10 major archaeological discoveries in 2024

1. A new species of 75 million year old titanosaur discovered in Spain

It is on the paleontological site of Lo Hues, located near the town of Fuentes in central Spain, that one of the most complete titanosaur skeletons in Spain was unearthed: that of Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra. Cervical, dorsal and caudal (tail) vertebrae, fragments of the pelvic girdle as well as pieces of limbs were found. This Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaur measured almost 6 meters tall and lived around 70 million years ago. The discovery of Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra will restore the appearance of the site’s former landscapes, as well as the climates and interactions between the different species.

2. 4,000-year-old city wall unearthed in Saudi Arabia

In January 2024, CNRS archaeologists revealed the existence of a fortified enclosure dating from the Bronze Age on a site occupied until the beginnings of Islam in Saudi Arabia. This enclosure, originally approximately 14.5 km long and approximately 5 meters high, surrounded the town and agricultural land. Other oases of this kind have been found in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, but Khaybar, the place of discovery, is special: located at the crossroads of the three valleys, halfway between Al-Ula and Medina, it is the site of a battle won by Mohammed’s troops in 628 AD. Nearly 6 kilometers of walls have been preserved out of the initial 14 kilometers. The wall has 74 bastions built facing the desert for defensive purposes, the enclosure is dated between 2250 and 1950 BC. It took several hundred workers over a minimum of three to five years to build it.

3. In Crete, an enigmatic Minoan stone building

While work was underway to build the Kastelli Airport control tower, the ruins of a labyrinthine building were discovered and brought to light. This building, 48 meters in diameter, extends over approximately 1,800 m2 and has 8 rings connected by openings. The discovery of a large quantity of animal bones suggests that this building was funerary. This would date from the Minoan period, a particularly prosperous civilization in Crete 4,000 years ago. It would have been built at the time when the first palaces of this period were built, notably at Knossos and Phaistos.
If this is not the first archaeological discovery on this site (at least 35 other sites were discovered during the work of the new Kastelli airport), it is distinguished by its size, which testifies to construction work of ‘a considerable scale.

4. In Petra, 12 intact tombs

At the ancient site of Petra in Jordan, a team of archaeologists have unearthed an inviolate tomb buried under the Kazneh, also called “the pharaoh’s treasure”. Listed as a UNESCO heritage site since 1985, this site bears witness to the passage of the Nabataeans, whose kingdom flourished in the desert from the 4th century BC. BC to 106 AD. This tomb contained twelve skeletons 2,000 years old, intact, accompanied by funerary objects. This discovery follows that of 2003 which uncovered partial skeletons, suggesting that other underground burial chambers could be hidden in the area. Hypothesis which is today confirmed thanks to the use of ground penetrating radar, a device which uses radio probes to detect underground anomalies before digging.

5.In Mexico, a 1,375-year-old Metzca pyramid discovered by chance

While working on the extension of the Pachuca – Huejutla highway in San Augustin Metzquititlàn (Hidalgo state, east-central Mexico), workers accidentally discovered a 1,375-year-old pyramid. Measuring more than 304 meters high, it was named “Structure 1”. It would have been the center of a larger site also including 10 mounds housing temples which have now disappeared. Archaeologists believe the site dates from the pre-Columbian Metzca era. This society which lived in the Hidalgo region between the classical Epi (650 to 950 AD) and the Post classic (1350-1519 AD). This discovery is important because no remains of this society had previously been found in this area. Unfortunately, due to a lack of budget, the pyramid had to be reburied.

6. Two new skeletons and their treasure discovered in Pompeii

In the excavation areas of Regio IX Insula 10 of Pompeii, the remains of two victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 were discovered in the small bedroom of a villa.
The woman was lying on the bed, surrounded by a small hoard of gold, bronze, and silver coins, as well as jewelry, including gold earrings topped with pearls. The man was lying at the foot of the bed. Thanks to the study of footprints in the ashes, archaeologists were able to reconstruct the events. After taking refuge in the small room protected by a closed window, the two residents remained sheltered from the ashes for a few hours. The adjacent door was then blocked by a pile of volcanic rocks, making their escape impossible. They died when pyroclastic flows, a solid mixture of ash and boulders mixed with volcanic gas, rolled down the slopes of the volcano.

7. The tomb of a Roman soldier discovered in Heerlen in the Netherlands

A recent archaeological excavation on the Raadhuisplein municipal square in the town of Heerlen uncovered a pit containing the initial phase of the settlement of Herleen. In this pit were a bracelet, pottery shards and three intact Roman terra sigillata plaques.
The letters “Flac” were written on the plaque, suggesting that the grave was that of a Roman soldier called Flaccus. This discovery will provide archaeologists with new sources for understanding the beginnings of the Roman city. Indeed, the Romans established a military colony in the town of Heerlen called Coriovallum at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The colony then grew to become an important Roman city only to fall into sharp decline, being abandoned in the 5th century AD.

8. A Merovingian remains in a sarcophagus near Chartres

After three months of excavations, a team of archaeologists discovered a sarcophagus still sealed on the site of the Saint-Martin-au-Val church, near Chartres. The opening of this more than fifteen centuries old sarcophagus revealed the existence of a skeleton measuring approximately 1.58 meters high. Given the location of the sarcophagus, near the choir of the very first church (dating from the 6th century), it could be an important religious figure of the Merovingian Church. This discovery gave rise to work to collect bones and tissue residues. These analyzes will allow us to better understand the burial methods of the Merovingian period. This third skeleton, added to two others already discovered on the same site, will help clarify the embalming methods used at that time.

9. 50 Viking skeletons discovered in Denmark

Six-month excavations at the 2,000 m2 burial site dating from the 8th and 9th centuries in the village of Asum, near Odense, Denmark, revealed the existence of 50 skeletons buried with objects. A first tomb contained the remains of a woman surrounded by valuable objects. She was discovered in the Viking cart that transported her and which had served as a coffin. Among the items surrounding him were a necklace of glass beads, a silver-handled knife, an iron key and a piece of glass that could have been used as an amulet, as well as a wooden chest. These objects testify to the high status of this woman within Viking society. Another tomb featured the skeleton of a man with a bronze borrestil-style trefoil brooch, a red glass bead around the deceased’s neck, as well as an iron knife and a small piece of rock crystal.

10. In Nuremberg, a cemetery of plague victims

During a survey on a construction site in the center of Nuremberg (Germany), a mass grave of 6,000 m2, made up of eight shafts containing several remains, was discovered. According to archaeologists, the total number of remains is around 1,500, or even 2,000. This is the first time that an excavated site in Europe has yielded so many bones. The hypothesis retained, confirmed by carbon-14 dating and the examination of ceramic shards present in the surrounding area, is that these were victims of the plague epidemic. The plague indeed produced several epidemic waves in Europe from the 14th century and in Germany in the 17th century. Archaeologists estimate that the mass grave was created between 1632 and 1633, during which approximately 30,000 people from Nuremberg died from the disease. This epidemic is also attested by a document from 1634 indicating that several hundred bodies had been buried near the site.