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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The letter sold at auction in April and is now on display at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver.

See Rare Letters From a Titanic Passenger, Who Called the Vessel a ‘Fine Ship’ Days Before It Sank

Archibald Gracie’s letter, which recently sold at auction, is part of a new exhibition at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver

This image represents one illustration of how the trilobite fossil may have been set as an amulet or pendant.

Cool Finds

Ancient Romans Loved Fossils Just as Much as We Do, Even Though They May Not Have Fully Understood What They Were

The newly discovered trilobite may be hundreds of millions of years old, but its use 2,000 years ago as an amulet is the focus of a new archaeological finding

To pinpoint the likely location of Sac Balam, archaeologists plugged data from historical records into a predictive model built with ArcGIS Pro.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Mexico Discover Long-Lost City Inhabited by Maya Rebels Who Resisted the Spanish Conquest

After Spanish troops seized their capital, the Lacandon Ch’ol established a new settlement called Sac Balam, or the “Land of the White Jaguar”

The building's shape is square-like, while Christian churches tend to be rectangular.

New Research

Archaeologists Thought This Ancient Site in Spain Was a Church. Was It Actually a Synagogue?

A new study examines artifacts and features of the site that may be associated with Judaism, though researchers caution that more work is needed

The carved head is made of red sandstone.

Cool Finds

Archaeology Student Discovers Carefully Carved Stone Head at Viking Settlement in Scotland’s Orkney Islands

Found on the island of Rousay, the red sandstone artifact adds to the layered history of an archaeological site in the Scottish archipelago

The hyper-realistic busts are on display at the Moravian Museum in Brno, Czech Republic.

New Research

See the Faces of Two Sisters Who Toiled Away in a Neolithic Mine 6,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists created 3D reconstructions of the women’s faces based on an analysis of their teeth and bones. Found in the Czech Republic, the siblings “did not have an easy life,” the new research suggests

Digital 3D models of the female Pazyryk individual, using visible-spectrum photographs (A) and near-infrared photography (B).

Gorgeous, Hidden Animal Tattoos Discovered on a More Than 2,000-Year-Old ‘Ice Mummy’ by Using Digital Imaging

The ancient tattoos, which would have required trained artistry and hours of work, would be difficult for even modern tattooists to produce, a new study suggests

The Apollo fountain, which depicts the mythological god riding his chariot

You Can Now Have a Conversation With the Statues at Versailles Using Artificial Intelligence

Through the palace’s smartphone app, visitors can speak with nearly two dozen stunning sculptures and fountains at the historic site in France

The Edmund Fitzgerald was transporting iron ore when it sank in November 1975, killing all 29 crew members.

These Swimmers Are Finishing the Final Voyage of the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald,’ Which Sank in Lake Superior 50 Years Ago

Starting at the wreck site, 68 athletes are completing a 411-mile relay to honor the 29 men who died in the Great Lakes tragedy on November 10, 1975

The petroglyphs were exposed by seasonal changes in the tides and waves.

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Hawaiian Petroglyphs Emerge From the Sand for the First Time in Nine Years

Discovered in 2016, the sandstone carvings on the western shore of Oahu depict human-like figures and extend across more than 100 feet

In the 1950s, archaeologists found bronze jars in an underground shrine (left). They contained a mysterious sticky residue (right).

Scientists Found Sticky Goo Inside a 2,500-Year-Old Jar. Seventy Years Later, They Finally Know What It Is

By studying the mysterious substance’s chemical makeup, scientists determined the pot was once full of honey

Woody Guthrie wrote the song after reading an article in the New York Times.

The Only Recording of Woody Guthrie Singing the Protest Song ‘Deportee’ Has Been Released for the First Time

The singer-songwriter recorded the audio on a reel-to-reel tape machine in his apartment in the 1950s. Now, the previously unheard song has been restored using A.I. audio technology

Based on the fragment, experts digitally reconstructed the piece of torso armor.

Cool Finds

Rare Fragment of 3,200-Year-Old Bronze Chest Armor Unearthed in Czech Republic

Bronze armor made by skilled craftsmen was reserved for elite warriors, according to experts from the Brno City Museum

Researchers found a 4,000-year-old handprint on the bottom of a "soul house," a clay funerary object popular during Egypt's Middle Kingdom period.

Cool Finds

See a Stunningly Well-Preserved, 4,000-Year-Old Handprint Left Behind by an Ancient Egyptian Potter

The find “takes you directly to the moment when the object was made,” says curator Helen Strudwick

The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is located inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England.

Rare 5,000-Year-Old Neolithic Monument in Northern England Granted Protected Status

The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is one of the oldest known sites built by humans in England. It now has the highest level of heritage protection available in the country

Measuring just 3.5 inches long, the grasshopper is carved from ivory and wood.

3,400-Year-Old Grasshopper Artifact That May Have Been Stolen From King Tut’s Tomb Sells at Auction for More Than $450,000

While the artifact’s provenance is unclear, many experts think the archaeologist Howard Carter took the item for himself after excavating the pharaoh’s tomb in 1922

Researchers deposited the larvae into the hull of a shipwreck off the coast of Belgium.

Scientists Deposit 200,000 Rare Oysters in a Shipwreck 100 Feet Below the Surface of the North Sea

European flat oysters have nearly disappeared from the region. Now, researchers are helping them recover by depositing the oyster larvae on gravel beds off the coast of Belgium

The site was occupied by an unknown Celtic tribe.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Celtic Settlement Filled With Jewelry, Amber and Coins in the Czech Republic

The 62-acre settlement was likely established in the fourth century B.C.E. Researchers think it may have served as a major trading hub

The Earl of Chatham, previously a Royal Navy vessel called the HMS Hind, was discovered in February 2024 on the shores of Sanday.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Boy Found a Shipwreck on a Scottish Beach. It Turned Out to Be a 250-Year-Old Warship From the American Revolution

The HMS “Hind,” later renamed the “Earl of Chatham,” was a frigate in the British Royal Navy before it was repurposed as a whaling vessel

Elizabeth II on a royal tour of New Zealand in 1953-54

See Hundreds of Garments That Elizabeth II Wore Throughout Her Seven-Decade Reign

A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace will examine the British monarch’s life and legacy using evening gowns, suits and accessories

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