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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The newly-discovered limestone statuette is over 4,500 years old.

Cool Finds

Palestinian Farmer Digs Up 4,500-Year-Old Goddess Sculpture

While working his land, Nidal Abu Eid uncovered a statue of Canaanite deity Anat

Antiques dealer Laura Young purchased the bust at Goodwill for $34.99.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Sculpture Likely Looted During WWII Turns Up at Texas Goodwill

Experts are debating who the bust portrays, but they agree on one thing—a thrift store is an unusual spot to find a millennia-old statue

Adam Hardin's 2.38-carat brown diamond "Frankenstone" is the size of a pinto bean.

Cool Finds

Treasure Hunter Unearths 2.38-Carat ‘Frankenstone’ Diamond

Adam Hardin discovered the impressive brown gem at an Arkansas state park

Employees at an Oklahoma recycling center found several pieces of a stolen bronze sculpture depicting ballerina Marjorie Tallchief.

Thieves Stole, Hacked Up and Sold Sculpture That Honored Famed Native American Ballerina

The culprits sawed the life-sized bronze tribute to Marjorie Tallchief into pieces

The clay pot contained 1,290 Roman coins.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologist Stumbles Onto Trove of Coins Dated to Constantine the Great’s Reign

Found in Switzerland, some of the buried Roman coins were minted during a time of relative political stability, between 332 and 335 C.E.

Archaeologists now think this is a devotional pool to an ancient god, not a harbor or ship repair area. 

Cool Finds

An Ancient ‘Harbor’ Was Actually a Sacred Pool Designed for Scanning the Stars

Archaeologists think the devotional zone was dedicated to the god Ba’al

Hector the Deinonychus skeleton

Should the Skeleton of a Dinosaur That Helped Inspire ‘Jurassic Park’ Be Sold to the Highest Bidder?

The rare fossil could sell for $6 million at auction

Demonstrators at a pro-choice march in April 1989

History of Now

In 1973, a Leak at the Supreme Court Broke News of an Imminent Ruling on Roe v. Wade

Nearly 50 years later, a similar disclosure revealed that the court is poised to overturn legalized abortion in the U.S.

Researchers dated the skulls to between 900 and 1200 C.E.

Skulls Thought to Belong to Modern Murder Victims Actually Date to the Pre-Hispanic Period

Found in a cave in Mexico in 2012, the 10th- through 13th-century bones may have been displayed in a ritual tower of craniums

Actress Blake Lively wore a Statue of Liberty–inspired gown whose copper bow unfurled into a blue-green train.

Gilded Age Excess Lived on at the 2022 Met Gala

Celebrities paid tribute to the era of extravagance through gold-adorned ensembles, splashy headdresses and more

A gold Achaemenid plaque featuring a winged lion-griffin, dated to between 500 and 330 B.C.E.

In the Classical World, Persia’s Powers Rivaled Greece and Rome

An exhibition at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles shows how ancient Iran held its own against its better-known contemporaries

Federal prosecutors have charged three men in connection with a large art and sports memorabilia fraud scheme. 

How Fraudsters Allegedly Fooled the Art World in 15-Year Scheme

Federal prosecutors say scammers sold fraudulent paintings and memorabilia to collectors and auction houses

Hieronymus Bosch, The Last Judgment, circa 1515

Inside Hieronymus Bosch’s Surreal Visions of Heaven and Hell

A new exhibition in Budapest features almost 90 works by the Dutch artist and his peers

The Lockkeeper's House is the oldest building on the National Mall. After years of neglect, it is now open to the public.

The National Mall’s Oldest Building Is Now Open to the Public

The long-lived Lockkeeper’s House represents centuries of D.C. history

Painted to inspire a sense of patriotism among 19th-century Americans, Washington Crossing the Delaware still has cultural sticking power today. 

‘Washington Crossing the Delaware’ Sails Toward the Auction Block—and Could Fetch $15 Million

The smaller version of the iconic painting was displayed at the White House for decades

Pysanky have been a Ukrainian springtime tradition for generations. Creating the intricately decorated eggs requires patience and a steady hand.

Traditionally Dyed Eggs Spring Into Action for Ukraine

The colorful folk art is a centuries-long custom

In the ancient Roman world, sexual pleasure was a cause for celebration rather than a source of shame.

Why Was Erotic Art So Popular in Ancient Pompeii?

A new exhibition spotlights 70 examples of sensual imagery discovered in the Roman city

Archeologists work in the ruins of the temple of Zeus Kasios, a deity that merges the Greek god and Mount Kasios. 

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Temple in Egypt Inspired by Greek God Zeus

The deity was honored throughout the ancient world

Nick Bergh handles a damaged wax cylinder, which the Endpoint Machine will be able to read without risk of further damage.

Good News

A Library’s Mysterious Trove of Wax Cylinders Will Soon Break Its Century-Long Silence

The recordings may include mundane conversations—and some of opera’s most legendary singers

A Book of Ryhmes by Charlotte Bronte

Cool Finds

Lost Charlotte Brontë Manuscript Sells for $1.25 Million

The tiny booklet contains the author’s last unpublished poems

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