Cool Finds
Archaeologists in the Netherlands Just Uncovered a Centuries-Old Floor Made of Cow Bones
Found beneath a building in the town of Alkmaar, the animal bones had been used to fill in gaps between crumbling pieces of tile
A Homeowner Found Huge, Fossil Teeth While Mowing the Lawn. Then, Excavations Revealed a Complete Mastodon Jaw
The new discovery is the first of its kind in New York state for at least 11 years and appeared in a county rich with mastodon remains
A Mysterious Boulder Carved to Look Like a Tortoise Shell May Offer Evidence of the Middle East's Earliest Ritual Ceremonies
The 35,000-year-old rock was found in Manot Cave, which was inhabited by both prehistoric humans and Neanderthals
Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2024, From a Mysterious Underground Chamber to Dazzling Auroras
The magazine's most-read articles of the year included a close-up look at the adorable yet venomous pygmy slow loris, a profile of a little-known 20th-century street photographer and a majestic journey with divers into Mexico’s underwater caves
Scientists Just Dissected the World's Rarest Whale in New Zealand. Here's What They Found
Only seven spade-toothed whales have ever been identified, and the species has never been seen alive. After one washed ashore last summer, researchers have made new discoveries—including that the animal had nine stomach chambers and vestigial teeth
A Forgotten Collection of Charles de Gaulle's Personal Letters, Speeches and Manuscripts Has Been Discovered in a Safe
Most of the documents are heading to the auction block, where they could fetch more than $1 million. They were found in a bank vault owned by the French statesman's son
An Artist Noticed a Leak in His Studio. The Repairs Revealed a Mysterious Ancient Engraving Hidden Inside the Walls
Jean Charles Blais had no idea that his studio in southern France was hiding a Roman funerary inscription dating to the first or second century C.E.
These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing
Researchers have discovered 32 needle fragments made from the bones of smaller animals. The tiny tools may have been used to sew insulated garments during the last ice age
A Trove of Gold Coins Stolen From 300-Year-Old Florida Shipwrecks Has Been Recovered by Investigators
Contracted divers found 101 gold coins from the wreckage of a Spanish fleet in 2015, but they only reported 51 to authorities. Now, 37 of the stolen coins have been found
A Little Boy Found a Strange Stone on the Beach. Archaeologists Told Him It Was a Neanderthal's Hand Ax
The artifact is now on display at a museum in southern England. Experts say the find is "so rare that most qualified archaeologists would never find one themselves"
Hidden Entrance to a Mysterious Ancient Temple Found Tucked Away in an Egyptian Cliff Face
Researchers have been carefully excavating the artifacts and decorative reliefs found at the 2,100-year-old site in the ancient city of Athribis
A New Subway System in Greece Is Decorated With the Artifacts Unearthed During Its Construction
An ancient marble thoroughfare and shards of classical pottery are on display in the city of Thessaloniki's new underground "archaeo-stations"
This Mysterious Gold Pendant Featuring a Misspelled Inscription Is an Early Medieval Imitation of a Roman Coin
A metal detectorist in England discovered the unusual piece of jewelry, which was likely made in the late fifth or early sixth century C.E.
A Mysterious Shipwreck Rests Just 20 Feet Below the Surface. It May Be Connected to Vasco da Gama's Final Voyage
Researchers think a coral-covered vessel discovered off the Kenyan coast could be the "São Jorge," a galleon that sank 500 years ago
NASA Radar Detects Abandoned Site of Secret Cold War Project in Greenland—a 'City Under the Ice'
Camp Century was built in 1959 and advertised as a U.S. research site—but it also hosted a clandestine missile facility
Archaeologist Discovers Two Neolithic Stone Circles in England, Supporting a 'Sacred Arc' Theory
The idea suggests prehistoric people built a ring of stone circles in modern-day Dartmoor National Park around the same time that Stonehenge was created—and the new finds have just added another piece to the puzzle
Rare 1,600-Year-Old Pendant Discovered in Turkey Depicts King Solomon Defeating the Devil
The fifth-century artifact was found in the ruins of a structure that may have been connected to the military. Historians think it was used as a protective amulet
Read the 132-Year-Old Message in a Bottle Found Hidden Inside the Walls of a Scottish Lighthouse
Engineers discovered the mysterious missive while working on repairs at Corsewall Lighthouse last month. Now, they plan to write their own note for future generations to find
Why the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb Was the Most Significant Archaeological Find of the 20th Century
The intact burial—unearthed on this day in 1922—contained a "wonderful" cache of objects linked to the ancient Egyptian pharaoh
Paleontologists Discover a New Pterosaur, Filling a Key Gap on the Evolutionary Timeline for These Flying Reptiles
Revealed by a German fossil, the newly described species sheds light on questions that scientists have been puzzling over for nearly two centuries
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