Start of archaeological investigations along 150 mile route of High Speed 2 railway between London and Birmingham, UK, ahead of main construction work starting in 2019.[3][4]
A prehistoric site, dating back half a million years, between Jaljulia and Highway 6 in Israel.[6]
A hoard of coins and other treasure from the time of Viking ruler Harald Bluetooth is found near Schaprode in Germany.[7]
January 1 - A 2,700 years old seal with the inscription "belonging to the governor of the city" is discovered in Jerusalem, supporting the Biblical claim that the city had governors at the time.[8]
January 21 - A bottle thrown into the sea in 1886 as part of a German oceanographic experiment is found on an Australian beach.[9]
February 3 - Announcement of discovery of the tomb of priestess Hetpet from the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt at Giza with well-preserved wall paintings.
March 4 - Aircraft carrier USS Lexington, wrecked in 1942 off the north-eastern coast of Australia, discovered by American entrepreneur and explorer Paul Allen (dies October 15).[11]
June - A head carving, dating back over 2,800 years, is discovered at the ancient city of Abel-beth-maachah in northern Israel. The sculpture might depict either one of the rulers in the region: King Ahab of Israel, King Hazael of Aram-Damascus or King Ethbaal of Tyre.[17]
July - An Egyptian sarcophagus of what is initially thought to be the tomb of Alexander the Great is found in groundwater in Alexandria. The sarcophagus is subsequently opened to reveal three skeletons along with some mysterious drawings[19][20] and a 3,000-year-old cheese.[21]
August - Foundations of what is thought to be the oldest library in Germany discovered in Cologne; the building dates from 2 AD.[22]
September - 400-year-old shipwreck off Cascais in Portugal found.[25]
September 12 - Discovery in Blombos Cave, South Africa, of a stone carrying an (abstract) drawing in ochre pigment about 73,000 years old – the earliest known human drawing – is announced.[26]
September 29 - A cemetery of 1,000 layered burials dating back to the Iron Age and a Neolithic village are found near the town of Korçë in southeastern Albania, after 18 months of excavations.[28]
October 18 - A Celtic settlement is found in the Canton of Lucerne, dating back to the first century BC.[32]
October 23 - Announcement of discovery of the substantially intact wreck of a Greek cargo vessel from around 400 BCE in the Black Sea by an Anglo-Bulgarian team.[33]
October 31 - A Byzantine mosaic is found in Kharayeb, Syria, which might be a church floor dating back to 412 AD.[34]
November 7 - Announcement of discovery of the oldest known painting of an animal, a banteng from at least 40,000 years BP, in the Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave in Borneo located by an Australian-led team.[35]
November 11 - Seven ancient Egyptian tombs are located at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, dating back to the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.[36]
November 16 - A 4,000-year-old board game called 58 holes carved into the floor of a rock shelter in Azerbaijan.[37]
November 19 - Announcement of discovery of the oldest known Levallois stone tools in East Asia at Guanyindong Cave site, Guizhou, southwest China, dated to approximately 170,000–80,000 years ago.[38]
November 24 - Announcement of discovery of tomb probably from the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt with two perfectly preserved mummies in the Assasseef valley near Luxor by a French-led team working since March.[40]
December 29 - Announcement of discovery of a 13th century stone ball probably fired from a trebuchet near Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.[47]
December 30 - Roman sarcophagi found at Tel Al-Deir near Damietta, Egypt.[48]
Events
August 2 - Reports of tests on 5,000-year-old burnt human bones of 25 people found at Stonehenge in England suggest that ten came from more than 160 km (100 mi) away in West Wales.[49]
