Sustainable city management recognises the importance of not only the busy above-ground urban systems but also the invisible underground infrastructure, utilities, and hidden heritage and their stories. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is at the fore-front of geospatial and near-surface geophysical technologies, advancing land surveying research that supports cultural preservation and the sustainable development urban environment.

Knowledge about building with bricks did not travel directly from Italy to Denmark. That is the surprising conclusion of a team of researchers who analyzed bricks from medieval churches in Italy and Denmark.

The remains of an extensive Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe that was likely once a major regional hub for large-scale bronze production more than 3,500 years ago, have been revealed by an international team of archaeologists co-led by researchers from UCL.

A 12,000-year-old clay figurine unearthed in northern Israel, depicting a woman and a goose, is the earliest known human-animal interaction figurine. Found at the Late Natufian site of Nahal Ein Gev II, the piece predates the Neolithic and signals a turning point in artistic and spiritual expression. Combining naturalism, light manipulation, and symbolic imagination, it reveals how early communities used art to explore the relationship between humans and the natural world.

A new international study shows that medieval communities around Lake Constance actively boosted biodiversity. Combining fossil pollen, archaeobotanical evidence, and historical records, researchers document a sustained rise in plant diversity peaking around 1000 CE. The findings demonstrate that human activity can enhance biodiversity while sustaining food production, offering timely lessons for modern conservation strategies in the Anthropocene.

While the Rapa Nui people did play a role in the island’s deforestation, the greater role may belong to a virtual tidal wave of rats, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. 

A groundbreaking archaeological study has revealed when domestic dogs first began to show the remarkable diversity that characterises them today.