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Archaeology

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

The Pyramid Texts cover walls within the pyramids of King Unis (shown here) and other royals at the site of Saqqara.

Did Ancient Egyptians Know Meteorites Came From Space?

Hieroglyphic texts suggest they understood the rocks, which contained valuable iron, did not originate on Earth

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

An illustration of the Homo erectus child with her mother in the Ethiopian highlands, two million years ago

Two Million Years Ago, This Homo Erectus Lived the High Life

Dating of a child’s fossilized jaw and teeth suggest our relatives lived at altitude earlier than once thought

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

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

Archaeologists identified the finds as Viking-era brooches. 

Cool Finds

Norwegian Family Unearths 1,200-Year-Old Viking Artifacts in Their Yard

They had been looking for a lost gold earring when they stumbled upon two bronze brooches

Researchers have only discovered a small fraction of the pre-Columbian earthworks in the Amazon rainforest, according to new research.

The Amazon May Be Hiding More Than 10,000 Pre-Columbian Structures

Based on a new aerial survey and modeling study, archaeologists suggest at least 90 percent of sites known as earthworks remain undetected

The Cheddar brooch measures 9 centimeters (roughly 4.5 inches) in diameter and dates to between 800 and 900 C.E.

Cool Finds

Rare 1,000-Year-Old Brooch Goes on Display in England

A metal detectorist unearthed the silver and copper artifact on a farm in Somerset in 2020

Fossilized footprints in White Sands National Park

North America’s Oldest Known Footprints Point to Earlier Human Arrival to the Continent

New dating methods have added more evidence that these fossils date to 23,000 years ago, pushing back migration to the Americas by thousands of years

Smoke rises after a World War II-era aerial bomb was detonated at a construction site in Singapore on September 26, 2023.

Singapore Safely Detonates a World War II-Era Bomb Unearthed at a Construction Site

Historians say Japanese forces may have dropped it during a critical battle in 1942

The oldest hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, dating to 9,500 years ago.

Archaeologists Uncover 9,500-Year-Old Woven Baskets and Europe’s Oldest Sandals

Items found in a Spanish cave are older than previously thought, a new study suggests, calling into question “simplistic assumptions” about early humans

The swords have long blades that were likely used by Roman soldiers or civilians while riding on horseback.

Cool Finds

Two 1,800-Year-Old Roman Cavalry Swords Unearthed in England

The long, slender weapons were likely carried by Roman soldiers on horseback

In Oscar Nilsson's reconstruction, the Upper Largie Woman looks skeptically at viewers.

See the Face of a Bronze Age Woman Who Lived in Scotland 4,000 Years Ago

A forensic artist created a facial reconstruction based on the skeletal remains of a woman who died in her late 20s or early 30s

Human bone inside Cueva de los Marmoles, the cave in Spain where the study took place.

Prehistoric Humans May Have Dug Up Bodies to Make Tools

A study of bones from a Spanish cave suggests humans might have fashioned tools from the remains of recently deceased community members or relatives

The intact gold torc discovered last month in northwest Spain

Cool Finds

Water Worker Stumbles Upon 2,500-Year-Old Gold Necklaces in Spain

The artifacts could shed new light on the Iron Age history of the region

Inside the restored women's cold room

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

The revitalized space will feature a museum and contemporary art in addition to traditional bathing

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