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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Women at Gateways with owner Ted Ware around 1953

Inside Gateways, One of the World’s Longest-Surviving Lesbian Nightclubs

A new documentary tells the story of the London nightclub where lesbian women found escape and acceptance

Sammy B torpedo tubes

World’s Deepest Shipwreck Discovered Four Miles Underwater in the Philippines

The U.S. destroyer was sunk during World War II

Reconstruction of marble finial in the form of a sphinx (detail), 2022, by Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann

Art Meets Science

See the Vibrant, Long-Overlooked Colors of Classical Sculptures

A new exhibition at the Met features brightly hued reconstructions of ancient Greco-Roman artworks

Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck sees the portrait for the first time since it was stolen.

Cool Finds

Nazi-Looted Painting Returned to 101-Year-Old Dutch Woman

Over 75 years ago, Germans stole ‘Portrait of Steven Wolters’ from Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck’s father

Notre-Dame’s oldest bell, Emmanuel, dates back to the 15th century and rings in F sharp.

The Secret Sounds of Notre-Dame’s Bells

An artist is live streaming the bells’ imperceptible vibrations, which reflect the city around them

First discovered in 1900, the Antikythera shipwreck has yielded some of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Cool Finds

Divers Pull Marble Head of Hercules From a 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck in Greece

The Antikythera shipwreck, discovered in 1900, continues to yield new artifacts

Attorney Gloria Allred (left) and Norma McCorvey (right), the anonymous plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, during a pro-choice rally in Burbank, California, on July 4, 1989

Women Who Shaped History

Who Was Norma McCorvey, the Woman Behind Roe v. Wade?

Dubbed “Jane Roe,” McCorvey sought an abortion after becoming pregnant in 1969 but was thwarted by Texas’ restrictive reproductive laws

In “EmilyBlaster,” the gameplay is shooting at words to form Emily Dickinson poems.

You Can Now Play ‘EmilyBlaster,’ a Video Game Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

Players assemble poems by shooting at words in the ‘80s-style adventure

This painting by Richard Caton Woodville Jr. depicts the Battle of Omdurman.

Sudanese Museums Call for Return of Stolen Artifacts

Colonizers took the items after a deadly battle in the late 19th century

The mosque was found in the Bedouin town of Rahat in Israel’s Negev desert.

Cool Finds

In Israeli Desert, Archaeologists Find One of the Oldest Known Mosques

The seventh-century structure provides clues about a region in transition

In June, a World War II barge became visible in the Po River

Cool Finds

Drought in Italy Reveals Sunken World War II Barge

The Po, Italy’s largest river, is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years

While many strains of E. coli are harmless, some can cause illness.

Ancient Strain of E. Coli Found in 16th-Century Mummy

Researchers identified the bacterium in fragments from a gallstone

View of Nehalem Beach, where the ship was wrecked, with Neahkahnie Mountain in the distance

Cool Finds

Rare Timbers From 17th-Century Spanish Shipwreck Discovered Off Oregon Coast

The Manila galleon—and its cargo of silk, porcelain and beeswax—vanished en route to Mexico in 1693

This pay phone, one of the last in New York City, was removed from Times Square at the end of May.

One of the Last Pay Phones in New York City Moves to a Museum

Located in Times Square until last month, the pay phone is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York

The original doghouse at the Bergers’ home

Good News

A Doghouse Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Is Now on Display

The architect sketched “Eddie’s House,” named for a Labrador retriever, on the back of an envelope in the 1950s

Researchers found the remains of more than 140 individuals, in addition to hundreds of artifacts.

Cool Finds

Ahead of Planned Rail Line, Archaeologists Uncover Early Medieval Cemetery

The team found 138 graves and a large assortment of artifacts and personal objects

Rome’s new Museum of Rescued Art opens with some 100 objects on display.

Cool Finds

At Museum for Rescued Art, Italy Displays Stolen Artifacts It Has Recovered

The museum will showcase items before returning them to their original locations

The gravestones say that the women died of “pestilence.”

Where Did the Black Death Start? Thanks to Ancient DNA, Scientists May Have Answers

The devastating disease possibly began in what is now northern Kyrgyzstan

A rendering of a section of the museum focused on Rent, which immerses visitors in the East Village

The First-Ever Broadway Museum Makes Its Debut

Interactive exhibits will walk visitors through the Great White Way’s history and evolution

The Canton Synagogue, founded in 1531

Inside the Effort to Restore Synagogues in Venice’s 500-Year-Old Jewish Ghetto

A new project focuses on three 16th-century synagogues in the Italian city, where the Jewish population has dropped to 450

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