The Incan Temple of the Sun in Cusco has long been a visual and cultural jewel of the ancient empire. But there’s even more to admire below ground. Recently, archaeologists confirmed a long-held rumor: the existence of a labyrinth of underground tunnels extending out from the temple, sometimes over a mile in length.

First hinted at in historical texts that date as far back as the 16th century, researchers have wondered if this labyrinth—known as a chincana—was real. Turns out, it is.

Archaeologists working at the foot of Mount Hora in northern Malawi have uncovered what appears to be the world's oldest known cremation pyre containing adult human remains. Dating back approximately 9,500 years, this extraordinary find is challenging long-held assumptions about the social complexity and ritual practices of ancient African hunter-gatherer societies. The discovery, published in the journal Science Advances, provides unprecedented insight into the elaborate mortuary customs practiced by these early communities thousands of years before the advent of agriculture.

Until this discovery, the earliest confirmed intentional cremations in Africa dated back only about 3,500 years and were associated with pastoral Neolithic food-producing societies. The oldest previously known funeral pyre in the world was discovered in Alaska and dates to approximately 11,500 years ago, but that cremation involved a young child rather than an adult. Some burned human remains from Egypt date to around 7,500 years ago, but these show only incomplete burning with no evidence of an intentionally constructed pyre.

Intriguing new discoveries in a medieval cemetery in Wales have brought archaeologists closer to solving the mystery surrounding the women buried there.

They've found what appears to be a small building and have unearthed domestic and decorative artefacts, including exquisite coloured glass beads.

So far 58 skeletons, dating to the 6th or 7th Century, have been uncovered at the site. What's unusual is that nearly all belonged to women.

The new finds add to growing evidence that the burial ground was part of an early female religious community.

For decades, restorers have used tiny brushes and other gentle tools to carefully remove dirt and grime from historic landmarks. Now, some are going high-tech and using lasers to get the job done.

In Rome, workers are experimenting with short-pulse lasers to clean the column of Marcus Aurelius, an intricately decorated, 154-foot-tall white Carrara marble artwork located in the Piazza Colonna outside the official residence of Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy.

Tucked under one of the most historic complexes in all of Jerusalem, archaeologists discovered the largest section yet of the city’s “First Wall,” dating to the time of the Hasmoneans (or Maccabees).

“The newly uncovered section, known in ancient historical sources as the ‘First Wall,’ is particularly impressive in both its size and its degree of preservation,” Amit Re’im and Marion Zindel, excavation directors for the Israel Antiquities Authority, wrote in a statement. “The wall is meticulously built of large, heavy stones, with a chiseled boss typical of this period.”

Hahaha, wild. This should be interesting hmmm.

Researchers have discovered the earliest known instance of human-created fire, which took place in the east of England 400,000 years ago.

The new discovery, in the village of Barnham, pushes the origin of human fire-making back by more than 350,000 years, far earlier than previously thought.

The team say they found baked earth together with the earliest Stone Age lighter – consisting of a flint that was bashed against a rock called pyrite, also known as fool's gold, to create a spark.

From the journal Nature