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Cool Finds

Experts estimate that the bowl is about 2,000 years old.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Roman Bowl Discovered Intact in the Netherlands

Unearthed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, the blue glass artifact was in pristine condition

Ancient people might have used these elongated tubes to drink beer from the same pot during ceremonial feasts or gatherings. 

New Research

Ancient People May Have Sipped Beer Through These 5,500-Year-Old Drinking Straws

Eight gold and silver tubes might be the oldest known drinking straws, according to a new study from the Russian Academy of Sciences

An extremely rare Henry III gold penny discovered in a farm field in England could fetch more than $500,000 at auction this month.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Discovers One of England’s Earliest Gold Coins in a Farm Field

The 13th-century gold penny found in southwestern Britain could sell for half a million at auction

Some of the ancient Roman decorative pottery pieces uncovered at the archaeological site in England.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Trading Settlement Unearthed 80 Miles From London

Researchers discover a Roman road, coins, jewelry and evidence of makeup at a dig site near a railway project

Researchers suspect that a painting bought in 1970 for £65 might be the handiwork of Anthony van Dyck. Featured here is an example of a similar painting, Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain as a nun (1626), which was attributed to van Dyck in 2009. This work is part of the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Cool Finds

Dismissed as a Copy for Decades, This Flemish Masterpiece Could Now Fetch Thousands

Purchased by an art historian for $90 in 1970, researchers now say the portrait might be the handiwork of the 17th-century court painter Anthony van Dyck

Ingeborg Hornkjøl poses with a piece of wood inscribed with Nordic runes. 

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover—and Start to Decode—Rare Medieval Runes

One of the newly unearthed objects, an inscribed bone, is the first of its kind found in Oslo in decades

The stone board game featured a grid-like pattern and cup holes to hold game pieces.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth 4,000-Year-Old Stone Board Game in Oman

The board resembled other artifacts that point toward a game similar to backgammon

Researchers say the badger that found the coins was possibly digging for food or to make a nest.

Cool Finds

Hungry Badger Digs Up a Trove of Roman Coins in Spain

Discovered near the animal’s den, the cache contains more than 200 coins from at least 1,600 years ago

The new research dates the helmets to around 900 B.C.E.

Cool Finds

The Horned Helmets Falsely Attributed to Vikings Are Actually Nearly 3,000 Years Old

The helmets’ similarities to art from southern Europe shows how goods and ideas traveled during the Nordic Bronze Age

Archaeologists search for artifacts at a dig in Rendlesham, where local craftsmen may have made the items found at the Sutton Hoo burial site.

Cool Finds

Sutton Hoo’s Treasures Were Likely Crafted at This 1,400-Year-Old Workshop

Archaeologists found evidence of metalworking near the famed English burial ground

Archaeologists unearthed a terracotta figurine of a dog at an excavation of one of Rome's oldest streets. The statue is estimated to be around 2,000 years old.

Cool Finds

Construction in Rome Reveals Well-Preserved, 2,000-Year-Old Dog Statue

Researchers also uncovered three stone tombs, an urn and the remains of a young man

Researchers found the skeleton of a human (pictured) and dog left behind by a tsunami that destroyed coastal communities along the Mediterranean Sea some 3,600 years ago.

Cool Finds

First Human Skeleton From Bronze Age Tsunami Discovered in Turkey

Archaeologists find remains of a young man and dog left behind by a natural disaster some 3,600 years ago in the Mediterranean

A first-century C.E. mosaic of Hercules and Iolaus

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Identify Possible Location of Lost Temple of Hercules

Experts in Spain used laser scanning technology to locate submerged ruins along the coast of the Bay of Cádiz

Finds unveiled in 2021 included a wooden falcon that originally belonged to doomed queen Anne Boleyn, an intact ancient chicken egg and a dress worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.

Cool Finds

Ninety-Nine Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2021

The year’s most exciting discoveries include a Viking “piggy bank,” a lost Native American settlement and a secret passageway hidden behind a bookshelf

Virignia Governor Ralph Northam (center) looks on as conservators Kate Ridgway (left) and Sue Donovon (right) remove the time capsule's contents.

Cool Finds

A Time Capsule Found Beneath Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Monument Confounds Historians

An almanac, a silver coin and a cloth envelope were among the intriguing artifacts found in the box

The ring bears an image of a shepherd boy with a sheep or ram on his shoulders, symbolizing Jesus as the "Good Shepherd."

Cool Finds

Early Christian Ring Found in Third-Century Shipwreck Off of Israel

Researchers discovered jewelry and other artifacts from two sunken ships off the ancient port city of Caesarea

Smithsonian's most-read stories of 2021 included an explainer on crocodile evolution, a profile of a teen inventor and a feature on Viking explorer Gudrid the Far Traveler.

Our Top Ten Stories of 2021

From archaeological finds to an invasive weed to Roman bathrooms, these were our most-read articles of the year

Discovered with the Galloway Hoard in Scotland, a gold-wrapped rock crystal jar includes the name of a previously unknown bishop from medieval Britain.

Cool Finds

A Rare, Gold-Wrapped Jar May Reveal the Splendor of Early Medieval Britain

After going through an extensive conservation process, researchers found that the rock crystal artifact was inscribed with the name of a mysterious bishop

New research suggests Celtic people—and their sheep—arrived on the Faroe Islands more than 300 years before the Vikings.

Ancient Sheep Poop Tells the Tale of the Faroe Islands’ First Inhabitants

New analysis suggests the Celts arrived on the archipelago hundreds of years before the Vikings

The artifacts, such as this bronze jug, are decorated with Roman religious symbols that ancient Jews would have considered idolatrous.

Cool Finds

Looted Artifacts Recovered From Car Trunk May Be Spoils of War Seized by Jewish Rebels Against Rome

Authorities in Jerusalem confiscated the stolen items, which included incense burners and coins and probably date to the Bar Kokhba revolt

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