Violet King, an usherette at the London Coliseum, pocketed the half-smoked cigar and safeguarded it for the rest of her life

Cool Finds

A Cigar Puffed by Winston Churchill Is Set to Go on Auction

The British prime minister smoked the cigar while attending a movie premiere in 1953

Karly Bast with her scale model of Leonardo da Vinci's bridge design

Trending Today

Scientists Prove Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-Year-Old Bridge Design Actually Works

A model created at MIT shows the bridge, which would have been 10 times longer than typical ones, could have spanned the Golden Horn

This inverted cross was likely carved on the inn's hearth stone in hopes of discouraging witches from flying down the chimney

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find Shot Glass Shards, Anti-Witch Carving at Centuries-Old Scottish Pub

At the time of its construction, the Wilkhouse Inn was considered a “statement of modernity and affluence”

The scene features a wounded gladiator appealing for mercy

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Bloody Gladiator Fresco in Pompeii

The scene, one of many paintings recently found in the ruins of the ancient city, depicts a defeated gladiator begging for his life

Medieval roundhouse identified using laser scans of the Isle of Arran.

Cool Finds

Lasers Help Scientists Spot 900 New Archaeological Sites on Scotland’s Isle of Arran

The tech allowed researchers to conduct a ‘rapid archaeological survey, over weeks rather than months or years’

The Dampier Peninsula reburial on November 20, 2015, was part of the RRR project.

Website Provides Blueprint for Repatriating Aboriginal Remains

Called “Return, Reconcile, Renew,” the new site offers a virtual space for support and healing

An illustration of Chapter. 20 – 朝顔 Asagao ("The Bluebell"), by Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691)

Found: Long-Lost Chapter of the ‘Tale of Genji,’ an Early Japanese Novel

The original 11th-century manuscript does not survive, but experts say they have identified part of the earliest-known version of the story

The portrait depicts Spanish princess Isabella Clara Eugenia

Cool Finds

Digital Art Detectives Identify Original van Dyck Portrait

The 17th-century painting was previously attributed to the Dutch artist’s workshop

The En Sur site spans 160 acres.

Early Bronze Age City Was the ‘New York’ of the Southern Levant

Experts say that En Esur, located in modern-day Israel, was a large and cosmopolitan city

A panoramic view of Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock at the center

The World’s First Travel Guide Is Set to Go on View in London

The 1486 text features panoramic illustrations of Jerusalem, Venice and other sites across the Mediterranean region

Cool Finds

Tiny Stone Tools Show Humans Hunted in the Rainforest 45,000 Years Ago

A ‘toolkit’ found in Sri Lanka adds to growing evidence that early humans inhabited many ecosystems, not just open grasslands

One of the scrolls being scanned by the Diamond Light Source and digitally deciphered.

New Research

Light Billions of Times Brighter Than the Sun Used to Read Charred Scrolls From Herculaneum

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. carbonized papyrus scrolls, which may now be readable

American assault troops move up the beachhead from their landing craft in northern France.

Cool Finds

Man Discovers Original D-Day Dispatch Audiotape in Basement

The tape and several other recordings have since been donated to the National D-Day Memorial

A print from an oil painting attributed to J Clevely, showing Captain James Cook arriving at Queen Charlotte's Sound in New Zealand.

British Government ‘Expresses Regret’ for Māori Killed After James Cook’s Arrival in New Zealand

The statement comes as New Zealand prepares to grapple with the 250th anniversary of the first meetings between Captain Cook and the Māori

Jessye Norman at L'Olympia on June 26, 2012.

World-Renowned Soprano Jessye Norman Dies at 74

The opera star, who championed diversity in the arts, was known for her singular voice and versatile range

Cool Finds

Missing Box Contains Bones of Britain’s Early Inhabitants

Carbon dating shows the remains were 9,000 years old

The wrestler's cap alludes to Hercules' defeat of the Nemean lion

Cool Finds

Jar Depicting Thracian Athlete Found in Grave of Sports Fan of Antiquity

Your move, fanatics of the 21st century

New Research

In Ukraine, Megastructures Help Chart the Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

The arrangement of large public spaces at the sprawling Maidanetske site suggests the culture became less democratic before collapse

Workers found traces of the fort while surveying the area ahead of redevelopment

Cool Finds

Construction Reveals Remnants of Roman Fort Below British Bus Station

Archaeologists found three defensive ditches, as well as coins, pottery and imported tableware

Virtual Travel

Listen to the Stories of Alabama’s Civil Rights Sites

A new interactive project seeks to preserve oral testimonies connected to 20 historic locations

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