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Cool Finds

At least 38 people, including 12 stillborn infants, were buried in the Port Tampa cemetery, which disappeared from records following the base's opening in 1941.

Possible 20th-Century Black Cemetery Found Beneath Florida Military Base

Opened in 1941, the MacDill Air Force Base was built over a graveyard where at least 38 people were buried

Routine sewage work in Athens unearthed a bust of Hermes, the Greek god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves and travel.

Cool Finds

Ancient Bust of Greek God Hermes Found During Work on Athens’ Sewage System

The well-preserved sculpture, which dates to around 300 B.C., was once used as a street marker

A couple hiking in the Alsace region of northeastern France spotted the tiny aluminum message capsule in a grassy field in September. The note, written in German in cursive script by a Prussian military officer, was probably attached to a carrier pigeon but never reached its destination.

Cool Finds

A Carrier Pigeon’s Military Message Was Delivered a Century Too Late

A couple in Alsace, France, stumbled onto a capsule containing a cryptic note dated to either 1910 or 1916

In 2018, researchers used ground-penetrating radar to locate the remains of the Gjellestad Viking ship.

Researchers Excavating Norwegian Viking Ship Burial Find Remnants of Elite Society

Archaeologists discovered traces of a feast hall, farmhouse, temple and 13 additional burial mounds

An aerial view of the Mount Pleasant henge, as seen during excavations in the early 1970s

Evidence of Neolithic Construction Boom Found at British ‘Mega-Henge’

New research suggests ancient humans built the Mount Pleasant henge in as little as 35 to 125 years

The burial site is located inside of Makpan cave on the Indonesian island of Alor.

8,000 Years Ago, a Child in Indonesia Was Buried Without Their Arms and Legs

Ancient humans often modified the bones of their dead as part of funerary rituals

Art historian Jennifer Alexander believes the carving is a self-portrait made by a medieval stonemason.

Cool Finds

A 12th-Century Mason Created a Hidden Self-Portrait in Famed Spanish Cathedral

Over the past 900 years, millions of pilgrims walked through Santiago de Compostela Cathedral without spotting the secret carving

Researchers from ADHS, Historic Environment Scotland, Dendrochronicle and Wessex Archaeology examined the remains of the old bridge.

Cool Finds

Remnants of Scotland’s Oldest Surviving Bridge Found

Both Mary, Queen of Scots, and James V crossed the Old Ancrum Bridge, which was key to travel, commerce and war

A satellite image of the Noordoostpolder, a Dutch municipality where the four settlements were found

Cool Finds

Dutch Archaeologist Discovers Traces of Four Submerged Medieval Settlements

A five-year research project yielded the locations of several long-forgotten villages

American women wouldn't be able to sport 'I Voted' stickers if not for Susan B. Anthony.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Why Women Bring Their ‘I Voted’ Stickers to Susan B. Anthony’s Grave

This year, visitors will find a clear plastic covering protecting the fragile marble headstone

A Lidl grocery store in Ireland is pictured here in 2019. The German grocery chain's new Dublin location features a surprising archaeological display.

Cool Finds

Shoppers at Dublin Grocery Store Glimpse Viking History Beneath Their Feet

A new Lidl boasts plexiglass windows that reveal archaeological wonders, including an 11th-century house and 18th-century staircase

Art historians used clues in the paintings' artistic techniques to estimate their age.

Cool Finds

These Newly Discovered Buddhist Temple Paintings May Be Among Japan’s Oldest

Art historians used infrared photography to identify images that could date to around 685 A.D.

Jacob Lawrence, There are combustibles in every State, which a spark might set fire to. —Washington, 26 December 1786, Panel 16, 1956, from Struggle: From the History of the American People, 1954–56

Cool Finds

Long-Lost Jacob Lawrence Painting Spent 60 Years Hanging in NYC Apartment

A museum visitor realized she’d seen the missing work—part of the artist’s “Struggle” series—in her neighbor’s living room

A probable witches' mark found at the site of the abandoned St. Mary's church in Buckinghamshire, England

Cool Finds

Eerie Witches’ Marks Found Among Ruins of Medieval English Church

Archaeologists in Stoke Mandeville found carvings probably designed to ward off evil spirits

17-year-old Reece Pickering found one of just three surviving silver pennies dated to Harold II's reign.

Cool Finds

Two British Teens Using Metal Detectors Discovered 1,000-Year-Old Coins

One of the coins is a silver penny dated to Harold II’s brief reign in 1066. The other dates to the time of Henry I

Three 3,000-year-old balls discovered at the Yanghai cemetery complex in Xinjiang

Cool Finds

These Hair-Filled Leather Pouches Are the Oldest Balls Found in Eurasia

Some 3,000 years ago, Chinese horsemen may have used the objects to play a team sport involving hitting a ball

Archaeologists completing excavations on Fischer-Hallman Road

Cool Finds

Remnants of Woodland Iroquois Village Discovered in Ontario

Excavations have unearthed 35,000 artifacts, including carbonized corn, ceramics and stone tools

“[It] was about to disappear because it’s situated on quite a steep slope that’s prone to the effects of natural erosion,” Peru's Ministry of Culture explains.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Nazca Line Featuring Lounging Cat Found in Peru

The enormous glyph is one of hundreds of ancient etchings scattered across the arid region

A rare edition of Shakespeare's First Folio sold at auction for $10 million.

Shakespeare’s First Folio Is the Most Expensive Work of Literature Ever Auctioned

A rare edition of the 1623 volume of plays sold at Christie’s for nearly $10 million

A digital reconstruction of the newly unearthed Norse godhouse

Cool Finds

Ruins of Eighth-Century Pagan Temple Found in Norway

The structure—built to honor Norse gods like Thor and Odin—is the first of its kind discovered in the country

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