The best archaeological discoveries so far this year and what they teach us

Across all four corners of the globe, archaeologists are finding new relics of years gone by practically every week - whether they are tiny coins or vast undiscovered tombs. It’s a fascinating field that gives us a deeper insight into how our ancestors lived, and what their day-to-day lives might have looked like.

Even in 2024, incredible discoveries are being made by archaeologists, dating back thousands of years. But some are more recent, adding colour to historical events as recent as the Second World War.

Here are some of the most extraordinary finds so far in 2024.

Medieval church, Italy

The first discovery takes us to the canals of Venice - specifically to the Piazza San Marco. Underneath the cobblestone plaza, a centrepoint for this iconic corner of the city, archaeologists found a fascinating medieval secret.

In February, the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Venice and the Lagoon found a brick tomb under the plaza, which had been filled with skeletons. This tomb was dated back to the seventh or eighth century, when burial sites like this would often be found next to a church.

There had been historical references to a church in the area, but until this burial site was found the exact spot of the church had remained a mystery for centuries, having reportedly been demolished and relocated before being permanently destroyed in the 1800s. Having completed their excavation and made this exciting discovery about the city, archaeologists have put all the paving stones back in their place - although the tomb was excavated for further analysis.

Treasure tomb, Panama

Stereotypically, we think of finding ancient treasure as being for the likes of Captain Jack Sparrow, or Indiana Jones - legends of cinema armed with a wry smile, a tattered old treasure map and their gun/sword/fedora of choice. But for researchers in Panama, it came instead from an earmarked ancient tomb.

Inside the El Caño Archaeological Park, scientists uncovered a host of treasure inside that is thought to date back around 1,200 years. It marks the site where an elite chief had been buried - alongside dozens of others who died to “accompany him to the beyond”.

According to the country’s culture ministry, researchers found bracelets, two belts made with gold beads, crocodile-shaped earrings, gold-covered sperm whale teeth earrings and circular gold plates.

World’s oldest bread, Turkey

And you thought the loaf you’d forgotten about in the kitchen cupboard had gone bad...

In April, archaeologists in Turkey found a loaf of bread while carrying out research in Çatalhöyük, Anatolia - near Mount Hasan. The area was initially settled in en masse sometime around 7500 BCE, before slowly sprawling into the foundations of the city we know today.

The archaeologists, from Necmettin Erbakan University, uncovered what they believe to be the oldest surviving loaf of bread in existence. It is estimated to date back 8,600 years old, and is one of the largest and best-preserved foods of its kind. The researchers say this highlights how advanced the culinary practices of early Turkish settlers truly were.

Bronze Age fort, Ireland

Just a few days after the world’s oldest loaf of bread had been discovered, a staggering archaeological find was also uncovered in Ireland, off the coast of Clew Bay. There, a team from Connemara and Mayo County Council found a submerged prehistoric fort, which dates back to the Bronze Age.

The fort, which sits off the coast of Collamore Island, was discovered during a council survey of the area, where the receding tide gave way to glimpses of a fort from centuries gone by. Leading archeologist Michael Gibbons explained that ramparts made of limestone probably spanned up to 300 metres in its day, creating a singular point of access to and from the island.

Speaking to the Irish Independent he said: “We were lucky on the day as there were men cutting seaweed in the same area, and I had a team from Connemara and archaeologists from Mayo County Council with me. These ramparts will have controlled access to the island from people coming from the mainland.

“Similar ramparts are visible at a number of other coastal and lake promontory forts throughout the west of Ireland.”

Nazi victims, Poland

Last month, Polish archaeologists found almost half a dozen skeletons underneath a house once occupied by senior Nazi Hermann Goering, who was head of the German air force during the Second World War.

The house was situated in the Wolf’s Lair complex, a former Nazi headquarters on the eastern front. Local police and the prosecutor’s office determined that the skeletons were from people who died in the war - among the five were a baby, a child under the age of 10 and three adults.

Zenon Piotrowicz, manager of the Srokowo Forest District, said: “The findings are that these are war-related victims. The key to solving this mystery would be to determine the date of burial.”