Ancient Chinese Coin Found On Kenyan Island

A joint expedition of scientists led by Chapurukha M. Kusimba of The Field Museum and Sloan R. Williams of the University of Illinois at Chicago has unearthed a 600-year-old Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda that shows trade existed between China and east Africa decades before European explorers set sail and changed the map of the world.

Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Greek Trade Center in Bulgaria

Archaeologist and professor Mieczysław Domaradzki likely made one of the great discoveries of his life when, in 1990, he and his colleagues uncovered, at a site along the banks of the Maritsa River in Bulgaria, an ancient stone Greek inscription.  The inscription, today known as the Vetren Inscription (named after the nearby town of Vetren), revealed the site as the location of the ancient Greek trading center, or emporion, of Pistiros.

Syrian Obsidian Discovery Opens New Chapter in Middle Eastern Studies

Sep. 4, 2012 — An archaeologist from the University of Sheffield has revealed the origin and trading routes of razor-sharp stone tools 4,200 years ago in Syria.

Ancient sites and cultural heritage are under threat in Syria due to the current conflict. An interdisciplinary research team hopes this new discovery, which has major implications for understanding the world's first empire, will help to highlight the importance of protecting Syria's heritage.