https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/middle-east-1/RSS feed for Middle East enFri, 01 May 2026 15:29:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dead-bodies-filled-a-mass-grave-when-the-first-pandemic-struck-this-early-medieval-city-new-research-explores-the-identity-of-the-victims-180988652/Researchers analyzed isotopes and DNA in the teeth of remains found in a mass grave from the Plague of Justinian, which swept through the Byzantine EmpireFri, 01 May 2026 15:29:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dead-bodies-filled-a-mass-grave-when-the-first-pandemic-struck-this-early-medieval-city-new-research-explores-the-identity-of-the-victims-180988652/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-giant-400-year-old-astrolabe-made-for-royalty-by-mughal-master-craftsmen-and-owned-by-royalty-fetched-millions-at-auction-180988638/Ancient Greek astronomers and early Islamic scientists used astrolabes as mechanical computers to calculate time, determine height and navigate by the starsWed, 29 Apr 2026 14:07:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-giant-400-year-old-astrolabe-made-for-royalty-by-mughal-master-craftsmen-and-owned-by-royalty-fetched-millions-at-auction-180988638/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-this-2000-year-old-sling-bullet-inscribed-with-the-word-learn-180988449/The artifact is the first sling bullet of its kind unearthed at the ancient city of Hippos, though archaeologists have found dozens of other examples without inscriptions at the siteFri, 27 Mar 2026 19:25:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-this-2000-year-old-sling-bullet-inscribed-with-the-word-learn-180988449/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-identify-traces-of-childrens-fingerprints-still-visible-on-clay-beads-created-15000-years-ago-180988400/Discovered in present-day Israel, the beads suggest that Natufian groups used clay for symbolic purposes many years earlier than scholars previously thought, according to a new studyTue, 24 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-identify-traces-of-childrens-fingerprints-still-visible-on-clay-beads-created-15000-years-ago-180988400/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-diver-stumbled-upon-a-centuries-old-sword-beneath-the-mediterranean-sea-years-later-he-found-another-one-nearby-180988370/Shlomi Katzin, who unearthed a 900-year-old sword in 2021, recently discovered a similar artifact jutting out of the seabed off the coast of IsraelThu, 19 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-diver-stumbled-upon-a-centuries-old-sword-beneath-the-mediterranean-sea-years-later-he-found-another-one-nearby-180988370/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/someone-used-this-mysterious-coin-as-bus-fare-in-the-1950s-it-turned-out-to-be-2000-year-old-currency-minted-by-the-phoenicians-180988337/A public transit official working for the city of Leeds found the coin while counting bus and tram fares. Now, his grandson has donated it to Leeds Museums and GalleriesThu, 12 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/someone-used-this-mysterious-coin-as-bus-fare-in-the-1950s-it-turned-out-to-be-2000-year-old-currency-minted-by-the-phoenicians-180988337/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mummified-cheetahs-discovered-in-caves-could-help-saudi-arabia-bring-the-wild-cat-back-to-its-historic-range-180988075/Researchers thought that just one subspecies of cheetah lived in Saudi Arabia long ago. But an unexpected discovery seems to broaden the gene poolWed, 28 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mummified-cheetahs-discovered-in-caves-could-help-saudi-arabia-bring-the-wild-cat-back-to-its-historic-range-180988075/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-red-necked-ostriches-introduced-in-saudi-arabia-to-replace-birds-that-went-extinct-more-than-80-years-ago-180987974/The released birds are the closest living relatives of the extinct Arabian ostrich. The flightless animals' return is part of a broader "rewilding" effort at a huge nature reserveFri, 09 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-red-necked-ostriches-introduced-in-saudi-arabia-to-replace-birds-that-went-extinct-more-than-80-years-ago-180987974/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/six-ancient-roman-statues-have-been-stolen-from-syrias-national-museum-180987684/The theft is a serious loss for the country's cultural heritage, which had already sustained extensive damage during a long civil warFri, 14 Nov 2025 21:40:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/six-ancient-roman-statues-have-been-stolen-from-syrias-national-museum-180987684/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-5000-year-old-canaanite-wine-press-has-been-discovered-in-israel-180987669/Researchers discovered the press, along with a ritualistic, animal-shaped “tea set,” outside the ancient site of Tel MegiddoMon, 10 Nov 2025 19:53:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-5000-year-old-canaanite-wine-press-has-been-discovered-in-israel-180987669/