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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The researchers analyzed snippets of DNA left in the centuries-old tartar buildup.

New Research

New Technique to Study Ancient Teeth Reveals Edo-Era Diet in Japan

Researchers analyzed DNA in tartar from the remains of 13 people who lived between 1603 and 1867

The earliest evidence of mice making themselves at home alongside human settlements comes from 14,500-year-old bones found among the Natufians.

The House Mouse First Invaded Europe 6,500 Years Ago

New research suggests the rodents arrived on the continent some 2,500 years earlier than previously thought

Filippo Brunelleschi designed Florence Cathedral's famed red-brick dome.

How Renaissance Architects Designed Italy’s Imposing Domes

A new study offers key insights into how engineers built the rounded structures without using supports

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is among the organizations that oppose the ruling.

Judge Rules Salvage Firm Can Recover the Titanic’s Marconi Telegraph

Critics of the decision argue that the wreck is a memorial to the 1,500 who died when the ship sank and should not be disturbed

Found in Block 17, the cache includes scissors, shoemaker's tools and utensils.

Auschwitz Renovations Unearth Prisoners’ Hidden Trove of Tools

Inmates stowed the items—including forks, knives and fragments of shoes—in a chimney flue

Shakespeare's Globe is a meticulous replica of the Elizabethan theater where the Bard's plays were once performed.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Shutdown Threatens the Future of Shakespeare’s Globe

The London theater—a replica of the original 16th-century venue—relies on proceeds from live events now on hold due to the pandemic

The 2,000-year-old subterranean system consists of a courtyard and two rooms.

Cool Finds

Underground Chambers Discovered Near Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Carved into bedrock, the mysterious rooms spent 1,400 years hidden beneath the mosaic floor of a Byzantine building

Installation view of the British Museum's "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" exhibition

Trending Today

Take a Free Video Tour of Blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum Exhibition

Available to stream on YouTube and Facebook, the 82-minute film revisits the British Museum’s popular 2013 show

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero displays historical objects recovered from the Arlington National Cemetery time capsule.

Arlington National Cemetery Opens Its 105-Year-Old Time Capsule

The trove of artifacts, hidden in a cornerstone in 1915, is now available to explore online

A Bar Kokhba revolt coin inscribed with the word "Jerusalem" and a picture of a date palm

Cool Finds

This 2,000-Year-Old Coin Commemorates a Jewish Rebellion Against Rome

Of more than 22,000 coins found in Jerusalem to date, just four are from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt

Found at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, this piece of leather was cut into the shape of a mouse.

Cool Finds

Ancient Leather ‘Mouse’ Highlights the Romans’ Sense of Humor

The nearly 2,000-year-old scrap of leather, found at Vindolanda in northern England, may have been a toy or a practical joke

Officials uncovered seven slabs of travertine that date to between 27 and 25 B.C.

Sinkhole Outside of the Pantheon Reveals Ancient Roman Paving Stones

Due to COVID-19, the Piazza della Rotunda was virtually empty when the cavity opened up on April 27

Tap O' Noth overlooks the Scottish town of Rhynie.

Cool Finds

Ancient Hillfort May Be Largest Known Pictish Settlement in Scotland

The findings upend “the narrative of this whole time period,” says archaeologist Gordon Noble

Volunteers spotted dozens of previously unknown structures between Cornwall and Devon in southwest England.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologists Studying Aerial Maps of the U.K. Spot Dozens of Hidden Historical Structures

The finds include prehistoric and Roman settlements, roads, burial mounds, farms, and quarries

Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins in Appalachian Spring

New York Public Library Acquires Archive of Modern Dance Pioneer Martha Graham

The trove includes photographs, scripts, recordings and correspondence

During atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll, military equipment was placed onboard the USS Nevada to help assess the damage doled out by the nuclear blasts. This is one of four tanks that survived a 23-kiloton surface blast and a 20-kiloton underwater blast.

Researchers Locate Wreck of Battleship That Survived Pearl Harbor and Nuclear Bomb Tests

The USS Nevada was scuttled in 1948 after decades of service

Last October, archaeologists discovered the mud dock where the HMS Beagle was dismantled by using specialized drone photography

Evotourism ®

The Final Home of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status

The naturalist famously conducted the research that led to the “Origin of Species” on board the ship

Norwegian officials plan to excavate this rare Viking ship burial site.

For the First Time in a Century, Norway Will Excavate Viking Ship Burial

Archaeologists racing to save the rare vessel from fungal attacks hope to begin work in June

A large sandstone turtle unearthed at last week at the Angkor Wat temple complex

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Stone Turtle in Drained Angkor Reservoir

The reservoir houses the remnants of a centuries-old temple now undergoing excavation

Critics say the sphinxes' relocation will make them vulnerable to environmental damage.

Egypt Defies Archaeologists’ Protests by Relocating Four Ancient Sphinxes

Now awaiting unveiling in Tahrir Square, the ram-headed sculptures join a pink granite obelisk dating to the reign of Ramses II

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