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Artifacts

A 70mm IMAX camera used to shoot The Dream is Alive, now in the National Air and Space Museum's collection

In the 1980s, This Special Camera Helped Turn Astronauts Into Cinematographers to Shoot the First Imax Movie Ever Filmed in Space

The groundbreaking work, “The Dream Is Alive,” celebrates its 40th anniversary this year

 An artist's rendering of the altar

New Research

Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Altar That May Have Been Used for Ancient Sacrifices in Guatemala

Discovered in the ruins of Tikal, the altar sheds light on strained relations between the Maya city and Teotihuacán—which was located more than 600 miles away

A batteau is a flat-bottomed vessel, a wooden relic of the 18th century that once carried tobacco, iron and flour through Virginia.

Two Centuries Ago, Batteaumen on Virginia’s James River Ended Long Work Days With a Taste of Freedom

The James River Batteau Company, an outdoor recreation-meets-historical tour business, has designed a dinner cruise that honors the resilience and culinary ingenuity of enslaved boatmen

Tutankhamun's burial mask is made of gold and precious stones.

New Research

Clay Artifacts Found in King Tut’s Tomb May Have Been Part of a Ritual Honoring the Egyptian God Osiris

The four clay troughs were initially thought to have served as stands for gold-plated staffs. Now, a researcher has presented a new theory about their purpose

Tarot deck designed by Austin Osman Spare in 1906

Discover the Renaissance Origins and Mystical Evolution of Tarot Cards

An exhibition at London’s Warburg Institute traces tarot decks’ evolution from the 1450s through the present

Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, the metal detectorists who discovered the dagger

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Unearth Ancient Dagger Decorated With Tiny Stars, Crescent Moons and Geometric Patterns

Found at a beach in northern Poland, the nearly ten-inch-long artifact could be up to 2,500 years old. It had been lodged inside a lump of clay

Thousands of years ago, people had been buried both inside and outside of this cist tomb.

New Research

Why Were These Teenagers Chosen as Human Sacrifices at an Ancient Mesopotamian Cemetery?

Researchers previously assumed that some of the graves at the site were royal burials. A new study presents a different theory, which challenges existing ideas about early class structures

The family handed the scarab over to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which plans to display it in an upcoming exhibition.

Cool Finds

Toddler Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Egyptian Amulet While Hiking With Her Family in Israel

The 3-year-old picked up an ancient Canaanite scarab that dates back to the Middle Bronze Age

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.

An unidentified man found the armlet in a wetland last fall.

Cool Finds

Eagle-Eyed Man Discovers Rare Viking Arm Ring That May Have Been Lost in a Marsh in Sweden 1,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists say the iron armlet could also have been buried deliberately in a sacrificial bog

The Israel Antiquities Authority and volunteers are excavating the site north of the Zohar Valley.

Cool Finds

This Ancient Pyramid Found in the Judean Desert May Have Been a Ptolemaic Tax Collector’s Station

The official structure, stuffed with significant coins and Greek papyri, was likely later transformed into someone’s grave

Researchers spent three months excavating the site.

Cool Finds

Treasure Trove of 800 ‘Exceptional’ Iron Age Artifacts Discovered in England

The collection, which dates to the first century C.E., includes items ranging from elaborately decorated horse harnesses to ornate cauldrons

The well-preserved ring was found by a retired firefighter.

Cool Finds

See the Stunning Sapphire Ring Belonging to a Medieval Bishop That Just Sold at Auction

Found by a metal detectorist in England, the item features a sapphire surrounded by two emeralds and two stones that are either garnets or rubies

A wax writing tablet with a stylus

Cool Finds

Discover the 14,000 Ancient Roman Artifacts Just Donated to the London Museum

Among the items are sandals, pottery and Britain’s largest collection of Roman writing tablets, bearing IOU notes and gossip in stunningly well-preserved wax

Stephen Tabor with the Huntington Library's copy of the Gutenberg Bible

Gutenberg Bible Reunited With Rare 15th-Century Devotional Print Once Tucked Inside Its Pages

Two centuries after they were separated, the print and the Bible are on display together at the Huntington Library in California

The aqueduct was found on the grounds of the Rusovce Mansion.

Cool Finds

The First Roman Aqueduct Ever Found in Slovakia Sports an Ancient Manufacturer’s Stamp and a Paw Print

Researchers found the channel on historic grounds near the country’s capital, Bratislava

The body of this Buddha statue is missing its head, feet and right hand.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth the Torso of a Rare Buddha Statue—Nearly 100 Years After They Found Its Head

The two pieces of the 800-year-old sculpture were discovered roughly 160 feet away from each other at the Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia

A spy pigeon with a camera strapped to its breast at the CIA Museum

Learn the Secret Histories of These Fascinating CIA Artifacts, From Pigeon Cameras to Cufflink Compasses

With the launch of its new website, the CIA Museum is bringing its sprawling collection of spy artifacts out of the shadows and into the public eye

This clay tablet sports the name of an Akkadian governor.

Cool Finds

4,000-Year-Old Clay Tablets Show Ancient Sumerians’ Obsession With Government Bureaucracy

The artifacts were excavated from a city dating back to the third millennium B.C.E. by researchers from Iraq and the British Museum

The mosaics date to the third century B.C.E.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Mosaics of Two Fighting Cupids and a Mysterious Inscription at an Ancient Greek City Hall

New research is shedding light on the bouleuterion building that once stood in the ancient city of Teos, located in present-day Turkey

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