Archaeology | Penn Today

Examining the forces shaping world heritage

Lynn Meskell looks at the politics of archaeology and world heritage to understand why we conserve certain places and who benefits from the work.

Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

20 breakthroughs of 2025

From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.

5 min. read

Intact royal tomb in Turkey dates back 2,800 years to the time of King Midas

C. Brian Rose from the Penn Museum opened a 2,800-year-old tomb in Ankara, Turkey.

4,300-year-old tomb was a doorway for the afterlife. Now it’s being reassembled

The Penn Museum is reassembling the Tomb Chapel of Kaipure, a 4,300 year old door to the afterlife that was located in Egypt.

The South Gate cemetery excavations, with Gareth Darbyshire (foreground left), Brian Rose (foreground right), and Simon Greenslade (middle background). Tumulus MM is in the distance at upper left

The discovery of a tomb linked to King Midas

Penn researchers and collaborators have discovered a 2,800-year-old royal tomb linked to Midas Dynasty in Gordion, Türkiye.

2 min. read

Patrick McGovern, the ‘Indiana Jones of ancient alcohol,’ dies at 80

Patrick McGovern of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum, renowned for his forensic analysis of ancient drinkware and archaeological recreation of alcohol, has passed away.

Iraq’s Yazidis rediscover lost history through photos found in a museum archive

Penn Museum archaeologists have documented the daily lives of the Yazidi people of Iraq through photographs rediscovered after the Islamic State devastated the religious minority.

Meskalamdug's Helmet: One of the world's oldest helmets depicts a Mesopotamian prince's man bun

The Penn Museum contains one copy of Meskalamdug’s helmet, a 15-karat gold helmet discovered in a royal tomb at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur.

Lynn Meskell elected Fellow to the British Academy

The honor recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.

3 min. read

Archaeologists discover untouched tomb linked to King Midas’ dynasty: ‘High level of wealth’

C. Brian Rose of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues at the Penn Museum have uncovered a tomb in Turkey linked to the family of King Midas.

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