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Religion

One of the most stunning features of Taiwan's Lukang Longshan Temple is its extravagant wood caisson ceiling.

Experience the Secrets of a Threatened Taiwanese Temple

New 3D reconstructions make it possible to look inside Lukang Longshan

"Sting Like a Bee" Muhammad Ali, 1979 Serigraph

Cool Finds

Artwork by Muhammad Ali Is Going up For Auction

You could own a painting by the Louisville Lip

Brother Guy Consolmagno, a staff astronomer and the curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory

Think Big

Guy Consolmangno, the Vatican’s Chief Astronomer, on Balancing Church With the Cosmos

The MIT graduate speaks to how he ended up studying the stars for the Catholic Church

Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedral in France.

Walk the World’s Most Meditative Labyrinths

History meets harmony on these time-worn paths

A diagram of Reynolds's gardens

Take a Closer Look at Mary Reynolds’s Innovative Celtic Gardens

The award-winning landscape designer bases her ideas on the four seasons, but with a regional twist

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava after it was decimated by a fire on Orthodox Easter.

Trending Today

A Historic Cathedral in New York City Goes up in Flames

The Cathedral of St. Sava caught fire just hours after the Orthodox congregation celebrated Easter

This 98-foot-long figure appears to represent an animal sticking out its tongue.

Cool Finds

“New” 2,000-Year-Old Geoglyph Spotted in Peru

There’s always more to learn about the mysterious Nazca lines

Xian'er, the robot monk, with its creator, Buddhist monk Master Xianfan.

Cool Finds

A Robot Monk Is Spreading Buddhist Teachings in China

An adorable robot serves up automated mantras

A print of Lake Suwa from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

Trending Today

Japanese Priests Collected Almost Seven Centuries of Climate Data

Historic records from “citizen scientists” in Japan and Finland give researchers centuries of data on ice conditions

A statue of Julian of Norwich at Norwich Cathedra. She is one of the first-known women writers in the English language.

Cool Finds

For the First Time, See Two Early Medieval Books Written By Women On Display Together

The manuscripts detail the authors’ experiences

For the first time in hundreds of years, some seders might include rice and beans.

Trending Today

For the First Time in 800 Years, Rice and Beans Are Kosher for Passover

The Jewish Conservative movement relaxes a 13th-century ban on rice, corn and beans during Passover

At least the scent of despair comes in a pretty bottle.

Cool Finds

This Perfume Smells Like the Apocalypse

Artists bottled blood and thunder to capture the heady scent of the end times

The tomb was discovered by construction workers near one of Mexico's largest cathedrals.

Cool Finds

A Construction Crew Uncovered the Grave of One of Mexico’s First Catholic Priests

The 16th-century grave was found at the site of an Aztec temple

New Research

Machine Learning May Help Determine When the Old Testament Was Written

Using computer algorithms to analyze handwriting, researchers discover citizens of ancient Judah were much more literate than previously thought

Ancient Mayan skull and bones remain in a Mexican sinkhole, remnants of a long-ago human sacrifice. The victims of sacrifice in Mayan rituals were varied, ranging from slaves to captive rulers of other lands.

New Research

Human Sacrifices May Lie Behind the Rise of Ancient Social Status

Dark practices may have helped the elite keep the lower classes in line, a new study hints

This 12,000-year-old city could soon be inundated thanks to a hydroelectric dam.

Trending Today

These Are Europe’s Eight Most Endangered Cultural Landmarks

Unless things change, these historic sites could disappear from the map forever

On a remote plateau, researchers reveal a royal capital whose splendors prefigure the glories of the Angkor complex.

The Lost City of Cambodia

Deep in the jungles of southeast Asia, archaeologists have rediscovered the remains of an invisible kingdom that may have been the template for Angkor Wat

Local actors Judy Barth, Ruth Ochsenrider and Jim Barth peer over photos of original Scopes Trial jurors during the annual Scopes Trial Festival in Dayton, Tennessee.

How Much Has the Town Where the Scopes Trial Took Place Evolved Since the 1920s?

Each July, Dayton, Tennessee, celebrates its role in the famous court case with a re-enactment and festival

Mother Teresa stands with children at her Calcutta mission.

Trending Today

Mother Teresa Will Become an Official Saint

The champion of India’s poorest has sprinted to sainthood since her 1997 death

The ashram's entrance was once closed to visitors, who had to sneak in or bribe a guard.

Cool Finds

Abandoned Beatles Ashram Is Opened to the Public for the First Time in a Long, Long, Long Time

Get back to the site of the Fab Four’s disastrous meditation retreat

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