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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Some skeletons found in the cemetery are lying flat on their backs, while others were buried in unusual positions.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Early Medieval Cemetery in Wales

The site contains skeletons in unusual positions and evidence of feasting rituals

The object was found by metal detectorists in Norfolk, England.

Cool Finds

This 1,200-Year-Old Artifact Is Stunning—but Nobody Knows What It Is

The intricately decorated silver object was likely created by a highly skilled craftsperson in England

Volunteers repairing and refreshing the 180-foot-tall giant in 2019

New Research

This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say

England’s 180-foot-tall Cerne Abbas Giant may have served as a landmark for gathering troops

The burial mound is called Herlaugshaugen, and it's located in coastal Norway in a community called Leka.

1,300-Year-Old Ship Burial Unearthed in Norway

The custom of burying people in their ships was believed to help provide safe passage to the afterlife

The final design is a modified version of a submission by 24-year-old Andrew Prekker.

Minnesota Reveals New State Flag Design

Submitted by a 24-year-old Minnesotan, the updated flag is expected to fly on May 11

The Two Towers in Bologna, Italy, on December 14, 2023

Donations Help Save Bologna’s 12th-Century Leaning Tower

Officials recently shut down the area around the increasingly delicate structure

The rare George Washington portrait could sell for as much as $2.5 million in January.

The Met Is Selling This Rare Portrait of George Washington

Artist Gilbert Stuart painted the work after the president sat for him in late 1795

Researchers say the mural, uncovered near the Colosseum, is one of a kind.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover ‘Exceptional’ Ancient Mural Near Colosseum

The artwork—made from shells, tiles and other materials—demonstrated the wealth and power of its owner

The sun rises over the Gunung Padang in Java, Indonesia.

Archaeologists Criticize Alleged Discovery of the ‘Oldest Pyramid in the World’

A controversial study arguing an Indonesian structure is 25,000 years old is under investigation by the journal that published it

Aerial view of construction work on the Maya Train on August 31, 2023

First Section of Mexico’s Controversial Maya Train Opens

The rail system, built to connect tourist destinations, has been criticized for endangering archaeological and environmental sites

Safety fencing at Arlington National Cemetery rings the Confederate memorial.

Federal Judge Allows Removal of Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

The Defense Department had mandated that the monument be dismantled by January 1, 2024

This seventh-century Buddha sculpture was among the artifacts.

The Met Will Repatriate 16 Artifacts to Cambodia and Thailand

The looted objects are tied to the notorious art dealer Douglas Latchford

The 31-inch-tall tree is billed as the "humblest Christmas tree in the world."

103-Year-Old Artificial Christmas Tree Sells for Over $4,000

The tree was originally purchased for 8-year-old Dorothy Grant in 1920

Maritime archaeologists suspect the wreck is the George L. Newman.

Cool Finds

Father and Daughter Discover 152-Year-Old Shipwreck While Fishing in Green Bay

Tim and Henley Wollak found what is likely the wreck of the “George L. Newman,” which sank during the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871

A crane lifts the new golden rooster to the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral's spire on December 16, 2023.

Notre-Dame Gets New Spire and Golden Rooster

The return of these two distinctive features marks a poignant milestone in the cathedral’s reconstruction

Italian opera singing is now among the hundreds of cultural practices officially recognized by UNESCO.

Italian Opera Singing Is Now Protected by the U.N.

UNESCO announced 55 new additions to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage

One side of the device was used to tell the date of Easter Sunday.

This Device Might Be England’s Oldest Dated Scientific Instrument

The 712-year-old artifact is a horary quadrant, a medieval tool used to tell time based on the position of the sun

At this ancient bakery, enslaved individuals and donkeys worked under bleak conditions to grind grain.

Archaeologists Discover Brutal ‘Bakery-Prison’ at Pompeii

Enslaved workers toiled for hours in a dark, cramped space to grind grain for bread

David Attenborough stands next to the recently discovered pliosaur fossil at the Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, England.

Fossil Hunters Uncover Prehistoric ‘Sea Monster’ Skull at a U.K. Beach

The six-and-a-half-foot-long pliosaur skull was excavated from a rock cliff in England and may belong to a new species, scientists say

The biocrust is made up of lichen, mosses and cyanobacteria.

New Research

Parts of China’s Great Wall Are Protected by a ‘Living Cover’ of Biocrusts

The layer of lichen, moss and cyanobacteria helps shield the historic structure from erosion, a new study finds

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