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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

After more than 100 years, Germany returned two centuries-old masks to Colombia's Indigenous Kogi community.

Germany Returns Sacred Wooden Masks to Colombia

In Berlin, the centuries-old artifacts were treated with chemicals that could pose health hazards

A walkway for visitors to tour the newly opened site

You Can Now Visit the Site Where Julius Caesar Was Stabbed

Rediscovered in the 1920s, the Roman square is now welcoming visitors for the first time

The hilt of a the recently discovered Bronze Age sword, which was extraordinarily well-preserved

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 3,000-Year-Old Sword So Well Preserved It ‘Almost Still Shines’

The Bronze Age artifact was discovered in a grave during excavations in southern Germany

One of the mysterious boats painted in an Australian cave several hundred years ago

New Research

New Study Identifies Mysterious Boats Painted in Australian Cave

Researchers say the rock art may be a record of “fighting craft” from present-day Indonesia

An astonishingly well preserved mosaic was unearthed at the same site in early 2022.

Cool Finds

Rare Roman Mausoleum Unearthed in London

Archaeologists say it’s the most intact structure of its kind ever found in Britain

Archaeologists in England found Bronze Age skeletal remains, cremation burials and artifacts.

Bronze Age Cemetery Discovered Near Stonehenge

Archaeologists found graves and artifacts while preparing land for a new subdivision in southern England

Portraits by a young Charles show his mother, Elizabeth II, wearing a striped dress and tiara, and his father, Prince Philip, wearing a dinner suit and bow tie.

See Charles III’s Childhood Drawings

Made by a young Charles in the ‘50s, the crayon and pencil illustrations sold for thousands at auction

Gustav Klimt's Lady With Fan, which he completed soon before his death in 1918

Gustav Klimt’s Final Artwork Could Become Europe’s Most Expensive Painting

Completed soon before the artist’s death in 1918, “Lady With Fan” could fetch as much as $80 million

Sergeant Henry Johnson (standing, holding bouquet of flowers) and the Harlem Hellfighters at a 1918 victory parade in New York City

Louisiana Army Base Formerly Named for Confederate General Now Honors Black WWI Hero

Sergeant Henry Johnson received a posthumous Medal of Honor recognizing his bravery in battle in France

Marine archaeologists first learned of the wreck from local fishermen in 2008.

Divers Are About to Pull a 3,000-Year-Old Shipwreck From the Depths

Found off of Croatia, the hand-sewn vessel will be the subject of extensive study once it’s back on dry land

Researcher Laurent Davin plays a replica of one of the 12,000-year-old bird bone flutes recently discovered in northern Israel.

Cool Finds

These 12,000-Year-Old Flutes Mimic the Sound of Prehistoric Birds

The remnants of seven small bird bone instruments were discovered in northern Israel

Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon all owned a copy of the same Book of Hours.

Cool Finds

Prayer Book Owned by Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII, Was Hidden in Plain Sight for Centuries

The Book of Hours appears in a famous painting of the Tudor statesman

English Heritage will display the more than 50 sets of tweezers recovered in Wroxeter.

Cool Finds

The Ancient Romans Used These Tweezers to Remove Body Hair

A new exhibition explores Roman hair removal practices—and showcases 50 pairs of ancient tweezers

A researcher scans the negative cavity in the gypsum casing.

New Research

Why Did the Romans Cover Bodies With Gypsum?

Researchers are using 3D scanning technology to learn more about the plaster casts

David Andrews of Historic England undertakes photogrammetry of the 6,000-year-old artifact.

Retiree Uncovers Wooden Artifact 2,000 Years Older Than Stonehenge

Markings on the timber may help piece together lost European history

Paleontologist Lee Berger, who led the new research, walks in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the possible burial sites were uncovered.

Ancient Human Relatives May Have Buried Their Dead

Remains in a South African cave system predate the oldest known human burials by about 160,000 years or more

Underwater researchers have encountered many other shipwrecks while studying the Maravillas in the Bahamas.

Unraveling the Secrets of the Long-Lost Shipwrecks in the Bahamas

Using historical records, a new initiative has identified and mapped 176 wrecks in the region

One of the vessels excavated from the funerary site in Carmona, Spain

New Research

What Did the Ancient Romans Smell Like?

Scientists have analyzed the composition of a 2,000-year-old perfume unearthed in Carmona, Spain

In the Heege manuscript, an English tutor may have copied the text of a medieval minstrel’s repertoire book.

Cool Finds

Medieval Manuscript Reveals 15th-Century Comedy Routine

Written to be performed live, a medieval minstrel’s jokes poked fun at the powerful

The toilet discovered at the House of Ahiel

New Research

Iron Age Residents of Jerusalem Suffered From Dysentery

A new analysis of 2,500-year-old toilets has found early evidence of a harmful parasite

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