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Roman Empire

Italian officials with the five stones and brick fragment

Italian Police Catch Tourist Stealing Stones From the Ancient City of Pompeii

According to legend, travelers who remove artifacts from the historic Italian city are cursed to endure hardship. Many have even returned the stolen items years later

The newly conserved felt hat is now on view at the Bolton Museum in Bolton, England.

A 2,000-Year-Old Sun Hat Worn by a Roman Soldier in Egypt Goes on View After a Century in Storage

The felt cap—one of only three surviving examples of its kind—was recently conserved by a museum in England

The gold object measures just four centimeters, or 1.5 inches, long.

Cool Finds

An Archaeology Student Found a Medieval Gold Artifact During Her First Dig

The piece resembles another found in the same area four years ago

Insula Meridionalis, the neighborhood in ancient Pompeii where the excavations were conducted

Cool Finds

After Mount Vesuvius Erupted, Pompeii’s Poorest Survivors Lived Amid the Rubble of the Ancient City for Hundreds of Years

Some residents who couldn’t afford to resettle elsewhere returned to the city, where they occupied the upper floors of buildings that had been buried in ash, according to new research

The building's shape is square-like, while Christian churches tend to be rectangular.

New Research

Archaeologists Thought This Ancient Site in Spain Was a Church. Was It Actually a Synagogue?

A new study examines artifacts and features of the site that may be associated with Judaism, though researchers caution that more work is needed

Roughly a quarter of all the shoes found at Magna are longer than 11.8 inches.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Keep Finding Massive Shoes at an Ancient Roman Fort—and They Have No Idea Why They’re So Big

Discovered near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, the oversized leather footwear has left researchers puzzled

An ancient fragment of a bronze military diploma from Sardinia dating to the second century C.E.

New Research

Google Just Released an A.I. Tool That Helps Historians Fill in Missing Words in Ancient Roman Inscriptions

Known as Aeneas, the tool was trained on an extensive dataset of Latin epigraphy. Experts hope it will help decipher segments of text that have been lost to history

The central reservoir of Hadrian's Aqueduct

Athens Is Reviving a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Aqueduct to Deliver Water to the City Amid Prolonged Droughts

With the capital’s reservoirs approaching historic lows, officials are turning to ancient engineering to conserve potable water

The ancient artwork is now on display at Pompeii.

Ancient Erotic Mosaic Stolen From Pompeii During World War II Finally Returns Home

A Nazi captain gave artwork, which depicts an intimate Roman romance, to a civilian. When he died, his heirs decided to return the piece to Italy

Scholars with the "Constructing the Limes" project led the research on the newly discovered site.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Roman Army Camp in the Netherlands—15 Miles Beyond the Empire’s Northern Border

Researchers think the camp was built during the second century C.E. Stretching across 22 acres, it was identified using a computer model developed by an archaeology student

One of the lion's head discs discovered in the grave

Cool Finds

Four Bewildering Bronze Lions’ Heads With Slightly Different Facial Expressions Found in Ancient Roman Grave in Israel

Similar examples of ancient lion artifacts appear to have been used as door knockers. But the newly discovered discs may have served a different purpose

Salvage archaeologists clean the mosaic floor's elaborate centerpiece.

Cool Finds

See a Vibrant, Colorful Mosaic Discovered at an Ancient Roman Settlement in France

Perched on a hill overlooking the town of Alès, the site, which was salvaged before construction on modern houses began, also boasts advanced architecture

The pieces were jumbled together when the building was demolished.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Pieced Together the Ancient Fragments of the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

More than 1,800 years ago, the thousands of pieces formed colorful frescoes that covered the walls of a luxurious villa in Londinium, the precursor to modern-day London

Aerial view of the villa, with thermal baths at the bottom right, the garden and fountain in the center, and the agricultural fields expanding to the left

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Stumble Onto Sprawling Ancient Roman Villa During Construction of a Road in France

Located near Auxerre, the grand estate once possessed an exorbitant level of wealth, with thermal baths and heated floors

A painting found in Pompeii depicting eggs, bronze dishes and two small birds hung on a wall

New Research

This Ancient Roman Casual Dining Joint Served Fish, Chicken and—Fried Songbird

A new analysis of the bones in the eatery’s garbage pit challenges the elite status of thrush in the Roman diet

A marble sarcophagus depicting a drinking contest between Hercules and Dionysus

Cool Finds

Ancient Sarcophagus Unearthed in Israel Portrays an Epic Drinking Contest Between the God Dionysus and the Mythical Hero Hercules

Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaics

An ancient wooden falcon decorated with Egyptian blue alongside one of the newly developed pigments

New Research

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

Frescoes, statues, graffiti and other artifacts show the many roles and rituals of Roman womanhood.

What Was Daily Life Like for the Women Who Lived in Ancient Pompeii 2,000 Years Ago?

A new exhibition is spotlighting the women who have long been sidelined in histories of the Roman Empire—from mothers and weavers to entrepreneurs and influential tavern owners

The scroll previously known only as PHerc. 172 was written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus.

Cool Finds

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”

A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade.

New Research

By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus

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