Six shipwrecks linked to the real ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ have been found in Nassau’s harbor in the Bahamas for the first time, an international expedition announced.

The New Providence Pirates Expedition conducted the survey in late 2025 after receiving the first official permission to dive in the harbor’s restricted zone. Marine archaeologist Sean Kingsley and Michael Pateman, the Bahamas’ ambassador for history and culture, co-directed the project.

Three of the six wrecks are tied to the golden age of piracy, a period from the 1690s through the 1720s when Nassau served as a base for buccaneers, including Blackbeard, Henry Avery, Calico Jack Rackham, and Anne Bonny.

The standout find is a charred wooden hull fastened with wooden treenails, a method typical of 18th-century shipbuilding, burned down to the waterline. Pateman said that pirates burned seized ships after stripping them to remove evidence of their crimes.

Burned hull may belong to Avery’s missing pirate ship

Researchers believe the hull may be the Fancy, last commanded by Avery. In 1695, his crew seized gold, silver, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds from Mughal Empire vessels, a haul worth around $150 million today.

The ship was never found afterward. The wreck fits the Fancy’s estimated age, size, and construction, though no formal identification has been made.

Pirates of the Caribbean shipwrecks found in the Bahamas for the first time reveal Nassau as history's most notorious golden age pirate port. pic.twitter.com/9WrS1pxMI1

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 5, 2026

A second site about 20 miles east of Nassau yielded iron cannons, 25 lead musket balls, a grinding stone for sharpening swords, and a swivel gun. Kingsley described swivel guns as pivot-mounted weapons pirates used to open fire on enemy crews at close range.

A third site under Nassau’s old bridge produced hull planks, rigging, wine bottles, wooden crates, and galley bricks. Nearby, researchers recovered 143 clay tobacco pipes marked with a horse, unicorn, crown, and the English royal crest.

The style suggests they were made in London around the 1740s. Kingsley said the cargo reflects Nassau settling back into regular trade after the pirate era closed.

Bahamas shipwrecks reveal the real ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’

The discoveries came despite significant disturbance to the harbor floor from years of dredging. Kingsley said the finds are likely only a fraction of what may remain and estimated that dozens more wrecks could be hidden in the harbor. The team plans to return using underwater drones but has found no evidence of treasure.

Until now, no shipwrecks connected to Caribbean pirates had been found in the Bahamas, even though Nassau served as the pirates’ primary base throughout that period.

The findings are featured in a documentary series, Mystery of the Pirate King’s Treasure, now on Wreckwatch TV, and in the latest issue of Wreckwatch magazine.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered an equine skeleton inside a bread-making workshop at one of the city’s most celebrated ancient complexes, opening a new chapter in the understanding of how humans and animals lived and worked together nearly 2,000 years ago.

The remains were discovered at the Insula of the Chaste Lovers, a large residential and commercial site renowned for its striking “chaste kiss” fresco, painted inside the dining room of the owner’s home.

The complex includes a working bakery, storage rooms, processing spaces, and the owner’s private residence. Researchers had previously found other equids at the site’s stables, where animals were used to power grain mills and transport the grain needed for bread production.

Pompeii’s chaste lovers complex was also a busy bakery

This latest skeleton was not found in the stables. Researchers found it in a separate room, suggesting the animal had fled there during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The excavation brought together archaeologists and specialists from the Applied Research Laboratory, including experts in animal remains, plant life, and human bones. This interdisciplinary approach has become one of the most important aspects of modern archaeological research at the site.

Laboratory analysis is still ongoing. Researchers expect it to reveal more about the animal’s specific role in the production complex and the conditions it faced during the eruption.

The study could also contribute to a wider understanding of how animals responded to the disaster in real time, adding detail to the reconstruction of those final, chaotic hours.

Pompeii equine skeleton suggests a desperate Vesuvius escape

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, said that Pompeii offers far more than beautiful frescoes and ancient objects.

He said it gives researchers the opportunity to understand lives that were ended by the eruption, and that this extends to animals as well as people. The horse or donkey, he noted, was found inside a house with remarkable frescoes that also served as a working mill and bakery.

Its location in a room away from the stables points to an attempt to escape the eruption. Zuchtriegel called the excavation a strong example of the daily multidisciplinary collaboration at the site and said ongoing lab results will continue to offer significant scientific value.

Pompeii continues to yield new layers of ancient life. The site preserves not just objects and artwork but the full texture of daily existence, including the bonds between people, animals, and the spaces they shared.

The equine skeleton discovered in Pompeii’s ancient bread workshop is the latest reminder that the city still holds stories waiting to be told.

Archaeologists working at an ancient Maya site in southern Mexico have found what they say is the earliest known evidence of Maya kingship and calendar use in the region.

Kenichiro Tsukamoto, an archaeologist at the University of California, Riverside, led the study published in Ancient Mesoamerica. His team analyzed three stone monuments at El Palmar, a site in southeastern Campeche, Mexico.

One of them, Stela 46, carries an inscription dated to A.D. 180. That makes it the oldest confirmed “Long Count” calendar date discovered in the Maya Lowlands.

The Long Count is a dating system the ancient Maya used to record historical events in a fixed chronological order. Before this discovery, a stone monument at Tikal held that record with a date of A.D. 292. The El Palmar inscription predates it by 112 years.

Stone monuments link Maya kingship to an ancient calendar

What distinguishes Stela 46 from earlier finds is its direct connection to historical rulers and events. A king named Ajaw K’al Ubaah acceded to the throne in A.D. 131. Some 49 years later, in A.D. 180, he commissioned the stela as part of a royal ritual.

Alongside the Long Count, the inscription also incorporates the 260-day divinatory calendar, binding the royal event to a specific ceremonial date. No earlier Long Count inscription had ever been linked to a named ruler, the researchers said.

To read the heavily worn carvings, researchers combined traditional photography with photogrammetry and a high-resolution 3D scanner called Artec Spider II. The device captures detail as fine as 0.1 millimeters (0.0039 inches). It uncovered inscriptions that scholars had previously missed entirely.

The carvings also show that the king carried two royal titles, pointing to an already established order of royal authority at the site.

Monument traces El Palmar’s rulers back 17 generations

A second monument, Stela 20, strengthened the picture of Maya kingship at El Palmar. Its text identifies the ruler who commissioned it as the 17th king in a successive royal line.

Using the estimated average reign of 22.5 years for Classic Maya kings, the team calculated that the lineage’s first ruler likely rose to power between A.D. 102 and 154. That closely matches the accession date recorded on Stela 46.

A third monument, Stela 45, records the accession of a ruler named Tz’u Chak Ahk in A.D. 342. Together, the three stelae trace a royal dynasty from the second century A.D. to at least A.D. 884, one of the longest recorded among ancient Maya kingdoms.

Tsukamoto noted that El Palmar rose during a turbulent period. Several large Maya polities collapsed around A.D. 150 due to drought, soil erosion, and political instability. El Palmar appears to have grown as a new power center in their place.

The study concludes that calendar systems did more than track time. At El Palmar, they helped rulers legitimize and hold power for more than 700 years.

https://youtu.be/2sGZRo5POf8?si=wF6pXkzKrpiZuZ88

The massive Altar Stone at Stonehenge may have received some help from ancient glaciers on its long journey to southern England, but people still likely carried it much of the remaining distance, according to new research.

The study, led by Anthony J. I. Clarke and published in the Journal of Quaternary Science, examined the possible origins and transport routes of the six-ton sandstone monument that sits at the center of Stonehenge.

Researchers have long believed the Altar Stone came from northeast Scotland, roughly 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Stonehenge. However, exactly where the stone originated and how it reached Salisbury Plain have remained major archaeological mysteries.

Searching for the stone’s birthplace

The team combined geological analysis with computer models of ancient ice sheet movements to investigate whether glaciers could have transported the stone southward during the last Ice Age. Scientists focused on the Orcadian Basin, a large geological region in northeast Scotland that has been proposed as the stone’s source.

How did a 6-ton stone reach Stonehenge from Scotland?

Researchers found that glaciers may have moved the monument's famous Altar Stone part of the way. But ancient people likely completed the final journey, hauling the massive rock hundreds of kilometers across Britain. pic.twitter.com/mQFbTIb3ve

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 4, 2026

The study compared the Altar Stone’s mineral signature with sandstone formations across the basin. Researchers looked specifically at the ages of zircon grains embedded in the rock. These grains act like geological fingerprints and can help identify where a stone was formed.

The results pointed most strongly toward Caithness in mainland northeast Scotland. Sandstones from that region showed the closest match to the Altar Stone’s zircon age patterns.

Ice movement presents a problem

Although Caithness appears to be the best geological match, computer models revealed a complication.

Ancient glaciers in the area mostly moved toward the northeast rather than toward southern England. The models showed only a limited pathway that could have carried material southeast toward Dogger Bank, a now-submerged area beneath the North Sea.

That finding makes a direct glacial journey to Stonehenge unlikely. Researchers concluded that glaciers alone could not explain how the stone reached its final location.

Human transport still likely

Even if glaciers carried the stone as far as Dogger Bank, people would still have needed to move it about 400 kilometers (250 miles) to Stonehenge.

The study also noted another challenge. Dogger Bank was flooded by rising sea levels after the Ice Age before the Altar Stone is thought to have arrived at Stonehenge. This creates a timing problem for any theory relying entirely on glacial transport. As a result, researchers suggest that ice may have played only an intermediate role in the stone’s journey.

The findings support the idea that Neolithic communities were responsible for moving the enormous stone over great distances. While glaciers may have shortened part of the route, substantial human effort would still have been required to bring the Altar Stone to Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments.

The study adds a new piece to the puzzle of how ancient builders assembled Stonehenge and highlights the remarkable achievements of the people who constructed it thousands of years ago.

Fossil remains discovered in the United Kingdom have been confirmed as belonging to one of the largest scorpions ever known in Britain, researchers say. The giant species, Praearcturus gigas, measured more than 1 meter (3.3 feet) long and lived about 415 million years ago, making it one of the earliest large predators to inhabit land.

The findings resolve a long-running scientific debate over the identity of the animal. By reexamining fossil fragments from England and Wales, researchers confirmed that Praearcturus was a scorpion rather than a crustacean, as some scientists had previously believed.

With pincers measuring about 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) long, the giant arthropod would have dwarfed modern scorpions. Today, the largest living scorpion reaches only about 23 centimeters (9 inches) in length. The study was published in the journal Palaeontology.

A giant predator in a young world

When Praearcturus gigas lived during the Early Devonian Period, life on land was still developing. Small plants and fungi had begun spreading across the landscape, while arthropods were among the first animals to establish themselves away from water.

Researchers believe the giant scorpion preyed on smaller arthropods living on ancient floodplains. Its size likely made it one of the dominant predators of its time.

Lead author Richie Howard said the discovery pushes back the appearance of giant arthropods by tens of millions of years. “When people think of giant arthropods, they often think of creatures such as Arthropleura or giant griffinflies,” Howard said. “But those animals appeared much later, after land ecosystems had become far more complex.”

Howard said the lack of large competing predators may have helped Praearcturus grow to such enormous proportions.

Solving a 150-year-old mystery

The fossil was first described in 1871 by British paleontologist Henry Woodward, who believed it belonged to a giant crustacean similar to a woodlouse.

For decades, scientists struggled to classify the animal because only fragments of its body had survived. The fossils lacked the distinctive tail that normally identifies a scorpion.

The mystery began to unravel after researchers compared the fossils with Eramoscorpius, a well-preserved ancient scorpion discovered in Canada. Both species share a distinctive triangular sternum on the underside of the body, providing strong evidence that Praearcturus was a true scorpion.

Clues to early life on land

The discovery offers new insight into a key stage of Earth’s history, when animals were adapting to life outside aquatic environments.

Researchers say Praearcturus may not have lived exclusively on land. Fossils from Wales preserve flap-like structures known as epimera, which resemble features seen in modern lobsters and crabs. These structures suggest the giant scorpion may have spent part of its life in water, where larger prey would have been available.

Co-author Greg Edgecombe said the species may even represent a lineage that returned to aquatic habitats after its ancestors adapted to life on land.

Scientists say additional fossil discoveries will be needed to determine how long Praearcturus survived and whether other fragmentary remains found in Britain belong to the species. For now, the fossils provide rare evidence of one of the largest scorpions ever to walk the Earth.

A series of red markings inside a cave in south Wales has been confirmed as the UK oldest cave art, ending decades of debate over whether the images were created by humans or formed naturally.

Researchers determined that the markings at Bacon Hole Cave near Mumbles were painted about 17,100 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period. The discovery makes them the oldest known rock art in Britain and northwestern Europe. The findings overturn a conclusion that had stood since 1928, when experts dismissed the markings as natural mineral stains rather than prehistoric artwork.

Discovery revisited after more than a century

The markings were first reported in 1912 by professors William Sollas and Henri Breuil, who identified the red bands as prehistoric cave paintings. At the time, the discovery was described as the first example of Paleolithic cave art found in Britain.

That interpretation was later rejected. Researchers concluded that the red streaks were caused by iron-rich minerals seeping through the limestone walls, and the site gradually lost its significance as a prehistoric art location.

More than a century later, an international team led by prehistoric art specialist George Nash reexamined the markings using scientific methods unavailable to earlier researchers. The team’s findings, published in the journal Quaternary, confirmed that the red pigment was intentionally applied by humans around 17,100 years ago.

Scientific analysis confirms human origin

Researchers used uranium-thorium dating and archaeometric analysis to study the pigment and surrounding cave deposits. Laboratory tests identified a mixture of calcite and clay residues within the paint, indicating that the material had been deliberately prepared. Analysis also showed that the pigment was applied directly with a finger.

The painted lines appear as evenly spaced horizontal bands arranged in a structured pattern. Researchers said the design is inconsistent with natural geological processes and supports the interpretation originally proposed in 1912.

Part of the artwork may have been overlooked for decades because a local fisherman painted graffiti on a nearby section of the cave chamber in 1894, making the markings more difficult to interpret.

Life in Wales during the Ice Age

The artwork was created as Wales emerged from one of the coldest phases of the last Ice Age, known as the Devensian glaciation. At the time, the landscape around Bacon Hole was a cold, largely treeless environment. Researchers believe the area surrounding what is now the Bristol Channel attracted large grazing animals during seasonal migrations.

The cave and other nearby shelters along the Gower coastline would have provided suitable living spaces for hunter-gatherer groups moving through the region.

A significant addition to Britain’s prehistoric record

Bacon Hole Cave lies within the limestone cliffs of the Gower Peninsula overlooking the Bristol Channel. Although the area is recognized for its natural beauty, the cave is not currently protected as a scheduled monument.

Researchers argue that the site’s newly confirmed status as the UK oldest cave art strengthens the case for greater protection. The study was conducted by researchers from First Art, the University of Southampton, Swansea University and other institutions, with support from the National Trust and the Bradshaw Foundation.

The discovery adds to a small number of known examples of Upper Paleolithic rock art in Britain and provides rare evidence of artistic activity in the region more than 17,000 years ago.

A 4,000-year-old child’s skull discovered in Uzbekistan is offering rare evidence of one of the oldest known surgery in Asia, shedding new light on medical knowledge in the Bronze Age.

The remains belonged to a child who died at about 5 years old. Researchers found clear signs of cranial trepanation, a procedure that involved cutting or drilling into the skull. The discovery represents the oldest documented evidence of surgery in Central Asia and one of the oldest known examples anywhere in Asia.

A joint team of Italian and Uzbek researchers uncovered the skeleton during excavations in the Northern Bactria region of southern Uzbekistan, near the border with Afghanistan.

Evidence of a complex procedure

Archaeologists found the child buried in a single grave alongside another child who died at about 3 years old. Examination of the older child’s skull revealed distinct traces of trepanation that researchers believe were made using stone or bone tools.

Trepanation is among the oldest surgical procedures known to humanity. Archaeologists have documented similar operations in ancient societies across Europe, Africa and Asia. The practice may have been used to treat head injuries, epilepsy, severe headaches or other medical conditions. In some cultures, it may also have served ritual or spiritual purposes.

A 4,000-year-old child’s skull discovered in Uzbekistan contains evidence of cranial trepanation, making it the oldest documented surgery in Central Asia and one of the earliest known in Asia. pic.twitter.com/w1NDyBNpEV

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 3, 2026

Researchers noted that medicine and religion were often closely connected in ancient societies, making it difficult to determine the exact reason for the operation.

The findings also raise questions about the level of medical expertise that existed in Central Asia thousands of years ago. Performing such a procedure would have required specialized knowledge of the human body and considerable technical skill.

A window into the Oxus civilization

The burial was discovered at the prehistoric settlement of Djarkutan, one of the most important urban centers of the Oxus civilization. Researchers dated the grave to the late third millennium B.C.

Also known as the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or BMAC, the Oxus civilization flourished across parts of modern-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan between about 2500 and 1500 B.C. The culture is known for its advanced agriculture, urban development and rich material traditions.

Researchers began a broader project to investigate Djarkutan and other aspects of the Oxus civilization in 2024. “Djarkutan continues to surprise us,” excavation director Enrico Ascalone said in a statement. “A cranial trepanation on a child, four thousand years ago, in Central Asia: until yesterday it was unthinkable. Today it is in our data.”

Questions remain unanswered

The discovery has also created new mysteries. Researchers are now investigating who may have performed the operation, what medical knowledge was available at the time and why such a procedure was carried out on a young child.

Evidence of ancient trepanation is relatively common in some parts of the world, but cases involving children of this age remain rare. Further analysis may help researchers understand whether the operation was intended to treat an illness, respond to an injury or fulfill a ritual purpose.

For now, the skull offers a remarkable glimpse into the medical practices, beliefs and capabilities of a Bronze Age civilization that thrived in Central Asia four millennia ago.