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European History

Seasonal influxes of fishermen fed roaring local economies and attracted herring girls—women who came from across Iceland to take jobs gutting, cleaning and salting barrels of freshly caught fish.

How Iceland’s Herring Girls Helped Bring Equality to the Island Nation

Between the 1910s and 1960s, thousands of young women formed the backbone of the country’s thriving fishing industry

An ancient Roman amphitheater that may have been one of the last built was discovered during construction of a new boathouse on the Rhine River in Switzerland.

Cool Finds

A Gladiator Arena, Possibly the Last Ever Built, Discovered in Switzerland

Archaeologists unearth a fourth century amphitheater that stood on the far reaches of the Roman Empire more than 1,400 years ago

Archaeologists unearth a limestone foundation of one of the buildings of St. Mary's College - an Oxford College left to decay 500 years ago as result of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Foundations of Oxford University’s ‘Lost’ College

Founded for Catholic priests, the institution was destroyed 500 years ago when Henry VIII established the Church of England

Holocaust graphic novel Maus topped several Amazon bestseller book lists this week after a Tennessee county school board voted to ban the book for eighth grade students in early January. 

Banned by Tennessee School Board, ‘Maus’ Soars to the Top of Bestseller Charts

Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel details his parents’ experiences in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust

A new online archive highlights the life and career of eccentric French artist Marcel Duchamp. The collection features nearly 50,000 images of his photos, artworks and documents. 

You Can Now Explore Marcel Duchamp’s Personal Papers Online

A new free portal unites three archives in one virtual space, offering an unprecedented look into the artist’s life and work

Experts estimate that the bowl is about 2,000 years old.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Roman Bowl Discovered Intact in the Netherlands

Unearthed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, the blue glass artifact was in pristine condition

Marchers celebrate in London, England, at the city's annual LGBTQ Pride festival in 2019.

What to Expect From the U.K.’s First LGBTQ Museum

The museum, set to open in the spring, will reside in King’s Cross, a London neighborhood with a rich queer history

The multidisciplinary team suggests that Arnold van den Bergh, a notary and member of Amsterdam's Jewish Council, gave the Secret Annex's address to the Nazis to avoid deportation.

New Research

Did a Jewish Notary Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis?

A six-year investigation posits that Arnold van den Bergh disclosed the diarist’s hiding place to protect his family from deportation

Researchers suspect that a painting bought in 1970 for £65 might be the handiwork of Anthony van Dyck. Featured here is an example of a similar painting, Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain as a nun (1626), which was attributed to van Dyck in 2009. This work is part of the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Cool Finds

Dismissed as a Copy for Decades, This Flemish Masterpiece Could Now Fetch Thousands

Purchased by an art historian for $90 in 1970, researchers now say the portrait might be the handiwork of the 17th-century court painter Anthony van Dyck

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

The Ipogeo dei Cristallini’s well-preserved tombs will open to the public as soon as summer 2022

Ingeborg Hornkjøl poses with a piece of wood inscribed with Nordic runes. 

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover—and Start to Decode—Rare Medieval Runes

One of the newly unearthed objects, an inscribed bone, is the first of its kind found in Oslo in decades

The new research dates the helmets to around 900 B.C.E.

Cool Finds

The Horned Helmets Falsely Attributed to Vikings Are Actually Nearly 3,000 Years Old

The helmets’ similarities to art from southern Europe shows how goods and ideas traveled during the Nordic Bronze Age

An illustration from Newes From Scotland (1591), a pamphlet that publicized ongoing witch trials in North Berwick, Scotland, across Europe. Groups of accused women are depicted brewing spells to thwart James VI's ship (upper left), and a local schoolmaster is shown taking notes from the devil. 

Scotland Considers Pardon for Thousands of Accused ‘Witches’

Advocates are calling on leaders to exonerate the thousands of women and men targeted in witch hunts during the 16th through 18th centuries

Brunhild and Fredegund were two lesser-known but long-reigning and influential Frankish queens.

The Medieval Queens Whose Daring, Murderous Reigns Were Quickly Forgotten

Over the centuries, Brunhild and Fredegund were dismissed and even parodied. But a new book shows how they outwitted their enemies like few in history

A first-century C.E. mosaic of Hercules and Iolaus

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Identify Possible Location of Lost Temple of Hercules

Experts in Spain used laser scanning technology to locate submerged ruins along the coast of the Bay of Cádiz

The face of a genius.

Five Things to Know About French Enlightenment Genius Émilie du Châtelet

She was brilliant and unconventional, but her life had a tragic end

Archaeologists have identified a rare ninth-century Viking sword discovered at a burial site on one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland.

Cool Finds

Rare Viking Sword Discovered in Grave on Scottish Island

The weapon is covered in rust and dirt, but a new X-ray analysis suggests it once boasted rich decorations

A fifth century B.C.E. diadem, or headband, from Colchis, in the southern Caucasus.

Why This Ancient Civilization Fell Out of Love With Gold for 700 Years

Analysis of 4,500 artifacts suggests an early society between the Black and Caspian Seas turned against bling

Scientists studied the lead isotopic values of the white paint used in 77 Dutch works, including this one by Rembrandt. Rembrandt van Rijn, Tobit and Anna with the Kid, 1626 

Art Meets Science

Scientists Can Determine When and Where Dutch Masters Worked by the White Paint They Used

Using a new technology, researchers say they’ve discovered a link between the chemical composition of pigments in Dutch paintings and historic conflicts

A medieval composite pen made out of animal bone and a copper alloy was found in an 11th-century settlement in Ireland. The tool's secular setting is a rare find, as literacy in Ireland was generally associated with the church.

Cool Finds

Medieval Ink Pen Testifies to the Rise of Secular Literacy in Ireland

The 11th-century tool may have been used to record family lineages and trade agreements

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