Smart News History & Archaeology

Bald's Leechbook, a tenth-century medical text that contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments

This Medieval Potion Kills Stubborn Bacteria

"Bald’s eyesalve" is effective against numerous strains of bacteria—and could help treat diabetic foot and leg ulcers

Sipson Island in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, opened to the public on July 25.

Cape Cod Island Opens to the Public for the First Time in 300 Years

When Sipson Island went on the luxury real estate market in 2018, locals saw an opportunity for conservation

Bogs are perhaps best known for preserving prehistoric human remains. One of the most famous examples of these so-called "bog bodies" is Tollund Man.

New Research

Study Suggests Bones Preserved in Peat Bogs May Be at Risk

Per the paper, archaeologists need to act quickly to recover organic material trapped in the wetlands before specimens degrade

The huge sarsen stones that make up Stonehenge's outer ring weigh around 20 tons each and stand roughly 23 feet tall.

New Research

Archaeologists Pinpoint Origins of Stonehenge's Mysterious Megaliths

A new study used chemical analysis to determine that the 20-ton boulders came from the West Woods, some 15 miles away

The Ghent Altarpiece's Adoration of the Lamb panel

Cool Finds

New Research on the Ghent Altarpiece Validates Restorers' Rendering of the Mystic Lamb's Alarmingly Humanoid Face

The animal's soul-penetrating gaze was painted over by a second set of artists in 1550 and spent the next five centuries under wraps

A two-page spread in a 1903 Brooklyn Daily Eagle supplement shows an aerial depiction of the "Brooklyn of the Future," complete with ferry lines and projected bridges, subways, tunnels and elevated roads.

Virtual Travel

Explore Centuries of Brooklyn's History With These Newly Digitized Maps

The Brooklyn Historical Society recently launched a portal featuring almost 1,500 documents dating back to the 17th century

This "grain mummy" honors the Egyptian god Osiris.

Cool Finds

CT Scans Reveal Miniature Mummies' Surprising Contents

One appears to hold the skeleton of a bird, while the other contains a tightly packed lump of grain and mud

On the shores of Pechevalavato Lake in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets region, people dig for more pieces of a mammoth skeleton first found by reindeer herders.

Cool Finds

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton With Intact Ligaments Found in Siberian Lake

Part of the extinct animal's foot was recovered from the water with well-preserved, millennia-old soft tissue

The 22-bedroom County Wexford estate sits on 63 acres of land.

You Could Be the Next Owner of Ireland's 'Most Haunted House'

Local legend claims that the devil visited Loftus Hall, now on sale for $2.87 million, during the 18th century

An 18th-century engraving depicting cross sections of a ship used to transport enslaved people from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean

New Research Reveals the Transatlantic Slave Trade's Genetic Legacy

Scientists investigated whether genetic data collected from 50,000 volunteers lined up with historical shipping manifests

A 14,000-year-old coprolite, a dried out piece of human feces

14,000-Year-Old Fossilized Poop Among Oldest Traces of Humans in North America

Researchers recently confirmed that the ancient dung was indeed produced by humans, and not by animals

A fire at Nantes Cathedral destroyed stained-glass windows and a 17th-century organ.

Arsonist Confesses to Starting Nantes Cathedral Fire

The July 18 blaze, which inflicted less damage than the devastating April 2019 inferno at Notre-Dame, destroyed the French church's organ, stained glass

New research posits that Johannes Vermeer painted View of Delft in September 1659 or 1658.

Art Meets Science

Astronomy Offers Fresh Look at Vermeer's 'View of Delft'

Analysis of sunlight and shadows suggests the Dutch masterpiece portrays the city around 8 a.m. in early September 1659 or 1658

Olivia de Havilland's 1943 legal victory against Warner Bros. contributed to the downfall of the Hollywood studio system.

Olivia de Havilland, Star of Hollywood's Golden Age, Dies at 104

The actress is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind"

Police discovered a total of 13 Roman amphorae and an 18th-century anchor inside a frozen seafood shop in Alicante, Spain.

Cool Finds

Police Confiscate Roman Amphorae Found Stashed in Spanish Seafood Shop

The store owner's son allegedly discovered the 13 clay vessels on fishing trips and brought them back as decorations

Bruno Dey, a former SS watchman at the Stutthof concentration camp, hides his face behind a folder as he arrives for a hearing in his trial on July 23.

Former Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Convicted as Accessory in 5,230 Murders

Defendant Bruce Dey, now 93, oversaw prisoners at Stutthof in Poland from August 1944 to April 1945

Release the Kraken!

The Legend, the History and the Science Behind Seattle's New Hockey Team Name

NHL fans, meet the Seattle Kraken—named for a mythical beast that may have been inspired by the very real giant squid

Theodore Roosevelt stands with naturalist John Muir on Glacier Point, above Yosemite Valley, California, USA.

Sierra Club Grapples With Founder John Muir’s Racism

The organization calls out Muir’s racist statements and pledges to diversify leadership and deepen environmental justice initiatives

Chicago-based publisher Haymarket Books will launch the reimagined London tube map next International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021.

A New London Tube Map Will Highlight Women and Nonbinary People

Co-organizers Emma Watson and Reni Eddo-Lodge drew inspiration from a 2016 project centered on the New York City subway

Curators at the Science and Industry Museum are unsure what purpose this object, crudely cast with a copper-based alloy, served.

Can You Help Identify This Museum's Mystery Artifacts?

A Manchester-based science institution has a backlog of unusual objects in need of classification

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