Smart News History & Archaeology

Rendering of the National World War I Memorial's wall of remembrance, which is set to be installed in 2024

How D.C.'s Newly Unveiled WWI Memorial Commemorates the Global Conflict

The space's central feature, a 60-foot-long wall of remembrance, remains unfinished

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at the University of Cape Town's Jagger Reading Room on April 18.

Why the Cape Town Fire Is a Devastating Loss for South African Cultural Heritage

The inferno destroyed much of the University of Cape Town's special collections, including rare books, films, photographs and records

The trove of smuggled artifacts included stone arrowheads, knives and other tools.

U.S. Authorities Return 523 Smuggled Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Mexico

Investigators seized the cache of illegally imported objects in 2016

Currently, tourists can only view the archaeological site from street level.

Site of Julius Caesar's Assassination Will Be Transformed Into Open-Air Museum

Rome's "Area Sacra," a sunken square home to the ruins of four ancient temples, doubles as a sanctuary for stray cats

Bronze mirrors like the one pictured here were luxury items in Han dynasty China. Researchers recently discovered a trove of 80 ancient mirrors at a cemetery in Shaanxi Province.

Cool Finds

Trove of 2,000-Year-Old Bronze Mirrors Found in Ancient Chinese Cemetery

The well-preserved artifacts bear inscriptions such as "Eternal Joy," "Family Wealth" and "Long Memory"

Researchers discovered 87 Neanderthal footprints, as well as a number of tracks left by prehistoric animals.

Cool Finds

100,000-Year-Old Fossilized Footprints Track Neanderthals' Trip to Spanish Coast

Some of the imprints appear to have been left by a child "jumping irregularly as though dancing," researchers say

The letters used in the ancient alphabet bear a distinct resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Cool Finds

Pottery Shard May Be 'Missing Link' in the Alphabet's Development

An inscription found on a 3,500-year-old vessel suggests that a standardized script arrived in Canaan earlier than previously thought

One of the more than 100 earthen mounds preserved at the Mounds State Historic Site

Why Did Cahokia, One of North America's Largest Pre-Hispanic Cities, Collapse?

A new study challenges the theory that resource exploitation led to the Mississippian metropolis' demise

The villa's unique layout includes a central circular room and a bathhouse.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Sprawling Roman Ruins Unlike Any Found in the U.K.

An ancient complex in Yorkshire may have been a luxury villa, a religious sanctuary or a mixture of both

Archaeologists say the skeletons are in an "average state" of preservation.

Why Were These Ancient Adults Buried in Jars on the Island of Corsica?

Researchers are unsure of the unusual funerary practice's purpose but point out that such burials were typically reserved for children

Decades before Teotihuacán's conquest of Tikal in 378 A.D., the two cities may have enjoyed a friendly relationship.

Cool Finds

Were These Ancient Mesoamerican Cities Friends Before They Became Foes?

Ruins found in the Maya metropolis of Tikal appear to be an outpost of the distant Teotihuacán

New research suggests that Swedish Bishop Peder Winstrup was buried alongside the remains of his grandchild, a stillborn fetus delivered at five or six months gestation.

Why Was This Mummified 17th-Century Bishop Buried With a Fetus?

The stillborn baby was likely the grandson of Peder Winstrup, whose well-preserved remains have been the subject of much study

A portrayal of Henry Every, a pirate who may have possessed the newly discovered coin.

17th-Century Coins Found in a Fruit Grove May Solve a 300-Year-Old Pirate Mystery

Amateur historian Jim Bailey was mystified by the Arabic writing on the discovered loot

“[The ring's] sentiment reflects the high mortality of the period, the motif and inscription acknowledging the brevity and vanities of life,” says scholar Mark Redknap.

Cool Finds

Trove of Treasures, From Gold Skull Ring to Tudor Coins, Unearthed in Wales

The macabre jewelry is a unique example of "memento mori" art, which aimed to remind viewers of their mortality

Workers felling 150-year-old oak trees in the Villefermoy forest, near Echouboulains, France, on March 15. The wood will eventually used to reconstruct Notre-Dame Cathedral's roof and spire.

Hundreds of Centuries-Old Trees Felled to Rebuild Notre-Dame's Iconic Spire

French authorities cut down some 1,000 historic oaks as part of the Paris cathedral's ambitious reconstruction process

A team uncovered the lost city while searching for a mortuary temple last September.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover 3,000-Year-Old 'Lost Golden City'

Hailed as one of the country's most significant finds in a century, the site dates to a time of political, religious and artistic change

Prince Philip, who died on April 9 at age 99, married then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

How Prince Philip Modernized—and Fought to Preserve—the Monarchy

The U.K.'s longest-serving royal consort died Friday at age 99

Officials are unsure when the damage occurred but suspect that it took place several months ago.

Vandals Deface 'Irreplaceable' Native American Rock Carvings in Georgia

The unknown criminals painted the 1,000-year-old petroglyphs in bright colors and scratched their surfaces beyond recognition

A virtual reconstruction featured in Baalbek Reborn

Virtual Travel

Virtual Tour Restores Baalbek's Stunning Roman Temples to Their Former Glory

The free online experience allows users to toggle between views of the ancient Lebanese city today and as it appeared in 215 A.D.

White Lies Matter stole the Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair from Confederate Circle, a private section of Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama.

Activist Group Will Return Stolen Confederate Monument—After Converting It Into a Toilet

"White Lies Matter" had pledged to deliver the stone chair intact if the United Daughters of the Confederacy displayed a specific banner

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