The All-time Top Five Archaeological Finds

Archaeological digs have unearthed many exciting items over the years such as ancient coins, gold nuggets, jewellery and even precious relics of historic civilisations. The best archaeological finds have challenged our ideas of human history, revealed secrets about our ancestors and fired up our imagination.

Read on to find out more about the top five archaeological finds of all time – we’re saving the best ‘til last, so they are in reverse order!

5. Richard III's Grave

The final resting place of the last Plantagenet King of England was discovered in 2012, at the site of the one-time Greyfriars Friary Church in Leicester. Richard III's reputation as being a nasty piece of work, who also had curvature of the spine, is a staple of English folklore. His burial site had remained unknown, until a project called Looking for Richard, aided by Leicester University's archaeological services, found human remains. Scientific testing proved they were indeed the king's remains and that he had curvature of the spine - so maybe the other rumours were true as well!

4. Terracotta Army

An amazing army of terracotta sculptures dating back to the third century BC at the time of Qin Shi Huang, China's first Emperor, was a massive archaeological find in 1974. It unearthed around 8,000 life-size soldiers, 520 horses and 130 chariots in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi. The figures, which included generals and warriors, were known as funerary art and were intended to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The Terracotta Army revealed how Chinese soldiers were dressed at the time and what weapons they used. They are an astounding but somewhat eerie sight.

3. Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone (a rock dating back to 196 BC), was inscribed with a decree in three languages from the Ptolemaic King, Ptolemy V. The slab containing the inscription in Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic script was found in 1799 by French soldiers during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt. Colonel d'Hautpoul and his troops were strengthening Fort Julien's defences near the city of Rosetta, when Lt Pierre-François Bouchard saw a stone that had been uncovered by the soldiers. It was the first bilingual Ancient Egyptian text unearthed in modern times and was of huge significance because it made it possible to decipher hieroglyphs. Now, we can translate almost any Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, thanks to the Rosetta Stone.

2. Tutankhamun's Tomb

The most well-known Pharaoh of all time, Tutankhamun owes his modern-day fame to archaeologists Howard Carter and George Herbert, who unearthed his intact tomb in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, during an expedition funded by Lord Carnarvon. Their find received international news coverage, not least because the tomb contained more than 2,000 artefacts including valuable antiques and Tutankhamun’s famous mask. Tutankhamun ruled circa 1332 to 1323 BC, from the age of nine or 10. The find prompted renewed interest in Ancient Egypt and contributed to modern-day awareness of the era and lifestyles.

1. Pompeii

The discovery of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii was perhaps the most famous archaeological find in history. Destroyed during a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. (which buried the city and killed its inhabitants), this tragic occurrence left a massive archaeological site and a great deal of Roman treasure. The site was buried under ash, so no air got to it and the city had been almost perfectly preserved until it was discovered, frozen in time, by a surveying engineer in 1748. Buildings, artefacts, works of art and even bodies were frozen. Despite the massive tragedy that occurred thousands of years ago, the find gave a unique insight into the ancient world. Much of the knowledge we have today of life in ancient Rome is down to the discovery of Pompeii.

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