April 2: Teams of anthropologists and archaeologists begin searching theFresh Kills Landfill onStaten Island for human remains of victims of theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001. Over 30 fragments of human remains are subsequently identified.[4]
April 9: InEngland, metal detectorist Dave Crisp discovers theFrome Hoard, 52,503 Roman coins dating to the period 253 to 305, one of the largest hoards ever found in Britain.[6]
May
A fragment of a clay tablet is discovered in theOphel section of theCity of David inJerusalem. The fragment, with a surface of 2 by 2.8 centimetres (0.79 by 1.10 in), is the oldest piece of writing from Jerusalem yet discovered, dating back to the 14th century BC. The high quality of theAkkadian writing indicates that it was engraved by a royalscribe and speaks to the importance of Jerusalem as a political center in that era.[7]
Skeletons featuring marks that could have resulted from a violent death are uncovered during an ongoing investigation in Driffield Terrace near the centre ofYork inEngland. Archaeologists believe the cemetery to be that ofgladiators. Bite marks on one skeleton suggest that the gladiator was bitten by a largecarnivore which would be consistent with gladiatorial battles inAncient Rome.[9]
TheAreni-1 shoe, the world's oldest leather shoe is found in a cave in theVayots Dzor Province ofArmenia. The 5,500-year-old shoe dates back to approximately 3,500 BC and is in excellent condition, due in large part to being buried under a pile of sheep dung.[9]
Vatican officials announce that the earliest-knownicons of theApostlesPeter andPaul have been discovered in thecatacombs of an eight-story office building inRome. The images date to the second half of the 4th century and are believed to decorate the tomb of a Roman noblewoman. The tomb also houses the oldest known images of the ApostlesJohn andAndrew.[10]
July
Egyptian archaeologists unveil a recently discovered double-tomb inSaqqara. The tomb is the resting place of a father and son who served as heads of the royal scribes. The tomb dates to the6th dynasty making it 4,300 years old. Archaeologists hail this find as one of the most colorfulOld Kingdom tombs ever discovered. They also believe that, when excavated, this area just west of theStep Pyramid of Djoser, could be one of the largest cemeteries inancient Egypt.[11]
The firstPhilistine temple is unearthed atTell es-Safi,Israel, the historic site of the city ofGath. The find provides archeological context for theBiblical narrative ofSamson (Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16), who destroys a Philistine temple by pulling the two main pillars together.[12]
The second (and larger) of theSalme ships from theViking Age, containing the remains of more than 20 dead men, is found in the village ofSalme on the island ofSaaremaa,Estonia. Several weapons, everyday items, gaming pieces and animal remains are also found.[13]
Stone pointarrowheads are recovered fromSibudu Cave,South Africa, which date back 64,000 years. The arrowheads have traces of blood and a plant resinglue. This is the oldest known use of arrows.[18]
TheTheban Desert Road Survey, a program led byYale University, announces the discovery of an ancient Egyptian settlement along an ancient caravan route in theWestern Desert. The settlement was a major administrative and economical center, estimated to have been in use from 1650 BC to 1550 BC.[19]
September: An 8th-century BCMoabite temple is discovered near the city ofMadaba,Jordan. The temple contains around three hundred religious artifacts, including a figurine of the animal godHadad. The artifacts will be displayed in theJordan Archaeological Museum.[20]
Undated: Excavations atTaposiris Magna in Egypt uncover a huge headless granite statue of a Ptolemaic pharaoh and portions of the original gateway to a temple dedicated to the god Osiris.
The largestAztec stone sculpture with its original coloring is unveiled at an exposition at the Templo Mayor museum inMexico City. The sculpture which was discovered in 2007 depicts the Aztec godTlaltecuhtli. The exposition also displays many offerings found along with the sculpture.[23]
Aradiocarbon dating study of plant matter, usually from offerings at Egyptian kings' burial sites, is published inScience. The researchers have compared these dates with presumed historical dates usingBayesian inference to determine if there is any correlation. Among the findings is that theOld Kingdom began between 2691 and 2625 BC, while theNew Kingdom began between 1570 and 1544 BC.[31]
A British archaeologist announces that sedimentary evidence suggests thatNeanderthals enteredKent soon after the land bridge from mainlandEurope appeared, about 100,000 yearsBP, 40,000 years earlier than previously thought.[32]
July: Archaeologists working for theNatural History Museum excavating a coastal site atHappisburgh inEast Anglia announce that it was occupied by a date as early as 950,000 years BP, the earliest and northernmost evidence of human expansion intoEurasia.[33]
August 10: Archaeologists working on theStone Age site atStar Carr inNorth Yorkshire announce that they have found the earliest surviving remains of a house inBritain, dating from at least 8,500 years BC.[34]
