New research suggests the intrepid adventurer's persistent health problems stemmed from beriberi, a disease linked to vitamin B-1 deficiency.

What Mysterious Illness Plagued Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton?

The Antarctic adventurer was initially diagnosed with scurvy, but new research suggests he actually suffered from beriberi

Historians have long thought that Slavic peoples did not develop an alphabet until the ninth century—but the new findings suggest otherwise.

Cool Finds

Runes Found on Seventh-Century Cow Bone Could Change Slavic History

The Germanic writing suggests Slavs used an alphabet more than 200 years earlier than previously believed

A silver shilling recently found at the former site of St. Mary's Fort, one of the first colonial settlements in British North America

Cool Finds

Rare 17th-Century Coin Featuring Charles I’s Likeness Found in Maryland

Archaeologists found a telltale silver shilling at the likely site of St. Mary’s Fort, a 1634 structure built by early English colonists

The exhibition includes clandestine photographs of Nazi death marches. This image, taken by Maria Seidenberger, depicts a forced march from Buchenwald to Dachau.

When the Nazis Murdered Thousands by Sending Them on Forced Death Marches

Photographs, survivors’ accounts on display at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London illuminate a lesser-known chapter of WWII

The defeated Carthaginians constructed this Temple of Victory at Himera, Sicily, following the first Battle of Himera in 480 B.C.

Contrary to Popular Lore, Ancient Greek Armies Relied on Foreign Mercenaries

Scientists studying fifth-century B.C. soldiers’ teeth found evidence of military support from faraway lands

Game developers consulted with historians to create accurate depictions of 19th-century Native American life. The new version features playable Native characters.

Innovation for Good

New ‘Oregon Trail’ Game Revisits Westward Expansion From Native Perspective

Developers hired three Indigenous historians to help revamp the iconic educational computer game

The rock-cut tombs are carved into different levels of a mountain face at the site.

Cool Finds

Egyptian Archaeologists Accidentally Discover 250 Ancient, Rock-Cut Tombs

Some of the burials found at the Al-Hamidiyah necropolis date back 4,200 years

Lincoln outlived her husband and three of her four children.

Why Historians Should Reevaluate Mary Todd Lincoln’s Oft-Misunderstood Grief

A new exhibition at President Lincoln’s Cottage connects the first lady’s experiences to those of modern bereaved parents

This 1822 painting by John Martin envisions the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. New research suggests a skeleton found in Herculaneum, a seaside town neighboring Pompeii, belonged to a Roman soldier sent to rescue victims from the volcano.

Cool Finds

Vesuvius Victim Identified as Elite Roman Soldier Sent on Failed Rescue Mission

The man may have been a Praetorian Guard dispatched by Pliny the Elder to save Herculaneum’s residents from the volcanic eruption

Effa Manley, co-owner of the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles, poses in the dugout of Ruppert Stadium in Newark, New Jersey, in 1948.

Baseball’s Leading Lady Championed Civil Rights and Empowered Black Athletes

Effa Manley advocated for Black rights as a Negro Leagues team owner in the 1930s and ‘40s

Bran Castle is relying on its connections to the puncture-happy vampire Dracula to entice people to get vaccinated. Here, masked visitors stand in front of a sign depicting syringes as vampire fangs.

Covid-19

‘Dracula’s Castle’ Is Now Offering Visitors Free Covid-19 Vaccinations

Bran Castle’s connections to the vampire may be as mythic as the monster himself, but the site remains a popular Romanian attraction

The oil crisis affected everything from home heating to business costs. But the impact was most obvious on the roads.

History of Now

Gas Shortages in 1970s America Sparked Mayhem and Forever Changed the Nation

Half a century ago, a series of oil crises caused widespread panic and led to profound shifts in U.S. culture

Researchers have long debated the Cerne Abbas Giant's age, with some dating it to the prehistoric period and others to the medieval era.

New Research

Scholars Are One Step Closer to Solving the Mystery of an Enormous Chalk Figure

A new analysis of the 180-foot-tall Cerne Abbas Giant dates the English landmark to between 700 and 1100 A.D.

This 1561 portrait depicts Catherine de' Medici standing alongside four of her children, including the newly crowned Charles IX.

Rarely Seen Portrait of Renaissance Queen Catherine de’ Medici to Go on View

The 16th-century regent, pictured with four of her children, wielded significant political power during the French Wars of Religion

At its height in the 13th century, Angkor boasted a population of around 700,000 to 900,000.

Thirteenth-Century Angkor Was Home to More People Than Modern Boston

New research tracks the famed southeast Asian city’s growth over hundreds of years

Three of the men featured in Facing the Mountain fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The fourth was a conscientious objector who took his case to the Supreme Court.

Meet Four Japanese American Men Who Fought Back Against Racism During WWII

“Facing the Mountain,” a new book by author Daniel James Brown, details the lives of four 20th-century heroes

The newly released ID-Art app allows the public to easily identify and report stolen art.

Innovation for Good

Interpol’s New App Combats Art Crime and Protects Cultural Heritage

Amateur sleuths, collectors and dealers can use ID-Art to access the international organization’s database of 52,000 stolen artworks

The gold bracteates served as a status symbol for sixth-century Scandinavian elites.

Cool Finds

Ancient Norse Elites Buried These Gold Pendants as Sacrifices to the Gods

The 1,500-year-old bracteates—found in a field in southeastern Norway—depict animal and human figures

Warming temperatures allowed archaeologists to begin examining the barracks, which had previously been sealed off by a glacier, in 2017.

Cool Finds

Melting Glacier in the Italian Alps Reveals Trove of World War I Artifacts

Excavations at the summit of Mount Scorluzzo offer rare glimpse into lives of soldiers fighting in the White War

Recent research unearthed a trove of remains at a site that first yielded a Neanderthal skull in 1939.

Cool Finds

Remains of Nine Neanderthals Butchered by Hyenas Found in Italian Cave

The fossilized bones appear to belong to one woman, seven men and a young boy

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