contributed to. Thanks to everyone involved as we really wouldn’t have won…
Two ancient horse figurines found in north after winter rains
Submitted by motist on Wednesday, 23 January 2019 (847 reads)
Multi-periodThis winter’s rains have uncovered two beautiful ancient clay figurines of horses in northern Israel, according to a statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
9,000-year-old mask found in the Hebron hills
Submitted by motist on Sunday, 02 December 2018 (2549 reads)
Rock ArtThe Neolithic-era stone mask could have been a local way to stake a claim to land in the transition from hunting and gathering to farming, archaeologists suggest. Israeli archaeologists have…
New light shed on Stonehenge cremated remains
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 15 August 2018 (2354 reads)
StonehengeDespite over a century of intense study, we still know very little about the people buried at Stonehenge or how they came to be there. Now, a new University of Oxford research collaboration,…
Mapping Mayan: LiDAR Reveals Further Secrets of Classical Guatemalan Cities
Submitted by bat400 on Tuesday, 06 February 2018 (2296 reads)
DiscoveriesThe results of LiDAR survey of 2,100-square kilometers surrounding Mayan sites in Guatemala's El Peten are revealing thousands of previously undocumented structures. Of major interest are structural…
Megalithic Portal pages now cross-linked with Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks
Submitted by DaveP on Sunday, 24 September 2017 (2015 reads)
ResourcesDaveP writes: I'd like to announce the results of the collaboration between The Megalithic Portal and my Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks (PDW) website which has been going on for over a year. A huge…
Special Stonehenge Edition of Historic England Research magazine out now
Submitted by Andy B on Tuesday, 25 July 2017 (2692 reads)
StonehengeIssue 6 of Historic England Research digital magazine is now available and focuses on recent research into the wider connected landscapes of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. A foreword to the…
2,300-year-old chamber tombs founded in southeastern Turkey
Submitted by coldrum on Saturday, 10 June 2017 (1642 reads)
Neolithic and Bronze AgeTwo chambered tombs, which are nearly 2,300 years old, were unearthed in southwestern Turkish province of Mugla, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Friday. The tombs were found during…
Set of Ancient Britain Stamps out 17th January 2017
Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 09 January 2017 (3271 reads)
FunHow people lived in prehistoric times fascinates the public and this stamp issue explores this subject. The stamps show iconic sites as well as some of the most exceptional artefacts, and overlays…
Archaeologists Unearth Unique 12,000-year-old Galilee Grave of Female Shaman
Submitted by motist on Tuesday, 05 July 2016 (2315 reads)
Natural PlacesWell-preserved findings in burial cave from Natufian era 12,000 years ago shed light on surprisingly complex funereal rituals. A human foot and 86 tortoise shells were just some of the extraordinary…
Game-changing shift in understanding European pre-history
Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 18 March 2016 (2577 reads)
Neolithic and Bronze AgeA pioneering research project co-directed by a University archaeologist and Historic England has won an international award for its game-changing shift in the understanding of European prehistory.…
