Smart News History & Archaeology

A portrait of Prince Alemayehu in July 1868

Buckingham Palace Refuses to Repatriate Remains of Ethiopian Prince

Taken from his home as a small child, Prince Dejatch Alemayehu died in England at age 18

Natasha Poonawalla arrives on the red carpet in a sari for the Met Gala in May 2022.

The Evolution—and Reinvention—of the Sari

"The Offbeat Sari" explores the traditional garment's role in fashion, protest, sustainability and more

Dogs sunbathing at the Acropolis

Pets Will Soon Be Welcome at More Than 120 Archaeological Sites in Greece

The new policies won't apply at certain high-traffic destinations like the Acropolis

The only meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X occured on March 26, 1964, at the U.S. Senate.

Martin Luther King Jr. Never Said Famous Quote Criticizing Malcolm X

One journalist's archival discovery is changing historians' understanding of the two civil rights leaders

One of the marble capitals found by swimmer Gideon Harris

Cool Finds

Swimmer Stumbles Upon 1,800-Year-Old Marble Columns From Shipwreck Off Israel’s Coast

The artifacts help settle an unanswered question about ancient architectural materials

A close-up view of the Titanic's bow

See the Titanic in Stunning Detail With New 3D Scan

Researchers collected 16 terabytes of data to create the very first full-sized 3D scan of the wreckage

Landscape of Saudi Arabia where some of the to-scale engravings were found.

Archaeologists Discover the Oldest Known Blueprints

The Stone Age engravings are to-scale depictions of desert kites, massive stone structures used by hunters to capture animals

This stainless steel scuplture was one of 12 artifacts stolen from the Kelham Island Museum.

'Irreplaceable' Artifacts Stolen From a Museum in Sheffield, England

The 12 items are part of the region's rich history as a metalworking capital

Bone fractures suggest that structural damage killed the two Pompeii residents.

These Two Ancient Pompeii Victims Died in an Earthquake—Not a Volcanic Eruption

Archaeologists have found the bodies of two men who perished in the days before Mount Vesuvius erupted

Defendants sit next to their lawyers at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden on January 10, 2023.

Five Men Convicted in $100 Million Jewel Heist That Rocked Germany

The thieves who robbed Dresden's Green Vault in 2019 are members of the Remmo crime family

The Hunterian is one of few places in the United Kingdom where the public can see specimens prepared specifically to show human anatomy.

See Tables Crafted From Human Tissue, a Toad With Eggs on Its Back and More at This London Museum

The newly reopened Hunterian Museum acknowledges the ethical quandaries posed by its collection of anatomical specimens

Kari Bruwelheide (background) and Douglas Owsley (foreground) of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History take measurements of the remains of the 17th-century skeleton. 

Archaeologists Uncover 400-Year-Old Skeleton in Sister Colony to Jamestown

The remains belong to a teenage boy buried at the historic city of St. Mary's, Maryland's first capital

Archaeologists have discovered what appear to be the outlines of three temporary Roman military camps in the Jordanian desert.

Archaeologists Discover Roman Camps in Jordan That May Indicate a Secret Military Invasion

The camps suggest the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom may not have been as peaceful as previously thought

An associated pair of Chinese doucai "lotus and chrysanthemum" jars from the Qing Dynasty

Jars Found at Thrift Store Turn Out to Be Treasures From the Qing Dynasty

Bought for just $25, the 18th-century ceramics could fetch more than $60,000 at auction

Starring Bel Powley as Miep Gies; Joe Cole (of “Peaky Blinders” fame) as her husband, Jan; and Liev Schreiber as Otto, “A Small Light” draws heavily on Gies’ memoir and the showrunners’ original research.

Based on a True Story

'A Small Light' Tells the Story of Miep Gies, Who Hid Anne Frank From the Nazis

The new series dramatizes the risks Gies and other helpers took to protect the Jewish residents of the Secret Annex

Eight-year-old Elise found the dagger tucked in a pile of stones in the school yard.

Cool Finds

Eight-Year-Old Norwegian Girl Discovers Neolithic Dagger at School Playground

The 3,700-year-old tool is made of flint, a material that doesn't occur naturally in the Scandinavian country

A view of Philadelphia's historic Chinatown

These Are America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual list spotlights cultural sites facing a range of threats

Charles and Camilla with members of the working royal family

See Charles III's Official Coronation Portraits

Hugo Burnand prepared meticulously for his brief photo session following Saturday's ceremony

An employee of the Historical Circle Kesteren at a dig in the Dutch village of Ommeren, where researchers hoped to find treasure German soldiers buried during World War II

What Happened to the Treasure Nazis Buried in This Dutch Village?

The Dutch National Archives released a map supposedly leading to the trove of jewelry, coins and precious stones in January

A diver takes a rubbing of John Greer’s gravestone underwater at Dry Tortugas National Park.

Cool Finds

Quarantine Hospital and Cemetery Found Underwater Off the Coast of Florida

Before it was submerged, a small island was home to 19th-century yellow fever patients

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