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Artifacts

Do We Finally Know How the Holy Grail Disappeared?

How did an onyx cup thought to be the Holy Grail disappear from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 909 AD?

Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers Were Originally Silver

Bright red is how we remember them, but Dorothy’s famous shoes had another look at the start

The Typos on This Dead Sea Scroll Don’t Mean It’s Fake

When the Dead Sea copper scroll was unveiled, doubts were quickly raised about its authenticity. For one thing, it was riddled with spelling errors

Sarah Parcak

American Ingenuity Awards

Space Archaeologist Sarah Parcak Uses Satellites to Uncover Ancient Egyptian Ruins

The Indiana Jones of low Earth orbit harnesses 21st-century technology to uncover long-buried treasures

"I am well acquainted with Gen.l W. who is a man of very few words but when he speaks it is on purpose [and] what I have often admired in him is he [has] always avoided saying anything of the actions in which he has engaged in the last war. [H]e is uncommonly modest, very industrious - prudent." Charles Willson Peale to Edmond Jennings, August 1775

The Strange Case of George Washington’s Disappearing Sash

How an early (and controversial) symbol of the American republic was lost to the annals of history

Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks before a game at Wrigley Field, 1957

If Only Ernie Had Seen It. Here’s Why “Mr. Cub” Is Part of the 2016 World Series Win

From Smithsonian Books, a treasure of baseball history for those who can’t wait for spring training

Gary Hart campaign (photo by Ken Regan), 1984

The Swag and Swagger Behind American Presidential Campaigns

From a coloring book to a painted axe, election ephemera remind us of the hard-fought elections of long ago

One of the world's oldest-known carvings of the Ten Commandments will soon go up for auction.

Cool Finds

The Oldest-Known Carving of the 10 Commandments Is Going up for Auction

But the buyer won’t be able to take it home

Pan Am promoted its "First Moon Flights" Club on radio and TV after the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, saying that "fares are not fully resolved, and may be out of this world."

I Was a Card-Carrying Member of the “First Moon Flights” Club

My card is now a historical museum artifact, but I’ll never give up my dream to fly to the Moon

Re-enactor John Holman displays a newly discovered letter alongside period objects including a hardtack-crate desk.

Newly Discovered Letters Bring New Insight Into the Life of a Civil War Soldier

A mysterious package holds long-lost correspondence from a young Union infantryman

Lion’s Head
 Historic Syria, 9th–8th centuries BCE 
Ivory, carved


Cool Finds

New Art Exhibition Celebrates 5,000 Years of Syria’s History

Syria is more than just a refugee crisis

The stacked bricks represent the people enslaved by President Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and include his own children and their mother Sally Hemings.

Breaking Ground

At the New “Slavery and Freedom” Show, a Mother Finds an Empowering Message for Her Young Daughters

A child’s shackles, a whip, and an auction block deliver a visceral experience of slavery

A diver recovering a bottle of beer from the wreck of the Sydney Cove.

Cool Finds

Australian Researchers Brew Beer With Yeast Believed to Be from a 220-Year-Old Shipwreck

A glimpse into the boozy past

A set of Civil War-era cannonballs were uncovered on a South Carolina beach after Hurricane Matthew.

Trending Today

Civil War-Era Cannonballs Unearthed by Hurricane Matthew

The destructive storm dug up some old history

The walrus diorama at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, photographed in 2009, includes a "realistic" marine background.

The History and Future of the Once-Revolutionary Taxidermy Diorama

In their heyday, these dead animal displays were virtual reality machines

What These Mysterious Scrolls Tell Us About Women in Petra

In 1961, archaeologists in southern Israel discovered a mysterious set of documents. They provide clues into the elevated status of Nabataean women

Osgood says he can walk peacefully in total anonymity if he leaves his bow tie at home; but people always make him cakes with bow ties.

Charles Osgood’s Love Affair With the Bow Tie Began With a Dire Warning About Clip-Ons

As one of his iconic bow ties arrives at the Smithsonian, Osgood reflects on good and bad doggerel and how to tie a good knot

Why Tomb Raiders Treated This Priceless Gem Like Trash

Why would grave robbers break into the King of Xuzhou’s tomb and leave its most priceless jade treasure behind?

What Is the Glass Palace Chronicle and Why Is It Important?

One of the most important sources of Burmese history is a document known as the Glass Palace Chronicle

The Burmese Monument That Appears to Defy Gravity

On the peak of Mount Kyaiktiyo is a mind-bending Buddhist monument: a 25-foot rock that balances precariously on the edge of a cliff

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