Artifacts
Money Is Art in an Exhibition at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum
"Money Talks" features currency from around the world spanning thousands of years—from ancient coins and historic banknotes to contemporary NFTs
A Viking-Era Vessel Found in Scotland a Decade Ago Turns Out to Be From Asia
Experts used X-ray technology to link the artifact—part of the famous Galloway Hoard—to an Iranian silver mine
Archaeologists in Iceland Can't Agree Which Animal This Mysterious Viking-Era Toy Depicts
The tenth-century stone figurine, alternatively identified as a pig, a bear or a dog, sheds light on the lives of long-ago Norse children
This Decorated Samurai Sword Found in Rubble Beneath Berlin May Have Been a Diplomatic Gift
The short blade’s hilt was made in Edo Japan, and its journey to a German cellar destroyed during World War II is a mystery
Workers Find Mysterious Letter Hidden Inside a Concrete Column at London's National Gallery
John Sainsbury hoped the note would be found when the "unnecessary columns" were finally demolished
This 4-Year-Old Shattered a Bronze Age Jar. Now, He'll Get to See How Experts Restored It
The 3,500-year-old artifact had been on view at an Israeli museum, which wants to use the mishap as a teaching opportunity
Hebrew Bible From Medieval Spain Could Sell for $7 Million
After years of painstaking work, Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon finished the illustrated manuscript in 1312
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
A New Exhibition in Amsterdam Explores the Holocaust Through Looted Objects
"Looted" examines how the Nazis systematically plundered Jewish cultural items during World War II
Archaeology Student Discovers Trove of Silver Viking Age Armbands in Denmark
The bangles, which date to around 800 C.E., are now on display at the Moesgaard Museum
How Did Ice Age Humans Kill Huge Animals Like Mammoths? Probably Not by Throwing Spears, Study Finds
New research theorizes that hunters used pikes planted in the ground—with their sharp tips pointing upward—to impale approaching wildlife using the creature's own weight and momentum
A Roman Road Was Hiding Beneath a Primary School Playing Field in England
The 2,000-year-old cobbled pathway was likely built after the Romans invaded Britain in the first century C.E.
Two Ancient Wells Discovered in England Suggest Even the Romans Used Trial and Error
After the first well collapsed, the local builders incorporated wooden planks to hold up the walls of the second
Dazzling Jewels Stolen in Green Vault Heist Go Back on Display in Dresden
In the early morning hours of November 25, 2019, thieves made away with 4,300 valuable diamonds and other stones
Amateur Sleuth Identifies the Mystery Women in a Museum's Fabergé Frames
The portraits were on display at a museum in England, where staffers had been wondering about the two subjects for years
Ancient Prisoners Carved Graffiti Into the Floors of a Roman-Era Prison
An archaeologist has identified vengeful inscriptions etched into a 1,600-year-old prison in Greece
Busting 13 of the Smithsonian’s Most Persistent Myths
From castle hauntings to hiding evidence of giant humans, the Smithsonian has long been the subject of wild rumors and tall tales
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Battle of Attu, the 'Forgotten Battle' of World War II
Underwater archaeologists discovered three shipwrecks submerged near the small Alaskan island, which was the site of one of the deadliest conflicts in the Pacific
The Mystery of the Bronze Age Ax Heads Mailed Anonymously to an Irish Museum Has Been Solved
A farmer stumbled upon the 4,000-year-old artifacts while working in his field in central Ireland
Archaeologists Stumble Upon Ancient Pot of Gold Coins in Turkey
Researchers think the hoard, which dates to the fifth century B.C.E., may have been buried during a time of upheaval
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