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Archaeology

Researchers discovered an ancient tavern at Lagash in southern Iraq.

Cool Finds

5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq

Archaeologists found benches, an oven and food remnants dating back to 2700 B.C.E.

The gold pendant likely dates to around 1521.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Discovers Rare Gold Pendant Celebrating Henry VIII’s First Marriage

The heart-shaped accessory features the entwined initials of the Tudor king and Catherine of Aragon

A portrait of Anne d’Alégre, a 17th-century French noblewoman who masked her poor dentition with gold wire and an elephant ivory false tooth

What Secrets Lie Beneath This 17th-Century French Aristocrat’s Smile?

New research suggests noblewoman Anne d’Alégre used gold wire to keep her decaying teeth in place

A fresco stolen from an archaeological site at Herculaneum, an ancient town near Pompeii that was buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption

Italy Celebrates Return of Looted Artifacts Worth $20 Million

Some of the five dozen items had been on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The animals were preserved in a different manner than most mummified crocodiles.

Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Crocodiles

The remains include five reptile heads and five nearly intact specimens

The 12- by 12-inch runestone dates back to between 1 and 250 C.E.

Cool Finds

‘Sensational’ Runestone Discovered in Norway May Be the World’s Oldest

The find promises to shed new light on lingering questions about runic writing’s early history

The finely crafted, decorative ceramics

Archaeologists Unearth 3,000-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

The Bronze Age well was full of decorative ceramics, jewelry and other items likely used for ritual purposes

The stunning Sydney Modern Project is the modern leg of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia.

The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2023

Scheduled to launch this year are new institutions dedicated to punk rock, Amelia Earhart and robots

The 800-year-old pendant is made of copper and plated in gold.

Cool Finds

Neutron Imaging Reveals Tiny Bones Inside 800-Year-Old Pendant

The high-tech method allowed researchers to examine the artifact without opening it

A grave with bones that were analyzed

Ancient DNA Charts Native Americans’ Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago

Analysis of ten Eurasian individuals, up to 7,500 years old, gives a new picture of movement across continents

The researchers' facial reconstruction shows a bearded, brown-eyed man in his 30s or 40s.

See the Face of a Neolithic Man Who Lived in Jericho 9,500 Years Ago

Prehistoric people modified a skull to create a rudimentary likeness of its owner. Now, scholars have produced a more accurate facial reconstruction

The courtyard of the House of the Vettii in Pompeii

See the Lavish Pompeii Home Owned by Two Men Freed From Slavery

After two decades, the newly restored House of the Vettii is officially open to visitors

Archaeologists studied the tree ring growth patterns of 100 timbers.

Cool Finds

Rare 16th-Century Ship Unearthed in England

Quarry workers discovered the vessel 1,000 feet from the nearest coastline

An old Viking ship under the Northern Lights in Iceland

Ancient DNA Reveals a Genetic History of the Viking Age

Nearly 300 ancient genomes shed light on how people migrated and genes flowed in Scandinavia

The icory cosmetic spoon was used to pour incense onto fires as an offering to the gods or the dead.

For the First Time, U.S. Repatriates an Artifact to the Palestinian Authority

The item, an ivory cosmetic spoon, dates back to between 800 and 700 B.C.E.

Archaeological artifacts as well as bone fragments up to 5,000 years old were discovered at two Spanish homes.

Police Discover Hundreds of Stolen Artifacts at Two Spanish Residences

The collection includes bones, Paleolithic tools, an ancient Roman loom and more

A cave painting of an extinct cattle species from Lascaux, France, with markings on its back.

Could These Cave Markings Be the Earliest Form of Writing?

New research proposes that symbols in 20,000-year-old cave drawings are a proto-writing system, but not all scientists are convinced

An image created using lidar data shows the structures at Aguada Fénix, in Mexico.

Mesoamericans Have Been Using a 260-Day Ceremonial Calendar for Millennia

New research has the earliest evidence yet of when the timekeeping guide was used to mark the seasons

Archaeologists have only unearthed half of the Viking hall so far and plan to continue their dig later in 2023.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Viking Hall in Denmark

The structure may have been used for political meetings or other community gatherings

Archaeologists used a remotely operated vehicle called Deep Trekker to explore the H.M.S. Erebus site.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Recover 275 Artifacts From Mysterious Arctic Shipwreck

Explorer John Franklin and his 128 crew members disappeared while searching for the Northwest Passage in the 1840s

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