Smart News History & Archaeology

An undated composite sketch of Joseph Henry Loveless, whose headless torso was found in a remote Idaho cave 40 years ago

DNA Evidence Identifies Headless Corpse in Cave as 1916 Axe Murderer

Joseph Henry Loveless murdered his wife with an axe more than 100 years ago. Now, his dismembered remains have been identified

The inspector of measurements and weights, called the agoranomos, was a common job throughout the Roman Empire.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Measuring Table Points to Location of Ancient Jerusalem Market

The table ensured standard measurements for buying and selling in the first century A.D.

Formalin-fixed lung collected in 1912 in Berlin from a 2-year-old girl who died of measles-related pneumonia

Century-Old Lungs May Push Origin of Measles Back 1,500 Years

The viral infection may have made its first hop into humans when large cities arose

A scholar spotted the long-overlooked image (its horns and face are at left, its legs on the right) while conducting research at a Berlin museum.

Cool Finds

This Demon, Immortalized in 2,700-Year-Old Assyrian Tablet, Was Thought to Cause Epilepsy

The damaged drawing was hidden on the back of a clay cuneiform tablet

Most of the newly discovered warriors were sculpted into one of two positions: either clutching pole weapons, with their right arms bent and fists partially clenched, or carrying bows, with their right arms hanging at ease.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Excavate 200 More Chinese Terracotta Warriors

The clay figures are part of the vast subterranean army built to protect the formidable emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife

Otzi carried 14 arrows in his quiver, but only two had arrowheads and feather fletching.

What We Can Learn From Ötzi the Iceman's Hunting Pack

The famed Copper Age mummy's bowstring is the world's oldest known specimen

John Addington Symonds, whose 1873 essay "A Problem in Greek Ethics" helped lay the foundation for the modern gay rights movement

Cool Finds

Researchers Recover an Early Copy of a 19th-Century Gay Rights Essay

This once-lost copy of "A Problem in Greek Ethics" is only the sixth of its kind

The October 31 fire destroyed seven buildings and was probably started by an electrical fault.

Volunteers Digitally Revive Japan's Shuri Castle Following October Fire

The group is seeking one million images in order to create a high-quality reconstruction

Composer and pianist George Gershwin, whose 1924 composition "Rhapsody in Blue" entered the public domain on January 1, 2020

Start of 2020 Ushers Thousands of Once-Copyrighted Works Into the Public Domain

After 95 years of exclusivity, these films, books and compositions are now free for use by everyone

The floor of one of the coffins of Gua, a physician of the governor Djehutyhotep. The paintings, dated to 1795 B.C., show the “two ways”—land and sea—that the dead could use to navigate the afterlife. An even older “Book of Two Ways” has now been unearthed.

Cool Finds

4,000-Year-Old Guide to the Ancient Egyptian Underworld May Be Oldest Illustrated 'Book'

Archaeologists recovered the remnants of an ancient "Book of Two Ways" from a sarcophagus

This female warrior was buried with an elaborately engraved headdress during the fourth century B.C.

Cool Finds

Tomb Containing Three Generations of Warrior Women Unearthed in Russia

The four Scythians were buried together some 2,500 years ago

One of the pig jaws analyzed for the study

People Trekked Across Ireland to Eat Pork at This Ancient Site

A new study suggests travelers brought pigs from far-flung locations to the ceremonial feasting hub of Navan Fort

Some of the Callanish stones, which sit atop the Isle of Lewis in Scotland

Massive Lightning Strike May Have Inspired This Scottish Stone Circle

New geophysical evidence points to ancient burn marks that could have coincided with the building of Scotland’s Callanish standing stones

Parts of Kulubá are already open to the public, and the INAH hopes the newly discovered palace will become accessible “in the medium term.”

Cool Finds

An Ancient Maya Palace Was Discovered in Yucatán State

Archaeologists think it was occupied by Maya elite more than 1,000 years ago

Researchers analyzed 75,688 convict tattoos cataloged in the Digital Panopticon database.

The Victorian Tattooing Craze Started With Convicts and Spread to the Royal Family

A new series of data visualizations offers insights on the practice's historical significance

Carbonized bread with Bay of Naples butter from the "Last Supper in Pompeii" menu at Dinner by Heston

Dine Like a Doomed Pompeiian at This Upscale Eatery

Starting early next year, Dinner by Heston in London will serve a menu inspired by ancient Roman fare

Urquhart Castle, which sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland

Job Hunting? How About Working at a Stunning Scottish Castle?

Even after centuries in ruins, castles still need some TLC—and, perhaps, you?

Archaeologists Daniel Matsenius and Philip Tonemar recovering the probable remnants of Samson, a ship build in the 16th century

16th-Century Shipwreck Discovered Beneath Stockholm City Center

Just a few centuries ago, much of the Swedish capital was under water, clearing the way for magnificent ships to dock on the shore

Dolly Parton, shown here in 2014, has been a country music legend for decades.

Goodbye, Nathan Bedford Forrest. Hello, Dolly?

A Tennessee Republican has proposed replacing a bust of the Confederate general with a tribute to the iconic country star

Atlatl grips from the Par-Tee site in Oregon

Cool Finds

These Miniature Tools Taught Ancient Children How to Hunt and Fight

A new study describes artifacts from an archaeological site in Oregon that appear to have been scaled down for little hands

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