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Archaeologists excavated the site ahead of construction of a new health center.

Cool Finds

Remnants of 13th-Century Town Walls Unearthed in Wales

Caernarfon, where the discovery was made, was key to Edward I’s conquest of the Welsh

General view of the audience and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Education During Coronavirus

After Closure, the Met Opera Offers Free Streaming of Past Performances

Each night, the institution will post an encore showing of an opera from its “Met Live in HD” series

The Vatican Museums (pictured here), the Anne Frank House and the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City are among the many cultural institutions with online offerings.

Virtual Travel

Ten Museums You Can Virtually Visit

Museums are closing their doors amid the coronavirus crisis, but many offer digital exhibitions visitors can browse from the comfort of home

A two-page spread from the We All Rise coloring book

Covid-19

A Detroit Gallery Is Providing Kids With Coloring Books—and Meals—Amid COVID-19

The Library Street Collective’s “We All Rise” coloring book features drawings by around 30 contemporary artists

Restoration work at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has paused as France works to control the spread of COVID-19.

Covid-19

Notre-Dame Restoration Pauses Amid France’s Two-Week Lockdown

Lead decontamination policies enacted in August are now in conflict with measures to prevent spread of COVID-19

Covid-19

These Graphics Help Explain Why Social Distancing Is Critical

The positive outcomes won’t be immediately apparent, but will help reduce the strain on our healthcare system

A part-human, part-insect glyph found in Iran

Cool Finds

Possible Half-Human, Half-Praying-Mantis Carving Found on Ancient Rocks

The puzzling glyph, which bears some resemblance to the “squatting man” motif, suggests that insects have long held a place in human lore

Some stores have implemented special shopping hours for senior people and immunocompromised individuals.

Covid-19

Stores Launch Special Shopping Times for Seniors and Other Groups Vulnerable to COVID-19

But will that keep susceptible populations safe?

Saddle up! Donkeys can do much more than carry sacks of food: They can hoist around sporty, polo-playing humans, too.

Cool Finds

After a Lifetime of Donkey Polo, This Chinese Noblewoman Asked to Be Buried With Her Steeds

New research reveals a Tang Dynasty woman’s love for sports—and big-eared, braying equids

Banded mongoose use scent marking to communicate information to each other—but pathogens can hide in these secretions, too.

Where Predators Are Scarce, Mongooses May Transmit More Disease

New research hints at how different environments impact animal behavior and the spread of infection

The insect now known as Kaikaia gaga represents a new genus and species of treehopper.

Insect With ‘Wacky Fashion Sense’ Named After Lady Gaga

It’s not quite a meat dress, but Kaikaia gaga does boast some impressive horn-like appendages

Anthony van Dyck, A Soldier on Horseback, c. 1616

Thieves Steal Three Precious Artworks From Oxford Gallery

Together, the paintings—including one by Anthony van Dyck—could be worth around £10 million if sold on the open market

This image depicts one of 20 demolition bombs dropped in 1935 in an attempt to divert lava flow.

Found: Two Bombs From 1935 Stuck in Hawai’i Volcano

After 85 years, officials plan to remove the old, undetonated bombs that were part of a 1935 plan to divert lava flow on Mauna Loa

About one-quarter to one-third of the 86 million pet cats in the U.S. are allowed outside.

New Research

GPS Study Shows Outdoor Cats Have Oversized Effect on Neighborhood Wildlife

The cats also cross the road an average of 4.5 times in six days, putting themselves in danger

Fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the 20th century, are displayed 18 June 2003 at Montreal's Pointe-a-Callieres Archeological Museum

All of the Museum of the Bible’s Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake, Report Finds

The new findings raises questions about the authenticity of a collection of texts known as the “post-2002” scrolls

An Etlatongo ballplayer figurine unearthed at the site

Cool Finds

Newly Unearthed Mesoamerican Ball Court Offers Insights on Game’s Origins

“This could be the oldest and longest-lived team ball game in the world,” says one archaeologist

Serafino Jamourlian of the monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni and Vittoria Dall'Armellina with a newly rediscovered 5,000-year-old sword

Cool Finds

Graduate Student Discovers One of World’s Oldest Swords in Mislabeled Monastery Display

At 5,000 years old, the weapon predates the era when humans first started using tin to make bronze

Could rats be genetically wired for New York City living?

Rats May Be Genetically Adapted to New York Living

Perhaps it was not just a massive slice that made Pizza Rat a true New Yorker

The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, as seen by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)

This Fading Star Wasn’t on the Brink of Death After All—It Was Just Dusty

After four months of unexpected dimming, the red supergiant star has perked back up, and astronomers may have a new explanation for the fluke

Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward outside of Government House in Nassau, the Bahamas, circa 1942

Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson’s Sprawling Bahamas Estate Is Up for Sale

After abdicating the British throne, Edward was appointed governor of the Bahamas, where he temporarily lived in a lavish home in Nassau

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