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European History

It’s believed the tower will be visible from 40 miles away.

Trending Today

A Tiny Danish Town Plans to Build Western Europe’s Tallest Skyscraper

The town of Brande (population: 7,000) is headquarters of clothing brand Bestseller, which wants to construct the 1,049-foot spire

The royal document was signed by nine witnesses

Cool Finds

819-Year-Old Royal Charter Issued by King John Found in University Archives

A visiting historian happened upon the medieval document while conducting research in Durham, England

Cool Finds

Could This Work Be Leonardo da Vinci’s Only Known Sculpture?

An art scholar argues “Virgin with the Laughing Child” held in a U.K. museum bears the hallmark smile and other techniques of the polymath’s other works

Trending Today

Italy May Need to Import Olive Oil After Extreme Weather Decimates Local Crops

This year’s harvest is down 57 percent, and may force the nation to import its treasured olive oil from other parts of the Mediterranean

The bluestone quarry at Carn Goedog.

New Research

Secrets of Stonehenge Found in Quarries 180 Miles Away

Archaeologists believe the builders popped out “ready-made” bluestones at a quarry in Wales and dragged them overland to Salisbury

Artist's rendering. The remains of the woman in the ornate tomb were found buried alongside an array of weapons, as well as a gaming set suggestive of strategic military planning.

Researchers Reaffirm Remains in Viking Warrior Tomb Belonged to a Woman

In new paper, the authors behind the 2017 study echo their original conclusions and delve deeper into the secrets of the grave in the Viking town of Birka

Pop History

Why Is the Genie in ‘Aladdin’ Blue?

There’s a simple answer and a colonialist legacy for why the genie looks the way it does

Antique dealer Ian Coulson purchased the bed, then advertised as a Victorian era frame, for £2,200 in 2010.

Cool Finds

Henry VII’s Marriage Bed May Have Spent 15 Years in a British Hotel’s Honeymoon Suite

Some experts say the ornately carved oak bed was commissioned for the wedding of the first Tudor king and his queen, Elizabeth of York

Authors and playwrights in 18th-century Europe helped make science accessible to the common reader.

How 18th-Century Writers Created the Genre of Popular Science

French writers such as Voltaire and Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle helped shape the Enlightenment with stories of science

Plumber planner Jannick Vestergaard and engineer Henning Nøhr posing with their discovery.

Medieval Sword, Blade Still Sharp, Pulled From Sewer in Denmark

Experts think its owner may have been defeated in battle and dropped the luxurious weapon in the muddy streets

Enrique Linares: "Zambra Gitana at the Roma Neighborhood in Granada." Postcard, Spain, 1910. RomArchive: fla_00026.

New Archive Reclaims the Narrative of the Roma

RomArchive includes more than 5,000 objects that highlight the creativity and self-agency of the often-maligned group

Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, left, speaks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prior to meeting on the sidelines of EU and Western Balkan heads of state at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Greek Lawmakers Approve Macedonia’s New Name

The decision brings an end to a 27-year-old conflict and paves the way for the Republic of North Macedonia to join the NATO alliance

The view in Matera, Italy.

Get to Know 2019’s ‘European Capitals of Culture’

Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Matera, Italy, have histories that stretch back thousands of years

Icelandic horses today

Cool Finds

Burials Suggest Icelandic Vikings Had a Thing for Stallions

Adding some insight into their little-known funerary practices, DNA analyses confirm that sacrificial stallions were buried in Viking graves

Market of Eminou Square and New Mosque Yeni Cami, with store signs in Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Greek and French, 1884–1900, Sébah & Joaillier.

The Getty Digitizes More Than 6,000 Photos From the Ottoman Era

The images date to the 19th and 20th centuries, the waning days of the once-powerful empire

On January 19, Borthwick Castle will host a six-course medieval banquet complemented by talks from local historians

How to Enjoy a Medieval Feast at Borthwick Castle, Former Refuge of Mary, Queen of Scots

The special event is timed to coincide with the U.K. release of the Stuart queen’s latest biopic

Waiting on a lie

Trending Today

When Do Children Give Up on Santa?

A preview of a new international study explores when kids stop believing and how, after the jig is up, it impacted them psychologically

Trending Today

We Finally Know What Sank the U.S.S. San Diego During World War I

After six visits to the ship and sophisticated modeling, historians have concluded that a German mine sunk the cruiser off the coast of New York in 1918

A police officer directs traffic in London in the 1890s.

When the Street Light First Came to London, Disaster Ensued

First introduced in 1868, the device was meant to prevent accidents—but then it caused one

As biographer Antonia Fraser explains, Mary’s story is one of “murder, sex, pathos, religion and unsuitable lovers"

Based on a True Story

The True Story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I

Josie Rourke’s film sees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie transform from allies into rivals, but in actuality, the queens’ relationship was far more complex

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