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When archaeologists sift through layers of dirt to tell stories of the past, their discoveries sometimes hold unsettling traces of humanity.
Ongoing excavations within the ancient city of Pompeii have revealed the remains of a man and woman inside a small bedroom buried with ash and volcanic glass in AD 79 from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
The two apparently sought refuge in the temporary sleeping space while the house was being renovated. When she dies, the woman collects a treasure of gold, silver and bronze earrings and coins.
Meanwhile, a team aiming at a neglected and earthquake-damaged archaeological site in Turkey came upon a tiny 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet. The small piece of clay, covered with wedge-shaped writing, resembles a purchase receipt that may provide insight into Late Bronze Age society.
And new revelations about an iconic Neolithic monument could shed light on the people who built it.
A long time ago
Mysteries still swirl around Stonehenge thousands of years after its colossal stones were erected in what is now southern England. But a new study of the Altar Stone, which is at the heart of the horseshoe-shaped monument, suggests that it traveled a great distance to reach it.
Mineral analysis found that the stone probably came from 435 miles (700 kilometers) away in present-day north-east Scotland, rather than Wales, overturning a century-old theory.
“This is the longest recorded journey of any stone used in a monument at that time,” said Nick Pearce, professor of geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University in Wales.
Researchers believe the stone could have been transported over open water, suggesting that ancient Britain and its citizens were much more advanced 5,000 years ago than previously believed.
Solar update
German astronomer Johannes Kepler used a projection device in 1607 to help sketch the sunspots he saw a few years before the telescopic features were first observed.
Now, the drawings have helped scientists solve the centuries-old solar puzzle.
Astronomers use sunspots to help them track the sun’s 11-year cycle of waxing and waning. But between 1645 and 1715, the sun experienced a phenomenon known as the Maunder Minimum, a period of very weak and unusual solar cycles.
A new analysis of long-overlooked Kepler drawings shows that two of the solar cycles usually preceded this grand minimum, meaning there are still no known precursors to what was thought to be a likely anomaly.
Secrets of the sea
The world’s largest iceberg has been slowly drifting in the Southern Ocean for months with no end in sight.
The iceberg, known as A23a, first broke off from the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica in 1986, creating a chunk of ice slightly larger than Rhode Island.
After drifting over the top of the sea, it was caught in a water vortex caused by ocean currents hitting the underwater mountain, causing the iceberg to rotate about 15 degrees per day.
Scientists are investigating the phenomenon, and are monitoring the frozen block to see how long it can stay in the vortex as it gradually melts.
Another life
The InSight mission may have ended in 2022, but data from the NASA landing revealed evidence of a deep water reservoir beneath the surface of Mars.
New estimates show that there could be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the center of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface.
The water lies between 7 and 12 miles (11.5 and 20 kilometers) below the surface, making it inaccessible.
But if the water could ever be extracted, scientists think the underground reservoir could be a new place to look for life on the red planet.
Around the globe
Chinese astronomers first spotted what they called a “guest star” in 1181, and for six months, the dying star appeared as bright as Saturn in the night sky. And the supernova, observed long before telescopes, has been perplexing researchers ever since.
Amateur astronomer Dana Patchick discovered a remnant called a nebula, or a huge cloud of gas and dust, associated with the supernova in 2013. Now, scientists have created a model of the evolution of the supernova and discovered a cosmic surprise.
The event that created the nebula may have been a rare supernova Type lax, or the result of two white dwarf stars colliding and leaving a “zombie star” behind. And the so-called zombie star has shown interesting signs of recent activity that could reveal insights into the life and death of stars.
Please note
Explore these unexpected stories:
— NASA will soon announce its decision on how the crew of the Boeing Starliner mission will return to Earth as it faces emerging issues such as limited food supplies aboard the International Space Station.
— A fossil hunter was discovered when he found a huge intact tusk of an ice age mammal in a Mississippi lake.
— Invasive Jorō spiders continue to spread and build their large webs almost anywhere, and how the spiders “keep their cool under pressure” may explain why, according to the lead author of a new study on the heart rates of spiders.
— The wreck of a World War I torpedoed warship lies off the coast of Scotland in “amazing condition,” according to divers, but the wreck brings a tragic story to those on board when it sank.
—The asteroid that slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, triggering the events that led to the end of the dinosaurs, was a rare ball of mud rich in clay, scientists found.
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