https://www.scmp.com/rss/325334/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Francesca Fearon Francesca Fearon In November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter made one of the most exciting discoveries of the modern era when he opened the tomb of the young King Tutankhamen, to find that all its precious 3,200-year-old treasure lay intact within. Now, a century later, those treasures along with others spanning 7,000 years of human history are being displayed together in the new six-storey Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. Wandering around the museum, Egyptian jewellery designers, Amina Ghali and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3350465/100-years-after-king-tuts-discovery-ancient-egypt-inspires-new-wave-jewellery-design?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3350465/100-years-after-king-tuts-discovery-ancient-egypt-inspires-new-wave-jewellery-design?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:00:14 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351226/palaeontologist-making-her-mark-what-was-gentlemans-science?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3351226/palaeontologist-making-her-mark-what-was-gentlemans-science?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu At first glance, Natalia Jagielska’s workspace looks like a clash between a scholarly science laboratory and a whimsical art studio. On one hand, she studies reconstructions of 200-million-year-old dinosaurs; on the other, she creates “cute” digital sketches of Jurassic-era creatures. For Jagielska, a 28-year-old postdoctoral researcher in palaeontology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the two worlds are inseparable. Apart from research, she also works as a freelance illustrator... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3349977/how-hong-kong-dinosaur-expert-making-her-mark-what-was-gentlemans-science?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3349977/how-hong-kong-dinosaur-expert-making-her-mark-what-was-gentlemans-science?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Kevin McSpadden Kevin McSpadden The archaeological site of Sanxingdui in southwest China’s Sichuan province has yielded remarkable discoveries, including insights recently revealed by Chinese researchers about how the inhabitants forged an axelike tool from a meteorite. While meteorite artefacts are not entirely unheard of – China boasts 13 known meteorite objects – this discovery underscores that the people of Sanxingdui were part of a distinct regional culture, separate from their contemporaries further north. “The presence... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3349780/celestial-craftsmanship-discoveries-china-sanxingdui-uveil-secrets-meteorite-axe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3349780/celestial-craftsmanship-discoveries-china-sanxingdui-uveil-secrets-meteorite-axe?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Kevin McSpadden Kevin McSpadden “War is hell,” as the saying goes, and it is often those most intimately acquainted with conflict who are the most eager to leave it behind. This yearning for peace was underscored by a newly uncovered archaeological site from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC) in Shaanxi province, northwest China, revealed in 2022. Researchers announced their discoveries in mid-March. Among the findings was a gravesite featuring the remains of individuals interred with broken weapons, a custom rooted in an... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3349703/unearthing-peace-ancient-china-gravesite-reveals-significance-broken-weapons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3349703/unearthing-peace-ancient-china-gravesite-reveals-significance-broken-weapons?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters The skeleton of famed French musketeer Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan may have been found in front of a church altar in the Dutch city of Maastricht, church officials and an archaeologist said on Wednesday. Workers ‌discovered a grave containing human remains beneath tiles after part of the floor of St Peter and Paul Church subsided in February, triggering a race to identify the skeleton through DNA testing. “This has truly become a top-level investigation, in which we want to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347910/lost-remains-french-musketeer-dartagnan-may-have-been-found-dutch-church?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347910/lost-remains-french-musketeer-dartagnan-may-have-been-found-dutch-church?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:12:27 +0000 Kevin McSpadden Kevin McSpadden If one were to travel to central China, in what is now Hubei province, 4,500 years ago, they might have been fortunate enough to discover a vibrant civilisation characterised by palaces, advanced engineering, and luxuries such as jade. However, in the generations that followed, this culture gradually declined, with its people dispersing across the region. Until now, the reasons behind the collapse of such a thriving civilisation were not well understood. A group of scientists now believe that... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347814/how-climate-change-led-demise-once-thriving-chinese-civilisation-4500-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347814/how-climate-change-led-demise-once-thriving-chinese-civilisation-4500-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Kevin McSpadden Kevin McSpadden One of the profound tragedies in life is the burial of the youngest among us. In Neolithic China (9,000–1,500 BC), urn burials were often designated for the deceased children and infants. While urn burials for older babies have been extensively studied, there remains little understanding of burial customs surrounding stillbirths, miscarriages, or newborns who passed shortly after birth. A new 2026 study in China revealed that by examining 16 urn burials associated with perinatal deaths from over... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3346843/jar-burials-glimpse-ancient-chinas-compassion-funeral-practices-infant-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3346843/jar-burials-glimpse-ancient-chinas-compassion-funeral-practices-infant-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:00:20 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik A 600-year-old brick bearing Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau Tak-wah’s name has gone viral on social media in mainland China. Three characters, identical to the actor and singer’s Chinese name, were carved into the city wall of Nanjing, the ancient capital of the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The inscriptions, carved into a brick now preserved at the Nanjing City Wall Museum, offer clues about the identity of the ancient namesake – whose name is pronounced “Liu Dehua” in Mandarin. The Ming-era... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346658/why-andy-laus-name-carved-600-year-old-brick-ming-dynasty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346658/why-andy-laus-name-carved-600-year-old-brick-ming-dynasty?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 13:00:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A triceratops skeleton that stood in a Wyoming museum for decades will be auctioned off, a rare instance of a museum-exhibited dinosaur going to the auction block just as the market for the prehistoric giants has hit record highs. The fossil, dubbed “Trey”, will be open for bidding from March 17 to 31 on Joopiter, an online auction platform founded by Grammy-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams. It has a pre-auction estimate of US$4.5 million to US$5.5 million. Dating back more than 66... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345186/triceratops-skeleton-trey-hit-auction-block-dinosaur-market-soars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345186/triceratops-skeleton-trey-hit-auction-block-dinosaur-market-soars?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:02:53 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Australian police have recovered a trove of stolen Egyptian artefacts and charged a 52-year-old man with a nighttime smash and grab at a museum. The man was accused of breaking a window and making off with the priceless treasures in the early hours of Friday from the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in the Queensland town of Caboolture. Police said they found all the stolen goods – except for a wooden cat sculpture believed to be around 2,600 years old and from the 26th dynasty of ancient... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3343719/australian-police-arrest-man-recover-stolen-egyptian-artefacts-after-museum-heist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3343719/australian-police-arrest-man-recover-stolen-egyptian-artefacts-after-museum-heist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:12:01 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang In the highest-ranking sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui, 11 crimson beads remained undisturbed for 3,000 years among bronze vessels, ivory tusks and fragments of gold. They are carnelian – a red gemstone prized across the ancient world, from the Indus Valley to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. In China, however, carnelian was not commonly found in elite burials until the late Western Zhou dynasty (c1046-771BC), with red tones traditionally represented by other minerals, such as ochre and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343451/how-did-prized-red-gemstone-reach-ancient-mysterious-shu-kingdom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343451/how-did-prized-red-gemstone-reach-ancient-mysterious-shu-kingdom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:00:20 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar The faint outline of a hand in a cave in Indonesia’s Sulawesi has been recognised as the world’s oldest known rock art, shattering a long-held scientific theory that human artistic expression first flourished in Ice Age Europe. Dating back at least 67,800 years, the faded stencil was found hiding beneath a more recent chicken sketch in Metanduno cave on Muna Island. Researchers say the finding, which was published in the scientific journal Nature on January 21, proves that ancient humans in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3342713/indonesias-68000-year-old-handprint-birth-human-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3342713/indonesias-68000-year-old-handprint-birth-human-art?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 05:00:09 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng A noted archaeologist is challenging conventional wisdom on one of the world’s oldest cultures, arguing that Chinese civilisation has a recorded history stretching back 8,000 years – three millennia beyond the widely accepted benchmark. An article published late last year on the official portal Chinese Social Sciences Net made the bold new claim that the emergence of astronomy should be seen as the starting point of Chinese civilisation. The author was Feng Shi, a member of the Chinese Academy... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342760/how-old-chinese-civilisation-archaeologist-argues-it-really-dates-back-8000-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342760/how-old-chinese-civilisation-archaeologist-argues-it-really-dates-back-8000-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 22:00:11 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China may have led a Stone Age technological race as early as 160,000 years ago, by crafting sophisticated stone tools for cutting, piercing and sawing, according to a new study. An international team of scientists said the discovery of hafted tools – the earliest evidence for composite tools in eastern Asia – had reshaped the understanding of human evolution in the region. They said the find showed that hominins in China were much more inventive and adaptable than previously thought,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341421/composite-tool-find-puts-china-centre-tech-revolution-160000-years-ago-paper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341421/composite-tool-find-puts-china-centre-tech-revolution-160000-years-ago-paper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:01:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A red stencil of a hand pressed against the wall of an Indonesian cave is the oldest rock art ever discovered, scientists said on Wednesday, and sheds light on how humans first migrated to Australia. The cave art dates back at least 67,800 years, according to research published in the journal Nature by a team of Indonesian and Australian archaeologists. “We have been working in Indonesia for a long time,” study co-author Maxime Aubert of Australia’s Griffith University said. This time they... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3340753/worlds-oldest-cave-art-discovered-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3340753/worlds-oldest-cave-art-discovered-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 23:51:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters Italian officials ‍on Monday hailed the discovery of a more than 2,000-year-old public building attributed to Vitruvius, the ancient Roman architect and engineer known as the “father of architecture”. “It is a sensational finding … something that our grandchildren will ⁠be talking about,” Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli told a press conference. Vitruvius, who lived in the 1st century BC, is celebrated for having written De architectura, or The Ten Books on Architecture, the oldest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340482/italy-uncovers-2000-year-old-basilica-designed-vitruvius-father-architecture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340482/italy-uncovers-2000-year-old-basilica-designed-vitruvius-father-architecture?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 23:46:00 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang “We will not leave the desert till we beat the foe, although in war our golden armour be outworn 100 times.” In this celebrated poem from China’s Tang dynasty, Wang Changling captured the unyielding spirit of soldiers in golden armour battling on the desert frontiers. But for centuries, the splendour of the Tang gold-plated armour lived only in poetry and imagination, as none had ever been unearthed. But that changed last week, when the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Sciences and Cultural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3340394/chinese-team-restores-legendary-tang-dynasty-golden-armour-found-tibetan-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3340394/chinese-team-restores-legendary-tang-dynasty-golden-armour-found-tibetan-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 06:52:53 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang The computer, at its core, is an input-output device: it receives instructions, executes programmes, performs calculations automatically and produces results. By this fundamental definition, China’s ancient ti hua ji, or figured loom – dating back more than two millennia to the Western Han dynasty – may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). Unearthed in 2012 from a tomb dated to around 150BC in Chengdu,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338360/2000-year-old-machine-found-western-china-tomb-could-be-binary-computer-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338360/2000-year-old-machine-found-western-china-tomb-could-be-binary-computer-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 06:00:16 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Traces of alcohol in pottery vessels discovered from a Bronze Age cemetery in northwestern China indicate that people at the time consumed beverages made using a fermentation starter of rice and a red mould. Archaeologists said the drink, similar to red rice wine, played a key role in mortuary rituals, and its presence at the Mogou cemetery suggested a tradition that probably served to strengthen the bond between the living and the dead. Researchers from Northwest University in Xian, the Gansu... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337691/bronze-age-cemetery-offers-clues-how-ancient-chinese-brewed-red-rice-wine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337691/bronze-age-cemetery-offers-clues-how-ancient-chinese-brewed-red-rice-wine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 06:07:59 +0000 Alcott Wei Alcott Wei Chinese archaeologists unearthing the ruins of the earliest known settlement in the Yangtze River Delta say water management may have been the origin of ancient “cities” in the area. Researchers began large-scale excavations of the Doushan site in Wuxi in the eastern province of Jiangsu in July last year, dating the city to about 6,000 years ago. Previously, the oldest urban site in the delta area was the Liangzhu culture site near Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, dating back about 5,300... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337191/eastern-china-ancient-ruins-are-pushing-back-date-yangtze-deltas-earliest-cities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3337191/eastern-china-ancient-ruins-are-pushing-back-date-yangtze-deltas-earliest-cities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 02:00:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Egypt on Sunday revealed the revamp of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the latest in the government’s archaeological events that aim at drawing more tourists to the country. The giant alabaster statues, known as the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled in a renovation project that lasted about two decades. They represent Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,400 years ago. “Today we are celebrating, actually, the finishing and the erecting of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3336410/egypt-reveals-restored-colossal-statues-pharaoh-luxor-bid-boost-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3336410/egypt-reveals-restored-colossal-statues-pharaoh-luxor-bid-boost-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 18:16:43 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse More than 600 items, including military medals and jewellery from a collection documenting the links between Britain and countries in the former British Empire, were stolen from a UK museum in September, police said on Thursday. Avon and Somerset Police have launched an appeal for information about four men captured on security cameras on September 25 outside a building in the southwestern city of Bristol, which housed items from the collection. “More than 600 artefacts of various descriptions... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336116/600-artefacts-stolen-bristols-british-empire-collection-daring-heist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336116/600-artefacts-stolen-bristols-british-empire-collection-daring-heist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:17:18 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Scientists announced on Wednesday that they had discovered evidence in the UK of humans deliberately making fire 400,000 years ago, dramatically pushing back the timeline for when our ancient relatives are known to have mastered this crucial skill. Learning to light our own fires was one of the great turning points in human history, offering our ancestors warmth, a place to socialise and a way to cook food – which helped us evolve our unusually big brains. There were signs that humans were using... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335963/earliest-evidence-humans-making-fire-discovered-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335963/earliest-evidence-humans-making-fire-discovered-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 17:22:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Trade unions at the Louvre Museum have called for a rolling strike next week to demand urgent renovations and better working conditions, piling more bad news on the beleaguered Paris institution. Monday’s announcement came a day after the world’s most visited museum admitted to a major leak in late November and nearly two months after an embarrassing robbery in which French crown jewels were stolen from its permanent collection. In between those two incidents, it had to close a gallery... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335663/louvre-trade-unions-call-strike-demand-renovations-better-working-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335663/louvre-trade-unions-call-strike-demand-renovations-better-working-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:07:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters A water leak last month damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian antiquities department at the Louvre, underscoring the deteriorating state of the world’s most visited museum just weeks after a daring jewel heist exposed security flaws. Specialist website La Tribune de l’Art reported that around 400 rare books were affected, blaming poor pipe conditions. It said the department had long sought funds to protect the collection from such risks without success. Le Louvre’s deputy administrator,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335538/water-leak-louvre-museum-paris-damages-books-egyptian-antiquities-department?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335538/water-leak-louvre-museum-paris-damages-books-egyptian-antiquities-department?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 19:42:08 +0000 dpa dpa High cheekbones, a long nose, full lips and a prominent chin: Pharaoh Akhenaten’s facial features, as seen in various sculptures, often stand out among the various depictions of ancient Egyptian kings. While it cannot be known for certain if Nefertiti’s husband actually looked as the sculptures suggest or if they were a result of artistic expression, a photo of Egyptian influencer Youssef Mohamed posing next to one in the Grand Egyptian Museum has gone viral – and it suggests that the bust was a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3335296/meet-akhenatens-grandson-man-goes-viral-resemblance-ancient-egyptian-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3335296/meet-akhenatens-grandson-man-goes-viral-resemblance-ancient-egyptian-king?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:15:14 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang Two brothers in southwestern China have been shocked to find that rocks they used as simple stepping stones for decades are 190-million-year-old dinosaur footprint fossils. On November 29, researchers completed a study into dinosaur tracks found decades ago in Wuli village, Sichuan province. The mainland media then revealed that the rocks have a fascinating backstory. According to Guangming Daily, while quarrying stone in 1998, the Ding brothers found rocks with “chicken claw prints” and used... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3334875/china-brothers-shocked-rocks-used-stepping-stones-are-190-million-year-old-dinosaur-fossils?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3334875/china-brothers-shocked-rocks-used-stepping-stones-are-190-million-year-old-dinosaur-fossils?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 06:00:12 +0000 Leopold Chen Leopold Chen A replica of the skeleton of “Hong Kong’s Whale” that famously wandered into Victoria Harbour 70 years ago has been installed in Shek O, where the original bones once stood before they were destroyed by Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018. Researchers from the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) Swire Institute of Marine Science (Swims) erected the replica at Cape D’Aguilar on Wednesday. The replica was created by a specialist firm in mainland China. “I see it as a public service for Swims to maintain... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3333447/hong-kongs-whale-tale-famous-fossil-shek-o-gets-new-lease-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3333447/hong-kongs-whale-tale-famous-fossil-shek-o-gets-new-lease-life?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:20:41 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Louvre Museum said on Monday that it was closing one of its galleries as a precaution after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building. The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be closed while investigations are conducted into “certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor” above it, a statement said. The announcement has no link to the recent robbery at the world’s most visited art gallery, but is more... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333159/louvre-museum-paris-closes-gallery-due-structural-weakness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333159/louvre-museum-paris-closes-gallery-due-structural-weakness?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 17:10:00 +0000 dpa dpa Thirty years in the making, the world’s biggest archaeological museum – and before its opening also the world’s most delayed museum – is now struggling to cope with the crowds. The Grand Egyptian Museum, located near the Giza Pyramids, was opened on November 1 in a lavish ceremony attended by dozens of world leaders and media representatives. Two weeks later, it is still welcoming an average of around 19,000 people every day, according to a spokesman. The collection includes the glittering... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333018/grand-egyptian-museum-introduces-time-slots-due-constant-crowds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333018/grand-egyptian-museum-introduces-time-slots-due-constant-crowds?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 21:22:25 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg British police have seized more than £12 million (US$15.6 million) of dinosaur skeletons after agreeing to a settlement with a Chinese national suspected of being part of a huge money-laundering scandal. Su Binghai agreed to forfeit three complete fossilised skeletons, along with nine London apartments, bought for around £15 million, but he will be able to keep 25 per cent of all the sale proceeds, a lawyer for the National Crime Agency said at a court hearing on Tuesday. Su was previously... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331692/uk-seizes-us15-million-dinosaur-bones-money-laundering-suspect-su-binghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3331692/uk-seizes-us15-million-dinosaur-bones-money-laundering-suspect-su-binghai?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:47:45 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press After two decades of anticipation and countless delays, the Grand Egyptian Museum is finally having its grand reveal. The museum, which was set to officially open on Saturday, highlights Egypt’s ancient civilisation and is a centrepiece of the government’s drive to boost the tourist industry, a major source of foreign currency in the cash-strapped country. Located just outside Cairo next to the famed Giza Pyramids, the US$1 billion mammoth facility was poised to become the world’s largest museum... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331009/after-delays-mammoth-grand-egyptian-museum-pyramids-finally-opening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331009/after-delays-mammoth-grand-egyptian-museum-pyramids-finally-opening?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 04:14:36 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu The witch hat can be seen everywhere, from Halloween costumes to Hollywood films. But what many may not know is that a particular group of “witches” in northwestern China have, for decades, haunted historians and anthropologists with questions relating to the origins of the headgear and early human migration. The discovery of well-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang shook the archaeological world in the early 20th century, and significant investigations since the 1990s have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3330142/secrets-chinas-ancient-tarim-mummies-witch-hats-early-human-migration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3330142/secrets-chinas-ancient-tarim-mummies-witch-hats-early-human-migration?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Two fossilised “mummies” unearthed by scientists in the badlands of Wyoming of the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus reveal the external anatomy in exquisite detail, including the surprising presence of hooves on the feet – a first for any dinosaur. The two Edmontosaurus individuals, dating to the very end of the dinosaur age 66 million years ago, were a young adult roughly 12.2 metres (40ft) long and a two-year-old juvenile about half that length. The contours of the external fleshy surface of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330130/rare-duck-billed-dinosaur-mummies-reveal-surprise-hoofed-feet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3330130/rare-duck-billed-dinosaur-mummies-reveal-surprise-hoofed-feet?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:36:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The powerful gods of ancient Egypt are having a get-together at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has been more than a decade since the museum’s last big Egypt show, so “Divine Egypt” – a lavish exploration of how ancient Egyptians depicted their gods – is a major event, as evidenced by the crowds that have been packing the exhibition since its October 12 opening. “It’s the first ancient culture that you learn in school,” says Diana Craig Patch, the Met’s curator of Egyptian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3329918/how-ancient-egyptians-depicted-their-gods-shown-more-200-objects-met?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3329918/how-ancient-egyptians-depicted-their-gods-shown-more-200-objects-met?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:15:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A limestone pharaonic painting has gone missing from Egypt’s famed Saqqara necropolis, becoming the latest artefact to disappear in a country known for its rich and lengthy history. The painting was in the tomb of Khentika in the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo, Mohamed Ismail, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said on Sunday. The mastaba tomb was found in the 1950s and has not been opened since 2019. Ismail’s statement said prosecutors were investigating the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3327940/ancient-pharaonic-painting-vanishes-saqqara-necropolis-egyptian-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3327940/ancient-pharaonic-painting-vanishes-saqqara-necropolis-egyptian-officials-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2025 21:45:25 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik One of Venice’s most iconic symbols – the majestic winged Lion of St Mark – has its origins not in Europe but in ancient China, according to a new study by Italian researchers. However, some scholars in China are disputing the researchers’ theory that the celebrated bronze figure in Venice’s St Mark’s Square may have begun its life more than 1,000 years ago as a Tang dynasty tomb guardian, before being transported across continents and transformed into a symbol of Venetian power. Analysis by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327832/was-venices-winged-lion-made-china-and-delivered-marco-polos-family?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327832/was-venices-winged-lion-made-china-and-delivered-marco-polos-family?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 08:01:26 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations’ heritage body on Monday announced the launch of a virtual museum showcasing hundreds of looted artefacts in a bid to draw attention to the trafficking of cultural property. A Zambian ritual mask, a pendant from the ancient Syrian site of Palmyra and a painting by Swedish artist Anders Zorn are among nearly 250 stolen objects displayed on Unesco’s new interactive platform. But that is only a fraction of the roughly 57,000 items Interpol estimates are in circulation, part of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327296/un-heritage-body-opens-virtual-museum-spotlight-artefact-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327296/un-heritage-body-opens-virtual-museum-spotlight-artefact-trafficking?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:40:29 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai Recent archaeological research on the ruins of Sanxingdui in southwestern China suggests an internal conflict spurred a population exodus and destruction of parts of the ancient city. Located in Deyang, Sichuan province, the site encompasses three major cultural phases with each bearing distinct differences, Sun Hua, a professor at Peking University’s school of archaeology and museology, told a forum that opened in Sichuan on Saturday. Sun, who also serves as the academic director of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327152/internal-conflict-chinas-ancient-sanxingdui-led-exodus-destruction-scholar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3327152/internal-conflict-chinas-ancient-sanxingdui-led-exodus-destruction-scholar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 08:00:09 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s Sanxingdui archaeological site – considered a cornerstone of early Chinese civilisation from 4,500 years ago – is pioneering digital exhibitions to show a broader international audience its immense collection, including top national treasures not permitted to travel overseas. Yu Jian, deputy director of the Sanxingdui Museum in southwestern China, said the institution planned to show its artefacts at an international exhibition next year. Final plans for the exhibition required state... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3327040/chinas-sanxingdui-museum-eyes-future-tech-showcase-ancient-treasures-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3327040/chinas-sanxingdui-museum-eyes-future-tech-showcase-ancient-treasures-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 02:00:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Netherlands pledged on Friday to return to Indonesia the remains of “Java Man”, the first-ever “Homo erectus” unearthed by modern scientists, in a landmark discovery for human evolution. The Dutch plan to hand back some 28,000 fossils of the “Dubois Collection” looted by anatomist and geologist Eugene Dubois in 1891, when Indonesia was still a colony of the Netherlands. They include Java Man’s skull cap, molar and femur that form part of evolutionary history – providing the first established... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3327028/netherlands-return-java-man-fossils-indonesia-historic-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3327028/netherlands-return-java-man-fossils-indonesia-historic-move?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:17:34 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak To understand Chinese culture, it is necessary to go back to the very beginning of its civilisation. In this series, we look at the most influential dynasties in Chinese history and how each, with its technological inventions and cultural advancements, helped propel the nation forward. Ancient China is one of the six cradles of early civilisation, alongside Mesoamerica, the ancient Andes, Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt and ancient India. The civilisations of these places laid the foundation for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3326647/how-chinas-first-3-dynasties-shaped-chinese-culture-and-society-writing-religion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3326647/how-chinas-first-3-dynasties-shaped-chinese-culture-and-society-writing-religion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur from Argentina with powerful claws, feasting on an ancient crocodile bone. The new find was possibly seven metres (23 feet) long and hailed from a mysterious group of dinosaurs called megaraptorans. They prowled across what is now South America, Australia and parts of Asia, splitting off into different species over millions of years. Megaraptorans were known for their stretched-out skulls and “huge and very powerful claws”, said Lucio Ibiricu with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326604/scientists-discover-new-dinosaur-argentina-crocodile-bone-its-mouth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3326604/scientists-discover-new-dinosaur-argentina-crocodile-bone-its-mouth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:55:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Egyptians reacted with outrage this week after officials said that a 3,000-year-old bracelet that had belonged to an ancient pharaoh was stolen from Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum and then melted down for gold. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said in televised comments late on Saturday that the bracelet was stolen on September 9 while officials at the museum were preparing artefacts for an exhibition in Italy. He blamed “laxity” in implementing procedures at the facility and said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3326321/outrage-after-ancient-pharaohs-gold-bracelet-stolen-egypt-museum-and-melted-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3326321/outrage-after-ancient-pharaohs-gold-bracelet-stolen-egypt-museum-and-melted-down?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 20:14:56 +0000 Jane Cai Jane Cai When Beijing company executive Lillian Zhu saw the Tianjin Museum’s exhibition of Kazakhstan artefacts earlier this year, she was captivated by the vibrant culture of Central Asia and was determined to find out more. “It struck me how little I knew about the Silk Road countries beyond China. The fusion of nomadic and settled lifestyles is so intriguing,” she said. Inspired by the display of nearly 200 artefacts from Kazakhstan’s National Museum, Zhu booked a 15-day study tour this summer to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325479/central-asia-draws-chinese-tourists-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-revitalises-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3325479/central-asia-draws-chinese-tourists-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-revitalises-region?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:00:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters Archaeologists in Albania have discovered a large Roman burial chamber dating from the third to fourth century AD, the first of its kind found in the Balkan country that was once part of the Roman Empire. Tipped off by locals who had noticed some unusual stones on a plateau near the North Macedonia border, staff from the Institute of Archaeology began excavating in early August and found the underground structure whose large limestone slabs were inscribed with Greek lettering. “The inscription... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324760/wealthy-ancient-romans-monumental-tomb-discovered-albania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324760/wealthy-ancient-romans-monumental-tomb-discovered-albania?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 10:03:32 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang A Chinese man became so obsessed with tomb-robbing fiction that he carried out a real-life heist, breaking into an ancient burial site and stealing 20 cultural relics dating back to 771 BC. The mastermind, surnamed Yu from Hubei province in central China, read tomb-robbing novels every day. When reading fiction no longer satisfied him, he began meticulously verifying details described in the stories, often cross-checking them with local county records when he came across questionable or vague... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3323365/tomb-raiding-fiction-fixated-chinese-thief-breaks-burial-site-steals-20-cultural-relics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3323365/tomb-raiding-fiction-fixated-chinese-thief-breaks-burial-site-steals-20-cultural-relics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Long before whales were majestic, gentle giants, some of their prehistoric ancestors were tiny, weird and feral. A chance discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil on an Australian beach has allowed paleontologists to identify a rare, entirely new species that could unlock mysteries of whale evolution. Researchers this week officially named Janjucetus dullardi, a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike today’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3322050/scientists-discover-ancient-whale-pokemon-face-and-predator-bite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3322050/scientists-discover-ancient-whale-pokemon-face-and-predator-bite?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 12:39:54 +0000 Reuters Reuters Scientists have found a series of stone tools on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island they say may be evidence of humans living 1.5 million years ago on islands between Asia and Australia, the earliest known humans in the Wallacea region. Archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia found the small, chipped tools, used to cut little animals and carve rocks, under the soil in the region of Soppeng in South Sulawesi. Radioactive tracing of these tools and the teeth of animals found around the site was dated... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3321397/15-million-year-old-stone-tools-found-indonesia-rewrite-human-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3321397/15-million-year-old-stone-tools-found-indonesia-rewrite-human-history?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:44:16 +0000