Kings

The pages were disposed of as scrap and pasted into an unrelated book.  

Cool Finds

Rediscovered Medieval Manuscript Offers New Twist on Arthurian Legend

The 13th-century pages, found by chance at a British library, show a different side of Merlin, the magician who advised Camelot's king

Italian artist Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso created the ceremonial shield around 1535.

Ornate Medieval Shield Looted by the Nazis Will Be Returned to the Czech Republic

Created in the 16th century, the intricately decorated piece of armor was once owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Workers discovered a trove of rare gold coins, pictured here, in the walls of a historic French mansion in 2019. Now, the coins are going up for auction.

Cool Finds

Trove of 239 Rare Gold Coins Discovered in Walls of French Mansion

Renovators discovered a hidden box and pouch stuffed with rare gold coins, minted during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV

The excavation site lies next to Holy Trinity Church in the English village of Cookham.

Cool Finds

Lost Monastery Run by Early Medieval Queen Discovered in England

Cynethryth ruled alongside her husband, King Offa of Mercia, during the seventh century C.E.

Mary Boleyn (right) served as Henry VIII's mistress before her sister Anne's (left) ascent to the throne.

The Rise and Fall of Tudor England's Scandalous Boleyn Family

A new documentary offers a more sympathetic view of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and her inner circle

Experts transported the boat in a shock-absorbing metal container carried by a remote-controlled vehicle imported from Belgium.

Why King Khufu's Solar Boat Is on the Move After 4,600 Years

Officials transported the pharaoh's wooden ship from the Pyramids of Giza to its new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum

Artist's impression of Thomas Cromwell's London estate

See the Palatial London Mansion of Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII

New research reveals what the Tudor statesman's 58-room estate may have looked like

The four symbols seen in front of the king—a crescent moon, the sun, a snake and a flower—may hold religious significance.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 2,550-Year-Old Carving of the Last King of Babylon

Found in northern Saudi Arabia, the inscription depicts sixth-century B.C.E. ruler Nabonidus holding a scepter

Researchers previously thought the cave was an 18th-century folly, or decorative structure constructed to enhance the natural landscape.

Cool Finds

Deposed Ninth-Century King May Have Called This Cave Dwelling Home

New research suggests Eardwulf of Northumbria lived in the modified structure while in exile

Archaeologists are working to decipher the slab's 15 lines of hieroglyphs.

Cool Finds

Farmer Stumbles Onto Egyptian Pharaoh's 2,600-Year-Old Stone Slab

The large sandstone marker may be connected to a military campaign led by the 26th dynasty ruler Apries

Ravenmaster Chris Skaife holds Branwen, the newest bird to join the Tower of London's roost.

Tower of London Reveals Newest Raven's Mythical Name

The public voted to call the bird Branwen in honor of a Celtic goddess

Kate McCaffrey, a former steward at Anne's childhood home, used ultraviolet light and photo editing software to reveal hidden writing in the Tudor queen's Book of Hours.

Cool Finds

Hidden Inscriptions Discovered in Anne Boleyn's Execution Prayer Book

New research suggests a circle of Tudor women saved the "Book of Hours" for the queen's daughter, Elizabeth I

A silver shilling recently found at the former site of St. Mary's Fort, one of the first colonial settlements in British North America

Cool Finds

Rare 17th-Century Coin Featuring Charles I's Likeness Found in Maryland

Archaeologists found a telltale silver shilling at the likely site of St. Mary's Fort, a 1634 structure built by early English colonists

This 1561 portrait depicts Catherine de' Medici standing alongside three of her children, including the newly crowned Charles IX.

Rarely Seen Portrait of Renaissance Queen Catherine de' Medici to Go on View

The 16th-century regent, pictured with four of her children, wielded significant political power during the French Wars of Religion

This 1540 miniature by Hans Holbein may depict the Tudor king's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, not his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

Presumed Portrait of Catherine Howard May Actually Depict Anne of Cleves

A Hans Holbein miniature long thought to depict Henry VIII's fifth queen may instead portray the Tudor king's fourth wife

“We used five isotope methods in all to provide information on geology, coastal proximity, climate and diet,” says study co-author Richard Madgwick, an osteoarchaeologist at Cardiff University.

New Research

Ethnically Diverse Crew of Henry VIII's Flagship Hailed From Iberia, North Africa

New multi-isotope analysis illuminates early lives of sailors stationed on the Tudor "Mary Rose," including three born outside of Britain

James Stanley supported the Stuart monarchy during the English Civil Wars, which pitted Royalists against Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians.

Cool Finds

17th-Century Gold Mourning Ring May Be Linked to Executed English Aristocrat

A piece of jewelry found on the Isle of Man may honor James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, who was beheaded in 1651

A team uncovered the lost city while searching for a mortuary temple last September.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover 3,000-Year-Old 'Lost Golden City'

Hailed as one of the country's most significant finds in a century, the site dates to a time of political, religious and artistic change

The markings on the slab may represent river systems, settlements, fields and barrows.

Cool Finds

Is This 4,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Slab the Oldest Known Map in Europe?

New research suggests the stone, first discovered in 1900, may have represented the territory of an ancient king

Egyptian officials moved 22 mummies—including 18 kings and 4 queens—to the newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

Why Egypt Paraded 22 Ancient Pharaohs Through the Streets of Cairo

Officials organized the lavish, made-for-TV event in hopes of revitalizing the country's tourism industry