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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Forensic scientist Joe Mullins created this reconstruction using the victim's skull.

See the Face of Roman Britain’s Only Known Crucifixion Victim

A forensic artist has reimagined what the man may have looked like 2,000 years ago

The National Portrait Gallery in London is missing 45 items, according to PA Media's investigation.

What Are the 1,700 Items Missing From England’s Museums?

Freedom of information requests have revealed more details about absent artifacts from the last 20 years

The area was surveyed using lidar technology, which revealed a large-scale network of roads and platforms.

New Research

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Cities Hidden in the Ecuadorean Amazon

Laser imaging has revealed an extensive network of settlements and roads that challenge historical understandings of the area

Workers discovered this Indigenous ossuary while digging in Toronto.

Construction Workers Discover Indigenous Burial Ground in Toronto

Researchers who investigated the site estimate that it’s about 700 years old

Genes that significantly increase risk of developing multiple sclerosis were introduced to northwestern Europe by herders who migrated from the east around 5,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive

An artist's impression of Gigantopithecus blacki near a forest in southern China.

What Caused the Mysterious Extinction of ‘Giganto,’ the World’s Largest Ape?

The massive primates were unable to shift their diet to keep pace with a changing climate, according to a new study, forcing them to eat less nutritious bark and twigs

An aerial view of the Palace of Aigai following 16 years of restoration

Greece Reopens the Palace Where Alexander the Great Was Crowned

The 2,300-year-old Palace of Aigai—the largest building in classical Greece—had been under renovation for 16 years

Yuval Gadot stands at the bottom of the recently discovered moat.

Cool Finds

Iron Age Moat Discovered in Jerusalem Parking Lot

The structure’s purpose is unclear, but researchers think it may have been used to divide the city in two

A California grizzly bear specimen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The brown bear subspecies went extinct around 1924.

California Grizzlies Weren’t as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought

The now-extinct bears were mostly vegetarians and measured about the same size as today’s North American grizzlies

Welcome Park is named after the ship that brought Penn across the Atlantic in 1682.

Officials Reverse Plans to Remove William Penn Statue From a Philadelphia Park

The National Park Service had proposed replacing the statue with public resources showcasing the city’s Native American history

Paleontologists say the collection of uncovered bones likely represents the most complete mammoth ever found in North Dakota.

Cool Finds

Miners Discover Seven-Foot Mammoth Tusk in North Dakota

After coal mine workers found the 50-pound specimen, paleontologists studied the site and uncovered more than 20 additional bones

A mask uncovered during recent excavations at Saqqara

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Egyptian Tomb and Stunning Trove of Artifacts

Excavations at Saqqara revealed burials, colorful masks and statues of the goddess Isis

Marie Curie was the first individual to win two Nobel Prizes.

Building Used by Marie Curie Saved From Demolition

Cultural heritage supporters are hoping to see the facility listed as a protected site

An aerial view of the temple walls unearthed north of Rome

Cool Finds

Roman Imperial Cult Temple Unearthed Beneath a Parking Lot in Italy

The pagan temple sheds new light on the empire’s gradual embrace of Christianity

Issues from Curt Bloch's Het Onderwater Cabaret will be shown at the Jewish Museum Berlin beginning in February.

While Hiding From the Nazis in an Attic, a Jewish Man Created 95 Issues of a Satirical Magazine

An exhibition of Curt Bloch’s little-known wartime publications is going on display in Berlin

The S.S. Point Reyes has become a popular tourist destination and photoshoot spot.

This Instagram-Famous Abandoned Boat May Soon Disappear From California Shoreline

The already-dilapidated S.S. Point Reyes suffered more damage during the recent storms that pummeled the coast

Lily Gladstone became the Golden Globe's first Indigenous Best Actress for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon.  

Lily Gladstone Makes Golden Globes History as First Indigenous Best Actress Winner

The “Killers of the Flower Moon” star accepted the award by speaking in the Blackfeet language

The silk dress, which dates to the mid-1880s, in which the pieces of paper containing the code were found. They were tucked in a hidden pocket, the opening of which was hidden by an overskirt.

‘Unsolvable’ Code Hidden in Antique Dress Pocket Is Finally Cracked

Short, handwritten lines of unrelated words contained coded weather reports to send via telegraph in the late 19th century

Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral under renovation on December 8, 2023

Plans to Install Contemporary Stained-Glass Windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral Spark Backlash

French officials have called on artists to submit designs for six new windows in the structure’s south aisle

These fossilized teeth belonged to a Propliopithecus chirobates, a type of early primate that lived between 29 million and 35 million years ago.

Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits

An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren’t eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods

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