Smart News History & Archaeology

An artistic illustration of Egyptian embalmers in the underground embalming workshop at Saqqara

The Surprising Substances Ancient Egyptians Used to Mummify the Dead

An analysis of 2,500-year-old embalming ingredients suggests some of them came from far-off places

Two of the gemstones discovered at a Roman bathhouse in Carlisle, England

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 2,000-Year-Old Gemstones in Drain Beneath a Roman Bathhouse

The stones, known as intaglios, likely fell from the rings of wealthy bathers

One of the recently discovered tombs at the Saqqara archaeological site

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Oldest Known Gold-Covered Mummy in Egypt

The year-long excavation has also revealed statues, tools, pottery and dozens of other artifacts

Researchers discovered an ancient tavern at Lagash in southern Iraq.

Cool Finds

5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq

Archaeologists found benches, an oven and food remnants dating back to 2700 B.C.E.

The gold pendant likely dates to around 1521.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Discovers Rare Gold Pendant Celebrating Henry VIII's First Marriage

The heart-shaped accessory features the entwined initials of the Tudor king and Catherine of Aragon

A soldier standing guard over the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater in March 2022

UNESCO Adds Odesa to List of World Heritage in Danger

The new designation is intended to offer additional protection and resources to the historic port city

A portrait of Anne d’Alégre, a 17th-century French noblewoman who masked her poor dentition with gold wire and an elephant ivory false tooth

What Secrets Lie Beneath This 17th-Century French Aristocrat's Smile?

New research suggests noblewoman Anne d’Alégre used gold wire to keep her decaying teeth in place

Salman Rushdie's latest book, Victory City, will be released on February 7.

In Salman Rushdie's New Book, Stories Outlive Tyrants

'Victory City' comes just six months after the author survived a violent attack at a speaking event

A fresco stolen from an archaeological site at Herculaneum, an ancient town near Pompeii that was buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption

Italy Celebrates Return of Looted Artifacts Worth $20 Million

Some of the five dozen items had been on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Officials in Peru say that Machu Picchu is closing indefinitely, citing security concerns and damage to nearby railways.

Peru Closes Machu Picchu Amid Anti-Government Protests

More than 50 people have died as demonstrations escalate and police crack down on dissent

As of January 24, the Doomsday Clock sits at 90 seconds to midnight.

The Doomsday Clock Is Now Closer Than Ever to Midnight

The reset comes amid the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats and climate change

The mummified teen digitally unwrapped in four stages

Digital Scans Reveal Secrets of 'Golden Boy' Mummy

The 2,300-year-old mummified teen was buried with 49 protective amulets, several made of gold

The middle section of Dance on the Beach (1906) by Edvard Munch

This 13-Foot-Long Munch Painting Was Hidden From the Nazis in a Norwegian Forest

"Dance on the Beach" will be going up for auction for the first time since the 1930s

The animals were preserved in a different manner than most mummified crocodiles.

Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Crocodiles

The remains include five reptile heads and five nearly intact specimens

The Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland in California

Disney’s Controversial Splash Mountain Ride Has Officially Closed

Come 2024, the attraction—inspired by the racist 1946 movie "Song of the South"—will be reimagined as Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Five images display (A) an unhatched egg, (B) a circular outline of a possibly unhatched egg, (C) a compressed egg showing hatching window (arrow) and eggshells collected around the hatching window (circled), (D) an egg showing a curved outline, and (E) a deformed egg showing egg surfaces slipping past each other.

Cool Finds

Scientists Uncover Nearly 100 Dinosaur Nests in Fossilized Hatchery

The find reveals that plant-eating titanosaurs had reproductive similarities to both birds and crocodiles

Sister André, born Lucile Randon in 1904, died on January 17, 2023, at the age of 118.

Covid-19

World’s Oldest Known Person, a French Nun, Dies at 118

Sister André survived both world wars, the 1918 influenza pandemic and even a Covid-19 diagnosis at the age of 116

The 12- by 12-inch runestone dates back to between 1 and 250 C.E.

Cool Finds

'Sensational' Runestone Discovered in Norway May Be the World's Oldest

The find promises to shed new light on lingering questions about runic writing's early history

The finely crafted, decorative ceramics

Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

The Bronze Age well was full of decorative ceramics, jewelry and other items likely used for ritual purposes

An illustration of Charles Byrne, whose bones were displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London for some 200 years

Why a London Museum Is Removing the Skeleton of an 'Irish Giant' From View

Charles Byrne asked for his body to be buried at sea. Instead, an anatomist bought his bones and displayed them to the public

loading icon