Smart News History & Archaeology

A monument of civil rights pioneer Elizabeth Freeman in Sheffield, Massachusetts

Untold Stories of American History

How an Enslaved Woman Took Her Freedom to Court

A new statue honors Elizabeth Freeman, who argued against slavery in a Massachusetts legal case

The Roaring Lion, one of the most iconic photographs of Winston Churchill

Hotel Discovers Its Famous Churchill Portrait Was Swapped With a Fake

An original print of the 'Roaring Lion' was stolen from the Fairmont Château Laurier eight months ago

Pauline Menczer

The Untold Stories of Surfing's Trailblazing Women

The documentary 'Girls Can't Surf' examines the sexism women surfers faced in the 1980s and '90s

Australia is home to roughly 200 million rabbits, which are not native to the country and damage crops and ecosystems. 

How Two Dozen Rabbits Started an Ecological Invasion in Australia

The country’s “most serious pests” can be traced to one shipment from England in 1859, study shows

Designer Samantha Black created three special-edition outfits for Claudie.

New American Girl Doll Celebrates Black Joy During the Harlem Renaissance

Nine-year-old Claudie Wells' story unfolds in 1920s New York

“Regeneration,” the groundbreaking new exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, showcases never-before-seen films.

Academy Museum Explores Black Cinema's Early Years

A new exhibition spotlights how Black artists shaped American filmmaking from 1898 to 1971

The Dolmen of Guadalperal, nicknamed the “Spanish Stonehenge,” is now visible because of Europe’s ongoing drought.

Europe's Drought Is Revealing Historic Artifacts

World War II-era warships, the 'Spanish Stonehenge' and other remnants of the past are emerging from the continent's waterways

Some of the artifacts discovered in Israel

Cool Finds

Israeli Archaeologists Uncover Hundreds of Ancient Dice Used for Divination—and Gaming

Made from animal bones, the artifacts are more than 2,000 years old

The forged manuscript in the university’s collection

Historian Discovers a Prized Galileo Manuscript Was Forged

The fake document at the University of Michigan was likely created by a famous 20th-century forger

The mural in its new location inside the Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington, Vermont

Why Was a Synagogue Mural Hidden Behind a Wall in a Vermont Apartment?

The restoration of the stunning 112-year-old artwork is now complete

Archaeologists pose near the inscription found on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee

Cool Finds

Did Archaeologists Find Saint Peter's Birthplace?

An inscription uncovered at the site of an ancient church offers new evidence

Shiva in Himalayan Abode with Ascetics, a 10th-century statue returned to Nepal

The Met Returns Two Stolen Artifacts to Nepal

The 10th-century stone statue and 13th-century wooden strut will go on display at the National Museum of Nepal

James Cook, who began his famous voyage on the Endeavor in 1768

Shipworms Are Eating a Wreck That Could Be Captain Cook's 'Endeavour'

Marine biologist Reuben Shipway is sounding the alarm about the so-called termites of the sea

James Lovelock sits with one of his early inventions, a Gas Chromatography device that measures molecules in the atmosphere.

Remembering James Lovelock, Whose ‘Gaia Theory’ Shaped Our Understanding of Global Warming

The British scientist and inventor who said Earth is a self-regulating system died earlier this summer on his 103rd birthday

Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees bats during a game against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium in 1960.

Rare Mickey Mantle Baseball Card Could Sell for $10 Million

The mint-condition copy could become one of the most expensive baseball cards ever sold at auction

The Capitol Stones piled in Rock Creek Park

Is This the End of D.C.'s Most-Beloved Hidden Landmark?

The fate of the stones that were once a part of the U.S. Capitol has locals despondent

The Guggenheim Museum in New York City

Was That Painting Stolen by Nazis? New York Museums Are Now Required to Tell You

A new law directs museums to "prominently place a placard" acknowledging Nazi-looted art

Mastodon skeletons stand on display at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History in Ann Arbor.

Cool Finds

Construction Crews Stumble Upon Mastodon Skeleton in Michigan

The massive animal was likely between 10 and 20 years old when it died roughly 12,000 years ago

An 1843 illustration for A Christmas Carol by George Leech, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is shown his own tombstone

Charles Dickens Was a 'Fascinated Skeptic' of the Supernatural

A new exhibition explores the writer's enduring interest in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena

Alan Turing’s class photo at King’s College, Cambridge in 1931

King's College, Cambridge Will Install Abstract Memorial to Alan Turing

Despite pushback, plans for a sculpture honoring the visionary mathematician have been approved

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