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British History

David Bowie performs as part of his sold out "New York Marathon" tour in 2002.

David Bowie Spent His Final Months Writing a Musical Inspired by Satire and Crime in 18th-Century London

Archivists discovered notes for the project, called “The Spectator,” in the artist’s New York City office after he died in 2016

A sheep jaw bone was one of the samples analyzed in the new study.

New Research

Large Groups Came Together for Grand Feasts at the End of the Bronze Age in Britain

After analyzing bone fragments found in millennia-old trash piles, researchers say that people may have brought livestock from far and wide to consume in the south

Austen wrote the letter to her older sister on April 11, 1805, from Bath.

A Rare Jane Austen Letter Is Heading to Auction

One of the English novelist’s poems and a first edition of her book “Emma” are also up for grabs during an upcoming Sotheby’s sale

Young people in 1978 skateboarding at Kelvin Wheelies skatepark.

Archaeologists Are Digging Up Scotland’s Very First Outdoor Skatepark

Kelvin Wheelies skatepark, which hosted the country’s first national skateboarding competition, has been buried under rubble for decades

Some scholars argue that the sprawling medieval tapestry is too fragile to be moved.

French Official Rules That 1,000-Year-Old Bayeux Tapestry Isn’t Too Fragile to Travel to London

The 230-foot-long medieval tapestry is scheduled to go on view at the British Museum next year, but critics worry that transporting the delicate artifact is too risky

Stonehenge at sunset. Construction of the iconic stone circle began around 3000 B.C.E. and continued in several phases.

A Neolithic Cow’s Tooth Helps Point to the Mysterious Origins of Stonehenge’s Iconic Stones

Isotope analysis of a molar from a cow’s jawbone found buried at the monument provides details of the life story of the animal—and how it may relate to the construction of Stonehenge

The Chapel Choir of the University of Exeter performed the monastic songs from the Buckland Book.

Cool Finds

Hear the Long-Lost Chants of English Monks Whose Monasteries Were Dissolved by Henry VIII

A university choir has revived music found hiding in plain sight in a book once used by monks at southern England’s Buckland Abbey

Thornton's handwritten memoirs recount the same period of her life.

Read the Dramatic 17th-Century Memoirs of Alice Thornton, Who Wrote Four Versions of Her Life Story

Researchers have digitized all four volumes, which are now available online. The autobiographies offer a compelling window into a tumultuous period in English history

The gold object measures just four centimeters, or 1.5 inches, long.

Cool Finds

An Archaeology Student Found a Medieval Gold Artifact During Her First Dig

The piece resembles another found in the same area four years ago

Exterior of Norwich Castle Keep, commissioned by William the Conqueror.

William the Conqueror’s Norwich Castle to Reopen Following $37 Million Renovation

In partnership with the British Museum, 900 Norman artifacts will be displayed across the reimagined space’s five floors

A large section of the possible La Fortuna shipwreck sits on the beach in southern North Carolina

In the Muddy Banks of North Carolina, Student Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Remnants of a Centuries-Old Spanish Ship

While taking measurements of an abandoned wharf site, the students found timber from what experts believe may be part of La Fortuna, a Spanish ship destroyed nearly 300 years ago

The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is located inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England.

Rare 5,000-Year-Old Neolithic Monument in Northern England Granted Protected Status

The Dudderhouse Hill long cairn is one of the oldest known sites built by humans in England. It now has the highest level of heritage protection available in the country

The Earl of Chatham, previously a Royal Navy vessel called the HMS Hind, was discovered in February 2024 on the shores of Sanday.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Boy Found a Shipwreck on a Scottish Beach. It Turned Out to Be a 250-Year-Old Warship From the American Revolution

The HMS “Hind,” later renamed the “Earl of Chatham,” was a frigate in the British Royal Navy before it was repurposed as a whaling vessel

The Stolen Kiss, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1787

These Salacious Artworks Chronicle the History of Adultery, From Biblical Punishments to Royal Mistresses

Artists such as Rembrandt, the Pre-Raphaelites and Georgian caricaturists used their craft to examine the morality and ramifications of adulterous affairs

Elizabeth II on a royal tour of New Zealand in 1953-54

See Hundreds of Garments That Elizabeth II Wore Throughout Her Seven-Decade Reign

A new exhibition at Buckingham Palace will examine the British monarch’s life and legacy using evening gowns, suits and accessories

Roughly a quarter of all the shoes found at Magna are longer than 11.8 inches.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Keep Finding Massive Shoes at an Ancient Roman Fort—and They Have No Idea Why They’re So Big

Discovered near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, the oversized leather footwear has left researchers puzzled

Thomas More was beheaded on Tower Hill on July 6, 1535. Exactly 490 years later, St. Dunstan's Church in Canterbury, England, announced a proposal to exhume and conserve his skull.

An English Church Wants to Exhume the Skull of Thomas More, Tudor Statesman Beheaded by Henry VIII Nearly 500 Years Ago

The king accused More of treason and ordered his execution in 1535. Now, St. Dunstan’s hopes to conserve the Catholic saint’s remains ahead of the quincentenary of his death

The excavations are taking place at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula while crews install an elevator to make the landmark more accessible.

Cool Finds

The First Major Excavation at the Tower of London in Three Decades Is Shedding New Light on the Iconic Landmark’s History

Archaeologists have discovered the skeletal remains of at least 25 individuals and possibly as many as 50, as well as various artifacts and architectural remnants

The Stone of Destiny is on display at the Perth Museum in Scotland.

Man Arrested for Trying to Break the Glass Protecting the Stone of Destiny in Scotland

The symbolic artifact, which has been used for centuries during the coronations of Scottish and English monarchs, is on display at the Perth Museum

Karin Wulf's new book, Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America, explores the many ways in which people of the past reflected on their family histories.

Why 18th-Century Americans Were Just as Obsessed With Their Genealogy as We Are Today

People living in British America and later the nascent United States recorded their family histories in needlework samplers, notebooks and newspapers

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