Historically Relevant Artifacts
Found: Letters from the Hindenburg
A new addition to the Smithsonian collections tells a new story about the legendary disaster
May 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
How Old is That Silk Artifact?
A chemist from the Textile Museum is perfecting a new technique for understanding the past
February 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Secretary Clough on Jefferson's Bible
The head of the Smithsonian Institution details the efforts American History Museum conservators took to repair the artifact
October 2011 |
By G. Wayne Clough
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
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
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
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
Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
Resolving the dispute over authorship of the ancient manuscripts could have far-reaching implications for Christianity and Judaism
January 2010 |
By Andrew Lawler
Looting Mali's History
As demand for its antiquities soars, the West African country is losing its most prized artifacts to illegal sellers and smugglers
November 2009 |
By Joshua Hammer
A Compass Saves the Crew
A WWII sailor's memento recalls the harrowing ordeal when his ship, the SS Alcoa Guide, was struck by a German U-Boat
September 2009 |
By Owen Edwards
Galileo's Instruments of Discovery
With these various instruments, Galileo Galilei was able to look into space and change our view of the universe.
July 20, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Terra Cotta Soldiers on the March
A traveling exhibition of China's terra cotta warriors sheds new light on the ruler whose tomb they guarded
July 2009 |
By Arthur Lubow
Spirals of History
Hand-carved elephant tusks tell the story of life in the Congolese colonies of the late 1800s
April 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
Sitting Bull's Legacy
The Lakota Sioux leader's relics return to his only living descendants
October 31, 2007 |
By Jess Blumberg
The Treasures of Timbuktu
Scholars in the fabled African city, once a great center of learning and trade, are racing to save a still emerging cache of ancient manuscripts
December 2006 |
By Joshua Hammer
Titanic Sank This Morning
An artifact from the doomed ocean liner evokes that catastrophic night in April 1912
April 2004 |
By Owen Edwards
Pieces of History
Raised from the deep, the Monitor's turret reveals a bounty of new details about the ship's violent end
November 2002 |
By Wendy Mitman Clarke
A Mystery in Miniature
An enigmatic button once decorated the uniform of Haitian liberator Toussaint Louverture
January 2000 |
By Anne Geracimos
Reds versus Whites
A masterpiece in porcelain replays old struggles between Bolshevik and Czarist opponents
July 1999 |
By Edwards Park
