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Wales

The Tees Transporter Bridge was a feat of engineering but has been closed due to structural concerns since 2019.

These Are the Top Ten ‘Endangered’ Buildings and Bridges in England and Wales—and They Tell Us a Lot About Life in the Victorian Era

Structures remaining from the height of the British Empire reveal changing economic, medical and education trends from the 1800s and early 1900s. But their legacy is at risk as they fall into disrepair

Gertrude Lawrence as Anna Leonowens and Yul Brynner as Mongkut in the 1951 Broadway production of The King and I. The musical turns 75 on March 29.

Based on a True Story

‘The King and I’ Spotlights an English Governess Who Modernized Siamese Society. The Real Anna Leonowens Exaggerated Her Influence and Lied About Her Origins

The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher’s accounts of her time at King Mongkut’s court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrant

A side-by-side view of Turner's Marford Mill (left) and the real-life inspiration behind it (right)

You Can Buy This 438-Year-Old Mill in Wales That Inspired a Stunning J.M.W. Turner Painting

Rossett Mill was the subject of a landscape by the Romantic painter around 1795. Now, the property is listed at a little over $2 million

The foundations of the buried villa captured by ground-penetrating radar

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Detected the Largest Stand-Alone Ancient Roman Villa Ever Unearthed in Wales

The mansion’s foundations and floors are likely well-preserved, according to geophysical surveys. The discovery provides new insights into the Roman occupation in the region

Volunteers have discovered more than 400 shoes while cleaning up rock pools.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From

The leading theory is that the black leather boots, which were discovered by volunteers, were traveling on a cargo ship that sank nearby roughly 150 years ago

Wales' National Museum in Cardiff, where an artist quietly hung an A.I.-generated work on a gallery wall in October

Artist Sneaks Framed A.I. Portrait and Accompanying Label Onto a Museum’s Gallery Wall

The artificial-intelligence-generated image hung in Wales’ National Museum in Cardiff for a few hours before staffers and museumgoers noticed its presence

Stonehenge at sunset. Construction of the iconic stone circle began around 3000 B.C.E. and continued in several phases.

A Neolithic Cow’s Tooth Helps Point to the Mysterious Origins of Stonehenge’s Iconic Stones

Isotope analysis of a molar from a cow’s jawbone found buried at the monument provides details of the life story of the animal—and how it may relate to the construction of Stonehenge

The front of the postcard features a print of The Challenge (1844) by English artist Edwin Henry Landseer.

Cool Finds

See a Mysterious Postcard That Was Delivered 121 Years Late

The handwritten note, which bears a 1903 postmark, recently arrived at a building society in Wales

The Altar Stone lies at the center of the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England.

New Research

Stonehenge’s Massive Central Stone May Have Been Shipped From Hundreds of Miles Away

Researchers think they’ve solved the mystery of the monument’s Altar Stone, which could have traveled all the way from Scotland

The remains of the Bronze Age roundhouse are located in a park in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

An Excavation in Wales Paints a Picture of Home Life 3,500 Years Ago

Archaeologists have enlisted volunteers to dig up the remains of a Bronze Age roundhouse found beneath a park

Canaletto's 18th century painting, The Stonemason’s Yard, depicts stone workers in a Venetian city square. 

A Canaletto Masterpiece Stowed in a Mine During World War II Returns to Wales

“The Stonemason’s Yard” was one of many paintings that officials took from the National Gallery in London and moved underground to keep safe from Nazi forces

A metal detectorist discovered this silver thimble while scanning the grounds of Carew Castle.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Discovers 300-Year-Old Silver Thimble Engraved With a Romantic Inscription

The artifact, which features the words “like enduringly, love forever,” had been declared a treasure by officials in Wales

Portrait of the Artist, Vincent van Gogh, 1887

A Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait Is at the Center of a New Exhibition on the ‘Art of the Selfie’

The National Museum Cardiff is encouraging visitors to snap photos with the 1887 artwork, which is on view in Wales for the first time

Some skeletons found in the cemetery are lying flat on their backs, while others were buried in unusual positions.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Early Medieval Cemetery in Wales

The site contains skeletons in unusual positions and evidence of feasting rituals

Of the nearly 2,000 items missing from Welsh museums, more than half are from St. Fagans in Cardiff, Wales.

Nearly 2,000 Items Are Missing From Welsh Museums

Museum officials say that many of the objects will likely be recovered as documentation work progresses

The coins depict the god Apollo on one side and a horse surrounded by symbols on the other.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Gold Coins in Wales

The 15 artifacts are the first Iron Age gold coins ever found in the country

Fossils in Wales reveal a glimpse into marine life 462 million years ago. In this illustration based on the new finds, the tall sponge in the foreground is less than one inch in height.

This Trove of Fossils in Wales Is Revealing Secrets of Early Animal Life

Scientists have uncovered 170 species from around 462 million years ago, unveiling surprises about when tiny marine creatures evolved and disappeared

Activists from Just Stop Oil marched from London's Pentonville Prison in February 2023 in support of the U.K.'s political prisoners, including seven from their organization.

In Landmark Pledge, British Lawyers Say They Won’t Act in the Interest of Fossil Fuels

The litigators refuse to represent new coal, oil and gas developments or prosecute peaceful climate protesters

Scones are often enjoyed during afternoon tea with clotted cream and jam.

One Woman’s Quest to Eat 244 Scones Across U.K. Is Now Complete

Over ten years, Sarah Merker has tried—and ranked—scones at National Trust sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

A Dark Sky Sanctuary must have exceptionally starry nights.

This Tiny Welsh Island Is Europe’s First Dark Sky Sanctuary

Ynys Enlli joins just 16 other sites of its kind across the world

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