Welcome back, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew, and you’re about to hear four fascinating news stories from this past week of Archaeologica.  Send us feedback on The Archaeology Channel Facebook page or post a message on our social networking site, ArchaeoSeek!

Our stories this time are about an elaborate Phrygian tomb found far away from the kingdom’s Anatolian capital; an early Anglo-Saxon complex of burial mounds in England; two medieval burials in Spain placed in a Neolithic tomb built 5000 years previously; and underwater artifacts and features at a site along the Peruvian coast.

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And now, here’s Laura Kennedy, with the Audio News from Archaeologica!  We hope you find this to be a valuable part of your day.

Welcome to the Audio News from Archaeologica!  I’m Laura Kennedy, and these are the headlines in archaeological and historical news for the week of January 11th through the 17th, 2026.

Our first story this week comes from northwestern Turkey, southeast of Istanbul, where archaeologists have identified an ancient burial mound that may be connected to King Midas.  Known today for the myth of his golden touch, Midas ruled the kingdom of Phrygia, which flourished in central Anatolia during the early first millennium B.C.

As reported by LiveScience, archaeologists from Turkey's Bilecik [BEEL-eh-CHICK] University have unearthed a collection of grave goods that signal high social status, including ceramic vessels and decorated bronze containers.  They excavated a tomb within the Karaağaç [KAH-rah-ah-atch] Tumulus, a burial mound that archaeologists first identified via satellite in 2010.  This site lies more than 100 miles west of Gordion, the Phrygian capital traditionally associated with King Midas.  

Describing their findings in the American Journal of Archaeology, the research team laid out their case for roughly dating the burial to the late eighth century B.C.—the same period that Midas ruled over Phrygia—based on the designs that adorn the recovered artifacts.

According to Huseyin Erpehlivan [hoo-SAYN err-PELL-ee-VAHN], leader of the research team, the location of the tomb is also of note.  Historians have long held the view that Phrygia was a centralized kingdom in the vein of the Assyrian and Urartian empires.  That elites built a burial mound so far from the capital, however, suggests that political authority in Phrygia likely extended beyond a single urban center and operated across a wider regional landscape.  

The burial mound rises prominently above the surrounding plain and contains a wooden burial chamber that is similar in construction to elite tombs found near Gordion.  Some of the grave artifacts closely resemble items that archaeologists have previously found in elite burials at the Phrygian capital.  Researchers believe that these new discoveries suggest that the tomb belonged to an individual who held a significant position within the kingdom’s power structure.

Archaeologists note that the assemblage exceeds what they typically associate with local or lower-status burials.  At the same time, scholars caution that the objects may reflect elite gift exchange rather than a direct royal burial.  

Archaeologists also found human remains within the mound that do not appear to belong solely to the original burial.  They say that evidence shows that the site functioned as a burial area over a long period, with later interments added centuries after the tomb’s original construction.

Next, we head to Suffolk, England, where archaeologists have uncovered a large early medieval burial ground that sheds new light on elite life in Anglo-Saxon East Anglia.

As reported by Heritage Daily, archaeologists from Oxford Cotswold Archaeology, or OCA, have discovered an extensive Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Theberton in Suffolk.  The team identified at least 11 burial mounds arranged along a prominent ridge, which they say demonstrates careful planning and deliberate use of the landscape.  The cemetery includes both cremation and inhumation burials that range between the 6th and 7th centuries, indicating consistent use of the cemetery and the variety of funerary practices within the same community.

According to the OCA team, the most significant discovery is a high-status burial containing two individuals interred alongside a fully harnessed horse.  Archaeologists also recovered weapons and personal objects from the grave, and they claim that these artifacts suggest that it was an elite or “princely” burial.  Researchers date the grave to the 7th century and associate it with the upper levels of early Anglo-Saxon society.  Archaeologists have found similar elite traditions at other major burial sites in East Anglia, pointing to shared expressions of power, identity and belief across the region.

Although the sandy soils at the site affected bone preservation, archaeologists worked carefully to document clear outlines of graves and bodies.  The team says that these traces still provide valuable evidence for burial customs and social hierarchy during the early medieval period.

The burial ground is the product of a wider archaeological investigation connected to construction work for Sizewell C, a nuclear power station project.  Other archaeological teams, also commissioned by Sizewell C, have already uncovered evidence of activity spanning many periods, including Roman industrial remains, Iron Age structures, Bronze Age farming traces, medieval features, and modern military defenses.

Archaeologists also recently recovered a large hoard of medieval silver coins near the future power station site, along with other discoveries that highlight long-term settlement and repeated use of the Suffolk coast.

Researchers describe the Anglo-Saxon cemetery as a key addition to the archaeological record of early medieval England.  The discoveries help clarify how power and status operated in East Anglia and demonstrate how large-scale development projects continue to reveal important evidence about the region’s past.

Our third story takes us to southern Spain, where archaeologists are examining the genetic and historical similarities between two medieval burials that were created nearly two centuries apart.

According to ScienceNewsToday, these burials lie at the Menga [MEN-gah] dolmen near the city of Antequera [AHN-teh-KARE-uh].  Ancient humans originally built the structure during the fourth millennium B.C. to serve as a collective burial monument, and it would remain in use for millennia.  

The research team, comprising archaeologists from Spain, Portugal, and the UK, detailed their work in the Journal of Archaeological Science.  They combined radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis and archaeological evidence to track how people continued to use the site long after its original builders had passed on.

Earlier excavations showed that communities repeatedly returned to the dolmen.  Archaeological remains indicate funerary use during the Roman period, followed by settlement activity in late antiquity.  The new research concentrates on two later burials placed inside the monument during the medieval period, which archaeologists date to around the eighth and eleventh centuries A.D.

Researchers were able to identify deliberate and consistent burial practices, despite the poorly preserved skeletal remains.  Both individuals were buried in similar positions and aligned with the main axis of the dolmen, indicating intentional engagement with the structure.  These choices suggest that the monument retained symbolic significance during the medieval period, almost 5000 years after its original use.

The team conducted DNA analysis on one of the medieval individuals, whom they named Menga1 [Menga One].  Researchers discovered genetic data indicating mixed ancestry, including Iberian, North African, and Levantine lineages.  Archaeologists say that this combination reflects long-term population movement and contact across the Mediterranean, particularly during late antiquity and the early medieval period.  The findings align with broader evidence for sustained connections between southern Iberia, North Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean.

Archaeologists still cannot determine the religious identity of the individuals.  According to what scholars know about burial practices in the region, which hosted multiple faith communities at the time, these burials resemble some medieval practices but do not fully match any known funerary traditions.  Researchers say that this ambiguity highlights the complexity of cultural and religious life in medieval Iberia.

Regardless of who these medieval individuals were, their symbolic alignment with the Menga dolmen demonstrates that the site remained meaningful throughout many generations of major social, cultural and religious changes.

We end this week in Peru, where archaeologists have carried out a new underwater survey at the El Huarco Archaeological Complex.

As reported by HeritageDaily, specialists working on behalf of the Ministry of Culture conducted systematic fieldwork offshore over several days in December, examining underwater areas adjacent to the complex.  The survey recorded a range of submerged features, including stone constructions associated with the late prehistoric Inca period, artifacts linked to early maritime activity, and undated material remains that suggest the presence of a seafaring vessel.  Researchers documented and georeferenced all of their findings, creating the most detailed record so far of the site’s underwater components.

El Huarco is a major pre-Inca and Inca center along the lower Cañete Valley, about one hundred miles south of Lima.  It served as the administrative heart of the Kingdom of Huarco during the Late Intermediate Period, spanning A.D. 1000 to 1470, until its incorporation into the Inca Empire.  Until recently, researchers have focused only on its land structures.  The latest project extends investigation into the nearby coastal waters to document and protect submerged archaeological remains linked to the site.

The local community has long been a key partner in preservation efforts, reporting the recovery of a number of cultural objects from the sea.  These artifacts have joined the collection of the Municipal Museum of Cerro Azul.

Authorities are concerned about the continued preservation of archaeological remains along the coast, fearing that construction projects will remove and destroy potentially significant stones from the intertidal zone.

The information that the archaeological team documented during this study will play a key role for the advocates working to establish legal protections for the region’s marine sector and archaeological remains. 

That wraps up the news for this week!

For more stories and daily news updates, visit Archaeologica on the World Wide Web at www.archaeologica.org where all the news is history! Also, be sure to check out our growing subscription platform, Heritage Broadcasting Service, at heritagetac.org!

I’m Laura Kennedy and I’ll see you next week!