https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/roman-empire/RSS feed for Roman EmpireenFri, 15 May 2026 20:44:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-magical-mirror-the-powerful-queen-of-a-british-tribe-may-have-used-goes-on-display-as-part-of-britains-largest-iron-age-hoard-180988751/Visitors to the Yorkshire Museum can see artifacts from the Melsonby Hoard, dating to the first century C.E., that rewrite the story of wealth and power in Britain around the time of the Roman invasionFri, 15 May 2026 20:44:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-magical-mirror-the-powerful-queen-of-a-british-tribe-may-have-used-goes-on-display-as-part-of-britains-largest-iron-age-hoard-180988751/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-was-less-a-clash-of-civilizations-and-more-an-opportunity-to-mix-and-mingle-a-new-genetics-study-shows-180988699/Researchers who analyzed genomes from early medieval graves in modern-day Germany hypothesize that people from the former Roman Empire formed families with Germanic people soon after the empire fellFri, 08 May 2026 15:54:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-was-less-a-clash-of-civilizations-and-more-an-opportunity-to-mix-and-mingle-a-new-genetics-study-shows-180988699/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-ancient-world-this-pigment-was-worth-more-than-gold-archaeologists-discovered-it-buried-with-babies-in-roman-coffins-180988678/A funerary custom in Roman Yorkshire of pouring liquid gypsum over bodies before burial preserved traces of Tyrian purpleTue, 05 May 2026 18:20:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-ancient-world-this-pigment-was-worth-more-than-gold-archaeologists-discovered-it-buried-with-babies-in-roman-coffins-180988678/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-souvenir-bowl-may-have-commemorated-an-ancient-roman-soldiers-service-at-hadrians-wall-it-was-discovered-on-a-spanish-farm-1900-years-later-180988665/The artifact is decorated with an illustration of the defensive fortification in northern England, but it was unearthed some 1,200 miles away. A new study suggests the design reflects a soldier’s achievements at the siteMon, 04 May 2026 18:23:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-souvenir-bowl-may-have-commemorated-an-ancient-roman-soldiers-service-at-hadrians-wall-it-was-discovered-on-a-spanish-farm-1900-years-later-180988665/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/alexander-the-greats-marble-head-turned-up-in-new-york-us-officials-say-it-was-stolen-and-just-sent-it-back-to-italy-180988650/As part of a longstanding effort to help Italy track down its missing treasures, the U.S. returned hundreds of ancient archaeological finds this weekThu, 30 Apr 2026 20:57:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/alexander-the-greats-marble-head-turned-up-in-new-york-us-officials-say-it-was-stolen-and-just-sent-it-back-to-italy-180988650/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-man-fled-pompeii-as-mount-vesuvius-erupted-archaeologists-found-him-2000-years-later-holding-a-bowl-to-protect-his-head-and-a-lamp-to-light-his-way-180988647/Recent excavations revealed two skeletons just outside the ancient city's walls. Researchers also created an A.I.-generated reconstruction of one of the victim's harrowing final momentsThu, 30 Apr 2026 15:10:21 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-man-fled-pompeii-as-mount-vesuvius-erupted-archaeologists-found-him-2000-years-later-holding-a-bowl-to-protect-his-head-and-a-lamp-to-light-his-way-180988647/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-a-papyrus-fragment-from-the-iliad-tucked-inside-the-wrappings-of-a-1600-year-old-egyptian-mummy-180988603/The excerpt from Homer's epic poem features his catalog of ships, a famous passage listing the Greek forces that sailed to Troy. It may be the first Greek literary text found in the context of mummificationThu, 23 Apr 2026 15:07:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-a-papyrus-fragment-from-the-iliad-tucked-inside-the-wrappings-of-a-1600-year-old-egyptian-mummy-180988603/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-does-this-newly-discovered-2000-year-old-stone-slab-depict-a-roman-emperor-as-an-egyptian-pharaoh-180988549/The sandstone monument shows Tiberius standing next to a family of local gods. Archaeologists say the scene illustrates the ruler's role as a leader who upheld cosmic order in Egyptian societyWed, 15 Apr 2026 17:56:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-does-this-newly-discovered-2000-year-old-stone-slab-depict-a-roman-emperor-as-an-egyptian-pharaoh-180988549/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-machine-guns-ancient-roman-troops-were-using-this-rapid-fire-weapon-180988504/Ancient Roman forces may have used the polybolos to quell a rebellion at Pompeii in 89 B.C.E. The unique weapon was likely developed by a Greek engineer centuries earlierThu, 09 Apr 2026 11:13:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-machine-guns-ancient-roman-troops-were-using-this-rapid-fire-weapon-180988504/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-didnt-expect-to-find-anything-at-this-site-in-england-then-they-stumbled-upon-a-roman-villa-and-a-bronze-artifact-dubbed-norfolk-nessie-180988505/Ahead of wind farm development on Britain's eastern coast, excavations along an underground cable route uncovered the ruins of an ancient farming estate that boasted its own bathhouseWed, 08 Apr 2026 17:47:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-didnt-expect-to-find-anything-at-this-site-in-england-then-they-stumbled-upon-a-roman-villa-and-a-bronze-artifact-dubbed-norfolk-nessie-180988505/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/2000-year-old-cargo-from-roman-ship-discovered-at-the-bottom-of-swiss-lake-180988492/Divers recovered weapons, tools, pieces of horse-drawn chariots, ceramic plates, platters and goblets. One archaeologist surmises that the loss would have been "immense" at the timeWed, 08 Apr 2026 14:31:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/2000-year-old-cargo-from-roman-ship-discovered-at-the-bottom-of-swiss-lake-180988492/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-allegedly-stole-gold-helmet-lost-european-culture-returned-it-180988487/More than a year after the Romanian treasure disappeared from a museum in the Netherlands, it’s back in the hands of authorities. The men accused of stealing it will face trial later this monthTue, 07 Apr 2026 16:28:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thieves-allegedly-stole-gold-helmet-lost-european-culture-returned-it-180988487/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-did-ancient-pompeians-burn-as-offerings-to-their-gods-new-research-reveals-the-surprising-answer-180988467/An analysis of incense burners discovered in the doomed city identified traces of resin imported from sub-Saharan Africa or Asia, testifying to Pompeii's extensive trade networksWed, 01 Apr 2026 18:29:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-did-ancient-pompeians-burn-as-offerings-to-their-gods-new-research-reveals-the-surprising-answer-180988467/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-1800-year-old-mosaic-the-first-known-image-of-a-woman-fighting-wild-beasts-in-an-ancient-roman-arena-180988456/The artwork was destroyed during World War I. But an archaeologist's sketch may reveal a female figure wielding a whip and facing off against a leopard, a new study suggestsWed, 01 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-1800-year-old-mosaic-the-first-known-image-of-a-woman-fighting-wild-beasts-in-an-ancient-roman-arena-180988456/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-spellbinding-exhibition-explores-how-ancient-cultures-used-magic-to-navigate-lifes-challenges-180988436/The Toledo Museum of Art is showcasing a treasure trove of masks, amulets, spellbooks and gems dating to between 2000 B.C.E. and 300 C.E.Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-spellbinding-exhibition-explores-how-ancient-cultures-used-magic-to-navigate-lifes-challenges-180988436/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/at-the-colosseum-new-marble-slabs-mark-where-towering-columns-stood-thousands-of-years-ago-180988378/Crowds once mingled below two tall arcades supported by 164-foot-tall columns. But due to earthquakes and unstable foundations, these architectural elements collapsed long agoFri, 20 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/at-the-colosseum-new-marble-slabs-mark-where-towering-columns-stood-thousands-of-years-ago-180988378/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-brilliant-blue-paint-covering-this-lavish-room-in-ancient-pompeii-may-have-cost-more-than-half-the-annual-salary-of-a-roman-foot-soldier-180988374/Researchers have estimated how much the home's owners may have paid to paint the small sacrarium, calculating the price of the Egyptian blue pigment and the hours of labor required to prepare itWed, 18 Mar 2026 19:38:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-brilliant-blue-paint-covering-this-lavish-room-in-ancient-pompeii-may-have-cost-more-than-half-the-annual-salary-of-a-roman-foot-soldier-180988374/