Smart News History & Archaeology

A chemical analysis of the stone slab has led a modern team of researchers to argue for a far less biblical origin story.

New Analysis Refutes Nazareth Inscription's Ties to Jesus' Death

The marble slab appears to be Greek in origin and may have been written in response to the death of a tyrant on the island of Kos

A stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is one of many artworks available for your perusal.

Virtual Travel

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks, browse interactive maps and more

A roughly 20,000-year-old engraved, pocket-sized rock that may depict a sun, eye or flower

Cool Finds

Portable, Pocket-Sized Rock Art Discovered in Ice Age Indonesian Cave

The findings further refute the outdated notion that humans' capacity for complex artistic expression evolved exclusively in Europe

Archaeologists excavated the site ahead of construction of a new health center.

Cool Finds

Remnants of 13th-Century Town Walls Unearthed in Wales

Caernarfon, where the discovery was made, was key to Edward I's conquest of the Welsh

The Vatican Museums (pictured here), the Anne Frank House and the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City are among the many cultural institutions with online offerings.

Virtual Travel

Ten Museums You Can Virtually Visit

Museums are closing their doors amid the coronavirus crisis, but many offer digital exhibitions visitors can browse from the comfort of home

A part-human, part-insect glyph found in Iran

Cool Finds

Possible Half-Human, Half-Praying-Mantis Carving Found on Ancient Rocks

The puzzling glyph, which bears some resemblance to the "squatting man" motif, suggests that insects have long held a place in human lore

Saddle up! Donkeys can do much more than carry sacks of food: They can hoist around sporty, polo-playing humans, too.

Cool Finds

After a Lifetime of Donkey Polo, This Chinese Noblewoman Asked to Be Buried With Her Steeds

New research reveals a Tang Dynasty woman's love for sports—and big-eared, braying equids

Fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the 20th century, are displayed 18 June 2003 at Montreal's Pointe-a-Callieres Archeological Museum

All of the Museum of the Bible's Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake, Report Finds

The new findings raises questions about the authenticity of a collection of texts known as the "post-2002" scrolls

An Etlatongo ballplayer figurine unearthed at the site

Cool Finds

Newly Unearthed Mesoamerican Ball Court Offers Insights on Game's Origins

"This could be the oldest and longest-lived team ball game in the world," says one archaeologist

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

Cool Finds

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

Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward outside of Government House in Nassau, the Bahamas, circa 1942

Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson's Sprawling Bahamas Estate Is Up for Sale

After abdicating the British throne, Edward was appointed governor of the Bahamas, where he temporarily lived in a lavish home in Nassau

Volunteers have placed sandbags along the beach in hopes of preventing further flooding.

U.K. Storms Unearth Bones From Historic Scottish Cemetery—and Archaeologists Are Worried

The burial site, which contains remains from both the Picts and the Norse, is at risk of disappearing due to coastal erosion

This porcelain pot with enamel decorations is one of 100 teapots on display in the Met's updated British Galleries.

A Story of an Empire, Told Through Tea

The Met has revamped its British Galleries, drawing on luxurious artifacts to highlight the country's history of exploitation

The Box Museum in England will open this May with an exhibit featuring 14 19th-century naval figureheads

Rescued From Rot, 19th-Century Naval Figureheads to Feature in New Exhibit

A collection of 14 restored wooden statues, including a two-ton William IV, will be shown at the Box Museum in England

A general view shows the step pyramid of Djoser in Egypt's Saqqara necropolis, south of the capital Cairo, on March 5.

Egypt's Oldest Pyramid Reopens to Public After 14-Year Hiatus

Built nearly 4,700 years ago as a tomb for the pharaoh Djoser, the structure underwent more than a decade of on-and-off restorations

The manuscript features an array of gilded designs and illustrations.

Stolen Collection of Persian Poetry Found With Help of 'Indiana Jones of the Art World' Goes on Auction

The 15th-century edition of Hafez's "Divan" will be sold at Sotheby's next month

The underground bunker is about 23 feet long and 10 feet wide.

Cool Finds

WWII Bunker Used by Churchill's 'Secret Army' Unearthed in Scotland

British Auxiliary Units were trained to sabotage the enemy in case of German invasion

Workers discovered the bones in a lead container hidden in the walls of the Church of St. Mary and St. Eanswythe.

Bones Unearthed in English Church Likely Belong to Seventh-Century Saint

Eanswythe was the granddaughter of Ethelbert, the first English king to convert to Christianity

El Tendedero/The Clothesline Project, an installation by Mónica Mayer in which women were invited to vent their frustrations about their city on a piece of pink paper

#5WomenArtists Campaign Tackles Gender Inequity for the Fifth Year in a Row

Though women make up nearly half of visual artists in the United States, they represent just 13 percent of artists in museum collections

Built at the turn of the seventh century, the white plaster-coated road begins in Cobá and ends 62 miles west, at Yaxuná's ancient downtown in the center of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Did a Seventh-Century Warrior Queen Build the Maya's Longest Road?

Dubbed the "white road" in honor of its limestone paving, the 62-mile path is an engineering marvel on par with Maya pyramids

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