Top 10 Discoveries of 2014

Features January/February 2015

ARCHAEOLOGY's editors reveal the year's most compelling finds
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Ever since the discovery of the largest known Greek tomb was announced in August, archaeology buffs around the world have been eagerly awaiting each successive bit of news from the site. The Amphipolis tomb, which dates to the time of Alexander the Great, is a prime example of how archaeology can captivate the public imagination and easily earned a spot on our list of the Top 10 Discoveries of 2014.

Equally impressive was the discovery, after decades upon decades of searching, of a ship that sank in Arctic waters in present-day Canada almost 170 years ago while looking for the Northwest Passage. That find was deemed so momentous that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took it upon himself to make the official announcement.

Archaeologists were also hard at work in the lab squeezing as much insight as possible out of limited evidence. Analysis of 6,000-year-old funerary wrappings established that ancient Egyptians practiced artificial mummification much earlier than had been thought. Genetic material from a skeleton found in an underwater cave in Mexico helped shed light on the relationship between the first people to arrive in the Americas and modern Native Americans. And a clever approach to interpreting the genome of Neanderthals revealed factors beyond the raw genetic code that explain how they differed from modern humans.

This year’s finds span the globe and tens of thousands of years, but are united in demonstrating archaeology’s ability to uncover hidden truths. What better example than the revelation via remote-sensing technologies that Stonehenge is surrounded by thousands of yet-to-be-interpreted Neolithic archaeological features? The discoveries on our top 10 list stand as a reminder that there is always more to learn about our past.  

  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Under Stonehenge

    Wiltshire, England

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    (Courtesy LBI ArchPro/Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Seaton Down Hoard

    Devon, England

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    (Courtesy © The Trustees of the British Museum)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Greece’s Biggest Tomb

    Amphipolis, Greece

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    (Greek Culture Ministry/Associated Press)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Buddhism, in the Beginning

    Lumbini, Nepal

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    (Ira Block/National Geographic)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Decoding Neanderthal Genetics

    Jerusalem, Israel

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    (DEA/G. Cigolini/Gettyimages)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Canada Finds Erebus

    Victoria Strait, Canada

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    (Courtesy © Thierry Boyer, Parks Canada)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Sunken Byzantine Basilica

    Lake Iznik, Turkey

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    (Mustafa Sahin/Uludag University)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Mummification Before the Pharaohs

    York, England

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    (Courtesy © Ron Oldfield and Jana Jones)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Bluetooth’s Fortress

    Køge, Denmark

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    (Courtesy The Danish Castle Center, Linen)
  • Top 10 Discoveries of 2014 January/February 2015

    Naia—the 13,000-Year-Old Native American

    Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

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    (Paul Nicklen/National Geographic)
  • Letter From Cambodia January/February 2015

    Storied Landscape

    Through centuries—and perhaps even millennia—of cultural, political, and environmental change, Phnom Kulen has retained its central role in the spiritual life of a people

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  • Artifacts January/February 2015

    Bronze Age Dagger

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    (Courtesy Anders Rosendahl)
  • Digs & Discoveries January/February 2015

    The Price of Plunder

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  • Digs & Discoveries January/February 2015

    A Tale of Two Railroads

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