This page lists major archaeological events of 2017.
Excavations
May 6–7 – One of the biggest archaeology excavations in Leicester, England is opened to the public over two days. The excavation, overseen by University of Leicester Archaeological Services, has uncovered two large Roman mosaics and two Roman streets.[1]
March – Archaeologists from Haifa University discover the wreck of a 13th-century crusader ship and its cargo in Acre, Israel.[5]
March 7 – An ancient Egyptian statue of what is initially thought to be Ramesses II is found in groundwater in Cairo by archaeologists from Egypt and Germany.[6] The statue is subsequently believed to be of Psamtik I based on inscriptions on the base of the statue.[7]
April – Announcement of the earlier accidental discovery at St Mary-at-Lambeth church in London of a vault containing the tombs of five Archbishops of Canterbury dating back to 1610 during refurbishment as a museum.[9]
May 31 – Announcement of two Roman town houses, thought to date from the 3rd or 4th century, found under Priory Park, Chichester in England. One of the town houses includes a hot room and baths.[11]
June – Archaeologists uncover a city dating back to the 10th century as well as a 12th-century mosque in Eastern Ethiopia.[12]
August 24 – A 6th century mosaic with Greek inscriptions dated from the rule of Justinian I is discovered while installing communication cables in Jerusalem's Old City.[17]
November 3 – Archaeologists announced the discovery of a 1400 year-old Byzantine sarcophagus with Greek inscriptions on the cover saying "Blessed Kandes sleeps here" in the antique village of Sadak in Satala in Turkey.[19][20]
November 17 – Three Roman-era shipwrecks were found off the coast of Alexandria, which carried a Roman head carving possibly belong to a commander called "Antonio", and three gold coins dating back to the Emperor Octavius.[21]
November 23 – Israeli archaeologists report the discovery of a four-line Greek mosaic inscription at Ashdod, suggesting a Georgian origin on account of its dating to "the 3rd indiction, year 292", which corresponds to AD 539 according to a medieval Christian Georgian calendar.[22]
Discovery of early paintings of animals, Celebes warty pigs and anoas (dwarf buffalo), being pursued by human-like figures from (probably) at least 44,000 years BP, in a cave in South Sulawesi (Indonesia) located by an Australian-led team.[26]
A skeleton is excavated near Fenstanton in eastern England which is subsequently identified as a Roman slave victim of crucifixion.[27]
DNA analysis of the skeleton of the Birka female Viking warrior excavated on the Swedish island of Björkö in 1878 (and then believed to be male) confirms her sex.[31]
