Welcome to our show, everybody!  I’m Rick Pettigrew. 

Our stories from this past week of Archaeologica report on a newly discovered wall that could be the first known physical evidence of the ancient Celtic settlement upon which the city of Paris was built, a ceramic fragment in Turkey inscribed with the world’s first known peace treaty between major powers, intact burials at the very early Neolithic site of Göbeklitepe that might help explain the scatter of human bones across the site’s central megalithic features, and giant stone circles high in the Andes of Argentina that are puzzling archaeologists.

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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 September 20th through the 26th, 2026.

We begin this week in Paris, where archaeologists  have uncovered an important clue to the origins of the French city.

The Independent reports that researchers discovered the charred remains of a 20-meter-long wall in the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu [oh-TEL dyoo] Hospital, near Notre-Dame [NOH-truh Dahm].  The wall combines large stones with crossed wooden beams, which represent a construction style typical of Gallic fortifications.

This exciting discovery could help locate the ancient settlement of Lutèce [loo-TEHS], the home of the Gallic tribe known as the Parisii [pah-REE-see-ee].  Julius Caesar described Lutèce in his writings.  According to historical anecdotes, the Parisii burned their own fortified town in 52 BC to prevent invading Roman forces from capturing it.  Archaeologists, however, had not previously found material evidence confirming that the settlement actually existed.

The excavation also uncovered a Gallic spearhead at the base of the wall, along with the remains of a wooden building that fire destroyed.  Researchers also found a two-meter-thick platform made from sand and gravel, which further supports the hypothesis of a major fortification.

Early dating places the wall’s wooden elements between 200 BC and 10 BC.  Dorothée Chaoui-Derieux [dor-oh-TAY shah-WEE duh-REE-oo], a heritage curator and manager at the Regional Archaeology Service, said the wall’s architecture quickly suggested a Gallic origin.

French officials hail the discovery as a major archaeological breakthrough.  If further research confirms the wall’s date and function, it could provide the first material trace of the main settlement of the Parisii.  This would prove that Paris developed directly on the ruins of ancient Lutèce.

Researchers still must establish the wall’s exact function and chronology.  The remains face severe conservation challenges because intense fire left the structure extremely fragile.  Edward de Lumley, the regional director of cultural affairs of Île-de-France, noted that keeping the wall on site is impossible during the planned construction.  Consequently, workers plan to make a mould before reconstructing part of the wall with original stones, offering fresh insight into this ancient history.

Now we move east to Turkey, where Smithsonian Magazine reports that archaeologists have uncovered a clay fragment from an ancient copy of the Kadesh [KAY-desh] Peace Treaty.  Many recognize this agreement as the first international peace treaty in the world.

The clay remnant emerged at Hattusa [hah-TOO-sah], the ancient capital of the Hittites [HIT-tights], and it carries Akkadian cuneiform [uh-KAY-dee-un kyoo-NAY-uh-form].  This writing system first appeared around 3200 BC and used hundreds of characters to represent syllables or entire words rather than individual letters.

The treaty dates back to a time around 1269 BC, following years of conflict between the Hittites and Egypt.  The Hittite king, Muwatallis [moo-wah-TAH-liss], had fought the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses the Second, for control of Syrian territory.  Their armies eventually fought the Battle of Kadesh, which ended in a stalemate.

Sixteen years later, Ramses the Second and the successor of Muwatallis, Hattusilli [hah-too-SHEE-lee] the Third, negotiated a comprehensive alliance to end the conflict and cement power.  The original treaty appeared on silver tablets that people later lost to history.  Fortunately, ancient copies survived in Egypt and Anatolia, including a broken clay copy that researchers first discovered at Hattusa in 1906.

The text describes an eternal bond between the two rulers and frames their relationship as a brotherhood.  The agreement concluded centuries of fierce competition over Syria, making the treaty far more than a simple end to a single military battle.

Researchers unearthed the new fragment while excavating at Buyukkale [boo-yook-KAH-leh], the site of the Hittite royal palace.  The excavation team studied the inscription for about a year before announcing the discovery.

The fragment contains lines from articles 12 through 20 of the treaty.  These sections establish specific rules for people who fled one kingdom to seek refuge in the other.  The text explicitly warns against destroying refugees' homes.

Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy [MEH-met NOO-ree AIR-soy], highlighted this passage.  He described it as a powerful message from thousands of years ago that speaks directly to the present day.

Our next story keeps us in Turkey, but farther to the southeast, where archaeologists have uncovered two intact burial contexts at Göbeklitepe [guh-BEHK-lee-THE-peh].

The findings come from a peer-reviewed study that Dr. Julia Gresky [YOO-lee-ah GRESS-kee] of the German Archaeological Institute and Dr. Lee Clare of the institute's Istanbul Department published in the journal PLOS One.  Their article examines whether these newly discovered burials can explain the hundreds of human bone fragments previously found scattered across the site.

Heritage Daily reports that the burials date to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, between 8700 BC and 8000 BC.  Gresky and Clare compare the condition of these burials with the scattered remains to determine whether natural processes or deliberate treatment could explain the unusual distribution of the bones.

The first burial, discovered in 2017 beneath the plaster floor of a Neolithic building, contained the remains of at least three people.  These individuals included an adult woman, a young man, and an adolescent girl.  Their bones no longer remained in their original positions, but the presence of small hand and foot bones suggests that complete bodies originally entered the grave.  The moved bones suggest that people reopened the burial to add new individuals and moved earlier remains aside.

The second burial, discovered in 2012 and fully excavated in 2022, contained a young adult woman lying on her left side in a flexed position.  Much of the skeleton remained in its original anatomical position, giving the team a useful comparison.

The comparison revealed striking similarities.  Both groups show extensive fragmentation, mineral deposits, and signs of animal activity.  This supports the argument that erosion and slope movement carried some burials from higher parts of the settlement downhill into the monumental structures.

The findings do not rule out deliberate mortuary rituals.  The authors point to skull fragments with deep incisions as evidence that some people received special treatment after death, emphasizing the diversity of burial customs.  Overall, the discoveries provide evidence that Göbeklitepe served as a settlement where people lived and buried their dead, rather than solely as a ceremonial center.

Finally, we travel to Argentina, where archaeologists are investigating a previously unknown complex of enormous stone structures high in the Andes.

Heritage Daily reports that the site sits more than 3000 meters above sea level in Mendoza Province’s remote Cordillera del Tigre [kor-dee-YAIR-ah del TEE-gray].  The complex contains large circular structures connected by passageways, along with stone walls, ditches, and other excavated areas.  Some circles measure between 27 and 35 meters across.

The team first identified the formations in May 2025, when Mendoza mountaineer Carlos Gobbi examined satellite imagery and digital maps.  Reaching the site proved much harder.  After two attempts that failed because of weather and difficult terrain, Gobbi, along with Adrián Radich and Gabriel Orofino, reached the structures on February 14, 2026, after a four-day journey through the mountains.

At ground level, the researchers documented extensive stone constructions.  Some partially buried stones form ditch-like channels, while other stones create walls above the ground.  From the air, the overall arrangement resembles geometric patterns, leading to comparisons with Peru’s famous Nazca Lines.  The research team stresses, however, that the structures represent a distinct discovery.

The site raises several questions because researchers have found no pottery, food remains, or other surface evidence associated with permanent settlement.  Specialists are therefore investigating whether people used the complex for ritual or ceremonial activities instead.  Researchers also consider possible connections to the Inca period or earlier pre-Hispanic populations, but have confirmed neither idea.

An international project called ArqueoAndes [ar-KAY-oh-AN-dees] will investigate this mystery.  The project involves researchers from Argentina's Institute of Snow Research, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences and Spain's University of Jaén [khah-EN].  The team will combine fieldwork, sediment analysis, and remote sensing to reveal when people built the circles, how they constructed them, and what activities took place at the site.  The gathered data will help unlock this fascinating alpine puzzle.

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!