Mexico’s National Institute of Archaeology and History has announced the discovery of a five-foot-tall relief carved by the Olmecs more than 2,800 years ago at the site of Chalcatzingo. The relief depicts three cats surrounded by scroll decorations.

Lapita pottery has been unearthed on Vanua Levu for the first time, suggesting that the first people to arrive in Fiji settled in more than one place.

When you hear extraordinary claims, ask for extraordinary proof, advises Joe Zias of the Israel Antiquities Authority in this article about the “Lead Codices.” Some claim the books are early Christian documents.

And here’s a claim that a tomb of one of the Christian apostles has been found at a church in Hierapolis, Turkey.

Germany has returned the Bogazköy Sphinx to Turkey. German archaeologists uncovered the 3,500-year-old statue at the capital of the Hittites 94 years ago. In addition, a 2,000-year-old arena has been found in the ancient city of Stratonikeia.

And Turkish archaeologists have taken over the dig at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Xanthos, where French teams have been working for the past 60 years.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Stavros Lambrinidis have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to restrict the import of Greek antiquities to the U.S.

Excavations at Mount Cimino, north of Rome, have revealed a 3,000-year-old Etruscan sacred site. “Offerings were burnt for the gods—sacred objects, food or animals,” said Andrea Cardarelli of La Sapienza University.

The Egypt Exploration Society and Oxford University’s Ancient Lives Project could use your help cataloging images of the Oxyrhynchus papyri  and transcribing the texts. “Many of these papyri have remained unstudied since they were discovered more than a century ago. Our goal is to increase the momentum by which scholars have traditionally identified known and unknown literary texts, and the private documents and letters that open up a window into the ancient lives of Graeco-Roman Egypt,” explained James Brusuelas of the Ancient Lives team.

Evidence of a devastating fire in southern Peru at the site of Taraco, and the rise of neighboring Pukara, suggest that the two states fought a war in the first century. “In the century that Pukara peaked, the site of Taraco was attacked, and [it] ceased to be a political power in the region,” explained Charles Stanish of UCLA.

A team of historians and archaeologists will search for the bones of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, and attempt to reconstruct his face from his skull. “They may not just help us to discover what he looked like, but also why he died,” said historian Fernando Prado.

Volunteer diggers in Yorkshire, England, are uncovering artifacts from the Victorian past. “We have found the foundations of the houses, and the outhouses, and beneath the 1978 demolition layer there are some interesting artifacts,” said Roger Doonan of Sheffield University.

What should be done to preserve Pompeii? Archaeologists debate alternatives on BBC Radio.

Engine parts from a German bomber have been found in an English garden using aerial photographs of the crash site taken in 1940.