Russia scientists ‘are trying to extract prehistoric viruses from 50,000-year-old animal caracasses’

Russia is seeking to unlock unknown prehistoric viruses up to 50,000 years old by extracting biological material from carcasses of ancient animals frozen in permafrost. Scientists from the Kremlin’s equivalent of Porton Down are this week taking samples from a collection of specimens preserved in ice which have been found in recent years. They are … Read more

Rare 5,000-year-old crystal dagger is uncovered in Prehistoric Iberian megalithic tomb in Spain

Ancient tools that once belonged to prehistoric civilizations have been found all over the world, but a discovery in Spain is unlike those traditionally made of stone or flint. A team excavating the megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos in 2007 through 2010 uncovered a dagger formed from rock crystal that experts say is the ‘most … Read more

Prehistoric worm that leapt from the seabed unearthed in Taiwan

A giant prehistoric worm sprang from long tunnels in the seabed and sliced fish in half, according to a new study.  Researchers found large, L-shaped burrows from layers of seafloor dating back to the Miocene period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) of northeast Taiwan. These burrows are trace fossils – geological records of biological … Read more

Prehistoric worm that leapt from the seabed unearthed in southeast Asia

A giant prehistoric worm that leapt from tunnels in the seabed and could slice fish in half, according to a new study.  Researchers found large, L-shaped burrows from layers of seafloor dating back to the Miocene period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) of northeast Taiwan. These burrows are trace fossils – geological records of … Read more

Bizarre sea beast sparked a ‘prehistoric arms race’ 500million years ago

A bizarre sea beast with a circular mouth full of serrated teeth triggered a prehistoric ‘arms race’ when it evolved eyes, new research has revealed. Radiodonts stalked the oceans more than 500 million years ago and are one of the earliest animal types to emerge on planet Earth. Now a new study has revealed how … Read more

Prehistoric 16-foot crocodile nicknamed ‘swamp king’ terrorized Australia 5 million years ago 

Scientists have just identified a prehistoric crocodile measuring more than 16 feet long that stalked the swamps of Australia millions of years ago. Fossils of Paludirex vincenti, nicknamed the ‘swamp king,’ were first unearthed in the 1980s but the creature was only recently identified as a distinct species. It was an apex predator that preyed … Read more

Eight-mile wall of prehistoric paintings of animals and humans is discovered in Amazon rainforest

The Sistine Chapel of the ancients’: Eight-mile wall of prehistoric paintings of animals and humans is discovered in heart of the Amazon rainforest Eight-mile wall of prehistoric rock art in Colombia features animals and humans  Discovered in the Amazonian rainforest after it was created up to 12,500 years Found on cliff faces last year in … Read more

Family of undertakers build modern take on prehistoric barrow-style tomb to house 900 ashes

A family of undertakers have branched out and built a modern take on a prehistoric tomb to meet the demand for an alternative to burial. The Round Barrow in Corscombe, Dorset, is only the fifth tomb of its kind in the country and has recently opened. The project, which has 990 niches to hold urns … Read more

Remains of a prehistoric mastodon that dates back 10,000 found in Colombia

Fossils of a mastodon, a giant prehistoric ancestor of the modern-day elephant, have been discovered in a gold mine in central Colombia.   Miners working in a tunnel near the town of Quinchia, in the central-west province of Risaralda, discovered the remains including an intact tusk measuring more than three feet long. While mastodon fossils have … Read more

New prehistoric monument dating back 4,500 years is discovered in English countryside 

A hole new ‘Stonehenge’! New prehistoric monument dating back 4,500 years made up of 15ft-deep shafts in a mile-wide circle is discovered in English countryside New prehistoric shafts have been discovered around Durrington Walls henge  Coring suggests the features are Neolithic, excavated over 4,500 years ago  It is thought the shafts served as a boundary … Read more