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Death

The digital facial depiction was created by the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University.

New Research

See the Digitally Reconstructed Face of an Ancient Man Who Witnessed England’s Greatest Upheaval

The so-called “Conquest Man” was buried in England in 1079, just over a decade into the reign of William the Conqueror. Researchers recently analyzed the skeleton’s DNA and teeth to learn more about him

Fabric remnants found in a Viking Age grave in Denmark

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Denmark Discover Rare Fragments of 1,300-Year-Old Clothing Preserved Inside a Viking Age Grave

Researchers found the textile traces on a pair of metal brooches. When the accessories corroded, they released metallic salts that inadvertently preserved the fabric for centuries

An archaeologist holds the triangular padlock found around the Polish woman's left big toe.

Why Was This 17th-Century Polish Woman Buried With a Padlock on Her Toe and an Iron Sickle Across Her Neck?

New research suggests that the people who buried the young woman took precautionary measures to stop her from coming back to life and exacting revenge on them

A large pumpkin sculpture by Yayoi Kusama, on view at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 2023. The Japanese artist died this month.

Yayoi Kusama Created Fantastical ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’ That Became the Art World’s Most Famous Backdrops. Her Work Spanned Counterculture to the Cosmos

The Japanese artist, who died on August 14 at 97, sought solace from hallucinations in her art, developing a visual language of polka dots, pumpkins and mirrors that entranced the world

A 1945 photo of Francis Lowell Coolidge (third from left) in the Pacific theater of World War II

Untold Stories of American History

This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II

A direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson, Francis Lowell Coolidge was an agent with the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor to the CIA. Read his goodbye letter to his wife, published here for the first time

Archaeologists found human remains inside a mysterious pit in northern Scotland.

A Human Skeleton Was Found Inside a Mysterious Stone Structure in Scotland. Archaeologists Still Don’t Know Why It Was Buried There

Built with fitted stone and a clay-like material that may have helped retain liquid, the unusual structure has left researchers searching for an explanation

An aerial view of the mass grave, which was found beneath a soccer field in Vienna in October 2024

New Research

Construction in Austria Revealed a Roman-Era Mass Grave Beneath a Soccer Field. New Research Suggests That the Men’s Enemies Targeted Their ‘Sensitive Areas’

No written records mention a fight in this specific part of Vienna at the time of the men’s deaths. But the brutal nature of their injuries, particularly to the pelvis area, indicates that these individuals died on the battlefield

A woman kneels in prayer in front of children's coffins in Freckleton, England, on August 26, 1944.

When an American Airplane Crashed Into a School in 1944, an English Village Lost Almost All of Its Youngest Children. Why Has WWII’s Worst Civilian Aviation Accident Been Forgotten?

On August 23, 1944, a test flight over the village of Freckleton, located in northwest England, ended in disaster, claiming the lives of 61 people, including 38 students between the ages of 4 and 6

A modern-day view of Stirling Castle, the Scottish stronghold where the skeleton was found in 1997

A Medieval Man’s Injuries Reminded One Archaeologist of Modern-Day Car Crash Victims. They Turned Out to Be the Work of an English Trebuchet

A skeleton unearthed in Scotland likely belongs to a soldier struck by a high-speed projectile during Edward I’s 1304 siege of Stirling Castle. The man suffered more than 160 fractures

The glassy sphere of hiroshimaite created in the atomic blast that contained a previously unknown metal alloy. 

The Hiroshima Atomic Bombing Birthed a Strange, Never-Before-Seen Material, According to a New Study

The devastating blast vaporized buildings, metal, glass, soil and water. When the substances cooled and condensed, the process created spherical glassy grains—and some of them seem to contain a previously unknown metal alloy

A 2014 photo of Teruo Murakami, the last survivor of the Cowra breakout. He died in 2023 at 103.

Why Has History Forgotten World War II’s Largest Prison Break, Which Claimed the Lives of More Than 200 Japanese POWs?

During the 1944 Cowra breakout, over 900 prisoners attempted to escape from an Allied camp in Australia. The uprising resulted in the deaths of 234 Japanese men and 5 Australians

Gunther von Hagens wearing his signature black fedora

This Man Turned Human Corpses Into Popular Museum Displays. Now, the Creator of These Controversial ‘Body Worlds’ Has Donated His Own Body to Science

Gunther von Hagens, who invented plastination, a method of preserving bodies by replacing their natural fluids with polymers, recently died at age 81

The "Jane!" exhibition is on view at the Cantor Arts Center through May 18, 2028.

Women Who Shaped History

Stanford University’s Founding Matriarch Was a Travel-Loving Philanthropist Who Met a Tragic End. A New Exhibition Explores Her Life, Grief and Death by Poison

Jane Stanford’s legacy is the focus of a new showcase at the California university. The display features artifacts that have never previously been exhibited

Keepers and veterinarians are monitoring Milani around the clock.

A Premature Baby Giraffe Born Via C-Section Is Fighting for Her Life at a Zoo in Kansas

According to officials with the Tanganyika Wildlife Park, no known giraffe calf has ever survived the procedure. The youngster, who was recently named Milani, was born on July 11, likely three to seven weeks early

Felicio (played by Frankie Treadaway) and his mother (Madeleine Walker) try to escape Mount Vesuvius' eruption in "Pompeii: Out of Time With Tom Hiddleston."

Based on a True Story

We All Know the Story of the Pompeii Victims Who Died When Mount Vesuvius Erupted 2,000 Years Ago. Archaeologists Are Still Learning About Those Who Made It Out Alive

A semi-fictionalized documentary series hosted by actor Tom Hiddleston follows three people in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum who experienced the disaster in 79 C.E.

The site of the Bear River Massacre, which claimed the lives of an estimated 250 to 500 Shoshone on January 29, 1863

This 1863 Massacre Was the Deadliest Slaughter of Native Americans in U.S. History. Now, the Shoshone Are Restoring the Site of the Attack

Amid mounting tensions between white settlers and the Shoshone, Union soldiers killed an estimated 250 to 500 Shoshone. Today, the Indigenous nation is working to bring “nature back into balance”

Overall, the 16 participants of the study were “largely positive” about their interactions with griefbots, the scientists write in the paper.

Would You Chat With an A.I. ‘Ghost’ of a Deceased Loved One? New Research Suggests That the Tech Can Provide Comfort and Closure

Commercial “griefbots” are becoming more popular, and many experts have questions about their psychological and ethical impacts. A new study aims to ensure that the bots are designed responsibly

The Clipper Endeavor was about the same size as a Boeing 737.

This 1950s Airplane Disaster Prompted the Flight Safety Demonstrations Passengers Know Today. Searchers Just Found the Wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean

A team of explorers used an autonomous underwater vehicle to locate the remains of the Pan American ‘Clipper Endeavor’ about five miles off the coast of Puerto Rico

Princess Ita was buried with this dagger.

Did These Ancient Egyptian Princesses Wield Weapons and Train in Martial Arts, Just Like the Men of Their Time?

A new analysis of their bones suggests they were buried alongside arrows, maces and daggers because they had repeatedly used those weapons in life

At left, Tatiana, Anastasia and Olga Romanov pose for a photo with their father, Nicholas II, and two members of their retinue. At right, Anastasia kneels at the bottom of a human pyramid topped by the czar.

Thousands of Intimate Photographs Reveal the Everyday Lives of the Romanovs, Russia’s Last Imperial Family

The Bolsheviks executed the last czar, Nicholas II, and the rest of his family, including his famous daughter Anastasia, 108 years ago. Surviving snapshots open a portal into the royals’ private world

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