Weapons

Allied freighters ablaze in the harbor of Bari, Italy, after the German attack.

How a Chemical Weapons Disaster in WWII Led to a U.S. Cover-Up—and a New Cancer Treatment

The physician who led the investigation into a deadly explosion in Italy found the truth, and some hope

The helmet has been on view at England's Preston Park Museum since 2012.

Millennia-Old Headgear Is One of Just Two (Almost) Intact Viking Helmets

A new study dates a piece of armor found in Britain in the 1950s to the tenth century A.D.

Amateur treasure hunter Mariusz Stepien found the cache of Bronze Age artifacts (including these pieces of a horse harness) while searching a field with a metal detector.

Rare Bronze Age Sword, Horse Harness Unearthed in Scotland

The "nationally significant" trove of 3,000-year-old artifacts also includes a pendant, rings and chariot wheel axle caps

Various types of North and South American fluted points

Ancient Artisans in Arabia, the Americas Invented Same Technology Independently

New research suggests stone fluting served different purposes in the two regions

All this could be yours—for the right price. An auction for this North Dakota Cold War-era missile site begins on August 11.

You Could Own an Abandoned Cold War Missile Site in North Dakota

The 50-acre fixer-upper has potential as a tourist attraction or a pandemic bunker

A man wheels his bicycle through Hiroshima days after an atomic bomb leveled the city.

Nine Harrowing Eyewitness Accounts of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

More than seventy-five years ago, the atomic blasts killed an estimated 200,000 people

The B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay was one of a few dozen World War II-era aircraft specially modified for the express purpose of delivering atomic weapons.

Why the Enola Gay, the Plane That Dropped the First Atomic Bomb, Will Always Inspire Debate

The Enola Gay, fully restored and on view at the Smithsonian, left an indelible mark

One of the Last Living Manhattan Project Scientists Looks Back at the Atomic Bomb Tests

Peter Lax was just a teenager when he went to Los Alamos to join the team that developed the deadly weapon

This diagram shows the different kinds of animal bones used to make the 48,000-year-old tools.

Evidence of Early Bow-and-Arrow Hunting Discovered in Sri Lanka

If confirmed, the 48,000-year-old find will be the oldest known instance of bowhunting outside of Africa

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts Harold II with an arrow jutting from his head, but whether the English king actually died in this manner remains a point of contention.

Medieval Arrows Inflicted Injuries That Mirror Damage Caused by Modern Bullets

New research demonstrates the immense power of the medieval English longbow

Two skeletons unearthed in Lechlade, England, date back to around 2200 B.C.

Bronze Age Chieftain's Remains Found Beneath U.K. Skate Park

The Beaker man was buried alongside four cowhide "rugs," an eight-inch copper dagger and a wrist guard made of rare green stone

An artist's rendering of two early hominins hunting waterfowl on the Schöningen lakeshore with throwing sticks

300,000-Year-Old Stick Suggests Human Ancestors Were Skilled Hunters

The ancient throwing stick may have been used by Neanderthals or an even earlier hominin

Researchers staged fights using recreated Bronze Age weapons to better understand how they might have been used in ancient fighting.

Scientists Stage Sword Fights to Study Bronze Age Warfare

Research suggests bronze blades, thought by some to be too fragile for combat, were deadly weapons across ancient Europe

Serafino Jamourlian of the monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni and Vittoria Dall'Armellina with a newly rediscovered 5,000-year-old sword

Graduate Student Discovers One of World's Oldest Swords in Mislabeled Monastery Display

At 5,000 years old, the weapon predates the era when humans first started using tin to make bronze

The restored dagger and sheath, following nine months of sandblasting and grinding

Archaeology Intern Unearths Spectacular, 2,000-Year-Old Roman Dagger

After a nine-month restoration, the elaborately decorated blade and its sheath gleam as if brand new

Otzi carried 14 arrows in his quiver, but only two had arrowheads and feather fletching.

What We Can Learn From Ötzi the Iceman's Hunting Pack

The famed Copper Age mummy's bowstring is the world's oldest known specimen

Atlatl grips from the Par-Tee site in Oregon

These Miniature Tools Taught Ancient Children How to Hunt and Fight

A new study describes artifacts from an archaeological site in Oregon that appear to have been scaled down for little hands

The film opens on Christmas Day.

The True History Behind the '1917' Movie

A story shared by director Sam Mendes' grandfather, a veteran of the Western Front, inspired the new World War I film

The shield was buried alongside a 2,000-year-old chariot drawn by two horses.

Archaeologists Unearth Celtic Warrior Grave Complete With Chariot, Elaborate Shield

One expert hailed the shield as "the most important British Celtic art object of the millennium"

The stretcher bullet (mostly intact) and two fragments of the bullet that fatally wounded Kennedy, as seen from multiple perspectives

Bullets That Killed John F. Kennedy Immortalized as Digital Replicas

The originals remain at the National Archives, but new 3-D scans showcase the ballistics in vivid detail

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