A 250-Year-Old Mechanical Volcano Finally Erupts for the First Time
250-year-old plans for a model that would mechanically recreate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius have finally been brought to life.
History
A Subtle Shift in the Nile May Explain the Rise of an Ancient African Empire
Recent research from the University of Michigan now provides a geological explanation for why this part of the Nile became the foundation for Kushite civilization.
42 Lost Pages from a Critically Important 6th-Century Manuscript Have Been Recovered—Here’s What They Reveal
Scientists have restored the lost portions of a manuscript widely considered one of the most critically important early New Testament works.
These Weird Medieval Artifacts Are Helping Archaeologists Unearth the Hidden World of Human Senses in the Middle Ages
New research reveals how curious medieval artifacts are helping uncover the hidden world of sensory experiences in the Middle Ages.
Missing for 2000 Years, the “Lost” Verses from This Ancient Greek Philosopher’s Writings Have Finally Been Discovered
A papyrologist at the University of Liège has made a remarkable discovery in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo.
Roman Sanctuary Found Beneath Frankfurt Could Transform What We Know About Religion on Rome’s Frontier
Archaeologists uncover a vast Roman sanctuary in Nida, revealing new clues about ritual life and religion on the empire’s frontier.
New Genetic Study of the Famous ‘Shroud of Turin’ Reopens Debate Over the Controversial Relic’s Origins
A new genetic study of the famous Shroud of Turin has revealed the complex interactions it has had with its environment over the centuries.
12,000-Year-Old Native American Dice Rewrite the Ancient History of Probability
Ancient dice dating back 12,000 years suggest early humans understood chance and probability long before mathematics emerged.
Can AI and One of History’s Most Preeminent Military Strategists Explain the U.S.-Iran War? The Answer Was Striking
AI applies Clausewitz to the U.S.-Iran war, revealing how strategy, politics, and power shape a conflict still far from resolved
“A Microcosm of Life Itself”: Archaeologists Use ‘Radioactive’ Method to Date Historic Coral Polynesian Structures
Scientists have revealed a new timeline for historic coral structures in French Polynesia thanks to the modern uranium-thorium dating method
A Mysterious Ancient Egyptian Text Reveals Evidence of Advanced Medicine 1000 Years Earlier Than Once Thought
An obscure ancient Egyptian text discovered in the 19th century led to discoveries that rewrote the timeline of early medical knowledge.
163-Year-Old Wreckage of Historic ‘USS Monitor’ Revealed in Haunting New Imagery with Cutting-Edge Sonar Tech
State-of-the-art technology has revealed the 19th-century wreckage site of the USS Monitor in stunning new highest resolution images.
Mysterious Greek Inscription Found in a Syrian Mosque Reopens Debate Over Roman “Temple of the Sun”
A mysterious inscription within the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria is raising new questions over the location of the Roman Temple of the Sun.
A Forgotten ESP Study From 1943 Is Raising New Questions About Experiments on Canada’s Indigenous Children
A resurfaced 1943 study brings the history of human experiments conducted on Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools into focus.
Droughts and Floods Weakened the Tang Dynasty Before Its Collapse, Researchers Say
New research suggests that environmental stress played an important role in weakening the Tang dynasty before its eventual collapse.
Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA Discovered? 500-Year-Old Disputed Drawing May Preserve Genetic Material Linked to Renaissance Artist
Researchers report having collected DNA they believe to belong to the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci, offering new insights on the artist.
Voynich Manuscript Breakthrough? The Secret Behind “The Most Mysterious Book in the World” May Involve an Ancient Cipher System
A new theory argues the famous Voynich Manuscript, often referred to as “the most mysterious book in the world,” may have served as an ancient cipher system.
Cremation Before Civilization? Evidence Suggests Ancient Hunter Gatherers Cremated a Woman Nearly 10,000 Years Ago
Evidence suggests ancient hunter-gatherers performed the first ever African cremation of a female sometime around 9,500 years ago.
Has The Mystery of ‘The Bayeux Tapestry’ Been Solved? How a Medieval Illustration May Have Misled Scholars For Centuries
A medieval tapestry conveying an 11th-century tale of Norman conquest may have surprising origins, according to a new interpretation of the enigmatic ancient work of art.
A Century Later, Ramanujan’s Pi Equations Are Helping Physicists Unlock the Secrets of Nature
In 1914, Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan published a short paper detailing several unusual formulas for calculating the value of the number π.
An Ancient Sewer System is Revealing How Disease Spread Among Roman Soldiers
Roman soldiers living along Britain’s northern frontier used communal bath and toilet facilities that depended on a sewer system to remove waste from their fort.
Ancient Pottery Shows Humans Were Doing Math 3,000 Years Before Numbers Existed
Ancient pottery reveals early farmers were using math thousands of years before numbers, embedding geometry and patterns into everyday art.
Radiocarbon Study Redraws the Timeline of Ancient Egypt’s First Pharaohs
New data from radiocarbon dating is offering deeper insights into ancient Egypt and its relationship with the volcanic eruption at Thera.
New Study Debunks the Myth of Truly “Egalitarian” Societies in Human History
New study reveals that no human society has ever been truly Egalitarian, reshaping how we understand inequality and human social life.
Volcanoes, Famine and Grain Ships: How Climate‑Driven Trade May Have Brought the Black Death to Europe
Climate‑driven shifts due to volcanic activity, and the increase in grain trade helped bring the Black Death to Italian ports in 1347 and turned a regional disease into a continent‑wide catastrophe.
The Oldest Known Eclipse Record is Shedding Light on Early Celestial Mysteries, Revealing the Location of a Misplaced Ancient Chinese City
Using ancient Chinese eclipse records, scientists have calculated the Earth’s variable rotational speed back to the year 709 BCE.
Forensic Investigators Using Cutting-Edge Science Have Finally Solved a Medieval Murder Mystery
Researchers have used cutting-edge forensic science to solve a medieval mystery that has perplexed scholars for more than a century.
How a 500-Year-Old Bible Map Accidentally Helped Shape the Modern Idea of Territorial Borders
A backwards 1525 Bible map helped shape modern borders, influencing how we imagine territory, nations, and political space today.
A Medieval Poem Misled Historians About the Black Death for Centuries—Scholars Now Reveal the “Spider’s Web” of Plague Myths
A new study in the Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies shows that a widely accepted belief about the Black Death’s rapid spread from Central Asia to the Mediterranean is not based on records or eyewitness accounts, but on a single medieval poem.
Russian Archaeologists Have Located a Lost Medieval ‘Necropolis’ Beneath One of the World’s Deepest Lakes
Archaeologists have found a lost Silk Road settlement including the remains of a submerged necropolis within the world's eighth-deepest lake.
Eerie Sightings of “Sea Serpents” Have Haunted Sailors for Centuries—We Went to a Famous Monster Hunter for Answers to the Mystery
Tales of sea serpents have haunted seafarers for centuries, and Scottish researcher Adrian Shine offers a naturalist's view on some of history's most famous cases.
Scotland’s Stone of Destiny Is Still on the Move—A New Study Reveals Its Missing Fragments Around the World
A new study reveals how fragments of Scotland’s Stone of Destiny traveled the world, reshaping its legend and legacy.
Officials Seek Answers as Mysterious Vehicle Revealed by Melting Ice in the Swiss Alps Prompts Speculation Online
Archaeologists are asking the public to help them identify a mysterious early 20th century vehicle revealed by melting ice in the Swiss Alps.
70,000-Year-Old Crayons: New Evidence Shows Ancient Neanderthals Created Artistic Tools
70,000 years ago, Neanderthals living in Ukraine’s Crimea region deliberately shaped ochre into crayon-like tools for making marks and designs.
Ancient DNA Reveals the Secret Killers That Wiped Out Napoleon’s Army in 1812
Ancient DNA reveals Napoleon’s army was decimated by hidden fevers, not typhus, during the disastrous 1812 Russian invasion.
From Historic Shipwrecks to Submarines, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum Offers Lessons in Canadian–American Relations
From WW II submarines to 19th-century trade shipwrecks, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum illuminates the history of Canadian-American relations.
Forgotten for Nearly a Century, a ‘Lost’ Fusion Breakthrough Has Been Unearthed—and Physicists Just Recreated It
A forgotten fusion experiment from 1938 has been unearthed, revealing a lost discovery that seeded a key concept in modern nuclear physics.
Scientists Discover Ancient Temple From ‘Lost Civilization’ That Mysteriously Disappeared Over 1,000 Years Ago
Scientists have discovered the temple of a mysterious lost civilization in the Bolivian Andes that suddenly disappeared over 1,000 years ago.
Artifacts Discovered in 20,000-Year-Old Ice Age ‘Ice Cave’ Could Rewrite Human History
Artifacts found in a 20,000-year-old ice age 'ice cave' in Australia's remote Blue Mountains named Dargan Shelter could rewrite human history
Study Confirms Controversial 23,000-Year-Old Human Footprints, Challenging Past Views on Peopling of the Americas
New radiocarbon dating of ancient mud samples confirm the controversial dating of 23,000-year-old footprints in White Sands, New Mexico.
Scientists Using LIDAR to ‘See’ Through the Dense Forest Canopy Make a Surprising 1,000-Year-Old Discovery
Dartmouth scientists using LIDAR-equipped drones to peer through Michigan's dense forest canopy have made a shocking 1,000-year-old discovery.
Is This the Tomb of Jesus? A 2000-Year-Old Site Beneath Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre Reveals Its Ancient Secrets
Archaeologists say new findings from one of Christianity’s holiest sites align with descriptions in the Gospels long associated with the tomb of Jesus.
Who Was Entombed in the Pyramids? Surprising New Burial Discoveries Challenge Past Narratives
Researchers have located laborers beneath a pyramid in Tombos, Sudan, revealing burial was more inclusive in ancient Egypt than expected..
Ancient Ritual Sacrifice? Archaeologists are Unraveling the Enigma of an Ancient Ecuadorian Burial
Researchers have discovered the remains of an ancient Ecuadorian woman who may have been involved in ritual sacrifice.
New Legislation Aims to Make Legendary Humanlike Creature California’s Official ‘Cryptid’
A new assembly bill introduced in California seeks to recognize a legendary humanlike creature as the state’s official “cryptid.”
Lost for 3,500 Years, Archaeologists Unearth Long-Missing Tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose II
A Pharaoh's tomb belonging to Thutmose II, lost in the depths of the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis, has been discovered.
Centuries-Old Rare Manuscripts Are Revealing the Human Toll of Rapid Climate Change
The “Little Ice Age” comes to life for modern researchers through rare surviving firsthand accounts.
Bone Powder Unearthed in Ancient Vessels Reveals New Clues About a Mysterious Early Chinese Culture
New research has revealed bone powder was a crucial substance as ancient China's Peiligang culture emerged from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Did Wernher von Braun Actually Predict Elon Musk Would Rule Mars Over 70 Years Ago?
Did famed German-American aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun actually predict Elon Musk would rule Mars? The answer might surprise you.
Archaeologists Say New DNA Evidence Unveils an Iron Age Matriarchal Mystery
New compelling DNA evidence suggests Iron Age Britain may have been more matriarchal than previously thought.