1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy discovered just half a metre below a street in Lima
The remains, identified as a woman aged 20 to 30, were wrapped in a bundle that still had visible dark brown hair.
Alongside the body, archaeologists found nine ceramic vessels, including a painted bottle depicting a fisherman in a headdress - suggesting the woman belonged to the Chancay culture, a coastal fishing society that thrived between 1000 and 1470 AD.
The discovery is part of an ongoing archaeological monitoring program by the national gas company Cálidda, which has recovered over 2,200 artefacts during infrastructure projects in Lima.
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4 hours ago
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Archaeology student used a computer model to predict a Roman army camp's location — and it worked
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The remains of an ancient Roman army camp have been discovered in the Netherlands, beyond the empire's northern frontier, after researchers used a computer model to pinpoint its location. The "rare" find, at a site called Hoog Buurlo, shows that Roman forces were venturing beyond the Lower German Limes, the boundary that ran along the Rhine roughly 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) south of the camp. "For the Netherlands this is only the fourth Roman temporary camp, so quite a rare find," said Saskia Stevens, an associate professor of ancient history and classical civilization at Utrecht University and the principal investigator of the "Constructing the Limes" project that found the fort. "The fact that it was discovered north of the Lower Germanic Limes, beyond the border of the empire, tells us that the Romans did not perceive the Limes as the end of their Empire," Stevens told Live Science in an email. The fort was likely a temporary marching camp, which troops used for only a few days or weeks, according to a statement from Utrecht University. It's also possible that the camp was a stopover on the way to another camp about a day's march away. Constructing the Limes, a project led by Utrecht University, aims to understand how the Roman border functioned and to unearth temporary Roman camps north of the boundary. Related: Remains of 1,600-year-old Roman fort unearthed in Turkey As a part of the investigation, Jens Goeree, an archaeology student at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, developed a computer program to help predict the location of temporary Roman camps in Veluwe, a region of nature reserves filled with woodlands, grasslands and lakes. This program was based on probability and used data from elevation maps and lidar (light detection and ranging), a technique in which a machine shoots lasers from an aircraft over a site and measures the reflected waves to map the landscape below. "He reconstructed possible routes of the Roman army across the Veluwe area, calculating the number of kilometers an army could travel per day," Stevens said. The program also took into account roads and water availability, and looked for the "typical playing card-shaped camps" that Romans constructed, she said. The computer program didn't disappoint: It led them to the site in Hoog Buurlo within the Veluwe in 2023. In January 2025, the team visited the site to dig archaeological trenches and confirm that the site actually held an ancient fort, according to a statement. The fort was large — 9 acres (3.6 hectares) — and shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. It had a V-shaped ditch that was 6.6 feet (2 meters) deep, a 10-foot-wide (3 m) earthen wall, and several entrances, Stevens said. However, the team found only a few artifacts at the site, including a fragment of Roman military armor. "The limited number of finds is not surprising as the camp was only in use for a short period of time (days, weeks) and the soldiers would have traveled light," Stevens said. Image 1 of 2 An outline of the newfound fort in the Netherlands. Notice that like many other Roman military forts, it's shaped like a playing card. Image 2 of 2 A lock pin artifact found at the temporary military fort. The small number of finds made it hard to date the camp. But by examining the armor and comparing the newfound site to a camp found in 1922 at another site in the Netherlands, the team dated the newly discovered temporary camp to the second century A.D., Stevens said. RELATED STORIES —1,900-year-old Roman legionary fortress unearthed next to UK cathedral —Possible 'mega' fort found in Wales hints at tension between Romans and Celtics —'Lost' 2nd-century Roman fort discovered in Scotland The finding shows that the Romans "were clearly active beyond the border and saw that area as their sphere of influence," Stevens said. The region north of the limes was likely an important place to take cattle, hides and even enslaved people. The people who lived in the area, the Frisii and the Chamavi, already had ties with the Romans. "The Frisians were generally on good terms with the Romans," as they traded with them, Stevens said. Historical sources mention a treaty in which the Frisians paid taxes in the form of cow hides, and they also provided soldiers for the auxiliary troops and members of Nero's (ruled A.D. 54 to 68) imperial bodyguard.
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11 hours ago
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Ancient city possibly ruled by females over 9,000 years ago, researchers say
An ancient city was most likely ruled by females living in a "matriarchal society" more than 9,000 years ago, according to a study published in Science this week. Researchers extracted the ancient genomes of more than 130 skeletons from 35 different houses at Çatalhöyük, an ancient city considered one of the most well-preserved Neolithic settlements in southern Anatolia in Turkey. About 395 skeletons, a mix of males and females, were found in grave pits under the floors of the city's mudbrick houses. Occupied for more than 1,000 years (9000 to 8000 BCE), the city was known for its female figurines, possible representatives of a "Mother Goddess" cult and signs of a matriarchal society. A team of geneticists, archaeologists, and biological anthropologists used cutting-edge technology to analyze the DNA of skeletons over 12 years and found that maternal lineage had a key role in connecting household members, as represented by burials within each building. During the early years in Çatalhöyük, family members were buried together, but over time, habits changed, and researchers found many of the dead had no biological connection. Where there was a genetic connection, it was through the female line, suggesting husbands relocated to the wife's household upon marriage, researchers said. Using genetic sequencing, researchers estimated that 70 to 100% of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings, whereas adult male offspring may have moved away. There was also a clear pattern of preferential treatment toward females, with findings showing five times more grave goods offered to females than to males. "We need to move away from our Western bias that assumes all societies are patrilineal. Many cultures, including some Indigenous Australian groups, pass identity, land rights, and responsibilities through the mother's line — a matrilineal system," study co-author Dr. Eline Schotsmans, a research fellow at Australia's University of Wollongong's School of Science, said in a statement. These findings come several months after researchers studying social networks in Celtic society in Britain before the Roman invasion gathered genetic evidence from a late Iron Age cemetery and found that women were closely related, while unrelated men tended to come into the community from elsewhere, likely after marriage. Using an examination of ancient DNA recovered from 57 graves in Dorset in southwest England, their study, published in the journal Nature, shows that two-thirds of the individuals were descended from a single maternal lineage. This suggests that women had some control of land and property, as well as strong social support, researchers said. Researchers said upon the release of their findings, "It is possible that maternal ancestry was the primary shaper of group identities." Breaking down major Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions Saturday Sessions: Gordi performs "Lunch at Dune" Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez set for star-studded wedding in Venice
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Ancient city possibly ruled by females living in a "matriarchal society" more than 9,000 years ago, researchers say
An ancient city was most likely ruled by females living in a "matriarchal society" more than 9,000 years ago, according to a study published in Science this week. Researchers extracted the ancient genomes of more than 130 skeletons from 35 different houses at Çatalhöyük, an ancient city considered one of the most well-preserved Neolithic settlements in southern Anatolia in Turkey. About 395 skeletons, a mix of males and females, were found in grave pits under the floors of the city's mudbrick houses. Occupied for more than 1,000 years (9000 to 8000 BCE), the city was known for its female figurines, possible representatives of a "Mother Goddess" cult and signs of a matriarchal society. A team of geneticists, archaeologists, and biological anthropologists used cutting-edge technology to analyze the DNA of skeletons over 12 years and found that maternal lineage had a key role in connecting household members, as represented by burials within each building. During the early years in Çatalhöyük, family members were buried together, but over time, habits changed, and researchers found many of the dead had no biological connection. Where there was a genetic connection, it was through the female line, suggesting husbands relocated to the wife's household upon marriage, researchers said. An excavation site is seen at the ancient city of Çatalhöyük. Serhat Cetinkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images Using genetic sequencing, researchers estimated that 70 to 100% of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings, whereas adult male offspring may have moved away. There was also a clear pattern of preferential treatment toward females, with findings showing five times more grave goods offered to females than to males. "We need to move away from our Western bias that assumes all societies are patrilineal. Many cultures, including some Indigenous Australian groups, pass identity, land rights, and responsibilities through the mother's line — a matrilineal system," study co-author Dr. Eline Schotsmans, a research fellow at Australia's University of Wollongong's School of Science, said in a statement. These findings come several months after researchers studying social networks in Celtic society in Britain before the Roman invasion gathered genetic evidence from a late Iron Age cemetery and found that women were closely related, while unrelated men tended to come into the community from elsewhere, likely after marriage. Using an examination of ancient DNA recovered from 57 graves in Dorset in southwest England, their study, published in the journal Nature, shows that two-thirds of the individuals were descended from a single maternal lineage. This suggests that women had some control of land and property, as well as strong social support, researchers said. Researchers said upon the release of their findings, "It is possible that maternal ancestry was the primary shaper of group identities." contributed to this report.
