Sir John Gage, a key figure in Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, saved a dangerous Catholic book from likely destruction, a new study suggests. The identification of six lost pages of a medieval bestseller – illicitly prized by Catholics in the Reformation – as belonging to Gage, exposes the split loyalties of one of Tudor England’s great survivors.

Efforts to virtually unroll and read papyrus scrolls carbonized in the eruption of Vesuvius show the value of X-ray scans and AI in deciphering texts. UC Berkeley and NIST scientists have now created, carbonized and scanned contemporary scrolls to see if lead in the ink would make deciphering easier. They found that even small amounts of lead make the letters readable in X-ray scans, arguing for a systematic lead analysis of the remaining papyri.

X-ray technology and artificial intelligence — along with the discovery of lead in the ink of fragments of a collection of ancient Roman scrolls — could soon help scientists read long-lost texts buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, according to a study published September 16, 2026, in the open access journal PLOS One by Douglas Seiler, an affiliate of the University of California Berkeley, USA, Jacob Michael LaManna from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA, David Kreimer from University of California Berkeley, USA, and colleagues.

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have gleaned new insights into ancient water management in the French region around Nîmes by analyzing carbonate deposits within the Roman aqueduct that features the famous Pont du Gard bridge. Among other findings, the aqueduct – built around 50 AD – was expanded to include an additional water source after eleven years of operation; this event coincided with a historically documented dry spell. A century after the aqueduct's construction, the water supply to the city was deliberately throttled; it is likely that some of the water was diverted to agricultural land in the surrounding area instead. Another 120 years later, the urban water supply ceased completely, coinciding with an empire-wide economic crisis and the Plague of Cyprian (250-270 AD). Nîmes was presumably depopulated by the plague, rendering the water supply to the city unnecessary.

Intricate designs engraved across the surface of 18,000-year-old female figurines carved from mammoth ivory were inspired by the distinctive growth patterns visible in the tusks, a new study has revealed.

Bear baiting in England became more popular after the Norman Conquest in 1066, new research shows.  

The study by Cardiff University and the University of Nottingham brings together archaeological analysis of bear bones and archival records to show the prevalence of the animals in England and northern France during medieval times.

Analysis of fossilized remains from dinosaurs known as troodontids reveals how one species’ hip and leg bones may have developed over its lifespan, from embryo to adult—with potential implications for resolving longstanding taxonomic challenges. David Varricchio of Montana State University, US, and Heath Caldwell of North Carolina State University, US, present their findings in the open access journal PLOS One on September 9, 2026.

A new study published in Science Advances reveals how Bronze Age communities in Central Europe adapted to changing environmental and social conditions by adopting broomcorn millet, a fast-growing and climate-resilient crop. Using multiple lines of bioarchaeological evidence, researchers found that millet was already being consumed in southeastern Poland around 1590 BCE – more than a century earlier than previously estimated – and was initially adopted gradually by a small number of individuals. The findings suggest that millet cultivation enabled communities to expand agriculture into previously marginal areas with poorer soils and drier conditions, reshaping how people used the landscape and strengthening food security.

Researchers have shed new light on a series of prehistoric stones in Yorkshire, revealing the 25-tonne structures were hauled 11 miles across land by Neolithic builders.