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Editors' Picks

Top Harvard Scholar Discovers 4th-Century Text Fragment That Suggests Jesus Was Married

Researcher Karen King announced today the stunning discovery that could is sure to send shock waves through the Christian world

Diving for the Secrets of the Battle of the Atlantic

Off the coast of North Carolina lie dozens of shipwrecks, remainders of a forgotten theater of World War II

The Secrets of Ancient Rome’s Buildings

What is it about Roman concrete that keeps the Pantheon and the Colosseum still standing?

History Beats

The Battle Over Richard III’s Bones…And His Reputation

Rival towns are vying for the king’s remains and his legacy now that his skeleton has been found 500 years after his death
February 08, 2013 | By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

Page 1 of 3

When Did Humans Come to the Americas?

Recent scientific findings date their arrival earlier than ever thought, sparking hot debate among archaeologists
February 2013 | By Guy Gugliotta

Air Pollution Has Been a Problem Since the Days of Ancient Rome

By testing ice cores in Greenland, scientists can look back at environmental data from millennia past
February 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Indians Made It to Australia More Than 4,000 Years Before the British

Evidence of substantial gene flow between Australian and Indian populations around 4,000 years ago refutes beliefs that Australia was an isolated continent before Europeans arrived
January 15, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

What’s Inside a 2,000-Year-Old, Shipwreck-Preserved Roman Pill?

Ancient Roman pills, preserved in sealed tin containers on the seafloor, may have been used as eye medicine
January 07, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

A Scholarly Approach to Innovation

The Secretary of the Smithsonian draws the connection between the Clovis tools and Silicon Valley
December 2012 | By G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Papyrus

The Inside Story of a Controversial New Text About Jesus

According to a top religion scholar, this 1,600-year-old text fragment suggests that some early Christians believed Jesus was married—possibly to Mary Magdalene
September 18, 2012 | By Ariel Sabar

Howard Carter: Famous Archaeologist, Not-So-Famous Painter

Didn’t know he was an artist too? "Tut tut!"
May 09, 2012 | By K. Annabelle Smith

Venus of Hohle Fels

The Cave Art Debate

The discovery of a 40,000-year old figurine reignites debate among archaeologists about the origins—and true purpose—of art
March 2012 | By Andrew Curry

U701 shipwreck

Diving for the Secrets of the Battle of the Atlantic

Off the coast of North Carolina lie dozens of shipwrecks, remainders of a forgotten theater of World War II
January 18, 2012 | By Jim Morrison

Ancient art portraits

The Oldest Modernist Paintings

Two thousand years before Picasso, artists in Egypt painted some of the most arresting portraits in the history of art
February 2012 | By Smithsonian Magazine

Roman Colosseum

The Secrets of Ancient Rome’s Buildings

What is it about Roman concrete that keeps the Pantheon and the Colosseum still standing?
November 16, 2011 | By Erin Wayman

La Dea statue

The Goddess Goes Home

Following years of haggling over its provenance, a celebrated statue once identified as Aphrodite, has returned to Italy
November 2011 | By Ralph Frammolino

Francesco Rutelli

Acquisition Guidelines

November 2011 | By Ralph Frammolino

Huana harvest

Farming Like the Incas

The Incas were masters of their harsh climate, archaeologists are finding—and the ancient civilization has a lot to teach us today
September 07, 2011 | By Cynthia Graber

Taj Mahal

How to Save the Taj Mahal?

A debate rages over preserving the awe-inspiring, 350-year-old monument that now shows signs of distress from pollution and shoddy repairs
September 2011 | By Jeffrey Bartholet

Zahi Hawass

The Fall of Zahi Hawass

Removed as minister of antiquities, the high profile archaeologist no longer holds the keys to 5,000 years of Egyptian history
July 18, 2011 | By Andrew Lawler

Beer ingredients

The Beer Archaeologist

By analyzing ancient pottery, Patrick McGovern is resurrecting the libations that fueled civilization
August 2011 | By Abigail Tucker

La Danta

El Mirador, the Lost City of the Maya

Now overgrown by jungle, the ancient site was once the thriving capital of the Maya civilization
May 2011 | By Chip Brown

Dome of the Rock

What is Beneath the Temple Mount?

As Israeli archaeologists recover artifacts from the religious site, ancient history inflames modern-day political tensions
April 2011 | By Joshua Hammer

Blackbeard the pirate

Did Archaeologists Uncover Blackbeard's Treasure?

Cannons. Gold dust. Turtle bones. For archaeologists researching the notorious pirate's flagship, every clue is priceless
March 2011 | By Abigail Tucker

Roman Colosseum Hypogeum

Secrets of the Colosseum

A German archaeologist has finally deciphered the Roman amphitheater's amazing underground labyrinth
January 2011 | By Tom Mueller

Cave bears Chauvet painting

Fate of the Cave Bear

The lumbering beasts coexisted with the first humans for tens of thousands of years and then died off. Why?
December 2010 | By Andrew Curry

Pompeii street graffiti

Reading the Writing on Pompeii’s Walls

To better understand the ancient Roman world, one archaeologist looks at the graffiti, love notes and poetry alike, left behind by Pompeians
July 27, 2010 | By Kristin Ohlson

Villa Adriana

Home Away From Rome

Excavations of villas where Roman emperors escaped the office are giving archaeologists new insights into the imperial way of life
June 2010 | By Paul Bennett

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