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European History

Archaeologists found the remains of roughly 350 frogs near an Iron Age roundhouse.

How Did Thousands of Frog Bones End Up Buried at an Iron Age Settlement?

Archaeologists are trying to make sense of the remains, found in a ditch in England

Vassily Maximov, A Sorcerer Comes to a Peasant Wedding, circa 1875

In Early Modern Russia, the Majority of Accused ‘Witches’ Were Men

Orthodox Russians deployed magic for practical purposes, like inflicting illness, harming business competitors and attracting lovers

Johan Danckerts, The Wreck of the Gloucester Off Yarmouth, 6 May 1682, circa 1682

Cool Finds

Wreck of Long-Lost Royal Battleship Discovered Off English Coast

Divers discovered the H.M.S. “Gloucester” in 2007, but authorities kept the news buried for 15 years as they waited to secure the site

In 1547, Elizabeth's brother, 9-year-old Edward VI, ascended the throne. Then 13 years old, the princess found herself second in line to the crown.

Based on a True Story

The Royal Scandal That Rocked Elizabeth I’s Teenage Years

A new Starz series, “Becoming Elizabeth,” dramatizes the future queen’s controversial relationship with her much-older stepfather, Thomas Seymour

The first two panels of "Nazi Death Parade," a six-panel comic depicting the mass murder of Jews at a Nazi concentration camp

Untold Stories of American History

The Holocaust-Era Comic That Brought Americans Into the Nazi Gas Chambers

In early 1945, a six-panel comic in a U.S. pamphlet offered a visceral depiction of the Third Reich’s killing machine

The Neolithic-Era henge was completely obscured by overgrown vegetation. 

Cool Finds

Volunteers Uncover Rare, 4,800-Year-Old Stone Circle in England

Ground scans at Castilly Henge revealed seven pits where ancient stones once stood

Excavations in Troy, circa 1890s

The Many Myths of the Man Who ‘Discovered’—and Nearly Destroyed—Troy

In the 1870s, amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann inflicted irreparable damage on the site of the legendary city

Kalush Orchestra smashed records in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. 

Good News

A Ukrainian Band Just Won the World’s Most Popular Song Competition

Kalush Orchestra’s “Stefania” is a tribute to the frontman’s mother—and the group’s embattled motherland

On the island of Dejima, European traders could interact with the Japanese, but with a few (carefully escorted) exceptions, they were barred from continuing on to mainland Japan.

The Wild West Outpost of Japan’s Isolationist Era

For two centuries, an extreme protectionist policy barred foreigners from setting foot in Japan—except for one tiny island

Visitors lay wreaths at the “Square of Nations,” a memorial site at the former Flossenbürg concentration camp’s crematorium, on April 24, 2022.

History of Now

At a Former Concentration Camp, Holocaust Survivors Draw Parallels Between Nazi and Russian Rhetoric

Speakers at a ceremony marking the liberation of Flossenbürg condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims of demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine

Originally founded in 1889, the Moulin Rouge has been a Parisian landmark for more than 130 years. 

Cultural Travel

The Windmill That Gave Paris’ Moulin Rouge Its Name Is Now an Airbnb—And Is Booking for Just $1

A lavish room atop the iconic performance venue will welcome travelers for three nights in June

Antiques dealer Laura Young purchased the bust at Goodwill for $34.99.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Sculpture Likely Looted During WWII Turns Up at Texas Goodwill

Experts are debating who the bust portrays, but they agree on one thing—a thrift store is an unusual spot to find a millennia-old statue

The clay pot contained 1,290 Roman coins.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologist Stumbles Onto Trove of Coins Dated to Constantine the Great’s Reign

Found in Switzerland, some of the buried Roman coins were minted during a time of relative political stability, between 332 and 335 C.E.

Hieronymus Bosch, The Last Judgment, circa 1515

Inside Hieronymus Bosch’s Surreal Visions of Heaven and Hell

A new exhibition in Budapest features almost 90 works by the Dutch artist and his peers

This is how you really sweat to the oldies.

Want to Work Out Like Walt Whitman or Henry VIII? Try These Historic Fitness Regimens

Travel through time by lifting like passengers on the Titanic or swimming like the sixth U.S. president

The leather sandal's owner likely wore it with wool wrappings or socks made out of fabric or animal skins.

Cool Finds

Melting Ice in Norway Reveals 1,700-Year-Old Sandal

An ancient traveler likely discarded the worn-out leather shoe as rubbish around 300 C.E.

Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth, a Viking prince who seeks to avenge the murder of his father.

Based on a True Story

The History Behind Robert Eggers’ ‘The Northman’

The revenge saga blends traditional accounts with the supernatural to convey the lived experience of the Viking age

The 700-year-old book is thought to be the oldest surviving document of its kind. 

Holocaust Survivors Ask Israel Museum to Return One-of-a-Kind Haggadah

Their lawsuit claims the Passover book was stolen, then purchased under dubious circumstances

View of the Space Needle and the Century 21 Exposition fairgrounds in Seattle in 1962

The Rise and Fall of World’s Fairs

Sixty years after Seattle’s Century 21 Exposition, world’s fairs have largely fallen out of fashion in the U.S.

In 51 B.C.E., Julius Caesar noted that people in Britain did not eat hares due to their religious significance.

The Ancient Origins of the Easter Bunny

A scholar traces the folk figure’s history from the Neolithic era to today

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