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Cool Finds

Enemy combatants likely captured and bound the ruler before delivering a series of fatal blows.

CT Scans Suggest Egyptian Pharaoh Was Brutally Executed on the Battlefield

During the 16th century B.C., multiple Hyksos soldiers assaulted the captive Seqenenre-Taa-II, inflicting serious facial and head injuries

The bronze Cupid figurine carries a flaming torch.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Figurine of Roman Love God Cupid Found in England

Archaeologists say the petite statue, discovered ahead of construction of highway, may have been a religious offering

Steppe mammoths evolved shaggy coats over a million years ago, a trait inherited by woolly mammoths.

Oldest DNA Sequenced Yet Comes From Million-Year-Old Mammoths

Genetic material from three ancient molars reveals secrets of about how the Ice Age elephants evolved

This mural—found on the east wall of the south transept in the Augsburg Cathedral—depicts the beheading of St. John the Baptist.

Cool Finds

1,000-Year-Old Bavarian Frescoes Depict Life and Beheading of John the Baptist

The paintings, which adorn the Augsburg Cathedral in southern Germany, are among the oldest of their kind in northern Europe

The brewery “may have been built specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt,” says lead archaeologist Matthew Adams.

Cool Finds

World’s Oldest ‘Industrial-Scale’ Brewery Found in Egypt

Located in an ancient necropolis, the 5,000-year-old facility was capable of producing up to 5,900 gallons of beer at a time

A bell previously recovered from the wreck of the Whydah pirate ship

Cool Finds

Six Skeletons Found in Wreck of 18th-Century Pirate Ship Sunk Off Cape Cod

The “Whydah” sank off the coast of Massachusetts in 1717, killing all but two people on board

Researchers recorded striking similarities between Stonehenge and a razed stone circle at the Waun Mawn archaeological site in Wales.

Cool Finds

How a Stone Circle in Wales Paved the Way for Stonehenge

New research suggests early Britons used megaliths from a dismantled Welsh monument to construct the iconic ring of standing stones

Villa Adriana, or Hadrian's Villa, is a Unesco World Heritage Site in Tivoli, Italy, that spans 200 acres and was built around 210 A.D. by Roman leader Hadrian.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Ruins of Emperor Hadrian’s Ornate Breakfast Chamber

In the second century A.D., the Roman ruler entertained his guests on a raised marble platform surrounded by elaborate fountains

Archaeologists are conducting excavations ahead of a controversial tunnel plan set to move this highway, the busy A303, underground.

Newly Unearthed Bronze Age Graves Underscore Stonehenge Tunnel’s Potential Threat to Heritage

A critic of the controversial project points out that construction could lead to the loss of half a million artifacts

The newly discovered face cream represents the earliest known instance of a Chinese man using cosmetics.

Cool Finds

This 2,700-Year-Old Chinese Face Cream Combined Animal Fat and ‘Moonmilk’

Researchers found the ancient moisturizer in a nobleman’s tomb

Artist's rendering of a prehistoric human playing the ancient conch instrument

Cool Finds

Hear the Musical Sounds of an 18,000-Year-Old Giant Conch

The shell was played for the first time in millennia after being rediscovered in the collections of a French museum

Archaeologists uncovered the coins in 2019 but only examined them recently due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cool Finds

Trove of 650 Coins Bearing Likenesses of Caesar, Mark Antony Unearthed in Turkey

Minted between 75 and 4 B.C., the silver currency was probably buried by a high-ranking Roman soldier during Augustus’ reign

The researchers determined that a right-handed craftsperson created the markings in a single session.

Cool Finds

120,000-Year-Old Cattle Bone Carvings May Be World’s Oldest Surviving Symbols

Archaeologists found the bone fragment—engraved with six lines—at a Paleolithic meeting site in Israel

The long-overlooked studio likely belonged to photographer J.E. Hale.

Cool Finds

Forgotten 20th-Century Photography Studio Found in New York Attic

The sealed-off space contained original portraits of suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Researchers found the mummy at a temple in the ancient Egyptian city of Taposiris Magna.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover Mummy With Gold Tongue

Ancient embalmers likely placed the tongue-shaped, gold foil amulet in the deceased’s mouth to ensure they could speak in the afterlife

The four-inch-long footprint happened to be in a rock at about the height of a four-year-old child's shoulder.

Cool Finds

Four-Year-Old Lives Every Child’s Dream and Discovers a Dinosaur Footprint

Found on a beach in Wales, the fossil is 220 million years old and shows the details of the muscles and joints in the reptile’s foot

Archaeologists discovered the graveyard beneath 1930s housing at Cambridge University.

Cool Finds

Anglo-Saxon Cemetery Found Beneath Demolished University Housing

The find may shed light on life in Britain after the withdrawal of Roman forces in the fifth century A.D.

Eagles are enduring symbols in Aztec lore.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth 600-Year-Old Golden Eagle Sculpture at Aztec Temple

The artwork is the largest bas-relief engraving found at the Templo Mayor to date

The gold figurine stands just 2.5 inches tall.

Cool Finds

Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths Missing Centerpiece of Henry VIII’s Crown

The gold figurine, valued at roughly £2 million, depicts 15th-century English king Henry VI

The color purple has long been associated with royalty. This wool fabric found in Israel dates to around 1,000 B.C.

Cool Finds

‘Royal Purple’ Fabric Dated to Time of Biblical King David Found in Israel

Derived from the bodies of snails, the dye used on the wool fibers was extremely valuable in the ancient world

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