Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

Roughly 230 film reels have been found in storage.

Cool Finds

London Zoo Discovers Hundreds of Old Film Reels Featuring ‘Zoo Oddities’ and Animal Celebrities

Zoo officials are looking for experts to help preserve and digitize the decaying film canisters, which date to between the 1960s and 1990s

The gems were found in a stupa in northern India.

India Is Trying to Stop the Sale of Hundreds of Ancient Gems Associated With the Buddha

The 300 sacred jewels are part of a larger trove found in India in 1898. They’re scheduled to be sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong, where bidding will start at roughly $1.3 million

A Yangtze finless porpoise appears to "smile" at the Baiji Dolphinarium at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Art Meets Science

Ancient Chinese Poems Reveal the Decline of a Critically Endangered Porpoise Over 1,400 Years

Researchers looked at poetry dating as far back as the Tang dynasty to find that the Yangtze finless porpoise’s range has decreased by 65 percent

The cats that perished aboard the Emanuel Point II were well-fed and may have served as companions for the sailors.

New Research

Spanish Shipwreck Reveals Evidence of Earliest Known Pet Cats to Arrive in the United States

The two felines—one adult, one juvenile—appear to have been cared for by the sailors before the vessel sank in a hurricane in 1559, according to a new study

The shorter sword was decorated with polished gems, two of which were carved with swastikas.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth 2,300-Year-Old Sword Decorated With Two Small Swastikas in a Celtic Necropolis

Found in France, the site featured more than 100 graves filled with ancient metal artifacts—including bracelets, brooches and two well-preserved swords

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

The obelisk once stood outside a temple in Luxor, Egypt.

Cool Finds

Egyptologist Reveals Mysterious Messages Hidden in the Hieroglyphics on a 3,000-Year-Old Obelisk

Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier says he has identified seven sets of crypto-hieroglyphs on the 75-foot-tall structure, which France received as a gift in 1836

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

The ancient people of Carthage, located in modern Tunisia, did not have ancestry in common with the Levantine Phoenicians that established their culture, according to a new study.

Carthaginians, Ancient Rome’s Infamous Enemies, Are Not Exactly Who Scholars Thought They Were, Ancestry Study Suggests

DNA reveals that the people of Carthage, a powerful independent colony founded by the Phoenicians, had little genetic similarity to their counterparts in the Levant

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.

Castle Howard's restored tapestry drawing room 

See the Newly Renovated Castle Howard, Made Famous by ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Brideshead Revisited’

After the house suffered extensive fire damage in 1940, generations of the Howard family have faithfully restored parts of the mansion to its 18th-century glory

Members of the Six Triple Eight in Rouen, France, in 1945

Women Who Shaped History

The Only Black, All-Female Unit to Serve Overseas in World War II Receives the Congressional Gold Medal

The Six Triple Eight cleared a years-long backlog of mail in just three months. Eighty years later, the unit is finally getting the recognition it deserves

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

One of the flags is decorated with 13 interlocking gold rings labeled with the names of the first 13 states.

America's 250th Anniversary

See the Colorful Flags That the Patriots Unfurled as They Fought in the American Revolution

At the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, a new exhibition has gathered together 17 historic flags that served as symbols of liberty

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

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

The commemorative watch was given to Armstrong at a gala dinner in Houston in November 1969.

A Gold Watch That Belonged to Astronaut Neil Armstrong Sold for $2.1 Million at Auction

The commemorative timepiece is similar to the one that Armstrong and other NASA astronauts wore in space

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

None

Explore the Three Fascinating Towns of America’s Historic Triangle

This surprising long-weekend itinerary unearths an enchanting trip through history, the outdoors and beyond.

Page 22 of 127