During a road construction project in County Roscommon, archaeologists recovered a 1,600-year-old wooden idol from a bog near the town of Gortnacrannagh. The eight-foot-tall figure, which may represent a pagan deity, was carved from a split oak trunk and has a small human-shaped head as well as horizontal notches cut along its length. A dozen similar ancient statues have been found across Ireland, but this is the largest to date.

The idol’s discovery in a boggy landscape is significant. In ancient Irish culture, watery places were commonly associated with the supernatural otherworld, the realm of gods and heroes. Archaeologists also discovered animal bones and a ritual dagger nearby. “It was essentially a sacred wetland where, over several thousand years, people deposited special objects,” says archaeologist Eve Campbell of Archaeological Management Solutions. “It’s likely that this figure played a role in these rituals.”

Archaeologists have unearthed a well-built and exquisitely decorated family mausoleum in Jinan, in eastern China’s Shandong Province, dating to the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The 12 tombs were built to high standards, with gateways, domes, and double rooms, and contained complete sets of furniture and painted murals. The researchers also collected more than 60 artifacts, including pottery, porcelain, and bronze mirrors. Only very wealthy people could have afforded such luxury, says lead researcher Qi Xing of the Jinan Institute of Archaeology. In some of the tombs, coffins were buried under floor tiles to impede grave robbers, a very rare design feature, says Xing. The team has identified the tomb owners based on epitaphs and other written evidence as the Guo family, well-known businesspeople in the area. The bodies are believed to include those of at least five Guo brothers, their families, and their mother. The next step, Xing says, is to conduct DNA tests to find out more specifically how the tomb’s owners were related.

On a hill overlooking the village of Helfta, Germany, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a cross-shaped stone basilica commissioned by Otto the Great, ruler of the Eastern Frankish Kingdom (r. A.D. 936–973) and the Holy Roman Empire (r. A.D. 962–973). Medieval chronicles record that the church was built sometime before A.D. 968 and dedicated to Saint Radegundis, a sixth-century A.D. princess who established the first women’s monastery in France. The structure, which had three aisles and measured about 100 feet long and 65 feet wide, once stood at the center of a fortified settlement that served as a royal palace for Otto and his successors. “This site was one of many palaces where kings and emperors resided,” says archaeologist Felix Biermann of the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt. “Because they had no capital cities, they would move from place to place every month or two.” It’s unclear how much time Otto spent at this particular palace, though an eleventh-century chronicle mentions that he was at least present for the church’s inaugural services.

The settlement was abandoned in the thirteenth century, but the church continued to be used until its destruction in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Inside and around the building, archaeologists have already excavated more than 300 burials, many of them belonging to members of noble families, including children. Several graves contained earrings, pins, and enameled brooches. Among the artifacts recovered from the church are a thirteenth-century enameled bronze crucifix and a fragment of a church bell.