The small head was unearthed in an excavation of the temple of Baal Hammon and Tanit at the Tophet. It was carved from a block of fine white marble and depicts a woman with a calm visage, delicate lips and a coiffure seen depicted in the temples of eastern Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon). 

Previous votive offerings found at Tophet were figurines made of clay or simple stones with inscribed dedications. This is the first marble votive of such refinement and sophistication found at the site, and it suggests that it was dedicated to the deities of the sanctuary by an aristocratic person or family petitioning the gods or expressing gratitude with the highest quality offering.

There are traces of surviving polychromy on the surface of the marble. Analysis of the marble and the paint will pinpoint their origins. If the mask was locally made, the stylized design was directly inspired by Levantine iconography, meaning Punic sculptors integrated ancient Phoenician motifs into local religious imagery. Alternatively, the object itself was imported from the eastern Mediterranean.

After analysis and conservation are finished, the head will go on display at the Carthage Museum.

Three rare gold solidi minted by three different 4th century Roman emperors have been discovered in Aquileia, northeastern Italy. The issues are so rare they were likely not circulation coinage, but rather medallions gifted to favored courtiers by the emperor during celebrations.

A team of archaeologists and students from the University of Verona excavated the site of the Fondo ex Pasqualis, a complex of markets on the southeastern edge of the city. They were able to uncover an area of more than 8,600 square feet in three months, all of it never before excavated.

The coins were found under the portico floor of one of the buildings in the market. They were minted by the emperors Valens (364-378 A.D.), Magnus Maximus (383-388 A.D.) and Arcadius (383-408. A.D.) in the imperial mint at Constantinople.

The 2025 excavation also revealed a row of 19 amphorae embedded into the soil. A similar set of 23 was discovered in the 2024 excavation, and the amphorae do not seem to have been used for storage or movement of goods, but rather to enhance drainage and to stabilize and strengthen the soil under long, narrow structures believed to have been warehouses.

These are most likely storage structures related to the first river dock discovered in the area, which belonged to a river much wider than the current one. These finds demonstrate that this southern area of ​​the city, whose function was unknown before our excavations, also hosted a series of landing places and docks for goods arriving from the sea via the river. It can therefore be deduced that the city’s river port was larger than the already widely known western sector, following the course of the Natissa southward and also including structures for the storage of goods.

The 2025 excavation also unearthed a whole cobbled street that branched off the main thoroughfare to navigate between two of six large buildings where foods were stored and sold. The street still has wheel tracks visible on the surface, left behind by transport carts 1,700 years ago.

Artifacts connected to the cult of Asclepius have been unearthed at the Roman pool in Bahçeli, southern central Turkey. Built in the 2nd century A.D., the pool was previously believed to have been a reservoir, part of the ancient city of Tyana’s drinking water system. This year’s excavation revealed evidence that it was also a center of healing and religious devotion.

According to [excavation leader Professor Osman Doganay of Aksaray University’s Archaeology Department], one of the most significant discoveries was an altar dedicated to Asklepios, recognized in antiquity as the god of medicine and therapy. The altar, decorated with snake motifs—symbolic of rejuvenation and healing in ancient medical cults—was found alongside additional sculptural fragments featuring snake imagery.

These finds, coupled with the architectural remains uncovered along the pool’s eastern side, indicate the presence of a sanctuary or temple complex dedicated to Asklepios. Doganay described the site as “a place where healing rituals involving sacred water once took place,” marking it as a therapeutic destination in the ancient world.

Tyana far predated Rome. The first mention of it appears in Hittite Empire texts from the 17th century B.C. After the collapse of the empire, Tyana became a capital of the Luwian Neo-Hittite polity at the turn of the 1st millennium B.C. and remained a powerful city-state even when it was absorbed into the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 8th century B.C. and again by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century B.C. Come the Hellenistic era, it was second most important city in the Cappadocian region, and considered the most Hellenized of them all. Cappadocia was taken over by the Roman emperor Tiberius in the 1st century, and Tyana’s Greek culture advanced its stature under the empire. It even became the capital of the Roman province of Cappadocia Secunda when Emperor Valens divided Cappadocia in two in the 4th century.

The pool was built during the reigns of the Emperors Trajan (r. 98-117 A.D.) and Hadrian (r. 117-138 A.D.), but the temple complex was added later. A Greek language inscription found in the 2025 excavation records that the pool was commissioned by or dedicated to Marcus Aurelius or his son Commodus. Both names are mentioned in the inscription and the references made it possible for archaeologists to narrow down the timeline of construction. The sanctuary was built between 177 and 180 A.D.

The excavations at the site in 2025 were the first in 80 years. They will continue next year, focusing on the area surrounding the pool. Archaeologists hope to uncover more artifacts connected to the cult of Asclepius and the religious aspects of the health spa. Such pools were widely frequented in antiquity, and visitors often left votive offerings in their quest for improved health, see the astonishing wonderland of bronze statuary discovered at the San Casciano baths in Tuscany, for example.

A rare intact grave of a Saka warrior has been uncovered in the Karaganda Region of central Kazakhstan. It dates to the 7th–6th centuries B.C. and contains important grave goods accompanying the undisturbed skeletal remains of an adult male, most notably a skillfully crafted double-edged sword that is unique for the region.

Archaeologists from the Karaganda Regional History Museum unearthed the warrior tomb in the Karabie burial site in the Aktogay district. They expected to find damaged graves looted in antiquity, as happens in 90% of Saka burials, but when they excavated Kurgan No. 1, the team found the stone ceiling slabs topping the mound still intact. When they removed the slabs, they found the contents of the grave and its occupant untouched. The articulated skeleton of a man was found lying on his back, his head facing northwest. His right hand held a double-bladed bronze akinak sword. Five bronze arrowheads were placed next to his left foot, similar (albeit not as luxurious) as the ones found in the iconic “Golden Man” burial found in 1969 in southeastern Kazakhstan. Near his skull was a delicate golden earring crafted from a base of iron covered in the thinnest gold foil.

The akinak is the first of its form and design found in Kazakhstan. It is 30 cm (12 inches) long, and was cast in a single piece, handle and all, with a distinct reinforcing rib. It is intricately ornamented, the handle decorated with the corkscrew shaped horns of the Karaganda argali (wild sheep) at the guard and two large-beaked bird heads representing the steppe eagle and the golden eagle, at the hilt.. This attests to the high level of metalworking skill and artistry of Saka craftsmen.

The Saka were a nomadic Eastern Iranian people who inhabited the Eurasian Steppe from the 9th century B.C. through the 5th century A.D. They were related to the Scythian peoples of the western steppe and at their greatest range their territory encompassed all of what is today Kazakhstan.

The contents of the burial will now undergo scientific analyses including metal composition, radiocarbon dating and osteological examination to discover the age and origin of the objects and the deceased.. The composition of the bronze is of particular interest, as central Kazakhstan is known to have had extensive copper deposits.