12 amazing archaeological discoveries of 2022: From the world's oldest limb amputation to the fighting sausage dogs of the Roman Colosseum

Bethany DawsonDec 25, 2022, 16:43 IST

From left: A skull, the Roman Colosseum, and an archaeologist excavating for vilca seeds at the Quilcapampa site in PeruFrom left: Halamka/Getty Images, Getty Images./Lisa Milosavljevic/Royal Ontario Museum

Archaeologists revealed more wonders of the ancient world in 2022.
They ranged from a 3,400-year-old lost city, ancient pots of cheese, and dead rats that told a story.

In 2022, archaeologists discovered an array of lost treasures of the ancient world.

Insider's coverage of the fascinating glimpses into humanity's past included an engraving on an ancient ivory lice comb which is the oldest known sentence written in the first alphabet, the earliest known limb amputation, and ancient poop that contained new clues about feasts eaten at the construction of Stonehenge.

Iraq's extreme drought reveals a 3,400-year-old city

Aerial view of the excavation site with Bronze Age architecture partly submerged.Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen, KAO

2,600-year-old pots of cheese found at the ancient necropolis of Egypt's pharaohs

Excavations at the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt in September 2022.Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Sausage dogs could have been made to fight bears in the Colosseum of ancient Rome, archaeologists said

Dachshund (L), the Colosseum in Rome, Italy (R).Getty Images

Archaeologists have full-color portraits of Egyptian mummies in ancient Philadelphia

One portrait of a mummy discoveredEgypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Largest-ever stash of mummy-embalming tools found in Egypt, may have been for lavish funeral 2,600 years ago

A jar found at the Abusir site.Archive of the Czech Institute of Egyptology, photo Peter Košárek

Ancient humans used the oldest-known drinking straws to sip beer out of communal party bowls

An illustration of ancient people drinking beer from a communal vessel with long straws.Kelvin Wilson/Courtesy of Antiquity Publications Ltd

Study found the Black Death permanently altered the human immune system, leaving a vulnerability that persists 670 years later

Scientists are studying the genetic makeup of human remains buried during a plague outbreak to see how that shaped genetics of human populations today.Museum of London Archaeology; Matt Clarke/McMaster University; Insider

Dead rats found on an ancient shipwreck provide clues to its voyages 1,400 years ago

A black rat, also known as a ship rat, next to the Ma'gan Michael B ship.Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (L), R. Levinson (R)

Psychedelic beer served at intimate dinner parties helped an ancient empire in the Andes rule for centuries

An archaeologist excavates for vilca seeds at the Quilcapampa site in Peru.Lisa Milosavljevic/Royal Ontario Museum

An engraving on an ancient ivory lice comb is the oldest known sentence written in the first alphabet

An ancient lice comb, believed to be from around 1700 BCE, has on it the oldest known sentence written in the first alphabet.Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority

A 31,000-year-old Stone Age skeleton reveals the world's oldest limb amputation

A skeleton who has gone through the world's earliest limb amputation.Tim Maloney, Griffith University

Ancient poop contains new clues about feasts eaten at the construction of Stonehenge more than 4,500 years ago

Parasite eggs were found in the feces of workers that built Stonehenge.English Heritage/Evilena Anastasiou/University of Cambridge/Insider

You might think these animals are cute but they're amongst the deadliest on Earth

Cookies on the Business Insider India website