Two Greece Discoveries on ‘Archaeology’ Magazine’s Top 10 for 2016

Faliro Delta necropolis.

Two archaeological discoveries in Greece have been selected by the editors of Archaeology magazine as this year’s most compelling finds in a feature story titled ‘’Top 10 Discoveries of 2016’’.

The first discovery refers to the remains of 80 men uncovered at the Faliro Delta necropolis found shackled together at the wrists in a mass grave. According to osteological studies, the majority of the men were between 20 and 30 years old, some much younger. All had been killed with a fatal blow to the head.

The second discovery emerged this summer at the site of the Antikythera shipwreck (circa 65 BC) — the ancient world’s largest and richest wreck — where an international team recovered a human skeleton complete with cranium, jaw, teeth, ribs, and long bones of the arms and legs. The newly discovered remains – most likely belonging to a young male – are the first to be uncovered in almost 40 years. The discovery is expected provide the first opportunity to examine the genetics of an ancient mariner.

The other eight discoveries selected by Archaeology, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, were collection of Roman waxed writing tablets offering a glimpse into London’s earliest writing (London, England), centuries-old cities that once belonged to the Khmer Empire (Siem Reap Province, Cambodia), the world’s oldest dress (Tarkhan, Egypt), early man cave (Bruniquel, France), a female skeleton found decorated with shells (Áspero, Peru), the 10,000-year-old remains of 27 individuals in a turf war (Lake Turkana, Kenya), caves indicating a spiritual meeting ground (Mona Island, Puerto Rico), and Salem’s lost gallows (Salem, Massachusetts).