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Fossils of the largest parrot ever recorded have been found in New Zealand. Estimated to have weighed about 7kg (1.1st), it would have been more than twice as heavy as the kākāpo, previously the largest known parrot. Paleontologists have named the new species Heracles inexpectatus to reflect its unusual size and strength and the unexpected nature of the discovery.
A tomb belonging to a senior official in Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty has been unveiled around 20 miles south of Cairo. The newly opened necropolis, located near Saqqara, contains vivid colored reliefs and well-preserved inscriptions painted in a special green resin that have kept its pigment over the last 4,300 years. Built from white limestone bricks, it is thought to belong to a nobleman known as Khuwy and was discovered last month.
Scientists have uncovered a ‘limb pit’ of human bones at a Civil War battlefield in Virginia. The pit gives insight into the trials of early combat surgeons. The remains were discovered in 2014 and marks a pivotal development in understanding medical practices of the time. The remains are amputated limbs of wounded Union soldiers.
The world’s oldest intact shipwreck was discovered in the Black Sea in 2017. The Greek trading vessel was found in a well-known ‘shipwreck graveyard’ containing at least another 60 ships. The newly discovered ship was a trading vessel previously only seen on ancient Greek pottery. The ship was carbon dated to 500 B.C.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of 95 people believed to have been freed black people forced to work in convict labor camps on a Sugar Land property outside of Houston, Texas. The discovery started with a hunch when community activist Reginald Moore tried to spread awareness of the abuses of Sugar Land forced labor.
Egypt’s antiquities ministry announced on Sunday that new radar scans concluded there are no hidden rooms inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Officials had previously said they were ‘90% sure’ of a secret chamber behind the wall of the 3,000-year-old tomb. Many believed the chamber could have held the tomb of Queen Nefertiti.
Scientists reported on Wednesday that the oldest found fossils of homo-sapiens, that were discovered in Morocco, “rewrites the story of mankind’s origins and suggests that our species evolved in multiple locations across the African continent.” The fossils found date back to 315,000 years, until now the oldest fossils discovered dated to 195,000 years ago, researchers said that the fossils found indicate early homo-sapiens had jaws similar to our own but their brain differed significantly.