Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Ancient Rome

One of the lion's head discs discovered in the grave

Cool Finds

Four Bewildering Bronze Lions’ Heads With Slightly Different Facial Expressions Found in Ancient Roman Grave in Israel

Similar examples of ancient lion artifacts appear to have been used as door knockers. But the newly discovered discs may have served a different purpose

Salvage archaeologists clean the mosaic floor's elaborate centerpiece.

Cool Finds

See a Vibrant, Colorful Mosaic Discovered at an Ancient Roman Settlement in France

Perched on a hill overlooking the town of Alès, the site, which was salvaged before construction on modern houses began, also boasts advanced architecture

The pieces were jumbled together when the building was demolished.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Pieced Together the Ancient Fragments of the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

More than 1,800 years ago, the thousands of pieces formed colorful frescoes that covered the walls of a luxurious villa in Londinium, the precursor to modern-day London

The garden features a reconstructed shaded alcove for dining.

The 2,000-Year-Old ‘Perfume Garden’ in the Ancient City of Pompeii Has Been Restored to Its Former Glory

The small garden now features thousands of roses, violets, cherry trees and vines. Experts think a perfumer may have once used the plants to experiment with new scents

Aerial view of the villa, with thermal baths at the bottom right, the garden and fountain in the center, and the agricultural fields expanding to the left

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Stumble Onto Sprawling Ancient Roman Villa During Construction of a Road in France

Located near Auxerre, the grand estate once possessed an exorbitant level of wealth, with thermal baths and heated floors

A painting found in Pompeii depicting eggs, bronze dishes and two small birds hung on a wall

New Research

This Ancient Roman Casual Dining Joint Served Fish, Chicken and—Fried Songbird

A new analysis of the bones in the eatery’s garbage pit challenges the elite status of thrush in the Roman diet

A marble sarcophagus depicting a drinking contest between Hercules and Dionysus

Cool Finds

Ancient Sarcophagus Unearthed in Israel Portrays an Epic Drinking Contest Between the God Dionysus and the Mythical Hero Hercules

Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaics

An ancient wooden falcon decorated with Egyptian blue alongside one of the newly developed pigments

New Research

Archaeologists Are Recreating the Long-Lost Recipe for Egyptian Blue, the World’s Oldest Known Synthetic Pigment

Created 5,000 years ago, the mysterious color has been found on artworks and artifacts throughout the ancient world. But the pigment’s recipe was eventually lost to history

Frescoes, statues, graffiti and other artifacts show the many roles and rituals of Roman womanhood.

What Was Daily Life Like for the Women Who Lived in Ancient Pompeii 2,000 Years Ago?

A new exhibition is spotlighting the women who have long been sidelined in histories of the Roman Empire—from mothers and weavers to entrepreneurs and influential tavern owners

The scroll previously known only as PHerc. 172 was written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus.

Cool Finds

These Ancient Scrolls Have Been a Tantalizing Mystery for 2,000 Years. Researchers Just Deciphered a Title for the First Time

Mount Vesuvius’ eruption preserved the Herculaneum scrolls beneath a blanket of ash. Two millennia later, X-ray scans show that one of them is a philosophical text called “On Vice”

None

There's More to That

The Joys of Discovering the Roman Underground, From the Colosseum to What’s Beneath the Trevi Foundation

To escape the crowds of the Eternal City, head below ground and enter a portal into Rome’s past

A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade.

New Research

By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus

The pipe was found during an archaeological survey ahead of new construction.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Wooden Water Pipe Made From Hollow Tree Trunks Unearthed Beneath a Street in Belgium

Archaeologists say the muddy soil in the area preserved the artifact, which likely dates to between the second and third centuries C.E.

The shorter sword was decorated with polished gems, two of which were carved with swastikas.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth 2,300-Year-Old Sword Decorated With Two Small Swastikas in a Celtic Necropolis

Found in France, the site featured more than 100 graves filled with ancient metal artifacts—including bracelets, brooches and two well-preserved swords

The ancient people of Carthage, located in modern Tunisia, did not have ancestry in common with the Levantine Phoenicians that established their culture, according to a new study.

Carthaginians, Ancient Rome’s Infamous Enemies, Are Not Exactly Who Scholars Thought They Were, Ancestry Study Suggests

DNA reveals that the people of Carthage, a powerful independent colony founded by the Phoenicians, had little genetic similarity to their counterparts in the Levant

Archaeologists unearthed more than 100 equine skeletons near the site of a Roman military base.

1,800-Year-Old Horse Buried With Grave Goods Suggests Deep Bond Between a Roman Soldier and His Steed

Archaeologists were preparing for the construction of a new housing development when they found more than 100 equine skeletons dating to the second century C.E.

The broken walls of the villa are covered in frescoes, or paintings made on wet plaster.

Cool Finds

Conservators Are Puzzling Together Ancient Roman Murals Found in Hundreds of Pieces

Excavated from a nearly 2,000-year-old villa in Valencia, Spain, the broken-up murals once formed fresco decor

The exhibition includes pieces of ancient pottery.

Hundreds of Looted Ancient Artifacts Confiscated From the Black Market Are Now on Display in Naples

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is showcasing 600 recovered objects, which date to between the Archaic period and the Middle Ages

The figures adorn the wall of a tomb found in a necropolis near one of Pompeii’s city gates.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Two Nearly Life-Size Statues Carved Into the Wall of a Tomb in Ancient Pompeii

The figures appear to represent a married couple. Experts think the woman, who is holding laurel leaves, may have been a priestess

Researchers found grave goods while excavating the Liternum necropolis.

Cool Finds

A Gladiator’s Marble-Etched Epitaph Is Found in an Ancient Roman Necropolis

The graveyard of Liternum, near Naples, was in use between the first century B.C.E. and the third century C.E.

Page 6 of 31