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Artifacts

The sealed tomb held about 400 funerary figurines.

Cool Finds

Mummies With Gold Tongues Found Inside 2,500-Year-Old Tombs in Egypt

The rare discovery of a sealed tomb yielded well-preserved grave goods including 400 funerary figures

A robot powered by artificial intelligence will attempt to restore fragmented frescoes at the Roman city of Pompeii, destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

How Robots Could Help Restore Fragmented Frescoes in Pompeii

Using artificial intelligence, scientists have put together a computerized system that could rebuild the magnificent murals destroyed by Mount Vesuvius

Excavators discovered the underground ritual site beneath Garibaldi Plaza, formerly part of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán.

Cool Finds

Aztec Altar Secretly Built After the Spanish Conquest Discovered in Mexico City

Researchers found incense burners, a vessel containing cremated remains and other artifacts in the former capital of Tenochtitlán

Some of the jewelry found in the tombs resembles designs worn by Queen Nefertiti.

Egyptian Jewelry, Mesopotamian Seal Found in Cyprus Offer Clues to Bronze Age Trade Networks

Artifacts found in a pair of tombs on the Mediterranean island speak to the interconnected nature of the ancient world

Chemical analysis of stalagmites in nearby underwater caves indicated that extensive flooding caused the collapse of the Liangzhu culture.

New Research

Why Did This Chinese City of Canals Collapse in the Third Millennium B.C.E.?

New research suggests Liangzhu, “China’s Venice of the Stone Age,” was abandoned due to extreme flooding

The simple coin design was quickly replaced, leaving only 40 or so surviving specimens today.

Cool Finds

Found in a Candy Tin: One of the First Coins Struck in Colonial North America

Illegally minted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 1652 silver shilling recently sold at auction for $351,912

The 13-year-old discovered the cache on her third metal-detecting outing.

Cool Finds

British Teenager Discovers Rare Bronze Age Ax Hoard

Milly Hardwick, a 13-year-old from Suffolk, stumbled onto a cache of 65 artifacts dated to around 1300 B.C.E.

The mosaic was scorched by fire, but its depiction of the Iliad remains clearly visible.

Cool Finds

Huge Roman Mosaic Depicting Scenes From the ‘Iliad’ Found Beneath U.K. Field

The artwork features scenes from the Iliad showing Achilles’s defeat of Hector

Inlaid with silver and brass, the ancient Roman dagger is in remarkably good condition.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologist in Switzerland Unearths 2,000-Year-Old Roman Dagger

Lucas Schmid’s find led to the discovery of hundreds of other ancient artifacts linked to a 15 B.C.E. battle between imperial and Rhaetian forces

This glass fish was found in a fairly modest private house in Amarna, buried under a plaster floor along with a few other objects. It may once have contained ointment.

A Brief Scientific History of Glass

Featuring ingots, shipwrecks and an international trade in colors, the material’s rich past is being traced using modern archaeology and materials science

The rare document is one of only two surviving first printings of the Constitution held by private collectors.

Rare First Printing of the U.S. Constitution Is the Most Expensive Text Ever Sold at Auction

A collective of cryptocurrency owners attempted to buy the document but was outbid by Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, who shelled out $43.2 million

The ornate object features likenesses of Saints Leonard and Margaret, patron saints of childbirth.

Cool Finds

Tiny Gold Book Found in English Field May Have Ties to Richard III

Experts say the 15th-century artifact bears striking similarities to the Middleham Jewel, a gold pendant found near the king’s childhood home in 1985

The heads belong to statues previously discovered in the ancient city.

Cool Finds

Roman-Era Shops, Statues of Greek Deities Found in Ancient City in Turkey

Researchers in Aizanoi unearthed traces of a bone workshop and an oil lamp store, as well as the heads of sculptures depicting Aphrodite and Dionysus

Most of the people buried at the site were woman and children.

Mass Grave of Women, Children Found in Pre-Hispanic City in Peru

Buried in the Chimú Empire capital of Chan Chan, some of the deceased were interred with needles and sewing tools

The museum acquired the collection in recognition of its historical significance—and to keep the objects from circulating elsewhere.

German Museum Acquires 15,000 Artifacts Documenting the History of Anti-Semitism

Holocaust survivor Wolfgang Haney collected the items over three decades

The latrine was about 16 inches high, with a smaller 3- to 4-inch-deep trough for clean water located nearby.

Cool Finds

Latrine Used by Ancient Actors Discovered Among Ruins of Theater in Turkey

Dated to the second century C.E., the communal “artist toilet” could accommodate about a dozen people at a time

The ring could date back to as early as the third century C.E.

Cool Finds

Ancient Amethyst Ring Found in Israel May Have Been Worn to Ward Off Hangovers

Found near a Byzantine-era winery, the jewelry likely belonged to a wealthy, high-status individual

Archaeologists excavated the foundations of a carcer, or holding cell, where gladiators, doomed prisoners and wild animals waited before being brought into the Richborough Roman amphitheater in Kent.

Cool Finds

Holding Cell for Gladiators, Doomed Prisoners Found at Roman Amphitheater in England

Researchers initially thought the structure was a passageway to the ancient arena

The Srivijaya Empire was known for its wealth and dominance of maritime trade routes.

Cool Finds

Indonesian Divers Discover Treasures From Enigmatic ‘Island of Gold’

Archaeological evidence of the Srivijaya Empire is limited, but recent finds made along the Musi River may shed light on the mysterious civilization

Researchers have tentatively dated the canoe to between 830 and 950 C.E.

Cool Finds

Well-Preserved Maya Canoe Found in Mexico May Be 1,000 Years Old

Researchers discovered the boat and other artifacts linked to the pre-Hispanic civilization near the ruins of Chichén Itzá

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