20 Greatest Archaeological Discoveries of 2021

In his annual survey, Dr. Miano gives you his picks for the best discoveries in archaeology this year. What have archaeologists been up to? This overview covers fantastic finds from all across the globe.

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► REFERENCES
1. Golden City
2. Mesoamerica Lidar
3. Bronze Age Graves at Stonehenge
4. Apries Stela
5. Early Alphabetic Inscription
7. Buddhist Temple in Pakistan
8. Tomb of Egyptian Treasurer
9. Gate of Cyrus in Persepolis
10. Embassy complex in Tikal
11. Nabonidus Inscription
12. Gladiator Arena in Turkey
13. Basalt Blocks of Nectanebo
15. Jerubbaal Inscription
16. Mesopotamian war memorial
17. Sicilian shipwreck
18. Gupta Temple
19. Chinese bronze mirrors
20. Roman Coin Hoard in Germany

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[tejmndg]

You were my professor at SCF 5 years ago. I came across your channel on complete accident, due to my continued curiosity and fascination with ancient history. You were an amazing and enthralling professor, but I regret to say I wasn’t the best student. So thank you. I have really been enjoying your videos since I discovered your channel a few months ago.

[kdonnally]

Great video! Fun fact, I worked at the excavation at Khirbet Arai in 2019 and actually was the one who found the first piece of the pottery inscription. It was actually found on the last day of the dig, 3 hours before we closed the season. We found a faience amulet in the same storage pit. It is really awesome to see the fruits of our labor being recognized. I am currently in my PhD program for Archaeology, and I can't wait for the future discoveries I can be a part of as well!!

[lucianoluciano]

You provided a lot of cool images for each discovery, that was so good! I missed a map showing each discovery location, if you think maps would be a good addition to videos like these and if you are able to add those for next videos it would be great

[Chestbridge]

My personal greatest discovery of 2021 was this youtube channel. Thanks for the great content! =)

[WildWinterberry]

It's so nice to see a video like this without any pretentiousness, vocal fry, over dramatic narration or clickbate. Thank you

[AncientArchitects]

Great video, David. Good to see everything in one place 👍

[HistoryWithKayleigh]

Hey David!
Thank you so much for mentioning me, i love how different our lists are and i very much enjoyed seeing your picks of the discoveries of the past year.

Wish you an amazing 2022!

[massimosquecco]

Besides all the fantastic founds you brought to your audience's attention, what is most peculiar is your skill as a narrator! I could listen to you all the time.

[Imperiused]

Really exciting discoveries. Can't wait to see further updates on them, and looking forward to brand-new discoveries in 2022!

[irreversiblyhuman]

My greatest archeology related discovery of 2021 is this channel

[e.d.bibbins]

MY favorite archeological discovery of 2021 was the results of DNA analysis of the oldest mummies from Xiaohe/Small River Cemetery 5 which found that they are Ancient North Eurasian, a population that mostly died out 10, 000 yrs ago and is most closely related to indigenous peoples of the arctic today. This is important because up until this study was done, most publicity about the Tarim mummies was about how they looked white. This changes a lot of archeological literature about the tarim mummies because it was assumed that the tarim basin was settled by indo-europeans moving east. It's also super fascinating because during this period, the tarim basin was the hub of the silk road and a huge center of cultural exchange with tons of different people coming through so it's really strange that this group stayed completely genetically but not culturally isolated from these other cultures. It's not particularly important to the larger archeological community, particularly because very few people study the ancient tarim basin, and most of those are chinese, but I'm obsessed with the Tarim mummies so this was super groundbreaking for me. Also because I've been pissed about all the laymen obsessing over "white mummies in ancient despite it being completely ahistorical, and ignoring the frankly unparalleled ancient textile finds that came out of these sites.

[ll]

I had an art teacher in high school, Mr. Mack who looks and acts just like this fella. He took us to a few art exhibits around Vancouver but this one time he took us to a Renaissance show at the Vancouver Art Gallery downtown and was like a child in a toy/candy store. I can see this guy leading around a bunch of kids in a museum all enthusiastic and popping off dad jokes.

[unicyclist]

These kinds of videos show me I would otherwise be unaware of. Thank you for the work you put into this!

[dixieboy]

Nice roundup of some incredible sites. We all have our favorites. Now I want to
see more and more about this old stuff. Love it. Thanks

[softballm]

I love your enthusiasm for finding our past. I am always amazed by finds of mints, coins, and other forms of commerce, how advance BCE cultures were in trading and finances.

[ralphyetmore]

The Golden City is pretty exciting. Due to the reference to Atun, I assumed it would be a relic of Akhenaten. But this still ties to some background of his life. Thanks for the continued posts.

[seanstott]

love this channel have a great new year David!

[aidenbuck]

Hope 2022 will be better than 2021 for you all and for the field of archaeology.

[JonnoPlays]

Great perspective, I enjoyed the intro.

[tseamus]

I am so happy found your channel. Love it!