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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

William Trost Richards, Along the Shore, 1903

The Sights and Sounds of the Sea Have Inspired American Artists for Generations

Exhibition spotlights crashing waves, maritime voyages and seafaring vessels painted by Georgia O’Keeffe, Normal Rockwell and Jacob Lawrence

Despite heavy erosion, the camels remain visible some seven millennia after their creation.

Life-Size Camel Sculptures in Saudi Arabia Are Older Than Stonehenge, Pyramids of Giza

New research suggests the animal reliefs date to between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago

Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site is home to hundreds of petroglyphs and pictrographs.

Centuries-Old Pottery Could Reveal When the Crow Arrived in Wyoming

Radiocarbon dating of ceramics found at Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site may offer new insights on the region’s Indigenous history

Italian artist Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso created the ceremonial shield around 1535.

Ornate Medieval Shield Looted by the Nazis Will Be Returned to the Czech Republic

Created in the 16th century, the intricately decorated piece of armor was once owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand

At one point, archaeologists thought the art might be modern graffiti due to its high level of detail.

Missouri Cave Filled With Ancient Artwork Sold Against Osage Nation’s Wishes

The Native American tribe had hoped to preserve and protect the site, which may be associated with the Mississippian culture

The restoration project is expected to last two weeks.

Stonehenge Is Undergoing Repairs for the First Time in Decades

Threatened by erosion, outdated restorations and climate change, the monument’s megaliths are in need of extensive conservation

The former tavern now serves as a local history museum.

Archaeologists Discover Trove of Artifacts at Site of 19th-Century Alabama Tavern

During the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate armies used the building as a hospital and command center

Archaeologists have been excavating the palace, which served as the seat of power for the Silla dynasty, since 2014.

Remains of Likely Human Sacrifice Victim Found in Foundation of Korean Palace

The young woman died in her 20s during the fourth century C.E.

The 4,000-year-old wooden coffin will go on display following extensive conservation work.

Cool Finds

Hollowed-Out, 4,000-Year-Old Tree Trunk Coffin Discovered in Golf Course Pond

The rare Bronze Age sarcophagus contained human remains, an ax and plant bedding

Experts say the cache is one of the largest and most significant of its kind ever found in Denmark.

Cool Finds

Amateur Treasure Hunter Discovers Trove of Sixth-Century Gold Jewelry

Found in Denmark, most of the 22 objects are bracteates, or medallions inscribed with mystical symbols

Alula Pankhurst, a member of Ethiopia’s National Heritage Restitution Committee, calls the objects' return the “single most significant heritage restitution in Ethiopia’s history.”

Looted Maqdala Treasures Returned to Ethiopia After 150 Years

A nonprofit foundation purchased the objects, which were seized by British troops in 1868, with the aim of restituting them

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced plans to remove the sculpture last summer, but a lawsuit filed by locals delayed the process until this week.

History of Now

Richmond Removes Robert E. Lee Statue, Largest Confederate Sculpture in the U.S.

Workers sawed the controversial monument into pieces before transporting it to an undisclosed Virginia storage facility

The dig site at Castel di Guido in Italy featured numerous skeletons of straight-tusked elephants, from which many of the bone tools were produced.

New Research

Hand-Carved, 400,000-Year-Old Bone Tool Used for Smoothing Leather Found in Italy

Found near Rome, the utensil is 100,000 years older than previous finds of this kind

This CGI image shows what the church may have looked like when it was first built. Archaeologists found the church, which dates back to 1080, along with a small number of burials during construction of the HS2 railway system.

Cool Finds

Researchers Unearth a Nearly 900-Year-Old Church in England

Experts made the find ahead of construction of HS2, a controversial, high-speed railway system set to connect much of Great Britain

Some prehistoric stone spheres found in Scotland feature carved ridges and spirals. This one's surface is polished smooth.

Cool Finds

Polished, 5,500-Year-Old Stone Balls Found in Neolithic Scottish Tomb

The rare artifacts were probably used as both weapons and symbols of power

Flight 93 fuselage and call button, now housed in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

September 11

These Free Online Resources Tell the Story of 9/11 and Its Aftermath

Browse 12 archives, databases and portals that help users deepen their understanding of the attacks

The mounds still rise as much as 66 feet above ground, more than 3,000 years after they were constructed.

Cool Finds

Louisiana’s Poverty Point Earthworks Show Early Native Americans Were ‘Incredible Engineers’

A new study finds that enormous mounds and concentric earthen ridges were built in a matter of months

Workers discovered a trove of rare gold coins, pictured here, in the walls of a historic French mansion in 2019. Now, the coins are going up for auction.

Cool Finds

Trove of 239 Rare Gold Coins Discovered in Walls of French Mansion

Renovators discovered a hidden box and pouch stuffed with rare gold coins, minted during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV

Two original slave cabins, as well as the 1790 Big House, 1790 barn and 19th-century kitchen, survived the storm. But Ida destroyed at least several structures on the historic plantation.

Hurricane Ida Damages Whitney Plantation, Only Louisiana Museum to Focus on the Enslaved

The historic site will remain closed indefinitely as staff assess the destruction and make repairs

Jacques-Louis David, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), 1788

Art Meets Science

Iconic Portrait of French Chemist and His Wife Once Looked Entirely Different

Jacques-Louis David’s 1789 painting originally depicted Antoine and Marie Anne Lavoisier as wealthy elites, not modern scientists

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