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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Artist Oscar Nilsson spent 400 hours working on the reconstruction.

See the Face of an Inca Teenager Killed in a Ritual Sacrifice 500 Years Ago

The mummified girl, known as “Juanita,” was found in 1995 on Peru’s Ampato volcano

Prince Harry (played by Fflyn Edwards), Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) and Prince William (played by Rufus Kampa) in season six of "The Crown"

Watch the New Trailer for the Final Season of ‘The Crown’

Part one of the new season will follow Princess Diana through the final weeks of her life in 1997

Vienna-born artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer, who lived between 1700 and 1733, created Landscape of Italian Character along with a companion painting.

Painting Stolen by American Soldier During World War II Returned to Germany

FBI agents and art recovery lawyers helped retrieve the piece by Austrian artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer

The Aztec snakehead was discovered beneath a law school in Mexico City after an earthquake.

Cool Finds

Earthquake in Mexico City Reveals 500-Year-Old Aztec Snakehead

The nearly six-foot-long sculpture features well-preserved colors on 80 percent of its surface

Flowers on the memorial for the 146 victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire during its dedication on October 11

New Memorial Honors Victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

A total of 146 workers died in the 1911 disaster, which galvanized the fight for workers’ rights

An original copy of a 15th-century Christopher Columbus letter translated from Spanish into Latin

Christopher Columbus Letter Describing Journey to the Americas Sells for $3.9 Million

Copies of the letter have long been the target of thefts and forgeries, but Christie’s says this one is the real deal

Crews painstakingly removed mud layer by layer to expose the vessel.

Cool Finds

Workers Unearth 19th-Century Shipwreck Beneath a Road in Florida

The 19-foot-long vessel was found alongside a kerosene lamp, leather shoes, coins and other artifacts

Archaeologists described the finds as "costume jewelry" that would've been worn by Bronze Age women around 3,500 years ago.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Unearths Bronze Age Jewelry in Swiss Carrot Field

Researchers suspect the trove may have belonged to a “rich woman with a passion for collecting”

5000-year-old wine jars at the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith, some of which are still sealed

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Unopened Wine Jars Unearthed in Egyptian Queen’s Tomb

Archaeologists found the 5,000-year-old jars with well-preserved grape seeds and intact stoppers

Early humans in Europe snacked on seaweed and aquatic plants for thousands of years, though how they prepared and ate them is unclear.

New Research

Early Europeans Ate Seaweed for Thousands of Years

Researchers found biomarkers of seaweed and other aquatic plants in samples of dental plaque

One of the Jelling runestones that mention Queen Thyra

New Research

Runestones Reveal the Secrets of a Powerful Queen in Viking-Age Denmark

An analysis of the carvings on four runestones sheds new light on Queen Thyra’s influence

The sword had a bent blade, a straight hilt and an oval pommel. Researchers also found its scabbard.

Cool Finds

1,000-Year-Old Sword and Cemetery Unearthed in Finland

Researchers identified eight burials, but they say the graveyard may hold dozens—or even hundreds—waiting to be discovered

The gash that sank the Huronton in 1923 is still visible.

Cool Finds

100-Year-Old Shipwreck Discovered 800 Feet Below Lake Superior

The “Huronton” sank after colliding with a larger ship amid heavy fog and smoke in October 1923

A Herculaneum scroll being scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team

Cool Finds

This 21-Year-Old Used A.I. to Decipher Text From a Scroll That Hasn’t Been Read in 2,000 Years

The papyrus scroll is one of hundreds that were carbonized in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

Close examination of drill marks on the sculpture shows how carvers created surfaces to evoke the textures of the represented elements, such as skin, wool or linen.

Art Meets Science

Vibrant Paint Once Decorated the 2,500-Year-Old Parthenon Marbles

New research has revealed that ancient artists used color to create highly detailed designs

A historic dwelling where enslaved individuals once slept will be on display at the park.

New Alabama Sculpture Park Reflects on Slavery’s Enduring Legacy

The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery will feature works from prominent artists, artifacts, immersive experiences and a new monument

The 36 coins date to between the late 1500s and the 1680s.

Cool Finds

300-Year-Old Coins Found Under Fireplace May Be Connected to the Glencoe Massacre

Archaeologists unearthed a trove of 36 coins at a site linked to Alasdair “Maclain” MacDonald, the clan chief who died in the 1692 attack

The mummified remains of James Murphy, known as Stoneman Willie, which lay in a funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania, for 128 years before being buried last weekend.

Pennsylvania Mummy Gets a Proper Burial After 128 Years in a Funeral Home

Nicknamed “Stoneman Willie,” the man visited the town of Reading for a convention of firefighters in 1895

Another supposedly unlucky thing: black cats.

Why Are We So Scared of Friday the 13th?

From the Knights Templar to Norse mythology, here’s how fear of the spooky date crept into popular culture

Shakespeare may have performed on floorboards recently discovered at a theater in England in 1592 or 1593.

Cool Finds

Did Shakespeare Perform on These Newly Discovered Floorboards?

A historic theater in England claims to have found the Bard’s only surviving stage

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