Smart News History & Archaeology

Conservators carefully unfold the shroud, which had been stored in a brown paper parcel for some 80 years.

Ancient Egyptian Shroud Gets New Life After Rediscovery in Scottish Museum Collections

The shroud, which dates to Egypt's Roman period, is etched with a hieroglyphic inscription and "unusual" art

This dioarama, which used actual human remains, is another example of the ways Ruysch used bodies to make art.

This 17th-Century Anatomist Made Art Out of Bodies

Using human bodies in this way still happens–and it’s controversial

A woman marks a bombardier enclosure for a B-24 Liberator bomber at the Ford Willow Run plant.

How Detroit Went from Motor City to the Arsenal of Democracy

Detroit already had car manufacturing capability: that turned into war production capability in the early 1940s

In the eyes of Joseph Guillotin, the guillotine was an invention in the best ideals of the Revolution: humane, equalizing and scientific.

The Guillotine's Namesake Was Against Capital Punishment

And contrary to popular myth, he died of natural causes, not by beheading

One of the submerged walls found in Ampelakia Bay

Cool Finds

Naval Base Believed to Have Been Used in the Legendary Battle of Salamis Found

Researchers have discovered the harbor in Salamis' Ampelakia Bay where the Greek fleet prepared to battle the much larger Persian navy

The University of London's Senate House inspired Orwell's description of the Ministry of Truth. Orwell's wife Eileen Blair worked in the building during World War II, when it was the real headquarters of the Ministry of Information.

George Orwell Wrote '1984' While Dying of Tuberculosis

Orwell, like thousands around the globe today, struggled with tuberculosis for many years before finally succumbing to the disease

George Francis Train, somewhere around 1855-1865.

This Eccentric 19th-Century Transportation Magnate May Have Inspired Jules Verne

George Francis Train traveled around the world three times in his increasingly weird life

Hundreds of Liquor Bottles, Downed by British Soldiers during WWI, Found in Israel

For nine months, the troops waited for orders to advance into Jerusalem. And while they waited, they drank

A new website features 100 years of Japanese animation.

Cool Finds

New Website Documents 100 Years of Japanese Animation

From propaganda to experimental cartoons, these films showcase the early days of a national art form

Researcher Sarah Inskip examines the skull of Context 958.

Facial Reconstruction of Medieval Man Sheds Light on England’s 'Ordinary Poor'

"Context 958" lived a harsh life and died destitute

A San man prepares his arrows for hunting in the Living Museum of the Ju’Hoansi-San, Grashoek, Namibia

Trending Today

San People of South Africa Issue Code of Ethics for Researchers

This much-studied population is the first indigenous people of Africa to develop such guidelines

This, the first passenger elevator, was installed in a New York department store in 1857. The elevator is not round, though the first passenger elevator shaft, installed a mile north of this store, was.

This Innovator Thought Elevators Should Be Round

Peter Cooper thought that round would be the most efficient shape for elevators, and requested an elevator shaft designed accordingly

President Herbert Hoover (center right) plays a rousing game of Hooverball on the South Lawn of the White House.

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Color Movies Show Herbert Hoover’s Softer Side

From Hooverball to White House frolics, you've never seen the staid president quite like this

Emmy Noether, mathematical genius

Mathematician Emmy Noether Should Be Your Hero

She revolutionized mathematics, and then was forgotten because she was a woman

Marcel Marceau in 1955

The Mime Who Saved Kids From the Holocaust

Marcel Marceau is history’s most famous mime, but before that, he was a member of the French Resistance

Adolphe Sax made this alto saxophone in 1857, long after he had switched to brass. The sax is still a woodwind instrument, though.

The First Saxophone Was Made of Wood

The instrument was invented by–you guessed it–Adolphe Sax

The bow of the shipwrecked Titanic.

Tour Company Offers (Very Expensive) Dives to 'Titanic' Wreckage

For a mere $105,129 per person, thrill-seekers can explore the ruins of the ill-fated ship

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre's Edicule, a shrine that encloses Jesus’ purported resting place

One of Christianity's Holiest Sites Gets Its Grand Unveiling

A team of 50 experts spent nine months cleaning and reinforcing the shrine that is believed to be above Jesus' tomb

"The Siege of Acre," Dominique Papety, c. 1840

Cool Finds

Crusader Shipwreck, Likely From the Siege of Acre, Discovered

The boat in the Bay of Haifa included ceramics and a stash of gold coins

The back of this postcard calls the Fisher Building a "cathedral of business."

This Art Deco Office Tower Was the Master Work of 'The Architect of Detroit'

Although Kahn designed numerous buildings and factories, this is the one that’s come to define his work

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