British History

The intricately crafted ornament, which depicts a knight emerging out of a snail shell perched atop of a goat, measures less than an inch long.

Was This Ornament of a Knight Emerging From a Snail Shell a 'Medieval Meme'?

The unusual image "may be a satirical reference to cowardly or non-chivalric behavior of opponents," says curator Beverly Nenk

Builders found the ruins beneath 81-year-old Charles Pole's back garden.

Ruins of Medieval Palace Found Beneath English Retiree's Garden

Beginning in the 13th century, the castle in Somerset County served as a residence for local bishops

The Royalists used the cookbook to paint Oliver and Elizabeth Cromwell as commoners unfit to rule the kingdom.

This 17th-Century Cookbook Contained a Vicious Attack on Oliver Cromwell's Wife

The Cromwell Museum has republished a text first issued by the English Lord Protector's enemies as propaganda

On March 13, 1996, a gunman murdered 16 students and their teacher at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland. Pictured: the class of 5- to 6-year-olds and their teacher, Gwen Mayor

How the 1996 Dunblane Massacre Pushed the U.K. to Enact Stricter Gun Laws

A devastating attack at a Scottish primary school sparked national outcry—and a successful campaign for gun reform

Medieval women viewed birthing girdles, or long pieces of parchment inscribed with religious invocations and drawings, as protective talismans.

A Medieval Woman Wore This 'Birthing Girdle' to Protect Herself During Labor

Researchers found traces of bodily fluids, as well as milk and other materials associated with pregnancy, on the ten-foot long parchment

Can You Dig It volunteers took part in excavation work at Little Wood Hill in 2019.

Hazelnut Shell Sheds Light on Life in Scotland More Than 10,000 Years Ago

Amateur archaeologists discovered the shell, along with evidence from an Iron Age structure, in 2019

Wreckage uncovered in Thorpeness, along England's Suffolk coast, may belong to an 18th-century collier, or coal-carrying vessel.

Storms Reveal Two Historic Shipwrecks on England's Eastern Coast

Archaeologists have only gotten a “tantalizing glimpse” of the vessels, which are currently inaccessible due to Covid-19 restrictions

Emilio Sanchez, who had come to the U.S. in his youth, was an ideal informant. Clockwise from top left: 1865 bird's eye view of New York and environs, capture of a slave ship off the African coast in 1859, silhouette representing Sanchez, and page from Sanchez's notes

How a Cuban Spy Sabotaged New York's Thriving, Illicit Slave Trade

Emilio Sanchez and the British government fought the lucrative business as American authorities looked the other way

The bomb may date to the spring of 1942, when the German Luftwaffe heavily bombarded Exeter and other historic English cities.

An Unexploded WWII Bomb Was (Safely) Detonated in England

Routine construction work near the University of Exeter unearthed the 2,204-pound device in late February

Theodore Roosevelt scholar and historian Clay Jenkinson tells the story of Roosevelt’s beloved west and the national park that bears his name in a Smithsonian Associates Streaming program on March 4.

Theodore Roosevelt's North Dakota and 27 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in March

Multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours produced by the world’s largest museum-based educational program

Snow-covered outline of the Roman villa's foundations

Remnants of Iron Age Settlement, Roman Villa Found in England

Excavations in Oxfordshire revealed traces of at least 15 ancient roundhouses and a dwelling dated to the third or fourth century A.D.

Blickling Hall is listed in Britain’s earliest public record, the Domesday Book, which was written in the 11th century. The house was at one point the home of Geoffrey Boleyn, grandfather of Anne Boleyn, who may have been born there around 1507.

Historic British Mansion Fights Moths With Tiny Parasitic Wasps

The moths eat wool and silk, putting historic artifacts—like a tapestry gifted to the house by Catherine the Great—at risk

The bronze Cupid figurine carries a flaming torch.

2,000-Year-Old Figurine of Roman Love God Cupid Found in England

Archaeologists say the petite statue, discovered ahead of construction of highway, may have been a religious offering

The Bayeux Tapestry dramatizes William the Conqueror's victory over Harold Godwinson in 1066.

Explore Every Stitch of the Famed Bayeux Tapestry Online

Viewers can peruse a high-resolution image of the 224-foot medieval masterpiece, which chronicles the 1066 conquest of England

Researchers recorded striking similarities between Stonehenge and a razed stone circle at the Waun Mawn archaeological site in Wales.

How a Stone Circle in Wales Paved the Way for Stonehenge

New research suggests early Britons used megaliths from a dismantled Welsh monument to construct the iconic ring of standing stones

Archaeologists are conducting excavations ahead of a controversial tunnel plan set to move this highway, the busy A303, underground.

Newly Unearthed Bronze Age Graves Underscore Stonehenge Tunnel's Potential Threat to Heritage

A critic of the controversial project points out that construction could lead to the loss of half a million artifacts

Netflix's The Dig dramatizes the excavation of an elaborate Anglo-Saxon ship burial.

The True History Behind Netflix's 'The Dig' and Sutton Hoo

One of the greatest archaeological finds in British history, the Anglo-Saxon burial changed historians' view of the Dark Ages

Paul Delaroche's 1831 depiction of the princes in the Tower, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York

Did Richard III Order the Deaths of His Nephews as They Slept in the Tower of London?

New research outlines evidence pointing to the English king's guilt

Archaeologists discovered the graveyard beneath 1930s housing at Cambridge University.

Anglo-Saxon Cemetery Found Beneath Demolished University Housing

The find may shed light on life in Britain after the withdrawal of Roman forces in the fifth century A.D.

The gold figurine stands just 2.5 inches tall.

Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths Missing Centerpiece of Henry VIII's Crown

The gold figurine, valued at roughly £2 million, depicts 15th-century English king Henry VI

Page 18 of 50