Archaeologists working in southern Kazakhstan have documented more than 1,200 petroglyphs and a rare Old Turkic runic inscription in Burkhansai Gorge. This discovery sheds new light on ancient pastoral life, cultural traditions, and early writing in Central Asia.

The site lies in the Zhualy District of Kazakhstan’s Jambyl Region. Researchers say the rock carvings span several historical periods, from the end of the third millennium BC through the medieval era and later times. The current count is considered preliminary, and archaeologists expect additional discoveries as surveys continue.

Among the most significant finds is a short inscription written in Old Turkic runiform script. The five-character text has been interpreted as “Er atym Aba,” meaning “My name is Aba.” Researchers believe it may have been carved more than 1,000 years ago.

Rock art reveals a long history of human activity

Researchers say Burkhansai Gorge preserves evidence of human activity across thousands of years rather than representing a single period of occupation.

According to Anatoly Shayakhmetov of the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, the petroglyphs are distributed across five groups that follow the course of a stream through the gorge. The carvings date to different periods, including the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Middle Ages, and later historical eras.

Archaeologists have also identified three burial grounds, known as Burkhansai 1, Burkhansai 2, and Burkhansai 3. The cemeteries are believed to date to the Early Iron Age and medieval periods.

The earliest carvings are estimated to be about 4,000 years old. Many depict goats, one-humped camels, and hunting scenes. Researchers say these images reflect communities that relied on herding and hunting while moving through mountain landscapes.

The combination of rock art and burial sites suggests the gorge served as more than a place for carving images. Researchers believe it formed part of a wider cultural landscape used by different communities over many centuries.

Rare inscription preserves a personal message

Researchers describe the runic inscription as one of the site’s most important discoveries.

Boris Zheleznyakov of the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology said the text was written in the Talas script, a regional form of Old Turkic writing found across parts of Central Asia. He suggested the person who carved the inscription may have been marking his presence or association with the area.

The inscription was later examined by Old Turkic writing specialist Vladimir Tishin, who interpreted the text as “My name is Aba.”

Unlike large royal inscriptions that commemorate rulers or political events, the Burkhansai inscription appears to preserve the words of an ordinary individual. Researchers say that personal quality makes the discovery especially valuable.

The find also contributes to the study of Old Turkic literacy and the spread of writing traditions across Central Asia during the medieval period.

Southern Kazakhstan served as a cultural crossroads

The discovery adds to Kazakhstan’s reputation as one of Central Asia’s richest regions for rock art. Researchers note that mountain gorges and river valleys often acted as long-term cultural archives where generations left carvings, inscriptions, and burial sites.

Southern Kazakhstan was historically connected to the Talas Valley, the Western Tien Shan, and the ancient Silk Road city of Taraz. For centuries, the region served as a meeting point for pastoral groups, traders, and settled communities.

Researchers say Burkhansai’s access to water, shelter, and travel routes may explain why evidence from so many different periods survived in one location.

Researchers plan a further study of the site

Archaeologists are continuing to classify the petroglyphs, investigate the burial grounds, and search for nearby settlements that may help explain how ancient communities used the surrounding landscape.

Researchers also plan to publish a comprehensive study of the site and seek state protection for the archaeological complex.

For now, Burkhansai Gorge stands as a remarkable record of human activity spanning millennia. Its rock carvings reveal how people lived, hunted, and traveled through the region, while a simple inscription preserves the name of one person whose mark on the landscape has survived for more than a thousand years.

Researchers examining the remains of an Iron Age woman in northern Scotland have found signs that her brain may have been intentionally removed more than 2,000 years ago.

The discovery, made at a burial cairn in Sutherland, also revealed long-distance family connections, suggesting prehistoric communities maintained social and cultural ties across wide areas of Scotland.

The findings were published in the journal Antiquity and come from an investigation of two individuals buried in a low stone cairn at Loch Borralie, near the northwestern tip of mainland Scotland. The burial contained the remains of an adult woman and a juvenile boy.

Rare glimpse into Iron Age burial practices

Understanding funerary traditions in Iron Age Britain has long been difficult because human remains rarely survive. Soil conditions often destroy bone over time. North-west Scotland is one of the few regions where environmental conditions have preserved skeletal remains, offering researchers a rare opportunity to study how ancient communities treated their dead.

Researchers from the United Kingdom and the United States examined the remains to determine who the individuals were, where they came from, and whether they were related to each other or other groups in the region.

“We knew that in the north-west of Scotland, including the Northern and Western Isles, the circulation and deposition of human remains were particularly prominent,” said lead author Dr. Laura Castells Navarro of the University of York.

Evidence points to deliberate brain removal

To investigate the burial, researchers combined osteological analysis, isotope testing, and ancient DNA studies.

The most striking discovery involved the adult woman. Researchers found fine cut marks on the inside of her skull and identified unusual modifications to several long bones, including the upper arm, forearm, and thigh bones. The bones had been shaped so that their ends tapered into points.

According to the researchers, the evidence suggests the woman’s brain was intentionally removed after death, and some of her bones were deliberately carved before burial.

The purpose of these actions remains unclear. However, researchers believe the treatment may indicate that the woman held a special place within her community.

“The motivation behind the extensive manipulation of the skeletal remains of Individual 1 is very difficult to interpret,” Castells Navarro said. “However, the care with which she was reassembled and deposited in the cairn possibly suggests she commanded a level of reverence and respect by her community.”

DNA reveals connections across Scotland

The study also uncovered evidence of extensive mobility among Iron Age communities.

Isotope analysis indicated that both individuals likely spent their childhoods about 80 kilometers southeast of Loch Borralie. Ancient DNA revealed genetic links to people living in Orkney, roughly 175 kilometers northeast of the site, and Applecross, around 225 kilometers to the southwest.

Researchers also determined that the woman and the boy were closely related, most likely maternal second cousins.

The findings suggest that family groups moved regularly around Scotland’s northern coast and islands while maintaining relationships across considerable distances.

“More broadly, our research shows that prehistoric maritime communities periodically moved around the north coast and Northern Isles of Scotland, possibly in small groups,” Castells Navarro said. “This movement allowed for the spread and maintenance of cultural practices and traditions.”

New clues to prehistoric social networks

Taken together, the evidence of possible brain removal, deliberate bone modification, and long-distance family connections points to a complex society linked by shared traditions and social networks.

While researchers cannot determine exactly why the woman’s remains were altered, the burial suggests that some Iron Age communities maintained ongoing relationships with the dead and practiced funerary rituals that extended far beyond simple burial.

The findings provide a rare glimpse into beliefs and customs that shaped life in prehistoric Scotland more than two millennia ago.

Most people today know of the Colossus of Rhodes as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but there are many little-known facts about the masterpiece that may surprise you.

The ancient island of Rhodes, the kállistin (best) of the Greek cities as historians like to call it, has long attracted the attention of the world due to its beautiful beaches, rich history, and advanced civilization that stretches far back in time.

Rhodes was a city with philosophical and other schools, conservatories, markets, stadiums, harbors, and at least 3,000 public statues.

The masterpiece of all, though, was the Colossus of Rhodes, built between 292 to 280 BC. The huge bronze statue was about 30 meters (98.4 feet) tall and portrayed the god of the Sun, Helios.

The construction of the Colossus lasted for 12 years, but the statue was destroyed a few decades later in 226 BC by an earthquake.

Lesser known facts about the Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty

Both monuments were built as symbols of freedom, and people have made the connection between both statues since the Statue of Liberty was created.

The Statue of Liberty has been referred to as the “Modern Colossus” and stands just a little higher at 34 meters (111.5 feet) tall.

There is also a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty that is inscribed with a sonnet title “The New Colossus, not like the brazen giant of Greek fame.”

The debate about the statue’s feet

There has been a debate among historians about whether the statue was standing with one foot on either side of the Rhodes harbor.

Some have discounted this theory and believe that he stood in a more usual Greek statue pose on one side of the harbor.

If the Colossus of Rhodes was built with its legs straddling the harbor, then the harbor would have had to have been closed for 12 years for the initial construction, and then it would have once again been blocked for years when the statue fell.

The statue has an iron skeleton

The statue was actually built with an iron frame like a skeleton over which the Rhodians placed carved and sculptured brass plates to create the outer structure of Helios, creating his muscle and skin.

Chares of Lindos designed the Colossus of Rhodes

We owe the design of the Colossus of Rhodes to Chares of Lindos. Chares was a student of the famous sculptor Lysippus, who had previously created a 19-meter (62 foot) tall statue of Zeus.

The metal used to construct the statue later scrapped, sold

In the 7th century A.D., the Arabs conquered Rhodes and dismantled any remnant of the Colossus of Rhodes after it was toppled by an earthquake and later sold the once beautiful statue as scrap metal.

It took approximately 900 camels to carry away all the scrap metal.

Was the destruction of the Colossus the will of the gods?

Finally, Ptolemy III, the king of Egypt, offered to pay for the Colossus’ reconstruction, but the Rhodians refused because they believed that Helios, having been angered by the construction of the statue, was the one who caused the earthquake that destroyed it.

Greece and Turkey have established a permanent cultural forum to strengthen bilateral cooperation in cultural heritage, museums, research, education, and new technologies, creating a new institutional framework for dialogue between the two countries.

The Greece-Türkiye Cultural Forum was formally established last week through a Joint Declaration signed by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy during the forum’s inaugural session in Cappadocia. Under the agreement, the forum will meet regularly in both countries and serve as a platform for exchanging expertise and developing joint initiatives. “Culture is perhaps the deepest and most enduring field of communication between our societies,” Mendoni said.

The forum is the latest outcome of efforts to strengthen Greek-Turkish relations following the Athens Declaration on Friendship and Good Neighbourly Relations signed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in December 2023. It also builds on a Memorandum of Cultural Cooperation signed by the two culture ministers during the 6th Supreme Cooperation Council in Ankara.

Heritage protection and cultural cooperation between Greece and Turkey

During the forum, Mendoni outlined Greece’s approach to heritage protection, noting that Greek legislation safeguards all monuments equally—ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman, post-Byzantine and modern—regardless of their religious or cultural origin. She also stated that all are incorporated into the country’s cultural routes and tourism networks.

Furthermore, the forum featured presentations by officials and experts from both countries on the restoration and conservation of Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, heritage management, historical research, and the use of new technologies in the cultural sector. Discussions also focused on combating the illicit trafficking of cultural goods, an area in which Greece and Turkey have cooperated since signing a bilateral protocol in 2013.

“The exchange of information, the cooperation of competent services and the use of international mechanisms are crucial tools for effectively combating the illegal trafficking of cultural goods and securing their return to their place of origin,” Mendoni said. The Joint Declaration also highlights the importance of digitalization and improving public access to cultural resources through digital technologies, while encouraging closer cooperation in the use of emerging technologies in heritage management.

On the sidelines of the forum, Mendoni thanked Ersoy for Turkey’s support at UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee regarding the return of the Parthenon Sculptures. She noted that his confirmation that no Ottoman document ever authorized Lord Elgin’s removal of the sculptures strengthens the international case for their reunification in Athens.

Related: Turkey Deals Blow on the UK’s Legal Claim For the Parthenon Marbles

A collection of 22,000-year-old jewelry discovered in northern Spain is offering new insights into how Ice Age hunter-gatherers expressed identity, exchanged ideas, and maintained social networks across vast distances.

Researchers found that people living in and around Llonín Cave used shells, animal teeth, bones, and even fossils to create personal ornaments over thousands of years, revealing changing patterns of social life during the Upper Paleolithic.

The study, led by Daniel Pérez-García de los Salmones and published in PLOS One, analyzed 271 ornaments recovered from Llonín Cave in northern Spain. The cave preserves a long archaeological sequence dating from roughly 23,500 to 11,000 years ago, covering several major cultural periods of the Late Ice Age.

A cave filled with symbolic objects

The ornaments included marine shells, red deer teeth, fish vertebrae, bone fragments, and a fossilized tube worm. Most were intentionally modified and worn as pendants or beads. Researchers identified at least 17 genera and 15 species used in their production. Marine shells made up the largest share of the collection, while red deer canine teeth were the most common animal-derived ornaments.

Microscopic analysis showed that many pieces had been worn for long periods. Friction from cords, clothing, or skin leaves polish marks, grooves, and rounded edges around perforations. More than 90% of the analyzed ornaments displayed signs of use.

A new study from Llonín Cave in northern Spain suggests Ice Age hunter-gatherers used shells, animal teeth, bones, and fossils to create ornaments that expressed identity, marked social ties, and connected communities across long distances.#Archaeology #IceAge #Jewelry #Spain pic.twitter.com/DXcBNuubUJ

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 9, 2026

Researchers also found evidence that some ornaments were made inside the cave. Unfinished deer tooth pendants and partially worked animal teeth suggest that people crafted jewelry on site rather than simply acquiring finished pieces from elsewhere.

Long-distance connections across Ice Age Iberia

One of the most striking discoveries involved shells that likely originated from the Mediterranean coast. The species Tritia mutabilis does not naturally occur along the Cantabrian coast of northern Spain, where Llonín Cave is located.

Its presence suggests that people exchanged objects or maintained contact networks stretching hundreds of kilometers across the Iberian Peninsula.

The cave occupied a strategic position between the Atlantic coast, the Ebro Valley, and routes leading toward the Pyrenees. Researchers argue that these pathways helped facilitate the movement of materials, ornaments, and cultural traditions between distant groups.

From individual identity to group identity

The study found that ornament styles changed over time. During the Upper Solutrean period, around 23,500 to 22,000 years ago, jewelry showed great diversity in materials, manufacturing methods, and designs. Researchers believe these ornaments likely served as markers of individual identity and personal expression.

Later, during the Middle Magdalenian period, ornament production became more standardized. Shell beads were more uniform in size and style, and many appear to have arrived at the cave already finished.

Researchers suggest that this shift reflects larger social gatherings where ornaments may have been used to signal group membership or strengthen alliances among different communities.

A window into Ice Age society

The findings suggest that personal ornaments were far more than decorative objects. They helped communicate identity, social relationships, and cultural connections during a time when hunter-gatherer groups were spread across changing Ice Age landscapes.

According to the researchers, Llonín Cave stands out as an important site for understanding how prehistoric people used jewelry to navigate both everyday life and wider social networks. The collection shows that even 22,000 years ago, people were connected through systems of exchange, shared traditions, and symbolic communication that stretched far beyond their local communities.

Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered four headless female figurines dating back about 8,000 years, a discovery that is offering new insight into ritual practices among some of Anatolia’s earliest farming communities.

The terracotta figurines were found at Kanlıtaş mound near the Inönü district of Eskişehir in northwestern Turkey. Excavations at the site have been conducted since 2013 under the direction of Anadolu University.

Kanlıtaş is considered one of the earliest known settlements in the region spanning modern-day Eskişehir, Afyonkarahisar, and Kütahya. Researchers say the site provides important evidence about daily life, settlement patterns, and cultural traditions during the Neolithic period.

Figurines discovered inside ancient structures

Professor Ali Umut Türkcan, who leads the excavation team and teaches archaeology at Anadolu University, said the figurines were uncovered within fill layers at the bases of rectangular buildings.

Researchers determined that the artifacts belong to the final phase of the Neolithic period. All four figurines depict women. The largest measures about 12 to 13 centimeters (5 inches) in length, while the others are approximately 5 to 6 centimeters long.

Although female figurines are common at Neolithic sites across Anatolia, the Kanlıtaş examples stand out because of their condition and context. Several were found with their heads intentionally broken off.

Eskişehir’in İnönü ilçesindeki Kanlıtaş Höyüğü’nde bulunan 8 bin yıllık 4 başsız figürün Neolitik dönem yapı ritüellerinde kullanıldığı tespit edildi. pic.twitter.com/MkBkOCI6Wt

— Punto360 (@punto360tr) June 9, 2026

“The presence of headless or broken-headed female figurines in spaces that appear to have been intentionally sealed suggests they may have been left as offerings during the closure of structures,” Türkcan said.

Researchers believe the figurines were deliberately deposited when buildings were abandoned or taken out of use. Similar practices have been identified at other Neolithic settlements, including Çatalhöyük in central Turkey, one of the world’s most extensively studied prehistoric sites.

Distinctive features set the figurines apart

The Kanlıtaş figurines also display characteristics that distinguish them from many other Neolithic figurines found in Turkey.

Türkcan noted that the figures place unusual emphasis on the hip area. This stylistic feature resembles female figurines discovered in parts of the Balkans, particularly regions once associated with the Neolithic Vinca culture.

The similarity suggests that communities living in different parts of southeastern Europe and Anatolia may have shared artistic traditions or symbolic ideas during the Neolithic era.

Discovery may strengthen evidence of cultural links

Researchers also pointed to possible connections between Kanlıtaş and the broader Porsuk cultural sphere of western central Anatolia. Archaeologists have long debated links between the Porsuk culture and Neolithic communities in the Balkans.

According to Türkcan, radiocarbon dating results indicate that the Porsuk culture may predate some neighboring cultural traditions. The findings could help explain how cultural influences spread between Anatolia and southeastern Europe thousands of years ago.

The discovery adds to growing evidence that Neolithic communities maintained complex social and symbolic traditions. The figurines not only provide clues about ritual behavior but may also help researchers better understand cultural interactions across a wide region.

The excavation team plans to publish the findings in a comprehensive scientific monograph and reference volume in the coming years. Further research may reveal more about the role these Neolithic figurines played in the beliefs and practices of early communities in Turkey.

Ancient Peru geoglyphs in the Chillón Valley near Lima are offering new clues about how early communities may have used and organized the landscape thousands of years ago.

A new study suggests that some of these large ground markings were placed in ways that cannot be fully explained by chance, although researchers caution that the evidence does not yet prove a direct connection to ancient roads or ritual practices.

The research, led by Christian Mesía-Montenegro and published in PLOS One, examined geoglyphs in two areas of Peru’s middle Chillón Valley known as Huarabí and Pichausa.

The study combined field surveys, drone mapping, and statistical modeling to investigate whether the location of the geoglyphs was related to nearby routes used for movement through the rugged valley landscape.

Geoglyphs are large designs or markings created on the ground. Peru is best known for the famous Nazca Lines, but similar features exist in several other parts of the country. Many remain poorly studied compared with the better-known geoglyphs of southern Peru.

Researchers examine overlooked geoglyph sites

The geoglyphs documented at Huarabí and Pichausa differ from many of Peru’s famous geometric and animal-shaped figures. Instead, they consist of irregular line patterns located within quebradas, or dry valleys, that cut through the landscape.

Researchers conducted systematic surveys between 2021 and 2022 and recorded geoglyphs across multiple sectors of the Chillón Valley. The study focused on four irregular geoglyph groups, two at Huarabí and two at Pichausa. It also examined six locations near Huarabí where surface pottery fragments from the Formative Period were found.

Ancient geoglyphs in Peru's Chillón Valley are shedding new light on how early communities may have used and organized the landscape. pic.twitter.com/HkbOKhx2Ic

— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) June 9, 2026

The Formative Period on Peru’s central coast spans a time when early ceremonial centers, agriculture, and ceramic traditions were developing. Nearby archaeological sites include several U-shaped ceremonial structures that played important roles in the region’s ancient communities.

Statistical tests challenge simple explanations

Rather than simply measuring distances between geoglyphs and routes, researchers used Monte Carlo simulations. This method allowed them to compare the actual placement of the geoglyphs with thousands of hypothetical random placements across the landscape. The results showed a contrast between the two study areas.

At Huarabí, the geoglyphs differed from what would be expected under the researchers’ chance-placement models. At Pichausa, however, the geoglyphs generally matched patterns that could be produced through random placement. The findings suggest that Huarabí may have followed a different spatial logic than Pichausa.

Even so, the researchers emphasize that the results do not automatically mean the geoglyphs were intentionally built beside roads or movement corridors.

Instead, the analysis shows only that the Huarabí geoglyphs were less easily reproduced by the statistical models used in the study. Other factors, including terrain, visibility, erosion, and landscape features, could also have influenced where the geoglyphs were created.

Pottery provides limited clues about age

One of the study’s most important findings concerns chronology. At Huarabí, researchers identified diagnostic pottery fragments that resemble ceramics from the Formative Period. The pottery suggests human activity occurred near the geoglyphs during that era.

However, the artifacts were found on the surface rather than in sealed archaeological deposits. As a result, they cannot directly date the construction of the geoglyphs.

No comparable pottery evidence was discovered at Pichausa, making the age of those geoglyphs even less certain. Because of these limitations, the researchers avoid claiming that the geoglyphs themselves were definitely built during the Formative Period.

Questions remain about ancient landscape use

Researchers conclude that Huarabí should currently be viewed as a geoglyph locality associated with nearby Formative-period activity rather than as a securely dated Formative geoglyph complex.

They argue that future work should focus on obtaining direct dates, studying visibility across the landscape, and developing more detailed models of how ancient people moved through the valley.

While the findings do not solve the mystery of the Chillón Valley geoglyphs, they provide one of the most detailed examinations to date of how these large ground markings may have related to movement, settlement, and ritual activity in ancient Peru.

Ancient DNA from the bones of Iron Age Iberians shows that these people held onto their genetic roots despite centuries of Greek, Phoenician, and Carthaginian influence along the Mediterranean coast.

A study published in iScience traced genetic changes across northeastern Spain from 775 BC to 50 CE, marking the first time researchers have systematically analyzed Iberian communities from the early Iron Age all the way through Roman conquest.

Daniel R. Cuesta-Aguirre of the Faculty of Biosciences at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona led the research. Because Iberian adults were cremated, their remains left no usable DNA.

Researchers instead turned to newborn burials found beneath house floors and work areas at three sites: the Vilars fortress, Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola, and El Camp de les Lloses. Of 54 newborns examined, 22 yielded genome-wide data, and nine more contributed mitochondrial markers.

From fortress to Roman hub: three windows into the Iberian past

The three sites covered distinct phases of Iberian history. The Vilars fortress, home to the Ilergetae tribe, was occupied from the 8th to the 3rd century BC and captured the shift from pre-Iberian to full Iberian culture.

Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola, linked to the Cessetani tribe and active from the 4th to the 2nd century BC, reflected an established community with active trade connections.

El Camp de les Lloses, tied to the Ausetani tribe and dated from the late 2nd century BC to the 1st century CE, documented the period of growing Roman presence.

Genetic analysis placed most individuals from the Vilars fortress and Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola firmly within the local Bronze Age population. Their ancestry combined Western Hunter-Gatherers, Anatolian Neolithic farmers, and Steppe-related groups.

Steppe-related ancestry was somewhat higher in Iron Age individuals than in earlier Bronze Age populations from the same region, suggesting gradual internal shifts rather than large outside migrations.

Iberian DNA and Greek and Mediterranean influence

The DNA record of Iberians showed only limited traces of Greek and other Mediterranean genetic influence before Roman arrival. A few individuals carried ancestry linked to North Africa or southwestern Asia, but these were not widespread.

One newborn at Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola had a maternal lineage associated with North Africa. Researchers interpreted this as possibly reflecting a child born to a local parent and someone with Punic or Carthaginian ancestry, consistent with the large amounts of Punic pottery recovered at the same site.

The study also settled a long-standing archaeological debate. Two newborns at Sant Miquel d’Olèrdola, OLE04 and OLE06, were buried with their legs intermingled and no sediment between them, leading earlier researchers to believe they were twins.

DNA analysis proved they were completely unrelated and even carried different maternal haplogroups.

Roman military activity brought new genes to Iberian settlements

At El Camp de les Lloses, the pattern shifted noticeably. Five of the nine individuals showed clear genetic differences from earlier Iberian populations, carrying North African or Iranian Neolithic ancestry absent in previous generations.

Researchers connected this directly to Roman military and commercial activity, as the site served as a logistical hub tied to Roman infrastructure.

Taken together, the results point to a population that stayed genetically stable for centuries before Roman expansion fundamentally reshaped its makeup.