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.

Articles by: Tom Metcalfe

Illustration of deceased young woman lying in a wampos (ceremonial canoe). There is a pot next to her head.

1,000 years ago, a woman was buried in a canoe on her way to the 'destination of souls'

By Tom Metcalfe published

A young woman buried in Patagonia up to 1,000 years ago was placed in a ceremonial canoe to represent her final journey into the land of the dead, according to a new study.

Members of the Gruppo Storico Romano, (Roman Historical Group) take part in the re-enactment of Julius Caesar's assassination more than 2,000 years after it happened, on March 15, 2017 in Rome, Italy.

Sacred chickens, witches and animal entrails: 7 unusual ancient Roman superstitions

By Tom Metcalfe published

Here are seven unusual superstitions of the ancient Romans and what they may have meant.

A fragment of transparent quartz crystal found at Neolithic burial site.

'Magical' rock crystals found at Stone Age ceremonial site in England

By Tom Metcalfe published

Neolithic people sprinkled the crystals over burials.

A statue of Roman emperor Augustus. He has short hair and is wearing a decorated breast plate with his cape draping around from his back, around his waist, and then over his left arm. He has one pointed finger in the air and in his other hand he is holding a rod.

The 5 craziest ways emperors gained the throne in ancient Rome

By Tom Metcalfe published

Being the emperor of Rome was a risky business. But merely gaining the imperial throne could be difficult, too.

A scuba diver in deep dark water inspecting a sunken vessel.

Rare 400-year-old ship found in German river is a stunningly preserved 'time capsule'

By Tom Metcalfe published

The ship didn't capsize, but "sank almost standing."

A black and white photograph taken in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943 during World War II. It shows Jews, both adults and children, held at gunpoint as SS troops look on.

What is genocide?

By Tom Metcalfe published

Acts of genocide — trying to partially or completely destroy an entire people or group — have been committed countless times throughout history.

This image shows the remains of an ornate villa. Two small doorways can be made out amongst the broken walls of stone.

Ancient 'ritual bath' and elite villa unearthed by Jerusalem's Western Wall

By Tom Metcalfe published

The installation of a new elevator led to the ancient finds.

Here we see a scuba diver underwater using a flashlight to illuminate a gravestone found on the seabed.

13th-century 'Mortar Wreck' is England's oldest-ever preserved sunken ship

By Tom Metcalfe published

Divers are racing to save the shipwreck from seafloor decay.

The ring is just visible here near the center of the jewelry bundle. Archaeologists have tracked the items to a man who said he'd bought them at an antique shop in Norway.

Gold Viking ring unexpectedly found in stash of 'cheap jewelry' from online auction

By Tom Metcalfe published

A woman in Norway discovered a large, gold Viking ring in a pile of cheap jewelry she bought in an online auction.

A World War II-era Higgins boat rests on its side near the shore of the dwindling Lake Mead waters in California.

Lake Mead dwindles, and a WWII-era 'swamp boat' emerges

By Tom Metcalfe published

A World War II-era landing boat — the same type used on D-Day in 1944 — is the latest object to emerge from the receding waters of Lake Mead near Las Vegas.

Two archaeologists unearth a votive altar dedicated to the god Mercury at the temple sanctuary site. The Latin inscription just visible on its side names the Roman soldier, probably a senior officer, who had it built.

Ancient sanctuary used by Roman soldiers nearly 2,000 years ago found in the Netherlands

By Tom Metcalfe published

The complex had altars for Mercury, Jupiter and Hercules.

Here we see a full human skeleton lying in an Anglo-Saxon grave.

1,600-year-old Anglo-Saxon cemetery holds speared man and wealthy woman

By Tom Metcalfe published

A wealthy pagan burial ground, dating from the first years of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the fifth century, has been uncovered near London ahead of a high-speed rail project.

This massive marble head found by the latest excavations at the Antikythera wreck site is thought to represent the Greek demigod Heracles. Here we see a diver underwater examining a very worn marble sculpture head.

Head of Hercules and other treasures found on Roman 'Antikythera Mechanism' shipwreck

By Tom Metcalfe published

The wreck of a Roman treasure ship that sank near a Greek island more than 2,000 years ago with the famous Antikythera Mechanism on board is giving up new relics.

This images shows the temple complex at Chavín de Huántar in the Andes in Peru.

Secret ancient Andean passageways may have been used in rituals involving psychedelics

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have revealed a complex of hidden passageways and galleries deep inside an ancient temple in the Peruvian Andes.

According to international law, the shipwreck and everything on it belong to Spain; but Colombia's government has declared that it owns the wreck and its treasure, which is estimated to be worth $17 billion.

$17 billion shipwreck near Colombia is remarkably preserved, new photos reveal

By Tom Metcalfe published

New images of one of the world’s most valuable shipwrecks off the coast of Colombia show its remarkable preservation, and two more historic shipwrecks in the same area.

Side by side images of the front and back of the small silver Viking coin that was found. It looks very worn, but on one side you can make out the triquetra in the middle and writing going around the edge. The next image shows the other side of the coin. It is very worn but you can make out some small circles in the top left and bottom right as well as 2 lines going down the middle and writing around the edge.

Silver coin featuring famous Viking king unearthed in Hungary

By Tom Metcalfe published

A metal detectorist in Hungary has unearthed a tiny silver coin marked with the name of a famous Viking king that was lost almost 1,000 years ago.

Archaeologists think the one-edged curved sword — a type of saber — dates from a raid on the monastery that took place in the 14th century.

Rusty saber, possibly wielded by medieval Turkish pirates, unearthed in Greece

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists in Greece have unearthed a one-edged sword, or saber, that they think was used in the 14th century during a raid by Turkish pirates on a fortified Christian monastery.

This image is a digital enhancement of a NASA image of Earth’s atmosphere.

New, extremely reactive chemical discovered in the atmosphere

By Tom Metcalfe published

Millions of tons of a type of extremely reactive chemical can form in the atmosphere each year, with implications for health and the global climate.

Sarcophagi found in a cache dating to the Egyptian Late Period (around the fifth century BC). In the photo we can make out about 30 sarcophaguses laid out in four rows. They are underneath a massive tend are surround by a huge crowd of people taking photos.

Hundreds of ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, cat mummies and gold-leafed statues unearthed at necropolis

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts at the necropolis of Saqqara near Cairo.

This angled overhead photo shows the ruined foundations of a farmstead that was discovered in northern Israel.

2,100-year-old farmstead in Israel found 'frozen in time' after owners disappeared

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have unearthed the 2,100-year-old remains of a farmstead near Israel's northern Sea of Galilee.

The doughnut-shaped fusion chamber of the TCV contains the superheated hydrogen plasmas in powerful magnetic fields to keep it from damaging the walls.

Physicists just rewrote a foundational rule for nuclear fusion reactors that could unleash twice the power

By Tom Metcalfe published

Future fusion reactions inside tokamaks could shine even brighter than before, thanks to groundbreaking new research to find the maximum density of the hydrogen plasma fuel that powers them.

Screenshot from a 3D animation of the Cotoca site. In the center, at the highest point, you see the highest point of a hill.

Lasers reveal 'lost' pre-Hispanic civilization deep in the Amazon

By Tom Metcalfe published

Settlements from a "lost" Amazonian civilization were found.

This image shows 2 leg bones at different angles, the lower right leg being amputated. The rough endings on the bones of the lower right leg suggest the amputation was inflicted as a punishment and was not the result of an accident or disease.

Ancient Chinese woman faced brutal 'yue' punishment, had foot cut off, skeleton reveals

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists think the missing foot of a woman buried in China almost 3,000 years ago was amputated as a criminal punishment, according to a new study.

The Mars Curiosity rover’s Mast camera snapped this intriguing image of the Red Planet, showing a “doorway” structure, on May 7, 2022, or Sol 3466 in Martian days.

The 'doorway' seen on Mars is not for aliens. Here's how it really formed.

By Tom Metcalfe published

The internet erupted after a photograph from the Mars Curiosity rover appeared to show an "alien door," experts are pretty sure it's just a natural feature.

Two people who are wearing hard hats, masks and high visibility safety vests are exploring an underground cave thought to be a city. The walls are lined with large stone bricks and there are three circular holes on the floor.

Underground city unearthed in Turkey may have been refuge for early Christians

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey have unearthed a vast underground city that was built almost 2,000 years ago and possibly used by early Christians to escape Roman persecution.