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Cool Finds

This George Romney sketch was discovered in a dumpster in upstate New York.

Cool Finds

This 18th-Century Sketch by a Renowned English Portraitist Was Hiding in a Dumpster in New York

The tiny drawing by artist George Romney depicts Henrietta, Countess of Warwick. It will be sold at an upcoming auction in London

The frescoes in Pompeii's House of Thiasus

Cool Finds

See the Stunning Frescoes of a Mysterious Dionysian Cult Discovered in Ancient Pompeii

Created more than a century before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., the wall paintings provide rare insights into secret rituals conducted in the Roman city

The suitcase was likely made in the 1920s.

Cool Finds

Suitcase Belonging to the Legendary Archaeologist Who Discovered King Tut’s Tomb Surfaces in England

Howard Carter used the luggage while working in Egypt before giving it to a fellow researcher in 1939. Now, it’s heading to the auction block

The photos were taken between 1966 and 1970.

Can You Identify the Mystery Photographer Who Captured Thousands of Captivating Images of 1960s San Francisco?

Discovered in an abandoned storage locker, the 2,042 processed color slides and 102 rolls of black-and-white film depict key moments in the city’s history

The "wooly devil" has fuzzy foliage and maroon flowers made up of conspicuous ray petals.

Meet the ‘Wooly Devil,’ the First New Plant Genus Discovered in a National Park Since 1976

A volunteer spotted the tiny, fuzzy plant with maroon florets while exploring the remote northern corner of Big Bend National Park in Texas

The double-edged sword was deliberately broken into three pieces.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Stumble Upon a Rare 2,000-Year-Old Roman Sword in Poland

Researchers think the weapon, which had been deliberately broken and burned, was once part of a funerary ritual for a local warrior

Shepherd Chine beach on the Isle of Wight, near where the footprint was discovered.

Cool Finds

Fossil Tour Guide Discovers Giant, Purple Dinosaur Footprint While Walking Along a U.K. Beach

The roughly three-foot-long, clay print speaks to the Isle of Wight’s rich paleontological history, but it will probably disappear within a couple of months due to exposure

This lidar scan shows the epicenter of the city, where its largest buildings stood.

Cool Finds

Researchers Thought It Was Just a Fortress. It Turned Out to Be a Lost Zapotec City

Lidar scans have revealed a 600-year-old fortified city in southern Mexico that boasted ball courts, roads, neighborhoods and temples

An oarfish surfaced in Playa El Quemado, Mexico, earlier this month.

Cool Finds

See a Deep-Sea Oarfish Caught Alive on Video in a Rare Encounter on a Beach in Mexico

In Japanese folklore, appearances of these elusive marine creatures dubbed ‘doomsday fish’ are believed to foreshadow earthquakes, though scientists found no strong relationship between these events in a recent study

Pottery shards helped researchers identify the tomb as Thutmose II's.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Discovered the First Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh’s Tomb Since Tutankhamun’s in 1922

Researchers initially thought the tomb belonged to a royal wife. Then they unearthed fragments of alabaster jars that identified it as Thutmose II’s

The left wall features a painting of men and women dancing around a flute player.

Cool Finds

Vivid Wall Paintings Unearthed at a 2,500-Year-Old Etruscan Necropolis in Italy

Found beneath an older tomb near Tarquinia, the painted chamber depicts several intricate scenes, including a metallurgical workshop

The bronze gadget helped filter out large grains and pulp.

Cool Finds

This 1,600-Year-Old Filter Helped Ancient Drinkers Sip Beverages Through a Straw

Archaeologists discovered an unusual bronze artifact studded with holes while excavating the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Türkiye

The ring dates to between 1650 and 1750.

Cool Finds

This 17th-Century ‘Lovers’ Ring’ Unearthed in England Is Marked by a Romantic Inscription

Found near a historic property in Lancashire, the ring represents a history of affectionate gifts

A section of the basilica's wall

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth the Ruins of a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Basilica Beneath an Office Building in London

The remarkably well-preserved basilica was part of a public meeting place where citizens and politicians could socialize, shop and hear speeches in the growing city

In the film, Lincoln agonizes over signing an execution warrant for a deserter.

Cool Finds

Intern Finds Only Known Surviving Copy of ‘The Heart of Lincoln,’ a Silent Film Thought to Be Lost to History

Released in 1915, the film was directed by Francis Ford, the brother of famed filmmaker John Ford. It had been listed in a record of 7,200 silent films classified as “lost”

An artistic representation of the newly discovered species, Baminornis zhenghensis, with the preserved bones highlighted.

Cool Finds

Scientists Discover ‘Groundbreaking’ Jurassic Fossil That Could Overhaul the Evolutionary History of Birds

Researchers in China found Baminornis zhenghensis, which lived at roughly the same time as the famous Archaeopteryx but looked much more like modern birds due to its short tail

The scans show traces of a woman's portrait that Picasso had painted over in 1901.

Cool Finds

See the Hidden Portrait of a Mysterious Woman Discovered Beneath a Picasso Painting

X-ray and infrared imaging has revealed a long-hidden painting beneath “Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto,” providing researchers with new insights into the artist’s blue period

A selection of artifacts unearthed at the Hezingen site

Cool Finds

Elite Germanic Pagans Buried ‘Devil’s Money’ as Offerings for Their Gods at This Ancient Cult Site

Researchers excavated the deposits of coins and jewelry in the Netherlands, near the German border

An impression of the large-scale structure of the universe, showing galaxy clusters and superclusters arranged in long filaments and concentrated at nodes.

An Enormous, Branching String of Galaxy Clusters Is the Largest Known Structure in the Universe, Scientists Say

The cosmic superstructure Quipu is more than 13,000 times the length of the Milky Way, and its mass is 200 quadrillion times that of the sun, according to preliminary research

Researchers think the portrait depicts a businessman, lawyer or banker.

Cool Finds

Experts Say They’ve Found a Portrait of a Mysterious Businessman Hidden Beneath a Titian Masterpiece

When the Renaissance artist painted his famous “Ecce Homo” around 1570, he covered up a portrait of an “an unknown professional man” standing at a desk

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