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Ancient Rome

Misidentified Roman ‘Pendants’ Were Actually Women’s Makeup Tools

Known as ‘cosmetic grinders,’ the artifacts would have been used to crush minerals for makeup

The Pompeiian sorceress' kit contained about 100 different objects.

Cool Finds

A Sorceress’ Kit Was Discovered in the Ashes of Pompeii

The box of small trinkets was likely used to perform fertility and love rituals and to look for omens about birth and pregnancy

Out of 200 styluses found during excavations, this was the only one with an inscription

Cool Finds

This Ancient Roman Souvenir Stylus Is Inscribed With a Corny Joke

Loosely translated, the message reads, ‘I went to Rome and all I got you was this stylus’

Excavation of a Celtic grave at the Kernschulhaus 2017

Cool Finds

This Iron Age Celtic Woman Was Buried in a Hollowed-Out Tree Trunk

The woman performed little physical labor during her lifetime and enjoyed a rich diet of starchy and sweetened foods

Polychrome mosaic emblema (panel) showing fish and sea creatures, Pompeii, House of the Geometric Mosaics

From Baked Dormouse to Carbonized Bread, 300 Artifacts Show What Romans Ate

The show features frescoes, preserved fruit, cooking utensils and vessels recovered from Pompeii

Cool Finds

It Took Two Years for Global Experts to ID This Little Shard of Roman Glass

The rare blue-green glass was unearthed at the Chedworth Roman Villa in the U.K.

Ancient shipwreck in the sea off Protaras, Cyprus.

Found: An ‘Undisturbed’ Roman Ship Near Cyprus

The vessel is still packed with amphorae, and may testify to Cyprus’ importance in ancient maritime trade routes

Thanks to a $392,000 restoration campaign, tourists can now explore the space, roaming the baths’ still-standing walls and the extensive network of tunnels hidden below

You Can Now Tour the Tunnels Beneath Rome’s Baths of Caracalla

The newly opened underground network features a brick oven once used to heat the baths’ caldarium, as well as a contemporary video art installation

An illustration by J. Troncy of savagnin grapes from Ampelographie: Traite General de Viticulture.

Ancient Grape DNA Tells the Prolific History of Wine

Grape seeds dating back to medieval and Roman periods share many similarities with the wine grapes we enjoy today

New Research

Pompeii Fixed Potholes With Molten Iron

A new study suggests the Romans knew how to melt iron and used it to fill in wheel ruts and cavities on their stone streets

The board was likely used in the bath house at Vindolanda, one of 14 forts along Hadrian's Wall, but was repurposed as a floor stone in the adjacent building after it was broken.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover an Ancient Roman Game Board at Hadrian’s Wall

The cracked stone board was likely used to play ludus latrunculorum, Rome’s favorite game

Faithfuls kneel on the new restored Holy Stair (Scala Santa) at San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome.

Trending Today

For the First Time in 300 Years, Pilgrims Can Climb These Holy Marble Steps

Worshippers can kneel up the 28 steps some believe Jesus ascended to receive his death sentence

A recently uncovered thermopolia in the ruins of Pompeii.

Trending Today

Recently Uncovered Thermopolium Reminds Us That Romans Loved Fast Food as Much as We Do

Similar snack counters dug up throughout Pompeii were once destinations for on-the-go Romans looking for a quick bite

Trending Today

Site Where Julius Caesar Was Stabbed Will Finally Open to the Public

The curia in Pompey’s Theater where Caesar died in the Largo di Torre Argentina is currently a fenced-off feral cat colony

The drawings and inscriptions date to 207 A.D.

Graffiti Left by Soldiers Repairing Hadrian’s Wall Will Be Immortalized in 3-D

Historic London calls the etchings “some of the most important” along the empire’s sprawling 73-mile northern border

Wyatt Walker poses for a 3-D scan of the sculpture's missing right arm

Art Meets Science

College Basketball Player Lends a Limb to Armless Roman Statue

The 6-foot-9 forward for North Carolina State University posed for a 3-D reconstruction of the sculpture’s missing arm

Cool Finds

Egyptian Schoolboy’s 1,800-Year-Old Lesson to Go on Display

The British Library took the exercise out of storage as part of an upcoming exhibition on the history of writing

Cool Finds

Preserved Horse, Saddled, Harnessed and Ready to Flee, Found in Villa Outside Pompeii

Archaeologists found ornamental pieces of a harness and saddle, suggesting the horse was ready to ride when the volcano blew its top

Cool Finds

The Goddess in the Margarine Tub Is Just One of 1,267 Treasures Found by the British Public in 2017

A new report reveals the pieces voluntarily recorded with the U.K.’s Portable Antiquities Scheme last year

"Rome Reborn" currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius

Virtual Travel

Ambitious VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings, Monuments to Their Former Glory

You can take an aerial tour of the city circa 320 A.D. or stop by specific sites for in-depth exploration

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