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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

The Great Sphinx in the Giza Necropolis

New Research

Wind May Have Helped Sculpt Egypt’s Famous Sphinx

New research suggests that a natural rock formation served as the sculpture’s foundation

Austin Butler stars as Major Gale Winston Cleven.

Based on a True Story

Watch the Trailer for ‘Masters of the Air,’ Steven Spielberg’s Long-Awaited Follow-Up to ‘Band of Brothers’

The upcoming miniseries follows the 100th Bombardment Group, an Air Force unit nicknamed the “Bloody Hundredth”

The letters remained unopened in storage for more than two centuries before Renaud Morieux read them.

Sealed French Love Letters Read for the First Time in 265 Years

Written during the Seven Years’ War, the letters offer rare insights into the lives of everyday people during wartime

Italian officials suspect they recovered between 30,000 and 50,000 bronze coins.

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Tens of Thousands of Ancient Coins Off the Coast of Italy

Their fourth-century find also hints at the possible presence of a shipwreck hidden nearby

Xiao Qi Ji (pictured) and his parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, are leaving Washington, D.C. on November 8.

Pandamonium

The National Zoo’s Giant Pandas Bid Washington, D.C. Farewell

The three beloved bears will depart for China later today, traveling in style on a FedEx cargo plane

An early Minitel terminal made in France and introduced in the early 1980s

The History of the Internet, From MP3s to MySpace Tom

A new online museum explores the digital artifacts that defined the internet’s early days

The rare 14th-century portolan chart is worth $7.5 million.

Cool Finds

Sold for $239,000, This Map Is Actually a Rare 14th-Century Nautical Chart—and Worth $7.5 Million

A San Diego map dealer uncovered the artifact’s true origins through impressive historical sleuthing

An interim memorial now stands in front of the Pulse nightclub, the site of a deadly 2016 mass shooting.

Plans for Museum Honoring Victims of Pulse Nightclub Shooting Have Been Canceled

The city of Orlando has agreed to buy the nightclub property, where a permanent memorial will eventually open

On the new U.S. quarter, sculptor Joseph Menna and designer Benjamin Sowards depict Tallchief floating through the air in the middle of a dramatic leap in The Firebird.

New U.S. Quarter Honors Maria Tallchief, America’s First Prima Ballerina

Born on Osage land in Oklahoma, the famous dancer broke barriers for Native American women

An X-ray shows where the prosthetic metal fingers attach to the device.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Centuries-Old Prosthetic Hand in Germany

Used by a man between 30 and 50 years old, the four prosthetic fingers date to between 1450 and 1620

This painted campaign inscription suggests the home where it was found belonged to one of the candidate's friends or supporters.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Electoral Campaign Inscription Inside Pompeii House

The text urged voters to elect a candidate named Aulus Rustius Verus to a position of political power

Frances Mabel Hollams, Buster, Shandy and Bluett—Dalmatians, 1936

You Could Own Rare Artworks Celebrating Canine Companions

An upcoming “Dog Sale” at Bonhams Scotland features 250 paintings, sculptures and more

The newly re-excavated 2,700-year-old lamassu—a winged bull with a human head—at the site of the ancent city of Dur-Sharrukin in northern Iraq

Cool Finds

Stunning 2,700-Year-Old Sculpture Unearthed in Iraq

Archaeologists hope to reunite the 18-ton torso of the Assyrian deity with its head, severed by smugglers decades ago

Images from Corona, a U.S. military program that ran from 1960 to 1972

Cool Finds

Declassified Cold War Satellite Photos Reveal Hundreds of Roman-Era Forts

Once thought to be defensive military bases, the forts may have supported peaceful trade and travel

These five creepy dolls are in the running for this year's competition.

Which of These Vintage Dolls Do You Find the Creepiest?

Now in its fifth year, an annual contest spotlights a Minnesota museum’s historical doll collection

Jean Fouquet's Melun Diptych features two panels, Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen on the left, and Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels on the right.

New Research

Mysterious Stone in 15th-Century Painting Could Be a Prehistoric Tool

Jean Fouquet’s “Melun Diptych” is likely the earliest artistic representation of an Acheulean hand ax

Archaeologists excavating the Roman-era sarcophagus in Reims

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover ‘Exceptional’ Roman-Era Sarcophagus in France

The 40-year-old woman inside the tomb was buried with a ring, a comb and other items

The Africa disappeared on Lake Huron in October 1895.

Cool Finds

Filmmakers Stumble Upon 128-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Huron

A duo working on a documentary about invasive quagga mussels in the Great Lakes discovered the long-lost steamship “Africa”

Foundry workers disassembled Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue before melting it down.

Foundry Workers Melt Down Charlottesville’s Divisive Robert E. Lee Statue

Eventually, an artist will be chosen to transform the bronze bars into a public art installation

A historic drought in the Amazon has revealed faces carved in the rocky banks of the Rio Negro in Brazil.

Cool Finds

Drought Exposes Ancient Rock Carvings in Brazil

Revealed by receding Amazon waters, the carvings of human faces are up to 2,000 years old

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