European History

Tycho Brahe was extremely wealthy and lived an unusual life that included a pet moose.

Astronomer and Alchemist Tycho Brahe Died Full of Gold

The shiny element was important to Renaissance scientists. Very important

Rudolf Hess and Adolf Hitler during the Reichstag session at which Hitler gave his last warning to the British Empire.

The First Moments of Hitler's Final Solution

When Hitler solidified his plan to exterminate Jews – and why it matters 75 years later

The Beckery monastery as it would have looked in the fifith century

Oldest Community of Monks in U.K. Discovered

The find was thanks to a community training dig

The new, meatier five-pound note

Why Vegetarians Hate the U.K.'s New £5 Note

The new currency uses a polymer that contains some animal fat, and it turns out at least 24 other nations use the same product

A detail of a 17th century map found stuffed in a Scottish chimney.

Rare 17th-Century Map Found Shoved Up a Chimney Is Restored

Nothing like an antique document to block a draft

The Bishop's lump

Researchers Trace 300-Year-Old Lump of Poop to Danish Bishop

The upper class contents of the little nugget suggests it likely belonged to Bishop Jens Bircherod or his wife

Author Steven Johnson looks at many of history's "artifacts of the future" that hinted at huge technological, scientific and cultural breakthroughs to come in his new book, Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World.

If Necessity Is the Mother of Invention, Then Play Is Its Father

In a new book, Steven Johnson argues that many inventions, considered mindless amusements in their time, wind up leading to serious innovations later

Archival image of one of the U-Bahn's "Dora" trains in service.

See the Cold War-Era Trains Berlin Is Bringing Back Into Service

The “Dora” is returning to the tracks of the U-Bahn

Europe's Oldest Polished Axe Found in Ireland

The 9,000-year-old tool shows that Mesolithic people had sophisticated burial rituals and even cremated their dead

Dove

Hi-Res Photography Reveals New Details of the Centuries Old Aberdeen Bestiary

Fingerprints, wear marks and other details show the beautiful manuscript was once a teaching tool, not a royal collectible

The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo sits atop a hillside overlooking Lake Alban.

Pope Francis Isn’t Using His Summer House, so the Vatican Is Letting the Public in

Get a rare look at the pope’s luxurious vacation home

Are You Descended From Witches? New Digital Document Could Help You Find Out

The Wellcome Library manuscript lists people accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch panic of 1658-1662

The bonfires of Samhain were said to welcome the spirits that could travel to Earth during this special time.

Halloween Owes Its Tricks and Treats to the Ancient Celtic New Year's Eve

During Samhain, the deceased came to Earth in search of food and comfort, while evil spirits, faeries and gods came in search of mischief

Cave Paintings Help Unravel the Mystery of the ‘Higgs Bison'

The hybrid bovine has been a missing link in the ancestral tree of modern European bison

Check Out This 3D Tour of a Villa in Ancient Pompeii

The Swedish Pompeii Project has digitally recreated a wealthy bankers villa and an entire city block using 3D scans from the devastated city

$25.5 Million Raphael Painting Discovered in Scottish Manor House

An art historian working for a BBC television show recognized a painting in a dark corner as the work of the Renaissance master

Gold signet ring showing five elaborately dressed female figures gathered by a seaside shrine

Gold Rings Found in Warrior's Tomb Connect Two Ancient Greek Cultures

Analysis of four gold rings and some 2,000 other recently uncovered objects points to the exchange of ideas and goods between two ancient peoples

A reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

Hear the Recreated Voice of Ötzi the Iceman

Using CT scans of the Neolithic man's vocal tract, Italian researchers have approximated the way he pronounced his vowels

View of the Sea at Scheveningen, 1882

Stolen van Gogh Paintings Recovered After 14 Years

Italian police found the two paintings stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam while investigating organized crime in Naples

Amateur Archaeologist Discovers Significant Amount of Scotland's Ancient Rock Art

Musician and avid walker George Currie has catalogued 670 pieces of prehistoric rock art in the Highlands

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