Cox has found that Stonehenge once acted as an echo chamber, leading some to believe it was a ritual site for those belonging to an elite inner circle. //

The problem with acoustic archaeology is that sound disappears, so we can't ever be certain about what was done there.

The Ancient Romans’ answer to barbed wire had been written about, but never seen by modern archaeologists. //

The sharp wooden spikes were very well preserved in the damp soil. //

An archaeological excavation in Germany has uncovered the first evidence of a Roman defensive technology described by Julius Caesar. The find was made at a site near the town of Bad Ems, where teams also found evidence of two military camps, challenging what we thought we knew about the history of this region. //

Acting like an Ancient Roman version of barbed wire, a structure of sharp wooden spikes like the ones found by Auth’s team would have likely extended around the perimeter of the camp, to deter attackers. In an incredible stroke of luck, this discovery was made on only the second-to-last day of the planned dig, when the excavation was winding down. The team also found a coin minted in 43 CE, helping them to date the structure with more accuracy.

OceanGate Expeditions shot the footage earlier this year with a manned submersible.

“I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids, and have found out how the Egyptians and the ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan, and Asia, with only primitive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons!” –Edward Leedskalnin

Coral Castle is an unsolved megalith whose secrets of construction can be uncovered and proved using only information found on the Internet. This article presents the proof and links the technology used to construct it to a scientist’s theory for Egyptian pyramid construction that was rejected several decades ago.

3. A Temple Mount banquet hall
   A luxurious public building located next to the Temple Mount has been excavated and opened to public tours. Part of the building was first discovered by British archaeologist Charles Warren in 1867, and the site was partially excavated in 1966. Now that the excavation is complete, archaeologists have dated its construction to A.D. 20—during the lifetime of Jesus.

The building contained two identical chambers, separated by an elaborate fountain. The luxurious nature of the facility and its adjacency to the Temple Mount indicates it was probably used by the elite members of the first-century Jewish community, the families of the high priests, and other leading religious figures.

Archaeologists say it was damaged by an earthquake in A.D. 33, then later rebuilt and reconfigured into three vaulted halls. The destruction date suggests possible evidence of the earthquake recorded in the Gospel accounts at the crucifixion of Jesus. //

We know that King Solomon fed his guests beef, lamb, venison, and poultry, in addition to bread, cakes, dates, and other delicacies. But … bananas?

The amount of water needed to grow bananas makes them an unlikely fruit in ancient Israel, but a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported some unexpected remains were scraped off the teeth of Canaanites and Philistines who died in the late second millennia B.C., the period of Solomon’s reign. Teeth don’t lie: They ate bananas.

The dietary evidence indicates “a dynamic and complex exchange network connecting the Mediterranean with South Asia,” according to the report. Christina Warinner, a Harvard anthropologist and one of the lead investigators, said the imported fruit may have been dried, like modern-day banana chips.

A newly found inscription has forced archaeologists to rethink their dating of a fortification wall, and high-tech analysis is building a clearer picture than ever of the site //

With the fortress’s iconic round tower jutting into the sky behind us, Re’em recounted a thrilling discovery of a dated inscription located in secondary use, meaning it had been recycled from some earlier use, in the foundations of an outer western wall.

“We all thought that this was from the time of the Crusaders, the 12th century. It appears in the books! But now, when we conducted this excavation, we have a large question mark. Because right here we uncovered an Arabic inscription in secondary use that belonged to one of the great Ayyubid rulers of Jerusalem, his name is El-Melek El-Muatem Isa,” said Re’em.

Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 and retaken by a Muslim dynasty, the Ayyubids, in 1187. By 1212, the city was ruled by the nephew of Saladin, El-Melek El-Muatem Isa, also commonly known in English as Al-Mu’azzam Isa.

According to Re’em, Al-Mu’azzam Isa erected the fortifications of Jerusalem in approximately 1212, “and on every tower he put a large sign in Arabic, ‘I’m the great ruler El-Melek El-Muatem Isa.'” Alongside his name on this stone was the year, 1212.

Rarely do archaeologists hit the jackpot of a securely dated inscription. This one, explained Re’em, also sheds light on the mindset of the Muslim ruler as he faced down encroaching Crusader forces, who moved toward the city in 1217.

Re’em said that as the Crusaders made their way to the Holy Land, the sultan did not have a standing army available in Jerusalem, so he decided to tear down the city’s fortifications, thinking it would be easier to retake that way after the Crusaders presumably entered the city.

“So he demolished all his walls and those inscriptions,” said Re’em, “but the Crusaders never came to Jerusalem.”

Eventually, the walls were rebuilt, and the stone with his name and date was used in the foundation of the walls of the western fortification of the citadel. There it would sit for centuries until being found by Re’em and his team, helping rewrite what we know about the citadel.

Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered the remains of a long-lost Byzantine church and the foundations of a 2,000-year-old Jewish ritual bath not far from an area believed to have been the site of the Last Supper.

The church, also known as the Church of the Agony and the Church of All Nations, was built on the spot where Judas is thought to have betrayed Jesus with a famous kiss before handing him off to Roman soldiers.

The church is decorated with finely carved stone elements, indicating its importance. Alluding to Jesus’s sacrifice, Greek inscriptions on the building’s floor read: “for the memory and repose of the lovers of Christ… accept the offering of your servants and give them remission of sins.”