Untold Stories of American History
Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man’s Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Sea
Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White’s escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years ago
Archaeologists Are Recreating the Long-Lost Recipe for Egyptian Blue, the World’s Oldest Known Synthetic Pigment
Created 5,000 years ago, the mysterious color has been found on artworks and artifacts throughout the ancient world. But the pigment’s recipe was eventually lost to history
Stolen Paintings Linked to Retired Couple Who Supposedly Moonlighted as Art Thieves Returned to New Mexico Museum After 40 Years
Victor Higgins’ “Aspens” and Joseph Henry Sharp’s “Oklahoma Cheyenne” had been missing since March 1985, when they were snatched in broad daylight
Archaeologists Discover More Than 100 Structures Linked to a Mysterious Pre-Columbian Civilization in the Remote Peruvian Andes
Based in high-altitude urban centers, the Chachapoya resisted conquest by the Inca Empire for centuries
Banksy Unveils New Lighthouse Mural With the Words ‘I Want to Be What You Saw in Me’ in France
The anonymous street artist announced the uncharacteristically personal artwork on May 29. It’s located on a wall in the French city of Marseille
This Bewildering Byzantine Bucket Stumped Archaeologists for Decades. Now, They’ve Finally Discovered Its Purpose
Fragments of the bucket were first found at England’s Sutton Hoo burial site in 1986. New research has revealed that the 1,500-year-old artifact was probably used as a cremation vessel
The Shipwrecks From John Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Were Exactly Where the Inuit Said They Would Be
In May 1845, 129 British officers and crew members set out in search of the Northwest Passage on HMS “Erebus” and HMS “Terror.” None returned
These Ancient Scrolls Have Been a Tantalizing Mystery for 2,000 Years. Researchers Just Deciphered a Title for the First Time
Mount Vesuvius’ eruption preserved the Herculaneum scrolls beneath a blanket of ash. Two millennia later, X-ray scans show that one of them is a philosophical text called “On Vice”
Birds Are Dying Mysterious, Violent Deaths in This Northern California Neighborhood—and No One Can Explain Why
Residents of Richmond, a city in the Bay Area, say they have watched dozens of birds drop dead in recent months
Humans Have Seen Only 0.001 Percent of the World’s Deep Seas, Leaving Most of the Planet a Vast Mystery
Researchers argue that expanding deep-sea exploration is vital to understanding and managing these marine habitats
Who Created This Peculiar Painting of a Drooling Dragon? Nobody Knows—but a Museum Just Bought It for $20 Million
Painted around 1510, the mysterious altarpiece by an unknown artist features unusual details, including a slobbering dragon and an angel playing the mouth harp
Meet the Mysterious Renaissance Muse Immortalized in the Only Leonardo da Vinci Painting in the Americas
Ginevra de’ Benci was a poet famed for her beauty and intellect. But art historians know little about her beyond the writings and artworks left behind by the men who admired her
Rarely Seen Banksy Mural Preserved on a 7,500-Pound Section of a Warehouse’s Wall Goes on Display in New York
“Battle to Survive a Broken Heart” features a red heart-shaped balloon covered with bandages. After spending a decade in storage, the artwork will head to auction on May 21
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
When a Historian Saw This Haunting Photograph of a Nameless Native Girl, She Decided She Had to Identify Her
In 1868, Sophie Mousseau was photographed at Fort Laramie alongside six white Army officers. But her identity—and her life story—remained unknown for more than a century
Why Was a 1940s Car Discovered in the Wreck of an American Naval Ship That Sank During World War II?
The mysterious automobile was found in a hangar on the USS “Yorktown,” which has been resting on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean since 1942
Archaeologists in Peru Discover Graves of Men, Women and Children Killed in Battle, Then Buried With Honor
The 24 members of the mysterious Chuquibamba culture were interred with valuable grave goods
How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?
Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned
Glowing ‘Milky Seas’ Have Baffled Sailors for Centuries—New Research Brings Scientists One Step Closer to Solving the Mystery
Historical accounts of vast ocean waters glowing in the dark go back hundreds of years, and researchers are still trying to determine exactly what triggers the phenomenon
Long-Lost ‘Merci Train’ Given to New Jersey After World War II Has Been Found
To thank America for its support during the war, France sent a boxcar stuffed with gifts to each state. But in the late 1950s, New Jersey’s disappeared without a trace
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