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European History

A cache found in the Czech Republic weighed more than 15 pounds.

Cool Finds

Hikers Stumble Upon Gold Coins and Treasures That Could Be Worth $340,000

After discovering the 15-pound cache while hiking in the Czech Republic, the two men handed it over to a local museum

Researchers think the chariot tire was made by a highly skilled blacksmith.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Thought They’d Found a Piece of Old Farm Equipment. It Turned Out to Be a Rare Iron Age Chariot Tire

The more than 2,000-year-old tire was found among a trove of artifacts during excavations ahead of construction for a new golf course near Inverness, Scotland

The S.S. Almond Branch was torpedoed by a German submarine during World War I.

Man Who ‘Always Fancied’ Owning a Shipwreck Buys One on Facebook Marketplace for $400

Hobbyist diver Dom Robinson jumped at the chance to purchase the S.S. “Almond Branch,” a cargo ship that’s been resting 190 feet beneath the surface of the English Channel since World War I

Archaeologists unearthed more than 100 equine skeletons near the site of a Roman military base.

1,800-Year-Old Horse Buried With Grave Goods Suggests Deep Bond Between a Roman Soldier and His Steed

Archaeologists were preparing for the construction of a new housing development when they found more than 100 equine skeletons dating to the second century C.E.

The letter was postmarked on April 11 in Queenstown, Ireland, one of the two stops the Titanic made before sinking. It reached London one day later.

He Boarded the Titanic, Then Wrote a Letter: ‘It Is a Fine Ship, But I Shall Await My Journey’s End Before I Pass Judgment’

First-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote the missive shortly after settling into his cabin on the doomed vessel. It just sold at auction for nearly $400,000

An archaeologist keeps the ship's delicate frame moist to prevent decay

Cool Finds

See the Rare Medieval Boat Discovered Over 18 Feet Below Sea Level in Barcelona

It could take years for archaeologists to properly excavate and preserve the delicate wooden vessel, which likely became shipwrecked

Researchers analyzed indentations in the skeleton's pelvis.

New Research

Bite Marks on Ancient Skeleton Reveal First Physical Evidence of Roman Gladiators Fighting Lions

Researchers compared the markings found on an ancient skeleton in England to bones that had been chewed on by cheetahs, lions, tigers and leopards in present-day zoos

Elisabeth was adept at crafting a persona that may not have promoted her standing in the Viennese court but certainly helped shape the public’s perspective of her to this day.

Based on a True Story

The Many Myths of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-Century Royal Whose Beauty and Tragic Death Transformed Her Into a Legend

The reluctant empress known as “Sisi” painstakingly crafted her image through portraits and photographs, ensuring she would be remembered in a specific way

The antler fragment seen from multiple angles

New Research

This Intricately Decorated Deer Antler Was Used as a Battle Ax Before Being Repurposed as a Fishing Harpoon

During the sixth millennium B.C.E., carvers in present-day Sweden etched patterns into the artifact before redecorating it in a new style. It was likely deposited into a river as part of a ritual

A book bound in Corder's skin has been in the museum's collections since the 1930s. The second copy was given to the museum several decades ago.

Recently Rediscovered Book Bound in Human Skin Goes on Display in England

Curators think the volume’s corners and spine are bound in the skin of William Corder, an infamous criminal who was convicted of murder in the late 1820s

Newgrange is one of Ireland's most famous Neolithic passage tombs.

These Massive Monuments Hosted Community Gatherings Where Prehistoric People Mingled, Feasted and Buried Their Dead

A new study contradicts the long-held assumption that Ireland’s Neolithic passage tombs were reserved for members of an elite ruling family

The North Wind, Emily Brontë, 1842

Rare Watercolor by ‘Wuthering Heights’ Author Emily Brontë Will Go on Public Display for the First Time

“The North Wind,” painted while Emily and her sister Charlotte were studying in Belgium, is now heading to the Brontë family home in Yorkshire

The boxcar was part of the Merci Train, which France gave to the United States in 1949.

Cool Finds

Long-Lost ‘Merci Train’ Given to New Jersey After World War II Has Been Found

To thank America for its support during the war, France sent a boxcar stuffed with gifts to each state. But in the late 1950s, New Jersey’s disappeared without a trace

Digital artist Juanjo Ortega G. created an image of the woman's face based on a clay model created in the 1980s.

See the Face of a Royal Woman Who Lived in Greece 3,500 Years Ago

Created by digital artist Juanjo Ortega G., the digital reconstruction depicts a woman who died in her mid-30s during the late Bronze Age

Researchers investigated 12th- and 13th-century manuscripts from an abbey in France that were clad in furry outer covers.

Some ‘Hairy’ Medieval Books Were Covered in Sealskin, and Researchers Don’t Know Exactly Why

Historians were surprised when analyses revealed Catholic monks used pinniped hides for the protective outer layer on some manuscripts, rather than skins from the local boars and deer

View of the "Paris Noir" exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris

This Exhibition Spotlights the Black Artists Who Called France Home in the 20th Century

A blockbuster show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris spotlights 300-plus works by 150 artists of African heritage

The Brooch, Edvard Munch, 1902

Edvard Munch Is Known as the Painter of ‘The Scream.’ His Many Haunting Portraits Show That He Was Much More Than His Masterpiece

Through 45 artworks made between the 1880s and the 1920s, a new exhibition spotlights the Norwegian artist’s sometimes divisive style of portraiture

Tomatoes from arranged shopping trolleys seen outside a store in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 29, 2025

How the Misrepresentation of Tomatoes as Stinking ‘Poison Apples’ That Provoked Vomiting Made People Afraid of Them for More Than 200 Years

The long and fraught history of the plant shows that it got an unfair reputation from the beginning

Archaeologists suspect that as many as 150 individuals may be buried at the site.

Mass Grave From Roman-Era Battle Discovered Beneath a Soccer Field in Vienna

Archaeologists think that as many as 150 individuals may have been hastily buried at the site, likely after a “catastrophic” military event

Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, the metal detectorists who discovered the dagger

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Unearth Ancient Dagger Decorated With Tiny Stars, Crescent Moons and Geometric Patterns

Found at a beach in northern Poland, the nearly ten-inch-long artifact could be up to 2,500 years old. It had been lodged inside a lump of clay

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