DNA tests have confirmed that bone shards uncovered in Yekaterinburg last year belong to Russian Crown Prince Alexei and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria. Russia’s imperial family was executed in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Fossils of marine creatures are randomly distributed through the limestone used in the monuments of ancient Egypt, suggesting that their building stones were carved out of natural stone, and not cast in molds, according to a new study by a team of scientists from the University of the Aegean and the University of Athens.  

A new survey of a 4,000-year-old stone ax-making site will begin in Wales. “We’re not sure if the axes were used to split logs or split heads or just used for ceremonial duties,” said Chris Martin of Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.  

Analysis of the more than 70,000 artifacts from Honey Bee Village, a Hohokam site in Arizona’s Oro Valley, continues. Archaeologists think that between 100 and 200 people lived there between 500 and 1200 A.D.  

This blog has photographs of some of the antiquities recently returned to Iraq from Syria.  

Here’s an update on the discovery of a treasure-laden ship off the coast of Namibia. This version suggests that the vessel belonged to Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Thursday, May 1, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

Comments posted here do not represent the views or policies of the Archaeological Institute of America.