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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The bone fragment from four different angles, with a white scale bar representing one centimeter. The flat side of the bone contains puncture marks that suggest it was a punch board used for tailoring hides.

This 39,600-Year-Old Bone May Have Been Used by Prehistoric Tailors

New research suggests early Homo sapiens punched holes in leather hides to create seams for clothing

An artist's recreation of what the recently discovered fortlet might have looked like

Archaeologists Discover Lost Roman Fort in Scotland

The new find marks the tenth such fort found in the area, once the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire

Descendants of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and descendants of slaves owned by Lee face Washington, DC, as they pose for a photo during a reunion at Lee's former plantation home, the Arlington House, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on April 22, 2023.

The Descendants of Robert E. Lee and the Workers He Enslaved Join Hands in Racial Reconciliation

The Confederate general’s Virginia home hosted families from all across the United States.

An American submarine sank the Montevideo Maru in 1942, causing Australia's largest loss of life at sea.

Searchers Find WWII Ship That Sank With More Than 1,000 Allied POWs Aboard

Unaware that the “Montevideo Maru” was transporting prisoners, an American submarine torpedoed the Japanese ship in 1942

English king Edward I stole the stone from Scotland in 1296. Approximately 700 years later, England returned the stone to its home country.

New Research

Researchers Find Hidden Markings on the Stone of Destiny, Sacred Slab Used in British Coronations

Ahead of the crowning of Charles III on May 6, experts analyzed the stone with cutting-edge technology

This photograph taken on January 21, 2022, shows the Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi in front of a painting of Pope Gregorio XV at the Casino dell'Aurora inside the Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi in Rome.

Texas-Born Italian Noble Evicted From Her 16th-Century Villa

Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi has lived in the home for 20 years, battling with the family of her deceased husband

Archaeologists are uncovering a Roman mosaic located in front of a vape shop at a shopping mall in southeast England.

Roman Mosaic Revealed at Shopping Mall in England

First discovered in the 1980s—then covered back up—the mosaic will now be displayed under a layer of glass for all patrons to see

A rendering of the 2.3-acre site that will house the Museum of Shakespeare

An Interactive Shakespeare Museum Will Immerse Visitors in the Ruins of an Elizabethan Theater

The cultural institution is slated to open in London in spring 2024

More than 2.9 million people visited the Pompeii Archaeological Park last year.

High-Speed Train Will Connect Rome to Pompeii

The new route will make the ruins of the ancient city more accessible for visitors

A group of French Carthusian monks are the only producers of Chartreuse—and despite high demand, they aren't planning to increase production.

French Monks Are Driving the Chartreuse Shortage

Dating back to 1605, the closely guarded recipe is becoming increasingly popular

One of the animal coffins, topped with a part-eel, part-cobra, human-headed figure

Lizard Remains Found Inside 2,500-Year-Old Coffins from Ancient Egypt

Researchers at the British Museum used neutron tomography to get a look inside the still-sealed metal boxes without damaging the artifacts

Mather Brown's portrait of Joseph Bologne, dated April 4, 1788

Based on a True Story

Why Has History Forgotten Joseph Bologne, the Brilliant 18th-Century Composer Showcased in ‘Chevalier’?

A new film dramatizes the story of a Black immigrant to France whose musical talents have long been overlooked

Father Gabriel Amorth served in his role at the Vatican for 30 years.

Based on a True Story

Who Was the Real Pope’s Exorcist?

A new film dramatizes the story of Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome

Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Selma, Alabama

The House Where Martin Luther King Jr. Planned Civil Rights Marches Is Moving to Michigan

The historic home also hosted the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington

The wine cellar, treading floor and presses found at an ancient Roman winery

Cool Finds

Fountains of Wine Once Flowed in This Ancient Roman Winery

Archaeologists think the elaborately decorated site was built to be a spectacle

Excavations at Oaklawn Cemetery in downtown Tulsa have revealed 62 unmarked graves, some of which may be linked to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

New DNA Analysis Could Help Identify Victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre

Experts have linked six genetic profiles sequenced from exhumed remains to 19 potential surnames in seven states

Ad Palmen collected a diverse array of rare European and American cars for 40 years.

230 Rare Classic Cars Are Going Up for Auction in the Netherlands

Stored for 40 years in two warehouses and an abandoned church, the valuable vehicles include a variety of European and American makes and models

The C.F. Curtis was one of three ships, all owned by Hines Lumber Company, that sank in 1914.

Two 100-Year-Old Shipwrecks Found in Lake Superior

Both vessels sank during a storm in November 1914—but a third is still missing

Mary Quant at her apartment in Draycott Place, London, c. 1967

Fashion World Remembers Mary Quant, the Miniskirt Pioneer

Quant captured London’s “Swinging Sixties” with her cutting-edge designs

An etching of Black families gathering the dead after the Colfax Massacre published in Harper's Weekly, May 10, 1873

Trending Today

The 1873 Colfax Massacre Set Back the Reconstruction Era

Occuring 150 years ago, one of the worst incidents of racial violence after the Civil War set the stage for segregation

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