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Artifacts

Researchers found the stone slab broken and buried in an ancient throne room.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth an Ancient Relief Depicting an Assyrian King and Rare Deities

The artifact was found in Mosul, Iraq, buried in the ancient city of Nineveh

The exterior is made of fruitwood adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay and silver banding.

You Can Buy Novelist Charles Dickens’ Personal Travel Writing Desk and Silverware Set

The ornate desk features a silver plaque with a personal inscription that references the English writer’s family nickname, “Venerables”

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.

Tell Abu Saifi features housing units where soldiers and their families may have lived.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Ancient Tree-Lined Road in Egyptian Military Fortress

Located in the northern Sinai Desert, the site is shedding new light on defensive structures built to protect Egypt’s eastern borders

In 1947 New Jersey, leaders of the New York-based YIVO open crates of salvaged artifacts from Europe.

These Irreplaceable Yiddish Artifacts Would Have Been Lost to History If They Weren’t Evacuated to New York After World War II

The founding of a research institute 100 years ago has helped to provide insight on Yiddish culture in the United States and around the world

The Newark Earthworks in Ohio consist of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks and the Wright Earthworks.

An Ohio Earthwork Where Thousands Once Gathered for Celestial Observations and Religious Ceremonies Is Open to the Public

An earthen enclosure called the Octagon is drawing much-deserved attention to the state’s history-filled mounds built some 2,000 years ago by the Hopewell culture

Both the sword and the sheath are made from some of the most valuable materials from Napoleon's era.

The Ornate Sword That Napoleon Commissioned During His Rise to Power Is Heading to Auction

Prior to his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the French ruler gave the saber to one of his most trusted generals, whose family kept it for generations

The gems were found in a stupa in northern India.

India Is Trying to Stop the Sale of Hundreds of Ancient Gems Associated With the Buddha

The 300 sacred jewels are part of a larger trove found in India in 1898. They’re scheduled to be sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, where bidding will start at roughly $1.3 million

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

A cache found in the Czech Republic weighed more than 15 pounds.

Cool Finds

Hikers Stumble Upon Gold Coins and Treasures That Could Be Worth $340,000

After discovering the 15-pound cache while hiking in the Czech Republic, the two men handed it over to a local museum

Researchers think the chariot tire was made by a highly skilled blacksmith.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Thought They’d Found a Piece of Old Farm Equipment. It Turned Out to Be a Rare Iron Age Chariot Tire

The more than 2,000-year-old tire was found among a trove of artifacts during excavations ahead of construction for a new golf course near Inverness, Scotland

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 letter was postmarked on April 11 in Queenstown, Ireland, one of the two stops the Titanic made before sinking. It reached London one day later.

He Boarded the Titanic, Then Wrote a Letter: ‘It Is a Fine Ship, But I Shall Await My Journey’s End Before I Pass Judgment’

First-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote the missive shortly after settling into his cabin on the doomed vessel. It just sold at auction for nearly $400,000

One of the flags is decorated with 13 interlocking gold rings labeled with the names of the first 13 states.

America's 250th Anniversary

See the Colorful Flags That the Patriots Unfurled as They Fought in the American Revolution

At the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, a new exhibition has gathered together 17 historic flags that served as symbols of liberty

The antler fragment seen from multiple angles

New Research

This Intricately Decorated Deer Antler Was Used as a Battle Ax Before Being Repurposed as a Fishing Harpoon

During the sixth millennium B.C.E., carvers in present-day Sweden etched patterns into the artifact before redecorating it in a new style. It was likely deposited into a river as part of a ritual

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

Aerial view of Tel Shiqmona, an ancient coastal site near modern-day Haifa, Israel, where dye-making reached an industrial scale

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Rare Traces of the First Ancient Factory Dedicated to Purple Dye Production

Located at Tel Shiqmona in coastal Israel, the facility turned sea snails into purple dye at an industrial scale

Divers found the Antikythera mechanism in a shipwreck in 1900.

New Research

How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?

Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned

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

Campaign memorabilia from Lincoln's first run for the White House in 1860

Abraham Lincoln’s Blood-Stained Gloves, Early Scribblings and Dozens of Other Belongings Are Going Up for Sale

Nearly 150 pieces of Lincolniana from throughout the 16th president’s life will be hitting the auction block in Chicago on May 21

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