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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Lawmakers voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 (NDAA), which includes legislation that will change how the antiquities market in the US is regulated.

How a New Law Will Impact the U.S. Antiquities Trade

In the name of cracking down on money laundering, a new law passed by Congress will increase federal oversight of the art market and limit secrecy

An illustration of the British burning Washington in 1814

History of Now

The History of Violent Attacks on the U.S. Capitol

While the building has seen politically motivated mayhem in the past, never before has a mob of insurrectionists tried to overturn a presidential election

The stone reads "blessed Maria, who lived an immaculate life."

Cool Finds

A Tombstone Inscribed in Ancient Greek Is Found in Southern Israel

The Byzantine-era stone reads ‘blessed Maria, who lived an immaculate life’

Archaeologists have been excavating the site since 2017.

Cool Finds

A Medieval Nun Led This Newly Unearthed Buddhist Monastery in Eastern India

The religious center, located on a hillside away from densely populated areas, may have had all-female or mixed-gender renunciates

Helen Viola Jackson, who wed U.S. Army veteran James Bolin in 1936, died on December 16 at age 101.

History of Now

The Last Surviving Widow of a Civil War Veteran Dies at 101

Helen Viola Jackson married James Bolin in 1936, when she was 17 and he was 93

A whimsical bag designed to look like a European horse chestnut, made by contemporary British designer Emily Joe Gibbs

How the Handbag Became the Ultimate Fashion Accessory

An exhibition at the V&A in London traces the long history of the purse, from Elizabeth I’s court to “Sex and the City”

Evidence of human settlement on the Urla-Çeşme peninsula, where the temple was found, dates back to the late Neolithic period.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Turkey Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Temple of Aphrodite

An inscription found at the site—dedicated to the Greek goddess of love and beauty—states, “This is the sacred area”

The city of Metropolis features structures from many eras. This theater dates to the Hellenistic period.

Cool Finds

To Survive Under Siege, the ‘Mother Goddess City’ Relied on Enormous Cisterns

The structures, which supplied the Turkish settlement of Metropolis with water, were later converted into garbage dumps

In this newspaper illustration, the Electoral Commission holds a secret candlelit meeting in the courtroom of the Supreme Court on February 16, 1877.

History of Now

Five Things to Know About the 1876 Presidential Election

Lawmakers are citing the 19th-century crisis as precedent to dispute the 2020 election. Here’s a closer look at its events and legacy

A metal detectorist discovered the coin, which dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty in China.

Medieval Chinese Coin Found in England Suggests a Vast Medieval Trade Route

A recent discovery dating to the 11th century offers hints of a world that was more connected than previously thought

Kehinde Wiley, Go, 2020

See the Stunning Art Set to Welcome Travelers Back to Penn Station

Opening on January 1, the Moynihan Train Hall features contemporary art and majestic architectural features

The vessel was produced around the time when Liu Zhi’s successor, Ling, was building a mausoleum for the deceased emperor.

Inscription Leads Archaeologists to Tomb of One of the Last Han Emperors

A manufacturing date on a vessel confirmed a Chinese mausoleum’s ties to second-century A.D. ruler Liu Zhi

The coins are worth an estimated £845,000, or roughly $1,150,000 USD.

Cool Finds

British Bird-Watcher Discovers Trove of 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Coins

The cache dates to the time of warrior queen Boudica’s revolt against the Romans

The sculpture has stood in Boston's Park Square since 1879.

Boston Removes Controversial Statue of Lincoln With Kneeling Freed Man

The sculpture, installed in 1879, is based on one still standing in Washington, D.C.

The snack bars depicts a Nereid riding a sea-horse.

Ancient Pompeiians Stopped at This ‘Snack Bar’ to Feast on Snails, Fish and Wine

Archaeologists have uncovered food remnants at one of the city’s fast food joint, called thermopolia, where hungry ancients grabbed quick meals

Researchers found the jar while conducting excavations in the ancient city of Jaffa.

Archaeologists in Israel Unearth 3,800-Year-Old Skeleton of Baby Buried in a Jar

Researchers are unsure of the unusual funerary practice’s purpose, but one theory posits that the vessel serves as a symbolic womb

An aerial view of the Mauseoleum of Augustus, which was recently renovated and will open to the public in Rome in 2021.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of the World’s Largest Circular Tomb, Augustus’ Mausoleum

The Roman landmark will reopen in 2021 after a 13-year restoration

Archaic Age people—like the ones who made these blades—arrived in the Caribbean around 6,000 years ago.

What Ancient DNA Reveals About the First People to Populate the Caribbean

New study suggests a group of migrants almost totally replaced the islands’ original population

The African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan commemorates the earliest and largest known black burial site discovered in the United States. More than 15,000 free and enslaved Africans who lived and worked in colonial New York were buried here between the mid-1630s and 1795.

New Legislation Seeks to Protect the U.S.’ Historic Black Cemeteries

Now headed to the House, a bill passed by the Senate paves the way for the creation of the African American Burial Grounds Network

The Colosseum is one of Italy's biggest tourist attractions, welcoming millions of visitors every year.

Italy Will Rebuild the Colosseum’s Floor, Restoring Arena to Its Gladiator-Era Glory

Officials plan to host concerts and theater productions on the new, retractable platform

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