2018 in archaeology

This page lists major archaeological events of 2018.

Excavations

• May 20–June 16 - Excavation of Shiloh in Samaria.^[1]
• June - Excavation at site of 1969 Woodstock music festival in New York (state).^[2]
• Foundations of original Wulfhall in Burbage, Wiltshire, England.

Finds

• January
  • A prehistoric site, dating back half a million years, between Jaljulia and Highway 6 in Israel.^[3]
  • A hoard of coins and other treasure from the time of Viking ruler Harald Bluetooth is found near Schaprode in Germany.^[4]
• January 21 - A bottle thrown into the sea in 1886 as part of a German oceanographic experiment is found on an Australian beach.^[5]
• February - Ancient Egyptian cemetery found in Minya, Egypt.^[6]
• March 4 - Aircraft carrier USS Lexington, wrecked in 1942 off the north-eastern coast of Australia, discovered by American entrepreneur and explorer Paul Allen.^[7]
• March 17 - Light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52), wrecked in 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, discovered by Paul Allen.^[8]
• April - Nazi German submarine U-3523, sunk in 1945 in the Skagerrak, discovered by Sea War Museum Jutland.^[9]
• April 22 - A bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is unearthed in the Temple of Kom Ombo in the southern city of Aswan, Egypt.^[10]
• June - Nazi German submarine U-966, sunk in 1943 off the coast of Galicia (Spain), discovered by Spanish divers.^[11]
• June - A head carving, dating back over 2,800 years, was discovered at the ancient city of Abel-beth-maachah in northern Israel. The sculpture might depict either one of the rulers in the region: King Ahab of Israel, King Hazael of Aram-Damascus or King Ethbaal of Tyre.^[12]
• July - Russian cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi, scuttled in 1905 following the Battle of Tsushima, discovered by a South Korean treasure-hunting company.^[13]
• July - An Egyptian sarcophagus of what is initially thought to be the Tomb of Alexander the Great was found in groundwater in Alexandria. The sarcophagus was subsequently opened to reveal three skeletons along with some mysterious drawings.^[14][15]
• August - Foundations of what is thought to be the oldest library in Germany discovered in Cologne; the building dates from 2 AD.^[16]
• August 16 - An English-led team announce the identification of embalming chemicals used in Ancient Egypt around 3500 BCE.^[17]
• Summer - Pre-Viking sword in Vidostern lake, Jönköping County, Sweden.^[18]
• September - 400-year-old shipwreck off Cascais in Portugal found.^[19]
• September 12 - Discovery in Blombos Cave, South Africa, of a stone carrying an (abstract) drawing in ochre pigment about 73,000 years old – the earliest known human drawing – is announced.^[20]
• September 17 - A sphinx was discovered at the Temple of Kom Ombo near Aswan, the statue likely dates back to the Ptolemaic dynasty.^[21]
• September 29 - A cemetery of 1,000 layered burials dating back to the Iron Age and a Neolithic village were found near the town of Korçë in southeastern Albania, after 18 months of excavations.^[22]
• October 8 - Remains of a 1500 year-old Byzantine church was discovered in Sinanköy, Edirne Province in East Thrace.^[23]
• October 13 - A small shrine was discovered in Akrotiri, dating back to the Bronze Age.^[24]

Events

• August 2 - Reports of tests on 5,000-year-old burnt human bones of 25 people found at Stonehenge in England suggest that ten came from more than 160 km (100 mi) away in West Wales.^[25]
• August 15 - 2018 British Isles heat wave: Historic England announces that the dry summer has revealed many new archaeological sites through cropmarks in aerial photography.^[26]
• September 2 - National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro is engulfed by fire.^[27][28][29]

Deaths

• July 1 - Gordon Hillman, British archaeobotanist (b. 1943)^[30]
• August 1 - Rotraut Wisskirchen, 82, German biblical archaeologist and academic, Order of Merit (2011).^[31]
• August 29 - Robin Birley, English archaeologist, excavator of Vindolanda (b. 1935)^[32]

See also

• List of years in archaeology

References