The world’s most notable archaeological discoveries in 2025 include the first pharaoh’s tomb found in over a century, a Maya ruler’s jade mosaic mask, evidence that humans mastered fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, a rare Pompeii fresco, the world’s oldest mummies, and the earliest known objects arranged to tell a story.
Archaeological highlights of the year feature the following finds:
1. TÜRKIYE: A T-shaped pillar carved with a human face is one of two remarkable discoveries made this year at the Neolithic site of Karahantepe. The other is a group of carved stone animals – a fox, a vulture, and a wild boar – which date back around 11,500 years and represent the earliest known example of objects being arranged to convey a narrative.
2. BELIZE: A team of researchers excavating the ancient Maya city of Caracol unearthed the 1,700-year-old tomb of its founding ruler, Te K’ab Chaak. The burial chamber contained pottery, jadeite jewellery and an exceptional jade-and-shell mosaic death mask that once covered the king’s face.
3. EGYPT: Archaeologists identified an ancient tomb west of the Valley of the Kings as that of King Thutmose II – the first pharaoh’s tomb discovered in more than a century. Fragments of alabaster jars bearing his name confirm it is the last missing royal tomb from Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, which also included Tutankhamun.
4. UK: Fire-cracked flint, hand axes and heated sediments found on a field in eastern England, revealed that humans mastered the art of creating fire 400,000 years ago, almost 350,000 years earlier than previously known.
5. SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Skeletal remains from 57 people found at 11 sites across China, Vietnam and Indonesia, dating to the pre-Neolithic period, show signs of mummification through a smoke-drying process. Some burials date to around 10,000 years ago, making them the earliest known intentionally mummified individuals in the world.
6. ITALY: Archaeologists in Pompeii uncovered nearly life-sized frescoes dating to 40-30 BC, depicting followers of Dionysus – the god of wine and ecstasy – engaged in secretive cult rituals. The frescoes, which cover three walls of an ancient banquet hall, offer rare insight into the religious practices of the Roman city.
7. IRAQ: Scientists working on the monumental task of digitising every cuneiform text fragment ever discovered, used AI to piece together clay fragments of a Babylonian hymn from 1000 BC that had been scattered across the world. The reconstructed text revealed a poetic tribute to the city’s splendour and its people.
8. CRETE: A labyrinth-like monument on a Cretan hilltop – consisting of eight concentric stone walls surrounding a vaulted central structure – is believed to have been built by members of the Bronze Age Minoan culture as early as 3000 BC – more than a millennium before the rise of the palace-based society that later dominated Minoan life.
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