Cultural Preservation

The ever-growing list of 1,000 Places Where Women Made History currently includes everything from homes where pioneering women once lived, buildings where specific events that involved them occurred, and where women-led accomplishments happened.

Crowdsourcing Project Aims to Document the Many U.S. Places Where Women Have Made History

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is looking for 1,000 places tied to women's history, and to share the stories of the figures behind them

Susan Pringle Frost founded the Charleston chapter of the Equal Suffrage League as well as the Preservation of Old Dwellings, now called the Preservation Society of Charleston.

The Suffragist With a Passion for Saving Charleston's Historic Architecture

A century ago, Susan Pringle Frost tirelessly campaigned to save these South Carolina buildings from destruction

The exhibition presents the possibility that 3-D models (above: a digital rendering of Aleppo following the 2012 civil war in Syria), and the information extracted from them can be used for future restoration projects.

Take a Walk Through These War-Torn Ancient Cities

An immersive exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery uses technology to reconstruct historically significant sites in Mosul, Aleppo and Palmyra

The moai at Easter island, built by the Rapa Nui people

New Research Rewrites the Demise of Easter Island

Yet another spate of evidence suggests the Rapa Nui people were going strong long after Europeans first arrived in 1722

The Moai sculptures on Rapa Nui are at risk of collapsing into the ocean as coastal erosion continues.

New Tool Tracks Climate Change's Impact on World Heritage Sites

The online portal showcases the craggy cliffs surrounding Edinburgh Castle, Easter Island's famed sculptures and other cultural heritage hotspots

Susan B. Anthony's childhood home in Battenville, New York, as seen in 2018

Susan B. Anthony's Childhood Home Is Getting Renovated

The women's suffrage activist lived in the house from 1833 to 1839

A sculpture of two bulls, originally carved in the second century A.D., looted from Afghanistan's Kabul Museum almost 30 years ago

After 30 Years, Looted Kushan Bull Sculpture Will Return to Afghanistan's Kabul Museum

The artifact is one of thousands left destroyed, damaged or missing after civil war broke out in the 1990s

Blazes at Budj Bim National Park in southeastern Australia unearthed a previously unknown channel.

Australian Bushfires Reveal Hidden Sections of Ancient Aquaculture System

The eel-farming system of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is older than both Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids

A Shipwreck Off Florida's Coast Pits Archaeologists Against Treasure Hunters

The discovery of a legendary wreck raises questions about who should control sunken riches

How Haiti’s Devastating Earthquake Prompted a Worldwide Effort to Safeguard Cultural Heritage

To safeguard cultural heritage, a massive Smithsonian-led cultural rescue operation can now be mobilized to help countries recover from disaster

The October 31 fire destroyed seven buildings and was probably started by an electrical fault.

Volunteers Digitally Revive Japan's Shuri Castle Following October Fire

The group is seeking one million images in order to create a high-quality reconstruction

The eye of Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas (above: Marsh Harbour after the storm) on September 1, 2019, leveling homes, crushing cars and killing people.

Rescuing Bahamian Culture From Dorian’s Wrath

A team of Smithsonian conservation specialists tours the islands and offers expertise

A general view shows the flooded St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace (L), the Lion of St. Mark winged bronze statue and the Venetian lagoon after an exceptional overnight "Alta Acqua" high tide water level, on November 13, 2019 in Venice.

Venice Declares State of Emergency as City Battles Worst Floods in 50 Years

The Italian city’s high-water mark reached 74 inches on Tuesday

Google's Art Camera scanned dozens of works of art in high resolution.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Teams Up With Google to Digitize Puerto Rico's Art

The devastation of Hurricane Maria highlighted the importance of preserving the island's cultural treasures

Light Detection and Ranging technology revealed architectural details and topographic data on Raleigh Island.

Using Drone-Mounted Lasers, Scientists Find Ancient Bead-Making, Island-Dwelling Community in Florida

Archaeologists used LiDAR to spot a large settlement, where residents produced an important pre-Columbian commodity

This aerial picture shows Shuri Castle after a fire ripped through the historic site in Naha, Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture, on October 31

Fire Ravages Japanese Heritage Site Shuri Castle

The castle, first built more than 500 years ago, was seen as a symbol of the dynamic Ryukyu Kingdom

Spoiler alert: No, it wasn't from beer burps.

Hold On to Your Lederhosen: Oktoberfest Produces a Whole Lot of Methane Gas

Incomplete combustion from gas appliances is likely the major culprit

The tower had undergone a $7.9 million renovation.

New York’s Last Fire Watchtower Has Been Restored

Built in the 1850s, the structure was once part of the city's fire-fighting network

The Smithsonian's American Food History Project seeks to understand the history of the U.S. through the multi-faceted lens of food.

How Food Brought Success to a Chef, a Cookbook Author and a Restaurateur

Historian Ashley Rose Young shares research from the Smithsonian’s 23-year-long ‘American Food History Project’

The Mustansiriya was built during the 13th century.

What the Restoration of Iraq’s Oldest University Says About the Nation's Future

The Mustansiriya has withstood centuries of war, floods and architectural butchery, but can it survive its own restoration?

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