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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The temple is composed of a circular basin 115 feet wide.

Cool Finds

This Ancient God’s Name Was ‘Mud.’ Archaeologists Discovered a Water-Filled Temple Possibly Tied to Him in Egypt

A structure blending Egyptian, Greek and Roman styles was discovered in the ancient city of Pelusium at the edge of the Nile Delta

The life jacket worn by Titanic survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli

The Titanic Carried 3,500 Life Jackets, but Almost All of Them Have Been Lost to History. This One Just Sold at Auction for Nearly $1 Million

The artifact belonged to first-class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli, a secretary heading to Chicago with her employer. It’s the only life vest connected to a survivor of the 1912 shipwreck to ever appear at auction

A gold lion ornament created by an Akan artist

New Research

Pirate Shipwreck Off the Coast of Cape Cod Sets the Historical Record Straight on West African Gold

Europeans spread rumors about degraded gold from their Akan trade partners. A new analysis of artifacts from the “Whydah Gally” shipwreck tells a different story

Researchers found this hand ax, which appears to have been shaped around a geological feature imprint.

Cool Finds

These Big-Brained Ancestors May Have Loved Crystals Just as Much as Modern Humans Do, According to New Research

Archaeologists in Israel unearthed prehistoric hand axes that Homo erectus crafted from stones including fossils and crystals, perhaps a sign that they wanted to connect with the cosmos

The cave's floor is largely undisturbed, so archaeologists are hopeful it may help answer questions about the transition between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in Britain.

This Medieval Castle Sits Atop a Prehistoric Time Capsule. New Excavations Could Reveal the History of Neanderthals in Britain

In a cave tucked beneath the Welsh landmark, archaeologists have found evidence of human and animal visits over the past 120,000 years. Now, they’re starting a five-year excavation project

This colonnaded open hall—unearthed in the Maya city of Ucanal in 2024—may have been a council house.

Cool Finds

In Times of Trouble, the Maya Rejected Divine Kingship. This Newly Discovered Public Building Reveals How the Transition to Shared Power Unfolded

Archaeologists in northern Guatemala unearthed a colonnaded open hall that may have served as a council house, where local leaders and everyday people met to discuss political issues

Property plan of the parish of St. Ann Blackfriars

Cool Finds

Shakespeare’s House in London Was Lost to History. A Scholar Discovered a Map in the Archives That Revealed Its Exact Location

The Bard purchased the property three years before his death in 1616. Had he hoped to spend more time in the city where he wrote his best-known plays?

The League for Spiritual Discovery, an LSD-based meditation center in New York City, in 1967

The First LSD Trip Was a Literal Bicycle Ride 83 Years Ago. Fans of the Psychedelic Celebrate the Occasion Every April 19

In 1943, a chemist in Switzerland synthesized a drug that alters consciousness. His discovery changed the study of medicine, psychiatry and biology—and became a central component of the counterculture movement

This coin was found near Chile’s Strait of Magellan.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Spanish Settlers Died at the ‘Port of Famine.’ This Newly Discovered Silver Coin Reveals Where the Doomed Colony Was Founded 400 Years Ago

Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe was established on the north shore of Chile’s Strait of Magellan in 1584. When an English navigator came across it several years later, few survivors remained

Archaeologists uncovered a Cold War bunker underneath an English castle.

Cool Finds

Why Is a Cold War Bunker Buried Underneath This Medieval English Castle? In Case of Nuclear ‘Armageddon’

Archaeologists uncovered a relic of the 20th-century conflict beneath Scarborough Castle, decades after the bunker was sealed and its exact location was forgotten

A red aurora over Engaru, Hokkaido, Japan, similar to those documented throughout history, which helped the researchers reconstruct past solar activity

Medieval Writings and Tree Rings Helped Researchers Track a Solar Storm From 800 Years Ago and Reconstruct Past Solar Cycles

Diary entries by the Japanese poet Fujiwara no Teika, along with other historical sources from across Asia and Europe, played pivotal roles in a new study

The 125-foot-long Clough sank in September 1868.

A Sudden Squall Doomed This Stone-Hauling Vessel in Lake Erie. More Than 150 Years Later, Divers Just Found the Shipwreck

The “Clough,” a 125-foot-long bark, sank in September 1868 near Cleveland, with just one crew member surviving to explain what had happened

This stone slab shows Tiberius standing next to the Egyptian gods Amun, Khonsu and Mut.

Why Does This Newly Discovered 2,000-Year-Old Stone Slab Depict a Roman Emperor as an Egyptian Pharaoh?

The sandstone monument shows Tiberius standing next to a family of local gods. Archaeologists say the scene illustrates the ruler’s role as a leader who upheld cosmic order in Egyptian society

This illustration shows the size difference between a European pond turtle and the foot of a straight-tusked elephant.

New Research

Turtles May Have Been Tasty Snacks for Neanderthals 125,000 Years Ago. But Their Shells Were Probably the Real Prize

New research based on fragments discovered at the Neumark-Nord site in Germany suggests Neanderthals may have transformed the shells into tools

British geologist and naturalist William Pengelly identified the object as a badger tooth.

Long Misidentified, This Seal Tooth Pendant Was Carefully Crafted by a Prehistoric Human Roughly 15,000 Years Ago

Discovered in 1867, the artifact raises new theories about the Magdalenian people who inhabited southwest England during the Late Upper Paleolithic period

Cecilia Oliver makes final adjustments to Quen Elizabeth II's coronation dress, designed by Norman Hartnell

From Sparkling Tiaras to Pastel Hats, New Buckingham Palace Exhibition Celebrates the Fashion of Elizabeth II

In addition to being a world leader, the British queen was a fashion icon. A new show at Elizabeth’s former residence highlights some of the most memorable looks and the history behind them

Across the Continent: “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” (1868) by Frances Flora Bond Palmer is one of the artworks in the National Gallery of Art's new exhibition.

The National Gallery of Art Holds an Artistic Mirror Up to the United States for Its Big 250th Birthday

In celebration of the semiquincentennial this year, “Dear America” looks at the country’s land, communities and revolutionary history through artworks dating back to the late 18th century

The left page contains a photo of Lee Miller with Pablo Picasso, while the right contains a never-before-seen alternate version of the famous picture of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub

War Can Feel Surreal. See How This American Photojournalist Captured the Horrors—and Dark Humor—of World War II

A rediscovered scrapbook showcases never-before-seen images by Lee Miller, a war correspondent for British “Vogue” who followed American troops through Europe

The altar was found in Hidalgo, Mexico.

This Millennium-Old Sacrificial Altar in Mexico Belonged to a Civilization That Thrived Before the Aztecs

Surrounded by human skulls, the artifact was uncovered at the site of the Toltec people’s capital in central Mexico ahead of construction of a new railway project

Gustave Eiffel at the Eiffel Tower in 1889

A Dizzying Spiral Staircase With a Single Guardrail Once Led to the Top of the Eiffel Tower. Now, You Can Buy 14 of the Original Steps

The 1,062 steps connecting the tower’s second and third levels were installed in 1889. Fragments from the 137-year-old staircase can be found at several French museums

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