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British History

In 1823, 17 enslaved people were sold at an auction in Barbados in the name of Britain's then-king, George IV.

The British Crown Enslaved Thousands at the Height of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. New Research Reveals Their Stories

A leading historian examines how the monarchy not only tolerated slavery but also administered it, profited from it and sanctioned its cruelties

The bones of the horse and riders have mostly eroded away in the region's acidic, sandy soils, leaving only "sand silhouettes" behind.

These High-Status Individuals Were Given a ‘Princely’ Burial Alongside a Fully Harnessed Horse in an Early Medieval Cemetery

Archaeologists in England recently discovered the sixth- and seventh-century graves, which also contained numerous weapons and personal items

Ada Blackjack was the only survivor of a 1921 expedition to Wrangel Island, a remote landmass above the Arctic Circle.

Meet 13 People Who Survived on Deserted Islands, From a Real-Life Robinson Crusoe to a Noblewoman Marooned With Her Lover

Ahead of the release of Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” revisit the stories of Alexander Selkirk, Marguerite de la Rocque, the Tongan castaways and others who endured in remote locales

The foundations of the buried villa captured by ground-penetrating radar

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Detected the Largest Stand-Alone Ancient Roman Villa Ever Unearthed in Wales

The mansion’s foundations and floors are likely well-preserved, according to geophysical surveys. The discovery provides new insights into the Roman occupation in the region

Just a few of the hundreds of bar-shaped whetstones found on the north shore

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Ancient Roman Blade Sharpeners Emerge From a Riverbank in England, Revealing the Ruins of a 2,000-Year-Old Whetstone Factory

Archaeologists think the newly discovered artifacts remained at the production site because they were deemed unusable. Large numbers of completed whetstones may have supplied other parts of the Roman Empire

The box was discovered in the Roman-era grave of a young woman. Archaeologists suspect it may have contained ointment for pain relief, as the woman's remains show signs of lesions and joint inflammation.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Box Carved From Deer Bone That May Have Once Held Ancient Ointments

The box was excavated from a Roman-era grave in England. It was found among a trove of artifacts spanning roughly 8,000 years of human activity

Though the wooden buildings have long since rotted away, the postholes and beam slots are still there.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Stumble Upon Mysterious Medieval Village While Preparing for New Wind Farms in England

The previously unknown settlement appears to have been abandoned at some point in the 1300s, but researchers don’t know why

Bowie lived in the two-story house between 1955 and 1967.

You Can Soon Step Inside David Bowie’s Childhood Bedroom, Restored to the Way It Looked When He Was 16

The musician’s former home in south London is scheduled to open to the public in late 2027 following an extensive restoration, which will transport visitors back in time to 1963

The bell, shaped like a boar's head, would have topped a long, thin pole.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient War Trumpet That Once Struck Fear in the Hearts of Enemies on the Battlefield

Known as a carnyx, the instrument is only the third of its kind to be found in Britain. It was discovered in the territory of the Iceni tribe, which fought the Romans under the leadership of the queen Boudicca

The silver penny dates to the late 1130s.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Discovered the Earliest Known Coin Ever Produced in a Scottish Mint

Experts previously thought the first Scottish coins were minted in England, but this penny came from Edinburgh. National Museums Scotland has now acquired the historic piece of silver

A written description (left) of New Zealand flax (illustrated on the right) references an Indigenous name for the plant: “haragag.”

Newly Digitized Records Reveal How Indigenous People Shared Their Knowledge of New Zealand’s Plants With Captain Cook’s Crew

Long-overlooked documents housed at London’s Natural History Museum testify to the exchange of information between 18th-century European botanists and their Indigenous counterparts

A third-century B.C.E. Greek gold chain necklace similar to some of the missing objects

The British Museum Plans to Hire a Treasure Hunter. Duties Include Recovering Missing Artifacts Before They’re Lost to History

The museum announced in 2023 that 1,500 items were missing. More than 600 have since been found, and officials are now hoping to expand the recovery effort

The 2026 commemorative coin set, featuring five new designs

See the New Coins Celebrating the Legacies of Elizabeth II, Charles Darwin and the British Grand Prix

Released by the Royal Mint, the designs from this year’s commemorative coin set also honor anniversaries connected to the King’s Trust and the Zoological Society of London

As a 26-year-old colonel, Washington stood between confused Virginian troops to stop their fire.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Skirmish Early in George Washington’s Military Career Helped Define Him. It Could Have Killed Him

New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to come

Volunteers have discovered more than 400 shoes while cleaning up rock pools.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From

The leading theory is that the black leather boots, which were discovered by volunteers, were traveling on a cargo ship that sank nearby roughly 150 years ago

The Bayeux Tapestry was moved into temporary storage in September ahead of its transfer to the British Museum for an exhibition in 2026.

When the Bayeaux Tapestry Makes Its Historic Return to England, the British Government Will Insure It for More Than $1 Billion

Created in the 11th century, the delicate, 230-foot-long embroidered textile has been in France since 1077

An ogham stone in Cornwall, England

These Linguists Are Creating a New Dictionary of Ancient Celtic Languages—With Help From ‘Curse Tablets’ and Roman Records

The project aims to produce a record of the Celtic languages spoken in Britain and Ireland, though the majority of these words have already been lost to history

Mary wrote the letter in French around 2 a.m. on the day of her execution.

Mary, Queen of Scots, Wrote This Letter Hours Before She Was Executed. Her Words Are Going on Display for the First Time in Years

The deposed Scottish queen wrote the four-page missive to her brother-in-law just a few hours before her execution in 1587

A letter from Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, discussing the publication of Pride and Prejudice in 1813

Jane Austen’s Letters Are the Closest We Can Get to Her. What Do They Reveal About the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Author?

This year marks the English novelist’s 250th birthday. Her hundreds of surviving letters—both real and fictional—offer valuable insights into her imaginative wit and enduring appeal

Panel one of the Ketton mosaic, which was discovered in 2020 by a farmer's son

New Research

Historians Say This Rare Mosaic Found on a British Farm Depicts Scenes From a Long-Lost Account of the Trojan War

New research suggests that the illustrations may have been based on “Phrygians,” a tragedy by the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, rather than the “Iliad”

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