Tom Metcalfe
Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.
Latest articles by Tom Metcalfe

Ancient 'curse tablet' may show earliest Hebrew name of God
By Tom Metcalfe last updated
Archaeologists working in the West Bank say they've discovered a tiny lead "curse tablet" that may include the oldest known mention of the Hebrew name of God "Yahweh" ever found.

'Curse tablet' with oldest Hebrew name of god is actually a fishing weight, experts argue
By Tom Metcalfe published
Researchers say they see no sign of an inscription on a tablet previously thought to contain the Hebrew name for the god Yahweh.

7 extraordinary African kingdoms from ancient times to centuries ago
By Tom Metcalfe published
There's much more to ancient Africa than Egypt.

2,000-year-old coin stash discovered at ancient Buddhist shrine in Pakistan
By Tom Metcalfe published
Researchers think the coins are from a Buddhist shrine established amid much older ruins.

Chiseled obsidian recovered from Neolithic shipwreck near Capri's 'Blue Grotto'
By Tom Metcalfe published
Divers off the coast of Naples, Italy have recovered a large chunk of chiseled obsidian that likely went down in a Stone Age shipwreck more than 5,000 years ago.

Indigenous Mexicans migrated to California 5,200 years ago, likely bringing their languages with them, ancient DNA reveals
By Tom Metcalfe published
The research challenges the idea that languages from prehistoric Mexico spread along with maize farming in California.

2,800-year-old ivory carved with sphinx discovered in Turkey
By Tom Metcalfe published
The artifact is from an Iron Age settlement at Hattusa that was established after the city was abandoned by the Hittites.

Stone Age Europeans mastered spear-throwers 10,000 years earlier than we thought, study suggests
By Tom Metcalfe published
The researchers say their study pushes back the dates for the use of spear-throwers in Europe by more than 10,000 years.

'Magical' Roman wind chime with phallus, believed to ward off evil eye, unearthed in Serbia
By Tom Metcalfe published
Phallic objects like this were common in the Roman world to ward off evil.

500-year-old Hebrew note reveals 'lost' earthquake swarm in Italy
By Tom Metcalfe published
A Hebrew note found in the Vatican Library describes a 1446 earthquake swarm previously unknown to seismologists.

Remains of 2,000-year-old sheep-drawn chariot discovered near 'Terracotta Army' in China
By Tom Metcalfe published
Only the sheep's skeletons remain, but such vehicles appear in Chinese lore.

500-year-old lion drawing in Puerto Rican cave may have been made by an enslaved African
By Tom Metcalfe published
There were no lions in 16th-century Puerto Rico — so was the cave drawing made by someone who'd actually seen one?

Dozens of centuries-old stone grenades from Ming dynasty discovered at Great Wall of China
By Tom Metcalfe published
The weapons are among a variety of explosive devices used in China during the Ming dynasty.

'World-class aquifer' enabled ancient African kingdom to thrive in the Sahara for hundreds of years
By Tom Metcalfe published
The rise and fall of the Garamantes in what is now Libya is a cautionary tale for regions that rely on ancient groundwater.

Cannibalism was a common funerary rite in northwest Europe near end of last ice age
By Tom Metcalfe published
Research suggests cannibalism was a funerary rite for the Magdalenian people in northwest Europe, but others preferred to bury their dead.

2nd-century Alexander the Great statue with lion's-mane hairstyle unearthed in Turkey
By Tom Metcalfe published
The discovery shows the popularity of the ancient ruler hundreds of years after his death.

Norwegian family finds 1,200-year-old Viking treasure while searching for a lost earring in their yard
By Tom Metcalfe published
The discovery includes two roughly 1,200-year-old brooches, made from bronze and once gilded with gold, that may have belonged to an aristocratic woman.

1,400-year-old tomb of emperor in China reveals evidence of royal power struggle among brothers and a warlord
By Tom Metcalfe published
An inscription on the 1,400-year-old tomb shows the dead man, who was posthumously declared emperor, was buried as a duke.

'Ritual text' from lost Indo-European language discovered on ancient clay tablet in Turkey
By Tom Metcalfe published
Researchers are still studying the ancient text of an unknown language, written in cuneiform on a clay tablet.

Cup crafted from prehistoric human skull discovered in cave in Spain
By Tom Metcalfe published
A new study suggests that Spain's ancient peoples shared complex beliefs about death and the afterlife.

Early medieval warrior found buried with his weapons in Germany
By Tom Metcalfe published
Archaeologists think the man died during the Merovingian period, an early stage of the Germanic-speaking empire of the Franks.

14th-century shipboard cannon that fired 'stone shots' may be Europe's oldest on record
By Tom Metcalfe published
An analysis of cloth found inside the cannon suggests that it dates to the 14th century and that the weapon was charged with gunpowder and ready to fire.

Early human relatives purposefully crafted stones into spheres 1.4 million years ago, study claims
By Tom Metcalfe published
The stone spheres were crafted by early hominins who were trying to create symmetry in the objects, a new study suggests.
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